Jin Chang of the Nine People Sect

Some things could be taken, while others could not.

For instance, they could ask Zou Bugui for some pills, or ask him about certain matters.

But once they touched upon the inheritance of the Yin Yang Nine Heavens Sect, or forced Zou Bugui to bring out the valuable belongings he had stashed in his storage pouch, only one side would survive.

Even if Zou Bugui swore he would not pursue the matter, no one would believe him.

That meant that if they asked about such things, Zou Bugui would rather die than hand over anything that would cost him his life afterward.

Zhang Zhong killed decisively, but he did not murder people for their wealth.

As long as they could both remain safe, he did not mind leaving Zou Bugui a way out.

Zhang Xuezhou had mentioned it, and Zhang Zhong had wisely refrained from asking further.

"Sir, what is Realm Entry?"

"You've already entered the realm, so why ask that question?"

"Because I don't understand what Realm Entry actually is. What part of us does it strengthen?"

Since asking about cultivation techniques was out of the question, Zhang Xuezhou turned to another topic.

His repeated questions set Zou Bugui thinking.

"Realm Entry strengthens our Divine Sense, whether we cultivate martial arts or Technique Methods," Zou Bugui said after some thought. "Divine Sense is a product of our souls, but the soul..."

Many great cultivators knew how to cultivate their way into the realm, but explaining the foundations of Realm Entry clearly was difficult.

Most inheritances placed greater emphasis on choosing a gifted disciple with the right affinity, using talent to gloss over these fundamental principles.

Even though Zou Bugui was willing to think about it, he still found it hard to explain.

Divine Sense could just barely be perceived, but he could not speak of the soul.

Everyone believed in the soul's existence, but no one had truly studied it until they understood it.

Without being able to explain the reason behind it, he could not explain Realm Entry clearly.

"A founding master surnamed Li once said, 'The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao,'" Zou Bugui finally said.

"What does that mean?"

"It means that with a theory like this, either you understand it or you don't. Everyone has an answer of their own in their heart," Zou Bugui said. "The best way to resolve your confusion is to set it aside for now. Once you've climbed higher, look back, and perhaps in an instant, you'll grasp the answer in your heart!"

"It seems... that founding master surnamed Li couldn't explain it either, so he used those words to dodge the question!"

On second thought, Zhang Xuezhou felt that the founding master surnamed Li was a great deceiver too.

He had entered the realm in his dream and then again in reality, and there seemed to be some kind of crossover between the two.

But after swallowing a Qi and Blood Pill in his dream, his body had grown stronger, while his body in reality had not changed at all. That was a clear difference.

Perhaps that was because of the Divine Sense Zou Bugui had mentioned, or perhaps the soul...

When everything was intangible, there was an explanation for it.

Perhaps this was also the true answer Zhang Xuezhou had been seeking in his heart, one that could keep him from doubting himself in reality.

"In other words, if my soul improves in my dream, it affects me in reality? But changes to my physical body have no effect on reality at all. This may even have something to do with the study of cultivation?"

After some speculation, Zhang Xuezhou felt that schizophrenia was not a bad thing.

As long as he could verify that the abilities he possessed in reality were not hallucinations, Zhang Xuezhou would have some unique skills.

Many people of great achievement had problems of one kind or another with their mental state. Zhang Xuezhou felt that he had achieved nothing great, but when it came to mental problems, he had charged ahead without looking back and could stand shoulder to shoulder with those great figures.

After developing schizophrenia, he used half his soul to dream and the other half to deal with life in reality.

This had left Zhang Xuezhou struggling in many ways, but after nearly eighteen years, he had finally begun to reap some rewards.

Having grasped the key to the matter, Zhang Xuezhou felt a great stone fall from his heart, and his whole body felt much lighter.

"Perhaps I'm the legendary chosen one, someone no less remarkable than Duan Yu?"

Zhang Xuezhou indulged in the fantasy for a while, but he vaguely sensed signs of an episode even in his dream, so he quickly put such thoughts aside.

He watched Zou Bugui have Zhang Zhong take a head-sized Pill Furnace from the pouch at his waist, followed by several medicinal ingredients. Then Zhang Zhong put a toad skin half a man's height into the Pill Furnace.

A red symbol and a green one lit up on the Pill Furnace. Flames seemed to burn within it, while clear water continually washed through it.

It was clearly a Law Treasure. Zhang Xuezhou clicked his tongue in wonder at it, feeling that even in the real world, technological products for making medicine like this were rare.

As long as all the ingredients were present, forming the pills did not require years of constant supervision.

In just a few minutes, the various ingredients continually broke down, combined, and were kneaded together.

At Zou Bugui's prompting, Zhang Zhong opened the Pill Furnace to find four pale golden pills lying inside.

"I know you'll have me test the pill, but this pill..."

Zou Bugui began to speak slowly, but before he could finish, Zhang Zhong had already taken a pill and stuffed it straight into his mouth.

As soon as the pill went down, it rolled straight into Zou Bugui's throat.

Zhang Zhong could not easily tell whether the pill had any wondrous effects, but he had to rule out poison first, at least.

Zou Bugui was the first choice to test the pill.

Given Zou Bugui's current physical condition, any poisonous pill with harmful effects would add fuel to the fire, revealing signs that something was wrong.

"It's best to let the pill sit for a while. Pills fresh out of the furnace are too hot!"

Only after the pill had reached his stomach did Zou Bugui despairingly blurt out the rest of what he had been trying to say.

He felt that his throat had been scalded, and worse still, the pill had begun to roll around in his stomach and intestines, releasing heat.

Had he not possessed a cultivator's body, different from that of an ordinary person, the heat from the pill would have been enough to severely injure his internal organs.

"Understood. I'll be careful next time," Zhang Zhong said with a nod.

"I hope there won't be a next time!"

Zou Bugui muttered under his breath. As he endured the new pill in his stomach, his face grew much redder, and his faint, threadlike voice gained some strength.

That made the pill look sound enough; at least it would not poison anyone to death.

"Then I thank you for the pills, Daoist priest," Zhang Zhong said, cupping his fists. "Zhang Household Village has suffered a calamity, and everyone in the village has disappeared. I was worried, so if I offended you in taking action, I hope you'll forgive me!"

Having received his compensation, Zhang Zhong did not linger.

He carefully placed the three remaining pills in the porcelain bottle that had previously held the Body Fragrance Pills. Once he had put the stopper back in, he was ready to take his leave.

The meaning of his words was also clear: Zhang Household Village was no more, and if Zou Bugui wanted revenge, he would have to search for him across the vast world.

That might, to some extent, completely extinguish any thoughts of revenge Zou Bugui might have.

Once he was out the doors of the Daoist temple, Zhang Zhong hoped they could each take their own side of the great road and go their separate ways, owing each other nothing.

"The people of Zhang Household Village? Earlier, I saw hundreds of people walking out in an orderly fashion along the mountain road, men and women, young and old. It seemed Jin Chang was using the Puppet Technique to lead them..."

Zou Bugui could not help but murmur a response to what Zhang Zhong had said before leaving the Daoist temple.

But his voice was extremely quiet; he clearly did not want to invite any more trouble.

Thinking of Jin Chang, Zou Bugui's expression darkened.

The Yin-Yang School had split apart. He belonged to the Nine Heavens Sect, specialized in techniques such as pill refinement, formations, and soaring leaps, and pursued the elusive Heavenly Dao, striving toward the utmost extreme of yang.

Jin Chang, on the other hand, belonged to the Nine People Sect and pursued the human way of assisting a ruler. His specialties were all Curse techniques for subduing and killing enemies, making him a master of the Yin-Yang School's yin-aspect Technique Methods.

Though they belonged to branches of the same Yin-Yang School, Zou Bugui knew full well that if Jin Chang saw him somewhere he could strike, he would seize him without hesitation and wring the Yin-Yang School's yang-aspect inheritance out of him, completing the unification of the school's Technique Methods.

Compared with the danger of the Golden Toad Dharma King, who merely wanted to refine him to recover from his injuries, Jin Chang was the truly dangerous one.