Disrupted Perception

Zhang Xuezhou felt that his body was normal when he walked. He was not some kind of chair spirit and it was impossible for him to fold his body while walking.

His practice of the Heart Sutra has ended, and his body has returned to a normal standing posture after he withdrew from the practice.

Am I really walking with a hunched back?

Escorted by the palace guards, Zhang Xuezhou returned to his residence as usual, where he was greeted by Liu Xuan, who spoke with surprise.

"I'm a little drunk, I should be fine after a rest!"

Ignoring Liu Xuan's confusion, Zhang Xuezhou found his room and lay down on the bed.

With his eyes closed and his mind focused, he felt a sense of confusion in his mind, but this confusion kept fading away.

When Zhang Xuezhou felt his mind clear, he saw that the sky outside the window was already pitch black.

"Sleeping felt pretty good, just a bit boring!"

Zhang Xuezhou was full of energy, and he had a rare experience of sleeping and some thoughts on it.

As Zhang Xuezhou propped himself up, the dazed feeling in his head completely disappeared, his vision returned to normal, and his eyes even became sharp, allowing him to clearly observe everything in the dark.

"Discussing the Yang Soul Transformation Technique so late at night? This technique isn't that complicated, is it?"

Night had fallen, the bright moon hung high, and the rooms in the mansion were dark, while the crackling of a bonfire still echoed in the courtyard.

With just a focused listen, Zhang Xuezhou could clearly hear the sounds of burning and the conversations of the crowd.

It would take time to help Huo Qubing reach the Sole Self Realm, but the Yang Soul Transformation Technique doesn't have that many barriers, especially since everyone already possessed it. All that's left is to combine it with the Great Wilderness Creation Scripture.

He found it hard to understand why everyone needed to discuss things day and night. After all, he could learn alongside Ren Anran back then, and even if everyone else's memory wasn't as strong as his, they would only need to spend more time.

Zhang Xuezhou felt that one or two hours of detailed discussion was enough; any more and there would be nothing left to say.

"Hey, there's no secret about this kind of cultivation technique. No matter how well you learn it, you can't be invincible. The Empress Dowager's condition is already very serious, so stop hiding things!"

Zhang Xuezhou stepped forward, opened the window, and then shouted at Zhu Jiuyin, who sat upright like an old tree a hundred paces away.

"It's not that we're conservative, it's that she has a problem!"

Zhu Jiuyin slowly replied, indicating that he hadn't caused any trouble.

Forced by Ren Anran, Zhu Jiuyin reluctantly approached the Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager and the new emperor were no different; the Empress Dowager only belatedly discovered Zhu Jiuyin's identity, yet she suppressed her anger and discussed cultivation with her.

This was destined to be an awkward and agonizing scene, with everyone wanting to end it all as quickly as possible.

But the problem lay with the Empress Dowager.

"She was struck by a flying knife from Daojun, and her soul was entangled and damaged, making it difficult for her to break free from the constraints of her physical body," Zhu Jiuyin.

Are you feeling any better?

Zhu Jiuyin explained the situation, while Ren Anran, who was beside Zhu Jiuyin, was more concerned about Zhang Xuezhou's condition, and Yi Shuo even stood up.

"I'm perfectly healthy!"

Zhang Xuezhou jumped out of the window, causing everyone to gasp in surprise. Even the Empress Dowager, who was struggling to promote the Yang Soul Transformation Technique, looked up and stopped practicing the Technique Method.

"How come you leave an afterimage when you walk?" Liu Xuan asked in surprise.

"This isn't an illusion; it seems Dongfang Shuo has disrupted our perception of space!"

Zhu Jiuyin watched as Zhang Xuezhou approached with several strides.

Zhang Xuezhou himself believes he is normal, but in their eyes, Zhang Xuezhou leaves a shadow behind him.

If you don't look at Zhang Xuezhou standing by the campfire, you could easily mistake one of the figures for Zhang Xuezhou.

Zhu Jiuyin was no stranger to this situation, after all, he had seen similar things before.

Zhang Xuezhou is indeed normal; it's them who are abnormal.

Unbeknownst to them, their perception of space was distorted, creating visual illusions.

Whether it's seeing overlapping figures while drunk, or seeing two or even three suns due to light refraction, this visual illusion makes it difficult to distinguish reality from illusion.

It wasn't until everyone had said several things that Zhang Xuezhou belatedly realized his own situation.

He originally intended to examine the Empress Dowager's condition, but ultimately needed to address his own symptoms.

The spirit that triggered another qualitative change seems to have had a very unique impact, creating regional influence in similar fields.

If his domain in reality originated from the influence of the Void Heaven Palace and thus created the opportunity for his domain, then his domain in the Three Realms was created through the transformation of his spiritual power.

Compared to the former, the latter would undoubtedly make Zhang Xuezhou feel more reliable.

"Is it a domain?" Ren Anran asked telepathically.

Zhang Xuezhou nodded, Ren Anran finally felt relieved, pulling Yi Shuo down to sit.

Zhang Xuezhou's situation is similar to the consequences of a sudden surge in power; he feels perfectly normal, but in reality, it causes destruction.

The reason for this situation is that he failed to control his power properly, and the dissipated power had a negative impact on everyone.

"Wonderful, wonderful!"

A rare hint of envy appeared on Zhu Jiuyin's face.

If he hadn't been certain of Ren Anran's identity, Zhu Jiuyin would almost have believed that Zhang Xuezhou was Hongjun's illegitimate son, which would explain his extraordinary abilities.

It's normal that the Empress Dowager and others couldn't understand it, because only a small number of top-tier True Self Realm cultivators in the Three Realms possess similar abilities, such as Yuanshi Tianzun, Lingbao Tianzun, Laojun, and the Jade Emperor.

Zhu Jiuyin was once one of them, and he could display similar abilities using his eyes.

It's hard to tell without having seen it before, so it's not surprising that Zhang Xuezhou's strange state is hard to understand.

To Zhu Jiuyin's surprise, Zhang Xuezhou had not yet entered the True Self Realm, a situation that was extremely rare and one that Zhu Jiuyin had never witnessed before.

He praised him repeatedly, until a white halo appeared behind Zhang Xuezhou's head, blurring his own vision. Only then did he lower his head and stop trying to look.

"I drank too much of the Nine Treasures Wine, and it had some adverse effects when I was practicing the Heart Sutra!"

By continuously circulating the Heart Sutra, the area enveloped by the radiant power of his thoughts would be affected, and Zhang Xuezhou thus clearly understood the scope of his domain.

This kind of regional influence does not involve the great Divine Ability guided by the True Self Realm; it is purely the effect of the spiritual power guided by the Heart Sutra.

Previously, the radiance of Zhang Xuezhou's Prajna Heart Sutra mental power could only provide illumination, but now he was undoubtedly extremely satisfied with this ability, and also had the rare opportunity to launch a mental attack.

He activated the Heart Sutra to dispel the excessive dissipation of his soul caused by the Nine Treasures Wine. As soon as his mental power faded, he explained the reason for his condition.

He glanced around, then reached out and grabbed at the Empress Dowager in mid-air.

She grasped an ebony hairpin in her hand, and the Empress Dowager's long black hair instantly fell into disarray.

"There seems to be something wrong with this hairpin," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"Others need to go to great lengths to obtain hair and other magical materials to cast spells, yet you actually wrapped your hair all over this Technique Method medium. You are truly ignorant and fearless, and you've made us waste so much of our time!"

Zhang Xuezhou's mental acuity was extremely high at this moment. Under the radiance of his mental power, he detected the subtle changes in the Empress Dowager's body.

Zhang Xuezhou spoke subtly, while Zhu Jiuyin was direct, directly attacking the Empress Dowager.

Having already been hit by Daojun's flying knife technique, the Empress Dowager was also subjected to Incantation Technique. Zhu Jiuyin felt that it was utterly delusional for the Empress Dowager to seek survival; even with her intelligence, she couldn't withstand such a physical abuse.

Pulled and torn by the Incantation Technique, how could the Empress Dowager's Yang Soul Body possibly separate from her physical body normally? No amount of discussion or correction would help, and it would be impossible for her to achieve the Yang Soul Body state of Zhu Jiuyin and Ren Anran.