Parting the Mist

"Really dead?"

"Suspended animation?"

"Li Guang?"

"The Emperor's Sword?"

In the secret realm of the Xieluosi River, the Venerable One lingered in endless contemplation.

Southern Jambudvipa Continent was an empty shell or a trap put him in an extremely difficult position to judge.

This judgment is difficult because it involves his life.

His Majesty did not want to join forces with several Sacred Land lords to force Li Guang away, only to be met with the ferocious power of that imperial sword.

"I hate craftsmen who forge magical artifacts the most!"

As a demon, the Venerable One develops his own demonic treasures, rather than fighting with treasures and Law Treasure forged by humans.

This meant that despite his strength being at its peak, he was targeted by many people.

For example, Li Guang's Heaven-Shaking Arrow; for example, the imperial sword of the Han dynasty; and for example...

Even when His Majesty was young and vigorous, he was unwilling to suffer the loss of these precious treasures, let alone now that he is old and frail.

If he were to be struck in the body, all his plans would be reduced to ashes.

With a curse, the Venerable One had no choice but to keep the matter to himself for the time being, preparing to make further plans after obtaining more detailed information.

Zhang Xuezhou's arrival undoubtedly brought him many things: the potential high risks brought by Li Guang's infiltration of the Sacred Land, his desire to preach the Dharma to all directions and promote his cultivated Dharma body to top cultivators in order to obtain possible further improvement, and the matter of Emperor Jing faking his death and retiring to become the new emperor.

A series of events intertwined, directly disrupting his peaceful and tranquil life.

In his original plan, he only wanted to grab an assistant to help Zou Bugui pills, make Zhang Xuezhou do hard labor for a while, and then get rid of him.

But at this moment, His Majesty felt quite uneasy.

He carefully considered many things, constantly calculating the order in which they should be done.

This ultimately led the Venerable One back to his original nature.

His Majesty did not want to one day become restless and be shot down by Li Guang from a distance, just as he stepped out of the secret place.

His primary concern was clearly eliminating the risk of Li Guang coming to the Sacred Land; this was the most urgent matter.

Then came the remaining matters.

"By the way, I can explain this Dharma Body Technique to Daoist Lu Ya and the Nine Spirits Lion Saint. I should be quite advanced in this skill, so they'll be very interested. Using this technique as compensation for summoning them to do things shouldn't be a problem!"

"But what if Li Guang, that fool, takes advantage of their unpreparedness and kills them with an arrow from afar..."

"If I tell the truth, they probably won't come!"

"But if I were actually shot to death, it seems there wouldn't be any consequences!"

"If I'm shot half to death, I'll have to pay a lot of longevity pills to save my life!"

As various events were constantly speculated to be the worst-case scenario, His Majesty responded accordingly.

He ultimately felt that the cost of many things was entirely bearable, and giving a technique that needed to be made public to Daojun and others saved him a lot of personal gain.

"Little Zhou, refine more pills!"

His Majesty finally uttered a command, then shook his massive body, repeatedly inhaling and exhaling.

Life in the alchemy room returned to normal, and Zhang Xuezhou and Zou Bugui were able to chat easily.

As for the Venerable One, if the topic does not involve the Venerable One, the other party will not eavesdrop when they are engrossed in their thoughts. Accordingly, Zhang Xuezhou and Zou Bugui chatted while working, discussing a great deal of topics.

"I wonder when your health problems will get better?"

As time went on, Zou Bugui clearly noticed Zhang Xuezhou's unusual behavior.

Although cultivators sleep much less than ordinary people, they don't sleep as little as Zhang Xuezhou.

The other party's energy was so abundant that Zou Bugui keep up.

During the rambling conversation, even though Zou Bugui stay awake, he dozed off several times before falling into a deep sleep.

But Zhang Xuezhou wasn't tired at all. When Zou Bugui woke up, he still saw Zhang Xuezhou practicing the newly acquired realm technique.

After careful questioning, Zou Bugui understood Zhang Xuezhou's problem of being awake for seven days and sleeping for seven days.

This made him sigh.

In the past, Zhang Xuezhou would go to bed at a set time, which was fine, and he would always be awake the next morning. This would at least not seem too unusual, and people would not think that he had a strict schedule.

Zhang Xuezhou's health is currently in a state of extreme abnormality.

With this problem, even if Zhang Xuezhou's cultivation level surpasses that of Yin-Yang School masters like Jin Chang, he will inevitably lose. If he makes enemies in the martial arts world, he will likely die very quickly.

"Don't worry, I'm a peace-loving person and I never make enemies," Zhang Xuezhou assured, patting his chest. "I've been in the business for several years and I still don't have any enemies!"

"Being cautious and meticulous is good!"

Zou Bugui listening to Zhang Xuezhou's words, Zhou Bugui pondered for a long time, and a vague sense of familiarity lingered in his heart.

After a long pause, he frowned slightly.

"Now that the Dharma King is no longer in the Sacred Land, tell me the truth, did Jin Chang really die that day?" Zou Bugui frowned and said, "My junior brother is proficient in Puppet Technique; one head is not enough to determine that he is completely dead!"

"Why are you suddenly asking about this?" Zhang Xuezhou asked curiously.

"Because I love peace just like you, I never make enemies, and I have no enemies in my decades-long career!"

Zou Bugui uttered a low voice.

He had no enemies in his life, except for the grudges with the Yin-Yang School, which entangled him for a lifetime and ultimately led to his demise.

Zhang Xuezhou's account was almost identical to his own, which reminded Zou Bugui of very unhappy memories.

He used to not care whether Zhang Xuezhou was alive or dead, but now, the two had less of a rift and more of a close relationship. Zou Bugui suddenly felt that he had also thought about the possible problems.

The past events flashed before his eyes, constantly appearing in his mind, which finally made Zou Bugui realize that something was wrong.

After fighting for so many years, Zou Bugui too familiar with Jin Chang.

He was so flexible that he could cooperate with the Golden Toad Dharma King and others. Zou Bugui felt that Jin Chang's methods of handling things were also very flexible, and there was a possibility that he was colluding with the Golden Toad Dharma King and others to deceive him.

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Zhang Xuezhou said.

"Even now, with things having come to this, and I've fallen into this predicament, are you still going to keep it from me?"

Zou Bugui muttered something under his breath, then noticed a slight change in Zhang Xuezhou's facial muscles. This made his heart skip a beat, realizing that his guess had indeed been accurate.

"You unfilial son!"

Before Zhang Xuezhou could deny or admit it, Zou Bugui guessed the truth, felt a sharp pain in his liver.

He clutched his chest tightly, feeling as if he had weathered countless storms in his life, yet he had suffered such a crushing defeat in this matter.

If it were Zou Bugui that Zhang Xuezhou now has some genuine feelings for him, Zhou Bugui would feel like he's been cheated and is even counting money for the other person.

His only consolation was that Zhang Xuezhou wasn't heartless or ruthless in this game, which prevented him from losing too badly.

"Tell me everything that happened that day, and stop lying to your godfather!" Zou Bugui gasped for breath, clutching his chest. "Otherwise, I won't be able to die in peace!"

"Well... well... it all started on that day..."

Zhang Xuezhou hesitated for half a second, but when he saw Zou Bugui pale, he dared not hide it any longer.

Without the element of 'roots,' he lacked a shared emotional connection with Zou Bugui. Zhang Xuezhou felt he could keep his secret from Zou Bugui an eye.

But right now, he really couldn't lie to this old man whose fate was tied to his homeland.

He spoke in a low voice, recounting the tacit cooperation they had achieved that day.

"Jin Chang is not dead, what should we do?" Zou Bugui said sadly, "He will definitely harass you in the future, and after getting what he wants, he will surely target you."

"Jin Chang's cultivation is declining, and he's already struggling to survive," Zhang Xuezhou said. "However, as my cultivation increases, he will inevitably learn that I came to the Sacred Land to find you, and he will take the initiative to come to me to learn the Yin Yang Great Compassion Nine Heavens Incantation!"

"Try to stall him for as long as possible," Zou Bugui suggested in a low voice. "With the imbalance of Yin and Yang, Jin Chang's Nine-Person Curse Realm Technique is likely already in chaos. The longer it goes on, the greater the impact will be, and eventually you won't have to be afraid of him!"

"How could we not be afraid? Our school doesn't have any great skills, we can't handle anything like alchemy or formations," Zhang Xuezhou complained. "Last year I almost starved to death because I couldn't get the ingredients for the Grain Avoidance Powder."

You must be strong!

I will definitely be strong!

"If one day you can't hold on any longer, then find a suitable successor to carry on your legacy!"

Knowing that Jin Chang was not Zou Bugui felt that he had little faith in this only possible successor.

He hoped that Zhang Xuezhou could leave a Yin-Yang School in advance, so that the Yin-Yang School's lineage would not end when he died.

"Don't worry, I will definitely take on many disciples in the future and make the Yin-Yang School shine," Zhang Xuezhou assured.

"Then you must first eliminate Jin Chang, lest your many disciples become Jin Chang Human Pill," Zou Bugui. "This is a serious matter, not to be taken lightly, and the order cannot be reversed!"

"His cultivation is constantly regressing; reaching the Sole Self Realm won't be easy for him!"

"Don't underestimate him. Once the yin and yang within him reach balance, he's likely to sense his own needs and begin to attack you, perhaps even breaking the stagnation of his cultivation!"

Zhang Xuezhou was able to rest assured about Jin Chang because Jin Chang was indeed in a very bad situation at the moment, barely managing to stay afloat thanks to the incomplete Nine Revolutions Qi-Gathering Technique.

If he cannot be cured of the Golden Toad Dharma King's poison and cannot break free from the influence of the Yin-Yang School's realm technique, Jin Chang is practically a cripple.

But under these circumstances, the possibility of Jin Chang making a comeback aroused Zhang Xuezhou's suspicions.

"What exactly does the Human Pill look like, and how is it taken? Is it made by boiling our bones, skin, and flesh together, which can then be transformed into a beneficial elixir?"

Zou Bugui spoke very seriously, and although Zhang Xuezhou was aware of the situation, he couldn't help but ask about the issues that were closely related to him.

"I'm only at the Divine Ability Realm right now, and I haven't received the Nine People Sect's inheritance, so I don't fully understand the Human Pill. My teacher was also very secretive about it back then," Zou Bugui his head. "But the Human Pill doesn't seem to be ordinary pill refining. It belongs to the Yin-Yang Realm Technique of refining and transforming. I guess it's probably through physical contact, and then using the Realm Technique to convert the other person's cultivation into one's own!"

Zou Bugui described it several times, Zhang Xuezhou finally learned a basic outline.

"Doesn't this sound like Ren Woxing's Star Absorbing Technique?"

He pondered the cultivation methods of the Yin-Yang School and the Human Pill, feeling that it was extremely similar to the Star Absorbing Technique set in Zhang Weimeng's novel.

"So this is the Human Pill!"

Many of the mysteries in his mind were dispelled, and his fear of the unknown vanished instantly.

The scariest thing is the unknown, not knowing what kind of situation you will face.

However, once he had a general idea, Zhang Xuezhou was undoubtedly prepared in advance and was not afraid of Jin Chang's potential future strength.