We'll Both Cooperate

Ever since his body was poisoned by the Golden Toad Dharma King, Jin Chang felt that his life had never been smooth sailing.

Not only is his cultivation level slowly declining, but he is also unable to fully utilize his personal strength. If he overexerts himself, the poison will attack his heart and he will die.

This meant that despite possessing considerable strength, he was unable to unleash it.

After several years of struggling, he had finally made it back to where he was.

Under normal circumstances, the difference in strength between him and the Great Sage Water Ape wouldn't be that great, and he wouldn't be completely controlled by the opponent's entanglement-type technique, but he did indeed lack the ability to unleash his power.

If it erupts, it will kill you instantly; if it doesn't erupt, you might have a slim chance of survival if you're caught.

Jin Chang placed most of his hopes for survival on Zhang Xuezhou and Li Shaojun, but when he recalled the events, he only felt that Zhang Xuezhou seemed to have run away for his life at that time.

His head was spinning, and it wasn't until the water that had been in his mouth and nose slowly flowed out that Jin Chang regained consciousness.

"Ah, don't even think about it! I will never hand over the Yin-Yang School's secret cultivation techniques!"

"If you don't hand it over, I'll beat you, this great cultivator of the Yin-Yang School, to death!"

The sounds of arguing and debating could be heard, along with resistance and threats.

Jin Chang shook his head vigorously, and the figure in his vision became clearer.

He looked around and saw the Great Sage of the Water Ape holding a water rope, which was wrapped around Zhang Xuezhou, and he was making threatening remarks.

Jin Chang's gaze had just fallen upon the two when the Water Ape Great Sage's eyes swept over him fiercely, and Zhang Xuezhou shouted again.

"This monster is trying to force me to hand over the Yin-Yang School's secret techniques. I think you should never hand them over, even if it kills you!" Zhang Xuezhou shouted.

"Wait... wait a minute!"

If Zhang Xuezhou's object of unwavering loyalty was himself, and he sacrificed himself to uphold the secret, Jin Chang would think nothing of it. But why did Zhang Xuezhou change the object of his unwavering loyalty to himself?

He felt this was a bit abnormal; this logic and reasoning shouldn't be like this.

"Either you hand over the Yin-Yang Nine-Man Great Joy Curse," the Water Ape Great Sage said viciously, "Or I'll kill him!"

"Go ahead... whatever you want, come at me!"

Jin Chang was about to blurt out, "Go ahead and kill," but he didn't care that much.

However, as soon as he remembered that the Great Sage of the Water Ape had given Zhang Xuezhou the same conditions, he quickly changed his mind.

No matter what, they cannot afford internal strife right now.

If he were willing to let Zhang Xuezhou die, Zhang Xuezhou would probably immediately have to learn the Yin-Yang Nine Heavens Great Compassion Incantation Mantra to exchange for his life.

"So you want to die? Then die!"

The Great Sage of the Water Ape chuckled, and the waves of water that beckoned him quickly rushed into Jin Chang's mouth, nose, and ears. The feeling of choking and suffocation returned, and after only a few seconds, Jin Chang felt his mind go blank.

He felt a pang of regret.

The cultivator's philosophy has always been "better to die than to die myself," and self-preservation is their primary concern. He shouldn't have stopped cooperating so quickly.

"Put him down, come at me if you have a problem, ah~"

While Jin Chang was in a daze, he heard Zhang Xuezhou shouting again.

When he regained consciousness and opened his eyes again, he heard the humming of the Great Sage Water Ape.

"That kid's not bad; he knew to save your life at the last minute. Now it's your turn!"

The Great Sage of the Water Ape waved his giant hand, submerging Zhang Xue's body into the pool, leaving only half of his head above water.

He gestured to Zhang Xuezhou towards Jin Chang, then pointed at Jin Chang again.

"Now it's your turn to speak, or I'll drown him," said the Great Sage Water Ape.

"Wait... wait a minute!"

Jin Chang was panting heavily.

He looked at Zhang Xuezhou, who was submerged in the pool, and wondered how much Zhang Xuezhou had said, how he had saved his life, and how much they needed to say before they could all leave this place together.

"Speak quickly, or it will flood!"

Before Jin Chang could react, the Water Ape Great Sage had already shoved Zhang Xuezhou into the pool without hesitation.

Several bubbles rose to the surface of the pool, and Jin Chang couldn't help but gape in astonishment.

He was willing to talk about it, but he had his bottom line and didn't want to completely entrust the Yin-Yang School's doctrines to them. After all, saving Zhang Xuezhou didn't really matter to him.

But Jin Chang was worried about how much he had to hand over before he could leave.

If he could be brought to safety, Jin Chang wouldn't mind helping Zhang Xuezhou out as well, since they would need to cooperate in the future.

"I'll talk, I'll talk!"

Jin Chang pondered for only a few seconds before starting to mutter about the Yin Yang Nine People Sect's realm techniques.

This allowed him to vaguely see Zhang Xuezhou's head popping out of the water again, where he was also panting heavily.

"Continue!"

A long rope, seemingly formed from condensed blue water, lashed against his body, forcing Jin Chang to continue speaking.

He briefly considered modifying certain aspects to make it impossible for even a powerful demon like the Water Ape Great Sage, who had forced him to reveal the Yin-Yang School's techniques, to use them. However, the sensation of the Water Ape Great Sage's whipping made it difficult for Jin Chang to think clearly.

As for his meticulously refined cultivation technique, Jin Chang's verbal explanations were considered correct; any attempt to change even a single aspect required going against his own thinking.

This is like a normal person reciting the first few digits of pi, needing to change 3.1415926 to 3.34728. It's difficult to correct the pronunciation, and even more difficult to continue reciting normally. Trying to fool the Great Sage Equal to Heaven with such incorrect content is another difficult task.

The moment Jin Chang had that thought, he was struck by the whip again.

"You are a demon, and your cultivation is completely different from ours. Even if you took it, it wouldn't be of any use to you. What do you need our Yin-Yang School's realm techniques for?"

From memorizing the Realm Entry techniques to the Consciousness Creation Realm, Jin Chang's bottom line gradually approached, which inevitably led him to ask questions.

But he was whipped again as soon as he finished asking the question, and Zhang Xuezhou's head was being pushed deeper and deeper into the water, forcing him to continue speaking.

"When a person dies, everything is gone. I hope you won't try to play tricks on me!"

As the content of the Realm Techniques progressed, Jin Chang became increasingly reluctant to reveal it. However, just as this thought crossed his mind, the warning from the Great Sage of the Water Ape rang out.

"If you continue to hesitate, I will release him and drown you in this pool," said the Great Sage Water Ape.

"Wh... what?" Jin Chang exclaimed, "You didn't say that before!"

"I've changed my mind," the Great Sage Water Ape said calmly. "What, you don't want to continue?"

Zhang Xuezhou's body was lifted out of the water, and then Jin Chang took his place and began to be submerged in the water.

"Don't drown my friend! I'll tell you everything!"

"You at least covered the Divine Ability Realm, while he's stammering and hesitant about explaining the Body Transformation Realm. We might as well just kill him," said the Great Sage Water Ape.

"Don't treat my friend like this!"

The sounds of Zhang Xuezhou and the Great Sage of the Water Ape arguing reached Jin Chang's ears, instantly rousing him and giving him more reason to try and survive.

People only reveal their true feelings when they are dying. Clearly, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't take the torment from the Water Ape Great Sage and exposed all the secrets of the Nine Heavens Sect.

The other party's cultivation level is only at the Integration Realm, yet they have already begun explaining the content of the Divine Ability Realm. This clearly indicates that Zou Bugui has given new instruction.

If he can escape, he can also use this technique, which combines Yin and Yang, in his cultivation.

Jin Chang had been searching for fortuitous opportunity to combine Yin and Yang, but he never expected that Zhang Xuezhou, after obtaining the cultivation technique, would not give him this fortuitous opportunity at all.

He only learned of this at this point, which caused Jin Chang to struggle repeatedly.

He didn't want any treasures from the Beast Taming Sect's secret vault, nor did he want to pursue any ancient scriptures. If Zhang Xuezhou could just give him the content of the Realm Technique, granting him even the slightest possibility of forcibly breaking through to a higher realm, it might break the invasion of the Golden Toad Poison, allowing him to get rid of the torment and suffering caused by this poison and be reborn.

"We'll cooperate as long as you release us!"

After thinking it through, Jin Chang no longer harbored any overly conservative ideas.

He hoped that after he and Zhang Xuezhou explained themselves, the Water Ape Great Sage would release the two of them normally.

Jin Chang now felt that Zhang Xuezhou also had to survive, not just himself.