The world wasn't worth it

The layout of the Beast Taming Sect's secret vault was beyond Zhang Xuezhou and the others' imagination.

This secret vault not only contains deadly traps and guardian spirit beasts, but even a being like the Buddha himself has tracked it down to Niutou Mountain.

After going around in circles, Zhang Xuezhou and his group still hadn't seen the treasures in the Beast Taming Sect's secret vault, and ultimately had no choice but to flee in panic.

"I knew my luck was average, and my gains wouldn't be great!"

Knowing that his luck was only average, Zhang Xuezhou hadn't expected to gain anything great when he came, and instead focused his attention on the wealth within the Beast Taming Sect.

Forget about making a fortune, he felt that even taking a few dozen or a hundred taels of gold was pretty good.

But even with such a humble wish, he still failed to achieve it.

After a bright light appeared before his eyes, he emerged from the water empty-handed.

Su Fei then rushed towards the shore from about two meters away.

"You little brat, don't run away!"

Zhang Xuezhou didn't even bother to look at his surroundings, and quickly waded through the water.

He stomped his feet repeatedly, increasing the buoyancy beneath his feet.

Just a few seconds later, he was able to run forward on the water.

This skill of walking on water is not unusual; some veteran fishermen can do it, treading on large rivers as if walking on flat ground.

However, not everyone possesses this ability. Zhang Xuezhou achieved this ability by using the Water Avoidance Technique to enhance his affinity with water, while Su Fei, who had taken elixirs, possessed the ability to hold his breath and breathe underwater, but he did not have Zhang Xuezhou's ability to walk on water.

"I've already brought you out, why are you still chasing after me?"

Su Fei shouted as he fled.

He was clearly the young master of the Beast Taming Sect, but after taking a trip through his own treasure vault, he ended up looking like a thief.

Zhang Xuezhou and his group were undoubtedly outsiders. They could be categorized as treasure hunters or bandits, but they were somehow able to chase after him.

Su Fei felt that the world was too unfair.

"You conspired with our sect's guardian spirit beasts to deceive us..."

"Watch your mouth! If you utter another word of nonsense, I'll hire hundreds of scholars to spread the word about how many heroes you've killed this time!"

Su Fei had just tried to exploit Zhang Xuezhou's weakness, but Zhang Xuezhou quickly blocked his attack.

"Even if you say something like that, do you think anyone will believe you?" Zhang Xuezhou warned, "Besides, that guardian spirit beast belongs to your Beast Taming Sect. He might suspect you're setting a trap, which could lead to your immediate death!"

Zhang Xuezhou seems to have obtained the follow-up content of the Yin Yang Great Joy Nine People Incantation, but Jin Chang also knows that Zhang Xuezhou possesses the Nine Heavens Sect's realm technique of the Divine Ability Realm.

This will inevitably lead to Jin Chang seeking an exchange in the future.

Zhang Xuezhou knew about Jin Chang's realm technique in advance, which undoubtedly gave him the upper hand in this matter. In fact, he already knew more about the two sects' content on realm techniques in the Sole Self Realm than Jin Chang did.

As the sole leader of the Nine People Sect -Nine People Sect and the only inheritor of its legacy, Jin Chang is currently the only one who possesses the complete lineage of the Nine People Sect and can explain its details in detail. Zhang Xuezhou cannot kill him, yet he wants to extract relevant cultivation content from Jin Chang.

Even though Jin Chang is in a dead end, Zhang Xuezhou still has to save the other party's life.

This is probably similar to how Jin Chang had to protect his and Wu Chao's lives back then; the whole process was filled with frustration and helplessness, but he had no choice but to do it.

Compared to the troubles Jin Chang was causing, the troubles Su Fei brought were simply insignificant.

With just a few words, Zhang Xuezhou subdued Su Fei and made him stop. After searching in the water for a while, he pulled Jin Chang, Lei Bei, and Li Shaojun ashore.

"Save them first. If you save their lives, they won't be so hostile towards you!"

Zhang Xuezhou pointed to Lei Bei, signaling Su Fei to help with the work, while he himself began to treat Jin Chang.

"What about Li Shigong?"

Zhang Xuezhou's aging technique had long since faded, while Li Shaojun's aging technique was of an extremely high level, and he still maintains an elderly appearance to this day.

Su Fei asked a question, which prompted Zhang Xuezhou to simply say, "Don't worry about him."

As long as Li Shaojun's Technique Method expires and the opponent realizes they are safe, Li Shaojun will get up on his own.

Ignoring Li Shaojun, Zhang Xuezhou performed twelve sets of first aid for Jin Chang's drowning until he heard a 'crack' from the other man's sternum, at which point Zhang Xuezhou awkwardly stopped.

"I... you broke my bones!"

Forced to wake from his deep sleep, Jin Chang was still grateful to Zhang Xuezhou for his chivalrous act of saving his life; at least the kid hadn't intended to kill him outright.

The transparent silk thread wrapped around his hand quickly retracted into his sleeve, and the means he used to save his life and fight back was withdrawn.

The pain of the broken bone made Jin Chang forget all other thoughts and he quickly turned to calling for help.

"Quickly, quickly, treat me right now!" Jin Chang cried out, "The pain is piercing my heart!"

"Don't rush, look at those two, they're still lying down!" Zhang Xuezhou said.

"Oh, if they're lying down, then I have to lie down too! Can't you treat me differently?"

Jin Chang cried out in pain, muttering incessantly. He then turned to look at Su Fei, who had helped rescue him, and was still somewhat curious about how Zhang Xuezhou had managed to get Su Fei to cooperate so obediently.

But Jin Chang's curiosity quickly subsided.

Far up on the high ground, a little bald monk appeared.

As they continued to traverse the underground river, they still could not escape the pursuit of Wu Chao.

"Junior brother, don't save him!"

The annoying sound from Wu Chao came, and Jin Chang felt that everything was terrible.

He struggled to his feet, but the pain from his broken sternum distorted his face, making his strength questionable.

Of course, he had far more problems than just a broken sternum.

Life is not worth living!

If it weren't for some lingering resentment in his heart, Jin Chang felt he wouldn't have wanted to stay in this utterly terrible world at all.

He looked at Zhang Xuezhou's right hand, which was casting the spell, but the light of the Technique Method ultimately did not fall on him, which made Jin Chang sigh.

"I have no cultivation techniques, but I have your life. Do whatever you want!"

Muttering something under his breath, Jin Chang simply closed his eyes, too lazy to look at this world that bothered him, and even less willing to look at Wu Chao, this heartless and ungrateful bastard who had led outsiders across tens of thousands of miles to beat him up.

"Junior brother, is my senior brother still alive?"

But Jin Chang sensed something different in Wu Chao's inquiry.

He was having a hard time, but Wu Chao didn't seem to be doing too well either, otherwise he wouldn't be thinking so much about his dead senior brother.

"I don't know if he's alive or not," Zhang Xuezhou said uncertainly.

Who is his opponent?

Wu Chao glanced at Jin Chang lying on the ground, then at Lei Bei was unconscious and vomiting water. He felt that his senior brother Rulai had someone else to contend with.

The tremendous noise generated by the brutal fight was beyond the capabilities of these people; even Lei Bei's swordsmanship could hardly achieve such a level.

"It's the Great Sage of the Water Ape, the water god of the Huai River appointed by the Heavenly Court," Zhang Xuezhou replied briefly. "The Great Sage of the Water Ape can quickly recover from injuries in the water and is almost invincible, but your senior brother seems to know some kind of fire magic?"

"Besides his physical abilities, he also possesses the True Fire of the Sun, which might be able to counter the Water Ape Great Sage you mentioned!"

Wu Chao nodded.

If he wanted to kill his senior brother Tathagata, he could only hope that Mount Niutou would collapse and bury his senior brother Tathagata under the mountain.

"If you want to break away from your senior brother..."

When Zhang Xuezhou's voice came in a low whisper, Wu Chao's spirits were immediately lifted.

His eyes widened, momentarily bewildered as to how Zhang Xuezhou had managed to secure the support of the Great Han Dynasty in such a short time.

If he had cooperated with Zhang Qian, he could have legitimately broken free from the control of his senior brother, Buddha, and thus gained a period of freedom.

The Buddha's senior brother can use the Headband-Tightening Incantation to constantly locate him, but Wu Chao also possesses the Star-Fixing Technique, which can also locate the Buddha's senior brother, thus preventing them from meeting each other.

In this game of tracking and counter-tracking, it ultimately comes down to who has the greater patience.

Even though Buddha was not the leader of the sect, nor was he a cultivator skilled in Technique Method, although Buddha could control him with the Headband-Tightening Incantation, his ability to manipulate Law Treasure was far inferior to that of the two leaders of the Western Sect.

If he were to distance himself from his senior brother Buddha by a greater distance, he might even be able to escape Buddha's pursuit, which relied on treasures.

"We're free!"

These few words of guidance are the freedom that Wu Chao has been dreaming of.