Rulai's Incantation

Brother Tathagata revealed a lot of information, but he kept the most important parts to himself.

Li Shaojun needs to find the Wu Chao to obtain the secret place where his ancestor lived in seclusion, and Zhang Xuezhou needs to do the same to obtain information about the Yin-Yang Secret Land.

"Both you and Wu Chao are suspected of opposing the imperial court. Helping you would also be considered opposing the imperial court, and the risks involved are far too high!"

After thinking for more than ten seconds, Zhang Xuezhou finally responded.

"The current benefits are not enough to balance out the risks," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"Yes, that's right," Li Shaojun quickly chimed in. "All of these things are still far from certain. Even if we get accurate information, it won't be of much use. The difficulty of making them happen is too high!"

The two tacitly agreed to put pressure on their senior brother, Buddha.

But things were indeed as they said. Even if Brother Tathagata told Zhang Xuezhou the secret, or had Wu Chao assist Li Shaojun, there were too many uncertainties involved, making it extremely difficult to gain any real benefit.

"Why don't you think about something more tangible?" Zhang Xuezhou said. "As for this Yin-Yang Sacred Land and Li Shaojun's ancestor, let's just treat it as something to talk about!"

"Yes, it's fine to just chat casually like this, but there's no way I'll accept it as payment," Li Shaojun exclaimed.

"Master, you're just making empty promises. We're risking being noticed by the guests of the King of Huainan's Household by taking you away from here," Zhang Xuezhou said.

Zhang Xuezhou and Li Shaojun sang in unison, while Rong Tianding nodded repeatedly. He would occasionally glance at Brother Rulai, indicating that in his eyes, as a fair person, Brother Rulai was being unfair.

"It's not entirely empty talk; at least my staff is being bitten by that worm," sighed Brother Tathagata. "If it keeps biting, it'll be a useless piece of rotten wood!"

"Someone like you wouldn't stoop to the level of a mere insect," Zhang Xuezhou said. "If this insect hadn't flown out looking for food, we would have ridden away on horseback long ago!"

"Master, please don't say that the reward is for a bug!" Li Shaojun chimed in. "No matter how much of this little thing gnaws on the wood, it's not of much use. I could just slap it to death!"

"That makes sense," Rong Tianding murmured in agreement.

The four people rode on two horses, traveling at a moderate speed, so communication was not a problem.

Zhang Xuezhou was fortunate that it was nighttime; otherwise, he would have run as far away as possible to avoid getting involved in the grudges of the King of Huainan's Household.

As they continued their journey, they could also see faint lights in the distant mountains and forests.

If the other party is not a hunter, then the person near the firelight is very likely a high-ranking cultivator from the King of Huainan's Household.

"Master, please say what you need to say sooner rather than later, lest we realize the risk and run away," Zhang Xuezhou said in a low voice. "Let alone finding someone for you, even getting you out of there is a risky business for us. We've already been very loyal!"

"That's right. I even took you underground before, taking a huge risk, but we didn't get any benefits in the end," Li Shaojun said dejectedly. "What use is the kind of information you told me?"

If he hadn't been with Zhang Xuezhou, he would still be stuck in the empty rhetoric of his senior brother, Tathagata.

It wasn't until Zhang Xuezhou spoke up repeatedly that he realized he was a level below the other party in terms of his ability to make demands.

The Buddha had subtly taken control of him, while Zhang Xuezhou, unwilling to be manipulated and work for nothing, repeatedly retaliated.

Li Shaojun belatedly realized that this matter was something that his senior brother, Tathagata, a master of Tai Chi, must have known as well.

Even though Zhang Xuezhou's skills in this area are inferior to those of his senior brother Rulai, they currently hold the initiative, not Rulai, who is injured and has lost his junior brother.

"How could I have been led by the nose by someone like this for so long!"

Li Shaojun had been thinking about this for a long time, and for a moment he even doubted his own intelligence, which led to him losing the initiative.

He clearly held the initiative, but without realizing it, he let his senior brother, Buddha, lead him by the nose.

"Benefactor, you..."

As Li Shaojun was deeply reflecting on himself, he heard his senior brother, Rulai, speak softly to Zhang Xuezhou, his voice carrying a hint of something unusual.

This made him raise his head, followed by Zhang Xuezhou's reprimand.

Li Shaojun felt a sway in his body, and then he rolled off the horse and landed on the ground.

"You cunning monk! Unable to get your favor, you've resorted to bewitching us!"

Zhang Xuezhou's rebuke brought Li Shaojun back to his senses. Ignoring the pain, he rolled away several steps, gathering the power of his Technique Method at his toes. If anything unusual happened, he would take to the air and escape.

"Esteemed benefactor, this humble monk acted rashly in the heat of the moment!"

Li Shaojun tumbled and landed on the ground, and Brother Rulai wasn't much better off.

Compared to Li Shaojun's planned escape, Brother Rulai, in his pain, chose to surrender directly.

This is his extremely secretive method, which can induce others to a certain extent. Those with weaker cultivation levels may even be able to listen to his words and make them obey his orders, and it is not uncommon to induce any abnormalities in a short period of time.

This non-violent method was released almost silently, but Zhang Xuezhou noticed it in a short time and even managed to break it.

The backlash from breaking the law made Brother Tathagata feel as if his head had been hit by a heavy hammer.

But disregarding the pain in his body and head, he quickly chose to apologize.

"Send me out of this area, away from those powerful cultivators nearby, and I'll immediately reveal the secrets of the Yin-Yang Secret Realm!"

He no longer cared about Wu Chao; if Zhang Xuezhou shouted or ran away on Zhang Xuezhou, he would surely be in trouble.

If he still had the strength to subdue Zhang Xuezhou, Li Shaojun, and others before, he is now suffering from a persistent headache and will inevitably be exhausted in the short term.

"I've been to the Xieluosi River Holy Land, the Yedie River Holy Land, the Immortal Court Secret Land, and the Kunlun Sacred Land. I've even been to your Spirit Mountain. I've even met your Grand Master," Zhang Xuezhou said. "You really won't shed a tear True Self really care about some Yin-Yang Sacred Land?"

Zhang Xuezhou off on horseback, while Li Shaojun swiftly took to the air.

"The sect leader once said that the Yin-Yang Sacred Land was tampered with by the Emperor Qin, making it extremely dangerous and difficult to enter. It is very likely that only an emperor who emulates the Emperor Qin by holding the Fengshan ceremony on Mount Tai could possibly enter. That Sacred Land has not been entered for a hundred years, so it must be rich in Spiritual Qi and full of fortuitous opportunity!"

Seeing Zhang Xuezhou, Rong Tianding, and Li Shaojun leave together, Brother Rulai stopped talking about anything else and quickly uttered the relevant words.

If Zhang Xuezhou had no desires, the other party would have turned around and left without saying a word.

The fact that Zhang Xuezhou kept talking meant that the other party was definitely keeping him hanging.

But now it's no longer his domain, and he can no longer influence Zhang Xuezhou in the same way he did with Li Shaojun.

His heart skipped a beat.

The more you scheme, the more you will lose.

If he had spoken up about the opportunity a moment earlier, Zhang Xuezhou might have kindly sent him out of this territory long ago.

Now, not only can he not get these people to help him find the Wu Chao, but he also needs to pay another price to leave this place.

When Brother Tathagata saw the staff, he felt that the staff in his hand was in danger and would surely be taken by Zhang Xuezhou to feed the insects.

He barely managed to raise his hand, slightly lifting the Dragon-Subduing Wood Staff, waiting for Zhang Xuezhou to speak.

"I want that Incantation Technique you used on my soul!"

To Tathagata's surprise, Zhang Xuezhou did not directly ask for the staff, but instead pointed to the incantation he was using.

This sent a chill down the spine of Brother Tathagata.

The Yedie River Holy Land is skilled in curse-based killing techniques, but the Western Sect also possesses curses, and their level of skill is not low.

"I narrowly escaped your evil curse, but I can't guard against you every time. Only by knowing the nature of your curse can I feel at ease being with you!"

With a flick of his sleeve, Zhang Xuezhou instantly bound the painted demon within to the portrait of Sage Kong, rendering it unable to utter a single word even if it wanted to interrupt.

Zhang Xuezhou had to admit that Brother Tathagata's incantation was too subtle and its effects were difficult to detect.

If the painting demon hadn't warned him, he wouldn't even have known he was under a curse.