Under one person: I, Zhang Zhiwei, the arrogant Zhang.

The elders of the Zhuge family looked at Zhang Zhiwei with some surprise. It wasn't hard to guess that their purpose in coming to Longhu Mountain was for the Tiantong Qimen.

However, if they were to bring it up directly, it would seem somewhat like they were taking advantage of someone's kindness, so they have been waiting for the right opportunity.

Unexpectedly, this young Taoist priest effortlessly broke through this barrier the moment he appeared, thus clearing away the biggest obstacle.

The group was secretly pleased, and some couldn't help but think to themselves, "This little celestial master's cultivation is extraordinary, but his social skills seem to be... a little lacking."
Little did he know, Zhang Zhiwei was as clear-headed as a mirror. It wasn't that he was ignorant of worldly affairs, but rather that he was too lazy to deal with them. He didn't care about Zhuge Menzhang's face, but he had to consider the friendship with his old friend Zhuge Yunhui.

Therefore, he was intentionally pointing it out, precisely to give the Zhuge family a legitimate way to make their request.

While the rest of the Zhuge family were still puzzled, thinking Zhang Zhiwei was a reckless man who lacked social skills, Zhuge Yunhui had already figured it out. He grinned, a hint of magnanimity and smugness in his expression.
“What am I afraid of? Good things should be shared. It turns out that my judgment was pretty good. Many people in the village have been practicing since childhood, but they still can’t learn Wuhou Qimen. But my wife, who is in her twenties and had never been exposed to Qimen before, actually learned it in one go.”

"And you, when you were competing with me, you had only just learned about Qimen, right? Yet you mastered some of the advanced techniques that I had never even grasped, all without a teacher. Later, you even learned the Samadhi True Fire, which no one in our Zhuge Village could learn."

He paused, his tone a mix of teasing and感慨: "Not only that, but they also created something called 'Tian Tong Qi Men,' whose name resounded throughout the entire world of supernatural beings."

“Even those old folks in our village who don’t care about worldly affairs and spend their days studying Qimen Dunjia formulas couldn’t sit still. After learning that I passed on the Samadhi True Fire to you, they insisted on dragging me here to ‘exchange and learn’.”

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere in the hall became subtle and formal once again.

Zhuge Zhen and Zhuge Sheng also composed themselves, their gazes falling on Zhang Zhiwei, awaiting his response.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Zhiwei laughed heartily: "In that case, I must repay you properly, the 'guide' who led me into the gate of 'Samadhi True Fire'!"

"That's great!" Zhuge Yunhui's eyes lit up, then he asked somewhat nervously, "But... Brother Zhiwei, do you think I, with my skill level, can learn your 'Tian Tong Qi Men'?"

Zhang Zhiwei countered, "Do you want to learn?"

Zhuge Yunhui replied without hesitation: "Such a miraculous skill, it would be a lie to say I don't want to learn it!"

Zhang Zhiwei turned his gaze to Zhuge Zhen, the leader of the Wuhou School, Zhuge Sheng, the father of Zhuge Yunhui, and his uncle Zhuge Fang: "And you all?"

After a moment's hesitation, the desire to seek the Dao ultimately prevailed, and they spoke frankly: "We also yearn for it!"

Zhang Zhiwei nodded slightly, but then changed the subject: "Then... I'm afraid it will be a bit difficult."

"Why?" Zhuge Zhen and the others looked puzzled and quickly asked.

Zhang Zhiwei said, "Sometimes, when you want to completely master something, the first thing you have to do is let go of it in your heart. Otherwise, even if you get it, you will only be controlled by it, rather than you controlling it."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the Zhuge family was taken aback.

If a Taoist were to listen to Zhang Zhiwei's explanation, they would find it profound and mysterious.

If you're a Buddhist, you might find the Zen teachings hidden within.

If an ordinary person from the martial arts world heard this, they would probably suspect that Zhang Zhiwei was just being deliberately mysterious and making excuses.

When you've mastered something, shouldn't you first let it go? Letting go means giving up what you desire, right? If you don't desire anything anymore, what's the point of having someone teach you?
But the people in front of them were from the Zhuge family. Because of Zhuge Liang, when ordinary people hear the name "Zhuge," the first thing that comes to mind is wisdom.

These people before him, while perhaps not possessing great wisdom, were certainly exceptionally intelligent. They quickly grasped the true meaning behind Zhang Zhiwei's words.

It's just that they understand it in different ways.

Scenes from Zhuge Yunhui's childhood flashed through his mind.

As a child, he was obsessed with raising cats and dogs, and devoted all his attention to them, spending all his time around them, even neglecting his studies in numerology.

Upon seeing this, Zhuge Sheng, the father, cruelly gave away all of his beloved pets.

His father warned him that the pet would be returned to him only when he had made significant progress in numerology and met his own requirements.

Since then, he has worked hard and devoted himself to studying deduction. Six months later, he finally achieved his goal.

The father kept his promise and returned his pet intact.

But by then, his initial excitement had worn off, and he was no longer obsessed with small animals. However, he still took good care of them, but he never again became so engrossed in them that he neglected his studies.

His father never bothered him again, and he continued to take good care of the animals.

Thinking about it now, isn't what Zhang Zhiwei said exactly the same as his experience of raising pets back then?

Because he was so obsessed with his pets, their every move captivated him and influenced his behavior; he was undoubtedly being controlled by them.

His father's intervention made him temporarily "lose" his pets, allowing him to have time to think about other things. Once he truly "let go" of his obsession, the pets returned, and he completely possessed them, never losing them again.

The same principle may apply to Tian Tong Qi Men.

Therefore, those few genius sorcerers on Wudang Mountain could not master it; instead, they were controlled by it, dragged into the abyss of inner vision, unable to extricate themselves.

The role that Brother Zhiwei plays here is like that of the father in his story; he senses something is wrong and takes the pet away.

So, could he let go of his thirst for Tian Tong Qi Men? Zhuge Yunhui asked himself this question.

He shook his head with a wry smile. Impossible! As a sorcerer, how could he not be tempted by such an amazing skill?

Even if you understand the principles, "knowing is easy, doing is hard," and there is an insurmountable gap between knowing and doing.

So it seems I can't do it, and this trip was a waste of time... Zhuge Yunhui sighed inwardly.

It's not that he doesn't want it, but rather that he has experienced the transition from "letting go" to "having," and is well aware of the pros and cons involved.

He was a rather open-minded person and didn't want to die after trying, and then have to trouble his brother Zhiwei to rescue him like his father did back then.

However, while he thought this way, his father, his uncle, and the head of the Wuhou School did not think so.

They understood the reasoning, but their yearning made them willing to take the risk.

Although many people on Mount Wudang failed, can those mediocre sorcerers of Wudang compare to the Wuhou School?!
They felt that even if they couldn't learn it, they could still get away unscathed and wouldn't end up like those sorcerers who were trapped in their inner worlds.

In particular, Zhuge Zhen, the leader of the Wuhou School, was getting old and felt that his days were numbered. He no longer had time to cultivate himself. He was eager to see the mysteries of the ultimate technique.

"What do you mean?" Zhang Zhiwei asked. At this moment, Zhang Jingqing had already completely handed over the scene to his apprentice, while he himself sat in the main seat like an old monk in meditation, leisurely boiling water and adding tea, as if he were a silent background.

Zhuge Yunhui remained silent and did not respond.

Zhuge Zhen, Zhuge Sheng, and Zhuge Fang all said in unison, "We are willing to try!"

Seeing this, Zhuge Yunhui shook his head and said, "I know my own limitations. I'm afraid I can't learn it. Let's just forget about it."

Zhang Zhiwei looked at the three eager elders: "Since the three of you want to try, then let's give it a shot. Who wants to go first?"

"I go first!"

"I go first!"

"I go first!"

The three of them spoke at the same time.

Zhang Zhiwei raised an eyebrow slightly: "There has to be a sequence, right?"

The three exchanged a glance and fell silent for a moment.

Zhuge Zhen, the leader of the Wuhou School, patted Zhuge Sheng and Zhuge Fang on the shoulders and said:

"In terms of Qimen Dunjia skills, I am the best. Let me try first. I'm an old man, I'm not afraid of anything going wrong. If even I suffer a backlash, you two will probably be in trouble too, so there's no need to try anymore."

Zhuge Sheng and Zhuge Fang exchanged a glance. Although they were somewhat unwilling to witness the extraordinary skill, they knew that what their sect leader said made sense, so they could only nod in agreement.

"Thank you for your help, Daoist Zhiwei!" Zhuge Zhen bowed respectfully to Zhang Zhiwei.

Zhang Zhiwei nodded and said, "If one goes astray in cultivation, there is a chance of going mad. Sect Master Zhuge has profound cultivation. If he loses control and destroys this Great True Man Hall with a single 'Earth River Chariot,' it would be terrible. Come with me, let's go to the back mountain."

Having said that, he stood up first and led everyone out of the main hall to the back of Longhu Mountain. The area there was open and secluded, perfect for them to carry out their plans freely.

The back mountain was deserted, with the mountain wind whistling.

Zhang Zhiwei arrived at an open space, the place where he used to practice his skills. The tall trees had long been destroyed by him, leaving only a thin layer of grass.

With a flick of his wrist, Zhang Zhiwei sent the scroll containing the secrets of "Tian Tong Qi Men" flying lightly toward Zhuge Zhen.

Zhuge Zhen was overjoyed, but he tried his best to remain calm. He carefully held the Tian Tong Qi Men scroll that Zhang Zhiwei had thrown to him. Although the scroll was light, it felt as if it carried a thousand pounds of weight to him.

He dared not be negligent with such a miraculous skill. He did not open any secret techniques, but directly made a hand seal and cast the Earth River Chariot out of thin air, causing the ground to rise and turn into a flat stone platform.

With a solemn expression, he placed the scroll on the stone platform and gently unfurled it.

As the process unfolded, Zhang Jingqing was well aware of the dangers involved and had already looked away.

Zhuge Yunhui originally wanted to look, but upon catching a glimpse of Zhang Zhiwei's gaze, he wisely turned his head away.

Zhuge Sheng and Zhuge Fang, unable to contain their curiosity, peered out, only to be completely covered by Zhuge Zhen's wide black cloak sleeves.

It wasn't that he, as the sect leader, was stingy, but rather that he was well aware of the dangers involved. This technique was extremely perilous, and even with Zhang Zhiwei protecting him, it was possible to recover even if one went astray.

But given his experience, it's not hard for him to see that even if things could be salvaged, there would definitely be a price to pay.

The aftereffects of going astray in cultivation are nothing more than a few things, ranging from minor damage to the soul to utter ruin. He was unwilling to let his clan's younger generation risk their lives.

Zhuge Zhen held his breath and focused intently, his gaze sharp as he stared at the slowly unfolding scroll.

In that instant, it was as if a portal to another world had been opened.

A vast sea of ​​deductive formulas, the exquisite circulation of the twenty-four solar terms... countless profound and unpredictable pieces of information flooded into his mind like a torrent!
He felt a violent tremor in his mind, and was instantly swallowed up by the profound and boundless universe of numerology. He was completely absorbed in it, forgetting himself and the world around him.

This immersion lasted for several days and nights.

Zhuge Zhen, before he could even walk, studied mathematics. His seventy or eighty years of cultivation were no joke.

With his understanding of divination and his immense spiritual power, he managed to withstand the backlash from the Tian Tong Qi Men, a backlash that could drive someone mad and cause them to go berserk.

Although he struggled and encountered many difficulties in deducing the extreme changes of the twenty-four solar terms, he still managed to master the art by relying on the knowledge he had accumulated over seventy or eighty years of hard work, proceeding step by step, peeling back the layers, and finally deducing the secrets within.

He ended his cultivation and withdrew from that profound state.

His eyes gleamed with a restrained light, and his aura blended seamlessly with the surrounding mountains, rivers, and vegetation, indicating a state of perfect harmony between humanity and nature.

He sighed inwardly, realizing that this extraordinary skill was indeed remarkable and could only be practiced by those with great wisdom and perseverance. He himself had struggled to cultivate the art of divination, and for Zhuge Sheng and Zhuge Fang, with their current level of cultivation, to force themselves to learn it would be tantamount to inviting disaster.

So, without hesitation, he rolled up the scroll again and returned it to Zhang Zhiwei with both hands, not letting the two clansmen who were looking on with anticipation try it.

However, it doesn't matter. He has already mastered the technique. When he returns, he can continue to study it and then raise his descendants well, striving to ensure that they also qualify to practice this extraordinary skill, so that this unique skill can be preserved in Zhuge Village.

Afterwards, he returned to Zhuge Village with several descendants.

After returning to Zhuge Village, he devoted himself to studying the Tian Tong Qi Men method, nurturing future generations, and observing the general trend of the world.

During this period, because of the reputation of his ancestor Zhuge Liang, warlords would come to visit from time to time, either to ask for guidance or to recruit him.

However, he was focused on cultivating extraordinary skills and wanted to master the Heavenly Connection Technique to a higher level, so he never paid any attention to those warlords.

Most warlords gave up after being rebuffed, and even those who were persistent in trying to coerce or entice them remained indifferent and unmoved.

Only one warlord surnamed Liu was different. He was respectful to scholars, had refined manners, and lofty ambitions. His words revealed his determination to save the people from suffering and restore the glory of the Han Dynasty.

What's even more remarkable is that he was full of sincerity. He even imitated Emperor Zhaolie's three visits to Zhuge Village, visiting him five times in a row, rain or shine, and with perfect manners.

Zhuge Zhen was eventually moved by his sincerity, and secretly used the Tian Tong Qi Men method to deduce his destiny and fortune. He even glimpsed a hidden dragon, and after much deliberation, he finally decided to come out of seclusion to assist him.

His actions angered other warlords, who, in a fit of rage, attempted to send troops to attack Zhuge Village. However, they became trapped within the Eight Trigrams Formation that their ancestor, Marquis Wu, had laid out around the village, leaving them disoriented and unable to move an inch. (End of Chapter)