Being knocked down by the Heavenly Dao while ascending

Pang Yuan did not dare to stop and rushed from the academy to Xuantian Gate.
The shortest route passed through the Mei family. He fled with Young Master Mei, so he naturally did not dare to cross the Mei family's territory, so he had to take a detour. Fortunately, cultivators are fast, and he finally arrived when it was just getting dark.

The boundary marker is like a small hill, standing tall in the soil.

He put Young Master Mei down, rummaged through his storage bag, and barely found a magic weapon that could store corpses for a long time.
The reason why he didn't put it down or put it away for such a long time was to confirm whether this person was a real person.
He looked at the corpse again and confirmed that it was indeed Young Master Mei. Then he activated the magic weapon. After a flash of light, the corpse disappeared.
He put away the magic weapon, carefully opened his collar, and placed it close to his chest.

After standing in front of the boundary marker for a long time, he reached out his hand several times to touch the stone, but finally pulled his hand back.
He knew better than anyone how terrible his master was.
He couldn't help but touch the magic weapon on his chest. With the body of Master Mei in his hand, he at least had a bargaining chip to negotiate with the Mei family.
He had accomplished something that had worried his master.

Thinking of this, he felt a little relieved. He bit his finger and started drawing symbols on the boundary marker.
This is the summoning method he and his master agreed upon.
The Xuantian Gate Boundary Stone is a rare treasure. After the formation is engraved on the boundary stone, the boundary stone has a unique communication skill. Every formation recorded by the boundary stone has a corresponding person to summon.

He painted the most common Tai Chi black and white in Xuantian Sect. The black and white painting methods were different, and the people who passed it on were also different.

The boundary stone emitted a faint light in the darkness, and the large white characters suddenly flashed with dazzling light.
A figure suddenly appeared in front of Pang Yuan. He took several steps back, raised his eyelids slightly, and immediately knelt on the ground, shouting in a trembling voice: "Master... Master!"

In the academy.
When Pei Shishi saw Dean Xue's face suddenly change, he asked, "Do you know him?"

Dean Xue held his forehead with his hand, his face full of helplessness, "I have seen him before, but I cannot say that I know him. Let's stop here, there is no point in looking at him any further. Your master should have guessed our plan long ago, this is not his true appearance. He knew we would use this method, so last time or even longer ago, for some reasons, Pang Yuan saw the master like this. It is obvious that this master does not look like this, and he will definitely not let us see his true appearance."

Pei Corpse rose from his couch, "You sound very sure. You know this man very well."

"He is the child of the former leader of Xuantian Sect, named Shang Nanyi. After the former leader passed away, Shang Nanyi went out to travel and never returned to the sect." Dean Xue was still suspicious when he saw Pei's body, and said, "Your master disguised himself as him just to make us suspicious, and even worse, to guide us to deal with this person. Once we see his face, no matter what he looks like, it is difficult for us to dispel this suspicion. Since we know that he is good at disguise, we can't help but feel that this person is not the real him, but just someone else's appearance. However, we can't help but wonder if he deliberately guides us to think this way, just to let this person get rid of suspicion, because this is his real appearance. So, this problem is originally unsolvable."
"But, there is a flaw here that your master didn't notice, not even a flaw. Or maybe he noticed it, but didn't care. It simply told us that we were played."

"What's the problem?" asked Pei Corpse.

Dean Xue took a sip of water. "It's simple. You will understand it as soon as you hear it. Shang Nanyi is only in his twenties now, about the same age as you, maybe a few years younger than you. He can't have plotted against you before he was born, right?"

"I see." Pei nodded, sat down at the table, and took a look at the extra rockery potted plants on the piano table.

Dean Xue took out a small bottle, poured out some powder, and rubbed it on his face. He then handed the small porcelain bottle to Pei Shishi, who followed suit and rubbed the powder on his face. At the same time, he took out a small object stuffed in his waist belt, took it in his hand and took a look at it. His eyes were full of admiration, and he handed the thing back to Dean Xue.
As soon as Dean Xue took it, the two people's faces immediately exchanged.

Pei Mingyan put the things in his pocket, patted his face, and sighed: "This face is still more comfortable."
He handed a bead to Xue Qingyu and said, "Pang Yuan is useless. Remember the symbol he drew. No, remember the order in which he drew it. This symbol is too common in Xuantian Sect. The focus should be on the order of the strokes and the intensity of the force used in drawing the symbol."

Xue Qingyu took the beads. The wind blew in, and the gauze curtain seemed to be controlled manually and hung on the pillar. Light poured into the pavilion. He wanted to see the mechanism through the beads, but he couldn't see it for a while.

Pei Mingyan coughed twice to ease the other party's embarrassment of ignorance, and then he tapped the wall of the flowerpot on the table with his fingers. There was water and mountains in the pot, moss and green leaves, and a waterfall rushing down, hitting the rocks, and the water made a continuous sound.

Xue Qingyu put the beads away carefully and looked at the potted plants. "I still don't understand why Pang Yuan fell into the magic array so easily without knowing it."

"That's it." Pei Mingyan smiled, "You are born with a talent for mind invasion, so there is no need to go through so much trouble."
He pointed at the potted plant and said, "The problem lies in this waterfall. I gave you the bead, which contains eighty formations that you can play with. If he finds himself in an illusion formation, you can change the pot for him every two or three days. It will be enough for him to play with for half a year."

"Waterfall?" Xue Qingyu recalled, "Is that the sound of water?"

"That's right." Pei Mingyan waved left and right at the rushing water in the potted plant like playing with a candle flame, "In fact, it was he himself who let him enter the illusion array."

Xue Qingyu was puzzled, "Huh?"

"He trusts his master too much. Your obedience to his orders over the years has deepened his trust." Pei Mingyan smiled, "Trust can be fatal at times. How should I put it? You have been living under his orders and surveillance. You never make your own decisions on major matters, and you always obey his orders. Over time, he will think that you actually have no ability to take the initiative and think, and are no different from a lifeless puppet."

"I never thought that this is how I am seen by others." Xue Qingyu said self-deprecatingly.

"I don't know what others think. Even that idiot Xiaokong thinks you're weird. You can probably get a rough idea of ​​what others think." Pei Mingyan blinked at him, "Let's continue talking about Pang Yuan. The long-term surveillance of you has become the most powerful evidence for him to deceive himself. He naturally thinks that this is because the master is too capable. Unfortunately, from your description, this master is not a good person either. He will definitely not explain to Pang Yuan how he controls you and to what extent he can control you. Therefore, once you act on your own and attack me, or even kill me, he will definitely start to doubt whether you are out of the master's control.
Although he is a pair of eyes watching you, he has never had the ability to truly control you, so he cannot confirm whether you are really out of control. If he values ​​his life, he will definitely hesitate. "

"So you asked Uncle Yu to lie and let him increase Pang Yuan's suspicion."

"Yes, once Uncle Yu doesn't remember him, he will hesitate again, wondering whether you are really out of control, after all, you are still protecting him. But my death is a huge accident." Pei Mingyan stood up and stretched his body, "If I really die in your hands, the Mei family will come to our door soon, and it will be unknown whether the academy can be saved by then. In this way, he will definitely betray the master's trust. Under the three heavy pressures, he will definitely come to the main peak to take a look. Maybe he has spies or something, who will tell him about the out-of-control reaction of the medicine manager, which will make him believe more that I am dead. And these thoughts of his are the prerequisites for him to enter the illusion array. Because he has these doubts, this illusion array can exist. The so-called illusion array is just to reproduce the 'truth' that he believes most in his mind."

"What about Xiaokong?" Pei Mingyan frowned involuntarily. "Xiaokong's appearance is the last line of defense in Pang Yuan's heart. When he was standing under the waterfall, the sound of the waterfall gradually overlapped with his mood. He was so entangled in your affairs that he didn't pay attention to the changes in the water flow. Xiaokong's appearance distracted him further, deepened the credibility of the illusion, and made him completely believe that what he saw was the fact. The collapse of the formation, the disappearance of you, and the death of me all intensified the fear in his heart - the fear of the master. This panic and fear will destroy all his beliefs, making him lose his last doubts and believe that everything he saw is the fact."

"I see." Xue Qingyu was deeply moved. "So the Mei family's formation is said to be based on life magic, but in fact it is used after understanding people's hearts."

"It's not that simple." Pei Mingyan sat down again and threw two cashews into his mouth. "What do you think the bead I gave you is for? It contains eighty-one formations, all prepared long ago. You can just use them when you need them. The Mei family's formations are superb. It's not only because they understand people, but also because of their perfect preparations. The Mei family simulates the most realistic environment to make the enemy let down their guard and enter the formation without noticing. Forget it, it's all nonsense to you anyway. In short, if God gives you a gift, you should take it seriously. Don't be picky. Who knows if there will be another store like this after this one."

"This small bead can actually hold so many formations. It's really rare." Xue Qingyu took out the bead again and praised, "No wonder the medicine manager has been loyal to the Mei family for many years after coming to the academy. The thousand-year heritage is indeed hard to shake."

Pei Mingyan gave a fake smile.
This is not what you said when the Mei family was destroyed in your hands in the book.

"Don't act like a person who has never seen the world. Things are not given away for free. This thing and the formation in your sea of ​​consciousness will be used to exchange for the freedom of Mei Xucheng and Medicine Manager. As for my freedom, if you don't let them go, we can have a fight and discuss the winner later." Pei Mingyan yawned nonchalantly, stared at Xue Qingyu and said, "I think you are a smart person."

Xue Qingyu was playing with the beads, pretending not to hear anything, neither agreeing nor disapproving.

Pei Mingyan lay down on the couch. "Although I am a practitioner, I still feel weird not sleeping for a night. I will sleep first, and you can think about it slowly."
After saying that, he seemed to be really relieved. He closed his eyes and fell asleep. His barely audible breathing could even be heard in the pavilion.

Xue Qingyu: “…”
Of course he understood that this was not only a temptation, but also a naked provocation.
Test whether he will rebel, and even provoke him with his cultivation.

He put away the beads and looked around the academy.
As per his deliberate arrangement, Tang Gu was now lying in the bamboo grove pretending to be sick.
Murong took the medicine and fell asleep.
Uncle Yu stayed in the hut diligently and responsibly, both taking care of the "patient" and protecting Murong.

Xinglin Courtyard was in chaos. The reaction of the medicine manager caused panic among the people. A group of people in red clothes were guarding outside the medicine manager's door, waiting for him to come out.

Inside the room, the medicine manager held his forehead with both hands, his eyes were bloodshot, and he was staring at the inkstone on the table.
There is a white jade brush resting on the inkstone. The ink on the tip of the brush has dried. It must have been a long wait.

Xue Qingyu observed the medicine manager for a long time and found that he seemed to have made up his mind. He stood up suddenly, hurried into the inner room, walked to the vase by the window, threw a few bouquets of flowers on the ground, reached into the vase, and soon, he took out a crystal bead from it.
He looked at it carefully, but could not figure out the purpose of the bead. However, he knew clearly that Old Wu - it was Old Wu who was inside.

If he lets Pei Mingyan leave, he will no longer have any bargaining chips with Pei Mingyan.
If the other party regrets and no longer intervenes in this matter... his hope of finding the master is slim. The formation can protect him for a while, but what if Mei Shanxue ascends to heaven? What if he dies?
Wouldn't he be controlled by the new master instead of being controlled by the master? Unless he was willing to give up his own life and the lives of more than a thousand people in the academy. But after more than 20 years of living together, how could he abandon their lives?

Xue Qingyu put his hands on the strings and made up his mind.

When Pei Mingyan woke up, he heard the soothing and relaxing sound of a piano.
He couldn't help but sigh, it's true that big shots are all very calm, look at their demeanor, so calm, relaxed and contented, without a trace of panic at all.

"You're awake." Xue Qingyu played until the last note.

"Ah~ I slept well. Dean Xue will not be the dean in the future. With my piano skills, I will never have to worry about food." Pei Mingyan yawned a few times and got up from the couch quickly.

Xue Qingyu smiled and said, "Thank you for your praise, Mr. Mei. I would like to discuss cooperation with you."

"Cooperation?" Pei Mingyan pretended to be stupid and said, "What cooperation? I am the head of the Mei family. If you want to cooperate, go find the head of the family. What's the point of looking for me?"

"To show my sincerity, I have allowed the medicine manager and Mei Xucheng to leave safely." Xue Qingyu said.

This sentence doesn't sound like there is any special emphasis, but with the word "safety" added, it becomes particularly interesting.
The marks that were branded on his body unconsciously were enough to prove that everyone in the academy, whether they were brainwashed or not, was actually under Xue Qingyu's surveillance. It was even possible that everyone had some kind of invisible energy, such as hints of suicide if they left the academy. It was simply impossible to guard against it.
Otherwise, how could Tang Gu say that - once you enter the academy, you are a member of the academy for the rest of your life. Once you betray, the academy will grind you to ashes!
This is also one of the reasons why he did not leave immediately. No one knows whether Xue Qingyu has any backup plan.
So he took a nap to find out what the other person really thought.
It's definitely not for laziness.

When you think about it this way, leaving safely is indeed a great act of sincerity.

Pei Mingyan looked at the other party. The other party's expression was the same as always, as if he was not in a hurry even if the sky fell. So he also sat down and drank a sip of water. "Okay, tell me, what kind of cooperation?"

"You contract me and make me your weapon."

(End of this chapter)