Start with a red name

However, this phenomenon does not have a 100% success rate.

Those who are seriously ill, seriously injured, or poisoned die without any treatment, far more than those who recover without medicine.

Those who were truly in life-and-death danger and died were far more numerous than those who managed to survive by relying on an extraordinary burst of "inspiration" from the body.

In order to delve deeper into the mysteries and truly grasp the power that governs all of this, the ancestors of Wuyou Palace conducted extensive explorations.

They even actively designed and artificially created the "life and death dangers" faced by the patients to become precisely controllable.

At the cost of a huge number of wronged souls, the "art of dismemberment" was born little by little from nothing.

The core of "dismemberment" is to use various means to create an artificially created, precisely controlled "life and death situation" in the body of the patient.

As for what specific means to use, through hundreds of years of massive attempts in Wuyou Palace, there are endless and extremely rich methods.

You can use poison, you can break limbs or do other real damage, you can also use various special powers...

The specific choice depends on the practitioner's preferences and expertise.

The key point is "precise and controllable".

It cannot be too light, otherwise it will have no effect or the effect will be slight.

It also cannot be too heavy, otherwise the recipient will not be able to bear it and will die immediately.

Only by "precise control" and reaching a subtle critical point can the magical effect of "dissection" be triggered.

The cultivation level of the recipient will improve at a speed far exceeding the normal rate.

If the recipient is already seriously injured, his body can recover quickly and heal faster.

The "dissection technique" alone is already very magical, but Wuyou Palace is not satisfied with it.

As the exploration deepened, the disadvantages of this technique gradually became apparent.

First of all, the "critical point of life and death" that can trigger "circumcision" is different for each person, and the difference can even be huge.

This places very high demands on the practitioner.

But even so, the failure rate is still very high.

If it fails, the recipient will either die or suffer from injuries, and in the end get nothing.

Secondly, even if the spell is successful, the recipient will certainly gain considerable benefits, but his "vital energy" will also be consumed greatly in the process.

Premature aging may cause one to look old in his thirties or forties, with a significant decline in cultivation, and then die soon.

If it happens more than once, it may even lead to sudden death or premature death.

This is equivalent to the result that requires decades of hard practice to obtain, but it can be obtained in advance through "dissection", but the price is a significant shortening of lifespan.

This alone has caused the glory of "dissection" to plummet.

What's more, the cultivation level improved through the "breaking technique" is just a simple body tempering achievement.

The strength of a cultivator is determined not only by his level of cultivation, but also by the number of skills he has mastered and his level of proficiency.

Therefore, let’s put aside the disadvantage of greatly shortening lifespan.

A cultivator who uses the "dismemberment technique" to quickly "ripen" will still be lame even if his cultivation level is improved.

Without more time to practice and hone skills, one's strength cannot be compared with that of normal practitioners at the same level.

What these "forced-ripening" practitioners lack most is time.

Because of these defects, the "dismemberment technique" was not used on its own people at the beginning by Wuyou Palace, and it would not use this method to train its own people.

But in another field, "dissection" is like a magical skill.

This area is treatment, the "operating table".

If the effectiveness of "circumcision" is limited to treatment, the patient will lose some "vital energy", thereby shortening his life by several years or even more than ten years, reducing the upper limit of life from over 90 years old to 70 or 80 years old.

But this loss is completely acceptable to patients.

The effect of this was that operations such as organ transplants and limb reattachments, which were originally very high-end and risky even in Wuyou Palace, became as easy as eating and drinking.

Blood type matching?
Rejection reaction?

Aseptic operation?

None of this is needed.

Those operations that were so crude that even Geng Xuan, an outsider, couldn't help but frown, those behaviors that were obviously extremely harmful to the recipient, instead became the trigger for the "dismemberment technique" to take effect.

It is precisely because of this magical healing skill that Wuyou Palace is willing to share those deleted, modified and weakened versions with other high-ranking families in Yuanjing.

With the in-depth exploration and continuous improvement of the "dissection technique", Caizheyuan's understanding and cognition of "vital energy" has become increasingly profound.

Gradually, the "life-gathering technique" came into being in this fertile soil.

This is a "strange flower" that has been cultivated over hundreds of years with endless blood, flesh and wronged souls as nourishment.

The illusory "life energy" that cannot be perceived concretely has been made concrete under this secret technique.

The "Life-gathering Technique" works on a recipient and can transform the "vital energy" in the recipient's body into firewood or fuel according to the wishes of the practitioner.

The "critical point of life and death", which originally varied from person to person and was difficult to grasp, is no longer important.

The "dismemberment technique" combined with the "life-collecting technique" can turn the recipient's flesh and blood into pure material.

The "vital energy" in the recipient's body that can support his life for decades is stimulated and ignited, and then acts according to the caster's ideas.

Ignore the restrictions that are like iron laws to life, and quickly strengthen its cultivation talent in a certain aspect, or its body tempering achievements in a certain aspect.

The consequence is that the recipient's vital energy is quickly depleted and he dies quickly.

But the result is that a certain aspect of his body has indeed improved dramatically.

This seems to be of no use.

But with amazing imagination and sophisticated treatment methods, Wuyou Palace has the great power to mass-synthesize "artificial geniuses".

The "Peak Marrow Refining Synthesis Technology" is the culmination of Wuyou Palace's achievements in this area.

And if the "dismemberment technique" and the "life-gathering technique" were used on a group of people, the effect would be the same as what Geng Xuan saw in those rooms.

From the perspective of "dismemberment", this is simply a genius design. Without using any external objects, they can become the perfect trigger for each other to initiate "dismemberment".

The same is true from the perspective of "life-gathering technique".

This is like raising a Gu insect. Among ten Gu insects, only the most tenacious, the most determined, and the one with the most predatory nature can crawl out of the Gu box alive.

The other nine all became nutrients for the only poisonous insect to crawl out of the poison box.

This involves the true and core mystery of "life-gathering technique".

plunder.

To stimulate and ignite the "vital energy" in the recipient's body is just the beginning.

What Caizheyuan, or the successive high-level officials of Wuyou Palace, truly desired was to plunder the "vital energy" of other individuals through the "life-giving technique" and use it for their own benefit.

They hope to use this technique to gain more "vital energy" and thus live longer.

More powerful cultivation talent, more powerful cultivation strength...

When it comes to this step, the ceiling of the highest level of marrow refining that can be reached through "artificial means" will disappear.

At that time in Wuyou Palace, perfecting the body tempering will be as easy and stable as achieving the peak of marrow refining now.

Since the body tempering has been completed, is it still far from the innate state?
It is no exaggeration to say that this is a brand new "innate way".

What made Geng Xuan feel regretful, but at the same time somewhat fortunate, was that although Wuyou Palace had already verified the correctness and feasibility of this path in theory and practice.

But so far, Wuyou Palace has not really reached its peak.

With the efforts of generations, they may have climbed 90% or even 95% of this "mountain". They are not far from the top, but if they haven't reached the top yet, they haven't reached the top yet.

Taking this final step may require decades, or even one or two hundred years of continued exploration.

It is also possible that only one talented successor is needed.

Or an explorer who has worked hard for decades may suddenly have a flash of inspiration.

If Wuyou Palace really allows this path to succeed, Geng Xuan feels that not only will Yuanzhou change quietly, but even the situation in Jiuzhou will undergo drastic changes.

Thinking of this, Geng Xuan thought of Dean Caizhe again.

When he first surrendered, he put forward so many conditions that made people think he was crazy.

He greedily wanted to continue to firmly grasp the control of Caizheyuan in the "post-Wuyou Palace era".

Later, seeing that he was unmoved and determined to kill him, his attitude immediately changed 180 degrees. If he was given the chance, he would immediately kneel down and wag his tail to beg for mercy.

Like a clown who can't understand the situation.

But now, when Geng Xuan put himself into the perspective of Dean Caizhe in the "first person", he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

"Your real purpose is to get a chance to continue on, right?"

Geng Xuan felt that if he were Dean Caizhe, after decades of hard work, he would have the confidence to reach the top.

As a result, a disaster struck and he was suddenly killed.

A lifetime of exploration suddenly turned into a mirage.

If there really is a soul after death, such an experience would be enough to make a dead person so angry that he would come back to life.

……

"Bang bang bang-"

Geng Xuan, who was absorbing and comprehending the exquisiteness of "dismemberment" and "life-gathering" techniques, was awakened by a sudden and urgent knock on the door outside the courtyard.

"Come in."

He was so anxious, there must be something important, Geng Xuan shouted directly outside the courtyard.

Soon, a late-stage marrow refiner from the Xu family walked into the courtyard quickly, came to the door outside the study, and said loudly:

"Boss, I have something important to discuss with you."

Geng Xuan had already reached the door. When he opened it and saw the man, he was slightly surprised and asked:

"What's the matter?"

"Suddenly, a large group of people arrived outside the city, saying they wanted to enter the city to meet the gang leader."

Geng Xuan was stunned for a moment when he heard this, then he reacted and asked, "From Yuanjing?"

"Yes, they are all representatives of various families in Yuanjing..."

As he spoke, he paused and then said:

"Because the fog hasn't dissipated yet, I can't see everything clearly. But from what I've seen, there are many people at the peak of the marrow refining level.

There are also the heads of the Zhao and Li families, the owners of the Dingyuan Boxing Gym, the Fenglei Sword Gym... and many others whose status is no less than theirs.

In addition, as Master Tang reminded, among these people there may be some who have reached the perfection of one realm or even the perfection of two realms.

As for whether there are stronger people hiding among them, she cannot judge.

However, she warned that this was very possible.

By now, the top brass of both the Blood Fang and the Xu family knew that the "Red Heart Gang" remnants, led by Tang Caizhu, had been operating openly under the guise of the "Red Flame Fist Gym" for many years. Therefore, the top brass of both groups addressed Tang Caizhu as "Master Tang."

Listening to this person's story and Tang Caizhu's reminder, Geng Xuan nodded slightly.

Geng Xuan was a little surprised that all the forces in Yuanjing came knocking on his door, but not too surprised.

Although the Wuyou Palace Fortress is separated from Yuanjing by dozens of miles, there was such a big commotion last night.

Although all entrances and exits have been guarded as strictly as possible to prevent a large-scale escape of the Wuyou Palace residents in the Acropolis, it is still unrealistic to ensure that no one escapes from such a large city.

What's more, in Yuanzhou, people have always dug tunnels for escape purposes.

Wuyou Palace is famous for its survival wisdom, like a cunning rabbit with three burrows.

Another thing is that before he led his men to attack the Wuyou Palace, he caused quite a stir in the Xu family villa in the outer city of Yuandong East.

The various forces within Yuanjing City had already responded to this.

This news even spread like the wind and reached the ears of the Lord of Wuyou Palace.

Therefore, it is not surprising that after a period of confusion, all parties in Yuanjing set their sights on the Wuyou Palace Acropolis.

In reality, by the time the night had passed, Wuyou Palace was a thing of the past, and the Acropolis had already entered the final stages of closing and inventory. The various parties in Yuanjing were only just beginning to realize what had happened, and Geng Xuan felt that their reaction had been somewhat slow.

They should have noticed this earlier.

What surprised him was the way they got together.

It feels like he's showing his cards and throwing out a trump card right as he makes his move.

From this, Geng Xuan sensed a strong sense of "deterrence".

"So, they're only here now, are they secretly studying what the first hand will be?"

Thinking of this, Geng Xuan's slightly tense thoughts suddenly became relieved.

He even had time to ask the Xu family member in front of him: "Where are Senior Sister Tang and the others now?"

"Master Tang, her two disciples, Captain Xue, and my two ancestors are now confronting those people at the city gate."

Geng Xuan nodded.

At this moment, the two of them had already left Dean Caizhe's courtyard and were crossing the circular open space, rushing towards the outside of Caizhe courtyard.

"Confrontation? The atmosphere is tense? Are they trying to force their way into the city?"

"No, it's just that Master Tang asked them to leave, but they refused to go, claiming that they had to go into the city and meet the gang leader."

"..."

After a few words, he left Caizheyuan. Looking at the Xuanyou horse parked at the door, Geng Xuan refused to ride it and rushed directly to the city gate.

……

Tang Caizhu, who was standing on the city wall right above the city gate and looking down at a group of people outside the city, suddenly felt something strange beside her.

Turning her head, she saw Geng Xuan standing beside her, looking down at the city.

Geng Xuan did not look closely, nor did he pay attention to the gazes that were fixed on him. He glanced around and said to her:

"Everyone who comes is a guest. Since they want to enter the city to see me, let them in."

Hearing this, Tang Caizhu warned, "Be careful, I feel like there are a lot of tough guys here!"

Geng Xuan nodded and said:

"I will pay attention to it. However, how much effect do you think this wall can have on them?"

Tang Caizhu was stunned for a moment, nodded slightly, said nothing more, and turned around to make arrangements.

This city wall, which is more than 30 meters high, is also very effective for ordinary practitioners.

But for practitioners who have reached the late stage of marrow refining, it is basically useless.

And now there is a group of more than a hundred people gathered outside the city, knocking on the door and "visiting" forcefully. Even the weakest of them have the cultivation level of the late stage of marrow refining.

And there are dozens of people who have reached the peak of marrow refining.

There are nearly ten people who have reached the first or second level of perfection.

One of them was an ordinary-looking old man mixed in the crowd, but Geng Xuan could see that his cultivation strength was even stronger than Zhang Zhengfeng.

“This is the level of cultivation that has reached the perfection of the third realm, right?… In terms of cultivation, this is already completely on par with Meng Tiexin’s achievement.”

Of course, Meng Tiexin's situation is special, and people usually compare him with those legendary figures who have achieved perfection in the five realms and have left their names in history.

However, even so, the fact that all parties in Yuanjing were able to put together such a strong visiting group in such a short period of time shows how deep their foundation is.

If you think about it, this isn't surprising.

This is Yuanjing!
……

Tang Caizhu arranged for people to open the city gate, and Geng Xuan led Xue Zhiheng, the two elders of the Xu family, Zheng Qingyan, Yan Wenxuan and others to go down the city wall one after another.

On the city wall, except for a few people in the early and middle stages of marrow refining who led a hundred people below the level of marrow refining as guards, all others withdrew.

Geng Xuan and his men stood inside the city gate, watching as a dozen people worked together to lift the iron gate bolt and slowly open the city gate.

Xue Zhiheng, who was standing next to him, leaned towards him and whispered:

"Boss, don't they want to go into the city to take a look? I have an idea."

"Oh?" Geng Xuan asked curiously, "Tell me about it?"

Xue Zhiheng quickly expressed his thoughts, then chuckled:

"Since they want to see it so much, let them see it."

Geng Xuan nodded and agreed to Xue Zhiheng's suggestion.

"can."

Xue Zhiheng hurriedly said: "Then some things need to be adjusted quickly."

As he spoke, he looked at the deputy leader of the Blood Fang Group next to him.

Having also heard Xue Zhiheng's suggestion, he quickly said, "I'll arrange it right away."

After saying that, he turned around and ran away.

The two elders of the Xu family looked at a Xu family member who was in the late stage of marrow refining. That person quickly bowed to Geng Xuan and followed him.

Seeing them go away, Geng Xuan looked at Xue Zhiheng and the two elders of the Xu family, and said with some surprise:
"I see you don't seem very nervous?"

Xue Zhiheng said:

"Nervous? Why should we be nervous?

It's not us who should be nervous now, but them!"

Geng Xuan said:
"Don't underestimate them because they are small in number. In terms of strength, they are stronger than the Worry-Free Palace that we took down after a whole night of fighting!
Aren't you afraid that they will suddenly attack us after entering the city?"

This time, before Xue Zhiheng could speak, the older of the two elders in the Xu family had already spoken.

He just shook his head and said:

"Boss, Master Tang has had little contact with these people and does not understand their moral character.

But I am clear... Let's put it this way, the more they put up such a formation, the more it proves that they are now strong on the outside but weak on the inside.

Hands-on?

They neither have such an idea nor such ability!
These people were gathered together by various forces in Yuanjing.

Any one of them is like a pillar to each force.

Not to mention the loss here, even if they were accidentally injured, they would be heartbroken.

...It is already their limit that they can gather such a bluffing force.

I guarantee that if you suddenly launch an attack after they enter the city and start killing people, they will all run away faster than rabbits!"

The ancestor of the Xu family spoke in a low voice, but he did not intend to avoid people.

Under Tang Caizhu's command, the heavy city gate was opened, and the group of "strong visitors" outside had already arrived outside the city gate.

With their cultivation level, their five senses are so sharp.

The words of the Xu family ancestor naturally fell into their ears.

A group of people who originally looked "aggressive".

As the words of the Xu family ancestor floated into their ears, it was like a basin of icy water was poured on their heads, making them all look like drowned rats.

His face was stiff, and he was in a dilemma.

At this moment, a bitter laugh came from the group of people.

The old man, who looked ordinary but was, in Geng Xuan's opinion, the strongest among the group, stood out from the crowd.

He walked straight through the open city gate and headed towards Geng Xuan and others.

The others followed him into the city.

He looked at the Xu family's ancestor and scolded with a smile:

"Xu Qiwen, please be more polite and don't be so disrespectful when you speak to others, okay?

After all, we're old buddies who've played together for decades. If you don't help me out and say something nice, that's fine, but how can you kick me when I'm down like this? "

The ancestor of the Xu family, known as Xu Qiwen, glanced at him sideways and sneered:
"My Xu family fled the city like a lost dog, and huddled in a courtyard outside the city to survive, and no kind-hearted old friend came out to say a word.

Why, are you thinking of your old friend now?

What were you doing this morning? "

The old man smiled bitterly and shook his head again. He had already entered the city. Standing about ten steps away, he looked at Geng Xuan and said with a bow:

"Are you 'Su Ruiliang,' the leader of the Su Gang?"

"It's me." Geng Xuan nodded, bowed to the old man, and returned the greeting, asking, "Who are you, sir?"

The old man said, "I am Cheng Yaoyang, the owner of Yaoyang Sword Hall."

Geng Xuan, who was still a stranger to the old man a moment ago, felt much brighter after hearing what he said.

As Tang Caizhu came to Yuanjing, he also learned a lot about Yuanjing on the way.

Among them, Tang Caizhu also told him some of the key points, among which Cheng Yaoyang and the name of Yaoyang Sword Hall were mentioned by her.

This is also a prominent figure who, to a certain extent, changed the rules of Yuanjing.

Although, the overall order in Yuanjing City had gradually stabilized more than a hundred years ago.

But this does not mean that Yuanjing has been stagnant like a pool of stagnant water for more than a hundred years.

Specifically for each force, some rise, some decline, and some are destroyed.

From a broader perspective, while the big framework and big rules are stable, there are constantly new trends brewing and happening, lubricating, polishing, and changing the existing "framework" and "rules."

For example, the four outer cities were built from nothing, from chaos to order, and the newly emerging forces gradually joined the "rules" of Yuanjing.

For example, guild forces centered on commercial operations and mercenary groups with a strong militaristic color have also gradually taken root in Yuanjing.

And with continuous hard work, it gradually became a part of Yuanjing's "new rules".

These emerging forces were integrated little by little and became the "new rules" of Yuanjing, and gradually turned into the "old rules."

Generally speaking, this is not the work of one person.

Rather, it is the result of one individual or force after another continuously taking over the baton under the general trend.

The legendary thing about Cheng Yaoyang is that he opened up a new channel in Yuanjing almost single-handedly.

Before him, although there were some boxing and sword gyms in Yuanjing, their levels were very low and not worthy of being mentioned. They could only make a living among the middle and lower level practitioners.

After Cheng Yaoyang set up the signboard of "Yaoyang Sword Hall" in Yuanjing decades ago, the path of "opening a school and teaching disciples" began to become wider and wider in Yuanjing.

Over the years, many sword and boxing gyms have successfully taken root in Yuanjing through this route.

From this perspective, Cheng Yaoyang in front of him is not only the owner of the "Yaoyang Sword Hall", but also the founder of an emerging power group in Yuanjing City.

Next to her, Tang Caizhu, who had been alert at first, softened her expression after hearing the old man introduce himself.

Because Tang Caizhu deliberately kept a low profile, the two had never met before.

But she, and even the entire "Red Heart Gang remnants" group who were hiding in the outer city, relied on the signboard of "Red Flame Boxing Gym" to make a living.

Geng Xuan caught a glimpse of the change in Tang Caizhu's expression and couldn't help but think in his heart.

Before this group of people came, could it be that they had already found out where Tang Caizhu and the others were?

The appearance of Cheng Yaoyang, the "industry master", was a deliberate arrangement to address this situation.

——If all the forces in Yuanjing mobilized their forces together, it would not be difficult to discover the abnormalities of the Blood Fang Group and the Red Flame Fist Gym.

Putting aside other reasons, the bodies that were "purified" by him were not dealt with in any way and were placed in the house, in the same way as the bodies in the Xu family's villa.

Once these bodies are found, they can easily be linked to the Xu family.

……

Looking at Cheng Yaoyang, Geng Xuan asked directly:

"Have you achieved the three realms?"

Cheng Yaoyang was stunned for a moment, as if he didn't expect "Su Ruiliang" to ask such a direct question.

But soon, he nodded and said, "Yes."

"Are you considered the strongest person in Yuanjing?" Geng Xuan asked again.

Cheng Yaoyang was stunned again, then smiled bitterly and said:

"Boss Su thinks too highly of me.

However, speaking openly, with the cultivation of the perfect third realm, even if he cannot be considered the strongest person in Yuanjing, he is still one of the most impressive ones. "

Geng Xuan nodded and asked, "What about the dark side?"

Cheng Yaoyang looked at Geng Xuan and asked, "Does Gang Leader Su always speak so directly?"

Geng Xuan also looked at him and said:
"You guys are coming here this time for a courtesy visit, so it's impossible that you're just going to say some meaningless things, right?

This is a rare opportunity, wouldn't it be better to talk about something more practical?"

Cheng Yaoyang nodded, and the admiration in his eyes when he looked at Geng Xuan became much more obvious.

He thought for a while and said:

"Boss Su, Yuanjing is not just Yuanzhou's Yuanjing, but Kyushu, the Yuanjing of the world.

If you understand this, you should be able to have a general understanding of Yuan Jing's 'dark side'."

Yuanjing is not the Yuanjing of Yuanzhou, but the Yuanjing of Jiuzhou, or the Yuanjing of the world?
Geng Xuan pondered these words carefully in his mind, and gradually came to some understanding.

Cheng Yaoyang whispered beside him:

“The battles between the military towns in other states are even more brutal than the competition between the forces in Yuanzhou.

Perhaps he was at the peak the moment before, owning an entire state.

If one is not careful, one may end up dead and the clan destroyed. The direct bloodline, several branch clans, and even close cliques and factions will all be uprooted and killed.

……

To make a living, don’t think about advancement, think about retreat first; don’t think about success, think about failure first.

Yuanjing is the best place to take refuge because of its special situation.

Therefore, in addition to the noble families and various forces that are apparently from Yuanzhou, Yuanjing also has many small families and forces that act very low-key, do not attract attention, and whose roots cannot be traced.

They all live peaceful lives and do not participate in the conflicts over interests in Yuanjing City.

Even if the various parties in Yuanjing were fighting each other, they generally would not bother them.

Although everyone lives in the same city, they seem to live in two different worlds and do not interfere with each other.

No one knows how many of these forces have connections with other states.

I don't know if anyone has ever delved into this, but as far as I know, those who have lived well so far don't have this thought.

On the contrary, some of those who disappeared inexplicably were indeed too curious."

Hearing Cheng Yaoyang's words, Geng Xuan nodded slightly and asked:
"Is there anyone in the Xiantian realm in Yuanjing now?"

Hearing his question, Cheng Yaoyang smiled bitterly again.

"Boss Su, you... really think highly of me!

Since the Overlord, the number of recorded incarnations in the Xiantian realm over the past few hundred years can be counted on one hand!
There may be some that are not recorded and unknown to outsiders, but I don’t know how many there are.

...People like this have pursuits that are completely different from ours.

Each of them is like a mysterious dragon that can't be found from head to tail. How would I know whether they are in Yuanjing or not?

However, after comparing the lives of those well-known Xiantian realm masters, I am more certain of one thing.

No matter where they were born, after they achieved innateness, they would generally travel to Yuanjing.

However, these experiences were generally unknown at the time.

It was not until many years later that their descendants would leak out relevant information through fragmentary records.”

...(End of chapter)