Demons and monsters wreak havoc: gain one new confidante every day.

Shen You ultimately only received a warning from Senior Brother Song.

Zhu Rusong had also mastered the Five Poisons Technique, achieving perfection in all five aspects. His skill was more profound than Shen You's, but his cultivation speed was far inferior to Shen You's.

It took him nearly two years to master all five techniques.

Logically, the next step should be to master the Five Immortals' Great Strength and then cultivate the "Five Immortals' True Method".

However, Huang Yaoshi obviously couldn't wait to see him master the technique long after Shen You, so he summoned him early to refine the "Five Immortals' Salvation Pill" to save Jingxin's life.

Song, the educated youth, didn't know what exactly happened that time. All she knew was that Zhu Rusong had been in this mentally unstable state ever since.

"Won't the Zhu family care about him?" Shen You said angrily.

Song Zhiqing smiled bitterly and helplessly: "He is, after all, an illegitimate son... I guess when Master Huang took him into Huangfeng Academy, he had already reached some kind of agreement with the Zhu family."

As a result, Song Zhiqing could only lock Zhu Rusong in the woodshed, hoping that his condition would gradually improve.

Although Renxintang was a hall dedicated to healing and saving lives, mental illnesses were still very difficult to cure under the medical conditions of ancient times.

Even in Shen You's previous life in modern society, mental illness was an extremely difficult condition to treat.

Because Zhu Rusong looked like this, no one could know exactly how he helped Huang Yaoshi refine medicine. All Song Zhiqing could do was warn Shen You based on this, and Shen You was very grateful for his actions.

After returning from the woodshed, Shen You pondered for half the night and finally decided to completely slow down the progress of the "Five Immortals' True Method" and spend more time practicing other techniques in his private time.

The other technique is, of course, the "Dragon Transformation" left behind by the Jade Scale Gentleman.

"Jiaolong Transformation" is a technique that transforms a snake into a dragon. If one can master it to perfection, one can most likely develop the true "Jiaolong Great Strength". Its power at that time would probably easily surpass the pieced-together "Five Immortals Great Strength".

Shen You once used the "Five Immortals Crimson Serpent Slash" to cut off the dragon phantom transformed by Bi Lin Lang Jun, but that was not the real "Great Dragon Force," but only a temporary dragon transformation. Therefore, Shen You still has high expectations for the "Dragon Transformation."

After all, Bi Lin Lang Jun said that he obtained this cultivation technique in a secret underwater realm, and at the same time, he obtained the blood of a dragon, which transformed him into a demon and allowed him to live for a hundred years longer in the world.

"The 'Dragon Transformation' will become my new trump card!" Shen You thought to himself. "The time it takes me to master the 'Five Immortals Orthodox Method' won't be much slower than before. Old Ghost Huang would never have imagined that while I'm mastering the 'Five Immortals Orthodox Method,' I can also master the 'Dragon Transformation' technique."

While practicing his martial arts, there was another matter he had to do: investigate the truth behind Huang Yaoshi's creation of the "Five Immortals' Tribulation-Crossing Pill." What illness did Master Jingxin's wife suffer from, and what cruel methods she used to treat her, that led to Senior Brother Zhu's condition?

To figure out this problem, it was clear that the only way was to start with Master Jingxin's wife, so Shen You decided to find an opportunity to ask her for clarification.

Time flies, and three days have passed.

That morning, Xiao Hui, who had recovered her spirits, came to visit Shen You and brought her a gift.

"This is the Lin family's 'Cloud and Mist Technique'." Xiao Hui handed a manual to Shen You, then hugged his arm affectionately and gratefully, saying, "Big brother, Miss said you risked your life to save me, this is her way of thanking you..."

She tiptoed and shyly kissed Shen You on the cheek, whispering, "And... this is my way of thanking you..."

Shen You patted Xiao Hui's head and smiled, "I accept your thanks... Both gifts are equally precious, just as valuable!"

Xiao Hui blushed so much her ears turned red.

These past few days, Shen You has been cultivating both the "Five Immortals Orthodox Method" and the "Dragon Transformation" simultaneously, working almost day and night. In addition to the hard work, his appetite has also increased significantly.

The morning after Xiao Hui delivered the cultivation manual, Aunt Dou quietly pulled Shen You aside.

"Hey Shen, what trouble have you been running into lately?"

Shen You pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "There really is... I've encountered a formidable enemy, and I don't know when I'll have to face him..."

Aunt Dou seemed very worried about him. She frowned and paced around twice before finally making up her mind to take a blood-soaked rag from the handle of the butcher's knife.

"This is a knife-wrapping cloth soaked in demon blood. Over the years, it has accumulated a lot of malevolent energy. I will teach you a method of 'nurturing malevolent energy.' With your current cultivation level, go back and wrap the knife-wrapping cloth around your sword. You should be able to gather malevolent energy at crucial moments and unleash a 'sword malevolent strike'!"

"'Blade of Destruction'?" Shen You asked, puzzled.

"That's something beyond 'sword intent'..." Aunt Dou explained, "But you must be careful when you come into contact with it, and don't let the evil aura disturb your mind. I know that the fourth-grade cultivation of martial artists is all about the mind, and if you are exposed to evil aura for a long time, it may affect your cultivation of the fourth grade."

"Evil energy...can it disturb one's mind...?"

Shen You's heart stirred, and he suddenly thought of Huang Yaoshi's fourth-grade supernatural powers, "Ape's Cry" and "Ape's Gaze".

He wouldn't have been able to resist that kind of mental attack, but if he could use the malevolent energy on this knife-wrapping cloth, wouldn't he be able to get used to it in advance?

In contrast, Shen You didn't care as much about the "knife evil" that Aunt Dou mentioned.

A few days later, Hong Xiugu came to find Shen You.

"Why didn't you come to the 'Demon Hunting Team' operation today?!"

Hong Xiugu confronted Shen You aggressively.

Shen You stammered, "Ah... I forgot..."

He had truly forgotten that although Bilin Langjun had been beheaded and there were no more demon snakes in the city, the demon hunting team's activities still had to be carried out on time. As a result, he accidentally skipped his shift.

Hong Xiugu glared angrily at Shen You, "Don't think that just because you've become more powerful, you can look down on everyone else!"

"I didn't, don't talk nonsense..." Shen You hurriedly denied.

Hong Xiugu, however, pulled him by the sleeve and led him away from Huangfeng Courtyard to a secluded corner before tossing him a tattered scroll.

"If you have time, learn how to do this!" she said unreasonably.

"What is this?"

Shen You picked up the tattered scroll with a puzzled look. He saw that the booklet only had the first half, while the second half was incomplete. On the cover, there were four large characters written on it: "Phoenix Dances in the Nine Heavens"!

This is a cultivation technique related to the phoenix!

"This manual is rotten; how could I possibly learn it?" Shen You protested. "Besides, you didn't steal it from your house, did you?"

Shen You remembered Hong Xiugu's "Azure Phoenix Whip," which was used to develop "Azure Phoenix Strength." Above "Azure Phoenix Strength," one must first develop "Phoenix Great Strength."

Shen You was filled with doubt and confusion: "Why did you bring out your family's most treasured martial arts technique for me to practice?"

"Mind your own business!" Hong Xiugu's pretty face flushed red. "Just practice what I tell you to practice. If you're truly exceptionally talented and can master 'Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens,' then you can just ask my grandfather for it!"

"What did you bring up?" Shen You asked, puzzled.

Hong Xiugu's face flushed even more, like it was on fire: "How would I know what you're going to ask? Anyway, if you master 'Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens,' whatever you ask my grandfather for, he'll agree to it. After all, the true 'Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens' has long been lost!"

And just like that, inexplicably, Shen You obtained another cultivation technique.

He didn't know if Hong Xiugu had heard from somewhere that he was in trouble and that's why she came to help.

But no matter what, he will definitely practice "Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens".

He suddenly had an idea: since he possessed both "Dragon Transformation" and "Phoenix Dance in the Nine Heavens"...

Could he go a step further and combine the two into one, mastering... "Dragon and Phoenix Great Strength"?