Under One Person, your rebellious life has reached the heavens?

Chapter 197 The Celestial Master's Instructions

With a "bang!", the blood-stained man was thrown to the ground.

His tendons and veins were all pierced by silver needles. After a series of tortures, he not only lost the ability to move, but his already damaged eyes now had bloody holes, and his only remaining eye was also gouged out.

A foul-smelling rag was stuffed into Gao Gen's mouth to prevent him from biting his tongue and committing suicide. A demon guard responsible for escorting him quickly approached and asked for instructions:

"Master, this traitor fell into our hands a couple of days ago. After several rounds of interrogation, he remained tight-lipped and refused to divulge any information. I dare not go too far, for fear that you will punish me if I take his life."

"Really? Get out of the way."

Gu Qi'an stared with interest at the bloodied cripple before him, his entire body covered in burns from branding irons, his face bruised and swollen. He kicked him several times, stepping on his head, chatting and laughing with his trusted confidant beside him with a mocking tone.

"Look! This is what happens to traitors. They even joined the Quanxing Sect and swore brotherhood with the righteous path. They're really something else."

"Master, please be gentle, I think he's about to die."

Reminded by the transparent figure, Gu Qi'an moved his right foot away, listened to the weak breathing, looked down at Gao Gen, and began to question him.

"I heard you used to be a member of the First Rank? Tell me, where is Wugensheng?"

The seemingly casual words concealed a deadly intent. If Gao Gen refused to answer, Gu Qi'an had plenty of ways to deal with him.

“…”

The only response to the young man was deathly silence. Gao Gen's consciousness was blurred, and he was on the verge of death. He couldn't even hear what Gu Qi'an was saying. He just felt his numb body getting heavier and heavier, and he was about to give up.

"So troublesome?"

Gu Qi'an grabbed Gao Gen's head, staring into his empty, fleshy eye sockets. He then took out a jade bottle filled with gray liquid and dripped two drops onto Gao Gen's lips.

Longevity Water.

A secret technique belonging to the Orient, capable of transforming living people into monsters that can be controlled at will.

"Da da da..."

The gray liquid seeped into Gao Gen's mouth, dripped down his throat, and quickly underwent an astonishing transformation.

Gao Gen, who was barely breathing just a second ago, gradually regained his strength. He howled wildly on the ground, his muscles swelling up to 2-3 times their normal size.

The blood-red eye sockets were replaced by a beast's mouth with protruding fangs, and eerie black hair grew from many parts of its body. Its body also made a rattling sound, knocking away one silver needle after another.

The hair on its head was falling out at a visible rate, its skull was twisted and deformed, and its skin was grayish-brown. It was greedily breathing in fresh air, and its bones were rising and falling with it.

"Master...you...you want to keep him?"

"Send a big gift to his sect."

Gu Qi'an waved slightly, and Gao Gen, who had become a monster, crawled in front of him like a four-horned beast, no longer possessing any self-awareness.

"Listen, go back and clean up all the old and young people inside the gate."

The monster uttered indistinct syllables, offered no resistance, turned and fled the room, following the remaining memories in its mind, carrying out the commands of its subconscious.

"Master...aren't you afraid he'll turn back into his original form if you let him go?" a shifty-eyed demon asked cautiously.

Gu Qi'an smiled as if he had heard a joke:

"This idiot's brain is rotten. Even if you search for the best doctors in the world, it will be useless. His fate will be no different from that of a stray dog."

"That Wugensheng...should we continue pursuing him?"

The transparent figure gave a general overview of the information it had gathered recently.

"Of his sworn brothers, only about ten are left. We don't know where they're hiding right now. Do you think we should keep an eye on the others?"

"can."

Gu Qi'an lay on the sofa, his eyes slightly closed, sleepiness creeping in. He shooed away the flies as if trying to get rid of them:

"I'm entrusting this matter to you. Don't let me down. If you're not confident, take more people from our sect with you."

"Understood, please wait for good news."

The sound stopped abruptly, and the grandmaster who had been hiding vanished.

.......

Tianshi Mansion.

evening.

He was shocked to learn from Zhang Jingqing that his junior brother had sworn brotherhood with the demon, Zhang Zhiwei and Tian Jinzhong.

In just six months, if it weren't for what their master said, they would never have believed that Zhang Huaiyi, who was granted the surname and was qualified to become the next Celestial Master, would defy the world and do such an outrageous thing.

"Huaiyi, what's wrong...?"

Tian Jinzhong was completely stunned. He was grateful for the kindness shown to him by the Sanyi Sect, but his junior brother had sworn brotherhood with the enemy demon, which put him in a very difficult position.

"Master, are you still going to protect Huaiyi's life?"

Faced with matters of great importance, Zhang Zhiwei dared not act on his own initiative; he wanted to know what his master was thinking.

"Sigh... protect, why wouldn't you protect?"

Zhang Jingqing looked troubled and said:

"Thanks to the Three Ones Sect for giving us a way out, we've all agreed that anyone who participated in the sworn brotherhood will have their cultivation abolished and be confined for life if caught. We'll just turn a blind eye to this."

“But there are other sects hunting down these remnants, and according to the agreement, they have the right to dispose of any sworn brothers at will… Even I cannot openly demand that they stop.”

"After all, it was that wretched thing that did wrong. Besides, if he knew the conditions for survival, given his personality, he might not be willing to come back."

The Celestial Master was deeply troubled, unlike any other time before. He felt he could no longer see Zhang Huaiyi clearly, and then, in front of his two disciples, he slowly recounted:

"Dou Ruchang, the sworn brother of the Secret Painting Sect, secretly passed on his sect's techniques to others. We cannot be sure whether your junior brother has leaked our Celestial Master's Mansion's Golden Light Mantra and Thunder Technique because of this. Although I am willing to believe that he would not, nothing is absolute. Only by seeing him with my own eyes can I have a chance to be sure."

"What?!" Zhang Zhiwei and Tian Jinzhong were both stunned; the matter was more serious than they had imagined.

"Master, please allow us to go down the mountain and bring Huaiyi back!"

Zhang Jingqing looked at the two disciples kneeling before her, her white brows furrowed, and sighed softly, "You should prepare for the worst."

"If he doesn't come back and continues to associate with the devil, he will eventually be killed by the Sanyi Sect. You must not plead for him. My Celestial Master's Mansion cannot afford to lose face like this, do you understand?"

"Until you bring him back, even if he is killed by other sects, you must not seek revenge. That is the tribulation he was destined to suffer."

"Your actions may affect the unity of the alliance. You must not ruin the overall situation for the sake of momentary selfishness."

Hearing their master's earnest words, the two had a general idea of ​​what to do and nodded.

"Understood, please rest assured, Master."

"at last."

Zhang Jingqing's expression softened. She stared intently at Zhang Zhiwei and Tian Jinzhong, and instructed them:

"Promise me that you will act cautiously and return safely."

"If I can't save that wicked child, then I won't. If anything happens to you because of him, I will feel guilty for the rest of my life."

“Master…”

The two were deeply moved, their hearts filled with mixed emotions. It was the first time they had ever seen the Celestial Master so powerless.

After a brief farewell, Zhang Zhiwei and Tian Jinzhong, having prepared travel expenses and provisions, hurriedly descended the mountain that very night.

"Senior brother, where should we begin our search?"

"Let's go ask at the inn first. Jinzhong, try to stay with me. I have a bad feeling that this trip down the mountain might be full of trouble."

"Yes, senior brother, let's go together."

The hazy moonlight illuminated the two figures descending the mountain, gradually disappearing into the vast forest.

.......

The next day.

Further news spread that Wei Shufen, who had fled back to Qinghe Village in southern Xinjiang, was captured and killed by several old friends invited by the Grand Gu Master who had known about her beforehand. Her body was thrown into the deep mountains and devoured by jackals and vultures.

Song Mian and Zhou Sheng of Wudang Sect, the former was imprisoned in the mountains after returning to the sect, and the latter has been missing ever since and is still on the run.

Due to the war, Wudang lacked manpower and could only send four disciples to pursue the suspect, but they were unable to find him for a long time.

Bian Tong of the Natural Sect, under pressure from his sect, revealed the secrets of the Twenty-Four Solar Terms Valley to his elders. He once believed that the patterns engraved on the rock walls held great immortal opportunities, and sought to survive in this way.

Upon learning the news, the sect leader weighed the options briefly and decided to lead a portion of his elite troops there. He also privately promised that once the divine secret was found, Bian Tong would not be spared and would be granted his freedom.

However, after several days of travel, when they finally arrived at the valley, Bian Tong concealed the existence of the Qi Bureau. He thought he could roughly navigate the valley based on his memory, but unexpected events occurred frequently.

As they approached the Valley of the Twenty-Four Solar Terms, the disciples who followed them all perished due to various bizarre accidents.

Some suffered sudden relapses of old ailments, some accidentally stepped off cliffs and fell, and some were crushed into mincemeat by rolling boulders while passing through narrow mountain paths.

Upon hearing the sharp screech, the group looked up in alarm and saw a group of intelligent golden monkeys throwing stones at the exploration team from the Natural Gate, causing them to retreat in disarray.

Under the influence of the aura, those who went astray died one after another. The leader of the Natural Gate was furious and once grabbed Bian Tong by the throat, demanding to know what had happened.

"No...I don't know...Master!!"

Bian Tong looked flustered. With nearly ten of his disciples dead, he dared not say it was due to the aura.

Unfortunately, even he himself was unaware that he too had suffered misfortune.

"Pfft!"

A sharp dagger pierced straight through Bian Tong's heart from behind. Blood gushed from Bian Tong's chest. He looked at the gatekeeper in terror, his eyes dimmed instantly, and he knelt down, ceasing to breathe.

The person who made the move was the second-in-command of the sect. He had a premonition that Bian Tong, that scoundrel, had tricked them into coming here to kill them and then escape when the opportunity arose. Therefore, he could not tolerate it and directly took ruthless action.

The mountain path was rugged, and the remaining five dared not venture further. They retraced their steps and returned. In the end, only the leader of the Natural Gate survived.

He was covered in blood, looked like a madman, staggered a few steps, and then collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

"Captain!!!"

The gatekeepers on duty nearby exclaimed in alarm and rushed over to provide assistance.

"The mountain... the valley is eerie... those bastards... they've found traces of immortals."

Halfway through his sentence, the leader of the Natural Sect suddenly fainted, blood gushing from the corner of his mouth.

Chapter 198 Should have been 36 strange skills

It was the end of June in the lunar calendar, three weeks after the Thirty-Six Thieves were hunted down in the martial arts world.

Apart from Song Mian and Xu Xin, who survived and were imprisoned, 11 others remained on the run.

That afternoon, under a clear blue sky, Chengzhen, who was sitting idly on the fourth floor of the Sutra Repository, had letters in front of him, all of which were intelligence sent by Wanxiang Hall.

They fulfilled their agreement from two years ago, and the sect's prized artifact, the 'Myriad Manifestations Pool,' arrived more than half a month earlier than they had previously estimated.

Ji Yuqian, the master of Wanxiang Hall, used the power of Wanxiang Pool to divine the final hexagram of his life. Due to the enormous karmic consequences involved and the fact that they were two completely different destinies, he chose Wugensheng over Li Muxuan.

Chengzhen lowered his eyes and read the contents of a letter word by word. The handwriting was messy and weak, and it must have been written by him before his death.

"Master Jiang, I have never forgotten our promise day and night for the past two years. If it weren't for your righteous intervention, I fear I would never have had the chance to take revenge in my entire life..."

"I had hoped to calculate the trajectory of the demon and the evil child for you, but unfortunately, my current state is so bad that I cannot do it."

"I have recently heard of unrest in the martial arts world. Thirty-five people have sworn brotherhood with the demon. Besides those who have been captured and executed, some have escaped."

"It just so happens that they are on the same branch of fate as Wugensheng, and their destinies are not intertwined. After pinpointing a certain location where Wugensheng will appear at some point in the future, I've also managed to pinpoint the whereabouts of two of them for you..."

"Of the four letters I wrote, one contains traces of Wugensheng. The secrets are too heavy to be opened prematurely. It must be opened after mid-July in the lunar calendar to minimize the impact, so that the future will not be distorted by any external factors and thus deviate."

"The other two letters, concerning the whereabouts of Wulou Jingang Dou Hong and Tengshan Fangying, can be opened at any time;"

"I am ashamed... My life is coming to an end. By the time you read this letter, I will be buried deep in the ground."

"When a person dies, it's like a lamp going out. If we meet again in the future, you don't need to come to my grave to mourn me in person. I won't be there. But if you're in the mood, wherever you are, just say a few words in your heart and offer a cup of tea."

"This is dedicated to my benefactor, Ji Yuqian."

After reading it, Chengzhen felt a little regretful about the passing of his senior, even though it was a mutually beneficial transaction.

Since my two senior uncles have not yet emerged from seclusion, and I have received your letter, I should reply as soon as possible.

In particular, the first funding for rebuilding the sect came from a gift from Wanxiang Hall. The relationship between Sanyi Sect and Wanxiang Hall was like that of half friends and half employers.

Considering various reasons, Chengzhen immediately picked up his pen and wrote a letter, expressing his gratitude to Wanxiangtang and specifically instructing them that Sany would do its best to help them if they encountered any difficulties in the future.