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

"If you, Brother Huaiyi, also know the art of controlling your Qi, then there will be no chance of failure."

Having faced life-and-death situations multiple times, Duanmu Ying had come to trust Zhang Huaiyi completely. Not only did she not hide anything from him, she also told him about Blue Hand's abilities.

"Actually, there is an even more secret method, but the risk is too great, so I did not try it."

"Oh? Eiko, what is it?"

"Brother Huaiyi, do you know what possession is?"

Duanmu Ying patiently explained: "Possessing another's body with a vengeful spirit—this must be a common occurrence for you Taoists, right?"

“Yes…” Zhang Huaiyi thought for a moment and said, “According to you, the Blue Hand manipulates souls and modifies memories? Yingzi, are you perhaps suggesting that the Blue Hand can be used to directly seize someone else’s body?”

Duanmu Ying did not immediately deny his opinion, but instead said quietly:

“Brother Huaiyi, from my perspective, the essence of a living person consists of three things: soul, memory, and consciousness.”

"They cannot survive without any one of them, and the Blue Hand can exert influence over them."

How do you turn a stranger into someone you know?

"The red hand modifies the physical body of a passerby, the blue hand resets the soul, memories, and consciousness, and then copies them; that's how it works."

"Of course, your original soul, memories, and consciousness will also be directly transferred to another body through the Blue Hand, which can be considered as possession and rebirth."

"The difference between the two is that if it is the former, there will be two Zhang Huaiyi in the world, and they will not even know of each other's existence if they only need to deliberately modify some of their memories; while the latter, there is only one you."

"It's amazing, isn't it? However, it's just a concept. It's theoretically feasible, but I haven't tried it yet. It's like performing surgery. What the books say is one thing, but when you actually do it, you realize it's a completely different story. There are too many unexpected situations to face. Any external factor can affect the already low success rate, causing it to drop even further."

Zhang Huaiyi's mind was struck by lightning. He had thought that Qi Body Source Flow was already among the top of the Eight Extraordinary Techniques, and might even be able to firmly hold the strongest position.

It wasn't until this moment, with Duanmu Ying's sharing, that he realized how arrogant and conceited he had been, almost falling into a state of complacency. If it really came down to comparing skill levels, the Dual-Handed Technique was in no way inferior to the Qi Source Flow.

Regarding the cultivation prospects of the Qi Body Source Flow, Zhang Huaiyi inquired with Wugensheng. Everyone was present at the time, and he was told that if this unique skill was mastered, it was possible to cultivate a Qi Infant and thus gain insight into the secrets of longevity. Moreover, the number of Qi Infants was not necessarily limited.

At first, when Zhang Huaiyi received the answer, he was uneasy, fearing that the flow of Qi would attract the attention of others, while everyone else acted as if nothing was amiss.

Looking back now, the Eight Extraordinary Techniques were all techniques of the same level, each containing remarkable secrets. After all, they were all obtained through comprehension of the Purple Sun Jade Wall, with very little difference, or even none at all.

At this point, Zhang Huaiyi's competitive mind cleared somewhat, and he had to admit that he admired him:

"Your hands are amazing, Eiko."

"Hey, why are you saying that? Come on, have some meat to replenish your energy. We'll rest for a bit and then set off tonight. We expect to reach our destination in about two days."

The rabbit meat was roasted until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Duanmu Ying took one and handed it to Zhang Huaiyi. The two of them were already starving and, disregarding their appearance, began to wolf it down.

Half an hour later, the campfire went out.

Taking advantage of the quiet of the night, they boarded a lone boat and sailed downstream along the river.

.......

The next day at noon, they passed through a town. Duanmu Ying still had some silver notes, and Zhang Huaiyi protected her as the two entered the market and bought dry food and coarse cakes.

Time was short, and they dared not linger. Just as they were about to leave, they were spotted by a passing figure.

"Huai...Huaiyi?!"

Tian Jinzhong, standing at the street corner, could hardly believe his eyes when he saw the familiar figure.

For more than a month after descending the mountain, he and his senior brother searched in vain. In order to find Zhang Huaiyi's whereabouts as soon as possible, they chose to split up and try to gain a better chance.

Unexpectedly, he found them by sheer luck. He thought it was a hallucination, but when he called out softly, the two people actually fled at the sound of his voice.

"?"

Tian Jinzhong hurriedly gave chase, with a strong premonition that it was his junior brother.

"call out--!"

In a short while, Tian Jinzhong, who was speeding at full speed, traversed the streets and alleys, leaping and bounding across rooftops. However, due to the presence of Duanmu Ying, his speed was not fast, and the two were eventually stopped.

"Senior brother, are you here to arrest me?!"

Given the tragic fate of his other sworn brothers, Zhang Huaiyi was on high alert. Although he felt reluctant, he was prepared to take action.

"Huaiyi, listen to my advice."

Seeing that his junior brother had misunderstood, Tian Jinzhong quickly advised, "It's not too late to turn back now. Master ordered my senior brother and me to go down the mountain because..."

"No... Senior brother, I won't go back."

During his escape, Zhang Huaiyi gathered a lot of intelligence and knew what the consequences would be if he returned: his cultivation would be destroyed and he would be imprisoned for life. He would never be able to hold his head up in the mountains, so it would be better for him to die outside.

Chapter 214: Diverting trouble to the east

Unable to persuade him, Tian Jinzhong remained rooted to the spot.

His strength was insufficient to forcibly detain Zhang Huaiyi. If a fight broke out, it might cause a commotion and attract the attention of informants in the city. If that happened, it would be difficult for him to bring his junior brother back to the mountain.

After some hesitation, Tian Jinzhong changed his mind slightly and said:

"Since you don't want to go back to the mountain, there must be a reason for everything you've done, right?"

“If you don’t explain clearly, how can I report back to my master when I return to the mountain? He has been waiting for you to come back.”

Zhang Huaiyi felt guilty and was about to explain himself when Duanmu Ying stopped him. She leaned closer and whispered tentatively:

“Brother Huaiyi...we can’t afford to waste any more time.”

“I think... you capture him, and I'll do the work? I guarantee I won't harm this Taoist priest in the slightest.”

"If you tell him, he'll know where we are, and it could be fatal for him..."

Zhang Huaiyi refused without even a moment's hesitation; he simply couldn't bring himself to alter his senior brother's memories.

"Alright, Yingzi, you go forward and find the boat first. We'll follow behind and chat for a while."

"...Then you should be mindful of your words; there are some things you shouldn't say."

Duanmu Ying gave a few instructions and then went to the river to find a boat.

Walking side by side with his fellow disciples, Zhang Huaiyi was filled with worry, and though the words were on the tip of his tongue, he found it difficult to speak.

"Do you really need to know?"

"Correct."

"We have found the relics of our predecessors..."

Inside the narrow alley, whispers rang out. Zhang Huaiyi, unable to resist Tian Jinzhong's insistence, recounted in detail his experiences over the past few months, including his comprehension of the Ziyang Jade Disc and the approximate abilities of the Eight Extraordinary Techniques.

"Senior brother... now you know why I can't go back, right?"

"That was the founder of the Golden Core Sect! To blaspheme such a ancestor! Although the demon was the mastermind, I and the other thirty-four are also implicated. I have already failed my master..."

"Alas, life and death are predestined and cannot be forced. If he dies out there, so be it. I don't want to make things difficult for him."

Zhang Huaiyi's words came from the bottom of his heart, and the brief time he spent walking with Tian Jinzhong to the riverside in the suburbs was undoubtedly the most relaxing moment he had experienced recently.

Standing on the shore, Duanmu Ying had already rowed over. Zhang Huaiyi sensed danger approaching, and he suddenly turned to look at Tian Jinzhong, inviting him:

"After this parting, I don't know when we'll meet again."

"Senior brother, would you like to come with me? Consider it an invitation to see me off?"

"...No." Tian Jinzhong politely declined, shaking his head slightly.

“My master is still waiting for me. I must go back as soon as possible. Besides, if I follow you, the three of us will easily expose our whereabouts.”

Zhang Huaiyi sighed silently. He thought he might be overthinking things. He glanced at Lao Tian, ​​said nothing more, waved goodbye, and turned to leave by boat.

"Senior brother...please give my regards to Master."

"Ah."

Tian Jinzhong felt a mix of emotions as he watched his junior brother's figure disappear into the distance with the wooden boat.

Afterwards, he set off back to the mountain.

At the post station in the city, we rented horses and galloped all the way.

soon.

A group of extraordinary individuals searching for the whereabouts of the mysterious skill arrived at the post station. The leader held a piece of black paper with writing on it indicating that Zhang Huaiyi and Duanmu Ying had appeared nearby and seemingly met with a Taoist priest.

"go!"

"Chase me!"

The leader raised his arm and shouted, leading his men to whip their horses and rush out of the city gate.

It's approaching evening.

As Tian Jinzhong traversed the vast plains, his horses grew tired and slowed down, needing to replenish their water and food supplies, so he had to stop his journey.

Xu Shi.

The surroundings were dim, and the cold moon hung high. Just as Tian Jinzhong was about to ride away, the sound of hooves came from afar.

"?!"

"call out!!"

The moment they turned around, danger was imminent. A dense barrage of arrows pierced the air, striking the horses in vital areas, causing blood to spurt out.

"broken."

Tian Jinzhong hastily dodged, and a golden light flashed. He sensed that the newcomer was hostile and fled without any intention of fighting.

A life-or-death chase ensued.

On the vast, boundless plain, danger lurked everywhere. Tian Jinzhong had been running for two hours and had a chance to shake off those mysterious people, but he accidentally encountered a swamp and was blocked from his way.

"Want to escape?"

"Hmph! I'll have plenty of time to deal with you."

The leader sneered repeatedly, and with a wave of his hand, his other henchmen surrounded the prey.

Seeing that things were not going well, Tian Jinzhong was in dire straits. In order to find a way out, he took the initiative to fight the masked man in black on the side and tried to break through.

"boom!"

A fierce battle broke out, with various tactics employed. Two fists could not withstand dozens of hands, and the golden light quickly faded. The Wang family's elite troops, who had a numerical advantage, captured the blood-covered Tian Jinzhong.

"Go ahead."

"Where did Zhang Huaiyi and Duanmu Ying go?"

.........

late at night.

In the private room of the Wang family mansion, several lines of black writing slowly appeared on the white paper on the table.

“Even after cutting off that man’s limbs and crippling his tendons, we still couldn’t get any information out of him.”

"How should we deal with it?"

The elders and the head of the Wang family stared intently at the news coming from the front lines, feeling anxious and irritable.

The informant stationed in that town was a step too late in notifying them, and fate played a cruel trick on them, allowing the two extraordinary skills to slip away right under their noses.

"Since we've already started, let's go all the way and just kill them. The Celestial Master's Mansion won't be able to trace it back to us."

The obese old man sitting on the left tapped his stubby fingers lightly on the table, seeking the opinions of the others.

"These are special times, and we must not leave any traces."

Having said that, the old man was about to pick up his pen and write down the order to silence his clansmen, who were thousands of miles away.

"No....."

The head of the Wang family raised his hand to stop him, the bright firelight illuminating his gloomy face. He said confidently:

"Such a fine dagger, might as well use it..."

“The Quanxing traitors have bullied my clan and killed my elders. Since that’s the case, they should pay the price.”

“Send Tian Jinzhong back, shift the blame eastward, and say that it was done by the sorcerers of Quanxing.”

Upon hearing this, everyone's eyes lit up. Given Zhang Tianshi's protective nature, he would definitely seek out Quanxing for a bloodbath, without wasting their manpower. Letting these two factions fight to the death would be brilliant.

"Your Excellency's insight is truly remarkable; I will write it down immediately."