Chapter 58

But in the next moment, the three fellow disciples suddenly had a strange look in their eyes. It seemed as if the entire world was in the palm of a hand, and they were mere monkeys in the palm, unable to escape. They only wanted to bow down in submission, to prostrate and kowtow.

Although the three felt a chill in their hearts, each still tried to rouse their life souls or battle intent spirits to resist. But in an instant, the world changed again, and countless deities appeared, forming a surging torrent that instantly engulfed the three.

Ning Yue used the Ten Directions Illusionary Destruction Technique with all his might. First, he used the move "No Thing Outside the Mind" to shake their spirits, then the move "Divine Control of the Three Realms" to invade their divine souls, and finally transformed into "Heavenly Freedom," silently and imperceptibly passing through the last defenses of their minds.

The three fellow disciples suddenly found themselves back to the time when they were apprentices, when they were still close and helpful to each other. But the sect they joined was like a wolf, and if they were not ruthless enough, they would be eliminated by the sect. Thus, they gradually became more and more cruel.

The fourth senior brother kept imagining how he had joined the sect, chosen the Eight Extremes of the Heavenly Horse, condensed his first life soul, left the sect to train, slaughtered wild horses to condense soul power, sought out different breeds of Heavenly Horses to seize life souls, and finally condensed his battle intent spirit, step by step, in great detail.

Just as he was lost in these thoughts, a chill suddenly rose in his heart as he imagined condensing the Heavenly Horse battle intent spirit. He let out a loud cry, and his soul power erupted, breaking free from the illusory realm of the Ten Directions Illusionary Destruction Technique.

The fourth senior brother suddenly realized that his body felt empty, and the Heavenly Horse battle intent spirit he had condensed was gone, along with all the life souls.

He looked at his two fellow disciples, who had various expressions—some gritting their teeth, some smiling smugly—clearly still trapped in the illusion.

The fourth senior brother turned to look at Ning Yue, who, though he appeared to be an unremarkable young farmer, now seemed like a deity descended from heaven, with a solemn and awe-inspiring presence. He sighed and said softly, "So you are the hidden sparrow..."

Before he could finish, the fourth senior brother's head drooped, and he died.

Ning Yue sighed lightly and said calmly, "If you three had not harbored ulterior motives, I might not have been so ruthless. But unfortunately, you are all too cruel and wicked. Rest in peace!"

As Ning Yue spoke, the sixth senior brother Xu Fengzi and the seventh junior brother, the black-clothed youth, both spat out blood and collapsed, dying together.

Ning Yue let out a clear whistle, and his body slowly rose into the air. The sun and moon appeared around him, and the mountains and seas shone together. The various illusions seemed to become tangible, and the eighteen killing moves of the Ten Directions Illusionary Destruction Technique reappeared in his hands, with sword energy and light radiating in all directions.

Superficial, Heavenly Freedom, No Thing Outside the Mind, Vast Heaven Limitless, Star Shift, Divine Control of the Three Realms, Spiritual Imprint, Heaven Round Earth Square...

As Ning Yue successively activated the eighteen killing moves of the Ten Directions Illusionary Destruction Technique, his mood became greatly uplifted. By killing these three fellow disciples, he had suddenly broken through a mental barrier, and his strength had improved. He estimated that in a few days, he could condense the sixth-stage virtual image of the Void Dragon. At that time, there would be very few in the Nine Heavens who could threaten him.

After practicing for several hours, Ning Yue sat cross-legged and slowly calmed the boiling soul power in his body, returning dozens of life souls to their places. He pondered the subtle and profound aspects, and after half an hour, his Great Clarity Heart Method broke through to the seventeenth level.

When Ning Yue was a grandmaster of martial arts in the Yuan Dynasty, although he occasionally ventured into the dark world, he had no foundation. Therefore, he wanted to use his martial arts as a base and combine it with the soul techniques of the dark world to create his own unparalleled martial arts.

But later, he had a fortuitous encounter and received the highest-level Heavenly Emperor Life Soul Set, so he abandoned the opportunity to push his own learning to the extreme.

Later, when he was suppressed under the peach tree in the Divine Domain of Yingzhou, his avatar escaped, and he also pondered how to regain his strength.

It was not until he obtained the divine crystal fragment from Luo Xuan and was brought to the Nine Heavens that he found a new path.

After the breakthrough of his Great Clarity Heart Method, Ning Yue suddenly leaped up and laughed, "I understand now. I once thought that the Great Clarity Heart Method reaching the twenty-eighth level was the pinnacle, with no further progress possible. In fact, it should have thirty-six levels. As long as I can perfect the Great Clarity Heart Method, and the Ten Directions Illusionary Destruction Technique can break through further, reaching the level of the sixteenth-stage virtual image will be as easy as turning over one's hand. Unfortunately, I was too proud and took a detour. I must return to the root to reach the sky and block out the sun."

As Ning Yue gained this insight, the divine crystal fragment subtly changed, allowing his spirit to delve deeper and gain more secrets. In a moment, a lot of information flowed from the divine crystal fragment, making Ning Yue slightly stunned, then overjoyed.

The secrets of the divine crystal fragment were extremely precious, even for someone like Ning Yue, who had already ascended to the heavens and become a deity.

After pondering for a while, Ning Yue's brows showed a mix of joy and worry. After a long time, he glanced at the three corpses on the ground, went over, and thoroughly searched them. He found three wooden plaques with "Tianlang Sect" on the front and their ranks in the sect on the back.

The black-clothed youth had a soft sword at his waist, a small bag of bone coins from the Daxia Dynasty, two books that were not martial arts manuals—one was a geographical atlas, and the other was the Dongtang Pharmacopoeia, recording some common herbs and prescriptions. These two books were not secret transmissions but were published and distributed throughout the land.

The fourth senior brother had no weapons but carried a small bag of darts, which were three-edged armor-piercing arrows. He had nothing else.

The sixth senior brother Xu Fengzi had a relatively large amount of money, about ten times more than the black-clothed youth. He had a pair of steel claws, a notebook recording his daily insights, both martial arts and personal reflections, with recent entries about the Tianlang Bone.

Ning Yue collected these items, dug a large pit, and buried the three and the wolf corpses, erasing all traces. He then left and returned to Huo Family Village.

On his way back, Ning Yue felt a mix of emotions. Human hearts are hard to fathom, and fate is unpredictable. If these three fellow disciples had not been so devious, he would not have been able to kill them. In the end, they died because of their greed and cruelty. If any of them had shown concern for their fellow disciples, the outcome would have been very different, and Ning Yue might have spared them.

"The Tao Te Ching says: A true man stands firm and does not waver; he is sincere and does not pretend. The I Ching says: Walk the right path, be good and virtuous! This is the truth."

At this moment, Ning Yue had many thoughts. When he saw the walls of Huo Family Village, his spirit suddenly lifted, and he felt a sense of warmth. Although he only considered Huo Family Village a temporary refuge and had no intention of staying long, the people there were warm and sincere, much more so than the black-clothed youth and his fellow disciples, who were full of intrigue. The simplicity and sincerity of the people in Huo Family Village were truly precious.

Ning Yue secretly vowed, "I have been taken in by the people of Huo Family Village and have caused them much trouble. Even if I leave, I must repay their kindness before I go, so I can leave with a clear conscience."

When Ning Yue returned to Huo Family Village, he made up an excuse to explain how he had escaped from the black-clothed youth.

The people of Huo Family Village were overjoyed. Although the black-clothed youth had killed the wolves that had trapped them, he had not taken them away, saving everyone the trouble of killing the wolves. The wolf meat could be preserved as food, and the fur and bones were worth a lot of money. For the people of Huo Family Village, this was unexpected wealth, and the village was filled with joy, even the sadness over the deaths caused by the black-clothed youth was somewhat alleviated.

Although Ning Yue had obtained two weapons and a bag of darts, the black-clothed youth's soft sword and the fourth senior brother's steel claws did not suit his martial arts style. He could not give them to the people of Huo Family Village, as these were stolen goods and involved the deaths of three Tianlang Sect disciples. If seen, it might cause trouble, and while he was not afraid, the people of Huo Family Village might not be able to withstand the wrath of the Tianlang Sect in the future. So he still decided to focus on making bows.

Ning Yue had already gained a high status in Huo Family Village because of his actions in leading away the black-clothed youth and guiding the construction of the inner city. The people no longer treated him like an ordinary child, and they sent him a large amount of wolf fur and sinew.

Especially the wolf fur, they chose the best. Ning Yue needed the fur to make glue, so he did not need the best quality and exchanged it for some worn-out wolf fur from the village.

This action immediately piqued the interest of the villagers, who wondered what he was planning to do.