Chapter 91

After listening to Xu Yan's consultation, Zhu Youxiang frowned slightly and fell into deep thought.

After a long while, she said, "Young Master Xu, I truly cannot explain your question. During the启蒙期 (Enlightenment Period), the time for cultivation should not exceed three hours, and the circulation of energy should not exceed thirty-six times. This was the guidance given to me by my teacher. He said that the newly opened meridians are still very fragile and need to be nurtured, and should not bear too much load, otherwise they might be damaged.

The scholars at the White Deer Academy also told me the same thing, almost word for word. Since I myself have never tried to circulate the meridian energy for a long time, I really can't tell you what the drawbacks would be. However, since all the respected elders and seniors have said so, I believe there must be a reason behind it.

In the cultivation world of Great Ming, beginners should not circulate their meridian energy for too long. This is a basic common sense, just like one plus one equals two, and no one has ever questioned why."

Hearing this, Xu Yan suddenly became excited—common sense? So-called common sense is for those with mediocre talent, but what if he is a gifted cultivation prodigy? In front of a genius, so-called common sense is nothing!

That time, not heeding Zhu Youxiang's advice, he unknowingly practiced for a full twenty-four hours, and in the end, there were no adverse reactions. Instead, his cultivation advanced greatly, and even Wen Xiu zhi mistook him for an "internal kung fu master"—so, Xu Yan began to doubt Zhu Youxiang's advice, thinking that her cultivation plan was too conservative.

In all the martial arts novels Xu Yan had read, those who followed the rules and learned diligently from famous schools and masters ended up as second-rate characters, destined to die insignificant deaths. They had no future and only served to highlight the protagonist's brilliance and strength.

On the other hand, those rebellious and unconventional prodigies were the ones who became the greatest masters or the most powerful demons. They could leap off cliffs and meet immortal masters, learn supreme skills, and even when they went into a trance, they could "harmonize yin and yang, open the Ren and Du meridians," gaining sixty years of cultivation in a single day. Teenagers could walk out into the world and instantly kill off masters and sect leaders who had practiced for thirty years—growing up reading such martial arts novels, how could Xu Yan have the patience to follow Zhu Youxiang's slow and steady plan, practicing only three hours a day? Meridian damage, what's the big deal? In cultivation novels, even if the meridians explode, it's not a problem. It might even help him form a nascent soul!

In short, Xu Yan firmly believed: those who follow the rules and listen to their masters will never amount to much. Only those who take unconventional paths can become the greatest masters.

Xu Yan thought, maybe this is a shortcut he has discovered? With his exceptional talent, if he continues to practice, he could make rapid progress, breaking through the Qi Induction, Spirit Condensation, and Qi Practice stages, and soon surpass Zhu Youxiang, reaching the Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, and Nascent Soul stages, and eventually achieving immortality.

Seeing Xu Yan's eager and excited expression, Zhu Youxiang naturally knew what he was thinking. She said calmly, "Young Master, you may not feel any abnormalities now, perhaps because the time you practiced is not that long, or perhaps you only tried it once, and the damage has not yet manifested. The consequences have not yet shown—"

She looked directly at Xu Yan and said, "My teacher once told me that many beginners in the cultivation path always seek alternative paths, always looking for shortcuts and quick ways, treating the teachings and experiences of their seniors as old clichés. They always think they can find a better way to achieve success overnight.

My teacher said, these people are truly foolish. The teachings and explanations in the sect, even the most basic and cliché ones, were summarized after countless cultivation predecessors suffered greatly.

The cultivation path we now follow has been paved by countless predecessors through thorns and brambles. Even if this path is difficult, it has been proven to be a viable one. Each cultivation technique is built on the blood and tears of countless failed predecessors, refined over time. If someone, relying on their good talent, chooses not to follow a proven path but instead tries to forge a new one through the thorns—such people, if they are lucky, one in ten thousand might succeed, but most will, in their greed for a quick and easy path, lay a poor foundation, waste their talent, and go astray. In the end, their cultivation progress will slow down, stagnate, and they will remain at a low level until their lifespan ends, regretting it too late."

Zhu Youxiang's words were like a finger pointing at Xu Yan's forehead, making him feel ashamed: Yes, what right did he have to think that with his own intelligence, he could surpass the wisdom of the wise men of the Great Ming cultivation world accumulated over thousands of years? He had just entered the cultivation path and was already doubting the guidance of his mentor—how arrogant and ignorant!

For a moment, Xu Yan's face turned red, and he didn't know how to face Zhu Youxiang. Fortunately, at this moment, something caught Zhu Youxiang's attention: a cloud ladder fire truck rumbled into the factory.

Zhu Youxiang asked Xu Yan in surprise, "What is this vehicle for?"

Xu Yan was glad to have a topic to divert Zhu Youxiang's attention. He knew Wen Xiu zhi's plan and said, "This is probably to use the ladder to send people to the roof—they plan to open a hole in the roof and use it to anesthetize and shoot the demon."

"Oh, this is probably Mr. Wen's idea? He thinks quite thoroughly, even if the weapons are ineffective, the spirit entity won't be able to escape."

"Hehe, indeed, it's Mr. Wen's idea."

At that moment, both of them fell silent and watched the cloud ladder fire truck rumble to the edge of the warehouse. Then, a team of soldiers and police officers climbed the ladder to the roof. Fortunately, the old warehouse had a flat roof, so even with a dozen people standing on it, there was plenty of room. Some of them carried impact drills, hammers, and chisels. They began to hammer and drill, making a loud noise.

What happened next, Xu Yan couldn't quite understand: the soldiers looked around the hole on the warehouse roof for a while but didn't take any action. After a while, an officer ran to the edge of the roof and shouted down. Because of the distance, Xu Yan couldn't hear what he was saying, but Zhu Youxiang could. She told Xu Yan, "He's telling the people below that it's too dark inside the warehouse, and they can't see anything. He's asking them to bring some powerful flashlights up."

Flashlights are common police equipment, so it wasn't hard to find them. They were quickly brought up. But things still didn't go smoothly, and after ten minutes, there was still no progress. The assault team on the roof and the support team below were shouting back and forth. Fortunately, with Zhu Youxiang's keen hearing, Xu Yan could understand what was happening.

Zhu Youxiang told Xu Yan, "The people on the roof are shining flashlights into the hole, but there are many goods and debris inside the warehouse, and they can't find the culprit. They are asking for instructions from below. The command center is discussing—oh, they have a plan. They want the people on the roof to drill another hole in a different place and search again—oh, they are drilling another hole now..."

Xu Yan coughed, "Xuan Yun, you don't need to tell me that. I can hear the sound of the impact drill."

Watching the soldiers drilling holes on the roof from a distance, Xu Yan, bored, couldn't help but ask, "Xuan Yun, do you think our mission will succeed?"

Zhu Youxiang shook her head, "It's hard to say. This spirit entity is very smart. If Mr. Wen is not careful, he might suffer a great loss."

"A smart spirit entity?" Xu Yan was surprised, "Xuan Yun, are spirit entities from the demon world also divided into smart and stupid ones?"

"Of course. Just like humans, there are smart and stupid ones, and the same applies to spirit entities."

Xu Yan nodded, "That makes sense. How do you know this spirit entity is smart?"

Zhu Youxiang said calmly, "Ordinary spirit entities only know how to kill and crave flesh. When they hear human voices and sounds, they automatically rush out to threaten and show off. But this time, the soldiers drilled holes on the roof, and the noise didn't even attract the spirit entity. Clearly, it is hiding."

Xu Yan listened intently and couldn't help but say, "Are you saying the spirit entity knows this is to eliminate it, and it feels threatened, so it is hiding?"

"Hehe, Young Master Xu, you are making the spirit entity sound too smart—low-level spirit entities have intelligence similar to animals, they only have instincts, not wisdom.

To them, humans, even soldiers, are not a threat but food. This spirit entity hasn't seen your Earth soldiers' weapons, so it has no fear and wouldn't hide... I suspect it is hiding because the roof is too high for it to reach and it can't hunt the humans on the roof. So, it is hiding, waiting for the humans on the roof to let their guard down and come down, and then it will attack."

Hearing Zhu Youxiang's explanation, Xu Yan couldn't help but shiver—her description reminded him of crocodiles in nature documentaries. To hunt, crocodiles can remain motionless for days, disguising themselves as floating logs, waiting for prey to come and drink water, then pouncing. Now, the spirit entity's tactics were almost identical to those of the crocodile.

In the next hour, under the scorching sun, the soldiers drilled three more holes in different places on the roof, but the result was the same—no target found.

By this time, it was past one in the afternoon, and the soldiers and police hadn't eaten. Many were hungry and exhausted, and those guarding the perimeter were secretly sitting in the shade to cool off.

The pre-planned strategy had encountered obstacles, and the command center had to urgently discuss a new plan.

Thanks to Zhu Youxiang's incredible hearing, she could even hear the discussions at the command center. She told Xu Yan, "The command center is arguing fiercely. Mr. Wen is questioning the fat official in charge: 'Is the culprit still in the warehouse?'"

The official was wiping sweat, seemingly losing confidence but still insisting that the officials had been guarding the scene, and he had personally supervised it, so the culprit couldn't have escaped... At this point, someone suggested that the culprit might have escaped before the officials arrived.

But someone else objected, saying the door was always locked, and even if the police hadn't arrived, the culprit had nowhere to go!

Another person said, arguing back and forth won't solve anything, just open the door and search. There are hundreds of soldiers and police, well-equipped and well-armed, capable of dealing with any monster, so why waste time?

Mr. Wen didn't speak, his face was scary—uh, he was angry. He shouted at the person who suggested opening the door, scolding him harshly, using some very unpleasant words, which I won't repeat. In the end, Mr. Wen was angry and ordered them to bring a life detection device, and he would search the warehouse wall by wall, determined to find the culprit—Young Master, what is a life detection device?"

Zhu Youxiang looked at Xu Yan, her face full of confusion.

"Life detection device," Xu Yan had seen this device on TV news, especially during the Sichuan Wenchuan earthquake a few years ago. The news often mentioned this device, saying that a rescue team used a life detection device to find a survivor buried underground for n days, saving a life.

Xu Yan scratched his head, "I don't understand this device, but I've heard that as long as there is a living person, even if they are separated by walls or soil, it can still find them."

Zhu Youxiang marveled, "Isn't this like seeing through walls? Truly amazing! Young Master, the ingenuity of your land's machinery is no less than the magical treasures of our Great Ming!"

The command center made a decision, and the execution was swift. Within ten minutes, two police cars sped into the factory, and several fire officers carried dark boxes and quickly headed to the warehouse.

Zhu Youxiang continued her live broadcast, "More soldiers have arrived, and Mr. Wen is asking them questions, asking how far the detector can detect... They answered that this is the latest radar life detection device, and within twelve meters, it can detect any living person. Mr. Wen pointed to the warehouse and asked if they could determine if there was a highly dangerous criminal inside without opening the door, just by detecting through the wall.

The soldiers seemed very confident, saying that the warehouse is not large, and if there is a living person inside, they will definitely detect them... Okay, they are starting their work, opening the boxes by the warehouse wall and beginning the test... Oh, they are changing the location for the test... They are going to the back of the warehouse to test... The soldiers have returned and told Mr. Wen that they are certain there is no living person inside the warehouse.

The fat official disagreed, interjecting that there must be someone inside, as they have been guarding the perimeter, and the criminal couldn't have escaped, and the detection device must be faulty.

The soldiers insisted that there is definitely no living person, and their device is not faulty, as they used three life detection devices simultaneously, and all results showed no one, so it's impossible for all three devices to be wrong.

The fat official said, we have so many people, hundreds of eyes watching, how can we be wrong, and how can we be less reliable than your three devices?

The soldiers said, this is not strange, people can be deceived, but the device cannot. As long as there is a living person inside, as long as they are breathing, the device will definitely detect them!

Yes, both sides are arguing fiercely, and Mr. Wen's face is very bad, he seems to be getting angry... Indeed, Mr. Wen is angry again, he scolded both sides... He ordered them to open the warehouse door and conduct a full search."

Hearing this, Xu Yan sighed in disappointment, "We will have made a wasted trip. The spirit entity has escaped, and the warehouse is probably empty."

"Why do you say that, Young Master?"

"Xuan Yun, you heard it yourself, the fire department experts said they used three detection devices and found no one inside."

Zhu Youxiang looked deeply into Xu Yan's eyes and said softly, "Young Master, you might not have heard clearly: they said there is no 'living person' inside." She emphasized the words "living person."

"No living person? What's the difference?"

Before Xu Yan could finish speaking, he realized something was wrong: the fire department experts repeatedly said there was definitely no living person inside the warehouse—but what about a human possessed by a spirit entity? Is that still considered a living person?

Xu Yan didn't understand the working principle of the life detection device, but he had seen the spirit entities with his own eyes: those monsters that could still move even after being shot to pieces—were they still normal humans? They were more like zombies or ghouls.

If the life detection device is specifically designed to detect human biological frequencies, it might not detect the spirit entity!

No, he had to warn Wen Xiu zhi immediately. The monster might still be inside, and entering would be dangerous—Wen Xiu zhi, though unreliable and cunning, had been nice to Xu Yan and was Chen Yaoyu's uncle. It would be hard for Xu Yan to watch him suffer.

Moreover, if the monster is still inside and Wen Xiu zhi opens the door, it will give the monster a chance to escape, potentially causing harm to many civilians!

Xu Yan took out his phone and dialed Wen Xiu zhi's number—but Wen Xiu zhi hung up on Xu Yan! (To be continued)