Chapter 66 Senior Brother, You're Amazing (Bonus Chapter at 18,000 words)

This battle against the enemy's armored formation was extremely exhausting. Xue Mushi looked listless; although he usually seemed listless, he was clearly very tired this time.

Although Li Jinshuang didn't show it too obviously, fatigue was still evident in her eyes and brows.

Both of them planned to return to their quarters to rest. After saying goodbye to them, Yu Sui headed towards the Ghost Path Holy Hall.

It is now early summer, and the area outside the church is covered with green grass. What was once a path is now covered with flowers and grass. The surrounding green fields are serene, and the trees and ground are covered with glistening morning dew. Apart from the birds in the forest, no one will touch the cool dew.

Every time Yu Sui came to the Ghost Path Holy Hall, he felt as if he were in another world.

Tranquil, peaceful, with secluded mountains and winding green waters, it is a resting place for many souls.

Apart from the two disciples of the Sage Changgen who often came to disturb him, it was very quiet.

Yu Sui thought she had arrived early enough, but upon reaching the top of the steps, she saw the main hall doors wide open. Her senior brother was huddled in a rocking chair, draped in a wide black robe, his hands protruding from beneath his robes, touching the wind-listening ruler. His eyes were fixed on the scene, yet his brows were slightly furrowed. He said to Sage Chang Gen, "I also attended Instructor Ruan's class, so I have nothing to ask you. Instructor Ruan taught very well, and I'm not stupid; I could understand it all. Master, you should ask Junior Sister if she could understand it. Oh, she didn't even attend Instructor Ruan's class... She's already at the third level of Soul Control; shouldn't she be able to attend Instructor Ruan's class now?"

Before Sage Changgen could answer, Mei Liangyu noticed the person coming from outside. He looked up and saw Yu Sui coming against the morning light. He squinted slightly, then looked back at the Wind Listening Ruler in his hand and said lazily, "Our diligent and studious junior sister, who hasn't slept all night, has come to ask you for answers so early in the morning."

Yu Sui, who had reached the door, froze and asked softly, "Senior brother, how did you know?"

Mei Liangyu asked without looking up, "I guessed."

Although it was a guess, it was based on the marks of battle on Yu Sui's body. She had said before that she couldn't sleep well and used to practice in the sanctuary until dawn.

Yu Sui praised, "Senior brother is really amazing."

Mei Liangyu glanced at her briefly, and couldn't help but chuckle at her earnest praise.

"Didn't you leave the sanctuary last night, Senior Brother?" Yu Sui asked as he walked in.

Mei Liangyu hummed in agreement, shrank further into her coat, and gestured with her chin toward Yu Suiqing: "It's cold, close the door."

Yu Sui turned around and closed the door of the main hall. When she looked back at Mei Liangyu, she was a little puzzled. Her clear black and white eyes seemed to be asking silently, "Senior brother, when did you become so weak that you are afraid of the cold morning breeze?"

Mei Liangyu understood her meaning and added in a tone that was neither too loud nor too soft: "Your senior brother is still injured."

Yu Sui looked at the white bandages still on his neck and hands and thought to herself, "That makes sense."

Her thoughts were interrupted by Mei Liangyu, so she didn't rush to ask about Chang Gen Saint's cultivation. After greeting her master, she asked Mei Liangyu, "Senior brother, your hand is so badly injured, the bone is visible. When will it heal?"

"Let's wait a while longer," Mei Liangyu said, not particularly concerned.

Yu Sui asked, "Will I look the same as before?"

Mei Liangyu tilted her head and looked at her: "It could also be as long as five fingers."

Yu Sui's eyes widened slightly, as if she truly believed it.

Mei Liangyu couldn't help but twitch her lips slightly. Although she knew Yu Sui was faking it, she was still amused by her reaction.

"Come here," Mei Liangyu said.

Yu Sui obediently walked to the rocking chair, and then heard her senior brother say, "Come closer and lower your head."

Too lazy to get up, he directed Yu Sui to come closer.

Yu Sui was confused and did as instructed, though she didn't understand why.

She stood beside the rocking chair, bending over and bowing her head. Her long hair, which had been draped over her shoulders, fell and curled into small waves on Mei Liangyu's black coat. She raised the hand that had been holding the wind-listening ruler and took a gold hairpin from Yu Sui's hair to hold it in place.

Mei Liangyu handed the broken hairpin to Yu Sui and asked her, "Where did you go all night to fight? Someone's sword move cut your hairpin in half."

Yu Sui straightened up, her gaze fixed in surprise on the gold hairpin in Mei Liangyu's hand. The jade beads and red lotus adorning the hairpin had been cut in half. She reached out and took it, saying with heartache, "I was practicing the Nine Streams Technique in the armored formation last night, and I never expected to break it like that."

Mei Liangyu asked, "What level of military formations are involved?"

“The fifth realm,” Yu Sui gestured with her hand, “together with Li Jinshuang.”

Mei Liangyu said, "You've been practicing in the armored formation all night?"

“Hmm!” Yu Sui nodded, then turned to look at the portrait. “I came here to ask Master, as long as it is a living thing, it possesses its own life talisman. Our Ghost Daoist school finds the existence of talismans from them, rather than giving 'talismans' to others, right?”

The Sage Changgen replied, "You understand correctly."

Yu Sui asked again, "Master, if I, at the first realm, can see through the life talisman of a thirteenth-realm living being, can I also directly destroy its life talisman and extract its life force?"

Mei Liangyu understood what she meant upon hearing this, and simply smiled silently without interrupting.

“Theoretically, it is possible, but the thirteenth realm is not just about standing there and taking a beating,” said Sage Changgen. “The Ghost Daoist’s life and death talismans can kill with one blow, but others will also have defenses and obstacles. The greater the difference in realm, the more difficult it is to control the other’s life talisman.”

The Ghost Daoist's Life Talisman is considered a relatively powerful ninth-class technique.

Whether it can be effective depends on the strength of the user of the Nine-Rank Technique.

Upon hearing this, Yu Sui thought to himself: Master, you destroyed Ji Shuyan's life-giving talisman quite easily, without giving him any chance to defend or stop you.

Ji Shuyan was, after all, a master of the twelfth realm, but at that moment, when Saint Changgen made his move, Ji Shuyan seemed like a complete novice who knew nothing about martial arts.

It's hard to say whether to say that the master is too strong, or that the gap between a saint and other realms is too great.

However, there are very few Ghost Dao Saints in the entire Xuan Gu Continent who can achieve the dissolution of the physical body while retaining the consciousness. It must be because the master is too strong.

When Sage Changgen learned that Yu Sui was also going to participate in the Dragon Slayer Cave challenge, he encouraged her: "The Dragon Slayer Cave is full of traps and mechanisms, it is a natural world, the five elements circulate endlessly, and it gathers the techniques of a hundred schools of thought. It is a good place for trials."

"Don't be too fixated on the Dragon Head Ye Pool. That's just information the academy has made public. There are many other places worth exploring within the Dragon Slayer Cave."

Mei Liangyu then spoke up, "Master, could you please show me the way?"

Saint Changgen: "You must explore this yourselves."

Using back channels won't work.

Yu Sui nodded, obediently accepting: "I understand, I will try my best to stay in the Dragon Slayer Cave longer."

Mei Liangyu glanced at her but didn't say anything.

Because her senior brother was also there, Yu Sui didn't ask about anything related to the Divine Mechanism Technique. After relaxing, she felt sleepy and yawned several times. She chatted with her fellow disciples and eventually fell asleep on the table.

Seeing that Yu Sui was asleep, Mei Liangyu did not make a sound. He had not rested last night either, chatting with his master about this and that. Now he was also curled up in the chair and taking a nap.

Anyway, he didn't have much to do these past two days because of his injury.

The Sage Changgen remained quiet and did not disturb his two disciples' rest.

Although he felt it was inappropriate for the two to sleep in the sanctuary, in front of the resting graves of the Ghost Daoist masters, his disciples seemed to have gotten used to it.

Yu Sui was the last to wake up because she had to attend class. When the time came, she woke up groggily, told her master, and seeing that Mei Liangyu was still sleeping, she quietly left.

When Mei Liangyu woke up, it was already afternoon. He yawned lazily, listening to the buzzing of the wind chimes. Xing Chun asked him several times if he had eaten.

"meal."

I was also hungry.

Mei Liangyu blinked, slowly regaining consciousness. Once fully awake, she lifted her outer garment, got up from the rocking chair, and put her clothes back on.

He glanced at the empty desk and asked Sage Changgen, "When did Junior Sister wake up?"

“I woke up half an hour after falling asleep,” replied the Sage Changgen.

Mei Liangyu thought to herself, "She's quite good at enduring hardship."

Today, Yu Sui visited renowned physicians and medical practitioners. At the physicians' meeting, she encountered Gu Gan, who seemed very busy. Gu Gan gave her a brief greeting and left.

However, her Wind Listening Ruler kept receiving messages from Gu Gan, but Yu Sui ignored them. She was busy cultivating and didn't want to get involved in the Pagoda.

Gu Gan tried everything, from soft to hard, from threats to bribes, but Yu Sui didn't even glance at him.

After sunset, Yu Sui returned to the sanctuary to discuss the Divine Mechanism with his master.

Mei Liangyu, who arrived at the sanctuary a step later than her, was once again stopped outside by her master.

Mei Liangyu: "..."

When asked about Yu Sui's question about needing to reach the third level of Soul Control to use the Divine Mechanism Technique, Sage Chang Gen replied, "Not every disciple of the Ghost Dao Clan knows the Divine Mechanism Technique, but you happen to be a disciple of the Ghost Dao Clan because you possess it."

“The use of Divine Mechanism can vary depending on the master,” Sage Changgen told her. “Divine Mechanism is an innate and extraordinary skill, unlike Nine Stream Arts or Heavenly Mechanism, which can be acquired through learning and cultivation. Although there are records of the power of Divine Mechanism in the world, they are only the tip of the iceberg.”

Yu Sui couldn't help but recall the first time she met Gu Gan.

When he first arrived, he was unruly and thought about leaving the Prince's Mansion. No sooner had he stepped out than he was caught and brought back by the people in the mansion. Gu Gan had also lived in the Prince's Mansion for a period of time. Madam Su treated his injuries and took care of him, and Nangong Ming often visited him.

Both Nangong Ming and Madam Su will teach Gu Gan how to cultivate himself.

Perhaps from that time onward, Nangong Ming was already trying to find a way to teach Gu Gan how to master his Divine Strategist Technique.

Yu Sui sighed softly, "I used to think that Master also had divine abilities, after all, Master is so powerful."

Sage Changgen said, "Strong people do not necessarily have to possess special magical abilities."

Yu Sui said, "But having special magical abilities is equivalent to being a strong person."

Saint Changgen: "..."

She rolled her eyes and added, "Not yet."

The Sage Changgen said, "You will be."

Yu Sui laughed until her eyes crinkled.

Appropriate encouragement and recognition can indeed bring joy and courage.

Yu Sui sat at the table, resting her chin on her hands as she looked at the portrait: "Master, I have a friend whose cultivation level is very low, just like mine, but she can open up a military formation on the star map that is far beyond her level."

Why is that?

Saint Changgen: "Under normal circumstances, the difficulty of the overall strength test based on the star chart will be reduced by a bit. Therefore, newly enrolled disciples will be called to the Yin-Yang Five Elements Field of the Yin-Yang School to conduct the star chart trial, which reduces the difficulty of the overall strength test by half. Therefore, there will be no situation where they cannot complete it."

Yu Sui almost doubted his ears. What did he mean by reducing the difficulty by half again based on the overall strength?

Those are all top-tier armored formations.

Or is it that the strength of the armored formation has been reduced?

Saint Changgen: "If you can unlock a military formation beyond the realm from the star map, then your overall strength is very high."

Yu Sui: "..."

Even the master directly refers to you as "you".

Yu Sui gently touched her nose and followed up on his words, asking, "But the Star Chart is a dead formation. Without a master to mobilize it, will the power of the military formation change with the strength of the person who activated it?"

Saint Changgen: "Yes."

Yu Sui raised his hand and gestured: "It's not a change in the level of the armored formation, but a change in the power within the armored formation."

The Sage Changgen said, "Yes."

Yu Sui was stunned: "But I... this friend of mine has always been in the same realm."

Saint Changgen: "Take comprehensive strength, that is, the other forces within your body have changed and increased."

Yu Sui was stunned: "Master, he is my friend."

The Sage Changgen said, "There is another power changing within your friend's body."

Yu Sui rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought.

It couldn't be the Breath of Earth, because the power of the Breath of Earth was sealed away with the help of the Master.

The Divine Eye has indeed changed for her; she is gradually becoming familiar with it, and the supernatural abilities she can master are also increasing.

Although Yu Sui didn't want to admit it, the greatest source of power in the Asura Hell seemed to come from the strange fire.

She recalled the scene she had witnessed in the Asura Hell last night: the strange fire materialized in her likeness, reaching out to her and inviting her to use that power capable of destroying the world.

I wonder if other people's strange fires are like this.

Yu Sui was lost in thought.

Only after Yu Sui stopped talking about the Divine Mechanism Technique did the Sage Chang Gen let his eldest disciple in.

Mei Liangyu strode up the steps, ready to ask the master and disciple why they had stopped him outside again, when he saw Yu Sui come out of the main hall and call out to him in a clear voice, "Senior Brother, let's have a spar."

This scene seems all too familiar.

The same twilight, the same being locked outside, the same voice calling him "senior brother," inviting him with a smile and a sly grin.

Similarly, Mei Liangyu agreed.

"Add more money," he said.

Yu Sui nodded: "Okay."

Paying for a friendly competition is acceptable.

"Senior brother, I'm going to use a life-saving talisman on you. You need to be careful to defend against and stop it," Yu Sui said.

Mei Liangyu fell silent. Seeing that Yu Sui wasn't joking, he asked slowly, "Do you want to spar with me, or do you want me to die?"

Yu Sui shook his head and said, "How could that be? Senior brother is so powerful, he definitely wouldn't let me destroy the life talisman. I just wanted to see what methods others would use to resist, because senior brother knows many different kinds of martial arts."

She spoke with reason and evidence, and her expression was very serious, as if she really wanted to have a friendly exchange, rather than want Mei Liangyu to die.

Mei Liangyu said with a forced smile, "Is it possible that I'm caught off guard, and you, junior sister, will destroy my life talisman, drain my life force, and turn me into an ugly human skin talisman?"

"Impossible." Yu Sui immediately denied it. "Senior brother, you are very powerful, much more powerful than me. This situation could not possibly occur."

Although her junior sister praised her for being amazing and said it was the truth, Mei Liangyu still felt that something was wrong.

Yu Sui thought for a moment and added, "Besides, Master is also watching over us. Even if you get distracted and can't defend yourself in time, Master will stop you."

Mei Liangyu said, "You've thought of everything, you just want me dead, right?"

Yu Sui: "..."

Mei Liangyu stopped teasing her and instead activated his golden Five Elements Qi to protect himself, waiting for Yu Sui to make her move.

Yu Sui did seek out Mei Liangyu because he was skilled in various martial arts styles. Exchanging skills with his senior brother was equivalent to exchanging skills with disciples from other schools, which was very useful.

Junior Sister Mei Liangyu was no longer the novice who only knew the Wind Control Technique. This time, she was quite serious. Every time Yu Sui tried to destroy his Life Talisman, Mei Liangyu stopped her with different methods. Sometimes he would close the distance and suppress her with physical techniques, and sometimes he would keep his distance and repel her with different kinds of martial arts techniques.

When Mei Liangyu used a technique from the Nine Schools of Thought that Yu Sui had never seen before, the Sage Chang Gen would explain it to her in a timely manner.

The master will not interfere in their sparring, but will serve as a qualified off-site commentator.

Yu Sui stretched her neck and felt that this teaching method suited her quite well.

Seeing that it was time to 9 PM, Yu Sui gestured to Mei Liangyu to stop, bent over slightly to wipe his sweat, and said breathlessly, "Senior brother, come again tomorrow. I'm going to challenge the armored formation."

Mei Liangyu withdrew the surrounding Five Elements Qi, walked up to her, looked down at her, and realized that his junior sister was really working hard.

He didn't stop her and watched Yu Sui leave the sanctuary.

Yu Suiye, along with Li Jinshuang and Xue Mushi, charged into the enemy formation that night.

She wanted to test the power and usage of her Heavenly Eye, and even if the strange fire tempted her, she would pretend not to see or hear it.

As the date draws closer, there is more and more discussion about the Dragon Slayer Cave.

Yu Sui also asked Li Jinshuang and Xue Mushi about their plans.

Xue Mushi scratched his head and said, "Last time during the Yin Yang Five Elements Arena trial, I didn't call Jia Yue, and she was very angry, so this time the Dragon Slaying Cave made me have to go with her."

Yu Sui asked Li Jinshuang, "And what about you?"

Li Jinshuang hesitated for a moment, somewhat afraid to look at Yu Sui, and whispered, "The Holy Maiden said that if needed, I should go with her."

Yu Sui rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought.

Li Jinshuang and Xun Zhiya were together, so they must have gone through the dragon's belly area.

Because Xun Zhiya will definitely cooperate with Gu Gan, and they want to go to the Upside-Down Moon Cave, the Dragon's Belly Entrance is the closest.

Everyone has their own choices, and Yu Sui wasn't surprised.

After attending classes during the day, she would return to the sanctuary at sunset to wait for her senior brother to come and spar. During this time, the Wind Listening Ruler detected the keyword "Strange Fire" several times. It was that famous disciple complaining about the famous trial, which caused the strange fire to burn the stones in the Free and Easy Pool.

Yu Sui passed the time by reading Yan Xiaochuan's ramblings.

The Xuan Gu Continent maintains a policy of information control over the strange fire. Even if someone possesses a strange fire is found, the news is only announced to the world when a wanted person is issued and pursued. After the world destroyer is killed, all related information is suppressed, supposedly to avoid causing panic among the people.

All people need to know is that the Destroyer has appeared, but it doesn't matter, he will die eventually.

Indeed, once the identity of each world destroyer is exposed, they are killed by the crowd before long.

The Xuan Gu Continent will not be destroyed by the strange fire, because all the sorcerers of the six kingdoms will stop it, and they will do everything in their power to protect this continent.

Yan Xiaochuan knew about the Strange Fire and used it to tease and criticize the trial. Yu Sui could understand it. This was how the six kingdoms promoted the Strange Fire: it was terrifying, but it would definitely be destroyed, so people could be vigilant, but didn't need to be too afraid.

Only those who possess a unique fire need to fear and be afraid of their own death.

Yu Sui waited until Mei Liangyu arrived before putting away the Listening Wind Ruler.

Today, the two did not exchange talismans, but instead used the "curse" from the Ghost Daoist talisman.

The Sage Changgen said, “'Talismans' already exist and need to be seen through and destroyed, while 'incantations' are the embodiment created by you. The Ghost Daoist’s 'soul fixation' can also fix others, reversing or controlling the five elements of others.”

It sounds very high-end.

When Yu Sui fought Mei Liangyu, he personally experienced what it meant for his Five Elements Qi to be controlled and reversed by others.

The moment Mei Liangyu made a hand seal, black runes flashed across his fingertips, pulling away the five elements energy that Yu Sui was using to maintain her Wind Control Technique. This almost caused her to fall from the sky. Fortunately, he withdrew the spell quickly, and Yu Sui reacted just as fast, stumbling and landing on the ground. She looked up at Mei Liangyu in surprise.

"Senior brother," Yu Sui called softly.

Mei Liangyu looked at her with one eye open and one eye closed: "I can't teach you this. What you just saw was the Heavenly Secret Technique of the Ghost Daoist School, the Reversal of Kun Curse."

“There is a spell that you can learn quickly and that is most useful right now.” Mei Liangyu walked toward Yu Sui, who was standing under the apricot tree, and said as he walked, “The spell is so strong that it can freeze the five elements of another person’s energy. Whether it is a simple protective spell or a materialized Nine Schools of Arts, it can freeze the energy for a short time.”

In other words, during those brief two moments, your opponent is unable to use the Five Elements Qi, thus becoming a neutral opponent.

Yu Sui suddenly realized that, under his master's explanation, he learned that the incantations of the Ghost Daoist school were quite similar to the Bagua Shengshu (Eight Trigrams Life Technique), but the difference was that the incantations required recognizing "incantation formulas".

She stared silently at the scribbles her senior brother and master had written on the paper, as if she were reading a book written in the heavens.

It seems she still has a long way to go in her spiritual practice.

Master first taught her to recognize the incantation of the Gan Ding. After studying for two days, Yu Sui felt that she had a good grasp of it. When she made the hand seal, she gathered her five elements into the shape of the incantation. The black incantation pattern flashed across her fingertips.

Mei Liangyu, standing in front of her, stared intently at her.

Yu Sui said seriously, "Let's do it."

She looked up at Mei Liangyu, thinking, "Surely my senior brother can't move anymore?"

Mei Liangyu reached out and tapped her forehead: "Where should we place it?"

Yu Sui: "..."

“Settling the five elements doesn’t mean fixing me in place.” Mei Liangyu gently tapped her smooth forehead with his fingertip.

Yu Sui blinked blankly: "Oh."

For the two days leading up to the Dragon Slaying Cave, Yu Sui had been studying the incantations her master had written for her, which included not only spells but also other techniques.

By the time the Dragon Slayer Cave opened, Yu Sui had finally mastered the spell.

Just as dawn broke, the disciples of Taiyi Academy heard a low, slow dragon roar resound throughout the entire academy, as if it were a sigh of rebirth, summoning wind, rain, thunder, and lightning from heaven and earth to celebrate.

Thunderclaps in broad daylight, wind and rain howling.

As dawn breaks, the old and the new are separated; yesterday is gone, and a new day begins. The "Dragon Slayer Cave" challenge begins now.

A group of disciples, eager to see what was happening, waited at the entrance of the sect early in the morning. They looked up at the golden dragon body that appeared in the dim light of dawn. Its body was enormous, stretching as far as the eye could see. Its sharp claws and densely packed dragon scales reflected the light. The disciples standing on the ground felt as if it had covered the entire world.

The golden dragon appeared and disappeared, slowly moving its body, as if it were a living creature, rather than a mechanism modified by low-level sorcerers.

This time, those responsible for patrolling and maintaining the trial rules were all instructors from the Thirteen Realms.

The three open entrances are the dragon's belly, claws, and tail.

Although the closest point is the dragon's belly, it is also the dragon's tail belly, which seems to be much earlier than the other two. However, looking at the endless golden dragon in front of us, it is still an incalculable distance from the dragon's head.

Mei Liangyu and Zhong Lishan were among the first disciples to enter through the dragon's belly.

As dawn broke, hundreds of Class A disciples had already entered.

Fang Ji's disciple called out to the woman in yellow standing under the tree, "Su Tong! Shall we go together?"

"No, thank you." Su Tong shook her head, looked towards the direction of the dragon's tail, waved goodbye to the other party, and said, "I have an appointment with someone, you guys go ahead."

Su Tong walked towards the entrance of the dragon's tail, where a number of C-level and D-level disciples had already gathered. Most of them were new faces; if no one was there to guide them, most of the new disciples who came this year would be here.

She recalled her conversation with Mei Liangyu the previous day:

"I'll help Xiaoshan go to Yechi to seize the Heavenly Secret Technique. You keep an eye on my junior sister. As long as she doesn't get eliminated within half a month, I can come back and take her to Yechi."

In the Dragon Slayer Cave challenge, going it alone will only lead to an even faster elimination, so everyone will tacitly find partners to team up with.

Su Tong obtained the Heavenly Secrets Technique from Yechi two years ago. Moreover, she is not good at fighting and is easily at a disadvantage in battles. She is incompatible with the style of Zhong Lishan's group, which is to fight without thinking. However, she is very good at divination and avoiding danger.

Mei Liangyu personally came to ask for a favor, so Su Tong agreed, as it was such a rare opportunity.

Su Tong waited patiently until dawn before she saw Yu Sui arrive late.

Yu Sui looked down at the Wind Listening Ruler, and when he looked up and saw the enormous creature moving in front of him, he was slightly taken aback. He was amazed by its existence and became even more curious about what was inside.

She walked forward, surrounded by people. Yu Sui heard someone shout, "Yan Xiaochuan! How shameless of you to come to the tail end of the dragon's lair and try to take advantage of a low-level disciple!"

That familiar name.

Yu Sui stopped in her tracks and looked in the direction of the sound.

"What do you mean by low-level and high-level? Don't categorize people like that. They're all disciples of the academy. It's just a matter of who I can beat and who I can't."

A young man in black, dressed in a tight-fitting outfit, walked casually toward Yu Sui, a small black pebble tossing into the air with one hand. His goal was clear; Yu Sui's image was reflected in his eyes—he had come for her.

[Author's Note]

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!