Going against the will of heaven
The white fox brought them to a residence. The foxes all lived in an ancient tree, and some lived in small houses woven with branches and leaves of spiritual herbs.
Liu Muze looked around. He hadn't even reached this point before. After passing through this residential area, the surrounding environment suddenly changed. All the trees around him had lost their vitality, leaving only dead logs standing in their place. The ground was covered with a plant with yellow leaves and red flowers, which looked strange and enchanting.
The white fox stopped in front of a huge dead tree and said respectfully, "Commander-in-chief, the people are here."
A man's voice came from the dead tree: "Come in."
"Yes." The white fox pushed Liu Muzhe hard, and the little fox followed suit and threw Ye Jingan in.
"Oh my god, can't you just put it down for me gently!" Ye Jing'an rubbed his butt and stood up. "Huh? I can talk and move now."
Ye Jing'an looked around and saw a man sitting right in front of them. He was wearing a white gown, a dark blue cloak, and his hair was tied up high. He looked like a handsome and free-spirited young man, which was very different from the modern dressing style.
The man White Fox called the Grand Commander sneered and said, "We meet again. Black Mama stopped us last time, so this time we can finally settle our old scores."
"I have no objection if you want to fight like last time." Liu Muzhe said in a flat tone.
"Hand over my fox clan's secret technique." said the leader.
"I said, we didn't get any secret techniques from the fox clan!" Liu Muzhe said in an unhappy tone.
"You worked together with that pretty boy back then to steal the secrets of my fox clan and disrupt the order of my fox clan. Grandma Tai and Black Mama were kind and charitable and let you go. I didn't expect you to dare to come to my fox clan and seek death!" The commander slammed the table and stood up.
Liu Muzhe rushed forward with his fists raised without saying a word.
Ye Jing'an could tell from Liu Muzhe's attack method that Brother Liu was really angry.
He wanted to go up and help, but the attack speed of both of them was too fast and he couldn't get in at all. Ye Jing'an could only stare at the side, but he was not panicked, thinking that Brother Liu would definitely be able to beat this big fox.
The two sides were equally strong and had fought many times without a clear winner. Ye Jing'an saw the murderous intent in the eyes of the fox leader and held a talisman in his hand ready to take action at any time.
When both were about to strike, Ye Jing'an found the perfect moment to launch a sneak attack. However, before the talisman he cast could even reach the Fox Leader, it seemed to strike some transparent protective shield, then lost its power and fell to the ground. The Fox Leader and Liu Muze were forcibly separated and held in the air by two invisible forces.
"Brother Liu!" Ye Jing'an ran over and pulled Liu Muzhe down to protect him behind him.
Three people suddenly appeared in the room: one man and two women. The man in the middle wore a tan robe and a long beard, his brows etched with a commanding presence, exuding a strong sense of authority. The woman on the left, dressed in an orange robe, looked solemn and dignified. The one on the far right was a grandmother in a black robe. Her hair had already turned gray, and her eyes were kind. She smiled at Liu Muze and Ye Jing'an.
The leader of the fox tribe knelt on the ground and said, "I didn't know that Taizu and Mama Hei were coming. I'm sorry, Yizhou."
"I am Liu Muzhe, a junior, and I am honored to meet the three ancestors." Liu Muzhe bowed respectfully to the three of them.
Ye Jing'an was a little surprised. He had heard a lot of legends about the Northeastern Immortals, and the reputation of these three giants was also well-known. However, seeing the real body with his own eyes still shocked him. The sense of oppression was too strong. He immediately imitated Brother Liu and said respectfully, "Junior Ye Jing'an, polite."
"Everyone, get up." said Grandma Hu San.
Liu Muzhe pulled Ye Jing'an behind him and stared at them vigilantly.
Black Mama first spoke: "My child, I haven't seen you for many years. You have done good deeds and have been blessed for a long time."
"The blessing is long-lasting, but the price is too high." Liu Muzhe said.
Black Mama smiled and shook her head.
Master Hu San asked, "What do you want from my fox clan?"
"More than a dozen people are missing. I found out that it was done by people from the fox clan. Now people are in panic and have no peace. I came here to ask for an explanation." Liu Muzhe said.
"What a joke! What evidence do you have? People disappeared in our fox tribe's territory, and that was our fox tribe's fault?" the leader retorted.
"Whether it is true or not, we will know it after checking." Liu Muzhe said.
Mr. Hu San and Mrs. Hu looked at each other and smiled slightly: "You are quite courageous."
"I beg for forgiveness for disturbing Taizu for this trivial matter," said Liu Muzhe.
"Yizhou, call Yiyuan over." said Mr. Hu San.
"Yes." Yizhou glared at Liu Muzhe and walked out. After a while, he came in with a middle-aged man.
When Ye Jingan saw the man walking next to the commander, he asked in surprise, "Why is it you?"
Yi Yuan didn't even look at them, but walked straight to the three ancestors and knelt down.
Ye Jingan whispered to Liu Muze that the kneeling man was the strange man he met at the gym. Liu Muze nodded. It seemed that this matter was inseparable from this man.
"More than ten human beings are missing. Is this related to you?" asked Mr. Hu San.
"My brother has been unwell these days and has been staying at home to recuperate. How could it be related to him? Grandpa and Grandma, don't trust the words of this cunning human!" Yizhou said.
"Yizhou, the Third Master will make the decision." said Grandma Hu.
"I did it." Yiyuan admitted.
"Brother!? When did you run away? Haven't you been at home all the time?" Yizhou asked.
"This matter has nothing to do with you, you can go back." Yi Yuan said.
"Brother! This definitely wasn't done by you, why are you admitting it?" Yizhou asked.
"Shut up and go back!" Yi Yuan said sternly.
"I'm not going back! I'm going to stay here today and see what's going on." Yizhou said stubbornly.
"This child doesn't know the rules, please don't blame me, Taizu." Yiyuan said.
"Your brother is much more honest and obedient than you." said Master Hu San.
"Since you did it, please hand the person over to me." Liu Muzhe said.
Yi Yuan glanced at him sideways and said in a tough tone: "If you don't hand it over, I will kill you or chop you up as you please."
"Child." Mama Hei helped him up. "Heaven and earth have their own laws, and all things are in order. We should follow nature, do what we should do, and not do what we shouldn't do."
"Heaven and earth are cruel, but I will go against the will of heaven." Yi Yuan said.
"People say that my fox clan is good at the art of fox charm and nightmare, and that we are cunning and heartless lustful beasts. I never thought that my fox clan would produce such a lover who only wants one person in two lifetimes." Master Hu San sighed helplessly and said to Liu Muze, "The way of heaven cannot be violated. Hand over the secret art to us to destroy it."
"What kind of secret technique is it? I didn't take anything from the fox tribe." Liu Muzhe was very confused. At first he thought that the group of little foxes were deliberately finding excuses to frame them in order to catch them, but now that Taizu spoke in person, he was afraid that it was true. However, he had never seen any secret technique.
"Didn't the person who was traveling with you that day tell you about this?" asked Master Hu San.
"What's the matter?" Liu Muzhe was confused.
"Calm down and concentrate." said Mr. Hu San.
Liu Muzhe closed his eyes in response, and an ancient sheepskin scroll appeared before his eyes, with densely packed words recording a piece of history.
The Fox Clan once had a pair of brothers. The younger brother, Yizhou, was a brave warrior and undefeated leader of the Fox Clan. The older brother, Yiyuan, was exceptionally intelligent and, during troubled times, collected various secret techniques for the Fox Clan, managing and improving them.
During a trip, Yiyuan's magic power was exhausted due to an accident. He turned back into a fox and fainted in a cave. When he woke up again, he found himself in a man's house. After listening to the man's nagging, he learned that the man thought he was injured and unconscious, so he took him home to recuperate.
It would take several months to recover his mana, and seeing that this person had no bad intentions, Yi Yuan felt at ease to stay here. After spending some time together, Yi Yuan gradually became dependent on this person and wanted to live here forever.
He knew he had a responsibility to his family and couldn't stay there forever, so he left without saying goodbye after regaining his powers. Later, by chance, he met this person again and fell head over heels in love with him. The human also accepted his identity as a fox and helped him collect secret techniques, leading a leisurely and contented life.
But human lifespan is limited, and there is no guarantee they will meet again in the next reincarnation. Even if they do, it won't be the same person in this life. Yi Yuan couldn't bear to let go, so he returned to the fox clan to consult ancient books, and combined with his lifelong learning, he created a secret method that defied the will of heaven.
Rather than going against the will of Heaven, it's better to say it's a deception of Heaven. It's a method of exchanging fates, where the practitioner exchanges their good fate with that of the other person. However, fate is determined by Heaven, and those who voluntarily exchange fates will be pursued by Heaven. While the good fate may survive the calamity, the other party will undoubtedly die.
The caster must use magic to break up and decompose his soul before dying, so as to escape the cycle of reincarnation in the six realms, make the heavens mistakenly believe that he has been punished, and completely disappear from the world.
The key to this secret method is that it can replicate and retain the same destiny for future rebirth. The shattered soul does not truly dissipate, but is dispersed among related clansmen, accumulating and nurturing the shattered soul for generations until it is fully pieced together and rebirth can be achieved.
But at this time, the soul has been stitched together into a brand new individual, with a new destiny re-determined by the Heavenly Dao. On this basis, the old destiny preserved by the secret method is inherited. The Heavenly Dao will only regard it as encountering a good opportunity and having its destiny improved, and will no longer kill it, thus completely deceiving the Heavenly Dao.
This secret technique was unprecedented and was merely a conjecture by Yi Yuan, with no certainty of success. It was against the will of Heaven, and the consequences were unknown, but Yi Yuan still used this secret technique despite everyone's objections.
Liu Muze suddenly opened his eyes, gathered his thoughts, and asked, "So, Ye Chen went to the Fox Tribe for this secret technique?"
Master Hu San nodded. "At that time, Yiyuan hadn't returned yet, so I initially refused. I never imagined he would dare to act right under our noses and hide the secret technique. We allowed him to try out his sincerity, but we also had selfish motives: we wanted to see if going against the will of heaven was acceptable within the human race."
Liu Muze turned to look at Yi Yuan: "Are you really back?"
"Yeah, but he didn't wait for me." Yi Yuan lowered his eyes in disappointment. Such a risky plan was successful, but it failed because of a link he had never thought of.
"Can he come back too?" Liu Muzhe asked.
"I don't know." Yi Yuan shook his head. "My fox clan has a strong foundation and three ancestors. We are incomparable to the human race. But this method is indeed feasible. However, the slightest mistake will lead to failure."
"And the person who returns is no longer the same person. Their appearance, personality, and every aspect of their life will be changed, and they will have lost all their memories. They will need the help of those around them to notice and release the old destiny sealed in the secret technique. If you recognize the wrong person, the old destiny cannot be restored, and after releasing it, it cannot be sealed again and will dissipate directly. If you don't recognize them and miss them, in either case, you will never see each other again."
Liu Muze felt a headache and fell back a few steps before being caught by Ye Jing'an. Ye Jing'an said softly, "That's great, Brother Liu, my ancestor can come back! You must recognize him and don't miss him again..."
Liu Muzhe couldn't tell what he felt in his heart, nor did he know what was in his mind. Ye Jingan's face, with a forced smile, gradually blurred in his sight.
"Don't cry, don't cry. When my ancestor comes back, I will help you scold him!" Ye Jing'an comforted.
Yiyuan walked up to Liu Muze and asked, "Are you waiting for him?"
Liu Muzhe was stunned and didn't say anything.
"Tell me, why didn't he wait for me?" Yi Yuan asked again.
"Because the process of waiting is too painful." Liu Muzhe replied.
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