Under One Person: Dressed as Lü Liang, with vests all over

"Senior, you are actually Gao Gen, right?"

Upon hearing Lü Liang's words, not only the man in black robes was surprised, but even Wang Ye, who was standing to the side, showed a look of shock on his face.

Wang Ye glanced at Lü Liang, his lips curling down slightly. He couldn't help but think to himself, "You old Lü, you've been holding back a big one. You're only revealing this important guess now."

Moreover, judging from the look in the black-robed man's eyes, this guess is most likely true.

Thinking about it this way, these past two days have not been in vain. Not only have they thwarted Behemoth's plans, but they have also successfully forced out the mysterious person around Elijah. Now, they have gained the upper hand in the standoff based on this speculation.

One disguise actually achieved three goals at once. Old Lu's move was brilliant!

Just as Wang Ye was sighing inwardly, the man in black robes finally spoke:

"Ha, you're quite the guesser."

He crossed his arms, raised his chin slightly, and looked at Lü Liang with a deep gaze: "Why didn't you guess that I was Gu Qiting?"

"I did have that guess."

Lü Liang said with a smile, "After all, when I first met you, I discovered that you could hide in other dimensions. This ability is very similar to the legendary 'Great Luo Cave Observation'."

"Afterwards, I even suspected that you were Wugensheng, because the two sentences you said to me that day were very mysterious, and those things were never mentioned in the previous rumors about the Thirty-Six Thieves."

"However, as the investigation progressed, I discovered that all thirty-six thieves knew about the existence of that ritual. The reason they hadn't revealed anything before was simply because they all tacitly kept quiet."

Upon hearing this, the man in the black robe narrowed his eyes slightly.

While observing the changes in the black-robed man's expression, Lü Liang continued:
“You know about the existence of the ritual, and you also know about the special nature of the thirty-six people, so you must be one of those thirty-six people.”

"Judging from what Xu Xin and Zhang Xuan said, people who participated in the sworn brotherhood ceremony back then knew about sacred objects, the Eight Gates, the Five Elements, etc."

"But only those nine people knew the exact time, place, and steps of the ceremony."

"Clearly, you are not one of the nine."

"Moreover, if you really are Gu Qiting or Wugensheng, you have no reason to cooperate with Qu Tong."

Listening to Lü Liang's analysis, the black-robed man's gaze shifted from initial scrutiny to admiration.

Then, in the next instant, he still let out a sneer and said:

"Ha, even so, there are still thirty-four candidates. What makes you so sure I am Gao Gen?"

"Others are certainly possible, but there aren't that many people who are acquainted with Gu Qiting and happen to appear in front of Gao Gen's grave in a secret location..."

Lu Liang raised his hand and tapped his temple, then said with a smile, "A couple of days ago, we found something interesting in the grave."

"You dug up that grave?!" the man in black robes retorted coldly.

“Yes.” Lü Liang looked over with a half-smile. “The person in the grave isn’t Gao Gen. That contradicts what the Gao family patriarch said. It makes one wonder…”

Upon hearing this, the man in black robes fell silent for a moment.

A moment later, he looked up at Lü Liang and sneered again: "You guys are quick on your feet."

"Yes, I am Gao Gen, and what I use is indeed the Great Luo Cave Observation."

His gaze was cold and fixed on Lü Liang. "You went to so much trouble, it couldn't have been just to verify this matter, could it?"

"Of course," Lü Liang said with a smile. "I'd also like to know if you, senior, would like to recreate that ritual?"

"To be honest, senior, we also have this plan, and it's progressing quite smoothly so far. Would you like to consider... cooperating with us?"

……

"Reenact the ritual? You've got quite the nerve!"

Gao Gen's gaze first fell on Lü Liang, then swept over Wang Ye. Their eyes met, and he quickly realized what was happening:
"It seems you've already discovered... the fatal flaw of the Eight Extraordinary Techniques."

“Yes.” Wang Ye raised his hand and scratched the back of his head, nodding in agreement. “A spell that can drive someone insane if not used properly would be deadly if used for the inheritance of a sect.”

Lü Liang nodded in agreement.

The outside world only knows that the Eight Extraordinary Skills are incredibly powerful, but those who possess them can better understand their limitations.

For Feng Hou Qi Men, a unique skill that can only be learned when one doesn't want to learn it, its inheritance is a major problem.

The more times you use Dual-Handed Technique and Spirit Control, the greater the risk.

From this perspective, an ability that cannot be used frequently can hardly be considered a top-tier ability.

Just as Lü Liang was pondering, Gao Gen looked at Lü Liang again and said:

"You said something wrong earlier."

"Oh? Which sentence?" Lü Liang looked back in confusion.

Gao Gen slowly said, "You said that apart from those nine people, the others know very little about the ritual. That's not accurate, because compared to the other thirty-three people, I know more."

Upon hearing this, Lü Liang and Wang Ye both perked up, waiting for Gao Gen to continue.

A flicker of reminiscence crossed Gao Gen's eyes:
"At that time, after everyone drank the sworn brotherhood wine together, Wugensheng brought up the matter of the ceremony. Afterwards, everyone parted on bad terms and left the Qinling Mountains... You should already know this, right?"

Lü Liang nodded slightly.

Gao Gen continued:

“But at that time, Gu Qiting and I spent a few days with Wugensheng in a cave in the Qinling Mountains. He took us to a place.”

Upon hearing this, Lü Liang and Wang Ye's eyes lit up simultaneously, and they asked, "Where is the ceremony being held?"

“Yes.” Gao Gen nodded. “The final ceremony will be held in a place deeper inside the Twenty-Four Solar Terms Valley. We need to use a special method to get in.”

"As for the timing of the ceremony, all I know is that it must be at the hour of You (5-7 PM), when the sun is about to set but has not yet set. As for the specific steps of the ceremony... I really don't know that."

As Gao Gen finished speaking, Lü Liang and Wang Ye exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with a mixture of surprise and doubt.

Soon, Lü Liang took the initiative to ask the question that had puzzled them.

"Senior, since you've been staying in the Qinling Mountains with Wugensheng all this time, why didn't you participate in the ceremony in the end?"

"Because of the sacred object."

A bitter smile flashed in Gao Gen's eyes.

“We don’t have enough sacred objects for the ceremony, and we can’t gather enough people to perform the Five Elements Technique. Gu Qiting is proficient in magic and wants to stay to help Wugensheng modify the formation… while I volunteered to go back to the Northeast to borrow the sacred objects from the Ma Xian lineage.”

"The sacred objects of shamans... incense for summoning deities..."

Lü Liang immediately thought of the three incense sticks he had obtained from Guan Shihua.

It turns out that Gao Gen also had his eye on this sacred object back then.

……

When the topic of the sacred object came up, Gao Gen paused slightly, seemingly processing his emotions.

After pausing for a moment, he continued:

"I originally thought that the biggest obstacle to obtaining that sacred object would come from the shamans." "Who knew that after I left the Qinling Mountains, I found that the matter of sworn brotherhood had already caused a great stir outside, the list had been leaked, and the people on the list were besieged one by one."

"And my identity is the most awkward among them, because whether it is aristocratic families, prestigious sects, or other people in Quanxing, they all regard me as a traitor. I am surrounded."

"You probably know what happened next. I risked serious injuries to return to the Gao family and barely managed to save my life."

"At that time, the elders of the Gao family had already severed ties with me. Perhaps out of consideration for reputation and pity, they did not hand me over, nor did they kill me. They only built a fake grave for me and then told me to get out as soon as I recovered from my injuries and never return to the Gao family."

Gao Gen's voice sounded distant in the night, and he sighed softly:

"By the time I recovered from my injuries, everything had been settled."

"Zheng Zibu is dead, Feng Tianyang has confessed...and many more have disappeared without a trace."

Hearing this, Wang also realized something was wrong, and he asked:

"Senior, you should have met Senior Gu Qiting after that, right? That Da Luo Dong Temple..."

“That’s right.” Gao Gen glanced at Wang Ye and then nodded. “After that, I did see Gu Jiting once.”

Gao Gen recalled:
"At that time, the news that the Shuzi Sect had failed to capture him was widely circulated. I also heard that the sect leader of the Shuzi Sect was having trouble sleeping every night because of this, and that Gu Qiting was watching him closely... So I carefully went to investigate around the Shuzi Sect."

“I waited there for almost a month, and just when I was about to give up, he suddenly appeared.”

“He looked much more haggard. When I asked him about the ritual, he wouldn’t say anything, but he taught me about the Great Luo Cave Observation.”

"To this day, I still remember the look in his eyes and the words he said."

He said, "Old Gao, this is what the 'Technique' sect wants, but it might not be a good thing. This strange skill can help you hide better, but it could also cost you dearly."

"At the time, I didn't take his words to heart; I was more concerned about something else he said."

"What did you say?" Lü Liang pressed.

Gao Gen's voice was a little tense: "He said—Old Gao, I was wrong, we were all wrong. What Wugensheng wanted was far greater than we thought."

"That was the last thing Lao Gu said to me. After that, no matter how hard I looked for him, Lao Gu never showed up in front of me again."

At this point, Gao Gen's eyes narrowed slightly, and his voice unconsciously carried a hint of wistfulness:

"At that time, I was skeptical of what he said, but later... I realized that what he said was true."

"Entering other dimensions is an extremely dangerous thing."

……

Upon hearing the word "dimension," Lü Liang couldn't help but recall something, and he asked:
"Senior, I've always had a question: all eight sacred artifacts used in the ritual back then have been lost in other dimensions. Have you ever tried using the Great Luo Insight to enter those dimensions and retrieve the sacred artifacts?"

Gao Gen shook his head upon hearing this:

“Dimensions are not singular, but divided into many layers. My abilities cannot reach the layer where the sacred object is located.”

"In fact, the Great Luo Cave Observation can only reach the shallowest level. Its greatest function is to completely conceal one's aura, but even achieving this requires paying a great price."

“When using abilities, one careless move could result in them being lost in another dimension.”

"Moreover, the most terrifying thing is not losing the whole person, but losing only a part of the body."

"A part of the body?" Wang Ye, who had been drowsy, widened his eyes slightly in surprise.

"Yes, a part of the body, such as a finger, a lower leg, or even half of the body... In such cases, even the severed limbs cannot be found."

As he spoke, Gao Gen raised his left hand from under his black robe and then opened it slightly.

Under the moonlight, his five fingers were clearly visible.

Lu Liang noticed that Gao Gen's little finger and ring finger on his left hand were noticeably shorter than the other fingers, as if they had been severed by some sharp weapon.

Gao Gen's gaze swept over his fingers, a bitter look appearing in his eyes:
"From then on, I knew that what Lao Gu said was true, that the Great Luo Cave Observation technique was flawed and incomplete."

“I want to solve this problem, and I also want to figure out what their rituals were all about back then.”

“I went to the Qinling Mountains again and again, looking for clues at the place where the ceremony was held.”

At this point, Gao Gen glanced at Lü Liang and Wang Ye, and continued:

"Several times, Zhang Xuan almost discovered me, and I even thought about acknowledging him."

"However, I held back when I thought about agreeing to the Gao family's request. I originally planned to wait until the conditions for the ceremony were almost complete before confronting him, but I didn't expect... that you guys beat me to it in the end."

"Qinling Mountains..." Lü Liang quickly grasped the key words and asked, "Senior, so you made contact with Qu Tong when her people went to Qinling Mountains to look for Wugensheng's collection, right?"

Gao Gen nodded slightly.

“Since someone has managed to find this place, the so-called peace can’t last long. Moreover, I’m very interested in the people who found this place, especially since I noticed that the storage artifacts they possess resemble the work of the Ma Ben brothers…”

"So I think I should go out and see what's going on, and meet the person behind this."

Lü Liang nodded, sorting out the timeline in his mind.

When he led Mei Jinfeng and Zhang Chulan into the Qinling Mountains, Gao Gen should have already left the Qinling Mountains to look for Qu Tong, thus missing him.

Sure enough, Gao Gen continued:
"I met Qu Tong, and she was very happy to see me. I was also very satisfied with her. Although she didn't know about the ceremony before, she had been searching for the truth about the Jia Shen Rebellion, so we quickly reached an agreement on cooperation."

"To collaborate and recreate that ceremony?" Lü Liang asked.

Gao Gen tacitly accepted this statement.

Lu Liang raised an eyebrow. "Senior, you're helping Elijah protect him so that Nathan Island can open smoothly, right? Are you after Ruan Feng?"

Upon hearing Lü Liang's words, Gao Gen once again showed a look of surprise:

"You actually know about Ruan Feng! How did you know?"

"I naturally have my own sources of information."

Lü Liang gave a vague reply, then asked:
"You're looking for Nguyen Phuong to ask about the specific steps of the peace ceremony, right? Unfortunately, due to the restrictions, Nguyen Phuong can't tell you."

"However, I guess this is also why you want to cooperate with Qu Tong. Qu Tong's double-handed ability can access memories. Do you want her to access Ruan Feng's memories?"

Gao Gen crossed his arms and did not deny it.

His gaze was fixed on Lü Liang, as if signaling Lü Liang to continue speaking.

Lu Liang met Gao Gen's gaze and smiled:
"Actually, I know this trick too."

"What? You want to persuade me to cooperate with you instead?" Gao Gen's gaze was scrutinizing. "But we have the same abilities, why would I want to create trouble for myself?"

"Naturally, it's because that restriction cannot be broken with dual-wielding techniques; in fact, it might lead to Ruan Feng's death."

Upon hearing this, Gao Gen's expression changed.

Lu Liang remained calm, staring back at Gao Gen with a composed expression.

The two remained locked in a stalemate for a moment, until finally Gao Gen took the initiative to speak:

"Then what's your plan?" (End of Chapter)