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

Lü Liang immediately looked up at the others present.

He noticed that everyone's faces were indeed filled with joy, and some people had even begun to practice their Qi circulation and use the new techniques they had acquired.

Based on his own cultivation techniques, he communicated with the ancestors of various schools and gained enlightenment on unparalleled skills...

This is what comes to mind for each person during the ceremony.

Moreover, because the conditions for this ceremony were all in place, the resulting skill was more refined than that obtained by Wugensheng.

"Lu, thank you for your invitation. This has been a truly amazing experience."

Baron laughed heartily a few times, then looked at Lü Liang with gratitude: "I now know how to quell that impulse in my heart, and this is very important to me."

Upon hearing this, Nguyen Phong, who was standing to the side, immediately looked towards Balun.

At this moment, Nguyen Phuong's expression showed a rare hint of tension, and his eyes held a questioning look.

Upon seeing this, Baron immediately walked over to Nguyen Phuong, and the two began to speak in hushed tones.

Seeing this, Wang Ye also took a few steps toward Zhou Sheng and said, "Grandmaster Uncle, I just got a bit of inspiration. The masters of Wudang are saved."

"Ha!" Zhou Sheng scoffed, "What do I care if they live or die? They can't even learn the good stuff that's handed to them, so it's no loss if they die."

"Grandmaster Uncle, you really aren't interested?"

"Just fart if you want to!"

……

Upon hearing the exchange between Wang Ye and the other person, a hint of a smile flashed in Zhuge Qing's narrowed eyes.

"Zhuge Qing."

Hong Bin's voice rang out from the side, drawing Zhuge Qing's attention back.

Zhuge turned his head and saw Hong Bin grinning foolishly, carefully cradling the Crimson Sun Furnace in his arms, his face beaming with joy.
"Zhuge Qing, I, the Little Fire God, will never forget this favor! When I bring the sacred artifact and the extraordinary skill back, my master will definitely praise me, hehe..."

Hearing Hong Bin's statement, Zhuge Qing smiled and shook his head without replying. He then turned his gaze to Lü Liang and nodded, saying:

"Old Lu, my Qimen Dunjia skills have also improved. Thanks."

Lü Liang responded with a smile.

He noticed that almost everyone present was somewhat excited, except for Zhang Chulan, whose face still showed worry.

Zhang Chulan took a few steps toward them and asked in a low voice, "Brother Lü, about Sister Bao'er..."

"We'll talk about it later." Lü Liang gave Zhang Chulan a reassuring look.

Zhang Chulan nodded, looking thoughtful.

……

After digesting the extraordinary skills they had learned, everyone finally had the mind to turn their attention to another issue—the Jia Shen Rebellion.

After a moment of silence, Zhang Xuan spoke first:
"Just now, a voice appeared in my mind. The voice seemed to come from my ancestor of the Mo Clan. What he was chanting was the most advanced mechanical technique..."

After a pause, Zhang Xuan took a deep breath before continuing, "After obtaining the miraculous skill called 'A Chance Encounter,' I also heard a whisper... about 'Ascension'..."

“I heard that too!” Hong Bin shouted in agreement.

"Yes, me too."

More people nodded in agreement.

The group looked at each other, their eyes confirming that they had all heard the same thing from their ancestors.

Lü Liang also recalled the message conveyed by that voice—

The so-called secret of the Jia Shen Rebellion is the truth of "ascension".

Ascension is not a transformation of one's physical and spiritual body, but a leap from one dimension to another, or rather, a leap to a higher dimension.

Therefore, there has been the saying "breaking through the void" since ancient times.

The so-called "void" is dimension.

Crossing dimensions cannot be achieved through ordinary techniques; only by communicating with the ancestors of various schools through rituals can one obtain the top-tier techniques related to ascension from each school.

But even if you acquire this extraordinary skill, it doesn't mean you can "ascend to heaven".

Because the energy or spiritual energy required to truly reach the realm of being able to shatter the void is extremely vast.

All things have a spirit. The ancients used various qi cultivation techniques to obtain energy from mountains, rivers, lakes, seas, flowers, birds, fish, and insects, and to reach the realm of "ascension".

Unfortunately, with the increase in population and the development of technology, spiritual energy has actually decreased significantly compared to before, and is simply insufficient to support "ascension".

Nowadays, unless one uses someone who claims to be the "spirit of all things" as the source of Qi, and practices evil magic or forbidden techniques, it is simply impossible to obtain that much Qi.

Lu Liang noticed that everyone present had a serious expression on their face at this moment.

Because if this truth were to be revealed, not only the world of supernatural beings, but also the secular world would face immense chaos.

"This matter must absolutely not be revealed to anyone!"

"I agree!"

"I agree!"

"Verbal promises alone are not enough; they must be restricted by restrictive spells."

Upon hearing this, everyone turned their attention to Liu Yanyan.

The Fujiyama School is most skilled in "medicine" and "incantations," and restrictions happen to be a type of "incantation."

……

Once the restriction spell was completed, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Just then, someone suddenly asked a question.

"The matter of the extraordinary skills and secrets has been resolved, but I still have one question: what about the rootless people?"

"If he held the ceremony back then only to obtain a special skill, then what special skill did he ultimately obtain? And where did he go?"

"He has been missing for all these years. Could he have ascended to heaven?"

Upon hearing the word "ascension," Zhang Xuan's eyes widened. He instinctively gripped the Juzi token in his hand and whispered:
"But theoretically that's impossible, and there probably wasn't enough Qi back then."

"Or is there some secret he's hiding that we don't know about?"

After he finished speaking, the room fell silent.

No one could answer the question, and even Ruan Feng and Zhou Sheng looked somewhat bewildered.

Then, they both glanced at Feng Baobao almost imperceptibly, without saying a word.

At this moment, a look of "I knew it" flashed in Lü Liang's eyes.

But he showed no intention of answering; instead, he cleared his throat and said:

"I will continue to investigate the matter of Wugensheng, and I will let you know if there is any news."

"The ceremony is now over. Now that everyone has received what they wanted, you may all depart."

"However, I want to remind everyone that the company has already heard about what happened in Qinling, and their people should already be waiting outside."

Upon hearing this, Hong Bin showed an indifferent expression:
"Hehe, what's there to be afraid of! My Fire Release technique has been upgraded, the people in the company can't catch me. By the time they react, I'll already be back at the Fire Virtue Sect... Using the Earth's Core Fire as a path, I can leap a thousand miles in one go... This advancement is so awesome, hahahahaha!"

"Hey, anyone want to come with me? I can give up to four people on the way..."

"Ha! Kid, who do you think you are? You're not the only one who has obtained this extraordinary skill."

Zhang Xuan chuckled, broke off a few vines from the cave entrance, and with a surge of Qi in her hands, she soon wove a mechanism in the shape of a wooden goose.

Immediately afterwards, he tossed the wooden goose into the air, and it soared into the sky, carrying him away from the cave.

"Gentlemen, I, Zhang, will take my leave now!"

After Hong Bin and Zhang Xuan, Tao Tao and Yuan Shixiao also left quickly.

Immediately afterwards, Balun nodded slightly to Lü Liang and then walked out with Ruan Feng and Zhou Sheng.

There were fewer and fewer people in the cave, and when Zhang Chulan saw Gao Gen, Qu Tong, and Ma Xianhong leaving together, he subconsciously looked in Lü Liang's direction.

Liu Yanyan was standing in front of Lü Liang, looking up with her hands on her hips, and asked, "Are you really not coming back to Xiangxi with me?"

"No, thank you." Lü Liang shook his head. "I have other things to do."

“Other things…” Liu Yanyan’s lips unconsciously pouted as she looked at Chen Duo, who was standing obediently to the side. “Hmph! Then let her come back to Xiangxi with me.”

Liu Yanyan's actions were originally just out of spite, but to her surprise, Lü Liang actually nodded.

"Okay."

After saying that, Lü Liang looked down at Chen Duo and said softly, "We promised the High Priest that we would help her find the Qinghe Gu Gu. This time we can send this sacred object back to the Miao tribe in Xiangxi. Xiao Duo, do you still remember the way?"

Chen Duo nodded seriously and shook the small jade bottle tied to her waist: "I remember my Gu."

"Alright, then you two can leave together."

……

Seeing Liu Yanyan awkwardly leading Chen Duo away from the cave, Zhuge Qing slapped Lü Liang on the shoulder.

"Wow, Lao Lü, you're even better at attracting women than I am. I'm impressed."

“Old Wang, you should learn from Old Lü. Don’t carry around a thermos like an old man every day.”

"No thanks, I have no such worldly desires."

"Really not? In that case, why don't you introduce me to your childhood friend? The one who wanted to partner with you on an investment last time, I think she's quite pretty!"

"roll!"

"Hahahaha... Hey, hey, Lao Wang, just kidding, don't hit me..."

After a few lighthearted banter, Zhuge Qing turned his gaze to Lü Liang, his tone becoming serious:

"Old Lu, the ceremony is complete, and the flaws of the Eight Extraordinary Techniques have been resolved. Is there anything else you need?"

“Yeah,” Wang Ye nodded in agreement. “Old Lü, what are you planning now? Do you need our help?”

“No need.” Lü Liang shook his head again. “I can only do this myself.”

Seeing that Lü Liang insisted, Zhuge Qing and Wang Ye stopped trying to persuade him. The two waved to the back of their heads and, chatting as they went, leaped onto the cliff...

Soon, only Lü Liang, Zhang Chulan, and Feng Baobao remained in the cave.

……

Lü Liang looked at Feng Baobao.

Just now, in addition to the so-called miraculous skills and information related to "ascension," he also gained an extra piece of memory.

That memory comes from Wugensheng and is reserved for a specific person.

One of the passages is related to Feng Baobao:

After the eight people mastered the extraordinary skill, Wugensheng, under the pretext of missing his daughter, had the eight people combine the power of their eight extraordinary skills to "create" Feng Baobao, a "person" who looked exactly like his daughter in the oil painting.

The eight unique skills interacted with each other, allowing Feng Baobao's body to achieve a wonderful balance.

But maintaining this balance comes at a cost: the loss of memory and emotion.

"Brother Lü, about Sister Bao'er..." Zhang Chulan couldn't help but speak first.

Lü Liang didn't look at him, but stared directly at Feng Baobao and slowly said:

“Feng Baobao, I have a way to make you remember your past, but the price is that you can no longer maintain this ‘ageless’ state. Are you willing?”

“I do!” Feng Baobao answered without hesitation.

"Zhang Chulan, what are your thoughts?"

Lü Liang nodded slightly and finally looked at Zhang Chulan.

"This process is irreversible. Once the decision is made, even if the memory is erased afterward, it is impossible to go back."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chulan immediately turned his gaze to Feng Baobao. A hint of hesitation flashed in his eyes, but after a moment, he nodded firmly:
“I respect Bao’er’s own opinion.”

"Okay, let's get started."

After speaking, Lü Liang raised his hand and gently tapped the center of his forehead. When he removed his finger, a dark blue ball of memory energy appeared in his palm.

"go with!"

The wisp of memory drifted toward Feng Baobao and flowed into her brow.

Zhang Chulan held his breath, watching this scene with bated breath.

Soon, Feng Baobao's expression changed.

Her gaze was initially somewhat lost, but then her eyes gradually brightened until they were filled with joy.

"Zhang Chulan, I remember now!"

Feng Baobao suddenly turned her head and looked excitedly at Zhang Chulan.

Zhang Chulan's eyes were also filled with joy, and his voice trembled slightly: "Sister Bao'er, have you remembered your background?"

“Yes.” Feng Baobao nodded, her gaze sweeping over the cave. “I was created here.”

"Created?" "Yes, created using extraordinary techniques."

Although Zhang Chulan had already guessed it, he was still so surprised that he opened his mouth wide when he heard this.

“Then your family…” his voice lowered, “…Wugensheng isn’t yours—”

Just as Zhang Chulan was racking his brains for words of comfort, Feng Baobao spoke up with a smile:

"Zhang Chulan, that person told me that I wasn't born of parents, unlike others who are born with families, but I can choose my own family!"

Zhang Chulan's eyes lit up upon hearing this, "Sister Bao'er, you mean—"

Feng Baobao pointed outside, then pointed at Zhang Chulan:

"Uncle Xu, Aunt Zhao, Gouwazi, San'er, Si'er, and you... you are all my family."

"Yes, Sister Bao'er, I am your family!"

Zhang Chulan smiled brightly.

Lu Liang watched this scene with a smile on his lips, listening to Zhang Chulan and Feng Baobao silently rehearsing their statements after they left.

Once Zhang Chulan's large teeth had finally retracted a bit, he raised his hand and called out:
"Zhang Chulan, there is one more thing I need to tell you."

……

after one day.

Outside the Qinling Mountains.

Zhang Chulan looked sincerely at Xiao Zizai standing in front of him and spread his hands, saying:

"Brother Xiao, I'm not lying to you. I absolutely did not use the Devouring Pouch to hide people. If you don't believe me, come and search!"

Xiao Zizai raised his hand to adjust his glasses, a red glint flashing in his eyes, and said in a deep voice, "Is that so? I wish you were really lying to me."

"Hehe, no, no." Zhang Chulan silently took a step back, increasing the distance between himself and Xiao Zizai.

Just then, a large hand blocked him from behind, and at the same time, a rough voice rang out.

"Zhang Chulan, stop playing tricks!"

He released his grip on the clarinet, his gaze meeting Zhang Chulan's as he turned to look at him.

"Brother Guan!" Zhang Chulan's eyes widened, his face full of innocence. "Where did I play any tricks? I'm innocent!"

"Heh." Black pipe crossed his arms and smirked. "Since yesterday, the people coming out of the Qinling Mountains have been using all sorts of tricks, and it hasn't been easy for us to intercept them."

“Those people are going to great lengths to avoid us.”

"And you, you just walked out so casually, looking completely cooperative. Who would believe you if you said you didn't have any ulterior motives!"

"Brother Guan, what are you saying? How could I be like them? I'm a company employee!"

"Ask me anything you want to know, Mr. Zhao, and I'll tell you everything!"

As he spoke, Zhang Chulan turned his head to remind Feng Baobao not to resist, but to his surprise, Feng Baobao had already squatted down with her hands behind her head, her movements appearing quite practiced.

His lips twitched, and he swallowed back the words that were about to come out.

"Zhang Chulan," Hei Guan spoke again, gesturing with his chin towards the Qinling Mountains, "You lead the way and let our people go inside and take a look."

"Old Xiao, thank you for leading the team in. I'll send you a few guys with good memories."

"Feng Baobao, you don't need to get up. Just stay here and wait."

"Oh." Feng Baobao squatted down again, covering her head.

……

Another day later.

In the interrogation room of the headquarters of NaDuTong in Beijing.

Zhang Chulan sat on a wide bench, looking at Zhao Fangxu, Bi Youlong, and Huang Boren standing outside the glass wall.

His gaze was somewhat complicated. In the past two months, he had actually been on the bench three times, and each time it was related to Lü Liang...

The next moment, Bi Youlong's voice interrupted Zhang Chulan's inner monologue.

"Zhang Chulan, you said before that Lü Liang didn't leave the Qinling Mountains, is that right?"

“Yes.” Zhang Chulan nodded seriously.

Bi Youlong stared at the ceremony display screen, his brows furrowed, because the data above showed that Zhang Chulan was telling the truth.

"Hmph! Then how do you explain the current situation? We sent people in and searched the whole place, we even used satellite imagery, but we couldn't find any trace of Lü Liang."

Hearing Bi Youlong's words, Zhao Fangxu nodded and also spoke:

"Moreover, the people of the Great Love Organization can no longer detect Lü Liang's whereabouts. It's not like before when his presence was intermittent, but now it's completely undetectable, as if he really disappeared into thin air."

"Chu Lan." Zhao Fangxu looked directly at Zhang Chu Lan. "Do you think it's because Lü Liang used that extraordinary technique that Gu Qiting comprehended?"

"What kind of amazing skill?" Zhang Chulan asked, looking bewildered.

"Zhang Chulan, stop pretending now!" Bi Youlong's voice was filled with anger. "The Great Luo Cave Temple! You dare say you haven't heard of it?"

“This…” Zhang Chulan nodded seriously, “I’ve heard of it. I heard that Gu Qiting used this strange skill to disappear in front of the head of the Shuzi Sect back then.”

“However…” Zhang Chulan turned his gaze to Zhao Fangxu, his expression sincere, “President Zhao, since you asked, I certainly can’t hide it from you. As far as I know, that ability isn’t that powerful.”

"How so?" Zhao Fangxu asked, his eyes half-closed.

"That ability can indeed allow people to enter other dimensions, but it doesn't last long, and it's still possible to be detected."

Zhao Fangxu nodded slightly upon hearing this, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes.

According to the company's investigation data, the former head of the Shuzi Sect did indeed say to others that he felt Gu Qiting was watching him, and this gaze appeared from time to time until the moment of his death.

"Even if what you're saying is true, where exactly did Lü Liang go?" Huang Boren couldn't help but ask.

Upon hearing the question again, Zhang Chulan wore a mysterious expression, leaned forward, and said:

"My three bosses, I actually have a guess."

"What guess?" Bi Youlong asked coldly.

"I think he ascended to heaven."

"Ascension? You mean Lü Liang ascended to heaven?!"

"Yes, and it wasn't just him. I think Wugensheng also ascended to heaven back then."

"Bullshit!" Bi Youlong scoffed. "You're not going to tell me it's because of some kind of ritual, are you?"

"Ha, if that ritual were really that effective, why did none of you succeed, but the two of them did?!"

"Of course it's because they're different."

"no the same?"

“Yes, it’s different.” Zhang Chulan nodded and asked in return, “President Zhao, you should have already investigated the people who came from the Qinling Mountains, and you should have already been to Zhuge Village, right?”

"So what if I've been there?" Bi Youlong crossed his arms, looking somewhat impatient. "Zhang Chulan, what exactly are you trying to say?"

Zhang Chulan ignored Bi Youlong and focused his gaze only on Zhao Fangxu.

"Mr. Zhao, I'd like to ask how the head of the Zhuge family explained it to you, why he was willing to lend out the Zhuge family's sacred artifact..."

Outside the glass wall, Zhao Fangxu fell silent.

He recalled the expression on Zhuge Gong's face when he talked about this matter; it was a kind of inexplicable ease, as if a major problem had been solved.

Even knowing that the Zhuge family was about to face a company investigation, Zhuge Gong showed no concern whatsoever. Instead, he smiled and said something puzzling:
"Our ancestor, Zhuge Liang, left behind a prophecy: 'Those who stir up great chaos will come from an unknown place and will go nowhere...'"

"To resolve this, one should go with the flow, letting things return to their original state..."

"Mr. Zhao, I cannot reveal too much about the secrets of heaven. This is all I can say, but I believe I have done something good."

After saying this, Zhuge Gong squinted his eyes, stroked his beard, and said nothing more.

Zhao Fangxu pondered the phrase "wherever one goes, one returns" for a long time, but still found it difficult to understand.

Wasn't Lü Liang from the Lü family?

He had already found a reason to send the company into Lüjia Village to search, but he found no clues.

Could it be that there's another story behind Lü Liang's background?

But such a secret matter couldn't even be traced by the company, how could Zhang Chulan...?

Thinking of this, Zhao Fangxu's eyes flashed, he raised his hand to push up his glasses, and stared directly at Zhang Chulan with narrowed eyes.

"Zhang Chulan, I'll ask you one last question."

“Mr. Zhao, please ask.” Zhang Chulan was very cooperative.

"Everything you just said, was it all told to you by Lü Liang?"

Upon hearing this question, both Bi Youlong and Huang Boren looked over nervously.

Zhang Chulan, however, wore an expression that said, "President Zhao is wise." He nodded and replied:
"Yes."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Fangxu and the other two all looked at the display panel on the bench.

All the physiological data above are normal.

This is the truth.

……

"Zhang Chulan's interrogation should be almost over by now."

Meanwhile, on the other side, in the void passage, Lü Liang walked forward while pondering.

During the ceremony, the memory he received included parts related to Feng Baobao, but it wasn't the only part.

There is also some content about the secret of Wugensheng.

To obtain this memory, one must share the same trait as Wugensheng—that one's soul does not belong to this world.

The so-called transcendence and breaking through the void are pursuits of higher dimensions, not things like parallel universes.

Wugensheng deceived everyone.

The extraordinary skills were just a pretense; the real purpose was the vibration of the void passage when communicating with the ancestors of various factions.

Feng Baobao's existence is just a smokescreen; the secret of "immortality" is what attracts everyone's attention so that the real secret can be kept hidden.

Even the claim that ascension requires a massive amount of energy is a ruse, designed to make people willingly restrain themselves in order to reduce the spread of the ritual.

Under normal circumstances, this ritual could not be replicated at all.

After all, the only ones who knew anything about what happened back then were those thirty-six people, but during the Jia Shen Rebellion, those thirty-six people either died or were injured.

Even though those eight people had the Eight Extraordinary Skills that gave them a greater ability to protect themselves, they survived the chaos.

However, each of the Eight Extraordinary Skills has its own fatal flaws; they are either difficult to pass on or have extremely severe side effects.

Soon, these people will be completely lost in the river of time.

The appearance of Lü Liang is the biggest variable.

The reason for this variable is that there was a problem with the ritual back then. There were not enough people to participate in the ritual, so the void passage did not completely close after Wugensheng left.

This also caused Lü Liang's soul to travel from the three-dimensional world to the two-dimensional world, and into the body of the Quanxing Lü Liang with the same name.

Thinking of this, a smile appeared on Lü Liang's lips.

This is so much fun.

As long as that rift remains, time travelers will arrive sooner or later; this is the truth behind Zhuge Liang's prophecy.

Wugensheng came from a one-dimensional world, appeared in a two-dimensional world, and his so-called "ascension" is to go to a three-dimensional world.

This three-dimensional world is very likely the real world that Lü Liang experienced before his time travel.

In Lü Liang's memory, there were no superhumans or "Qi" in that world.

But perhaps it's not that it really didn't exist... but rather that he was just an ordinary person back then, so he couldn't sense it?

Lü Liang looked down at his hands.

During that ceremony, his dual-wielding skills and spirit summoning abilities were upgraded, not only were their weaknesses resolved, but their strength was also greatly enhanced.

And now, these capabilities are still there.

Lü Liang looked up and gazed ahead.

Light finally appeared at the end of the dark passage, and the faint sounds of bustling traffic could be heard.

A sense of spiritual energy washes over you.

Excitement gleamed in Lü Liang's eyes as he stepped into this familiar yet unfamiliar world.

A new adventure begins!

(End of text) (End of chapter)