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Chapter 159 The Substitute's Self-Recommendation Reveals True Intent, Nine Glances Sword Cries to Set the Secret [Part Two]

It's still that same tea room.

Tang Hao and Helian Chengyu sat on opposite sides of the tea table, while the fake Helian Chengyu stood meekly beside them.

Xuan Ying rubbed her chest, looking aggrieved.

Tang Hao looked utterly astonished: "So, this guy is a stand-in that Ninth Brother specifically found? I thought you..."

"You thought I'd been framed and that someone had impostered me?" Helian Chengyu shook his head helplessly.

With a slightly awkward laugh, Tang Hao picked up his cup and took a sip of tea.

Then, thinking about the substitute's situation, he wondered, "What's wrong with his cultivation level? In my divine sense, he is indeed a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, yet he doesn't sense my probe at all, and his combat strength is so poor."

Upon receiving Helian Chengyu's signal, the stand-in quickly pulled out a pendant from his collar and displayed it, which emitted subtle magical fluctuations.

"This is the item. After a cultivator refines it, when they are probed, it can reveal a specific level of cultivation and magical power. His own cultivation level is just at the peak of Qi Refining," Helian Chengyu explained.

At this point, he said with some helplessness, "It's meant to deal with Core Formation and Nascent Soul cultivators. Ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators wouldn't dare to scan me with their divine sense like you do."

"Ahem, who knew it would turn out like this? As soon as I met him, I sensed something was wrong. I was worried that Ninth Brother was in danger, so I didn't dare to delay at all." Tang Hao chuckled awkwardly.

A look of gratitude flashed across Helian Chengyu's face. Although it was a misunderstanding, his brother was truly there for him when needed!

He nodded slightly and said, "I had considered the possibility that you would suddenly return, but I really did not expect that your cultivation and methods would reach such a level."

"Indeed, the young master clearly held back. If he had truly intended to take my life, I'm afraid I would have had no chance to fight back." Xuan Ying was frustrated, but he was also genuinely impressed.

"Sigh!" Tang Hao was somewhat embarrassed.

Seeing his distressed appearance, he took out a bottle of pills from his ring and tossed it to him: "Xuanying, these are top-quality healing pills. Share them with your brothers. Sorry."

"Thank you, Your Highness, but I won't need the pill. My injuries aren't serious." Xuan Ying hurriedly accepted it, but upon closer inspection, he realized it was a top-grade second-tier pill and quickly declined it.

Tang Hao frowned immediately: "Take it if I tell you to. Consider it compensation from me."

He had to politely decline, but noticing his lord's gesture, Xuan Ying finally accepted it with profuse thanks.

He then left the tea room with his double, leaving the space to the two brothers.

"By the way, Ninth Brother, why did you find a stand-in?" After watching the two leave, Tang Hao asked about the inside story.

Helian Chengyu poured him tea and, upon hearing this, said without any concealment, "I am preparing to go into seclusion to form my core. To prevent anyone with ulterior motives from interfering, I made this arrangement."

"Ninth Brother is about to break through?" Tang Hao was somewhat surprised. "You are going to be the guardian deity of Dongling Kingdom and the successor of the Grand Princess Shouxian. In this Shengjing, there is actually someone who dares to hinder Ninth Brother from forming his core?"

“The resistance doesn’t come from the royal family or ministers, but from the interference of Northern Qi and Southern Yue.” Helian Chengyu sighed, his words causing him to frown.

The majority of the territory of Dongling Kingdom is within the sphere of influence of the Qinghua Sect.

Although there is no clear subordinate relationship between the two, to some extent, Dongling Kingdom can be considered a junior to Qinghua Sect, sending a large number of disciples to the sect every year.

In addition, with the Grand Princess of Longevity, a Nascent Soul cultivator, in charge, there are often frictions between Northern Qi and Southern Yue, but Eastern Mausoleum has been at peace for a long time and has never needed to consider these things.

"That's not right. Why doesn't Ninth Brother just ask the Grand Princess for protection? That way, who would dare to act recklessly?" he asked, puzzled.

Helian Chengyu said with a wry smile, "My great-aunt was seriously injured last year and it took her three months of seclusion to stabilize her condition. If she were to protect me now, we might be wiped out by the enemy forces."

With a quick thought, Tang Hao understood the key point: no wonder Ninth Brother had pulled this stunt.

'Indeed, Grand Princess Shouxian is a Nascent Soul cultivator. Even if she is injured, it will be difficult for enemies to target her. After all, even if she can't win a fight, running away shouldn't be a problem.'

'But if she were to protect Ninth Brother, it would be like setting herself up as a target. If the enemy came knocking, do you think she should run or not?'

'Run! Ninth Brother is doomed. Who knows when the next royal prodigy will be born? Don't run? Hmm, both possibilities are lost.'

These thoughts flashed through his mind, and Tang Hao asked curiously, "The Grand Princess has always been reclusive. Could it be that she was bored and went out to search for treasure and encountered danger?"

“No, have you ever heard of Feng Mingyang?” Helian Chengyu shook his head in denial and then asked a question.

He spat out a mouthful of tea with a "pfft".

Tang Hao said incredulously, "Don't tell me that the Grand Princess was injured by him."

"It really is him." Helian Chengyu had no doubts.

Feng Mingyang is famous for his travelogues and is known as the Cangnan Traveler. He thought Tang Hao was just shocked that the other party actually had the strength of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

"So, he clashed with the Grand Princess while searching for clues about his sister in Shengjing?" Tang Hao, who knew the inside story, immediately made a guess.

"Yes and no."

With a hint of resentment in his expression, Helian Chengyu said, "Although that Senior Feng caused quite a stir in Shengjing, he was quite restrained in his actions, so my great-aunt turned a blind eye to it."

'How did things escalate to this point?' Tang Hao listened intently.

"As events unfold, someone with ulterior motives has released some items related to his sister, deliberately guiding the clues towards my Helian clan." Helian Chengyu's gaze turned cold.

His fists clenched so tightly they cracked: "Senior Feng was provoked by those things, and with the instigation of some unscrupulous people, he ended up fighting with his great-aunt and accidentally injured her seriously."

'A slip-up? Goodness, I knew the boss was awesome, but I never imagined he was this awesome.' Tang Hao couldn't help but gasp in amazement.

Then, a question arose in her mind: 'My senior sister said that her best friend is also a mid-stage Nascent Soul expert, while Feng Mingyang is probably only at the early stage of Nascent Soul, right? How can the difference in combat power be so vast?'

Back in Cangyun City, he overheard Bai Jue and Feng Mingyang reminiscing. Although they didn't mention each other's strength level, he could guess from their conversation.

When they met in the Northern Region, Feng Mingyang must have been a newcomer to the Daoist path. After more than a hundred years of cultivation, even a prodigy would probably find it difficult to advance to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

However, Tang Hao only thought about these things in his heart and didn't want to say them out loud. He skipped the topic and asked, "What are the specific plans for Ninth Brother? Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I don't need anything, um..."

He hadn't originally intended to involve his brother in this mess, but halfway through his sentence, Helian Chengyu changed his mind. If Tang Hao had seen through the double so easily, it might not be able to fool others either.

After a moment's thought, he said, "I'm about to start refining the Core Formation Elixir. So, while I'm in Shengjing, I can often go out with my double to help me attract the attention of those who might want to help me."

'A pill for forming a golden core?' Tang Hao was somewhat tempted. 'Although I already possess the Golden Elixir Jade Rejuvenation Pill, my alchemy skills still need improvement. I'll find an opportunity to ask later.'

His eyes darted around, and he proposed another plan: "That stand-in won't work. It's too weak. If something goes wrong, it will expose us."

"Alas, how could I not know? But his build is similar to mine, and his appearance is somewhat similar. With a little disguise, he could easily pass for the real thing. His shortcomings in cultivation are also unavoidable."

At this point, Helian Chengyu was quite helpless, but as soon as he finished speaking, his brother said, "Let me pretend to be him," which made him laugh.

He looked Tang Hao up and down. It had been more than half a year since he last saw him. His little brother had obviously grown taller and stronger. If he were to wear his own clothes, he would indeed look somewhat like him from behind.

"Xianzhi, don't joke around. Our builds are indeed similar, but in terms of appearance... Holy crap?"

As he spoke, Helian Chengyu's gaze finally landed on Tang Hao's face.

What did he see?
A face that is exactly the same as one's own.

"This, this..." He was speechless for a moment, unable to utter a coherent sentence.

Seeing his reaction, Tang Hao smiled and instantly returned to normal.

This surprised Helian Chengyu again.

“There’s no magical fluctuation, and it’s not a treasure.” His expression shifted, and he suddenly looked at Tang Hao: “Could this be the [Transformation Technique]?”

"That's right." Tang Hao smiled, not surprised that the other party knew this technique.

【Transformation Technique】Don't let the ordinary name fool you, it's actually an extremely difficult secret technique to master. He was able to successfully cultivate it when he first entered the Foundation Establishment stage because he possessed the 【Mysterious Turtle Hidden Breath Technique】, which gave him a profound understanding of his own physical body, and combined it with the "Blood God Undying Body".

If it were an ordinary cultivator, unless they were a body cultivator with exceptional talent, they would probably need to undergo physical reshaping during the Core Formation process to gain a deeper understanding of their own body before they would have a chance to learn it.

'I didn't realize it before, but now that I think about it, Yuan Tong must have thought I was the true successor from the beginning, which is why he gave me such a secret technique.' As the thought crossed his mind, he understood the matter.

Upon seeing this, Helian Chengyu hesitated: "Forget it. Using a substitute is too risky. If we expose ourselves, we will surely be killed."

On the contrary, if he was just helping to attract attention, and his secret was exposed, the stand-in might be killed in revenge, and it wouldn't be difficult for Tang Hao to escape.

Therefore, he was reluctant to let Tang Hao take on the responsibility of being a stand-in.

"Don't worry, danger is necessary to settle our debts of gratitude and karma!" Tang Haoyi said without hesitation, "Ninth Brother, don't worry, with my strength, it won't be a big problem."

"But……"

"Hey, don't say 'but' anymore." Seeing that he was still hesitating, Tang Hao finally resorted to his trump card.

With a clatter, an identity card was tossed onto the tea table.

He deliberately put on a smug look and said, "Isn't Ninth Brother curious why my strength has improved to the point where I can rival yours in just over half a year? Look, take a look."

Helian Chengyu was indeed curious. Seeing this, he raised an eyebrow and picked up the identity token: 'It seems Xianzhi has truly become a true disciple of the Qinghua Sect.'

Having witnessed Tang Hao's strength, he couldn't help but speculate. The Helian clan also had members who had joined the Qinghua Sect for cultivation, so he was naturally familiar with the rules for true disciples.

For this reason, even though the two brothers chatted for a long time, he never brought up the matter himself.

The identity token felt quite heavy, and the words "Qinghua Sect" and "True Disciple" on the back were particularly eye-catching.

"A true master, Xianzhi, you're amazing!" Helian Chengyu exclaimed excitedly.

It wasn't about the stand-in, but rather the heartfelt joy and pride an older brother felt seeing his younger brother achieve something.

Tang Hao was touched, and a smile couldn't help but appear on his face as he reminded him, "Ninth Brother, take another look at the front."

"front?"

He glanced at him, and Helian Chengyu did as he was told, turning his identity card over.

Two simple and elegant characters, "Tang Hao," come into view.

"Is there anything special about the front? Brother... wait!" Helian Chengyu's eyes suddenly narrowed, and he leaned forward a few steps to carefully examine the patterns in the background that shimmered with a glassy luster.

He couldn't help but swallow hard, carefully discerning the characters woven from the patterns: "Pure, Light, Pure Light True Lord? Manifestation, you..."

Helian Chengyu's chest heaved violently as he abruptly looked up in disbelief at his brother.

"Yes, Ninth Brother, now I am already a direct disciple of the Nascent Soul True Monarch." Tang Hao's smile faded.

He solemnly said, "So you don't need to worry. In a real crisis, once I reveal my identity, no one will dare to touch me."

After taking a few deep breaths, Helian Chengyu finally nodded in agreement.

"Then I'll leave it to Xianzhi. Oh, right!" He thought of something and took out a blank jade slip.

After copying it down, he handed it over: "This is a sword technique that I obtained by chance. I usually use it as my main weapon."

Noticing the confusion in Tang Hao's expression, he smiled and stuffed the jade slip into Tang Hao's hand.

"Xianzhi's ability to become a disciple of the True Lord speaks volumes about his talent and comprehension." Helian Chengyu gestured for Tang Hao to examine the jade slip. "If he learns this sword technique, he won't have to worry too much about revealing his weaknesses."

As he spoke, he handed over another jade slip: "This contains some information about my past interactions with others."

Tang Hao read through the two jade slips. The information jade slip was nothing special; its contents were complex and fragmented, but for a Foundation Establishment cultivator, memorizing them was a piece of cake.

On the contrary, the sword technique called "Nine Gazes" gave him a bit of a headache.

'I know absolutely nothing about swordsmanship. When I use a sword, I just slash randomly. As for aptitude, well, that's laughable.'

Fortunately, Tang Hao had a cheat code.

He looked enlightened, toying with the jade slip in his hand, and said, "It is indeed a good sword technique! However..."

Helian Chengyu immediately showed a concerned expression, indicating that he could speak freely.

"I've never practiced swordsmanship before, so I have no concept of sword energy," Tang Hao said, scratching his head somewhat embarrassed. "Could Ninth Brother use his sword to activate it and let me experience it?"

This request was indeed a bit strange, but everyone has their own habits, and Helian Chengyu agreed without much thought.

With a clang, he drew his purple longsword.

With the activation of magic power, a sword aura immediately condensed on it. Just as it was about to unleash a sword strike and unleash sword energy, it was stopped.

"No need to cut it out, just let me touch it."

Helian Chengyu was a little confused, but he handed the sword to him as instructed.

Tang Hao immediately grabbed it without any hesitation.

He first touched the sword's edge, then stroked the blade, and nodded in satisfaction after a moment.

He said, "Ninth Brother, wait for me a moment."

Without waiting for a reply, he closed his eyes.

"Is he trying to comprehend the Nine Gazes Sword Technique?" Helian Chengyu scratched his chin, shaking his head in confusion. "Sword techniques are different from cultivation methods and secret arts; you have to actually practice and demonstrate them."

'Never mind, I'll give Xianzhi some pointers once he wakes up.' He didn't seem to realize that his brother had lost the prestige of being personally taught by the True Lord.

The Qinghua Sect is a Qi-based immortal sect, and its disciples mostly practice magic. It's not surprising that they are not good at sword techniques.

A moment later, Tang Hao woke up.

Just as he was about to speak, he saw his brother call out and walk outside, so he had no choice but to follow.

A moment later, the two returned.

A hint of excitement appeared on Tang Hao's face.

Helian Chengyu, on the other hand, had a blank expression on his face.

'Is this the true teaching of the True Lord? I've truly learned something new today.'

The image of my brother skillfully executing the Nine Sword Techniques flashed through my mind, and I suddenly realized that my talent was just so-so.

Noticing this, Tang Hao felt somewhat apologetic: 'Let's help him out again, and incidentally, accumulate some more goodwill and karmic connections.'

There was no way around it; over the years, the other party had helped the Tang family and him far too much, and it couldn't be easily resolved.

"Ninth Brother, take another look at this!"

Helian Chengyu exclaimed "Ah!" and looked over.

Then his brother threw out another identity card, this time a gold one.

"Jin, a top-tier alchemist?"

Helian Chengyu's expression once again froze.

(End of this chapter)