Wizards begin with Occlumency.

Chapter 338 Totem

"Young Master Lin has finally shown himself."

Hu Suqi seemed to have known all along that Link was following Senior Brother Shi, whether she guessed or discovered it herself, it was unclear.

"hehe……"

Lin Ke replied to Hu Suqi with a laugh, "I dare not accept the title of 'young hero' from the Witch Master."

Hu Suqi's expression darkened slightly, and she said unhappily, "Young Master Lin, are you convinced that I'm the one pulling the strings behind everything?"

No, not at all.

Link shook his head, thought for a moment, and added, "It's just a suspicion. That's why we've come to confront the Wizard Lord, right?"

"Oh……"

Hu Suqi sneered, "You two brothers are truly upright gentlemen and righteous heroes, each of you enjoying sneaking into women's boudoirs at night! Can't you have something to say during the day and formally visit them?"

Faced with the accusations, Link remained unmoved and laughed, "During the day I meet the second daughter of a provincial governor, and at night I meet the witch master who created 'Witchcraft'. They are different."

"snort!"

Hearing Link's sophistry, Hu Suqi appeared very indignant.

A moment later, however, she gestured for Link to sit down and talk.

Link was very obliging and actually sat down in the small living room next to the bedroom, and even drank a sip of tea that Hu Suqi poured for him.

"Young Master Lin, aren't you afraid I'll poison the water?"

Hu Suqi took a small sip of tea and asked curiously.

"Don't worry, this body is just an avatar anyway."

Link spoke frankly and openly, without hiding anything.

"A clone..."

Hu Suqi was greatly surprised to hear this.

With her expertise in ancient witchcraft and her mental powers, she couldn't even tell.

This is truly an astonishing thing.

"Young Master Lin has also practiced ancient witchcraft?"

Hu Suqi was puzzled and asked in confusion.

"It's just a little trick, I hope you won't laugh at me, Master."

These words silenced Hu Suqi, who remained speechless for a long time.

Lin Ke leisurely sipped his tea, thoroughly enjoying himself.

He is increasingly convinced that the "Witch" organization is a good organization; every time he interacts with them, he either unlocks memories or triggers new methods.

The method used to capture Yun Xinying in the haunted house was not a clone technique, but rather the use of the haunted house's environment and lighting to construct an illusion with superhuman mental power, thus distorting Yun Xinying's perception.

Upon arriving at Hu Suqi's villa and seeing so many warning, defensive, and trap spells that had no sinister aura whatsoever, Link was once again inspired.

Numerous methods based on mental power flooded his mind like a tidal wave.

The art of creating clones is one of them.

"Let's talk things out to avoid further misunderstandings."

Hu Suqi composed herself and finally broke her silence, saying, "I did indeed found the 'Witch' organization, and I am indeed the 'Witch Master' you speak of, but I haven't been involved in the 'Witch' organization's affairs for a long time. In fact, the 'Witch' organization has betrayed my ideals, is not on my side, and has even chosen another 'Witch Master'!"

"Um."

Link nodded, readily accepting Hu Suqi's explanation.

"You believe me?"

Hu Suqi was somewhat surprised to see this.

"Believe it, why wouldn't you?"

Link chuckled, "The protective spells you set up don't have any eerie ghostly aura, and you don't have any evil spirits or resentment clinging to you. I imagine your spells are quite different from the current spells of the 'Witch' organization. To be honest, I'm quite curious."

Hu Suqi understood Link's implied meaning. After pondering for a moment, she gritted her teeth and said, "I can give you all the ancient witchcraft I have, both restored and incomplete, but I have one condition."

"Ancient witchcraft?"

Without directly asking about the conditions, Link was more interested in the term "ancient witchcraft."

"This is my own definition."

Hu Suqi explained, "I call techniques that do not require the use of human body parts, are not bloody, and are not evil ancient witchcraft; I call those bloody, evil techniques that are made from human body evil witchcraft."

After a pause, Hu Suqi emphasized, "In fact, the origins of ancient witchcraft and evil witchcraft are completely different. This is something I gradually discovered after I faded out of the 'Witchcraft' organization."

"Oh? Could you elaborate?"

Link immediately became even more interested.

"Of course, but let's discuss the terms first."

Hu Suqi agreed, but then forcefully steered the conversation back to the topic.

For her, explaining the origins of the two witchcrafts was just a matter of talking a little, and not very important.

Most importantly, Hu Suqi wanted Link to agree to her conditions.

"Ms. Hu, please go ahead."

Link straightened his expression and changed the way he addressed him.

This surprised and delighted Hu Suqi.

The Witch Master and Miss Hu are indeed different.

Link made this change because he had roughly determined that Miss Hu was not the "Witch Master" who had punished Yun Xinying from afar.

The two are simply similar in many ways.

The provincial governor was a playboy in his youth, with countless romantic affairs and an untold debt of love.

The intelligence system established by Shan Linke uncovered no fewer than fifteen illegitimate sons and daughters of the provincial governor.

One of them was an illegitimate daughter who, in both appearance and temperament, was quite similar to Miss Hu.

Link knew that this was not a coincidence, but rather because the illegitimate daughter had repeatedly stated, either publicly or semi-publicly, that she had been required to live like Miss Hu Er since childhood.

The warlord's illegitimate daughter is the mastermind behind the Lotus Heart Pavilion!

With this in mind, it becomes clear who the current leader of the "Witch" organization is.

Perhaps because the suspicion of harming Li Sisi had been cleared, Hu Suqi looked pleased and spoke with a more cheerful tone, saying, "My condition is very simple: you must step forward and dispel your senior brother's concerns."

"Well……"

Upon hearing this, Link pondered for a moment, then asked curiously, "Miss Hu, have you fallen for my senior brother?"

"What do you mean by being moved or not?"

Hu Suqi glared at Lin Ke, inadvertently revealing the charm of a mature young woman.

No wonder the eldest brother was so captivated by her charm.

"Oh? Then why is Miss Hu so concerned about my senior brother's opinion?"

Link kept his eyes straight ahead, his mind unmoved, and continued to ask questions.

"Your senior brother is such a blockhead, how could I possibly fall for him?"

Hu Suqi remained defiant, explaining, "You should know my reputation isn't actually that good. It's rare to find someone who thinks so highly of me, and I just don't want to lose them."

Over thirty years old and still unmarried, she often worked for Governor Hu and mingled in high society. In addition, she was beautiful, well-proportioned, and had a good temperament, so it was natural that she would attract some gossip.

They might say the grapes are sour because they can't have them, or they might be envious, jealous, or have other ulterior motives.

In any case, Miss Hu's reputation is truly hard to describe.

"Okay, I promise Miss Hu."

Link knew that this Miss Hu was actually very chaste, valued relationships and fidelity highly, and never messed around.

She was deceived by a philandering artsy guy during her teenage years. Although she didn't lose her virginity, she lost her innocent heart and a large sum of money. Since then, she has disguised herself.

Being a social expert is also a way of disguising and protecting oneself.

Having received Lin Ke's assurance, Hu Suqi's frustration from being disturbed and misunderstood all evening dissipated. She decisively got up, went into the study, and took out a thick book.

"This is the authentic ancient witchcraft that I have compiled over the years. A small part has been restored, but most of it is incomplete."

As she spoke, Hu Suqi handed the large book to Link.

"Thank you, Miss Hu."

Link took the large book, thanked her, and then said, "Miss Hu, could you please explain the origins of ancient witchcraft and evil witchcraft?"

"it is good."

Hu Suqi agreed, thought for a moment, and said, "Ancient witchcraft originated from ancient times, stemming from humanity's awe of nature, fear of powerful animals, worship of heaven and earth, and yearning for longevity. Strictly speaking, the Human Immortal Martial Arts is a transcendent system that gradually developed as sages pursued longevity. Young Master Lin is a genius of the Southern Jianghu's Human Immortal Martial Arts, so of course he knows that the Human Immortal Martial Arts emphasizes the balance of essence, qi, and spirit. In fact, early human cultivation prioritized spirit."

After a pause, Hu Suqi continued her explanation with a touch of longing:

"Some ancient sages believed that heaven and earth were a sea of ​​suffering, and the physical body was a precious raft, carrying the soul, which symbolizes the true spirit, across the sea of ​​suffering to reach the other shore, in order to shed the mortal body and transcend the soul."

Later, several ancient witchcraft schools successively announced that their powerful members had ascended to the upper realm and successfully transcended worldly concerns. This brought ancient witchcraft to its peak of prosperity.

Unfortunately, this good fortune did not last long. According to the theories of ancient witchcraft, powerful beings who ascend to the upper realm can maintain a certain connection with the lower realm and can respond to the sacrifices and prayers of their disciples and followers, bestowing protection and power upon them.

However, no single school of thought has been able to achieve this.

This has sparked questions within the spiritual community.

Whether ancient witchcraft can truly transcend reality remains a question, not a truth.

Then one day, a meteor shower fell from the sky.

Someone found a fragmented stone tablet containing some information from a meteorite crater.

The information was deciphered and discovered to be a method of cultivation, and it was extremely similar to the ancient witchcraft that was then called "fangshu".

After the news spread, more and more cultivators went to search for the meteorite crater and the broken stone slabs.

As more and more fragmented stone tablets are discovered, a cultivation system similar to, yet distinct from, "magic arts" emerges in this world.

Many people believe that this is the Great Path to Heaven that powerful beings who have ascended to the upper realms are trying to send back to the lower realms, so they ignore the reminders of some knowledgeable people and forcibly cultivate it.

From then on, the evil sorcery that deprives sentient beings of their essence, energy, and spirit to nourish itself spread and brought calamity to the world.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Human Immortal Martial Arts Sect infiltrated the evil sects along with "magical arts" and sorcery, and eradicated them.

Thousands of years passed, and "magic arts" and evil witchcraft completely disappeared until 168 years ago.

Someone unearthed a ruin and obtained a legacy that was a mixture of 'magical arts' and evil sorcery.

A group calling themselves "shamans" emerged, flourished briefly, wreaked havoc on the world, and were then wiped out.

Lin Ke listened quietly to Hu Suqi's story, lost in thought.

He was certain that Hu Suqi herself deeply believed in her version of events.

Whether it is true or not remains to be seen.

After all, it's been too long, and much of the content is based on inference or even conjecture.

However, none of these are very important; whether it's true or not doesn't have much of an impact.

"Ms. Hu, there's something I need to make clear to you first."

Link decisively changed the subject, giving a heads-up first.

"What is it? Young Master Lin, please speak frankly."

Hu Suqi's attitude was excellent, perhaps out of affection for the house, or perhaps for other reasons.

"I will definitely investigate the 'Witch Master' who manipulated the 'Witchcraft' organization and set up a trap for my master. I'm making this clear to Miss Hu beforehand to avoid any misunderstandings later."

Link solemnly stated his determination.

Upon hearing this, Hu Suqi sighed softly.

After a long silence, Hu Suqi nodded slightly: "Young Master Lin, please proceed with your actions."

"I'm relieved to hear Miss Hu's words."

Link stood up, picked up the large book, and walked outside. "I apologize for disturbing Miss Hu tonight."

As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished, along with the huge tome.

Hu Suqi sat quietly for a while, sighed softly, and went back to bed to rest, without doing anything else.

Link's true form returned to the martial arts school at an extremely fast speed, before Senior Brother Shi.

The large volume he obtained from Hu Suqi was also secretly retrieved from his clone and taken back.

Regardless of whether Senior Brother Shi would visit late at night, Link turned on the light, sat at his desk, and began to read the thick book intently, hoping to gain some useful information and reference.

Ancient witchcraft and evil witchcraft are both acceptable, as long as they can help unlock memories and improve the "construct" system.

Black cat or white cat, any cat that catches mice is a good cat.

He watched it from the middle of the night until dawn.

The harvest was naturally plentiful.

Let's skip over the unlocked memories and sparked inspiration for now.

Link already had a relatively clear direction on how to improve the "construct" system.

Whether it's ancient witchcraft or evil witchcraft, "totems" make up a huge proportion of it.

Of course, "totem" is Link's own translation for ease of understanding.

In reality, it is a form of tattooing, using specific secret methods and pigments to draw specific symbols or patterns on the body, thereby achieving the effect of branding.

This kind of spell, which is branded onto a part of the body, such as the "ghost eye" in witchcraft, has the advantage of being quick to cast and does not require finding casting materials on the spot.

The downside is that the process is cumbersome, time-consuming, and resource-intensive.

Link certainly wouldn't pick up a sesame seed and lose a watermelon by abandoning his own "construct" system to specialize in "totems" in ancient or evil magic.

However, once it was clarified that "constructs" could be implanted into people in this world, many problems were easily solved.

Furthermore, now that we've caught the "Witch Lord" by the skin of his teeth, let's expose him.

There's no need to waste any more time.

Link closed the large book, hid it away, and left the bedroom.

"Senior brother, I have some things to attend to and need to leave for a while."

Upon finding Senior Brother Shi, Link directly explained his purpose: "I may need to conceal my tracks during this period, so please don't worry if we can't get any news about me for a while."

"Okay, be careful."

Senior Brother Shi did not stop him, nor did he say anything more.

He wasn't in high spirits and looked listless.

Link smiled, turned and walked out of the martial arts hall, jokingly transmitting his voice:

"Miss Hu is doing well, Senior Brother, keep up the good work."

(End of this chapter)