Wizards begin with Occlumency.

Li Shuwen offered very valuable advice.

Whether it was optimizing and enhancing "constructs" for immediate combat or designing "constructs" to assist martial artists in their training, many of his words were like a wake-up call, enlightening Link.

It must be said that Li Shuwen's ability to cultivate to the peak of the Human Immortal Martial Arts Void Realm and to become a banner of the radical faction of mechanical martial arts under the pseudonym "Shouzheng Shanren" is by no means undeserved.

A multitude of ideas surged through Link's mind.

If it weren't for the matter of entering the valley, Link would have loved to immediately dive into the lab and refine those ideas.

"No rush, no rush."

Li Shuwen noticed Link's state and chuckled.

To be honest, he also wanted to see the complete "construct" system as soon as possible, and how much change it could bring to the Immortal Martial Arts.

Li Shuwen had initially thought that implanting "constructs" could only improve immediate combat power, so he was still quite worried deep down.

Now that he knows Link is focusing on developing "constructs" that can assist martial artists in their training, he feels relieved.

Improving immediate combat power is secondary; supporting cultivation is the fundamental goal.

Only when the foundation is solid can the branches flourish more abundantly!

"Let's go back, Master. Lest the imperial court discover you're missing and do something foolish."

Link suggested locking up the three qualified finished products.

No one would believe that the imperial court did not monitor the Bajiquan martial arts group.

Leaving aside the destructive power of Li Shuwen, a peak Void Realm martial artist, the twenty-odd Returning One Realm martial artists gathered at the Eight Extremes Martial Arts Hall are causing trouble in the city. Unless a large army is called in to suppress them, there is no other way to deal with them.

The group of socially awkward but incredibly destructive martial artists above the Guiyi Realm from the Mingxin Sword Sect also live at the Bajiquan Martial Arts Hall.

If it weren't for the fact that Void Realm warriors aren't in a hurry to enter the valley and therefore haven't yet left the mountain.

The fighting power gathered in a small branch of a Bajiquan martial arts school in the provincial capital would be extremely terrifying.

"Um."

Li Shuwen nodded.

The two teleported away, one after the other.

This time, Link tried to adjust his movements when entering and leaving the "lake" according to Li Shuwen's advice, reducing or even eliminating the "water droplets" on his body from dripping into the lake, so as to reduce the ripples caused when re-entering the "lake".

A true word is passed on, and a thousand volumes of books are falsely passed on.

Link, who was actually constantly exploring the method of teleportation, quickly demonstrated his difference and progress.

The person's movements became even more silent, elusive, and difficult to detect or track.

Moreover, Link also realized his previous mistakes.

There is a huge difference between spatial teleportation and physical transformation.

Simply put, teleportation is the ability to move in a straight line between two points in three-dimensional space at extremely high speed.

Essentially, it's still about constantly increasing "speed," and the ultimate goal is to reach the speed of light.

Spatial teleportation is similar to the warp drive of an interstellar warp, entering a warp bubble from one point and exiting it upon reaching the next point.

Li Shuwen's guidance, his entry into the curvature bubble, his faster-than-light movement within the curvature bubble, and his exit from the curvature bubble—these three key points provided Link with crucial insights.

This is the meaning of a master's existence.

A teacher is one who imparts knowledge, teaches skills, and resolves doubts.

"Thank you, Master."

Back at the Bajiquan Martial Arts School, Link regained his footing and immediately expressed his sincere gratitude.

Although it's unclear why he's so obsessed with teleportation, the fact that his abilities have improved is definitely something to celebrate.

After all, teleportation is extremely useful, whether for traveling, chasing, or escaping.

"Um."

Li Shuwen accepted the greeting with composure once again, and then took Link to pay respects to his teacher's wife.

Soon, the news of the return of the eighth junior brother, Link, spread throughout the Bajiquan Martial Arts School branches.

The eldest brother, second sister, third brother and others all rushed to see him.

"Junior brother has foresight, but it's a pity the imperial court doesn't uphold martial ethics."

Upon meeting, Senior Brother Shi's words immediately made everyone burst into laughter.

How could the imperial court talk about military virtue?

It has always been about authority and power.

After the laughter subsided, the group began to discuss the Valley of the Dead.

As the first group to enter the valley, Senior Brother Shi and Link didn't feel anything special about it.

However, the master's wife, the second senior sister, and the fourth senior sister appeared extremely worried and anxious.

As the conversation progressed, it turned into everyone comforting their master, second senior sister, and fourth senior sister.

After their conversation, the disciples bid farewell to their master and mistress and left the small courtyard.

Through Senior Brother Shi's introduction, Link met with two other Mingxin Sword Sect martial artists at the Unity Realm who were also among the first batch of people selected to enter the valley.

Due to some historical reasons, the Mingxin Sword Sect has a majority of female disciples.

These two are no exception.

One big and one small.

The older one looked to be around thirty years old, but was actually over forty.

It's just that a peaceful state of mind, a simple life, no strife with the world, and a quiet existence make one appear young.

The youngest is only in his early twenties and is a martial arts prodigy.

Unfortunately, he has some personality flaws; he doesn't like to talk and just kept his head down, eating melon seeds the whole time.

Well……

The melons that Senior Brother Shi specially prepared for her were from the Western Regions and were rare in the Mingxin Sword Sect.

After bidding farewell to the two disciples of the Mingxin Sword Sect, Lin Ke told his senior brother Shi to go about his own business and returned to his original bedroom.

The room had been unoccupied for a month, yet it was clean and tidy, clearly indicating that it was regularly maintained.

It was nearly dusk, and the sun was setting.

In a little while, the time will come when it will be convenient to act in private.

There are still some things that Link has questions about and needs to find answers to.

Li Shuwen had little contact with the imperial court and spent most of his time outside the officialdom, so it was normal that he was not well-informed.

The Mingxin Sword Sect is a secluded sect, and its members are mostly socially awkward and not good at socializing. Even if they have some connections, they will not take the initiative to inquire about others.

Therefore, Link had no choice but to personally go and sneak into Hu Suqi's villa at night.

Hu Suqi was a master of ancient witchcraft, the founder of the "Witchcraft" organization, and the first witch master.

But where did her ancient witchcraft come from?

Lin Ke had long suspected that Hu Suqi had someone behind her.

After all, the Dayong Dynasty had two capitals and twenty-nine provinces, and this province was only one of them, located on the southern border.

If it weren't remote enough, why would Li Shuwen choose to live in seclusion in Fuli County?

It's just that there's a Valley of the Dead, and a Governor Hu emerged from it, which somehow elevated the province's status and attractiveness.

Lin Ke even suspected that Hu Songqi had someone backing him.

Otherwise, how can we explain the origin of her evil witchcraft and the confidence she had in replacing Hu Suqi as the second witch leader of the "Witchcraft" organization?

When Governor Hu went to Beijing to report on his duties, he expressed his determination to the Kangxi and Qianlong Emperors, and left Hu Suqi and Hu Songqi to venture into the Valley of the Dead to show his stance.

To save face, the imperial court could no longer keep the Hu sisters imprisoned.

This moment, that moment.

Therefore, Link guessed that Hu Suqi had most likely returned to the villa.

Link noticed this from Shi Shixiong's physical and mental state.

Lü Zu once said:

A beautiful young woman, her body like soft butter, wields a sword at her waist to slay foolish men; though no heads fall in the open, the lord's marrow is drained in secret.

Hu Suqi is indeed a beauty. Although she is not yet 16, she is more dangerous than a 16-year-old girl and can be described as a wolf or tiger.

Judging from Link's opinion, Senior Brother Shi is probably no match for Hu Suqi.

If one doesn't know how to control oneself, one will most likely be killed by her.

Lost in thought, we arrived at the villa.

This time, Link did not barge into Hu Suqi's boudoir.

Our status is different now.

Dumplings, sister-in-law, and other ethical jokes are not allowed to be made about.

Link rang the doorbell and waited quietly.

A moment later, with a creak, the door swung open to both sides.

Link stepped in, crossed the gravel-paved sidewalk, and went straight into the lobby on the first floor of the villa.

Hu Suqi was already dressed formally and waiting.

"I have met Miss Hu. I apologize for my uninvited visit and the intrusion."

Lin Keyi greeted them politely.

"What, do you still consider me an outsider?"

Hu Suqi rolled her eyes at Link, "Didn't you instigate your senior brother to confess to me? Now you're denying it?"

"Greetings, sister-in-law."

Link immediately changed his form of address.

"That's more like it."

Hu Suqi snorted and got up to personally pour tea for Link.

I left the teacup empty earlier, just in anticipation of this address.

Although Miss Hu has a bad reputation, she is definitely not a fickle person.

On the contrary, Miss Hu was very conservative at heart.

If it weren't for the change in the political situation, she would have already planned to officially marry her senior brother Shi and move into a new house together.

She had practiced ancient witchcraft in this villa, which was not conducive to conceiving and giving birth.

"Thank you, sister-in-law."

Link picked up the teacup and took a small sip.

Whether or not tea is poured is a matter of attitude.

Whether to drink or not is also a matter of attitude.

After exchanging their views, the two got down to business.

Link spoke first, asking, "May I ask, sister-in-law, why is the court in such a hurry this time? Is it truly because Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong are unwell?"

The question, however, was why the imperial court was in such a hurry to intervene, forcing martial arts practitioners to risk their lives to explore the Valley of the Dead.

Under such high pressure, no matter how strong the court's deterrent power is, it will eventually lead to future troubles.

It should be known that there are many unruly individuals among martial artists. Having seen so many people die, they realize they cannot escape death themselves. Since they are going to die anyway, they might as well rebel.

If a formidable figure emerges at that time, or someone with ulterior motives, the Great Yong regime could very well be reduced to utter chaos.

It's not impossible to drag the royal family off the throne.

Hu Suqi stared at Lin Ke for a moment. Seeing that Lin Ke's expression was calm, she knew that he had deliberately not set up soundproofing measures, and deliberately let the people monitoring Hu Suqi's villa hear.

With a quick glance around her eyes, Hu Suqi decided to play along with Lin Ke and said bluntly, "Because Emperor Kangxi and Emperor Qianlong are dying. Emperors are the most ruthless people in the world. He's about to die, and now that a divine object that can prolong life, even extend one's life by several hundred years, has appeared, how can one not seize it? As for the Great Yong realm, if we can't get the Longevity Peach, we don't care what happens after he dies. If we eat the Longevity Peach, we'll have plenty of time to rebuild our former empire."

"Is that really all there is to it?"

Link, however, was not convinced by this explanation.

Upon hearing this, Hu Suqi remained silent for a long time.

The world cannot exist without the concepts of Yin and Yang.

The reasons for most things can be either explicit or implicit.

What she just said was the official explanation deliberately released by the imperial court.

As for the real reason behind it all, it's too shocking; if it were to spread, it would absolutely throw the world into chaos.

However, Link is a mysterious person, and even if I don't tell him, he can find out.

Moreover, there's also Hu Songqi.

Hu Suqi already knew about Lin Ke's reprimand of Hu Songqi and his attempt to force her to resign from her position as the witch master.

It was also roughly guessed that Hu Songqi had kidnapped martial artists some time ago because he was working for Link.

With Hu Songqi causing trouble, it won't be too difficult for Link to find out the real reason behind it all.

Thinking of this, Hu Suqi made no attempt to conceal anything. He waved his hand to cast a soundproof spell and said in a deep voice, "Because the Imperial Observatory Supervisor observed the celestial phenomena last night and learned that a calamity powerful enough to overthrow Dayong will erupt in eight years. The only way to avoid the calamity is to hide in the Valley of the Dead."

After a pause, Hu Suqi explained, "The Supervisor is the leading figure in Taoism of our time, and is extremely proficient in various arts, including magic, ancient witchcraft, Taoist arts, and even evil witchcraft. His predictions based on celestial observations are invariably accurate."

"Dead Man's Valley? Eight years later?"

Link muttered to himself, lost in thought.

Given the location and time, it's hard for Link not to have many thoughts.

"How high is the level of a supervisor?"

Soon, Link suppressed his thoughts and asked about something extremely important.

Hu Suqi replied solemnly, "The person most likely to ascend to immortality in this world, in terms of combat strength, is far inferior to your master."

"Whoa!"

Link couldn't help but gasp.

After regaining most of his memories, he made a comparison and found that Li Shuwen's combat strength was not bad among the fourth-level sages he had seen.

It's just that it's not as comprehensive or creative as others.

However, this is a constraint imposed by the profession, not a subjective defect.

The Director of the Imperial Observatory is the most likely to ascend, and his combat power far surpasses that of Li Shuwen. Could he possibly be a sixth-level sage?

A guess began to form in Link's mind.

"hiss!"

Link gasped again.

If this guess comes true, it would be quite something.

It seems we have to go to the Valley of the Dead, and once we enter, we must be extremely careful.

Even the Director of the Imperial Observatory, who is likely not a Level 6 Sage but at least a Level 5 Sage, is eyeing the Valley of the Dead. We must be careful and vigilant.

Hu Songqi's momentary outburst of temper caused a mess that only escalated further.

I really don't know how it will end.

"What a good thing you've done!"

Lotus Heart Pavilion, Hu Songqi's boudoir.

Hu Songqi knelt on the ground, listening to a person shrouded in shadow reprimanding him.

"I taught you evil sorcery and asked you to find a way to retrieve the highest secret text from the Valley of the Dead. Is this how you do things?"

The dark figure kicked Hu Songqi to the ground, stomped on her face and ground his foot into hers several times, angrily cursing, "Where's your brain? Don't you use your brain when you do things? How dare you spread the news about Dead Man's Valley? Humph!"

The more he talked, the angrier he became. The dark figure kicked Hu Songqi hard, sending him flying.

With a bang.

Hu Songqi smashed the sturdy canopy bed and spat out a large amount of blood.

"Remember this: I can bestow evil magic upon you, and I can take it back! If you can't find the supreme secret manual after entering the valley, you'll die there. Don't make me do it myself."

The shadowy figure uttered a threatening remark and vanished in an instant.

Hu Songqi lay on the broken canopy bed, vomiting up the remaining blood clots.

After a long time, Hu Songqi finally vomited up all the blood clots caused by the damage to his internal organs. However, disregarding the fact that it would aggravate his injuries, he burst into laughter.

"Good...good...good Governor Hu! What a good father!"

As she laughed, large tears rolled down Hu Songqi's cheeks.

But his eyes held a joyful and unrestrained spirit! (End of Chapter)