Chapter 16 Turning Point

  "Ou Yang Zushi, you must be joking." Zhang Heng's heart was stirred up like a huge wave, but on the surface he remained calm and composed, instead revealing an extremely astonished expression.

  Ou Yang's hands pointed, and the entire wooden house was wrapped in a layer of prohibition. He burst out laughing: "A minor skill! How can you deceive Ou Yang? You've only possessed this body for over a month and haven't fully merged with it yet. Such clumsiness dares to deceive me? Truly laughable!"

  Zhang Heng's face suddenly changed, and the last bit of hope in his heart was shattered. Was he going to die here? Since heaven had given him a mysterious jade tube that defied the heavens, why would it let him die such an unjust death?

  No! I won't give up! It's not over yet. Zhang Heng gritted his teeth and made a desperate decision to fight back to the death.

  "State your purpose?" The old ancestor's cold gaze stared straight at Zhang Heng, giving him a tremendous amount of pressure. Under this pressure, Zhang Heng couldn't even muster the courage to tell a lie.

  Is the gap between the foundation period and the refining period really that big? Can't even withstand a bit of pressure from the opponent's body? Zhang Heng couldn't help but doubt Lao Zu's strength.

  Due to his cultivation of the Deviant Technique, Zhang Heng's spiritual strength was roughly equivalent to that of a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator in the early stages. Logically speaking, he shouldn't have been so humiliated in front of Ou Yang Old Ancestor who had reached the Great Circle of Foundation Establishment.

  Could it be that Ou Yang Senior had already transcended the Foundation Building stage? With this conclusion, Zhang Heng's face turned deathly pale, and even his last bit of resistance vanished without a trace.

  Perhaps seeing Zhang Heng's thoughts, Ouyang Old Ancestor said with a self-satisfied tone: "Don't think about resisting in front of me. In the face of a Dan-forming cultivator like myself, what difference is there between you and an ant? Answer my questions honestly, don't force me to use the Soul-Searching Technique."

  Zhang Heng's heart churned with a thousand waves, never expecting that the old ancestor in front of him had already surpassed the foundation-building period and reached the Dan-forming period, which countless cultivators dreamed of. What was even more frightening was that this old ancestor had actually hidden it from everyone above and below Fangyun Mountain, and this hidden heart was unimaginable.

  "How did you figure out my identity? Is it just because I haven't fully merged with this body yet?" Zhang Heng subtly adjusted his emotions, constantly giving himself subtle hints in his heart:

  This is just a virtual online game, I'm currently doing a hidden task, and the one I've encountered now is the final BOSS. Maybe it's impossible to defeat him by force, but there must be other ways to pass the level. The game programmer won't design an uncompletable task...

  By such self-hypnotic method, Zhang Heng was able to gradually resist the pressure brought by Ouyang Old Ancestor, but on the surface he still looked flustered and uneasy.

  "Since you're curious, let me enlighten you." Ou Yang Old Ancestor was very pleased with Zhang Heng's current state and asked casually: "Were you a Foundation Building cultivator before the soul snatching?"

  As soon as he heard Laozu's words, Zhang Heng also understood the flaw in himself. His divine sense was similar to that of a Jiedan stage cultivator, which had attracted the other party's attention. However, this Ou Yang Laozu had actually guessed from this that before his body snatching, he was a Jiedan stage cultivator. He might as well follow along with Laozu's words and continue acting.

  Zhang Heng hastily revealed a surprised expression that was just guessed, and then showed a regretful and remorseful expression.

  This old Ou Yang was completely bewildered by Zhang Heng's rich expression, and he smiled complacently: "How about it? Wasn't I right? Your spiritual awareness is at the early stage of foundation building, but your cultivation is only at the refining Qi stage. In this world, there are indeed techniques to improve one's spiritual awareness, but it's impossible to raise an entire major stage, even top-notch techniques can't achieve that, and that's just one aspect."

  If we were to follow conventional logic, Ou Yang's reasoning would be completely correct. A Qi Refining stage cultivator possessing a divine sense comparable to that of a Foundation Establishment stage cultivator is simply unimaginable, and even the most superior cultivation methods couldn't possibly have such an extraordinary effect. It's clear that only by seizing control of another's body could one achieve such an outcome.

  But Ou Yang's ancestor would never have thought that in this world, there existed a perverse technique like the "Reversal Heavenly Technique" that could make the cultivator's divine sense surpass that of others of the same rank by an entire major stage.

  "Although you have seized this physical body, your aura has not yet fully merged with it. When encountering high-ranking cultivators, the flaws will be exposed."

  "Breath?" Zhang Heng couldn't help but reveal a puzzled expression.

  Ou Yang's old ancestor secretly sneered in his heart, and the other party was indeed a spiritual cultivator rookie. However, this made things even better for his own plan. On the surface, he said: "Every person has their own aura on their body, but this aura does not come from the flesh, it comes from the primordial spirit, it comes from your soul! So, even if you successfully seize the body, before you merge your aura with this flesh, it is still easy to be discovered by high-ranking cultivators. This is the second point."

  Zhang Heng wasn't pretending to be ignorant this time, but he really didn't understand this aspect. However, after Ou Yang's explanation, he finally understood. The aura can be reflected through a person's external temperament, for example, Luo Xianzi of the Xianyun Sect has a natural and calm temperament, even if others have the same appearance as her, it's hard to possess such an extraordinary and transcendent aura.

  Of course, temperament is only an external manifestation of breath, and breath comes from the soul of a person, which is unique and unparalleled. A high-ranking cultivator can judge whether a person is true or false based on his breath.

  "There's also a simpler reason, when you first entered the room, you could wait here for half an incense stick without speaking, this level of self-restraint and endurance is absolutely not something that trash like Tang Feng can compare to. This is also one of the reasons I judged that you are not the original master of this body."

  Zhang Heng listened quietly, but in his heart, he was secretly thinking to himself. He had unexpectedly revealed so many flaws, and wondered if it was because he was too stupid or if the old man was just too cunning. Compared to others who had crossed over, they all seemed to be able to point out the way and do anything, but when it came to him, he felt like his IQ wasn't enough.

  At the same time as he sighed, Zhang Heng couldn't help but come to a conclusion that even if he had crossed over into this world, in terms of mental strength, he might not be able to compare with the cultivators of this world. Everything was because he had underestimated the people of this world too much.

  "How's that? I've already explained the reason to you, now just honestly tell me your purpose!"

  Ou Yang's old ancestor gazed calmly at Zhang Heng, not worried in the slightest that he wouldn't say what he wanted to hear.

  Zhang Heng asked in confusion: "Purpose? I took over this flesh and blood, is there still some unspeakable secret?"

  Ou Yang's old ancestor had already come to a conclusion in his heart and casually asked: "Then why did you want to seize this flesh?"

  Zhang Heng pretended to sigh, showing a look of great depression and helplessness: "Old Ancestor, you don't know, I had no choice but to seize the body of your disciple's grandson, it was also helpless!"

  Then Zhang Heng began to fabricate a story, which might be the result inferred by Ouyang Laizu: "It was a month ago when I had a fierce battle with a Foundation Establishment cultivator. As a result, my physical body was destroyed, and in desperation, I managed to escape with my primordial spirit, barely avoiding a calamity that would have scattered my soul."

  But you also know that with my foundation period cultivation, the time for my primordial spirit to leave my body is very short. If it's too long, I'll be hard-pressed to escape death. So I was eager to seize a physical body, and just then, I met your disciple, and under duress...

  Zhang Heng said this and stopped, his eyes secretly looking at Ouyang Laozu's expression.

  Ou Yang's eyes took in Zhang Heng's expression, and what he said matched his own deductions. He continued along with Zhang Heng's words: "So you've taken over Tang Feng's useless body?"

  Zhang Heng's heart suddenly moved, and this Old Master Ouyang repeatedly called Tang Feng a "waste" three times. Could it be that the old master's concern for Tang Feng was all fake? And what unspeakable secrets did Old Master Ouyang have for doing so?

  However, Zhang Heng could infer from Ou Yang's attitude that he didn't seem to be in a hurry to take his life, otherwise he wouldn't be chatting with him here.

  Even if he came to such a conclusion, Zhang Heng still didn't dare to slack off. The old man in front of him was not easy to deceive. His opponent had just been misled by his preconceived notions this time.

  He hastily put on a fearful look, and Zhang Heng's voice was trembling slightly: "Old ancestor, I didn't know he was your grandson at the time, otherwise, I wouldn't have gone to snatch his life..."

  "Ahahahaha... You did a great job this time, and that useless Tang Feng is dead too. It's truly exhilarating!"

  Zhang Heng was shocked beyond expectation. Although he knew that Old Man Ouyang had ulterior motives for being so enthusiastic about Tang Feng, he never expected him to react this way.