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  Liu Zhizhi was defeated by the Five Ghosts' Yin Soldier Technique and thought he would never be able to cultivate again. However, while taking medicine and meditating to recover from his injuries, he entered a state of concentration and had an inner vision, vaguely feeling that he might turn disaster into fortune.

  In fact, Liu Zhi had already gone astray in his practice before. Especially with the frequent use of the Five Ghosts Technique to harm people, the Five Ghosts Technique was not something that Liu Zhi himself had cultivated, but rather it was passed down from his grandfather, Liu Xing Shu. It was biased from the start, and Liu Zhi didn't understand how to refine it properly and merge it with himself. On the contrary, he used it frequently, if not for his accomplished martial arts skills and abundant vital energy, he would have already shown adverse physical and mental reactions.

  Today, the five ghosts dispersed, and the remaining unconscious spiritual information automatically returned to the five organs. As a result, they harmonized with the five organs. He was originally a martial artist, full of yang energy. The five organs achieved harmony, and yin and yang complemented each other. The functions of the five organs unknowingly approached perfection, similar to what is said in Taoist cultivation about the "five energies returning to the origin." Although it wasn't exactly that, it brought the internal yin-yang and five elements close to perfect harmony, triggering the inner vision function.

  Under the nourishment of Zhi Shen Wan, the essence and Qi are transformed and cultivated, deeply entering the calm state. It is only felt that the five organs form a complete cycle: the black kidney Qi flows into the liver, transforming into green liver Qi; the green liver Qi enters the heart, where the red fire Qi is abundant; naturally flowing into the spleen, it transforms into yellow spleen Qi; the yellow spleen Qi enters the lungs, transforming into white lung Qi; and the white lung Qi again flows back into the kidneys, transforming into kidney Qi. This is indeed the five elements generating each other: water generates wood, wood generates fire, fire generates earth, earth generates metal, and metal generates water.

  The five zang organs' Qi flows and transforms without stopping, Liu Zhi Zhu seems to be an onlooker, the internal organs, skeleton, and meridians gradually become clear, it turns out that the so-called meridian acupoints in traditional Chinese medicine are all summarized under the condition of inner vision.

  Everything has not ended, as the five viscera Qi is transformed and nurtured, the five viscera light gradually flourishes, with a loud noise, the colorful light rises upwards, in front of one's eyes, the entire mountain peak suddenly appears in consciousness, even with closed eyes, the surroundings are clearly in mind, as if printed on consciousness, this is not imagination, but truly seeing, it is a 360-degree panoramic view.

  Liu Zhi knew looked at all of this with a calm and cold consciousness, he felt that all of this seemed extremely normal, although he didn't know what was going on.

  Liu Zhi didn't realize the significance of all this. In the words of the cultivation world, this was an external scene entering the internal, a human-heavenly interaction, and the manifestation of the yuan Shen beginning to appear. Cultivation up to this point is truly entering the door. Liu Zhi coincidentally stepped into the true cultivation gate under these circumstances. From today on, he can be considered a true cultivator.

  Other cultivators, under the guidance of a master, spend many years of hard work sitting in meditation and concentrating their spirits, just to get past this threshold. Many people may not be able to get past this threshold for their entire lives. Once this threshold is crossed, the essence of life has already undergone a transformation.

  Some books create a term called "引气入体" (leading Qi into the body), which actually refers to this situation. Many people think that in spiritual practice, the spirit is like a flowing water, a tangible entity. In fact, that's an outsider's way of speaking. The spirit is just a convenient way of speaking, it's a manifestation of the practitioner's consciousness exchanging material energy information with the outside world and the human body. Each person sees it differently, just like blind people touching an elephant, each person's perception manifests the spirit in different forms in their own consciousness, but that's only one aspect. Therefore, in spiritual practice, some people absorb heavenly and earthly Qi, inhale the essence of the sun and moon; others contemplate Buddha images, contemplate the sun and moon; some move internal Qi, circulate it through the microcosmic orbit... various methods can achieve certain effects, non-believers often have no effect, that's why.

  Liu Zhi knew that the practice was external, and he had no intention of inheriting the technique. He practiced other methods, such as quiet sitting with intention, but because he didn't believe in internal energy, the effect was extremely poor. This is also what the cultivation world says: "If you don't believe, there's nothing to make it clear." Precisely because of this, his heart had no preconceptions, and when external scenes entered internally, they instead revealed their true nature. In his heart, the mountain peak naturally appeared, and in between, it naturally contained the energy of the great mountain, containing corresponding information. It was a feeling that was both clear and yet mysterious and profound.

  Liu Zhi knew that in his heart there was a kind of enlightenment, but when he thought carefully, he couldn't feel anything, let alone express it. This is a state where the original spirit works and the cognitive spirit retreats. Liu Zhi's current manifestation of the original spirit is actually something everyone has, but it's been covered up and suppressed by the acquired cognitive spirit. The true appearance of the original spirit, freely entering and exiting, is impossible without reaching the realm of transforming the spirit. The Daoist cultivation is divided into four levels: refining essence to transform energy, refining energy to transform spirit, refining spirit to return to emptiness, and refining emptiness to merge with the Dao. This is the level of cultivation in the world. Liu Zhi has just entered the gate of refining essence to transform energy, and his manifestation of the original spirit is only an occasional movement, which he cannot control at will.

  Liu Zhi knew that he had been sitting for several hours, and it wasn't until around three o'clock that he came to from his meditative state. He felt as though he hadn't suffered any injuries, so he stood up and moved his body around a bit. As he casually threw out two punches, he was delighted to discover that his power was smooth and lively, with no signs of stagnation. His hardness and softness were perfectly balanced, and the power in his fists naturally merged with his body's shape, energy, and spirit. When his fist stopped moving, his power didn't stop; it was as though he was exchanging blows with someone, and his power would naturally seep into his opponent's body. With just a touch, his power would penetrate like a needle - this was the "hidden power". He hadn't expected to break through to this level of hidden power here.

  Again, I tried to summon the five ghosts, but there was no response. It seems that the five ghosts have really disappeared. I also tried other applications, and basically, there was no response. It seems that the five ghost technique has really been abandoned. However, when trying to use the five ghosts to fetch objects, I seemed to have a special feeling, as if my heart had sunk down. The feeling of everything around me being in my heart reappeared, although it wasn't as clear as when I was calm and still. As soon as I stretched out my hand and focused my mind, a small stone suddenly flew up and landed on my palm. Is this telekinesis?

  Liu Zhi didn't know that in the cultivation world, this was called "Yù Wù" (御物), which can be said to be the foundation of a large class of spells. Controlling objects, even flying with the wind, is just a matter of controlling one's own body as an object. Liu Zhi, however, used the term "intentional movement of objects". It was very simple - he couldn't remember which book it was that mentioned the term "intentional movement of objects" when discussing human special functions.

  Liu Zhi felt that he could control the stone to fly in mid-air and even accelerate to hit people. With a movement in his heart, he drew out the sharp millet knife from his body. He didn't bring a millet knife with him because it was too long, but the sharp millet was only about a foot long, making it easy to carry around.

  Liu Zhi knew that he had just mastered the technique of manipulating objects with his mind, and he thought of some fantasy movies where heroes could move swords with their minds. He tried to do the same with the sharp millet knife, but it only flew a few feet before he felt exhausted and couldn't continue. He realized that his skills were still too shallow, so he gave up and sat down again, focusing on his lower abdomen. To his surprise, he quickly entered that state of unity with nature again, where everything outside the cave was reflected in his mind, and his heart returned to a state of calmness.

  Liu Zhi didn't know that Li Yi was looking for him, perhaps heaven helped Liu Zhi a bit. Li Yi got into a taxi as night began to fall and told the driver to head south. It was rush hour at this time, so they were stuck in traffic, with red lights all along the way. After more than an hour, they finally left the city limits. The compass still pointed south, the sky had darkened, and distant mountains stood like dark monsters in the distance.

  The driver, seeing this, was not very willing to drive forward, and Li Yi didn't mention the destination either. The driver couldn't help but have some bad thoughts in his mind, wondering if the other person would cheat him into a deserted mountain and then rob and kill him.

  Li Yi saw that the driver was unwilling to go further, he was an old hand and understood the driver's concerns. Outside, it was also pitch black, and even with his skills, Li Yi couldn't see in the dark like it was daylight. He decided to wait until tomorrow, as it was unclear what they would encounter at night. The compass tracking would still be effective within 12 hours, and as long as the other party was within 200 miles, they could still be found. So he asked the driver to take him to the nearest hotel or inn. The driver breathed a sigh of relief and took Li Yi to a nearby hotel. Li Yi paid the fare, got a room, and decided to rest and recharge for now, as tomorrow might bring a fierce battle.

  Willow arrived at the mountain peak just before dawn, and after descending, the sky had already brightened. He then went to a nearby small noodle shop to have breakfast, and took the early bus to rush to school.

  Li Yi finished his breakfast and followed the compass's guidance. As it approached noon, he finally arrived at the foot of the mountain. The compass then pointed towards the top of the mountain. Someone asked, "Isn't Liu Zhi gone? Why is the compass still pointing to the top of the mountain?" This requires an explanation from the perspective of the compass's energy. The energy in the compass is the residual energy left by the Five Ghosts, and since the Five Ghosts had already dispersed yesterday, the compass pointed towards the last location where they were present - a cave at the summit of the mountain.

  The mountain peak was quite steep, and Li Yi had to use all his strength to climb up. He finally entered the cave, only to find that there was no one inside. It was already past two o'clock in the afternoon. Li Yi felt very disappointed, but he carefully searched around and suddenly saw something shiny on the ground - a bloodstain. It seemed that the other person was injured after all, and with this bloodstain, they wouldn't be able to get away.

  Li Yi took some dried bloodstains and put them in the compass. With a spell, the needle immediately pointed to the southeast.

  Liu Zhi returned to school, everything was as usual, it was already Friday, and the week had passed like this. For others, it was very ordinary, but for Liu Zhi, it was thrilling. Tomorrow, he would go to Mafen Village, last time when he entered the mountain with Cheng Zhenqian, they met Ali, and got her help, but hadn't thanked her yet. It just so happened that tomorrow was a rest day, so he would visit her home, thank her, and take a look if there were any good wild medicinal herbs.

  Liu Zhi discovered a strange situation, now as long as he sat quietly for about ten minutes, he could enter that special state, where everything around him naturally appeared in his mind. Although Liu Zhi didn't know what level this was, he also knew it was a good phenomenon, possibly the state his grandfather had pursued all his life but never achieved, yet he himself had entered unintentionally. It seemed that the legendary cultivation of truth should be real.

  Liu Zhi knew that entering this state was also a great boost to his own fist technique. Many places where he had previously felt stuck while practicing were now naturally resolved, and the first time he entered it, he brought himself from Ming Jin to An Jin.

  Liu Zhi knew that the sky was not bright yet, and he got up. He found that meditation has greatly improved his sleep, sleeping much less than before, but his spirit remains undiminished. He had read about this in books before, that meditation can replace sleep, or even be better, but in the past, his meditation did not live up to what was said in the books. Now he understands, meditation only truly works when one enters a state of stillness.

  Liu Zhi walked a few rounds of fist and foot, then stood in the three-body stance, but surprisingly found that standing still had also entered that state, although not as deep as quiet sitting. It seems that his unintentional hardships have allowed him to make all-around progress.

  After breakfast, Liu Zhi brought a machete into the mountain and arrived at Mayu Village after crossing a mountain. Liu Zhi didn't take the shortcut, which increased the distance, but instead went straight through the forest. This way, the road was shorter, and he could also pick some wild mushrooms along the way, but he might encounter snakes and insects, so he brought a machete for self-defense.

  Liu didn't know, but Li Yi also rushed to this place in a flurry. Li Yi came down from the mountain cave and it was already late, so he found a car and headed southeast. By nightfall, he arrived at a small town and spent the night at a small inn. The next morning, he found a motorcycle and continued on his way. Around 10 am, he also rushed to the foot of the mountain. The needle pointed towards the top of the mountain, and after a while, it started to deviate from its course. Clearly, the person was in the mountains.

  Li Yi paid the carriage fare, adjusted the apricot-yellow cloth bag slung over his shoulder, which had been used for many years and its color had faded a lot. All of Li Yi's eating utensils were inside, and exposed outside was a peach wood sword more than two feet long, with purple-red wood grain, on which cinnabar talismans were drawn all over. Although it couldn't be considered a real magic weapon, it was one of Li Yi's beloved treasures. Peach wood was originally used to ward off evil spirits, and was the nemesis of yin ghosts. With the addition of cinnabar talismans, its effectiveness was even greater. Over the years, Li Yi had relied on it to drive out evil spirits and subdue ghosts, and its power was almost comparable to that of a real magic weapon.

  There were several talismans in the bag, which Li Yi had drawn with great difficulty. Although Li Yi mastered the incantations, his success rate of drawing talismans was not high, and often only one or two out of ten would work. Of course, the useless talismans were not entirely useless, as he sold them at a high price to those wealthy officials, providing psychological comfort as long as they didn't actually encounter evil spirits. If someone really encountered an evil spirit, Li Yi would personally take action and clean up the mess. His previous talisman had been dismissed with one sentence: "The evil ghost was too powerful, the talisman couldn't control it, so I had to take personal action." Therefore, he still had a relatively high reputation among some officials and nobles.

  It's really hard to draw a true talisman, not only must the spirit and energy be in harmony, but also the information of heaven and earth must be condensed into the talisman. It's not something that can be casually given to others. Moreover, Li Yi has been cultivating for decades, but in reality, he is still inferior to Liu Zhi now. He can occasionally appear to enter the inner world, but fundamentally cannot control it freely. From the level of cultivation, he is not as good as Liu Zhi, otherwise, he wouldn't be muddled in worldly affairs, seeking wealth and fame.

  Li Yi was stronger than Liu Xing Shu in some places, after all, he had also entered the door of cultivation and touched the threshold of refining his spirit. He was much better at using some basic spells than Liu Zhi Zhu, who only knew one spell, Wu Gui Yin Bing Fa, and others that were transformed from hypnosis, such as Mi Hun Shu. Li Yi, on the other hand, had mastered various aspects, including exorcism, soul confusion, self-protection, and attack, and had used them skillfully for many years. That's why Liu Zhi Zhu's Wu Gui was broken by Li Yi's Jin Guang Hu Shen Fa.

  Li Yi's bag contained, apart from the talisman, some other items that had been refined through rituals. They were not ritual instruments, but similar to talismans - a kind of special ritual object, often one-time use only.

  Li Yi slung the peach wood sword behind his back, adjusted his clothes, and followed the direction of the compass to climb up the mountain. In his heart, he didn't take Liu Zhi Zhong seriously. Although he didn't know Liu's name, that day was his own carelessness that allowed Liu to succeed. He wasn't broken by the opponent's method, from the fact that the opponent hid in a cave and suffered a backlash injury, also without seeing the opponent counterattack, it was clear that the opponent only knew one or two kinds of side door techniques.

  Li Yi's guess was roughly correct, and Liu Zhi really was like that. However, he never thought that Liu Zhi would break through due to his injury. Moreover, what's more important is that Liu Zhi's true strength wasn't in magic, but rather in martial arts. Now, Liu Zhi was a master of the Dark Energy, and there wouldn't be many people in the world who could enter this state.

  Liu Zhi didn't notice that someone was chasing him to the door, Liu Zhi strolled through the mountain forest, he also prepared a small package, and encountered some wood ear mushrooms, which were also picked up by hand and put into the package. When climbing to the waist of the mountain, the view suddenly opened up, but this place was a large piece of stone, with the largest one being half an acre in size. The cracks between the stones were sparse with wild grasses and shrubs, without tall trees. On the other side of the empty space, a woman was sitting on a rock resting, next to a medicine basket.

  "Ah Li!" Liu Zhi didn't expect to run into Ah Li here, and he hastily waved his hand in greeting. Ah Li was sitting on a rock taking a rest, it was already noon, she was just about to eat some dry rations, when suddenly hearing someone call out, she turned her head, saw Liu Zhi walking out from the woods opposite, and immediately recognized him.

  Liu Zhi quickly walked to Ali's side and said, "Ali sister, I was just thinking of going to Mazhu village to find you, didn't expect to meet you here! It's really great."

  Listening to Liu Zhi's words, Ah Li felt a sweet and tender feeling in her heart, her face slightly flushed, she asked: "Big brother, what brings you to find me?"

  "Nothing much, last time in the mountain forest you helped us, today come to Mǎo Qūn village to thank you! Incidentally, take a look at what good medicine there is and buy some more from you."

  "Is that all?" Ari said with some disappointment.

  "Of course not, I just wanted to see you!" Liu Zhi knew blurted out, Ah Li's face suddenly turned red, but her heart was sweet.

  Liu Zhi knew that as soon as he spoke, he felt a bit reckless and didn't know what to do. The two of them fell into an awkward silence for a moment. Just then, Li Yi appeared from another path, holding a compass. He had taken a winding mountain road, going straight down the mountain before following the direction indicated by the compass to climb back up. Logically speaking, Liu Zhi should have been faster than Li Yi, but as he walked through the forest, searching for wild mushrooms and the like, his speed was unknowingly much slower than normal.

  "Someone's coming!" Ah Li said first seeing Li Yi and telling Liu Zhi Zhu.

  Liu Zhi knew at a glance, his pupils immediately contracted. When he used the Five Ghosts to secretly calculate Hu Changtian, he had clearly seen Li Yi in the room through the Five Ghosts. Later, he even suffered a great loss at this person's hands, so of course he recognized him, although he didn't know what his name was.

  Liu Zhi's abnormality immediately caught Ali's attention, and Ali's eyebrows were slightly locked, just about to speak. Li Yi also discovered the two of them, especially Liu Zhi, with the compass needle pointing at Liu Zhi.

  "Is it you who used evil magic to harm people? You're using the legendary Five Ghosts Yin Soldier Method, aren't you? Hand over the five ghosts and I'll abolish your magical powers. Come down the mountain with me and surrender to the Hu family!" Li Yi's tone was condescending.

  If it were the Liu Zhiyi of a few days ago, he would have taken action immediately. But after entering from outside, Liu Zhiyi felt that his mood had changed and his thinking became more rigorous. He sensed something was off from Li Yi's words.

  "I used magic, do you have evidence? Moreover, such a corrupt official and scum, even the donations for poor children in mountainous areas want to embezzle, death is already the lightest punishment, what are you, surrendering to the Hu family? What is the Hu family anyway! Only surrender to the government, never heard of surrendering to any family, it seems that you are just a dog of the Hu family!"

  Liu Zhi's words made Li Yi's face change, and he said with a gloomy tone: "Little doll! You're just looking for death. Originally, as long as you confessed, I could have spared the life of the girl beside you. Now, let's make a pair of mandarin ducks that share the same fate!"

  After finishing speaking, the compass was put into the bag, and two half-foot-long things tied with grass were taken out of the bag. They looked like centipedes, with cinnabar symbols drawn on them. He muttered to himself, and with a wave of his hand, they transformed into two large centipedes, each half a meter long, which pounced towards Liu Zhi and others in mid-air.

  Liu Zhi knew was shocked, he had been in contact with magic before, but never saw such a spell. He shouted: "Ali, run quickly!" His hand reached behind his back, the Miao knife came out of its sheath, and he leaped high into the air, grasping the knife with both hands as his body soared upwards. A silver rainbow shot from below towards the sky, cutting down the scorpion that was falling from above. At this critical moment, Liu Zhi knew felt like everything around him had stopped moving, just like when he sat in stillness, even the ripples of the wind were reflected in his heart. The scorpion fell from the sky, and the knife rose to meet it.

  Ali was moved when she heard Liu Zhizhi telling her to run fast. Her eyes turned cold, and with a flip of her hand, she formed a strange seal. A wisp of green smoke transformed into a giant scorpion silhouette that charged towards the centipede pouncing on her. She glanced at Liu Zhizhi, and in an instant, he was stunned.

  Li Yi, these two magical objects were one of his trump cards, and he had never used them before. Today, during the battle of magic, he wanted to use a move that would guarantee victory, so he brought them out. Seeing Liu Zhi know draw his sword and leap up, slashing towards the centipede, Li Yi was taken aback, his eyes widening in an expression of disbelief, shouting: "Magical instruments, how is it possible for you to have magical instruments?!"

  Liu Zhi's hand held the Miao Dao, and in the instant that his spirit was concentrated on the blade, a brilliant white light suddenly burst forth. The white blade extended five or six feet, flashing like lightning across the centipede's body. The centipede suddenly stiffened, then transformed into two pieces of grass rope-like objects, falling from the air.

  Liu Zhi knew that the method was to cut down the object, and as soon as it fell to the ground, he didn't stop, but instead quickly ran a few steps and jumped up again, cutting towards the centipede that was pouncing on Ali. In his eyes, he saw a giant scorpion shadow and the centipede collide, the scorpion's tail stinger swung, stinging the centipede's body, the centipede's body twisted and shook, throwing off the scorpion. The centipede had clearly shrunk by a circle. Where did this scorpion come from? This thought flashed through Liu Zhi's mind, but he didn't have time to think about it carefully. With one knife cut, he chopped towards the centipede, and as the blade passed, the centipede turned into two pieces of grass rope that fell to the ground.

  Li Yi did not expect that Liu Zhi had a magical artifact, and also had excellent knife skills. He also didn't think that the girl would understand magic. Before he could think more, Ali pointed with her hand, and the illusory scorpion shadow pounced towards Li Yi. Li Yi hastily used his Golden Light Protection Technique, and just as the scorpion shadow approached, it was suddenly bounced back out, even emitting a faint smoke. Ali's hand seal changed, and the scorpion shadow dissipated.

  Liu Zhiyi suddenly turned around, his toes grasping the ground, and with a swift movement, like a shrinking technique, his scimitar swung out with a long white blade, slashing towards Li Yi. Li Yi hastily pulled out two talismans from his bag, and as soon as they left his hand, they burst into flames. The golden light that was originally invisible to the naked eye suddenly appeared, enveloping Li Yi like a net.

  Liu Zhi's knife chopped down on the circular golden light, and a sharp, piercing sound entered his ears. The golden light was torn open with a large crack, Liu Zhi's hands flipped over, and the knife changed from chopping to thrusting forward like a sword. With a flash of the knife's edge, a "pffft" sound was heard as the knife's edge stabbed into Li Yi's abdomen.

  The golden light dissipated, and Li Yi's eyes widened in shock as he fell to the ground. He still had many spells left unused, but was killed by Liu Zhi just like a martial artist. Liu Zhi didn't even know how to wield magical artifacts! Magical artifacts aren't used this way! This was Li Yi's final thought.

  Liu Zhiyi turned around, with a hint of apology in his eyes: "Ah Li, little sister, I'm now a murderer, you'd better leave, just pretend you never saw me!"

  Liu Zhi knew that Li Yi was from the northwest of Sichuan, and he took down the grasshopper, talismans, books, as well as the peach wood sword with talismans drawn on it from behind Li Yi's back. The compass naturally belonged to Liu Zhi now. Li Yi had over a thousand yuan in cash on him, as well as a bank card. The money naturally went into Liu Zhi's pocket, but the card was useless. How to deal with the corpse became a problem.

  Liu Zhiyi turned his head and found that Ah Li hadn't left, which was a bit strange. Ah Li smiled: "Brother, he came to think of killing us, but we killed him instead, serves him right! Brother, I'll take care of the corpse!" As soon as she finished speaking, her hand moved, and a cloud of black smoke emerged, like a swarm of flying ants, pouncing on the corpse. In an instant, the flesh and bones dissolved, leaving only a few large bones, which seemed to have been weathered for many years.

  "Ah Li, what's this?" Liu Zhi even had a feeling of horror.

  "This is witchcraft, I am a witch, brother, are you afraid? If not, then go to sister's home for a stay!"