Chapter 84: Chapter 84 The Formless Mind Image (4th
Update)
The man spoke with his back to Zhou Heng, his manner out of sync with the passersby.
Yet the people around seemed not to notice anything strange about him, even outright ignoring him, with no one casting a glance his way.
A secret technique?!
Such abilities that transcend the ordinary are usually within reach only for martial arts of the Middle Third Rank.
And the Secret Sixth Rank is what a Seventh Rank Warrior is most likely to be able to learn.
Zhou Heng’s gaze at the man became more solemn, realizing that to cast a secret technique so silently and without notice meant the stranger’s strength most likely had reached the pinnacle of the Seventh Rank.
After the rebirth from mortal flesh, the ancestral aperture of the mysterious pass opens for the first time, establishing a subtle connection with the world, which is the pinnacle of the Seventh Rank.
Far stronger than an ordinary Seventh Rank Warrior.
This level of expertise typically allows one to enter the top twenty of the Human Ranking.
Of course, this is assuming the individual is under thirty years old.
The man didn’t look like he was under thirty, but that didn’t mean his strength wasn’t formidable. On the contrary, his strength might be even greater.
Perhaps stronger than the top ten in the Human Ranking.
Older age means more time spent cultivating.
This makes it hard to estimate how long he has been at the pinnacle of the Seventh Rank, let alone how far he is from stepping into the Sixth Rank.
A fearsomely powerful opponent.
With a somewhat haughty attitude.
Perhaps of no ordinary background.
Zhou Heng made his assessment internally.
However, even with such a formidable presence, he couldn’t be bothered to pay him much mind, as it was simply a waste of time.
It had nothing to do with the purpose of his trip.
“There’s no need to discuss,” said Zhou Heng with a shake of his head. “You may leave, sir.”
“Oh?” The man turned around, gave Zhou Heng a look, and chuckled, “You’re quite interesting.”
With that, he didn’t linger and left.
It seemed he truly didn’t care about being rejected by Zhou Heng.
The man walked slowly into the crowd and disappeared in the blink of an eye. The passing pedestrians didn’t notice him at all, as if he had never been there.
Zhou Heng furrowed his brows, feeling that the man’s arrival boded ill, and a sense of crisis suddenly rose in his heart.
“Young Master Zhou, do you know who that person was?” Shen Jingjing asked softly, her expression tense, her pale face slightly white as she tugged at the corner of Zhou Heng’s clothes and pointed to an alley nearby.
“Who is he?” Zhou Heng asked as he walked into the dim and narrow alley with Shen Jingjing. “Please tell me, Miss Jingjing.”
“Chao Xian, born into an ordinary martial clan. He didn’t attain the Ninth Grade until he was forty, apparently after some miraculous encounter. From then on, his cultivation soared, and in just three years, he reached the pinnacle of the Seventh Rank,
“Not only that, but he also mastered a strange and powerful secret technique. Relying on the might of the technique, he once fought alone against four Seventh Rank pinnacle warriors, causing them to kill each other, emerging unscathed and victorious. In the world of martial artists, he is known as ‘Formless Mind Affect’.”
With a serious look, Shen Jingjing solemnly said, “His strength is of the Lower Third Rank, an absolutely first-rate expert, no less than the top ten in the Human Ranking, and possibly even stronger. Young Master Zhou, it’s not good that he has set his sights on you.”
“Why would he come looking for me?” Zhou Heng frowned in confusion. “I do not know him, nor should we have any connection.”
“I don’t know either.” Shen Jingjing’s small face was also filled with perplexity, somewhat bewildered, “Chao Xian arrived here three days ago, always keeping to himself, not mingling with others, but often visiting the wasteland outside the city to investigate, so why suddenly come looking for you?”
“The wasteland outside the city?” Zhou Heng was startled by her words, his eyes narrowing slightly as he spoke, “Miss Jingjing, this Chao Xian was very ordinary before the age of forty, right?”
The eastern and western sides of Yuyang County City have city gates leading to official roads to other places. To the north, there is a forest and lake, while the wasteland is only on the southern side, the same “secluded place” Xuan Yang took Zhou Heng to on his last visit.
This was also the place Zhou Heng suspected to be the sealing site of Xuan Yang’s true form.
Given the feedback from the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer and the prior emergence of the ghostly entity Yu Shang from this location, he had reason to suspect that it might not be the only ghostly spirit sealed there.
Yu Shang was one, He Yang was another, and perhaps… the one within Chao Xian as well.
Initially, when Zhou Heng heard Shen Jingjing describe Chao Xian’s exploits, he thought, as a preconceived notion, that this was simply a lucky individual who had stumbled upon a fortuitous adventure.
But on second thought, if Chao Xian’s body had been possessed by a ghostly spirit, it seemed that a similar effect could be achieved.
Perhaps there were no such wondrous secret techniques at all, just the special abilities of the ghostly spirits.
Moreover, compared to the normal methods of a Secret Six Rank, the special abilities of these ghostly spirits were even more unpredictable and bizarre.
“Hmm…” Shen Jingjing pondered, then nodded and said, “I don’t know much either, but the rumors I’ve heard say that before the age of forty, Chao Xian’s accomplishments in the Martial Path were quite poor.”
“Even the martial arts school had once advised him to give up. Later, for some unknown reason, he suddenly had an epiphany and actually managed to break through to the Ninth Grade.
“That’s how he came to have his current ‘Formless Heart Image.’ When you think about it, it’s quite lamentable.”
“I see.” Zhou Heng nodded thoughtfully and smiled, “It seems this Chao Xian is indeed not ordinary. Hmm, I must be on my guard from now on.”
He suspected that this Chao Xian was a ghostly spirit that had completely taken over a human body, drawn to him by the Pure Yang energy he emitted, seeking to devour him.
“Yes, Chao Xian’sattitude just now was very strange. You should indeed be more cautious, YoungMaster.” Shen Jingjing nodded in agreement, and said, ” How about I stay with you these next few days? If that Chao Xian truly harbors malicious intentions, I can step in to assist.”
Stay together?
Zhou Heng was startled by her words and inexplicably thought of Cheng Jianjian.
Seeing Zhou Heng’s unusual expression, Shen Jingjing thought he had misunderstood, and her face reddened as she explained, “What I mean is, I’ll stay at the same inn as you, young master, just in the neighboring room.
“That way we can look out for each other. After all, we are acquaintances from the same town who happened to meet in a foreign place; it’s natural to help and support one another.”
“That seems to be the case,” Zhou Heng nodded and smiled, “By the way, Miss Jingjing, you must have guessed my purpose for coming to Yuyang County. Do you have any leads?”
“I guessed it when you called me Miss Jingjing,” Shen Jingjing said with a smile, “You must have reviewed the list taken from the Three Poison Sect and asked about the purchase of medicine, only to find out that I had made inquiries too. This means you’re looking for the Three Poison Sect.”
“Miss, you are clever,” Zhou Heng said with a slight nod. “Do you have any leads?”
“Yes,” Shen Jingjing nodded, looked around, and said, “How about we goback to the inn first, then talk?”
“Fair enough,” Zhou Heng expressed his agreement.
In the inn’s suite.
Zhou Heng and Shen Jingjing spent quite some time discussing matters related to the Three Poison Sect.
He also subtly inquired about whether she had seen individuals wearing masks, moving mysteriously, yet possessing immense strength, or if there had been any unusual phenomena in the last few days.
With this, he intended to learn about the whereabouts of the people from the Zhou Tian Boundary Officer.
Therefore, by the time their conversation concluded, the sun had sunk westward, and the sky was filled with crimson clouds.
The glow of twilight filtered through the window, casting a faint red light on the furniture.
Suddenly, a dark shadow obscured the setting sun’s glow, darkening the room.
Zhou Heng turned his head and saw Chao Xian standing at the window.
With his back to the red hue of the setting sun, his entire figure seemed to be enveloped in darkness, his face also cloaked in shadows.
Only his pair of eyes were blood-like crimson.
His gaze was filled with a fervent intensity as he looked at Zhou Heng.