Chapter 538

Zhang Jie paid no attention to Zhang Chulan’s musings, but turned his gaze toward Xia He.

“Why didn’t you run?”

Zhang Jie asked with interest.

When Lu Liang fled, the other black-robed man also tried to escape,

yet Xia He, the pink-haired woman, remained standing in place, not seizing the chance to flee.

“Before a powerhouse like you, perhaps some can escape—but my name is not on that list.”

Xia He offered a bitter smile.

Zhang Jie gave her an overwhelming sense of dread—just like the figure she had once gazed upon from afar on Long Hu Mountain.

“Maybe if you tried, you’d find I’m not so terrifying—and run away?”

Zhang Jie replied offhandedly, neither confirming nor denying.

“You’re joking.”

Facing Zhang Jie’s cruel amusement, Xia He’s already bitter expression deepened further.

As he spoke with Xia He, Zhang Jie flicked his finger again,

sending another fleeing black-clad man into infantile slumber.

Watching this, Xia He’s lips twitched involuntarily.

This golden figure wasn’t just powerful—he was also cruelly playful, clearly enjoying tormenting them.

The unconscious black-clad woman revealed her true face: though not as beautiful as Xia He,

she was still lovely, with a long braid and a stubborn lock of hair sticking up from her head.

“Jie-ge…”

Seeing this, Zhang Chulan felt a pang of pity—he thought Zhang Jie had no mercy for beautiful women.

“You little brat never learn from your mistakes!”

Zhang Jie gave Zhang Chulan a sharp knock on the head.

If he’d previously wondered how Zhang Chulan got captured by Xia He and the others,

now that the cute girl revealed her face, he understood perfectly—

this kid had definitely let his libido override his brain, suffered severe cognitive decline,

and been manipulated by them.

Years of suppression from the chastity mark had left him this way.

Out of nowhere, Zhang Jie recalled Freud? Feng-ge, the man credited with starting the “Great Suppression Era,”

the man who single-handedly ushered in the “Great Suppression Era”…

“Ow!”

Same old formula, same familiar force—Zhang Chulan clutched his head and groaned.

“A-Jie, Chu-Lan—is that you?”

At that moment, voices called out from outside the forest, searching.

“San-ge! San-ge! We’re here!”

Zhang Chulan instantly recognized Xu San’s voice and called back urgently.

Zhang Jie silently increased his body’s luminosity, like a guiding lantern.

“A-Jie, what’s this?”

Xu San emerged from the woods with Feng Baobao, immediately fixated on Zhang Jie, stunned.

Zhang Chulan and Xia He all strained to listen—they were deeply curious about Zhang Jie’s current state.

“Just a little trick.”

Zhang Jie shrugged and replied casually.

‘A little trick?’

Xia He’s eyelid twitched.

This “little trick” had flicked Lu Liang unconscious and kept her frozen in place.

If this was just a “little trick,” then what was she? Less than a trick?

That was too—too insulting.

“Jie-ge, tell us—satisfy our curiosity.”

Zhang Chulan couldn’t suppress his curiosity any longer and pressed on.

After all, from Zhang Jie’s attitude toward him, he clearly held some favor.

“This looks frightening, but it’s really just a minor application.

You know the Golden Light Spell, when mastered, can manifest golden light into forms, right?”

Zhang Jie didn’t mind elaborating a bit.

“Yeah, yeah.”

Zhang Chulan nodded vigorously.

As one of Long Hu Mountain’s secret arts, the Golden Light Spell wasn’t limited to merely shielding the body;

when mastered, it could render the body as unyielding as gold, impervious to weapons, and even shape the light into forms—

like whips, hammers, flying daggers—expanding its applications diversely.

“Good. You know.”

Zhang Jie nodded: “If the Golden Light Spell can manifest into shapes when mastered, then taking human form should be simple, right?

My spirit happens to be stronger than most, allowing me to split it,

so I infused one fragment into this form, creating this.”

Though he didn’t reveal everything, the actual process truly was exactly as he described—

when he heard Zhang Chulan’s cry for help and wished to appear, he naturally grasped this method.

Zhang Jie felt this had the flavor of enlightenment bringing spontaneous power.

No wonder major sects like Long Hu Mountain and Quanzhen didn’t chase after mysterious, arcane techniques;

once they refined their life and cultivation, the miraculous naturally emerged.

Take Master Zhang Zhiwei—he only trained the Golden Light Spell and the Tian Shi Fu’s secret thunder arts,

showed no interest in the Eight Marvelous Techniques, yet he’s universally recognized as the “Supreme One” of the past century!

Even the original Thirty-Six Rebels who first unlocked the Eight Marvelous Techniques probably couldn’t withstand his slap.

Truly happy—he’s “One Below”; truly angry—he’s “One Below”…

“I see.”

Zhang Chulan and Feng Baobao nodded in understanding.

“So simple… bullshit!”

Xu San and Xia He mentally overturned several tea tables.

Listen—that’s human speech?

Manifesting golden light into shapes isn’t hard—most high-level Daoists in Long Hu Mountain’s Tian Shi Fu can do it,

but transforming it into a lifelike human form—

even if that human is only a foot tall—only that unfathomable “Supreme One” might manage it.

And then there’s spiritual strength.

How strong must one’s spirit be to split it?

Even the Quanzhen Daoists who forgo techniques and solely cultivate yang spirit would find it extremely difficult.

To possess both? That’s an utterly terrifying feat.

Zhang Jie’s ability didn’t seem like something an Yiren should possess—it was the stuff of gods and buddhas: incarnation!

In Buddhism, the Buddha has “Three Bodies” (Dharmakaya, Sambhogakaya, Nirmanakaya).

The Nirmanakaya is the form a Buddha or Bodhisattva takes to save sentient beings,

adapting to their capacities and needs.

It needn’t be human—it can be animal, plant, or even natural phenomena.

For example, Guanyin Bodhisattva manifests as different forms—like the Fish Basket Guanyin or the Child-Giving Guanyin—to rescue beings in suffering.

Zhang Jie’s golden child appearing to rescue Zhang Chulan bore the unmistakable flavor of incarnation.

“San-ge, let’s drop this.

Since you’re here, handle these three Quanxing members.”

Zhang Jie didn’t intend to delve deeper with Xu San and spoke plainly.

Zhang Jie had no intention of delving deeper into this issue with Xu San and the others, and spoke up.

Xu San, understanding Zhang Jie’s meaning, didn’t press further.

An Yiren’s ability and strength were among their most core secrets;

in Yiren history, many had been defeated—or even killed—by those far weaker after their abilities were studied and understood.

Thus, openly researching or discussing an Yiren’s power was taboo.

Of course, what he truly thought remained known only to himself…

Therefore, openly researching or discussing an Yiren's abilities is a taboo.

Of course, only he himself knows what he truly thought...