Chapter 164: When Disaster Strikes, Everyone Flees for Themselves

"Come, come, come…"

"Young brother, please sit!"

"Sit up top, sit up top…"

Inside the Internal Affairs Hall, Master Xuan Yang invited He Pingsheng, and the two drank spiritual tea beneath a pine tree on the mountain peak.

"How is it?" Xuan Yang asked as He Pingsheng took a sip. "This is top-grade spiritual tea—it sharpens the mind. Once you reach the Nascent Soul realm, you can use it to enhance your comprehension of the Dao!"

He Pingsheng naturally didn't believe his nonsense.

Comprehend the Dao?

That's just Wu Dao Tea.

And I've seen Wu Dao Tea before.

"Tastes awful!" He Pingsheng didn't spare Xuan Yang's face. "Better bring some spiritual fruit juice!"

"Hahaha…" Xuan Yang burst out laughing. "Young brother, you truly are a straightforward fellow, hehe…"

"Thank you, young brother, for giving me the Xuan Gate Stillness True Scripture. Over these past few years, my spiritual sense has steadily grown—it's been immensely beneficial to my cultivation!"

"Is the Master still in seclusion?" Xuan Yang asked cautiously.

He Pingsheng sipped his tea slowly. "Mm."

Then he added solemnly: "Brother Xuan, I have a question I'd like to ask you."

Xuan Yang said: "Go ahead."

He Pingsheng gently placed his teacup on the stone table: "How much do you know about the 【Soul Seizing Technique】?"

"Soul Seizing?"

Upon hearing those two words, Xuan Yang's body jerked violently. "Soul Seizing defies the natural order of heaven and earth—it's forbidden in the cultivation world! It's an extremely profound art; ordinary cultivators cannot perform it. Only Nascent Soul cultivators who have comprehended the laws of heaven and earth may attempt Soul Seizing!"

"Why are you asking about this, young brother?"

He Pingsheng was stunned: "Can't a Jin Dan cultivator perform Soul Seizing?"

"Impossible!" Xuan Yang shook his head. "All things in the world follow their own laws—Jin Dan cultivators cannot perform Soul Seizing!"

"Otherwise, Elder Brother Wu Wei would've done it long ago!"

He Pingsheng nodded.

He asked again: "Then… what's the success rate of Soul Seizing?"

"How could the success rate be high for something that defies heaven?" Xuan Yang said. "I don't fully understand it, but I know Soul Seizing is a nine-to-one death sentence for both parties."

"Generally speaking, the success rate is less than ten percent. If it fails, both souls are utterly scattered."

He Pingsheng frowned.

The common knowledge of Soul Seizing was recorded in some cultivation miscellanies.

He Pingsheng had consulted many related texts, and every single account matched exactly what Xuan Yang had said.

That is: if successful, the original soul is scattered, and the intruder takes over the body to continue cultivation.

If it fails, both the original soul and the intruder are scattered.

Of course, there are extremely rare cases where the original soul survives even after failure—but in those cases, the original soul is always left a lifelong fool.

He Pingsheng was puzzled: why, after the Ancestor's Soul Seizing attempt on me failed, did I survive unharmed, and the Ancestor didn't scatter either?

Could it be… the Ancestor never tried to Soul Seize me?

But the array on the ground was clearly a Soul Seizing Array.

Impossible to understand!

"Young brother, why are you suddenly asking about this?" Xuan Yang looked puzzled.

He Pingsheng smiled. "Just curious."

"Curiosity is fine. The Soul Seizing Technique harms heaven's harmony—those who succeed rarely end well."

"Enough about that!" Xuan Yang shook his head. "I called you here today for another matter."

He Pingsheng said: "I'm all ears, Brother."

"Don't speak of 'teaching'—it's too formal!" Xuan Yang waved his hand. "I'm old now, and my cultivation has stalled. My path likely ends here."

"So I plan to spend my remaining years well—return to my hometown, take several concubines, sire a few sons, and build a cultivation family."

"Please tell the Master for me."

"I am leaving."

He Pingsheng was shocked. "Brother… you're leaving Grand Void Gate?"

"No, no, no…" Xuan Yang said. "I'm not leaving Grand Void Gate—I'm giving up the Dao from today onward."

"Three thousand li west of here, deep in the mountains, I stumbled upon a small mountain with faint spiritual energy, and beneath it, a minor spiritual vein."

"I intend to use it as a foundation to establish a cultivation family."

"Don't worry—my future cultivation family will still be under Grand Void Gate's authority, recognizing it as our true sect."

He Pingsheng didn't know how to respond. "But the Master is still in seclusion—I can't see him."

"It doesn't matter!" Xuan Yang chuckled. "It's perfectly fine. When the Master emerges, you can tell him then."

He Pingsheng picked up his cup and took another sip.

The two sat in silence for a long while.

After some time, Xuan Yang took a deep breath. "Young brother, I owe you for the Divine Spirit Refining Scripture you gave me. Today, I'll tell you everything."

He Pingsheng nodded. "Please, Brother."

"I don't deserve 'please'," Xuan Yang said. "When disaster strikes, everyone flees for themselves—you may not know yet, but Hong the Second from the Enforcement Hall left Grand Void Gate half a month ago under the pretense of traveling. He won't be coming back."

He Pingsheng said: "But… Elder Brother Hong didn't report this to the Master."

"He didn't need to!" Xuan Yang said. "He claimed he was traveling—why would he report that to the Master?"

"In truth, he's fleeing trouble."

"The Master is old now, and he knows his fate. We all know Grand Void Gate and the Beast Taming Sect are mortal enemies. Even if the Master emerges, how likely is he to defeat the two Nascent Soul experts of the Beast Taming Sect?"

"We all see clearly—he says he'll kill them after emerging is just bluster."

"An old man, his essence long dried up. Even if his magic power is immense, what does it matter? The enemy isn't made of mud. Besides, they're two against one, they hold the advantage of terrain and arrays!"

"How could he possibly kill them?"

Xuan Yang picked up his teacup and drank. "Even if we go a hundred thousand steps further—if the Master emerges and goes to provoke the Beast Taming Sect, should we, his Jin Dan disciples, follow him?"

"If we follow, we die for nothing."

"If we don't follow, we're disloyal and unfilial."

"Rather than be torn apart later, it's better to decide now."

"Hong the Second left. I'm leaving too."

"Of our five Jin Dan, besides you and me, there are three others—Elder Brother Wu Wei and Fifth Brother Jian Zhu, hehe… they won't even add fuel to the fire when the time comes!"

"Even if we go a hundred thousand steps further—if the Master emerges and doesn't seek revenge, he still has few years left. Once he's gone, with the hatred between us and the Beast Taming Sect, they'll spare no effort to annihilate Grand Void Gate."

"Who can resist? Young brother—can you?"

"So, brother… I've spoken harshly, but you understand now, don't you?"

Xuan Yang stared coldly at He Pingsheng.