Kao Dao Ji walks through the bushes with a cold gaze.
He observed a group of three Gu Masters resting by a bonfire.
Suddenly.
He tilts his body, whilst his feet get covered by a black goo.
And then.
He pounces.
Two of the bandits who were in the opposite direction notice him, but the one who was turning his back at him was a bit slower.
Still, as an experienced bandit, he perceived the shift in expression of his two friends and immediately turned his head.
His pupils narrowed.
"IT'S YOU???" His mind spun rapidly as he shouted those words.
Instinctively, he raised a reddish barrier made of flames; whilst its defenses were mediocre, the threat of the flames deterred most from approaching.
But Kao Dao Ji was not most.
His head was severed by the neck, whilst the body of Kao Dao Ji was set alight.
Even so, his whole body was surrounded by the black substance which acted as a shield, whilst his body was also heavily reinforced.
At the same time, there were only two bandits alive, and one of them was already heavily crippled due to his previous actions.
The only bad aspect was that his transformation was very ephemeral; it would not last for long.
Thus, still set alight by the flames, Kao Dao Ji struck fiercely with his claws, aiming at the neck.
The opponent jumped backwards to avoid, but Kao Dao Ji jumped at the same time.
The man gritted his teeth; still in midair, he threw several daggers.
They were then infused with lightning sparks of light; a metal weapon merged with Gu produced an overwhelming attack.
The dagger pierced through his stomach, but Kao Dao Ji was not deterred.
He grabbed the man, who screamed in agony.
His concentration was disturbed as the flames reached his body, and so Kao Dao Ji used his claws to disembowel him.
Whilst moving towards the crippled target.
"Hah. While I was delayed quite a bit, they too were unable to move freely. Who would say that I would find bandits with such great care towards one another?" He chuckled to himself.
Of course, he would not show mercy because of this.
Moving towards his opponent, whose Cultivation seemed to be damaged and who had regressed to Rank 2 Initial Stage.
He raised his fist like a hammer.
The body of his opponent seemed to radiate a purple light, as a liquid substance emerged from the pores of his skin.
Surprisingly, the defenses held on.
But the body was damaged.
And so.
Kao Dao Ji simply snorted coldly.
He swung his fist again and again and again.
Little by little, until he was beaten to death.
Only then did he finally rest easy.
He dissipated his black transformation as he did; the flames were expelled from his body.
"Good. Now all the ones who knew of this location are dead." He smirked to himself; in reality, there was another reason why they had hovered here for so long.
Because they coveted the inheritance.
And precisely because they coveted it, they did not dare to reveal any of their tracks or actions.
They simply hid when the beast stampede reached its peak, and began to trace back their steps once it receded.
Once Kao Dao Ji realized his plan, he decided to act, leading to the current situation.
Still.
Kao Dao Ji did not look frustrated by the scene in the slightest; contrary to previous occasions, he was smiling widely, like a mischievous little kid.
"Good! My body no longer shakes when I kill, nor do I hesitate to do so." He hummed to himself; his golden hair moved freely across his head.
He lowered his body and began to inspect the corpses.
There was a small frown on his face as he inspected their apertures.
No Gu, no Gu, no Gu.
All the Gu had been destroyed before their deaths.
How annoying.
Still.
There were quite a few Primeval Stones with them, which he leisurely took.
After doing this.
He simply turned around and left.
He did not deign to even give them a proper burial, as for erasing the traces?
It seemed far too-fetched; after all, who was going to check up the corpses of three random bandits?
If they had any backing, their position would not have been so miserable.
Of course, lingering where there was the scent of blood was not wise either, which is why he immediately left.
…
…
…
Meanwhile.
The other 'Kao' began to read several reports.
During the past months, they had been investigating together the location where Kao Dao Ji could have gone to.
His enthusiasm to pursue him surprised the teacher greatly.
The suspicion in his heart of the real intentions he had increased every passing day; however, they were suppressed firmly.
"It hardly matters. Once his brother dies, her mind will finally accept reality." That was his conviction.
Still.
The other Kao Dao Ji read an interesting report.
In one of the merchant caravans close to the location where he had fallen.
"Gui Hui?" Suddenly, he could not help but chuckle.
Kao Dao Ji had blatantly changed the order of the names to 'conceal' himself.
Like the typical protagonist of a third-rate novel.
Even then, in those novels it was mostly a translation issue; moving the characters actually changed the meaning of the name, and a different pronunciation made it harder to identify.
That did not apply in this case, however.
It was so obvious that he could hardly believe it.
"Did he want to be found?" He muttered to himself in utter disbelief.
"Wait, maybe he did." He blinked as he had this realization; he chuckled.
Before shaking his head.
Then he stared at the teacher.
Who, just like him, was reading several reports; he had even passed this report to him.
To ensure he had not missed anything.
And yet.
Somehow he missed something so obvious?
"This is a dream, so it operates on fuzzy logic." He muttered.
He more or less figured the actual way things were supposed to go.
Unlike Kao Dao Ji, the original Hui Gui Qian Hue had probably made a better surname; of course, a thing like a 'fake name' did not seem very important for the logic of the dream, so the dream allowed him to influence it.
From the perspective of the dream, it still made complete sense, but from a logical perspective it was utter nonsense.
Even so.
He too could alter the plot.
"Teacher, I think I found a clue." He waved his hand and smiled mysteriously at the teacher, who raised his eyebrows to stare at him.
"A clue?"
"Across several Merchant Caravans. They have found of a mysterious woman who calls herself Gui Hui.
She appeared out of nowhere, and is close to the area where we sent her, not to mention that her name is the reverse of our Clan's name.
Also, her appearance is almost identical to mine, and she also wears a hood. The only part that does not align is that she is described as having brownish or black skin, but that could be done by simply putting dirt in her body or using Gu to hide herself, or simply the side-effect of using a Gu to reinforce her physique."
He spoke calmly.
But the teacher gasped visibly.
"Wha---? Such a deduction. You are a genius! All the pieces fit now."
Then.
He coughed.
"Alright. Still. We are not entirely sure if the trail is adequate. Should we send somebody to investigate?"
The other Kao Dao Ji shook his head.
"That would be too much of a waste of time, and we would give him too much of an opportunity to arise again." As he spoke those words, he then added.
"Besides. We don't have to do much. We will simply wait at the Merchant Caravane once he appears there once more; we will simply capture him."
Then he stared at the teacher.
"Also. Do not kill him or maim him. Subdue and tie down his body. I will not be able to sever the bonds between us unless I kill him with my own bare hands." He spoke coldly.
…
Several weeks later.
Oblivious to the situation around him.
Kao Dao Ji followed the footsteps made by other travelers; it seemed that the merchant caravan was getting nearer.
He walked calmly, but steadily, and stared at his surroundings suspiciously.
After being chased once by a group of bandits, his cautiousness had increased greatly.
"Heya." Kao Dao Ji's pupils widened; he turned his head towards the right and saw a very familiar face.
One that was identical to the one he once held.
"Sis-" His throat suddenly clenched tightly.
"Speak no evil, young miss…" The teacher stared at Kao Dao Ji and replied coldly.
The pupils of Kao Dao Ji widened.
He stared at the opponent and transformed himself to prepare for a fight.
But then.
A second attack reached him in succession.
"See no evil."
At that moment, his vision was pitch-black.
Kao Dao Ji tried to run away, but he stumbled over a random pebble.
"Hey! Are you really going to allow a random person to kill someone at your store?
Who the fuck is going to come to your store afterwards?" He shouted in desperation.
But the leader of the caravan merely shrugged coldly.
"Our rules are for protecting lawful customers, not criminals. You are a traitor of the Hui Gui Clan. And I was already given proof…" As he spoke those words, he turned his gaze towards the teacher.
Stretching his palm and moving his hand as if saying.
'Give me your money…'
The teacher obliged; he threw a Storage Gu which contained tens of thousands of Primeval Essence Stones without a care in the world.
Afterwards.
He made another gesture.
[Hear No Evil]
By that point, Kao Dao Ji was functionally crippled.
Unless he made use of Gu to see or hear, or if he countered the method, he would be unable to speak, see, or even hear.
And if that were not enough.
[Do no evil]
The final Killer Move reached his body.
All the Gu's in his body were suppressed one upon another, until there was nothing he could do.
"Have you seen master Hui Gui Qian Hue? This is the so-called Four Wise Monkey Killer Move.
A conjugation Killer Move that is best used in the order I have just shown you.
Each subsequent bind possesses an inferior pulling power, which can be repelled by mobilizing the Primeval Essence.
However, by using the previous bindings as reinforcement, one can prevent this.
Thus, we first use the strongest binding, followed by the second, the third, and then the fourth.
Of course.
That was just a demonstration.
Considering the disparity of our Cultivations, I could have directly used Do No Evil, but that would have made for a poor showing.
Also.
While the Killer Move looks invincible, it is not devoid of flaws; those 4 bindings must be applied as quickly as possible.
Even without intervention, they unravel on their own; thus, one must reapply the Killer Move, or apply the subsequent moves.
There is also the probability of countering this Killer Move through several measures such as…" The teacher spoke carefreely; from his perspective, it was simply impossible for Kao Dao Ji to escape.
And indeed, it was.
The teacher grabbed with one hand the body of Kao Dao Ji and the duo walked towards a cave.
"Good. You have done a great job. But like I said, I have plenty of things to discuss with my dear brother, so could you be as kind as to give us some privacy?"
The teacher frowned.
"I cannot. I am not sure if he will be able to harm you, nor if you will be able to do what you must."
The other Kao Dao Ji frowned before saying in an annoyed tone.
"Whatever. Just keep yourself 20 meters away from me, also. Keep reapplying that Do not Evil Killer Move to prevent any surprises…"
He spoke in a detached tone, but inwardly he stared at Kao Dao Ji.
Who slowly opened his eyes to glance at him in shock.
"SISTERRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!" He shouted in rage upon observing him, but the man merely chuckled.
"Are you already trapped in the delusion? Your Willpower is even weaker than I expected, thief."
Upon hearing the words thief.
The eyes of Kao Dao Ji shone brightly.
Whilst the Gu could never activate properly, before his senses had been dulled, he had heard a few words; together with his words, they enabled him to remember.
Kao Dao Ji squinted his eyes.
"So…Why the fuck am I here? Do you want to reenact the bear scene or something?" He said in a playful tone, but his expression was anything but calm.
"Haahahah!" The other Kao Dao Ji laughed heartily.
"While I would love to do nothing more than that, I am in an impasse." He shrugged nonchalantly.
Kao Dao Ji stared at him curiously.
Before realization appeared on his face.
"You need me. If you destroy my soul, you will not be an otherworldly demon, and thus you will be susceptible to the schemes of others.
So you brought me here to torture me, so I willingly surrender to you and give you control over the body?"
"Not quite." The other Kao Dao Ji shrugged; his voice was very soft despite his emotions, as he did not want the teacher to intervene.
Then his expression grew extremely dark as he added.
"Even if I took over you fully, I would not be an otherworldly demon."
"Huh?"
"As I said, I would not be one." Then he chuckled.
"Have you never found it odd? You already know about the method of fusing several souls within the same body, and Spectral Soul was a master of the method too.
While I admit doing it with his main body was far too risky, do you think he would not have tried to take over an otherworldly demon to fulfill his goals if it were that simple?
Let us take one step further.
Why did he not enslave Fang Yuan when he had the chance? If he had, he could have simply ordered him around to destroy Fate, whilst he then stole his body effortlessly." He chuckled.
Then he added.
"Now…Let us go to Fang Yuan, shall we? Fang Yuan destroyed Fate, but he did not do so with his bare hands and muscle.
He employed Gu to reach that point. Gu, which belonged to the world, and so how could such mundane objects destroy Fate?"
The other Kao Dao Ji sneered.
"The answer is obvious. An otherworldly demon is so, not because their soul is special.
But because their Will was born outside the world, and thus the first cause which defined them is unbound by causality, as if defined by Fate."
"If you do not understand what I mean, you can imagine this.
If we imagine that the universe itself is deterministic, and that everything that happens began with a first cause.
And if we knew this first cause.
Then we could extrapolate.
We could predict what the second cause would be, and with that, the third, and the fourth, and so on.
The object which accounts for all of this, and which also manipulates the way those events interconnect with each other, is Fate Gu.
However.
What if we were to add something that cannot be predicted by this machine?
An external object, an otherworldly entity?
The casualty would be unbounded; without Fate knowing or directing the first causes, things get out of hand rather quickly.
However, it still can be somewhat mitigated for.
Using the body as the anchor to predict and account for this unpredictability, as it can be measured and analyzed for.
However.
What would happen if that unpredictable entity were to be taken over like a puppet, by a native puppeteer?
Even if we do not know the original cause, as it is being directed by something which can be predicted for, it stops being unpredictable.
Even if the puppet tries to go left or right, what does it matter if the puppeteer wants to move them up?
Hence, the anomaly.
However, if an otherworldly entity were to take hold of a singular pebble and randomly decide to throw it in the sky.
The pebble would be unaccounted for.
In other words. A native enslaving an otherworldly demon would, during the period in which they are enslaved, steal their spark, but an otherworldly demon enslaving a native would achieve the opposite effect."
As he spoke those words.
His expression grew maniacal; he laughed heartily.
"Do you know what this means? No matter what I do, no matter what I try. I will never be an 'otherworldly demon', not unless I were to become your slave.
But you? You will always enjoy this privilege, and no one will ever revoke it from you, because it's simply too far damn useful for their goals!"
But then.
His smile widened.
"But I have found one tiny exception. Hui Gui Yu gave me quite the inspiration.
The greatest profundity of Yin-Yang is the fusion of the two extremities to create something utterly new.
Not even they have achieved such a thorough, perfect transformation, as there is still a sense of discontinuity among them.
But there is still hope."
His expression grew hungry as he stared at Kao Dao Ji.
"Let me be clear for a second. I do not like you, not one bit.
But I can compromise."
His eyes shone with a dangerous gleam as he added.
"I already lost all that there was to lose, so who cares if I lose my sanity? If I lose my sense of self."
He chuckled.
"To be honest, all I care for at this moment is to stick out like a sore thumb. I do not want my killers, and the killers of my people, to profit from my death…" Then he shrugged.
"Who knows? Maybe if I had the chance to, I would actually be willing to tear a hole in this damned world."
"Hahaha!"
He laughed nonchalantly.
"It's funny; I cannot even say if I am saying it as a joke, or if I am being honest."
His expression hardened.
"But returning to the point..."
"I want the marriage Killer Move, and I am willing to work together with you to perfect it. Until the day we truly become one."
Then, he shrugged.
"Of course, I am not a monster; I will not force you.
If you wish to die together with me, that is an acceptable outcome for me."
Then he winked.
"Naturally, before I inevitably die, I wish to spark a bit of chaos and fun in this world.
Maybe I could share the novel in Treasure Yellow Heaven?
Who knows, maybe if I do that, the plans of your patron will be fucked.
Or perhaps my decision is exactly what they wanted.
And I am just doing exactly what they want; at this point, who knows!"