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Zhao Yang waved to the crowd with a smile before stepping into the house. Suddenly, he felt a strange sensation, as if he had become a celebrity surrounded by a group of paparazzi interviewing and photographing him. Although they were just unworldly villagers, a small sense of vanity stirred within him. This little vanity made him realize that in order to receive attention on a larger stage, he needed to possess greater strength.
The Chubby Kid's mother saw Zhao Yang enter the house and, as if she had found a savior, grabbed his hand and cried, "Xiao Yang, come see what has happened to your Rich Uncle. He seems like a different person; I hardly recognize him!"
Standing nearby, the White-Haired Fortune Teller, her face lined with wrinkles, said, "Xiao Yang, I only know a bit about fortune-telling and divination. I can't discern the strange affliction on your uncle, but I suspect it might be possession by a ghost. It reminds me of a case I saw when I was young. You should take a look and see what's going on."
Before his journey to this world, Zhao Yang had been quite disdainful of village fortune tellers. When he was sick as a child and his family couldn't afford proper treatment, they would consult the village fortune teller. The talismans and potions he received did nothing but worsen his condition. After arriving in this world, he initially held the same contempt for the local fortune teller. However, upon hearing from his mother that she was a tragic figure who had been sold into servitude as a child bride and endured much suffering, Zhao Yang felt some respect for her. A wandering Taoist had taken pity on her and taught her some skills, which led her to become the fortune teller for several nearby villages. She was known for her accurate readings of fortunes and geomancy but could not discern strange occurrences affecting individuals or prevent any fatalities.
Zhao Yang looked at Fortune’s struggling form being held down by four or five burly men on the bed. He placed his right hand on Fortune's chest and channeled True Qi into him to investigate. After about half a tea's worth of time, he understood what was happening. With a sharp slap, he struck Fortune across the face, leaving everyone around him bewildered.
To everyone's surprise, after that slap, Fortune indeed quieted down.
"Alright," Zhao Yang said. "You can let him go now."
The burly men hesitated but eventually released their grip. Fortune coughed violently several times before spitting out a mouthful of dark blood. Confused, he looked around at the crowd watching him and asked, "What happened to me?"
The onlookers broke into smiles and began chattering excitedly: "You were possessed by a ghost! Zhao Yang saved you!"
"Yes! Zhao Yang drove the ghost away with just one slap!"
"If it weren't for Zhao Yang, you would have been done for! I say Zhao Yang is like a living deity!"
Upon hearing this, Fu Gui quickly got out of bed and prepared to bow to Zhao Yang, while the Chubby Kid and Fat Dun'er's Mother also knelt down on the ground.
Zhao Yang hurriedly stopped them, saying, "Uncle and Aunt, what are you doing? We're all from the same village; it's just a small favor. There's no need to be so polite. If you want to thank me, just help take care of my parents when I'm not around. Now, please get up; otherwise, I might get upset."
Hearing this, Fu Gui's family stood up. Zhao Yang continued, "Rich Uncle is not possessed by a ghost; he has been poisoned. This poison has lingered in his brain, causing his central nervous system to operate abnormally, which affects his consciousness and gives him immense strength."
After saying this, he looked around at the confused faces of the crowd and realized he had misspoken. He cleared his throat and added, "To put it simply, he has been poisoned in a way that causes hallucinations!"
Only then did everyone understand.
Zhao Yang turned to Fu Gui, whose complexion was gradually becoming rosy. After circulating his Chaos True Qi for a while, he knew that ordinary physical ailments were easy for him to handle. However, he understood that this hallucination-inducing poison must have been actively released by something. Moreover, there was a faint trace of Spirit Energy mixed within the toxin. Earlier, he had heard from the Chubby Kid that his father fell ill after returning from fishing in the river at the east end of the village. Therefore, he decided to investigate further.
After bidding farewell to everyone, Zhao Yang made his way to Donghe. Finding no one around, he took a deep breath and jumped into the river.
This river flowed down from the back mountain and was about twenty meters wide. The water was clear, and even at its deepest point, it was only six or seven meters deep. As soon as he entered the water, he felt a gentle wave of Spirit Energy emanating from ahead. Following its direction, he swam forward and soon came upon a large rock about thirty meters away; the Spirit Energy was emanating from there.
Zhao Yang cautiously approached the rock and noticed a giant river clam lying beside it. Inside its open shell was a shimmering silver pearl about the size of an egg; the Spirit Energy was radiating from this pearl. Just as Zhao Yang reached out to grab it, a jet of black toxic mist suddenly shot out from the clam, followed by its two shells snapping shut. Zhao Yang quickly dodged and realized that this clam was indeed responsible for the poison affecting Fu Gui's mind.
Zhao Yang's cultivation level wasn't sufficient for him to stay underwater for long. He decided to bring the clam up for further study. However, due to years of being washed by river water, the clam's shell was extremely slippery. After observing it for a while without success in prying it open, he recalled his master's teaching of the Seventy-Third Transformation which he had yet to use. With a mischievous grin, he blew a few bubbles and muttered an indistinct phrase: "Transform into a sheep!"
In that instant, the surrounding water experienced slight ripples before flashing with light; the clam transformed into a Little Sheep. The Little Sheep looked quite animated—both confused and terrified—as it flailed its four legs in the water. Zhao Yang quickly grabbed it and swam towards the shore.
Upon reaching the shore, Zhao Yang followed his master's teachings and quietly said: "Release!" The surrounding air rippled slightly again, and soon enough, the Little Sheep transformed back into the river clam. Zhao Yang took off his clothes and hung them on some bushes. He then searched for stones and branches but struggled for quite some time without managing to pry open the clam. Feeling frustrated, he removed his Stone Hammer from his hair and used its weight to restore its original form before striking it against the clam with a loud crack. The clam shattered upon impact; its flesh turned to mush inside its shell while that egg-sized pearl became somewhat deformed from the blow.
Zhao Yang picked up the pearl and recalled that the river clam was poisonous. Fearing that someone from the village might take it home and eat it, he dug a hole nearby and buried the shattered clam before returning home safely.
Upon arriving home, Zhao Yang explained the situation to Zhao Tianlang and He Qing, stating that the wealthy individual had merely been poisoned, with the source of the poison being in the river, which he had already cleaned up. The couple finally felt relieved.
That night, as Zhao Yang sat on his bed reflecting on the day's events, he made a quiet decision. After resolving the grievances of the Zhao Family the next day, he would leave Zhao County to travel to other places in search of his path. Otherwise, with all these mundane matters troubling him daily, he could not focus on his cultivation. He felt a strong sense of urgency regarding his progress; after six years of practice, at just fifteen years old, he had only reached the peak of the second layer of Qi Refinement Stage. In the cultivation world, he feared he was either at the bottom or among the worst. Although he had undergone a rebirth and re-cultivation, even combining both lifetimes' achievements only brought him to the fifth layer of Qi Refinement Stage, which was still quite poor.
He took out the pearl filled with Spirit Energy and placed it against his abdomen near his Dantian, taking a deep breath.
"Qi Refinement Stage third layer, it's up to you!"
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