CHAPTER 102: CHAPTER 102 ILLUSION TECHNIQUE

Swoosh!

Everything around suddenly became vivid, although Lu Zheng was still standing in the same place.

"Is my Illusion Technique mighty? I didn’t think so, didn’t you see through it in a glance?" Daoist Yuting, somewhat surprised, asked, "Where did you spot the flaw in the second illusion?"

Lu Zheng turned to look at Yuan Ning, "When Senior Brother Yuan Ning glanced at me earlier, he seemed a bit gloating."

Yuan Ning was startled by the words, then hurriedly suppressed his smile and lowered his head, saying nothing.

Then Lu Zheng lowered his head and saw an extra stone bench had appeared where the wine jar was placed moments ago, he didn’t know when it was moved.

Lu Zheng, "..."

"Well done, well done, attentive and good at probing." Daoist Yuting nodded.

Lu Zheng felt somewhat uneasy, unsure if he was still within Daoist Yuting’s Illusion Technique world.

"Phew—"

A gentle breeze blew past, and the stone bench before Lu Zheng was blown back to its original position.

Daoist Mingzhang strolled out from the backyard, "Old Daoist Yuting, you lack martial virtue, bullying my new apprentice?"

Daoist Yuting laughed heartily, "Your little apprentice is unusual, his True Qi Cultivation is already comparable to someone who has cultivated for two or three years."

"Oh?"

Daoist Mingzhang’s eyes lit up and he reached out again to grasp Lu Zheng’s wrist.

Lu Zheng had recently acquired quite some Light of Fortune, and due to the crisis with the Scorpion Demon, he was constantly building his cultivation after the adaptation period, progressing much more than last time.

Luckily, he hadn’t been to White Cloud Temple for a while; it’s reasonable that later cultivation speeds up, isn’t it?

Daoist Mingzhang once more moved his True Qi through Lu Zheng’s meridians and dantian, completely astounded.

Daoist Yuting didn’t know the exact time Lu Zheng was admitted; Daoist Mingzhang himself knew.

From when he first taught Lu Zheng the Meridian Breathing Method, it’s been over four months at most.

At that time when teaching the Body-Freezing Curse, he knew Lu Zheng’s cultivation was incredibly swift. Seeing him today, his progress was even more apparent, surpassing ordinary cultivators several times over.

A natural genius?

Or previous accumulation?

This speed, only achievable by the most formidable predecessors in the Daoist Sect.

Daoist Mingzhang suddenly felt he couldn’t quite see through Lu Zheng.

Could it be he recruited a future Daoist Sect master for White Cloud Temple?

"You drank the Scorpion Wine yourself, didn’t you?"

"I did drink it!" Lu Zheng nodded.

Daoist Mingzhang nodded thoughtfully, estimating the Scorpion Wine had its effects too.

Calling others over to fetch wine, Daoist Mingzhang then took Lu Zheng along with Daoist Yuting back to the quiet room in the backyard.

Daoist Mingzhang examined Lu Zheng and then they had a vegetarian meal together in the temple.

In the afternoon, Daoist Mingzhang and Daoist Yuting came to the summit of Shaotong Mountain to play chess and drink, Lu Zheng accompanying by the side.

"By the way, why didn’t I see Senior Brother Yuan Jing today?"

"He and Brother Ming Jun went to the neighboring county to perform opening the altar and praying for blessings." Daoist Mingzhang replied, casually placing a piece.

Lu Zheng nodded, noticing Daoist Yuting’s wine cup was empty, refilling it.

...

After an hour, the chess match ended with Daoist Yuting winning by a piece.

"Unexpectedly, after three years, your chess skills haven’t seen any improvement!" Daoist Yuting scratched his beard.

Daoist Mingzhang pursed his lips, "I am now the temple master, not only do I teach disciples, but also go out to perform rituals, where’s the time to hone chess skills, you think everyone’s like you, satisfying oneself without family worries?"

"Hehe—"

Daoist Yuting chortled, "Don’t think I don’t know you’ve brought Ming Jun from Jizhou for a purpose."

Daoist Mingzhang rolled his eyes but showed no sign of embarrassment.

Daoist Yuting blissfully sipped his little wine and looked at Lu Zheng, "Do you play chess?"

"I know a bit." Lu Zheng cautiously nodded.

"Then come accompany me for a game."

Daoist Yuting chuckled, "Having drunk your Scorpion Wine, I owe you a gift, how about this, if you manage to beat me, I’ll teach you that Illusion Technique?"

Lu Zheng’s eyes sparkled.

Daoist Mingzhang also raised his brows, "Willing to part with it?"

"It’s not some forbidden secret, only if he beats me. If lost, it’s just an Illusion Dragon Talisman."

Daoist Mingzhang turned back, "Try your best, if you win, I’ll teach you another Swordsmanship style."

Thus Lu Zheng confidently took Daoist Mingzhang’s former position.

As a junior, Lu Zheng played white and went first.

Having just observed Daoist Yuting and Daoist Mingzhang’s skills, clearly superior to Shen Ying.

For the Cultivation Technique, Lu Zheng resolved to win, imparting two strands of fortune onto his chess skill to ensure victory, avoiding adding more late in the game which could make his chess ability suddenly change, a flaw the two might notice.

...

"Eh?"

"Interesting!"

"Hmm..."

Daoist Yuting played slower and slower, while Daoist Mingzhang drank his wine, observing with brighter eyes.

"Good chess! Didn’t expect Yuan Zheng’s chess already so adept."

Daoist Yuting shook his head, "No, Yuan Zheng’s skill is average but this style is new to me, intriguing."

Even though Daoist Yuting later tried to regain the upper hand, it was futile, losing to Lu Zheng by two pieces.

"Let’s play another, this time I’ll win." Daoist Yuting insisted.

Daoist Mingzhang laughed heartily, "Old Daoist Yuting, a bet is a bet!"

Daoist Yuting smacked his lips, laughing and nodding, "Alright, a bet is a bet!"

Lu Zheng wiped his sweat, "Lucky, lucky, so close, so close!"

...

The group descended the mountain, returning to the temple.

Daoist Yuting directly asked Daoist Mingzhang for a quiet room, taking Lu Zheng inside, Daoist Mingzhang discreetly leaving.

"This Illusion Technique, aside from using True Qi and Divine Thought, contains hidden seal techniques used to cloak aura, muffle sound, block light."

Daoist Yuting introduced, "Today, I’ll pass this Illusion Technique to you, remember it well."

"Please wait a moment, I need the restroom!"

Daoist Yuting, "..."

Lu Zheng went out, traversed modernity in the backyard outhouse to fetch a phone, turned on the recording, and rushed back to the quiet room.

"Alright, Daoist, let’s start!"

Next, Daoist Yuting explained the Seal Technique while guiding True Qi flow, instructions like influencing others’ senses, crafting illusion worlds...

Theoretically, many Alchemy techniques, Void Flowering, Planting Trees on Flat Ground practiced by Wandering Strange People belong to the Illusion Technique realm.

Due to cultivational differences, the constructed illusion’s size and difficulty, the number impacted, the duration vary among practitioners.

Thus, once Lu Zheng masters this Illusion Technique, he’ll achieve feats akin to the Peach Planting Daoist from Strange Tales of Liao Zhai.