Under one person: I, Zhang Zhiwei, the arrogant Zhang.

On Mount Wudang, Zhou Sheng rode backwards on a donkey, lying on its back, holding Wu Gensheng's letter in his hand, muttering:
"What is that shameless woman up to now?"

"Senior brother, you received the letter too?"

A voice came from behind.

Zhou Sheng turned his head and saw his junior brother Song Mian walking slowly out of the dense pine forest.

"What? You received it too?" Zhou Sheng asked.

Song Mian nodded and took out a note from his sleeve: "Wu Gensheng invited me to a gathering. I was wondering if you had received it, Senior Brother? It seems you have."

"What? You want to go?" Zhou Sheng sat up straight.

“I haven’t seen him in a long time, and I miss him terribly. I’d like to go, but I’m a little worried about going alone…” Song Mian paused, “If you go, I’ll go.”

"It's no big deal, just go if you want to," Zhou Sheng said with a smile.

After mastering the Heavenly Connection Qimen, his behavior became increasingly unrestrained. With the world so vast, what place couldn't he go?

"Then, senior brother, what excuse should we come up with to go out?" Song Mian asked, scratching his head.

"What reason do you need? Just say you're going out for a walk, isn't that enough?"

"Alright, senior brother."

……

……

Tangjiabao, Sichuan-Chongqing region.

Xu Xin and Dong Chang sat in a room, each holding a letter.

"He said he wants to see us, what do you think?" Dong Chang asked.

"What kind of trick is this guy up to?" Xu Xin frowned.

Dong Chang glanced at Xu Xin, placed the letter on the kerosene lamp, and the flame flickered upwards, instantly turning the letter to ashes: "Will you tell the sect leader the contents of this letter?"

"What will happen if I tell them?" Xu Xin asked.

“The sect leader will absolutely not let us go. And if the sect leader is interested in Bilian, Bilian will be in big trouble,” Dong Chang said.

Xu Xin nodded: "That makes sense. Old Dong, are you planning to go?"

"I don't know." Dong Chang looked at Xu Xin: "Xiao Xu, I'm not going to make a decision for you on this matter. What do you want to do? You decide for yourself."

"How about we go see what this bastard is up to?" Xu Xin suggested, his eyes darting around.

Dong Chang looked at Xu Xin but didn't say anything.

Xu Xin leaned closer and lowered his voice, saying, "Old Dong, I think this heretic demon, who specifically asked to see the two of us by name, couldn't possibly be just trying to torment us, right? If he really has some evil scheme in mind, it's our duty as Tang Clan disciples to investigate for the Tang Clan, isn't that right?"

Looking at Xu Xin's "righteous" appearance, Dong Chang couldn't help but laugh: "Yes, yes, me too, that's what I think too. Going to scout out the enemy's situation is perfectly reasonable."

"Then what excuse should we use to go down the mountain?" Xu Xin was troubled again.

Dong Chang narrowed his eyes: "Two days ago, Young Master Yang Lie asked the sect leader for leave, saying he needed to go back and cultivate in seclusion for a few days to prepare for comprehending the Dan Shi. Our skills are no less than Yang Lie's, so if he can ask for leave, we can too. We also asked for leave, saying we need to find a place to cultivate in seclusion to prepare for inheriting the Dan Shi."

"That's a great idea! Let's do it! I'll ask for leave first thing tomorrow morning!" Xu Xin slapped his thigh and said excitedly.

At the same time, Fengping of Huodezong also received the letter.

Fengping had always been a carefree and unconventional man. Wugensheng wanted to see him? What was wrong with going to see him? Come to think of it, he also missed this shameless man.

He greeted his master, Master Chu, saying he was going to see a friend he hadn't seen in a long time. Then he used his fire escape technique, transforming into a streak of fire, and hurriedly left the sect.

……

Besides them, all the friends Wugensheng had met during his years of wandering the world—the righteous, the Quanxing, the rogue cultivators, and the monks—received this letter.

They rushed from all directions toward the Twenty-Four Heavenly Valley deep in the Qinling Mountains.

Deep in the Qinling Mountains, in a secluded valley, a huge bonfire was lit, and a group of people sat around it, drinking and chatting happily.

This group of thirty-six people came from all walks of life, a mix of good and evil. If they met on ordinary days, they might immediately draw their swords and fight to the death.

But at this moment, in this desolate wilderness, they put aside all their guard and prejudices, sat together, ate meat heartily, drank wine from large bowls, and chatted happily. The atmosphere was surprisingly harmonious.

Wugensheng stood on a large rock, his hair disheveled, his clothes unkempt, and his debauchery unrestrained. He held a flask of Shaoxing-brewed daughter's red wine that Fengping had just brought back. He tilted his head back, took a large gulp, wiped his mouth, and burst into loud laughter:

“I have lived a life without roots, and all I have now is this: the wine in this bowl and you, my friends.”

“Among your friends, there are those who want to kill me. They are still eyeing me with predatory intent, and if I do anything wrong, they will take my head.”

Gao Gen, whose gaze swept over him, snorted coldly but did not refute, only silently taking a sip of wine.

“There were those who wanted to compete with me back then, those I regarded as mentors, and those I once discarded like trash, only to find that I was being used by them.”

"Some saved me from danger several times, while others wanted to sleep with me the first time they saw me, but after finding out who I was, they didn't show me any mercy at all."

Upon hearing this, a burst of laughter erupted from the crowd.

Ignoring the laughter of the crowd, Wugensheng suddenly raised the wine jug, his voice becoming impassioned and unrestrained:
"Demons, prestigious families, to hell with the Celestial Master's Mansion, to hell with the Fire Virtue Sect, to hell with the Heavenly Crafts Hall, to hell with Wudang Mountain, to hell with the Iron Plate Immortal... to hell with the Quanxing Sect!"

"Pah! Hahahaha..."

Wugensheng raised the wine jug high and shouted loudly at the crowd:

"I, the biggest bastard in the world, am about to have a good, good drink with my thirty-five most admired bastards, and let everything else go to hell!!!"

"Ha ha ha ha!!"

He laughed loudly and downed the strong liquor in the pot in one gulp, the liquor running down his chin and soaking his clothes.

Wugensheng is a very charismatic person. Even though he is now down on his luck and his behavior is different from before, he is still a very charismatic person.

His crude remarks did not elicit any dissatisfaction from the audience; on the contrary, they felt extremely pleased, as if a fire was burning inside them, and a long-lost sense of exhilaration arose spontaneously!

"Well said! To hell with the rules! Drink!" "Why the hell do you talk so much nonsense? Drink up!"

"Let's do it!"

The thirty-five people around were infected. They all raised their wine jugs and bowls, laughing loudly, and drank the strong liquor in their bowls in one gulp!

After finishing his drink, Wugensheng slumped onto a rock, looked up at the sky, and sighed:
"Gentlemen, with just one note from me, thirty-five of you actually traveled a long way to meet me. My life has truly been worth it."

"Stop being so sentimental! Come down here and have a drinking contest!" Fengping shouted from below.

"Yeah, why the hell do you talk so much nonsense? Hurry up and drink!" someone shouted from below.

"I'm going to get you completely drunk today!"

The group raised their glasses again and drank heavily, getting completely drunk in this secluded valley.

Wugensheng also got drunk and didn't wake up until evening.

Upon waking, he rubbed his throbbing head, looked at the people around him, and smiled apologetically.

"I apologize, everyone. I was too sentimental before and exaggerated a bit. I specifically chose this place because it's not just about wine and friends."

"Bilian, what exactly are you trying to say? You're being so mysterious." Feng Ping yawned, sat up, and asked.

Wugensheng smiled mysteriously: "Tomorrow. Tomorrow morning, I'll take everyone to a... extremely interesting place."

……

……

The next day, Wugensheng led thirty-five people into the Twenty-Four Heavenly Valley.

As soon as he entered the valley, Zhou Sheng stopped. His usually lazy, slanted eyes were wide open now, staring intently at everything in the valley.

Knowing Zhou Sheng's abilities, Wu Gensheng leaned closer and asked, "Big monkey, how is it? Can you see through the tricks of this place?"

Zhou Sheng shook his head and said, "I can understand some of it, but the changes here are too complicated, like a huge, tangled mess of yarn. I can try to sort it out, but that's all I can do. I can't untangle it at all. It's a tangled mess that can't be cut or untangled. This place is very dangerous."

"Danger? Where is it dangerous? I don't feel any danger." Duanmu Ying looked around curiously. She felt that apart from the unusual scenery, there was nothing scary about the place.

“Yingzi, you’re not a sorcerer, so it’s normal that you don’t understand. There’s a Qi formation here,” Zhou Sheng said.

"Qi formation? What is a Qi formation?" Duanmu Ying was still puzzled. She was well-versed in medicine, but she was completely clueless about this kind of Feng Shui formation.

"Qi formation is where inanimate objects retain their form, and the innate Qi of living beings flows within it. From a macro perspective, this is a special pattern formed in a certain place at a certain time, due to the interaction of the Qi of heaven and earth," Zhou Sheng explained in simple terms.

Duanmu Ying listened with a puzzled look: "I do understand the concept of 'structure,' such as the organs, tissues, and gas flow of the human body, which is an independent and complete structure. Within the structure of the human body, we can use many methods to circulate the Qi within our body. So what are the methods of this Qi structure?"

Zhou Sheng looked at Wugensheng: "Then we'll have to ask Bilian."

Wugensheng laughed loudly: "There has to be some suspense, right? To be honest, I don't know what's so special about this place. I only know that if you take one wrong step, the consequences will be very serious."

"How serious is it? Will I get struck by lightning?" Duanmu Ying asked.

"It's worse than being struck by lightning."

"What do you mean?"

“This is quite complicated. Xiao Gu, can you explain it to me?” Wu Gensheng said.

Upon hearing this, Gu Qiting explained it to Duanmu Ying from a perspective that transcends time:
“Yingzi, from the perspective of time, you are not only the present you, but also the sum of the past, present and possible future.”

"If you do not follow the rules of this Qi formation and barge in recklessly, then the conflict this Qi formation will cause you will not be the one you are experiencing now, but the sum of everything from the moment you stepped into this place until now."

"You are the only truly existing being in this moment, so it's hard for you to feel the influence of the Qi formation. But your past self, this faint existence that is illusory, is easily distorted by the formation. So, once you take the wrong path, your past self will be completely torn apart and erased."

Duanmu Ying felt a chill run down her spine and couldn't help but ask, "What would happen if there were no 'past'?"

"Without the past, how can there be a present and a future? Fate is like a line, and the future is a product that advances based on the past and the present. Even if only a small part of the past is destroyed, a person's fate will come to an end. That is to say, this person will die, but will not know how he will die."

"Because once the thread of fate is broken, a person will no longer have any ability to control their own destiny. They can only passively wait for fate to take its course and wait for the end of their destiny in despair."

Upon hearing these words, Duanmu Ying immediately rushed towards Wugensheng, who was leading the way, and said, "Bilian, slow down! Wait for me! Don't lead us astray!"

Upon hearing this explanation, Zhang Huaiyi, who was standing behind, couldn't help but think of the Qi formation his senior brother had set up in Shanghai and the Qi formation his senior brother had set up in Longhu Mountain.

At the time, he only felt that his senior brother's methods were mysterious and unpredictable, and the Qi formation he set up was unfathomable.

But now it seems that the Qi formation Wugensheng created in this place is much more powerful than that of his senior brother.

Could Bi Lian really come up with such a scheme? Zhang Huaiyi found it hard to believe. So, he approached Wu Gensheng and, seemingly casually but actually indirectly, began to inquire about the origins of this valley.

Wugensheng saw right through Zhang Huaiyi's little scheme. He bluntly called him out: "Big Ears, stop beating around the bush! Just ask me what you're asking, stop with the nonsense!"

He then explained to everyone how he had figured out the rules here.

Because of his own abilities, he can nullify Qi against him. Although the Qi formation here is powerful, it is still Qi in the end, so it cannot harm him.

However, the Qi's influence on him always leaves a trace. Based on this influence, he found a route to the center of the valley without being harmed by the Qi formation.

Upon hearing this, everyone marveled at Wugensheng's methods.

As they talked, they entered the valley.

Upon entering, everyone was utterly stunned by the sight before them.

The surrounding stone walls were covered with intricate and complex patterns!

These patterns are extremely dense, stretching as far as the eye can see. Standing within them, it is impossible to grasp their entirety. However, if one can elevate their perspective and take a broader view, one can see just how vast and magnificent this structure truly is.

"It's truly beautiful," Gu Qiting exclaimed.

“The most beautiful things are yet to come,” Wugensheng laughed.

"Bilian, who was the former owner of this place?"

Zhou Sheng noticed something amiss; he discovered that the entire valley was arranged according to the Zhou Tian Great Acupoints, and he couldn't help but ask. (End of Chapter)