Wei Yuan felt as if he was sinking into a dream from which he could never awaken. Within this dream, countless scenes unfolded and shifted before his eyes. At times, he saw a man walking amidst the Great Wilderness and Seas, while at others, he transformed into a youth riding a blue ox. He might also become a sharp soldier wielding the famed sword Tieying (Iron Eagle), accompanying the iron cavalry of the Great Qin, sweeping across the world, unmatched in might. A grand dream spanning millennia.

When Wei Yuan's consciousness stirred awake, he saw blood-red lightning flashing across the sky in the distance. The white-haired girl and the azure-robed Dragon Girl were surrounding him. Shi Yi's expression was stern as he clashed with the immensely powerful Zhuoshi (Turbid World) Thunder Lord time and again, his body riddled with gruesome wounds inflicted by the terrifyingly high-temperature lightning.

Flesh scattered, revealing bone.

Lightning coursed over it, the high heat scorching the flesh.

Yet, in the blink of an eye, before the lightning could even dissipate, Shi Yi, his face still resolute and unyielding, had already recovered. He swung his sword backhandedly.

The exquisitely crafted Qin sword in his hand was seized by the beautiful yet scarred woman, her right cheek and eye marred by a ghastly gash. Seemingly enraged by the blade, she cried, "Don't you dare...

...point your sword at me!!!"

Her five fingers clenched, and domineering, terrifying lightning force crashed down.

The Qin sword in Shi Yi's hand shattered.

But he remained expressionless, his aura still steady, engaging the woman in hand-to-hand combat.

Wei Yuan quietly 'watched' this scene unfold. He had a faint sensation that if he reached out, he could naturally sense the other side, could return to that area as easily as returning to his hometown, could go back to the body the white-haired girl was protecting.

But for some reason, he was no longer in a hurry to return.

Or rather, he needed a bit of reverse thrust to propel his true spirit across the ages.

Even the process of his memory slowly returning, his true spirit gradually recovering, was like a flower reblooming. It required time.

It couldn't be achieved in one fell swoop.

At this moment, Wei Yuan had only just recovered the memories of the Chu-Han era. Wait...return?

Then where was he now?

Wei Yuan withdrew his gaze and looked around. He realized he was beside a village in the mountains. His eyes lowered as he saw the tomb in front of him and slowly recited, "The grave of my esteemed teacher, the Great Tang Sword Immortal, Master Chen, whose given name was Yuan."

"Disciples, Pei Yu, Gongsun Li."

"...Chen Yuan? Who is that?"

Wei Yuan was puzzled. He looked up and saw what had happened to his main body sixteen hundred years later. But just as his main body was still sleeping peacefully, Wei Yuan's mind was calm and composed. He looked at the surrounding landscape, brushed off his sleeves indifferently, and stood up, aimlessly walking away.

He didn't care at all that he didn't have a physical body, but simply strode forth freely.

Following the [Karma] in the dark, he crossed mountains and rivers, seeing from afar a city where a clear and sharp energy soared to the sky, chilling and keen, like a renowned sword. It was night, and Wei Yuan looked up to see the stars in the night sky shining brightly, corresponding to the city.

After a slight deduction of the star map, he saw that it was exactly the Dousu (Dipper) and Niusu (Ox) constellations among the twenty-eight Mansions.

Wei Yuan was surprised and stepped into the city, searching around.

He discovered that the source of this soaring sword energy was actually a young boy, barely eleven or twelve years old. Beneath the jade pendant on his waist hung a sword tassel that Wei Yuan found strangely familiar. However, as his true spirit was only gradually awakening, he didn't immediately recognize that the tassel had once belonged to one of his disciples.

He saw the boy wielding a wooden sword in the courtyard.

His movements seemed disorganized.

Which brought lighthearted jokes from the elders in the courtyard.

Only Wei Yuan could see that beneath the boy's seemingly formless swordplay, there was an unusual sharpness and ferocity, not of this world.

An elder of the boy's family smiled and said, "Alright, Yan'er.

"Rest for a bit and have a cup of tea to wet your throat."

"Yes, Lian!"

"Ah, you, this child isn't even old enough to receive a courtesy name, why are you calling him that already?" A woman beside him grumbled. The man, dressed in a warrior's outfit like a Jianghu swordsman, didn't seem to care, laughing heartily. "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. Anyway, the courtesy name and alias have already been chosen. Calling him early is a good thing, it'll make him more familiar with it."

"Hahaha, come on, Yan'er, tell your uncle."

"Do you like Lü Yan, or Lü Dongbin, or perhaps Lü Chunyang?"

He jokingly teased his nephew, but the boy suddenly turned his head to look at the wall of the courtyard. The man was startled and quickly stepped forward, but saw nothing. He turned back, laughing to himself, "Dongbin, what are you looking at? There's nothing outside."

The boy named Lü Dongbin looked puzzled.

He had just sensed...sword intent?

Wei Yuan didn't stop.

Although this child was exceptionally talented, it didn't seem to be a reason for him to stay here.

He could sense in the dark that his affinity, his karma, lay further ahead. But he couldn't say what this so-called karma was. He drifted along like this for who knows how long. One day, at the foot of a green mountain, he saw a sword-wielding poet of the Li family, riding a white horse, singing loudly as he departed.

The Wei Yuan who had lost his memory simply borrowed a jug of wine from this swordsman-poet named Li Taibai.

He felt that he seemed to have some connection with this man, so taking a jug of wine shouldn't be a big deal.

The latter was very generous, handing him the jug with a hearty laugh, "Consider it a karmic connection!"

However, this amnesiac Daoist never expected that he had no luck with money. As soon as he interacted with the swordsman, even this fellow who had grown up in luxury since childhood, not knowing the moon but recognizing the white jade plate.

As soon as he arrived in the capital, his luck with money plummeted, and he was reduced to staying at a cheap inn.

As a result, when friends came to find him for a drink, he couldn't afford it and had to take off his accessories to sell for wine, becoming a sorry sight.

Leaving behind the anecdote of ["Golden Tortoise Exchanged for Wine"]. It was said, "At the place where a golden tortoise is exchanged for wine, one remembers to wipe away tears."

Why?

Because a certain unlucky fellow took a jug of wine from Li Taibai, and had to pay him back with a golden tortoise.

And while Li Taibai was poor and destitute in the capital, Wei Yuan stopped in a city. The memories of the Chu-Han Contention had been completely restored. He saw a baleful aura permeating the sky, and faintly saw countless resentful spirits soaring into the sky, transforming into an ancient battlefield. The soldiers of the two sides were fighting together, the sounds of battle cries shaking the heavens.

Among them, a general held a sword in one hand and his own head in the other.

He constantly roared in anger, his resentment soaring to the sky.

Although ordinary people couldn't see or hear it, they were still disturbed by this soaring baleful aura, often having nightmares and not resting well. The whole city was shrouded in an oppressive atmosphere. Wei Yuan looked at the battlefield, slightly surprised to recognize the two sides.

Then he carefully scrutinized the headless general, who was the source of this nightmare and the deepest resentment.

Looking at the head he held in his hand.

The more he looked, the more familiar it seemed, the more unbelievable it seemed. It was actually an old friend!

After pondering for a long time, this wisp of Wei Yuan's true spirit carried a jug of wine and stepped into the chaotic battlefield, into that terrifying dreamscape of slaughter. The warring soldiers on both sides couldn't get close to Wei Yuan at all. This behavior naturally attracted the attention of the headless general over there. He held a weapon in one hand and his own head in the other, roaring loudly.

He turned around, mustered his strength, and prepared to strike down.

But he only saw a cold gleam, sharp and swift, pointing directly at the void. Even though his head had already been severed, he now felt a chilling sensation as if ten thousand arrows were about to pierce his heart. In an instant, his body stiffened, unable to move for a long time. Then he saw a Daoist-robed man in front of him smiling freely, "It's been a long time."

The headless general murmured, "...Yuan?"

Wei Yuan laughed and said, "Indeed."

He raised the jug of wine in his hand and smiled, "It's rare to have a good jug of wine in hand, would you like to share a cup?" "General Zhongli Mei."

Zhongli Mei was a man of the late Qin Dynasty, originally a general under the command of the Western Chu Overlord. Later, the Western Chu Overlord became suspicious and feared for his life, so he defected to the Han Dynasty and fought under Han Xin. It was a pity that Han Xin and Zhongli Mei, in the end, Zhongli Mei died first. Han Xin also seemed to have the idea of handing over Zhongli Mei in order to protect himself. So in the end, Zhongli Mei drew his sword in anger and committed suicide.

Han Xin was also demoted to the Marquis of Huaiyin in this riot.

Wei Yuan had known him in that era, first as opponents, then as comrades. Now that he had encountered an old friend, they drank together. Zhongli Mei only said that Han Xin was foolish back then. If Han Xin had had the wisdom, coupled with his own bravery, Liu Bang wouldn't have dared to act rashly. Not long after Han Xin handed him over, he also died!

"Doesn't he know? That good brother Liu San'er who used to drink and brag with him, died the moment he ascended the throne." Zhongli Mei lamented.

Then, when mentioning Xiang Yu, he was also silent, only drinking continuously, saying nothing more.

Finally, he saw that even this wisp of the Daoist in front of him's true spirit was pure and light, completely different from himself now.

He hesitated for a long time, wanting to say something but stopping.

Wei Yuan took a sip of wine and naturally opened his mouth and said, "General Zhongli Mei, is there anything you want to ask?"

Zhongli Mei put down the wine in his hand, composed himself, and bowed down, his voice hoarse, "Brother Yuan doesn't know, after I committed suicide back then, my resentment was too heavy, but because of the upright and stern nature of the military family, I couldn't become a ghost. I stumbled for over a thousand years, reincarnated as a human, but unfortunately, I can only remember some of my past life in my dreams, like a madman, suffering unbearably."

"Today I see Brother Yuan, and it seems that I can still maintain my self-awareness. I earnestly beg you to save me! Save me!"

Wei Yuan's memories had recovered to the Three Kingdoms Taiping Dao era.

However, for some reason, he now had many different insights into the *Taiping Yaoshu* (The Essential Arts of Peace) that he had learned from his teacher back then, making this Daoist art even deeper and more mysteriously difficult to explain. Furthermore, for some reason, it was as if he had been fighting with some very scummy guy for countless years, and his understanding of the *Xiantian Bagua* (Prior Heaven Eight Trigrams) was terrifyingly profound.

The new *Taiping Yaoshu* was already combined with the externally reversed *Xiantian Bagua*. From the unintentional high-level perspective of the Yuanshi Tianzun (The Celestial Worthy of Primordial Beginning).

It had transformed into an extremely mysterious and wonderfully indescribable technique.

Just because of the effect of the *Xiantian Bagua*, it could be divided into eight parts, each different, yet they could be combined into one, unleashing a powerful and inexplicable move. He immediately said slowly, "In that case... I can naturally teach you Daoist arts and techniques, but correspondingly, General, you must help me find ten other disciples to practice together."

"With the power of eight people combined into one, perhaps, you and I will have another day to meet."

Zhongli Mei kowtowed in agreement.

Wei Yuan immediately spoke out the technique that harmonized the Fuxi-level *Xiantian* (Prior Heaven) Change Art, saying, "Samadhi True Fire, Zhongli Mei, the one you cultivate is the Fire Trigram part..." He paused, thinking of the sharpness and fierceness he had seen when he came, and said, "After you have successfully cultivated, you can go to the Lü family in Hezhong Prefecture and find a child named Lü Dongbin."

"Pass on his techniques and swordsmanship."

"Lü Dongbin, the image of Qian Metal, the Qian Trigram is pure Yang. I have already left him the alias Chunyang (Pure Yang)."

"When I came, I saw an old man riding a blue donkey backward in Guangzong, Xing Prefecture, you can observe him."

"Below Mount Luofu, there is a woman named He Erniang..."

Zhongli Mei agreed one by one.

Wei Yuan rubbed his forehead, feeling that his memories were starting to recover again, sensing that this era was starting to frantically reject him. His memories hadn't fully recovered, so he didn't know why, but

asked, "General Zhongli Mei, what is your name in this reincarnation? So that I can awaken you." Zhongli Mei's spiritual consciousness said, "The *quan* (weighing) of weighing, my name is Zhongli Quan."

"Good."

Wei Yuan nodded in agreement.

The next day, a strange thing suddenly happened in the city. Most of the people hadn't slept well, but this matter of not sleeping well wasn't something that had only happened once or twice, so everyone was familiar with it. But as noon approached, a Daoist suddenly entered the city and found the Zhongli family, seeing the family's second young master, Zhongli Quan, reading a book.

Suddenly, the Daoist strode in, and no one could stop him.

The Daoist strode forward, simply tapping lightly with his palm and laughing loudly as he asked, "Zhongli Quan?" "Yes, it is I, may I ask who Daoist is..."

The Daoist didn't answer, but asked like a head-on blow;

"Is he Han Zhongli? Is he Tang Zhongli?"

The usually gentle Zhongli Quan was stunned, then his eyes widened, and suddenly he clapped his hands and laughed loudly, tears streaming down his face: "He is Han Zhongli!"

"He is Han Zhongli!"

The people of the Zhongli family didn't know what was going on, and became anxious. The servants came out with sticks, but suddenly they saw the Daoist laugh several times, turn around and soar into the sky, already disappearing without a trace. They were all shocked, and bowed down, leaving only Zhongli Quan shouting loudly, "He is Han Zhongli, he is Han Zhongli!"

Wei Yuan exhaled a breath.

The aura intertwined and circulated, and the karmic effects of enlightening the Eight Immortals almost instantly increased and transferred to him. Just right, it sent him back to his original body.

Lightning flashed before his eyes. He didn't know how many times they had fought, how long they had fought. The blood-red lightning seemed to have finally bypassed Shi Yi. From the time Wei Yuan's true spirit awakened in the Great Tang, to the time his true spirit saw Lü Dongbin and enlightened Zhongli Quan.

A full three days and three nights!

As the Zhuoshi (Turbid World) Thunder Lord, she had been unable to shake off Shi Yi. The woman's mentality was almost collapsing.

It was continuous, repetitive, and boring work for a full three days and three nights. In fact, because of Shi Yi's activation of his authority, for the azure-robed Dragon Girl and the others, it was only three days and three nights outside, but for the Zhuoshi (Turbid World) Thunder Lord, it felt like they had been fighting for more than three years from the perspective of the two sides in the battle!

Moreover, it was always her attacking, Shi Yi getting injured.

Shi Yi recovering.

Shi Yi punching.

This cycle repeated for a full three years!

The woman finally found a trace of a flaw and instantly broke free, finally feeling a bit of hearty satisfaction in her heart.

"Hahahaha, Shi Yi, that's all there is to you!" I wish all the swordsmen in the world a miserable death!"

She laughed loudly, seeing the white-haired girl shielding that aura with her body.

Without hesitation, she thrust out her spear: "Die!!!"

The spear was sharp and domineering, carrying decisiveness, carrying the joy of sweeping away the previous pain and frustration. Then she saw a palm casually extend.

Directly gripping her spear.

Huh?!!!

Blood-red lightning scattered, and the Thunder Lord's burst of hearty satisfaction was still spreading when it was blocked. She looked up.

And just in time to see the Daoist raising his eyes.

Opening his eyes.

Seeing the corners of his mouth slowly curving up, his pupils as dark as ink, he said softly, "Long time no see."

P.S.: Today's second update is a full 4,600 words.

There are two legends about Han Zhongli, one is Zhongli Quan (Eastern Han), and the other is Zhongli Mei (Western Han).

*Ding E Zalu* states: "Han Zhongli Quan, a Tang dynasty person. Now mistakenly taken as the Han general Zhongli Mei, incorrect." But in fact, Zhongli Quan was a Tang dynasty person. *Quan Tangshi* (Complete Tang Poems) contains three of his quatrains.