Totally not himself, or rather, the dark side of the other's disposition was magnified infinitely; ordinarily, he's always courteous, but now the arrogance is written all over this guy's face.

When Lu Ren noticed that the mirror image was looking at him with the gaze as if he were an idiot, the smile on the mirror image's face slowly disappeared, and he stared hard at Lu Ren. For a long while, he then slowly withdrew his gaze.

"You will die."

"Who wouldn't die? But I think you might die before me."

Lu Ren casually said, ignoring the mirror image's idle talk. He didn't believe this trash could improve in real-time. But before taking down this guy, Lu Ren had to get out of the Inner Realm first to confirm how much time had passed.

Emerging from the Path of Origin, his spirit soaring, he returned to the reality of the world.

Lu Ren slowly opened his eyes, and what greeted him was a stretch of blue seas and skies; the salty sea breeze made his heart slightly tremble. The tension in his mind finally eased at seeing such a tranquil scene.

Although it was a deserted island, it was located in the South Sea region, and the scenery was quite lovely.

He got up and discovered that a thin layer of dust had accumulated in the wooden house, indicating it had been there for at least a week.

It appears that this journey on the Path of Origin through the first stage consumed quite a bit of time. Even someone of his realm needed at least a week to traverse this path, so those would cautiously explore it step by step, might take years.

Instead of minding the mirror image, it was the strange things hidden in the darkness of the Path of Origin that concerned Lu Ren more.

Even Earth, with its natural protective shield, was like this. In other places, what kind of demons and monsters might reveal themselves when trying to enter the Path of Origin?

Once one falls off the Path of Origin, the consequences are unthinkable.

With a slight wave of his hand, a breeze arose in the wooden house, lifting all the dust into the air and out of the wooden house, disappearing as it passed through the air.

Exiting the wooden house, Lu Ren took a special look at Ji Quanzhen's wooden house. He opened the door and saw that there were no signs of anyone having entered; a thin layer of dust had gathered inside, and the damp air near the beach made the dust sticky.

"Never came in at all?"

Lu Ren couldn't help but mutter. As his spirit instantly expanded, he quickly located where Ji Quanzhen was.

With a light step, like a feather, he drifted towards the center of the island.

Three minutes later, Lu Ren looked peculiarly at the furry figure ahead.

At this moment, Ji Quanzhen no longer resembled a human, covered in long, brown-yellow fur. Even his arm span extended, and his clothes had been torn off; his actions were indistinguishable from those of apes.

Seeing this, Lu Ren couldn't help but feel a Divine Shock. The curse technique that subtly alters human perception was terrifyingly powerful and unfathomable.

Even if Ji Quanzhen knew he was cursed, preparing to resist the transformation into an ape, this silent shift in cognition was enough to make Lu Ren's scalp tingle.

Sun Wukong was eerily profound; possessing a curse technique so elusive.

"Taoist Ji!" Lu Ren called out.

Ji Quanzhen, who was rubbing an unknown fruit against his fur, froze for a moment before looking up with his furry monkey face at Lu Ren.

"Hey?! Lu the Kid, when did you leave seclusion? A few days ago, I wandered around your wooden house several times and found you cultivating, so I didn't bother you."

Ji Quanzhen ran to Lu Ren, using all fours, moving just like those monkeys, causing Lu Ren to furrow his brow deeply.

"Taoist Ji, how do you feel now?"

"How do I feel?" Ji Quanzhen stuffed the fruit into his mouth, chewing, and said ambiguously, "How else should I feel? I think I'm in great condition, and I feel I'm vaguely touching upon higher Seeking Truth mysteries."

Lu Ren pondered: "What's your view on the hair growing on your body?"

"What's my view on the hair growing?" Ji Quanzhen was first stunned, then frowned: "Hasn't this fur always been here? What else could I think of it."

Lu Ren seriously: "Taoist Ji, I want to ask a question that might offend you. Would you be willing to answer it?"

Ji Quanzhen rubbed the monkey fur on his face: "Go ahead, when did you become so nagging, kid?"

During the conversation, observing Ji Quanzhen's non-stop motion, Lu Ren straightforwardly asked: "Do you consider yourself human?"

"What human?" Ji Quanzhen replied somewhat displeased: "I am the Innate Spiritual Monkey, how could I be counted as part of the Human Race? Though I consider myself human, my origin is inevitable, and I am bound by it. Moreover, my master is from the Qingcheng Sect, practicing the Antarctic Longevity Seal, honing the Nine Revolutions Profound Skill, wielding the Hand Mixed Yuan Iron Rod..."

"Wait, wait... let me get this straight!" Lu Ren was bewildered: "You're saying you practice what?"

"Nine Revolutions Profound Skill!" Ji Quanzhen raised his eyebrows: "What's up, are you looking to learn this Profound Skill?"

He showed a meaningful smile: "You might win my favor, and if I'm pleased, I might teach you, Lu the Kid."

Upon finishing, Ji Quanzhen eagerly looked at Lu Ren, as if expecting him to bow fervently.

Lu Ren now lacked the thought to ponder how Ji Quanzhen acquired the Nine Revolutions Profound Skill, and instead said, "Did you know we visited Sun Wukong's sealed ground together?"

"Of course, why?"

"Sun Wukong cursed you back then, remember?"

"How could I forget? That Sun Wukong intended to curse me, to perform the Body-Swapping Technique, aiming to sprout a new self from within my body to be reborn, breaking free from the seal."

Saying this, Ji Quanzhen looked at Lu Ren suspiciously: "You're not under Sun Wukong's curse, are you? Even needing me to help recall such things?"

Lu Ren was at a loss, undoubtedly something went wrong in between. If Sun Wukong's curse succeeded, Ji Quanzhen's perception would have been completely transformed, even rewriting his previously inherent memories.

The other party was a high-achieving True Cultivator, and Lu Ren truly couldn't fathom how Sun Wukong accomplished this.

Yet another question remained; currently, Ji Quanzhen still retained his true self-consciousness, seemingly unaffected by Sun Wukong.

That means Sun Wukong should have replaced Ji Quanzhen, but for some reason, suddenly stopped midway, and instead Ji Quanzhen's physique and divine soul nature were gradually transforming into the Spiritual Stone Monkey with a common origin.

(Everyone remember to rest early, alright? Listen, don't stay up late with the author and spare those who critique defensive chapters too harshly...)

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