Zhang Rongfang recalled the records of the Three Emptinesses training method in the Illusion Talisman Skill, where Evil Substance Emptiness involved eliminating impurities within the body.

The start of Evil Thought Emptiness is about removing impurities from the spirit and mind.

Evil Qi Emptiness further aligns the flow of energy throughout the body, harmonizing essence and spirit to achieve a state of perfection and ease.

Immediately, he did not hesitate and directly proceeded to the plus point after the Illusion Talisman Skill.

Having witnessed the power of martial arts realms, he now plans to become a balanced all-round warrior.

He must not allow himself to have such a significant flaw or weakness.

Indeed, he could hide somewhere and slowly wait to accumulate attributes until invincibility.

But without considering the realm of martial arts, how many attributes are truly needed to become invincible?

A thousand? Two thousand? Ten thousand?

One must reach a level of complete dominance to be invincible.

But by then, perhaps everything he wants to protect, obtain, or recover will be too late.

Pop.

The option for Illusion Talisman Skill on the attribute panel flickered and became blurry.

Five attribute points suddenly disappeared.

Zhang Rongfang remained expressionless, sitting calmly in place, showing no sign that he was advancing through the crucial boundary from internal cultivation to the Three Emptinesses.

However, if there were a highly magnified biological microscope to observe his body at this moment, one would discover that subtle changes were occurring in his flesh and blood cells.

A large number of redundant tissues causing greater bodily damage were slowly dissolving, being absorbed, disappearing.

The shape of his bones began to change and adjust slowly.

Damaged cells, cells on the verge of mutation, and rapidly aging and failing cells were replaced with new ones.

Every tiny discord and internal friction within his organs were invisibly being corrected.

The entire body was transforming towards coordination, unity, and reduced internal friction.

This transformation was entirely adjusted according to the martial arts from the Great Dao Teaching that Zhang Rongfang was currently practicing.

It made his body more suitable for martial arts, more suitable for the connection and evolution of martial techniques.

Integrating martial arts with the body, the two influencing and achieving each other.

Before long, Zhang Rongfang slowly came out of his meditative state.

The bun in his hand had long since fallen to the ground, having gone cold at some unknown point.

A large hand picked up the bun, disregarding the dirt and dust, and took a big bite.

It was Emperor Jiang.

His face was confused, clearly in another phase of gender transition.

Yes, every day, there would be a fixed amount of time when he would fall into a strange state of wondering who he is and where he is — from Jun’Er one moment to husband the next.

This state is very unstable, and his thoughts jump very quickly.

A slight oversight could provoke him, leading to a severe beating.

Hmm, a severe injury for Zhang Rongfang is certain death for an ordinary Martial Artist.

"You look pretty good.... You’ve entered the Three Emptinesses... Starting to adjust your mind and body...." Emperor Jiang said.

"Thanks to your guidance, senior!" Zhang Rongfang expressed sincere gratitude.

"No need to thank me; you have seen our goodwill toward you. Being able to exploit the situation to your advantage is also a skill. The beef soup you just made was nice. Husband said to add a bit more cilantro next time."

"No need to thank the senior; the beef soup was made by my subordinates. If you like it, I’ll make it again next time.... I was only making the best out of a difficult situation, almost out of necessity. To my shame, rumors are swirling outside...." Zhang Rongfang quickly changed the subject with composure.

"The blanket from last night was a bit cold. I’m planning to plant some cotton and raise some ducks soon. Later I can pick the cotton and use the duck feathers to make a quilt. Husband’s thoughts always jump around, so please bear with him.... It’s sometimes hard on you too."

"If senior needs it urgently, I can have someone bring over a ready-made one..."

Zzz!!

Before Zhang Rongfang could finish his words, a flash of white light, like a bolt of electricity, suddenly sliced across his chest.

Blood splattered, and his body flew back several dozen meters, stopping just at the cliff’s edge, one step away from falling.

"The quilt must be made by my own hands for Jun’Er! How dare you compete with me!? How dare you send such a personal item!? You are courting death!!"

Emperor Jiang advanced with the saber, ready to strike again, when suddenly his expression changed, softening once more.

"Sigh.... He’s just that kind of person, don’t take it to heart...."

"It’s fine; senior is a person of passions, and I understand." Zhang Rongfang used his hand to close the wound on his chest, speeding up its healing.

This slash nearly opened up half of his chest cavity.

The terrifying, ghastly injury left Ostend, not far away, too frightened to utter a word.

That Love Saber, when it cut Zhang Ying, was much more painful.

The top-tier Demon Saber is highly restrictive to those who worship gods.

All it takes is for Emperor Jiang to let a single thought go unresolved, and it could result in an instant kill.

This group of lunatics... No wonder no one dares to interact with them for long....

Ostend lowered his head, nervously reciting prayers, hoping his deity would protect him from being targeted by that madman.

A moment later, covered in blood, Zhang Rongfang sat back across from Emperor Jiang.

"May I ask, senior, how do I step into the Evil Thought Emptiness, the second stage of the Three Emptinesses?"

He had no choice but to ask; he had consulted Ostend earlier and received many explanations.

Ostend’s method at this layer was to worship the gods, concentrating all thoughts on devotion.

But Zhang Rongfang could never do that.

As a result, when he tried to force it using attribute points, he found it utterly useless.

The points were applied, then withdrawn.

This second stage of the Three Emptinesses could not be crossed.

Attribute point enhancement requires a clear and feasible idea for the next stage, and thorough understanding, to allocate the points.

Theoretically, it’s not necessary to complete all Three Emptinesses to become a Grandmaster, but.... He wants each step to be absolutely solid.

Either don’t progress, or progress well!

"The second-level Evil Thought Emptiness.... At this point, you can roughly distinguish between the Extreme Realm and the path of deities and Buddhas."

Emperor Jiang, still in Jun’Er mode, added gently, reaching out as if to touch the scar on Zhang Rongfang’s chest but restraining himself.

"The Extreme Realm is about worshiping oneself, and worshiping deities is self-explanatory, worshiping them. So, how you choose determines which path you want to follow in the future."

"Worship myself...." Zhang Rongfang found his answer.

It seems this layer requires a choice. Otherwise, there’s no way forward.

He closed his eyes and contemplated. The description of the Illusion Talisman Skill suggests finding a talisman called Spirit Gathering Talisman as a target to focus the mind and remove evil thoughts.

But for those who have thoroughly studied the Great Dao Teaching, it’s evident that the Spirit Gathering Talisman is actually a simplified representation of Celestial Venerable Cold Stone.

Therefore, this is essentially preparation for deity worship.

Both the Cultivation of Literature and Martial Arts contain numerous such hidden hints.

Soon, Zhang Rongfang opened his eyes again.

"I choose... to worship myself!"

"Good!" Emperor Jiang laughed heartily. "Otherwise, you wouldn’t be here looking for me."

"Please, guide me, senior." Zhang Rongfang bowed slightly.

"You have many choices. What you choose is what you will achieve. No one can help you with this; only you can make the choice." Emperor Jiang said solemnly.

"In this world, what is the most important thing to you? Gather all your thoughts, focus on it, and then consolidate all distracting thoughts... When making spicy tofu, start with a rich broth, simmer with an old hen for three hours... finally, all thoughts focus into one!"

"....." Well, here he goes again, acting all weird. Zhang Rongfang was speechless.

He chose to selectively ignore the complicated content of Emperor Jiang’s words.

Countless people and things flashed through his mind.

Yet no matter how he looked, he couldn’t find the most important thing.

Many things were important, but none felt like the most crucial, lacking a certain spark.

Constantly pondering, avoiding making a choice....

Vaguely, Zhang Rongfang began to feel a sense of restlessness.

Uneasy, discomfort...

"From the start, what have you been fighting for? Is there something... like the old hen... that is your absolute bottom line?"

Emperor Jiang’s voice echoed in his ear.

This sentence was like a bell tolling, instantly clearing Zhang Rongfang’s many inner anxieties.

’That’s it.... What I’ve always been searching for, the old hen... Oh no... the thing I’ve been pursuing all along...’

The numerous thoughts within him began to dissipate like illusions.

Is it the identity of Zhang Rongfang? No.

Is it his sister Zhang Rongyu? Not yet.

Is it his mentor Yue Dewen? Similarly, not yet.

Is it everything he possesses now? Martial Arts? Cultivation of Literature? Influence? Wealth?

None of these....

It is peace.

Zhang Rongfang suddenly realized....

Yes, from the very start, he has been pursuing inner peace.

Whether killing or protecting, it’s all the same.

He is not essentially Zhang Rongfang, yet he chose to bear all the responsibilities of the latter.

This is all for inner peace.

By occupying Zhang Rongfang’s body, he inevitably has to inherit all follow-up matters.

Otherwise, his heart would be unsettled.

Hence, he became stronger, practiced martial arts, all just for this, to achieve a sense of complete inner peace in this chaotic and oppressive era.

"Seems like you already have the answer." Emperor Jiang slightly smiled, stood up, "I should go find the old hen...."

He shook his head and turned to leave.

Zhang Rongfang lifted his head, peace filled his eyes.

The previous chaos in his heart was now completely cleared.

All the distracting thoughts gathered into one.

That is his own heart.

Then, he clicked the plus sign on the attribute column once more.

Illusion Talisman Skill blurred once again, then became clear.

And the first realm of Three Emptiness, Evil Quality Emptiness, suddenly transformed into the second realm, Evil Thought Emptiness.

"..." Only now did Ostend dare to approach. As a Grandmaster, how could he not notice Zhang Rongfang’s change in expression just moments ago.

From chaos to pinpoint focus, then to complete enlightenment.

This is precisely the characteristic of understanding Evil Thought Emptiness.

Years ago, he had gone through the same experience.

However, what truly shocked him was not this....

But rather witnessing Zhang Rongfang’s breakthrough from inner skill, to overcoming Three Emptiness, then from Evil Quality Emptiness, to breaking through to Evil Thought Emptiness....

This entire process took less than an hour....

Such insight.... Such martial arts talent... is beyond description...

"Senior, shall we try again?" Zhang Rongfang slowly rose, turned to look at him.

After the Three Emptiness, his eyes were brighter than ever before.

That has nearly reached the outer manifestation of the mental focus height of Grandmasters.

"Alright!" Ostend nodded forcefully.

Both showed no hesitation and stood opposite each other.

In an instant, Zhang Rongfang’s body expanded, blood lotus unfurled. Like a giant beast charging at the opposite side.

In this day’s sparring, he had always been defensive.

But this time, he took the initiative!

Swoosh!

This lunge was obvious, anticipated, and perfectly dodged.

Ostend raised his elbow to strike from the side at Zhang Rongfang’s waist, raising his right foot for a side kick as well.

Bang! The elbow was blocked, but it was just a feint; the real attack was in the right foot.

Ostend imagined endless possible counters from Zhang Rongfang.

Countless figures, countless tracks, rapidly decreased in his vision, leaving three possibilities for the next move.

Lift a foot, side kick!

Boom!!!

Suddenly, Ostend’s expression changed drastically. His leg was blocked!

Bang bang bang bang!!!

Instantly, the two engaged at full speed, fists and kicks clashing, producing deafening sounds.

’Still a bit lacking to fully see... But....’ Zhang Rongfang’s expression gradually grew excited.

’But... my speed is faster, my power stronger!!’

"As long as there’s contact! It’s my victory!!"

He thrust a heavy palm forward.

This palm was from the Flame Emperor Talisman, a basic attack move: Reaping the Flames.

Yet just this one move caused an unavoidable feeling in Ostend’s heart.

He indeed predicted the next move, but Zhang Rongfang’s speed increased! He transitioned the move early.

Then moved on to the next move! The next move! And the next!

’He... is compensating for everything with speed!!?’

Ostend’s heart was suddenly shocked.

This is... the path of Extreme Realm!!!