The Young Master Liu felt as if he had been given a gentle push, and suddenly he was floating upwards.

He looked down, astonished to find another version of himself lying on the kang.

It turned out his yuanshen (primordial spirit) really had left his body. Looking at Gou Dan, the boy probably thought he had simply fallen asleep and paid no attention to the 'other him.' Young Master Liu tried to reach out and touch his own body.

But he couldn't manage to stay near the ground; he was drifting alarmingly close to the ceiling.

He quickly squeezed his eyes shut and raised his hands to ward off the collision. After a moment, Young Master Liu opened his eyes to find he had drifted completely out of the house.

The scene before him was truly indescribable. What kind of feeling was it? It was as if he were a kite, with everything below him so incredibly distant.

Peering down made him feel slightly dizzy, fearing he might suddenly plummet to the earth. He tried to lift a leg to walk forward, but he couldn't move at all—he could only hover in mid-air.

He reached out, trying to grab the roof tiles, but his hand passed right through the roof. Young Master Liu suddenly remembered that he was currently only a yuanshen, not a physical entity. This was the ‘Yin Escape’ (Yin Dun) technique from the Qimen arts, which felt very similar to Zhang Enpu’s ‘Crossing the Underworld’ (Guo Yin), except that this ‘Yin Escape’ could be controlled independently.

The feeling of being suspended in mid-air was wonderful. The pedestrians below couldn't perceive his existence at all.

Young Master Liu shouted at them with all his might, but no one heard him. Still, simply floating here was not a solution.

He thrust his chest forward, and his body "whoosh"-ed ahead. So that was how it worked; the yuanshen couldn't walk using feet, but merely by shifting the body, one could advance.

Young Master Liu pushed downwards slightly, feeling his body plummet instantly. Young Master Liu became momentarily dizzy and quickly pulled his form back, leaning backward slightly before stabilizing himself.

He drifted forward and saw villagers walking by. Young Master Liu thought he would play a prank on them. As Elder Li, carrying a pole laden with fish, walked past where Young Master Liu was hovering, Young Master Liu dove directly toward him. He felt himself pass straight through the man's body.

Turning back to look, he saw Elder Li stop for a brief moment, then let out a loud "Achoo!" before rubbing his nose and continuing on his way with the fish.

Young Master Liu chuckled inwardly; this was too much fun!

Young Master Liu floated forward a few more times when he heard a commotion from a courtyard—there was gong-beating and drumming. Young Master Liu phased through the gate and saw that it was a shamanistic ritual, ‘Dancing the Great Spirit’ (Tiao Da Shen).

PS: ‘Dancing the Great Spirit’ is a form of 'communication' between the living and the deceased. Generally, it requires two people: one, the ‘Great Spirit Incarnate’ (Yi Shen or Da Shen), and the second, the assistant (Er Shen). They believe the Yi Shen is the vessel for the spirit’s possession, and the Er Shen is the helper. During the ritual, the Yi Shen often spins, while the Er Shen plays the drum. There are set melodies and invocations to summon the deity. Once the spirit is summoned, the Er Shen is responsible for 'communicating' with the deity (spirit) and answering people's questions. The summoned entity might sometimes be a supposed immortal or the 'soul' of a deceased person.

Young Master Liu found it dull and was just about to float away.

Then he heard the shaman suddenly shout, "They've arrived!" and promptly inverted a jar. Young Master Liu felt a powerful suction pulling him directly toward the shaman.

It was over. He feared this shaman had mistaken him for the great immortal he was trying to summon.

It was as if he were being sucked in; Young Master Liu crashed into the shaman’s body. He expected to pass through, but instead, he felt resistance as if blocked. Young Master Liu staggered forward several steps and tumbled to the ground.

As he fell, he felt pain. Touching his face, he realized it was solid.

Wait—why was his chin covered in stubble? Looking down at his clothes, he was wearing the exact garments the shaman had been wearing!

Looking up, he saw an old woman rushing over as if to help him up.

As she ran, she cried out, "Great Immortal, are you alright!"

Hearing this, Young Master Liu knew he was in deep trouble; he must have possessed the shaman's body!

What was he to do? He panicked completely, then quickly forced himself to calm down. Since he was inhabiting the shaman’s body, he might as well see this through.

Young Master Liu cleared his throat and spoke, "Who invited this Great Immortal here?"

He felt that his voice sounded incredibly coarse and deeply uncomfortable.

Just then, the old woman who had been rushing to help him knelt down immediately upon hearing his words. "Oh! Great Immortal! My youngest daughter has had a persistent high fever! She’s been bedridden for days! She must have been afflicted by an evil spirit! Please save my little daughter, Great Immortal!"

The old woman's desperate pleas made Young Master Liu feel thoroughly awkward. Young Master Liu deliberately feigned the strange mannerisms of a possessed spirit and spoke in an odd voice, "Lead this Great Immortal to see what evil is at work!"

With that, the old woman led Young Master Liu into the house.

Inside, a young woman lay on the kang, her face alarmingly pale. She was delicate in appearance but clearly sickly. The old woman pointed to the young woman on the kang and said, "Great Immortal! This is my youngest daughter. Please examine her!"

As she finished speaking, tears streamed down the old woman’s face.

Young Master Liu remained silent. He secretly activated his Yin-Yang Eyes but, after observing for a long time, could not detect any trace of ghostly interference.

He bit his middle finger, drew the character “Gang” on his palm, and held it before his forehead. Looking again, he still found nothing.

This was truly strange. Young Master Liu was certain she had been invaded by some malevolent entity, but why couldn't he see even a wisp of evil energy?

After observing for a long while, Young Master Liu had no choice but to give up. He formed a hand seal, silently reciting: "Qiankun runs smoothly forwards and in reverse, through the wonders of Qimen, the Yin Escape!"

As he spoke, Young Master Liu felt that familiar sensation return, a bout of dizziness, and his yuanshen rapidly retreated. Looking again, the shaman was lying on the ground. As he passed through the roof, he glanced back at the woman lying on the kang. Young Master Liu felt something was profoundly wrong, yet he couldn't pinpoint what. Reluctantly, he floated back out.

When Young Master Liu drifted back to Gou Dan's house, he passed straight through the outside wall into the room. He saw Gou Dan sleeping inside, and next to him lay his physical body. He floated downward to the edge of the kang and pressed against his own form. He felt as if he were suddenly jolted awake.

With a violent shudder, Young Master Liu sat up. He touched his face, feeling as if he had just awoken from a strange dream. Young Master Liu got off the kang feeling a bit lightheaded. He stepped outside, recalling the matter of the afflicted woman, and headed toward her house again.

At the woman's doorway, he happened to see the shaman emerging, looking completely bewildered. Young Master Liu used the Qimen technique of observing Yin and Yang on the woman's house, but still found nothing suspicious. Was he simply being overly cautious?

Young Master Liu returned home and immersed himself once more in studying the Qimen secret arts.

These three days passed remarkably quickly. Young Master Liu and Gou Dan remained indoors. He was completely absorbed in reading Taiyi Tiangang and seemed utterly captivated. Old Man Liu did not question their unusual behavior, perhaps believing that Young Master Liu and Gou Dan were diligently studying, even smiling secretly a few times, thinking them promising pupils.

On the evening of the third day, Young Master Liu waited until everyone was asleep, secretly opened the door, and headed toward the small woods.

The moon was exceptionally bright tonight, so Young Master Liu felt no fear. He could sense many malevolent presences nearby, but he paid them no mind for the moment, continuing on his way.

Reaching the small woods, Young Master Liu cupped his hands into a megaphone shape and shouted, "Eighth Master Huang! Eighth Master Huang! Are you there?"

As soon as he finished shouting, he heard a rustling sound from the nearby bushes, and a flash of snowy white darted out from the thicket—it was none other than Eighth Master Huang.