At its current level, the Great Universal Hand couldnât force someone to speak the truth.
However, influencing or perceiving the other partyâs emotions was a simple matter.
Right now, Zou Feng was using the special Gang Qi generated by his Great Universal Hand, sending it into Yuwen Zhengâs body to sense if the man had been tampered with in some way.
After all, he had a feeling that the Jade Talisman wasnât the only protective measure on Yuwen Zheng.
As the Gang Qi coursed through his body, the unconscious Yuwen Zheng showed no abnormalities at first.
But when the Gang Qi reached the part of Yuwen Zhengâs left arm near his shoulder, the manâs brow suddenly furrowed deeply.
His expression also grew incredibly tense.
It was an instinctual reaction from his unconscious state. Subconsciously, he faintly perceived that Zou Feng had touched a place that should never have been touched.
If he hadnât been unconscious, even if Zou Fengâs Gang Qi had inspected this spot, Yuwen Zheng might have been able to pull the wool over his eyes, provided his acting skills were good enough.
But in his current unconscious state, even the best acting skills were useless.
And just like that, Zou Feng discovered the problem.
He immediately focused his senses on Yuwen Zhengâs left arm.
Sure enough, although there was nothing to see on the surface, and even his Gang Qi detected no abnormalities as it passed through.
Yet, once he concentrated his perception, Zou Feng could still sense a faint trace of an aura in Yuwen Zhengâs left arm that didnât belong to him.
The sensation was like finding a single, faint drop of perfume that had been forced into the arm of a man who never wore any.
Though Zou Feng didnât know what kind of technique this was, he was certain it was some kind of incredibly profound mark.
And it was likely a technique exclusive to the circles of High Grade Martial Artists.
Zou Feng even suspected the markâs function wasnât merely for locating Yuwen Zheng.
âIt probably transforms into an attack from a High Grade Martial Artist the moment heâs about to face a fatal blow!â
âI fought Yuwen Zheng before, but I was planning to capture him alive the entire time, so I never used any lethal killing moves.â
âThatâs why this incredibly profound wisp of aura in his left arm never activated.â
âStill, this thing canât be all that intelligent. For example, if Yuwen Zheng were to be slowly poisoned to death instead of suffering a direct external attack, it probably wouldnât trigger.â
Even so, the mark was powerful enough.
This only further confirmed for Zou Feng that the methods of High Grade Martial Artists were indeed approaching those of Cultivators...
âSpeaking of which, isnât the True Qi possessed by High Grade Martial Artists equivalent to entering the Qi Refining Stage?â
But now wasnât the time to ponder such things. This mark on Yuwen Zheng had to be erased as quickly as possible.
Zou Feng didnât believe he could currently contend with a High Grade Martial Artist.
But if it was just a mark, then with three Cultivation Skills at the Peak Realm, there was no reason he should be completely helpless.
Without further ado, Zou Feng got to work, repeatedly trying his own methods to erase the mark.
First, he injected a miniaturized version of the Poison Fury Fire Lotus Seal.
The result was that Yuwen Zhengâs poisoning worsened, but the mark showed no signs of being erased.
Zou Feng then tried prodding Yuwen Zhengâs arm with the Crimson Poison Needle, but that was also completely useless.
Finally, he tried the mental corruption aspect of the Great Universal Hand. This time, there was a reaction...
A vast, boundless aura, filled with killing intent, suddenly erupted from Yuwen Zhengâs left arm.
Clearly, the mental corruption had disturbed the inherent trigger conditions of the attack contained within the mark, causing it to activate immediately.
Zou Feng wasnât foolish enough to try and block what was likely an attack from a High Grade Martial Artist.
Without a momentâs hesitation, he rapidly circulated his Gang Qi on the spot, creating an afterimage of himself out of it.
A Fifth Grade Martial Artistâs Gang Qi Transformation allowed the created object to maintain its shape for quite a while, even after separating from the userâs body.
Meanwhile, he himself rapidly fled, holding his breath and ceasing all energy circulation.
Events unfolded just as Zou Feng had predicted. The attack contained within the "mark" was triggered.
A miniature golden dragon abruptly burst forth from Yuwen Zhengâs left arm.
The golden dragon grew as it met the air, swiftly transforming into a massive dragon with a waist as thick as a bucket. As if it had truly come alive, it roared again and again as it charged toward the humanoid Gang Qi construct Zou Feng had left behind.
"ROARâ"
RUMBLE...
With a great roar, the dragon instantly engulfed the "Gang Qi man," followed by a series of deafening explosions.
The force of the blast was so great it sent the unconscious Yuwen Zheng flying.
Even Zou Feng, who was a good distance away, was forced to circulate his Gang Qi again to brace against the powerful shockwave.
The explosion raged for quite some time. The earth shook, dust and smoke billowed, and a small mushroom cloud nearly formed.
Zou Feng was secretly astounded by the sight.
âIt wouldnât be hard for me to achieve a similar effect if I used one of my own Big Moves.â
âBut the problem is, this was just an attack from a mark!â
âAnd who knows how long itâs been embedded in Yuwen Zhengâs arm? Its power seems to have not decayed in the slightest...â
Furthermore, that golden dragonâat least while it was attackingâhad seemed to truly come alive, becoming a real creature.
Even though this creature had an extremely short lifespan and didnât seem particularly intelligent, it had still automatically sought out the "enemy" most likely to threaten Yuwen Zheng.
âSo this is the True Qi Transformation of a High Grade Martial Artist! Truly impressive!â
Gang Qi Transformation, on the other hand, no matter how lifelike the created object, was ultimately just an inanimate thing that required the userâs direct control.