Chapter 374 Oh, an old acquaintance! ( words long chapter)

Blue Crystal City is named after a large blue crystal vein.

This blue crystal is not a very good mineral material, but it is widely used in refining equipment and forming formations, so it can be sold at a reasonable price.

The population of Blue Crystal City is not large, but there are many powerful people who have set foot here.

This is mainly because to the southeast of Blue Crystal City is the "Land of Demonic Beasts" covering hundreds of thousands of miles.

"Land of Warcraft" is a general term for places where few people go and where Warcraft roams everywhere.

In the Douluo Continent, the human race is the undisputed leader among all races, but the Warcraft race still occupies more than 70% of the territory of the Douluo Continent.

After all, "Warcraft" is a general term for all the living creatures that can cultivate in the Douqi Continent, except for the human race.

Although the human race is strong, in the final analysis, it is just one of the "ten thousand races".

By crossing this land of monsters for hundreds of thousands of miles, you can reach the border of Zhongzhou.

However, even for a Dou Zong expert, it is not an easy task to go from here to Zhongzhou.

Outside the Blue Crystal City, there are more than ten marked dangerous places.

The greater the risk, the higher the return.

Therefore, in the Tianxin Empire, strong and ambitious people will go to dangerous places to seek opportunities.

The Blue Crystal City served as a "supply station".

Yang Shan couldn't see through it when he wore it.

The face and body were covered with the illusion of the sea heart flame.

There is also a red light of alien mines under the skin that blocks the perception of others.

The Fei Ling Cloak has been covered with a black cover and comes with a hat.

Yang Shan covered himself tightly and came to a clinic in the northwest corner of Lan Jing City.

The Soul Palace is known for collecting souls and making all forces fear it. Who would have thought that the place where the Soul Palace receives people is actually a clinic?
However, this clinic is deserted, and it is obvious that the doctors there are not very skilled.

Entering the clinic, Yang Shan saw an old man in white clothes.

The panel given by the system is:

【White Doctor】(Blue; Up)

Level: Five-star Douling

Unpretentious panel.

This Doctor Bai obviously has a unique way of hiding himself.

If it were an ordinary Douhuang expert, he would definitely not be able to detect anything wrong.

However, with Yang Shan’s soul strength in the middle stage of the spiritual realm, he could naturally find out Doctor Bai’s true condition.

Doctor Bai’s true cultivation level should be that of a one-star or two-star Dou Zong!
The Tianxin Empire is considered a first-rate force in the northwest continent, and Douhuang masters occasionally appear in Lanjing City.

But a Dou Zong strongman, in the Tianxin Sect that dominates the Tianxin Empire, if he is not the Sect Master, he should be a great elder!

The Soul Palace was so arrogant that they directly dispatched a Dou Zong-level guardian to act as a guide.

The old man was lying on a chair, cracking melon seeds leisurely, without even raising his eyelids, and asked slowly:
"Sir, what's wrong with you?"

Yang Shan replied:

"I've been having headaches lately, feeling dizzy and as if my soul has been taken away. One of my senior brothers told me that you can treat me."

The old man finally raised his eyelids:

"Oh? The soul was sucked out? This disease is rare. If you want to treat it, it's not cheap."

Yang Shan: "My senior brother said that he can help me with the money."

The old man wondered:
"Pad? How do you pad?"

Yang Shan came in front of the old man, raised his hand slightly, showed the soul command hidden in his sleeve to the old man, and then said:
"That depends on the doctor. How much do you want?"

The old man stood up and rubbed his hands:

"Forget it, let me feel your pulse first."

The soul was taken away and the money had to be paid. Yang Shan had already matched all the codes.

But it's not enough.

The last step is to detect the soul power!
The method of soul cultivation is only circulated among a very small number of top forces.

The Soul Palace is even better, as it can be quickly mastered by relying on pure soul energy.

Therefore, as long as anyone in the Soul Palace reaches the Douhuang level and absorbs a little bit of pure soul energy, his soul power will be one level higher than that of practitioners of the same level.

If it is detected that the soul power is at a normal level for the current realm, then the identity will definitely be suspected.

The old man in white put his fingers on Yang Shan's wrist, and then withdrew his hand for a moment:
"My friend, there is indeed something wrong with your soul!"

Yang Shan smiled and said:

"My senior brother said that I was gifted, so he helped me a lot, but this problem with my soul might be a sequelae."

Only people in the Soul Palace could understand what Yang Shan said.

The old man in white did not find out exactly how strong Yang Shan’s soul power was, but it must be much stronger than his!

What Yang Shan meant was that in the Soul Palace, he was valued by important figures and was given some resources, so his soul power was so strong.

Since he was confirmed to be a "colleague", Doctor Bai did not hide anything and directly asked using the soul transmission method:
"You want to go to the temple?"

Yang Shan: "Well, I came from the Black Horn Region, and Brother Luo Xie was my introducer."

Doctor Bai: "Oh, it's that unlucky Luo Xie, that's not right! Luo Xie is just a soul master, he probably can't make it in the Black Horn Region, how can your soul power be so strong?"

Yang Shan: "Doctor Bai, haven't you heard that a big shot from the Soul Palace went to the Black Horn Region?"

Doctor Bai: "Now that you mention it, I remember that there is indeed a mysterious big shot! Hey, brother, you are really lucky to have encountered such a good thing!"

Yang Shan: "Lucky, lucky!"

Hundan once said that his specific identity was kept highly confidential within the Soul Palace.

On the one hand, his father wanted to protect him.

On the other hand, his elder brother Hunxian wanted to hinder him and even secretly kill him.

Then hiding the identity of the bastard will make it easier to trip him up.

If the bastard died, and not many people in the Soul Palace knew his specific identity, this matter would most likely be smoothed over.

Therefore, most people in the Soul Palace define the identity of soul-dastards with only seven simple words:
"A big shot with a background"!
As a guardian, Doctor Bai can look down on the soul messenger.

But if you want to be a soul envoy of a big shot, you have to be polite!

Yang Shan hadn't taken out the Soul General Order yet, otherwise Doctor Bai would have come over and bowed, serving tea and water!

Doctor Bai pointed his finger at his forehead.

Yang Shan knew that Doctor Bai was using his soul power to convey messages to others.

After a while, a thin servant in gray cloth came out from the back door.

"Hey, Master, the herbs you want need to be found deep in the mountains. How about I go with you to look for them?"

The doctor is a Dou Zong, and the servant who does odd jobs is a high-star Dou Huang.

The cards of this Disha branch temple are indeed powerful enough.

Yang Shan stood up: "Okay, thank you very much!"

Yang Shan followed the servant and left Blue Crystal City, meeting many people along the way.

There are even several Dou Wang powerful warriors among them.

Yang Shan uses soul transmission:
"Don't we need to silence these people?"

The servant said respectfully:
"Don't worry, sir. These people are only traveling together temporarily. They don't dare to go to the Ghostly Deep Realm!"

Yang Shan and the servant of the clinic traveled for about half a day before they arrived at the border of the Guiku Deep Area.

The servant took out two black robes from the ring and handed one to Yang Shan:
"Sir, there is a natural poison in the Guiku Deep Realm. The monsters here are powerful, but because of the poison, their intelligence is very low and they are prone to rage. This black robe was specially made by the elder of the branch hall. It has the effect of resisting the poison and concealing its aura."

In fact, when Yang Shan was standing at the border, the system had already given him a prompt:

[Ding! Players, please note that there is a natural poison in the area you are currently in. Your fighting spirit will be continuously deducted. If your fighting spirit is insufficient, your health will be deducted. ]

[Since you possess the "Heavenly Trickster Thunder" and "Sea Heart Flame", the power of heaven and earth contained in them is protecting your body at all times, and the evil poison will not have any effect on you. ]

Oh, the wonder of heaven and earth! The power of heaven and earth!
This is the "god-level equipment" that all players in the server are persistently pursuing!
Along the way, Yang Shan saw many magical beasts.

Yang Shan had seen many "species" of these magical beasts before.

For example, the Amethyst Flame Lion, the fifth-level Thousand Beast King of the Amethyst Winged Lion King clan.

But the amethyst flame lion we just encountered had amethysts all over its body that had turned black, and its level had directly jumped to level six!
The servant communicated with Yang Shan:

"Sir, since this is your first time here, I have to tell you that you should avoid provoking the monsters in this place if you can. If you really can't avoid them, you have to fight them quickly, otherwise the fluctuations of the battle will attract more monsters."

"These monsters are completely irrational. Even in the deepest part, there are level 8 beasts! Even our elders can't do anything about them!"

Yang Shan was surprised:

"An eighth-rank beast? Why should we set up a branch temple here?"

The servant said: "Well, I don't have much experience, so I'm not very clear about this."

Although Yang Shan concealed his true identity, he did not hide the fluctuations in his cultivation.

Otherwise, even the Dou Zong wouldn't be able to see through his true colors, and the chances of being suspected would greatly increase. There was no need to cause trouble for himself.

Although Yang Shan was only a one-star Dou Huang, his cultivation was not even as good as that of the servant who led the way.

But the servant had obviously been reminded by Doctor Bai.

Yang Shan's identity and status are extraordinary.

Therefore, the servant did not dare to neglect Yang Shan at all and kept a very humble attitude.

After walking in the Guiku Deep Area for a long time, Yang Shan finally arrived at the Guiku Branch Hall.

Between the two strange peaks stands what appears to be a ruined stone gate.

Behind the stone gate, an eerie pale mist swirled, covering everything.

There is no obvious road in the area leading to Shimen.

The ground was rugged, and the crystals on both sides used for lighting emitted a blood-like light.

Yang Shan nodded secretly in his heart.

This branch hall looks very weird, which fits the "stereotype" of the villain Soul Hall in the original novel.

(Reference picture of Guiku branch hall)

Entering the stone gate, the pale mist disappeared and everything became clear.

There are five palace-style buildings, one large and four small, located in the five directions of east, south, west, north and center.

The servant led Yang Shan to the main palace in the center with ease.

Luo Xie had already told Yang Shan about the situation of the Gui Ku branch temple.

So Yang Shan would not be completely in the dark.

These five buildings have different functions.

The main palace is naturally the most important.

The elders usually stay in the main palace.

The main palace deals mainly with matters related to the soul.

Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for Yang Shan, a mere soul messenger, to enter the main palace.

But this time, Yang Shan also came to hand in the "soul quota mission" in the Black Horn area on behalf of Luo Xie.

That's why Yang Shan was qualified to enter.

Entering the main palace, the first floor is the place where souls are exchanged.

There are three counters directly in front.

But only at the middle counter sat a middle-aged man with an unhealthy pale face.

The entire first floor was extremely empty. Apart from the middle-aged man, there was no one else there!
Yang Shan walked to the counter, bowed, and glanced at the middle-aged man.

Inside the Soul Hall, people below the level of elders still need to wear a badge on their left chest to represent their identity.

The word "Tian" is engraved on the badge of this middle-aged man, which means that he is a heaven-level guardian who has reached the late Dou Zong stage!

The middle-aged man glanced at Yang Shan:
“A new face!”

Yang Shan bowed and told the middle-aged man about his general situation.

"The introducer Luo Xie, well, he can actually be an introducer, huh!"

Yang Shan couldn't tell whether the middle-aged man's tone was good or bad, so he continued to test the waters:
"I didn't expect that the adults also knew Brother Luo Xie."

The middle-aged man sneered:
"Know him? Not really. I just know there's this unlucky guy who got drawn to the Black Horn Region. A Douhuang Soul Envoy, wouldn't he have to be a turtle in the Black Horn Region? I didn't expect that he could actually collect enough money and train some new people. Hehe, he's really lucky."

Yang Shan: “.”

Doctor Bai and the servant knew about Luo Xie, and so did this Heavenly Guardian. Yang Shan thought Luo Xie had a good network of contacts in the Guiku Branch Hall.

I didn't expect that I had no connections at all and was simply treated as a joke by my colleagues after dinner!

It seems that no one in the Guiku Branch Hall would have thought about how comfortable Luo Xie's life is now.

Dou Zong is coming, and there is a beauty by his side.
"My name is Shafeng. You should recognize me as the Dharma Protector. In the future, when you need to hand over souls in the Guiku Branch Hall, you should always look for me! Now, bring me the Soul Collection Pearl and the Soul Envoy Order. I will keep a record for you."

Yang Shan took out a cloth bag from his ring and handed it over along with the Soul Messenger Order:
"Please ask the guardian Shafeng to take a look."

Seeing the size of the cloth bag, Sha Feng, the heavenly-level guardian, was stunned for a few seconds.

The size of the Soul-Gathering Orb is fixed, about the size of a walnut.

The size of Yang Shan’s cloth bag is almost as big as a watermelon!
There are a total of sixty soul-collecting beads inside!
Each soul-gathering bead contains 50,000 soul points.

If converted into pure soul energy, there would be as much as 300,000!

It only costs three hundred thousand to advance from the early stage to the middle stage of the spiritual realm!

Because of Luo Xie's own strength and the dangerous level of the Black Horn Region, the branch temple gave him a task quota of 500,000 souls within five years.

If he can obtain one million souls, Luo Xie's mission will be completed, and he can choose to return at any time, or continue collecting souls locally.

And now, the number of souls brought by Yang Shan is three times the total amount of Luo Xie’s mission!
Even Shafeng, the heavenly guardian, was very puzzled.

What's going on? Has the Black Horn region been in decline in recent years?

A seven-star Dou Huang can kill people indiscriminately in the Black Horn Region?

Yang Shan took out another booklet:
"This is Brother Luo Xie's handwritten letter, with his soul mark attached to it."

The content of this handwritten letter is very simple, that is, Luo Xie will hand over all his task rewards to Yang Shan!

Yang Shan had helped Luo Xie a lot before, so this was just Luo Xie's way of returning the favor.

If it weren't for "Dark Soul Fog", Yang Shancai would not have been willing to give out so many soul points!

The guardian Shafeng stared at Yang Shan closely:

"Boy, you are not Luo Xie's adopted son, are you? Luo Xie is so good to you?"

Yang Shan was embarrassed:

"I saved Brother Luo Xie's life."

The guardian of Shafeng: "Luo Xie is so loyal and righteous? Then we should really pay more attention to him in the future."

If Yang Shan was willing to take out the Soul General Order, the Protector Shafeng would not dare to talk nonsense to Yang Shan now.

Whatever Yang Shan asked, the guardian Shafeng had to answer.

But not yet.

Yang Shande wanted to know who the elder currently in charge of the Guiku Branch Hall was.

Hundan had already mentioned to Yang Shan about the Tianzun and Zunlao who were related to Hundan.

If he encounters this situation, the Soul General Order in Yang Shan's hand may not be effective.

Keep a low profile until you are sure of the situation.

The guardian Shafeng began to take notes for Yang Shan with his head down.

The sound of hurried footsteps suddenly echoed on the first floor of the hall.

"Shafeng Protector, hurry up, I have completed my mission, I want to see Elder Mugu!"

When Yang Shan saw the man's appearance, he raised his eyebrows.

Isn’t this Han Feng!
His body exploded and his soul escaped. It turned out that he joined the Soul Palace because he was desperate.

Apparently he was doing pretty well and had even regained his body.

Of course, Yang Shan cared more about what Han Feng said than Han Feng’s reappearance.

He wants to see "Mu Gu Zun Lao"!
"Mu Gu" is a name. Although there are many respected elders in the Soul Palace, they should not have the same name.

"Mu Gu Zun Lao", whose actual name is "Mu Gu Lao Ren", has quite a few roles in the original novel.

He once had the same master as Medicine Venerable Yao Chen, and was considered Medicine Venerable's junior fellow apprentice.

He was also one of the masterminds of the plan to capture Medicine Master alive, and he successfully instigated Han Feng to rebel. With the help of both inside and outside forces, Medicine Master was forced to self-destruct!
Old man Mu Gu’s cultivation level is that of a three-star Dou Zun, and he is also an eighth-grade alchemist!

He once secretly participated in the Dan Tower's alchemy meeting and tried to kill the original protagonist Xiao Yan in the second round.

After failing, he attempted to win the alchemy championship.

In the end, he was defeated by Xiao Yan using Medicine Master's unique alchemy skills, and became one of the background boards of Xiao Yan's many famous scenes.

In the original novel, Han Feng was killed by Xiao Yan and his soul was taken away by the protector Wu. After that, Han Feng completely turned to old man Mu Gu and offered him the Shanghai Heart Flame, and only then did he regain his body.

Later, when Xiao Yan broke into the realm of Dou Sheng and destroyed the Soul Palace branch, old man Mu Gu "contributed" the Sea Heart Flame to Xiao Yan before he died.

This is Old Man Mu Gu, one of the many “face-slapping experience packs” in the original novel.

Now, Han Feng has rebuilt his body, and Old Man Mu Gu, the former junior brother of Medicine Master, is in charge of the Gui Ku branch hall.

All of this can be related to the original work.

Yang Shan didn't expect that the first thing he wanted to figure out when he came to the Gui Ku branch hall was actually told to him so easily by Han Feng!

Of course, Yang Shan also had to confirm how many elders were in charge of the Gui Ku branch hall.

After all, in some important Disha branch temples, there are definitely more than one elders, and there may even be strong men at the level of Tianzun in charge!
At this time, as a newbie who had just joined the Soul Hall and came to the Ghost Branch Hall for the first time, Yang Shan could naturally ask:
"Ah? What is respecting the elderly?"

While handing over the task to Han Feng, the guardian Shafeng replied:

"Boy, you are too inexperienced, so it's normal that you don't know. This guardian will remind you that the elders are the real powerful people in our Soul Palace! Only the Dou Zun strong ones are qualified to be the elders."

"Venerable Mu Gu was only transferred to our Gui Ku Branch Hall in the past two years. From now on, whenever you hear Venerable Mu Gu's name, no matter what he says, you must prick up your ears and listen carefully to every word. If you say the wrong thing or misunderstand him, your life will be in danger!"

Yang Shan was so frightened that he was trembling:
"Sure enough, he is actually a Dou Zun strongman who is capable of dominating the Northwest Continent! Brother Luo Xie really didn't lie to me. The power of our Soul Palace is really terrifying! Oh, Guardian Shafeng, how many elders do we have in our Guiku Branch Palace?"

"How many more elders do you want?"

The guardian of Shafeng said unhappily:

“Isn’t one respectable elder enough?”

The guardian Shafeng pointed to the badge on his chest:

"Boy, recognize this badge. In the Guiku branch hall, besides Lord Mu Gu, the person who has this badge has the highest status. This guardian is easy to talk to. If you speak rudely to other heavenly guardians, your life will be in danger!"

Yang Shan finally understood. No matter what, if he offended a big shot, his life would be in danger!
But who is the big shot in the end remains to be seen.

Han Feng looked extremely anxious in front of the counter, but he didn't dare to rush.

He really wanted to snatch the pen from the guardian Shafeng and write himself.

At this time, Han Feng noticed that the latest line on the newcomer roster next to him had the words "Cheng E" written on it!

"Cheng E?"

Han Feng widened his eyes and turned his head to look at Yang Shan.

Many people in the Soul Palace are accustomed to dressing themselves up as if they are "bad guys at first glance."

Black robes and masks are common attire used by many Soul Hall personnel.

So Han Feng did not recognize Yang Shanlai.

But after seeing the two words "Cheng E", the past events of "Mr. E" immediately emerged in his mind page by page.

The fighting spirit was like the anger in his heart, and it had already risen above his head:

"Fuck you! Where were you when the Black Alliance was attacked? Where was Protector Liu?"

As early as when Han Feng appeared, Yang Shan knew that he might be recognized by the other party.

So this old bastard has already been thinking about how to deal with it.

After knowing that the elder in charge of the Gui Ku branch hall was old man Mu Gu, Yang Shan no longer had anything to worry about.

Yang Shan covered his mask and said calmly:

"Han Feng, you ate too much garlic, didn't you? Your mouth stinks."

Stand in Han Feng's position.

He paid a lot of price to take advantage of Liu, the protector behind Yang Shan.

As a result, when the Black Alliance was attacked by Canaan Academy, neither Protector Liu nor Yang Shan showed up.

If Liu, the powerful Dou Zong master, was here, and he himself had also broken into the Dou Zong realm.

The two Dou Zongs joining forces, although they could not definitely gain the upper hand, at least Han Feng would not be ambushed by Mo Tianxing, and then be beaten up and forced to self-destruct.

Now even the Sea Heart Flame is lost!
As the contact person, Yang Shan must bear the main responsibility!
If we were to say who Han Feng hates the most right now, the number one person is "Yang Shan".

Then "Cheng E" has to rank second!

It is impossible to kill "Yang Shan" for the time being.

But the "Cheng E" in front of him was only a one-star Dou Huang, so at most he would have to pay a price afterwards.

"Fuck you, fuck you, I'm gonna fucking kill you!"

Han Feng's brain is now completely occupied by anger, causing his brain to get stuck when mobilizing the words stored inside.

Therefore, "Tama Feiyan" became the main reference for his speech.

As Han Feng's fighting spirit was released, Yang Shan could also see Han Feng's current panel information.

Samsung Douzong!

Han Feng must have reached some kind of deal with old man Mu Gu. After losing the Sea Heart Flame, not only did he rebuild his body, but his cultivation level actually skyrocketed by two stars!
For a three-star Dou Zong, if Yang Shan releases Marshal Mo Tie and opens fire at full power, he can also fight.

But now he is "Cheng E", so there is no way to fight him.

Fortunately, Yang Shan didn't need to be beaten.

The path of the subsidiary identity "Cheng E" is actually very different from the path of the main identity.

Yang Shan’s main combat power is to crush and surpass others at a higher level.

Cheng E is generally a low-profile person and his combat power is much weaker.

But he can bring out the background under certain conditions.
Can make Han Feng kneel down and call him daddy!

Flames were already coming out of Han Feng's hands.

Without the Sea Heart Flame, he could only find a seventh-level beast fire as a substitute.

If possible, Han Feng would rather remain a Dou Huang than not protect the Sea Heart Flame.

It’s all Cheng E’s fault!
Han Feng's palm fell, and he seemed to see the joyful scene of Yang Shan being burned to ashes by him:

"Die!"

At the critical moment, the guardian Shafeng at the counter roared:
"Be bold!"

The terrifying power of the Nine-Star Dou Zong caused the flame in Han Feng's hand to shrink a lot.

The guardian of Shafeng slapped out a fierce gust of wind.

Han Feng screamed and flew backwards.

Yang Shan didn't expect that the protector Shafeng was so powerful. He slapped Han Feng against the wall with just one slap.

The guardian of Shafeng angrily shouted:
"Han Feng! Do you think you don't take me seriously by taking action here?"

As a nine-star Dou Zong, the guardian Shafeng is also one of the most outstanding ones among the heavenly guardians. How could he possibly fight for a mere one-star Dou Huang?
After all, Han Feng is now related to Old Man Mu Gu, and he is also a three-star Dou Zong.

Killing a one-star Dou Huang, as long as he can afford the price, the guardian Shafeng doesn't bother to care.

But Yang Shan used soul transmission to tell the protector Shafeng that he was a soul general recruited by the young master of the Soul Clan, and that he came to the Guiku branch hall this time on the orders of the young master of the Soul Clan, and it was not appropriate for him to reveal his identity rashly.

At the same time, Yang Shan also raised his hand slightly so that the guardian Shafeng could see the Soul General Order in his sleeve.

The soul general’s order cannot be refuted unless you respect the elders!

Even though Sha Feng is a heavenly guardian, he does not have to kneel, but he still has to salute respectfully and cannot be negligent in the slightest!

Who is Han Feng? How dare he attack the Soul General?
It’s simply a matter of life and death!

If Han Feng touched a hair of Yang Shan in front of him, and the matter was investigated later, Sha Feng would be in big trouble!
As for Yang Shan’s identity.

The moment Yang Shanliang issued the Soul General Order, Sha Feng no longer had any doubts.

This is the Gui Ku branch hall!
To be able to come here, one’s identity has already gone through many tests.

What's more, since Yang Shan is a soul general, he will come into contact with old man Mu Gu sooner or later.

Can a one-star Dou Huang deceive a Dou Zun?

So no matter from which angle you analyze it, Yang Shan is a real soul general!

Han Feng, who didn't understand what was going on, finally got down from the wall. Although he was about to explode with anger, he still patiently explained to Sha Feng:
"Protector Shafeng, this Cheng E and I have a deep blood feud. Afterwards, I am willing to give the protector a full soul-collecting bead. I can also double the price of the Soul Killer!"

The guardian of Shafeng sneered:
"Han Feng, I am in a good mood today and I forgive your offense. If you keep talking nonsense, I will not see you anymore. Go back to where you came from!"

　If the illustration cannot be seen, it means that it has not passed the review yet. It may take until around nine in the morning for the review to be completed.

　　There is no way. The pictures I posted in the evening were already reviewed by the reviewers.

　　Please bear with us, Lord Doudi.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)