Mysterious Martial Arts: The Record of the Swordsman

Chapter 342 Don't mention that there are no grudges in the world

"Yuan Chengzhi! Why are you running!"

His voice was sharp and piercing. After his sneak attack missed, it lost all its original gentle and refined quality, leaving only a chilling coldness that sent shivers down one's spine.

Yuan Chengzhi dared not turn back to continue the fight. He used his superb footwork to the extreme, his body twisting and turning among the beams and pillars in the hall like a nimble monkey. The other man, on the other hand, kept moving and chasing after him, his whole body sliding along the ground like a ghost.

At this moment, a fierce wind howled inside the Tongtian Hall, and the ram horn-shaped glass palace lanterns were blown about by the strong wind, some even hitting the pillars of the hall and shattering into dust. Dongxuan's original moon-white Taoist robe was now stained with blood, his eyes were filled with a fierce aura, and his lips were curled into an almost manic smile.

Without turning around, Yuan Chengzhi could clearly feel the chilling killing intent emanating from behind him, as well as the strange and unorthodox martial arts techniques—

Years ago, he had a life-or-death battle with this person at the summit of Mount Hua. Although the person was ruthless and cunning, his martial arts style was still within the realm of the martial arts world. But today, when they met again, the person carried a sense of danger that made his hair stand on end.

"Yu Zhenzi! You acted perversely, were cunning and wicked. You clearly possessed great martial arts skills, yet you did not use them for righteous purposes, committing numerous evils. You deserve this calamity!"

Yuan Chengzhi referred to the other party as "Yu Zhenzi," which clearly indicates that he knew the other party's identity.

He knew this person was vicious and difficult to get rid of, but he also knew that he absolutely could not make contact with him now. Therefore, he could only use his lightness skill to wander around and buy time for the martial arts people to evacuate.

"Shh!"

Yu Zhenzi's two fingers, like hooks, grazed Yuan Chengzhi's clothes, instantly tearing a large hole in his coarse cloth garment. The remaining force struck the ancestral altar beside him, and the sturdy elm wood altar crumbled into a pile of broken wooden parts as if it were made of paper.

Yuan Chengzhi's heart tightened. Using the pulling force, he tapped his toes on the pillar and swung out the Golden Snake Sword, slashing towards Yu Zhenzi's neck, barely managing to force the villain back.

"Trying to leave? You're not going anywhere until we settle this today!"

Yu Zhenzi laughed wildly, and his feet also used the Divine Speed ​​Transformation technique, making him even faster than Yuan Chengzhi by a factor of three. The two chased and fled, leaving behind blurry afterimages in the Tongtian Hall. Wherever they passed, portraits flew over, incense burners shattered, and glass palace lanterns were all destroyed. The once relatively tidy hall was instantly turned into a mess.

Yuan Chengzhi knew that if he fought Yu Zhenzi in the Tongtian Hall, he had no chance of escaping. After all, Yu Zhenzi's martial arts skills were now far beyond his memory. But he needed to buy more time!

Just as Yuan Chengzhi was desperately trying to buy time, Jiang Wen had already arrived at Gui Xinshu's side during the brief moment of their chase.

Jiang Wen saw that Gui Xinshu's face was ashen, blood was constantly spilling from the corner of his mouth, and the clothes on his chest had been shattered by the force of the palm strike, revealing a clear palm print. The skin around the palm print even had a strange bluish-black color.

"Second Master Gui, you were too impulsive. Look at how badly you've been beaten. Quickly, circulate your internal energy and regulate your breathing—"

Jiang Wen sighed softly, and before Gui Xinshu could react, he had already placed a finger on Gui Xinshu's back. With a sudden burst of power, he pressed the Yi Yang Finger on Gui Xinshu's Feishu, Xinshu, and Dazhui acupoints in succession, stabilizing the injuries to the corresponding internal organs. Then, he circulated his internal energy again, and a gentle and mellow internal force flowed into Gui Xinshu's body like a trickle, slowly circulating between his damaged meridians.

Jiang Wen's internal force at this moment was extremely peculiar. Although it possessed the energy of Taoism, it was neither as fierce and domineering as the Hunyuan Gong of the Huashan School, nor as gentle and long as the internal force of the Wudang School. Instead, it carried a kind of innate manifestation and the sound of dragon and tiger intertwining. Wherever it passed, the damaged blood vessels and meridians were quickly repaired, which is how Gui Xinshu's last breath was kept going.

Gui Xinshu's tense body relaxed slightly, and he turned his head with difficulty to look at Jiang Wen. He opened his mouth to speak, but coughed up a mouthful of black blood.

"Don't speak, continue to circulate your energy and regulate your breathing. This is an orthodox Taoist internal energy cultivation method, which has a similar effect to your Hunyuan Gong, and may even be its ancestor."

"Xiantian Gong" is the ultimate method of Taoist breathing exercises; "Yiyang Zhi" is a closely guarded secret of the Dali Duan family; and the combination of "Xiantian Gong" and "Yiyang Zhi" can not only completely subdue Ouyang Feng, the Western Poison, but also cure all kinds of diseases and regulate the balance of deficiency and excess, especially adept at treating severe internal injuries.

Jiang Wen increased the output of his internal energy. He could clearly feel that the internal energy contained in Yu Zhenzi's palm strike was extremely domineering, not only injuring several of Gui Xinshu's ribs but also damaging his internal organs.

If Gui Xinshu hadn't cultivated the Hunyuan Gong for many years, building a solid foundation, and if his own Taoist internal energy hadn't been subtly of the same origin, he probably would have already suffered internal injuries, and even if he recovered, he would have been a sickly person for the rest of his life, unable to fight anyone anymore.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the sickly look on Gui Xinshu's face finally faded a bit, and his breathing gradually became steady. He hurriedly pushed away Jiang Wen's hand and struggled to sit up, but the movement aggravated his wounds, causing him to wince in pain.

"...Thank you so much, Sect Leader Jiang, for saving me."

Gui Xingshu's voice was hoarse and unpleasant, and when he breathed heavily it sounded like he was pulling a bellows. "I have lived most of my life and have never seen anything so bizarre."

Jiang Wen nodded, his gaze fixed on the two figures chasing each other inside the hall, his brows furrowed: "Second Master Gui, who exactly is this person? It seems that you and Master Yuan are quite familiar with him?"

Gui Xinshu gritted his teeth and said, "This man's Taoist name is Yu Zhenzi. He is a traitor of the Huashan Iron Sword Sect. Back then, he killed several people on Huashan Mountain for personal revenge. Even the sect leader of the Iron Sword Sect, Master Mu Sang, was defeated by him. In the end, he was killed by my junior brother."

Jiang Wen nodded secretly. Sure enough, it was this villain. In the original novel "The Sword Stained with Royal Blood," he was a villain who was evil from beginning to end. Now, for some reason, he had "reincarnated."

Could it be that the special effect of the Green Ox Taoist statue is that it can summon traitors with 100% certainty? If Guo Degang were to touch it, wouldn't a whole bunch of people pop up?

"I see. Is Yu Zhenzi's martial arts much stronger than during the decisive battle at Mount Hua back then?" Jiang Wen asked hurriedly.

Mentioning the decisive battle at Mount Hua back then, Gui Xinshu's face turned even uglier. He slammed his fist heavily on the ground and said hatefully.

"His martial arts style is insidious, ruthless, and unpredictable; it's more than just strong! Back in Mount Hua, although I wasn't his match, I could still fight him for dozens of moves. But today, I couldn't even withstand three of his sneak attacks!"

He paused, a hint of reminiscence flashing in his eyes: "I heard that he was diligent in learning martial arts and was an upright person at first, but after his master died, he was left unsupervised and made bad friends. He became a completely different person, even committing crimes, theft, murder, and all sorts of evil deeds."

"When Master Musang heard about the extermination of evil, he was still not as skilled as his senior brother in martial arts. Although Master Musang had the upper hand, he was mindful of their camaraderie and remembered that his late master had instructed him to take good care of him before his death. He felt that he had failed in his teaching, which led his senior brother astray and into deeper and deeper depravity. Therefore, he could not bring himself to strike him in the end."

"Who knew that this man would never learn his lesson and would secretly escape to Tibet. There, he heard that he had met a red-hatted Dharma King and learned a set of evil martial arts. He actually turned the tables and defeated his senior brother, Master Musang. His martial arts are now ten times more powerful than before, and his cold internal energy is simply not of this world."

Jiang Wen's heart skipped a beat, and he thought to himself, "Just as I thought."

He had previously noticed that those who were summoned by spirits did not seem to be simply resurrected, but rather that their martial arts skills had improved to varying degrees and they were becoming increasingly powerful.

This was true of those who possessed martial arts figures before, and it was also true of Fu Yushu who possessed Dongxuan earlier. Now, it seems that Yu Zhenzi is even more so. It's as if they have cultivated their martial arts to the extreme in another world, even breaking through the bottlenecks of their previous lives, and are slowly growing stronger.

"Could it be that the Langhuan Paradise really exists? If so, that would be troublesome."

Jiang Wen muttered to himself.

It now seems that these dead are far more powerful than he imagined. If he were to personally take action, he could certainly subdue them. However, if he were to rashly engage Yu Zhenzi, and perhaps trigger some kind of safety mechanism that summons an even more powerful enemy, the consequences would be unimaginable.

For example, if the extremely powerful and swift King Sora were summoned, even if he could win, there was no guarantee that he could protect his disciples and martial arts practitioners present.

Thinking of this, Jiang Wen turned his head and found that his disciples and several big sect figures had already left. He quickly shouted loudly to the martial arts people who were still peeking and discussing inside the hall:

"Everyone! This place is no place to stay! The Immortal Master Dongxuan of the Immortal Capital Sect has gone mad with his cultivation. Staying here will only lead to your deaths! Everyone, run for your lives!"

However, Jiang Wen's defeatist strategist's words had no effect. Instead of leaving, the martial arts figures' eyes lit up and their faces showed bloodlust.

"Leave? Why would we leave?"

A martial arts expert whispered, "The Wudang Sect Leader is such a figure, yet he was defeated by Dongxuan Daoist in just a few moves! You must know that Dongxuan's martial arts are nothing special. For him to be so powerful now, he must have found some martial arts secret!"

"That's right!"

Another martial arts expert chimed in, "I just overheard them mentioning a statue of the Taoist priest Qingniu Weng. I bet that statue holds unparalleled martial arts skills! How could we miss such a tremendous opportunity?"

"Exactly! We've traveled all the way to Wuyishan, isn't it all for the sake of making a name for ourselves? Now that the opportunity is right in front of us, how can we give it up so easily?"

"Senior Brother is right!"

For a moment, the hall was filled with discussion, and the faces of the remaining bloodthirsty spectators were filled with greed. They watched Yu Zhenzi and Yuan Chengzhi chasing each other, their eyes showing no fear, only a desire for unparalleled martial arts. In their eyes, the more powerful Yu Zhenzi was, the more precious the martial arts secrets he possessed must be.

Jiang Wen watched these bloodthirsty spectators disregard life and death, and was about to mock their skillful tactics when he suddenly realized that he himself seemed to have been one of these people in the past. Since ancient times, the bigger the storm, the more valuable the fish. Just like when he was looking for opportunities to beat up heroes in Jin Yong's world, no one could understand what was wrong with him.

He knew that these people didn't care what they were facing at all—they might think it was just an ordinary conflict in the martial world, unaware that it involved the affairs of Xi Yi, but they must know that if they continued to stay here, once they were implicated by Yu Zhenzi, they probably wouldn't even be able to leave behind a whole corpse.

But everyone here is risking their lives in this world, afraid of dying without knowing why, and no one has ever encountered a stroke of incredible luck and remained unmoved.

After a moment's thought, Jiang Wen had an idea.

He cleared his throat, channeled his inner strength, and said, "What you all say is correct! The reason this person's martial arts have improved so much is indeed because he obtained a secret martial arts manual."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall fell silent, and all eyes turned to Jiang Wen, filled with anticipation.

Jiang Wen smiled slightly and continued, "To be honest, the martial arts practitioners who went mad before, and the current head of the Xiandu Sect, Master Dongxuan, both secretly sneaked into the Langhuan Blessed Land of my Wuyi Sect a few days ago. The Langhuan Blessed Land is a treasure trove of martial arts left by our sect's predecessors. It contains all kinds of martial arts secrets, encompassing the four seas, from the seventy-two Shaolin arts to the unique skills of various sects, from the miraculous skill of being indestructible to the divine skill of injuring people by plucking leaves.

Upon hearing the words "Langhuan Paradise," everyone gasped, their eyes burning with even greater greed.

Although everyone present had graduated from prenatal education and had never heard of these difficult-to-pronounce terms, that didn't stop them from combining them with previous rumors and instantly unleashing their astonishing wisdom.

"Sect Leader Jiang, is there any connection between this Langhuan Paradise and the Heavenly Dragon Armory of the Dali Kingdom?"

Jiang Wen glanced at him sideways, wondering why he was being so cooperative when he hadn't bribed any online trolls.

"The Tianlong Martial Arts Arsenal of the Dali Kingdom was almost completely destroyed by the former Yuan Dynasty's National Preceptor, Shouluo Wang, during the Yuan Dynasty. At that time, all the major sects in the martial arts world also perished. Our sect's founder could not bear to see the martial arts world perish, so he risked all his life to search for it. Finally, he built a hermitage in Wuyi Mountain, where he memorized and rewrote these martial arts techniques and compiled them into a book. When he finished writing the book, our founder also died due to exhaustion of his mind and body..."

"but--"

Seeing the bloodthirsty audience's excitement, Jiang Wen changed the subject, his tone becoming serious, "The martial arts of Langhuan Paradise are exquisite, but also extremely dangerous. Anyone who lacks a solid foundation and has not received the blessing of the Wuyi Sect's mental cultivation method will suffer from qi deviation and mental disorder if they forcibly practice its martial arts, ultimately becoming a madman who only knows how to kill."

"Look, Fellow Daoist Dongxuan, who trespassed into the Immortal Capital Sect, became mentally unstable and went crazy because he stole the martial arts from the Langhuan Blessed Land."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, and slowly said, "Since I, Jiang Wen, am here today, I will naturally take action to deal with this person and clean house. However, if you insist on staying here, and are ever turned into madmen by the evil arts of Langhuan Paradise, then I will be unable to help you."

As soon as Jiang Wen finished speaking, the hall fell into a deathly silence once again.

Everyone exchanged bewildered glances, their greed gradually fading as they calmed down. Looking at Yu Zhenzi's frenzied state, and recalling the martial arts figures who had died violently and insanely earlier, a chill ran down their spines: So the murderer really was here!

Yes, Dongxuan martial arts are indeed powerful, but he has become a madman. Even if I obtain the martial arts of Langhuan Paradise, what's the point if I also become like that?

More importantly, Jiang Wen, the leader of the Wuyi Sect, is in charge of the Langhuan Paradise. He must have been immersed in it for many years. The fact that he dares to tell everyone this good news means that his martial arts are even more powerful than Dongxuan's.

Stealing martial arts skills is a major taboo in the martial arts world. Even if you wanted to steal them, you simply didn't have the strength to do so—and you might even lose your life.

Thinking of this, the martial arts practitioners all gave up the idea of ​​seizing the martial arts secrets. The quick-thinking ones immediately thought that although this Master Jiang and the Wuyi Sect were a bit wicked in their actions, they were still quite upright in their words and deeds. As long as they maintained a decent relationship with them, they could surely ask them to teach them a couple of skills or give them some pointers in the future.

“Well, I think what Sect Leader Jiang said makes sense. Although the martial arts in Langhuan Paradise are good, you have to be alive to learn them.”

"Yes, Dongxuan is a cautionary tale. We'd better not take that risk."

"Sect Leader Jiang is truly righteous; our Xiantian Sect will follow your lead without question!"

"Let's go, let's get out of this troublesome place quickly."

The crowd chattered amongst themselves, then turned and ran out of the Tongtian Palace area.

However, they did not actually leave Dawang Peak. Instead, they each found secluded places in the mountains, hiding in the bushes and piles of rocks. They were clearly still unwilling to give up and wanted to see how Jiang Wen would deal with Yu Zhenzi. If they had the chance, they still wanted to get a share of the spoils.

Jiang Wen watched the departing figures of the crowd and breathed a sigh of relief, thinking to himself that although these people had not actually left, at least they would not cause any trouble for the time being.

Just then, with a loud "boom", the gate of the Sanqing Hall was kicked down by Yu Zhenzi. Yuan Chengzhi flashed out of the hall first, followed closely by Yu Zhenzi. The two chased each other on Tongtian Rock, still using "Divine Speed ​​and Hundred Transformations" to pursue each other relentlessly, but they could not break through each other's moves at all.

"not good!"

Gui Xinshu's expression changed drastically, as if he had remembered something. He struggled to stand up, shouting, "We absolutely cannot let Yu Zhenzi and Junior Brother fight!"

Jiang Wen quickly helped him up, realizing there was more to his words than met the eye, and hurriedly asked, "Second Master Gui, why can't we let them fight? Master Yuan's martial arts are not weak now, he might not lose to Yu Zhenzi."

"You do not understand!"

Gui Xinshu, a straightforward man, was sweating profusely with anxiety, his wound nearly bursting open again. "The same thing happened when Junior Brother Yuan went to Mount Hua!"

Jiang Wen's heart skipped a beat: "Oh? What happened back then?"

Gui Xinshu took a deep breath and slowly said, "I once heard my master say that by chance, Junior Brother Yuan collected the remains of Xia Xueyi, the Golden Snake Gentleman, in a secret cave in Mount Hua and inherited his martial arts skills."

"But what's strange is that, besides some of the martial arts manuals of the Golden Snake Swordsman, the stone walls of that cave are also covered with traces of how to decipher the moves of all the martial arts in the world. However, the strokes are extremely strange and do not seem to be left by ordinary people. When Junior Brother Yuan was young and curious, he started to practice according to those traces."

He paused, a hint of lingering fear flashing in his eyes: "From then on, Junior Brother Yuan became extremely unpredictable. He often followed two white apes to practice martial arts in the dense forests of the mountains. The moves he used were unheard of and unseen before, each one ruthless and deadly. Sometimes he would even spout nonsense, calling himself the Golden Snake Gentleman or a mountain god or demon. His expression and tone were like a completely different person. In the end, it was only because Master secretly followed him and subdued him with the Hunyuan Gong that he fainted."

"After I woke up, my master personally went into the secret cave of Mount Hua. He said that it was a grudge left by the predecessors of the Mount Hua Sect, and told us not to ask about it anymore. He also kept the matter very secret and forbade us to mention it again. He only specifically instructed us not to fight with our junior brother when he was ill, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable."

"However, after this incident, my master lived a secluded life and rarely fought with anyone. The last time I saw him, he told me that he was going to the secret cave of Mount Hua to go into seclusion and guard its secrets... Over the years, I have kept this lesson in mind and know that there are some martial arts in the martial world that cannot be touched. Therefore, I have focused on cultivating the martial arts of the Mount Hua sect."

Jiang Wen listened silently and realized that Gui Xinshu seemed to have let something slip: Mu Renqing was not wandering around in despair, but was entangled in the matter of the secret cave in Mount Hua, and might even have died there.

"Fortunately, since then, Junior Brother Yuan has never used those strange martial arts again, except when he fought and killed Yu Zhenzi. I thought that was the end of it, but I didn't expect that Yu Zhenzi would appear today, and Junior Brother's instructions seem to be exactly the same as what Master said back then!"

Gui Xinshu said with deep concern, "Since this matter was caused by my reckless actions, I will risk my life to take full responsibility! Yu Zhenzi's evil skills are so powerful that if Junior Brother Yuan is forced into a desperate situation, he may use those strange martial arts again. If both of them show abnormalities, the consequences will be unimaginable!"

Jiang was shocked upon hearing this.

He originally thought that Yuan Chengzhi was just a successor of Jin She Langjun and Mu Renqing, and at most had learned some Iron Sword Sect kung fu and encountered some strange things in the martial arts world. He never expected that he would have such a secret.

The grudges of the Huashan Sect's predecessors? Deciphering the traces of martial arts techniques from all over the world? Why do these things sound so familiar?

Jiang Wen suppressed his thoughts for the moment and said to Gui Xinshu, "Second Master Gui, there's no need to worry. Since I've chosen the summit of Wuyi Sect's Great King Peak as the location, I naturally have a way to deal with him. I think Yu Zhenzi's pursuit of Hero Yuan is probably not just due to personal grudges, but rather because he possesses some kind of opportunity that could allow him to transform again. Fighting with others would not only be useless, but might even be harmful..."

At this moment, Jiang Wen's extraordinary wisdom was also in full swing. What the enemy wants to do, I will do my best to destroy; what the enemy doesn't want, I will do my best to make happen. Is there anything simpler than this?

He had been preparing a deadly move over the past three days, specifically to deal with powerful enemies when he couldn't easily intervene or when he happened to be absent. And now, without a doubt, it was time to activate the trap card...

Where is the Six Ding Goddess?

As soon as the words fell, six graceful figures in white robes suddenly appeared on the summit of Dawang Peak. They stepped on palace tiles, climbed high branches, trod on mountain rocks, or stood on grassy paths, each with a different posture. After the six women stood still, they immediately locked down a mysterious area, enveloping the entire Tongtian Rock within it.

"Received the decree of the Left Protector of the Dharma."

"Form the Celestial Immortal Sword Formation!!" (End of Chapter)