Mysterious Martial Arts: The Record of the Swordsman

Chapter 352 Who Can Rival the Heroes of the World?

Inside the Tongtian Hall, Jiang Wen and Luo Chunyi were slowly strolling around.

Luo Chunyi remained as gentle and shy as ever, the corner of his gray robe fluttering gently as he walked, yet the air around him seemed to distort silently, and the flickering firelight now seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, its brightness shifting.

Jiang Wen's Zhanlu sword remained sheathed and unsheatheeded. He felt that Luo Chunyi's figure was elusive, like drifting clouds in the mountains or floating duckweed on the water. He was right in front of him, yet he felt that he could not grasp any substance.

There was no clanging of metal on metal, no booming of fists and feet, but the spectators were all on edge, for this silent contest was far more thrilling than any battle with flashing swords.

Every exchange of glances, every change of pace, could represent a test of life and death; the slightest flaw could lead to a fatal blow.

"Unexpectedly, even after we two probed first, we still couldn't find out Luo Chunyi's true strength."

Yuan Chengzhi said in a low voice to Luo Shuang'er beside him, his tone tinged with helplessness, "That's why Sect Leader Jiang didn't dare to make a move rashly."

Luo Shuang'er didn't speak, but gripped the Han Wang Qing Dao tightly in her hand, her cold eyes fixed on Jiang Wen's back. She could clearly feel the tense aura around Jiang Wen, a solemn demeanor he had never shown before.

Jiang Wen had to admit that he was not absolutely certain of victory at this moment.

Luo Chunyi is shrouded in mystery, and no matter how one tries to probe him, the truth remains elusive. Yet, his martial arts skills have transcended the comprehension of ordinary people. His speed, his internal strength, and his understanding of techniques have all reached an unbelievable level.

As he himself said, every move he made and every action he took was perfectly natural, reaching a state of no moves, as if he were part of the natural world. The cycle of heaven has no fixed pattern or fixed trajectory, but it can appear at the most opportune time and in the most fatal position.

To deal with someone who has no moves, you can no longer use moves.

Jiang Wen slowly raised his right hand, his index and middle fingers together, pointing at Luo Chunyi in a suggestive manner.

There was no sharp sword light, no sword energy piercing the air, but the instant his fingertips pointed towards Luo Chunyi, the air in front of Luo Chunyi suddenly exploded. An invisible, intangible sword energy, like a sharp blade appearing out of thin air, shot towards Luo Chunyi's brow—

The sword without a sword!

If the Sword Sect's Way, which Dugu Qiubai pursued throughout his life, is about not being bound by objects and using grass, trees, bamboo, and stones as swords, and gradually refining one's skills to the point where having no sword is better than having a sword, then the Qi Sect's Way, which Yi Yun of the Famous Sword Villa studied, is about controlling the sword with Qi, containing Qi within the sword, and striking without any hindrance to the movement, following one's heart's desire. When the sword intent is released, it is like a river bursting its banks, unstoppable.

Before the sword energy arrived, the wind was already fierce, and Luo Chunyi's robes were already fluttering in the invisible force, but the smile on his face did not change at all, he just tilted his head slightly.

Just as the sword energy was about to pierce him, Luo Chunyi's figure suddenly disappeared, vanishing from the spot as if he had never existed!

"Ten Thousand Swords Return to Their Origin!"

Jiang Wen suddenly shouted out the name of the martial art, raised both hands above his head, and quietly flicked the five fingers of his left hand. The invisible sword energy of the Six Meridians Divine Sword shot out from his fingertips at the same time, shooting out in all directions!

This supreme martial art of the Dali Duan family is based on the One-Finger Divine Skill. It transforms internal energy into invisible sword energy that shoots out from the fingertips with immense power. Originally, it could attack from two zhang away. Now, it combines the Yi Yun Sword Energy and the Purple Dragon Light, making its attacks even more concealed and swift.

These purple dragon lights were hard-won; every bit used after the Dragon-Riding Feathered Man perished was one less. But Jiang Wen had no intention of being merciful now. He decisively unleashed the six sword energies of the Six Meridians Divine Sword at the same time. As soon as the sword move was made, the incomparably sharp sword energy seemed to be generated from his body, and a wisp of ethereal green smoke appeared above his body. In reality, it was the energy spreading in all directions.

In an instant, countless sword energies surged forth, swirling and returning like a storm. The sword energy flying everywhere was like a net, sharp and unparalleled, a magnificent sight that covered all possible directions within the hall, naturally sealing off all of Luo Chunyi's escape space.

There were countless soft "hissing" sounds as the sword energy struck the remaining pillars around them, leaving many small holes of varying depths and scattering wood chips everywhere, but the sword energy missed its mark entirely.

The main hall was empty at this moment. Luo Chunyi seemed to have merged into the air and disappeared into the cold night.

As Jiang Wen finished his practice and stood still, he suddenly sensed a chilling killing intent coming from behind him. The killing intent came so suddenly and so swiftly, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, biting the prey's throat when it was completely unprepared.

At the critical moment, Jiang Wen's footwork changed, and his figure was like a ghost, leaving a shadow in place as he quietly used the Lingbo Weibu (a martial arts technique).

Almost at the same moment he moved, a crystal-clear hand, gleaming with the luster of jade, passed through the spot where he had just been standing, its fingertips brushing against his back.

A needle-like stinging pain came from Jiang Wen's back. Luo Chunyi's internal energy was like countless cold, fine needles, piercing through his robes, penetrating his skin, and drilling into his meridians. The internal energy was volatile, sometimes strong, sometimes weak, sometimes yin, sometimes yang, extremely strange.

Jiang Wen dared not be careless in the slightest, and he used the Lingbo Weibu technique to its fullest extent. His figure moved quickly through the hall, leaving behind blurry afterimages. Luo Chunyi followed closely behind him like a shadow, constantly pushing his limits and chasing after Jiang Wen's vital points.

Fortunately, this "Lingbo Weibu" is a method of cultivating internal energy through dynamic exercises. Each step traverses one cycle of the sixty-four hexagrams, and the internal energy naturally completes a cycle as well. Therefore, with each step, Jiang Wen's internal strength increases, and his speed increases accordingly. At first, he needed to move and leap to dodge, but gradually he became on par with Luo Chunyi's extraordinary speed.

Both of them pushed their speed to the limit, so fast that Yuan Chengzhi and Luo Shuang'er could only see two blurry shadows chasing and colliding inside the hall. The flames in the bronze furnace were blown about by the strong wind they generated, and the shadows on the ceiling seemed to be torn apart by their speed, turning into countless tiny spots.

"Such fast lightness skill!" Yuan Chengzhi couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

His swift and unpredictable movements, already considered top-tier lightness skills in the martial arts world, still fell short compared to these two. Luo Chunyi's speed had surpassed human limits, even exceeding the boundaries of sound, while Jiang Wen's Lingbo Weibu (a martial arts technique) was exquisitely refined. Even under such rapid pursuit, he could still dodge calmly without the slightest panic.

Suddenly, Luo Chunyi paused, then suddenly accelerated by three points, simultaneously striking Jiang Wen's back with both palms. He perfectly wielded the two extreme internal forces, Pure Yang and Profound Yin, which were originally impossible to coexist, forming a killing move that swept towards Jiang Wen.

However, Jiang Wen's eyes narrowed, and he stopped dodging.

He took a deep breath, his internal energy surging through his meridians, and then simultaneously raised his left hand into a palm and his right hand into a fist, meeting Luo Chunyi's attack head-on.

The Ambidextrous Fighting Technique was created by Zhou Botong during his fifteen years of boredom while trapped on Peach Blossom Island. It is a unique skill that allows a person to use two different martial arts at the same time, and the power of the two skills is multiplied.

Jiang Wen had mastered this extraordinary skill to perfection. At this moment, he used the extremely soft Kongming Fist with one hand and the extremely hard Subduing Dragon Eighteen Palms with the other. When the four palms collided, they produced a deafening roar!

"boom!"

Jiang Wen's left hand, the Empty Fist, was extremely soft and empty, its force like an echo in an empty valley, leaving no trace; his right hand, the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, was extremely hard and fierce, its palm wind like thunder, capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks. He actually used the combination of hardness and softness to deal with the yin and yang, forcefully blocking Luo Chunyi's pair of yin and yang jade palms!
The two stood facing each other again. Jiang Wen took three steps back to steady himself, while Luo Chun took two steps back, still wearing a gentle smile, but a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.

Although Luo Chunyi had a slight advantage, he took the initiative to say, "Young Master's martial arts are profound and unique. The techniques you displayed just now were sometimes fierce, sometimes gentle, sometimes graceful, and sometimes domineering. It seems you have mastered all the martial arts in the world, effortlessly integrating them into a unified whole. I never imagined there could be such a young grandmaster in this world."

"Senior, you flatter me. I was merely lucky and by chance learned a few rudimentary martial arts techniques, which I then practiced diligently day and night. Compared to you, I am far from being as skilled."

Jiang Wen shook his head and said modestly, "It is truly incredible that you, senior, can reach the state of complete forgetting and having nothing outside your mind in martial arts moves. If the martial arts of the King of Shouluo are extremely powerful and fast, like thunderbolts, unstoppable, then senior Luo's martial arts are the path of the gentlest and purest."

"Ultimate Softness" refers to Luo Chunyi's actions, as described in Laozi's "Xiang Er Jie": "Act without action, act with gentleness and weakness, act with femininity, and do not act first. These are the three highest practices." This embodies the Taoist principle of using softness to overcome hardness. "Pureness" refers to the unimaginable purity of his internal energy, to the point that he can even forget the specific moves of his martial arts.

After exchanging blows, Jiang Wen gained a deeper understanding of the strange martial art practiced by Luo Chunyi, and clearly sensed a trace of yin and yang complementing each other and reversing the two poles.

For example, the prerequisite for cultivating the "Sunflower Manual" is "to practice the divine skill, one must castrate oneself," which is at the cost of "injury" and is a simple "removal of yang to preserve yin," forming a network of "yin turning into yang and yang turning into yin" in the body. Luo Chunyi's method is obviously more extreme - he seems to use some kind of method to isolate the yin and yang true qi from each other and cultivate them separately, and force the cultivator to generate a little "true yang" in the extreme state of "extreme yin" to achieve the perfect flow of yin and yang in the body.

"Senior Luo, we are risking our lives today, and a victor is inevitable. Why bother chasing each other? Let's go all out."

Despite being at a disadvantage, Jiang Wen acted extremely arrogantly. Before he finished speaking, he stomped his left foot and charged forward. His right fist was thrown out in a plain and unassuming manner, without any fancy moves or earth-shattering momentum.

Luo Chunyi's smile faded slightly. He was not afraid of close combat; on the contrary, he was happy to engage in it, because his Yin-Yang internal energy had the miraculous effect of piercing through meridians and attacking internal organs.

He also extended both palms simultaneously, and the warm, jade-like color of his palms reappeared. As the Yin-Yang Jade Palms pushed forward, countless fine, needle-like true energy burst forth from his palms, fluctuating in strength and weakness, sometimes yin and sometimes yang, stabbing towards Jiang Wen's fist.

"laugh--"

After their fists and palms collided, Luo Chunyi's expression suddenly changed.

He originally thought that he could easily neutralize Jiang Wen's seemingly ordinary punch with the pain of being pierced by ten thousand needles, but the moment his true energy touched Jiang Wen's fist, he felt seven completely different forces simultaneously transmitted into his palm!
Jiang Wen's punch was seemingly simple yet incredibly powerful, containing seven different forces, some fierce, some gentle, some with a blend of strength and gentleness, some horizontal, some vertical, and some inward. The attacks surged one after another, layer upon layer, like a raging storm, and were absolutely impossible to withstand!
Luo Chunyi couldn't help but groan, feeling as if his arm meridians were being cut by countless sharp blades, with waves of tearing pain. The seven forces, like a bone-deep infection, frantically drilled into his body along his meridians, causing his blood and qi to surge and his internal energy to become sluggish.

But even if he wanted to retract his palms, it was too late.

Just as the seven forces invaded his meridians, an even more powerful and vast force erupted from Jiang Wen's fist like a tsunami—this force was pure and domineering, carrying an overwhelming momentum, and slammed hard into his palms.

"Boom!"

After a muffled thud, Luo Chun felt an irresistible force. His outstretched palms were forcefully pushed back, and he was forced to retreat involuntarily. His feet kicked up gravel and dust behind him, and he took seven steps back before he could barely regain his footing.

His arm trembled slightly, and the veins beneath his jade-colored skin throbbed incessantly. Although he hadn't coughed up blood, the punch he had just received had already shaken his internal organs, causing a brief disruption in the yin and yang energies within his body.

"The five elements harmonize yin and yang, but damage the heart, lungs, liver, and intestines. When the essence is lost, one becomes confused and disoriented, and the three burners are reversed, causing the soul to fly away."

Jiang Wen slowly withdrew his fist, explaining calmly, "My 'Military Way Killing Fist' inflicts seven injuries with each practice. Senior Luo, are you prepared?"

The needle-like true energy emitted by Luo Chunyi's Yin-Yang Jade Palm naturally entered Jiang Wen's meridians along with the fist and palm strikes. At this moment, it was rampaging and extremely ruthless. Jiang Wen did not easily absorb and resolve the foreign true energy. Instead, he used the Star Absorbing Technique to make his dantian "always like a deep box, always like a deep valley." Then he dispersed the foreign true energy into his acupoints and began to study it.

Jiang Wen didn't explain to Luo Chunyi that his first punch was the Seven Injury Fist of the Kongtong Sect, but he changed it to the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill. Therefore, although the punch was just an ordinary punch, each move carried the force of ten dragons and ten elephants, and the internal force was both hard and soft. Naturally, it upgraded the pain of the internal organs caused by the Seven Injury Fist to pure physical pain.

His goal was simple: since Luo Chunyi could use his needle-like internal energy to pierce him, he could make the other person feel the same pain—it's just carrying rice, let the world feel the pain!

Luo Chun raised his head, his eyes revealing a solemn expression: "The Emperor's Way Killing Fist moves with the swiftness and force of the Emperor's grace, and is indeed worthy of its reputation."

"...You flatter me, senior."

Jiang Wen smiled slightly, and before he finished speaking, he pounced on the enemy again, pressing his advantage relentlessly.

This time, Jiang Wen held back. He perfectly combined the power of the Seven Injury Fist and the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill. Every punch he threw carried seven unpredictable forces and the immense power of ten dragons and ten elephants. As the wind howled and the energy surged, the entire Tongtian Hall was filled with his domineering fist shadows.

The two figures clashed rapidly in the hall, the sounds of fists and palms colliding were incessant. Every time Jiang Wen's fist landed, it carried an overwhelming and irresistible force, causing Luo Chun's arms to go numb and his blood to surge. Meanwhile, the seven forces of the Seven Injury Fist were like venomous snakes, constantly breaking through his palm defenses, invading his meridians, and disrupting the flow of his internal energy. Then, the power of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill pressed down like Mount Tai, making it difficult for him to even move.

This cycle repeated itself endlessly, and Luo Chunyi seemed to be able only to defend passively, using his Yin-Yang Jade Palm to protect himself completely, but he was actually suppressed by Jiang Wen.

But Yuan Chengzhi frowned, his eyes fixed on the battle, his hand resting on the Golden Snake Sword at his waist—he could sense that although Jiang Wen had the upper hand, he had also expended a lot of internal energy. If Luo Chunyi broke through the encirclement and suddenly launched an attack, Jiang Wen would be in danger.

Sure enough, just as Jiang Wen closed in and threw a heavy punch at Luo Chunyi's chest, a sudden change occurred!

Suddenly, the jade color on Luo Chunyi's palm spread upwards at a visible speed, quickly covering his neck, cheeks, and even his ears and nose, turning into a lifeless jade color.

In that instant, Jiang Wen felt the world spinning around him, and his head was spinning.

His vision blurred instantly, everything before him became a double image. Luo Chunyi's figure split into more than a dozen before his eyes, each figure performing different actions. He couldn't distinguish which was real and which was fake. His hearing also became chaotic. Instead of the sounds of fists colliding, he heard countless cacophonies of noise—the sound of wind, the sound of rain, and the voices of people talking. These sounds intertwined, making his brain buzz and making it impossible for him to concentrate.

Even more terrifying, the true energy within his body suddenly went out of control. The once smoothly flowing true energy surged through his meridians like a wild horse, causing his blood and qi to churn. Even when he tried to circulate his internal energy to stabilize himself, he found that his will could not control his true energy at all. At this moment, he still wanted to lock onto Luo Chunyi's position and launch an attack, but found that all his moves had lost their target. He seemed to have fallen into the strange state he had been in when Luo Shuang'er's Nuo dance was broken earlier.

"Is it possible to interfere with the human nervous system in some way, causing the five senses to fail and the brain to fall into chaos? Interesting. In this state, even the most ingenious techniques are indeed useless."

Jiang Wen suddenly spoke, seemingly not intending to find a solution, and unaware that Luo Chunyi was standing right in front of him, quietly watching him.

Luo Chunyi's face was expressionless at this moment, and his originally clear eyes had turned into a jade-like gray-white, making him look extremely eerie.

He slowly raised his right hand, and a wisp of seemingly extremely weak true energy gathered at his fingertips. This wisp of true energy was colorless, odorless, formless, and without any luster or aura; even Jiang Wen's keen sixth sense could not detect it.

With a flick of his finger, Luo Chun sent an invisible needle of true energy flying into the air, which transformed into a barely perceptible stream of light and headed straight for Jiang Wen's chest acupoint, Tanzhong.

At this moment, Jiang Wenwu felt blocked and his mind was in chaos. He was completely unaware of this fatal blow. This invisible needle was specifically designed to break through the vital energy gates and sever the heart meridian. Once it pierced a vital point, the true energy in the whole body would instantly dissipate, and the heart meridian would also break, resulting in immediate death.

Just as the Shadowless Needle was about to pierce his Tanzhong acupoint, at this critical moment, Jiang Wen's internal energy suddenly circulated on its own, and he suddenly unleashed the seventh level of the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth!
Jiang Wen's potential surged forth like a sudden torrent, overwhelming and unstoppable. His meridians expanded several times in an instant, and the previously out-of-control true energy was forcibly suppressed by this powerful force, then began to circulate again according to an extremely mysterious trajectory.

As this internal energy surged from the depths of his dantian and instantly flowed throughout his body, a strange force of displacement and absorption appeared, which actually caused the invisible needle that was currently touching him to slightly deflect, avoiding the fatal acupoint of Tanzhong on his chest, and instead grazing Jiang Wen's ribs and piercing in.

Jiang Wen suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze clear and bright.

The momentary confusion of his senses and loss of control over his inner energy had vanished without a trace, and his knuckles precisely gripped the Taiyuan and Daling acupoints on his opponent's wrists.
"Huh? What kind of kung fu is this? It's not even afraid of vital points? Just now, your five senses were confused and your true qi was flowing in reverse. No matter how fast your movements are, you could never have avoided the Tanzhong acupoint by the slightest difference."

Luo Chunyi seemed unconcerned that his arms were being held by Jiang Wen. He merely glanced down at his restrained hands, his eyes showing no panic at being trapped in such a desperate situation, but rather a pure curiosity, as if a child had seen something novel for the first time.

Jiang Wen exerted a slight force with his fingertips. This seemingly casual tap actually condensed the power of the ten dragons and ten elephants of the tenth level of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Technique.

"This is the miraculous technique of Heaven and Earth Shifting and Earth Reversing Acupoints from the 'Great Compassion Ode of the Intercourse of Heaven and Earth'. It can shift all 360 major acupoints on the body by one inch at any time. The moment you insert the needle, my Tanzhong acupoint has already moved to the position of the Qimen acupoint on my left rib, so naturally you cannot pierce me."

Jiang Wen was stalling for time in order to expedite his internal energy cultivation.

Although the invisible needle did not pierce his vital point, it still carried a trace of foreign true energy into his body. At this moment, this trace of foreign true energy wanted to destroy his internal organs along the meridians. The Beiming Divine Art internal energy, which was lurking in his limbs and bones, suddenly activated and decided to try a risky move to turn the tables!
As the internal energy of the Northern Darkness Divine Art pounced like a hungry tiger, it instantly enveloped the wisp of foreign true energy, then gradually devoured and digested it, transforming it into Jiang Wen's own internal energy. The whole process was as fast as lightning, taking only a blink of an eye.

However, Jiang Wen, who had absorbed the alien internal energy and found himself unharmed, smiled slightly, grabbed Luo Chunyi's palm, and suddenly a powerful and irresistible suction force arose—the research and analysis that had just begun was complete, and he was certain that he could absorb this internal energy!

A suction force came without warning, yet it was incredibly domineering, like a bottomless whirlpool suddenly opening up in the deep sea, frantically pulling at the Yin-Yang True Qi within Luo Chun's body.

Luo Chun's expression changed drastically. He felt a powerful negative gravitational force coming from Jiang Wen's palm, and his internal energy, like a flood bursting its banks, uncontrollably broke through his meridians and surged into Jiang Wen's body.

Jiang Wen's Beiming Divine Skill had already reached a state of perfection. Its cultivation path was the opposite of that of other schools of internal energy cultivation. Therefore, it could use the method of drawing positive energy from negative energy. The deeper one's internal energy was, the stronger the suction force became.

Now, Jiang Wen possesses 20% of his internal energy, the depth of which far exceeds the imagination of ordinary people. Once this suction force is activated, it is like a black hole that devours everything, able to draw in all the true energy in the world.

Luo Chunyi felt as if his entire body had been hollowed out. He could clearly feel the pure Yang and profound Yin true energy within his body, which had long since achieved a balance of Yin and Yang, rapidly draining away at a visible rate. His meridians were wracked with pain, and his dantian was completely empty, unable to gather even a trace of internal energy.

He tried to break free from Jiang Wen's grip, but found his arms as heavy as lead, and the once vibrant jade-like luster of his jade-like skin was rapidly dimming, like a candle flame about to go out.

A glint of light flashed in Jiang Wen's eyes. Although Luo Chunyi's techniques were strange and unorthodox, they were, after all, from the orthodox Taoist sect. He could feel that Luo Chunyi's internal energy was extremely pure, far surpassing that of anyone he had absorbed before. Jiang Wen couldn't help but increase the suction force on his hand by three points.

As for the inherent conflict between the blazing sun and the mysterious yin internal forces, so what? Jiang Wen's dantian, qi sea, and internal organs already contain seven or eight completely different top-level internal forces, which can crush them at any time. If he is still not strong enough, the restless cold mountain force will naturally not mind accepting all these troublemakers.

However, just when Jiang Wen was confident of victory, a sudden change occurred. The Yin-Yang True Qi that was continuously flowing into his body suddenly stopped without warning!
Jiang Wen was startled and immediately activated the Northern Darkness Divine Art, pouring all the internal energy in his dantian into his palm, trying to increase the suction force. However, no matter how he circulated his energy, he could no longer feel any flow of internal energy in his palm—

He felt as if he was no longer holding a living person, but a cold, stiff, lifeless branch of dead wood!

Jiang Wen's pupils contracted sharply, and he looked up at Luo Chunyi. The shock on Luo Chunyi's face had vanished, replaced by a calm and indifferent expression. The jade color on his arm spread upwards at a visible speed, quickly covering his neck and cheeks. His whole body seemed to have turned into a statue carved from mutton-fat white jade, gleaming with a cold luster in the flickering firelight.

The Northern Darkness suction force in Jiang Wen's palm suddenly stopped. What came from his fingertips was no longer the warm pulsation of flesh and blood, but the cold and hard touch of jade, as if he were holding a piece of ancient wood that had been buried underground for thousands of years.

Alarm bells rang in his mind, and he subconsciously activated the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill, pouring all the power of the ten dragons and ten elephants into his arms, trying to lock Luo Chunyi's wrist even tighter. But at that moment, a pure power spread from Luo Chunyi's hands. The strength of this power was almost no less than that of Jiang Wen's tenth level of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill!

Jiang Wen's restraints were suddenly broken, and Luo Chunyi slowly raised his head. His face was cold and indifferent, and his originally clear eyes became as cold as a deep pool. There was no pain, no anger, only a calm indifference.

Immediately, Luo Chun retreated in a strange manner, instantly merging into the darkness, like a drop of clear water thrown into thick ink. In a short while, he gradually and meticulously blended into the shadows within the Tongtian Hall.

Jiang Wen remained vigilant, sensing that Luo Chunyi was omnipresent yet elusive in the darkness. His presence had blended seamlessly with the shadows of the entire hall, making it impossible to distinguish between darkness and Luo Chunyi.

"Where did he go?"

Luo Shuang'er gripped Han Wang's green sword tightly and asked.

Anyway, he didn't leave.

Jiang Wen said in a deep voice, his gaze sweeping over every corner of the hall, "What I don't understand is that he severed two meridians in his arm, disrupting the normal circulation of true qi in the human body. If a normal person did this, their true qi would have reversed and they would have exploded and died long ago."

Indeed, Jiang Wen, as a martial arts master, instantly understood what Luo Chunyi had just done.

In the art of martial arts, the circulation of Qi and blood through the meridians is of paramount importance. The twelve regular meridians are like rivers flowing through the entire body, responsible for the circulation of Qi and blood; the eight extraordinary meridians are like lakes and seas that store true Qi, regulating the balance of Qi and blood. Only when true Qi flows and surges within these meridians can it possess inexhaustible power.

Just now, Luo Chunyi's Taiyuan and Daling acupoints were locked, which actually severed the Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian and Hand Jueyin Pericardium Meridian with his own true qi, which is why the Beiming Divine Art suddenly failed.

It is well known that even the top masters in the martial arts world will lose most of their skills if they lose one of their main meridians; if they lose more than three, their true energy will flow in reverse, and they will explode and die on the spot. This is an ironclad rule that no one has been able to break for thousands of years. However, Luo Chunyi's power can increase several times in an instant, which is truly terrifying.

Suddenly, Jiang Wen's footwork shifted, and he used the Lingbo Weibu technique to its fullest extent. His figure darted to the side like a ghost, and at that moment, a chilling killing intent came from above Jiang Wen's head!
An invisible, elusive needle of true energy grazed Jiang Wen's scalp and pierced the octagonal table behind him, its sharp force instantly penetrating it. Immediately following, a barrage of attacks descended.

At this moment, Luo Chunyi's speed had reached a point that exceeded the limits of human vision. His afterimages were everywhere in the entire hall. The corners of his gray robe fluttered in the darkness like black butterflies. The Shadowless Needles were attacking from all angles and directions, sometimes falling from the ceiling, sometimes shooting up from the corners of the walls, as dense as a sudden rain, impossible to defend against.

"Ten Thousand Swords Return to Their Origin!"

Jiang Wen shouted loudly, and at the same time, he flicked all five fingers of his left hand, and invisible sword energy shot out simultaneously—he didn't know why he shouted it out, but he felt that it would make him look more imposing.

Yi Yun's sword energy, the purple dragon light, and the six-pulse divine sword of the Dali Duan family merged perfectly once again. Countless invisible sword energies surged out from his body, forming an impenetrable sword net in front of him, which withstood the attack of the Shadowless Divine Needle!

"Ding ding ding ding ding—"

The dense clanging sounds were incessant. The invisible needles collided with the invisible sword energy, bursting out countless tiny sounds. Sword energy crisscrossed and needle shadows flew wildly throughout the entire Tongtian Hall.

While defending himself, Jiang Wen carefully observed Luo Chunyi's figure.

He discovered that Luo Chunyi's speed was increasing, while the frequency of emitting the Shadowless Needle was decreasing—this meant that Luo Chunyi was severing more and more meridians, starting with the Hand Yangming Large Intestine Meridian, the Foot Yangming Stomach Meridian, the Foot Taiyin Spleen Meridian, the Hand Shaoyin Heart Meridian, and the Hand Taiyang Small Intestine Meridian...

As his body's meridians collapsed one after another, his true energy circulation routes became smaller and smaller. From the twelve meridians that originally covered his entire body, they gradually shrank to only the Ren and Du meridians and Chong meridian in his torso. However, his speed became faster and faster, and his strength became stronger and stronger. His figure flickered in the hall, as fast as a ghost. Although Jiang Wen's Ten Thousand Swords Return to Origin could block most of the Shadowless Divine Needles, it could never touch his true body.

Even more strangely, Luo Chunyi's temperament also seems to be changing.

He originally had a gentle and indifferent smile on his face, and occasionally showed emotions such as curiosity and appreciation. However, as his meridians continued to break, his expression became more and more indifferent, and he no longer made any unnecessary movements.

His skin became increasingly translucent, and the jade-like luster grew richer. He looked less and less like a human, and more and more like a celestial being high above, looking down on all living beings. He had no joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness, no emotions or desires. His eyes held only cold killing intent, as if all things in the world were nothing more than wild horse dust in his eyes.

Suddenly, Jiang Wen parted his feet slightly, shoulder-width apart, and slowly raised his hands, palms facing each other, holding the ball in front of his chest. His movements were slow and fluid, like flowing clouds and water, like a gentle breeze rustling willows, and his aura became soft and long, like a bottomless ancient well.

Before he could finish speaking, Luo Chunyi had already appeared in front of Jiang Wen.

He thrust out with both palms simultaneously, his left palm pure yang like the blazing sun, his right palm yin like the cold moon. The two extreme internal forces merged together, carrying a world-destroying power, and struck towards Jiang Wen's chest. The speed of this palm strike was so fast that it even left two faint jade-colored palm shadows in the air, and the surrounding space seemed to be distorted by this power.

Jiang Wen neither dodged nor avoided, but gently placed his hands on Luo Chunyi's wrists. Instead of taking the blows head-on, he leaned back slightly and gently stroked Luo Chunyi's hands.

"Using softness to overcome hardness, and stillness to control movement. This is the ultimate martial art of the Wudang School—Tai Chi Chuan."

Luo Chunyi dodged to the side, simultaneously clawing at Jiang Wen's throat with his left hand. Jiang Wen twisted his wrist, lightly grabbing Luo Chunyi's wrist with his left, and then squeezing with his right, pressing Luo Chunyi's arm against his own body. However, Luo Chunyi's strangeness far exceeded Jiang Wen's expectations. Just as Jiang Wen was about to use his "pressing force" to send Luo Chunyi flying, this time he actually severed his own belt meridian and Yangwei meridian!
His aura surged again, and his speed increased to a new level. He suddenly broke free from Jiang Wen's hands, then his figure blurred as he appeared behind Jiang Wen, striking Jiang Wen in the back with a palm.

Jiang Wen quickly turned around and crossed his arms to protect his chest.

"Oh!"

The palm strike landed squarely on Jiang Wen's arm. Jiang Wen felt an overwhelming force coming from him. Luo Chunyi, who was originally gentle and pure, now had the appearance of the King of Luo, who was extremely strong and fast. If he had not practiced the technique of neutralizing force at Jizu Mountain, it would have been difficult for him to withstand this move.

But at this moment, Jiang Wen's internal energy was greatly depleted, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. Just then, he suddenly stopped his stance and stood with his hands behind his back.

"It seems I can't beat you."

Luo Shuang'er and Yuan Chengzhi were both startled and quickly stepped forward to block Jiang Wen. However, Jiang Wen gently pushed them aside, looked up at the blurry figure in the darkness, and slowly spoke, his voice carrying a hint of weariness and a hint of understanding.

"And you, you can't beat me either."

"Because you are already 'dead'."

Jiang Wen looked at him with calm and deep eyes, as if he had seen through everything about him.

"Can you tell me how you 'died' back then?"

In the darkness, Luo Chunyi stood three zhang away from Jiang Wen, his voice calm and undisturbed.

"On the 22nd day of the first month of the 31st year of Zhiyuan, I felt that my cultivation had been greatly accomplished and wished to emulate the superior man who ascended to the void. So I went to the place of King Shouluo... The great battle lasted for three days and three nights. I died because my heart meridian was shattered, and he was also forced by me to escape by hiding his body..."

Burned out