Sword from the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 23 The jade flower attracts the phoenix! (5.959kkkk!('-'ゞ)
The further you go into the mountains, the thicker the fog becomes.

Deep in the heart of Cangyan Mountain, even the sound of the flowing Cai River can no longer be heard from afar.

In this place where few people go, there are thousands of ancient trees, like rows of spears and screens, and vines are entwined between the many giant trees like giant pythons.

A white shadow started running wildly, its toes touching a pile of soft dead leaves, and its body leaped quickly, like a monkey leaping between branches.

Go wherever the forest is dense.

I heard the sound of wind breaking behind me and the sound of tearing.

"Eh~!"

With a cold rebuke, Ma Shouyi looked at his beloved hemp cloth cloak that was torn and scratched by branches and felt extremely distressed.

This is a precious item, and I can't bear to throw it away even though it is a hindrance in the mountains.

"This kid's Qi foundation is so strong, it's beyond my expectation."

"If we delay any longer, I'm afraid something unexpected will happen."

When he thought of this, Ma Shouyi made a prompt decision, pulled off the cloak from behind and threw it away.

Unable to vent the anger in his heart, he shouted forward:
"Boy, I must kill you!"

"Master Ma, how many times have you said this? Save your energy."

Zhou Yi laughed and continued to annoy him.

He pulled off a green vine as thick as a bowl with his backhand and threw it towards his face.

"Hey~!"

In anger, Ma Shouyi didn't even dodge, but directly slashed out with a palm, smashing the green vine into pieces.

He ignored the consumption of his true energy, exerted all his strength to leap up, stepped on the treetop to gain leverage for a second leap, his clothes fluttered like a hawk swooping down, and the distance between him and Zhou Yi was shortened by several feet!

The whistling sound of the wind filled Zhou Yi's ears.

The old man took off his clothes and was already practicing his Qinggong skills with all his strength.

No more escape!

Every time I jump, I have to make my meridians and true energy circulate together, so I'm afraid I can't keep it up for too long.

If this old man speeds up, he will definitely be caught up.

He glanced back and looked around. There were towering stone walls in front of him and what looked like a cliff behind him.

“Crack~!”

There was a sharp sound behind him, and a branch as thick as a neck was stepped on by Ma Shouyi, who then used the force to rush forward again.

Zhou Yi's heart tightened and he held his breath, catching a glimpse of a huge Magnolia grandiflora growing diagonally beside the mountain path.

In the light mist, layers of snow are piled up, and thousands of petals are as white as fat.

It leaps onto the branch, shaking the flowers and trees, causing the jade petals to fall in circles and butterflies to dance!
As the petals dazzled her eyes, Ma Shouyi was rushing towards her from below.

The hazy shadows of petals cast a shadow over him, but a sharp light suddenly appeared, hidden in the rain of flowers!

The jade flower's shadow falls and the magic sword flies~!

Deadly murderous intent, falling!

"Ding~!"

The low sound of the sword echoed in Ma Shouyi's ears. He shouted softly and struck the air with his palm.

A strong wind swept through, and the falling flowers stayed in the air for a moment, then connected into a jade-colored piece and rose into the sky. Zhou Yi's white shirt was stained with jade.

The sword light pierced through the palm wind, but was deflected by the palm wind.

“Sizzle~!”

This sudden attack by the sword only cut off Ma Shouyi's beard.

Zhou Yi was so angry that sweat broke out on his forehead after his attack failed.

Ma Shouyi glanced at the dagger that was very close to his throat and was so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat.

He flipped his hand and pointed directly at the front end of the dagger.

“Crack~!”

Before Zhou Yi could swing his sword, the front part of the dagger was cut off by Ma Shouyi's finger.

Such powerful finger force is naturally due to his flowing water and rock-breaking power!

Kuang Hui had practiced external martial arts, and he also needed the combined strength of both hands to break the sword.

This leader Ma only needs one finger.

He thrust forward again with the broken sword in hand, but Ma Shouyi dodged and stepped on the magnolia tree, turning over to avoid the attack.

He leaped in the air again and slashed down with his palm!
"Boy, die!"

Zhou Yi's true energy was pure and strong, but it was not as coherent as that of Sect Leader Ma, so this palm strike was unavoidable!
He had no choice but to gather his energy and strike out with one palm strike from the bottom up.

Ma Shouyi hooked his hind legs and hung upside down on the magnolia tree.

His body was stiff, and his old face, full of wrinkles, had a hideous smile on it. He was hanging upside down in the air, and his appearance was truly eerie and terrifying.

The two men clashed with each other's palms, each using his own method.

In Ma Shouyi's mind, Zhou Yi was doomed to die.

But in just a short moment, both of them were secretly frightened.

The Hunyuan Gongfa used by Ma Shouyi is also a method of unloading force, but this kind of unloading force is a defensive method of using one's own force to eliminate external force.

Even if the opponent's true energy is stronger than his, he can dissolve it one by one.

Moreover, his own losses were far less than his opponent's. After a long period of consumption, his opponent's true energy shrank, and he then counterattacked, driving straight in and using the flowing water and rock-breaking force.

At that moment, the enemy will be destroyed!

Therefore, those who knew that he had the power of flowing water and breaking rocks were all dead, and this was not an exaggeration.

However.
Zhou Yi's palm power was real and fake, extremely strange.

When Ma Shouyi was fighting Zhou Yi, he used the Hunyuan technique to defend against his palm power, which was correct.

However, his defensive internal energy was strangely affected and was moved out of his body through the Yongquan acupoint by Zhou Yi!
Therefore, Ma Shouyi's consumption at this time was several times more than usual!
There seemed to be a big hole in the dantian, and the true energy was flowing out.

Zhou Yi was both surprised and happy.

The power that Qi and blood can move has its limits after all. I thought I would be impacted by the opponent's true Qi, but I didn't expect that Master Ma's Qi was so gentle, like a trickle.

Is this the way to defend?

It is much easier to transform his skills than to transform Taoist Mu's skills.

Zhou Yi hasn't figured out what's going on yet, but Ma Shouyi is a veteran after all.

Suddenly I realized!
His complexion also changed!
"Not good, my inner strength is naturally restrained by him!"

"Yes, this is the changing times of the Taiping Dao!"

"If we continue to clash, my true energy will be exhausted first!"

He was shocked. He had not taken the Dou Zhuan Xing Yi that had defeated Mu Dao Ren seriously at the beginning, but now facing him, it was so terrifying.

At the critical moment of life and death, Ma Shouyi didn't care about too much and directly exhausted his skills!

My chest suddenly felt a sharp pain!

Even if it meant internal injuries, he wouldn't dare to play the grandson-see-grandfather transformation game anymore and forcefully release the flowing water and rock-breaking force!
Zhou Yi was overwhelmed by this violent force and spit out a mouthful of blood in his heart.

Suddenly, a strong wind blew between his feet, that was the aftermath of Ma Shouyi's true energy!

He suffered internal injuries while trying to relieve himself of the force, while Ma Shouyi suffered internal injuries but was unable to relieve himself of the force.

Therefore, Zhou Yi took the initiative and slapped Ma Shouyi!
At this moment, both of them flew backwards.

Zhou Yi's apical blood pressure could not stop rising, and he opened his mouth and vomited.

Ma Shouyi suffered internal injuries and was hit by another palm strike, and he also spat out a mouthful of blood.

Zhou Yi leaned against the cliff, and Sect Leader Ma leaned against the old locust tree.

The two of them stared at each other from a distance of four or five feet, neither daring to move.

The Hunyuan technique was broken, and Ma Shouyi's mind was in a mess. He was unable to think normally and could not tell the truth from the false.

If he had focused fully, he would have noticed Zhou Yi's eyes glancing towards the pool of water below the cliff.

"Master Ma, you said before that Hunyuan Gong is just a trick compared to my Taiping Dao's Dou Zhuan Xing Yi."

Zhou Yi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and said with a smile, "At first I thought it was just your humble words, but I didn't expect it to be true."

"If I had known this, why would I have run away all the way?"

Sect Leader Ma frowned. "You've certainly been very well-hidden. I've been tricked by you. But there's no need to be complacent. Dou Zhuan Xing Yi can indeed break my internal energy, but if I don't challenge you to a palm strike to compare your internal energy, how can you still be my opponent?"

Zhou Yi's expression hardened, and he stood up straight: "Come on, let's fight again and see who lives and who dies today."

Ma Shouyi smiled coldly and sighed: "Forget it, Master Zhou. I still have unfinished business, so I won't fight you to the death."

After he finished speaking, he wiped the blood from his beard and turned to leave.

Zhou Yi stood still, staring at his back.

His heart was pounding and he felt weak.

One step, two steps, every step the old man took seemed to be walking on his heart.

Finally, Ma Shouyi's figure disappeared behind a big tree that several people could not hug together.

The old man finally left.

Zhou Yi was about to catch his breath when suddenly...
After only a dozen breaths, his mind tensed up again!

A shadow, and the sound of footsteps gradually becoming clearer!

The head of the horse sect who had disappeared in the forest came slowly from a distance.

There was a sinister and strange smile on that stiff and pale face.

As he walked, he touched the center of his chest with an old, bloody hand.

"Zhou Tianshi"

"The force you used to strike me was quite strange. It didn't even completely penetrate the protective Qi that protected me when I was injured. This doesn't seem to match the strong internal Qi you just displayed."

Ma Shouyi's eyes widened: "Your true inner strength doesn't seem to be as profound as I imagined."

"It seems that this must be another wonderful Taiping Dao martial art."

"I admire you. I have practiced hard for sixty years. If I hadn't received that blow, I would have been deceived by you."

Zhou Yi stared at him intently and said quietly:
"You are amazing, Master Ma."

"The mountains remain green, the water flows on forever. Farewell."

Zhou Yi moved his steps and looked at the pool of water under the cliff.

Without hesitation, he dived down!
First there was a click, then:

"thump!"

Ma Shouyi heard a loud noise. When he stood on the edge of the cliff, the water splashing from below had not yet settled.

I looked down carefully, but saw no human figure, only a broken branch.

I don’t know whether Zhou Yi is dead or alive.

The fastest way at this time should be to jump down, but it is estimated to be about twenty feet.

When the boy jumped down, he pulled down a piece of lonely branch extending from the edge of the cliff, which must have caused him to lose his strength.

Ma Shouyi stood on the edge of the cliff for a few breaths, thinking that he had internal injuries, and finally did not dare to jump down.

He looked into the distance and found the path down the cliff.

So he started back and prepared to give chase.

But
After walking for a while, Ma Shouyi was suddenly startled.

He quickly jumped onto the bird's nest on the branch of a big tree, held his breath and did not move.

After a while, a figure walked through the forest and found the edge of the cliff.

Ma Shouyi could feel someone walking by more than ten feet away, but he didn't dare to open his eyes to look.

Master!

If he had no injuries, there would be no need to be so afraid.

If he meets a master at this time and the opponent has any bad intentions, he will definitely not be able to escape.

Then, a sword energy that chilled the air spread from the edge of the cliff!
There was a rustling of leaves, and a big tree fell down with a loud bang.

Ma Shouyi had already imagined the scene in his mind: after the master cuts the tree, he will let it fall off the cliff first, and then he will catch up from behind. Then, he will use the momentum to jump off the tree in the air and safely get down the cliff.

He knew he didn't have this ability, but the master who suddenly appeared at this time must have it.

really
The loud sound of a heavy object falling into the water came from the edge of the cliff!
He wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"It looks like Kakugoko himself is here!"

Ma Shouyi felt terrified at first, but then he remembered something and suddenly started laughing.

Feeling safe, he jumped down from the tree lightly, ran as fast as he could regardless of his injuries, and took another route down the mountain to escape.

……

"Pooh."

Zhou Yi spat out a mouthful of blood foam: "This old man's flowing water is a bit weird, the aftereffect is really not small."

"The characteristics of the true qi are completely different from those of Mu Dao Ren."

Zhou Yi dragged his tired body deeper into the forest, feeling the remaining power of this true energy.

This is another wonderful use of Xuanzhen Guanzang. When moving the enemy's true qi, although it is only relieving the force, it is like urging this true qi to pass through the meridians.

Because his pulse energy went against common sense and flowed in the opposite direction, the enemy's true energy entering his body was almost reversed by Zhou Yi.

This method of reversal is like reverse thinking, and you can always gain some understanding.

When battling with Mu Dao Ren's alien Qi in Cao's residence, he felt the mystery of Qi.

This time, he vaguely felt that there was something to be learned from the flowing water force.

Just now when he jumped off the cliff, he spotted a branch and pulled it in mid-air to relieve the force, but his body was still burning with pain and there were blood marks on his palms.

Fortunately, Lao Bangzi did not jump down, otherwise he could only escape along the direction of the water flow.

After determining the direction, Zhou Yi didn't dare to stop.

Not long after, a loud explosion was heard from the previous pool of water.

My heart tightened and I quickened my tired steps again.

He wandered around in the forest, scaring the birds and pheasants into running around. The sun was setting in the west and the sky was getting dark. He found the next water source in the mountains.

Judging from the direction of the water flow, it should be able to merge with the previous pond water, and it is estimated that it will flow into the Caishui River and the Tongji Canal branch canal.

"This is a good place. If the old man comes after me, I can jump into the water."

Thinking of Ma Shouyi, he calmed down.

Sweep away a flat rock as big as a millstone, sit cross-legged on it and meditate to gather your luck.

When fighting against the three men from the Tiger and Leopard Camp before, if it was a one-on-one fight, they could have won with just their normal state.

While chasing and fighting with Ma Shouyi, he maintained a state of multitasking and two-energy circulation throughout the whole process.

Otherwise, with the limited time he had spent practicing, there was no way he could escape from Ma Shouyi's clutches.

At this moment, all his true energy was almost exhausted.

Overdraft during the two-qi cycle, exhaustion of true qi, and mental fatigue.
The three vaguely correspond to the essence, energy and spirit of a martial artist.

Then the three flowers of the human body suddenly wilted.

But when Zhou Yi meditated and regulated his breathing, and used his profound skills again, a downpour of sweet rain fell on the wilted three flowers of the human body.

My body felt warm, and a new joy emerged instinctively.

He was immersed in it, and his internal injuries were recovering at a speed visible to the naked eye.

As the sunset falls on the green hills, a gray-haired sparrow with a sharp beak is jumping on a patch of moss.

It seemed to regard Zhou Yi as a dead tree. It flapped its wings and flew over, gently grabbing his clothes with its claws, and turned its head to groom its wings with its pointed beak.

It flew away only after hearing the chirping of other birds in the forest.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhou Yi opened his eyes.

My stomach churned and I felt a surge of hunger.

If there was a pig in front of him at this moment, he felt that he could eat it.

The dry food he carried with him had already been used as hidden weapons to feed Ma Shouyi, so there was no way he could find any food at all.

Moving your body will help relieve a lot of fatigue.

What surprised Zhou Yi was that the true energy he recovered at this time was purer than before, because the internal injuries caused by Ma Shouyi's flowing water force were barely detectable.

Apart from the lack of sufficient true energy, his condition is no longer comparable to before.

This made him feel more confident.

He was very hungry and needed to find something to eat, so Zhou Yi picked up the broken sword beside him.

"etc.!"

The moment he picked up the broken sword, the true energy flowed out along the Taiyin Lung Meridian of his hand and attached to the broken sword.

Suddenly, there seemed to be a layer of cold light on the sword blade.

"Old man, it won't be so easy for you to break my sword now."

It is not easy to attach true Qi to the outside of the body. Now it is happening naturally, and I feel even happier.

Following the lingering glow of the sunset, I found a small pond below the source of the water. I squatted on a strange rock and looked into the water. The water was particularly clear.

There were perhaps a hundred fish in the pond, all swimming about in the air with nowhere to rest.
"There's no one to treat it with. That's just right. Come and heal my intestines."

Zhou Yi rolled up his sleeves and was about to go down to the pond to catch fish.

Suddenly, the wind blew in the treetops not far away, startling the returning birds and sending them flying across the amber sky.

The mist in the forest suddenly dissipated, and the sunset glow was no longer obstructed.

A ray of colorful light dyed the forest and illuminated the beautiful scenery of lake and mountains. Zhou Yi's nervous mind relaxed, but his eyes widened slightly.

He was very surprised.
What appeared before my eyes!?

Beauty, swordsman, and meat!
The black-rimmed robe rustled, and a figure flashed by, and the person was standing tall by the small pond.

It was the young girl that Zhou Yi met at the Jukun Gang’s base.

"Rumor has it that Master Zhou Tianshi was chanting the Huainan Honglie while walking through the sea of ​​fire, carrying the Taoist treasure book. He has never been heard from since."

"I never thought that my true self would be in this mountainous and rocky country."

The young girl saw that he was soaking wet and holding a broken sword, which was very different from the rumors in the martial arts world.

Then he could not say any more and laughed while holding the black sheathed sword.

Laugh, laugh, just laugh, Zhou Yi twisted his sleeves without any grace to squeeze out the water.

"Thank you so much for your guidance, otherwise I might never hear from you again."

"Don't look at me now that I'm in such a bad state. I'm very lucky."

Zhou Yi glanced at her and couldn't help asking, "Why are you here, girl?"

"We'll talk later."

The girl didn't respond to him and dropped the two pheasants she was holding.

"Will you handle it?"

"a piece of cake."

Zhou Yi held the pheasant, thinking that she had no ill intentions.

He walked to the edge of a small pond, plucked the chicken's feathers, cut a three-inch-long incision in the pheasant's belly, inserted his fingertip and hooked it, and the internal organs fell cleanly into the water, startling the swimming fish and making them wag their tails.

The girl piled up the dead branches she had picked up into a tower by the river and lit them with a tinder.

As the green smoke rose, Zhou Yi threaded the pheasant onto the sharpened bamboo skewers.

If he were alone, he would never dare to light a fire and grill meat at this moment.

It took some time, and now the evening clouds had merged and the mountains were purple.

The girl sat cross-legged by the fire, still leisurely flipping through an ancient book, and whispered softly:
"The other day, when I heard you talk about some quack tricks, I remembered something similar that had recently happened in Dongdu. Curious, I went up to Fuzi Mountain to take a look, but I saw a huge fire. You are truly cruel."

"Heartless." Zhou Yi looked up at the night sky. "Who would burn down their own home if there were any other way?"

"Just like now. The world is vast, but I have no place to stay, just like a floating duckweed."

After saying that, he turned the pheasant over and said, "It will taste bad if it's burnt."

The girl stared at him through the firelight and suddenly chanted, "Deep in the earthen caves lies the dew of March, while Lord Peng himself paints the frost of September."

Zhou Yi was stunned: "Have you been to Dapengju?"

"Yes, I was about to pass Fule and go down to Runan when I heard Shili Kuang yelling and cursing on the roadside. He went looking for you and found signs of a fight by the river, but no one was found.

Thinking you had met with misfortune, he returned to the inn furious, drank a lot, and said he was going to cause trouble for Yuwen Chengdu.

The girl smiled and said, "He has already gone north to seek help from their Master Dapeng."

Zhou Yi praised: "This guy is really a friend."

The girl said, "I overheard them talking and guessed it was you. Then I saw birds startled and taking flight from Cangyan Mountain in the distance, so I chased after you into the mountains."

Zhou Yi nodded, understanding what was going on.

"Have you ever met an old man in rags?"

"No, that's your enemy?"

"I guess so, but his hatred for me is beyond my understanding."

The girl calmly analyzed: "Sometimes, the reason for wanting to kill someone is very simple. It's just that you don't know him well enough and don't know what he is thinking."

"Maybe."

Zhou Yi thought about the Yongqiu rebels and wondered if Ma Shouyi had other plans.

At this time, he looked towards the girl and asked: "Why would the girl chase into the mountains?"

The wet wood crackled in the firelight. The girl blinked and said with a teasing smile, "Master, you don't think I have any special feelings for you, do you?"

Zhou Yi remained silent and just looked at her.

The girl regained her serious expression, "After I got the portrait from the Yingyang Prefecture Army camp, I went straight to Yongqiu. I wanted to know if you really have the precious book."

"I just happened to see you guys killing people outside that night. You were masked and carrying knives, and you had such a murderous aura. You were completely different from the Taoist people I had in mind. I was afraid I would have thought you were a big bandit."

"Later, when we arrived at that courtyard, we realized you were trying to save people."

The girl closed the ancient book, on which were written the big words "Huainan Honglie".

"Nowadays, the martial arts world is full of open and covert fighting and conquest. People who act like you are rare, so I am quite surprised."

"I happened to be on my way today, so I wanted to help you out, but I couldn't help you, so there's no need to thank me."

She pursed her lips and smiled, "Just consider it a little fun during my boring journey."

"I see."

Zhou Yi's doubts disappeared, staring at that rather 'dangerous' delicate face, he couldn't help but say:
"I don't know your name yet."

The young girl shook her head and said, "Let me ask you first, did you lie to me that day when you said you were a painter?"

"No."

The girl nodded after hearing this: "Alright, I'll satisfy your curiosity. Not many people in this world know my name."

She stood up from the fire and said in a soft voice, "My name is Dugu Feng."

After saying this, he looked at Zhou Yi with his bright eyes, and then his figure flashed and jumped onto a high branch.

Another jump, and the person was gone.

Her lively and playful laughter echoed all around:

"Master Zhou, your cooking skills are terrible. The pheasant smells completely burnt and has completely ruined my appetite. Is this a way for you to drive me away? I'm leaving now. See you again if we're lucky."

Zhou Yi looked towards the darkness.

This little Phoenix is ​​a nice person, but... too picky.

He picked up the burnt chicken, tore off a leg, and started chewing it!
Maybe I was too hungry, I just thought the chicken tasted so good.
……

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('-'*ゞ

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(End of this chapter)