The Villain's Counterattack

The place where Linghu Chong knocked was about the height of a person. Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze heard Lin Pingzhi's exclamation and looked over. Linghu Chong knocked twice more and felt that the sound was indeed a little different.

Yue Buqun reached out and knocked, his face solemn. "This place might be hollow, but how could someone have dug out the stone cave without leaving any trace?"

The long sword was unsheathed and Zixia circulated her true Qi to stab forward. The long sword went straight into the hilt very easily. However, Ning Zhongze did not think that his senior brother's strength was so strong that he could penetrate the boulder with a sword. The only explanation was that the stone wall was hollow behind it.

"The real entrance is most likely on the cliff. This is just a place that has not been penetrated. Or that person is as proficient in calculations as I am and deliberately left it unbroken." Lin Pingzhi looked at Yue Buqun.

"Should we break through the stone wall and go in, or check the surrounding cliffs and enter through the main gate?"

"Is there any difference?" Ning Zhongze was a little puzzled by Lin Pingzhi's unnecessary move.

Lin Pingzhi stroked his beardless chin and pondered, "According to my deduction, these masters generally have some quirks. To obtain their inheritance, one often needs to pass their tests. Therefore, the real entrance may have some kind of trap or something."

Everyone was confused. After all this time, this place turned out to be safer. "But it might also destroy the inheritance. Who knows if there are martial arts secrets engraved on the stone wall at the back? If we break the stone wall and destroy the things on it, we will suffer a great loss."

"Don't worry about that. I can infuse the Longquan sword with the Zixia magic power and cut off this layer of stone wall in its entirety. If there is any inheritance, it can be completely closed again from the inside." Yue Buqun would not let Lin Pingzhi laugh at him, but his reminder was very timely. He did intend to break the matter directly just now.

"What do you think? Is it possible that this is where Master Chen Tuan sleeps? If we rush in rashly, he will come back to life and start scolding us, 'Who are you and why are you disturbing my sleep?' and then beat us up?" Lin Pingzhi's words made Yue Buqun and Linghu Chong frown, while Ning Zhongze and Yue Lingshan couldn't stop laughing.

"Although the ancestor was a god-like figure, he was active in the early years of the Song Dynasty. It has been hundreds of years now, so it is impossible for him to still be here." Yue Buqun said as he knocked on the sword in his hand, trying to find out how big the weak spot on the stone wall was.

"That's hard to say. Patriarch Chen Tuan practiced a magical skill of sleeping. Maybe he could really sleep for a thousand years. Don't forget that turtles and tortoises are very long-lived. A thousand-year-old turtle is ten-thousand-year-old tortoise. Even if the ancestor's Five Stings Technique is a little worse, it is understandable that he can live for hundreds of years." Lin Pingzhi knew what was going on but he still insisted.

"How about I go out first and you guys take the lead. If there are any traps, poisonous snakes, beasts or the like, clear them out and then I'll come back." Lin Pingzhi acted hypocritically, but got a big eye roll from Linghu Chong. This bastard was always courting death, but he still cherished his life.

Yue Buqun was stunned for a moment when he heard this, then stopped what he was doing and nodded, saying, "It's already very late today, so it's not very convenient to go visit. Tomorrow morning when the sun is shining brightly would be better."

Lin Pingzhi said his efforts were not in vain. "It's always better to be cautious. Also, before opening this stone wall, we need to think about how to conceal the valuables inside. Later, Master Yue will have someone make some furniture and send it up so we can decorate the entire cave and make it look like a normal house without even a trace of the stone."

Linghu Chong and Yue Lingshan saw Lin Pingzhi talking there. He said, "You haven't even caught the prey yet, but you're already fantasizing about how to eat it. You're really impatient."

"Junior sister and Lingshan, go down the mountain and have a rest. Chong'er, Young Master Lin will stay here tonight. Tomorrow morning, you need to order someone to prepare some daily necessities and send them over. Young Master Lin is weak and fragile, and I'm afraid he is not used to living in this broken cave in the wild mountains." Yue Buqun said that all this was Lin Pingzhi's fault.

There was a curtain hanging outside the cave. Although it was only made temporarily, it was also made of silk. Watching Lin Pingzhi casually throw the night pearl into the wooden box, then leave it on the ground and go to sleep without a care, while his beloved disciple was arranged to meditate and practice at the entrance of the cave, and he occupied his disciple's bed, Yue Buqun sighed in his heart.

This bastard even made a coherent argument about tormenting people, saying things like the cold awakens people, circulating internal energy keeps them warm, and if they slack off or fall asleep, they'll wake up from the cold, and then they'll continue circulating internal energy until it becomes second nature. This way, they'll be able to cultivate internal energy in their sleep, which will naturally yield twice the result with half the effort, allowing them to practice while they sleep.

Lin Pingzhi suspected that this was how the Taoist master Chen Tuan acquired his magical sleeping skills. Although he spoke very logically, he immediately dived into the soft and comfortable quilt and fell asleep, leaving him to compete with Chong'er for a small bed.

Since he hadn't become his junior sister's husband yet, he had to be filial to her. Linghu Chong generously offered his bed to her and practiced hard to please his master. However, sleeping habits were not so easy to change. He was woken up by the cold again and again and continued to practice. Every time he was woken up by the cold, he would curse Lin Pingzhi in his heart.

Finally, Linghu Chong fell into a deep sleep, but Yue Buqun got up, put his robe on him, and stood alone on the top of the mountain looking around. The starry sky was so vast that it gradually calmed his heart. How long had it been since he had noticed the scenery around him?

Sure enough, it felt much easier once the pressure was dispersed. He'd worked so hard to keep the Huashan Sect afloat, but what had he gained in the end? He'd missed the scenery and the people around him. His daughter was already grown up, so how long had it been since he'd had a good time relaxing with his wife?

There is no harm without comparison. The bastard Lin Pingzhi lives happily with a smile every day, but I live in fear and with a miserable face. In fact, both families are almost under a lot of pressure.

This bastard, as a junior, actually had his father's orders going around in circles, and from now on he started to train his younger brothers and sisters so that they could stand on their own in the future. He was determined to live a carefree life and would never be the head of the family.

From this perspective, although those bastards from the Sword Sect failed, they just didn't adjust their mentality. If they adjusted their mentality, they might be more carefree than me. Should I find them and worry about them with me?

This can be considered, but you can't tell them about the Jade Girl Pure Heart Sword Technique, otherwise they will definitely not be so nervous.

What's wrong with giving up half of Huashan? It's just a few elders' positions. As long as he controls the "Purple Cloud Divine Art" and "Jade Girl Pure Heart Sword Technique", Huashan will still be his.

"The Qi and Sword dispute is ultimately just a factional dispute. Concepts and such are all self-deceiving words. It's just that over time, and after so much talk, even we ourselves have come to believe it. Sword, Qi, Qi, Sword, they are just different paths to the same destination." Yue Buqun sighed softly, then went back to the cave, checked on Linghu Chong to make sure he was okay, and then went to sleep.

Under the starry sky, a tall, thin figure quietly appeared. Looking at the cave, a complicated expression appeared on his face. "A factional struggle? A struggle of ideologies? Different paths to the same end. Yue Buqun has also grown, but it turns out I was also trapped in it. It turns out that everything is just a factional struggle."

"The Qi Sect diligently practices the profound Jade Maiden Pure Heart Sword Technique, while the Sword Sect, seeing no hope in swordsmanship, diligently cultivates internal strength. Sword, Qi, and Qi, sword, indeed, different paths lead to the same destination. Since you see it so clearly, yet I don't know what choice you will make, I hope you won't disappoint me. The Huashan Sword Sect has been in decline for too long, and my time is running out."