He Lan Tianxia

For several nights in a row, Murong Junlan and his wife went to the mountaintop to whistle and call out for Lingyi and Young Master Bai, but there was no news. The eagle wouldn't come; that fellow could fly over to find them at any time. If they couldn't find Lingyi, then there was no point in looking for the Transformation Pill. But Lingyi was a snake; it was easy for him to find you, but difficult for you to find him.

Yan'er and Murong Junlan looked at each other all night but couldn't come up with a better solution. The night wind was a bit biting, and the two of them had lost the energy they had a few days ago.

Murong Junlan suddenly thought of a problem: he felt that Yan'er had a lazy streak and didn't seem to have the habit of practicing martial arts on her own initiative, but he didn't want to tell her directly, so he tentatively asked:

"My beloved concubine, I haven't exercised for several days and would like to stretch my muscles. Would you be willing to exercise with me?"

"Okay." Yan'er, who was just about to doze off, readily agreed.

"What should we practice first?" Murong Junlan gave the initiative to Yan'er.

"Hmm, how about we brush some turtles?" Yan'er thought for a moment and replied.

Upon hearing this, Murong Junlan sighed and shook his head inwardly. "Why does my beloved consort only like playing and not martial arts? But this world of swords and shadows is no joke." He knew he had to take on the responsibility of sparring with her from this moment on, so that they could one day soar together in this unpredictable world and dominate the battlefield.

After brushing the turtle for a while, Yan'er got sleepy. She yawned repeatedly and waved her hands in protest, "Your Highness, I'm not brushing anymore. I'm so sleepy. I need to rest for a while."

Before Murong Junlan could agree, Yan'er sat down on the grass, tilted her head, and fell asleep.

"Sigh." Murong Junlan watched the small body about to collapse, and quickly sat down, giving her a warm embrace. Looking at this gentle and lovely person so close to him, Murong Junlan felt a surge of warm happiness. He also longed to hold his beloved concubine in his arms as they slept freely, but the martial world wouldn't allow him to be so unrestrained; even in his sleep, he had to remain vigilant. Gradually, Murong Junlan also drifted into a sweet dream.

When Yan'er woke up the next day, she found herself sleeping on a wooden bed in a guest room at Anqiao Temple. Murong Junlan was not there, and it was quiet outside, without even a bird chirping.

Huh? Where are they? Where did they all go?

"Your Highness, Little Yezi, Guard Jiang, Lord Luo..." Dark Wood Temple suddenly fell silent, not a soul in sight. Then, a plume of smoke appeared from somewhere, and from within it, a woman who looked remarkably like the one wielding the twin snow swords swayed. She wasn't holding a sword, but a whip, her hair disheveled. Despite it being daytime, a chilling aura emanated from her.

"Who are you?" Yan'er felt her legs go weak.

"I'll take your life." The disheveled woman gritted her teeth and squeezed out the words, then lashed out with her whip without warning. Strangely, the whip had a spiked club attached to its end. The strange woman didn't waste any words, her whip strikes showing no mercy.

Why is it that one woman with the Twin Snow Swords just left and another strange woman has appeared? Why are there so many wicked women in Dark Woodcutter Temple? Just how many women has that lecherous monk offended? It seems Dark Woodcutter Temple isn't very safe. Where did the Prince and the others go? Were they going to find Lingyi? Why didn't they take me with them?

Yan'er dodged and jumped, only remembering after a while that she still had a thin rope around her waist. "Hmph, don't think I don't know martial arts!" Yan'er thought, pulling out the rope with a whoosh, feeling much more confident. She quickly recalled the moves of Silver Circle Dream Shadow, and finally, under the pressure of the wolf-tooth demon whip, remembered all of Silver Circle Dream Shadow's techniques.

"Take this!" Yan'er finally unleashed a powerful attack. Then she used all her skills to fight the strange woman. Half an hour later, Jiang He and Luo Xie were also beaten in by two people, and Little Leaf and the old tree spirit were also chased in.

"Guard Jiang, where is the Prince?" Yan'er asked Jiang He when she had a moment.

“Outside the temple, a large number of people suddenly arrived. The prince, Miss Hong, and the martial monks were all outside defending against them,” Jiang Heli said, struggling to cope.

"You dare to spank me? You're asking for it!" Luo Xie cursed as he parried the blows.

"Your Highness, I'll protect you." Jiang He tried to come and protect the princess, but the other party intercepted him halfway.

Outside the temple, the sounds of fighting and shouting rose and fell, with sticks and knives clashing and clanging.

The battle raged day and night, with everyone taking turns cooking and eating. Zhong Ziqi, who knew no martial arts, could only act as the cook amidst the clash of swords.

Over the course of several days, even the usually aloof and impeccably groomed Prince Murong entered two or three times, looking disheveled. Fortunately, the temple gates provided cover; otherwise, they would have had to fight through the night.

The prince stood guard outside the temple gate, but fortunately Jiang He was guarding outside the guest room, otherwise, it would have been difficult for her to fall asleep. Exhausted, Yan'er almost collapsed and fell into a deep sleep, with only her distressed eyes lingering by the bedside for a moment.

"Forgive my cruelty." Murong Junlan's heart ached as he reached out and gently stroked that tired little face before turning and leaving heartlessly.

The fighting continued for a month, and everyone went from being exhausted at the beginning to getting used to it, and later becoming more and more courageous in battle. Everyone's martial arts skills improved significantly, and the monks of Anqiao Temple also reorganized from their previous individualistic thoughts to being united as one. During this period, with the consent of the abbot and the elders, Murong Junlan transformed the Silver Vajra Formation previously taught by the abbot into the true Vajra Formation. The Vajra Formation was then passed on to the new abbot, Hong Xiuying, with Xiao Yezi as the assistant instructor.

Under Murong Junlan's careful care, the abbot and the old man gradually recovered and became much more radiant.

The only one kept in the dark was Princess Yan'er, who was mostly portrayed as a villain by Hong Xiuying and fought the enemy with all her might every day. Several times, Luo Xie almost gave himself away, but fortunately, Jiang He was smart enough to make amends.

"Your Highness, it's been a month. Shall we continue?" Jiang He reminded Murong Junlan.

"Continue." Murong Junlan knew better than anyone how many days he had practiced, but he knew he absolutely could not be soft-hearted.

Standing atop the summit of Anqiao Temple, Murong Junlan gazed at the cliff in the distance, unable to understand why the white-haired woman below was so patient this time.

At midnight tonight, Murong Junlan decided to take Jiang He to the bottom of the cliff to see what was going on.

On the cliff, the night breeze was cool. Murong Junlan and Jiang He tied the ropes they had prepared to two large trees that were far apart, and then chose to climb down from the same tree. After all, the white-haired woman and the woman with the double snow swords were not to be underestimated.

With a single glance, Jiang He slid down first, followed closely by Murong Junlan. When they were ten zhang above the bottom of the cliff, a strange wind suddenly blew in, followed by a "crack" as the cliff behind Jiang He was frozen solid.

"Snap." The cliff behind Murong Junlan was also frozen solid.

"Be careful." Murong Junlan suddenly thrust out the thin rope in his hand and swung it towards the strange wind.

*Crack.* It sounded like hitting a rock. Then, Murong Junlan used the rope to quickly push off a few times and descended to the bottom of the cliff.

It was pitch black on the other side, and Murong Junlan didn't intend to light a flint. In a battle between experts, blind fighting might give them a better chance of winning.

To make things easier, Jiang He brought a knife this time. To conserve on concealed weapons, Murong Junlan grabbed a few pebbles from under his feet and threw them silently. Jiang He also grabbed a handful and threw them, but heard nothing. Had they landed in the sea?

Murong Junlan grabbed a few more, this time changing the direction slightly, but still no sound. Ha, even hitting cotton would at least produce a "plop" sound. It seems the white-haired woman's martial arts have improved again. For the past month, they've been practicing martial arts at the Dark Woodcutter Temple, and the white-haired woman has been practicing here too? Isn't she guarding the Ancient Cave of Destruction, or training the beasts?

In the darkness, Murong Junlan swung the thin rope several more times, but his opponent refused to parry. Refuses to parry? Under what circumstances would they refuse to parry? We are in the open, you are in the shadows, your chances of winning should be greater than ours, unless… unless…

"Jiang He." Murong Junlan suddenly turned around, and Jiang He leaped forward. Sure enough, a gust of cold wind rushed towards him with a crackling sound. At this moment, Murong Junlan passed Jiang He with lightning speed and waved his thin rope ahead to chase after the wind.

"Hmph." A suppressed sound of pain.

Murong Junlan's gamble paid off. If the enemy didn't move, they couldn't pinpoint her location. If she rushed forward first, and the enemy still chose to hide, it would be even harder to find them. The enemy knew Jiang He was weaker than her, so they would definitely target Jiang He. People become complacent when they're confident, and this complacency gave Murong Junlan the opportunity to rush forward.

Crack! The annihilating chill palm strike passed by Murong Junlan's ear and hit the stone wall behind him.