Chapter 33: The Phantom Manor

  The next day after Yao Guang returned to White Cloud City, she stood by the sea, holding the Upper Clear Sky Breaking Cloud Sword, and couldn't help but tremble slightly.

  It was not that she held the sword unsteadily, but rather that the Clear Sky Breaking Cloud had been unused for too long and was now humming of its own accord, as if expressing discontent.

  Yao Guang smiled and casually drew a sword flower with her hand, and the Two Forms Sword Technique danced open at will.

  Taiji generates two forms, yin and yang transform and give birth to each other.

  Sit and forget about returning to dust, reflect on the true self.

  Pure Yang Heart Method rotates, internal energy circulates through the heavenly orbit, true Qi flows through the acupoints, penetrating without obstruction.

  A burst of sword energy shot out from the Upper Clear Sky Sword, piercing through the clouds and stirring up a wave in the sea.

  Pure Yang Heart Method One Heavy Fullness, called "Melted Gold".

  The financial sector is like a sword, with metal as its core. Its nature is strong and its emotions are intense. When gold is melted into the air, it naturally has a sharp edge.

  Yao Guang's perception of the ocean has not yet reached its peak in recent months, but her internal strength has recovered to a certain extent, and she is now impacting the second level of "Cang Feng" - Jin Qi Feng Rui, hiding her sword within and not revealing it lightly, known as "Cang Feng". This speed is much faster than when she first impacted the first level in the past, due to various hardships that have already been experienced. Now that she has come again, it will naturally be easier for her. As her true energy transforms, she also experiences subtle mysteries that she had not noticed before, such as the tiny whirlpools that naturally form within her true energy.

  The Zuò Wàng Xīn Fǎ of the Pure Yang Palace originated from Lü Dongbin, a Taoist master. It contains the idea of Taiji, where yin and yang are intertwined, and transformation is natural. Initially, I thought that the true energy was only the swirling energy at the front, but now I realize that it's not about suppressing it, but rather guiding it naturally. When my internal energy reached the second level of Cáng Fēng, the true energy in my body transformed into a harmonious balance of yin and yang, like the perfect circle of Taiji, with no distinction between strong and weak.

  It was several days later when Yao Guang once again grasped her sword and used the Two Forms Sword Technique, which had become much more refined. The changes between moves were no longer as abrupt, and she couldn't help but laugh.

  One month later, a visitor came to White Cloud City.

  Yao Guang had no choice but to meet as the acting city master.

  She saw him and was taken aback, asking in surprise: "Lu Xiaoshi has come from afar, what brings you here?"

  Dusty and exhausted, Lu Xiaofeng let out a sigh, clasped his fists together in greeting, his attitude very respectful, without the slightest hint of jest or carelessness.

  "The Qingxu Dao is long, and there are things to ask for below."

  Yao Guang's heart was filled with even more doubts, "Speak and let me hear."

  Lu Xiaofeng was slightly embarrassed and hesitated for a moment before speaking: "Please ask Qingxu Daozhang to pursue and kill me."

  Yao Guang was stunned for a while when he heard this request.

  Invite her to come and kill?

  What does this mean?

  Lu Xiaofeng paced back and forth for a while, gritted his teeth and said: "I need to enter the Ghost Mansion, but that mansion can only be entered by 'dead people'... In today's Jianghu, there are only a few people who can make me unwillingly and reasonably escape into the Ghost Mansion..."

  In the haunted mansion, there were many people who should have been dead, gathering together like ghosts wandering in the mortal world.

  Lu Xiaofeng had long been famous for the Ghost Mansion, but he had never caught a single clue. This time, he accidentally learned a shocking secret from a dying stranger: the Ghost Mansion was about to do something earth-shattering, which would turn the entire Jianghu upside down.

  That dying stranger was actually Gu Fei Yun, who should have died at the hands of Xi Men Xue's sword many years ago. He escaped from the Ghostly Mountain Villa and was forced into a deep chasm by Shi He, although he miraculously didn't die, both his legs were broken. Relying solely on his two hands and strong willpower, he crawled through the valley for five days and four nights before encountering a Taoist priest who was collecting herbs in the mountains. This Taoist priest happened to be a Wudang disciple. As a result, Shi Yan learned about this secret and began planning how to expose and thwart this conspiracy. The first person he thought of was Lu Xiao Feng.

  If there is still one person in this world who can complete this arduous task, that person is undoubtedly Luk Siu Fung.

  The first step in the plan is to persuade a world-class swordsman to participate.

  Without the colorful phoenix's twin flying wings, yet with a spiritual connection that understands at once — Lu Xiaofeng's qinggong and martial arts are both top-notch in the world. To make him have to "run for his life" is indeed somewhat difficult. If you want to gain people's trust, then the person doing the chasing cannot be some nameless individual, and the reason for the chase must also be reasonable; otherwise, the master of Youling Manor will see through such a trick at a glance.

  The number of swordsmen who can force Lu Xiaofeng to flee for his life is limited, including Ximen Chuixue from Wanmei Mountain Villa, Ye Gucheng from Baiyun City, and the White Cloud Sword Immortal who suddenly appeared in the battle at the top of the Imperial Palace.

  Baiyun Sword Immortal is the elegant title given to Yaoguang by the Jianghu people, and this title has a very interesting origin. Originally, the term "Sword Immortal" referred to Ye Guicheng, who was known for his swordsmanship as "One Sword from the West, Flying Immortal from Heaven". However, after that one battle, Yaoguang's sword skills stunned everyone, and people couldn't think of any other words except "Immortal", and coincidentally, she had been living in Baiyun City ever since. Later on, she even became half-owner of Baiyun City. It is unknown who first used the term "Baiyun Sword Immortal" to refer to her, but it eventually became a commonly accepted title.

  It's not an easy thing for any of these three people to chase and kill Lu Xiaofeng.

  Since the battle at the pinnacle of the Forbidden City, Ximen Chui Xue has become increasingly ruthless, Ye Gu Cheng has been wandering the world under an assumed name, and Yao Guang has lived in seclusion in White Cloud Castle, far from the Central Plains.

  Lu Xiaofeng explained it briefly, and Yao Guang roughly understood. He immediately raised a question: "Why not go find Ximen Blowsnow?"

  Lu Xiaofeng sighed and said: "Refuse to see him."

  In the past, Xi Men Chui Xue would say that if he wanted to burn down Wan Mei Manor, he could do so with just a wave of his hand. Now, Xi Men Chui Xue wouldn't even open the door for him. Although Lu Xiao Feng might be able to climb over the wall and see him, what good would that do?

  Closing the door and refusing to see, it shows that he will never intervene to help. Lu Xiaofeng can climb over the wall of Wanmei Mountain Villa, but how can he climb over the isolation of Ximen Chuixue's ruthless sword?

  "Why did Lu Xiaoshi think I would help with such a troublesome matter?"

  Yao Guang smiled and her eyes swept across Lu Xiao Feng's face.

  "I may not care, but the world will not be able to ignore a female Taoist chasing Lu Xiaofeng for thousands of miles... Once these rumors come out, Lu Xiaofeng may not mind, but I find it very annoying."

  A woman chased a man for thousands of miles, no matter how many reasons there were, the first thing that came to mind and was most likely to be widely spread was the two words "emotional feud". Born out of emotions, born out of hatred. Lu Xiaofeng was originally a playboy, who knows how many red-faced confidantes he had. If he was being chased by a woman, others probably wouldn't consider any other reasons.

  Yao Guang could even guess that Lu Xiao Feng might use this reason to gain the trust of the Youling Mountain Villa. If it was said that she was being frivolous and therefore chased and killed in anger, even if she really did kill Lu Xiao Feng, her reputation would not be much better off. She would likely gain another evil name, or perhaps she would be seen as narrow-minded for taking action due to the other party's disrespect. Although she had never experienced the same worries about marriage and relationships as girls of the same age at the foot of the mountain, nor did she have older female relatives to remind her of these things, there were some things that women were naturally more sensitive to than men. In a moment, she had already thought of all sorts of consequences, and although the customs of the Tang Dynasty were open-minded, she didn't think that being spread with rumors would make her unable to live on, but without rumors, it was still better to be clean and pure.

  This was the reason why Lu Xiaofeng didn't dare to speak up earlier. With someone pointing it out directly, his face turned red and he said with a thick skin: "I really couldn't find anyone else... Moreover, if my guess is correct, the person behind the scenes... may be related to the Taoist sect, and Qingxu Daozhang wouldn't want the Taoist sect to produce such a loser either."

  He had never said this to anyone before, and it was just a guess based on his intuition.

  At this moment, he can only hope that such an unfounded intuitive guess will move the person in front of him.

  Yao Guang was taken aback for a moment, and slowly furrowed his brow.

  "Lu Xiaoshi is indeed eloquent. This reason... has truly moved me. You may go for now, after the New Year, I will come to hunt you down again. A word of warning, if I really catch up with you, don't expect any mercy from my sword."

  Lu Xiaofeng was both surprised and delighted, repeatedly saying: "Thank you, Daozhang!"

  As for being caught up... let's talk about it when the time comes.

  Even if he was really hurt, it was his fault for dragging others into disrepute and deserving a beating.

  Lu Xiaofeng was relieved after solving this case and happily went to celebrate the New Year.

  After the New Year's Day passed, Lu Xiaofeng waited for "Qingxu Daozhang" to come and kill him, but he did not expect that the person who knocked on his door early in the morning of the fourth day was not a girl with a crown of water and a white robe, but a lone swordsman in white clothes.

  Lu Xiaofeng was stunned for over ten seconds before he came back to himself, and asked dazedly: "Ye Guucheng, how did you get here?"

  Ye Gu Cheng grasped his long sword, his face expressionless as he said, "Why did Qi come here? I came for the same reason."

  Lu Xiaofeng suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.

  He asked Yao Guang to kill him, and the reason was naturally inseparable from the relationship between men and women. In this case, if he did not respect "Qingxu Daozhang", who lived in Baiyun City like a female owner, it would be reasonable for Ye Gu Cheng, as the master of Baiyun City, to kill him, even more so than Qingxu Daozhang herself taking action, and it would also make her reputation complete. In the eyes of the world, under such circumstances, even if Ye Gu Cheng became enemies with him, it would not be surprising.

  Lu Xiaofeng was just about to defend himself when the other person raised his right hand.

  The swordsman in white clothes said coldly: "If you don't escape, I'll draw my sword."

  A chilling and piercing sword aura came rushing forth.

  Lu Xiaofeng's heart skipped a beat, and he didn't dare say another word. He hastily retreated in disarray.

  Ye Gu Cheng is actually serious!

  He really wants to kill himself!

  Lu Xiaofeng was secretly sighing with frustration.

  "What exactly did Qingxu Daochang say to Ye Gucheng?"

  Wait... Could it be that she also said those exact same words to Ye Gu Cheng back then?

  Luk Siu Fung smiled wryly in his desperate situation.

  This time, taking the letter to the Ghost Mansion shouldn't be a problem anymore.

  The problem is how he can escape alive into the haunted mansion instead of dying halfway.

  The author has something to say: Lu Xiaofeng died suddenly.

  Light a candle.