Chapter Nineteenth: Tranquility in the Extreme Earth

  On the ninth day, however, he was unaware that Lie Huo Yan was not only the number one martial artist in the world?

  Kongtong Mountain has been a blessed land of Taoism and a gathering place for monks and Taoists since the Zhou, Qin and Han dynasties. Emperor Qin and Emperor Wu of Han had both visited Kongtong, and there is a legend that Huangdi Xuan Yuan specially came to learn from Guang Chengzi, an ancient Taoist immortal. It is said to be the "first-class mountain of Taoism", so the founder of the Kongtong sect not only passed down the supreme swordsmanship and internal skills, but also countless magical techniques and artifacts for spiritual cultivation.

  While Lie Chi Yan, the innate talent and skeletal structure of Cong Tong Sect are rare to be seen in a hundred years. Since thirty years ago, after witnessing the decisive battle between the righteous and evil sects at Emei Absolute Peak, he suddenly realized that all things in the world are interconnected, and the ultimate goal of martial arts is to achieve the state of "Wu Shang Xiu Zhen" ( Supreme Truth), where man and nature become one. Therefore, for the past eighteen years, he has been cultivating the Taoist technique "Tian Hun Di An Qi Jue Da Fa" (Heavenly Darkness Earthly Silence Seven Extremes Great Method). That's why today, "Hun Fei Bo San, Xuan Qing Liu Yang Huan" (Soul Flying Spirit Scattering, Mysterious Clear Six Yang Ring) has such a strong resonance with him! However, facing the young junior Shi Jiu, no matter how much he doesn't care about his reputation, he still can't take the initiative to wield the Supreme Nine Heavens Taoist Technique.

  I don't know what his martial arts cultivation is like, whether he has already reached the so-called "martial arts obstacle" of the day when he shot the old man in the sky!

  At the beginning, he was not stupid at all. Between moves, he had already thought about how to escape. Today, the longer he stayed in this inn, the more danger and less luck! Now, seeing He Canbao and Liu Heimeng on the other side, both focusing their attention on his fight with Lie Chiyan, temporarily ignoring the five people on the side of his junior sister, an idea suddenly occurred to him. He let out a loud, long roar: "Hooooo..."

  Everyone was unaware of it, but Lin Meng'er heard it and was overjoyed. It was the sound of her horse being summoned by Chu Jiu on the ninth day.

  At that time, on the top of Diancang Mountain, Chu Jiu, Lu Lun, Xiao Qi Zi, and Si Tui were all able to call out to the horses. However, Lin Ping Er and other fellow disciples couldn't learn this skill no matter how hard they tried. Now, Chu Jiu's mount was a fine horse from the top of Diancang Mountain. When he called out, his voice echoed far and wide, and Lin Ping Er heard the horse let out a faint long neigh. The horse then ran out of the stable at the inn, and to everyone's surprise, it wasn't even tied up with reins. Moreover, when Lin Ping Er glanced sideways, she saw that behind the fine horse from Diancang Mountain was Wu Gou Long Lao and Quan Dao Fu Ren's entourage in a carriage heading into Shu. It seemed that this horse had become friends with them because of its exceptional quality, and had even become the leader of the horses!

  The fierce red flame appeared, and the young man had already made sixteen moves of the Seven Roads Sword Technique. He thought to himself that he had already exchanged over thirty moves with this young man, and it was clear that he had already lost face. If he didn't make a move now, when would he? Moreover, earlier, the young man had suddenly let out a loud shout "Hsss... Hsss...", could it be that there was some hidden helper?

  He had made up his mind, determined to take down Chu Jiu. Suddenly, he spread his arms and tried to force Chu Jiu into a corner. But to everyone's surprise, Chu Jiu sidestepped on one foot, looked up, and with the Tianxuan shattered wooden sword in hand, made a swift turn, passing under his own left arm, stabbing forward, directly at Lie Chiyan's palm. This sword move was extremely strange, yet it left him defenseless!

  Liu Hei Meng's heart also stirred, he had always been confident in his own master brother, thinking that under the heavens, except for one person, his master brother's martial arts were the best in the world! Now seeing this move like flowing clouds and water, he couldn't help but worry, fearing that his master brother might not be able to take down this young man with the first move!

  "Good! A fine move, 'Slanting Sun Sword Art' - 'The Slanting Sun is closest to dusk!'!" He was praising the move, but didn't take it to heart. With a step back, his Pursuing Soul Ancient Sword countered, avoiding the attack. However, he suddenly realized that only one person in the world could wield the "Slanting Sun Sword Art" - Lin Slanting Sun, the leader of the Cang Gang Sect. It seemed this young man was definitely connected to Lin Slanting Sun. He might not even be a disciple of Lin Ruo Chi's generation, but rather someone with a higher status than ordinary disciples of the Cang Gang Sect. He himself probably couldn't kill him, but capturing him would certainly deal a blow to the prestige of both the Cang Gang and Kunlun Sects!

  His mind moved with his heart, and he stretched out his palm. His hand suddenly grew half a foot without warning, and when he stretched out his fingers, it seemed that his palm had also suddenly doubled in size. His fingers suddenly grew twice as long and reached out to grab the initial nine!

  Fierce Red Flame, this move "Windless Waves, Unpredictable Length, Silent and Stealthy, One Grab of the Gods!" was indeed his ultimate skill! In the Western Regions, who knows how many heroes fell under its might? He had originally planned to use it at this moment, truly catching them off guard. This young man absolutely would not be able to escape!

  Who would have thought that as soon as his palm touched the shoulder of Chūjiū's clothes, Chūjiū had already lowered her head, stepped out with her feet, and floated past, slipping under Liechi Yán's right armpit!

  He suddenly let out a loud "ah" of surprise, as if he seemed to recognize this move. How could he believe it? This was the "Shooting Heaven Shocking Dragon, Thirty-six Steps" - the "Left and Right Flow" from the 18 steps after quietly retreating to the tenth position! However, this was the first time he had used it, quietly retreating to the tenth position after eighteen steps. The emphasis was on the enemy making the first move, while he made the second, but still managed to arrive first. It was a subtle technique for evading the enemy and escaping with one's life!

  It's been nine days since I arrived at Cangshan, and this is the first time I've used it. Who would have thought that it would be so effective? It actually dodged Lie Chiyan, the famous leader of the Kongtong Sect, and his "Windless Wave, Unmeasurable Long Strike, Silent and Stealthy, Ghostly Grab!"

  At the beginning of the ninth watch, He Zhuo suddenly heard an explosion and was shocked. I was also shocked! Just as I barely dodged it, the tip of Lie Chi Yan's finger seemed to have slid across my clothes, making me tremble with fear. As for whether I could dodge Lie Chi Yan's exquisite move again from behind, I didn't have any confidence in my heart at all!

  That fierce red flame suddenly grasped at the air, without turning around, his right hand somehow suddenly made a fold, and at an utterly unbelievable angle, it clawed again towards the right shoulder of the initial nine. His back seemed to have eyes, not missing by a single hair!

  His palm seemed to have just touched the shoulder of Chui's clothes, but Chui continued to step on his feet, having turned from Qian to Dui, and barely dodged Lie Chi Yan's shocking grab!

  On the other side, He Jing exploded with a loud "Ah" of surprise!

  This step, however, was quietly among the eighteen steps of "looking ahead, suddenly behind", and the first nine were still the first use, but unexpectedly it was still so effective, barely avoiding the fierce red flame's divine grasp! He couldn't help but feel a surge in confidence, secretly thinking: "Shooting Heaven Grandfather, indeed you are absolutely not deceiving me!"

  He didn't have time to wonder why the Qingcheng Sect's "Three Hand Fire Sword" He Zhuo seemed not to recognize him when he first saw himself take the 18 steps of the Yang movement in the nine heavens, but instead continuously exclaimed in shock after the 18 steps of the Yin movement on the tenth earth.

  Lin Meng'er saw the horse and carriage running over, standing under the window, slightly raising her head, motionless. She touched the white bamboo leaf with one hand, Xiao Qing, and Wan Dao Furen with the other, made a gesture with her eyes, and softly called out: "Go!" She had already picked up Xiao Qing, and Bai Zhu Ye was also dragging Wu Gou Lao, jumping over the windowsill!

  Liu Hei Meng and others are now focused on the fierce battle between Lie Chi Yan and Chu Jiu. He really can't think of how, under the sky, there is still such a young youth who can actually dodge his senior brother's consecutive two claws! Where does he have the mind to care about the people beside him? The crowd of disciples are even more stunned, and Lie Chi Yan, the master of Kuang Tung Sect, is someone they have admired all their lives. How could they not be fully focused on watching this grand display of skills?!

  Liu Hei Meng and others now see Lin Ping Er, Xiao Qing, Bai Zhu Ye, Wu Gou Chang Lao jump down from the window, just react black, can't help but be greatly shocked! Then rushed to the window!

  Mrs. Wan Dao had already floated to the side of Chu Jiu, she suddenly pulled out the double guns from her waist, so that in her hands were a pair of silver guns, a pair of iron hooks taken from her husband's hands, and a pair of golden curved knives, all six strange door weapons shot forward at the same time. Her demonic teaching martial arts was indeed unusually sinister. These three pairs of strange door weapons could be used by her as hidden weapons with the "Flying Flowers in the Sky" technique, shooting over with considerable power! Liu Hei Meng and He Can were blinded by the flowers, they hastily retreated back to the middle of the arena for three steps, temporarily unable to get close to the window.

  Liè Chì Yán was indeed a master of the art, with great courage and boldness. On the ninth day of the new year, he suddenly made a swift move, slapping his palm towards Madame Wan Dao's chest. The force of this slap was incredibly powerful! However, Madame Wan Dao seemed to not notice it at all, for she had already resigned herself to her fate. Earlier, when she threw out her twin silver spears, twin iron hooks, and twin golden curved knives, she had secretly rigged the curved knife in her right hand. She had concentrated all her energy into this one move, using her entire body's strength to propel it forward. After the curved knife was launched, it would bounce back and fly towards its target, earning it the name "Blood Whirlpool Golden Curved Knife".

  Mrs. Wan Dao thought that when the fierce red flame hit herself, it must be the moment when her heart was most relaxed! This "Blood Spin Golden Wan Dao" even if it can't kill him, it can still make him seriously injured, and for his own husband to suffer serious injuries for himself, seeing no rescue, Shifu has already ascended, this life of hers is also meaningless! If she could drag on for a moment, saving Chu Jiu and Lin Xiao Er would be a great achievement for the Holy Teachings, even if she died without regret!

  That fierce red flame smiled slyly, all his internal energy was concentrated in his right palm, and he was about to slap it on the chest of Madame Curved Blade! At first, he had already taken advantage of the opportunity to come to the window, but if he jumped down now, he saw that Madame Curved Blade did not dodge or flinch, her eyes were looking at the "Blood Rotation Golden Curved Blade" flying back and forth behind Leng Chi Yan's back. He was so clever that he had already understood Madame Curved Blade's intention, which was to use her own life as bait! To lure Leng Chi Yan to perish together with her!

  However, he was still young and vigorous, and couldn't bear to see Madame Wan die under Lie Chi Yan's palm. He let out a long sigh, gathered all his remaining strength in his right palm, and disregarded the fact that his internal energy was several times weaker than Lie Chi Yan's. Just now, he had almost exhausted all his internal energy, and if not for the fact that he had escaped to the tenth layer of the earth eighteen steps away, which was a lifesaving move, Lie Chi Yan would have already died from the severe injury inflicted by Wu Gou Long Lao's heavy blow!

  He suddenly slid and twisted his body, and from the window of Kun position, he turned his body and reached the top of Lie Chi Yan's head. His right palm slapped down fiercely, making a loud noise, directly confronting Lie Chi Yan's forty years of "Seven Sorrowful Seven Mutilated Sword"'s ruthless inner force. It was a case of later move first arriving, and could only be met with a hard collision, stiffly and rigidly receiving this earth-shaking palm!

  "My goodness, it's really the Shadowless Ten Earths!" He was even more shocked that this young man's movement was so smooth and agile, from the window of Kun position to the top of Lie Chi Yan's head, with just a twist of his body. This incredible movement... was actually only possessed by the leader of Qingcheng Sect! His mind was filled with wonder, and he couldn't help but exclaim!

  This time, on the ninth day of the first month, he met Lie Chi Yan again. His chest was churning with blood and energy, already severely injured by the ruthless internal force of the "Seven Sorrowful Seven Wounded Swords", but he didn't hear his astonishment again!

  Mrs. Wan Dao only heard a "peng" sound, and Chu Jiu's body fell straight down from the window. In his daze, he saw his shocked Shifu sister and horse carriage below. It seemed that after seeing Lie Chi Yan get what she wanted, he subconsciously relaxed his guard, and his back was solidly hit by Mrs. Wan Dao's "Blood Rotating Golden Wan Dao" move.

  At the first cry of "Peng", he had already fallen into the carriage, a mouthful of blood spurted out from Lie Chi Yan's mouth, but his palm wind did not stop, striking Peng Ji flying, and the remaining force was still imprinted on the chest of Lady Wan Dao.

  Mrs. Wan Dao's body was also spurting out a mouthful of blood, and she stretched out her right hand to catch the curved knife in her right hand. She saw that Jiujiu had desperately tried to block this fatal palm for herself, but now she was seriously injured by Lie Chiyan's flames, so she no longer had any intention of seeking death. She turned around and jumped down from the window, got on the horse carriage, and with a swift slash of the curved knife in her hand, she struck the buttocks of the three horses pulling the carriage. The horses were in pain, pulling the carriage forward, and galloped wildly towards the outside of the town!

  In the midst of the fierce flames, this one sword was the culmination of Madame Curved Blade's decades-long efforts and dedication. Due to his carelessness, his injuries had already reached his internal organs, and with the previous injury from Old Man Wu's hook, his wound had reopened, and fresh blood was gushing out non-stop. He needed to start healing immediately. With a mouthful of blood, he endured the intense pain and said: "Younger brother, quickly chase after them! That young man has been struck by my 'Seven Sorrowful Seven Mutilated Sword' internal energy for over 40 years, and I'm afraid his meridians have all been frozen by my icy cold energy. Within two days and nights, he will undoubtedly die! Madame Curved Blade was also severely injured when she was hit by my palm, and Old Man Wu is on the verge of death. Younger brother, quickly chase after them and make sure to kill them all!"

  Although he was the leader of a faction, his heart was not broad-minded. He knew that his junior fellow disciple had already caught up with him and was more than enough, so he instructed Liu Hei to finish it off quickly. However, he himself no longer had the strength to catch up, and after giving the order, his face turned even paler, and he sat down on the spot to meditate and heal his wounds.

  However, Lie Chi Yan also regretted in his heart. He practiced the Taoist supreme technique "Tian Hun Di An Qi Jue Da Fa", which had seven changes: "Sun, Moon, Star, Chen, Rain, Wind, and Snow". They were mutually supportive, endless, and had already reached the point where he could do as he pleased. If it was earlier when facing the enemy, without underestimating that young man, with this Taoist supreme technique "Tian Hun Di An Qi Jue Da Fa" driving the "Seven Sorrowful Seven残 Swords", the sword energy would be extraordinary, and how could he have ended up in such a sorry state?

  Only afraid that young man will not be able to withstand his own three moves. How could he end up with severe internal and external injuries, and the first time he came down the mountain, he was so miserable!

  After this battle, Lie Huo Yan finally understood the world's martial arts and made great progress. He hid in Kongtong Mountain for over a decade, unaware that the world's martial arts had become prosperous and unpredictable, changing rapidly like the omens he predicted with his Taoist divination skills, foretelling chaos in the world.

  But Wu Gou's old injury, Wan Dao's wife, and the injuries of the initial nine people, are they really as hopeless as Lie Chi Yan said?

  The war is over, and the story continues!