Chapter 272
Crane Beak Master’s Xuanming Palm Method unfolded, palm after palm, twisting his waist and shoulders as he pounded out powerful strikes, like splitting mountains and rocks.
Ye Guhong had already cultivated internal strength, and with his Dragon-Subduing Palm technique, he was not afraid of any other palm techniques in the world.
The two of them fought like thunderclaps, each palm technique clashing with the other. Even the expert Ku Tuo could not help but look on in awe at the two of them, one yin and one yang, their palm techniques surging with power. He wanted to intervene, but he didn’t know how to get involved.
The two of them fought back and forth, fiercely battling for more than 40 moves. White smoke filled the courtyard, and gusts of hot or cold air swept around, destroying the trees in the courtyard and the green bricks on the ground with their overflowing energy.
At this time, Cheng Kun rushed over, leaping onto the wall. In the midst of the smoke and dust, he saw two figures colliding with each other. After a moment’s concentration, he recognized the Dragon-Subduing Palm used by Ye Guhong. It was a case of enemies meeting and being extra jealous!
Among the experts present, the one who hated Ye Guhong the most was the ugly monk, and the other was this 鈥淭hunderbolt Fist鈥�.
When Cheng Kun led the others to deal with Shi Feilong, it was Ye Guhong and the others who spoiled the good work. Later, when they ambushed the Beggar Sect, Emei and Wudang came to the rescue, and Ye Guhong also used the Dragon-Subduing Palm to spar with him. With Cheng Kun’s intelligence, it was not difficult to guess that he had most likely learned his palm techniques from Shi Feilong.
It was fine for him to do someone else’s wedding dress, but what Cheng Kun hated most was that Ye Guhong had cut off half of his index finger with one sword stroke!
He immediately shouted, 鈥淭his Emei disciple once severed the young prince’s three fingers, and today he has broken into the palace. He truly has the gall of a dog. If we don’t capture him today, we will lose all face!鈥�
Zhu Shou cried out, 鈥淢aster! The palm technique of the senior master He Biweng is too poisonous, and it is difficult for us to intervene.鈥�
Cheng Kun was quick-witted. After watching for a while, he immediately shouted, 鈥淥ld Crane, you’re only attacking from the front. There’s no need to carefully break down his moves.鈥�
Crane Beak Old Man was a bit dim-witted, and he was arrogant because of his supreme skills. In the entire Ruyang Prince’s Mansion, apart from his senior, only Cheng Kun made him somewhat submissive.
Upon hearing this, his figure stiffened, and indeed, he stopped moving his feet, only steadily standing on one side, blocking with a palm strike head-on.
Seeing this, Cheng Kun immediately jumped into the fray, thrusting with his left hand and using a wide-swinging, open-handed style with his right, using the same techniques as the Yang Finger.
When Zhou Zhixing and Zhu Shou fought against He Beiweng, they used Yin Finger and Yang Finger, which complemented each other exceptionally well, and made He Beiweng cry out in pain. Zhou Zhixing then wished he could learn Yang Finger, but unexpectedly, Cheng Kun realized this wish first. I don’t know what methods he used, but he actually took Zhu Shou as his disciple and obtained the secret skills of his disciple.
His martial arts skills were already extremely high, and he had also learned the Shaolin Jiuyang Gong, which complemented the Yiyang Finger.
Moreover, although he had lost half of his fingers, and thus lacked a lot of fingerwork variety, his strength was even more powerful. Paired with the unpredictable Yinyang Finger, the rhythm of yin and yang was revealed, exuding a charm of endless vitality.
Ye Guhong blocked a few moves and felt that he could not hold back. In particular, the opponent seemed to know a lot about his palm techniques, and several consecutive finger techniques forced him to change his moves. He was shocked, but then suddenly remembered: that guy Wu Lie also knew some of the Dragon Suppression Palm techniques. If Zhu Shou had learned the One Yang Finger technique, how could he not have revealed the Dragon Suppression Palm?
He angrily cursed, 鈥淶hu Shou, you are not worthy to be a human being. Your ancestor, Liu Gong, was a great man, and you, his despicable descendant, have passed on the One-Yang Finger technique to a treacherous villain.鈥�
Zhu Shou was not ashamed and laughed loudly, 鈥淵e Kuhong, I don’t think a child like you knows anything about the ways of a true hero. Not to mention that my master passed on to me a peerless divine technique that is far superior to the One-Yang Finger technique, just consider that the Dali Duan family even offered the six-meridian sword qi technique to the imperial court with both hands, so what is this measly One-Yang Finger technique?鈥�
Ye Guhong thought about it and realized that it was not unreasonable. His mother, the legitimate successor of the Dali Duan clan, was like that, so what else could he say, being the descendant of a family servant?
His eyes twinkled and suddenly he shouted, 鈥淐heng Kun, your opponent today is not me.鈥�
Cheng Kun was old and experienced, and he sneered without saying a word. He used one long and one short finger to attack wildly.
Ye Guhong couldn’t parry, so he shouted and suddenly switched to Tai Chi techniques. He swung his arms and shoulder-butted, appearing to be fast but actually slow. His palms turned outwards, attracting the mysterious palm power of He Beiweng and Cheng Kun’s Yin Finger Power to collide. The two men were shocked at the same time and slowed down their attacks.
Cheng Kun was even more surprised and uncertain, wondering where this young boy had learned such a wealth of extraordinary skills.
Ye Guhong seized the opportunity and sent out several booms of white rainbow palm power, driving up plumes of dust and shooting them at Cheng Kun.
Cheng Kun was unafraid, as his sharp finger techniques were best at breaking through surfaces. He was about to break through the palm power when he suddenly heard Ye Guhong yell, 鈥淴ie Qian, attack!鈥�
Cheng Kun’s heart suddenly jumped. This name was indeed the biggest taboo in his heart. Without thinking, he jumped sideways for a distance of one zhang, and quickly pointed his two fingers four times to protect himself.
Ye Guhong successfully deceived his enemy, and with a palm strike, he deflected several lines of palm power, which suddenly turned and struck He Beiweng.
He Beiweng never expected Cheng Kun to change his mind at the last minute, and he was flustered as he tried to block. Ye Guhong took this opportunity to twist his body and leap outside the battle.
Seeing this, the masters on the surrounding walls all thought that they could take advantage of the situation and scrambled out, screaming. Only Zhu Shou was calculating and experienced, and the bitter monk was dark-minded, deliberately lagging behind.
Ye Guhong touched his hands in his arms and flung out a handful of Thunderbolt Fire Bombs鈥�
He had used this secret weapon as the finale of his killing technique when he broke into the palace alone, and had not used it until now when he was trapped in a siege.
The thunderbolts looked like dark beads, and no one would have guarded against them if they had not been hurt before. The group of experts only thought that they were iron bullets, flying locust stones, and the like, and they didn’t take them seriously. They either caught them or hit them, and then they heard the sound of an explosion. The fire almost connected into one piece, and at least seven or eight people screamed in shock, their hands and even their chests blown up. Only a few people who used weapons, such as Dongfang Bai, were lucky enough to escape unscathed, but they were also so shocked that they stopped in unison.
Ye Guhong’s figure flashed, and he took the opportunity to leap onto the wall, smiling and saying, 鈥淎nyone who wants to be a roast pig just come after me!鈥� He casually threw out a few thunder fire bombs. At this time, everyone knew the danger and quickly dodged. Amidst the sound of explosions, Ye Guhong laughed and walked away.
Cheng Kun realized he had fallen into a trap and yelled, 鈥淕o after him, don’t catch his hidden weapons.鈥� He leaped and took the lead in pursuit.
But among these palace experts, there was no one like Gui Yifei. Ye Guhong’s movements were nimble and his internal strength was abundant, so how could he catch up with him in the short term?
He saw him take the lead and rush from the Nanyin Club into the Dukang Mansion next door. He saw wine jars of all heights and depths, with an incredibly rich aroma. He suddenly stopped and laughed, 鈥淭oday I invite you to watch the fireworks!鈥�
Cheng Kun was shocked and shouted, 鈥淓veryone, retreat quickly!鈥�
Ye Guhong had already thrown several thunderclap bombs, and with a loud bang, countless spirits exploded into a blue fire rain that sent the imperial guards chasing after him along the wall tumbling to the ground. Ye Guhong laughed heartily, took the opportunity to jump over several courtyards, leaped onto the palace wall, and climbed up like a gecko. He then jumped outwards and disappeared into the vast night of the outer city.
Meanwhile,
outside the capital, 30 li to the northwest, at the eastern foot of Balcony Mountain, a large temple was built along the mountain.
This temple is called Jingshui Temple, and during the Jin and Yuan dynasties, it was the royal temple.
Later, during the Ming dynasty, it was renamed Dajue Temple. This is a story for another time.
The temple is incredibly magnificent, and especially in the past two years, with the appointment of a new national teacher, Yang Lianzhenjia, to practice the high Buddhist teachings here, the temple has become even more prosperous. The foreign monks in the temple are all arrogant, and ordinary people only look at them with contempt.
Although it is late at night, countless lamps are lit inside and outside Jinshui Temple, illuminating the area as brightly as in broad daylight. The sound of sutra chanting also resounds incessantly. However, as requested by the national teacher, the foreign monks take turns chanting the sutra day and night, ceaselessly praying for the Yuan emperor.
In the past, although the sound of sutra chanting was loud at night, no outsiders were allowed to enter. Tonight is different, however. A tall nun suddenly appears from nowhere and walks slowly up the mountain.
The monk who was the temple attendant was standing guard at the door, yawning and picking his nose. He saw her and rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn’t mistaken. He hurriedly came out of the door and shouted, 鈥淗ey! Where did you come from? You’re so rude! It’s fine if you come during the day and ask for some food, but it’s so late, there’s no food left for you.鈥�
The nun laughed coldly, 鈥淭he food in your temple is too dirty for me to eat, even if you give it to me. I’m not here to beg for alms today, but I heard that the foreign monks in your temple bully men and women, causing havoc in the area, and have turned the pure Buddhist land into a filthy place. So I have made a special trip here to cleanse it.鈥�
The monk was furious when he heard this and said, 鈥淥h, so you’re looking for death…鈥�
He then took a look at the nun from top to bottom and suddenly saw that although she was tall, she was not young at all, but exceptionally beautiful. He couldn’t help but feel a bad heart, winked, and squeezed out a playful laugh, 鈥淗uh? You’re a nun, but you’re still somewhat attractive. Very good, the night is long…鈥�
Before the monk finished speaking, the nun raised her hand and slapped him. It was so fast that the monk, who was the temple’s guest, didn’t even see it coming. He was about to dodge when the nun’s palm landed on his forehead with a loud bang. Two streams of blood spurted from his ears and the monk died instantly.
The younger foreign monk could not help but lose his mind, and he twisted his body and fled towards the main hall, screaming, 鈥淥h no, there are enemies at the door, the enemy has killed Brother Dubo…鈥�
Then the sound of sutra chanting in the main hall suddenly stopped, followed by a flurry of rising and shuffling footsteps. Many foreign monks and nuns of all sizes rushed out of the main hall to see the nun slowly climbing the stairs, while the corpse of the monk who knew the guests was lying across the door sill behind her.
The foreign monks were furious. A few of the stronger ones, believing themselves to be especially capable, yelled and pushed their way out of the crowd, directly towards the nun.
The nun was unruffled. She slowly slapped out one palm after another, one after the other, and killed all the foreign monks who came at her.
This caused a huge commotion!
The foreign monks were shocked, screaming, running, and cursing, like a large swarm of headless flies.
The nun, however, entered the hall without any sign of panic. After surveying the surroundings with a glance, she exhaled and shouted in a cold voice, 鈥淢y Dharma name is Shang Mie Xia Jie. I am the current head of Emei Sect. I have come uninvited today to kill the Dangdang Corpse Demon! If you are not related to that demon monk, surrender and I will not create any more killing sins.鈥�
An old lama then cried out, 鈥淔or the sake of the master, let me let you know that we, we are all just weak monks who recite sutras. A few disciples of the national teacher were just killed by you. As for the national teacher, he is holding an open-air Dharma assembly in the back hall, but it has nothing to do with me.鈥�
Mie Jie nodded, and walked on as if he didn’t care.
When he walked past the old lama, a cold light flashed in the old lama’s pair of triangular eyes, and suddenly he took a step forward and viciously swung his palm to strike.
As if he had foreseen that he was going to act, Mie Jie’s footsteps suddenly froze, and the old lama’s palm landed in vain.
Mie Jie turned his face and sneered, 鈥淵ou have a long breath, and you obviously have extraordinary cultivation. What kind of weak monk are you?鈥�
He swung his arm sideways and struck out. The old lama tried to dodge, but suddenly felt that there was no way to avoid the blow. He had to block it with his arm, but heard a crack, and the bone in his arm was smashed to pieces. He flew one or two zhang (about 1.8 to 3 meters) away, writhing in pain and screaming, 鈥淎ll of you, come at once!鈥�
The Buddhist monks in the hall all sprang up at once. Some felt for their short pestles in their bosoms, some took out their copper rods from their sleeves, and some opened their straw mats and took out their ceremonial knives from the ground. They all shouted and charged at the two of them.
Mie Jie laughed and said, 鈥淭oday, Lonely Crow is going to the imperial city, and I, a poor nun, am going to the demon temple. I wonder who will kill more people, my master or I.鈥�
Between the laughter, there were two sword sounds. Bai Hong and Qing Feng were unsheathed to the left and right. Mie Jie swung the two swords together, filling the room with a green light and sending up a tide of blood.
The Bai Hong sword was left on Ice and Fire Island by Ye Tiangang, and was picked up by Ye Luhong. He found it to be an extremely sharp sword, and its quality was even better than Mie Jie’s Qing Feng sword, so he gave it to Mie Jie to wear.
The two swords of Mie Jie were unfolded, and they kept going deeper into the temple, killing their way through. Wherever they went, the ground was covered in corpses. In no time at all, they broke through several major halls. When they arrived at the outside of the hall with the bronze doors, they saw that the doors were tightly closed. They walked up and kicked, opening the two bronze doors. I felt an indescribable stench of fishiness coming straight at me. I quickly held my breath and looked inside. This look was not without consequences. A nameless fire welled up from my stomach and burned straight up to my skull. My eyes, which had suddenly opened wide in horror, shouted, 鈥淪hameless corpse demon, how dare you commit such evil!鈥�
It turned out that the bronze hall was tens of zhangs in circumference, and there were thirty to forty foreign monks, all of them stark naked, each hugging a woman and seeking pleasure. The women were all stiff, covered in lead powder and rouge, and they were all corpses.
In the center is a tall lotus throne made of piled-up white bones. The corpse demon Yang Lian is wearing a red robe. In front of and behind him are the beautiful corpses that never closed their eyes. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at the entire place. He sneered, 鈥淪o it was you, evil nun! Hmph, you dare to trespass in my Buddhist country. Today, I will turn you into a corpse empress, so that the martial artists will know what happens when they go against me.鈥�
Jie, recalling that when she had passed through Yangzhou before, the monk under the corpse demon had been trying to seize the remains of his wife and daughter, was furious. She gritted her teeth and said, 鈥淚f I don’t eliminate you today, I have wasted all my martial arts training.鈥�
Before she finished speaking, suddenly a monk outside rushed in and reported, 鈥淢aster, there’s trouble! Someone has broken into the palace. His Majesty commands that you go and protect him.鈥�
The corpse demon was taken aback, and then frowned and said, 鈥淭hief nun! I have important matters to attend to today. If you are willing to honestly retreat, how about I let you go?鈥�
Mie Jie turned around and took a few quick steps, raised his sword, and stabbed the Buddhist monk who had brought the news to death. He turned around and shouted, 鈥淟et’s be clear. The person who broke into the palace is my disciple, Lone! My master and I went to the north before, and the Tartar emperor and you obstructed us many times. Now that we have returned after completing our task, we have come here specifically to seek trouble for you!”
Upon hearing this, the corpse demon’s face revealed a strange expression, and he said in astonishment, 鈥漇eek trouble for me? I am the Grand Yuan State Preceptor! How dare you seek trouble for His Majesty? Mad灏�, you really don’t know how to write the word death! Alright, since that is the case, I will let you see what peerless supernatural power is!鈥�
He said, reached into the white-bone lotus throne, and drew out a white-bone sword with a sinister aura. He then jumped up, covering a distance of five or six zhang in a single bound, and slashed at Mie Jie with his sword.
Mie Jie was shocked to see his astonishingly fierce movements. How could this demon have such astonishingly light movements when just a few years ago his body was stiff and rigid? Could it be that his demon skills have already reached perfection?
He dared not take him lightly, so he blocked the attack with both swords. His superb Emei Jiuyang kungfu moved at the thought, and he used all his strength. There was a loud bang as the three swords clashed. Mie Jie’s arms were like iron and did not move an inch, stopping the corpse demon and his sword in midair.
The corpse demon also knew that the martial arts of the disaster were extremely high. He had to be the first to make a sound with this sword, and he also went all out. Unexpectedly, he was blocked by the disaster. He was also shocked: How is this nun’s martial arts progress, how is it even faster than me?
Sorry my brother, I’ll adjust it.