Chapter 71

Under the full moon, the lake was calm, with a fine drizzle gently enveloping everything. The moonlight was not visible, but the moon’s glow spread across the heavens and earth.

On the water’s surface, countless tiny ripples swayed with the moon’s glow. The cold wind carried raindrops that struck his face, bringing a refreshing chill. Chen Ang stood alone on a light boat, calmly gazing at the lake’s reflection, his face serene and unperturbed.

Behind him stood Murong Bo, disheveled and with a dark, heavy expression as he stared at Chen Ang.

"If I’m not mistaken, the technique you just used is the Combined Finger of the Murong family, isn’t it?"

Chen Ang lightly flicked a raindrop and turned to say, "At our level of martial arts, ordinary techniques are no longer in our eyes. The fifty-three variations I used just now indeed included twelve from the Combined Finger."

Murong Bo sighed, "Fuer has practiced the finger technique for twenty years, yet he cannot match what you have achieved in just three months. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought you had practiced this technique for over fifty years."

Chen Ang smiled and said, "With his level of finger technique, even if he practices for another hundred years, he will not be my match!"

His voice carried no hint of mockery, only a calm statement, but to Murong Bo, it was extremely unpleasant. His face changed, dark and uncertain, and after a long while, he sighed, "Indeed, your martial arts are advancing rapidly, and you are not much older than Fuer. For him to reach your current level, it would take twenty years."

"Twenty years might not be enough!"

Chen Ang lightly flicked a raindrop in front of him. The silver thread, the softest substance in the world, was played with in his hands like a silver bead. With a flick, it shot out suddenly. In an instant, the sky and earth changed color, and countless intersecting ripples appeared on the water between Chen Ang and Murong Bo.

The silver thread, passing through the water splashes and raindrops, carried a force that was invisible and silent but lethal, striking directly at Murong Bo’s forehead. The raindrops in the sky also scattered toward Murong Bo, with that single silver thread hidden among the myriad silver threads, bringing deep pressure to Murong Bo.

He shook his sleeve, like an iron wall, with a thick inner force, striking the water in front of him. The water splashed several meters high, like a surging wave, blocking in front of him.

The myriad silver threads were left on the other side of the wave, but a single silver light broke through the water and shot in, striking Murong Bo’s sleeve, causing it to vibrate violently. Even the small boat under Murong Bo was pushed several feet away.

"Flower Plucking Finger!" Murong Bo was shocked. Chen Ang had used the raindrops as chess pieces,寄托了一缕拈花指力. Water, the softest substance in the world, shapeless and formless, being used as a projectile was unheard of. The fact that it could travel dozens of steps without losing its force was almost mythical.

Before he could lower his sleeve, a small, round piece of cloth fell from his chest, revealing the flesh beneath. This time, Murong Bo’s face could not hide his shock. The Flower Plucking Finger, already an incredible feat when寄托 on raindrops, was even more astonishing in Chen Ang’s hands, retaining its silent and invisible, yet powerful force.

The finger force penetrated Murong Bo’s Demon Subduing Robe, leaving a mark on his chest.

This martial art was truly terrifying.

"Twenty years, indeed, is not enough."

Murong Bo forced himself to gather his spirit, focusing his gaze on the finger. Seizing the right moment, he pointed at the silver thread in front of him. A cold, solidifying force froze the raindrop, and with another point, an ice spike shot out.

On the other side, Chen Ang smiled and flicked his fingers three times. A weak water droplet shot out like an arrow, with immense force, likely capable of shattering bones. His raindrops were as thick as mercury, not freezing like Murong Bo’s.

In this single point, Murong Bo had already lost. Although ice was powerful, Chen Ang’s ability to support force with an intangible substance far surpassed Murong Bo’s single ice spike.

"Your Many Leaves Finger is indeed quite domineering!" Murong Bo swung his sleeve three times to disperse the three water droplets, while Chen Ang lightly caught the ice spike between his fingers. "The Combined Finger of the old master is unparalleled in the world."

Chen Ang smiled slightly, and with a 'swoosh' sound, the ice spike disappeared, even Murong Bo could not see its shadow. The sky and earth were filled with flying raindrops, and Murong Bo could hear the dense, rustling sound.

In the silence, a sense of foreboding made him extremely alert. Without any basis, Murong Bo pointed at the empty space, and a loud explosion echoed in the air, scattering dozens of raindrops as if two powerful forces had collided.

Mist filled the air, and Murong Bo, drenched in sweat, trembled and said, "The Formless Seizing Finger, you actually used water vapor to support the finger force. I am truly impressed! Truly impressed!"

The first "impressed" was spoken while Murong Bo was still on the boat, but by the time the second "impressed" was spoken, he had already fallen into the lake. Murong Bo dipped his sleeve into the water, splashing a stream, and with a light step on the water, he kicked a water ball, using the Shaolin techniques, Shadowless Leg and Dharma Palm.

But Murong Bo’s two full-force palm and leg strikes were dispersed in the air with a slight shake from Chen Ang. Chen Ang’s fingers rotated, and the silver threads, whether stagnant, heavy, swift, or silent, carried all the martial arts Murong Bo had seen in his life, forcing him into a desperate situation.

He could only use all his martial arts, and the two of them, using the lake as a chessboard and the water and rain as chess pieces, played a grand game under the moonlight. Murong Bo had long forgotten the competition, using all his skills to deal with this unprecedented strong enemy, while Chen Ang was merely pushing out his potential.

Murong Bo’s years of martial arts, with their subtle and intricate aspects, had a certain flavor. His decades of Shaolin techniques and various martial arts, combined with the Murong family’s unique skills, became Chen Ang’s learning objects.

At first, Chen Ang relied on his deep martial arts cultivation to forcefully master these techniques, but now, under Murong Bo’s refinement and transmission, these techniques had an indescribable flavor, a refined subtlety that flowed from Chen Ang’s movements. The wisdom of various martial arts in the books was finely chewed and more subtle nuances were uncovered.

Pushed to the extreme, Murong Bo struck the water with all his might, forgetting all rules, and lunged at Chen Ang. His right hand pointed, using the 'Flower Plucking Finger' that Chen Ang had used earlier. This finger technique, with its hidden force, was extremely treacherous, and when used by Murong Bo, it was more lethal than any Shaolin monk.

Completely discarding all compassion and restraint, emphasizing only power, the noble Buddhist martial arts in Murong Bo’s hands became even more powerful, but with a relentless and extreme killing force. Even the Shaolin monk who created this martial art would have to avoid its sharp edge.

Unfortunately, he faced Chen Ang.

Only Chen Ang could smile, his face always calm and composed, as if deeply understanding something. According to Zen tradition, when the Buddha preached at the Vulture Peak, he held a golden lotus flower and showed it to the assembly. Everyone was silent, but only the Venerable Kasyapa smiled. This is the Flower Plucking Finger.

The Buddha held the flower, and Kasyapa smiled.

Chen Ang’s finger movement was incredibly gentle. Each time his left hand flicked, it seemed to be flicking off the dew from the flower in his right hand, yet he was careful not to shake off the petals. Murong Bo felt a pain in his chest before he saw the finger force, and his body shot out, falling onto the lake.

"Flower blooms to see people, people see me."

This finger technique was between form and formlessness, like a sudden enlightenment, intangible and unattainable, reaching the ultimate state of formlessness, colorlessness, and substancelessness, leaving even the Shaolin abbot in awe.

Chen Ang bent his finger and sat on the water, with a lotus leaf supporting him. He lightly touched the sky, and the silver threads fell, condensing into a tangible force. Using the fine rain as strings and the heaven and earth as a lute, he played a soft melody.

A single silver thread was pulled by Chen Ang’s bent finger, and a silent sound spread through the heavens and earth. The lake surface, like a giant speaker, vibrated slightly, and a 'ting' sound echoed across the entire lake. Even Wang Yuyan, far away in the Mantra Manor, raised her head in confusion and whispered, "Who is playing the lute?"

Chen Ang’s pupils were a deep blue, and all his thoughts and perceptions were focused on this moment. Time stood still, the falling rain, the calm lake, and the beautiful moonlight became a static picture, an eternal moment, a fleeting instant turned into forever. Only the faint lute sound seemed to come from beyond the heavens.

The rain threads converged into a sheet, revealing the bright moonlight, real or illusory. An invisible hand gently brushed the countless silver threads, the Flower Plucking Finger, silent and formless, yet capable of moving the vast universe.

The lute sound was audible and silent, the melody surpassing human hearing, yet audible through the lake’s vibrations. The intangible sound waves permeated the entire lake, causing everything, including Murong Bo’s internal organs, blood vessels, meridians, and even his inner force, to vibrate uncontrollably with the movement of Chen Ang’s fingers.

In a daze, Murong Bo’s mind was unclear, and he could only dance wildly under the lute sound. Countless intricate and complex forces seeped into his body, controlling, guiding, and even changing his inner force. Murong Bo was like a puppet, easily controlled from his body to his mind.

The "Life and Death Mark" was child’s play compared to this terrifying martial art. Controlling life and death was not as frightening as controlling the mind. The original force that bewildered the mind, the soul-controlling technique, born from sound, surpassed all mental secret arts, changing Murong Bo’s mind.

As his wild dance became more frenzied, the intangible force became tighter, and the lute sound reached a climax. Finally, with the sound of a broken lute string, everything became silent and calm. The rain fell again, and the moonlight gradually became hazy, merging into the rain, as if nothing had happened.

Chen Ang sighed and said:

"A song breaks the heart, where in the world can one find a true friend?"

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