Chapter 76

The disciples of the Xingxiu Sect stood helplessly, staring at the collapsed Ding Chunqiu. In their hearts, the old monster was as terrifying as a demon. Seeing this scene, they found it hard to believe, with nine out of ten of them disbelieving. In the remaining one-tenth, nine-tenths believed that the sect leader was testing their loyalty.

However, among the disciples of the Xingxiu Sect, there were some who were bolder. Their eldest brother, Zhaixingzi, secretly gave a nod, and Chuchenzi nodded in understanding. He mustered his courage, tiptoed forward, and softly called out, "Master? Master!"

Chuchenzi was drenched in cold sweat, summoning all the courage he had from birth, and boldly patted Ding Chunqiu's shoulder. The moment his hand touched the shoulder, his whole body suddenly stiffened.

"Bold and wicked disciple!" Ding Chunqiu's voice suddenly rang out.

"Master, spare me!" "Immortal, spare me!" The disciples of the Xingxiu Sect were so frightened that they all knelt down. Zhaixingzi prostrated himself on the ground, repeatedly bowing until his forehead was bloody. The disciples of the Xingxiu Sect bowed like pounding garlic, their faces covered in blood, and the disciples of the Beggar Sect could feel the ground beneath their feet trembling slightly.

"Zhaixingzi, you are so bold. Will you gouge out your own eyes, or shall I do it myself?" The chilling voice sent shivers down Zhaixingzi's spine.

"I dare not trouble the Immortal, I dare not trouble Master." He reached back and plunged his hand into his left eye, blood streaming down, making his face look like that of a demon. Seeing him ruthlessly blind himself, the onlookers felt a chill run through their limbs. Ding Chunqiu, who could make someone do such a thing, seemed even more mysterious to them.

"Blind the other one too!" The chilling voice continued. In the pain, Zhaixingzi's mind became clearer, and he detected a hint of a smile in his "Master's" voice. Struggling out of Ding Chunqiu's shadow, he realized that Ding Chunqiu was still lying motionless on the ground.

"Still not moving!" The voice urged. Zhaixingzi suddenly jumped up, waved his hands, and a poisonous wind knocked down a group of Beggar Sect disciples. He reached out and struck a purple-clothed, mischievous girl hiding in the crowd, "Azi, you are courting death!" Zhaixingzi, in a frenzy, endured the pain in his left eye and used all his vicious moves to make Azi suffer.

Suddenly, four people rushed out to protect Azi. Another middle-aged scholar supported Azi, anxiously saying, "Azi, come back!" He used his pure Yang Finger force to break through Zhaixingzi's poisonous palm, pulling Azi back four steps into the crowd.

Zhaixingzi, covering his palm, staggered back to the Xingxiu Sect disciples, waving away those who tried to help him, and kicked to death a disciple who tried to sneak-attack him. His first action was to check on Ding Chunqiu.

Seeing Chuchenzi standing stiffly in front of Ding Chunqiu, Zhaixingzi flew into a rage and struck Chuchenzi's back. Unexpectedly, it was like hitting leather, and he easily sent Chuchenzi flying three zhang, landing on the ground. Dark purple blood flowed from Chuchenzi's grayish-white orifices, clearly indicating he had been dead for some time.

The heroes were all shocked, retreating dozens of steps, forming a large circle around Ding Chunqiu. Even Azi's face was uncertain. She had already believed Ding Chunqiu was dead, but seeing Chuchenzi's condition, she had more doubts: Could such a terrifying old monster really be dead?

"Ah, ah, ah!" A heart-wrenching scream came from Zhaixingzi. Everyone was horrified to see him killing people wildly. His orifices were covered in blood, and purple pus oozed from his mouth and nose. His martial arts were ten times stronger than usual, and Moyunzi could not break free from his grip.

The Xingxiu Sect disciples put aside their past grudges and joined forces to deal with this "eldest brother" who was slaughtering everyone. However, in a short time, those who were caught and injured by Zhaixingzi also went mad, and soon the entire Xingxiu Sect was in chaos, everyone killing each other regardless of their relationships.

The Beggar Sect and the heroes were silent, shocked by the bloody scene. The Xingxiu Sect disciples were all evil, and each one was a target for the righteous to eliminate. However, even these righteous disciples were stunned by the scene. Hundreds of disciples were dead or injured in a few breaths.

Blood and flesh surrounded Ding Chunqiu, forming a large circle. There was not a single conscious Xingxiu Sect disciple left, only dozens of corpses killing each other. Silently, dozens of riders in flying fish uniforms appeared, watching quietly. At a whistle, all the Xingxiu Sect corpses collapsed as if they had lost their power.

A smiling leader of the Forbidden Martial Hall walked to Ding Chunqiu, pried open his body, and removed a swallow-tail dart from his chest. Then he turned to the crowd, and with each step, the Beggar Sect and the heroes retreated, staying more than thirty zhang away. He smiled and said, "Just now, Tong Dushu ordered that anyone who advances will be killed without mercy!"

"Now that those who should die have been killed, the Duke is waiting in the hall for everyone. Please come in!"

He ignored the pale faces of the heroes and shouted up the mountain:

"Monks, come out and clean up!"

His voice was not loud, but it echoed clearly in everyone's ears. Even Xuan Ci, far away in the Great Hero Hall, raised his eyelids. Several old monks sighed, recited a Buddhist chant, and closed their eyes, shaking their heads.

On the mountain path, a girl in a Dushu uniform smiled at Chen Ang and said coquettishly, "Duke, how did I do? Did it meet your expectations?"

"If you speak to me like that again, I will kill you! Tong Guan!" Chen Ang's face was calm, but his voice was stern, and Tong Guan believed he would do it.

She straightened her expression and said respectfully, "It's not that I'm putting on an act, but the deeper I practice the *Kuihua Manual*, the more I understand the subtleties of the transformation between heaven and man, the dynamics of yin and yang. I realize how hard life used to be, all because of power and status, which clouded my mind and confused my spirit."

"Only after the Duke imparted the divine skill did I realize that there is such a way of living in this world, such a taste in this dirty and mundane world. I suddenly felt that the 'intrigues and power struggles' of the past were so laughable. The wonderful transformation between heaven and man and the endless joy are truly the most meaningful things in this world."

Tong Guan's every smile and frown was like that of a young girl, exuding a seductive charm. The surrounding Longxiang Guards stared straight ahead, as if facing a great enemy.

"The *Kuihua Manual* has surprised me with your level of practice. I thought you would at most reach the stage of transforming from yin to yang and regaining male form, or the lower stage of male appearance with female characteristics, where yin and yang are indistinguishable. I didn't expect you to really turn yourself into a woman."

Chen Ang sighed, "The *Kuihua Manual* is an extremely yang martial art. To reach the stage of yang transforming into yin is already extraordinary. I didn't expect you to go further and understand the subtleties of yin and yang complementing each other, the transformation of heaven and man. You are neither male nor female, neither yin nor yang, neither mortal nor ordinary, but a heavenly being born out of nothing, with infinite bliss."

Tong Guan giggled, "Duke, you are not an ordinary mortal. You can see through my appearance, whether male or female, no self, no others, no life span. Since you have already enlightened, why do you still focus on these external appearances?"

"Since I have already enlightened, why should I still focus on enlightenment? What I put down, I can pick up again." Chen Ang smiled at her, but it made Tong Guan shiver, and she quickly lowered her head, "Understood, Duke."

"Your move just now was too cruel. A martial art that leaves no room for mercy is just a weapon of slaughter, not something to rely on to reach the path of heaven and man. You have a unique mind, but you have gradually gone to extremes. You look down on the *Life and Death Mark*, but the martial art you created based on it is not necessarily as refined."

Tong Guan felt guilty, "That Western Xia Empress actually had such a powerful ally. If they hadn't been plotting against each other at a critical moment, I might not have been able to defeat them."

"The martial arts books in the Lingjiu Palace, the Duke has read them all. You know that I practiced the *Eight Extremes and Six Directions Supreme Power* to reach the stage of yang transforming into yin, breaking free from the constraints of the *Kuihua Manual* created by the Duke. I originally wanted to create my own martial art, but after much thought, I found that it still revolved around the *Kuihua Manual*. Only then did I realize that the Duke, though not fully accomplished, left behind the shadow of further progress."

"My path to the heavenly being is still in the shadow of the Duke!" Tong Guan looked deeply at Chen Ang and sighed, "This martial art is powerful, but it is far from reaching the great path. Compared to the *Kuihua Manual*, it is just a toy."

"The *Life and Death Mark* uses yin and yang to touch the human acupoints, which is a common idea. You, however, could draw on my *Jinkui Yaolue* and the idea of 'the universe as a large human body, the human body as a small universe' to use various gases as the *Life and Death Mark*." Chen Ang nodded, "Yin six, yang nine, myriad gases, I organized them into yin and yang, but you categorized them into myriad phenomena, creating various exotic true qi. Using exotic true qi as medicine, you can mix it into poison. Although the qi poison is derived from my diseased true qi, the understanding you gained is not necessarily inferior to mine. Ding Chunqiu is just a minor poison master, using qi poison to kill him is too much of an honor!"

Chen Ang looked at the foot of the mountain and said, "All qi poisons use qi as a carrier, like a parasite in internal energy. Once it is slightly sensed, the internal poison is generated. Using the Xingxiu Sect's internal energy as the poison base, it won't harm others, and it can easily kill the entire Xingxiu Sect in a chain reaction."

"Kill without mercy!" Tong Guan laughed.

"If such martial arts are used to specialize in killing, it is a great waste!" Chen Ang shook his head, "Martial arts are not for killing. The specialized killing martial arts were not created by Dharma, not by Xianzi, and not by me. If you can use exotic true qi to brew the elixir of immortality, wouldn't that be better than creating a martial art that kills millions, a poison?"

Tong Guan was stunned, then suddenly smiled like a peach blossom in spring, "The Duke is right, I have gone astray. In this world, those I can kill don't need the qi poison, and those I can't kill..." She glanced at Chen Ang and continued, "Even with millions of qi poisons, it would be useless. This is indeed a useless martial art."

"Unfortunately, many of the secret agents of the imperial court have practiced this martial art. Although they have not practiced it for long, and I don't plan to teach them more advanced techniques, it is still a hidden danger. I don't want the whole world to be filled with madmen practicing killing martial arts, causing the righteous path to decline."

"Let's call this martial art *Tianlu Guidao*. I will complete its missing parts, and it will be a good thing for it to be one of the many flowers in the martial arts world, competing with the others." Chen Ang smiled.

Tong Guan waved her hand, complaining, "The swallow-tail dart is still too heavy. It would be better if it were a silver needle. *Tianlu Guidao* should use silver needles as weapons. In a small space, life and death are decided in an instant, which would be very suitable."

Chen Ang ignored her, and the gate of Shaolin Temple was already in sight.

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