Chapter 27

Xin Laoyao stepped forward to meet him, and the two clashed, exchanging several blows. Xin Laoyao soon sensed that something was off with the other party. Wei Shizhong’s strength was unusually great, but he couldn’t control his body well, like a child wielding a large iron hammer, unable to retract his movements, often overreaching.

Under Deng Yuantong’s guidance, Xin Laoyao had already opened two "acquired orifices," reaching the realm of external emission of primordial energy. Wei Shizhong still relied on his strong body and brute force, being suppressed by the sharp metal energy, gradually falling into a disadvantage.

Xu Li wasn’t the first to forcibly take a beauty, but this time the girl was a bit too young. Xin Laoyao wasn’t the first to get his hands dirty with heaven-defying and man-angering deeds. Since he had followed a master like Xu Li, he had to be prepared to fall into depravity. He had long given up on being a righteous good person. However, he didn’t deliver a fatal blow, always leaving a margin. This was the teaching of his deceased father and his own bottom line.

After a brief struggle, Wei Shizhong’s fighting became increasingly disordered, his moves becoming more and more chaotic, often arching his back to collide with Xin Laoyao. There was no such move in martial arts, exposing the vital points of his back to the opponent. Was this a deliberate flaw, or was he just confused? Xin Laoyao was puzzled, stepping back quickly, his fists and feet striking continuously, landing heavily on Wei Shizhong’s back. The sharp metal energy dissipated silently, like a clay ox entering the sea. Wei Shizhong bellowed like a bull, his voice growing louder and more resonant, showing no signs of injury.

Xin Laoyao grew more and more alarmed as he fought, his strikes becoming heavier. Suddenly, Wei Shizhong straightened his spine, a series of light sounds emanating from his body. The Shen Dao acupoint burst open, and the Geng Earth energy immediately converged at the "Lingtai" and "Shen Dao" acupoints, flowing and blending like tides. The blood in his eyes faded, and he exhaled a long white breath that condensed and did not disperse, shooting out like an arrow several feet away.

Previously, Wei Shizhong had been practicing the "He Qi Zhi Xuan Jing" by the mountain stream, refining the demon core of the brocade-patterned mouse. The Geng Earth energy filled his body, and he bit his teeth, using his back to collide with trees, continuously impacting the Shen Dao acupoint. Just as he was enduring the pain, he suddenly heard the howl of the blue wolf and stumbled toward the boiling spring, just in time to see Xu Li and Xin Laoyao bullying his junior sister.

Unable to control the abundant primordial energy in his body, he had a sudden idea and simply arched his back to collide with Xin Laoyao, enticing him to strike his back, similar to colliding with trees. Unexpectedly, due to a series of coincidences, Xin Laoyao’s external emission of primordial energy, containing sharp metal energy, combined with the Geng Earth energy inside his body, opening the second acupoint, increasing his primordial energy several times over.

Wei Shizhong turned around and launched a fierce attack. Both were tough and resilient, their fists and feet striking each other with a buzzing sound. Xin Laoyao, who had not tempered his body, was far less durable than his opponent. After just a few blows, the sharp metal energy in his acupoints was scattered, blood seeping from his seven orifices, his appearance terrifying.

Xu Li’s face turned pale. If that sandalwood-sized fist had hit him, it would have been fatal!

Wei Shizhong stopped, not pressing his advantage, and Xin Laoyao didn’t pursue, silently stepping aside, taking out healing pills, hesitating for a moment, then reluctant to take them.

Wei Shizhong first went to the boiling spring to help his junior sister up. Qin Zhen softly called out, "Senior Brother," looking pitiful. She had been kicked by Xin Laoyao, shaking her internal organs, but fortunately, there was no serious damage. Checking the blue wolf, its injuries were much worse. Although it also practiced the "Xiaoyue Gong," it had been practicing for a short time, was in animal form, and was weak against the sharp metal energy. It seemed it wouldn’t recover for a while. He frowned and looked at Xu Li, who hurriedly raised his sword, then thought it was inappropriate and hid it behind his back, smiling apologetically, "Brother, look at what happened, it was a misunderstanding... I didn’t know the wolf was yours..."

Xin Laoyao stepped in front of Xu Li and said, "This time we admit defeat, you set the terms."

Wei Shizhong remembered Xu Li’s background, the youngest son of a general in the northwest border army and the nephew of an inner disciple of Xian Du, Deng Yuantong. He felt that giving him a lesson wouldn’t be difficult, but he was afraid of endless repercussions. After a moment’s thought, he extended his hand, "Give me your healing pills."

Xin Laoyao readily took out three pills, yellowish in color, with an uneven surface, "These are Pingfu Pills, for internal and external use. There are only three left." He crushed one and swallowed it, indicating there was no problem.

Wei Shizhong took the pills and said, "Don’t come to harass my junior sister again. Everything has its limits, you understand."

"Alright, I’ll do my best to stop the young master."

"Who told you that my junior sister was practicing at the boiling spring?"

Xin Laoyao hesitated, looking toward Xianyun Peak. Wei Shizhong understood and didn’t ask further.

Xu Li saw that the two had reached an agreement in just a few words, completely ignoring him, feeling somewhat indignant but not daring to show it, and said with a forced smile, "Brother, it’s getting late, we need to get back to Xianyun Peak. Shall we part ways here?"

Wei Shizhong waved his hand, and Xin Laoyao bowed to him, escorting Xu Li down the mountain.

Wei Shizhong crushed one Pingfu Pill, using half internally and half externally to treat the blue wolf. The wolf whined pitifully, and Wei Shizhong patted its head, saying, "Got hurt, didn’t you?" When he took the remaining pill to his junior sister, Qin Zhen pursed her lips and shook her head, "I don’t want anything that the bad person touched."

Her injuries weren’t serious, so if she didn’t want to take it, she didn’t have to. Wei Shizhong saw her drenched, her clothes clinging to her body, her figure still developing, and couldn’t help but think of the phrase, "Lolitas have three good points: clear voice, soft body, and easy to push over." He smiled inwardly. Qin Zhen saw him bare-chested, smiling ambiguously, her heart racing, and asked, "Senior Brother, what are you smiling about?"

"Thinking of a joke, I’ll tell you later."

"When?"

"When you grow up."

Wei Shizhong gathered some dry branches and started a fire under a sheltered rock, telling Qin Zhen to take off her clothes to dry them, so she wouldn’t catch a cold. He jumped into the sulfur-rich hot spring, groaning in comfort, and closed his eyes.

"Senior Brother, what are you doing?"

"Taking a hot spring bath..."

After a while, Qin Zhen asked again, "Senior Brother, where is your shirt?"

"In the rush to come, I forgot to put it on, it’s probably still by the mountain stream."

"Senior Brother, there’s something I don’t know if I should ask... why did you take off your shirt?"

"Hmm, you shouldn’t ask."

"Hehe, Senior Brother, I opened one ‘acquired orifice,’ pretty impressive, right?"

"Very impressive. Among Master’s five disciples, you have the best talent. Even among all the probationary disciples, you are one of the best."

"Then why couldn’t I beat the bad person?"

"Because you’re young and haven’t practiced martial arts. Also, the bad person has nine innate orifices, his talent surpasses yours."

"… But Senior Brother just said I was one of the best!"

"Right, not the best, but the second best."

The two chatted for a while. Qin Zhen dried her clothes and poked her head out from behind the rock, "Senior Brother, I added more wood, the fire is still strong. Come over and dry yourself, I’ll go to the mountain stream to get your shirt!" She skipped lightly toward the mountain stream, and Wei Shizhong watched her back, thinking that having a junior sister around wasn’t so lonely after all.