Chapter 5-6: The Remains of the Nine Yin Scripture

Qian Xing felt the wind blowing in his face and secretly rejoiced, knowing that he had made the right bet this time.

Xiaolongnü, by nature kind, would certainly not stand by and watch him be punished by the Quanzhen Sect. Therefore, she would surely come to his aid. As long as she took him into the Living Dead Tomb, he would have the opportunity to learn more advanced martial arts, rather than the trashy beginner techniques he had now.

After Xiaolongnü brought Qian Xing into the Living Dead Tomb, she felt somewhat exhausted. Her snow-white, delicate, and incomparably beautiful face showed a look of uncertainty about what to do with Qian Xing.

At this moment, only a man and a woman were in the Living Dead Tomb. Xiaolongnü was no longer completely ignorant of the matters between men and women, and she felt a bit uncertain about what to do with this young man who had saved her honor.

Qian Xing, the cunning merchant, was very clever. He immediately retold the story he had fabricated about encountering Mongol soldiers committing violence, how he had drawn his sword to help, and was forced to flee, with great enthusiasm and righteousness.

Seeing that Xiaolongnü's gaze now held a hint of admiration, Qian Xing knew that his favor in her eyes had increased.

The cunning merchant Qian Xing immediately seized the opportunity and knelt before Xiaolongnü, saying, "This fairy sister, the Quanzhen Sect will certainly not accept me. Please take me in as a disciple of the great Gumu Sect!"

Even though Xiaolongnü's gaze was as clear as autumn water and as cold as black ice, she was now at a loss.

Thinking that although this man did not have the manly qualities of Guo Xiang, he had at least saved her honor, leading to his current situation where the Quanzhen Sect could not tolerate him and he had nowhere to go, she could only nod lightly.

A prompt box immediately appeared: "You have become a disciple of the Gumu Sect and have learned the basic Gumu Sect internal martial arts. Agree | Disagree?"

Qian Xing clicked "agree," and the basic Gumu Sect internal martial arts immediately appeared in his mind, starting to run automatically.

However, Qian Xing's expression remained calm.

The basic internal martial arts of the Gumu Sect were not stronger than those of the Quanzhen Sect.

Xiaolongnü had not performed the muscle-changing technique on him to double his power, so his goal was set on the most valuable target in the Living Dead Tomb—the Remains of the Nine Yin Scripture!

The founder of the Quanzhen Sect, Wang Chongyang, left fragments of the Nine Yin Scripture in the tomb chamber of the Living Dead Tomb because he could not bear the martial arts created by the founder of the Gumu Sect, Lin Chaoying, which were designed to counter the Quanzhen Sect, to regain his pride.

Immediately, Qian Xing's cunning merchant skills came into play again. He said that Lin Chaoying, who had resisted the barbarians, had become an idol for all men of ambition. Although the Quanzhen Sect's Taoists did not show it openly, they secretly admired Lin Chaoying very much.

Since he had the good fortune to be accepted as a disciple of the Gumu Sect, he naturally thought of paying a solemn tribute to the place where Lin Chaoying was buried, to show his respect for her, a woman who did not forget to resist foreign enemies, and to set an example for all men!

Although Xiaolongnü had been neighbors with the Quanzhen Sect for over ten years, she did not have a clear idea of how the Quanzhen Sect's Taoists viewed her ancestor.

After listening to Qian Xing's persuasion, she felt that he was a person who respected teachers and ancestors. She immediately led Qian Xing along the path they had taken to enter.

Qian Xing then remembered that the dragon-breaking stone at the front of the Living Dead Tomb had already been lowered, and the path he had taken to enter was a secret passage marked on the top of the tomb chamber where the stone coffins were placed.

Sure enough, after turning several corners, they arrived at a secret chamber containing several stone coffins.

Qian Xing was overjoyed, knowing that the stone carvings of the Nine Yin Scripture were below this stone chamber, and the mechanism to open it was inside an empty coffin.

After Xiaolongnü pointed out Lin Chaoying's stone coffin, Qian Xing immediately knelt down and burst into tears!

Qian Xing's tears were genuine! He thought about how he had been sent to this place, and with his small body, he had to kill twenty Mongol soldiers, two decurions, and prevent a certain group from advancing. If he failed, he would be completely erased. In this situation, how could he not cry and lament his bad luck as a virgin?

Seeing her new disciple crying so mournfully, Xiaolongnü's heart ached. She thought of her deceased teacher who had raised her from a young age, and her grief triggered her internal injuries.

She quickly pointed out the room where Sun Po had lived and told Qian Xing to stay in the bed where Sun Po had once slept that night.

She had to treat her injuries and would not be able to guide Qian Xing's training for at least two days.

Qian Xing was overjoyed! An unprecedented opportunity had arrived!

The tomb chamber was left with only a solitary oil lamp, but Qian Xing's heart was filled with a wild joy of impending success!

He successively opened the lids of several empty coffins and finally saw sixteen large characters on the inside of one lid: "The Jade Maiden Heart Sutra, surpassing the Quanzhen. Chongyang's life, not inferior to anyone."

He secretly exclaimed, "Good! This is the one!"

He immediately leaped into the coffin and felt around. Sure enough, he found a hollow that could fit his hand. He tightly gripped it, turned it to the left, and then lifted it up. With a crack, the stone slab at the bottom of the coffin rose, revealing a row of stone steps below. The steps led to a short passage.

This passage had been visited by Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü not long ago, so there should be no poisonous gases or other dangers. Qian Xing walked straight down, turned a corner, and indeed entered a stone chamber.

Looking up, he saw the stone chamber ceiling covered with dense, large characters. The first four characters, written in a flowing and elegant style, read: "Nine Yin Scripture!"

A system prompt immediately appeared: "You have discovered the Chinese ancient martial arts—Remains of the Nine Yin Scripture. Skill level: B-. Learning conditions: Quanzhen Sect basic internal martial arts, basic sword techniques, Gumu Sect basic internal martial arts, or basic sword techniques. Confirm learning | Disagree?"

Qian Xing, of course, clicked "confirm" without hesitation.

Immediately, five blank progress bars appeared before his eyes, each occupying the entire width of the screen. Each progress bar was ten times longer than the basic internal martial arts!

Qian Xing did not know that as a newcomer to the arena, being able to learn a C- level skill was an incredibly lucky thing.

Ordinary newcomers could only start learning skills of a similar level to their own—E-level skills. As their level increased, they would have to learn corresponding level skills.

Of course, some newcomers could learn skills that could be upgraded as their level increased, but the proportion of such people was even rarer than winning the lottery.

B- level skills were already considered advanced. Advanced skills that newbies could learn were only available in a few of the countless skills in the arena, and Chinese ancient martial arts was one of them!

With Qian Xing's limited knowledge of ancient martial arts, the Nine Yin Scripture contained countless sub-sections. He continued to search for a skill similar to the Iron Sand Palm to rapidly improve his abilities.

Suddenly, a small title caught his eye—Nine Yin White Bone Claw!

The Iron Sand Palm was an external skill, and the Nine Yin White Bone Claw in the Nine Yin Scripture was similar to it!

Looking at the prompt "Nine Yin White Bone Claw—Learn | Disagree?"

Qian Xing, without hesitation, clicked "learn"!

In the stone room where Sun Po had lived, Qian Xing sat cross-legged, practicing the internal martial arts of the Nine Yin Scripture. His hands, which had been rough from practicing the Iron Sand Palm, now had ten fingers that faintly glowed white, though the power was not deep and could not be seen without careful observation.

For two whole days, Qian Xing did not leave Sun Po's stone bed. He had originally wanted to practice on the Gumu Sect's cold jade bed, but Xiaolongnü needed it to treat her internal injuries.

Despite this, after practicing for two days, Qian Xing felt that the strength in his hands had increased significantly! After seven or eight years of practicing the Iron Sand Palm, he had a basic sense of it.

Two days passed, and Xiaolongnü's injuries had greatly improved. She came to see her new disciple. Qian Xing, upon waking, quickly jumped off the stone bed and bowed.

Fortunately, when Xiaolongnü and Yang Guo were in this stone room, they did not know that the Nine Yin Scripture was the pinnacle of martial arts and did not carefully examine it. They focused most of their attention on the secret passage out of the tomb and were then captured by Li Mochou.

Therefore, Xiaolongnü did not recognize that her new disciple had learned a skill far more powerful than the Gumu Sect's in just two days.

Qian Xing considered his skills: his internal and external martial arts were no longer a concern.

However, his sword skills were still at the beginner level, and he needed to earnestly seek guidance.

The Gumu Sect's sword skills required first practicing the basic palm technique, "Heavenly Net and Earthly Web." In the past, Yang Guo used eighty-one live sparrows to practice for three months to master this "Heavenly Net and Earthly Web" palm technique.

At this time, with her injuries, Xiaolongnü did not have the time to catch sparrows for Qian Xing to practice. She first taught him the first twenty-four moves of the "Heavenly Net and Earthly Web" palm technique.

This "Heavenly Net and Earthly Web" palm technique was much more complex and powerful than the Quanzhen Sect's basic sword technique.

The Quanzhen Sect's basic sword technique focused on the long-term, mainly on building a solid foundation for sword techniques. In terms of practical combat, it was far inferior to the "Heavenly Net and Earthly Web" palm technique.

Despite this, Qian Xing practiced the twenty-four moves for two days, and during the day, he practiced on the cold jade bed.

After two days, he had barely mastered them. Using this palm technique to catch sparrows was impossible, but Qian Xing judged that it would be enough to fight the Mongol soldiers.

It was now the eighth day, and he had to take a chance and go down the mountain.

However, Qian Xing fabricated an excuse, saying that his childhood sweetheart was still in the village below the mountain and was afraid of Mongol retaliation. He had to go down the mountain to ensure her safety and asked his fairy master to give him a few Jade Bee Needles for self-defense!

This excuse struck the kind-hearted Xiaolongnü deeply. Such a devoted person reminded her of the imaginary girlfriend Qian Xing had, who was like herself, abandoned in the tomb by Yang Guo!

She immediately gave him four Jade Bee Needles and a bottle of Jade Bee Royal Jelly as the antidote.

A system prompt immediately appeared: "You have obtained the Gumu Sect's Jade Bee Needles, quantity 4, level B+."

The Jade Bee Needles were fine as hair, made of 60% gold and 40% fine steel, and coated with the venom from the stinger of a jade bee.

Although small, they could still reach far when thrown due to the weight of the gold, with the distance depending on the user's power.

Qian Xing, delighted, left the Living Dead Tomb and rushed towards the direction of the Mongol camp in his memory, down the Zhongnan Mountain!

Again, at the water-fetching path, this time there were three Mongol soldiers, two carrying buckets, and one guarding them, all with waist knives.

Qian Xing crouched motionless. Although he had only learned the basic skills of the Nine Yin Scripture, his breathing had become almost imperceptible.

When the two soldiers carrying the buckets passed, a snake-like sword light, close to the ground, cut the legs of the last soldier holding a curved sword into two. The strong Mongol soldier screamed and fell to the ground. A figure suddenly burst from the grass, and a pale hand fiercely pierced through the light leather armor, into the heart of the bearded Mongol soldier.

This was Qian Xing, who had been lying in wait. Feeling a warm current from the soldier's heart flow into his left hand, Qian Xing pushed the dead soldier away, blocked and twisted his sword, and deflected the curved sword of the second soldier, who was attacking from the front.

With a spin and a slide, the sword tip trembled and flashed, piercing the shoulder well point of the second soldier's right hand. The second soldier immediately lost strength in his right hand, and the curved sword fell.

Qian Xing, having the advantage of a surprise attack, did not rush to kill the Mongol soldier but instead used the basic footwork to face off against the first soldier, who had drawn his waist knife.

The Nine Yin White Bone Claw was the most yin and evil martial art, requiring the absorption of a large amount of blood qi to reach its highest level.

The two places in any living being with the most blood qi were the heart and the top of the head. The blood qi in the top of the head was purer than that in the heart!

The heart and the top of the head were the pure yang parts of the body. Using the pure yang blood qi to practice the pure yin martial art, the Nine Yin Scripture, was indeed the pinnacle of yin and evil martial arts.

The Mongol soldier, seeing his two companions die in an instant, was not afraid. His face was full of ferocity and hatred. He roared and slashed diagonally, trying to cut Qian Xing in half from his left shoulder to his right waist.

However, Qian Xing dodged strangely, aiming for the Mongol soldier's right wrist. This was a move from the "Heavenly Net and Earthly Web" palm technique, converting the palm technique into a sword technique to cut off the Mongol soldier's right hand. Unexpectedly, the Mongol soldier had two hands and twisted his right hand to avoid the move. Just as he was about to change his move, a figure flashed, and Qian Xing, like a flying bird, pounced into the man's chest, discarding his sword in mid-air and using his hand to fiercely pierce the man's heart.

Feeling the blood qi flow into his right hand, Qian Xing pulled his hand out and, with blood-drenched hands, pounced on the Mongol soldier whose right shoulder had been pierced, who was about to scream. The soldier's scream turned into a howl, and a bloody hole appeared in his chest.

After killing three people, the Nine Yin Scripture's internal martial arts ran, and he clearly heard the angry shouts and running sounds of the patrolling soldiers in the distance.

He immediately judged that there were five people running. He laughed inwardly, thinking that he could determine the number of people based on their footsteps from such a distance. A few days ago, even after practicing the Iron Sand Palm for six more years, he could not have achieved this. Unexpectedly, after practicing the Nine Yin Scripture for a few days, he had reached this level!

Qian Xing lowered his head and slipped into the bushes like a rat.

For Qian Xing, five patrolling soldiers were no longer a problem, but the arrows they had shot at him on the first day, which had deeply pierced the pine tree, reminded him that his small body was much softer than the thick pine wood!