Chapter 23

The old Taoist pointed the way and severed the great river?

The Canglan River, that is the largest river in the Northern Liang territory.

Xu Fengnian sprayed a mouthful of tea onto the face of the old Taoist, who had been the head of Wudang for thirty years. The old Taoist merely wiped it off and turned to glare at his talkative junior brother. Xu Fengnian quickly apologized a few times, but Wang Chonglou, with a good temper, did not mind and continued to drink his tea. Xu Fengnian quietly observed this first person of Wudang, whose forehead was slightly red, like a vertical eyebrow. Despite his white hair, his appearance did not show signs of old age. Xu Fengnian suddenly remembered a book he had casually flipped through in the Tingchao Pavilion during his youth, *Three Thousand Phenomena*, a Taoist side text, which mentioned a profound internal skill of Wudang called the Supreme Jade Liquid Refinement, which first forms a dan (elixir) and infant, then travels through the five organs, and finally connects the limbs, transforming red blood into white milk, making one look young, immune to cold and heat, and marking the initial entry into the realm of immortality. Xu Fengnian had never taken such occasional records seriously, but after hearing the two fingers and seeing the majestic aura of Wang Chonglou, he could not help but believe.

After the old Taoist finished his tea and left, Xu Fengnian saw Hong Xiang still squatting by the side, frowned, and said, "Riding the ox, aren't you going to leave?"

Hong Xiang responded with an "oh" and slowly walked back to Little Lotus Peak, passing through the Three Palaces and Six Observatories. Countless Taoists of all ages respectfully called him "Grandmaster" and "Supreme Grandmaster." He acknowledged them all, and some familiar juniors even stopped to chat for a few moments. He slowly walked to the Immortal Ascension Cliff and found his headmaster brother standing by the Turtle Carrying Stele. Hong Xiang quickened his steps and called out, "Big Brother Wang."

Wang Chonglou, almost a head taller than Hong Xiang, turned to see his gloomy junior brother and teased, "Did your hidden stash get confiscated by Senior Brother Chen again?"

Hong Xiang shook his head, hesitating to speak. Wang Chonglou patted his junior brother's shoulder and walked away, stepping on the moonlight.

Xu Fengnian practiced a set of rolling saber techniques, without a fixed routine. The most important part was the angle and movement of the first strike, followed by a continuous flow of dozens to hundreds of strikes, aiming to be seamless and swift, using the least effort to achieve the fastest strike. This was not a private lesson from Old Kui but a simple saber technique Xu Fengnian had figured out himself. The rolling saber technique was aptly named. Compared to the sword techniques and standing sword methods mentioned by the headmaster, it seemed slightly different. Returning to the thatched cottage, he lay down on a hard bed, which was as firm as Wudang Mountain. Xu Fengnian did not mind, attributing it to his habit of sleeping outdoors with Old Huang. On the table were an oil lamp and two stacks of yellowed books, two sword manuals, and a *Zhaiyuan Jue*. At the bottom was a *Lushuiting Jiazi Xijianlu*. Xu Fengnian, without a nightshirt, decided to stay up all night and memorize these books. Wudang's internal techniques and oral formulas were widely known in the martial world, mostly fake, but some genuine lower-level techniques were also familiar to martial artists. Wudang did not deliberately suppress or obstruct their spread, as the techniques, though high, were only one part of the yin-yang fish, requiring daily unique body-building techniques to complement them.

Xu Fengnian was not interested in the sword manuals or *Zhaiyuan Jue*, but he was captivated by the *Lushuiting Jiazi Xijianlu*, a sixty-year record of sword practice by a Wudang ancestor. The language was obscure and not easy to understand. Xu Fengnian glanced at the dimly lit window, put down the *Lushuiting Jiazi Xijianlu*, and carried the Xiudong saber to White Elephant Pool. The closer he got, the louder the sound of the waterfall hitting the rocks. The cold water mist hit his face. There was a large rock protruding from the pool. Xu Fengnian walked along the edge of White Elephant Pool and found a path of green stone slabs leading into the waterfall. It turned out that the Hanging Ivory Waterfall on Immortal Ascension Peak had been hollowed out by Wudang's ancestors, and it was said that a true person had ascended here, leaving an ancient sword in the pool.

Xu Fengnian stood still, only two arms' length from the waterfall. His clothes gradually became wet.

Xu Fengnian exerted all his strength to slash horizontally with the saber.

The old Taoist had severed the river with two fingers; what about his full-strength strike?

Xu Fengnian felt a sharp pain. The Xiudong saber just touched the waterfall and flew out of his hand, drawing a clumsy arc in the air and falling to the ground. Xu Fengnian raised his hand and saw a large blood crack. He smiled and picked up the Xiudong saber, which was destined to be buried and forgotten. He took a deep breath and slashed again, but the result was the same. Xu Fengnian drew a cold breath, tore a piece of fabric from his clothes, wrapped it around his hand, sat on the ground, and picked up the Xiudong saber, no longer hoping to create a steady horizontal gap but only to keep it in his hand.

Switching to his left hand, he tried again, but it was even worse, and both he and the saber fell.

The young grandmaster appeared in the cave, surprised, and said, "You're practicing just like Senior Brother Chen did."

Xu Fengnian, finding some amusement in his misery, said, "That's how experts do it."

Hong Xiang softly said, "But I heard that by your age, Senior Brother Chen could create a few-inch gap with one strike."

Xu Fengnian, irritated, said, "Help me send a message to the Wang residence. There's a white fox face in seclusion there. Ask him to select forty to fifty martial arts techniques and have someone bring them up the mountain."

Hong Xiang, curious, asked, "Why?"

Xu Fengnian, lowering his head to tie the fabric around his left hand, ignored Hong Xiang.

The young grandmaster obediently went to run errands for the young lord. A mile away was the Ziyang Daoist Temple. He planned to ask the younger generation for help and would not go down the mountain himself.

A few days later, a slender woman, carrying a heavy backpack, struggled to climb the mountain.

What is the heaviest thing in the world? Affection? Loyalty? Nonsense, books are the heaviest.

Jiang Ni sat on a step halfway up the mountain, her waist almost broken. The nearby Taoists, who had been watching her wobble and might fall down the mountain at any moment, finally felt relieved. This extremely beautiful young woman had been escorted to the foot of the mountain by the Northern Liang cavalry and then climbed the steps alone. Initially, the Wudang Taoists offered to help, but she did not respond, only giving them a cold look. The Taoists cautiously followed behind, fearing she would fall with her luggage. A woman from the Northern Liang residence was not to be provoked. Jiang Ni looked up at the endless mountain peak, muttering words that the Taoists could not hear, all curses wishing Xu Fengnian a miserable death, but compared to her daily practice of stabbing voodoo dolls, this was already gentle. If that bastard prince were to stand in front of her now, she was sure she would pull out the divine talisman and take him down with her.

Jiang Ni rubbed her already red shoulders, gritted her teeth, and again picked up the heavy backpack, a pitiful sight in the crystal world.

The idle Hong Xiang was wandering on the mountain and happened to see this scene. He ran over to help, but before he could speak, Jiang Ni said, "A good dog doesn't block the way," her voice weak but her eyes fierce, not like a lowly maid from the residence. Hong Xiang smiled and said, "I'll lead the way for the young lady."

Seeing the thatched cottage, Jiang Ni was stunned.

This is where that bastard prince lives? He should be jumping and cursing, kicking all the Taoists down the mountain?

She plopped down on the ground, panting, feeling like she was about to die.

Hong Xiang was about to speak, but Jiang Ni glared at him, and he swallowed his words. The young grandmaster thought, "The women the young lord brings are different. Or maybe, as the eldest brother said, the women in the city are all tigers?" Despite his good intentions being misunderstood, Hong Xiang managed to pick up the backpack and move it into the thatched cottage. This time, Jiang Ni did not scold him, as she had no energy left. She wanted to fall asleep sitting down, and the pain in her shoulders and back had become numb, not touching it.

Just when she was about to fall asleep, her back was hit by a hard object. The action was small, but for Jiang Ni, it was like pouring oil on a fire and laying thick snow on thin ice. The pain reached its limit, and she turned with a sob, seeing that hateful, detestable, and loathsome face. She somehow found some strength and bit down on the young lord's calf, who was barefoot and holding a saber.

Xu Fengnian hit her face with the sword scabbard, sending the princess of the fallen kingdom flying. The force was just right, not light or heavy, not enough to hurt her. Xu Fengnian frowned and scolded, "Are you a dog?"

Jiang Ni, more ashamed than in pain, could not move and grabbed a handful of dirt to throw at Xu Fengnian.

Xu Fengnian did not get angry, just used the Xiudong saber to knock the dirt back, turning Jiang Ni into a small mud figure.

"Xu Fengnian, you will not have a good end!"

"Come on, Jiang Ni, little dog, bite me to death."

"You are not human!"

"Ah, Jiang Ni, you look so fresh and cute now. If you have the nerve, throw the divine talisman at me, that would be really tough."

"I will stab you to death one day!"

"Alright, I won't fight back. Why are you still sitting on the ground? Jiang Ni, little dog, you can't be so extreme as to make me put my neck on the talisman and slit it myself? That's too tyrannical."

One sitting, one standing, one crying, one laughing.

Who could imagine that these two young people, of similar age, were the eldest princess of a fallen kingdom and the eldest son of the Northern Liang king?

Seeing this scene, the young grandmaster, finding it more incomprehensible than the scriptures, said, "I'll go back to riding the ox."

{Piaotian Literature}