Chapter 69

Yue Fangxing walked for half a li and suddenly stopped. His alertness had become instinctive, and he did not let it slip even in his haste. Despite his hurried pace, he still sensed something amiss, hearing uneven breathing from the side of the road, coarse and irregular, as if someone was injured and enduring pain.

Although he had this suspicion, Yue Fangxing did not dare to be careless. He held his sword in his right hand and looked around. He noticed a patch of grass that was noticeably shorter than the surrounding area and knew that the person emitting the breathing sounds was likely hiding there. He approached cautiously.

The person, hearing the footsteps getting closer, realized he had been discovered and no longer held back, groaning in pain.

Yue Fangxing recognized the voice and felt a mix of surprise, joy, and anger when he saw the person's face. "Tian Boguang!" he exclaimed. He was surprised that Tian Boguang had been injured so severely, as there were few in the martial world with such skill; he was delighted to have found Tian Boguang after several days of searching; and he was angry that he had wasted several days, and that Linghuchong's injury was also related to Tian Boguang.

Tian Boguang shouted, "Who are you? I am Tian Boguang. Ouch! Ouch!" Although he had fought Yue Fangxing before, it was at night, and he had not seen his face clearly, so he did not recognize him.

Yue Fangxing knew that Tian Boguang was a villain who committed all sorts of evil deeds, including abduction and rape. He did not want to waste words with him. Calming his mind, he used the Soul Transference Technique and said softly, "Tian Boguang, look at yourself!"

Hearing this, Tian Boguang involuntarily looked over and saw a pair of clear, deep eyes. Then he knew nothing more.

The Soul Transference Technique was a skill Yue Fangxing had learned from an ancient tomb. It could not only assist in breath control and meridian unblocking but also use mental power to subdue enemies. However, if the opponent's mind was focused, this technique was often ineffective, and if the opponent's internal strength was higher, it could backfire on the user. Therefore, although Yue Fangxing had become quite proficient in using it for breath control, he rarely used it on others, fearing the potential harm. However, since Tian Boguang was severely injured, his mind was unstable, and his strength was far inferior, Yue Fangxing feared he might try some trick, so he used the Soul Transference Technique, which proved effective.

Yue Fangxing first sealed several vital points on Tian Boguang, completely subduing him, and asked, "Tian Boguang, who injured you?" He suspected it might be Master Bujie, as Tian Boguang had come to Huashan to invite Linghuchong, and Bujie had forced him to do so. Since Yue Fangxing was now looking for Bujie, he naturally asked about this first.

Tian Boguang's eyes were lifeless as he said dully, "I don't know. I was walking on the road when suddenly I was grabbed by two hands and two feet and lifted into the air. I couldn't see anything, but I knew it was six people, and their speech was chaotic and unclear."

Yue Fangxing was startled, realizing it must have been the Six Freaks of Taigu. He was puzzled, as the Six Freaks of Taigu were also looking for Linghuchong. Why weren't they allies? He asked, "Aren't you all allies? Why did they injure you?"

Tian Boguang replied, "Of course not. I've never met them before. These six people came to Huashan to find someone and asked me where this person was. I guessed they were looking for Senior Feng, so I didn't tell them. I had sworn not to reveal it, and they tortured me for it."

Yue Fangxing asked about the events of the past few days and found that, except for the fact that Linghuchong had managed to block a few more moves at the beginning of their fight, everything was the same as in the original story. Linghuchong had still been defeated after receiving guidance from Feng Qingyang, greatly improving his sword skills.

Seeing that he could not obtain any useful information, Yue Fangxing began to force Tian Boguang to reveal his martial arts skills, especially his lightness technique, which had caused him much trouble in the past few days.

Under the control of the Soul Transference Technique, Tian Boguang unknowingly revealed all his martial arts skills. Yue Fangxing heard about a set of lightness techniques, several sword techniques, and an internal skill that involved the practice of yin-yang supplementation, which explained why Tian Boguang was a notorious rapist and had become a top expert at a relatively young age. This evil skill indeed progressed quickly.

After asking these questions, Yue Fangxing lifted the Soul Transference Technique and sighed. If Tian Boguang had not been injured, he might have been useful in helping Yue Buqun use the Purple Mist Divine Skill to heal Linghuchong, and it might have been worth sparing his life. But seeing his current state, he was clearly of no use. Moreover, he had recently caused chaos in Guanzhong and was a notorious rapist who had harmed countless innocent women. If such a person were not killed, who else should be?

With the thought of killing him, Yue Fangxing was about to strike when he suddenly heard a voice: "This man has kept his word, so spare his life!"

Yue Fangxing was delighted, recognizing the voice as Feng Qingyang's. He looked around but saw no one.

However, he was still overjoyed, knowing that Feng Qingyang was nearby. He called out loudly, "Great Uncle Feng, my senior brother is now severely injured and on the brink of death. We need someone to guard us while we treat his injuries. Please, Great Uncle, help us!" He quickly recounted Linghuchong's injury, fearing that Feng Qingyang would leave as he had before. With Feng Qingyang's help, Linghuchong could be saved.

"You can rest assured and treat his injuries. With me here, no one will disturb you," came the response after a while.

Yue Fangxing was overjoyed. With Feng Qingyang's assurance, he no longer worried about being disturbed. With his elder's skill and swordsmanship, they had nothing to fear from any number of enemies. He said gratefully, "Thank you, Great Uncle Feng!"

Just as he was about to leave, he looked at Tian Boguang on the ground and said, "Since Great Uncle Feng has spoken, I will spare his life. However, he has caused chaos in Guanzhong and must be taught a lesson." He pointed his finger and destroyed Tian Boguang's dantian, rendering him powerless.

Tian Boguang, still under the influence of the Soul Transference Technique, was dazed. He felt a pain in his lower abdomen and immediately became alert, realizing his true qi was dissipating. He had vaguely heard the words "Great Uncle Feng" and knew why his life had been spared. He laughed bitterly and said, "Thank you, Senior Feng, for sparing my life, but I have been struck with a fatal blow and poisoned. I have less than a month to live, and now I have no martial arts. What is there left to live for?" He gathered his remaining true qi and broke his own heart meridian, dying on the spot.

What a pity, a master of lightness techniques, to meet his end in a patch of grass.

Yue Fangxing felt a deep sense of sorrow. After all, Tian Boguang was a top expert who had roamed the martial world for many years. He never expected that in the grand scheme of things, he was just a pawn, and now he had met his end on Huashan. This was the fourth top expert he had seen die in the past half year. Together, these four could match the strength of the Huashan Sect's upper echelons. He wondered if the Huashan Sect could survive the coming calamity.

Encountering the Six Freaks of Taigu today made Yue Fangxing feel even more urgency. Seeing six top experts gathered together was truly terrifying! If the Huashan Sect were to fight these six, even if he and his parents could hold them off, just one of the six or a few more allies would render the other Huashan disciples powerless. If only his senior brother had not been injured, with his current sword skills, few in the world could defeat him.

Thinking of Linghuchong's severe injuries, Yue Fangxing put aside the emotions stirred by Tian Boguang's death and hurried up the mountain. Although he had not seen Feng Qingyang, he was not worried that he would ignore the matter. Given the relationship between Linghuchong and the Nine Swords of Dugu, Feng Qingyang would not abandon him.

In fact, Yue Fangxing's encounter with Feng Qingyang was both lucky and inevitable. Feng Qingyang had been teaching Linghuchong the Nine Swords of Dugu on the Cliff of Reflection for several days. Today, he was explaining some difficult points when he suddenly noticed Lu Dàyǒu climbing the mountain and hid. He heard Lu Dàyǒu say that the Sword Sect was coming to contest the leadership and wanted to take Linghuchong down. He did not stop him, thinking that it would be good for Linghuchong to go down and use his sword skills to convince the Sword Sect. With the Nine Swords of Dugu, Linghuchong could easily defeat a few of them.

However, Linghuchong did not return after going down the mountain and did not send any message. This made Feng Qingyang suspicious. Had something gone wrong? He went down the Cliff of Reflection to investigate.

On the way, Feng Qingyang saw Yue Fangxing rushing out and followed him quietly, wanting to find a secluded place to ask him what had happened. However, Yue Fangxing was in such a hurry that he never appeared. It was only when he saw Yue Fangxing stop and use a strange technique to interrogate Tian Boguang and was about to kill him that he remembered that Tian Boguang had kept his word and did not reveal his whereabouts. He could not help but speak up to save him, only to hear that Linghuchong was on the brink of death.

Hearing about Linghuchong's injury, Feng Qingyang was startled. He had just taught Linghuchong the Nine Swords of Dugu, and on his first outing, he was severely injured and on the brink of death. What had gone wrong? Was the Nine Swords of Dugu so weak? Although he was angry, he was more worried. After all, Linghuchong was the hard-won successor to the Nine Swords of Dugu. If he died, it would be a great loss, so he had to save him. Despite his vow not to intervene, he promised to guard the three while they treated Linghuchong's injuries.

However, Feng Qingyang did not want to be seen by other Huashan members or have people know he was on Huashan, as it would disturb his peace, so he did not appear.