Chapter 80

PS: Originally planned to update both the morning and evening chapters together, but after writing, Qianshan was too lazy to split them, so here’s a combined chapter of over four thousand words! Another update at midnight!

On the lush and ancient path of Cang Mountain, Bu Fan leisurely rode a horse, slowly making his way through the mountain forest trail.

Having just returned from the desolate environment of the post-apocalyptic world, he was now deeply immersed in the magnificent and illusory landscapes, feeling a sense of intoxication.

The green mountains, ancient paths, and bamboo forests unfolded before Bu Fan like a vivid ink painting.

Just a day ago, after leaving the coast, Bu Fan was sent to the southern sea by the boatman from侠客岛 (Isle of Heroes). Before departure, the boatman gifted him a chestnut horse and a hundred taels of silver for travel expenses.

Moreover, despite Bu Fan's refusal of the recruitment by the two island lords, Long and Mu, they still presented him with a token of the Isle of Heroes before he left.

This token symbolized a guest scholar status, indicating that Bu Fan had a good friendship with the Isle of Heroes. Within reasonable limits, the Isle of Heroes and its affiliated enterprises would provide appropriate assistance to Bu Fan.

Of course, the two island lords, Long and Mu, also hoped that in the future, when the disciples of the Isle of Heroes traveled in the world, Bu Fan could take good care of them.

After all, Bu Fan, who had already learned the complete Tai Xuan Scripture, would undoubtedly be at the top tier in the world of extraordinary people in the future. The two island lords saw this result very clearly.

Bu Fan, of course, did not refuse the kindness of the two island lords. Besides, the Isle of Heroes was an extremely strong force in the martial world. The disciples who would travel in the future were likely to be powerful sect disciples, and perhaps they could form a good relationship.

Moreover, the reason Bu Fan left the Isle of Heroes quickly was due to the Tai Xuan Scripture within his body.

After waking up, Bu Fan subconsciously recalled the final gains from the tadpole stone wall. He racked his brain to remember.

However, no matter how hard he tried, he could not recall it. It was only when he had a sudden idea and sat cross-legged to practice the internal martial arts before the Tai Xuan Scripture that he finally remembered.

At that moment, Bu Fan found himself in a chaotic space. Inside the space, there was the same massive stone wall, with every line of poetry and every large character clearly engraved on it.

At the base of each stone wall, there was a man with long hair, expressionless, demonstrating the martial arts on the wall.

Some held long swords, showcasing the sword techniques on the wall; some moved like dragons, demonstrating the secrets of lightness skills; others displayed palm techniques with powerful palm winds.

However, these were secondary. What Bu Fan valued most was the last stone wall, which contained the general principles of the Tai Xuan Scripture.

When Bu Fan arrived there, he was surprised to find that there were two figures at the base of the tadpole stone wall.

Both figures were the same person, but they were performing different actions. One figure was still demonstrating the martial arts within the Tai Xuan Scripture.

However, this time it was not a single martial art demonstration, but a comprehensive display of martial arts, integrating palm techniques, sword techniques, and lightness skills.

At the moment Bu Fan saw this, the figure had already quickly performed multiple martial arts. In the environment of lightness skills, the figure held a sword in one hand, demonstrating the "Crossing the Knee with the Sword" technique. Halfway through, the sword movement changed, and the figure's left hand suddenly gathered into a palm, instantly transforming into the "Five Mountains Light as Feathers" palm technique!

This was not all. In the instant the palm technique attacked, the originally paused "Crossing the Knee with the Sword" technique also smoothly transitioned, thrusting forward with a powerful strike, like a meteor, unstoppable!

The originally complex martial arts became incredibly simple in the hands of the figure, and the integration of sword, palm, and lightness skills created a powerful martial arts technique.

The simplified martial arts moves left Bu Fan entranced. If he had mastered such exquisite martial arts techniques earlier, Bu Fan believed that even against the berserk Mad Tiger, he would not need to dodge much and could defeat him with a single strike.

Immersed in the sword techniques, Bu Fan could not help but stand in front of the figure and began to practice along. However, just as he imitated one move, a sharp pain suddenly surged within his body, and he stumbled forward.

After resting on the ground for a long time, the pain in Bu Fan's body slowly subsided, and he slowly stood up, looking at the figure still demonstrating various martial arts with a hint of helplessness.

He suddenly realized that to master and integrate these martial arts, he first needed to fully understand the internal martial arts in "The Hero's Journey." Only by fully understanding the internal martial arts could he freely combine and perform these martial arts.

Naturally, Bu Fan turned his attention to the other figure. Indeed, the figure was sitting cross-legged on the ground, practicing the internal martial arts.

Bu Fan slowly walked to the figure and observed carefully. He found that the internal martial arts the figure was practicing were the same as those he had previously understood from the stone wall.

The difference was that the sequence of the internal martial arts had changed. For example, the figure first practiced the "Zhaokemanhuying" internal martial arts, then transitioned to "Wugou Shuangxueming," followed by "Three Cups of Wine"...

The sequence of the internal martial arts did not seem difficult.

Bu Fan tried to follow the sequence, but he got stuck on the first transition.

After practicing, Bu Fan realized that the internal martial arts involved different meridians. For example, when Bu Fan tried to transition from "Zhaokemanhuying" to "Wugou Shuangxueming," the internal energy that was flowing suddenly gathered, as if blocked, and the gathered internal energy instantly impacted his organs, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood.

After squatting for a while, Bu Fan discovered that there was an additional hidden meridian in the transition between the two internal martial arts.

He then found that the entire sequence of internal martial arts involved many previously unseen meridians.

It was as if each internal martial art was a river flowing around the body, each following its own path, and these hidden meridians were like canals connecting the rivers.

This formed a dense network of rivers within the body, allowing all the internal energy to flow freely and change paths at will!

After carefully examining the hidden meridians, Bu Fan realized how many meridians the Tai Xuan Scripture's internal martial arts involved.

He discovered that the sequence of the internal martial arts was not a simple cycle but a forward and backward cycle, completing one full cycle.

Therefore, the number of hidden meridians involved was over a dozen, and each one, Bu Fan sadly realized, needed to be slowly unblocked.

In the novel, Shi Potian, with his deep internal energy, could easily break through these meridians when practicing the Tai Xuan Scripture, thus mastering all the martial arts.

However, Bu Fan did not have Shi Potian's luck. If Shi Potian's internal energy was like the mighty Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, Bu Fan's internal energy was at best like a small stream.

To unblock the internal energy channels would be a long and arduous journey!

This was why Bu Fan decided to leave the Isle of Heroes as soon as possible and return to Bu Family Manor. The only person he could trust and who could help him was his Uncle Bu from the Bu Family Manor. Others were not trustworthy.

Additionally, entering the illusory space was quite draining on his mental energy.

Normally, Bu Fan could stay in the martial world for a day, but that day, after just a few hours in the illusory space, he found himself back in the martial world hall.

Of course, there was a good side to this. After resting, Bu Fan re-entered the martial world and, without entering the stone wall space again, had already stayed for two days without logging out.

"Ride on!"

"Ride on!"

As Bu Fan was thinking about the recent changes in the martial world and leisurely riding his horse on the mountain path, a sound of galloping hooves suddenly came from behind.

Bu Fan turned around and saw a cloud of dust rising, with over a dozen middle-aged men on horseback, wielding swords and knives, galloping towards him along the mountain path.

Bu Fan looked at them enviously because he also wanted to gallop like that, but his riding skills were not up to par.

When he first got the chestnut horse, Bu Fan had kicked the horse hard, trying to experience the feeling of galloping in the martial world. However, as soon as the horse started running, it almost threw him off!

If he hadn't used his lightness skills to land, Bu Fan would have been the first expert to die from falling off a horse in the martial world.

So, Bu Fan's leisurely ride was not because he didn't want to gallop but because he couldn't. At this point, Bu Fan could only make the horse trot slowly.

To show respect to the galloping riders, Bu Fan gently pulled the reins, moving the chestnut horse to the side of the road to let them pass.

However, Bu Fan didn't expect that as they passed him, one of the riders glanced at him and suddenly pulled the reins.

"Whoa..."

A long neigh echoed as the horse stopped abruptly, then turned its head, and the middle-aged man on the horse looked at Bu Fan.

"Kid, hand over your horse, we'll switch!" the middle-aged rider said, pointing at Bu Fan with his whip.

"Brother, isn't that a bit too much? What if this kid has a big background?" one of the men behind him whispered.

"Hmph, Old Eight, you're overthinking it. Since the imperial decree to seal the mountains was issued half a month ago, the martial sects have recalled their disciples and no longer venture out. There are no more noble families in the martial world. Besides, this kid can't even ride a horse properly. Do you think he's from a noble family?" the man said loudly to his brother.

"That's true. Kid, do you know who we are? We're from the Black Tiger Gang. So, if you're smart, hand over that good horse to our leader, and we might spare your life!" Old Eight, convinced by his leader's analysis, stepped forward and shouted at Bu Fan.

Bu Fan looked at them with surprise. He could tell that while their riding skills were good, they were not martial experts. Their movements lacked the grace and presence of true martial artists.

Just by looking at how they held their swords and knives, he could tell they were more like farmers.

"Are you so sure I can't fight back?" Bu Fan asked them with surprise.

"Hmph, stop pretending. Just because you have a sword doesn't make you a martial expert. Let's see what you've got!" the leader said angrily.

He then suddenly drew his sword, held it in one hand, and charged at Bu Fan on his horse!

This was not how a martial expert would fight! Bu Fan thought to himself.

It was more like a general's duel before a battle!

"Charge!"

The leader charged at Bu Fan, his sword raised high, ready to strike.

Bu Fan leaned back slightly, dodging the sword, then quickly drew his own sword and tapped the leader's back with the flat of the blade, sending him flying off the horse.

Bu Fan then gracefully dismounted, twirled his sword, and pointed it at the leader's chest.

"Spare me, great hero! I have an eighty-year-old mother and a baby to feed. This time, I—"

The leader, who had been knocked to the ground, suddenly knelt before Bu Fan, crying and pleading.

"This... This is my first battle in the martial world?" Bu Fan looked at the scene, feeling both amused and helpless.

How could such people dare to roam the martial world and rob others?

Bu Fan couldn't help but ask the group, and after their explanation, he realized that the martial world was in chaos.

The reason was the imperial decree to seal the mountains. After the decree, the major sects and noble families withdrew their influence, pulling back to their own territories.

The experts they had sent out also returned to their mountains, leaving large areas of the martial world unclaimed.

Some previously unknown third-rate experts suddenly rose to power, gathering followers and occupying these unclaimed territories.

Strangely, the government did not intervene.

This encouraged the lower-level martial artists and the riff-raff to rise up.

Groups like the Iron Fork Society and the Black Tiger Gang sprang up overnight, becoming major forces in the martial world.

And Bu Fan had encountered one such group...