Chapter 27

Looking at the nine red dots on the piece of animal skin in his hand, Longchen fell into deep thought. The nine dots were scattered without any discernible pattern.

There were no hints, but after this careful examination, Longchen noticed that there was indeed a faint line connecting the nine dots.

"These must be nine acupoints."

After a long time, Longchen came to this conclusion. He then compared it with the countless meridian diagrams in his mind to finally confirm it. If it were anyone else, they would have been exhausted and still not figured it out.

"Li Yao, Rong Huiming... Chong Quchi, Ru Laogong?"

Longchen softly recited the names of the acupoints corresponding to the nine dots, following the route. He was taken aback: "This is not a fist or palm technique, but a combat skill for activating weapons."

"What a sophisticated method."

After studying it, Longchen found that the true qi circulates through these nine points, like the waves of the Yangtze River, gaining strength after nine layers of enhancement. Once unleashed, it would be terrifying.

"Haha, I've found a treasure. Although I don't know the level of this combat skill, it must be quite high," Longchen was overjoyed.

With a thought, he calmed his mind, and the qi in his dantian began to circulate, flowing into the Li Yao acupoint. However, when he tried to drive the spiritual energy to the second acupoint, he found that the spiritual energy was insufficient.

"Hmm?"

Longchen was taken aback and immediately understood that this technique likely required a high amount of spiritual energy, which he lacked to activate it.

Abandoning the spiritual energy in his dantian, he directly used the spiritual energy from the Fengfu Star. Indeed, the spiritual energy in the Fengfu Star was much more abundant than that in the dantian.

However, when he reached the fourth acupoint, he still found it difficult to proceed. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't reach the sixth acupoint.

"I don't believe it."

Longchen gritted his teeth, drew a thread of spiritual energy from the Fengfu Star, and injected it into the dantian vortex. The vortex immediately expanded, and a powerful force rose.

Controlling that energy, he quickly struck.

"Sixth."

"Seventh."

"Eighth."

"Uh-oh..."

Longchen was suddenly alarmed and quickly withdrew his spiritual energy, using his divine sense to observe his meridians.

He was shocked to find that his meridians had already developed cracks due to the overwhelming energy. If he had been a moment slower in withdrawing the spiritual energy, his meridians might have burst.

If his meridians burst, it would take a long time to repair. Longchen was so scared that he broke out in a cold sweat.

"This won't do; this technique is not suitable for me to practice for now." Longchen had to give up on cultivating it.

He swallowed a Pulse Nourishing Pill to repair his slightly damaged meridians, then slowly stood up and walked out.

Opening the door, a fresh breeze greeted him. Taking a deep breath, he felt much of his recent fatigue dissipate.

The sun had just risen in the east. Longchen inquired with Baor and learned that everything was normal in the mansion. Ah Man was well-fed and had no problems.

This put Longchen at ease. After a moment of contemplation, he changed into a new set of clothes and prepared to go to the Alchemist Guild to seek help from Master Yunqi.

However, Longchen was somewhat apprehensive. Generally, alchemists focus solely on refining pills and do not practice combat skills, dedicating all their energy to advancing in the art of alchemy.

Alchemists are often very proud and do not look favorably upon martial cultivators who constantly compete. This was why Master Yunqi had given Longchen some advice that day.

However, Longchen had his own thoughts. He had been bullied for too long, and without powerful martial skills, he felt insecure.

Titles and status were all superficial to Longchen. In the face of absolute strength, they were as fragile as paper.

However, Longchen was unsure how Master Yunqi would react when he approached him.

"Longchen."

Just as Longchen was feeling apprehensive, he had already walked several streets. Suddenly, a familiar voice called out. Looking up, he saw a carriage parked in the distance.

A girl on the carriage lifted the curtain, her face beaming with joy as she looked at Longchen. It was clearly Palace Master Chuyao, whom Longchen had met before.

"Chuyao."

Seeing Chuyao, Longchen was somewhat surprised, but for some reason, his anxiety was greatly reduced.

Chuyao suddenly looked around and, seeing no one around early in the morning, waved at Longchen and said, "Come up quickly."

Longchen didn't expect Chuyao to invite him to share the carriage. Seeing her joyful expression, he felt a slight thrill and directly climbed into Chuyao's carriage.

The carriage was spacious, with a fragrant bed and a tea table, and a carpet was spread on the floor.

"Wow, what a coincidence to meet you here. Why don't you come with me to Luoxia Mountain?"

Chuyao's eyes were full of joy, and she had lost her usual capriciousness.

"If a beautiful lady invites me, I'd be afraid of being struck by lightning if I refused," Longchen laughed.

Chuyao's face turned red. In the palace, she was bound by various rules, and she very much liked Longchen's free and easy way of speaking.

The carriage slowly left the city and headed for Luoxia Mountain.

"Chuyao, why are we going to Luoxia Mountain?" Longchen asked.

"I... I just want to have some fun," Chuyao's face turned red, and Longchen was somewhat puzzled.

"Longchen, am I keeping you from anything?" Chuyao asked tentatively.

"No, I was just out for a walk. This is a good opportunity to ride with you and have some fun," Longchen laughed.

"By the way, is your brother doing well? I'm still a bit embarrassed about what happened last time," Longchen said, still feeling somewhat uncomfortable about the incident with the Seventh Prince.

"It's fine. Scaring him a bit is good; it will make him behave for a while," Chuyao laughed.

The two chatted as they traveled, and soon they arrived at the foot of Luoxia Mountain. Chuyao got out of the carriage and had the guard drive back.

"Walk with me. I really like the scenery here," Chuyao pointed to the path ahead. "When I was little, I often came here to climb the mountain, but after my father went into seclusion, I rarely had the chance to come."

As she spoke, a hint of melancholy appeared on Chuyao's face, making Longchen feel a pang of sympathy. It seemed that no matter where one was born, there were always things that were not to one's liking.

"Longchen, what's wrong? You seem troubled," Chuyao asked, seeing Longchen's lack of enthusiasm.

Seeing Chuyao's concerned gaze, Longchen felt a warmth in his heart. For some reason, although he had only met Chuyao once and in a complex situation, she gave him a very trustworthy feeling, something he couldn't quite explain.

Moved by Chuyao's question, Longchen said, "I do have some trouble. I want to practice a higher-level combat skill."

"If you want to practice combat skills, why not ask me? I don't charge tuition," Chuyao's eyes lit up, and she laughed.

"I'm proficient in thirteen combat skills. They all say I'm a top genius," Chuyao said proudly.

"Proficient in thirteen combat skills? Then you use routines to fight people?" Longchen was somewhat skeptical.

"Hey, what's that look for? Are you doubting what I just said?" Chuyao's face showed a hint of anger.

"You're wrong. I don't doubt your words at all; I just don't believe them," Longchen laughed loudly.

"You bad guy, take this!" Chuyao shouted and slapped Longchen's chest with her palm.

Slap!

Chuyao's palm hit Longchen's chest, and although she didn't use spiritual energy, the force was still considerable, causing a loud thud.

"You... why didn't you dodge?" Chuyao was surprised that Longchen didn't avoid it.

"If I dodged, you wouldn't have hit me, and that would be no fun," Longchen laughed, but he could feel a strange sensation from the hand on his chest, even through his clothes.

"Longchen..."

Looking at Longchen's cheerful smile, Chuyao felt a warmth and slowly leaned her face against his chest.

Longchen was suddenly stiff, unsure of what was happening. He didn't dare to move, standing like a wooden post.

"Ha ha."

Chuyao's face turned red, and she couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh, "You bad guy, when you attacked me, you were like a ferocious tiger, but now you're like a kitten."

Longchen felt a bit embarrassed and quickly changed the subject, "Chuyao, I consider you a close friend. I really need to learn some high-level combat skills."

Chuyao's face turned red, and she glared at Longchen. Not considering her an outsider meant considering her an "insider," and she clearly misunderstood Longchen's meaning.

However, seeing Longchen's serious expression, Chuyao also became serious, "I'm not joking. I really am proficient in many combat skills. If you don't believe me, watch."

Chuyao extended her hand, and a hot aura rose, with a faint red glow appearing on her hand.

"Bang!"

She slapped a tree as thick as a barrel, and the tree trembled, leaves falling. When she moved her hand, a shallow handprint was left on the tree.

"See? This is a high-level human-grade combat skill, the Fire Cloud Palm. How about it? Scared, right?"

Seeing Longchen's stunned expression, Chuyao's face showed a hint of pride.

Longchen was indeed impressed. This power could be considered a combat skill? Even without using a combat skill, Longchen could break a tree with one palm.

"Good, very good," Longchen gave a sincere evaluation. Chuyao's movements were very smooth and graceful, pleasing to the eye.

Chuyao didn't catch the underlying meaning of Longchen's words, thinking he was impressed. She patiently explained the key points of the move to Longchen.

However, after hearing Chuyao's explanation of the Fire Cloud Palm, Longchen was slightly surprised. This was clearly a powerful palm technique.

"Let me try."

"So soon?" Chuyao was somewhat disbelieving.

Longchen smiled. A combat skill was just a method of using spiritual energy, enhancing its power through the layers of meridians in the body.

Longchen was already extremely familiar with his meridians. After hearing Chuyao's explanation once, he had a clear understanding.

The spiritual energy in his dantian began to circulate, and a dense, fiery energy erupted. Longchen roared and struck with his palm.

"Boom!"

A giant tree, which would take several people to encircle, snapped at the impact, and the massive crown fell with a whoosh.

"Bang!"

The tree hit the ground, causing sand and stones to fly, and the scene was impressive. Chuyao, standing nearby, was stunned. Was this really the Fire Cloud Palm she knew?

Looking at the scorched and charred area where the tree had broken, which was a characteristic mark of the Fire Cloud Palm, Longchen nodded in approval. It was indeed a powerful human-grade combat skill.

However, seeing Chuyao's shocked face, Longchen felt a sudden impulse and grabbed her hand.

"Chuyao, let me check your body."