Chapter 84

"Is this Palm Thunder?"

The face behind the broken door looked somewhat dazed.

Jing Shizhen never thought that Su Xiaofan would actually cultivate Palm Thunder in just one night.

That wasn't the key point; the key was that the Palm Thunder Su Xiaofan released seemed a bit different from his own.

Jing Shizhen started cultivating at the age of fifteen or sixteen, and by his early twenties, he had unblocked the major and minor circulation meridians, making him a genius of his time.

Around the age of forty, Jing Shizhen returned to the country, visited many hermits and renowned masters, and gradually displayed the demeanor of a grandmaster.

At fifty, when Western powers and East Asian cultivators joined forces to invade, Jing Shizhen repelled the enemies at the national border with his Palm Thunder, shocking the domestic cultivation community.

From then on, Jing Shizhen's reputation as a grandmaster was established. Although he was a solo practitioner, no one dared to underestimate him.

Compared to many cultivators with broken or incomplete lineages, Jing Shizhen had both the Inner Nourishment Technique and Palm Thunder, making him a well-rounded powerhouse of his era.

However, today, this powerhouse was severely impacted by Su Xiaofan's Palm Thunder.

While Jing Shizhen's Palm Thunder could only break a vase, Su Xiaofan's could punch through a door, clearly showing a significant difference in power.

The doors of a five-star hotel were of very high quality, made of solid wood.

Looking at the hole, then at his own hand, Jing Shizhen swallowed hard. He could handle wooden boards, but he knew he couldn't break this wooden door.

"Is this Palm Thunder?"

Through the hole in the door, Su Xiaofan and Jing Shizhen looked at each other, with Su Xiaofan speaking somewhat uncertainly.

To be honest, with Su Xiaofan's current strength, a single punch could break the wooden door, possibly with even greater force.

But Palm Thunder was different; it was a ranged attack!

Like a firearm, an eight-year-old child with a gun could kill a grown man, representing a completely different level of significance.

"How did you cultivate it?"

Uncle Jing's eyes brightened as he touched the hole in the door, still somewhat disbelieving.

"I just practiced according to the technique you taught me, Master."

Su Xiaofan scratched his head. Those familiar with him knew that this gesture often indicated his guilt.

Of course, only Su Xiaoxiao knew this secret about Su Xiaofan, even his father didn't know, let alone Jing Shizhen.

"To cultivate Palm Thunder in just one night, and... and with such power."

Jing Shizhen originally wanted to say that the power was greater than his own, but he quickly corrected himself when he realized it was inappropriate.

"Master, do you have any other techniques? Can you teach them to me?"

Su Xiaofan opened the door, finding it odd to have a conversation through a hole.

"Don't be greedy and overreach!"

Jing Shizhen glared at Su Xiaofan, then put his hands behind his back and said, "Wash up and hurry to breakfast. We'll set off after breakfast."

"Damn, what kind of freak did I teach?"

Back in his room, Jing Shizhen's lips trembled.

Cultivating the minor circulation meridians in 24 hours and mastering Palm Thunder in 10 hours—such things were not only unheard of but also unimaginable to Jing Shizhen.

"I'll teach him the other techniques when we get back and see if he can master them so quickly!"

Jing Shizhen made a decision in his mind. Actually, Su Xiaofan's rapid cultivation brought the most honor to his master.

However, who wasn't a genius in their youth? Su Xiaofan's genius was so extraordinary that it made Jing Shizhen, the old genius, doubt himself.

After mulling it over for over half an hour, Jing Shizhen finally came out when Su Xiaofan knocked on the door, almost on the verge of a breakdown.

"Uncle Jing, how did you rest last night?" Tong Dongjie was already waiting in the living room and quickly stood up when he saw Jing Shizhen.

"Pretty good, just not so well in the morning."

Jing Shizhen glanced at Su Xiaofan, "Someone was causing trouble early in the morning!"

"Ah? How could that be? This hotel is really terrible!"

Tong Dongjie frowned and waved to someone at the door, saying, "Find the hotel manager and ask if they were doing renovations in the nearby rooms early in the morning."

"Cough, Dongge, it's not like that."

Su Xiaofan quickly stopped Tong Dongjie and said, "Master was teaching me, and we damaged some of the hotel's property—a vase and a door. I'll pay for the damages later."

Business is business. Earning money from Tong Dongjie was fair, but Su Xiaofan felt uncomfortable letting him pay for the damage he caused.

"Ha, I thought it was something serious."

Tong Dongjie laughed and waved his hand, "We don't need to worry about these things. Someone will handle it with the hotel. Uncle Jing, Xiaofan, are you ready to set off?"

"Sure, let's go. The sooner we solve this, the sooner you can be at ease."

Jing Shizhen nodded, then went back to his room to retrieve a box that looked like a musical instrument case and handed it to Su Xiaofan.

"It must be a magical tool that Master brought."

Su Xiaofan knew the item wasn't heavy and didn't say much, following Jing Shizhen and Tong Dongjie out of the room.

Two business cars were waiting at the hotel entrance. Tong Dongjie accompanied Jing Shizhen and Su Xiaofan into the first car.

Jiaocheng was not far from Miyang, and the drive would take about an hour.

The car was on the highway, and Tong Dongjie's mood wasn't particularly high, as part of the highway was built by his company.

Miyang was mountainous, and after about half an hour, the car was mostly on winding mountain roads.

After turning off the highway and entering the mountain pass, Su Xiaofan and the others encountered a checkpoint.

Tong Dongjie's people negotiated for a while, and the two cars were allowed to pass. There were no more vehicles or pedestrians on the mountain road ahead.

The car drove for about twenty more minutes and then stopped on a hillside.

There was a downward mountain path by the road, and at the entrance, there was a cement wall with a gate-like structure but no roof.

On both sides of the cement wall, the words "Sealed Gate" were written in red paint. Below these words, there were large letters saying "No Entry."

Despite the scorching sun, the few people who got out of the car felt a chill when they saw these words.

"With our speed, it will take about twenty minutes to get down there."

Tong Dongjie pointed to the mountain path and said, "Originally, the plan was to build this road and the village together, but the project was halted due to this incident."

"Are you coming with us, Dongge?" Su Xiaofan looked at Tong Dongjie, somewhat surprised.

"Of course, I'm not a disabled person. What's there to fear about a mountain path?"

Tong Dongjie glanced at Su Xiaofan, somewhat displeased. After all, he was from the Tong family and had some martial skills.

Three young men in their early twenties got out of the second car and started unloading things without waiting for Tong Dongjie's instructions.

"Are we going camping or what?"

Seeing the items they carried, Su Xiaofan's mouth twitched. The equipment they brought was extremely professional.

Previously, Su Xiaofan had discussed camping and exploration with his classmate Wu Xiaobo in Beijing and had some understanding of the equipment. The items Tong Dongjie brought would cost at least tens of thousands of yuan.

"We might have to spend the night in the mountains, so it's better to be well-prepared."

Tong Dongjie gave some instructions to the men and then walked down the mountain path. "I've surveyed this area a few times. Just follow me."

The road down from the highway was a steep slope, which was no problem for Su Xiaofan and the others, but the men carrying the equipment stumbled a bit.

Once they were off the highway, the shade of the trees in the mountains blocked the scorching sun, making it feel like they had entered a different world, with the heat disappearing completely.

Tong Dongjie didn't wait for the men behind, and he and Jing Shizhen and Su Xiaofan moved quickly.

After about ten minutes, the three of them reached a riverbed.

"Dongjie, wait, don't go any further."

The riverbed was dry, leaving only pebbles. Standing at the edge of the riverbed, Jing Shizhen stopped.

"What's wrong? Uncle Jing, it's only about ten more minutes to Fengmen Village."

Tong Dongjie stopped, puzzled. "Are you waiting for the men behind? No need to wait for them; they've been here before and know the way."

"They shouldn't go any further."

Jing Shizhen shook his head and said, "You have cultivated and have strong qi and blood, and you have a magical tool, so you can come. But they are ordinary people. It's fine to enter during the day, but once the sun sets, they are likely to encounter problems."

"Uncle Jing, what have you noticed?" Tong Dongjie's face turned serious.

"Xiaofan, take a look." Jing Shizhen looked at Su Xiaofan.

"I don't see anything."

Su Xiaofan said, "It just feels like the plants are particularly lush here, but I don't see anything else."

Su Xiaofan grew up in a mountain village and was very familiar with the plants in the mountains.

In areas where people lived, plants usually didn't grow very tall, mostly consisting of shrubs.

But on this journey, Su Xiaofan noticed that many trees were so large that one person couldn't even wrap their arms around them, especially on the other side of the riverbed, where some trees were as tall as twenty to thirty meters.

This was extremely rare in the Central Plains and was usually only seen in remote, uninhabited areas of primeval forests.

"Use the Qi Observation Technique. Did you learn the technique for nothing?" Jing Shizhen glared at Su Xiaofan.

"Oh, I see, Master."

Su Xiaofan had a misconception. He had habitually categorized the Qi Observation Technique as something used for antiques and hadn't realized its other applications.

Activating the Qi Observation Technique, Su Xiaofan directed his true qi to the meridians in his eyes and immediately saw the difference.

Beyond the riverbed, a mist-like gas seemed to envelop the entire mountain.

This gas was invisible to the naked eye but was clearly visible with the Qi Observation Technique.

There was wind in the mountains, especially at the riverbed, where the wind was strong enough to lift Su Xiaofan's clothes.

However, the gas enveloping the mountain ahead remained completely still, not even moving with the wind.