Chapter 9

......

Although these days, Luo Fan had been wandering in the world, often needing to drink, and frequently drinking alone to drown his sorrows, his alcohol tolerance had improved. However, how could he be a match for Hong Qigong, the old wine lover? Even if he pretended to be generous, he couldn't escape the fate of being knocked out after three or five bowls. Before long, he was already lying on the ground.

"Hey! This kid is really not up to the task." Seeing this situation, Hong Qigong could only be speechless. He didn't expect this kid to seem so generous but end up lying on the ground after just three or five bowls. He shook his head and sighed, then had to carry Luo Fan to a room to rest.

When Luo Fan woke up, his head was pounding. He originally wanted to open the door and ask the attendant to bring some water for washing his face, but as soon as he opened the door, he saw Hong Qigong's old face.

"You kid, you really can't handle it." Hong Qigong teased Luo Fan right away, "Not only did you make me drink alone last night, but I also had to carry you into the room with my old bones."

"Thank you for your concern, Senior." Luo Fan scratched his head awkwardly and said, "I've been practicing my alcohol tolerance recently, thinking I could drink more. Plus, I was excited to meet you, so I didn't think much about it. I've caused you trouble!"

"You kid is straightforward." Luo Fan's honest words earned him a lot of favor with Hong Qigong, who patted his shoulder and said, "Since you look up to me, the old beggar, I won't drink your wine for nothing. Take this token. If you encounter any trouble, you can use it to seek help from the Beggar Sect. I have some matters to attend to, so I'll leave first!"

Saying this, Hong Qigong thrust a black token into Luo Fan's hand.

"This... Senior..." Luo Fan wanted to say more, but Hong Qigong had already used his lightness skill to leave through the window. By the time Luo Fan wanted to look for him, he was already gone.

"System, congratulations! The host has obtained a unique item, the Black Iron Token, and 1000 luck energy points, 1000 luck points."

"Is this possible?" But in a way, it could indeed be considered a stroke of luck. Luo Fan shook his head and sighed, marveling at how high-level figures like Hong Qigong were like dragons, visible at the head but not the tail. After a brief rest, he continued his journey to Mount Song and Shaolin Temple.

Mount Song, also known as Wai Fang, Song Gao, and Chong Gao, is located in western Henan Province, part of the Funiu Mountain range. It is situated in the northwest of Dengfeng City and is one of the Five Great Mountains, known as the Central Peak. To the north, it overlooks the Yellow River and the Luo River, to the south, it faces the Ying River and the Ji Mountains, to the east, it connects to the Five Dynasties capital Bianliang, and to the west, it links to the ancient capital of thirteen dynasties, Luoyang. It is known as the "famous mountain between Bian and Lu."

Shaolin Temple is located on Shaoshi Mountain and is named "Shaolin" because it is situated in a dense forest.

Viewing Mount Song from the foot of the mountain, the scenery is quite magnificent. The trees on the mountain are lush, and the cliffs are steep and spectacular. Climbing up the steps, he encountered many pilgrims coming to burn incense and pray, and even some martial artists who had heard of Luo Fan's name, who greeted him with respect.

Originally, the scriptures in the Sutra Pavilion were not allowed to be casually read by outsiders. However, since Luo Fan gave a large amount of incense money and said he had long admired Buddhism and wanted to read the scriptures, after much persuasion, the abbot finally agreed to take Luo Fan to the Sutra Pavilion, on the condition that he could not read any martial arts manuals.

They didn't know that Luo Fan had no interest in those martial arts manuals. His main goal was to find the *Lengqie Sutra*. Upon hearing this, Luo Fan was overjoyed.

Looking at the monk Jueyuan, who was reading a book, Luo Fan knew that this monk had been practicing the *Nine Yang Divine Skill* as a regular internal skill, unaware of the treasure he possessed.

Luo Fan began to flip through the scriptures. The Sutra Pavilion had too many books, and for someone unfamiliar, finding the *Lengqie Sutra* among thousands of books was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Therefore, the task of finding the *Lengqie Sutra* naturally fell to the bookish monk Jueyuan.

After reading for a long time, Luo Fan saw an opportunity and asked in a casual tone, "Master, where is the *Lengqie Sutra*?"

"It's on the third row of the left bookshelf." Jueyuan, immersed in his reading, answered without any suspicion.

Sure enough, Luo Fan walked to the left bookshelf, and on the third row, there were several blue-covered *Lengqie Sutra* volumes.

Luo Fan was taken aback. Why were there so many *Lengqie Sutra* volumes?

In fact, the *Lengqie Sutra* is also known as the *Lengqie Abhidharma Treasure Sutra* or the *Entry into the Lengqie Sutra* or the *Mahayana Entry into the Lengqie Sutra*. It was translated by Qiu Na Ba Tuo Luo in the 20th year of the Yuanjia era (443 AD) of the Southern Song Dynasty, by Bodhidharma in the Northern Wei Dynasty, and by Shilcha Nantuo, a monk from Khotan (now Hotan, Xinjiang), in the Tang Dynasty. The translations are in four volumes, ten volumes, and seven volumes, respectively. Since Qiu Na Ba Tuo Luo's translation was the earliest and closest to the original meaning, it has been widely spread and had a significant impact.

Therefore, the Sutra Pavilion of Shaolin Temple houses the four-volume version translated by Qiu Na Ba Tuo Luo, and the *Nine Yang Divine Skill* is hidden in the seams of the four volumes of the *Lengqie Sutra*.

At this moment, Luo Fan didn't care about the details and picked up the first volume to read.

"System, detected *Nine Yang Divine Skill* fragment (Internal Skill Chapter)."

Hearing the familiar system prompt, and considering the several *Lengqie Sutra* volumes in front of him, Luo Fan immediately understood the key points and quickly picked up the other three volumes to read.

Luo Fan, who was excited, didn't realize that the monk Jueyuan, who was reading a book, suddenly lifted his eyelids and glanced at Luo Fan.

"System, detected *Nine Yang Divine Skill* fragment (Nagual Chapter)."

"System, detected *Nine Yang Divine Skill* fragment (Divine Operation Chapter)."

"System, detected *Nine Yang Divine Skill* fragment (Earth Dragon Chapter)."

A series of system prompts sounded in Luo Fan's mind like celestial music. The four chapters of the *Nine Yang Divine Skill* were finally completed. At this moment, Luo Fan didn't put the *Lengqie Sutra* back but held one of the volumes and pretended to read it carefully.

"System, congratulations! The host has obtained the complete *Nine Yang Divine Skill*. Do you want to learn it?"

"Of course, I want to learn it!"

"System, congratulations! The host has obtained 7000 shared luck energy points and 7000 luck points. The system energy crisis has been resolved. The next task is to collect 0/50000 luck energy points to return to the real world."

"Holy crap, I can return to the real world? This system is amazing." Hearing this, Luo Fan was overjoyed. He had a chance to avenge his grievances! Thinking about how Li Zekai had almost beaten him to death and how Ye Fei had toyed with him, Luo Fan's fists clenched tightly.

"Amitabha!" A low, solemn Buddhist chant came from the side. The monk Jueyuan, who was reading the scriptures, said, "Sir, in the sacred place of Buddhism, do not harbor anger."

The voice was not loud, but it sounded like a morning bell or an evening drum in Luo Fan's ears, instantly snapping him out of his reverie.

"Thank you for your reminder, Master." Luo Fan clasped his hands in a Buddhist gesture and bowed, "I was thinking of some unpleasant past events and disturbed your meditation."

Putting down the *Lengqie Sutra*, Luo Fan continued to read other scriptures for a while before bidding farewell to Jueyuan. As he left, Jueyuan gave him a meaningful look, which made Luo Fan extremely uneasy. However, fortunately, Luo Fan managed to leave smoothly. Luo Fan knew that if this monk had noticed something, he wouldn't have been able to leave today. When Jueyuan chanted the Buddhist chant, Luo Fan could already sense that the monk's *Nine Yang Divine Skill* was quite advanced. If they had to fight, Luo Fan would likely be at a disadvantage.

On the way down the mountain, Luo Fan's mood was greatly improved.

Because once the *Nine Yang Divine Skill* is mastered, the internal energy grows rapidly and is endless. Ordinary punches and kicks can unleash tremendous power; the defense is unparalleled, automatically protecting the body and repelling external attacks, making the body invulnerable; the practitioner's lightness skill surpasses all other lightness skill experts; it is also a holy scripture for healing, making one immune to all poisons and specifically countering all cold and yin internal energies. The *Nine Yang Divine Skill* integrates the essence of martial arts, making all martial arts in the world usable after mastery.

This was truly a supreme divine skill. Luo Fan immediately spent 6000 points to upgrade it to the fourth level, leaving 1000 points for reserve.

At this point, Luo Fan found that his internal skill cultivation had reached the peak of the Later Heaven stage, on par with the strongest of the Seven Sons.

Moreover, with the help of the *Nine Yang Divine Skill*, his lightness skill was likely unmatched by anyone except the Five Greats. If he had to chase Li Mochou again, it would take only a short time, not several miles.

...

With the *Nine Yang Divine Skill* in hand, Luo Fan's next goal was to find the Sword Tomb of Dugu Qiu Bai. If Luo Fan were to give up the *Evil-Dispelling Sword Technique*, he would need a sword technique that could hold its own. In the world of *The Return of the Condor Heroes*, the most powerful sword technique was Yang Guo's *Black Iron Sword Technique*. Therefore, obtaining the *Black Iron Sword Technique* was essential for this journey.

Although the Sword Tomb was harder to find than the ancient tomb's secret passage, Luo Fan knew it was located in the mountains near Xiangyang. However, Dugu Qiu Bai's giant condor should be quite noticeable. If he could find the condor, he could trace it to the Sword Tomb.

The Sword Tomb was in Xiangyang, which was in Hubei Province. Mount Song was in Henan Province, and Zhongnan Mountain was in Shaanxi Province. These three provinces were adjacent, so it wouldn't take much time to circle back to Zhongnan Mountain. Even though Luo Fan had been out for nearly a year and missed Xiaolongnü on Zhongnan Mountain, he wasn't in a hurry.

Luo Fan's luck was much better this time. After searching for a few days near Xiangyang, he saw a large, ugly condor catching snakes in the mountains.

Seeing the ugly condor, Luo Fan knew it was the condor he was looking for. He politely greeted it, "Brother Condor, hello!"

The ugly condor looked at Luo Fan and let out three "wawa" calls, flapping its wings, but it was unclear what it meant.

Luo Fan thought, "The book says this condor is quite intelligent and should be responding to me." So he calmly walked forward.

"Ugh!" Before Luo Fan could get close, the ugly condor suddenly charged at him.

"Holy crap!" Luo Fan was startled, but he reacted quickly, using the *Golden Goose Skill* to dodge to the side. With the *Nine Yang Divine Skill* enhancement, the *Golden Goose Skill* was very effective, and the condor missed.

Luo Fan, who had a moment to spare, complained, "Brother Condor, you're really not friendly! According to the story, you should take me to the Sword Tomb to receive Dugu's legacy. Why aren't you following the script?"

However, before Luo Fan could finish, the condor charged at him again...

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