Chapter 106: Love Flower Affliction, Forgetting Cultivation Techniques at a Glance
Zhou Yan returned after leaving, seeing Huang Rong resting on a stone, Mei Chaofeng standing by with a soft whip, and three runners holding sabers at a distance, on guard.
“Are there any boats?” Huang Rong asked.
“None found, but there is a way,” Zhou Yan said, looking towards a cliff face in the valley.
Huang Rong, with her sharp wit, immediately understood Zhou Yan’s intention.
Before their group set out, as they packed their gear, Huang Rong had noticed the runners carrying ropes. She smiled, “To survey from a height, we shall descend by rope.”
“Mm. Wait a moment. I will ascend the cliff first.”
Zhou Yan summoned the runners, took all the ropes they carried onto his shoulders, and went to the side of the cliff.
The cliff was not a sheer drop; it had unknown trees of varying lengths, and occasionally, twisted green pines could be seen. For Zhou Yan, who practiced the “Golden Goose Skill,” it was not difficult to climb.
He channeled his internal force, circulating it along his Qiao meridians. His pelvis relaxed, and his hips, sacrum, and coccyx all moved. His inner qi ascended, and a sense of lightness arose. Reaching his palate in one breath, Zhou Yan leaped up, rising over fifteen feet. His body landed on a thick, horizontally extending tree branch, and using his toes for leverage, he leaped again.
Mei Chaofeng, being blind, could not see Zhou Yan’s graceful movements as he leaped and climbed. Huang Rong watched, secretly marveling. For martial artists who cultivated inner force, reaching such heights was not particularly impressive; her father could ascend several dozen feet directly. However, Zhou Yan’s lightness skill, allowing him to subtly shift direction in mid-air, was rare.
One must understand that when a person is in the air, their center is exposed, making them most vulnerable to attack. If Zhou Yan could shift his position by mere millimeters in the air, it could cause an opponent’s attack to miss by a thousand li, thus achieving a decisive blow.
He truly had many secrets. Huang Rong thought to herself.
In just this short time, Zhou Yan had climbed to the cliff top like an ape. He surveyed the surroundings. Where the stream flowed, the plants were lush, giant trees towered, and their leaves were dense and branches full. If not for the elevated vantage point, it would have been impossible to discover the hidden paradise within the valley.
Zhou Yan found a large stone protruding from the ground, secured the rope, and threw it down.
The runners waiting at the cliff base took the rope, pulled it taut to test its strength, and said to Mei Chaofeng, “The merchant may ascend first.”
Mei Chaofeng was already carrying Huang Rong on her back. She remained silent, tugged the rope, and Huang Rong spoke up, offering guidance, “There are footholds on trees about fifteen feet up.”
With a whoosh, Mei Chaofeng leaped from the ground and landed precisely on the tree trunk.
Huang Rong indicated the direction, and Mei Chaofeng ascended the rope, making no mistakes. The runners below watched, dumbfounded and amazed.
Zhou Yan remained unfazed. In the world of Legend of the Condor Heroes, Mei Chaofeng could ascend and descend sheer cliffs in the desert as if flying. Although the environment here was unfamiliar, with Huang Rong as her eyes, climbing the cliff was nothing for Mei Chaofeng.
Mei Chaofeng landed. Zhou Yan took the rope and threw it down. In the time it took to drink a teacup of tea, all three runners had climbed up.
The group walked along the cliff top for two or three li. They saw that the surrounding mountain peaks were sheer and extremely difficult to climb. The sky seemed to be cut by the cliffs, and below lay a deep, misty valley.
After walking a few more li, the cliffs on both sides ahead curved like blooming lotus palms. Zhou Yan knew that if they continued along the cliff top, they would move further and further away from the Valley of Unfeeling.
Huang Rong also sensed the change in terrain. She saw Zhou Yan stop ahead and knew that the Head Escort had realized this. She decided against reminding him.
Traveling together, descending by rope became much simpler. Zhou Yan did not need to assist with rope descent as he had when encountering Gongsun Zhi in Snake Valley.
He found a pine tree on the cliff top, secured the rope, and descended first.
Zhou Yan’s feet touched the ground. He looked around. It was a veritable paradise. Green grass and trees abounded, flowers bloomed in profusion, and squirrels and small rabbits could be seen everywhere, unafraid of humans.
Zhou Yan confirmed he was in the Valley of Unfeeling, but he had few reference points for his exact location within the valley. He could only proceed cautiously and adapt to circumstances.
Zhou Yan shook the rope.
Before long, Mei Chaofeng and Huang Rong descended.
Huang Rong looked up and exclaimed with delight, “The grass is fragrant and the flowers are falling in a riot of color. There are fertile fields, beautiful ponds, mulberry trees, and bamboo, with paths connecting them, and the sounds of chickens and dogs. What a Peach Paradise.”
Zhou Yan recognized that Huang Rong was quoting from the text about the Peach Blossom Spring, and he casually replied, “It truly is a place like a paradise.”
Mei Chaofeng couldn’t help but ask, “What place is it exactly?”
“Like Peach Blossom Island.”
Mei Chaofeng immediately understood.
Zhou Yan thought to himself that Huang Rong was truly intelligent. For anyone else, it would have taken much effort to describe, but her single sentence conveyed the meaning.
The three runners landed, and the rope hung from the cliff.
Zhou Yan led the way, with Mei Chaofeng closely following, and the runners positioned to his left and right behind them.
After walking for several li, bamboo forests obscured their vision. The wind rustled the bamboo leaves, and faint outlines of several stone houses could be seen within.
Zhou Yan said, “I will go and investigate.”
“Alright.”
Zhou Yan, carrying his Fine Steel Spear, moved through the forest.
Huang Rong said to Mei Chaofeng, “Let me down, and you can rest too. There might be a fierce battle soon.”
Mei Chaofeng complied and set Huang Rong down.
The runners hid in the bamboo forest, concealing their hidden weapons. Huang Rong looked around. With her lively personality, and her body gradually recovering, she felt happy despite being in danger, unlike the runners who were on high alert.
There were squirrels in the bamboo forest that were not afraid of people, so Huang Rong had no trouble walking. She went over and playfully teased a few squirrels, then got up and walked around, her gaze falling on a flowering tree not far away.
She saw that the flowers were incredibly vibrant, more fragrant than hibiscus and more colorful than camellias; she had never seen them before.
Curious, she walked over to pick a flower. The tree had thorns, which Huang Rong avoided. However, she didn’t realize that small thorns were hidden behind the flowers, and she pricked her finger. A small, needle-sized bead of blood appeared on her fingertip.
Huang Rong cried out in pain and used her silk handkerchief to wipe her fingertip, muttering, “I knew I was unlucky; even the flowers have to prick me.”
She carefully picked a flower and sniffed it, detecting a faint scent of wine. Greatly intrigued, she picked a few more, wrapped them in her handkerchief, and put them in her embrace. She would study them thoroughly when she had the time.
As she walked around, a woman with well-defined facial features and a seemingly stern bone structure, walking out from a stone house at the end of a bluestone path in the bamboo forest, appeared.
Huang Rong wore a white young master’s robe, and Mei Chaofeng was in black clothes. The two were a stark contrast. The woman had originally been heading towards the houses Zhou Yan had indicated, but upon seeing the conspicuous pair, her figure flickered, and with movements like a flying duck, she arrived behind Huang Rong in a few leaps.
“Who are you?”
Huang Rong was startled inwardly by the voice. She knew that if she suddenly exerted force, and her body was injured again, even a great immortal could not help her. She slowly turned around and looked at the woman before her.
As Zhou Yan had traveled, he had described the physical characteristics of Gongsun Zhi, Qiu Qianchi, and Fan Yi Weng. Huang Rong saw a woman in her late twenties, dressed in black, and realized it was Qiu Qianchi.
“Mei Ruohua, tell her who we are,” Huang Rong said with a smile. Qiu Qianchi was surprised, thinking that she had never seen strangers since entering the valley. Could it be that Gongsun Zhi had invited guests?
Mei Chaofeng also broke out in a cold sweat upon Qiu Qianchi’s appearance. She recognized the voice and the swift movements, indicating considerable cultivation. The opponent was outside the range of her soft whip, and she feared she wouldn’t be able to rescue her Junior Sister in time.
She was secretly anxious. Huang Rong spoke, and Mei Chaofeng immediately understood. She stepped forward several yards and said coldly, “We are here to take your lives.”
The soft whip cracked, its movement incredibly swift, yet without any discernible wind, it shot out in a straight line towards Qiu Qianchi’s chest.
“You wicked hag!” Qiu Qianchi, seeing Mei Chaofeng in black, with a pale face and unbound hair, suddenly attack, cursed and reached out to grab the soft whip.
Suddenly, Qiu Qianchi noticed the barbs on the whip’s tip and was greatly alarmed, cursing, “What a vicious hag.”
Qiu Qianchi could not dodge left or right. Her body leaned back sharply, parallel to the ground but without touching it. She tapped the ground with her feet and shot backward like lightning.
She had earned the reputation of “Iron Palm Lotus,” so her lightness skill was naturally exceptional.
Mei Chaofeng had the advantage and was angered by being called a “wicked hag.” She became ruthless and unleashed the “White Python Whip Technique” from the Nine Yin Manual, extending her storm-like assault towards Qiu Qianchi.
Qiu Qianchi remained calm despite the danger. She dodged Mei Chaofeng’s initial strike, maneuvering her body to find minuscule openings within Mei Chaofeng’s whip attacks. She darted forward agilely, her iron palms flying. Her left arm extended and retracted like a snake’s tongue, while her right palm struck like lightning. As Mei Chaofeng’s whip recoiled, she touched and retreated, then attacked again.
Both dressed in black, they fought to a standstill.
Mei Chaofeng used a whip, so their movements were fluid, and the battle enveloped an area of several yards. Huang Rong, being alert, knew that whether she rejoined the runners or went to Zhou Yan, who was approaching, she would be a burden. She skirted around Mei Chaofeng and Qiu Qianchi and slipped into a stone room.
…
The stone room was spacious, filled with the scent of ink, rich with ancient texts, and furnished with a simple, antique desk.
Huang Rong looked around. Although there were no lavish gold or silver items, the furnishings were clearly arranged with great care.
She walked to the desk where ink and brushes were left.
What met her eyes were cultivation technique diagrams, inscribed with “Gold Knife Black Sword Yin Yang Dual Blades.”
She flipped through several pages and found a cultivation technique that used both saber and sword simultaneously, blending hardness and softness, complementing yin and yang. Huang Rong examined it in detail and saw numerous annotations and explanations in ink. She suddenly understood.
Qiu Qianchi had been studying this cultivation technique in the stone room just now.
Her guess was entirely correct.
The acupoint sealing technique, the Fishing Net Formation, and the Gold Knife Black Sword Yin Yang Dual Blades were ancestral techniques of the Gongsun family. The Gongsun lineage had resided in the secluded valley for generations, avoiding contact with outsiders. Therefore, although these three martial arts were extraordinary, they were unknown to the world. Furthermore, all three techniques had flaws.
Qiu Qianchi’s martial arts were personally taught by Qiu Qianren, the Gang Leader of the Iron Palm Sect. Her martial arts talent was outstanding, and her vision was high. She had actually noticed the flaws in the techniques and helped Gongsun Zhi improve them.
This was why Zhou Yan had seen Gongsun Zhi holding a saber and sword when they met.
Huang Rong found this cultivation technique quite interesting. Since it involved a saber in the left hand and a sword in the right, Head Escort Zhou Yan could also use his spear and sword together.
Qiu Qianchi had a discerning eye, and as the daughter of the Eastern Heretic, how could Huang Rong be inferior?
Huang Rong subconsciously wanted to steal this cultivation technique to repay Zhou Yan’s favor. However, considering their entry into the valley, Mei Chaofeng’s fight with the opponent, the unpredictable situation, and the possibility of other experts in the valley, even if they all retreated safely, if the other party discovered the theft, it would inevitably lead to an endless entanglement.
The cultivation technique diagrams were only a dozen pages long; memorizing them was not difficult.
Huang Rong concentrated her mind and forcefully memorized this peerless martial art from the Valley of Unfeeling.
