Chapter 236: Attacking the Heart is Best, Obtaining the Black Jade Continuing Bone Paste
Among Hong Qigong, Huang Yaoshi, Ouyang Feng, and Qiu Qianren, some had made a move while others had not displayed their martial arts. However, their reputations were so immense that as Zhou Yan and Baoshu began their movements, many spectators overlooked the footprints left by the Vajra Sect monks on the bluestone ground in front of the Shaolin Temple, and lowered their expectations for this confrontation.
It wasn’t until Baoshu unleashed one of Shaolin Temple’s top cultivation techniques, “Great Strength Vajra Finger,” that everyone’s attention was drawn back.
His body was like a thousand jin drop, leaving imprints five to six inches deep in the bluestone without cracking it. Few could match such cultivation.
The heads of the Arhat Hall and Dharma Hall, Zen Masters Tianxin and Tianming, were all too familiar with the “Great Strength Vajra Finger.” As Baoshu’s muscles and bones rang out and he opened his stance, they knew the gap in their realms was significant.
Zhang Wangyue felt the same. The Chief Escort of Fu’an believed leaving an imprint four inches deep was not difficult, but adding another inch was not something that could be achieved with just a year or half a year of cultivation. It required years or even longer of accumulated cultivation.
Baoshu, who appeared to be around thirty-five or thirty-six years old, could reach such a realm not only through diligent practice but also by possessing a heaven-gifted martial arts constitution, namely “Dragon Sinew, Tiger Bone, Qilin Strength.”
In the martial dao, those who practice martial arts know that longer tendons mean greater strength. By stretching the tendons through cultivation, one can achieve rapid retraction and extension, allowing for greater reach, faster movements, and more powerful strikes. This is especially true for external styles.
“Dragon Sinew, Tiger Bone, Qilin Strength” can be achieved through cultivation techniques and auxiliary medicines. For example, the “Yijin Forging Bone Chapter” of the Nine Yin Manual has the effect of improving one’s constitution. This cultivation process might take several years or even longer.
However, with a naturally gifted martial arts constitution, where the muscles and bones are different from ordinary people, what might take ten years for a regular martial artist could perhaps be achieved by the former in just a year or half a year.
Undoubtedly, in Zhang Wangyue’s eyes, Baoshu of the Vajra Sect was such a person. It was likely the same for Baoshu, Baoxian, and of course, Zhou Yan.
But after Zhou Yan’s fierce battles in two rounds, and as Baoshu displayed his cultivation, Zhang Wangyue felt a vague sense of worry.
However, the next moment, the Chief Escort of Fu’an felt his heart settle.
Zhou Yan did not engage in a direct, forceful clash using the scattered hands, elbow strikes, or other martial arts from the Yue Family Boxing. Instead, he engaged in hit-and-run tactics. Within the arena, Monk Baoshu’s footwork coordinated with his body and spine, leaping and exerting force. As he unleashed his cultivation technique, his arms were like two giant dragons soaring and tearing, with powerful qi energy emanating from his body and condensing in his ten fingers. The dust-filled air, following Baoshu’s finger techniques of locking, restraining, pinching, and grasping, was carved into ripples of qi waves.
Zhou Yan was like formless duckweed drifting with the qi waves, moving unpredictably left and right, up and down. Occasionally, he would unleash a punch with a free and easy posture before retreating. To the untrained eye, he appeared to be on the defensive.
“Good!”
“Master is mighty.” The people from the Western Regions’ martial world erupted in cheers.
Lu Beihe’s heart was almost in his throat when he suddenly heard Yanbo Diaosou speak, “The monk is about to be in trouble.”
“Why?” the Young Master of Zhenwei asked hurriedly.
Yanbo Diaosou said, “He is using hit-and-run tactics to recover his energy. Ten days ago, he took a ‘Toad Stance’ from Ouyang Feng in the ‘Drunken Immortal Pavilion’ in Xiangyang and recovered his cultivation in an extremely short period.”
“You seem very familiar with him.”
“Naturally, we are like-minded sworn brothers,” Yanbo Diaosou said proudly.
Suddenly, Baoshu formed his ten fingers into claws and struck out fiercely. The claw energy tore through the air, emitting a sound like ripping silk. A piece of Zhou Yan’s clothing detached and instantly exploded into fragments.
Gasps of surprise arose from the spectators.
Zhou Yan was completely unaffected. His body flickered between the offensive formations of Baoshu’s ten fingers. After completing a set of the “Free and Easy Journey” boxing technique and using the gentle qi of Jade Guanyin to restore his blood and energy, he felt the distension and throbbing pain in his channels, caused by his exchange of palm force with Qiu Qianren, completely vanish, leaving him refreshed.
He made a direct comparison: when he attacked the Jin Emperor in Zhongdu, the monk Baoxiang was his opponent. This Baoshu’s cultivation was far superior to that of Baoxiang.
If not for the past six months of cultivating the “Yijin Forging Bone Chapter” with the aid of the “Great Reviving Pill” to enhance his internal force, improve his constitution, and generate blood and energy, it would truly not have been easy to deal with.
“If you have the guts, don’t dodge,” Baoshu roared, his lightness skill inferior to Zhou Yan’s.
“Alright, you said it,” Zhou Yan chuckled deeply.
Zhou Yan’s spine vibrated like a great dragon, his muscles and bones chiming crisply like a whip. His arms suddenly dropped, and the muscles in his hands churned like giant pythons.
“Dragon Sinew, Tiger Bone, Qilin Strength!”
“Junior Brother, be careful!”
Zhang Wangyue and Baoxian exclaimed simultaneously, one in admiration, the other in warning.
Zhou Yan’s attack was already launched.
He did not use the “Crushing Hardness Divine Claw” that he had employed against Baoxiang in Zhongdu. Instead, he used “Yue Family Scattered Hands,” also known as “Yue Family Eagle Hands.” This technique involved binding, grasping, locking, pushing, striking, and hooking. With every movement of hand and foot, close-quarters advancement, and finding openings, it was a relentless assault.
In the blink of an eye, they exchanged blows more than twenty times. Their movements were so fast that the spectators had the illusion that they were not watching humans fight, but rather fierce birds of prey and beasts like eagles, falcons, tigers, and leopards.
Amidst the intense crackling and booming, Baoshu let out a roar. He pushed and stomped on the ground with his feet, fully channeling his internal force and external energy. With a sound of tearing air, his right hand clawed towards Zhou Yan’s right elbow. Zhou Yan lowered his elbow and pushed his shoulder forward, leaning his right arm towards his opponent. Baoshu did not retreat, instead pointing his right hand at Zhou Yan’s “Jianjing acupoint.”
Zhou Yan’s left hand flashed like lightning from his left ribcage, across his chest, and grasped Baoshu’s right elbow.
Baoshu’s left hand countered and locked, and in an instant, it had seized Zhou Yan’s right hand.
Their hands became entangled. In that moment, they both attacked each other’s lower bodies with twisting kicks. With dull thuds, white smoke billowed as Zhou Yan and Baoshu kicked each other more than ten times while spinning rapidly.
With every kick, Baoshu felt as if his foot landed on hard rock. Although Zhou Yan could not sweep with his leg, his internal energy, influenced by external factors through his cultivation of “Whirlwind Sweeping Leaves Leg,” was not something Baoshu could compare to.
Zhou Yan continuously inhaled and exhaled, his breathing as rapid as a strong wind. His feet traced arcs on the ground, and with both hands exerting force, he continuously dragged Baoshu in a spin. His trouser legs crackled, and with each rotation, his twisting kicks and low side kicks became more powerful against Baoshu.
The monk was kicked until his eyes bulged. His leg techniques did not include side kicks.
Among the spectators, Ma Xiuping of Western Xia, a practitioner of Spring Leg, felt a chill run down his spine. Such fierce leg techniques were unprecedented.
Suddenly, amidst the thunderous roars, Zhou Yan landed several low side kicks on the side of Baoshu’s right leg. With a distinct “crack,” the monk’s lower leg was fractured.
Baoshu grunted, and the qi energy throughout his body suddenly weakened. Zhou Yan’s scattered hands had transformed into “Crushing Hardness Divine Claw.” Internal force surged from his vital acupoints, condensing at his fingertips, crushing Baoshu’s right wrist bones and left palm bones.
This move emphasized the qi guiding method of “Crushing Hardness Divine Claw” rather than the specific techniques. Even Ouyang Feng and Huang Yaoshi, who cultivated the Nine Yin Manual, did not see through it.
“Ah!” First his lower leg, then his shattered wrist and palm, Baoshu let out a hysterical scream.
Zhou Yan’s hands suddenly retracted, then moved like dancing butterflies, extending from the monk’s hanging left and right arms, brushing past like willow branches, and landing on Baoshu’s chest. He did not deliver a fatal blow, but with a “Charge the Formation and Cut the Generals” from the Taizu Boxing, he sent the opponent flying.
While still in the air, Baoshu had already fainted. Baoxiang shot out like an arrow, piercing through the air, and caught Baoshu.
Baoxian landed beside Baoshu shortly after, placing his fingers on Baoshu’s pulse and feeling his breath. His life was still intact.
Monks like Baolei and Baoyin rushed over.
Baoxiang’s expression was ferocious. “Senior Brother, to not avenge this is not the act of a gentleman.”
“Save him first!” Baoxian said.
Baoshu’s palm and chest bones had just been broken, making it the optimal time for treatment.
Baoxian manipulated his hands, promoting blood circulation and qi flow. After more than ten breaths, Baoshu grunted and regained consciousness. The pain of his body feeling like it had fallen apart made his facial features appear ferocious and terrifying.
“Junior Brother, do not move.”
As Baoxian finished speaking, he took out a medicinal paste from his embrace. It was black in appearance and had a fragrant, cool scent. He first set Baoshu’s right hand bones, then evenly applied the paste to the bone joints of his hand and leg, and the fractured chest bone.
Several martial monks from the Vajra Sect in the Western Regions had already begun chopping trees outside the arena to fashion splints.
Baoxian’s technique was skilled: setting bones, applying medicine, bandaging, and immobilizing the bones.
Zhou Yan stood in the arena, inhaling and exhaling. His calf was also in pain from the monk’s kick, but after circulating internal force through his leg’s Qiao meridians several times, the pain significantly reduced.
With the pain in his legs subsiding, Zhou Yan’s gaze fixed on the medicinal paste in Baoxian’s hand, feeling a strong desire for it. This was “Black Jade Continuing Bone Paste,” a unique miraculous medicine in the world of Heaven Sword, and arguably a dream elixir for martial artists.
Huang Rong looked at the Huo Gong Toutuo beside her and asked, “Master, are you not going to intervene?”
Baoshu’s severe injury did not evoke much anger from the Tou Tuo. He said, “It is not the time.”
“But your disciple’s hands are both broken.”
Huo Gong Toutuo said, “See that? That ointment is called ‘Black Jade Continuing Bone Paste,’ and it can restore all bone injuries to normal.”
“I was injured by Ouyang Feng and his son, breaking my tendons and bones, but it took me over half a year to recover,” Huang Rong said melancholically.
“I will give you a disciple-receiving gift.” Huo Gong Toutuo chuckled sinisterly and took a small medicine box from his embrace, handing it to Huang Rong. “The ‘Black Jade Continuing Bone Paste’ inside is enough to mend all broken bones in your body once.”
“Thank you, Master,” Huang Rong said, reaching out to take it.
“Shouldn’t the title be changed?” Huo Gong Toutuo cackled.
“The accounts at the Yellow River Tong Pass wharf have not yet been settled,” Huang Rong thought to herself. Aloud, she said, “One must first straighten one’s robes, perform the disciple-receiving ceremony, wash hands and heart, use cinnabar for enlightenment, and offer incense and tea.”
“Makes sense,” Huo Gong Toutuo said with a sinister smile, his gaze returning to the arena.
Zhou Yan patiently waited for Baoxian to finish bandaging and treating Baoshu before saying, “He lost. The Vajra Sect should apologize to me.”
Baoshu’s face turned ashen, his expression grim. The martial artists from the Western Regions who had accompanied the Vajra Sect fell silent.
All eyes turned to Zhou Yan and Baoshu.
Yanbo Diaosou laughed heartily, “The monk won’t go back on his word, will he? If he truly does, that would be excellent. The Shaolin Temple would not need to adhere to the three-match agreement and could just rush in and start a brawl.”
“That makes sense,” some heroes agreed.
Baoshu pondered that impatience leads to disorder. With Zhang Sanqiang, the Cult Leader of Manichaeism, and the Gang Leader of the Beggars’ Sect all favoring the opponent, it was better to retreat. The humiliation would be avenged another day.
With this thought, he said, “My junior brother was rather offensive just now. I offer my apologies.”
Yanbo Diaosou said, “Indeed, monks from a barbarian land do not understand etiquette. How can one apologize like this? The sincerity is lacking, the intention is insufficient, and the etiquette is absent. It’s a perfunctory act.”
Zhou Yan smiled and said, “Indeed.”
Baoxiang was furious. In the Vajra Sect, let alone the eldest senior brother, any junior brother’s word was law in the Western Regions, and no one in the martial world dared to disobey. Today, they were being so difficult, clearly looking for trouble.
He roared in anger:
“Kid, you’re looking for trouble.”
