Chapter 263: White Lotus Sect Leader, A Match to Settle
As the sounds of gongs and drums began, Ba Rui, a leader of Funiu Mountain who was discussing affairs with the White Lotus Sect Leader Yu Huacheng inside the stronghold’s courtyard hall, was taken aback.
Ba Rui was of Miao ethnicity. Though not tall, he was as sturdy as a mountain tiger, his muscles bulging and contracting like ripe gourds, so strong and taut they seemed about to burst his scarlet robe.
The reason Yu Huacheng went to Funiu Mountain first was precisely because he understood Ba Rui. Ba Rui’s ancestors hailed from Western Hunan, while the White Lotus Sect’s roots were in Jiangxi Circuit and the Lianghu Circuits. Casual conversation, tracing connections, and then discussing the White Lotus Sect’s beliefs and tenets could easily foster a sense of shared purpose.
The discussions had indeed gone well. Although Yu Huacheng wasn’t yet confident he could fully recruit Ba Rui into the sect, he felt he could likely secure Funiu Mountain’s support for the White Lotus Sect’s uprising without much difficulty.
However, their pleasant conversation was interrupted by the urgent sounds of gongs and drums.
Ba Rui frowned, “Sect Leader Yu, please wait a moment. Let me see what has happened.”
“Alright!”
Ba Rui rose and left the hall. As he stepped into the courtyard, a subordinate rushed towards him with great speed, “Leader, something terrible has happened.”
“What is all this haste about?”
“Leader Liu of Tongbai Mountain has been assassinated! The attackers have already breached the mountain stronghold.”
Yu Huacheng, inside the hall, heard this clearly. The hand holding his teacup froze mid-air, and he took a short breath, as if still processing the information.
Ba Rui, in the courtyard, roared, “Who?”
Without waiting for the subordinate’s reply, Ba Rui vanished.
The subordinate turned and sprinted in pursuit.
“Sect Leader, Sect Leader Ba has left,” the White Lotus Saint Son Wuse said, his expression one of disbelief. Tongbai Mountain had over ten thousand people. Even if their quality varied, for a group of outlaws, such a force was enough to intimidate a region. How could Liu Qianfeng have been killed?
“How could this be?” Yu Huacheng regained his senses and, with a flicker of movement, exited the hall.
…
In the direction of the mountain stronghold’s entrance, the commotion was like boiling water in a pot. As Ba Rui arrived, he saw figures, some clad in armor, others dressed as martial artists, leaping onto balconies or rooftops between the densely packed houses, rapidly advancing towards the center of the stronghold. Further towards the entrance, a swarming mass of armored cavalry galloped back and forth.
“What in the world is going on?” Ba Rui struggled to comprehend the situation.
Zhou Yan had already spotted his opponent.
He and Zhang Wangyue had been in pursuit, constantly being obstructed by the remnants of Liu Qianfeng’s forces. Therefore, when they killed Liu Qianfeng outside the stronghold, Yanbo Diaosou, Mu Nianci, Wang Kui, and Yang Miaozhen had already arrived.
Seizing the opportunity, he and Zhang Wangyue plunged into the remaining bandits of Tongbai Mountain who had desperately fled into the stronghold, directly entering the main stronghold.
The stronghold walls, less than twenty feet high, posed no obstacle to Yanbo Diaosou, Wang Kui, and the others. Moreover, it was a surprise attack. The stronghold bandits, seeing Liu Qianfeng impaled by a sword and facing armored cavalry, lost their courage before the fight even began.
As a result, Yanbo Diaosou and the others scaled the walls in a single wave of attacks. Fu’an’s escort and runners seized the walls, providing cover for the cavalry, while Zhou Yan and his group pushed into the stronghold amidst the chaos.
In such an assault, the stronghold’s weakness of lacking skilled defenders was directly amplified. Few leaders could leap onto rooftops to obstruct them, and the experts advanced like a breaking bamboo.
Zhou Yan had never met Ba Rui, but Lu Beihe had gathered detailed information. Ba Rui, nicknamed “Mountain Specter,” possessed exceptional internal and external cultivation, excelling in “Eagle Claw Iron Shirt.” In terms of cultivation alone, he was the foremost figure in both strongholds. Whether it was raiding, plundering, or burning and killing, in the Funiu Mountain territory, no matter the profession, gang, or wharf, anyone he targeted had no way of escaping unscathed. If they couldn’t part with their wealth, they had to part with their lives. He was of the same ilk as “Thousand Hand Butcher” Peng Lianhu and “Ghost Gate Dragon King” Sha Tongtian.
Seeing his opponent, how could Zhou Yan not seek to take his life?
“Ba Rui, give up your life!” Zhou Yan moved with lightning speed, the ground beneath him cracking with the force of his passage.
“What kind of madman are you?” Ba Rui roared in fury.
Before Zhou Yan could reply, Wang Kui from behind shouted, “The Central God Sword is here to take your dog life!”
Zhou Yan chuckled, his body dropping into the narrow street. He spread his legs and delivered a flying kick in mid-air, sending two people flying. Ba Rui’s figure also landed on the ground.
The name “Mountain Specter” was not undeserved. Without hesitation, his opponent covered more than twenty feet. As he suddenly enlarged his body, when he was still ten feet from Zhou Yan, he pushed off the ground, leaning forward like a hunting eagle skimming the earth. Simultaneously, he formed his hands into eagle claws and attacked in rapid succession.
“Well met!” Zhou Yan’s body sank and then rose. His claws shot out, and as his powerful claws tore through the air, the whistling wind sounded like the cry of an eagle, assaulting the ears.
In the blink of an eye, their grappling and counter-grappling unfolded. At first glance, it seemed like two raptors were fighting and tearing at each other in the dust.
“How do you also know Eagle Claw technique?” Their footwork spun rapidly, their internal energy influencing the external. As their claw strikes fell, the walls of the alley exploded with a series of bangs. Ba Rui retreated continuously, roaring his question.
“Ignorant fool, what you’ve learned is merely superficial.” Zhou Yan was actually using “Yue Family Scattered Hands,” a cultivation technique also known as Yue Family Eagle Hands, or Eagle Claw, Eagle Hand Fist.
It resembled Eagle Claw technique.
Mocked by Zhou Yan, Ba Rui became enraged. With a fierce cry, he formed his hands into claws and struck out fiercely. The claw energy tore through the air, emitting a sound like ripping silk, and aimed directly at Zhou Yan’s “Qu Chi” acupoints on his elbows.
Zhou Yan covered his elbows with his hands, palms facing down. With his arms rotating outwards, a move from the 《Yue Family Scattered Hands《 called “White Snake Spits Tongue” seemed to present his elbows to Ba Rui.
With a “snap,” Ba Rui struck his elbow. But the smile that had just appeared on his face froze instantly. The scoundrel was wearing armor.
With a “hiss,” Ba Rui’s fingernails scraped sparks off Zhou Yan’s armored forearm guard. Zhou Yan’s right hand, which had been covering his chest, suddenly flipped outwards. The scattered hands transformed into the 《Nine Yin Manual《’s “Heart Crushing Palm,” striking Ba Rui’s “Shangwan” acupoint above his abdomen with a “bang.”
The Iron Shirt was rendered useless.
The internal force sprayed from Zhou Yan’s right palm’s “Laogong” acupoint entered Ba Rui’s body through his “Shangwan” acupoint. It flowed along his meridians like surging river waves towards his pericardium.
Ba Rui let out a strange cry, sucking in his abdomen and caving in his chest. He flipped into the air and landed on the roof of a side building. He felt his internal qi and blood churning like a stormy sea, uncontrollable. His meridians felt like they were burning, swollen and in severe pain.
“Ugh!” He spat out a mouthful of blood.
A gust of wind howled, and a white figure descended.
“Sect Leader Ba, are you alright?” Yu Huacheng asked as he arrived.
“I’m fine,” Ba Rui replied savagely, his eyes glinting fiercely as he stared at Zhou Yan.
A scream suddenly echoed from the narrow street. Yanbo Diaosou swung his fishing rod diagonally, clearing his path. He had been advancing, breaking the bones of the bandits blocking his way, leaving them rolling on the ground. In a flash, he appeared beside Zhou Yan.
The fishing rod trembled like a strange snake. Yanbo Diaosou cackled, “White Lotus Sect.”
“Indeed!” Zhou Yan’s gaze shifted from the rapidly approaching White Lotus Saint Son Wuse to the white-browed, white-bearded old man before him.
Recalling his conversation with Zhang Sanqiang, it was not difficult to guess his identity.
“Are you Yu Huacheng, the White Lotus Sect Leader?”
“How did you recognize this old man?”
“Sect Leader, he is the one who stole the Golden Doll.” Wuse, who had previously fought Zhou Yan, flew through the air and landed beside Yu Huacheng. “The ones who broke into the Poyang Lake water stronghold were also them.”
In the past, after Zhou Yan, Liu Qingzhou, and Yanbo Diaosou escaped from Dragon and Tiger Mountain with the Golden Doll, Yu Huacheng, who appeared later, dispatched Wuse to the Poyang Lake branch. Wuse, understanding the circumstances, easily deduced from the weapons that Yanbo Diaosou was the one who had raided the Poyang Lake water stronghold.
Yu Huacheng said gravely, “Does the White Lotus Sect have a grievance with you?”
“Yes!”
Yu Huacheng paused, then asked, “What grievance?”
Zhou Yan chuckled lowly and said to Wuse, “Since you’ve recognized us, why not explain why you raided the Poyang Lake branch?”
Yu Huacheng looked at Wuse.
“The people in the branch abducted a Tianzhu Monk in Yueyang. That old monk is their accomplice.”
Yanbo Diaosou smiled sinisterly, “It was an act of ingratitude. The High Monk from India was benevolent. After rescuing those ungrateful wretches from the Poyang Lake water stronghold, those beasts instead abducted the High Monk to Poyang Lake.”
“That is indeed the case. However, the Tianzhu Monk has already been rescued by them,” Wuse said softly to Yu Huacheng.
Yu Huacheng nodded and looked at Zhou Yan. “So that’s how it is. Since the Tianzhu Monk is safe, it’s better to resolve enmity than to foster it. How about we let bygones be bygones?”
“After I kill Ba Rui, then we can discuss this matter, how about it?” Zhou Yan said with a smile.
Yu Huacheng sneered, “Since you don’t know what’s good for you, I shall experience your esteemed skills.”
“Good!”
Zhou Yan cultivated the first volume of the 《Nine Yang Manual《 on Cuya Mountain, using his Yang Qi to stimulate his blood, increasing his cultivation by nearly a year. He had achieved enlightenment in swordsmanship, and it was the perfect opportunity to test his cultivation against the White Lotus Sect Leader.
