Chapter 278: A Stunning Spear Thrust Challenges Western Venom
As the wind gradually picked up, the dust within Hundred Herbs Valley lifted from the mortal world, transforming into clouds in the sky.
Two figures, one in green and one in white, appeared at the valley entrance.
“Father, it’s here.”
“Immortal Elder, I have arrived.”
Huang Rong’s figure flickered, and she sprinted into the valley first. Huang Yaoshi smiled slightly and followed.
In the past, after the two left Yueyang Tower, Huang Yaoshi followed Huang Rong to Chenxi. However, the place was deserted, and Chef Ren was nowhere to be found. Huang Rong was quite disappointed and headed straight for Hundred Herbs Valley.
Huang Yaoshi didn’t mind getting acquainted with the Hundred Herbs Immortal Elder. The elder had saved Mei Chaofeng and was skilled in medicine, which suited his temperament. Therefore, he unhurriedly followed Huang Rong, admiring the valley’s exquisite scenery. Upon seeing the formations in the forest, Huang Yaoshi smiled and shook his head, finding them too childish. How could such simple formations stop an expert?
Passing through the forest and arriving at the bamboo hut, Huang Yaoshi saw Huang Rong sitting on a bamboo chair, holding a needle with a silk cloth, lost in thought. He walked over and saw that the needle was intricately carved and exquisitely made.
“The Immortal Elder must have encountered people from the Five Venoms Sect,” Huang Rong said.
“Was he in trouble?” Huang Yaoshi’s expression turned slightly cold.
“They must have moved after a battle. If the Immortal Elder had been in trouble, there would be a Medicine Boy’s corpse, and the houses would be in disarray. But it’s clean and tidy inside.”
Huang Yaoshi was relieved that Rong’er hadn’t lost her composure.
“Chef Ren isn’t here, and the Immortal Elder is gone. Father, let’s go back to Peach Blossom Island.”
Seeing Huang Rong’s dejected expression, Huang Yaoshi felt a pang of sympathy and said, “Wherever Rong’er wants to go, Father will accompany you.”
Huang Rong was overjoyed and jumped up, hugging Huang Yaoshi’s arm. “Really!”
“Mm!”
“I’ll take Father to a fun place.”
Huang Yaoshi, being extremely intelligent, heard Huang Rong say it was a fun place and thought to himself, could it be the Snake Valley in the suburbs of Xiangyang? However, since he had already promised Huang Rong, he feigned ignorance. “Alright!”
“Father is so good to Rong’er.”
“If I’m not good to you, who else would be?”
“Exactly!” Huang Rong giggled, holding Huang Yaoshi’s hand, but in her heart, she thought that Zhou Yan, apart from not being very obedient, was very good to her.
“Father, that silver needle is beautiful. I’ll find a craftsman to make one for me, and you can teach me a set of hidden weapon techniques.”
“Alright!” Huang Yaoshi glanced at the intricately carved silver needle on the ground, remembered its style, and nodded. His “Finger Flicking Divine Skill” was unparalleled in the world, and his martial arts knowledge was more extensive than Hong Qigong’s or Ouyang Feng’s. His hidden weapon skills were naturally also at the peak.
The two left the valley and headed northeast. Huang Rong’s destination was the suburbs of Xiangyang.
…
Dongting Lake embraces distant mountains and swallows the Yangtze River, vast and boundless. Its scenery changes with the morning sun and evening mist, presenting a myriad of phenomena.
Yanbo Diaosou looked at Yueyang Tower before him and clicked his tongue, “Truly, the flowing scholars and the unyielding Yueyang Tower.”
Yueyang Tower was as intact as ever; the walls damaged during the past fight had long since been repaired.
Zhou Yan and his three companions had traveled from Hundred Herbs Valley. By the time they reached Yuezhou, Yanbo Diaosou’s poison had largely healed, and he could handle ordinary skirmishes. However, the Beggars’ Sect, White Lotus Sect, and Ming Cult, which had been active in Yuezhou city, had vanished as if evaporated.
Instead, many Iron Palm Sect disciples were actively seen in some local boat guilds and martial arts schools. Zhou Yan captured a few of them but didn’t get much valuable information. These Iron Palm Sect disciples only knew that the Beggars’ Sect, Ming Cult, and White Lotus Sect had engaged in fierce fighting, after which they disappeared.
“Young friend, what do we do now?” Yanbo Diaosou asked.
“If we want to gather specific information about the Beggars’ Sect, I’m afraid we’ll have to go to Zhongdu to find the Beggars’ Sect elders.”
“This old man has long wanted to go to Zhongdu, and I can also visit Tongbai Mountain and Funiu Mountain along the way,” Yanbo Diaosou said, then turned to the Hundred Herbs Immortal Elder, “Immortal Elder, you should also visit these two mountains. The towering peaks and vast forests are far more magnificent than Tung Phoenix Mountain.”
“This old man now calls the Four Seas his home, so of course, I can.”
“Hengshan boy, what about you?”
Liu Qingzhou replied, “Wherever you go, I will go.”
“Excellent, excellent.”
“Then let’s go together. We’ll head to Funiu Mountain first,” Zhou Yan declared, bringing the matter to a close. The four entered Yueyang Tower, had a hearty meal, and rode their horses directly towards Jingzhou.
…
On a dry, cicada-filled afternoon.
An angry roar of “Ah!” swept through a courtyard in Jingzhou city.
Sunlight filtered through the dense foliage, casting faint rays of light.
Zhang Sanqiang sat on a stone stool, with a man and a woman on the other sides of the stone table.
The man was burly, with a long staff planted on the ground beside him. He was none other than the Dharma King, who had exchanged a few blows with Ouyang Feng outside Yueyang Tower and was sent flying by the “Spirit Snake Fist.”
The woman, dressed in a gray-white robe, was in her thirties and had an ancient-looking long saber resting on her lap.
“High Dharma King, please remain calm,” the woman said to the roaring man.
High Dharma King said, “It’s one thing for the White Lotus Sect and Iron Palm Sect to kill my sect’s disciples; there are always conflicts, and one cannot blame them for being less skilled. But why is the Beggars’ Sect also targeting my sect’s disciples, and the Cult Leader forbids us from seeking revenge?”
Zhang Sanqiang drank his tea. After putting down the teacup, he said, “The Beggars’ Sect is causing trouble. Let the branch masters in various regions lie low for a while. I will find Hong Qigong to clarify this matter.”
“But Hong Qigong is courting death.”
“If he were so easily killed, he wouldn’t be called the Northern Beggar.”
“The Yuezhou Beggars’ Sect has long since withdrawn. Where will the Cult Leader find Hong Qigong?” the woman asked.
“In Zhongdu. If we find Head Escort Zhou, we’ll know Hong Qigong’s whereabouts. When I go to Zhongdu, some of the sect’s affairs will be handled by Left Assistant Huo.”
“But what if the Beggars’ Sect is relentless in other branches?”
“Retaliation is permissible.”
“Your subordinate understands,” Left Assistant Huo nodded.
The warm breeze was gentle. Outside the courtyard wall, the sound of hurried footsteps seemed to be carried by the wind. Zhang Sanqiang’s expression shifted, and a voice rang out.
“Who’s there?”
“Someone who wants your life.”
“Ah!”
Screams and the booming sounds of combat intertwined, accompanied by sinister cackling laughter.
A tall, thin figure emerged from the side of the black tiles.
“The Sect Leader of the Vajra Sect.”
“Cult Leader Zhang, this old man will once again challenge your Qiankun Great Shift cultivation technique.” Following closely behind, Ouyang Feng and Ouyang Ke stood on the courtyard wall.
With several whistling sounds, Baoxiang and Baolei, two monks from the Vajra Sect, along with over ten others, leaped onto the wall.
“Go!”
The moment Zhang Sanqiang stood up, the stone table in front of him flew up and smashed towards Huo Gong Toutuo. High Dharma King took out a signal flare from his embrace.
“Chii!”
Fireworks bloomed in the sky.
…
“It’s a bit similar to the Ming Cult’s signal flares.”
Entering Jingzhou, the flares that suddenly exploded in the sky above immediately caught the attention of Zhou Yan, Yanbo Diaosou, and the others. Having seen Ming Cult flares in Yuezhou, but it was daytime, so Diaosou spoke uncertainly.
“I’ll go take a look.”
Yanbo Diaosou’s injuries had long since healed. He said, “At Yueyang Tower, the Ming Cult at least helped this young friend and this old man escape. Although I don’t like the Ming Cult, a debt of gratitude must be repaid. This old man will go with you.”
Liu Qingzhou and the Hundred Herbs Immortal Elder naturally followed.
The four approached the street where the flares had ascended.
…
Dust exploded from the ground of the courtyard. Huo Gong Toutuo used his “Great Strength Vajra Palm” to smash the stone table into pieces. He and Ouyang Feng unleashed a tempestuous offensive. Their sleeves, propelled by Internal Energy, swung like iron plates smashing down, emitting thunderous roars. Zhang Sanqiang’s spear moved rapidly, and the sounds of explosions, like wind battering tiles, quickly spread from the center of the courtyard to the courtyard wall.
The energy of Qiankun Great Shift filled Zhang Sanqiang’s body. With every step he retreated, the blue bricks beneath his feet were crushed to powder. However, even with this supreme Ming Cult technique pushed to its limits, Zhang Sanqiang could not launch a single fierce counterattack under the combined assault of the Western Venom and Huo Gong Toutuo.
Ouyang Feng had long coveted Zhang Sanqiang’s shifting technique. Huo Gong Toutuo was addicted to secretly observing cultivation techniques. In Yuezhou, he inadvertently learned from Yu Huacheng that the technique was called Qiankun Great Shift. Zhang Sanqiang’s realm was only between the third and fourth levels, while the technique had seven levels.
How could the two give up? Using information passed down through the White Lotus Sect, Iron Palm Sect, and Yang Kang, they pursued him all the way to Jingzhou. Because of a martial art, the master-level Ouyang Feng and Huo Gong Toutuo joined forces, and in an instant, they had Zhang Sanqiang in a life-threatening crisis.
The attacks unleashed by the Kasaya Subduing Demon Skill and Iron Sleeve Skill were like a raging tornado. Suddenly, with a loud “bang,” Zhang Sanqiang’s iron spear was knocked from his hand by Ouyang Feng and flew out of the courtyard wall.
Huo Gong Toutuo laughed arrogantly and stepped forward to strike with a palm. Then, he felt as if the palm force he had unleashed had entered thick paste. Zhang Sanqiang retreated step by step, leaning against the brick wall. With a booming crack, the wall began to sway precariously.
“Cult Leader Zhang’s Qiankun Great Shift truly lives up to its reputation,” Ouyang Feng said menacingly, stepping forward.
In the street outside the courtyard wall, Zhou Yan caught the spear that had fallen.
Listening to the sounds to discern the situation, he thrust his spear forward with both hands.
“Bang!”
Earth and stone shot out from the other side of the wall. The spear pierced the brick wall, grazed Zhang Sanqiang’s ribs, and plunged into Ouyang Feng’s abdomen.
Ouyang Feng instinctively hunched over and tensed his muscles. Astonishing blood erupted instantly.
“Ah!”
An angry roar thundered like thunder.
