Chapter 99: Cultivation Techniques Exchanged, Crushing Hardness Divine Claw
“Hoo!”
Zhou Yan exhaled lightly, withdrawing his right palm that had been pressed against Huang Rong’s spine at the “Fengmen” acupoint.
“How is she, Head Escort Zhou?” Mei Chaofeng asked anxiously.
“Let me think,” Zhou Yan leaped down from the carved carriage.
Mei Chaofeng took Huang Rong’s pulse. The pulse was still deep but strong, seemingly much improved from before.
She also dismounted from the horse carriage and leaned against its side, sensing Zhou Yan’s movements nearby.
After Huang Rong vomited blood and fell unconscious, Zhou Yan had the carved carriage stop. He once again used the Quanzhen Sect’s internal energy cultivation technique to intercept the gentle qi emanating from Jade Guanyin, storing it in his acupoints and channeling it into her body.
His senses were effective now; the gentle qi was indeed nourishing her viscera, relaxing her muscles and activating her collaterals, and dispelling her internal illness. What Huang Rong had vomited earlier was stagnant blood, but it was impossible for her to fully recover.
Moreover, even if they reached Guiyun Manor, without Jade Guanyin’s gentle qi, Huang Rong’s injuries would relapse.
He could now guess Mei Chaofeng’s intentions: to find Lu Chenfeng, and if he was also helpless, they would likely head to Peach Blossom Island together.
But the problem was that the Eastern Heretic was not on Peach Blossom Island, and any delay in treatment could even lead to Huang Rong’s untimely death.
Perhaps if Huang Rong cultivated the Quanzhen internal school’s cultivation technique, and he gave her Jade Guanyin’s qi, she could intercept and transform it into her own internal force according to her cultivation method, then temper her muscles and bones, and nourish her viscera. Over time, she could recover.
However, Huang Rong’s current condition made it impossible for her to cultivate the Quanzhen internal school’s cultivation technique.
Zhou Yan pondered deeply. The Southern Emperor could surely heal Huang Rong, but where was he? He only knew a general area around Iron Palm Peak, and searching blindly would be like finding a needle in a haystack.
The green-robed medicine boy was boiling medicine. Seeing that Huang Rong showed signs of improvement, Mei Chaofeng was in a relatively good mood and did not trouble the boy, who began to talk more.
He saw Zhou Yan deep in thought and blurted out, “It’s a pity Master’s Big Treasure Snake was stolen. Otherwise, if Young Master consumed the snake blood, he would surely recover.”
The speaker meant nothing, but the listener took it to heart.
Zhou Yan’s thoughts returned, and he glanced back at the boy.
Pusi Snake.
Zhou Yan thought of the snake gallbladder.
Huang Rong’s severe injuries were due to damaged meridians and channels, preventing effective circulation of her inner qi. Snake gallbladder not only generated internal force but also cleared the meridians. This effect was particularly evident in the Divine Condor Jianghu, where Yang Guo notably benefited from it after his arm was severed.
While consuming snake gallbladder had a lesser effect on him, possibly due to the Pusi Snake he had eaten being nearly twenty years younger, Huang Rong could compensate with quantity over quality.
They couldn’t cross the Yellow River now, but heading southwest to Fengqiu, south of the river was Kaifeng Prefecture, where they could surely find a large boat to transport their carriage and horses across. By the time they reached Xiangyang, spring would be in full bloom, and catching snakes would not be difficult. Huang Rong could eat the snake gallbladder, stabilize her injuries, and then use her own qi to heal. They could then hire a large boat along the Yangtze River to Taihu Lake, traveling downstream. This would save considerable time.
Zhou Yan felt a sense of relief.
“When mountains and rivers seem to end, a village appears in the shade of willows.”
Zhou Yan turned and walked back, saying to Mei Chaofeng, “I have a way to make her recover, but you must follow my instructions.”
Mei Chaofeng could agree to any condition except giving Zhou Yan the Nine Yin Manual.
“Alright.”
“Then it’s settled.”
As Zhou Yan was about to have the runners prepare the carriage, Mei Chaofeng suddenly asked, “What does ‘Gathering the Five Elements’ mean?”
Hearing this, Zhou Yan thought that in Xiangyang, they might encounter the enemy Gongsun Zhi. Perhaps he should explain it to Mei Chaofeng. If they encountered a strong foe later, she could be an ally.
Mei Chaofeng, however, said, “I won’t take advantage of you. You explain these Taoist terms to me, and I’ll give you a cultivation technique in return. How about it?”
Before Zhou Yan could reply, Mei Chaofeng added, “However, this cultivation technique requires cultivating with heads. In these chaotic times, with dead bones on the road, finding them won’t be difficult.”
Zhou Yan scoffed inwardly. He thought she had practiced it incorrectly. Unable to learn the qi-gathering and internal energy cultivation methods from the first half of the Nine Yin Manual, she had instead misinterpreted the meaning of “crushing the enemy’s head” as a direct attack on the skull, turning a superior martial art into the extremely vicious “Nine Yin White Bone Claw.”
“Agreed.”
“Good, I’ll tell you the incantation first.”
“…Five fingers exert force, nothing is unbreakable, crush the enemy’s head, like piercing rotten soil…”
“‘Gathering the Five Elements’ refers to the wood of the Eastern soul, the metal of the Western spirit, the fire of the Southern god, the water of the Northern essence, and the earth of the Central intent…”
While the runners prepared the carriage, Mei Chaofeng recited the cultivation technique’s incantation and the method of guiding energy. Zhou Yan, in turn, clarified the Taoist mysteries she had inquired about.
He obtained the “Crushing Hardness Divine Claw” from the Nine Yin Manual.
The caravan set off again, heading southwest along the Yellow River, and the journey was uneventful thereafter.
During their daily rests, he would first intercept qi to channel Jade Guanyin’s gentle qi into Huang Rong, and then find a secluded spot to diligently cultivate the “Crushing Hardness Divine Claw.” He was very dedicated to this technique, and upon achieving mastery, it could complement the “Sanshou” from the Yue Family Boxing Manual. The Yue Family Scattered Hands, also known as Eagle Claw or Eagle Hand Boxing, would be a formidable combination in combat, capable of astonishing even Mei Chaofeng and the Old Urchin.
…
Grass grows and orioles fly in February, willows by the embankment are drunk in spring mist.
The Yellow River north of Kaifeng Prefecture was covered in spring mist, and new willow shoots along the bank hung like curtains. Zhou Yan and his party arrived at the Yellow River wharf and hired a large boat to transport their carriage and horses across.
Kaifeng Prefecture had the Zhenwei Escort Agency, one of the Four Great Escort Bureaus. However, Zhou Yan did not enter the city, taking a detour and spurring his horse towards Nanyang.
…
The rain intensified after nightfall, and the sky over Nanyang was shrouded in darkness.
The road was muddy and no longer suitable for travel.
Liang Xiaowu and the runners drove the carved carriage to a patch of grassland near the mountain forest.
Huang Rong was now awake for half the day, but prone to sleepiness, spending the other half asleep. When Zhou Yan was healing her, Mei Chaofeng would be by her side. She didn’t ask Zhou Yan how he learned the “Whirlwind Sweeping Leaves Leg.” Perhaps with an uncertain future and her life like a flickering candle, some questions were best left unasked.
The once mischievous and clever girl of the Legend of the Condor Heroes Jianghu now spoke little. When awake, she spent more time observing Zhou Yan, delving into the subtle details of this escort who lent her a horse and diligently practiced qi healing every day.
She noticed he never stayed at inns and never ate outside food, protecting this escort mission as if treading on thin ice.
Such a cautious and meticulous person should be taciturn, but the opposite was true. He would sit with the runners and, with just a few words, make several people laugh.
He would also instruct the runners in martial arts and hunt to improve their meals, though his cooking was truly hard to describe.
The remaining time Zhou Yan spent cultivating.
Huang Rong was a little confused as to why an escort was practicing asceticism. The escort agency wasn’t his.
Sometimes Huang Rong would also observe Mei Chaofeng, feeling that her temper had improved considerably, and she would often ask Zhou Yan about cultivation techniques.
Huang Rong couldn’t help but think again, how could a disciple of Peach Blossom Island be asking an escort for guidance.
She wondered what Father would think if he saw this scene.
Zhou Yan still adhered to the principle of personal safety escort, and apart from healing Huang Rong, he did not approach the carved carriage during rests, but he did observe Huang Rong.
He was also puzzled. Logically, “nature cannot be changed, though mountains and rivers can be moved.” Huang Rong, after regaining consciousness, should have been her usual quirky self, so why had she become so reticent?
Was this still “Rong’er”?
With this doubt, he plunged into the mountain forest to cultivate his techniques. He had been diligently practicing along the way, and the “Crushing Hardness Divine Claw” was on the verge of a breakthrough.
