A journey through the world of martial arts

Chapter 176 Losing the First Move
Liu Da and his companions left satisfied with the treasures. They agreed to meet at Yujian Manor late one night a month later to investigate the truth, regardless of the outcome.

After Liu Da and his group left, the other sects also retreated one after another, leaving only Qingshan Temple, Yanyun Sword Sect and Shuimo Mountain.

"Master, having these people scout ahead for us will save us from losing manpower, but we shouldn't have too high hopes."

Zhuo Yuanhang came from a major sect and always looked down on these minor sects. If they weren't still of some use, he would never sit with them and lower himself.

"The strength of the Imperial Sword Manor is something the three of us know best, which is why we must be extra careful about this matter. There is also something else that you two may not know."

When Qing Shi Dao Ren spoke calmly, Zhuo Yuanhang and Shen Hua both straightened up. Something that could make Qing Shi Dao Ren take it seriously must be no small matter, especially at this critical juncture.

"What is it?" Zhuo Yuanhang asked in a deep voice.

“Long Bo, the young master of Longze Manor, once visited Yujian Manor. Yin Hao personally saw him off. You two should understand the meaning behind this.”

Zhuo Yuanhang and his companion were both shocked upon hearing this. The Imperial Sword Manor alone was already extremely difficult to deal with, and even with the combined strength of the three families, they only had a 50% chance of winning. If the opponent were to add the Dragon Ze Manor, then defeat would be certain, with no chance of winning whatsoever.

"Does the Taoist priest mean that the two families intend to form a marriage alliance? That's right. Now that Yin Tianqi has become the head of the manor, Yin Hao's only worry is Yin Tianxue. Long Bo is the young master of Longze Manor, and he is more than a match for the young lady of Yujian Manor. This makes things very tricky."

Hearing this, Shen Hua's eyes flickered slightly, and then he smiled and said, "Sect Leader Zhuo, there is no need to worry. According to my guess, even if this marriage is true, it will be a good opportunity. On the day of Yin Tianxue's wedding, there will be a mix of people. Even if they are on high alert, there will definitely be some oversights. That will be our chance."

"Even so, wouldn't this offend Longze Manor? You know, Longze Manor has always been aloof from worldly affairs and has no entanglements with the various sects in the martial arts world. If we offend it and it happens to provoke Lianyun Prefecture, the consequences will be beyond what you and I can bear."

Zhuo Yuanhang's words were not an exaggeration. Although Longze Manor was little known in the martial arts world, its status in the martial arts world could not be ignored. Moreover, it was said that this sect seemed to have some connection with Zhenwu Hall. How could this not frighten him?

Upon hearing the words "Lianyun Prefecture," not only did Shen Hua's expression change drastically, but even the usually composed Qing Shi Dao Ren became somewhat uneasy. However, he quickly calmed down, as greed ultimately prevailed.

"Sect Leader Zhuo, we are only dealing with the Imperial Sword Manor. Yin Tianxue is insignificant. It wouldn't hurt to let her go. This way, we can leave room for maneuver. As long as we capture Yin Tianqi, the matter will be settled."

“What Lord Shen said makes sense. Since Liu Da and the others have already taken the treasure, let them go and test the waters. If it doesn’t work, we will go and question them ourselves and make sure the Imperial Sword Manor gives us an explanation.”

Upon hearing this, Zhuo Yuanhang felt somewhat relieved. However, thinking of the many treasures hidden within the Imperial Sword Manor, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and he said in a deep voice, "It's settled then. But I, Zhuo, would like to make it clear beforehand that after the matter is completed, all the sword manuals of the Imperial Sword Manor will belong to the Yan Yun Sword Sect, and the rest will depend on each other's abilities."

Both Qing Shi Dao Ren and Shen Hua had no objections. Although the sword manual of Yu Jian Mountain Villa was precious, they were not skilled in swordsmanship, so it wouldn't be of much value to them. They might as well agree to it, so they could also get a share of the other things.

"So be it."

After discussing the matter for a while, the Taoist Qing Shi left.

A month passed quickly, and Liu Da and the others arrived at Yujian Manor as agreed. Looking at the brightly lit and majestic manor in front of them, one of the middle-aged beauties said in a deep voice, "Yujian Manor is heavily guarded. Just look at those two gatekeepers, they are already martial arts masters. Who knows how many experts are hidden inside? Sect Leader Liu, what should we do?"

"Chief Ni, Headmaster Zhou, Pavilion Master Qian, this is a concealing powder. Sprinkling it on your body is enough to cover your aura for a moment. As long as you don't reveal your whereabouts, it will be fine."

Liu Da took out four packets of medicine powder from his pocket. After opening them, they found some black powder inside. Ni Ying and the other two exchanged glances and each took a packet.

"Let's go." Liu Da called out, and the four men, dressed in night clothes and covered with concealing powder, bypassed the gatekeepers and silently sneaked into the manor.

Upon entering the villa, the four of them dispersed. Liu Da carefully observed for a while before heading in one direction.

The moment the four infiltrated the manor, Yin Zhong, who was cultivating in seclusion in the underground city, immediately sensed it.

"They're just four little mice. They can't cause any trouble. Let Yin Hao and the others handle it themselves." He then closed his eyes and continued practicing.

Relying on her agility and the advantage of her concealment technique, Ni Ying moved swiftly and stealthily within the manor. Just as she entered the backyard, a sudden pang of fear struck her. She dodged to the side, and three flying beams simultaneously hit the trees beside her.

"Sneaky, who are you?"

A sharp shout came from behind. Ni Ying's eyes narrowed, and she turned around to see a beautiful woman in white standing behind her, holding a sword in her hand, her eyes cold and her face full of murderous intent.

"Yin Tianxue!"

Ni Ying was startled. They had already seen the portraits of the main figures of Yujian Manor, so they could tell who the other party was at a glance. However, she did not expect that she would be discovered by her so soon after she infiltrated. This was really unlucky.

Since we've already been exposed, we might as well capture her. This is a windfall, a blessing in disguise.

When Yin Tianxue heard the other person call out her name, she frowned slightly. She realized that although the other person was trying their best to hide it, her intuition told her that the other person was definitely a woman.

Just as she was about to call for the Iron Guards, Yin Tianxue's heart skipped a beat. She raised her longsword and deflected the incoming silver light. In the moonlight, she discovered that it was a shimmering silver whip with a sharp, semi-circular blade on it.

"So it was a master from the Electric Whip Gang."

Seeing that her opponent had already made a move, Yin Tianxue had no reason not to retaliate. She leaped forward, closing the distance between them, and with a flick of her wrist, her longsword drew an arc as it thrust towards her opponent, aiming to seize the initiative before he could retract his attack.

Seeing this, Ni Ying flicked her long whip, making a crackling sound as the whip transformed into several rings, swirling around herself like a vortex. If Yin Tianxue's offensive remained unchanged, the next move would lock her longsword.

Seeing that her opponent had responded well, Yin Tianxue changed her move. The sword, which was originally thrusting straight at her, was now slashing horizontally. The whip and the sword collided, and Ni Ying felt a surge of powerful force rushing towards her.

"How could this woman possess such profound internal energy?" Ni Ying's expression changed drastically beneath her mask. Although she knew that Yin Tianxue must have considerable martial arts skills, she did not expect her to have reached such a level. Even she herself was slightly inferior in terms of pure internal energy.

In a battle between experts, even a moment's lapse in concentration can lead to irreparable losses.

Ni Ying was momentarily distracted, and Yin Tianxue seized the opportunity. With her right hand, she wielded her longsword, executing a series of four consecutive moves: a forward thrust, a horizontal slash, an upward sweep, and a reverse flick, giving her no chance to breathe. At the same time, she flipped her left sleeve, and several dark rays shot out like stars towards Ni Ying.

The relentless onslaught put Ni Ying at a slight disadvantage, but she was, after all, experienced in combat. With the two sides locked in close combat, and her long whip losing its advantage, Ni Ying quickly bent it into two strands, shortening its length. Holding it in her hand, it resembled a soft sword, allowing her to parry left and right and deflect all the attacks.

Ni Ying paid no attention to the flying projectiles. She deflected Yin Tianxue's longsword with her whip, spun around, and the projectiles were either knocked away or cut in half and fell to the ground.

After a brief exchange of blows, Yin Tianxue realized that her opponent was not easy to deal with. Although she was not afraid, she thought that since she had the advantage, why not use it? So she shouted loudly.

"Thieves, please leave!"

Upon hearing this, Ni Ying's expression changed. If she were trapped, she wouldn't be able to escape. In any case, she had already held out for so long, which was enough to give them an explanation. As she withdrew, the whip returned to its original state, and the whip tip made a whistling sound. Seeing this, Yin Tianxue used her longsword to protect herself, gathered her true energy, and thrust the longsword forward, the tip of which struck the whip tip directly.

Both of them shuddered. Just then, a series of orderly footsteps reached their ears. Seeing that things were hopeless, Ni Ying used her lightness skill and immediately ran outside. Yin Tianxue glanced at her but did not chase after her.

"Young Miss, I am late. Please punish me."

"What's going on? Could it be that more than one person broke into the manor tonight?"

Looking at the guards in front of her, whose bodies bore the marks of battle to varying degrees, and whose armor was even torn, revealing the soft lining underneath, Yin Tianxue frowned and asked.

"Reporting to Miss, a total of four people broke into the manor tonight. Two of them were killed on the spot. The other party was armed with a very powerful Thunder Lord and injured several brothers."

Upon hearing this, Yin Tianxue sheathed her longsword, glanced at them, and said, "You may go."

The lead guard secretly breathed a sigh of relief knowing that the young lady hadn't blamed him. After the young lady had been fighting with someone for a while, they had already sensed something was wrong. On their way there, they were stopped by someone. If it weren't for the iron armor protecting them, it wouldn't have been as simple as just seriously injuring a few people.

"Tianxue, are you alright?" After a moment, Yin Tianqi and Yin Tianhe rushed over. Yin Tianhe was carrying a half-dead person in his hand. When the torch shone on her, it turned out to be Ni Ying, who had escaped earlier. At this moment, she was covered in wounds, the most fatal of which were the two shocking sword wounds on her abdomen.

"Brother, Tianhe, this person looks like Ni Ying from the Electric Whip Gang."

"That's right, it's her. This gang has always been dissatisfied with the Imperial Sword Manor, so it's not surprising that they would do something like this. But what's strange is who has such great ability to invite Liu Da from the Heavenly Blade Sect, Qian Li from the Azure Water Pavilion, Zhou Ji from the Bamboo Mountain Sect, and her in succession. That's quite a feat."

Yin Tianxue was slightly taken aback when she heard the names of these people. These people were not unknown. Although their sects were not as powerful as the Imperial Sword Manor, they were still powerful forces in their own right. The only ones who could get them to take action were those few other families.

"Brother, how is Father doing?"

"Father should have already captured Liu Da, and with Ni Ying as well, we might be able to get some information out of them."

Yin Tianqi nodded to Yin Tianhe and took the lead, followed by the latter carrying Ni Ying, and Yin Tianxue also hurriedly followed.

When the three arrived at the main hall, a squad of guards was cleaning up the traces of the battle in the courtyard. Upon entering the hall, they saw a burly middle-aged man kneeling on the ground. He had no wounds on his body, but he appeared very weak.

"Father, the person has been captured. It's Ni Ying from the Electric Whip Gang."

As soon as Yin Tianqi finished speaking, Yin Tianhe reached out and threw Ni Ying in front of him, causing her to collide with Liu Da. When Liu Da saw that Ni Ying had also been captured, any remaining hope he had was shattered.

"Good, Tianxue, are you alright?"

Yin Hao was quite calm, seemingly unconcerned about the scene before him, as if the safety of his precious daughter was far more important.

"Father, I'm fine. It's all thanks to my elder brother, Tianhe, and those Iron Guards. Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to capture Ni Ying so easily."

Knowing that his daughter was alright, Yin Hao nodded, waved for them to sit down, and turned to Yin Jun, saying, "Second brother, I'll leave the rest to you."

Upon hearing this, Yin Jun stood up, bowed, and said "Yes." He then looked at Liu Da and Ni Ying and asked in a deep voice, "You two were sent by the Yan Yun Sword. Who else is behind you?"

During the previous battle, Yin Jun discovered that although Liu Da's power had increased significantly, it was obviously because he had taken external medicine, which prevented the medicine from fully dissipating. There were many pills that could enhance power, and it was difficult to distinguish them at the moment. However, the Crimson Fire Pearl that he took out was famous and was a unique hidden weapon of the Yan Yun Sword Sect.

And that jade talisman, though of low quality, is still a top-tier treasure in the martial arts world. He absolutely refused to believe that they had obtained it for no reason.

Upon hearing this, Liu Da sneered and said weakly, "If you want to kill, then kill. Why waste your breath?"

He then closed his eyes, looking as if he was waiting to be slaughtered, but in Yin Jun's eyes, this was just being out of touch with reality.

"You're so ungrateful, huh."

Yin Jun didn't look at Liu Da again. He walked to Ni Ying's side, reached out and lifted her up, and asked in a fierce voice, "Tell me, besides the Yan Yun Sword Sect, who else is trying to harm the Imperial Sword Manor? If Chief Ni tells me, the Imperial Sword Manor can leave you with a whole corpse. Otherwise, the Electric Whip Gang has no value in existing."

To achieve his goal, Yin Jun didn't mind playing the villain. The four of them had already crossed the line by coming to the manor. Those sects had gone too far in dealing with the Imperial Sword Manor, and they had to be taught a lesson.

Ni Ying was already critically injured and on the verge of death. Upon hearing this, she weakly said, "Although we are all women in this gang, we are not afraid of death. Please do as you please."

Seeing that the two remained silent, Yin Jun lost his patience and gave Yin Hao a look, which the latter nodded.

Upon receiving the reply, Yin Jun took a deep breath, circulated his inner energy, and made a sudden clenching motion with his right hand. His aura instantly changed, transforming from righteous to eerie, like a malevolent demon. The three people beside him, including Yin Tianqi, were horrified and turned pale with fright.

"This is a secret technique of the manor, called Soul Searching. It is extremely vicious. Anyone who is hit by this trick will either become mentally impaired or die. Judging from Ni Ying's appearance, she probably won't make it."

Yin Hao explained from the side, while Yin Jun was already prepared. He pressed his right hand down on Ni Ying, who was looking horrified. A scream was heard, and Ni Ying's body convulsed. The light in her eyes dimmed, and she stopped breathing after only a few breaths.

Reaching back, Yin Jun felt a little regretful. Ni Ying's memories were fragmented, and she had been frightened, so he couldn't find any valuable clues.

However, there was one more person. Yin Jun glanced at Liu Da, who had originally intended to keep quiet, but Ni Ying's tragic state broke through his defenses. Death is not scary, but dying miserably is. He felt a strong sense of fear towards Yujian Manor.

Isn't Yujian Manor supposed to be a prestigious and righteous sect? How come its actions are no different from those of the evil sects?
"Master Yin, Second Master Yin, I'll talk, I'll talk."

Upon hearing this, Yin Jun looked at him calmly and said in a low voice, "Sect Leader Liu, I hope what you say is true. Otherwise, I don't mind using the Soul Searching Technique again."

Liu Da nodded hurriedly, and after a while, he finally explained the matter clearly.

After everyone heard this, Yin Jun's face turned ashen, and a murderous glint flashed in his eyes, causing Liu Da to tremble with fear. Yin Hao remained expressionless, while Yin Tianqi and the other two were furious.

"Qingshan Temple and Shuimo Mountain are really audacious. Our Yujian Manor has never had any dealings with them. They want to suppress us just because of Tianqin Mountain. It's wishful thinking!"

"The Tianqin Mountain incident was just an excuse, an excuse to put them on the high ground. Yujian Manor has already attracted the envy of most sects, so this incident is to be expected. However, I didn't expect that the Qingshan Temple, which has always been peaceful and well-behaved, would get involved. It's really hard to understand."

Yin Tianqi looked puzzled and turned to look at Yin Hao. Just as he was about to ask, Yin Hao ordered that Liu Da be detained and dealt with after the matter was resolved.

"Father, was the incident at Qingshan Temple something you anticipated?"

Seeing his father's calm and composed demeanor, Yin Tianqi made a bold guess.

"Qingshi Daoist of Qingshan Temple is nearing the end of his life and urgently needs a treasure to prolong his life. The Blood Ruyi is the most promising one, so of course he won't let it go. Unfortunately, he was originally highly regarded, but now it seems that he will also be unable to overcome his greed. If he comes this time, he will surely die."

After a pause, Yin Hao continued, "Shen Hua of Shuimo Mountain is a shrewd strategist and no ordinary person. He is very good at seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages. If he finds that what he gets is less than what he pays, he will definitely not take action. Second brother, tell the people below to concentrate their forces to deal with Yan Yun Sword Sect and Qingshan Temple."

"Yes, brother."

"You should all go back and rest."

After bowing, Yin Tianqi and the other two returned to their rooms.

"Let Qingshan Temple and Yanyun Sword Sect serve as sacrifices to Tianqi, the master of the manor!"

At Shuiyue Cave, Gu Xu revealed his identity outside. Soon after, the water curtain parted to both sides, and Tong Zhan, who had taken over as clan leader, led all the clan elders to welcome the distinguished guest with the most solemn ceremony.

"Master Gu Xu, please."

Elder Tianxing, who had already gone into seclusion, interrupted his seclusion upon learning of Gu Xu's arrival and came in person.

"Elder Tianxing's achievements have reached a new level, which is truly gratifying."

"I must thank the Taoist priest for leaving behind the jade slip and handwritten note; otherwise, it would have taken me much longer to break through this barrier."

Tong Zhan and Elder Tianxing accompanied Gu Xu into the Water Moon Cave, one on each side.

"Five hundred years have passed in the blink of an eye, and the scenery here is still the same as before."

(End of this chapter)