A journey through the world of martial arts

Chapter 275 Dragon Balls Acquired
Shangguan Yun looked at Lu Aotian and Lü Fengming, and his heart sank. These two were known as the "Black and White Twin Heroes". In addition to their profound martial arts skills, they also had a great reputation. Although he was the leader of the martial arts alliance, he was unwilling to confront them.

"Master, what should we do?"

Yue Sha watched the fierce battle ahead and looked at Shangguan Yun, hoping he would make a decision quickly. Meng Baichuan was clearly no match for the Black and White Duo and was about to be defeated.

"The Dragon Balls cannot be lost. Listen to my instructions later and make sure things are done cleanly and efficiently."

Upon hearing this, both Sun and Moon Demons felt a chill and hurriedly responded.

Shangguan Yun narrowed his eyes, carefully observing the three people fighting in front of him.

In the bamboo forest, Lu Aotian and Lü Fengming combined their swords, their swords flashing and striking with silver stars, forcing Meng Baichuan to retreat step by step. Meng Baichuan then released a few more poisonous creatures to ease the enemy's offensive, and then his figure moved nimbly, rushing deeper into the bamboo forest.

"Meng Baichuan, where do you think you're going!"

With a soft shout, Lü Fengming gracefully stepped onto the green bamboo and chased after Meng Baichuan. Fearing for his beloved wife's safety, Lu Aotian immediately followed. However, during the chase, he glanced at Shangguan Yun.

"Master, Lu Aotian has discovered us. Should we...?"

Seeing this, Ri Sha made a killing gesture with one hand. Upon hearing this, Shangguan Yun's eyes sharpened. He looked in the direction the three had left, took to the air, and followed them. Ri Sha and Yue Shuang Sha exchanged a glance and then also chased after them.

Not long after the three left, Ni Qingfeng emerged from the rocks nearby.

"The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Meng Baichuan, not only will you not get this Dragon Pearl, you won't even be able to keep the one you already have."

Ni Qingfeng deliberately let Meng Baichuan go, not only to do a favor for the Black and White Heroes, but also to retrieve the other Dragon Ball. Shangguan Yun cannot be touched yet. When he temporarily unifies the martial arts world and sets his sights on the Tianshan Sect, the final battle will naturally be fought by the Tianshan Sect.

"Those damned Black and White Heroes! Of all times to come, why now of all times to cause trouble for me? What bad luck! When I get back, I'll definitely teach them a lesson!"

Meng Baichuan cursed inwardly. His anger aggravated his wounds, causing him to wince in pain. However, sensing the enemy chasing him from behind, he forcibly suppressed his injuries, swallowed a few pills, and continued to flee forward.

"If only I had the Dragon Balls with me, I wouldn't be in such a sorry state now."

Meng Baichuan had thought that there would be no setbacks in the Tianshan expedition, but unexpected events kept happening, directly disrupting his plans.

After another ten breaths, Meng Baichuan, relying on his superior agility, quickly distanced himself from the Black and White Duo. When Lu Aotian and Lü Fengming landed, all they saw was lush green bamboo, but no sign of Meng Baichuan. They couldn't help but feel regretful. They had finally found Meng Baichuan this time, but they still hadn't managed to capture him. Finding him again in the future would be much more difficult.

"Husband, Meng Baichuan has run away again. We have wasted a favor from Master Ni."

Lu Fengming was filled with remorse. Just now, he and his wife were only thinking about capturing Meng Baichuan and left some room for maneuver, which gave Meng Baichuan the opportunity. Otherwise, with their martial arts skills, killing the injured Meng Baichuan would not have been difficult.

“If it weren’t for Xiao Feng’s whereabouts, we wouldn’t have gone to such lengths. However, Meng Baichuan has taken several sword strikes from us, and given his own injuries, he certainly can’t have gone too far. If we search further in, we might find some clues.”

Upon hearing this, Lü Fengming nodded. The couple carefully searched deeper into the bamboo forest. Meng Baichuan was also quick-witted and left some hidden weapons and poisons along the way, which caused a lot of trouble for the Black and White Duo.

"The more this is the case, the more we are on the right track. Meng Baichuan has run out of ideas."

Just as the Black and White Heroes were chasing Meng Baichuan, Shangguan Yun and his two companions also caught up, and the Sun and Moon Duo were each holding the unconscious Mingzhu and Jadeite.

“Master, the border of Tianshan is not far ahead. If Meng Baichuan leaves Tianshan, it will be difficult to find him in the vast Central Plains.”

"It's alright. With these two in hand, we can use some methods to get the news. Just in case, you take these two back to Zhongxin Hall first, and I will go after Meng Baichuan."

Shangguan Yun gave the order, and with a few leaps, he disappeared into the bamboo forest.

Seeing this, the Sun and Moon Duo, along with Mingzhu and Feicui, left the area. Just as they were about to head out of the valley, a cloud of yellow mist suddenly rose from the rocks beside them. With a palm strike, the yellow mist immediately attacked the Sun and Moon Duo.

"Oh no, it's Meng Baichuan!"

Upon seeing this, both men's expressions changed. How could they dare let the Thousand-Punch Smoke get close? They immediately threw the pearl and jade aside, and Yue Sha gathered his true energy and slashed with his palm. The rolling yellow mist was instantly sliced ​​open by the sharp palm energy. However, just as the yellow mist dispersed to both sides, a cluster of dense black needles shot out. The two men were greatly alarmed and dared not take the blow head-on. They hurriedly dodged to the side.

"Oops!"

Yue Sha exclaimed in surprise and turned to look at the bright pearl and jade, only to find that it was empty and there was nothing there.

"Send a signal to inform the hall master."

Ri Sha's face was very ugly. Who would have thought that Meng Baichuan would launch a surprise attack while he was seriously injured, catching them off guard and causing them to suffer such a great loss.

Upon hearing this, Yue Sha nodded, took out a signal bamboo tube from his bosom, pulled the fuse, and a ball of sparks shot into the sky, exploded high in the air, and scattered into a sky full of red smoke that lingered for a long time.

As expected, the Black and White Duo, who were chasing Meng Baichuan, encountered Shangguan Yun. Just as the atmosphere became tense, Shangguan Yun looked at the red smoke in the sky and was startled. He could no longer care about the Black and White Duo. He bowed slightly and immediately turned to leave. His figure flashed and quickly disappeared from their sight.

"It seems something happened at Zhongxintang. Shangguan Yun's expression is not good."

Seeing Shangguan Yun leave, Lu Aotian sheathed his sword.

"We've probably fallen into Meng Baichuan's trap. We've been chasing him for so long and haven't even seen a trace of him. Just now, Shangguan Yun wasn't coming towards us, but for Meng Baichuan. Could that signal mean that Zhongxintang has discovered Meng Baichuan's whereabouts?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Aotian's eyes lit up slightly, and he nodded in agreement, saying, "Madam, let's follow."

The couple immediately changed direction and followed behind Shangguan Yun.

"Hall Master!"

"what happened?"

Shangguan Yun frowned as he looked at his disheveled subordinates and the remaining yellow mist at the scene.

Upon hearing this, Yue Sha recounted the matter, which only made Shangguan Yun more frustrated. He flicked his sleeves, snorted coldly, and was about to leave with the two of them.

"Master Shangguan, please wait!"

Upon hearing this voice, Shangguan Yun paused, took a deep breath, turned around, and looked at the Black and White Duo approaching slowly. He said in a deep voice, "What advice does Master Lu have for me?"

Seeing Shangguan Yun's gloomy face, Lu Aotian swallowed back the words he was about to say and asked in a serious voice, "Just now, did Hall Master Shangguan intend to pursue Meng Baichuan?"

"So what?"

Shangguan Yun spoke coldly and waved his hand at the Sun and Moon Duo. The two understood and immediately left.

"To be honest, Master Shangguan, my wife and I have an unresolved grudge with Meng Baichuan. If Master Shangguan doesn't mind, we can lend a hand."

"I appreciate your kind offer, but Zhongxin Hall has some strength in the martial arts world. Finding Meng Baichuan is no problem for us. If you have nothing else to do, I have important matters to attend to and will take my leave." Shangguan Yun was eager to find Meng Baichuan and did not want to linger with them. He gave a slight bow and strode away, leaving the two looking embarrassed.

“It’s understandable that Shangguan Yun won’t help. Husband, why don’t we follow Shangguan Yun? Although it’s against chivalry, it’s worth it for Xiao Feng’s sake.” Lu Fengming suggested, seeing her husband’s embarrassed expression.

Upon hearing this, Lu Aotian shook his head and rejected the idea, saying, "This is not the work of a righteous person. Madam, you should refrain from saying anything more."

Lu Fengming, who was always obedient to her husband, said nothing more upon seeing him like this.

Meanwhile, Meng Baichuan, along with Mingzhu and Feicui, traveled eastward. After arriving at a small town, the three bought horses and continued their journey, unaware that Ni Qingfeng was following them at a leisurely pace.

After traveling for half a month, Ni Qingfeng watched as Meng Baichuan and his two companions entered a bustling town. Upon arriving there, he could clearly sense that Meng Baichuan had relaxed considerably, leading Ni Qingfeng to guess that this must be his hideout.

"This Meng Baichuan is really cunning. The Ten Thousand Poisons Sect was founded in the west, but he hid in this small town in the east. No wonder so few people could find him before."

As the three entered an inn, Ni Qingfeng led his horse closer. He looked up and saw the four large, bright green characters "Xianlai Inn" written on the banner, and he seemed to be deep in thought.

Turning his gaze away, Ni Qingfeng led his horse to an inn across the street, ate some food, and then rested there.

After nightfall, Ni Qingfeng, dressed in black, quietly arrived at the "Xianlai Inn." Inside, he found a hidden world, bustling with noise and music, and scantily clad, alluring women moving among the crowd for the guests to tease.

"It's an inn by day and a den of iniquity by night. With such a commotion, the local government has done nothing. It seems that Meng Baichuan has used quite a few tricks."

Little did Ni Qingfeng know that Meng Baichuan had gone to great lengths to secure his stronghold, spending five years cultivating connections in various places. He had even specially prepared a potent drug and presented it to a powerful patron, which enabled him to gain a foothold in this prosperous city.

Ni Qingfeng lightly touched the ground with his toes and quickly flew along the rooftop towards the inner courtyard. After landing, he found a brightly lit room. Ni Qingfeng moved slowly and when he arrived at the room, he heard the sounds of Mingzhu and Feicui coming from inside.

“Master’s vital energy has been greatly depleted and strong medicine is needed, but the five-hundred-year-old ginseng is too potent. Can Master withstand it?”

"There's nothing we can do about it. Let's take out the ginseng first. Our master is an expert in pharmacology and wouldn't risk his life."

Then, there was a sound of a mechanism being activated, followed by silence. Ni Qingfeng poked a hole in the window paper and looked inside, but saw no one. Ni Qingfeng immediately used his internal energy to control the sound of the door opening and slowly pushed the door open.

After entering, he closed the door, channeled his inner energy to gather all the sounds into his body, and glanced around the room. The room was quite large, but the furnishings were extremely simple. Apart from a few paintings and calligraphy, there was only the medicine cabinet that occupied the largest area, and the rest of the walls were snow-white.

The medicine cabinet was as tall as two people and exuded a pleasant medicinal fragrance. Looking at the pull-tab drawer, Ni Qingfeng pondered for a moment, then glanced at the lower middle shelf. He saw that the drawer under the label "Poria cocos" was very shiny, obviously it was frequently touched.

Seeing this, Ni Qingfeng pulled the drawer back, and with a soft sound, a door appeared on the east wall. Ni Qingfeng moved instantly and quickly entered it.

Just as Ni Qingfeng opened the mechanism, Meng Baichuan, who was healing in the bath, immediately noticed. Not knowing who the visitor was, he hurriedly got up, dressed, went to the bed, activated the mechanism, and took out the Dragon Pearl.

"Master, someone has broken in!"

Mingzhu and Feicui entered together, looking anxious as they spoke to Meng Baichuan.

"Don't panic! I have the Dragon Balls in my hand, and I won't allow him to act so recklessly!"

Upon hearing this, Mingzhu and Feicui felt a sense of relief upon seeing their master holding the dragon pearl, but Meng Baichuan knew the seriousness of the matter.

"It will take some time for this Dragon Ball to unleash its full power. You two will buy me a moment. You may use the Thousand-Punch Deadly Powder and the Forget-Me-Not Smoke."

Meng Baichuan handed the two porcelain bottles to the two men, who immediately accepted them with both hands.

"Yes, Master."

Meng Baichuan sat cross-legged on the bed, looking at the bright candlelight filling the room. He reached out and flicked his hand, extinguishing most of the candlelight and making the room suddenly dark.

Just then, Meng Baichuan's ears twitched. He heard a faint footstep, followed by a flash of sword light. The room suddenly lit up. Meng Baichuan was blinded by the sword light and squinted for a moment. He realized that the other party's cultivation was extraordinary. He immediately gave up the idea of ​​resisting and pressed the mechanism on the bedside. The jade bed flipped over and turned him over. However, just as the jade bed flipped over, Meng Baichuan was startled and struck out with his palm.

With a loud bang, their palms collided, and Meng Baichuan felt a surge of powerful true energy continuously invading his body, damaging his meridians. In just a few breaths, his internal energy was already churning.

Seeing that his opponent's strength was unpredictable, Meng Baichuan's mind stirred. He immediately took the power of the Dragon Ball and transformed it into his own true energy, which he then poured onto his opponent. He thought that with the help of the Dragon Ball, his opponent would be seriously injured even if he didn't die. However, to his horror, the power transformed from the Dragon Ball was completely absorbed by his opponent. Not only that, another familiar power entered his body.

"You are!"

Meng Baichuan exclaimed in surprise, adding three more points of force to his palm, forcibly forcing Ni Qingfeng back. He then moved swiftly, leaving the jade bed, and looked at the veiled Ni Qingfeng by the dim candlelight.

"Ni Qingfeng, you're playing me for fools. It turns out you don't just want one dragon ball; you're even more greedy than Shangguan Yun."

Meng Baichuan looked at Ni Qingfeng with apprehension; the latter's ability to harness the power of the Dragon Ball in such a short time was truly astonishing.

"Sect Leader Meng, those who commit many unrighteous acts will surely perish. I have come here to invite you on your way."

As he spoke, Ni Qingfeng drew his longsword and unleashed three swift strikes at Meng Baichuan's Shenmen acupoint. Sensing the chilling sword energy, the latter's mind immediately sharpened. He raised his hand and sent a ball of white powder flying towards Ni Qingfeng. This was "Bewitching Powder," which, once inhaled, could instantly make an opponent's mind wander, leaving them dazed and helpless.

However, this thing might be very effective against ordinary people, but it was like showing off one's skills in front of Lu Ban when it came to Ni Qingfeng. Ni Qingfeng swung his long sword, swept and swept, and with a final stir, the scattered powder landed steadily on the sword. With a flick of his wrist, the "Bewitching Powder" condensed into a bundle and was sent back to Meng Baichuan.

Seeing this, Meng Baichuan's sleeves billowed and swirled, gathering the incoming powder into his sleeves. However, before the smile on his face could fade, he immediately swung his palm and slashed, cutting off half of his robe. The robe fell to the ground, hissing and emitting wisps of white smoke, giving off a foul stench.

“What a scheming person!”

He thought he was already an expert in underhanded tactics, but Ni Qingfeng's method of concealing his aura within poison was even more impressive. If he hadn't noticed the problem with the mind-controlling poison in time, he would probably be like that half-loose robe now.

Ni Qingfeng was not discouraged when he saw that Meng Baichuan had seen through his scheme. He immediately took a few steps closer and swung his long sword repeatedly. The sword light was chaotic and unpredictable. Meng Baichuan had never seen such strange swordsmanship before and was caught off guard. He was wounded several more times.

Seeing the opponent's fierce attack, Meng Baichuan moved swiftly, knocking the antique shelf towards Ni Qingfeng with a palm strike. He then took out a black iron plate from a hidden compartment, activated the mechanism, and with a click, six silver blades appeared on the edge of the iron plate, their cold light gleaming and sending chills down one's spine.

Ni Qingfeng swept the antique shelf aside with a palm strike. He frowned slightly as he looked at the strange iron plaque that the other person had taken out. He still drew his sword and charged forward. When Meng Baichuan saw him attacking, he shouted and poured his true energy into the iron plaque. He then flung it outward, and a whooshing sound rang out, like the wailing of ghosts and wolves. The silver blade spun around, and the sound of it cutting through the air was clearly audible.

Ni Qingfeng leaped forward, striking the flying iron plaque squarely with his sword. With a surge of internal energy, the plaque paused slightly, and the swirling flying blade also faltered for a moment. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Ni Qingfeng gathered his true energy again and slashed downwards. With a crack, the sword could not withstand the true energy and broke in two, but the flying iron plaque was also knocked to the ground.

Upon seeing that Ni Qingfeng had lost his longsword, Meng Baichuan was overjoyed. He immediately disregarded the iron plaque and unleashed several hidden weapons from his sleeve, aiming them at Ni Qingfeng's face. Ni Qingfeng, seeing this, grabbed his broken sword and deflected all the hidden weapons with a few crisp clangs. Then, he channeled his true energy into the broken sword, and to Meng Baichuan's horror, a three-foot-long azure light appeared out of thin air at the tip of the broken sword. With a downward slash, Meng Baichuan was cut in two without even a scream, his eyes wide open, dying with unfinished business.

Picking up the dragon ball that had rolled down, Ni Qingfeng glanced at it and placed it together with another dragon ball. After ransacking the room, Ni Qingfeng left with the unconscious Mingzhu, and then set the filthy place clean with a fire.

After he left, the people who were enjoying themselves in the inn saw the fire rising in the inner courtyard and were immediately alarmed. They hurriedly called for help to put out the fire, but by the time the fire was extinguished, the place had been reduced to ruins.

The next day, Ni Qingfeng heard that the government had come to handle the matter, but treated it as an ordinary fire smuggling case. Ni Qingfeng then took Mingzhushan, who was full of resentment, back to Tianshan. To prevent her from doing anything foolish, Ni Qingfeng directly sealed the acupoints on her body.

On his journey westward, halfway through the journey, Ni Qingfeng encountered the Black and White Duo, who had come after receiving the news.

(End of this chapter)