A journey through the world of martial arts

Chapter 281 Lu Yi's Perilous Situation
When Old Master An saw the appearance of the newcomers, his heart sank immediately. He asked in a questioning voice, "Ghost Yaksha, Sword Asura, my An family has never had any dealings with the Evil Ghost Cave. May I ask why you two have come?"

Although the Demon Cave is infamous, the sect is quite powerful. The Ghost Yaksha and the Blade Asura are both skilled fighters. He could handle one of them, and even two of them. However, he felt that the other side would not only send these two.

Thinking of this, Grandpa An couldn't help but look at Ni Qingfeng. Upon seeing this, the latter immediately nodded, and Grandpa An was relieved. With Ni Qingfeng looking after him, he could finally act freely.

"Grandpa An, please continue your journey."

A hoarse, unpleasant voice rang in Old Master An's ears, followed by a slingshot of cold light. Old Master An dodged to the side, and with a clang, a dart struck a wooden pillar of the pavilion, its joint blackened, clearly poisoned.

Just as the dart passed, the figure of the sword demon soared into the air, lightly touched the ground with his toes, and slashed down with his long sword. A pale white blade of light slashed down towards Old Master An. Wherever the blade of light passed, grass was destroyed, flowers were broken, and rocks crumbled.

Seeing this, Old Master An made several sweeping motions with his cane. With a clang, the long sword struck the cane squarely. Dao Xiuluo's expression turned solemn. He immediately spun the sword, flicked his wrist, and continued to slash forward along the cane.

On the other side, the demon looked at Ni Qingfeng with some apprehension. Seeing that the other party had no intention of making a move, and thinking of his own backup plan, he immediately grabbed his weapon and attacked Old Master An.

Just as Grandpa An used his cane to parry the long sword and was about to gain the upper hand, a steel fork suddenly thrust in. Grandpa An hurriedly withdrew his cane to defend himself, but in doing so, he was gradually entangled by the Ghost Yaksha and the Sword Asura.

These two were from the same school and worked together seamlessly. Even though Old Master An had martial arts skills, he was in a difficult position under their combined pressure. Just as he repelled the long sword, the steel fork was immediately handed to him. After catching the steel fork, the long sword slashed and hacked horizontally. With two things on his mind, Old Master An's situation became more and more difficult. After trembling for more than ten moves, Old Master An used his cane to block the long sword and steel fork, and suddenly slammed his left hand into the Ghost Yaksha.

However, upon seeing this, Oni Yasha gave Old Master An a sinister smile. Without making a move himself, Dao Shura, standing to the side, crossed his sword in his left hand and clenched his right fist to meet Old Master An's palm strike. The two forces collided, resulting in a stalemate. Old Master An made a decisive move and immediately struck back with his palm. But at that moment, a hail of hidden weapons suddenly appeared from afar, raining down on Old Master An's face.

Grandpa An was startled and tried to dodge, but he was entangled by Ghost Yaksha and Dao Shura. His figure paused slightly, and just as the hidden weapons were about to hit him, water droplets hit the hidden weapons with perfect accuracy, shattering them. Some of the water droplets even flew towards Ghost Yaksha and Dao Shura.

Upon seeing this, the two men's expressions changed. They exchanged a glance and immediately added three more points of strength. The steel fork and long knife forced the cane back, and at the same time, they retreated, using their movement techniques to swing their weapons and knock away the hidden weapons one by one. After a few breaths, the two men looked at Ni Qingfeng in the pavilion with lingering fear.

“Master Ni, this is a private matter between the Evil Ghost Cave and the An family, and has nothing to do with the Tianshan Sect. Please do not interfere, otherwise, the sect leader will not let this go.”

Ghost Yaksha was shocked to see the three hidden weapons tightly embedded in the steel fork. The steel fork was made of refined steel and was extremely hard. If the hidden weapons that Ni Qingfeng returned casually had such power, his strength must be immeasurable.

Dao Xiuluo, standing to the side, flicked his wrist, knocking all the hidden weapons off his blade. However, looking at the several holes in the blade, his expression was quite ugly. Yet, he looked at Ni Qingfeng with great apprehension. No wonder the sect leader hadn't bothered the Tianshan Sect when this person killed Hei Bai Wuchang. This person's skill was truly unbelievable.

“Demon Cave, I have no intention of killing anyone. You may save your lives if you retreat immediately. Otherwise, even if Jue Qianji comes in person, I will not show you any mercy. Get out of here.”

"I originally thought that this person's skill was no less than that of Sect Leader Xue, but now it seems that he is even better. With just one sentence, he made the little devils in the Demon Cave dare not make any rash moves. Such prestige is truly admirable."

Old Master An was secretly delighted. It was a great blessing for the An family to be able to get in touch with the Tianshan Sect. At least they wouldn't have to be subservient to the Golden Whip Sect anymore, let alone these evil sects.

Upon hearing this, Ghost Yaksha's expression changed several times, and he said in a deep voice, "Is Master Ni determined to be an enemy of my Evil Ghost Cave?"

"Back in Pansha Town, the Black and White Impermanence ambushed and killed my nephews Fu Tianjiao and Fu Tianxiang, and that feud was already formed. As for the Evil Ghost Cave, hmph, I'd like to have a go at Jue Qianji sometime and see just how capable he really is."

Ni Qingfeng chuckled, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and coldly watched Ghost Yaksha and Dao Xiuluo. He casually glanced at the pond under the pavilion, and just as he put down his teacup, the pond suddenly surged, and a slender figure shot out from the water. Two sharp spikes flashed with cold light, aiming straight for Ni Qingfeng's neck. Old Master An was shocked and moved instantly, pouring full of true energy into his cane and striking the attacker.

However, the cane failed to fall, as it was blocked by the combined efforts of Ghost Yaksha and Dao Xiuluo. With another burst of strength, they sent Old Master An flying back several feet. Then, the two used their lightness skills to rush straight at Ni Qingfeng.

Seeing the attacker rushing towards him, Ni Qingfeng snorted coldly, dodged to the side, and flung the teacup outward. With a crack, the teacup shattered, but at the moment of shattering, half a cup of tea flew out like a hidden weapon. The attacker's face changed slightly, and he immediately switched from his offensive move to defense. The sharp spikes in his hand flashed like shadows. Although he blocked the tea, he was forced back about ten feet.

Just after the attackers were forced back, Ghost Yaksha and Sword Asura arrived, attacking Ni Qingfeng from the left and right. The steel fork glowed with a ghostly green light, its cold glint flashing rapidly. Ni Qingfeng pressed his palm against the stone table, flipped it upwards, and the stone table flipped over, colliding with the steel fork. Then, with a snap, the steel fork pierced through the stone table. Seeing this, Ni Qingfeng rolled up his sleeve, locked the fork head, and twisted it forcefully. The fork head twisted out of shape. With another flick of his sleeve, the stone table was propelled forward and instantly crashed into Ghost Yaksha, splashing water and soon, streams of blood foam floated to the surface.

Upon seeing this, Dao Xiuluo felt a chill run down his spine. Ni Qingfeng had killed the Ghost Yaksha with just his bare hands. Just how powerful was he? Dao Xiuluo gripped his long sword tightly, roared, and slashed left and right, spinning through the air, but Ni Qingfeng easily dodged all his attacks.

"Your demonic blade has killed many people; it's better to destroy it."

With a cold voice, Dao Xiuluo was caught off guard. His vision blurred and his hand went empty. When he looked closely, he saw Ni Qingfeng holding his treasured sword. In another half breath, the hundred-refined sword shattered into several pieces, clanging as it fell to the ground, leaving only the hilt in Ni Qingfeng's hand.

"What terrifying internal energy."

Old Master An's eyes narrowed slightly, then he was overjoyed. He used his cane to create countless afterimages as he attacked Poison Thorn Eyebrow. The latter's martial arts skills were all focused on assassination, and he could not withstand such a head-on attack. After a few moves, he was struck by Old Master An's cane and immediately coughed up blood and retreated.

When Dao Xiuluo saw that Du Ci Mei was injured, he was immediately enraged. He flicked his hand and sent several darts flying towards Old Master An. This was not to hurt him, but to buy time. When Old Master An saw the darts coming, he paused for a moment, swung his cane in a circle, and knocked all three darts away.

However, Poisonous Eyebrows seized the opportunity, lightly touching the ground with her toes and running outside. But before she could run far, a pure Yang palm energy suddenly struck. She had no way to dodge and could only barely protect herself with her palms. With a miserable scream, Poisonous Eyebrows was penetrated by the pure Yang energy and exploded on the spot, scattering into blood and flesh that fell into the pool.

"Piercing the eyebrow!"

Dao Xiuluo let out a shrill cry, and even Old Master An was startled by the horrific scene before him. He thought to himself that this Daoist Ni was far too bloodthirsty.

“Ni Qingfeng, the Evil Ghost Cave has been defeated today, but we will avenge this in the future.”

Dao Xiuluo reached into his robes and pulled out a Thunderfire Bomb, which he threw at Ni Qingfeng. Then, he leaped away and fled outside.

"Go away!"

Knowing the necessity of eliminating the threat completely, Old Master An roared and lunged forward to give chase, but was stopped by Ni Qingfeng. With a flick of his palm, a gentle stream of true energy held back the falling lightning fire bomb, and then used his true energy to deflect it, aiming it at the sword demon.

With a loud "boom," a shocking explosion was mixed with several screams, followed by a wave of scorching heat that swept over, causing Grandpa An's beard and hair to flutter wildly, shaking the surrounding plants and trees, and even splashing water from the pool.

As the shockwave subsided, Old Master An took a deep breath, walked into the pavilion, looked at the corpses and flesh in the pool, frowned slightly, and said to Ni Qingfeng, "If it weren't for Hero Ni's intervention, I would probably have lost my life again today."

The three demons from the Demon Cave were determined to take my life. It was fortunate that Ni Qingfeng was there; otherwise, even if I survived, I would have been seriously injured.

"Senior An, you flatter me. The An family and the Tianshan Sect are already allies. I will certainly not sit idly by. It's just that when did the Evil Ghost Cave come into conflict with the An family?"

Ni Qingfeng only knew that the An family and the Golden Whip Sect had always been at odds, but the Evil Ghost Cave was notorious for its money-grubbing nature. Once you got entangled with them, it was like being stuck with a leech.

"To be honest, Daoist Ni, the Demon Cave has already colluded with the Golden Whip Sect. Here are the details..."

After listening to what Grandpa An said, Ni Qingfeng finally understood that the Golden Whip Sect was recruiting all sorts of people in order to fight against the Loyal and Trustworthy Hall.

"Xia Zhengfang's move is digging his own grave. The righteous and the evil have always been difficult to coexist. Although they are temporarily united due to interests, this is undoubtedly cutting himself off from the righteous sects. He is trying to negotiate with a tiger and will eventually suffer the consequences."

Ni Qingfeng sighed. The Golden Whip Sect was, after all, a prestigious sect, and Xia Zhengfang was a master in his own right. Yet, he had resorted to any means to achieve his goal, which Ni Qingfeng truly despised. "This matter is no longer just about the An family. I may write a letter to ask my senior brother, the sect leader, for his opinion. As for the Golden Whip Sect, let it go. But it would be best to completely eradicate the evil demons of the Evil Ghost Cave who have committed countless atrocities."

Ni Qingfeng's calm tone shocked Old Master An, but upon further reflection, it turned out to be a good thing. It could weaken the Golden Whip Sect's strength, making them more restrained, and also restore the reputation of the Tianshan Sect. In the future, when facing the Zhongxin Hall, the concept of righteousness could not be abandoned.

"Then I'll leave everything to Master Ni."

…………

On the Ganliang Road, Lu Yi, holding a long knife and covered in blood, looked at Qi Yun and the other two in front of him.

“Young Master Lu, you have nothing to do with this matter, so why get involved? The Black and White Heroes are renowned far and wide, and we admire them. If you immediately put down Shangguan Feiyan and leave, I, Qi, can let bygones be bygones and let you go. If you are stubborn and do not understand, we will not care about your reputation, Young Master Lu, and we will have to offend you.”

Qi Yun looked at Lu Yi with a sincere expression, but in his heart he was thinking about how to keep him with him. However, this young man was not old, but he was proficient in the unique skills of several sects. Just now, he was careless and was hit by the Shaolin School's "Subduing Demon Finger". Now his chest was still aching.

"Brother Qi, there's no point in saying more. If you're not going to take action, I have no interest in getting entangled with you."

Lu Yi glanced at Shangguan Feiyan on horseback. Her face was turning yellow, and he felt anxious. He raised his sword and looked at Qi Yun and the other two. He slowly moved in front of the horse. Just then, Qi Yun shouted and a long, thin whip was lashed out, like a snake flicking its tongue, and it coiled towards Shangguan Feiyan on horseback.

At the same time, the other two also whipped their whips, trying to stop Lu Yi from coming to his aid. Lu Yi was already prepared when he saw Qi Yun's movements. He thrust his longsword forward and caught the whip. The whip was tightly wrapped around the sword. The other two whips came almost at the same time. Lu Yi raised his true energy, gripped his longsword back, and used the move "Flower Through Flowers and Butterflies" to wrap the other two whips around as well. The four of them exerted their strength at the same time, and the whips were stretched straight.

Qi Yun felt the internal force emanating from the whip and tried to force it back, but his body froze and he almost fell. He saw Lu Yi release his long sword and quickly mount his horse. Then, three pebbles were thrown at them. Qi Yun's expression changed, and with a flick of his wrist, the long whip was quickly pulled back. He moved forward and struck the three pebbles with a palm.

"Chase!"

The stones shattered, and Lu Yi had vanished without a trace. Qi Yun's face was grim. He gave an order, and the three of them quickly mounted their horses and chased after Lu Yi. Just after the group left, a weary-looking Jiang Che arrived at the scene. He noticed the traces of the battle and, roused himself, rode forward.

At this moment, on the Ganliang Road, Shangguan Yun and the Sun and Moon Duo were hurrying along with anxious expressions. After receiving a message by carrier pigeon, Shangguan Yun immediately checked the spies around Xiyuan City and found that the fastest route to Kongtong Mountain was the Ganliang Road.

"Master, send a message by carrier pigeon."

Ri Sha reached out and took the message from the carrier pigeon, handing it to Shangguan Yun.

"Xia Zhengfang, Yellow Springs Powder!"

Shangguan Yun glanced at it quickly, his eyes immediately flashing coldly. He had focused all his energy on Qiushui Manor, but he never expected that this little Golden Whip Sect would have such inappropriate thoughts. This "Yellow Spring" powder could make people drunk and delirious, but now it was being used on his own daughter.

"Moon Fiend, go to Mount Kongtong immediately and tell Madam to prepare the antidote for the Yellow Spring Powder. I will take Sun Fiend with me. Be quick."

"Yes!"

Yue Sha immediately agreed and rode away.

"go!"

Shangguan Yun crushed the note in his hand, spurred his horse, and led the group westward at full speed.

On the other side, Xia Zhengfang of the Golden Whip Sect, along with a group of disciples from the Myriad Swords Sect and other sects, were also speeding up their journey, hoping that Qi Yun could intercept Lu Yi and Shangguan Feiyan.

"Sect Leader Xia, is it possible for the Yellow Spring Powder to be countered?" Elder Huo of the Diancang Sect asked.

“If it were anyone else, I can guarantee that they wouldn’t be able to break it, but He Yanrong is a disciple of a famous master and is most skilled in detoxification. Although the Yellow Spring Powder is troublesome, it probably won’t be difficult for her. Now, the only thing we can do is to capture Shangguan Feiyan as soon as possible. Otherwise, we will have wasted our efforts and will eventually suffer the retaliation from Zhongxin Hall.”

Upon hearing this, Elder Li of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect and Steward Zhong of the Qiankun Sect's faces darkened. The reason they willingly pledged allegiance to the Golden Whip Sect was because they believed Xia Zhengfang could lead them against the Loyal and Trusted Hall. But who would have thought that he would poison Shangguan Feiyan without their consent? By the time they received the news, it was too late to turn back. Now, they had no choice but to go down this dark path.

Seeing that Li Zhong and the other man looked unwell, Elder Huo immediately asked, "How far are we from them?"

"It'll be soon. Qi Yun sent a message earlier saying that he has already fought Lu Yi several times. At least we can delay his progress. If we move quickly, we can catch up in half a day at most."

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately sped up.

Lu Yi, with Shangguan Feiyan by his side, galloped along on horseback, while Qi Yun pursued closely behind. As the distance between them drew ever closer, Lu Yi felt a surge of frustration. His inner energy was depleted, and coupled with the lack of rest, his spirit was stretched to its limit.

Qi Yun looked at Lu Yi not far ahead, then immediately stood up, pushed off his horse, and leaped into the air. His figure moved in an instant, and he swung his long whip fiercely, a thunderous sound piercing the air in Lu Yi's ears.

Lu Yi forced himself to stay alert, grabbed the reins, and dodged the whip. But before he could run again, Qi Yun launched a series of hidden weapons, which struck the horse directly. The horse was exhausted and had already been seriously injured. It could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground with a thud.

As the horse fell, Lu Yi caught Shangguan Feiyan, lightly touched the ground with his toes to dissipate the force, and landed steadily. His eyes were fierce as he looked at Qi Yun, who was coming with a whip.

"court death!"

Upon seeing Lu Yi's appearance, Qi Yun's face immediately turned furious. He swung his long whip left and right, attacking Lu Yi. Lu Yi pushed Shangguan Feiyan aside with both hands. When he saw the long whip coming, he shouted and his hands suddenly flashed as he grabbed the long whip.

"Mistaken Star Hand!"

Qi Yun cursed inwardly. The Misaligned Star Hand was a superior grappling technique of the Kongtong Sect. When mastered to a high level, it could lock onto any weapon. Although Lu Yi's skill was not up to par, Qi Yun's whip technique was not yet perfected. Therefore, he added more force to the whip, trying to neutralize the attack with force.

With a snap, the whip tip finally landed in Lu Yi's hand. He grabbed the whip tip and pulled hard, causing Qi Yun to sway, but he immediately regained his footing. The two held the whip taut, and for a moment they were locked in a stalemate.

"Senior brother."

The other two slowed down a bit. Seeing Lu Yi and Qi Yun's appearance, and after receiving a signal from Qi Yun, the two immediately headed towards Shangguan Feiyan. Just as the two moved, Lu Yi formed a sword with his left hand and a burst of scorching true energy shot out towards them.

This was the Burning Wood Sword Technique of the Huashan Sect. The two felt the scorching heat and dared not take it head-on, so they could only dodge and avoid it. However, Lu Yi's movement gave Qi Yun an opportunity. He poured his true energy into the long whip and flicked his wrist repeatedly. The long whip formed rings and went towards Lu Yi's wrist.

At the same time, a "Mountain-Crushing Fist" was thrown towards Lu Yi's chest. The force of the punch was extremely domineering. Lu Yi was already exhausted of his true energy and could not cope with it at all. His right wrist was locked by the long whip, and he took a punch to the chest. He immediately spat out a mouthful of blood.

(End of this chapter)