A journey through the world of martial arts

Chapter 6 Killing the Enemy
Seeing that she was about to be driven to her death, Guan Xiu made a desperate move. The melody suddenly changed and became urgent. The melody that was originally controlling Wang Yi rushed towards Gu Xu. The latter was prepared. He circulated his pure Yang true energy around his body. The sound waves hit his body, but they were like a breeze on the water. They could not shake Gu Xu in the slightest. The demonic sound failed for the first time.

Seeing that even his greatest asset was ineffective against Gu Xu, Guan Xiu was secretly alarmed. What was even more troublesome was that Wang Yi had collapsed from exhaustion, but the Three Swords of Qingcheng still retained most of their fighting strength. If the four of them attacked together, he would have no chance of winning.

Guan Xiu, who was considering retreating, abandoned his sonic attack, spun his iron flute, and unleashed a series of palm strikes, trying to escape. However, Gu Xu gave him no chance. He swung his longsword, sweeping the blade horizontally, and used Wudang Cotton Palm to entangle with him. After three moves, Guan Xiu was already at a disadvantage and was about to die at Gu Xu's hands.

Just then, Tan Fangrui, the leader of the Three Swords of Qingcheng, seemed to see an opportunity.

Guan Xiu, struggling desperately, saw Tan Fangrui closing in. Her eyes flashed, and she used all her strength to gain a moment of respite from Gu Xu's grasp. She charged straight at Tan Fangrui's longsword, and with a crisp sound, Tan Fangrui's longsword broke. Guan Xiu hastily struck the stunned Tan Fangrui with a palm, and the latter fell to the ground. She then took the opportunity to cross the defensive line and was about to escape.

Guan Xiu's unexpected move surprised Gu Xu, who realized that his opponent also possessed a protective armor.

Seeing their senior brother struck by the palm, Tan Fangrui's two junior brothers thought his life was in danger and were immediately filled with shock and anger. They both drew their swords to attack, but Guan Xiu didn't take them seriously at all. He easily dodged their attacks, gathered his last bit of strength, and rushed to the rear.

This risky move exposed his biggest trump card. He had considered using the armor before, but Gu Xu's "Thirteen Swords of the Divine Gate" specifically targeted the wrist, rendering the armor useless. If Tan Fangrui hadn't rushed up, he probably would have died long ago.

"You wretched brat, I'll tear you to pieces one day!" Guan Xiu thought fiercely, tearing at his wound. His blood surged, and he was about to spit out a mouthful of blood. He forced it down, but then he heard a whooshing sound from behind. Turning around, he was horrified to see a fluorescent longsword flying towards him. In his disbelief, it pierced his heart instantly, killing him on the spot. The sword's momentum didn't end there, pinning him and the sword to an ancient tree in the courtyard. The humming sound of the sword continued to ring out.

The three swordsmen of Qingcheng, Old Man Qi, Zhao Zhen, and the others stared at Gu Xu with wide eyes and were dumbfounded. They felt a deep sense of fear, but also a great deal of respect.

It should be noted that Guan Xiu was wearing the Broken Armor, which Gu Xu could easily pierce with an ordinary longsword. His internal strength cultivation must have reached a state of perfection. I wonder which family's disciple he is.

This was originally a key sword move of Wudang called "Flying Dragon in the Sky". Anyone with enough internal energy can use it, but the power is different. Gu Xu used more than half of his internal energy to break the treasure armor and threw it with the "Smashing Stele Hand", which is why it has such power.

Tan Fangrui staggered to his feet, recalling Gu Xu's martial arts style. After thinking for a moment, he approached Gu Xu, clasped his hands in a respectful bow, and asked, "Are you from the Wudang Sect?"

Tan Fangrui was a highly skilled disciple of Qingcheng, with exceptional knowledge. Upon seeing Gu Xu use "Ladder Cloud Leap," he had some guesses, which led to his question.

Gu Xu did not deny it, but smiled and nodded, returning the greeting with a cupped hand, "Gu Xu of Wudang greets fellow practitioners. Please forgive me for concealing something before."

"So you're a young hero from the Wudang Sect. No wonder you have such skill. I was really blind to your abilities." After hearing Tan Fangrui's words, everyone suddenly realized that only a great sect like this could cultivate such a talent.

"This young hero is indeed someone of great stature," the steward had noticed before that Gu Xu had an extraordinary bearing, unlike someone from a small sect. "Such a person should be told to the master as soon as possible, so that we can make good friends with him."

After a fierce battle, almost everyone was injured. It was still dark when they helped each other to the living room. They found that the person who had been sleeping earlier was still asleep. So they found a table, sat down, took out the wound medicine they had prepared, and silently began to heal their wounds.

Although Gu Xu was not injured, he had used up some of his internal energy. After greeting everyone, he returned to his room to meditate and recover.

The next morning, Gu Xu got up, washed up, and finished his morning prayers. A moment later, someone knocked on the door. "Master Gu Xu, are you up? The master invites you to the living room."

"Understood, just tell them I'll go right away," Gu Xu said as he packed his luggage and went into the living room.

The number of people in the living room was much less than in the previous two days, but those who had joined forces to fight the enemy last night were still there. When Gu Xu entered, everyone stood up and bowed respectfully.

Master Liu was exceptionally enthusiastic. Yesterday, the steward had explained Gu Xu's situation in detail, which made Master Liu extremely fortunate. He immediately had the idea of ​​befriending Gu Xu. "Young hero Gu Xu killed Guan Xiu, saving my family from disaster. Please accept my bow," Master Liu said, and was about to kneel down to perform a grand ceremony.

Gu Xu quickly helped him up, saying, "I only did what I could. I don't deserve such a great gift from Mr. Liu. Besides, without everyone here working together, I wouldn't have been able to accomplish anything alone."

When Qi Laotou and the others heard this, although they didn't show it on their faces, they were also happy in their hearts. In fact, they knew that even without them, Guan Xiu was still no match for this person. Now, hearing this Wudang disciple's humble words, which indirectly raised his own status, how could he not be happy?

"Young Master Gu Xu is too modest. With your flying sword skills alone, you are already unparalleled in the martial arts world today."

Master Liu, being an old and shrewd man, saw through it but didn't say anything. He gestured to the steward beside him, who went to the back, and soon seven strong servants came out, each carrying a tray.

"This is the reward I gave you all before. I hope you heroes will not find it offensive."

Everyone exchanged polite greetings. Nie Bin looked at the wooden tray covered with red silk and knew he had no chance to get ginseng. But when he lifted the red silk, he found that the reward was too much. Five hundred taels of silver was nothing, but there was a ginseng root in the wooden box next to him. Judging from its appearance, it was at least a hundred years old.

The rewards for the others were about the same. Nie Bin asked in confusion, "Master Liu, what is this...?" Master Liu sighed, "I feel really bad that you all suffered such serious injuries. I can only do my bit. Please do not refuse."

Looking at the reward on the plate and hearing Master Liu's sincere words, Gu Xu couldn't help but admire him once again. Master Liu's character was truly extraordinary.

The others were also moved. After accepting the gifts and saying a few more words, they left one after another, leaving only Gu Xu and the other two in the living room.

"Mr. Liu, I also have matters to attend to and cannot stay any longer. I shall take my leave now." After sipping another cup of tea, Gu Xu was already determined to depart.

“Young hero, you have matters to attend to, and I cannot insist that you stay. However, I hope you will accept this small reward.” He then instructed the steward to bring out the items he had prepared: a thousand taels of silver notes, three well-wrapped ginseng roots, and a long sword.

"Young hero, your previous longsword was damaged. You cannot travel the world without a weapon. I will give you this Longquan sword. Please do not find it offensive." Gu Xu took the longsword and drew it. It was clear and bright, with a cold glint in its eyes. It could be called a superior sword.

With his sword sheathed, Gu Xu didn't stand on ceremony. He felt he deserved the reward anyway. "Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Liu. It's getting late, and I have to keep on my way. I'll take my leave now."

Master Liu and his steward personally saw him off to the door and onto his horse, and only returned home after he was out of sight.

After leaving Dangyang City, Gu Xu continued westward. During his rest periods, he used carrier pigeons to send messages to Wudang Mountain, explaining the situation of the "Black Jade Broken Ointment" and the Vajra Gate. He also left Wudang's secret contact marks along the way.

After riding for several days, all they saw were vast, barren hills, with sandstorms obscuring their faces, a desolate scene. But not far away was an oasis, with a sizable town nestled within it. If they hadn't inquired around, no one would have known that the Vajra Gate was hidden in such a place.

Gu Xu led his horse into the city and found that fighting was constant and bloodshed was happening everywhere. In just a quarter of an hour, three people had lost their lives.

Perhaps seeing that Gu Xu was carrying a weapon, no one dared to provoke him. Gu Xu didn't want to alert the enemy or meddle in other people's business, so he found an inn to rest and planned to go to the Vajra Gate to investigate its true strength late at night.

(End of this chapter)