Eternal Night

Chapter 570 Significantly Reduced Point Consumption

(PS: I'll be adding more chapters tomorrow; my writing has been in such great form these past two days.)
The old beggar was none other than Hong Qigong, the Nine-Fingered Beggar, a major supporting character in both The Legend of the Condor Heroes and The Return of the Condor Heroes, and also the character Wu Pifu admired most in the story.

Hong Qigong was a chivalrous and righteous man with superb martial arts skills. He was unconventional and not pedantic, and he had a kind of optimistic attitude towards life. This made him not only a good person, but also a good person.

Wu Pifu was naturally happy to be around such a person, and he treated Hong Qigong with courtesy as he boarded the ship with him.

Although Hong Qigong was wary of Wu Pifu's terrifying martial arts skills, he was straightforward and generous. Seeing that Wu Pifu, despite his tall stature, had no bloodthirsty or violent aura, and that Huang Rong was youthful and beautiful like a fairy, and that she did not kill the offending pirates, he put aside his concerns and boarded the ship.

Once aboard the boat, after exchanging greetings with Wu Pifu, he rushed off to look at the large, white-gold fish. After staring at it for a while, he exclaimed, "This is a white fish! It's rare to see one that grows this big. The bigger it gets, the more tender its flesh becomes. It seems the old beggar is in for a treat today!"

As he spoke, he carefully examined Wu Pifu and then looked at Huang Rong.

Wu Pifu was still wearing a Gaia work uniform, which was not particularly distinctive and seemed strange to people of this era. On the contrary, after Huang Rong returned, she took out all her belongings from where she had hidden her clothes and changed back into the clothes she had brought from Peach Blossom Island. These were the clothes of a maid or young lady of this era, with her hair tied with gold cords. They were white and gold, and she looked very cute.

Hong Qigong, having traveled extensively and possessed a wealth of experience, immediately recognized that Huang Rong was a woman from Jiangnan, not from Zhongdu in the Jin Kingdom. Wu Pifu, on the other hand, was incredibly tall, standing at two meters, but his features resembled those of a Han Chinese. However… he had short hair. Could this young man, whose martial arts skills were unparalleled throughout history, actually be a monk who had left the secular world?

Although Huang Rong was dealing with the white fish, she had half her attention on Wu Pifu and three parts on Hong Qigong. When she saw Hong Qigong secretly looking at her and Wu Pifu, she smiled and said, "If you are curious, why don't you just ask?"

Hong Qigong was slightly taken aback, then laughed and said, "You little girl actually know me? Looks like this meal isn't going to be very good."

Huang Rong chuckled and said, "It's delicious, very delicious! My father and Seventh Master are acquainted, he's definitely not Seventh Master's enemy."

Because the people she was helping were different, Huang Rong naturally handled things differently. Moreover, Wu Pifu's personality was simple and direct, and she disliked roundabout ways. So Huang Rong didn't use riddles. She simply reached out and turned her hand slightly in mid-air, as if a sword had slashed across the sky. Her clear, bell-like voice said, "Peach blossoms fall like flying swords, the blue sea rises like jade flutes, Seventh Master, guess who my father is?"

Hong Qigong was taken aback, scrutinizing Huang Rong for a moment before finally chuckling, "She really is the daughter of an old friend. I really must have this meal, but I wonder what this lady is like..."

Huang Rong looked at Wu Pifu with a question in her eyes. Wu Pifu, of course, didn't care and simply nodded and said, "It's true."

Upon seeing this, Hong Qigong smiled inwardly and felt a sense of relief.

They are clearly a young couple, and it's the kind where the girl pursues the boy. Hong Qigong is very experienced, how could he not see Huang Rong's little thoughts?
But since they are lovers, the man is not an enemy. Although Huang Yaoshi is known as the Eastern Heretic, he is an upright person because of his extremely stubborn nature. His woman is certainly not an evil person either, and the man who is with his woman is unlikely to be an evil person.

This was Hong Qigong's biggest worry after discovering this seemingly divine and demonic martial art. If this man were to commit evil deeds, it would be a catastrophe for the martial arts world and even the entire nation. However, since he was Huang Yaoshi's son-in-law, the possibility of him committing evil deeds was not very high.

Hong Qigong then relaxed, opened a wine gourd, and began to leisurely gulp down a few mouthfuls of wine.

"This is my brother Wu Pifu, a celestial being. He just brought me back from the Great Thousand World and is now taking me home," Huang Rong said with a smile.

"puff!"

Hong Qigong choked on the wine, spraying a mouthful onto the cabin. He coughed several times before finally calming down. He looked at Huang Rong and shook his head, saying, "You little girl, you never tell the truth. You're just making fun of this old beggar."

Huang Rong continued to laugh and joke. While processing the white fish, she said, "Whoever lies to me will swallow a thousand needles. Seventh Master, I really didn't lie to you." As she spoke, Huang Rong reached into her bosom and took out a small metal ball about the size of a thumb. She pressed her jade finger on the ball, and immediately a fully armed general appeared beside Hong Qigong.

Hong Qigong was startled, his hair and beard standing on end, but the situation was unclear. He used one hand to block in front, while the other hand reached for the jade bamboo pole. He was pulled backward like a puppet on strings, and in the blink of an eye, he was on the bow of the boat.

His martial arts skills could originally be considered top-notch, after all, he was one of the Five Greats of this world. However, Huang Rong had already witnessed Wu Pifu's godlike and demonic strength, so she just jokingly said to Hong Qigong, "Don't panic, Qigong. This is something from the Great Thousand World, unique in this world. I went to the Great Thousand World with Brother Pifu, and it was a gift from the people there."

Hong Qigong's expression was serious as he stared intently at the fully armed general. Sure enough, he noticed something amiss. The man seemed somewhat ethereal, and one could vaguely see through his body to the objects behind him. But what made Hong Qigong even more uneasy was that these objects looked like the ghosts and spirits of legend.

Huang Rong laughed happily, reaching out to run her hand across the general's avatar. Each time her hand touched it, a section of the avatar would disappear, but when she removed her hand, the avatar would regenerate, though it would stand there blankly, appearing completely dazed. Hong Qigong stared in disbelief. Huang Rong explained, "This thing is made of light and shadow, a projection. This world's gift is a 3D video game console. Besides this general, there are many other things."

As she spoke, Huang Rong pressed the small ball again, and sure enough, all sorts of strange and wonderful things appeared. Some of them Hong Qigong recognized, such as cattle, sheep, horses, chickens, ducks, and geese, but there were also some furry things that he did not recognize and were definitely not from this world.

A moment later, Huang Rong put away the small metal ball. Seeing the displeasure on Wu Pifu's face, she nodded slightly to Wu Pifu and then buried herself in processing the white fish.

Hong Qigong then entered the cabin through the portal. For a moment, he felt as if he were in a dream. He looked around for a long time, then at Wu Pifu, then at Huang Rong, and finally couldn't help but ask, "Is there really a heaven beyond heavens? Is there really a vast world? Are there really celestial beings?"

When Huang Rong saw Hong Qigong's appearance, she knew that her plan had at least succeeded more than halfway. She said, "It really is! Master Qigong, there really is a Heaven Beyond Heaven, there really is a Great Thousand World. Brother Ant is a Celestial Being, and he is even a great general and prime minister among the Celestial Beings. He is someone who can talk to the Celestial Emperor on equal terms."

Hong Qigong immediately felt a deep respect for Wu Pifu and gained an understanding of Wu Pifu's godlike and demonic martial arts. Although he still had some doubts, everything he had just seen did not seem fake or a trick of the martial arts world. Therefore, he believed in Tianren and Tianwaitian about 70%.

Wu Pifu frowned and said, "Seventh Master, don't listen to this girl's nonsense. What prime minister, what general, what emperor? What nonsense are you talking about? Human civilization no longer has these things. I am just a part of human civilization..."

At this point, Wu Pifu really couldn't continue. Although there were no emperors, prime ministers, or generals, there was still a president and three super brains, and his identity was by no means that of an ordinary person.

Huang Rong simply smiled without saying a word, humming a little tune as she sliced ​​the prepared white fish into thin pieces.

Hong Qigong was quite inquisitive, his mind racing with curiosity about the Outer Heaven. However, he was unfamiliar with Wu Pifu and also deeply wary of his martial arts skills. Huang Rong was clearly keeping him in suspense, only singing and remaining silent, which made Hong Qigong quite uneasy.

Wu Pifu saw through Huang Rong's plan. He shook his head slightly, took out a bottle of yellow wine from his personal space, and tossed it to Hong Qigong.

Hong Qigong reached out and caught it, and saw a crystal clear glass bottle, about the size of his palm. It seemed to contain wine, but the glass bottle was completely free of any impurities or bubbles. It was crystal clear, like divine jade. Putting everything else aside, this wine bottle alone was priceless.

Hong Qigong's expression turned serious, and he immediately reached to return the wine bottle, saying at the same time, "This old beggar of mine, Fugui... Fu..."

He saw more than ten identical bottles of wine appear out of thin air in Wu Pifu's hand. These were practically priceless treasures, but Wu Pifu bought them wholesale, so they were obviously worthless.

Huang Rong chuckled and said, "Seventh Master, please accept it. This thing is just a disposable item for celestial beings... it's something you throw away after using it, it has no value."

Hong Qigong silently looked at the dozen or so bottles of wine in Wu Pifu's hand, then looked at the bottle in his own hand. He then imitated Wu Pifu by unscrewing the cap, tilting his head back to take a sip, and exclaiming loudly, "Good wine, truly good wine!"

After downing a sip of yellow wine, Hong Qigong remained silent for a few seconds before suddenly laughing heartily, "You even told this old beggar such a secret, you even let this old beggar know about such a treasure, and you even gave this priceless, peerless item to this old beggar... Little girl, your request is quite grand. Tell me, if it's feasible, this old beggar will agree without hesitation; if not, then let this celestial being slap this old beggar to death."

These words were spoken with confidence and conviction, carrying a sense of boldness and determination, clearly indicating that Hong Qigong had truly made a decision.

Huang Rong immediately stood up solemnly, bowed to Hong Qigong, and said, "Please, Master Qigong, teach Brother Ant the ultimate martial art, the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms!"

Hong Qigong neither agreed nor refused. He opened his mouth wide, pointed to himself, then to Wu Pifu, and said, "Who? Me? To teach martial arts? Him? A celestial being?"

At the same time, Wu Pifu heard the voice of the main computer.

"Judgment in progress... Judgment complete. Do you wish to consume 100,000 points to learn the ultimate external martial art of this dream world, the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms?"

Wu Pifu was also full of surprise.

what?
100,000 points for the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms!?

What was the introductory mental cultivation method that Huang Rong taught him before?
Could it be that Huang Rong made a mistake, and what she taught him wasn't some introductory cultivation method, but rather the legendary Tai Xuan Scripture, the only immortal cultivation technique in Jin Yong's novels?
(End of this chapter)