The First Sword of the Universe

Chapter 324 Xu Xingchen: Island Master Huang, don't you think so?
Xu Xingchen muttered his wicked ideas under his breath, while Zhou Botong listened, winking and making faces, occasionally letting out smug laughs.

"Wonderful, wonderful!"

"Fun! Fun!"

"Watch me."

After Xu Xingchen finished speaking, Zhou Botong paced back and forth, pondering for a long time, before finally returning to sit down and laughing, "This time, I'll teach that old poisoner a lesson! I'll make him release snakes to scare me again!"

Xu Xingchen smiled and said, "This matter requires us to act according to the circumstances. You can decide what to do yourself!"

Zhou Botong looked up, his playful face turning serious, and said, "Alright, now you should tell me about me and Ying Gu!"

Xu Xingchen nodded, added a few more pieces of firewood to the campfire, and said leisurely, "I know many things in this world, such as how your senior brother Wang Chongyang faked his death before he died and ambushed Ouyang Feng, using his Innate Skill to break Ouyang Feng's Toad Skill with his One-Finger Divine Skill."

Zhou Botong's brow twitched upon hearing this, and he couldn't help but ask, "How did you know?"

Xu Xingchen smiled and said, "I naturally have sources of information, but this is my secret and I cannot reveal it to outsiders, so please understand!"

"So fussy and inconvenient," Zhou Botong muttered to himself. "There were many experts who came to snatch the scriptures that night; perhaps it was one of them who leaked the information. However, those people shouldn't know that my senior brother broke Ouyang Feng's Toad Stance with his One-Finger Divine Skill."

Xu Xingchen looked up at the bright moon slowly rising behind the peach tree, recalling the plot of the book: "Back then, you went to the Dali Palace as a guest with your senior brother. While your senior brother and Emperor Duan Xingzhi were discussing martial arts, you were bored and wandered around the palace alone. You encountered Liu Ying, one of Emperor Duan's concubines, and then..."

"Hey! Hey, hey!" Zhou Botong quickly interrupted Xu Xingchen, puffing out his beard and glaring at him, "How do you know so much?"

“I told you, I have my own sources of information,” Xu Xingchen continued, using this as an excuse, and then went on to say, “You know you’ve done something wrong, and you never dare to see Ying Gu and the Southern Emperor again, but you don’t know that Ying Gu has given birth to your child.”

"What?" Zhou Botong jumped up from the ground, his long eyebrows raised high, and shouted in disbelief, "You, you're lying to me, right?"

Xu Xingchen said calmly, "I'm not lying to you, it's true. It's just a pity that the child died later."

"How could this be? How could this be?" Zhou Botong began pacing anxiously again, muttering to himself with a bitter face while stroking his beard.

Ignoring him, Xu Xingchen continued, "Iron Palm Qiu Qianren disguised himself as a guard and infiltrated the Dali palace to assassinate Emperor Duan Zhixing of the South. Feeling that his martial arts were slightly inferior to the South Emperor's, he struck a concubine's child with a single palm strike, leaving him critically injured and on the verge of death. He intended to force the South Emperor to expend a great deal of his energy and strength to save his son's life before launching his sneak attack."

"When Duan Zhixing was preparing to treat the child, he found the poem on the handkerchief you and Ying Gu had left behind in the swaddling clothes. He was filled with jealousy and resentment, so he did not take action."

At this point, Xu Xingchen stopped talking, leaving Zhou Botong pacing back and forth, his expression constantly shifting between joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness.

After a long time, still unable to calm down upon seeing Zhou Botong, Xu Xingchen spoke again: "Ying Gu left the Dali Palace to come to the Central Plains to find you. Knowing that you were trapped on Peach Blossom Island, she came to the island to rescue you. Unfortunately, she didn't know the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Peach Blossom Formation and was trapped in it for three days and three nights, almost starving to death. Later, Island Master Huang assigned a mute servant to take her out."

Zhou Botong, who had been pacing back and forth, suddenly stopped. He stared blankly at Xu Xingchen for a long while, then stammered, "You mean, Ying Gu, she came to Peach Blossom Island to look for me?"

Xu Xingchen nodded.

Zhou Botong let out a strange cry and quickly rushed into the depths of the peach blossom forest, disappearing without a trace.

"Oh dear, could it be that the old rascal is at a loss and has run off to a secluded place to cry?!" Xu Xingchen said softly, then turned to look at a peach tree not far away and said loudly, "Isn't that right, Island Master Huang?"

"Hmph!" With a cold snort, a figure suddenly emerged from the peach tree branches, and in a flash, it had already traversed several feet of space and landed beside the campfire.

The newcomer was tall and slender with a refined appearance. He wore a blue robe and possessed an outstanding and elegant demeanor.

His eyes gleamed as he stared intently at Xu Xingchen, who had placed the longsword on his knee to the side and stood up. He asked in a cold voice, "How did you sense me?"

"Greetings, Island Master Huang!" Xu Xingchen clasped his hands in greeting, then smiled and said, "My senses are always superior to ordinary people; I can keenly perceive even the slightest change in my surroundings."

This is true; otherwise, one would not have been able to comprehend the essence of martial arts in the world of Swordsman.

During the day, after reciting the Sanskrit general outline of the Nine Yin Manual, the unknown thing about to be conceived within his body made his mind clearer and more acute.
Therefore, when Huang Yaoshi quietly appeared on that peach tree, Xu Xingchen immediately noticed.

"Feel?" Huang Yaoshi's gaze swept over the dozens of fallen peach trees nearby, and he sneered, "If these peach trees hadn't been interrupted by your battle with the Old Urchin, how could you have sensed my presence?!"

Xu Xingchen glanced at the chaotic scene around him, but did not refute it. He simply said, "Island Master Huang is absolutely right!"

Huang Yaoshi hadn't expected Xu Xingchen to be so calm, and couldn't help but frown. He continued, "You came to my Peach Blossom Island as a guest, yet you've destroyed my Peach Blossom Formation like this. Tell me, how should I punish you?" This time, it was Xu Xingchen's turn to frown: "Island Master Huang, are you getting angry over such a small matter?"

"This is the rule on my Peach Blossom Island. Anyone who dares to violate it will be punished." Huang Yaoshi put his hands behind his back and glanced sideways: "How about I punish you by making you a mute servant on my island!"

Xu Xingchen chuckled: "Everyone says that Huang Yaoshi, the Eastern Heretic, is wicked and not a good person. Today, I have indeed witnessed it for myself."

He then bluntly challenged, "If you want me to be a mute servant on this Peach Blossom Island, you'll have to see if Island Master Huang has the ability!"

"Hmph, how dare you!" Huang Yaoshi sneered, disdainfully saying, "I heard you're also that fool Guo Jing's master? I don't think much of that kid. If it weren't for the old beggar protecting him, I would have kicked him out of Peach Blossom Island long ago."

"Now, I'll vent my anger on you!"

With a flash of green, Huang Yaoshi appeared in front of Xu Xingchen. As his palm rose and fell, a peach blossom formed by his palm prints bloomed in the air.

A strong wind howled, sword energy arose, a sword was hidden in the palm, and the sword moves were switched to palm techniques, which could be described as exquisite.

This move is Huang Yaoshi's signature technique: the Falling Flower Divine Sword Palm.

Xu Xingchen reacted quickly, throwing out his right fist with great force. The force of the punch covered a three-foot radius in front of him, shattering the peach blossom palm print into pieces.

Huang Yaoshi snorted coldly, and his figure appeared above Xu Xingchen's head. More than a dozen palm prints fell down in a dazzling display of graceful and elegant movements.

Xu Xingchen took a step and moved about ten feet away, dodging the palm print that fell from the sky. At the same time, he laughed and said, "Island Master Huang's Falling Flower Divine Sword Palm is indeed extraordinary."

Huang Yaoshi landed on his feet and moved with ghostly speed, his palms flying like blooming peach blossoms, his legs attacking like a whirlwind sweeping away fallen leaves, and occasionally his fingers would lightly and elegantly flick out, creating a series of sharp whooshing sounds as they cut through the air.

Falling Petal Divine Sword Palm, Whirlwind Sweeping Leaf Leg, Orchid Finger Acupuncture Technique
These three martial arts are Huang Yaoshi's signature skills. When used in combination, the movements are graceful and elegant, the moves are fierce and unparalleled, and the power is extremely strong.

Anyone whose martial arts skills are even slightly inferior to his will soon be overwhelmed by his flurry of attacks.

Xu Xingchen is knowledgeable and experienced in combat; how could he possibly be hit by Huang Yaoshi's attack?!

When he struck with his palm, his moves were exquisitely varied, calmly deflecting Huang Yaoshi's swift attacks; when he threw a punch, his fist was as heavy as a mountain, charging straight ahead, using brute force to break through the fierce palm prints that came his way.

With a series of punches and palm strikes, he blocked all of Huang Yaoshi's attacks.

bang bang bang bang bang
Amidst the rapid, explosive sounds of air bursting like firecrackers, the two quickly exchanged more than a dozen blows.

While calmly dealing with the battle, Xu Xingchen said, "Island Master Huang, my disciple is honest and kind, and your daughter is intelligent and quick-witted. The two of them are a match made in heaven. What more could you possibly want?!"

Huang Yaoshi's figure appeared in the east, west, south, and north at different times, moving with incredible speed. His palms flashed like swords, slicing through the air with incredible speed. At the same time, he replied disdainfully, "A simple-minded and honest person is just a fool. I don't want my daughter to marry a stupid person."

Xu Xingchen's fists suddenly transformed from heavy as mountains to incredibly light, unleashing five consecutive stabs that pierced through the peach blossom palm prints coming from all directions. He continued, "Island Master Huang, don't be fooled by Jing'er's simple and foolish appearance. My disciple is a wise man who appears foolish; otherwise, Senior Hong and I wouldn't have taken him as our disciple."

"Hmph, enough nonsense!" Seeing that more than twenty moves had passed and he had not only failed to defeat his opponent but also failed to gain the upper hand, Huang Yaoshi became somewhat impatient. Suddenly, he flicked his finger with his hand, which was covered in petals.

call out!
With a soft, rapid whooshing sound, a pebble the size of a soybean pierced through the air and shot towards Xu Xingchen's chest with lightning speed.

Snapped!
The stone shattered instantly, scattering a small amount of stone powder.

An incredibly powerful penetrating force pierced through Xu Xingchen's physical defenses, attempting to penetrate his chest acupoint and seal it off.

At this critical moment, the acupoint suddenly shifted slightly, avoiding the sealing effect of the terrifying finger force.

This move is the ultimate technique of moving acupoints from the Nine Yin Manual!

Xu Xingchen applied what she learned immediately and demonstrated exceptional skill.
However, even though the acupoint had shifted, the powerful penetrating force had not subsided and continued to drill deeper into the body.

If it were to enter Xu Xingchen's chest cavity, his heart and lungs would likely suffer severe damage.

Just then, a surge of internal energy rushed over, covering and carrying away the finger force. It quickly circulated halfway through Xu Xingchen's meridians and arrived at the fingertip of his right hand.
(End of this chapter)