Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 100 Yin-Yang Mill and Tai Chi Qi

The territory of the Great Qian Dynasty was vast, roughly the same size as that of the Central Plains, though their geographical shapes were completely different.

The capital city is in the north, slightly to the east. Xia Prefecture is in the west; although they are not worlds apart, they are still quite far.

It's unclear whether the little white-haired boy could fly on a sword back then, but he really went through a lot to escort the injured Shen Tang from the capital to Xia Prefecture...

Even now, Lu Xingzhou, a mid-level sixth-rank cultivator, cannot fly himself and must use a wheelchair. Although the wheelchair is usable on land, sea, and air, its speed is quite pathetic, only reaching a few dozen miles per hour, swaying in the air like an old-fashioned machine.

Dream Return City is a prefecture-level city. The name sounds a bit pretentious, supposedly originating from an emperor's visit here who felt homesick. Anyway, whatever the emperor said, local officials would treat it as an imperial edict, and that's how it became Dream Return City.

Lu Xingzhou maliciously wondered what the city should be called if the emperor had a dream here.
Dream City is roughly located between the capital and Xia Prefecture, and is relatively closer to Xia Prefecture. With no mountains or rivers to obstruct the air, the old man's wheelchair flew for a whole day, finally landing outside Dream City in the evening. Ah Nuo then pushed the wheelchair into the city.

Only when you get here will you realize how big the gap is between Dongjiang County, a place that was barely established as a county seat because Xia Prefecture was downgraded, and a traditional large county like Menggui City.

The spiritual energy here is almost twice as concentrated as in Dongjiang County, and the cultivators in the city are visibly a level stronger overall than those in Dongjiang County. The city is several times larger than Dongjiang, and its population is much denser, bustling with activity and people everywhere.

The surrounding area is dotted with famous mountains and rivers, and there are even second-rank sects standing there, giving it a magnificent atmosphere.

Compared to places like this, Xiazhou is nothing but the countryside.

Within Dream City, there are many mountains. Although none of them are very high, they are all rich in spiritual energy, and some even possess earth fire. Many of the city's inns are built in these mountains, providing "cave dwellings" for outsiders to cultivate.

Forget about it in Dongjiang County. It might have been possible in Xiazhou in the past, but forget about it now.

But the master and disciple were not surprised by this. They were not cultivators in seclusion. They had seen and heard a lot over the years. There were many more prosperous places in the southern counties.

Ah Nuo pushed the wheelchair straight to the inn in the mountain in the city, took out spirit stones to book a cave dwelling, and did it all in one go.

On the contrary, Pei Chuyun followed behind with a bit of a daze—unlike other senior members of the Hehuan Sect who could open brothels everywhere, their Hehuan Sect was not under the strong control of the imperial court. The Demon Suppression Division knew with their eyes closed that the Hehuan Sect liked to run brothels, and all brothels were subject to strict screening. People from the Hehuan Sect could not survive there.

Their base is in a secluded mountain area, where they live a life of luxury and indulgence, but it is still very different from that of bustling metropolises.

The inexperienced young demon girl, who was like a country bumpkin entering the city, followed Lu Xingzhou into his inn and hesitated when she saw the innkeeper.

The innkeeper looked at the beautiful young woman with curiosity: "Would you like to stay at the inn, sir?"

"Won't they think these mountain caves look like grave mounds when they dig them in?" Pei Chuyun said. "Wouldn't the Yin Corpse Sect be ecstatic about places like this?"

"?" The shopkeeper asked, "Are you here to cause trouble?"

"No, it's my first time here. I was just curious, so I asked."

“Cultivators only care about spiritual energy. Who cares about all that nonsense? Believe it or not, if there really is spiritual energy in a grave, plenty of people would fight with the dead for the grave.” The shopkeeper waved his hand impatiently: “Go away, you look pretty, but I didn’t expect you to be so clueless.”

Pei Chuyun's eyes flickered slightly.

The shopkeeper suddenly felt that this woman was the white moonlight he had been searching for for three lifetimes, and tears streamed down his face: "Miss, could you please smile again..."

Pei Chuyun said expressionlessly, "Do you have the cave dwelling next to that guest with the child from earlier?"

"Yes... but he already has children. Could you please consider me? Waaaaah..."

The allure of the Hehuan Sect is terrifying beyond measure.

Pei Chuyun easily took the plaque for the cave next to Lu Xingzhou's, leisurely opened the door with the plaque, and went inside.

He then tapped on the cave wall and pondered to himself.

The walls of these caves are very sturdy; earth magic won't work. It seems I'll have to create some chance encounters... surely he won't suspect that a woman I meet here, thousands of miles away, is actually Pei Chuyun in disguise?

At this moment, Lu Xingzhou next door was indeed unaware that Pei Chuyun had followed them. She had followed carefully for a long distance along the way, but now that everyone had entered the cave, the outside world was cut off, and the confiscated embroidered shoes could not be used for the time being.

At this moment, Lu Xingzhou was doing various muscle exercises...

Ah Nuo watched in horror as her master lay on the ground doing push-ups, hugging her knees and shrinking far away.

Oh no, Master has gone mad ever since he got together with his mistress... Even when his mistress isn't around, he's still trying to suppress the air.

"What are you doing rolling your little eyes like that..." Lu Xingzhou jumped up and started practicing a set of boxing techniques recorded in the Yin Yang Extreme Intent Kung Fu: "Don't you want to practice your kung fu?"

Ah Nu sniffed: "Master hasn't sparred with me in so long."

"Oh, come on then." Lu Xingzhou beckoned, "I also want to try out the feeling of fully unleashing the Yin-Yang Ultimate Intent Technique..."

"Bang!" A small fist came flying at him. Lu Xingzhou parried it, then flew up as if riding the clouds, "slap!" and stuck to the cave wall, slowly sliding down.

"You're like Nezha..."

A'nuo's face turned green, and she rushed over in a panic: "Master, what's wrong... When you were at the seventh rank, you could withstand half of my fifth-rank attacks. Now everyone's advanced to the first rank, and I'm only using thirty percent..." Lu Xingzhou struggled to his feet, his expression calm: "Nothing, that power pill you took earlier was just a little too effective..."

“But Master, you…” Ah Nuo hesitated.

You've reached the mid-third rank, a major hurdle, and you've obtained the Yin-Yang Ultimate Intent Technique. Shouldn't your combat power have skyrocketed compared to before...? How come you're weaker instead...?

Lu Xingzhou kept a straight face and didn't say anything.

Because he felt he was much stronger than before and thought he could finally show off to his master, he didn't use his full strength. He hadn't expected the little thing to grow even more powerfully after taking the strength-boosting pill, catching him off guard...

However, on the other hand, taking that punch revealed benefits of the Yin-Yang Ultimate Skill that he hadn't discovered before.

Ah Nuo's fist force suddenly entered, and the yin and yang energies in her body were like a millstone turning, which was able to grind away all her strength. In the end, she could only be sent flying backward because she could not withstand the impact, but she did not suffer any internal injuries.

Ah Nuo noticed it too, checked it over, and breathed a sigh of relief: "It's good that you're not injured... Master's technique is quite special."

Lu Xingzhou also found it surprising that this skill had such an advantage in getting beaten up. He thought for a moment, then waved to A Nuo: "Try another punch."

Ah Nuo carefully reduced her power to one-tenth, but Lu Xingzhou shook his head: "Still thirty percent."

Ah Nuo's face turned green: "No way, Master..."

"If you say 30%, then 30%. I won't get hurt, so what are you afraid of..."

Helpless, Ah Nuo could only muster 30% of her strength to throw another punch.

Lu Xingzhou countered with a punch of his own.

Anuo's vision blurred, and she felt as if red and blue energies were spiraling around her master's fist, but upon closer inspection, they weren't. Before she could figure it out, their fists had already clashed.

There was a feeling of something seemingly harmless like a firecracker suddenly exploding, the clash of water and fire creating an effect far exceeding the sum of its parts. Ah Nuo felt the immense force of the explosion crash down upon her, and unable to withstand the force, she was thrown backward, slamming against the wall with a "bang" and slowly sliding down.

"Thump!" A'Nuo plopped down on the ground, looking at her master with a resentful gaze: "Master, you did this on purpose, didn't you?"

Lu Xingzhou picked her up, kissed her on the cheek, and said with a smile, "How could I do it on purpose? Even Master himself doesn't know how effective this move really is."

"Is this a fusion of the power of water and fire in your legs?" Anuo asked curiously. "But this burst of energy is different from the spiral energy you used before. Does it have a name?"

"Hmm, the technique that just drained your power was called Yin-Yang Grinding. The current explosion of water and fire generating immense force is called Tai Chi Heavenly Gang; both are techniques recorded in the Yin-Yang Ultimate Skill. I wonder if you can learn them..."

Ah Nuo's technique is that there is no technique; it is entirely based on the self-accumulation and explosion of energy. Therefore, she can learn most single-attribute moves, but it is unknown whether she can learn this special yin-yang combination.

Ah Nuo was clearly very interested: "I want to learn, I want to learn."

"Good~ Watch Master's movements, retract your fist like this, and circulate your internal energy like this..."

Inside the cave, the little figure followed behind his master, imitating his movements. Under the light of the luminous pearl, two shadows, one large and one small, were projected on the ground, creating a warm and cozy scene.

Actually, when Ah Nuo said "Master," it was the first time she had ever learned martial arts moves from her master... because her master couldn't stand up before.

He taught him only knowledge, alchemy, how to conduct oneself, and many stories that Anuo had never heard of in this world, the Thirty-Six Stratagems, and various political schemes.

When it comes to actual fighting, Ah Nuo learned more from Yuan Muyu; he was the real master.

Unfortunately, even on his first attempt at learning to box, A'nuo still couldn't master his master's ultimate technique. The unique yin and yang energies within his body are something very few people in this world possess. If Lu Xingzhou hadn't obtained the Water and Fire Legs, he probably wouldn't have been able to master this Yin-Yang Ultimate Technique.

"Forget it." The master and apprentice were so tired that they collapsed onto the ground together, looking at each other and smiling.

Ah Nuo said with a grin, "Anyway, Ah Nuo has never learned Master's cultivation, so let's just leave it at that."

"Who said there wasn't? I taught you the Soul Banner Technique!"

"I don't have a soul banner." A'nuo's eyes darted around. "How about Master gives me one later?"

Lu Xingzhou stroked his chin: "Making a soul banner alone isn't a big problem, but this thing requires a lot of killing, and your master ultimately doesn't want you to go down that path."

As she spoke, she cupped A-Nuo's face and rubbed it gently: "Given my A-Nuo's personality, she should have been a fairy who saves lives and heals the wounded..."

Ah Nu blinked at him, grinned, and didn't answer.

Pei Chuyun is going crazy.

She didn't know what the master and disciple were doing in Dream City. She thought they were just stopping by to rest before leaving, but they ended up staying in the cave for three whole days without moving an inch.

Can anyone understand what it feels like to stare motionless at the empty entrance of a cave every day?
(End of this chapter)