The Legend of the Condor Heroes: From Being Expelled from Peach Blossom Island

Chapter 230 The Secrets of the Ancient Tomb (Part 3)

Seeing the existence of this cave, Wu Chengyu felt it was only natural; if Wang Chongyang had been completely heartless towards Lin Chaoying, they wouldn't have been entangled for so many years.

Since the beloved has died, people still can't help but sneak in to pay their respects. They either leave with a sigh, leaving nothing behind and never stepping into the place again, or they leave something behind as a tribute.

The fragment of the Nine Yin Manual that he left in the coffin in the tomb was actually meant for Lin Chaoying's dying disciple to see, to save face for him and to prove himself. It had nothing to do with his relationship with Lin Chaoying.

But since they left something for Lin Chaoying's disciples, how could they leave Lin Chaoying with nothing? That wouldn't make sense.

This Tomb of the Living Dead was built by Wang Chongyang, and only he knows its secrets.

It is said that Xiaolongnu later possessed a map of the tomb and a general diagram of its mechanisms. However, considering that no one in the ancient tomb knew about the secret passage under the coffin, it is reasonable that Wang Chongyang did not write all the secrets of the ancient tomb on the map. With the secret passage, it is also reasonable that there was this unknown secret chamber.

This is the place where Wang Chongyang fully acknowledged his love for Lin Chaoying, and it is also the place where their love ended. If it weren't for the bug that is Wu Chengyu, no one would have been able to discover it unless someone completely demolished the Tomb of the Living Dead.

Inside the cave chamber, besides the long table and the memorial tablet, there was a wooden box on the long table, and on the stone wall next to it were inscriptions left by Wang Chongyang.

'Yu Wangzhongfu, in his youth he aspired to serve the world. For the first thirty years he fought against the Jin state and led an uprising. In the end he was outmatched. He fought more than a hundred battles against the Jin army. His soldiers were almost all killed or wounded. After he was seriously injured and escaped, he had no heart to fight on the battlefield and no face to see the heroic souls of the fallen soldiers. He was just a living dead man in this world.'

Later, my beloved, unable to bear seeing me sink into depravity, targeted me in every way, eventually driving me away from the Tomb of the Living Dead and allowing me to see the light of day again. I then resolved to change my life's ambition, turning to Taoism, changing my Taoist name to Chongyang, vowing to spread Taoism throughout the world, founding the Quanzhen Sect, establishing the Chongyang Palace on Zhongnan Mountain, and roaming the martial world without any rivals. I asked myself if I had lived a life worthy of heaven and earth, and no less than the sages of the past.

However, Zhongfu was burdened with the responsibility of supporting only one person throughout his life. For the sake of his lifelong ambition, he caused his beloved to die in the Tomb of the Living Dead, which was truly Zhongfu's regret in his life.

Chao Ying has passed away, leaving only a secret departure and a silent farewell. How can I accept that there will be no future? However, our fate has run its course, leaving only me, this unfaithful and fickle person, to remain in this world. Is this not tragic?

Zhongfu has acted improperly, without my beloved's permission, and has set up this mourning hall for my wife and me. I have no face to see the world, only sorrow in my heart.

If anyone from future generations comes here, they will surely be disciples of Chao Ying. Please leave our memorial tablets here to accompany them, and never separate us.

Wu Chengyu read the message twice. At first, he felt a bit emotional, but later he felt somewhat confused.

Wang Chongyang was indeed somewhat contradictory in dealing with his emotions. He secretly left a memorial tablet for himself and Lin Chaoying in this secret room, which can be understood as them being buried together after death. He himself also said that he had no face to see future generations, meaning he did not want future generations to know about it.

But Wang Chongyang went to his and Lin Chaoying's training room and carved two 'half' pictures on the ceiling. Otherwise, Wu Chengyu would never have found this place. But what does this mean?

Although no one could discover the true meaning of the painting, keeping it would be pointless. As it turns out, the people in the ancient tomb were completely unaware of the existence of this secret chamber.

It was only when he encountered Wu Chengyu, a character with an unfair advantage, that his true identity was exposed. But why did Wang Chongyang go to such lengths to leave clues?

Perhaps Wang Chongyang still wanted others to know that he, the heartless and unfaithful man who was condemned by the people of the Ancient Tomb, actually loved Lin Chaoying. Could this be considered Wang Chongyang trying to defend himself before his death?

Just like Wu Chengyu often says, where does all this affectation come from?
To say that Wang Chongyang was a scumbag is not really true; he never fell in love with anyone else in his life. But to say that he was deeply affectionate is something Wu Chengyu could never bring herself to say.

Therefore, Wu Chengyu found it difficult to draw a conclusion about Wang Chongyang. He could only say that Wang Chongyang was always selfish in matters of the heart and was never willing to truly commit. Wu Chengyu shook his head, unwilling to waste any more energy on Wang Chongyang's romantic affairs; it wasn't worth it.

He looked around the secret room and saw that, apart from the memorial tablets and the messages on the stone walls, there were only two wooden boxes placed in front of the memorial tablets.

Wu Chengyu took two steps forward and casually opened the box. He had already observed it with a 3D model and found that the wooden box did not contain any hidden mechanisms, nor did his intuition tell him that there was any danger.

However, what was inside the wooden box greatly surprised Wu Chengyu. It was just a book with three words written on it: "Xiantian Gong".

No matter how Wu Chengyu analyzed and summarized, he never imagined that he would find the Innate Skill in the Tomb of the Living Dead. He thought it was just something Wang Chongyang left here as a memento.

But this is the Innate Skill, the supreme martial art of the Quanzhen Sect. Back then, Wang Chongyang relied on the Innate Skill to defeat the Eastern Heretic, Western Poison, Southern Emperor, and Northern Beggar in one fell swoop.

Who would have thought that this divine martial arts manual would end up in Wu Chengyu's hands?

To say that Wu Chengyu didn't intend to obtain the Innate Skill during his visit to the Quanzhen Sect would be a lie.

However, given the vast size of the Quanzhen Sect, the sect's supreme martial art, the Innate Skill, must have been kept extremely secret.

If Wu Chengyu were to search Chongyang Palace every day without knowing the exact location of the hiding place, it would inevitably arouse the suspicion of the Quanzhen Sect.

Moreover, in any case, unless Wu Chengyu directly joins the Quanzhen Sect and gains the approval of the Seven Masters of Quanzhen, Ma Yu and the others will never give him the Innate Skill.

When later generations mention the various divine skills in Jin Yong's martial arts novels, no matter how they rank them, the Innate Skill is always among the top-tier divine skills.

Many people say that the Tai Xuan Jing is the best, or that Yue Nu A Qing's Yue Nu Sword is the best. Wu Chengyu does not argue about this, as there are many different opinions and everyone has their own reasons.

However, there should be few people who would question whether the Innate Skill is at least on par with the Nine Yin Manual, the Nine Yang Divine Skill, the Divine Illumination Scripture, or the Northern Darkness Divine Skill, the Lesser Formless Skill, and the Eight Desolations and Six Harmonies Supreme Skill of the Free and Unfettered Sect.

In fact, the original novel never showed how powerful the Innate Skill was or what made it special.

Zhou Botong couldn't do it, nor could the Seven Masters of Quanzhen. It is said that Wang Chongyang visited Emperor Duan Zhixing of the Southern Dynasty and exchanged the Innate Skill for the One-Finger Divine Skill. However, it seems that Emperor Duan Zhixing did not master the Innate Skill, otherwise his martial arts would have surpassed those of the other three long ago.

Some say that the Innate Skill requires the body to have innate energy to cultivate, which excludes the vast majority of people. Only newborn babies can have innate energy, which dissipates within a few days of birth, unless one is exceptionally gifted like Wang Chongyang.

Some say that one must be a virgin to cultivate this skill, which is why Zhou Botong couldn't cultivate it after having an affair with Ying Gu, and why the Southern Emperor, with his many concubines, couldn't cultivate it either. Wang Chongyang, however, cultivated the Innate Skill, which is why he never dared to marry Lin Chaoying.

As for Wang Chongyang's early death, some say it was because his body was severely injured and his foundation was damaged during the resistance against the Jin dynasty, while others say it was due to his excessive practice of the Innate Skill. In short, there is no accurate conclusion.

(End of this chapter)