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

Chapter 325 First Arrival in Western Xia
On the Ziwu Ridge, a vital route from Shaanxi to Gansu, a dozen or so bandits, their faces filled with terror, frantically cracked their whips and scattered in all directions.

Immediately following were two dark golden streaks in the air, with different trajectories but the same speed and lethality. They made no sound in mid-air, silently slicing through the air and easily severing the heads of the two bandits.

As the bandit's head shot into the air, the two beams of light did not follow their original trajectory. Instead, they changed direction in mid-air and flew behind the heads of two more bandits, forever separating their heads from their bodies.

This operation happened a third time. Only then did the two beams of light slowly fly into the air, turning into an elliptical trajectory as they flew backward until a figure appeared in mid-air. The figure caught the beams of light with both hands and then gently flicked them away.

These bandits wouldn't last ten seconds in Wu Chengyu's hands, and he didn't even need to exert any effort on them.

Ziwu Ridge is a place teeming with bandits; no matter how many you kill, you can never get rid of them all. Wu Chengyu has already encountered seven or eight groups along the way, and he has used them all to practice his weapons.

The two beams of light were two Qiankun rings, each about 45 centimeters in diameter and about 30 centimeters in inner diameter. They were smaller than regular Qiankun rings, and the openings were just big enough to fit around a head like Lei Datou's, which had a circumference of 59.

The thickest part of each Qiankun Ring is no more than three centimeters, while the blade is extremely thin, yet it weighs more than twenty kilograms.

The Qiankun Ring is dark gold overall, but one of the blades was deliberately made silver-white by Wu Chengyu, and the other was jet black.

The outer edge of the blade is serrated, and the inner edge is mostly sharp, with only one slightly raised area that serves as the handle.

In addition, there are three holes of different sizes on the ring. The cross-section of the holes is very irregular, but it can eliminate the sound when the Qiankun Ring flies. If it were nighttime, Wu Chengyu could use special methods to reduce the noise and kill people invisibly.

These two Qiankun Rings are now Wu Chengyu's exclusive weapons, crafted from the black iron and black gold collected by the chief of Helian Fort.

The ring is mainly made of black iron, so it is quite heavy. It also incorporates a certain proportion of black gold, giving the entire Qiankun Ring a dark gold color, which is very beautiful.

The black iron brings hardness and sharpness, while the black gold is indeed an essential material for making divine weapons. It can greatly improve the transmission efficiency of the user's internal energy, and can even temporarily store a portion of the internal energy after being released from the hand.

As it turns out, the blacksmith Ou Dachui, whom they rescued, was only of average skill. How could he be so lucky as to rescue a master blacksmith at random? Ou Dachui could barely smelt Xuan Tie, but he had no way to deal with Wujin.

However, the Tang family monopolized the iron and coal mines in Tongguan County, so naturally there were very skilled blacksmiths in the family.

In order to forge his own exclusive weapon, Wu Chengyu ran back to Tangkuo Shanying's place many times, which even made Tangkuo's family very worried, thinking that he still had the ambition to come back and seize power.

Wu Chengyu used bamboo slips to study the ratio of black iron and black gold bit by bit, and found the right ratio that was the most resilient and rigid, while also maximizing the transmission of internal force.

At the same time, the shape of the Qiankun Ring must be designed to be both imposing and aesthetically pleasing, while also being practical, such as how to eliminate wind resistance and noise.

They also had to study the various data of the Qiankun Ring and its compatibility with their own martial arts. Finally, with the help of the blacksmith, it took them half a year to create this pair of treasures that could be called divine weapons.

The pair of Qiankun Rings are named after the color of their blades: Black and White Impermanence, which is fitting for their former reputation as ruthless and unpredictable.

Later, in the Hidden Dragon Cave, while training the children, he pondered how to use the weapon and finally devised his own unique method of use.

For example, the technique of throwing the weapon and then changing direction to attack three different enemies is created by utilizing the characteristic of black gold to store internal energy, combined with the triple force of the Peach Blossom Island Azure Wave Heart Method.

After throwing out the Universe Ring, the internal energy stored on it bursts out in three stages. Then, by using the Shifting Stars technique to control the direction and lock onto the enemy, it can attack three targets at once. It can also control the speed and explosive power. This move is called the Three Manifestations of Impermanence.

Furthermore, he has mastered how to combine his lightness skill with the movement of stars, how to launch a strong attack, and how to assassinate. Unfortunately, the bandits he encountered along the way were not worthy of his second move.

Wu Chengyu was driving his carriage, which had already traveled several dozen miles from Qianlong Cave. After traveling several dozen miles further, he would cross the border of the Jin Kingdom and officially enter the territory of Western Xia.

This Western Xia was no ordinary state. It initially submitted to the Northern Song Dynasty, but later Li Yuanhao declared himself emperor and fought wars with both the Northern Song and the Liao Dynasty. Crucially, it won all of them. In particular, it fought three major wars with the Northern Song Dynasty, in which the Northern Song Dynasty suffered heavy losses and ultimately had no choice but to reluctantly acknowledge the Western Xia's regime.

After the Liao and Northern Song dynasties were destroyed by the Jin dynasty, the Western Xia dynasty continued to coexist with the Southern Song and the Jin dynasty, but it was more politically dependent on the Jin dynasty. Of course, later, with the rise of the Mongol Yuan dynasty, the Western Xia's stance changed again and again, swaying back and forth.

The Western Xia dynasty lasted for 189 years, from the time of Li Yuanhao until its destruction by the Mongol Yuan dynasty. Its capital was Xingqing Prefecture, which is the later Yinchuan. At this time, Emperor Xiangzong of Western Xia should be on the throne.

Later generations don't know much about the Western Xia Dynasty. Apart from a few mentions in history textbooks, most people know about it from reading "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils," starting with the character of Consort Li Qiushui.

In fact, Li Qiushui's prototype is the famous Empress Dowager Meicang in the history of Western Xia, the wife of Li Yuanhao in his later years, and the mother of Emperor Yizong, the second emperor of Western Xia. Of course, in this world of Legend of the Condor Heroes, Li Qiushui is mainly based on historical fact. Western Xia was mainly composed of Tangut people, mixed with Semu people, Tibetans and Han people. Although they had some Sinicization, their clothing and hairstyles were very different from those of the Han people.

The Tangut people, in particular, are characterized by their shaved heads, which means shaving the hair on the top of their heads and leaving the rest hanging loose or tied in a braid. Fortunately, unlike the Qing Dynasty, they did not require all Han Chinese to have the same hairstyle, otherwise Wu Chengyu would have had a more troublesome time.

From the moment he entered the territory of Western Xia, his face slowly changed, gradually transforming into the appearance of Lei Datou. He now felt extremely fond of this face and extremely safe with it.

His original face had brought him a lot of trouble. Not only was he forcibly taken away by Qiu Qianchi, but he was also taken back by the filial son to serve his mother.

The Western Xia, a place that had only recently broken free from slavery and barely entered feudalism, was likely even more chaotic. Wu Chengyu didn't want to cause any more trouble because of his good looks.

His goal this time was the martial arts manual left behind by Li Qiushui, and he was determined to obtain it, focusing on the Lingbo Weibu, Xiaowuxiang Gong, and Baihong Palm.

These three martial arts techniques are of great benefit and reference value to his existing martial arts techniques.

Especially the White Rainbow Palm Force. Wu Chengyu is now much more interested in this palm technique. Now, after he uses the Qiankun Ring, it either flies back slowly or he uses his lightness skill to catch up with it and then throws it out.

If he could figure out the secret of how to control the White Rainbow Palm after it is unleashed, and combine it with the Star Shift technique, then he could remotely control the Black and White Impermanence after they were no longer in his hands, and it would even be somewhat like the art of controlling objects. Just thinking about this made Wu Chengyu impatient.

However, once inside Western Xia territory, Wu Chengyu's mood was not very cheerful, because no matter where he went, the Han people were always the lowest in status and the most oppressed.

Along the way, not to mention anything else, several groups of people brazenly tried to seize him as a slave just because he was dressed as a Han Chinese. These were not bandits, but small landowners or slave owners of the Tangut people in the local area, and they were completely unscrupulous.

With Wu Chengyu's methods, he naturally cut off many more heads. However, if he continued killing like this, he would be killing too many people and the commotion would inevitably affect his plan to go to Xingqing Prefecture.

Left with no other choice, Wu Chengyu changed his travel method to sleeping during the day and traveling at night, trying to travel at night as much as possible. It was only after a month that he arrived in Xingqing Prefecture.

Unfortunately, he had never been to Yinchuan in later years, so he felt nothing when he saw Xingqing Prefecture in front of him, and there was nothing to reminisce about. The only advantage was that it was, after all, the capital, so the security was slightly better and there was more order.

The Tangut people here were still arrogant and domineering, but they did not act like the rural landlords who would seize any Han Chinese they saw passing by and enslave them.

There were quite a few Han Chinese in Xingqing Prefecture, and many of them ran businesses. Soon, Wu Chengyu found an inn run by Han Chinese.

There was a restaurant in front and an inn behind. After checking into his room, Wu Chengyu went to the second floor of the restaurant, chose a window seat, and ordered a few dishes, wanting to get a good look at the capital of Western Xia.

He ate mutton, the hand-pulled mutton here was absolutely delicious, and while looking at the scene on the street, he pondered how to sneak into the palace.

According to the information obtained from the chief, after Li Qiushui died, her palace was sealed off, and the emperor at the time was Li Qiushui's son.

Li Qiushui controlled the Western Xia court through her martial arts skills, and the emperor was just a puppet. This is consistent with historical facts. Emperor Yizong of Xia was also in power under the Empress Dowager and was unable to rule personally for a long time.

However, after Li Qiushui disappeared, the palace was sealed off, which means that at least Li Qiushui's son knew the secrets of her palace. It is impossible that no one knew about the martial arts manuals of the Xiaoyao Sect carved on the walls over the years, and it is impossible that the Western Xia royal family did not send people to practice them.

Therefore, the Western Xia imperial palace must have had experts, and they were very likely experts who had learned the martial arts of the Xiaoyao Sect.

Wu Chengyu couldn't guarantee that there weren't experts like the Five Greats or the legendary Guhua in the Western Xia palace; every royal family must have its own life-saving charm.

Wu Chengyu wasn't there to kill anyone; he didn't want to fight the experts from the Western Xia Imperial Palace. His purpose was to secretly learn martial arts, so he preferred to avoid trouble.

Just as he was feeling troubled, he suddenly heard a commotion on the street outside.

A man dressed in ornate clothing, with an unusual appearance and the same Tangut hairstyle, rode a horse at breakneck speed down the street.

Most importantly, there was a man tied to the back of the horse, who dragged it along the way, causing it to stagnate.

At this moment, someone in the restaurant sighed softly, "Princess Yuzhu is causing trouble again."

(End of this chapter)