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

Chapter 370 Fierce Battle in the Palace

During the process of Wu Chengyu removing the Life and Death Talisman, the water in the bath where he was located changed with the changes in his own power, sometimes becoming scalding hot and sometimes extremely cold, and even constantly surging when changing between hot and cold.

When he finished his practice, only half the water in the bath remained; the rest had evaporated, leaving the remaining water murky. During his practice, Wu Chengyu had expelled some impurities from his body again.

All these impurities came from the Twelve Primary Meridians. Now, Wu Chengyu's Twelve Primary Meridians are not only broad and resilient, but also incredibly unobstructed, like a national highway turning into a expressway. His internal energy flows through the meridians without any hindrance.

From the earliest transformation through silkworm metamorphosis, to the mastery of innate skills and the perfection of the five internal organs, the present is a complete metamorphosis of the twelve meridians.

Wu Chengyu felt that his martial arts skills had only just reached the pinnacle, but his physical body had already entered the innate realm. Now, if he were to face that old monster, he would at least have a fighting chance.

When Wu Chengyu came out of the bathroom, it was already past midnight. The entire Yangwu Guild Hall was quiet. Wu Chengyu changed into his night clothes and quietly left the guild hall. He used his lightness skill to run all the way and arrived at the Western Xia Imperial Palace in no time.

But before they even entered the palace, they heard a cacophony of sounds coming from a corner of the palace, where the Palace of Broken Dreams was located.

There were shouts, the muffled thunder of masters clashing palms, the tearing sound of arrows slicing through the air, and even a faint flute melody.

Wu Chengyu quickly slowed his pace, using the various blind spots and shadows within the palace to gradually approach the Remnant Dream Palace.

Sure enough, a grand drama was unfolding in the usually quiet Western Xia palace late at night.

The Palace of Broken Dreams was still heavily besieged, with even more troops than when he last came. All the soldiers were absolutely elite.

On the square in front of the Palace of Broken Dreams, many corpses lay. At this moment, two figures were crossing in mid-air, their figures constantly changing, their movements so fast that ordinary people could not catch them with their naked eyes.

The two fought fiercely, each attacking the other's vitals with deadly moves, yet they were evenly matched, neither able to gain the upper hand.

One of them was naturally the old monster, with long white hair and dressed in white. In the middle of the night, she looked like a female ghost. Her face was frighteningly pale, and blood was flowing from the corner of her mouth. Her once beautiful face no longer had the arrogance she had shown the last time they met. She was quite embarrassed at this moment.

Her eyes became extremely venomous, and she stared at her opponent most of the time. Occasionally, she would try to shake off her opponent and break away, but she was always blocked by her opponent.

Her opponent, on the other hand, was completely obscured from view. All that could be known was that he was not very tall and appeared to be male, but he was completely covered by black cloth strips, with only his eyes and nose visible on his face.

This guy is like a mummy, but his kung fu skills are terrifyingly high.

The mummy and the female ghost, two formidable opponents, fought fiercely for countless moves, and both must have been seriously injured.

The old monster's expression showed more pain, and his moves slowed down. The mummy's face was covered by a cloth, so it was impossible to see anything, but his figure was more agile than the old monster's, as if he was not as badly injured as the old monster, or that he could withstand more damage than the old monster.

In addition, on the outer edge of the encirclement, the Emperor of Western Xia was sitting in a chair, surrounded by many skilled guards. He looked tense. Beside him was a man in white with a ferocious mask on his head, playing a bamboo flute, as if to provide background music for the battle.

However, the flute music was melodious and faint, lacking any real melody, and completely out of place with the fierce battle between the two masters in the arena.

At this moment, Wu Chengyu had already quietly approached and hidden on the surrounding rooftops, carefully observing the masters in the arena.

Needless to say, the old monster was indeed at the Innate Realm, just as he had predicted. At this moment, he was using the Tianshan Six Yang Palms with all his might, his moves were fierce, or he would suddenly transform into the Carefree Plum Blossom Hand, which was extremely mysterious.

She moved with the graceful steps of Lingbo Weibu, and sometimes her palm strikes would turn in mid-air to ambush her opponent. It was clearly the White Rainbow Palm Force that Wu Chengyu had long admired and desperately wanted to obtain. Today was the first time he had seen its true form. It was truly unpredictable and difficult to defend against.

Not counting the Northern Darkness Divine Art, the old monster used several of the most famous martial arts of the Free and Unfettered Sect. These were all divine skills and unique techniques. Ordinary martial artists could become famous and influential just by obtaining one of them. Wu Chengyu was extremely envious when he saw them.

However, the old monster was still at a disadvantage because her opponent's martial arts were basically the same as hers. Apart from the White Rainbow Palm Force, he could also use the Six Yang Palm and the Plum Blossom Hand with ease. Although his footwork was not the Lingbo Step, his lightness skill was extremely agile and he was not at a disadvantage.

So, this mummy is also from the Free and Unfettered Sect? And also a master of the same level as the old monster. Where did he come from? This guy must be the trump card of the Western Xia royal family. Only with him did the Western Xia royal family dare to turn against the old monster.

But who exactly is this person? Wu Chengyu went through all the memories of Tianlong in his mind, but still couldn't figure it out.

Wu Chengyu's martial arts skills and insight were among the best in the world, and he noticed the difference between the two with just a little observation.

In terms of skill, the old monster is far more powerful. According to Wu Chengyu's guess, this guy follows the path of absorbing the internal energy of others, and his internal energy reserves far exceed those of other masters of the same level.

While the mummy's skill was clearly insufficient, his skill was extremely refined. Although he was not as powerful as the old monster, his internal energy was even stronger. It was like the old monster wielding a huge wooden stick, while the mummy held an iron rod, which was much thinner and had a greater killing power.

Meanwhile, the old monster's Northern Darkness Divine Art was clearly useless against the mummy; it couldn't absorb any internal energy from the old monster at all. Thus, the Northern Darkness Divine Art lost most of its threat. However, what surprised Wu Chengyu was that although both of their techniques were divine skills with great destructive power, they both seemed to have some problems.

Although the old monster's skills are advanced, and his martial arts are at the top of the Jin-style martial arts world, the power of his divine skills still depends on who uses them.

The power of the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms in the hands of Xiao Feng, Hong Qigong, and Guo Jing was absolutely incomparable to that in the hands of later figures like Shi Huolong and Wu Lie.

The old monster gave Wu Chengyu the impression that she had mastered these moves, but when she used them, they always lacked a certain charm. The moves were stiffly connected, and her grasp of the moves and their application in combat were not smooth.

The reason for this situation may be that the old monster herself does not have much combat experience, and may not have actually fought anyone for many years. Ordinary people can be subdued with a wave of her hand, so she probably hasn't used these moves to fight anyone for a long time.

Another point is that the old monster's martial arts talent was not outstanding.

Martial arts talent is difficult to quantify and encompasses many aspects, such as the strength of one's bones and muscles, the presence or absence of blocked meridians, sufficient comprehension, and the tenacity of one's will. All of these can affect a person's true level of martial arts skill.

Including whether one can adapt to changing circumstances, remain calm under pressure, and see through the opponent's intentions when engaging in combat, these are all aspects of martial arts talent.

The old monster gave Wu Chengyu the impression that he had little experience in combat and his talent in fighting was very average. He just mechanically used those moves, and the connection between the moves was all wrong, which caused many flaws in his movements.

But this person is a master of innate talent; such a flaw should absolutely not appear in a master of her level.

Throughout history, masters who have reached such a level may not necessarily have been exceptionally talented, but they have definitely been through countless battles and honed their skills to perfection. Those with any flaws would have been killed before they even reached this level.

However, the old monster always had some flaws that were hard to hide when she made a move; her moves were completely inconsistent with her realm and cultivation.

If he were to encounter a master of the same level, such a flaw would be fatal, which is not the performance expected of a martial arts master of the innate level.

Of course, the difference between innate and acquired realms is enormous, so even if Wu Chengyu could see the flaws, he might not be able to seize them. But with these flaws in place, Wu Chengyu's confidence in facing the old monster would definitely increase.

Looking back now, when the old monster told Princess Yuzhu that he had fought Wang Chongyang to a draw, he was definitely just trying to embellish his own image.

Or perhaps Wang Chongyang was already physically exhausted and unable to fight for long; otherwise, given the flaws in the old monster's attacks, Wang Chongyang would definitely have been able to defeat her.

The current situation is that the old monster has many openings in his attacks, but the mummy on the other side is always a bit clumsy and always a beat too slow. So even if the old monster has openings, he can never catch them.

His moves were fine in sequence, but he was always a beat slow when he actually fought, which is why he could never defeat the old monster.

What's going on here? Two experts at the Innate Realm are fighting, and although the battle seems incredibly intense, it's full of mistakes and errors. It's only slightly better than chickens fighting each other. It's just too incongruous.

The female ghost and the mummy exchanged blows for several more rounds before finally unleashing a move called Yang Ge Tian Jun at the same time. The immense force of their clash sent them both flying back two or three zhang (approximately 6.6 meters). The old monster, however, possessed greater skill, causing the mummy to retreat slightly further.

The old monster's face turned even paler, and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, clearly shaken by the recoil. The mummy remained silent, simply standing there, staring blankly at the old monster.

However, Wu Chengyu's eyesight was extremely sharp, and he immediately noticed that the mummy's legs were trembling slightly, as if it was about to collapse.

The old monster paused briefly to catch his breath, then turned to look at the Western Xia emperor who was watching the battle from the sidelines, and shouted loudly.

"Your Majesty, you have blocked me seven times in a row. Every time I tried to leave, you blocked me here."

"I've given up now. I just want to leave the palace and live out my remaining years. I will no longer pose any threat to you. Why won't you let me go?"

The Emperor of Western Xia looked up and said, "Grandma, I know better than anyone how ruthless you have been all these years."

If you stay in the Palace of Broken Dreams, at least I can keep track of your movements. But if I really let you go, you'll be like a dragon returning to the sea, never to be heard from again.

Given your character, I don't believe you won't retaliate against me. Rather than constantly being on guard against you, worrying that you might suddenly appear out of nowhere and kill me, I'd rather...

"How about I let you stay in the Palace of Broken Dreams forever? You want to live out your remaining years like this? Fine, I'll guarantee you a life of luxury, but don't even think about leaving my sight."

The old monster turned his gaze to the mummy confronting him, and said to the emperor, "Do you really think this half-dead fellow can hold me off forever?"

(End of this chapter)