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

Chapter 466 Mutual Prey
Wu Chengyu is now somewhat like Hong Qigong seeing a hot pot of fragrant meat, a little impatient. The Great Shift of the Universe also follows the principles of Yin and Yang, which is crucial for him to perfect his Innate Skill and truly advance it to the Innate level.

This time, he did not use the Unblockable Heaven-Turning Seal, but instead used the Neither Yin Nor Yang Cloud-Piercing Hand. This move was his summary and extension of the Yin-Yang Dao after studying the unique skills of the Free and Unfettered Sect.

The Cloud Hand is different from the Heaven-Turning Seal. The Heaven-Turning Seal is basically a fixed move, where you punch someone in the head. The opponent can only take the hit. It's a contest of who can make the stronger and more powerful move.

The Moyun Hand doesn't have any specific moves; it emphasizes the changes of Yin and Yang in the hand. You can pat someone's chest, slap someone's face, or even use it to steal peaches. The key is the mysterious application of the moment of impact.

Wu Chengyu simply took a step forward and rushed towards Fang Yu, the leader of the Ming Cult. He gently extended his right palm, with his five fingers together and the fingertips pointing forward, and gently patted Fang Yu's chest.

The speed of the attack was neither too fast nor too slow. The force between the fingertips, under the flow of yin and yang, slowly formed a cloud, or a small cloud that drifted by.

To outsiders, this move seemed more like a show or a magic trick, utterly powerless. But to Fang Yu, it made his expression suddenly turn serious, his eyes sharp as an eagle, ready for battle, and he no longer showed any signs of his serious illness.

Fang Yu stretched out both hands, palms held loosely in front of his chest, at the same speed as Wu Chengyu. Wu Chengyu's Cloud-Piercing Hand technique slowly reached between these two palms, and the three hands did not touch. Wu Chengyu's hands also stopped in time, no longer extending forward.

At this moment, their movements were like a dance, one graceful and the other lithe, or like playing with wooden figures, suddenly stopping and standing very close, about the length of two arms, their eyes meeting, and gradually they both smiled.

What they are comparing now is not the level of martial arts skills or the strength of internal energy, but their understanding of the principles of Yin and Yang, and the insights of top masters on martial arts.

Those around were astonished by the sight, but none dared to make a move.

Gradually, they began to hear sounds similar to the vibration of objects, like the wind blowing through tree branches, but at a higher frequency, or like a flag fluttering in the wind, but with a softer sound.

But this sound was not just something they heard; they immediately felt their blood and qi vibrate with the sound, and unconsciously used their internal energy to resist it. The rate at which their internal energy was consumed was even faster than when they were fighting someone.

Immediately afterwards, the cloud energy inherent in Wu Chengyu's Cloud-Moving Hand churned continuously between Fang Yu's palms, suddenly dissipating and then slowly forming again, creating a scene of clouds rolling and unfolding within a small space.

Within the clouds, tiny flashes of lightning appeared and disappeared intermittently, and the sounds these people heard actually originated from the turbulence within this small cloud.

Wu Chengyu's Yin-Yang Cloud-Piercing Hand continuously created clouds by alternating Yin and Yang, while Fang Yu's Qiankun Great Shift kept trying to dissolve the clouds. This conflict never left the range of their palms, but the power contained within was gradually accumulating.

Within a few breaths, when those around could no longer withstand the noise-like sound waves that surrounded them, the power accumulated between Wu Chengyu and Fang Yu's palms could no longer be contained.

They pushed their hands upwards simultaneously, taking several steps back, creating a distance of nearly two zhang between each other.

The power they had gathered earlier was propelled into the air, and then a muffled thunderclap seemed to occur a dozen feet above them. The sound wasn't very loud, but it made everyone around feel a tightness in their chest, as if they wanted to spit out blood.

"Hahahaha!" Wu Chengyu and Fang Yu burst into laughter at the same time, feeling extremely happy.

"The Great Shift of Heaven and Earth is indeed powerful. It actually emphasizes the principle of Yin and Yang. You, Master, have clearly not mastered it yet, but you are still on par with me."

As Wu Chengyu spoke, his eyes gleamed. He finally saw hope in taking his Innate Skill to the next level and understood what to do next.

When I read martial arts novels before, the description of the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth in The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber only made me realize that it was about the principles of Yin and Yang, involving external manipulation and internal stimulation of one's own potential.

The novel exaggerates the power of the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth, but it remains vague about what makes it so special.

Zhang Wuji and Xiao Zhao were trapped in the stone chamber of the forbidden area of ​​Bright Peak. At that time, Zhang Wuji's internal strength of Nine Yang Divine Skill was already very high, but he could not push the stone wall of the chamber. Only by practicing the Great Shift of the Universe to the third level or above could he push the stone wall and escape.

Zhang Wuji possessed the Nine Yang Divine Skill, and with his internal strength reaching the required level, he quickly mastered the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth to the sixth level, successfully pushing open the stone wall.

His cultivation process took only a few hours, which shows that the Great Shift of the Universe itself is not about cultivating internal strength. After mastering it, he would not experience any qualitative improvement in strength. Pushing open the stone wall was indeed done with strength, without any tricks or mechanisms.

The original text states that after Zhang Wuji mastered the fifth level, he felt that he could control his entire spirit and strength at will, releasing and withdrawing them as he pleased, with everything entirely at his discretion.

Wu Chengyu's initial understanding was that the Great Shift of the Universe was a clever method of channeling and utilizing strength, which could unleash the full potential of the body and integrate the power of the practitioner. This was why Zhang Wuji was able to exert even greater power when pushing the stone wall than before.

However, the original work does not explain how to unleash this potential. Back then, Wu Chengyu was just watching the spectacle and never thought about it in detail.

It wasn't until his battle with Fang Yu in that small space that Wu Chengyu finally understood that the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth followed a completely opposite path to his own: the convergence of Yin and Yang, which in turn generated power through conflict.

Unlike the Xiaoyao School, which emphasizes the interplay and transformation between Yin and Yang, the Xiaoyao School, being a Taoist school, follows the natural order and allows the forces of Yin and Yang to flow in a clear and distinct yet mutually transformative manner, like a Tai Chi symbol.

The Great Shift of Heaven and Earth, on the other hand, forcibly creates a clash between Yin and Yang. After the clash, an even stronger force is naturally unleashed. This process takes place within the human body. Once the Yin and Yang of the human body come together and clash, it can naturally unleash a person's full potential.

This is why no one has ever mastered it throughout history, or rather, why one must first have strong internal energy to support it. The Great Shift of Heaven and Earth, a method of yin and yang conflict, is extremely harmful to the body; those with insufficient physical foundation simply cannot withstand it.

At the same time, it requires extremely high levels of internal energy reserves, quality, and control ability; none of these can be lacking. Otherwise, even the slightest carelessness, with only a slight difference between Yin and Yang forces, can cause the meridians in the body to explode, leaving the person either dead or crippled.

Only by achieving all the requirements of internal strength for the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth, like the Nine Yang Divine Skill, can one accomplish it in one fell swoop.

The leaders of the Ming Cult throughout history all forced themselves to cultivate when their own foundation was insufficient or their internal strength did not meet the requirements. This caused them to suddenly lose control during the conflict between Yin and Yang within their bodies, ultimately leading to their death from qi deviation.

Therefore, practicing this technique is like manufacturing a bomb, which could explode at any time. This kind of internal energy cultivation does not belong to the Taoist school that follows the natural way of heaven; rather, it is more like the demonic cult techniques in novels.

The Ming Cult leader Fang Yu in front of me probably made a mistake while cultivating the Great Shift of the Universe. It doesn't seem like a big problem, not enough to cause him to go into qi deviation, but the fact that he has such a high level of martial arts cultivation has caused him to fall seriously ill is irrefutable proof.

Having grasped the secrets of the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth, Wu Chengyu immediately realized that to elevate his Innate Skill to the next level and reach the Innate Realm, simply conforming to the will of Heaven would not work. If one gets used to being a compliant subject, Heaven will not allow one to leapfrog into a higher class.

Breaking through one's innate potential through acquired means and transcending the mundane is itself a defying-the-gods act, so one must rebel at the final moment of the breakthrough.

The Free and Unfettered School emphasizes the transformation of Yin and Yang. Only by using the opposing forces of Yin and Yang to break through the shackles of the innate can one achieve mastery of the innate skill. Only when one can control both the flow and the reversal of the flow can one's innate skill be considered to have reached its zenith.

Wu Chengyu now understands this principle. If he studies it slowly for several decades, he might be able to perfect the Innate Skill.

However, if he could obtain the secret manual of the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth, it would be a shortcut, and he could probably shorten the time to just a few years. Wu Chengyu was determined to get his hands on this martial art.

Therefore, Wu Chengyu now looks at Fang Yu as if he were looking at prey, wishing he could immediately search him for the secret manual of the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth.

However, Wu Chengyu immediately noticed that Fang Yu's gaze was also filled with longing, somewhat like that of Qiu Qianchi back then, as if he wanted to devour her whole. Just from that look, Wu Chengyu immediately shivered.

When we met just now, this old man wasn't this thirsty. Could it be that he suddenly changed his orientation?

At this moment, Fang Yu's smile was very bright: "Kid, I've also seen through your background. You have genuine Taoist divine skills, yet you can control the changes of Yin and Yang. No wonder your martial arts are so high at such a young age. You are actually a successor of the Xiaoyao Sect."

Lingjiu Palace was destroyed many years ago, and I thought that the unique skills of the Xiaoyao Sect had been lost. I never expected that I would meet the successor of the Xiaoyao Sect again under the Yellow Crane Tower today. It is truly a blessing from heaven.

"I've searched high and low without finding you, only to have you come to me effortlessly. I've searched so hard for you all these years."

Wu Chengyu was both surprised and helpless. He was surprised that Fang Yu could see traces of the Xiaoyao Sect in his martial arts after just one exchange.

Unfortunately, this wasn't the first time they'd been mistaken. Using the "Dou Zhuan Xing Yi" technique led them to believe they were descendants of the Murong family, while using the essence of the "Tianshan Liu Yang Zhang" technique made them a successor of the Xiaoyao Sect.

Whether it's Hong Qigong or Fang Yu, these masters are too confident; they only believe what they see.

It's not surprising that the Ming Cult knew about the Xiaoyao Sect and Lingjiu Palace; both were sects hiding in the Western Regions, not far apart, one with more people and more power, and the other with extraordinary martial arts.

Its history is also long; Fang La was the eighth leader of the Ming Cult, so the Ming Cult should have been established before the Northern Song Dynasty.

People from the Xiaoyao Sect are known for their longevity. Tianshan Tonglao lived to be over ninety during the reign of Emperor Zhezong of the Northern Song Dynasty, and her master, Xiaoyaozi, lived even longer, likely during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.

So, over the course of nearly two hundred years, the two sides must have interacted. However, after Fang Yu claimed to be the successor of the Xiaoyao Sect, he was overjoyed and showed no signs of enmity. Instead, he was filled with greed and clearly harbored ill intentions.

"Boy, I'll give you a choice. Join my Ming Cult, and I can make you the next leader of the Ming Cult, or even marry my daughter to you."

"There must be a price to pay. There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world."

"Of course, I need the inheritance of your Xiaoyao Sect, especially the Xiaowuxiang Gong and Tianshan Liuyang Zhang. As long as you produce these two divine skills, I will give you whatever you want."

Wu Chengyu turned to look at Fang Yu's daughter. Hearing Fang Yu call her Ya Ning, Fang Ya Ning, what a nice name. Hearing her father's words, Fang Ya Ning looked at Wu Chengyu's handsome face and blushed instantly, becoming quite shy.

However, Wu Chengyu is highly immune to beautiful women. This Fang Yaning is not bad, and she looks a bit like Guan Moulin, but it would be too shameful for him to compromise for a woman. He wouldn't be so tasteless.

"Master Fang, there are some things I refuse to give, and you cannot take them. Trying to exchange your daughter for them is shameless. As for the so-called leader of the Ming Cult, he is nothing but bullshit in my eyes, worthless."

"Alright, it really will take some effort. Men, come and help me capture him. I want him alive."

(End of this chapter)