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

Chapter 509 Deyun Gangzi defeats the Ming Cult leader
Wu Chengyu had two objectives in this challenge: firstly, to break Yang Xu's prestige and his suppression of the Ming Cult.

For a power like the Ming Cult that controls its followers through religious doctrines, the prestige of the leader is always the most important factor, apart from the Great Ming Venerable. The followers regard the leader as the Great Ming Venerable's representative in the world and dare not easily rebel.

Even if there are doubts about Yang Xu's succession to the position of sect leader and he participated in Nangong Luan's rebellion, he is still the personal disciple of the previous sect leader and the successor personally recognized by Fang Yu before his death.

As for the Ming Cult's higher-ups, some died and others retreated, and the eldest daughter, Fang Yaning, even spoke up for Yang Xu. No one dared to openly oppose Yang Xu, so the cult members all acquiesced to this outcome.

In addition, in this martial arts world, martial prowess is paramount. Yang Xu is currently the only top-tier master in the Ming Cult, and there are very few below him who can be considered truly first-rate. Yang Xu's martial arts skills are also sufficient to suppress many of the Ming Cult's high-ranking members.

Killing the Bear King and Tiger King is not enough to stop the rumors from spreading. Yang Xu can barely control the situation at present, and the forces left behind by the Bear King and Tiger King will not dare to do anything in the end.

To throw the Ming Cult into chaos, Yang Xu's prestige must first be undermined, and he must be injured so that he no longer has the advantage in terms of force. Only then will people realize that this new leader is no longer worthy of fear, and only then will those with disloyal intentions dare to make a move.

Therefore, Wu Chengyu's challenge to Yang Xu this time was definitely not to kill him; killing Yang Xu would be too easy for Wu Chengyu.

If Yang Xu were killed directly when the Ming Cult was in disarray, those followers who had been brainwashed by the Ming Cult's doctrines might be forced to unite against a common enemy due to external pressure. What Wu Chengyu wanted was not a Ming Cult that had been reunited.

Wu Chengyu's goal was to humiliate Yang Xu in public, inflict a crushing defeat, leave him severely injured and unable to recover, and cause his disciples to harbor disloyal intentions, thus ignoring the Ming Cult's ambition to seize power.

At this point, further words were pointless, and it seemed the two sides were about to come to blows.

Wu Chengyu squinted at Yang Xu. The mountaintop was too damp, and his afro had absorbed a lot of moisture. When he circulated his internal energy, a wisp of white smoke rose from his head, making him look quite comical and completely lacking the demeanor of a master.
Yang Xu stepped forward and made the first move, immediately unleashing the Great Nine Heavens Hand.

He only knows three moves, and Wu Chengyu is very familiar with the first move, the Heavenly Net.

Fang Yu had used this move on Wu Chengyu and Hong Qigong before. It was extremely powerful against others, but posed no threat to experts at the microscopic level.

The Heavenly Net is actually a trap. It uses palm strikes to surround the opponent with feints and real attacks from all sides, leaving an opening above, forcing the opponent to jump up, and then delivering a thunderous blow.

The same move in Fang Yu's hands is completely different from the move in Yang Xu's hands. Fang Yu couldn't even fool Wu Chengyu back then, let alone Yang Xu.

Deyun Gangzi stood still, the surrounding palm strikes covering him like a net, gradually pressing down. But the real and feint moves were clear at a glance. If it were Fang Yu, he could change from feint to real and from real to feint in the blink of an eye. Wu Chengyu did not dare to be careless.

However, Yang Xu's transitions between feints and real attacks were very abrupt. Wu Chengyu completely ignored those feints and simply used his large handprint to block the few real attacks one by one.

He naturally wouldn't leap into the air next. Yang Xu hadn't reached the level of subtlety and couldn't anticipate the enemy's moves. After he finished using his Heavenly Net technique, he thought Deyun Gangzi would jump up, but Deyun Gangzi's feet never left the ground.

Yang Xu was like trying to pick up food with chopsticks, but the food was completely integrated with the plate and the table, making it impossible to pick up. Instead, he felt uncomfortable and used the wrong force. For a moment, his attack also came to a standstill.

Deyun Gangzi finally made his move. Taking advantage of Yang Xu's stunned moment, he struck Yang Xu with three consecutive large handprints. Yang Xu hurriedly withdrew his strength to parry.

The first palm strike left both sides motionless. The second palm strike forced them to retreat three steps. After the third palm strike, one of them spat out a mouthful of blood, his face turning ashen, indicating he had suffered internal injuries.

Enraged, Yang Xu launched a full-scale counterattack. His second move was called "No Two Suns in the Sky," which Fang Yu had not used when he fought Wu Chengyu.

The moment the move was made, Wu Chengyu burst into laughter. This move must have been inspired by the Qiankun Great Shift, using the Yongquan acupoint on the sole of the foot to suddenly exert force through the change of Yin and Yang, relying on footwork and explosive power to transform into two figures to attack the opponent at the same time, and the move was extremely fast.

It can split into two, attacking simultaneously and switching between the real and the illusory. Until the moment of combat, no one knows which figure is real. In terms of power alone, it is definitely a unique move. If others encounter it and do not have the ability to detect it, they will definitely be overwhelmed.

However, when it comes to manipulating movement techniques and creating clones, Wu Chengyu is the master. He could create six or seven clones in one go when he left Wujiapo. Except when he encountered Hong Qigong and Guihua, he was always successful.

Wu Chengyu can now create up to ten separate figures, and each figure can launch an attack, regardless of whether it is real or illusory.

Therefore, to try to use such tricks in front of Wu Chengyu, especially with only two moves, is truly laughable and like showing off a radish knife in front of Guan Yu.

Wu Chengyu didn't need to reveal his movement techniques; his keen senses instantly allowed him to distinguish between Yang Xu's two figures, which one was real and which one was fake.

He first pretended to be confused by the two figures, and then focused his attention on the illusory figure. Just when Yang Xu thought he had succeeded and was about to launch a surprise attack on Wu Chengyu, Wu Chengyu suddenly passed through the illusory figure and came directly in front of Yang Xu's real body.

Now it was Yang Xu's turn to be caught off guard, and he was met with another powerful and heavy Tantric handprint, which he had no choice but to hastily meet.

With a muffled thud, Yang Xu's body flew backward, staggering and nearly falling after landing.

"If this is all the Ming Cult Leader Yang can do, I am truly disappointed. Has the once mighty Ming Cult fallen so low? How pitiful and lamentable!"

After a barrage of mockery, Yang Xu, having suffered repeated losses, also became somewhat arrogant. The key issue was that he sensed a change in the way the dozen or so people around him, including Wu Du, were looking at him. What should have been utter loyalty now held worry, disbelief, and some even seemed to be smirking.

As the leader, causing his subordinates to worry meant a loss of his authority. Enraged, Yang Xu launched another fierce attack. "Heavenly Garment Has a Gap" was a move without the trap of a net or the speed of "Two Suns in the Sky." Instead, invisible energy emanated from his ten fingers, like ten transparent threads, directly attacking ten major acupoints on Wu Chengyu's body.

Moreover, these ten transparent threads can even change direction constantly in the air, making them unpredictable and impossible for even Wu Chengyu's microscopic state to grasp in time the direction of the attack.

Wu Chengyu was delighted to see this, finally seeing something new. This move was somewhat like Doflamingo who ate the String-String Fruit, using sharp threads to pierce or cut the opponent's body, or like Han Diao Temple's Three Thousand Red Threads.

As expected of the Great Nine Heavens Hand, which is on par with the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, it finally showed its true power.

This move was already difficult to counter with the Great Handprint. For the first time, Wu Chengyu was forced to use the martial arts he had been hiding. He still struck out with both hands, the move was no different from the Great Handprint, but an invisible force field surged around his palms, which was the Shifting Stars.

If Fang Yu were to use the move "Heavenly Garment with a Gap," the cutting ability of the silk threads would likely be difficult for even Wu Chengyu's "Star Shift." Fortunately, Wu Chengyu's skill level was able to completely suppress Yang Xu.

Yang Xu unleashed his strongest move, determined to kill Wu Chengyu. However, just as the ten threads were about to touch Wu Chengyu, they suddenly became uncontrollable. Under the influence of an invisible force field, the ten threads became entangled together, forming a tangled mess.

Yang Xu was greatly alarmed. Having followed Fang Yu for many years, he naturally knew the external manifestations of the Great Shift of the Universe and could also sense that the technique of Deyun Gangzi in front of him was fundamentally different from the Great Shift of the Universe.

But he never expected that a Tantric lama would use a move similar to the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth. Surprised once again, Wu Chengyu's palms were already slapping in front of him.

Yang Xu's attempt to block was futile this time. He was sent flying three zhang away, blood spurting into the air, and he collapsed to the ground, unable to get up again.

The Ming Cult experts swarmed forward, surrounding Yang Xu. Yang Xu, spitting blood, pointed at Deyun Gangzi and shouted, "Kill him!"

The crowd was stunned for a moment, their expressions varied, but they all rushed towards Wu Chengyu. Wu Chengyu knew that the time had come, so he first used two consecutive palm strikes to send the two closest people flying.

These two were the ones who strictly followed orders and charged the fastest, so they must have been Yang Xu's loyal followers. Therefore, Wu Chengyu showed no mercy and let them die even faster.

It should be noted that the most skilled martial artist present was the newly appointed Left Envoy of Light, Wu Du. This former Snake King was a top-tier expert, yet he fell behind.

Wu Chengyu did not linger in the fight, and used his lightness skill to retreat quickly, while leaving a message: "The leader has truly disappointed me today. How can the leader of the Ming Cult be so weak? Even my donkey is more robust than you."

"The injuries you sustained this time are enough to keep you healthy for six months. I'll give you six months to recover. Come back and challenge me again then. I hope you'll have improved by then, Master Yang."

As soon as he finished speaking, his figure grew smaller and smaller, and he was about to disappear from sight. At this moment, Yang Xu barely stood up and shouted, "Send a message to the Five Elements Flags down the mountain to intercept this person. We must not let him leave alive."

Wu Du seemed to wake from a dream, and quickly took out a signal arrow from his sleeve and shot it into the sky. Then he led his men down the mountain in pursuit.

To be on the safe side, Yang Xu left several hundred ambush troops at the foot of the mountain. They all came from the Five Elements Banners and were led by the banner lords and deputy banner lords of the Blazing Fire Banner, Sharp Metal Banner, and Giant Wood Banner, respectively.

Two of the three flag leaders were loyal followers of Fang Yu back then, and now they have both pledged allegiance to Yang Xu. The flag leader of the Ruijin Flag is Yang Xu's confidant. All three are top-tier experts, and together with the four hundred Five Elements Flag warriors, they should be able to stop this despicable Tantric lama.

When Wu Du and his men arrived at the foot of the mountain, all they saw were the corpses of the Five Elements Banner warriors, who appeared to have been dead for some time.

The three flag leaders' corpses had their throats slashed open, blood splattering everywhere, and the Five Elements Flag warriors around them were lying haphazardly.

Wu Du's scalp tingled with shock. So many disciples had died tragically in such a short time. This was definitely not the work of Deyun Gangzi, who had only recently come down the mountain. He shouted angrily, "This is a conspiracy! That lama didn't come alone; he had an ambush."

At this moment, Wu Chengyu's figure had long since disappeared, and only Wu Du's men and the hundreds of corpses remained at the foot of the mountain.

"Left Envoy, there's still someone alive!" a follower shouted. Wu Du's heart skipped a beat, and he rushed to the side of the man who was barely clinging to life. He recognized him; he was the deputy leader of the Ruijin Banner.

This man had seven or eight terrible wounds on his body, and he was bleeding almost to death. However, he had been practicing body tempering techniques for many years, so his muscles and bones were strong and he was still alive.

He struggled to say, “Left Envoy, there are about fifty people, dressed in the clothes of my Ming Cult disciples. They did not come from outside, but from the direction of Bright Peak.”

Their martial arts skills were extremely high, and they could form a military formation to charge into battle. One of them was particularly strange. He suddenly appeared out of nowhere and killed one of the three flag leaders on the spot, and seriously injured another.

His blade was incredibly fast and ruthless; even the last leader of the Fiery Banner, Lu, was killed by him with a single blow during a fierce battle.

Our brothers were utterly helpless against these men.

After saying this, the deputy banner chief finally bled out his last drop of blood and breathed his last.

Only Wu Du's face was ashen, his eyes filled with doubt, and he muttered to himself, "Coming from the direction of Bright Peak?"

(End of this chapter)