The world of martial arts, the immortal swordsman in the mortal realm.

Chapter 44, pages 49 and 50: First obtain the Ancient Tomb Sword, then acquire the Quanzhen Sword.
In a dark tomb chamber.

Li Mochou sat cross-legged on a stone bed covered with only a thin mat, meditating silently.

This stone bed is the "Cold Jade Bed" of the Ancient Tomb Sect.

Upon returning to the mountain, Li Mochou was first beaten by her master, then confined for a month. She was specially locked in the tomb chamber where the Jade Bed was located, with the master saying that her skill would be tested in a month. If her progress did not satisfy her master, she would be expelled from the sect.

Li Mochou understood that although her master was somewhat angry, he still cared for her; otherwise, why would he have locked her up here?

The Jade Bed was the opportunity her master gave her.

She originally didn't like practicing on the cold jade bed, finding it too strenuous.

But this time when she returned to the mountain, she had come to her senses and accepted her master's punishment with relish.

Practicing on the cold jade bed was indeed arduous, requiring constant circulation of internal energy to resist the biting cold.

However, this has a remarkable effect on improving one's skill level, and the Cold Jade Bed can clear away inner fire and ward off inner demons, so no matter how brave and diligent one is, there is no risk of going astray in cultivation.

Cultivating inner strength on the cold jade bed, every bit of hard work yields threefold rewards.

So since she was put in solitary confinement, for more than ten days in a row, she did not leave the cold jade bed except for washing, using the toilet, and even eating. She was constantly circulating her inner energy and cultivating her inner strength.

It's the same today.

Waking up on the cold jade bed in the morning, after having breakfast, he immediately began cultivating again, enjoying the pleasure of his gradual improvement in power amidst the hardship.

While cultivating.

A series of pattering footsteps approached.

Then the tomb door opened, and Xiaolongnu rushed in.

Li Mochou opened her eyes and saw that her junior sister's face was flushed and she was still panting, as if she had run all the way here. Just as she was about to ask her what had happened, Xiaolongnu couldn't wait to say:
"Senior sister, senior sister, hurry and go help Master!"

As he spoke, he rushed over, grabbed Li Mochou's clothes, and pulled her down forcefully.

Of course, Xiaolongnu couldn't move Li Mochou.

Instead, Li Mochou pulled her into her arms, pinched her rosy, soft cheeks, and laughed:

"Senior Sister is in solitary confinement. How can she go out without Master's permission? Long'er, don't be anxious. Tell me carefully, what happened?"

"A bad guy has broken in!"

Little Dragon Girl waved her little hands and said impatiently:
"I'm fighting with my master! He can't beat me, so I came to ask you and Granny Sun for help!"

"Bad guys have broken into the ancient tomb?" Li Mochou's expression changed slightly: "Even Master can't beat them?"

"There are two bad guys, and Master is only one person. If only one of those bad guys attacks, he can fight Master to a draw. The other one hasn't even made a move yet. If the other one attacks, then Master won't be able to defeat him, right?"

Hearing what Xiaolongnu said, Li Mochou didn't dare to delay any longer. She quickly jumped off the cold jade bed, put on her shoes, and carried Xiaolongnu to find Granny Sun.

After finding Granny Sun, and guided by Little Dragon Girl, they headed towards the place where their master had fought the two "bad guys".

When they arrived at the destination, they could see from afar that their master and the "invading enemy" were fighting fiercely back and forth.

The two swords flashed back and forth, dazzling the eyes. The two figures, flying and moving swiftly, seemed to transform into two illusory and blurry afterimages under the dim light of the Qing Leng Mingzhu. Both Li Mochou and Granny Sun were dazzled and felt that they had no way to intervene.

After only a few glances, Granny Sun felt she couldn't distinguish the two people's sword light and figures, and even felt slightly dizzy. She couldn't help but exclaim in horror:
"Where did this master come from? How can his martial arts be so profound?"

Li Mochou was initially shocked, then realized that the figure opposing her master seemed somewhat familiar in terms of swordsmanship and physique. Upon closer inspection of the person standing guard beside her, she saw a petite girl in green robes with a red belt and gold hairpins, who was smiling and waving at her.

"Rong'er?"

Upon seeing that the girl was Huang Rong, Li Mochou was stunned. Upon closer inspection, the sword technique looked very familiar, and the figure was so fast that it was almost as tall as her master's. It was none other than Lu Chen.
Just as they recognized who it was, Granny Sun gritted her teeth and said:

"The enemy's martial arts are too high. We can't get involved with the sect leader's side. Forcing our way in would only distract him. It would be better to capture that little girl first..."

"Wait!" Li Mochou quickly stopped Granny Sun and whispered, "Those two are friends, not enemies. There must be some misunderstanding between them."

"A misunderstanding?" Granny Sun asked in surprise, "Does the young lady know them?"

“They are friends I met after I came down from the mountain.” Li Mochou was also a little puzzled: “How did they suddenly end up in the ancient tomb?”

Although she was puzzled as to how Lu Chen and Huang Rong had gotten in, since they weren't enemies and she was worried that her master and Lu Chen might actually fight, Li Mochou didn't have time to think too much and quickly spoke up:
"Master, they are my friends, not enemies. This is a misunderstanding. Please stop fighting!"

However, neither Lu Chen nor the head of the Ancient Tomb Sect stopped immediately.

Lu Chen didn't stop because he had a very enjoyable fight.

Since he began learning swordsmanship from Huang Rong, this was the first time he had encountered an opponent like the leader of the Ancient Tomb Sect, who was equally matched and evenly matched in every sense of the word.

When he first sparred with Huang Rong, he was initially beaten by her. After finally catching up with her in martial arts, Huang Rong refused to fight him again.

Then he sparred with Huang Yaoshi and was utterly defeated.

Then came two real battles. In the first battle, he won against a stronger opponent, and in the second, he utterly crushed the Hanshui Gang.

When sparring with Li Mochou, he had to hold back and couldn't unleash his full power.

When he sparred with Hong Qigong, he was once again thoroughly beaten by the restrained Qigong.

In short, after practicing martial arts for so long, he had never encountered an opponent like the Ancient Tomb Sect Leader, whose skill and swordsmanship were a perfect match. He was able to fully utilize all his knowledge and fight to his heart's content.

Such an exhilarating exchange, completely different from ordinary sparring, with both sides holding nothing back in a "real fight," allowed him to rapidly improve his deduction of the Ancient Tomb Sect's sword techniques. Including the results of his dozens of sparring sessions with Li Mochou, he was just a little short of being able to completely deduce the Ancient Tomb Sect's sword techniques.

Given that, he was naturally reluctant to stop immediately.

If he didn't stop, the leader of the Ancient Tomb Sect certainly didn't dare to stop either.

Although her lightness skill was slightly better than Lu Chen's, her internal strength and swordsmanship were not superior. In such an evenly matched situation, if either of them stopped rashly, they would be deliberately giving away their weakness and falling into a disadvantageous position. If they were not careful, they would be seriously injured or even killed on the spot.

So the two continued their fierce battle.

After exchanging over a hundred more blows, Lu Chen finally completed the dismantling and reverse deduction of the Ancient Tomb Sword Technique. The Ancient Tomb Sect Leader's sword technique held no more secrets for him. He immediately laughed and launched a rapid sword attack. Before he could even unleash his sword light, he had already forced the Ancient Tomb Sect Leader to defend with all his might and retreat repeatedly.

However, after gaining the upper hand, Lu Chen did not press his advantage. Instead, he leaped backward and deliberately disengaged from the battle.

In a battle where both sides are evenly matched, neither side would dare to easily stop unless they have a tacit understanding.

However, if one side gains the upper hand, then the side with the upper hand has the right to voluntarily cease hostilities.

Seeing that Lu Chen seemed to have suddenly understood her swordsmanship, and that every sword in that round of rapid attacks could hit her and save her, the Ancient Tomb Sect Leader was originally frowning inwardly, thinking that he could no longer defeat this person with martial arts alone and had to use the terrain of the Ancient Tomb and the traps to deal with this person. However, he did not expect that after Lu Chen forced her back, he would take the initiative to stop fighting. He breathed a sigh of relief.

Recalling Li Mochou's earlier shout, the Ancient Tomb Sect Leader turned to look at the tense Li Mochou, then at Lu Chen who had retreated to Huang Rong's side, and frowned:

"Are you Mo Chou's friends?"

She wasn't actually afraid of Lu Chen's martial arts skills.

Although Lu Chen seemed to have grasped her swordsmanship and gained the upper hand, he couldn't defeat her quickly. If this boy were an enemy, she could easily hold Lu Chen off while Mo Chou and Granny Sun activated mechanisms to deal with him using traps and mechanisms.

Even if it comes at a price, she is confident that she can keep the two of them in the ancient tomb, or at the very least, drive them away.

Furthermore, as a practitioner of the "Jade Maiden Heart Sutra," she didn't actually know what fear was—as one practiced the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra, one would gradually lose emotional fluctuations and even completely take life and death in stride.

If she can take life and death lightly, what is there to be afraid of? The only reason she is willing to communicate with the two of them now is because Mo Chou just said that they are "friends", and Lu Chen did not pursue them after gaining the upper hand, which showed a certain degree of goodwill.

Lu Chen bowed respectfully.
"I am Lu Chen, and I greet the sect leader of the Ancient Tomb Sect. It was our fault for trespassing into the Ancient Tomb Sect, and we hope that you will forgive us, senior."

Huang Rong also smiled and bowed:

"Huang Rong greets Senior. We are good friends that Sister Mochou met in Xiangyang. We are here to escort her back to Zhongnan Mountain. The reason we ventured into the Tomb of the Living Dead is because we have discovered a great secret."

The head of the Ancient Tomb Sect said calmly:
"What's the big secret?"

"While we were exploring the back mountain, we discovered a secret passage located in an underground river."

Huang Rong said in a very serious tone:

"Out of curiosity, we decided to explore the hidden passageway and went upstream. Unexpectedly, we found an underground chamber where we obtained a great benefit. Later, we discovered a passage within that chamber and, out of curiosity, entered to explore it. To our surprise, the passage led directly into the interior of the ancient tomb..."

Upon hearing this, the head of the Ancient Tomb Sect's expression shifted slightly, and he asked:

"You mean there's a secret passage that leads directly from the back of the mountain to my ancient tomb?"

Huang Rong nodded repeatedly:

"Yes, that's how we came in."

The leader of the Ancient Tomb Sect could no longer remain calm:
"Where is the secret passage? Could you take me there?"

Huang Rong smiled and said:

"No problem. We originally intended to inform Sister Mochou about this matter and ask her to pass on the message to the senior."

So you asked Long'er to call Mo Chou for this reason?

The head of the Ancient Tomb Sect had a strange expression, but this couldn't be blamed on Long'er. The Ancient Tomb Sect had strict rules and didn't allow outsiders to enter. It was reasonable for Long'er to assume that the two outsiders inside the Ancient Tomb were bad people who had trespassed and were up to no good.

Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, the head of the Ancient Tomb Sect went with Lu Chen and Huang Rong to check out the secret passage.

Li Mochou, carrying Xiaolongnu, followed along with Granny Sun. With her master by her side, she couldn't talk to Lu Chen and Huang Rong, only exchanging winks with Huang Rong.

The leader of the Ancient Tomb Sect followed Lu Chen and Huang Rong to the tomb chamber where the secret passage was located. Upon seeing that the passage was inside a stone coffin, even she, usually so aloof, couldn't help but feel extremely annoyed—

This tomb is the burial place of the members of the Ancient Tomb Sect. Their eldest daughter, Lin Chaoying, is already buried here.

Fortunately, it was Lu Chen and Huang Rong, Mo Chou's two friends, who discovered the secret passage. Otherwise, if outsiders had known about the secret passage, wouldn't the young lady's remains have been desecrated and destroyed?

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel even more resentful towards Wang Chongyang.

The Tomb of the Living Dead was built by Wang Chongyang, so this secret passage could only have been built by him as well. Having already lost the Tomb of the Living Dead to the young lady in the bet, why wouldn't he tell her about this secret passage? What exactly is Wang Chongyang up to?

While she was furious with Wang Chongyang, she couldn't help but feel a deep sense of gratitude towards Lu Chen and Huang Rong.

Although they had trespassed into the ancient tomb, they had ultimately resolved a potential threat for the Ancient Tomb Sect. They then bowed deeply to Lu Chen and Huang Rong.
"Thank you both, young friends. Our Ancient Tomb Sect will always remember this kindness."

"Senior, you are serious."

Lu Chen returned the greeting, but didn't say much more, as he wasn't very familiar with the rules and etiquette of the martial arts world. Anyway, with Rong'er, who was good at dealing with senior figures in the martial arts world, he didn't need to spend too much time on this.

Huang Rong returned the greeting and smiled:

"It's good that you don't mind us trespassing into the ancient tomb. By the way, there's another great benefit below this secret passage. My brother Lu Chen said that we should inform the Ancient Tomb Sect about that great benefit as an apology for our trespassing."

"A big benefit?" Li Mochou couldn't help but ask, "What big benefit?"

Huang Rong chuckled: "Come with me, and you'll see for yourself."

Having said that, he and Lu Chen led the way into the secret passage of the stone coffin.

Li Mochou handed Long'er to Granny Sun and volunteered to go inside first.

The head of the Ancient Tomb Sect and Granny Sun followed closely behind, arriving at the underground chamber through the stone coffin passage. They immediately saw the Nine Yin Manual carved on the ceiling.

"The Nine Yin Manual is the supreme martial arts manual in the world today."

Huang Rong introduced the group with a smile:
"Back then, the Five Greats competed for this precious manual during the Mount Hua Sword Tournament. Although only a portion of the Nine Yin Manual is here, it contains the 'Tendon Changing and Bone Strengthening Chapter,' a miraculous skill that can improve one's physical constitution and enhance one's skill, as well as various other unique skills such as the acupoint release technique, the breath-holding technique, and the soul-shifting technique."

As he spoke, he began to explain some Taoist terms from the Nine Yin Manual to everyone.

The leader of the Ancient Tomb Sect practiced the "Jade Maiden Heart Sutra" with Lin Chaoying before her death.

The first stage of the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra requires mastering all the martial arts of the Ancient Tomb Sect; the second stage requires mastering the martial arts of the Quanzhen Sect; and the third stage requires two people to practice the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra together.

However, not long after the two of them reached the second stage of their training, before the Ancient Tomb Sect Leader had fully grasped the Quanzhen Sect's martial arts, Lin Chaoying passed away. Without Lin Chaoying's guidance, the Ancient Tomb Sect Leader really couldn't understand the Taoist terminology.

In another timeline, Xiaolongnu also failed to learn the Quanzhen Inner Power Technique for this reason. She even suggested to her master that she go to the Quanzhen Sect to steal the technique, but was scolded by her master, who hated the Quanzhen Sect, and the matter was dropped.

Fortunately, Yang Guo had taught the Quanzhen School of Taoist teachings and was familiar with Taoist terminology, which enabled Xiaolongnu to practice the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra with him.

Now that Huang Rong has explained the Taoist terminology to the Ancient Tomb Sect Leader, some of the doubts that have troubled her for many years regarding the second stage of the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra have suddenly become clear. After a cursory glance at that part of the Nine Yin Manual, she knows that the stone wall technique is indeed profound and mysterious. Even her usually expressionless face couldn't help but show a faint smile:
"It is Mo Chou's good fortune to befriend these two young friends, and it is also the good fortune of my Ancient Tomb."

In fact, while that part of the Nine Yin Manual was powerful, it wasn't particularly important to her.

The key point is that she understood the Taoist terminology, which enabled her to continue cultivating the second stage of the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra. In the future, she can also practice the third stage with her disciples to fulfill her mistress's last wish.

Furthermore, she doesn't roam the martial arts world and doesn't seek fame or fortune there. Practicing martial arts is just a habit she developed over the years following the young lady, and she doesn't actually care whether her martial arts skills are profound or not.

What truly made her grateful was that Lu Chen and Huang Rong discovered the secret passage, thus resolving the potential danger that Lin Chaoying's burial site might be disturbed or destroyed by outsiders in the future.

Of course, having this part of the Nine Yin Manual is also a good thing.

Although the head of the Ancient Tomb Sect herself does not travel the martial arts world or engage in fierce battles, her eldest disciple, Li Mochou, is not one to stay at home.

Although Mochou has become more determined to practice martial arts after returning to the mountain, given her personality, she will obviously not stay in the ancient tomb for the rest of her life. She will probably come down the mountain again after she has mastered martial arts.

The Ancient Tomb Sect Leader disliked Li Mochou's personality and did not intend to pass on the "Jade Maiden Heart Sutra" to her, because her personality made it impossible for her to practice it. However, she was still his own disciple whom he had raised since she was ten years old. Now that she had this part of the "Nine Yin Manual," she would have a real martial arts skill to rely on when she went down the mountain again in the future. The Ancient Tomb Sect Leader could finally feel a little more at ease.

After a moment's thought, the leader of the Ancient Tomb Sect said to Lu Chen:
"Young friend Lu, since you are skilled in swordsmanship, are you interested in the Quanzhen Swordplay?"

She disliked owing favors to others, and since Lu Chen and Huang Rong had done a great favor for the Ancient Tomb, she naturally wanted to repay them.

For those in the martial arts world, the best reward is, of course, martial arts skills.

The martial arts of the Ancient Tomb Sect were created by Lin Chaoying. Without joining the sect, the sect leader could not pass them on to outsiders. However, she didn't care about the martial arts of the Quanzhen Sect—the Ancient Tomb Sect's initiation ceremony of spitting at a portrait of Wang Chongyang was created by her. Given her deep dislike for Wang Chongyang, she naturally had no intention of keeping the Quanzhen Sect's martial arts a secret.

The Ancient Tomb Sect happens to possess the complete set of Quanzhen Sect martial arts, including sword techniques, but they couldn't master them before because they didn't understand the mental cultivation methods.

Now that Huang Rong understands Taoist terminology and can even decipher the Nine Yin Manual, practicing Quanzhen martial arts is naturally not a problem.

Lu Chen hadn't expected this good thing, and immediately nodded without hesitation:
"Of course!"

The head of the Ancient Tomb Sect smiled faintly:
"In that case, starting tomorrow, I will teach my two young friends the Quanzhen Sword Technique."

[Two chapters will be released together again, please vote!]

(End of this chapter)