Sword drawn from the constellations, poison as its edge.

Chapter 124 Fist Fight with Jiumozhi

Kumārajīva's eyes were like those of an eagle, staring intently at Jiang Mingzhe. He clearly saw Jiang Mingzhe's eye twitch slightly. He forced a smile and said, "I, Long Aotian, started practicing martial arts at the age of eight. I know a little about Southern Fist and Northern Leg techniques. When I was fourteen, I could stand up on a big rock in the threshing ground in one go!"

Kumārajīva thought to himself: This man is forcing a smile, he is obviously guilty. It is not surprising, he is only in his twenties and has been practicing since he was born, how high can he be?

He then thought: Duan Yu, at such a young age, possesses astonishing internal strength. I wonder how many fortuitous encounters he must have had. Hmph, if they are fortuitous encounters, can everyone have them? Besides, although Duan Yu's internal strength is high, he is clumsy when he circulates it, and his martial arts are extremely poor. However, he seems to care deeply about this sworn brother. If we capture this man, I'm not afraid he won't submit!
After thinking for a moment, he looked up and laughed: "To be able to stand up such a large rock at the age of fourteen shows that you have extraordinary potential. I would like to learn from your skills!"

With that, he blurred and covered several meters in an instant, striking out with a palm strike. Jiang Mingzhe's lack of confidence vanished instantly, his eyes flashing with lightning speed, and he shouted, "Wanqing, save him!"

Without offering any resistance, he suddenly punched Kumārajīva in the chest.

This punch was full of spirit and energy, as powerful as thunder; the wind arrived before the fist.

Kumārajīva was taken aback. He quickly turned his hand and slapped down, his fist and palm colliding with a loud bang, and the force of the impact spread outwards.

Kumārajīva was startled, realizing he had been tricked. This fellow's internal strength was no less than Duan Yu's!

Jiang Mingzhe unleashed his full power in this punch, but Kumārajīva changed his move midway through, and in the head-on collision, he was not at a disadvantage.

Jiang Mingzhe's spirits lifted, realizing he had encountered an unprecedentedly powerful opponent. He let out a fierce shout, his inner strength surging forth, unleashing a flurry of punches—crashing, smashing, booming, and sweeping.

Kumārajīva, however, did not engage in the attack, but instead dodged and weaved, staring intently at the opponent's fist techniques.

After watching two or three moves, he suddenly exclaimed, "You're not a Shaolin disciple, so how did you learn the Great Vajra Pestle?"

After saying that, he shook his arms and punched left and right in quick succession with two punches, which was the move "Life and Death Impermanence" from the Great Vajra Pestle.

Jiang Mingzhe recognized the danger. These two punches were one feint and one real, with unpredictable force. If you blocked the real one, the real one would immediately turn into a feint, and the feint would turn into a real one, just like the impermanence of the world and the ever-changing nature of life and death.

He dared not be careless and threw out two punches, alternating between feints and real attacks. The four punches collided, with real punches meeting real ones and feints meeting feints, and only then was the move broken.

Kumārajīva used the momentum to step back two steps and said in surprise, "The moves of the Great Vajra Pestle are easy to learn, but the power is difficult to master. You have actually mastered the changes at will. No wonder you dare to make things difficult for me!"

He had just been solemn and humble, referring to himself as a humble monk, but now his true colors were revealed, and he began to address himself as "this seat."

Jiang Mingzhe said, "Same here. The great monk's strength is also extremely high. Enough with the nonsense, let's fight again!"

Kumārajīva praised, "The younger generation is truly formidable! Perhaps..."

He suddenly launched a fierce attack, his palms moving wide and powerful, each strike possessing the force to shatter rocks.

Jiang Mingzhe, however, was not one to be easily fooled. He remained highly vigilant and immediately threw a punch to receive the blow.

The two exchanged blows for more than ten rounds. Then, Kumārajīva changed his tactics and switched to leg techniques. His legs rose and fell with incredible speed. Jiang Mingzhe blocked a few moves but could not keep up with his opponent's speed. He turned around and used the Lingbo Weibu (a martial arts technique) to run around Kumārajīva.

Kumārajīva shouted, "Want to race? Behold my Burning Wood Sword Technique!"

He then swung his arm like a knife, striking with extraordinary speed.

In the original novel, Duan Yu used the Lingbo Weibu (a martial arts technique) to engage in combat. Whether it was the Crocodile God of the South Sea or Murong Fu, they would often focus their efforts on him directly. Duan Yu, however, would disregard the consequences and simply follow the footwork, thus failing to hit them.

Jiang Mingzhe, however, did not possess the ignorant and fearless audacity of Duan Yu. Every step he took was a purposeful dodge. When Kumārajīva attacked so quickly, Jiang Mingzhe was caught off guard. Even so, he did not dare to follow Duan Yu's example and go his own way.

He had no choice but to shout, "Since the monk has drawn his knife, I have no choice but to draw my sword too!"

Kumārajīva had already noticed the sword hanging at Jiang Mingzhe's waist. Upon hearing this, he assumed Jiang was about to draw his sword and thought to himself, "You wish!" He feigned an attack, forcing Jiang Mingzhe to dodge, and then suddenly turned and slashed at Jiang's leg with a "blade." He was certain that Jiang Mingzhe would be unable to block this move and would have no choice but to leap up to dodge. In that moment, Jiang would have nowhere to gain leverage in the air, allowing Kumārajīva to seize the opportunity to kill him.

As Jiang Mingzhe had hoped, he leaped up. Kumārajīva was overjoyed and suddenly changed his move, his claws curling like a dragon as he swiftly struck out.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Mingzhe reached behind his back and opened an iron fan with a whoosh. The fan blades were like ancient swords. With a single wave, he spun rapidly in mid-air and swung the fan towards the back of Kumārajīva's head.

This sudden change of move was extremely unexpected, truly like a gazelle hanging its horns or a celestial being flying from the sky. It was precisely the Chuiyun Sword Technique that Jiang Mingzhe had been constantly studying these days!

Kumārajīva was greatly alarmed. He turned around and struck out with his palm, which produced a low hissing sound in the air.

Jiang Mingzhe thought to himself that no matter what kind of palm technique you use, once your sword clashed with mine, you would know who is better. Unexpectedly, a scorching palm wind came, and with a clear clang, it was as if an invisible knife had collided head-on with the sword fan.

Then Kumārajīva withdrew his right palm and then his left palm. Immediately, his right palm struck again, and his left palm struck again. For a moment, the hissing sound was incessant, and one after another, sharp and unparalleled palm forces pierced through the air and attacked.

Jiang Mingzhe was shocked. He gathered his true energy and waved his iron fan up and down, his figure soaring through the air. A loud clanging sound rang out, and waves of heat spread out, as if he were in the sweltering heat of summer.

Upon seeing this, Duan Yu quickly cried out, "Brother, be careful! This is the Flaming Saber technique; it can transform invisible palm force into saber energy to injure people."

Jiang Mingzhe suddenly remembered Kumārajīva's ultimate technique. Feeling the intense heat in the air, he couldn't help but want to draw his Seven Child Swords to meet the enemy with sword energy. But then he thought to himself: He has a Flame Blade, so why can't I use a Poison Gas Blade?

He immediately focused his strength on his left arm, intending to use the Northern Darkness Transformation Technique to let Kumārajīva test the crimson poison gas of the Manggu Toad. Just then, he heard Duan Zhengchun shout, "That treacherous monk is formidable! Let's fight him together!"

However, Mu Wanqing was instructed by Jiang Mingzhe to take the opportunity to save people, but everyone on the ground had been knocked down by Kumārajīva's powerful finger strikes, and Mu Wanqing did not know how to release the pressure points.

Duan Zhengchun knew that Kumārajīva was highly skilled in martial arts and was afraid that Jiang Mingzhe would lose and ruin their only hope. He shouted to Mu Wanqing, "Miss, don't hesitate. Please help me up and strike my Lingtai and Jizhong acupoints with all your might!"

He was originally a master of acupressure, but after being defeated by Kumārajīva, he had been secretly trying to break through the acupressure points. However, the difference in their internal strength was too great, and he was unable to do so.

Mu Wanqing acted decisively, immediately helping Duan Zhengchun up and striking his acupoints on his back with both palms. Duan Zhengchun coughed up blood and leaped up, using external force to forcefully open the acupoints.

Knowing that the situation was critical, he endured his internal injuries and immediately released the pressure points of the four guards, Situ Huahegen, Cui Baiquan (Golden Abacus), and Guo Yanzhi (Soul-Chasing Whip), shouting, "Quickly regulate your breathing and revitalize your blood, then come and fight this thieving monk!"

Azi cried out in a panic, "Untie me quickly, I want to help too!"

Mu Wanqing rolled her eyes at her and silently said: I just don't understand you!
Azi was so angry she almost fainted, but Duan Zhengchun didn't care about her and leaped into the battle.

This time, he dared not use the One-Finger Divine Skill in close combat, and instead drew his sword to stab at Kumārajīva.

With Duan Zhengchun's arrival, Jiang Mingzhe found it difficult to convert the poison gas. The Manggu Toad's toxicity was extremely potent and vicious. If Duan Zhengchun were to be poisoned, Jiang Mingzhe would be unable to save him. He had no choice but to abandon this plan and continue to use the Chuiyun Sword Technique to fight the enemy.

At this point, Jiang Mingzhe and Duan Zhengchun were positioned one in front and one behind, one at a higher position and the other at a lower position, fighting against Kumārajīva.

Although Duan Zhengchun's martial arts skills were far inferior to Kumārajīva's, he was experienced and fought steadily, making it difficult for Kumārajīva to defeat him quickly.

The key point is that Jiang Mingzhe occupied most of Kumārajīva's energy. He twisted and soared in mid-air, rarely landing. His weapon opened as a fan and closed as a sword. He came up with one ingenious move after another, attacking from unexpected places, which gave Kumārajīva a lot of headaches.

Kumārajīva had no choice but to desperately slash with his flaming blade, using its unparalleled sharpness to keep the two from getting close.

After a few more exchanges, Hua Hegen was the first to jump up and shout, "Your Highness, I'm ready! I'll come and fight for you right now!"

When Kumārajīva saw that there was another skilled fighter, he couldn't help but feel flustered. He thought to himself: "I didn't have to exert too much effort to defeat these subordinates of the Prince of Dali's Zhennan Mansion, but now there is an extremely troublesome guy. These useless guys can't be underestimated. Hmm, no, if we fight for too long, I'm afraid we might lose!"
(End of this chapter)