Sword drawn from the constellations, poison as its edge.

Chapter 238 Invisible Qi Wall, Fighting the Child Granny Again

As Jiang Mingzhe and Yan Longyuan leaped over the Vajra Hall, Xiao Yuanshan and Xuan Ci were locked in fierce combat.

With Xiao Feng and Murong Fu backing them up, Jiang Mingzhe had no worries. The two of them passed through the Vajra Hall one after the other. When Jiang Mingzhe saw that no one was around, he immediately stopped, turned around and clasped his hands: "Uncle Murong, I was rude earlier and called you brother. Please forgive me."

Murong Bo was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled and walked to a large water vat. He scooped up some water and rubbed his face with it for a while, revealing a handsome and kind face. He smiled and said, "Young brother, you are indeed a character like the Crouching Dragon and the Young Phoenix. Was it because you saw through my use of the 'Shifting Stars' technique, or did I slip up somewhere else?"

Jiang Mingzhe naturally wouldn't admit that he had read the original novel. He smiled and shook his head, saying, "Only the head of the Murong family can cultivate the 'Shifting Stars' technique. Putting that aside, when I met Brother Fu, he was completely unaware that his family had such a capable steward. That made me suspicious. Heh, a steward who can casually issue blood-letter flags—such power, yet the head of the family doesn't recognize him. It's really too illogical."

Murong Bo smiled, his eyes full of admiration: "Indeed, you see the big picture from small details. Hehe, after Fu'er arrived in Dengfeng, he stayed at Longyuan Treasure Shop for one night. He talked with Baichuan and Aqian, and I hid outside to eavesdrop. I have already learned about the plan you made for him. It is truly brilliant. Alas, young brother, if you had emerged thirty years earlier to help me, I would not have toiled in vain for decades, living a life of toil and accomplishing nothing."

Jiang Mingzhe spread his hands and said, "Speaking of those plans, they were originally quite complete, but unfortunately, with your involvement, things have changed again."

Murong Bo nodded and smiled, "When the monk Xuanci met my son earlier, he intended to tell me what I did back then, but you deliberately stopped him. I guessed that you probably guessed that it was I who delivered the message thirty years ago, which led to the blood feud between the Xiao family father and son."

As he said this, although he smiled, a hint of sadness appeared in his eyes. He said self-deprecatingly, "I originally wanted to provoke a conflict between the Song and Liao dynasties, but I ended up killing many people for nothing and even forced myself to fake my death to escape. Now that I think about it, it's really ridiculous."

He looked at Jiang Mingzhe and said, "But you don't need to worry. I have a plan in mind and will give the Xiao family father and son an explanation. I will never ruin my son's important matter."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Mingzhe knew that he had already resolved to die, sighed, and said no more.

Murong Bo smiled and said, "You don't need to feel sorry for me. Over the years, I have been hiding by the side of Shaolin Temple and have heard the monks talk about Buddhist principles. The world is a cycle of cause and effect. It is only natural that I, Murong Bo, will reap what I sow. Now, while Xiao Yuanshan has not yet arrived and I still have the strength to fight, I will help you get rid of that old monster first."

Jiang Mingzhe perked up and instructed, "There are still unparalleled masters in the Scripture Pavilion. Uncle, please follow my lead."

Murong Bo had entered and exited the Sutra Pavilion countless times, but had never discovered any masters. Just now, when he heard Jiang Mingzhe say that Xiaoyaozi was hiding here, he assumed that he was using trickery to deceive Tianshan Tonglao into leaving temporarily in order to save Li Qingluo.

Seeing that he still said the same thing, she was immediately surprised: "Is there a master hiding in the Sutra Pavilion? Where did you hear this news? If there really is a master, Shaolin Temple was almost wiped out, why hasn't he stepped forward yet?"

Jiang Mingzhe said, "Let's go and see for ourselves, and we'll find out what's going on."

Murong Bo led the way and arrived at the Sutra Repository. Half of the pavilion was charred black by the fire, and the doors were wide open. Several young monks lay on the ground, their lives unknown. From upstairs came the voice of the Old Woman Tong cursing: "You dare to play tricks in front of me, you bald monk! Who are you?"

Upon hearing this, Murong Bo had no more doubts. He glanced at Jiang Mingzhe in surprise and went straight upstairs. Jiang Mingzhe followed closely beside him. When they reached the second floor, they saw a bunch of bookshelves overturned. In the center of the room, a withered old monk in a green robe stood holding a broom. Tong Lao used her lightness skill to rise and fall, as if she had transformed into more than ten people, and attacked the old monk fiercely.

Seeing this, Jiang Mingzhe was already prepared, but Murong Bo's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. He had personally experienced the high level of Tong Lao's martial arts. If it weren't for his mastery of the "Star Shift" technique and his outstanding defensive abilities, Tong Lao's palm strike would have been far more than just breaking bones.

In his eyes, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Tong Lao's martial arts skills were the best in the world.

However, when Tong Lao faced this old monk, she was like a child in a fit of impotent rage against an adult. Her fists and feet, which had cracked his sternum, were bounced off an invisible wall just a foot away from the old monk's body.

Then the old monk sighed in an almost helpless tone: "What a powerful Tianshan Six Yang Palm, what a formidable Xiaoyao Plum Blossom Hand! You, female benefactor, have cultivated the Longevity and Immortality Skill to such a level that you are almost like a terrestrial immortal. Why do you still love to fight so fiercely? Don't you know that your Taoist philosophy of tranquility and inaction is the true path to longevity?"

When Tong Lao heard him reveal the origin of her martial arts skills, she became even more unwilling to give up: "No wonder you dared to impersonate my master. It seems you really know our sect very well. But since you know our sect, you should know that we don't have any open-minded disciples. You dare to impersonate my master, I will definitely not let you off today. I don't believe I can't break your shell."

The old monk sighed, "Amitabha, I have almost forgotten who I am, how could I possibly impersonate someone else?"

Tong Lao launched several more attacks but still couldn't gain the upper hand. Fearing that Jiang Mingzhe would join the attack, she suddenly leaped aside and glared angrily at Jiang Mingzhe, saying, "This monk is not my master at all, you little bastard! Are you sure he taught you the Kun Transformation into Peng Technique?"

Jiang Mingzhe shook his head confidently and said, "Of course not. That skill was taught to Xiao Yuanshan by an old Taoist priest more than 30 years ago. Xiao Yuanshan saw that I was handsome and specially passed it on to me. If you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known what it was called. Xiao Yuanshan gave it a name himself, called Thunderous Divine Might Skill."

The old woman retorted angrily, "Then why do you say that my master passed on his secret techniques to you, and that he was sweeping the floor in the Scripture Pavilion!"

Jiang Mingzhe spread his hands and said, "What? You can threaten me with hostages, but I can't scare you or lie to you? I originally wanted to find another place to fight you, but I didn't expect that this Scripture Pavilion would actually have a master."

The old woman's murderous aura surged, and she snarled, "You actually dared to lie to me?"

Murong Bo chuckled and said, "Can't I fool you?"

He had said those words before, and his sternum was fractured by Tong Lao's punch. Now that he said them again, Tong Lao became even more furious and shouted, "I'll kill you first!"

Even when he was unharmed, Murong Bo was no match for him. Now that he was injured, he naturally dared not block the attack head-on and quickly retreated to avoid it. Jiang Mingzhe shouted, "If you want to fight, I'll gladly oblige!"

With a flourish, the Five Spirits Battle Immortal Technique was unleashed. Wherever his fists and feet went, his energy materialized into snakes, scorpions, centipedes, and spiders—five colors and five poisons, looking majestic and awe-inspiring.

(End of this chapter)