The Legend of the Condor Heroes: Starting from the Bodyguard

Chapter 278 A Stunning Shot That Kills the Western Poison
As the wind rises, the dust in Baicao Valley detaches from the mortal world and transforms into clouds.

Two figures, dressed in green and white, appeared at the entrance of the valley.

"Father, this is it."

"Immortal, I have arrived."

Huang Rong swayed and rushed into the valley first, Huang Yaoshi smiled slightly and followed.

When the two left Yueyang Tower, Huang Yaoshi followed Huang Rong to Chenxi, only to find the place deserted and the cook nowhere to be seen. Huang Rong was quite disappointed and went straight to Baicao Valley.

Huang Yaoshi didn't mind getting to know the Herbalist, who had saved Mei Chaofeng and was also skilled in medicine; they were quite compatible. Therefore, he followed Huang Rong at a leisurely pace, admiring the exquisite scenery of the valley. Upon seeing the magic array in the forest, Huang Yaoshi shook his head with a smile, thinking it too frivolous; how could such a rudimentary array possibly stop a skilled fighter?

After passing through the forest, Huang Yaoshi arrived at the bamboo hut and saw Huang Rong sitting on a bamboo chair, holding a needle in her handkerchief, lost in thought. He walked over and saw that the needle was intricately carved with patterns.

“The old man must have encountered someone from the Five Poisons Sect,” Huang Rong said.

"They've met with misfortune?" Huang Yaoshi's expression turned slightly cold.

"They must have moved away after the battle. If the immortal had perished, there should have been the body of the medicine boy, and the house should have been in a mess. But it is clean and tidy inside."

Huang Yaoshi was relieved that Rong'er had not lost her composure.

"The cook is gone, and the immortal has left too. Father, let's go back to Peach Blossom Island."

Seeing Huang Rong's dejected expression, Huang Yaoshi felt a pang of pity and said, "Rong'er, wherever you want to go, Father will accompany you."

Huang Rong was overjoyed and jumped up to hug Huang Yaoshi's arm: "It's true!"

"Ok!"

"I'm taking Daddy to a fun place."

Huang Yaoshi was incredibly clever. Hearing Huang Rong describe it as a fun place, he wondered if it was Snake Valley on the outskirts of Xiangyang. However, since he had already agreed to Huang Rong's request, he pretended not to know anything and said, "Alright!"

"Father is so good to Rong'er."

"If I'm not good to you, who will?"

“Exactly!” Huang Rong smiled and took Huang Yaoshi’s hand, but in her heart she thought that apart from being a little disobedient, Zhou Yan was very good to her.

"Father, those silver needles are beautiful. I'll find a craftsman to make them, and you can teach me a set of hidden weapon techniques."

"Good!" Huang Yaoshi glanced at the engraved silver needles on the ground, memorized the design, and nodded. His "Finger Flicking Skill" was unparalleled, his martial arts were so diverse that they surpassed those of Hong Qigong and Ouyang Feng, and his hidden weapon skills were also unparalleled.

The two left the valley and headed northeast; Huang Rong's destination was the outskirts of Xiangyang.

……

Dongting Lake embraces distant mountains and swallows the Yangtze River, vast and boundless. Its appearance changes dramatically with the morning sun and evening shadows.

Looking at Yueyang Tower before him, the old fisherman clicked his tongue and said, "Truly, the literary figures come and go, but Yueyang Tower remains standing."

Yueyang Tower remains intact, and the walls damaged in the past battles have long been repaired.

Zhou Yan and his companions traveled from Baicao Valley to Yuezhou. By then, Yanbo Diaosou's poison injuries had mostly healed, and he was no match for him in ordinary combat. However, the three major forces that were once active in Yuezhou City—the Beggars' Sect, the White Lotus Sect, and the Manichaeism Sect—had vanished without a trace, as if they had evaporated.

However, quite a few Iron Palm Clan disciples were active in some local boat gangs and martial arts schools. Zhou Yan captured a few of them but didn't get much valuable information out of them. These Iron Palm Clan disciples only knew that the Beggar Clan, Manichaeism, and White Lotus Clan had fought fiercely, and then disappeared without a trace.

"Young friend, what should we do now?" asked the old fisherman on the misty waves.

"If we want to find out specific information about the Beggars' Sect, we'll probably have to go back to Zhongdu and find the Beggars' Sect elders."

"I've long wanted to go to Zhongdu, and while I'm there, I can also visit Tongbai Mountain and Funiu Mountain," said the Fisherman of the Misty Waves. He then said to the Immortal of Herbs, "You should also visit those two mountains. Their peaks are layered, and their forests are lush and verdant; they are far more magnificent than Tongfeng Mountain."

"The old man now roams the world, so of course he can."

"Hengshan kid, what about you?"

Liu Qingzhou said, "If you're going, I'll go too."

"Very good, very good."

"Then let's go together, first to Funiu Mountain." Zhou Yan made the final decision. The four of them entered Yueyang Tower, had a hearty meal, and rode their horses straight towards Jingzhou.

……

A dull afternoon filled with the chirping of cicadas.

An angry shout of "Ah!" swept across a courtyard in Jingzhou City.

Sunlight filtered softly through the dense foliage.

Zhang Sanqiang sat on a stone bench, with a woman and a man sitting around a stone table.

The man was burly and had a long staff stuck in the ground beside him. He was none other than the Dharma King who had fought Ouyang Feng a few times outside Yueyang Tower and was sent flying by the "Spirit Snake Fist".

The woman, dressed in a greyish-white dress, appeared to be in her thirties, with a long, antique-looking knife resting on her lap.

"Your Majesty, please calm down," the woman said to the man who had roared.

Gao Fawang said, "It's one thing for the White Lotus Sect and the Iron Palm Clan to kill my disciples; it's a conflict, and we can't blame them if we're not as skilled. But why is the Beggar Clan also targeting my disciples, and why is the sect leader forbidden from seeking revenge?" Zhang Sanqiang drank his tea, and after putting down his teacup, he said, "The Beggar Clan is causing trouble. Have the hall masters in various places temporarily withdraw. I will ask Hong Qigong about this matter."

"But Hong Qigong is oblivious to his own fate."

“If he were to lose his life so easily, he wouldn’t be called the Northern Beggar.”

"The Yuezhou Beggars' Gang has long since left. Where can the leader find Hong Qigong?" the woman asked.

"In Zhongdu, once we find Chief Escort Zhou, we'll know where Hong Qigong is. When I arrive in Zhongdu, I'll leave some matters to Left Envoy Huo."

"But what if the Beggars' Sect continues to make trouble in other branches?"

"A necessary retaliation is permissible."

"Understood, Your Excellency." Left Envoy Huo nodded.

A warm breeze blew, and the sound of hurried footsteps seemed to drift on the wind from the outer perimeter of the courtyard. Zhang Sanqiang's expression shifted suddenly; a sound had already been heard.

"who?"

"That's deadly."

"what!"

Screams, booming sounds of fighting, and sinister laughter echoed through the air.

A tall, slender figure emerged from one side of the black tiles.

"The leader of the Vajra Sect."

"Master Zhang, I'd like to learn from your 'Great Shift of Heaven and Earth' technique once again." Following closely behind, Ouyang Feng and Ouyang Ke stood on the courtyard wall.

With a series of whooshing sounds, more than ten people, including the two monks Baoxiang and Baolei from the Vajra Gate, leaped onto the wall one after another.

"Walk!'

The moment Zhang Sanqiang stood up, the stone table in front of him flew up with a whoosh and crashed towards the Fire-Worker Monk. The High Dharma King took out a communication pipe from his bosom.

"laugh!"

Fireworks burst in the sky.

……

"It's somewhat similar to the Manichaean communication fireworks."

Upon entering Jingzhou, the fireworks that suddenly exploded overhead naturally caught the attention of Zhou Yan, the Fisherman of the Mist, and others. Having witnessed Manichaean fireworks for communication in Yuezhou, and now being in broad daylight, the Fisherman spoke uncertainly.

"I gonna go see."

The old fisherman's injuries had long since healed. He said, "At Yueyang Tower, the Manichaeans helped you and me escape. Although I don't like the Manichaeans, I have to repay the favor. I'll go with you."

Liu Qingzhou and Baicao Xianweng naturally wanted to follow.

The four approached the street where fireworks were rising into the sky.

……

Dust exploded on the ground in the courtyard. Huo Gong Toutuo used his "Mighty Vajra Palm" to smash the stone table into pieces. He and Ouyang Feng launched a tidal wave of attacks. The sleeves of their clothes, driven by internal energy, crashed down like iron plates, making a loud rumbling sound. Zhang Sanqiang swung his spear rapidly, and the sound of banging tiles in the wind extended from the center of the courtyard to the courtyard wall in the blink of an eye.

The power of the "Great Shift of Heaven and Earth" filled Zhang Sanqiang's body. With each step he took back, the blue bricks on the ground would be crushed. However, even when he pushed this supreme Ming Cult technique to its limit, Zhang Sanqiang could not mount a single sharp counterattack under the combined attack of the Western Poison and the Fire-Worker Monk.

Ouyang Feng had long coveted Zhang Sanqiang's teleportation technique. Huogong Toutuo was addicted to spying on cultivation techniques. In Yuezhou, he unintentionally learned from Yu Huacheng that the technique was called "Qiankun Great Shift". Zhang Sanqiang's cultivation level was only between the third and fourth levels, but the technique actually had a seventh level.

How could the two let it go so easily? Using the information relayed through the White Lotus Sect, the Iron Palm Clan, and Yang Kang, they pursued Zhang Sanqiang all the way to Jingzhou. Because of a martial art, the grandmaster-level Ouyang Feng and the Fire-Worker Monk joined forces and, in the blink of an eye, put Zhang Sanqiang in a life-threatening situation.

The combined offensive of the Kasaya Subduing Demon Skill and the Iron Sleeve Skill was like a raging tornado. Suddenly, with a loud "bang," Zhang Sanqiang's iron spear was knocked out of Ouyang Feng's hand and flew over the courtyard wall with a whoosh.

The Fireworker Laughed arrogantly, stepped forward and struck out with his palm. He then felt as if the force of his palm had been thrown into viscous paste. Zhang Sanqiang staggered back, his back against the brick wall, and with a loud bang, the wall trembled and was about to collapse.

“Master Zhang’s ‘Great Shift of the Universe’ truly lives up to its reputation.” Ouyang Feng stepped forward menacingly.

In the alley outside the courtyard wall, Zhou Yan caught the falling gun.

After a quick listening and discerning of the sounds, he thrust out with both hands holding the gun.

"bang"

Earth and rocks shot out from the other end of the wall, the spear pierced through the brick wall, grazed Zhang Sanqiang's ribs, and plunged into Ouyang Feng's abdomen.

Ouyang Feng subconsciously bent over to tighten his muscles, and a shocking amount of blood burst out in an instant.

"what!"

The angry voices boomed like thunder.

(End of this chapter)