Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

Before Gu Yu's laughter had faded, no one responded from the air. Only the morning mist suddenly rose, sweeping in from the surface of Taihu Lake, completely enveloping the area around the dock, instantly reducing visibility to less than ten feet.

"Whoosh whoosh—"

A series of sharp, piercing sounds rang out as countless finger forces shot out through the morning mist, creating a net-like interplay of light and shadow.

The bright yellow tangible finger force carried a fierce and powerful energy, its trajectory clearly visible. The other formless finger force, however, was completely silent and colorless, merely leaving a barely perceptible ripple in the air.

The crowd couldn't see the trajectory of the Formless Finger Force, but could only stare at Gu Yu's flowing hair. Whenever the Formless Finger Force approached, the ends of her hair would be bounced by an invisible force, which showed how dangerous the force was.

"Formless and without appearance, silent and without sound, is the highest realm of the Formless Finger Technique."

Kumārajīva's eyes twitched. This Shaolin skill was insidious and ruthless. He hadn't expected Murong Bo to have mastered it so well.

Gu Yu darted and weaved through the mist, her figure as light as a willow catkin in the wind. Several times she narrowly avoided the finger strikes, her clothes being torn open by the wind from the fingers.

She didn't care at all, her silvery laughter piercing through the mist: "Hehe, old man, your skills have certainly improved in just a few months. If you dare to run again this time, I'll use your precious son as an example and make him pay for your life!"

"you wanna die!"

A furious shout came from the depths of the fog; it was Murong Bo.

He had intended to use the fog to launch a sneak attack, but Gu Yu's words struck a nerve, and his breathing became erratic.

"Got you!"

A glint flashed in Gu Yu's eyes, and she chuckled softly.

The show of weakness and mockery just now were meant to draw out Murong Bo's aura.

With a flick of her wrist, the Water-Splitting Sword spun a graceful arc, unleashing the Flowing Moon Sword Technique. Its swordplay was fantastical and unparalleled, as light and agile as a firefly under the moon.

Surprisingly, every sword strike she made precisely landed on the incoming finger force, whether it was the bright yellow and tangible Canhe Finger or the formless and intangible Wuxiang Jie Finger, all of them were steadily struck by the tip of her sword.

"Bang bang bang bang-"

A series of explosions erupted in the fog, shattering the wooden planks of the dock and hurling the lake water into the air, forming a crystal-clear curtain of water.

Gu Yu's figure suddenly disappeared in the water curtain, and when it reappeared, it had already swept through the mist, which dissipated like dust being swept away by a large hand.

She rushed into Taihu Lake, leaving only a blur.

As the fog dissipated, everyone finally saw an elderly man in black standing on a small boat. His face was solemn, and his eyes were fixed intently on the lake.

A figure in blue swept across the lake, actually walking on the waves!

The skill of walking on water is not uncommon in the martial arts world, but what makes Gu Yu so remarkable is that she can fly across the water faster than she can on land.

Using water for leverage is inherently difficult; an ordinary person can only gain a meager amount of force when stepping onto the water, far less than the reaction force of pushing off the ground on land.

But with each step Gu Yu took onto the water's surface, it seemed as if an invisible force was lifting her up. Her figure was like an arrow released from a bow, instantly sweeping across dozens of feet of the lake. Before the afterimage behind her had even dissipated, a sharp sword light had already pierced towards Murong Bo's eyes.

Although the speed was fast, the distance of several dozen feet still gave Murong Bo time to react.

He clasped his hands together and then slammed them out, the palm shadows layered upon each other like a thousand leaves fluttering in the air—the Great Compassion Thousand Leaf Hand, one of the Seventy-Two Arts of Shaolin.

The palm strike was powerful, carrying a compassionate intent to save all living beings, yet it concealed a deadly intent.

Gu Yu neither dodged nor avoided, but with a flick of her sword, she unleashed her true energy, her swordplay suddenly becoming fierce and powerful, directly blocking Murong Bo's palm strike.

"Bam—!"

With a muffled thud, the two men's energy collided, causing the lake water to rise again and the small boat to rock violently on the surface.

Gu Yu used the momentum to flip over and land at the stern of the boat. With the tip of his sword pointing diagonally, he laughed and said, "You've mastered the Shaolin skills, but it's a pity that you've lost some of the Zen spirit and gained more of the sinister nature."

The Great Compassion Thousand-Leaf Hand is originally a Buddhist compassionate palm technique studied by the Prajna Hall. It is hailed as "the most benevolent martial art in the world," characterized by its ability to subdue enemies with compassion and to subdue people without harming them.

But when Murong Bo used it, there was no trace of mercy, only murderous intent.

Murong Bo's face darkened, and his palms shifted, his palm techniques suddenly changing.

A move from the Beggars' Sect's Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms, "The Dragon Regrets," struck with unparalleled force.

"The Murong family truly draws on the strengths of many!"

Gu Yu's laughter remained unchanged, her figure elusive. As she dodged the palm strike, her sword technique changed again, stabbing towards Murong Bo's wrist like a venomous snake emerging from its hole.

Murong Bo flipped his wrist and changed his palm technique again. This time it was a soft palm, which was both gentle and firm, and it accurately wrapped around the sword.

With his other hand, he flicked his finger, and the combined force shot out again, aiming straight for Gu Yu's brow.

This move is a masterful and ingenious fusion of skill and technique. The palm wraps around the sword, but instead of following the normal approach of disarming the enemy, it uses fingertip strikes to generate finger force, making it extremely difficult to react at this distance.

Gu Yu smiled, flicked her wrist, and Xuan Shui True Qi surged out instantly, causing Murong Bo to immediately stop bothering her.

The sword broke free from the restraints of the soft palm, and the spine of the sword blocked the force of the combined fingers. With a deflection and a flick, the danger was averted.

At the same time, his toes touched the hull of the boat, and his body floated up like butterfly wings, his sword momentum was like a waterfall, and his true energy poured down.

Murong Bo dared not be negligent. He dodged and struck out with both palms in quick succession, unleashing the Kunlun School's Falling Flower Palm, the Kongtong School's Seven Injury Fist, and the Emei School's Returning Wind Willow Sword in a short time.

Murong Bo's erudition was fully on display at this moment.

Moreover, unlike Murong Fu, who only had a superficial understanding of various moves, he had mastered the martial arts of various schools and sects over the decades.

The transitions between moves were seamless, clearly demonstrating a thorough understanding of the martial arts styles of these schools.

Gu Yu, on the other hand, only uses one sword technique, the Flowing Moon Sword Art!

This sword technique was obtained by Chen Zhan from the relic and then passed on to her. It is a sword technique that is rare in the current martial arts world because of its "sword momentum".

There are only seventeen moves, which are repeated in a cycle, used up and then used again.

However, the seventeen sword techniques form a sword momentum. With each cycle, the sword momentum increases by one level, doubling the pressure on the opponent.

At this moment, after fighting Murong Bo for over a hundred moves, with Murong Bo using all sorts of techniques from various schools and sects, Gu Yu had already used the seventeen moves of the Flowing Moon Sword Technique for the fifth time.

The more he fought, the stronger he became, unleashing his fantastical sword techniques to their fullest potential. His sword light followed him like a shadow, regardless of what martial arts Murong Bo used.

She crushed him with a single sword strike!
"Old man, do you have any more tricks up your sleeve? If not, this young lady is going to kill you!"

The Xuan Shui True Qi on the Bi Shui Sword gradually rose, and the sword body gleamed with a lustrous sheen in the sunlight, each strike carrying a dense layer of water vapor.

Under the combined pressure of the sword's power and the Xuan Shui True Qi, Murong Bo's face turned pale, and he was already struggling to hold on.

The Gu Yu Sword reached him, and in an instant, Murong Bo unleashed a powerful Vajra Palm strike, followed by a strange movement.

His body suddenly sank down, bending low and crouching!
He crushed the deck of the small boat and stepped half of his body into the water.

Murong Bo's action of sinking into the water aroused a sudden suspicion in Gu Yu's heart.

With his skill level, he was definitely not in a desperate situation where he had to resort to water escape, and besides, going into the water was never the best option. Even if the water monkey were reincarnated, he would hardly be as fast as a person on land in the water, and would have to surface sooner or later, which would be even more dangerous.

This illogical behavior made her pause for a moment in surprise.

In that instant, as far as the eye could see, the surface of Taihu Lake around the small boat suddenly shimmered with an eerie green fluorescence.

"Bam—"

With a loud bang, the lake water exploded as if boiling, and a figure shot into the sky amidst the spray.

The newcomer was tall and slender, with a rosy complexion like that of an infant. His full head of white hair fell to his shoulders, and his three-foot-long white beard fluttered in the wind. He had the appearance of a tall, white-haired, and youthful-looking person, who at first glance looked like a celestial being who had stepped out of a painting.

However, this otherworldly demeanor was completely out of place with the aura surrounding him.

The air was foul and repulsive!

The moment this person appeared, he raised his hand and attacked without hesitation. As his palms danced, they glowed with a terrifying emerald green phosphorescence, and the wind from his palms carried a strong stench of decay.

Emerald green true energy surged from his palm, but did not directly attack Gu Yu.
Instead, it scattered in the air, weaving together into a huge "poison net" that enveloped Gu Yu from all sides, sealing off all her escape routes.

The palm strike was powerful and fierce, but what was even more bizarre was the poison net woven from true energy. A green poisonous light flowed between the meshes of the net, and anyone who touched it would be infected with the deadly poison.

Gu Yu's pupils contracted slightly, and she felt the air around her become viscous. The oppressive feeling brought by the poison net was like Mount Tai pressing down on her, making it difficult for her to breathe.

Kumārajīva, who was confronting Chen Zhan in the distance, had eyesight far exceeding that of ordinary people and recognized the newcomer at a glance.

My heart skipped a beat: "Ding Chunqiu, the Old Monster of the Star Constellation!"

He had heard of the old monster but had never fought him. The strangeness and ruthlessness of his poison skills were even greater than the rumors suggested, so it could only be Ding Chunqiu.

However, I didn't expect the Starry Night Monster to be so handsome.

"Hehe, your lady companion is probably in some danger."

Kumārajīva turned to look at Chen Zhan, wanting to see how this unfathomable man would handle the situation, but he was instantly stunned when he saw the scene before him.

Chen Zhan, who had been standing not far from him, holding a child in his arms, had vanished without a trace.

It wasn't strange that Chen Zhan left, but the fact that he could carry an infant and slip away silently right under my nose, without leaving even a trace of his presence, was astonishing.

Kumārajīva felt a cold sweat break out on his back, secretly alarmed: if the other party had taken the opportunity to launch a sneak attack just now, he would probably have already been hit.

Chen Zhan would certainly not ambush him. At this moment, Gu Yu, who was shrouded in the poison net, was about to use his Xuan Shui True Qi to forcefully break through when he suddenly felt a weight on his shoulder.

A hand gently touched it.

She felt a sense of relief; without turning around, she knew who it was and quickly called out, "Master!"

Chen Zhan nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the emerald poison net, and said calmly, "Your skill in concealment is quite good; even I couldn't detect it beforehand."

While the two were talking, Ding Chunqiu's palm strikes and poison net continued to slowly contract.

Strangely, the overwhelming force of the poisonous net that had been pressing down suddenly slowed down countless times the moment Chen Zhan appeared, as if it were moving in slow motion.

The poison net that had previously enveloped the entire body in an instant had now only advanced an inch forward in the blink of an eye.

Ding Chunqiu's composure froze instantly, and shock appeared on his youthful face.

He could clearly feel that his true energy was stuck in a quagmire. Every step forward required several times the effort, and the surrounding space seemed to be imprisoned by some invisible force, making his movements sluggish.

"True pressure from the field! Upper Realm of Profound Understanding! Who are you?"

The oppressive feeling of the poisonous net growing heavier and heavier finally caught up with Ding Chunqiu. His youthful face was filled with shock as he shouted in a deep voice.

Although those at the intermediate level of the Profound Realm can condense a field, it can only cover a radius of one zhang around their body.

At this moment, he was four or five zhang away from Chen Zhan, yet he was still firmly suppressed by the field. Only someone at the upper level of the Profound Realm could achieve such a feat.

Even his master, Wuyazi, at his peak, was no better than this!
What alarmed him even more was that the pressure from this field was clearly holding back, indicating that the opponent hadn't used their full strength at all.

Holding the sleeping baby in one arm, Chen Zhan gently raised the other hand to dispel the scattered poison gas escaping from the edge of the poison net, and laughed, "Your master Wu Yazi was seriously injured by your sneak attack? With your strength, that doesn't seem quite right."

The Profound Realm is divided into levels, and although the lower and upper realms may seem to differ by only two small levels, they are actually worlds apart.

Chen Zhan didn't need to use his qi and blood finger strength at all; with just the true pressure of the field, he made the space-time within a radius of several dozen feet freeze, making it difficult for even the air to move.

With a casual remark, he revealed the truth about Ding Chunqiu's murder of his master.

Ding Chunqiu shuddered, his inner energy suddenly becoming stagnant. He hurriedly retorted sharply, "Nonsense! This old immortal has no idea what nonsense you're spouting!"

Chen Zhan ignored his denial and flipped his fingers, revealing a yellowed map in his hand.

He slowly said, "You established your sect in Xingxiu Sea because you found out that Xiaoyaozi taught martial arts to his disciples Wuyazi, Li Qiushui, and Wu Xingyun in the Southern Frontier, right?"

"After searching the Starry Sea for more than ten years without any results, you conspired with Li Qiushui to assassinate Wuyazi, but you did not expect that Li Qiushui also did not know the exact location of the Xiaoyao Sect ruins."

"Some time ago you went to great lengths to hunt down Moganshan, simply because he was a descendant of Li Canghai. Wuyazi had long ago hidden the secrets of the Xiaoyao Sect on Li Canghai, passing them down from generation to generation."

He paused, then unfolded the map slightly, revealing the clear outline of the valley.

"This is the map you've been longing for. Judging from the markings, it should be a valley within the Kunlun Mountains."

Each word struck Ding Chunqiu's heart like a heavy hammer.

His once ethereal face gradually contorted, turning ashen, his lips trembling, and he was unable to utter a single word.

These secrets were the deepest secrets hidden in his heart, known to no one but himself, yet the man before him knew them like the back of his hand.

Chen Zhan glanced across the water and sensed Murong Bo's aura surging in the shadows. He then nodded to Gu Yu beside him and whispered, "Don't kill Murong Bo yet. Let him escape. Make it look real."

As soon as he finished speaking, he said no more, and with a wave of his hand, his true energy surged forth.

The overwhelming true energy surged forth like a tidal wave, not forming a net of energy, but directly filling the entire sky, instantly overwhelming Ding Chunqiu's emerald green poison net.

This scene shocked Kumārajīva, who was watching from afar, causing his pupils to shrink sharply. No matter how much true energy one possesses, it still needs a process of release. Ordinary martial artists can never release all of their true energy stored in their bodies in an instant.

But Chen Zhan actually did it.

The poisonous net shattered like a fragile spiderweb before this immense true energy, and the azure poisonous gas was completely dissolved upon contact.

"Congeal!"

With a soft shout, Chen Zhan caused the vast expanse of true energy to suddenly contract, like an invisible giant hand that firmly froze Ding Chunqiu in mid-air.

Ding Chunqiu was completely immobilized and could barely breathe.

Chen Zhan twitched his five fingers slightly and waved them gently in the direction of Mantuo Manor.

Enveloped in true energy, Ding Chunqiu was sent flying straight through the air like a round ball of flesh. (End of Chapter)