The Cycle of Reincarnation in the Four-Courtyard House: A Journey Through the Heavens

Upon hearing this, Kumārajīva felt a pang of pain in his heart. Those martial arts techniques were all obtained with great effort, and the "Flame Blade" was a secret technique passed down in his sect. To write it down would be tantamount to betraying the sect.

But then I thought, what use are all the martial arts skills if I lose my life?

He gritted his teeth, his face drained of color, and finally nodded with difficulty: "Okay... I'll write! I'll write right now!"

Li Xiao then led the two towards an inn not far away, and the surrounding people, seeing that the excitement was over, began to disperse.

What Li Xiao didn't notice was that just half a cup of tea's time after they left, Murong Fu's maids Azhu and Abi arrived at the place in a small boat.

The two women were ordered to come here to meet Kumārajīva and his party. Kumārajīva had made an agreement with Murong Bo that once he obtained the Six Meridians Divine Sword manual, he would come to Yanziwu in Taihu Lake to share it.

Meanwhile, Kumārajīva also wanted to take the opportunity to consult the Murong family's martial arts collection to satisfy his own obsessive ambition for martial arts.

Unfortunately, when the two women arrived at the agreed location, they were met with emptiness.

......

Half an hour later, in a guest room at an inn, Li Xiao, holding a stack of papers covered in writing, calmly said to Kumārajīva, "You can leave now!"

Kumārajīva's face was full of resentment and indignation, but what could he do when he was outmatched?

Kumārajīva's slightly hunched yet still somewhat arrogant figure disappeared outside the inn, his heavy footsteps fading into the distance until they were completely gone.

After leaving the inn, Kumārajīva was too ashamed to go back to Swallow's Nest, so he immediately set off to return to the Great Snow Mountain.

The tense atmosphere in the inn suddenly relaxed, and Duan Yu finally breathed a long sigh of relief. The oppressive feeling of being locked on by Kumārajīva's aura disappeared without a trace, and a relaxed yet slightly fearful joy instantly bloomed on his face.

He strode up to Li Xiao, solemnly clasped his hands in a fist and bowed deeply, his waist bent very low, his tone full of genuine gratitude.

"Brother Li, if I hadn't met you today, I fear I would have perished!"

As Duan Yu straightened up, a thin layer of sweat still clung to his forehead. Recalling the perilous situation just moments before, his voice trembled slightly: "That old monk Kumārajīva was incredibly domineering. He actually forced me to memorize the Six Meridians Divine Sword manual, and even said that if I refused, he would drag me to Murong Bo's tomb and burn me as a funerary offering!"

Having said that, he bowed repeatedly, expressing his gratitude once more: "I cannot express my thanks enough. Brother Li, I will remember your kindness!"

Li Xiao smiled and helped him up, his gaze gentle, but he already had his own thoughts in mind.

He had long heard of the two unique martial arts techniques of the Dali Duan family. In his previous life, these techniques were renowned in the martial arts world and were familiar to a wide audience, both in the original novel and the TV series.

"One Finger Divine Skill" is the ultimate martial art of the Dali Duan family in the world of Tianlong, and it is divided into nine grades (the first grade being the peak).

The core of this martial art is to concentrate Qi and strike acupoints. It has four core values: long-range attack, close-range acupoint strike, healing and life extension, and breaking through enemy's defenses. It is also the foundation for learning the Six Meridians Divine Sword.

The Six Meridian Divine Sword is the supreme martial art of Tianlong Temple in Dali. Based on the One-Finger Divine Skill, it transforms internal energy into tangible yet intangible sword energy. It possesses three core advantages: precise long-range killing, multi-meridian linkage for crowd control, and seamless integration of offense and defense. It is the most advanced offensive martial art in the Tianlong world. Duan Yu later rose to the ranks of top masters with this ultimate skill.

Either of these two manuals would be enough to make martial arts practitioners flock to them, and Li Xiao was no exception.

Looking at Duan Yu, who was completely unguarded and full of gratitude for the two martial arts manuals, he had already made up his mind to find a proper way to extract the secrets of these two techniques from Duan Yu.

Just then, Duan Yu's stomach made an untimely "gurgling" sound, which was particularly clear in the quiet guest room.

Duan Yu's handsome face flushed slightly. He awkwardly raised his hand to scratch the stray hairs on his forehead, a slightly apologetic smile appearing on his lips. He cupped his hands in greeting to Li Xiao and said, "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Brother Li."

"To be honest, I was dragged from Dali to Jiangnan by that old monk all the way, eating and sleeping in the open, and I haven't had a proper meal yet, so... so my stomach really can't hold back anymore."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiao immediately burst into laughter.

He raised his hand and waved it gently, saying in a cheerful tone, "Brother Duan, there's no need to worry. You've already suffered a lot from all the fear and anxiety you've endured on the journey, so it's normal for you to be hungry now."

He paused and then added, "When I went upstairs just now, I asked the restaurant to prepare a table of local specialties. It should be delivered to the room soon, so we can eat and chat at the same time."

Duan Yu's face lit up with joy: "Then thank you very much, Brother Li!"

Before long, a table full of delicious food was brought over by two waiters. Li Xiao and Duan Yu sat facing each other at an octagonal table.

Li Xiao took out two bottles of Niulanshan Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor) with the labels torn off, which he had prepared beforehand.

Upon seeing the two exquisite glass bottles filled with a clear liquid, Duan Yu couldn't help but ask curiously, "Brother Li, what is this...?"

"Brother Duan, let me introduce you. This is my homemade baijiu. Because it has undergone multiple distillations and purifications, it has a rich and full-bodied flavor, and a particularly spicy and explosive taste. I wonder if you would dare to have a couple of drinks with me?"

According to Li Xiao's understanding, Duan Yu is not a heavy drinker and has an average alcohol tolerance. He only drinks on certain occasions and has even used his internal energy to "cheat" and show off his impressive alcohol tolerance.

As of now, Duan Yu has not yet mastered the "Northern Darkness Divine Skill," and even if he knows the sword manual of the "Six Meridians Divine Sword," he cannot activate it in the slightest or unleash its full power.

It was precisely because Li Xiao had anticipated this that he specially prepared this strong liquor.

He was certain that Duan Yu would no longer be able to "cheat" with his internal strength. He only needed to persuade him to drink a few more cups, and when Duan Yu was drunk and confused, he could easily extract the secret manuals of the two martial arts.

Duan Yu patted his chest heartily and said, "Brother Li not only saved me today, but also prepared so much delicious food for me. Of course, I must drink to my heart's content with Brother Li!"

"Haha, great!"

Li Xiao poured himself and Duan Yu two full glasses of wine.

"Brother Duan, please!"

After Li Xiao finished speaking, he tilted his head back and drank the liquor in his glass in one gulp.

Seeing this, Duan Yu seemed to be inspired with his own heroic spirit, and he picked up his cup and drank it all in one gulp.

"Cough cough cough..."

"Wow...this liquor is so strong!"

Duan Yu's originally fair and handsome face was now flushed red.

He was originally not a big drinker, and even if Qiao Feng, who loved drinking, came, he would turn red in the face after drinking this kind of high-proof liquor in one gulp.

"Eat some vegetables to help you settle down!"

Li Xiao quickly put some smoked chicken and braised meat on Duan Yu's plate to help him calm down after drinking.

Duan Yu listened to the advice and ate several large mouthfuls of food and drank half a cup of tea before he recovered.

"Hehe... I'm so sorry! It turns out Brother Duan really can't hold his liquor. I was being reckless!"

Duan Yu waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "Brother Li, you're overthinking it. I just didn't expect this wine to be so strong. But I feel much better now, let's continue!"