Be a proper Taoist priest in The Condor Heroes

Chapter 77 Healing

Su Yan and Su Ye followed Ouyang Feng's trail and chased after him. The two used their Quanzhen lightness skills, their figures as light as the wind and shadows. Their toes touched the eaves of the streets and alleys, and in an instant they rushed out of Gucheng and headed straight for the desolate suburbs.

Although Ouyang Feng was mad and unruly, his lightness skill was extraordinary. Even with the unconscious Liu Jingyuan on his waist, he still ran as fast as lightning. However, the domineering and yin aura of his internal energy, unique to the Toad Stance, was too strong, like a bright lamp in the dark night, and could not be concealed at all.

With his keen senses, Su Yan followed the trail and, in less than half an incense stick's time, the two stopped in front of a long-abandoned mountain god temple.

This dilapidated temple has been abandoned for countless years. The broken walls are mottled and dilapidated, the roof has collapsed, and the beams and pillars are covered with withered yellow spider webs. The weeds in the corners have grown to waist height. The cold wind blows through the broken windows and broken doors, making a low whistling sound, exuding a desolate and gloomy atmosphere.

From inside the temple, faint, intermittent ravings could be heard, their strange intonations revealing Ouyang Feng's voice.

Su Yan immediately stopped, raised his hand and gently pressed Su Ye's shoulder, his fingertips exerting a slight pressure to signal her to be quiet. He then bent down and pushed her into the dense bushes next to the temple, whispering his instructions.

"Hide here, and do not make a sound or move."

Su Ye nodded emphatically, gripping the short sword at his waist tightly, and huddled in the bushes, afraid to move.

One of the five most powerful people in the world today, his strength is beyond doubt. Although he looks crazy, just from that move on the stage just now, I know that he is far from being a match for him. I just don't know if Brother Yan can beat him.

Su Yan leaped forward, moving as silently as a cat to the window of the dilapidated temple. He gently parted the tattered paper with his fingertips and peered intently inside.

The temple was furnished very simply, with only a pile of dry straw haphazardly spread on the ground to serve as a bed.

Ouyang Feng carefully placed the unconscious Liu Jingyuan on a pile of straw, his movements unusually gentle, a stark contrast to his ruthless demeanor when he broke through the encirclement of government soldiers.

He crouched down, his disheveled face close to Liu Jingyuan's, a warm, lingering look flashing in his cloudy eyes, muttering to himself.

"Son, don't be afraid, Father will heal your wounds. No one will dare to bully my son again—"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ouyang Feng sat cross-legged behind Liu Jingyuan, his back straight, and slowly raised his hands, precisely pressing on two key acupoints on Liu's back: Mingmen and Dazhui.

A faint bluish-black halo instantly appeared in his palm, and a cold, domineering, yet extremely powerful internal force surged into Liu Jingyuan's body like a flood bursting its banks. Wherever the internal force passed, Liu Jingyuan's disordered meridians gradually calmed down, and his scattered blood and qi were forcibly gathered.

Su Yan stared intently through the window, her heart filled with trepidation.

He originally thought that Ouyang Feng's martial arts skills would have been damaged due to his years of madness, but what he saw before him completely overturned his understanding.

Ouyang Feng's internal strength was far beyond his previous expectations. It was the supreme foundation of decades of immersion in martial arts and mastery of the Toad Stance. It was both gentle and fierce, and strange and domineering. Even though he was mentally unstable, his internal strength foundation remained as solid as a mountain.

What amazed him even more was that Ouyang Feng's healing techniques were exquisite. He deliberately avoided the meridians damaged by Liu Jingyuan's Blood Burning Secret Technique, and used his domineering internal force to nourish the dissipated internal organs and guide the rampant blood and qi. Every flow of internal force was just right, which was beyond the reach of ordinary martial artists.

It is evident that even in his madness, this veteran of the Five Greats still possessed unfathomable martial arts prowess.

Su Yan pondered to himself that Ouyang Feng had been obsessed with having offspring all his life. Liu Jingyuan's miserable state and near-death experience must have unintentionally touched his deepest obsession, which is why he mistook him for his own son.

Such a madman, once he acknowledges kinship, will become obsessively protective, ensuring Liu Jingyuan's safety in the short term. However, Ouyang Feng is capricious; when he goes mad, he disregards friend and foe, right and wrong. If he becomes involved in the situation at Zhongnan Mountain in the future, he will undoubtedly become a major variable.

Thinking of his own combat strength, a hint of fighting spirit flashed in Su Yan's eyes.

He had just broken through to the Five Greats realm and was looking for a top expert to test his skills against. Ouyang Feng, as a veteran of the Five Greats who had roamed the martial world for decades, possessed outstanding combat power and rich experience. If they were to fight today, he could get a good sense of his current strength and also test Ouyang Feng's true strength.

Inside the temple, Ouyang Feng's palms remained firmly pressed against Liu Jingyuan's back. The sinister and profound internal energy of his Toad Stance flowed into Liu's body like a gentle spring. Although the internal energy was chillingly cold, it was also strangely gentle, slowly soothing Liu Jingyuan's meridians that had been torn by the Blood Burning Secret Technique, repairing his damaged internal organs little by little, and restoring his scattered blood and energy back to their proper place.

The skin, which was originally mottled and exuded death, gradually lost its ferocity. A faint blush slowly spread across the pale cheeks. The weak and intermittent breathing became long and steady, and the chest rose and fell gently. There was no longer the withered and exhausted look of the previous near-death state.

After half an hour of this gentle care, Liu Jingyuan's eyelashes finally began to tremble slightly. They first fluttered a few times like butterfly wings, then slowly opened a crack, and his cloudy, unfocused vision gradually focused until he finally opened his eyes completely.

He lay stiffly on the haystack, his whole body still sore and weak, every inch of his bones showing the fatigue and hidden pain after burning blood, and even lifting a finger felt difficult.

A burning pain lingered in his meridians, yet he was enveloped by a strange, yin-like internal force, and a bizarre sensation of alternating warmth and cold spread throughout his limbs and bones.

He rolled his eyes blankly, staring at Ouyang Feng who was leaning over and staring at him.

The old man's beard and hair were disheveled like withered grass, his clothes were tattered, and his face was sallow and wrinkled. Only his eyes were frighteningly hot, and he exuded a domineering and eerie aura. He was a completely unfamiliar person whom the old man had never seen before.

The images of slaying his enemies on the arena and attempting suicide to die for his family still lingered in his mind. The grief of his parents' tragic deaths and the despair of unrequited love weighed heavily on his heart. Suddenly, he fell from the resolute desire for revenge into this dilapidated temple, where he was rescued by a strange old man. A great sense of bewilderment and helplessness overwhelmed him in an instant.

Liu Jingyuan struggled to prop himself up, but as soon as he tried to lift his neck, the soreness in his body pulled him back to where he was, and he could only lie back down on the haystack helplessly.

His chapped lips moved slightly, and a hoarse, dry sound, filled with endless confusion, rolled out from his throat. His voice was so weak that it was almost swallowed up by the wind outside the temple.

"Who...who are you? Why...why am I here?"

When Ouyang Feng saw that he had woken up, he was overjoyed and slapped his thigh, laughing wildly and gesturing wildly.

"Good son! You're finally awake! Daddy's here. With Daddy here, no one will dare to hurt you even a little!"

Just as he was laughing hysterically, Ouyang Feng's laughter abruptly stopped.

Although he was mentally unstable, his senses remained exceptionally sharp. He hadn't noticed Su Yan outside the window while healing himself, but now that he had finished, he finally caught the aura of Su Yan holding his breath and lurking outside the window.

His previously cloudy eyes suddenly blazed with a sharp light, his aura abruptly solidified, and a sinister killing intent instantly swept across the entire dilapidated temple. The tenderness and affection from before vanished, leaving only ruthlessness and violence.

He turned to look at Liu Jingyuan, his tone suddenly becoming serious, no longer the madman he had been before.

"Son, stay here and wait patiently. Don't move. There's a thief spying outside. I'll go and meet him, and I'll be back soon to protect you."

Before he finished speaking, Ouyang Feng suddenly sprang up, his legs slightly bent like a toad gathering strength. He leaped and smashed through the broken door of the dilapidated temple. Wood chips flew everywhere, carrying a fierce gust of wind, as he rushed towards the direction where Su Yan was hiding, roaring angrily.

"You little thief, prepare to die!!!"

Seeing this, Su Yan knew he had been exposed. He stopped hiding and stepped out from the broken window. His fierce sword intent surged instantly, and the Qingfeng Sword at his waist was drawn with a clang. Its cold light reflected the twilight as he coldly looked at Ouyang Feng who was charging towards him.