Wuxia Across the Heavens: I Collect Side Effects

Zhu Changling and Wu Lie exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with resentment and helplessness. In the end, Zhu Changling suppressed his humiliation, gritted his teeth, and slowly said, "We admit defeat!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he withdrew the remaining internal energy in his body, turned around dejectedly, and gestured to Su Xin, "Brother Su, come with me." After saying that, he walked straight towards his study, his steps heavy, clearly filled with resentment.

Wu Lie stood aside, his face ashen, but he was helpless. He could only glare at Su Xin and silently follow behind Zhu Changling.

The two remained silent throughout the journey, and the vast Zhuwu Lianzhuang was filled only with the sound of their footsteps, creating an eerie silence.

It wasn't that they didn't want to call for help, but they knew in their hearts that with Su Xin's strength, the disciples from the manor would only be throwing their lives away and wouldn't be able to do anything at all.

The gap between the two sides is too great; resistance will only bring more humiliation.

Soon, the three arrived at Zhu Changling's study.

Zhu Changling walked to the bookshelf, reached out and pulled out a yellowed copy of the Analects, grasped the spine with both hands, and gently turned it clockwise.

With a soft "click," the bookshelf slowly moved to one side, revealing a hidden stone door. Behind the stone door was a dark passage, with a faint light visible from the depths below.

Zhu Changling turned around, forcing a smile, and said to Su Xin, "Brother Su, this is where we hide our secret manuals. The manuals for One Finger Divine Skill and Orchid Finger Flicking Technique are all inside."

Su Xin's lips curled into a half-smile, and without the slightest hesitation, he lifted his foot and walked towards the passage.

Although he wasn't good at scheming, he wasn't reckless either. He just figured that even if the two of them made some small moves, they wouldn't be able to cause any real trouble.

But as soon as he stepped into the secret passage, he heard a series of hurried footsteps behind him. Zhu Changling flashed out of the passage in an instant, while Wu Lie rushed to the stone door and pressed the mechanism next to it.

With a muffled thud, the heavy stone door slammed shut, trapping Su Xin completely inside the secret chamber.

Su Xin felt a chill run down his spine and instantly realized that he had fallen into the trap set by these two.

He turned around abruptly and reached out towards the stone door, trying to grab Zhu Changling's clothes to stop it from closing. But Zhu Changling had already retreated to a safe area. He only managed to grab a piece of fabric that had fallen to the ground, and all he could feel was the cold touch of the stone door.

"Hahahaha!" Zhu Changling's triumphant laughter came from outside the door, his tone full of the pleasure of revenge.

"Su Xin, do you really think we'll obediently hand over the secret manual to you? You're too naive! This secret chamber is forbidden territory of our Zhu Wu Lian Manor. The switches are all outside. You'd better just stay inside and wait to starve to death!"

Su Xin frowned, ignoring the mockery outside the door, and slowly scanned the interior of the secret room.

The secret chamber was much larger than he had imagined. In the very center was a stone forest arranged in a strange and orderly manner. The stones were of different sizes and were arranged in a seemingly disorderly manner, yet they revealed a strange pattern.

Upon seeing this stone forest, Su Xin was first taken aback, then suddenly realized what it meant.

He remembered that in The Return of the Condor Heroes, Huang Rong and Yang Guo had used a similar stone formation to trap the Golden Wheel Monk. He never expected that there would be such a formation in the secret chamber of Zhu Wu Lian Manor.

"It was I who was reckless," Su Xin shook his head slightly, silently reflecting on his actions.

"It seems that next time I need to be more cautious and not be too careless." He thought that with his strength, these two wouldn't be able to pull any tricks, but he didn't expect them to use a secret room and formation to scheme against him. They taught him a lesson.

Su Xin slowly walked into the stone forest, his gaze sweeping over the scattered stones, pondering to himself:

How did the Golden Wheel Monk break the formation back then?

It seems that he relied on his profound internal strength to directly overcome skill with brute force and forcefully break through the formation.

Moreover, the stone array in front of us is just a fixed arrangement, and no one is manipulating or moving it within it. It is much simpler than the array that Huang Rong used to trap the Golden Wheel Monk.

A thought suddenly flashed through his mind: Could it be that the reason why Zhu Changling and Wu Lie's strength is not top-notch is because they cannot pass through this stone formation and cannot obtain the secret manual behind the formation. They can only rely on the superficial knowledge passed down from their ancestors to cultivate, which is why they have never been able to improve.

This idea, though somewhat bold, is not without merit.

Su Xin stopped thinking about it and a look of determination flashed in his eyes.

Since he couldn't break through the formation's secrets, he resorted to the most rudimentary method.

By force, they broke through the formation with overwhelming power.

He activated the Vajra Subduing Demon Divine Power, and his internal energy surged instantly, gathering in his arms. A faint golden light emanated from his body, and his arm muscles bulged slightly, unleashing astonishing power.

In terms of strength alone, he is already among the top in the martial arts world.

The main power is the Vajra Subduing Demon Divine Power, which greatly enhances one's strength.

He walked to a rock about half a person's height, grabbed the edge of the rock with both hands, shouted loudly, and exerted a sudden burst of strength, forcefully lifting the heavy rock and moving it to a corner of the secret chamber.

Without pausing, he moved on to the next stone, easily moving the boulders one by one. The originally chaotic stone forest was gradually cleared into a narrow path, leading directly to the high platform in the center of the formation.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead, looked up at the high platform in front of him, and couldn't help but smile.

In the end, this move wasn't a loss.

On the high platform, several exquisite wooden boxes were placed.

A wooden box is inscribed with the words "One-Finger Divine Skill" and "Orchid Flicking Acupoint Technique".

A wooden box was inscribed with the words "The dragon soars too high and regrets it."

This was exactly the secret manual he wanted on this trip.

In addition, there were two yellowed pieces of paper next to the wooden box. One was the recipe for the Nine-Flower Jade Dew Pill, and the other was a map of the entire secret room, marking all the hidden mechanisms and exits in the secret room.

"I didn't expect such a pleasant surprise." Su Xin walked up to the platform, picked up the formula and the map of the mechanism, his eyes full of smiles.

He knew in his heart that the ancestors of Zhu Wulian Village were Guo Jing's disciples and could be considered as successors of Peach Blossom Island.

Huang Yaoshi was quite wealthy back then, and Qu Lingfeng must have hidden some of the gold, silver and rare treasures, paintings and calligraphy he collected in this secret room.

It seems that these two disciples were well taken care of by Guo Jing and Huang Rong, as they were left with some treasures even after leaving Peach Blossom Island.

Zhu Changling, standing outside the door, was saying with a smile, "Not just anyone can come into our Zhu Wu Lian Zhuang."

"Of course! Otherwise, we wouldn't have been able to protect this family business."

Clearly, this wasn't the first time the two had done this; they were already quite adept at it.

They were chatting and laughing, unaware that Su Xin had already left the secret room and was heading back towards Zhu Wulian Village.

After all, he had been outmaneuvered, and he was about to go crazy.

He only wanted the secret manual, but he never expected that the two of them would want his life.

It was even darker now!