A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Chapter 168 Ingenious Skill, Shifting Injuries with Suspended Qi

Standing next to someone you don't need to be aware of—if you don't add any conditions, this requirement sounds very simple.

In reality, the nearly thirty top-tier experts within a hundred feet of this place, upon arriving here, already sensed the hardships involved with their keen perception of the six senses.

When the pipa is not in use, if you are far away, it sounds like only the wind and rain, interspersed with a few thunderclaps, but the listener is completely captivated and intoxicated.

But once you get closer to the outside, you can feel the continuous rain, the lines accumulating into puddles, the puddles as deep as the sea, and the rising tide from the sea. From the calm scenery, the sound alone creates a magnificent and unreal atmosphere.

If you get within ten feet of him, you can feel the increasing force of the wind, rain, and waves with each step you take closer.

It's like suddenly arriving in a new world from a clear and refreshing place.

The seemingly calm air, once you step inside and immerse yourself in it, reveals a hidden, vast, and relentlessly howling wind and rain.

Under the control of the music, the invisible, dense wind transformed into rows of staggered, colorless high walls, repeatedly undulating and twisting, pressing towards Shao Lingxiao.

However, each time they reached Shao Lingxiao's side, these winds, which rose and fell like giant waves, were stirred up, lifted, and pushed back by him.

These sounds of wind and waves, ironically, became tools he used to restrict Ju Buyong, making the undercurrents around Ju Buyong denser and more ferocious and cruel.

As the drunken youth stumbled to the edge of the area, his body was torn apart by the chaotic air currents, swaying and staggering, his drunken state worsening.

The brick and stone ground, repeatedly washed by the wind, waves, and undercurrents here, is now slightly damp, and its color has changed from grayish-white to dark blue.

When the drunken youth's shoulder was less than two inches from the dark blue ground, his straight body suddenly shot forward.

This sudden change in direction was extremely strange, completely different from the usual way people exert force with their bodies, and it didn't even rely on surging true energy to strike the ground to change its direction.

It was as if it were a magical sword, which, upon hitting the ground, naturally adjusted its direction because it disliked the dust on the ground. It flew out after circling the ground at a certain angle.

Man is like a knife, and a knife cuts through the air. Layer upon layer of undercurrents, whether they are frontal attacks, side strikes, or even rotating pulls, are all like a bunch of heavy cloths dancing wildly in front of his straight flying figure, and are cut through in one fell swoop.

The drunken youth's clothes were stained and the fabric was dusty, but as he flew through the air, his entire body, from his hair to the hem of his clothes, suddenly turned snow-white and shone brightly.

His sword intent was like snow waves, and his heroic figure was like a swan.

Among the many onlookers in the Guanzhong martial arts world, many who did not recognize him suddenly remembered a name.

"Treading on the snow on the Jialing River, a swan flies high; it turns out to be Lu Ningxian, the successor of the Changbai Sword Technique."

At the end of the Sui Dynasty, Wang Bo, the "Knowing the World" of Changbai Mountain, started a rebellion. Although it was later fraught with setbacks and he met a bad end, his pioneering spirit is still praised. His Changbai sword technique has been passed down from generation to generation.

Over the years, among the inheritors of the Changbai Knife Technique, it has sometimes taken two or three generations to produce a first-class master. There are not enough disciples, and they have long since faded into obscurity. After all, in the Guanzhong martial arts world, martial arts lineages with "prosperous ancestors" are everywhere.

However, Lu Ningxian's fame is actually greater than the sword technique he inherited.

Back then, the Eastern Sea Grandmaster Yin Beiwu was traveling along the Jialing River. Under the moonlight, he sang and danced with his sword. Lu Ningxian followed the sound of his song and, with his youthful appearance, actually asked Yin Beiwu to teach him how to wield his sword.

It is said that he was knocked into the river three times by Yin Beiwu, but he still emerged from the turbid current at the bottom of the river, still carrying a broken knife and covered in mud, and invited Yin Beiwu to drink.

Later, Yin Beiwu arrived in the southwest and, in front of several righteous masters, many martial arts heroes, and military officers, mentioned this matter and praised Lu Ningxian highly.

Lu Ningxian's fame spread as a result. Ten years have passed, and no one can say for sure which year he stepped into the realm of a first-class master. But seeing this slash that used his own body as a blade today, it is clear that he can be considered one of the best in this realm.

However, just as he landed on the right side of the house, his head suddenly jerked backward, taking five steps back.

It looked as if something had pierced his face the moment he landed, causing him to stagger backward in fright.

However, under the watchful eyes of everyone, no one saw anything launch an attack on Lu Ningxian at that moment. Even the other top experts, with their keen senses and intuitive perception, could not discern why he retreated.

After retreating five steps, Lu Ningxian's expression became extremely solemn, her brows furrowed, as if she had encountered an age-old problem that she could not solve.

His robes were tossed about by the undercurrent, sometimes to the east, sometimes to the west, swaying unpredictably. Only his feet remained firmly planted on the ground, as if rooted to the spot, unwilling to retreat or deviate further. The intoxication on his body gradually transformed into wisps of smoke carrying the scent of alcohol, rising into the air before being dispersed by the surrounding undercurrent.

After waiting for a while and seeing that he made no further move, the long-bearded civil official took out a gold dart and hid it in his palm. With his other hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist, he walked step by step toward Ju Buyong.

The long-bearded civil official's choice was completely opposite to Lu Ningxian's swift and rapid leap. It could be described as taking steps carefully and seeking progress steadily. Even when he was ten feet behind Ju Buyong, his steps became in harmony with the pipa melody. Several times when he took a big step, it was exactly the accented note of the pipa.

His steps were sometimes large and sometimes small, but the footprints he left were getting deeper and deeper. When he was about four feet away from Lu Ningxian, he stomped down and the footprints went up to his knees.

This place was originally a main street. Not only were the bricks and stones hard, but the foundation beneath the stone layers was also incredibly solid. Even if it were damaged by a great force, there should have been some cracking sounds. However, as the long-bearded civil official stepped down, each footprint left a deep imprint, and there was no sound at all.

Those with discernment could guess that it was because a profound and deep pressure had already seeped into the ground before the long-bearded official's feet even touched the ground, turning what should have been a solid brick foundation into a swampy mess.

The long-bearded civil official tried to shake the leg that was deeply stuck in the ground. After pondering for a moment, he released the golden dart and long sword, gathered all his strength, bent down and slapped his hands on the ground, and pulled himself out with several large steps.

Each step he took left a deep indentation, but before his foot sank into the pit, he had already taken the next step. Colorless true energy, as sharp as steel, shot out from his body, and he walked through the air.

With such momentum, the long-bearded civil official charged up behind Ju Buyong with astonishing force, making it seem as if he was about to bypass Ju Buyong and rush straight to Shao Lingxiao, but suddenly froze there.

After a few breaths of silence, he wiped the sweat from his face and head with his sleeve, and cautiously retreated step by step until he was a little further away from Lu Ningxian, at which point he stopped abruptly.

The crowd observed them repeatedly, but neither of them seemed to be seriously injured, nor were they being forcibly restrained. Yet, neither of them moved forward, leaving them filled with doubt.

Someone shouted and asked the two of them what had happened, but received no response.

After trying two completely different methods, neither seemed to work, and the abandoned pipa was getting closer and closer to its end.

The remaining people looked around, their eyes meeting, and without saying a word, they already had a tacit understanding.

Some people lowered their short knives from their sleeves, while others put on silver-threaded gloves. Shi Qing also took out the Yuwang Hammer, the weapon he was famous for. It was a short-handled golden hammer with a handle like a lotus root and a head like a melon, and it was more than two feet long.

There were more than twenty top-tier experts present. Not to mention those at the top level in eastern Guanzhong, there were only so many people, but at least 90% of them had come. Among them were several who belonged to the Ministry of Justice and were temporarily dispatched by the Inner Guard.

The next moment, as these people rushed out almost simultaneously, everyone witnessed a sudden surge of wind that engulfed two rows of nearby houses and whipped up countless tiles.

The combined power of more than twenty top-tier experts shattered the undercurrents covering the area within ten feet of Ju Buyong, like a meteor falling to earth.

Their figures darted through the storm, arriving not only beside Ju Buyong but also rushing out from him without stopping, each unleashing their unique skills to attack Shao Lingxiao.

Anyone who can hone their martial arts to this level can become a powerful figure anywhere; who wouldn't have their own pride?

If an ordinary person were to propose such a bet, and they heard it, they would simply laugh it off and not take it to heart at all.

It was only because the one who proposed this bet was Shao Lingxiao, the leader of the enemy state in the southwest ten years ago, and the person who had recently launched a surprise attack that almost destroyed Laojun Mountain, that he was qualified to make their emotions fluctuate and to give them the idea of ​​"proving themselves".

However, in order to prove the strength of the martial arts world in Guanzhong and the martial artists of the Tang Dynasty, in addition to fulfilling the conditions of the bet, wouldn't it be even better if we could defeat or even inflict further injuries on Shao Lingxiao?

The place where Shao Lingxiao was standing was originally a restaurant, but when he struck the wine glass, the entire building was destroyed, and even the surrounding walls and roof collapsed.

Now, only a long bench and a table remain where he sits, with his four attendants—a zither, a sword, a book, and an umbrella—standing behind him. Qiu Ruzui and Zhu Linlang had already left during the performance.

Faced with numerous figures rushing towards them in the storm that blurred their vision, the four seemingly young attendants remained calm and composed. They had unwavering faith in their leader's abilities and showed no sign of fear.

These four are the most talented disciples of the younger generation in the Fire Luo Sect, and they were personally taught martial arts and cultivated by Shao Lingxiao.

Apart from a handful of people like Yu Tu, Tian Fang, and Ye Motian, no one in the world could have a deeper understanding of the extraordinary skill of Shao Lingxiao in martial arts.

Shao Lingxiao's response was simply to clink his wine glass again.

Unlike the last time, which exploded with a soft bang, this time, the first thing to shatter beneath the long chopstick was the white porcelain wine cup, as white as jade.

The wine glass shattered into sword-shaped powder with a loud, sharp crack, and flew out.

Immediately afterwards, the entire table shattered into numerous fragments with a series of loud bangs. From the tabletop to the corners, each fragment, like a long nail or a small sword, darted through the air and shot away rapidly.

Shi Qing's Yuwang Hammer is a masterpiece of simplicity, embodying purity within turbidity. This war hammer is like a closest and most intimate partner, even actively influencing his body to perform wondrous attacks and evasions.

But this time, whether intentionally or unintentionally, in the blink of an eye when he and his weapon became one, he still couldn't dodge the sword energy formed by the powder. When he blocked it with his golden mace-like hammer, the white porcelain powder hit him and sent him flying.

Meanwhile, the others were found by three, five, or seven pieces of wood, respectively.

Wang Guang of the Wang family in Taiyuan, wearing a pair of silver-threaded gloves, unleashed the Nine Phoenixes Drawing Silk Capture Hand, a legendary martial art that was once considered one of the five surnames and seven families alongside the Cui and Lu families.

His technique was sharp and extraordinary, seemingly pinching and hooking, like a nine-headed divine bird pecking and capturing.

Back then, the Wang family of Taiyuan was also known as the Jilu Wang family. Noble and prominent figures considered it an honor to marry a daughter of the Wang family. The Nine Phoenix Jilu Capturing Hand was originally a martial art practiced by the eldest daughter of the Wang family since childhood, and it is unknown how many of the techniques and essences of her in-laws were extracted from it.

Later, Emperor Gaozong suppressed the Wang family, causing their decline. However, this martial art was passed down and gradually became the foundation of the family's existence. Outstanding members of the family's descendants had to learn it.

Wang Guang had been practicing this martial art diligently for thirty years. When he first entered the first-class realm, he was playing with some friends and ordered people to pour bamboo sticks down the waterfall.

He stood beneath the twenty-foot waterfall and used this grappling technique to snatch all the marked bamboo sticks amidst the roaring roar and turbulent flow of the waterfall. His keen eyesight and superb skills became legendary.

But when he faced those five wooden fragments, each only a few inches long, he failed to grab them three times in a row. Instead, his clothes were torn in the front, and blood was drawn from the corner of his eye. He dodged in panic.

As he retreated hastily, Wang Guang, due to an injury to his eye, forced one eye shut. In the blink of an eye, he could actually discern the trajectory of the flying wooden pieces, as if a swordsman were circling around him, unleashing his swordsmanship.

Peacock spreading its tail feathers, old tree with gnarled roots, searching for a needle in the sea, wielding a sword with cloud-like hands, phoenix nodding three times, and so on.

In his panicked dodge, the moves Wang Guang discerned were all common sword techniques found in the martial arts world. Similar movements were found in the basic sword techniques listed in the introductory manuals of various schools and sects.

If the facts hadn't been right in front of him, Wang Guang would never have believed that he would be driven into such a dangerous situation by these clumsy moves.

When he gathered all his strength and unleashed a grab at top speed, it was deflected by the force field generated when the two pieces of wood intersected. The shock and anger in his chest were about to burst out of his hair.

In that moment of anger, three other wooden pieces struck his body in succession, penetrating his flesh at varying depths, with the tips of the pieces pressing precisely on several points known as acupoints.

His body froze instantly, unable to move. Wang Guang's anger was about to erupt, but he felt a metallic taste in his throat and spat out a mouthful of blood mist.

The storm hadn't subsided when, as soon as the blood mist was exhaled, it was blown away by a gust of wind and landed on his own face.

However, precisely because he was unable to move, he now had the time to observe the situation of others.

All of them, all of them.

All of them were such crude sword techniques, breaking the Leaping Deer Blade inherited by the Willow Leaf Army, breaking the palm technique of the Great Tiger's lineage, breaking the Ancient Clumsy Hand technique of the Qihu Sou's school, and breaking the Liezi Seal that was said to have been left by Yuan Tiangang.

There was even a high-ranking official from the Ministry of Justice with the compound surname Huangfu who was forced to develop a set of sinister palm techniques, which seemed to be the Dustless Destroying Sound Palm of Yang Mulou, the demon among the Hu people a few years ago.

It's a mystery how someone known for his righteousness could have mastered this palm technique. But whatever the hidden story, it was all suppressed by those wooden pieces.

When Wang Guang saw this, the anger he felt at having his family's reputation humiliated by such a crude tactic cooled down.

Simultaneously manipulating over a hundred wooden pieces, employing such a simple and unadorned sword technique, and deciphering more than twenty martial arts techniques with different origins—this cannot be explained simply by a claim of high talent.

It's hard to imagine what kind of mentality would make a genius from the Demonic Sect's direct lineage, someone who could freely choose divine skills, still so focused when practicing these basic sword moves.

With sincerity, even stubborn rocks can bloom, and decay can be transformed into something magical.

"Is it because I've been on the run that you've gotten the wrong idea that my injuries are so severe that these few people are enough to launch a counterattack against me?"

Shao Lingxiao flicked his wrist, the chopstick twirling lightly between his fingers, and laughed, "Or perhaps you've seriously underestimated the group left behind by Cao, Yan, Ju, and Su Xing?"

In terms of skill, these twenty-odd people combined are indeed stronger than Shao Lingxiao, who is currently seriously injured. Unfortunately, in terms of techniques and mental strength, they have no chance to gather their power and pose a threat to Shao Lingxiao.

"Those who lack self-awareness will pay a higher price."

As the turbulent wind subsided, his long hair fell down, obscuring Shao Lingxiao's profile. A section of his wide robe sleeve slid down from his wrist, and he casually thrust forward with chopsticks in hand.

Hundreds of strands of true energy, like silk threads, extended from one end of the long chopsticks and connected to the acupoints of those who were restrained.

Almost simultaneously, the people scattered in all directions felt a powerful and indescribable true energy being transmitted through that wisp of energy.

"This is……"

Many martial artists were shocked, not only because of the stinging pain they felt in their meridians, but also because they immediately recognized that this true power was not the martial art of the Demonic Sect.

Among all martial arts, the purest form of true qi is naturally the Shaolin Vajra Body Sutra, while the most profound foundation is undoubtedly that of Lao Jun Mountain.

The True Scripture of Non-Action refines Qi like ink; the Five Elements extinguish their forms and Qi divides into five colors—all of these are too easy to distinguish.

What was being transmitted to them at this moment was none other than the Five Elements Annihilation True Power.

"We... fell for their trap!"

Wang Guang and the others suddenly realized.

"The rumors are true. The battle before Tianfang Zhenren shattered the void did leave him with a very serious hidden danger. He is using our power and foundation to offset the injuries left after his previous battle with Tianfang Zhenren."

In order to completely remove the Wuwei Divine Sword from his body, Shao Lingxiao had to endure the attack from Tianfang Zhenren. Only 20% of the Five Elements Reversal True Qi remaining in his body was neutralized by Xu Hongmei.

During this time, he traveled on and off, constantly being worn down by General Feng, who possessed the combat power of a Grandmaster, and three top-tier experts wielding divine weapons, which prevented him from recovering much from his injuries.

But now, with so many top-tier experts sharing his Five Elements True Qi with their lifelong, refined internal energy, Shao Lingxiao's injuries will recover at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Wang Guang and his men knew this principle, yet they had no choice but to resist.

The Five Elements Annihilation True Qi of Master Tianfang was like watching a mountain about to crash down on them. They couldn't think any further, and their internal energy had already surged out on its own, desperately trying to delay the attack.

Clang!

Suddenly, the pipa began to play.

The tone shifted, like the long neighing of warhorses in the wind and rain, revealing the true face of a magnificent army outlined by the wind and filled by the rain.

The five-colored true energy that everyone received eased, and the energy threads connected to them began to vibrate like the strings of a pipa.

Shao Lingxiao's gaze shifted to them: "From the very first note you played, I've kept you pinned down, unable to utter a word. Now that things have come to this, do you still want to do anything more futile?"

Despite his seemingly shallow sorrow, even in this perilous situation, he only slightly furrowed his brows and lowered his eyes to pluck the strings.

Perhaps those who can be called masters of music throughout history have all had a more sentimental heart than ordinary people. Some people criticize them for being melancholic and sentimental, or praise them for being too sentimental and short-lived, but they can't help but feel that they are more fragile.

Good things in this world are not durable; colorful clouds easily disperse and glass is fragile.

But the sorrow and grief of not being able to stay home were always just a light touch, a shallow layer. When he was wandering the streets and begging his way from the border to Chang'an, he refused to let this little bit of sorrow get any bigger.

Later, he encountered a divine weapon, and his fame and martial arts skills became first-rate in the world. The emperor even went out of the palace to appreciate his performance. The music was beautiful and his name was recorded in history, but this did not lessen his worries.

Rather than saying this is a little sorrow, it's more accurate to say it's a stubborn refusal to bow down or conform; there's little sadness in it, but a deeper sense of defiance.

"Wind, Great Joy, there's still one more moment."

The iron cavalry charged forward, their banners whistling in the wind, and the sound of the pipa, like lightning crackling in all directions, bloomed again and again from Ju Buhu's fingers and on the strings.

The air threads trembled more frequently, yet they persisted, until a golden mace swung horizontally, tearing apart the air threads on the surrounding people.

There are many techniques in the martial arts world that use self-damage to stimulate potential, but for top-tier masters, their true energy flows through their limbs and bones, and they have control over every bit of potential. Such techniques are no longer of any significance to them.

But there are always exceptions in the world.

Shi Qing, the leader of the outlaws, possessed a self-destructive technique that was effective even against top-tier masters.

His body shrank even further, and his robes, which had originally fit him perfectly, now appeared loose, further emphasizing the weight of the warhammer.

The hammer flew out of his hand, but instead of hitting Shao Lingxiao, it struck Lu Ningxian squarely in the back.

Lu Ningxian was the first person to be suppressed, besides Ju Yongbu, but when the hammer hit him, he felt all the acupoints on his body twitch, and a hidden sharpness cut through the restraints.

A knife, as thin and yellowish as paper, appeared in his palm, flashing with light.

As the pipa music suddenly intensified, Lu Ningxian leaned forward and severed all the strands of energy spreading from the front with a single stroke.

With another vertical cut, he cleaved the long chopstick in two, his momentum unstoppable.

Shao Lingxiao pinched the blade between two fingers, but a trickle of blood flowed from between them. The crimson blood dripped onto the floor tiles, and the sound of it pattering was surprisingly clear.

"Paper Torture Knife, are you Yin Beiwu's disciple?"

The demonic cult leader's eyes lit up instantly.

Of the five people from back then, Yu Tu possessed extraordinary inner strength and a profound mind. He wasn't actually the most outstanding one on ordinary days, but the more the fight went on, the more his true strength was revealed.

On his second day in the Southwest, he charged into the Demonic Sect's headquarters with a sword, influencing the entire battlefield situation. This led to Shao Lingxiao being blocked, the Demonic Sect's Supreme Elder being surrounded and killed by Cui Lingfang and two others, and Yu Tu having the opportunity to suppress the Demonic Sect's direct lineage elders, which made Nanzhao determined to betray them...

The first ray of light in the collapse of the demonic sect was the sharp edge of Yin Bei's bladeless sword.

But of those five people, the one Shao Lingxiao hated the least was this person. Not because Yin Beiwu was the first to die by his sword, but because…

"Back then, each of them had their own reasons. Wan Shi was truly as stubborn as a rock. Cui Lingfang was the most ridiculous. Only Yin Beiwu came to challenge me to a duel."

As Lu Ningxian unleashed this strike, the urgent sound of the pipa urged everyone to retreat hastily.

Sword energy burst forth from between Shao Lingxiao's fingers, repelling the swordsman. With a single grab, the severed strands of energy had not completely dissipated.

The sword energy, like a wisp of silk, passed through everyone's evasion and defense with exquisite skill, reconnecting their acupoints and plunging everyone into stillness once more, before surging away with five-colored light.

"You are Yin Beiwu's disciple, so you may leave."

"The knife was a gift from my senior's dying wish, sent by Master Yu Tu. But I am merely his drinking buddy."

Lu Ningxian returned to fight once again.

With his other hand, Shao Lingxiao changed the shape of his five fingers, sometimes forming a sword with his index and middle fingers, sometimes with his middle and ring fingers, and sometimes pressing down with his thumb, repeatedly shaking off the divine weapon and treasured sword, and then pressing it against Lu Ningxian's chest from a distance.

"If you don't cherish them, then let them become tools for me to heal my wounds."

Lu Ningxian's limbs were stiff, and she was suspended in mid-air.

The pipa's finger had already broken and was bleeding, but the five-colored light still resolutely penetrated the obstacles and was transmitted to everyone through the breath.

Shao Lingxiao stood up, his body mostly enveloped in a five-colored glow that flowed outwards.

………………

Beep!!

Beep!

The guards who escaped by jumping into the river were soaking wet. They blew their whistles and ran wildly through the mountains and forests.

The whistle he used was made of fine iron with an ingenious internal structure. When blown with true qi, its sound could travel more than ten miles away. Moreover, its sharp tone was unique and made it the fastest way for the inner guards to convey alarms and request reinforcements.

Unfortunately, in order to pursue and intercept those demonic mutants, even true experts like General Feng found their routes unpredictable, and could only have a general direction.

The guards rushed here, but they still hadn't seen the person they really wanted to notify come looking for them.

Beep!

The whistle suddenly dropped in pitch.

A silent yet heavy wind pressure fell all around.

A figure with a flickering golden-red flame in each eye and surrounded by murderous intent suddenly appeared before the inner guards.

(End of this chapter)