Reborn Ouyang Ke: From The Condor Heroes to the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 68 Reencounter with an Old Friend

Mount Hua and Mount Zhongnan are only a hundred miles apart. With Ouyang Ke's current lightness skill, he can reach them in half a day at most.

Although there was still a month until the Mount Hua Sword Tournament, Ouyang Ke had no other thoughts after leaving the Ancient Tomb, so he simply headed straight for Mount Hua.

Mount Hua is known as the Western Mountain among the Five Sacred Mountains. The ancients used the Five Sacred Mountains to describe the Five Classics, saying that Mount Hua is like the Spring and Autumn Period. Among the famous mountains in the world, it is the most unique and dangerous.

In less than half a day, Ouyang Ke arrived at the Mountain Sun Pavilion at the southern entrance of Mount Hua. Beside the pavilion grew twelve large dragon vines, twisting and turning, their branches hollow and gnarled, resembling flying dragons in the sky. Looking up at the ancient vines soaring into the air, a thought suddenly struck him: he felt that based on the shape of these flying dragons, he could create twelve ancient and powerful fist techniques.

Beside the pavilion, there are inscriptions and steles erected by later generations. Ouyang Ke stared intently at them and realized that these twelve large dragon vines were said to have been planted by Master Xiyi, the venerable Chen Tuan.

Gazing at the ancient and vigorous vines, he was lost in thought. Since learning about the supreme martial arts concept of "shattering the void," he no longer held the previous resistance and absurdity towards the popular belief in immortals.

Chen Tuan, a revered figure, lived through the late Tang Dynasty and the five Zhou dynasties of Liang, Tang, Jin, Han, and Zhou. Whenever he heard of a dynastic change, he would be deeply saddened and retreat to his secluded chambers. Legend has it that he would sleep for years at a time, but in reality, he was simply worried about the turmoil of the world and the suffering of the people, and thus unwilling to leave his home. Only upon hearing of Emperor Taizu of Song's ascension to the throne did he burst into laughter, so overjoyed that he fell off his donkey, declaring that peace had finally returned to the land. This story has been passed down since the early Song Dynasty, and Ouyang Ke had long heard of it.

He paused for a moment and continued his slow ascent up the mountain. Passing Peach Blossom Plain, crossing Xiyi Gorge, and climbing Shaluoping, the mountain path became increasingly treacherous.

To ascend the Western Xuan Gate, one must use an iron chain to climb, but his lightness skill was superb, and he ascended in an instant. After traveling seven li, they reached Qingping, where the rocks at the end of the flat area were as if cut by a knife, and a large rock blocked the road at the foot of the north wall.

This is the "Turning Back Stone," where someone has carved an inscription to remind future visitors: "After passing this stone, the mountain path ahead is extremely dangerous. Visitors should turn back here."

He continued forward without stopping. In less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, he saw a small stone pavilion in the distance. This pavilion also had an extraordinary history; it was said that the legendary Chen Tuan and Zhao Kuangyin played chess here, wagering Mount Hua. Zhao Kuangyin lost, and from then on, the land on Mount Hua was exempt from paying taxes.

After passing through Thousand-Foot Gorge and Hundred-Foot Gorge, the road became narrow, requiring pedestrians to squeeze through sideways. Ouyang Ke moved with a graceful gait, and soon arrived at the foot of a verdant and beautiful peak.

Looking down from here is breathtaking, a stark contrast to the treacherous terrain below. While seemingly scenic, this place is actually one of the most dangerous spots on Mount Hua, perched atop a sheer cliff. A single misstep and fall would be fatal, even with his current martial arts skills.

At the edge of the "Cliff of Self-Sacrifice," Ouyang Ke, dressed in black, stood with his hands behind his back. Gazing at the swirling clouds and mist in all directions, his heart was filled with joy and exhilaration. Suddenly inspired, he sat cross-legged on the edge of the cliff, contemplating his recent martial arts gains.

Since losing his leg, he has had many extraordinary encounters. The martial arts of "Nine Yin" and "Nine Yang," and the "Innate Purple Qi" he comprehended from the twin dragons, are all top-tier martial arts of the era. However, despite his many gains, he has never had the opportunity to fully integrate them. Now, with a month to go before the Mount Hua Sword Tournament, he has decided to quietly cultivate here.

Ouyang Ke's cultivation has now reached the pinnacle of the "Nine Yin" and "Nine Yang" techniques. With just a thought, his innate purple qi circulates within his body, and both the speed of qi recovery and the quality of his true qi far surpass those of the former.

The innate purple energy transformed from the true energy of the Twin Dragons Longevity Technique has placed him on the same starting point as the successors of the Demonic Sect, Buddhism, and Taoism, or even higher.

Of course, this is not because Huang Shang and the Drunken Monk lacked talent, but rather because of the difference in the foundation of the two worlds.

In terms of cultivation, Ouyang Ke may have surpassed Huang Shang and the Drunken Monk of yesteryear, but in terms of the accumulation of martial arts techniques, he still appears shallow. Leaving aside the three grandmasters and figures like the Evil King and the Yin Empress, even in the application of martial arts techniques and internal energy skills, he is still significantly behind contemporary successors of the Buddhist and demonic sects like Shi Feixuan and Wanwan. Even in the era of *The Legend of the Condor Heroes*, he still lags behind the Five Great Masters in the application of "skill."

With his current cultivation level, the Nine Yin Manual and the Nine Yang Manual can no longer help him much on his path of cultivation, but they can still teach him a lot about the application of "techniques". For example, the "Golden Bell Cover" in the Nine Yin Manual is just a clumsy skill that ordinary brutes would practice in the eyes of outsiders, but the fact that Huang Shang included it in the manual in the past shows that it is not as shallow as the world thinks.

Mei Chaofeng and her husband were once notorious figures in the martial arts world. Because they lacked understanding of martial arts principles, they practiced the "Nine Yin Divine Claw" technique in a rudimentary way, yet they still managed to wreak havoc. What truly made them infamous was their "Golden Bell Cover" external martial arts technique. The couple earned the names "Copper Corpse" and "Iron Corpse," demonstrating the power of this skill in the eyes of those who besieged them in the past.

Back then, Huang Shang specifically researched various methods to counter his enemies, and the "Golden Bell Cover" was among them. Later, after mastering the skill and eliminating his enemies, he still incorporated it into his own creation, the "Nine Yin Manual," demonstrating its exceptional body-strengthening technique. Huang Shang later further improved it, making it even more powerful than before. Ouyang Ke, meditating cross-legged, immediately grasped the mysteries of the "Golden Bell Cover."

The martial world of the Tang Dynasty is fraught with danger, and one's own physique is like a small boat on the path to supreme enlightenment. Once one is harmed, the boat's journey is jeopardized.

Water, then, has no hope of pursuing that final move.

Understanding his own importance in pursuing "shattering the void" in the future, Ouyang Ke took advantage of his spare time to first cultivate this protective technique.

Several days passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, he would pick wild fruits on the mountain to fill his stomach when he was hungry, and drink from mountain springs when he was thirsty. For an ordinary person to cultivate the "Golden Bell Shield" and achieve any success, it would take at least several years.

However, he had already mastered the "Tendon Changing and Bone Strengthening Chapter" of the Nine Yin Manual and had consumed countless Bodhi snake gallbladders, making his tendons and bones extraordinary and his qi and blood astonishing. Therefore, he mastered this skill in just a few days without any hindrance.

On this day, the sun was at its zenith, and Ouyang Ke, dressed in black, sat cross-legged on the edge of the cliff. The mountain wind howled, causing his clothes to billow, but he remained completely still, as if his feet were rooted to the ground.

Suddenly he burst into laughter: "So that's how it is!"

The next moment, he leaped into the air, his bones crackling and popping softly. If Huang Shang were alive today, he would be speechless with astonishment.

The "Golden Bell Cover" may seem clumsy, but it is actually a martial art that tests a person's perseverance and willpower, emphasizing persistence. Although Chen Xuanfeng and Mei Chaofeng were disciples of Peach Blossom Island, they had not yet received Huang Yaoshi's true teachings.

After stealing the Nine Yin Manual and betraying Peach Blossom Island, the two often failed to understand the martial arts within the manual. They practiced the "Nine Yin Divine Claw" in a haphazard way and naturally regarded the "Golden Bell Cover" as an ordinary hard skill. Little did they know that this skill requires both internal and external cultivation. Otherwise, how could they have been considered opponents by Huang Shang and even included in the manual?

This skill is developed from the outside in. For example, there is A'er who served in the Prince of Ruyang's mansion in later generations, and Bao Rang, one of the four masters under Xiao Xian in the Tang Dynasty, whose "Hercules" was very famous in the Yangtze River Basin.

He progressed from the inferior external martial art of Iron Shirt to the superior internal martial art of True Qi, a skill that became the talk of the martial arts world in Jiangnan.

Now that Ouyang Ke has mastered his internal strength, practicing the "Golden Bell Cover" external skill is as natural and effortless as a fish in water.

With the precedent of "Golden Bell Cover," he had no more difficulty in understanding the three martial arts of the Vajra Sect. In particular, "Vajra Subduing Demon Divine Power," as the most domineering external martial art of Shaolin, actually coincided with some of the concepts of "Golden Bell Cover."

Ouyang Ke circulated his inner energy slightly, and his move was incredibly fierce and terrifying.

Time flies, and seven or eight days have passed in the blink of an eye. During this time, Ouyang Ke has mastered the martial arts of "Nine Yin" and "Nine Yang" with ease, and he has even mastered the three martial arts of the Vajra Sect that his uncle taught him not long ago.

With the innate purple energy as his foundation, he could master any martial art in one fell swoop without any hindrance.

Several more days passed, and on this day the weather was clear and the sun and wind were gentle.

Ouyang Ke stood with his hands behind his back before the Precipice of Self-Sacrifice. The once-in-twenty-five-years Mount Hua Sword Tournament was only two days away. Judging by the timeline, his uncle and Elder Hong should have already set off. Mo Chou and Senior Lin were quite close to Mount Hua and would likely depart no later than tomorrow.

During the more than half a month of quiet cultivation on the cliff of self-sacrifice, he gained a lot. What's even more amazing is that he made a breakthrough in the application of his own true energy. If he were to fight Li Zitong again, he would definitely defeat him even faster, and at the same time, he would also surprise his uncle and the others.

Just as Ouyang Ke was deep in thought, his brows suddenly twitched.

He had already sensed that someone was coming.

Sure enough, not long after, a clear female voice came from beside him: "Brother Jing, it seems we've arrived a bit early; we haven't seen anyone else along the way."

Then a man said, "Master Qi and the other master parted ways with us at the Misty Rain Pavilion not long ago, and they must have just set off for Mount Hua."

On the rugged mountain path, a burly young man dressed in coarse cloth was hurrying towards the summit with a young woman in white carrying a bamboo staff. Although the young woman was dressed simply, she could not hide her intelligent and graceful air; her eyes were clear and bright, and her every glance was full of wisdom.

"Brother Guo, Miss Huang, it's been a long time."

A voice drifted down from the cliff above, unhurried yet clearly reaching their ears.

Guo Jing and Huang Rong were both startled.

They hadn't noticed anyone nearby at all. Looking up, they saw a man standing with his hands behind his back on the edge of a steep cliff.

As the sun set, its golden-red afterglow pierced through the thin clouds, bathing the man in its light and casting a soft halo around him. The twilight deepened, and a strong mountain wind whipped his black robes into the wind.

He stood alone on the edge of a sheer cliff, his figure as upright as a lone pine, seemingly blending into the vast天地 (heaven and earth), exuding an indescribable aloofness and transcendence.

The person's face was hidden in the backlight, making it difficult to see clearly at first glance. Only their eyes, faintly glowing with a purple light in the twilight, were deep and unfathomable, as if they contained an inexplicable magic that made one unable to resist being drawn into them with just one look.

Guo Jing's heart skipped a beat, and he instinctively stepped in front of Huang Rong, saying in a deep voice, "You are the person who came here." He did not answer, but smiled slightly, his smile carrying a hint of composure as if he were reuniting with an old friend: "It has only been a few months since we last met, and Brother Guo does not recognize his old friend? This truly saddens me, his old friend."

Her voice was clear and her tone was calm, yet it possessed a reassuring quality.

Guo Jing was startled, feeling that the voice was extremely familiar. His mind raced, but he could not reconcile the person in front of him with most of the figures in his memory.

Huang Rong didn't move. She stood behind Guo Jing, tilting her head slightly, her bright eyes fixed on the person not far away.

In the backlight of the setting sun, the figure in black exuded an extraordinary aura, making her feel slightly unfamiliar. Yet, for some reason, a strange feeling welled up within her.

She seemed to recognize this person.

The man seemed to sense their gazes and slowly turned around. The twilight outlined the contours of his profile, his sword-like eyebrows like stars.

His eyes were bright, and his facial features were sharply defined, making him exceptionally handsome.

His black attire perfectly accentuated his energetic figure, and a gentle breeze caused his jet-black hair to flutter softly across his broad forehead.

His eyes were gentle and clear, and he exuded a calm and confident aura from the inside out, as if he had been reborn or emerged from his cocoon as a butterfly.

"Brother Guo, Miss Huang, it's been a long time."

The voice drifted down slowly and steadily, yet it reached their ears clearly.

Guo Jing frowned, his eyes filled with confusion.

The voice sounded familiar, but the person before him—he looked him up and down for a long time, yet still couldn't match this face with any figure in his memory. He hesitated, not speaking, but simply protecting Huang Rong tightly, not daring to let his guard down.

Huang Rong's heart skipped a beat the moment she heard that voice.

Her beautiful eyes flickered, quickly scanning the man's face before settling on his healthy legs, a hint of confusion flashing in them. But the next moment, she noticed a hint of mockery in his gaze.

Suddenly, a thought struck her, and a slow smile appeared on her lips. She said softly, "Yes, we meet again."

Guo Jing was taken aback upon hearing this, then turned to Huang Rong, his face full of confusion: "Rong'er, do you know this brother?"

Huang Rong smiled slightly and said, "Brother Jing, not only do I know this person, but you do too. Have you forgotten the old friend you drank and admired the moon with on Dongting Lake?"

Guo Jing stared wide-eyed, looking at it carefully again and again, but still looked completely bewildered.

The man in black before him was so different from the Ouyang Ke in white robes he remembered—his temperament, demeanor, eyes, and even the aura he exuded were all like those of a completely different person.

"Ouyang—Brother Ouyang?"

Guo Jing called out tentatively, his tone full of disbelief.

Ouyang Ke nodded and smiled, "Brother Guo, how have you been?"

Guo Jing was both surprised and delighted. His gaze involuntarily fell on Ouyang's healthy legs, and he blurted out, "Brother Ouyang, your leg injury is healed?"

Ouyang Ke said, "That's right. Thanks to my uncle, my leg injury was able to fully recover."

Rong stood to the side, her beautiful eyes sweeping over Ouyang Ke a few times, a hint of undisguised surprise flashing in them. She pursed her lips and said softly, "Brother Ouyang, you've changed so much. I almost didn't recognize you just now."

She said this with a touch of emotion in her voice.

The Ouyang Ke of the past had sharp, piercing eyes and an aura of sharpness, maintaining a considerable distance from everyone.

Now, though he has concealed his sharp edges, he possesses a captivating aura. His eyes have become gentle and clear, inspiring trust in those who see him.

Ouyang Ke looked at her, a smile playing on his lips: "Everyone changes. Miss Huang, didn't your personality also undergo a complete transformation after you met Brother Guo?" His words were ambiguous.

Huang Rong was exceptionally intelligent, but having lived on Peach Blossom Island for many years, she inevitably acquired some of her father's "wickedness" in her actions. When she first met Guo Jing, she often teased others and acted as she pleased.

But after spending time with Guo Jing, she gradually became more composed and developed the demeanor of a female knight-errant who would later stand with Xiangyang through thick and thin.

Now that Ouyang Ke had hit the nail on the head, Huang Rong's cheeks flushed slightly, but she didn't look away. Instead, she met Ouyang Ke's gaze with a generous smile and said reproachfully, "Brother Ouyang is teasing me again."

Although her tone was tinged with shyness, her eyes and brows were full of composure.

Seeing this, Ouyang Ke said nothing more, only smiled slightly.

The three were both surprised and delighted to meet again. They found a flat, green stone by the cliff and sat down, each telling the other about the events of the past few days. They talked until sunset, when twilight had fallen, and they still seemed reluctant to stop.