Jianghu Qimen Lu

"Let's each display our unique skills and fight to the death! If you win, I'll have nothing to say and immediately order the executioners to release this wretched girl! If I'm lucky enough to win, you must immediately return to your Wori official residence. From now on, you go your way, and I'll go mine, and we'll have nothing to do with each other again!" The last four words were spoken slowly and deliberately, revealing that Xiangquan still harbored resentment towards her and did not want to share a husband on the same mountain!

Red Moon Princess gave a cold laugh, and after a long while, she calmed down and said with a focused expression, "Sister, did you really think that I couldn't beat you in the battle at Qiongshan last time? Come, come, let's fight to the death today! We won't stop until one of us wins!" Fragrant Fist led her to the main hall, and the two of them took their stances in the spacious hall, ready to compete!

Bai Shandian led the crowd in a flurry of activity, quickly spreading out to watch the spectacular martial arts match. The thing he hadn't wanted to happen had finally happened. Although Bai Shandian wanted to stop it, he was powerless. He had just recovered from a serious illness and his strength hadn't fully returned; how could he possibly be a match for the two greatest martial artists in the world?

Red Moon, following the etiquette of the martial arts world, clasped her hands in a fist salute and said politely, "Sister is superior, please make the first move!" Fragrant Fist believed that Red Moon's feigned humility in front of everyone was undoubtedly a sign of disrespect! He immediately flew into a rage, his hands swirling in the air like he was holding a ball, using the principles of Tai Chi to transform Yin and Yang, and Yin and Yang to generate the Four Symbols. After a moment of this swirling motion, he unleashed a lightning-fast, thunderous palm strike!

With both palms extended simultaneously, the true energy flowing through the Yin and Yang of Tai Chi struck directly at Red Moon's face! Instantly, a fierce wind arose, and the chilling air cut like steel knives, making a sharp, slicing sound! Red Moon dared not take this palm strike head-on, knowing that this was a unique technique of the Qingcheng Sect. When the palms were kneaded into a ball, two internal forces were used to create a rotating, skillful force. If Red Moon were to strike Red Moon's palms directly, he would be subjected to a tremendous churning force, like a whirlpool in the sea, leaving him no time to escape and breaking bones and tendons in an instant, turning his arms into a pair of twisted pretzel-like limbs!

The founder of Qingcheng Mountain, Daoist Kongzhu, dominated the martial arts world for decades with his signature "Splitting Palm" technique, becoming invincible and establishing the Qingcheng School of martial arts, leaving a lasting legacy. The training process for the Splitting Palm is extremely arduous, requiring multiple stages. First, practitioners must tie thousands of layers of paper to a large tree and practice striking it, gradually increasing the power and frequency of the strikes. As practice deepens, practitioners will switch to using water from a vat and iron filings for even more intense training.

Ultimately, the practitioner must use their palm power to resist the surging currents in the turbulent sea, employing a combination of palm strikes, stirring, pushing, twisting, and turning techniques to fight against the raging waves. Once the skill is mastered to a certain level, one can use powerful palm strikes to control the turbulent sea, directing it wherever one desires, completely reversing the tide and controlling it at will! This signifies the successful mastery of the Splitting Palm technique.

Red Moon was incredibly clever. She leaped aside, avoiding a direct confrontation, and instead used the ultimate lightness skill described in the "Complete Guide to Martial Arts"—the Phantom Ghost Step—to dart and weave, leaping high and crouching low, moving swiftly and stealthily. Her eyes were like lightning, like a vulture circling high in the sky. She spotted an opening in her opponent's back, let out a sharp cry, and with lightning speed, thrust a dagger into her back!

Those involved are often confused, while bystanders see things clearly. Xiang Quan, having exhausted herself with the force of her palm strike, had intended to make a desperate, one-hit kill, but her opponent vanished in a flash. Just as she was wondering what was happening, she suddenly heard Bai Shandian shout, "Quan'er, watch your back!" A sweet feeling welled up in her heart, and tenderness arose within her: "I was fighting with his current wife, and Shandian didn't care about her life or death, but he's so worried about me. It seems he still can't forget his old flame; after all, they're husband and wife!"

Confidence surged, and she swiftly rolled eighteen times to dodge! Missing her initial thrust, Red Moon, undeterred, unleashed the Butterfly Plum Blossom Sword Technique, relentlessly pursuing her like a shadow! This Butterfly Plum Blossom Sword Technique originated from her childhood martial arts teacher, Zou Hongyi, the head of the Hebei Plum Blossom Fist school. It emphasizes lightness and agility, the sword moving with the heart, the sword and body as one, and the sword's movements light and nimble. In short, one word: fast!

Although taught by Red Moon's martial arts mentor, and using only the most basic routines of the Plum Blossom Fist school, her swordsmanship, honed through years of profound internal energy cultivation, was remarkably powerful! She wielded a dagger with lightning speed, faster than thunder and lightning, impenetrable to wind and rain, its cold light dazzling! Everyone was stunned!

Master Qinxin nodded repeatedly, exclaiming loudly, "Excellent! This Butterfly Plum Blossom Sword technique is executed with a short dagger, yet its power surpasses that of a longsword! No one could possibly achieve this without twenty years of training!"

The woman with the smelly feet watched coldly from the side, frowning secretly, thinking, "What's wrong with this nephew today?! First, he verbally abused his own sister, putting her in jail with her life hanging in the balance! Then, he fabricated charges out of thin air, deliberately conspiring with Yue Zhongqi and Shaluoben to find some unfounded crimes, forcing Sister Xiangquan to temporarily imprison Liang Erji to appease public anger. Now, seeing his own mother and second mother fighting, he not only doesn't say a word to stop them, but also talks loudly and comments on them, looking smug, as if watching a monkey! Isn't this bizarre?! He wasn't like this before! He used to be humble, polite, and gentle, never speaking much in front of others!"

The smelly feet were terrifying to think about; something was definitely amiss. He quickly pulled Thousand-Hand Guanyin aside to a quiet place and whispered to her to arrange for people to be on guard both up and down the mountain to prevent any enemy attacks! Thousand-Hand Guanyin waved her hand, and all the members of the Mo Qing Society quietly followed her to set up defenses.

Then, Stinky Feet walked up behind Platinum and silently reached out. His five fingers, like hooks, suddenly and swiftly gripped Platinum's shoulder blades, instantly causing Platinum to collapse to the ground! He then tore off a human skin mask from Platinum's face, revealing, upon closer inspection, that it was a ghost eye!

The change happened in an instant, stunning everyone. Saloben even exclaimed, "Ah, how come it's the Japanese Fujibayashi Hyōsetsu? Didn't Liang Erji say that he killed this person? What happened?!" This shout was so earth-shattering that even the two female warriors who were fighting fiercely stopped their entanglement and jumped out of the circle.

Stinky Foot squeezed hard, causing Teng Lin Piaoxue to grimace in pain, sweat beading on his forehead and tears streaming down his face. He cried out repeatedly, "Chief, please spare me! It hurts..." Stinky Foot demanded sharply, "Speak! Where did my nephew go? Why are you disguised as him? What are you trying to do? Speak, speak now!"

With veins bulging from the pain, Fujibayashi Piaoxue had no choice but to confess: "Seeing Bai Jin rescue your army with the Medicine King Physician, and hearing that he was also a ninja, Tokugawa Munetake, the supreme commander of the Japanese ninja forces in western Sichuan, was furious and issued a death order for Fujibayashi Shunke to capture him and bring him to justice, to atone for his sins and cleanse the sect! Just last night, in the early hours of the morning, my uncle and I secretly sneaked into Bai Jin's room in the main building of Qiongshan, used sleeping gas to knock him unconscious, and my uncle carried him on his back, taking advantage of the cover of night to fly away. As for me, both to avoid alerting him and to monitor your army's every move in the future, I disguised myself and transformed into Bai Jin's appearance!"

These words shocked everyone present. His four protectors behind him were even more astonished, a wave of fear washing over them: "If this villain were to act impulsively and secretly kill us, we four, as his subordinates, would have no chance to escape!" Red Fox pounced on him, shouting sharply, "You cunning devil! Tell me quickly, where is my master being held captive?"

Fujibayashi Hyōsetsu lowered her head and pondered for a moment before saying, "As far as I know, according to the rules of our Koga ninja Fujibayashi clan, traitors are punished by committing seppuku as an act of atonement, and this must be carried out publicly three days later. I estimate that your clan head, Mr. Haku, is currently imprisoned in the dungeon of the Koganekawa official residence, heavily guarded!"

Xiang Quan cried out, "My poor son!" He was about to personally lead his troops to attack the Xiaojinchuan official residence! But Bai Shandian stopped him, shouting, "Foolish! Is this the time to loudly proclaim your intention to send troops? Before you even lead your army to Xiaojinchuan, the Japanese will have already heard the news and will use our son as a hostage! At that point, you won't be able to attack them, and you won't even have a reason to refuse if they hand over the Qiongshan official residence!"

"What should we do?" Xiangquan froze, her mind in turmoil, unsure of what to do! Bai Shandian calmly advised her, "As a military commander, you must never act impulsively or listen to gossip, lest you do something you'll regret later! You must always keep a clear head, understand your current situation, assess the circumstances, and have a long-term vision in order to strategize and win battles from afar!"

Looking around and seeing everyone nodding in agreement, Bai Shandian continued earnestly, "Quan'er, let's talk about today. Our Yu'er certainly made a mistake, but it doesn't warrant death. Besides, everyone pleaded for her, so you should weigh her merits and demerits and let her off the hook for now! As for Chief Liang'erji, he's already dealt with it in the Xiaojinchuan underground labyrinth. We have no reason to bring up the past! First, you don't understand the situation at the time; you weren't there. As the saying goes, 'No investigation, no right to speak.' Second, Red Moon and Brother Stinky Feet already handled this matter in the underground labyrinth. How can you bring it up again? Does it mean you don't recognize their leadership abilities? Or do you not trust them? This will escalate the conflict and affect future peaceful relations between the two sides, Yu'er. Moreover, it will affect the prestige you've built within the army!"