Yang Guo: I defied death and reached the heavens in The Return of the Condor Heroes

The night rain continued to drizzle, pattering on the rocks and pines of the mountain, making soft, rustling sounds.

Mixed with the whistling of the mountain wind sweeping through the treetops, it drifts over the layered peaks of Zhongnan Mountain.

Grandma Sun leaned on her wooden cane; the wound on her right hand was pale from being soaked in the cold rain, and her skin ached faintly.

But she didn't stop, even more hurriedly than when she went to Chongyang Palace.

Two things were always on her mind.

First, there's Miss Long—that dark figure is ruthless and is currently inside the ancient tomb. Miss Long is alone in the tomb; can she possibly defeat him?

Secondly, the origin of that dark figure—to be able to kill someone with a single blow in full view of everyone, such palm power is by no means that of an unknown person.

But instead of heading to Chongyang Palace or seeking out Quanzhen disciples, this person killed someone and rushed straight into the Tomb of the Living Dead hidden in the back mountains.

What exactly is the purpose of this move?

Was he an accomplice hired by Li Mochou to steal the "Jade Maiden Heart Sutra"?

Or is it because they harbor old grudges against the people who lived in the ancient tomb and came to seek revenge?

Or perhaps... Granny Sun's heart suddenly trembled... Or perhaps she came for Miss Long?

The more she thought about it, the more anxious she became, and her pace quickened involuntarily.

Upon arriving at the ancient tomb's stone wall, she reached out and tapped seven times in sequence on the raised dark patterns on the wall.

A muffled thud of a mechanism turning came from deep within the stone wall, and the heavy stone door slowly pushed open a narrow crack.

She quickly slipped inside, and the stone door slammed shut behind her.

A muffled "boom" completely shut out the sounds of wind, rain, and the rustling of the trees outside the door.

The tomb remained as cold and silent as ever, and Granny Sun walked in with practiced ease.

She turned through three winding passageways and looked up to see Little Dragon Girl standing at the end of the passageway.

The other person remained dressed in white, standing there quietly, like a pure white jade statue.

"Miss Long, I'm back. The two Taoist priests outside have been taken away by the Quanzhen Sect."

As Granny Sun walked and talked, she looked Little Dragon Girl up and down as she got closer, her voice filled with undisguised concern:

"Young lady, are you alright?"

Xiaolongnu nodded slightly upon hearing this, then shook her head, her gaze sweeping over her arms hanging at her sides, her voice still cold:

"I'm fine, but how's your arm injury, Mother-in-law?"

When Granny Sun saw that she looked calm and had no injuries, she finally felt relieved.

She waved her hand dismissively and said:

"I'm fine, just a minor cut on the skin. I'll apply a few drops of stalactite when I get back to my room, and it will scab over and heal in a couple of days."

Her tone was calm, but then her gaze drifted deeper into the passageway. She took a half-step forward and subconsciously lowered her voice to ask:

"Young lady, did you see the person who broke in?"

Little Dragon Girl nodded.

"Was that person male or female? How old? What kind of person were they?"

Grandma Sun frowned immediately and asked in rapid succession:

"But that wicked Li Mochou is after the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra, and she specially hired this helper to snatch it?"

"He's a fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy."

Xiaolongnu's tone was flat, revealing no emotional fluctuation whatsoever.

He said... he needed to "rent" the Jade Bed to practice his cultivation, but I didn't quite understand the rest of what he said...

"Rent the Jade Bed?"

Grandma Sun was taken aback when she heard this, her brows furrowed even more, and she looked surprised.

"That's a novel idea. Let's not even mention that this item was dug up by Patriarch Lin Chaoying from the frigid lands of the far north."

"Even in the martial arts world, only a handful of people know the name of the Jade Bed... This boy is only fourteen or fifteen years old, how did he learn of it...?"

Little Dragon Girl was silent for a moment, her long eyelashes drooping slightly, and she said softly:

"Although he is young, his martial arts skills are quite good. I managed to overtake him just now, but I couldn't do anything about it."

Granny Sun was taken aback upon hearing this, then realized that Miss Long had already fought with this person and had not been able to drive him away!

She knew Xiaolongnu's fighting skills better than anyone else.

Although Xiaolongnu is still young, she has been cultivating in this tomb since childhood, and her internal strength has already far surpassed that of her peers.

In addition, the martial arts of the Ancient Tomb are exquisite and unique, and the lightness skills and footwork are extremely agile.

Even those who have been famous in the martial arts world for a long time may not be a match for Xiaolongnu.

But Little Dragon Girl herself admitted that she had no way to deal with that boy...

How could a fourteen or fifteen-year-old child possess such profound skills?

Grandma Sun felt a little flustered for a moment, then asked in a low voice:

"Then...does the young lady have any ideas at the moment?"

"We can't just let him live in the tomb like this forever, can we? This Tomb of the Living Dead is, after all, a legacy left by our ancestor. How can we let a complete stranger live here?"

Upon hearing this, Xiaolongnu slightly closed her thin lips, remaining silent for an even longer period.

She grew up in this dark and secluded ancient tomb since birth, and has seen very few outsiders in the past ten years.

But she had never met anyone like Yang Guo who spoke in a way she couldn't understand, yet was impossible to defeat.

She was by nature indifferent and knew nothing about worldly affairs, so naturally she couldn't think of any appropriate solution.

After a long silence, she finally spoke softly:

"I really have no other choice, let's see how it goes."

"If he behaves himself, it's fine to let him stay for a while. But if he doesn't behave, we'll get rid of him from the ancient tomb completely."

As soon as she finished speaking, Granny Sun understood what she meant.

If it really comes to that, even if it costs them both their lives, they will drive this boy of unknown origin out of the country.

We must not allow him to act recklessly and disturb the peace of our ancestral master.

Grandma Sun nodded heavily and said in a hoarse voice:

"I understand. I will spend more time near the Jade Bed these next few days to find out more about him and what his background is."

"If anything unexpected happens in the future, we can come up with a solution then."

Xiaolongnu hummed in agreement, said nothing more, and turned to walk towards another stone chamber.

Grandma Sun looked at her slender back and sighed softly.

This girl was someone she had watched grow up in this ancient tomb since she was a child. Her mind was as pure as a blank sheet of paper, and she knew nothing about the wickedness of people's hearts or the treacherous nature of the martial world.

This sudden encounter with such a highly skilled and eccentric young man has truly put her in a difficult position.

She then shook her head, banishing all distracting thoughts, gripped the wooden staff in her hand, and slowly walked toward the direction of the cold jade bed.

......

Inside the stone chamber where the Jade Bed was located, the cold air still settled on the ground like frost.

The entire stone chamber was dark and candleless, except for the jade bed itself, which emitted a faint, shimmering white light. The hazy light and shadow fell on the mottled stone walls, spreading out a delicate, cold glow.

Grandma Sun slowed her pace, her cane gently approaching, the tip of the cane touching the bluestone slab with a very soft thud.

She arrived at the door and looked up to see a handsome young man sitting cross-legged on the cold jade bed, his blue robe already covered with a thin layer of frost.

The boy's eyebrows and the ends of his hair were covered with glistening ice crystals. With each breath, the white mist around his lips condensed and did not dissipate. He was as still as a stone statue embedded in ice.

His eyes were lightly closed, his long eyelashes drooping like raven feathers. Even without opening his eyes, one could see that his features were exceptionally handsome, his nose was high and straight, and his jawline was refined.

The cold air made him appear even more aloof and cold, and at such a young age he already carried a sense of loneliness and detachment, which stirred Grandma Sun's heart.

But what alarmed Granny Sun even more than his appearance was his use of the Jade Bed.

Granny Sun had lived for over sixty years and was used to the wonderful uses of the Jade Bed, but she had never seen it used in this way before.

In the past, Grandmaster Lin Chaoying practiced on a cold jade bed, using his internal energy to protect his meridians, guiding the cold energy to temper his internal strength, and dispelling his inner demons.

Xiaolongnu had been sleeping on a cold jade bed since childhood, but even when she was meditating and practicing her internal energy, she needed to carefully guide the cold energy to harmonize her internal breathing, lest the cold energy damage her meridians and foundation.

But the young man in front of him sat idly on the cold jade bed, neither protecting his meridians nor showing any sign of using his internal energy to ward off the cold.

He allowed the cold air to invade his body, yet he remained calm and his internal energy circulated freely—a truly bizarre thing!