Chapter 201: Eight Friends of Hangu Pass

Feng Yi stepped out about a zhang, rushed into the gate, and smelled a strong fragrance; his head felt slightly dizzy, but his divine skill shifted, instantly clearing his mind. As A Zi was about to lie down but not yet, he pulled her into his embrace, feeling her breathing even, with no serious issue.

He looked around in all directions, but there was no one around; even the old servant who had led the way was nowhere to be seen. In the courtyard, several dozen articles of clothing were drying on bamboo poles—women's garments, plus a few small clothes for boys and girls. The spirit hall was simply furnished, and the spirit tablet read: "Spirit Tablet of Lord Xue Muhua." He couldn't help but wonder: "Divine Doctor Xue is merely feigning death; just now someone came, yet they hid again—could they be testing me?"

He then gathered his breath and said: "Feng Yi has come to pay respects to the manor; please, Divine Doctor Xue, come out and meet me."

Although his tone was peaceful, he projected it with internal energy; he figured that anyone in the manor, even if hiding in a deep room underground, could hear it.

As soon as his words fell, Feng Yi heard the sound of hurried footsteps and rustling sleeves; he had already heard it outside the door, so when A Zi entered, he warned her, hoping she would learn her lesson—but she still fell for the trick.

Then a woman's voice called out: "Second brother, third brother, fourth brother!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the silhouettes of five men and one woman swayed and appeared before them.

A black-bearded old man shouted loudly: "Old Five, everyone's come to the door—why don't you get out here quickly!"

He held a square piece of wood in his right hand.

That woman was a middle-aged beauty.

Of the remaining four, two were dressed as scholars.

One resembled a carpenter, holding a short axe and carrying a long saw on his back.

Another, however, had a blue face with fangs, red hair and green beard, a terrifying appearance—truly a monster—clad in a bright, shining brocade robe, as if wrapped in strange light,

Feng Yi had already seen that this person's face was painted with opera makeup, his attire resembling that of a performer, and asked: "Are you all the siblings of Divine Doctor Xue?"

The middle-aged beauty said: "Are you Feng Yi of Gathered Virtue Manor?"

"Exactly!" Feng Yi, with extraordinary spiritual perception, smelled her fragrance and asked: "Was it you who released the medicinal powder just now?"

The performer shouted: "My fifth brother has died, yet she's happy—utterly lacking any human courtesy!"

The beauty said: "You too are a renowned figure in the martial world; your lady speaks so recklessly, rejoicing in others' misfortune—you can't bear it, but you should let her suffer some hardship, otherwise you won't be able to discipline her properly, right?"

Although she was dissatisfied with A Zi, her speech was gentle and refined, betraying a delicate fragility.

Feng Yi smiled slightly: "What you all say is correct, so since she just fell for the trick, I didn't intervene."

However, you, an outsider, made her suffer; as her man, I cannot let this go unanswered.

The beauty smiled alluringly and said softly: "What do you want?"

Feng Yi said: "Then you too must suffer some hardship!"

He flicked his sleeve, like a gust of wind and lightning; the beauty hurriedly twisted to dodge, but was still swept by the strong wind, crying out as she fell back more than a zhang.

The black-bearded old man shouted: "Then as her brother, I must also give her a lesson—take my move, the Great Iron Net!"

He shook the square board in his hand, smashing it toward Feng Yi's head with a whooshing wind; Feng Yi casually swept out a palm, and before his hand even reached, the palm wind produced a clang.

The old man's arms went numb and sore; he groaned, staggered back several steps, and when he steadied, the square board clanged to the ground, his face full of disbelief.

It turned out that this square piece resembling wood was actually a chessboard forged of steel, merely painted with a wood grain on the outside—unexpectedly shaken loose by Feng Yi's palm strike.

Yet the performer burst into loud tears, singing: "Alas, alas, my good brother, we swore brotherhood in the Peach Garden, met again in the ancient city, you passed five gates and slew six commanders—what might!"

As he sang, a soft whip swooshed out, winding toward Feng Yi's and A Zi's feet.

Feng Yi embraced A Zi and stepped back one step; a scholar flipped his right hand, producing a judge's brush, suddenly tilted his body, seeming unstable, and the judge's brush flew up and down, striking at several of his major acupoints.

Feng Yi jumped backward to dodge; at that moment, the artisan waved his right hand, producing an axe, and lunged at him from another side.

The three surrounded Feng Yi in the middle, yet he remained calm, embracing A Zi as he shifted left and right among their weapons, handling them with ease.

The remaining scholar swayed but did not attack, merely pacing in a circle, shaking his head and saying: "How strange! His martial arts are actually this good?"

He reached into his pocket and muttered: "Huh, where did it go?" He felt in his left pocket, rummaged in his right, shook his sleeves, patted his chest, but could find nothing no matter what.

Feng Yi laughed: "Looking for a weapon?"

The scholar replied: "Yes. Your martial arts are superb; my brothers can't match you, so I want to take out a weapon to face you four against one—but huh, strange, strange! Where did I put my weapon?" He tapped his forehead, thinking hard.

Feng Yi inwardly chuckled and said: "Searching for a weapon in the midst of battle—isn't that too late?"

The scholar said: "Not late, not late; a gentleman observes propriety before force—I will find the Analects and use the sages' words to influence you!" As he spoke, he rummaged east and west.

Feng Yi laughed heartily; while talking with the book idiot, he also contended with the others, but saw that the performer's moves were elaborate, yet the rhythm was clear.

At times he furrowed his brows and clutched his chest, his lotus steps light and graceful, resembling a peerless beauty—sometimes tipsy and endearing, his steps swaying east and west. Remarkably, in playing various roles, each had a matching set of martial arts; his soft whip could serve as a lady's long sleeve or a scholar's colored brush.

Meanwhile, the artisan wielded his axe, left and right strikes fierce beyond compare; the one wielding the judge's brush, as if spirited, could attack and defend well, possessing proper form.

And the book idiot, while appearing to search for a weapon, was actually jumping back and forth with Feng Yi, drawing his attention; if given the chance, a single strike would surely hit.

Feng Yi found it amusing, thinking: "All this flashy nonsense—no wonder they amount to nothing!"

He said: "Four against one—that's an offense!" He pointed a finger, a hiss, striking the artisan's Qi Hu point, sending him crashing to the ground.

The performer swept out his long whip; this time Feng Yi did not dodge, casually flicked it back, wrapping the whip around the performer's legs and binding them; the performer thudded to the ground, and everyone was startled.

The beauty, knocked down by Feng Yi's sleeve wind, had just caught her breath when she sprang up, sweeping her large sleeve and sending a wave of fragrant scent toward Feng Yi.

Feng Yi slightly opened his mouth and inhaled sharply, like a whale sucking in water, drawing the strange fragrance completely inside.

The beauty laughed: "Indeed, indeed!"

Feng Yi smiled: "Not necessarily!" He exhaled a long breath; the beauty immediately thudded and fell to the ground.

After Feng Yi inhaled the confusing incense and then expelled it with deep internal energy, although the beauty had an antidote for the incense, the breath he blew out contained his divine skill, like a lead pellet, striking her chest; she involuntarily sat down, her face red as a monkey's buttocks.

The person who had been using the chessboard sat on the ground, shouting: "Enough, enough! We've conceded this game; no need to continue this match."

Before he finished speaking, two clear chimes of a zither rang out from afar; as the notes entered their ears, everyone's hearts violently jumped twice.

Feng Yi naturally felt nothing unusual; he only heard the zither chime twice more, and everyone's hearts pounded even harder. A Zi let out a cry and actually woke up, seeing herself leaning in Feng Yi's embrace, she called out: "Big brother, there's poison! There's poison!"

The beauty gave a dismissive laugh and said: "Again with the nonsense—my pollen only makes people dizzy; how could it be poisonous?"

Before A Zi could speak, the book idiot shouted: "Big brother, come quickly! This is terrible! You're dawdling, still plucking that demonic zither? As Confucius said: 'When the ruler summons, one does not wait for the carriage!'"

The zither's sound continued; an old man came forward, his wide sleeves fluttering, his steps slow, his forehead high and protruding, his face strangely ancient, his smiling eyes extremely amiable, holding a jade zither in his arms.

The book idiot and his companions all shouted: "Big brother!"

This man ignored them, stared at Feng Yi, and asked: "May I ask your great name?"

Feng Yi smiled: "I am Feng Yi!"

The old zither player stroked his long beard, gave a sideways glance, and said, "Isn't this Feng Yi, who was scared away by the Gusu Murong?"

Feng Yi gave a faint smile, but A Zi became anxious: "You let…"

Feng Yi let out a sigh, then glanced at the four osmanthus trees in the courtyard.

Everyone else followed his gaze, and saw that the branches and leaves of the second osmanthus tree were swaying, slowly moving outward,

Everyone prick up their ears to listen, hearing only a faint creaking sound pass by, when suddenly a person emerged from the ground—it was Divine Doctor Xue.

Divine Doctor Xue had originally been hiding underground; Feng Yi transmitted sound with his inner power, penetrating straight to the depths. Upon hearing it, he recalled Feng Yi's promise to deal with the Xingxiu old monster, and so he came out, but the mechanism was intricate, so it took him some time to emerge.

The old zither player then noticed the beautiful woman lying to one side, and exclaimed in surprise, "Eh, Seventh Sister, what happened? Who hurt you?"

Feng Yi said, "It was my rashness!" He lightly waved his hand; the beautiful woman instantly felt a warm current flow through her body, she stood up, bit her lip, and loudly said, "Fifth Brother, what are you pretending dead for?"

The bookworm shouted even louder: "Old Fifth, if you don't get out now, you're really in for it!"

Divine Doctor Xue gave an embarrassed smile. He had heard Feng Yi's shout, but hadn't expected the zither player and his sworn brothers to arrive as well. He clasped his hands to the crowd and said, "We're all friends; please come inside to discuss in detail."

A Zi was about to speak, but Feng Yi didn't let her open her mouth, grabbed her hand, and gently pinched it.

A Zi felt a numb, tingling sensation where she was pinched, her cheeks flushed, and she forgot what she was going to say.

Feng Yi didn't use heavy force on these people; the zither player gave a slight massage, and several people recovered. Then everyone entered the house and sat down together.

A Zi looked at Divine Doctor Xue, her eyes shifted, and she suddenly smiled, saying, "Are you Xue Muhua? Since you're not dead, why pretend to be?"

She had just been scolded by Feng Yi, yet her old habits resurfaced.

Feng Yi found it amusing and also liked her personality; such a woman is free of worries.

Divine Doctor Xue shook his head with a wry smile, saying, "Who would pretend to be dead when they can live?" He pointed at the zither player and said, "Let me introduce you two: this is our eldest senior brother, Kang Guangling."

Kang Guangling clasped his hands, then returned to plucking his zither.

Divine Doctor Xue then pointed at the old chess player and said, "This is my second senior brother Fan Bailing, who studies Go; nowadays he has few rivals."

Fan Bailing smiled and said, "I've heard of your great name, sir, but I never expected you to be so young, with such high martial arts—it's truly unimaginable."

Feng Yi smiled.

A Zi said, "I didn't expect someone who plays chess to also know martial arts!"

Divine Doctor Xue said, "Miss, you may not know, but my second senior brother's chessboard is cast from iron, originally made to study chess. No matter whether he walks, sits, or lies down, he places the iron chess pieces on it; even in a carriage or on horseback, they won't shift or topple. Later, taking advantage of the situation, he turned the chessboard into a weapon and the pieces into hidden weapons; in the jianghu, he hardly has any rivals."

A Zi laughed and said, "I've been out in the jianghu once, and everywhere I've met people who hardly have rivals; I've learned from them."

Seeing that she was just a little girl, Xue Muhua didn't bother to argue with her, and pointed at the bookworm, saying, "My third senior brother, whose name is just the character Du, loves to read; he has studied all schools of thought, leaving nothing unexplored, and is a highly learned scholar; I'm sure you have already benefited from his teachings."

Feng Yi nodded and said, "I have been taught."

Divine Doctor Xue pointed at the scholar holding the judge's brush and said, "This is my fourth senior brother, skilled in painting, landscapes, figures, feathers, and flowers, all exquisitely done. His surname is Wu; before joining our sect, he served as a commander-in-chief in the Great Song court, so everyone calls him Commander Wu."

Both sides clasped their hands.

Divine Doctor Xue said, "I am fifth in seniority." He then pointed at the craftsman and said, "My sixth junior brother Feng A San originally came from a woodworker's background; before joining the sect, he was already an ingenious artisan, and after further study under our master, he became even more skillful."

Divine Doctor Xue then pointed at the beautiful woman and smiled, saying, "This is my seventh junior sister Shi, who excels at cultivating flowers; under her care, every rare and exotic blossom in the world thrives. Hero Feng, you are about the same age, so you might as well get closer."

Feng Yi had said at the Zhu Xian Manor that he was older than Qiao Feng, so Divine Doctor Xue naturally believed it.

A Zi only felt a nameless anger rush to the top of her head, making her face flush and ears hot, and she sneered, "Just now you made me lose consciousness—was that your doing?"

The beautiful woman surnamed Shi, whose personal name is Qingfeng, gave a slight smile, rose and made a courteous bow, saying, "I have offended you just now; please forgive me, Miss."

A Zi felt angry, kept a straight face, and did not return the salute, saying, "I also know how to use poison; let's get close in the future."

Having said that, she suddenly felt dispirited, thinking she was inferior to this woman.

Others saw her rudeness, yet felt they had been slighted, and all wore displeased expressions.

Divine Doctor Xue pointed at the actor and said, "Eighth junior brother Li Puppet has spent his life obsessed with acting, acting crazy and foolish; in this martial way, he is inevitably neglectful."

Alas, it's not just him; all eight of us brothers are like this. Actually, the martial arts our master taught, I have never been able to master them in my lifetime; instead, I greedily sought to learn many techniques, running around to learn others' secret moves, and in the end… alas.

A Zi laughed and said, "No wonder you pretend to be dead; looking at you sighing and groaning, it's because you're incapable and can't deal with your enemies—no wonder you act this way, truly shameless."

Everyone hearing this changed their faces in unison, looking terrified.

Fan Bailing, deep and scheming, still managed to keep his composure, and said in a low voice, "Old Fifth, could it be that the extremely formidable great demon is about to arrive any moment?"

Divine Doctor Xue nodded his head.

A Zi asked, "Which great demon?"

Feng Yi also couldn't help but chuckle, saying, "Divine Doctor Xue, I just can't understand: you're not even afraid of Qiao Feng, yet you dare to summon people to surround him—what else under heaven could you fear?"

Fan Bailing shook his head and said, "What is Qiao Feng? This demon is even more vicious and cruel than he—it is the Xingxiu old monster."

A Zi wondered, "What is the Xingxiu old monster?"

Fan Bailing said, "Under heaven, who else could be the Xingxiu old monster but Ding Chunqiu?"

Just hearing that name made several people's hearts jump.

A Zi, however, bluntly said, "Oh, it's him? I don't think he's that vicious or cruel at all!"

Everyone's faces turned pale upon hearing this; Divine Doctor Xue gave a cold laugh and said, "Miss, you're blowing a mighty big wind!" Shi Qingfeng said, "You can't even withstand my bewitching potion; the Xingxiu old monster is my master's uncle—do you say he's not formidable?"

Feng Yi laughed and said, "She hasn't even blown that yet—she's actually a little disciple of Ding Chunqiu!"

Upon hearing this, everyone was moved, fixed their gaze on A Zi, and in unison asked, "Are you his disciple?"

A Zi had no idea at all about the history between their master and disciple.

Several people asked in turn, "What brings you here?"

"What do you intend to do?"

Divine Doctor Xue looked at Feng Yi, stroking his beard, appearing calm on the surface but filled with doubt in his eyes, and couldn't help thinking, "Feng Yi promised to help me deal with Ding Chunqiu, yet he brings his disciple here—could it be that he fears Ding Chunqiu and has changed his mind?"

Just then, Feng Yi smiled and said, "Do you know why I am together with the disciple of the Xingxiu old monster?"

Divine Doctor Xue and the others repeatedly shook their heads.

Feng Yi laughed and said, "It's for no other reason: Ding Chunqiu betrayed his master and exterminated his ancestors, disregarded human life, and lacked any propriety as a teacher, so A Zi stole his Divine Wood King Cauldron and fled, being pursued everywhere."

Kang Guangling burst into loud laughter, saying, "Excellent, excellent!"

=9+book ba

Gou Du said: "This is truly using the person's own method to treat their own body—good, good!"

A Zi said in surprise, "Does my master also betray teacher and destroy ancestors?"

A Zi, being somewhat older in the Star Lodge Sect, her master looked at her with a strange gaze; sometimes he reached out to touch her face, touch her chest; she became frightened and thus fled; this also counts as betraying teacher and destroying ancestors, but she didn't know how her master had betrayed teacher and destroyed ancestors, so she was very curious.

"You don't know?" Xue Shenyi frowned deeply.

Fan Bailang glanced at him, shook his head and sighed, "You betray teacher and destroy ancestors—would you say that to a disciple?"

A Zi laughed, "Come on, everyone, tell me about my master!"

Xue Muhua said, "This matter is originally our sect's shame; it need not be told to outsiders. But since we have received the aid of Hero Feng, if we do not make clear the causes and effects, it would be failing in human decency; moreover, since this young lady is a disciple of Ding Chunqiu, she also ought to know his vicious countenance. I merely hope that the two of you will not leak this to others."

Feng Yi actually had no interest in hearing these, but A Zi was keenly interested, eagerly agreed, and even shook Feng Yi's hand.

Feng Yi wanted A Zi to serve him wholeheartedly to satisfy his own desires; how could he dampen her enthusiasm, so he also nodded.

Xue Muhua said to senior brother Kang Guangling, "Senior brother, I will now explain the circumstances."

Although Kang Guangling was the eldest among the martial brothers and his martial arts far surpassed his peers, he was quite naive in character; Xue Muhua's question to him was merely to save face before outsiders.

Kang Guangling said, "How strange—your mouth is on your head; if you want to speak, speak; why ask me?"

Xue Muhua said, "Hero Feng knows that my master is Mr. Congbian, so I need say no more."

A Zi said, "So your master is Su Xinghe; he sent out invitations asking talented youths to go to Lei Drum Mountain, and my elder brother received one!"

Having been with Feng Yi for over ten days, she naturally knew what he was going to Lei Drum Mountain to do.

Xue Muhua said, "But my grandmaster still had a second disciple, namely Ding Chunqiu. Their martial arts were originally evenly matched, but later they diverged in skill."

A Zi interjected, "Surely my master is more formidable than yours!"

Xue Muhua said, "That's not quite right. The grandmaster studied everything under heaven, his learning encompassing all things; initially my master and Ding Chunqiu both studied martial arts, but later my master diverted his attention to study the grandmaster's music and phonetics."

A Zi glanced at Kang Guangling's qin and stuck out her tongue.

Kang Guangling snorted, his voice rough and gruff, "I learned to play the qin from my master—what's the problem?"

A Zi laughed, "Do you think I don't know? No need for you to say it!"

Xue Muhua said, "If my master had only studied the qin, it would not have been a big problem, but the grandmaster's learning was truly vast—music, chess, calligraphy, painting, medicine, divination, astronomy, crafts, trade, agriculture—he knew and excelled in all of them."

My master first studied the qin, then soon went on to study chess, then calligraphy, then painting.

Each of these subjects consumes great effort and time; Ding Chunqiu initially pretended to study them all, but after ten days or so he claimed his aptitude was too dull to master them, so he quit and focused solely on martial arts. After ten or eight years like this, the martial arts of the two master-brothers diverged considerably.

Feng Yi said, "To be versed and excellent in music, chess, calligraphy, painting, medicine, divination, astronomy, and crafts, and still want to cultivate supreme martial arts—this is beyond ordinary people!"

His master still overestimates himself!

Several people furrowed their brows slightly, showing a thoughtful air.

Kang Guangling said, "Old Five, there's something more urgent—why aren't you speaking? Speak up, speak up!"

Xue Muhua said, "Ding Chunqiu's single-minded devotion to martial arts was in itself good, but… alas… speaking of this, it is truly disgraceful for our sect."

"How is it not honorable?" A Zi said, "Come on, tell us!"

Xue Shenyi said, "Ding Chunqiu, relying on being twenty to thirty years younger than the grandmaster and his good looks, actually took up with the grandmaster's lover."

A Zi exclaimed in surprise, "Didn't the grandmaster know?"

Xue Shenyi said, "How could the grandmaster, so perceptive, not know? Whether he knew or not, it was a great blow to his dignity."

A Zi nodded, "That's true too—who was the grandmaster's lover? Truly shameless!"

Xue Shenyi stared, then gave a bitter smile, "This senior, I haven't even heard her name!"

We also only tacitly understood; nobody dared mention it, to his face or behind his back, all pretending to be deaf and mute.

In short, Ding Chunqiu employed all kinds of despicable means and secretly mastered several extremely vicious evil arts; the grandmaster, enraged, intended to kill him, but little did he know that Ding Chunqiu struck first, launching a sudden attack that severely injured the grandmaster.

A Zi giggled, "Great, it seems my stealing his treasure was indeed justified! Has the grandmaster died?"

Xue Shenyi sighed, "Although the grandmaster possessed supreme skills, even when ambushed unawares he could barely hold on until my master arrived to rescue."

My master's martial arts were inferior to that villain; after a fierce battle, my master was wounded again, and the grandmaster fell into a deep valley, his fate unknown.

Although my master's martial arts were delayed by his miscellaneous studies, these miscellaneous studies were after all not entirely useless. In a crisis, my master deployed the Qimen Dunjia technique, resulting in a stalemate with Ding Chunqiu.

A Zi listened intently and asked, "What is the Qimen Dunjia technique?"

Xue Shenyi gave a bitter smile and shook his head, "I don't understand it either!"

Feng Yi said, "That is the Qimen Wu Xing Ba Gua art; on a small scale it can be used for martial arts rivalry, on a large scale for army warfare."

As exemplified by Zhuge Liang's use of the Eight Formation Diagram to trap Eastern Wu's commander Lu Xun, this is precisely relying on that art!

Xue Shenyi nodded, "Ding Chunqiu could not at first break the formation to kill my master; furthermore, he knew our sect possessed many marvelous divine arts, which the grandmaster never transmitted to his two disciples. He supposed that on his deathbed the grandmaster would reveal the location of these divine art manuals to my master, so he could only gradually coerce my master into divulging them, and with the grandmaster's uncle assisting from the side, he relented, on condition that my master henceforth remain silent, after which he would cease to trouble him."

"Grand-uncle master?" A Zi asked, "Who is that?"

"It is the grandmaster's lover!" Xue Shenyi sighed, "At that time my master had under him these eight useless disciples of ours. My master wrote a letter, dispersing us, no longer regarding us as disciples; from then on we truly pretended to be deaf and mute, speaking nothing, hearing nothing; and the disciples he later took in all had their ears pierced and tongues cut, thus creating the name 'Deaf and Mute Sect'."

A Zi's eyes darted, she laughed, "It seems the uncle-master saw that I was studying qin and chess, neglecting my kung fu! That's why he fell short of my master, and thus gathered a bunch of deaf-mute disciples, refusing to let them touch any miscellaneous studies."

Xue Shenyi let out a long sigh, "You are a disciple of Ding Chunqiu; you should address my master as 'uncle-master', but we do not acknowledge him as such!"

A Zi pursed her lips, "Who would care?"

Xue Shenyi said, "We eight brothers, though expelled from the sect, dare not forget our master's kindness in teaching; we therefore call ourselves the 'Eight Friends of Hangu Pass', to commemorate the master's instruction at the Hangu Pass; in the jianghu people only think we are like-minded scoundrels, unaware of our sect."

To guard against the Star Lodge Old Monster's return to the Central Plains and to catch him in one net, we therefore meet every two years, while ordinarily we are scattered across various places.

Not long ago, I heard that Ding Chunqiu had come to the Central Plains; my master moreover sent out a letter requesting someone to go to Lei Drum Mountain, and Ding Chunqiu dispatched a disciple to deliver a message, asking me to summon our fellow disciples to go together to Lei Drum Mountain to settle our grievances.

I naturally refused; that person left in anger. I thought the old monster Ding would sooner or later come knocking, so I feigned death, hiding deadly poison in my coffin, hoping to lure him into taking the bait, while my entire family, young and old, hid in an underground cavern.

A Zi laughed hehe, her face showing contempt, "My master possesses vast supernatural powers; your scheme, hehe, I fear your whole family is in dire straits."

Xue Shenyi's face darkened; Feng A San could not restrain himself and shouted sharply, "You're so young, yet you casually utter hurtful words—truly befitting a disciple of the Star Lodge Old Monster!"

"Hurt someone?" A Zi's eyes darted, she laughed, "I am not taught by the Star Lodge Old Monster; could it be that you taught me? Moreover, I merely spoke the truth—how is that hurtful?"

She and the Eight Friends of Hangu Pass are peers, and with Feng Yi as her backing, what is there to fear from them?

Kang Guangling raised his voice and said, "Do you know the use of the Divine Wood King Cauldron?"

A Zi blurted out, "Isn't it just for cultivating the Eternal Everlasting Spring Skill and the Transformation Great Method?"

"You also know??" Gou Du had a blank look: "How strange, would this thief still pass on true teachings to his disciples?"

A Zi had only overheard this practice; she didn't know whether it was useful or not, and immediately said, "I've only heard it said, Senior Brother Xue, what exactly are the Transformation Great Method and the Eternal Everlasting Spring Skill?"

Xue Shenyi raised his face and said coldly, "It is said that cultivating the Transformation Great Method requires borrowing the venom of many poisonous snakes and insects, absorbing it into the palms, and when fighting someone, transmitting these deadly poisons into the opponent's meridians."

For one who practices martial arts, internal energy arises from the meridians; for example, the 'Guangong Point' is the confluence of the three Yin and the Conception Vessel, and the 'Dazhui Point' is the confluence of the three Yang of the hands and feet and the Governing Vessel. If these two points are contaminated with poison, the internal energy in the Conception and Governing Vessels vanishes instantly.

Common people spread rumors, saying that Ding Lao Guai can neutralize others' martial power. Actually, in my view, once power is cultivated, it cannot be eliminated; Ding Lao Guai injects deadly poison into the meridians, temporarily preventing a person from exerting their internal energy, so the victim thinks their power has been neutralized by him.

It's like after a person is poisoned, the poison enters the brain, causing numbness in the limbs; it is not that the strength of the limbs has been neutralized.

As for the Eternal Everlasting Spring Skill, it allows one to maintain an ageless appearance.

"In this world, women all care about their appearance and wish to retain youth; men are no different."

"Good!" A Zi clapped her hands: "Good, good, good!"

Everyone found it strange, and Xue Shenyi asked, "What's good about it?"

"Don't you understand yet?" A Zi said with a grin: "My master is old, with white hair and a childlike face, like an infant, but I stole his Divine Wood King Cauldron; afterwards he will have trouble gathering poisonous creatures, and his strength will surely weaken—isn't that a good thing?"

In fact, after hearing Xue Shenyi's words, she knew that the Transformation Great Method and Eternal Everlasting Spring Skill she had secretly learned were correct, but she naturally did not say so.

Fan Bailing, however, sneered, "That may be the reasoning, but Xingxiu Lao Guai will not spare you."

"I'm not afraid at all!" A Zi said proudly, "My elder brother is invincible under heaven; why should I fear Xingxiu Lao Guai?"

Li Kuilei suddenly sang in a rough voice: "The steed does not depart—what can be done? Yu, Yu, what are we to do?"

Suddenly shifting to a woman's voice, she coquettish voice, she said, "Your Majesty need not worry; although today's battle at Gaixia is unfavorable, this humble concubine will follow Your Majesty and break out of the encirclement."

Feng Yi understood his meaning and smiled, saying, "I, Feng Yi, am certainly not the Hegemon-King, but Ding Chunqiu is neither Liu Bang nor Han Xin, so why be so pessimistic?"

Suddenly, a faint voice drifted from afar: "Xue Muhua, Xue Muhua, your martial uncle, the old gentleman, has arrived; quickly come out to greet him." The voice was intermittent, far away, yet clear to the caller's internal energy is profound.

"What?" The Hangu Eight Friends trembled all over, their bodies shaking, fear showing on their faces.

A Zi's heart also jumped, and she grabbed Feng Yi's big hand.

Feng Yi smiled and said, "It's fine, don't be afraid!"

Xue Muhua's old face wrinkled into a ball, and he stammered, "He's come, he really has come."

Kang Guangling shouted, "Disaster is at hand, disaster is at hand!" He looked around anxiously and said, "There's no time to flee; hurry, hurry, old, quickly think of a plan! No, no, Lao Wu, bring everyone into the tunnel!"

Feng Yi and A Zi looked at each other.

A Zi was thinking that her master was indeed incredibly formidable; even before he arrived, the two of them were frightened out of their wits.

Feng Yi, however, saw that these people's martial arts were not weak, and moreover they were crazy and reckless, unafraid to attack even him, but upon hearing the name Ding Chunqiu, they turned into cowards trembling with fear, despicable and useless.

Even though he relied on his divine abilities and knew Ding Chunqiu's tactics were nothing special, he couldn't help feeling a bit uneasy and asked, "I also know something about Ding Chunqiu's methods; why does it make you all so fearful?"

Xue Muhua gulped and said in a trembling voice, "He really is formidable, formidable; I know Brother Feng's martial arts are strong, but you must carefully consider that opposing Ding Chunqiu is extremely dangerous—he can be even more terrifying than Qiao Feng."

"Whether you leave or stay is up to you in a single thought, and I won't blame you! But if you stay and die at his hands, don't blame me for not warning you!"

Kang Guangling said, "You must by no means play the hero and fight him. Know that anyone who manages to escape with their life from Xingxiu Lao Guai's hands is already a remarkable hero."

Upon hearing this, A Zi couldn't help but giggle and said, "Senior Brother, you should join my Xingxiu Sect; my master will surely spare someone like you."

As she said that, Feng Yi also burst out laughing.

Indeed, this group's boasting for Xingxiu Lao Guai is no different from that of the Xingxiu Sect disciples who proclaim, "Xingxiu Lao Guai has boundless magic, his power rules the Central Plains, his divine abilities are vast."

The Hangu Eight Friends, however, had their faces turn purple, like stir-fried pig's liver in sauce.

Fan Bailing stroked his beard and said, "I know your divine abilities are peerless, so you naturally don't fear Xingxiu Lao Guai. But if someone here is killed by him, your survival wouldn't count as skill, would it?"

"Not bad!" Kang Guangling said, "Our eight sworn brothers were all done in by him—it was fate; if this little girl suffers injury, it would be quite splendid. If you can still laugh like that, I, Old Kang, will admire you!"

(End of chapter)