Chapter 203: line with translation of chapter title

Feng Yi's eyebrows rose, divine light blazing in his eyes, he snorted coldly and said: 'Wuya Zi took in you deceitful lot, truly blind!' He raised a palm and struck straight at Ding Chunqiu from afar.

The wind from this palm condensed as if solid, like a gust sweeping out.

Ding Chunqiu shouted loudly, his beard and hair bristling, he thrust a palm forward, exerting his full strength.

Two strong, swift winds issued from the two palms; in an instant, a great wind rose, sand and dust flew; Ding Chunqiu tapped his toe and floated back.

Feng Yi continuously issued palms, his body following the palms; he saw smoke and dust rolling like a huge monster, surging and expanding, its huge mouth opened angrily, swallowing toward the Asterism Sect disciples.

Zhai Xingzi saw the situation was not good, he sidestepped and leapt open, his body hanging in midair, his foot not yet settled, he felt a palm wind brush past; he hurriedly flicked his sleeves, thrust out a palm using internal force to resist; suddenly his whole body burst into green flames, making a hissing sound, turning into a sheet of bluish-green firelight, he cried out weirdly and jumped into the roadside.

It turned out he had a fire‑starting device in his sleeve; normally a stir of inner power let him, like Ding Chunqiu, wave his sleeve to start fire and win worship—but a shake of Feng Yi's palm set it ablaze instantly, blazing fiercely, and he suffered the consequences.

Other Xingxu disciples, unable to dodge, were struck by Feng Yi's palm into the midst; in panic they laughed hysterically, hacking and slashing wildly with their weapons.

But suddenly he felt his limbs go weak and limp, collapsing to the ground; amidst it, blue flames crisscrossed, the banners praising the Xingxu Old Immortal ignited on contact, the fire spread wildly, and in the blink of an eye a sea of fire rose, the air reeking of scorched flesh.

Some Xingxu sect disciples who escaped the blast fled in panic.

Xuan Nan and the others, seeing this astonishing sight, were dazed and bewildered, utterly unable to believe Feng Yi's martial skill could be so high.

But as Ding Chunqiu leapt backward, he backhandedly seized a disciple and hurled him toward Feng Yi.

A Zi shouted: "This is Corpse Poison—don't try to block it outright!"

Onlookers, seeing the force of that person, thought it was a huge hidden weapon flying at Feng Yi, and all wondered: "If I don't catch it, won't I smash someone else?"

Ding Chunqiu, however, was both startled and angry, shouting: "You rebel!"

As it turned out, seeing Feng Yi's prowess, Ding Chunqiu, while speaking with him moments earlier, had slightly raised his sleeve, secretly channeled inner power, and flung the powder of the Three Smiles Wanderlust Powder toward Feng Yi.

This powder is colorless and odorless, extremely fine; even if Feng Yi's martial skill were higher, he would surely not notice it.

But Feng Yi, using Godly Defense, could not see it but heard it first; although the Three Smiles Wanderlust Powder is invisible to the naked eye, it must be propelled by inner power, which inevitably makes a sound—however faint—that cannot escape his perception.

Naturally, Feng Yi suddenly unleashed palm power, pushing the powder past; Ding Chunqiu blocked with a palm, but realizing his strength insufficient, he immediately borrowed the momentum to retreat and unleashed his most vicious Corpse Poison technique.

One must know that to employ Corpse Poison, one grabs a living person and hurls him at the enemy; at the moment of grabbing, the person is already killed, the deadly poison coated on the claws seeps into his blood, making his whole body toxic; if the opponent tries to push him aside with a palm, he will inevitably come into contact with the corpse poison.

Even if one deflects it with a weapon, the corpse poison will still travel along the weapon onto the palm; even dodging or striking with an empty‑hand palm or similar technique cannot avoid being corroded by the toxic gas.

Thus, whether the opponent dodges or blocks, he cannot avoid the poison; no matter how superb his martial arts, only by employing top‑tier lightness skill to flee more than ten zhang away can he escape harm—but the moment he engages, he flees in panic, so this fight cannot proceed.

Unexpectedly, Feng Yi slightly retreated, his palm brimming with inner strength, and actually shoved forward the corpse‑poison‑laden body.

"Don't catch it!"

A Zi, knowing how deadly Corpse Poison is, couldn't help but exclaim in alarm.

Before her cry faded, with a bang, Feng Yi's palm hurled the corpse toward Ding Chunqiu.

He knew well that if he dodged, others would surely suffer casualties; moreover, if he truly could not withstand this deadly poison, what point would there be in fighting Ding Chunqiu? Therefore, even at risk, he had to give it a try.

"Good gall!" Ding Chunqiu showed surprise, immediately leapt backward, seized another Xingxu disciple, and thrust him forward with force.

Each time he uses this technique, he inevitably sacrifices a disciple; yet as long as he can defeat Feng Yi, losing a few followers is of no consequence. After all, are there not enough flatterers and sycophants in the world?

With a bang, the two corpses collided and fell to the ground, already dead, their faces uniformly dark‑blue, a horrifying sight.

Ding Chunqiu's body swayed, and with a whoosh‑whoosh‑whoosh, five or six Xingxu sect disciples were seized by his rapid‑fire grasp, shooting through the air one after another toward Feng Yi in quick succession, like a volley of arrows.

Feng Yi waved both palms like plucking guitar strings, each one rebounding back; Ding Chunqiu, feeling the strong wind, offered no resistance and leapt aside to dodge.

Those corpses, however, all smashed onto the bodies of the Xingxu sect disciples.

Then came the cry "My mother!"—these corpses possessed extreme toxicity; anyone they touched instantly had a black aura appear on his face, rolled to the ground, twitched a few times, and died at once.

Feng Yi, about to push these people away, suddenly felt his palms numb and itchy; looking up, he saw both palms turned black—clearly poisoned—and thought to himself, "This old fellow's Corpse Poison really has some trick to it!"

But feeling that the poison had not entered his meridians and caused no effect, still, to be safe, he halted his steps and circulated his divine art to dispel the toxin.

One must know that he deliberately did this, his palms infused with true qi, yet still managed to pick up the poison, showing how potent this toxin truly is.

Ding Chunqiu glanced at Feng Yi, his gaze sweeping over the disciples lying dead on the ground, then seeing that almost no one remained around, not knowing whether they were dead or fled, he harbored secret resentment, stroked his beard and laughed loudly: "Hero Feng, you have been struck by my Corpse Poison; be sensible, quickly kneel and surrender, awaiting judgment!"

He firmly believed in his poison, yet ultimately dared not approach directly, fearing that Feng Yi might unleash a dying strike and drag him down to burial together.

Everyone showed grief and indignation; the Divine Doctor Xue approached Feng Yi and whispered, "Hero Feng, are you all right?"

He intended to use the push‑the‑palaces‑and‑pass‑the‑meridians technique to give Feng Yi a meridian massage, but feared contacting the deadly poison and had no idea what to do.

Kang Guangling shouted loudly, "Hero Feng, rest assured—if you die, we will surely fight him to the death!"

A Zi interjected, "Then why aren't we fighting him now?"

Kang Guangling's face turned pale, and he muttered embarrassedly, saying nothing.

Ding Chunqiu leisurely said, "Little A Zi, hand over the thing!" and extended his palm toward her.

He reckoned that even if Feng Yi's inner strength were deeper, he would surely succumb to the poison and lose; thus he felt fully confident.

"None!" A Zi rushed forward and said to Feng Yi, "Big brother, how are you?"

Ding Chunqiu stared at her, his gaze like a torch, and asked, "A Zi, is he your little lover?"

A Zi shouted, "What business is it of yours?" Her face flushed crimson, her complexion like rouge, her beauty rivaling a crabapple.

Feng Yi saw her charming demeanor and found it highly amusing.

Suddenly a hum came from the roadside; Zhai Xingzi, with a solemn face, emerged from the shadows and said, "Little junior sister, you have no father or mother, raised from childhood by our master—do you say the master has no right to intervene?"

He had merely been grazed by Feng Yi's palm wind, caught a little fire, actually suffering no mortal danger, yet he seized the chance to hide aside; seeing his master secure victory, he then stepped forward.

A Zi chuckled, "Oh, how am I fatherless and motherless? Did I pop out of a stone? Only my parents' names are a great secret, not to be casually known."

Zhai Xingzi said, "Then who are the junior sister's parents?"

A Zi replied, "If I told you, I'd scare you half to death!"

She also understood Corpse Poison technique, but seeing Feng Yi's face showed no discoloration, she thought the poison was not deep and wanted to stall for time to force it out.

Ding Chunqiu furrowed his brows, then smiled, saying, "Zhai Xingzi, go seize your junior sister!"

"Yes!" Without seeing Zhai Xingzi lift his foot, he floated over, and the Eight Friends of Hangu all rushed forward to protect him.

Ding Chunqiu laughed, "I don't want to kill you, but don't force me!"

Before his words finished, Feng Yi's body swayed, his sleeve flicked, and he swiftly swept toward Zhai Xingzi; this sleeve‑sweeping motion was extremely tranquil, devoid of any ripping wind or howl.

But hearing a "Ge-la-la", Zhai Xingzi couldn't help but cry out, like a broken kite flying away, a big mouthful of fresh blood spattered on the ground, "Plop", he fell to the ground, blurted: "You weren't poisoned?"

Feng Yi laughed: "Didn't your master tell you? No matter how potent the poison, trying to kill me directly is impossible!"

Zhai Xingzi turned his head to glance at his master, pointed at him with his finger, and stopped breathing.

Everyone knew his tendons and bones were all broken, his internal organs ruptured.

Ding Chunqiu turned his gaze to Feng Yi, secretly shocked, thinking: "This kid's internal energy is so profound, it's unheard of; my corpse poison kills on contact, yet he can rely on his profound internal energy to suppress the deadly poison—fortunately I let Zhai Xingzi test first!"

Feng Yi laughed loudly: "You're afraid I have a killing strike that would take your life, so you sent him to test—clever, but being your disciple is truly dangerous; do you even deserve to be a teacher?"

"This is unavoidable!" Ding Chunqiu steadied himself, smiled: "Your martial arts are so high, I've never seen the like; otherwise, how could I hope to win?"

Feng Yi gave a cold smile, saying: "How do you know you've won? Just because your disciple is dead?"

Ding Chunqiu frowned, thinking: "Could this person's internal energy truly be profound to the extreme, not poisoned at all? Hmm, he must be delaying time to expel the poison!" He said: "If you know what's best for you, leave now; I will not only bear no grudge, but be deeply grateful."

Feng Yi smiled: "Old Ding, why hide and probe from all sides? Your 'Transformation Skill Great Law' I've long heard of; today I shall finally learn it."

Ding Chunqiu thought: "He's just like me, putting on airs, feigning reality!" He said softly: "Since you don't appreciate the gesture, I'll have to offend!" His body swayed, like a great bird, he lunged at Feng Yi, a palm straight striking his face.

Feng Yi slowly pushed out a palm.

Xuan Nan said: "We can't palm-to-palm!"

Everyone couldn't help but be shocked and lose color.

When Feng Yi's palm reached midway, Ding Chunqiu swayed, and with lightning speed struck his palm toward Feng Yi's palm.

Feng Yi gave a light laugh, only hearing a "pa-pa" sound, his palm turning, he slapped toward Ding Chunqiu's wrist.

Ding Chunqiu relied on his body's deadly poison, thinking: "Even if I take your palm, what can it do?"

With a "pa" sound, Ding Chunqiu hurriedly activated his Transformation Skill Great Law, but unexpectedly Feng Yi's slap blocked his poison energy, preventing it from flowing forward; his true qi reversed backward. Ding Chunqiu's soul fled, he panicked and rolled on the ground, like a fleeing rabbit, leaping along the ground over ten feet.

Feng Yi, without thinking, swung his palm at Ding Chunqiu; Ding Chunqiu twisted his body and barely avoided disaster, his soul fleeing in fright.

One must know that when Ding Chunqiu fights with his Transformation Skill Great Law, if the opponent resists with internal energy, the deadly poison in his hand instantly transmits, entering the opponent's meridians.

Thus the opponent's internal energy cannot be issued, as if it were dissolved and eliminated by him.

But if the opponent embraces the One and keeps energy inward, Ding Chunqiu's various extraordinary deadly poisons will follow the inward path of true qi, invading the meridians and organs, leaving no cure.

Who would have thought Feng Yi not only wasn't afraid, but with a casual palm caused his own true qi to flow backward—this is simply unimaginable, leaving Ding Chunqiu greatly alarmed.

A Zi drew a deep breath and said: "Big brother, he..." She stared at Feng Yi, her cheeks growing ever more crimson, radiantly beautiful.

Divine Doctor Xue calmly said: "Feng Yi wasn't poisoned just now!" He thought: "He's not doing it for anything else—first to show off his might, second to enjoy watching our reactions."

Feng Yi indeed was not poisoned just now; he possesses both orthodox and unorthodox, Buddhist and Daoist, Central Plains and Indian divine arts; his cultivation is wonderfully unprecedented since the creation of heaven and earth. By intentionally protecting his body with true qi, Ding Chunqiu's deadly poison can touch him but cannot enter his meridians.

Feng Yi was merely influenced by those guys from the Eight Friends of Hangu Pass; he was overly cautious toward this old fiend, seeing A Zi worry for him, and Ding Chunqiu smugly pleased, he just found it amusing.

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At this moment, Ding Chunqiu and Feng Yi fought again in a tangle, different from before.

One saw Ding Chunqiu's palm technique floating, his sash flying, truly mysterious and boundless, with wondrous variations.

Feng Yi waved his left sleeve, his right palm followed the pat, one hard one soft, momentum like drifting clouds and lightning, forcing Ding Chunqiu unable to approach, he said with a smile: "Old Ding, you truly have skill, you even practiced your master's wife's 'Minor Formless Skill'—excellent, excellent!"

Ding Chunqiu startled: "How do you know?"

Feng Yi had once exchanged blows with Jiumozhi, feeling that their methods of moving energy were quite similar; he immediately realized this was the Minor Formless Skill.

Although everyone knew Ding Chunqiu had an affair with his master's wife, they still felt shocked.

Only Li Qiushui knew the Minor Formless Skill; Ding Chunqiu's master Wuyazi and his uncle Tianshan Tonglao were not permitted to transmit it, yet Ding Chunqiu had an affair with Li Qiushui, he struck Wuyazi off a cliff, his life or death unknown.

Ding Chunqiu and Li Qiushui then took the martial arts scriptures stored in the Jade Cavern of Glittering Radiance on Mount Wuliang of Dali, as well as Wuyazi and Li Qiushui's daughter Li Qingluo, and brought them to Suzhou.

But a master-disciple affair is ultimately a great shame; Li Qiushui ordered her daughter to call Ding Chunqiu father, and left the Minor Formless Skill secret manual at the Mandara Mountain Villa; Ding Chunqiu feared it would be stolen by unworthy disciples, so he did not bring it to the Star Sea.

Thus Jiumozhi's Minor Formless Skill came from this.

That day Jiumozhi brought Duan Yu to Suzhou, wanting both to spy on the Dali Duan clan's Six Meridian Divine Sword and to use this as a pretext to peek at the Murong clan's martial arts secret manuals in the Returning Water Pavilion at Participation Villa; yet he was outwitted by A Zhu, who rescued Duan Yu.

Jiumozhi didn't know the way to Participation Villa, so he seized a Suzhou prefecture constable and brought him to Participation Villa; he searched the study but found nothing he wanted. Coincidentally, Lady Wang arrived at Participation Villa looking for her daughter Wang Yuyan, but the daughter was not there.

Jiumozhi figured she couldn't find anyone and would surely return by the original boat, so he planned to board her ship back to land, and quietly got on board.

Who would have thought he ended up at the Mandara Mountain Villa; he sneaked into a small building to sleep and rest, just happened to encounter Ding Chunqiu and Lady Wang coming to practice the Minor Formless Skill, and overheard the training method.

It turned out the training method of the Minor Formless Skill was written in ledger form, eight volumes in total; because when Ding Chunqiu had finished teaching Lady Wang, he casually took one volume, Jiumozhi knew this was the "Star Sea Old Monster", and didn't dare to openly seize it, causing his own Minor Formless Skill to be incomplete.

"If the Minor Formless Skill were cultivated to great accomplishment, its power would naturally be enormous; however, since it is called 'Minor Formless', the added 'small' indicates that it is merely the initial stage of the profound Daoist internal art."

Ding Chunqiu had trained for years, but limited by his aptitude, he never fully mastered this internal art. He usually trained with the Divine Wood King Cauldron, accumulating many toxins in his body; this poison technique is overbearing and tyrannical, effective in every move.

But facing Feng Yi, he not only couldn't neutralize the poison, but also suffered a backlash of true qi entering his body; he feared retaliation, so he dared not use his poison technique, only meeting with the Free and Easy Sect's palm method, thus employing this incompletely mastered Minor Formless Skill.

Everyone saw Ding Chunqiu with a childlike face and crane-white hair, his palms alternating fast and slow, soft as flowing water, endlessly varied changes; his body technique was marvelous, like a butterfly among flowers, fluttering unpredictably, truly living up to the name "Free and Easy".

Divine Doctor Xue, A Zi, and others watched with great longing.

Xuan Nan and others, having never seen or heard of such martial arts, observed that every move and style attacked Feng Yi's vital points, yet the posture was exquisitely beautiful, truly like a celestial descending to earth; they could not help but admire, thinking: "Even if he didn't use poison technique, I could not defeat him!"

They admired Ding Chunqiu, but Ding Chunqiu himself felt utterly tormented.

For Ding Chunqiu's body was like drifting clouds and lightning; every move and style attacked Feng Yi's vital points, having exerted his lifetime learning to the utmost. Yet Feng Yi merely flicked his sleeve and thrust a palm, able to assume the proper position and make the fitting defense, anticipating the enemy's move; though he did not attack himself, he felt as if enveloped by Feng Yi's palm wind, giving him the sensation that his life could be taken at any moment.

This filled Ding Chunqiu with mixed guilt and regret: just now he should have, after his disciple emitted the corpse poison, fled immediately; why bother contending with Feng Yi?

Feng Yi now had victory in hand, but he was not in a hurry to win; he wanted to observe the Free and Easy Sect's martial arts sequence, after all even the Sweeping Monk knows the Minor Formless Skill—this person might also be a high adept of dual Buddhist-Daoist cultivation.

In Feng Yi's heart, from beginning to end, his goal has simply been to one day openly defeat the Sweeping Monk; everything else is unimportant, and strong opponents are merely sparring partners for practice.

Then came A Zi's clapping laughter: "Old Ding, it looks like I'll become the head of the Star Sea Sect from now on!"

Although she couldn't tell the depth, since Feng Yi is no longer afraid of poison, Ding Chunqiu's greatest reliance is gone.

Then how could Feng Yi's godlike martial arts possibly fail to defeat Ding Chunqiu?

If the master is defeated, according to the Star Sea Sect's rules, she herself becomes the head!

Because she thought, she and Feng Yi are one body as husband and wife!

Even in the midst of his fierce battle, Ding Chunqiu heard it clearly, and immediately grew angry to the point of fainting, thinking: "It's all because of that little girl; if she hadn't stolen the immortal's treasure, how would I have encountered Feng Yi? Even if I die today, I won't let her off easy!"

Ding Chunqiu could not defeat Feng Yi, so he directed all his resentment toward A Zi.

He suddenly shouted loudly, urgently channeling his true power, he struck Feng Yi with three consecutive palms to block his attack, then he kicked off the ground with his heel, his body darting sideways, and he flung his wide robe sleeve toward A Zi.

He moved like wind, acted like lightning, everything happening in a flash, leaving everyone dazzled and unable to keep up.

But at this moment he was six or seven zhang away from A Zi; no matter how deep his skill, he could not possibly hurt her, and everyone found it strange.

A Zi suddenly felt a sharp wind whistling from all sides, as if an invisible great net were descending upon her, and she exclaimed, "Elder brother!"

"Heh!" Feng Yi gave a cold snort, and Ding Chunqiu suddenly felt a swift gust coming from behind; he gathered his breath at his back, willing to take a palm from Feng Yi, just to seize A Zi.

But he did not expect that this force was not a push but a pull, like a mighty sea wave, continuous and unending, and in an instant it sucked him up into the air, while he had not yet caught A Zi.

Ding Chunqiu, after all possessing supreme skills, reacted with astonishing speed, quickly employing a Thousand‑Pound Drop to root himself, his hair standing on end like steel wires.

But as soon as he had steadied his stance, he heard Feng Yi shout sharply, "Seize!"

Before Ding Chunqiu could even think, a hiss sounded, a numb sensation entered through the spot behind his heart, the Lingtai acupoint, permeating his body; he could not hold his dantian qi, he fell from the air, his facial muscles twitching uncontrollably, he let out a muffled groan, collapsed to the ground, his face as if smeared with blood.

Feng Yi gave a long laugh, his figure flickering, he waved his hand, and in midair a long white object appeared; under the moonlight's refraction, A Zi exclaimed in surprise, "Silk rope!"

Feng Yi flicked his sleeve, with a soft "whoosh", the silken thread, light as air, fell into A Zi's hand, and he himself drifted down lightly beside her.

This is one of the Three Treasures of the Star Lodging Sect; A Zi was delighted, jumping about, and in her excitement she kissed Feng Yi on the cheek, saying, "Thank you, elder brother!"

It turned out that just now, when Ding Chunqiu flicked his sleeve at A Zi, he had actually unleashed the Silk rope.

This silk rope is made from the silk of the snow silkworms that grow beside the Star Lodging Sea; those snow silkworms live wild on the snow mulberry, their bodies much smaller than those of ice silkworms, non‑poisonous, yet the silk they spit out possesses extraordinary toughness, a single filament already difficult to break.

However, the silk produced by these snow silkworms is limited and extremely hard to obtain.

A Zi caught Chu Wanli at the Small Mirror Lake using a transparent fishing net, and mixed into that net was a small amount of snow‑silkworm silk.

Ding Chunqiu's silk rope was entirely twisted from snow‑silkworm silk, fine and transparent, barely perceptible to the naked eye; who would have thought that as soon as he darted out, Feng Yi would know his intention, for in the original plot, on Mount Shaoshi he had used the same trick against You Tanzhi.

But Feng Yi is no match for the low‑skilled You Tanzhi; sensing that the opponent had broken free from his palm's enveloping force, he silently praised, "No wonder he's an old fox," and then unleashed the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms.

This palm power circulated continuously, unceasing; and since he was much closer to Ding Chunqiu than Ding Chunqiu was to A Zi, the silk rope had not yet wrapped around A Zi before it was pulled away by Feng Yi.

Although Ding Chunqiu had some aid, to wield this thread‑fine, almost insubstantial silk a distance of six or seven zhang without any of the masters noticing, such skill is certainly not ordinary.

Yet Feng Yi, locked in battle with Ding Chunqiu—attacking and defending—displayed marvelous, unparalleled skill; hidden within his palms and fingers lay inexhaustible power, awe‑inspiring to behold; in an instant Xuan Nan, Xuan Tong, and the Eight Friends of Hangu could not help but exclaim, feel relieved, and be overwhelmed with mixed emotions.

No wonder A Zi had just said that Feng Yi's martial arts are the best in the world.

For up to now, whatever Feng Yi's martial arts may be, there is always one answer: high; but just how lofty a realm he has reached, how high he truly is, remains unfathomably profound, and no one knows his limits.

As for the claim that Feng Yi falls short of Nan Murong, nobody believes it.

Ding Chunqiu is the first to disbelieve!

Xue Shenyi even felt that Feng Yi's palm, which dragged Ding Chunqiu away, must have required at least a century of cultivation, yet Feng Yi could not possibly be that old—this is simply absurd!

This also suddenly gave him a completely new realization: originally, a person's inner strength seemed not necessarily tied to how many years of cultivation they had!

In the past, when he practiced medicine and saved people, he often judged the attacker's years of cultivation from the victim's injuries; now it seems that was a fallacy!

How vast the jianghu is—who knows if there aren't extraordinary individuals like Feng Yi?

A Zi was even more excited; in an instant she had already obtained two of the Three Treasures of the Star Lodging Sect, and she had secretly learned the Great Skill‑Reducting Art and the Eternal Youth Everlasting Spring Skill—surely the leadership of the Star Lodging Sect is now secured for her?

Amidst the varied thoughts of the crowd, they heard Ding Chunqiu say softly, "Good, good, good!"

A Zi laughed and asked, "What's good about it?"

Ding Chunqiu smiled faintly and said, "I have roamed the world unfettered, never expecting to fall at the hands of the disciple I myself raised; today my soul returns to the Western Paradise, and that is fate—let us begin, so that you may secure your position as leader of the Star Lodging Sect!"

(End of chapter)