Chapter 24: Blood Battle

"Where is Mother?" Zhang Jun urgently asked, his heart pounding violently; the hatred and longing of over twenty years intertwined at this moment into a towering wave.

Zhang Tian Shu's eyes flashed with a complex expression; he shook his head and said, "The time has not come; telling you now would only plunge you into greater danger. The power of the Profound Heaven Pavilion far exceeds your imagination—acting rashly will only repeat your father's mistake."

"I'm not afraid of danger!" Zhang Jun stepped forward, "All these years I thought both my parents were dead; now that I learn my mother is still alive, how could I not go save her?"

Zhang Tian Shu was about to explain when his expression suddenly changed. He shoved Zhang Jun aside, and at the same instant a sinister palm wind struck from outside the window, hitting him squarely in the back.

"Grandfather!" Zhang Jun exclaimed.

Zhao Wu Shuang had somehow crept to the cave entrance; now he coldly smiled as he withdrew his attacking hand: "Zhang Tian Shu, I failed to kill you back then, but today I finally fulfill this wish."

Zhang Tian Shu staggered a few steps, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He retreated, hit the stone wall, and slowly slid down to sit on the ground.

"Grandfather, how are you?" Zhang Jun hurriedly supported Zhang Tian Shu.

Seeing the black blood threads spreading from Zhang Tian Shu's chest, Zhang Jun recognized them as signs of a poison outbreak. Zhang Tian Shu coughed up a mouthful of clotted blood, weakly saying, "An old ailment… I was poisoned by them in my battle with the Profound Heaven Pavilion years ago, barely suppressing it until now… now the old wound has flared up, plus this new injury…"

Lin Xue examined Zhang Tian Shu's injuries, shaking her head to indicate the situation was critical.

"Aren't you immortal?" Zhao Wu Shuang walked into the cave, sneering, "What Zhang Clan successor? Just a clinging-to-life old thing!"

Boiling rage instantly filled Zhang Jun's whole body. He sprang to his feet, his eyes suddenly changing—his left eye turned black as ink, his right eye blazed with golden light.

"Die!" Zhang Jun roared.

The yin and yang qi within him fully merged at this moment. The chill of the Profound Yin True Art and the scorching heat of the Yang Rigid Positive Energy Technique intertwined into an unprecedented powerful force. Zhang Jun thrust out a palm, and the air exploded.

Zhao Wu Shuang sensed the lethal threat, desperately circulating his inner power to block it. Yet this palm surpassed what he could comprehend, utterly unstoppable.

The palm force pierced his protective true qi, slamming directly into his chest.

"Pfft—" Zhao Wu Shuang spat blood, his five viscera and six bowels utterly shattered; his body flew out of the cave like a severed kite, crashing heavily to the ground, lifeless.

Zhang Jun stared blankly at his own hand. The power of that palm shocked even him.

Long Ao Tian witnessed Zhao Wu Shuang's death, his soul fleeing in terror. He dared not linger, turning and fleeing.

Zhang Jun wanted to pursue, but Zhang Tian Shu grabbed him: "He can't escape… the most important thing now… is to retrieve the three pieces of jade…"

"Zhao Wu Shuang is dead, Long Ao Tian has fled; we are temporarily safe," Lin Xue said.

Zhang Tian Shu painstakingly produced a green jade stone from his bosom—the very piece passed down through generations of the Long Family.

"This is…" Zhang Jun exclaimed as he took the jade.

"The Long Family's jade… I risked stealing it…" Zhang Tian Shu's breath grew ever weaker, "That's why the Long Family and the Profound Heaven Pavilion are hunting us…"

Zhang Jun produced the two jade pieces from the Liu and Lin Families; as soon as the three pieces joined, they burst forth with strange light. The patterns on their surfaces began to flow, eventually forming a complete map.

"The Nine Yang True Classic is hidden here…" Zhang Tian Shu looked at the map, gave a weak smile, "Find it… rescue your mother…"

Tears streamed down Zhang Jun's face: "Grandfather, you must hold on!"

Zhang Tian Shu shook his head: "My days are few… the Zhang Clan bloodline's inheritance rests on you…"

He grasped Zhang Jun's hand, difficulty speaking: "Remember, find your mother; she knows the final secret… behind the Long Family lurks something even more terrifying—they are the true masterminds…"

Zhang Tian Shu pressed his hand to Zhang Jun's crown with his last strength, sending a thick, pure inner force through the meridians into Zhang Jun's body.

"This is my lifetime's cultivation… and our Zhang Clan's true ultimate art… the Zhang bloodline must not be cut off…"

Before his words finished, Zhang Tian Shu's hand dropped, and he breathed his last.

Zhang Jun raised his head and let out a long, mournful howl, grief overwhelming him. Lin Xue silently shed tears beside him, reaching out to rest her hand on his shoulder, offering wordless comfort.

Outside the cave, the blue-clad martial artists knelt in a row, wailing bitterly: "Master!"

Zhang Jun suppressed his grief, wiped his tears: "Arrange my grandfather's funeral."

He turned to look at Lin Xue, the pain in his eyes gradually replaced by resolve: "We must find the Nine Yang True Classic, rescue my mother, and uncover the truth."

Lin Xue solemnly nodded: "I will stay with you."

Zhang Jun gazed at the united jade-stone map, his thoughts myriad.

"Brother Zhang…" Lin Xue softly called, placing her hand on his shoulder.

Zhang Jun closed his eyes, then after a moment snapped them open. His originally pitch-black eyes now appeared especially unusual—his left eye black as ink, his right eye flowing with golden light. He felt a warm current spread from his chest throughout his body, the power his grandfather had transmitted wandering within him.

In his meridians it felt as if millions of tiny snakes were writhing, unbearable pain. Zhang Jun clenched his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead.

"What's wrong?" Lin Xue asked anxiously.

Zhang Jun gave no answer, merely letting out a low groan. His inner power surged; the Zhang Clan bloodline, awakened by his grandfather's final true qi, fully stirred, the Profound Yin True Art and Yang Rigid Positive Energy Technique automatically operating, intertwining, as if they had found the perfect balance point.

After the pain came an unprecedented sense of strength. Zhang Jun drew a deep breath and rose to his feet.

"The three jade pieces ought to be united," he said in a low voice.

Lin Xue understood, producing her own jade from her bosom. Zhang Jun placed the Liu Family jade and the Long Family jade side by side on the ground; at the moment of contact, the three pieces spontaneously slid toward each other, as if drawn by some mysterious force.

"This…" Lin Xue was so astonished she could not speak.

The three jade pieces gradually joined, emitting a faint green light, ultimately forming a complete triangular jade disc. Patterns on its surface flowed, faintly revealing the outlines of mountains and rivers.

Liu Quan painfully crawled to the jade disc's side, eyes wide: "This is… the terrain outside Jiangbei City!"

The pattern on the jade disc grew ever clearer, finally a definite position marked by a point of light.

"What place is that?" Zhang Jun asked.

Liu Quan's face grew grave: "Death Valley! A no-man's land formed by a great earthquake a century ago, said to be where the Dragon Vein ruptured, perpetually shrouded in mist; those who enter rarely emerge alive."

"The Nine Yang True Classic is hidden there." Zhang Jun rose: "We must set out immediately."

Liu Quan shook his head: "My injuries are too severe; I can only stay here, you two go."

Zhang Jun pondered briefly, then produced several pills from his bosom and handed them to Liu Quan: "This is medicine I prepared; it can temporarily stabilize your injuries."

Afterwards he told the blue-clad martial artists: "Please take good care of Elder Liu and my grandfather's remains."

The blue-clad martial artists replied in unison. The great strength and noble character Zhang Tian Shu had just displayed had already earned their sincere respect.

Zhang Jun and Lin Xue took the jade disc, rushing through the night toward Death Valley. Along the way, Lin Xue asked: "What change did you just undergo?"

"My grandfather transmitted his power on his deathbed; my inner power has undergone a qualitative change." Zhang Jun felt the surging force within him: "The Zhang Clan bloodline has fully awakened."

At dawn, the two finally reached the entrance of Death Valley. Indeed, as Liu Quan had said, mist filled the valley, gloomy and terrifying.