Chapter 343

Li Yuncong appears, Hu Xiaotian appears, the Formless Divine Skill appears, Tianlong Temple appears (a place name that should be added to the glossary), the generic term jianghu ren appears (not a specific name), the title Emperor (Emperor) appears, the Cangjingge appears (a place, possibly Cangjingge, which should be added if it appears), the generic term gongnei appears, the Wenxingyuan appears (a place), the Cangshuge appears (already in the glossary), Wenxingyuan appears again, and Tianlong Temple appears multiple times.

Hu Xiaotian nodded, thinking to himself, if a person became emperor, with so many people protecting him, he could do whatever he wanted, command the world, none would disobey; of course he wouldn't need to painstakingly cultivate martial arts; any martial arts manual would have no appeal to an emperor.

Li Yuncong said: "But back then, because we feared that people in the jianghu would covet this book, we outwardly claimed that a fire had burned the entire Cangshuge; in fact, most of the Buddhist sutras in the Cangshuge were still transferred to the palace. At first, some people suspected that these books contained the Formless Divine Skill. This batch of Buddhist scriptures was not sent directly to the Cangshuge at first, but was first organized in Wenxing Garden. Therefore, many officials and generals also pulled strings, intending to find the Formless Divine Skill there and keep it for themselves, but later they still did not find this book; the selected Buddhist scriptures were sent into the Cangshuge, while another part was sealed away in Wenxing Garden. During this period there were also many twists and turns; after about fifty years, hardly anyone mentioned the Formless Divine Skill anymore. Then another 150 years passed, and the wrongful case of Heavenly Dragon Temple was finally cleared; Mingzong Huangdi personally issued an edict to rebuild Heavenly Dragon Temple on its original site, with all regulations as before; at that time, the abbot of Heavenly Dragon Temple, Master Fanghui, requested that these Buddhist scriptures be returned to Heavenly Dragon Temple, and Mingzong Huangdi agreed to his request, ordering that all the Buddhist scriptures in Wenxing Garden be returned to him; as for that small portion in the imperial palace's Cangshuge, it was left behind."

Li Yuncong raised his cup, took a sip, then said: "After all that, everyone thought the Formless Divine Skill had been lost. But inside the palace there was a eunuch who grasped that secret from the Buddhist scriptures; this predecessor could be called a peerless talent, unmatched in ancient and modern times. As I just told you, any martial art must be taught according to the student's aptitude; given our eunuchs' special physiques, even if we found the Formless Divine Skill we could not cultivate it, because our bodies are defective. Yet the Formless Divine Skill was created by ordinary people. Chan Master Huijue, though he severed worldly ties and cut off the six desires, had no physical disability. After our predecessor obtained the Formless Divine Skill, he was overjoyed and trained according to its methods, yet after years of arduous practice he gained nothing. He thought it over and finally understood this principle, so he altered this set of techniques. Only then did we have the Uninterrupted Secret you mentioned."

Hu Xiaotian had already been completely attracted by the story Li Yuncong told; really, he never expected there to be so many twists and turns in it.

Li Yuncong said: "After that predecessor mastered the technique, he originally wanted to destroy the Formless Divine Skill, but thinking it over, he felt the precious treasure left by the ancients should not be destroyed in his hands, so he stored it away, waiting for a future person of affinity. As for the Uninterrupted Secret he comprehended and created, he passed it on separately to two people. These two were both eunuchs in the palace; this kind of technique is extremely special, only cultivable by our special group; even if ordinary people obtained the entire technique, at most they would only have its form, unable to research its essence."

Hu Xiaotian couldn't help but think, the eight characters "Desire to cultivate divine skill, brandish the knife and castrate oneself"; the Uninterrupted Secret has always been stored in the imperial palace; if it were to leak out. In order to train an unparalleled martial art, who knows how many jianghu people would brandish the knife and castrate themselves.

Li Yuncong suddenly stopped speaking at this moment, quietly gazing at Hu Xiaotian, as if his story had been finished.

Hu Xiaotian couldn't help but ask: "Finished?"

Li Yuncong nodded and said: "Finished!"

Hu Xiaotian said: "But what happened to these two books later?"

Mentions the Formless Divine Skill again and the Miscellaneous School; no new entities.

Hu Xiaotian had just listened so intently that he hadn't thought much, but now he suddenly realized that Li Yuncong kept emphasizing over and over that the Formless Divine Skill could save him, not the Uninterrupted Secret; the saying "an orange grown south of the Huai becomes a bitter citron" basically meant he knew Hu Xiaotian was a fake eunuch. Upon realizing this, Hu Xiaotian's hairs stood on end; damn it, the Senior Eunuch is formidable—just a single finger placed on my pulse, and he already figured out my details completely.

Hu Xiaotian didn't disbelieve pulse diagnosis, but this old eunuch was just too amazing, amazing to the point that Hu Xiaotian found it hard to believe. Calming down, Hu Xiaotian thought to himself, with Li Yuncong's martial prowess killing him would be effortless, so why chat with him so much? The fundamental reason is that Hu Xiaotian has utilitarian value; putting it bluntly, Li Yuncong, Quan De'an, Ji Feihua and their ilk are no different—they all want to use him, and he has indeed become a prize among them. Hu Xiaotian cleared his throat and said: "In that case, can you help me?"

Li Yuncong laughed and said: "If I didn't have this ability, I'm afraid there would be no second person in the world who does." Sweeping aside his previous low profile, Li Yuncong's words exuded an overbearing arrogance.

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said: "What do you want me to do?" Having lived to this point, Hu Xiaotian naturally understood that in this world there are no free lunches; to get someone's help, you must first help others.

Mentions the generic term Your Majesty.

Mentions the Retired Emperor Long Xuan'en appears (in the glossary), the current emperor Long Yelin appears (in the glossary), imperial authority, Long Xuan'en, Long Yelin, Your Majesty, and the generic term prison.

Mentions Yaochi (a place), Piaomiaoshan (a mountain), Piaomiaofeng (a peak), the generic term palace interior, and the old emperor again.

Mentions Hu Sir, a form of address using the official title Sir; the glossary defines Sir as an official title, so Sir should be listed as a named entity. Your Majesty is also a title (Emperor), already in the glossary. The combination Hu Sir lists the title Sir; Hu Sir itself need not be listed separately. Beam and pillar is an idiom, not a name.

Mentions the old emperor again, Long Xuan'en, Long Yelin, the Hu family (possibly a clan or family name, not in the glossary but should be included as a named entity), and the generic term traitorous officials.

Li Yuncong seemed to see Hu Xiaotian's hesitation, and in a low voice said: "If you agree, the Zajia will transmit the heart method and oral formula of the Formless Divine Skill to you."

Hu Xiaotian said: "That simple?"

Li Yuncong said: "Although His Majesty is currently trapped, there are still many loyal and virtuous officials at court; as long as His Majesty can leave the palace, a single call will surely draw a response from all under heaven, and restoring the Dakang realm will be effortless."

Hu Xiaotian thought, you just keep blowing, blowing until the heavens fall apart; I never noticed you were this eloquent before, treating me like a three-year-old, you actually managed to fool him. He whispered: "But how can we rescue His Majesty from the palace?"

Li Yuncong said: "As long as you can bring him here, the rest will naturally be none of your concern."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Mount Miaomiao lies at the center of the Jade Pool; the mountain is heavily guarded, with a sentry every five steps and a post every ten steps. I don't know how many elite palace warriors lie in ambush there; with my meager skill, let alone rescuing His Majesty, I'd probably be shot full of holes before even getting close."

Mentions the generic term secret passage and Piaomiaofeng again.

Mentions Si Yuan Ju (a place), Cangshuge again, Yaochi again, Zilan Palace appears (in the glossary), Baobao appears (in the glossary), and Li Eunuch (Li Gonggong) possibly a title; Gonggong is a term for eunuch not in the glossary, but Li Gonggong is a person with title; we already have Li Yuncong, so the title Gonggong may not need a separate entry, though it is a title; the glossary includes Senior Eunuch, not Gonggong, so Gonggong could be treated as a generic term rather than a named entity.

Li Yuncong said: "Evidence suggests that the secret passage is very likely beneath the Directorate of Imperial Gardens."

Mentions Li Eunuch again.

Li Yuncong said: "Do you think, relying on the Zajia's martial arts cultivation, you could conceal any movement within ten zhang from me?"

Hu Xiaotian suddenly recalled that day when he and Baobao were underground investigating the secret passage; they had traced their way all the way to the Cangshuge. At that moment he saw Li Yuncong speaking with someone on the third floor of the Cangshuge; their distance from Li Yuncong was probably less than three zhang. Given Li Yuncong's cultivation, there's an eighty to ninety percent chance he had already noticed their breathing, but he simply chose not to expose them at the time.

Mentions Cangshuge again.

Li Yuncong chuckled: "Some secrets simply cannot be called secrets; the opening left by the Zajia is still useful. That day, when you hid at that end of the opening, your breath could not escape me, let alone your heartbeat."

Hu Xiaotian silently sighed that this Senior Eunuch is formidable, suddenly he also thought of the corpse left in the secret passage, that little eunuch's corpse is almost certainly also left by Li Yuncong, thinking of this gives him a chill, the Senior Eunuch before him is clearly no good bird, being in the palace is indeed step-by-step heart-stopping, reality forces Hu Xiaotian to dance with wolves, it seems either he will eat several fierce wolves, or several fierce wolves will tear him apart; there is absolutely no third possibility. (To be continued... ~^~)