Chapter 887

Hu Xiaotian sucked in a breath of cold air, suddenly remembering that Master Kongjian should know he had mastered the Void Great Law, and whispered: "That Master Kongjian should know……"

Ji Feihua said: "Grand Master Kongjian does not concern himself with worldly affairs; even if he saw anything, he would not speak of it, nor would he intervene. Otherwise, with his cultivation, how could these things happen under his nose?"

Hu Xiaotian dared not agree with Ji Feihua's words; if Kongjian did not concern himself with worldly affairs, then that night he would not have chanted sutras to stop himself from killing Yuan Kong. However, aside from that, Kongjian had done nothing else. Hu Xiaotian said: "You cannot stay here any longer."

Ji Feihua nodded and said: "It seems Bu Wu is preparing to take a risky gamble; whether success or failure, this place is no longer safe."

Hu Xiaotian said: "What do you want to do?"

Ji Feihua knew he wanted to help her escape, smiled faintly and said: "You need not worry about my affairs; since I could escape from the Imperial City to here, I naturally have a way to leave Tianlong Temple. On the contrary, you must be more careful—Bu Wu is fickle and bloodthirsty; cooperating with him, you must keep your wits about you."

Hu Xiaotian said: "Why not us?"

Ji Feihua calmly said: "In the future, when you come here, you will not see me again."

Hu Xiaotian understood Ji Feihua had already prepared to leave, but given his current condition, how far could he go? He could not help feeling worried for them.

Ji Feihua said: "Go!"

Hu Xiaotian nodded; although he felt somewhat reluctant, he had no way to safely take Ji Feihua out of Tianlong Temple, and even if he had a way, Ji Feihua would not leave with him.

Hu Xiaotian arrived outside the Rebirth Well, seeing Bu Wu still waiting there for him. Bu Wu asked: "How is it? Have you worked things out?"

Hu Xiaotian was about to speak when he suddenly felt the rock beneath his feet tremble slightly. He was startled, thinking an earthquake had occurred, but saw Bu Wu's face change drastically, and he whispered: "Oh no, someone has touched the Reincarnation Stone!" The rock beneath their feet also made a cracking sound, and the huge Rebirth Stele slowly tilted toward the well mouth.

Hu Xiaotian's first thought was Ji Feihua. He wanted to run toward the well mouth, but Bu Wu grabbed him and sternly said: "Are you trying to get yourself killed?" In an instant, the rocks at the well mouth collapsed with a rumble, and the Rebirth Stele slowly fell onto the collapsed opening.

Hu Xiaotian looked at the scene of dust and smoke, his mind suddenly went blank—he never expected the Rebirth Well to collapse so suddenly. The well mouth was completely sealed by the fallen rocks, and Hu Xiaotian panicked: "Is there still any other passage below?"

Bu Wu shook his head and said: "With the Reincarnation Stone lowered, all passages of the Rebirth Well have completely collapsed and sunk, turning into a ruin. I never expected him to cut off his own retreat. What a pity, what a pity!" Bu Wu's regret was that he had not yet obtained the complete contents of the Uninterrupted Secret from Ji Feihua, not that he regretted Ji Feihua's life.

Hu Xiaotian felt gloomy, not knowing why Ji Feihua would seek her own death, but given Ji Feihua's nature, she would certainly not seek a shortcut. Perhaps there are still other passages inside the Rebirth Well; thinking of this, his mind eased. With Ji Feihua's ability, escaping from the Imperial City wounded and arriving here, what could they not accomplish?

Bu Wu said: "Leave this place." His hearing was astonishing; any faint movement within a radius of one li could not escape his ears. Hu Xiaotian followed behind him and quickly left the scene. Although Hu Xiaotian had practiced the Dog-Dodging Eighteen Steps, his steps were light and agile, but in terms of speed he could not compare with Bu Wu at all.

Bu Wu sighed, reached out to hook his left armpit, leapt into the air, and his body rose into flight. Hu Xiaotian was carried by him to a height of five zhang, and he couldn't help feeling panicked. Bu Wu transmitted via voice: "Trash, possessing such strong internal energy yet not knowing how to use it—truly trash, relax! I will teach you the Art of Soaring!" The Art of Soaring is also a lightness skill; Hu Xiaotian first learned the Golden Spider Eight Steps, which is for climbing, then learned the Dog-Dodging Eighteen Steps, which is for running, and compared to those two, the Art of Soaring is flying.

The key to the Art of Soaring lies in controlling the internal breath; as long as one controls the exhalation and inhalation, one can achieve leaping into the air and then swooping down. Although it is not true flight in the strict sense, it can already achieve the level of bodily gliding. To master the Art of Soaring, one must have strong internal energy as a foundation, so those who can truly cultivate the Art of Soaring in this world must be top-tier experts. For someone like Hu Xiaotian, whose martial arts are mediocre, practicing the Art of Soaring would be a groundbreaking first, but he has strong internal energy as a guarantee.

Bu Wu passed on the oral formula to him and gave him some pointers nearby. Hu Xiaotian was naturally exceptionally intelligent, and before long he had mastered the essentials of the Art of Soaring. In fact, there was nothing particularly profound about it; it was much like swimming. Ordinary people cannot effortlessly keep their bodies afloat on water, but once they truly learn to hold their breath and relax, they can float effortlessly. The Art of Soaring is the same: for internal-energy experts like them, their internal energy is far stronger than that of ordinary people. When internal energy gathers in the dantian and meridians, it can float in midair; by projecting the internal energy outward, the body can achieve gliding and diving in the air, appearing like a bird. Ordinary martial artists can also rely on internal energy to leap and vault, but their height and distance are far inferior to theirs.

Bu Wu could effortlessly soar five zhang high and then dive down to a distance of twenty zhang, and that was without exerting his full strength. At first Hu Xiaotian still needed Bu Wu's assistance from the side, but after mastering the technique of breathing and regulating internal energy, he quickly managed to achieve his own airborne leaps and glides. Although he still hadn't reached Bu Wu's level, he was not far behind.

Arriving at the stone cliff above Split Cloud Valley, Bu Wu stopped and stood at the edge of the cliff, letting Hu Xiaotian jump down. Hu Xiaotian looked down; from here to the valley floor was nearly twenty zhang. Jumping like that would not kill him but would surely break his legs. He shook his head and said, 'I'd rather climb down.'

Bu Wu said, 'Trash, use the breathing technique I just taught you: glide a distance, then seal and gather your internal energy. Within three breaths you can safely reach the valley floor.'

Hu Xiaotian glanced down and still felt a bit nervous; unexpectedly, Bu Wu shoved him in the back. Hu Xiaotian had no time to prepare and fell. He was terrified, his soul nearly leaving his body, and he forgot to gather and seal his energy, flailing his limbs as he dropped. Just as he was about to hit midway, Bu Wu appeared from the right, grabbed his right arm, and hurled him upward like a ball. This time he flew even higher than the cliff where he had stood. At the peak, he dove downward again. Hu Xiaotian finally recalled Bu Wu's words, hurriedly followed the Art of Soaring's sealing and gathering of energy as taught, and his body indeed paused in midair, then glided and dove. After a distance he sealed and gathered energy again, repeating this four times. Only two zhang remained to the valley floor. Hu Xiaotian felt a surge of joy, then instantly forgot about sealing and gathering energy, and with a plop he fell face-first onto the ground.

Bu Wu then landed beside him, kicked him in the buttocks and said, 'If you're not dead, come with me!' Without any visible movement, his body slowly rose and entered the three-layer cave that Hu Xiaotian was seeing him enter for the first time.

Hu Xiaotian stared, dumbfounded. Although he had just learned the Art of Soaring, he lacked the ability to rise into the air; it seemed this wicked monk still kept many secrets. He thought, leaping into the air he could fly about three zhang upward, but when he tried to go higher he could go no further and fell back to the ground. He shook his head helplessly and had to use the Golden Spider Eight Steps to climb up the rock face into the cave.

Bu Wu had already lit an oil lamp in the niche. Being blind, he certainly didn't need the light; this lamp was obviously prepared for Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian's gaze was drawn to the multicolored murals on the cave walls, which depicted nothing but half-human, half-ghost monsters—some slaughtering each other, some mutilating themselves, the scene extremely bloody and cruel. Hu Xiaotian asked, 'Are these all your paintings?' Actually, when he first came he had personally seen Bu Wu painting the murals, so he already knew the answer. Although the artwork was ordinary, it was already remarkable that a blind person could achieve this level.

Bu Wu threw him a scroll; Hu Xiaotian took it, unfolded it, and in the lamplight saw that it was a detailed map of the Dragon Temple, with every area marked in detail. Bu Wu said, 'This is the map of the Dragon Temple, but it's from seven years ago. You need to study it thoroughly over the next two days. I don't know what changes have occurred in the temple these years. Since you're staying in the West Courtyard, you can use this opportunity to refer to the map and mark any changes in detail, then report them to me.'

Hu Xiaotian asked, 'When do you plan to take action?'

Bu Wu replied, 'No rush. Tonight so many things have happened that they will surely attract the attention of the Dragon Temple's monks, and security on all sides will undoubtedly become stricter. We can patiently wait a few days until they let their guard down, then act.'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'Knowing oneself and the enemy ensures victory in a hundred battles; Master, you are indeed far-sighted. All right, I will first clarify the internal structure of the Dragon Temple and record all changes.'

Bu Wu said, 'You only need to focus on the West Courtyard; there's no need to pay special attention to elsewhere.'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'You want me to create chaos, but if my identity is exposed, what can I do?'

Bu Wu said, 'If exposed, you have only yourself to blame for being stupid.'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'That's not what I mean. Master, if you want to cooperate with me, given my mediocre skills, even if I'm discovered it might be a small matter, but ruining your great undertaking would surely be trouble.'

Bu Wu furrowed his brows and asked, 'What exactly do you want?'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'How about this: Master, teach me a few lethal techniques to overcome enemies, so that if I run into trouble I can escape.'

Bu Wu heard this and let out a strange, grating laugh: 'Kid, I didn't mishear, did you? You want to become my disciple?'

Hu Xiaotian thought to himself, 'I never intended to become your disciple; I just wanted to learn a few killer moves to keep for critical moments. You old fool are just being sentimental.'

Zhangyu ran into something today, was busy all day, just finished uploading a chapter, and look—my pants have been pulled off, I'm about to lose my dignity, brothers and sisters! We have to fight another defensive battle; Lao Zhangyu's little bit of face relies entirely on you all! I'm going back to typing; tonight there will definitely be Two updates delivered! (To be continued~^~)