Chapter 234: Turning Clouds and Rain: A Spectacular Display

Outside the town lies a river beach where flocks of cranes gather; nestled against the mountains and by the water, the scenery is beautiful.

The river beach is rich in fish and shrimp, attracting a large number of flying cranes to land, forage, and drink, with them circling and landing overhead all day long.

Jin Heshan comes here every month to observe the forms of the crane flocks, using them to refine and purify his own fist techniques.

Every time he leaves the town for the river beach, his 4 great Disciples inevitably accompany him, serving him hand and foot.

This time is no exception.

All around the river beach, the cries of cranes ring out in waves, at times echoing softly like a flute, at times piercing the clouds like tearing silk.

One by one, the long-legged birds draped in feathered cloaks, arrogant and cold, preen their feathers with their beaks as if no one else were around.

Occasionally, a flying crane spreads its broad wings, skimming across the surface of the water, and after creating a series of ripples, it pecks out a lively, vigorous fish or shrimp, cackling with incomparable smugness.

On the flat ground by the river beach, Jin Heshan and his 4 Disciples stand with hands bound, silently watching the myriad postures of the crane flocks.

Heming Fist is a biomimetic fist technique; incorporating the natural, vivid postures of flying cranes is of great benefit to refining one's fist technique.

Fearing they might break the tranquility and scare away the flying cranes, they avoid making any sound as much as possible.

A patch of water that had been unremarkable suddenly shows an unusual bulge.

Looking from the shore, it is like a large fish lurking at the bottom of the water, approaching at high speed, but...

Jin Heshan turns his head to look, instantly becoming like a bird with ruffled feathers, and shouts, "Who is it? Come out!"

Someone is hiding at the bottom of the water, and they harbor ill intent—they are an enemy, not a friend! The 4 Disciples wake as if from a dream; on their own turf, someone actually dares to assassinate their master—truly, their audacity knows no bounds.

"You won't come out? I'll turn you into a dead fish."

Jin Heshan's gray hair stands on end; this is the sign of 'Startled Crane Spreads Wings' in the Heming Fist, meaning that in the blink of an eye, his Qi and blood have instantly erupted to their peak state.

He raises his hand and throws a punch at the water; it turns out he has been wearing gloves all along.

The gloves have been specially refined and are no longer their original color, but instead display a bronze luster.

The massive fist shadow that detaches from his fist slams into the mirror-smooth water surface, yet it does not splash; it actually splits the water in two.

Of all things under heaven, nothing is softer than water; that Jin Heshan can turn softness into hardness shows that his fist technique is no small matter.

The water surface splits, and the ambusher hiding underneath has nowhere to hide and leaps up.

"Jin Heshan, today I take your life! Give me your life!"

As the hider speaks, a poisonous wind blows all around, and large patches of dead fish with white bellies float up on the surrounding water surface.

The flying cranes nearby one after another become sickly and collapse headfirst onto the riverbank.

Deadly poison, unprecedented deadly poison! The dead fish, shrimp, and flying cranes rot rapidly after breathing their last, and the air is filled with a foul stench.

"Du Yan Lu Zhigang."

The second disciple, Du Wanghe, is filled with shock and anger, reaching out to block in front of Jin Heshan, "Master, leave quickly."

This person is notoriously vicious, his Poison Palm technique is supernatural, and he has a record of killing one and wounding another when fighting martial masters.

The one hiding at the bottom of the water to launch a sneak attack is actually him; what could it be for? There is no time to think carefully; the third disciple, Shao Zhonghe, and the fourth disciple, Cheng Xiaohe, flank from left and right, leaping up and diving down from mid-air, intercepting Lu Zhigang from the front.

Jin Heshan does not move, and his eldest disciple, Li Chonghe, does not move either.

The terror of Lu Zhigang's Poison Palm lies in assassination; a frontal assault in broad daylight is not his advantage.

With the 5 of them, master and disciples, on the scene, could they possibly be afraid of him?

"Lu Zhigang, who ordered you to come? Speak!"

Jin Heshan's face is as heavy as water; he has too many enemies, but those with the ability to hire Du Yan are few and far between.

His heart is filled with murderous intent; he wants to drag out the mastermind behind this to exterminate their clan, crush every bone in their body, and make them wail for three days and three nights before they die.

"Master, it is just a thieving bird; do not trouble yourself to take action, this Disciple is willing to do it for you."

The eldest disciple, Li Chonghe, speaks up from his side to request the fight.

Hearing this, Jin Heshan nods; Li Chonghe is in the late stage of Qi and blood and can take down Du Yan Lu Zhigang.

Although he has recently gone crazy with some sort of vow of celibacy, his strength is firmly ranked first among the four great Disciples, and he is his most capable right-hand man. "Go!"

As soon as the words fall, a fierce wind howls, but instead of rushing forward, it makes a turn and charges straight at Jin Heshan.

Li Chonghe is rebellious and unfilial, actually daring to sneak-attack his mentor.

This turn of events is too sudden; the other disciples are caught off guard, and it takes them 10 breaths just to react.

Puchi!

Li Chonghe curls his hands into hooked claws, leaps onto Jin Heshan's back, and firmly digs into his two shoulder blades.

The crane claws are as sharp as hook knives, inserting along the bone joints; they are best at locking an enemy's joints.

The killing move Jin Heshan taught personally is now being used on himself.

"Li Chonghe, why?"

Jin Heshan is unhurried; he could flick Li Chonghe away with a little force, but he wants to know why the other party betrayed him.

Li Chonghe does not answer; his eyes are vacant, his body, mind, and thoughts having long been controlled by the Blood Qi Gu.

Puh, a mouthful of blood mixed with bits of flesh sprays onto Jin Heshan's face.

Li Chonghe decisively chews his own tongue to pieces, executing the 'Tongue-Chewing Pain-Strike Great Art', his whole body's Qi and blood boiling, and thick steam swirling around him.

"You are insane, actually detonating your Qi and blood! What deep Sea of Blood feud do I have with you?"

Jin Heshan is completely stunned.

If he were not certain that the person before him was the eldest disciple he had taught for decades, he would have even thought it was someone else in disguise.

Jin Heshan cultivates his disciples using an elite route, selecting the best, and he has raised all 4 Disciples as if they were his own sons.

Before taking Li Chonghe as a Disciple, he had long since cleared his background; he is by no means the descendant of any enemy.

He truly cannot fathom why he would suddenly turn hostile, or even go so far as to detonate his Qi and blood.

For example, even if Jiang Hua had an irreconcilable feud with him over the killing of his father, he would never have thought of using the Qi and blood detonation move.

Too stupid, too foolish, leaving himself absolutely no way out.

In his shock and rage, Jin Heshan unleashed the terrifying power of the martial master's husk, throwing Li Chonghe from his back to his right side.

Li Chonghe's eyes were bloodshot as he hugged the swelling body of his right shoulder, and with a pop, it exploded.

Boom—a crater several dozen meters in diameter was blasted into the riverbank, and countless pebbles flew about like cannonballs, striking the flock of cranes until they were covered in blood.

The remaining 3 Disciples let out a few cries of pain, actually ending up covered in bruises from being struck by the pebbles.

After the dust settled, Li Chonghe had completely vanished into thin air.

Jin Heshan's body was revealed; his right shoulder, which had originally been held by Li Chonghe, was the center point of the blood-energy explosion and had been blown clean off.

The entire right arm hung by a single thread, swaying and dangling like a branch with its roots chopped off.

Swish—a figure flashed past, fast as lightning, and easily tore off and took the right arm.

"Poison Goose, Lu Zhigang!"

Jin Heshan's eyes were filled with venomous hatred; he was no fool and guessed that Li Chonghe's self-detonation was the other party's conspiracy.

Yet he watched as Lu Zhigang slid the gauntlet off the right arm, his voice gradually fading into the distance, "I'll be taking this."

"Don't bother chasing; you can barely save yourself, so save some strength to prepare for your funeral."

Zang, who was hiding not far away, felt his body tremble, knowing he could no longer stay hidden.

The situation before him was better than expected; Li Chonghe was dead and Jin Heshan had lost an arm, making the difficulty significantly lower than planned.

"Junior Brother Zhou, do it!"

Zhou You switched rapidly, Lu Zhigang became a projection, and the main body returned to Zhou You.

(End of this chapter)