Chapter 85: Nine Yin Manual

The Sword Qi on Lu Li's body climbed back to its peak.

The crowd dared not look directly at Lu Li; their hearts pounded in their chests, feeling as if Lu Li had emerged as a divine weapon, his presence making their hair stand on end.

Guo Jing was not injured; he leaped backward at this moment, landing outside Dashiping.

He exchanged a glance with Huang Yaoshi and the others, and all of them saw turbulent waves in each other's eyes.

Lu Li had actually managed to see through his state of mind at this moment; his sword heart could be called transparent.

And what gave people a more intuitive feeling was that Lu Li's True Qi was simply too vast. It could be said that after practicing the Nine Yin Manual for many years, Guo Jing's True Qi was invincible in the world, yet he still could not withstand a single sword strike from Lu Li.

Huang Yaoshi sighed, "How old is he? It is truly hard to imagine how he cultivated such internal energy."

Yang Guo suddenly laughed, "Sigh, I no longer wish to fight."

He inwardly gave a bitter smile; how was it that after Uncle Guo finished fighting, the difficulty suddenly increased so sharply when it came to him?

This question was a bit beyond the syllabus.

Huang Rong hurried over, and seeing that Guo Jing had only suffered some superficial wounds, she finally set her heart at ease.

Beside her, Guo Xiang stared blankly at Lu Li, already lost in a trance.

There is a saying: do not meet someone too stunning when you are young, otherwise, you will never have peace for the rest of your life.

For Guo Xiang, this was exactly the case.

"Meeting at Feng Ling Du Kou, once seeing Yang Guo, one's life is ruined."

When Guo Xiang first met Yang Guo at Feng Ling Du Kou, she fell in love with him at first sight.

In fact, Guo Xiang knew full well that Yang Guo was already with Xiaolongnü, and she knew that even if she found Yang Guo, it was impossible for there to be any result between them.

But the Divine Eagle Hero that night was too stunning; she could never like anyone else again.

"In this life, it is impossible to meet someone more outstanding than Big Brother."

But today, Guo Xiang met one.

At this very moment, Lu Li turned back to look at Yang Guo.

"Heavy Sword No Edge, great skill is not crafted! Hero of the Divine Eagle, please grant me a strike!"

Hearing this, the crowd all looked at Yang Guo.

People like Wu Dunru all shook their heads slightly, their eyes carrying a hint: "Don't go."

In their hearts, Lu Li was currently in an extremely dangerous state.

Going up now was basically equivalent to throwing it away.

Huang Yaoshi and the others also compared in their hearts, finally reaching a conclusion: the current Lu Li was a few degrees sharper than just a moment ago.

If they were to go up and spar with him now, it would likely be even worse than before.

However, Yang Guo strode forward.

Do not forget, Yang Guo was a person of natural, extreme temperament and emotion, and was unruly by nature. In the original work, he was even titled one of the new Five Greats, the 'Western Madman'.

He had become increasingly mature in his dealings, but he would never fear a challenge.

Therefore, since Lu Li invited him to strike, he would definitely strike.

Yang Guo took the Heavy Profound Iron Sword from his back with one hand and gripped it.

"Brother Lu, your sword art and internal energy are already at the pinnacle; I, Yang, must admit I am inferior."

"This strike will be my full-power strike!"

"Heavy Sword No Edge, great skill is not crafted."

Having said that, the aura on Yang Guo's body suddenly condensed, and the Heavy Profound Iron Sword slashed down from above, without any flashiness!

Boom!

The sword was slashed out, yet it was like a door plank or a club, unleashing a surging sword wind.

The Profound Iron Sword was a heavy, edgeless sword, but even so, it could produce terrifying power.

And this strike of Yang Guo's was not an exquisite move at all. It was an extremely natural strike, an extremely ordinary strike.

Lu Li was very familiar with this strike.

It was precisely one of the Basic Sword Techniques: the chop.

"Heavy Sword No Edge, great skill is not crafted."

These eight characters actually meant that there was no need for careful arrangement; one only needed to return to simplicity, and everything would be natural.

Yang Guo once held the Profound Iron Sword and practiced against the sea waves; he was not practicing sword moves, but himself.

This strike stirred up a turbulent wave, like a tsunami, crashing directly toward Lu Li.

Lu Li finally confirmed that the Sword Intent he had once been proud of was not some strange existence in front of Yang Guo or the Five Greats.

It was only because existences like the Five Greats had long since sought out their own paths.

The Old Urchin's childlike heart was clear and bright, Huang Yaoshi was already inseparable from the Peach Blossom Island and the blue sea, and the Yang Guo before him had even refined the Heavy Profound Iron Sword into the momentum of surging waves.

Perhaps each world had a different name for this realm, but through the exchange just now, Lu Li already knew that Sword Intent was not something unique to him.

And Yang Guo's Heavy Profound Iron Sword Intent was from those days when he was trained by the Divine Eagle on the sea.

Perhaps he still had the Melancholy Palm, but it was a pity that he had already reunited with Xiaolongnü; the momentum of melancholy within it would likely be hard to see again.

Facing Yang Guo's Sword Intent, Lu Li thought of what Yang Guo had just said—that this would be his strongest strike.

Was the strongest thing just Sword Intent? Then, it seemed the strongest sword realm in this world was nothing more than this.

The next moment, Lu Li slashed out with his sword. He, too, had reached the realm of Sword Intent.

Five Mountains Sword Momentum!

Let your waves surge and churn; I remain unmoved.

The two men's longswords collided in an instant, erupting with a terrifying wave of energy.

But Lu Li was seen standing where he was, not having retreated a single step.

Yang Guo retreated three steps, and with a "clang," he braced the Heavy Sword No Edge against the ground. His face was deathly pale; he breathed in and out for three cycles before he finally steadied himself.

"Average."

Lu Li felt a bit disappointed in his heart.

It was not that Yang Guo was the weakest, but Yang Guo's momentum was the easiest to break; Heavy Sword No Edge was, by nature, using brute force to break through finesse.

On the Tianxuan Continent, although Lu Li could not wield the heavy sword "Zhan Yue," compared to Yang Guo, his cultivation and strength were far superior. Choosing to compete in strength against Lu Li was a mistake.

"I concede!" Lu Li cupped his hands.

Yang Guo slung the heavy sword back onto his back and laughed heartily: "I never expected you to be born with divine strength!"

Lu Li could not explain it to him, so he just smiled.

He looked at the crowd and said in a clear voice: "To be able to participate in the Huashan Sword Debate with all of you, this trip was truly not in vain!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a cracking sound suddenly came from the long sword in his hand.

Everyone was startled and looked over at the sound, only to see cracks suddenly appearing all over the long sword, and in an instant, it shattered into dozens of fragments.

This ordinary iron sword, having witnessed the Huashan Sword Debate, had finally broken.

The group had met through martial arts and had already developed a desire to befriend one another. Right then, Guo Jing and the others invited Lu Li to travel with them.

It turned out that they had come to Huashan this time to pay their respects to Hong Qigong. On the way, they heard Lu Li shouting to drive away that group of delusional people, which was why they had come to Dashiping.

Years ago, Hong Qigong and Ouyang Feng had dueled on Huashan and were buried there; upon hearing this, Lu Li also felt the intention to pay his respects, so he followed the group to go there together.

They had bought chicken and vegetables at the foot of the mountain earlier, so Huang Rong led the group to light a fire and set up a stove, preparing several dishes that Hong Qigong had loved during his lifetime to offer as a sacrifice.

Lu Li and the others stepped forward one by one to kowtow, and Ouyang Feng's grave was right next to Hong Qigong's. These two could be considered mortal enemies during their lives, yet in the end, they slept side by side.

Zhou Botong stepped forward, bowed, and said: "Old Poison, oh Old Poison, you committed many evils in your life, yet after death, your bones are neighbors with the Old Beggar; that can be considered a stroke of luck in three lifetimes... While you were alive, you obsessed over the Nine Yin Manual; today, I met a young man on Huashan who might not have read the Nine Yin Manual, but his martial arts are even higher than yours..."

Hearing Zhou Botong mention the Nine Yin Manual, everyone recalled the past.

At this moment, Lu Li suddenly said: "This junior has also heard the name of the Nine Yin Manual and is curious about how this art truly is; I wonder if I might take a look?"

The Old Urchin asked in surprise: "Kid, your martial arts have already reached the heavens; those of us who have practiced the Nine Yin Manual are no match for you, so what do you still want it for?"

Lu Li said: "Stones from other hills may serve to polish the jade. As for the Dao of the sword, where could there be an end?"

Hearing what Lu Li said, Huang Yaoshi and the others secretly admired him.

Once they reached their level, they knew that martial arts could not deceive people. In fact, after the sword debate, they had already recognized Lu Li's character. If it weren't for the large age gap between Huang Yaoshi and Lu Li, he would even have wanted to pull Lu Li aside to become sworn brothers. And although the Nine Yin Manual was a treasure in the pugilistic world, in the eyes of these few, it was not viewed as that important.

Right then, the few found a natural cave. While eating and drinking, they discussed martial arts.

Who would have thought that this martial arts manual, which everyone in the world fought over, was merely a topic of conversation for these few after a meal.

"The Dao of Heaven, it reduces the excessive and supplements the insufficient..."

Guo Jing and the others spoke one after another to tell Lu Li about the Nine Yin Manual, and Lu Li also exchanged some insights he had gained in the Smiling Proud Wanderer world and the Tianxuan Continent with them.

The group talked happily, especially Huang Yaoshi; although he was getting older, he was even more curious about these miscellaneous studies. Hearing that Lu Li had once learned embroidery, he was greatly amazed.

Lu Li simply channeled his True Qi, splitting it between his left and right hands to manipulate the needle and thread in mid-air. It was just that the needle and thread of this ordinary world were fundamentally different from those of the Tianxuan Continent, so he could easily thread the needle.

The others were mostly amazed at the refinement of his internal energy, being able to control objects in the void.

Only the Old Urchin clapped and cheered: "Interesting, interesting! Little brother, I have a technique where the left hand fights the right hand; do you want to learn it?"

What he was talking about was the Left-Right Mutual Fighting Technique.

This martial art was quite wondrous; it was a method of multitasking, and only those with a simple mind could learn it. People like Yang Guo, Huang Yaoshi, and Huang Rong, although naturally intelligent, had minds that were too active, and thus they were unable to learn this move.

Huang Rong laughed: "Old Urchin, aren't you afraid that after you teach him, there will be two Lu Lis fighting you together?"

Who knew that after hearing this, the Old Urchin became even more interested and immediately pulled Lu Li over, insisting on teaching him.

【Draw a square with one hand, draw a circle with the other...】

Although Lu Li memorized the learning method in his heart, he could not learn it immediately.

After the Old Urchin taught him a few times and discovered that Lu Li still hadn't learned it, he immediately shook his head and said: "Not fun, not fun! You can learn it yourself."

Seeing the Old Urchin's frustrated expression made everyone laugh.

Everyone was in high spirits and scattered throughout Huashan to explore the scenery. Lu Li knew Huashan like the back of his hand, so he acted like a tour guide, taking everyone around to sightsee. They found several fun places in succession, which made the Old Urchin beam with joy.

This day, Lu Li and the others came to a high ridge where there was a Han Tan. Guo Xiang looked into the pool, but seeing that this pool was bottomless and chillingly fearsome, she couldn't help but shiver.

Lu Li introduced: "It is said that this deep pool connects directly to the Yellow River and is one of the eight great water mansions in the world. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, there was a great drought in the north, and he once wrote a jade book for rain and threw it into the pool water."

Guo Xiang asked: "Then did it rain later?"

Lu Li shook his head and said: "I suppose whether it rains or not has nothing to do with this pool water; it probably didn't rain."

Guo Xiang lowered her eyes and said gloomily: "That's right, even if one is an emperor, one may not be able to have everything go as one wishes." After saying this, she inadvertently looked at Yang Guo and Xiaolongnü not far away.

Seeing the two of them walking hand in hand, she felt melancholy in her heart.

Lu Li said: "Eight or nine out of ten things in life are unsatisfactory; having a clear conscience is enough."

"A clear conscience, huh..." Guo Xiang muttered to herself.

Lu Li knew that what she was thinking about had to do with Yang Guo; a young girl's heart is always like poetry, but he did not want to interfere in this matter of romantic feelings.

Looking up, he suddenly saw two figures stealthily climbing up the mountain through the forest; these two chose to walk in hidden places, which was clearly strange.

Lu Li pulled Guo Xiang and pointed at the two people, whispering: "Shall we go take a look?"

Guo Xiang nodded, and the two of them followed quietly.