Chapter 80: Pursuit and Slaughter

In a true expert's battle, the martial artists Lu Chengfeng had summoned could no longer intervene; the few with slightly higher martial arts had already struck earlier, and now everyone was wounded, merely tightly surrounding the valley mouth, guarding against the Black Wind Twin Demons breaking out.

Inside the valley now, pairs fought each other, but the battles were completely different.

Lu Chengfeng's martial arts were originally inferior to Mei Chaofeng's; now with his legs crippled and having just been injured by the Heart Crushing Palm, he was hard-pressed under Mei Chaofeng's fierce assault—had Mei Chaofeng's own injuries not yet healed, he might already have been defeated.

Chen Xuanfeng, facing Wu Chengyu, was especially cautious, not daring to unleash the Empty Palm Strike-like long-range force, relying only on lightness skill to maneuver, interchanging the Falling Petals Divine Sword Palm and Orchid Finger Acupoint-Sealing Hand, seeking not to achieve merit but first to avoid fault.

Unfortunately, his lightness skill was useless before Wu Chengyu's Cat Step; once the Cat Step was deployed, five or six Wu Chengyus immediately appeared around Chen Xuanfeng, here in front, there behind, each figure striking with a move—either the Participation Finger, the Bone-Unseating Grappling Hand, or a killing move from Yan Qing Fist.

Wu Chengyu had trained for too short a time and learned too many things, not yet having the chance to learn other moves in a short time, but just these were enough to make Chen Xuanfeng suffer greatly.

His externally hardened body was useless against the Participation Finger; within a few exchanges, several blood holes were poked into his body, and the Nine Yin White Bone Claw was more vicious than the Bone-Unseating Grappling Hand, but he could not even catch Wu Chengyu's shadow.

Had Chen Xuanfeng not discovered his inner force surpassed Wu Chengyu's, using inner force to overwhelm him every time fists and feet met, he could barely maintain parity, but defeat was not far off.

Seeing Chen Xuanfeng's miserable state, Mei Chaofeng grew anxious in her heart, intensified her assault, vowing to subdue Lu Chengfeng within a few moves—just as Lu Chengfeng was about to be defeated, a figure suddenly darted out from the watching crowd, rushing forward like a ghost, striking several palms toward Mei Chaofeng.

The palm force was solid and unstoppable; Mei Chaofeng, caught off guard, was directly sent flying by this Empty Palm Strike, spouting a mouthful of blood. Chen Xuanfeng, seeing this, disregarded danger, took Wu Chengyu's two fingers with his body, broke from the battlefield, and lunged to Mei Chaofeng's side, while turning back and shouting sternly: "Qu Lingfeng!"

The person who suddenly appeared was about thirty, but looked haggard, with disheveled hair, holding a crutch in each hand. Having succeeded in the sneak attack earlier, his eyes were now full of hatred, but his face was full of cold smiles.

From the moment he struck, Chen Xuanfeng knew Qu Lingfeng had arrived. Among the Peach Blossom Island disciples, Qu Lingfeng, as the eldest disciple, ranked first in martial arts, especially his Empty Palm Strike, which had inherited Huang Yaoshi's true transmission, being more fierce and powerful than Chen Xuanfeng's Empty Palm Strike.

Since Wu Chengyu thought of joining forces with Lu Chengfeng, how could he not go find Qu Lingfeng?

As the eldest senior brother, Qu Lingfeng cared for Wu Mianfeng the most among the senior brothers and sisters; Wu Chengyu remembered him very fondly. Had it not been that the Black Jade Bone-Healing Ointment could not treat severed and atrophied foot tendons, Wu Chengyu would surely have saved him without hesitation.

Those who have read the original work know that Qu Lingfeng lived in seclusion in Niu Family Village outside Hangzhou; years ago he had some friendship with the Guo and Yang families. As early as several months ago, Wu Chengyu had run to Niu Family Village to find Qu Lingfeng. Upon hearing they wanted to cause trouble for Chen Mei and the other, Qu Lingfeng immediately agreed without hesitation.

All night Qu Lingfeng hid in the crowd. Knowing his legs were already useless, if he struck he would be like Lu Chengfeng and unable to play a key role, so he had been waiting for an opportunity—to strike at Chen Mei and the other when they were unprepared at the final moment.

Earlier Mei Chaofeng, eager to subdue Lu Chengfeng, neglected her own defense and finally revealed an opening. Qu Lingfeng deeply hated these two, and using all his strength, struck several palms in succession. Mei Chaofeng's tendons and bones were now completely severed, and she no longer had the strength to stand, with only a single breath remaining.

Chen Xuanfeng held Mei Chaofeng, shouting "thief hag" repeatedly, but Mei Chaofeng's breathing was now as if cut off yet not cut off, her mouth full of blood, completely unable to answer.

Chen Xuanfeng looked fiercely at Qu Lingfeng and the other two, then suddenly laughed wildly: "You three came to my door today, presumably for my Nine Yin Manual. But I don't know—after the two of us die, who will the Nine Yin Manual belong to?"

A clumsy scheme of sowing discord; Wu Chengyu was completely unmoved. After obtaining the Murong Family's secret manuals, his need for the Nine Yin Manual had greatly decreased. The secret manuals in his hands were more than he could read, and besides, the essence of the Nine Yin Manual was in the upper volume, especially the Sanskrit general outline.

The martial arts moves in the lower volume were strong, but compared to the martial arts in his hands, how much stronger could they be?

As for Qu and Lu, what they had in mind was to return to their sect. This Nine Yin Manual lower volume was back then in Huang Yaoshi's study; Huang Yaoshi was too arrogant and had no precautions.

Chen Xuanfeng and Mei Chaofeng could steal the secret manuals; Qu and Lu back then, if they had the mind, could also have done it—only they were not tempted.

But the surrounding martial artists, upon hearing of the Nine Yin Manual, were all stirred. The story of the Five Greats contending for the Nine Yin Manual at the Huashan Sword Discourse was known to all; the allure of divine art secret manuals went without saying. Now the true manual was right before their eyes—who could truly not be tempted?

Once hearts were stirred, the crowd at the scene fell into chaos. Several people stepped forward, wanting to take advantage of Mei Chaofeng's severe injury to strike first. Human hearts were insatiable; some even stood in front of Qu Lingfeng and the other two, fearing they would seize the secret manuals first.

Chen Xuanfeng wanted exactly this opportunity. He took something from his bosom and threw it to the ground; it instantly turned into a mass of black smoke.

A gap appeared in the encirclement. Chen Xuanfeng, holding Mei Chaofeng, avoided Wu Chengyu and the other two, flew directly over the heads of the crowd, and finally broke out of the valley.

"There is poison in the smoke, everyone be careful," Lu Chengfeng shouted loudly, but could only watch Chen Xuanfeng's figure helplessly.

The only ones who pursued were Wu Chengyu and Qu Lingfeng. Wu Chengyu's body was now incredibly agile, and Qu Lingfeng, as someone who had run to the Imperial Palace many times with crutches to steal treasures, tapped his two crutches on the ground and flew a zhang away.

Chen Xuanfeng did not choose the mountain road they came by. He had stayed on this mountain for over half a month and knew the terrain better than Lu Chengfeng's people. Just as he burst out of the valley mouth, he went the opposite way: first rushing up the mountain, then passing through a dense forest, where a path led to the back mountain.

Once he plunged into the dense forest, he was confident he could escape with his life.

Alas, no matter how many schemes, they could not compare to Wu Chengyu, this cheat-user. When he had just arrived at the valley, he had not struck immediately, precisely to observe the terrain.

He used his five senses to construct a three-dimensional image and soon discovered this secret path down the mountain.

Lu Zhiyi and the others who came with him were all arranged by him to guard this place.

At this time the mountain was dark. Chen Xuanfeng, following his memory, found this place. Just as he was about to enter the dense forest, he heard over a dozen bowstring sounds in succession. The powerful bows inherited from the Yue Family Army, with sharp sounds of splitting wind, shot toward Chen Xuanfeng.

Chen Xuanfeng had no time to dodge. Instead, it was Mei Chaofeng in his arms—perhaps at this moment she was experiencing a final rally. She forcibly broke free from Chen Xuanfeng's embrace, spread her arms to block in front of Chen Xuanfeng. After several muffled groans, Mei Chaofeng's body had seven or eight long arrows added to it.

She slowly fell to the ground, finally making no sound at all.

"Thief hag...", Chen Xuanfeng's cry of alarm spread throughout Xiao Lingshan.

(Chapter End)