Chapter 117: Wu Gong Can Reach the Divine, the Old Retainers of Tai Ping Gong

The Divine Turtle Manifestation, ever since passing from Master Siming to Li Guanyi, had always lain dormant and sluggish, reacting only to treasures—but now it emitted flowing light, dispersing and vanishing in an instant.

A low chant rose beside Li Guanyi's ear.

Behind Li Guanyi, water seemed to shift; the next moment, the waterlight scattered, and a colossal Divine Turtle stepped forth from endless waves, its head lifting to match the boy's height, its carapace glowing with arcane patterns.

The surrounding cloud qi transformed.

This was the Wu Gong attuned to the Divine Turtle.

Like the Jade Arm Divine Bow Art to Bai Hu, like Crimson Dragon Force to the Crimson Dragon.

But the old man lacked the Divine Turtle Manifestation, so he could not achieve full mastery through Jade Fluid alone; Li Guanyi watched intently as the elder's qi patterns shifted, marvelously intricate, and gradually sank into them, unknowingly adjusting his own breath in sync with this art.

Chen Chengbi finished several rounds, then turned his back to Li Guanyi and said:

"This Six Void Four Union Wu Gong can contain all qi under heaven within one body."

"The first layer alone suffices to refine and purge foreign true qi from the body; cycling thus, one's foundational body grows vast and mighty. Let me think—first, adjusting internal qi, enveloping and guiding it—what's the key point again…?"

Li Guanyi knew the elder was feigning ignorance, so he recited the key points he had memorized.

Chen Chengbi said: "Ah yes, yes—then pay attention to the crucial qi circulation: slow, gentle, full, deep, still—like dipping ink and dragging the brush; no haste, or you'll err, and one error damages the lungs and viscera."

"When the qi moves into the dantian and settles in the organs, how then?"

Li Guanyi answered again as before.

Back and forth, fully half an hour passed, until Chen Chengbi finished explaining the first layer of this divine art and said: "There. I've remembered it all. Hahaha, the old man's memory's still sharp—haven't forgotten a thing."

The boy couldn't help laughing and said: "Master, won't you practice the second layer too?"

Chen Chengbi shook his head vigorously and cried:

"No, no! Just recalling the first layer is enough."

"The rest cannot be transmitted—won't transmit, won't transmit…"

"I mean—I won't practice it, won't practice it."

Only then did he turn around, looking at Li Guanyi with feigned surprise:

"Boy, when did you arrive?"

Li Guanyi's expression didn't change; he bowed and replied: "Your humble servant just arrived."

Chen Chengbi said: "I was just practicing alone, muttering to myself—did you see?"

Li Guanyi answered: "I just stepped out and came over; I only saw you turn around."

"I saw nothing before. Heard nothing."

Chen Chengbi nodded in satisfaction: "Good boy."

He thought a moment, then pulled Li Guanyi over and said:

"Go to the first floor, sixth shelf of the Scripture Hall, and fetch a martial art called Wang Yang Force. It was adapted from the Six Void Four Union Wu Gong—when perfected, it reaches about eighty percent of the first layer of the Six Void Four Union Wu Gong, and can resolve your Crimson Dragon Force."

"Remember—if anyone asks, say you practice this one."

Li Guanyi agreed.

Chen Chengbi said: "My Chen Kingdom's Six Void Four Union Wu Gong excels in qi cultivation, but it's a technique of the Wang Hou family—never spread among the martial world. In my view, it's no inferior to the Confucian scholars' Vast Righteous Qi—yet sadly, its true strength lies in slaughter."

"Legend says five hundred years ago, my ancestor, Duke Chen Ying, challenged your Xue family's Duke Xue to a duel—and they ended in a draw."

"My family's ultimate art, 【Crush Mountain】, matched their 【Rolling Tide】 evenly."

"After returning, my ancestor brooded endlessly, pondering how to break 【Rolling Tide】, until he realized one problem—do you know 【Rolling Tide】?"

Chen Chengbi, deeply interested in Wu Gong, drew Li Guanyi to the pond's edge, swept his sleeve—and the pond's water instantly spiraled into a massive vortex, rushing with furious flow.

Chen Chengbi pointed at the vortex: "This is 【Rolling Tide】."

"An extremely complex, high-speed spiral qi that shatters all defenses."

"My ancestor's 【Crush Mountain】 was just like this."

He threw a stone into it—the vortex snatched it up and flung it away.

The old man's simple explanation stirred deep thought in Li Guanyi; he gained profound new insight into his two ultimate arts, subtly touched by revelation.

Li Guanyi seized that fleeting spark of inspiration.

He thought a moment and said: "Though I don't understand 【Crush Mountain】 or 【Rolling Tide】,"

"could it be like this?"

Li Guanyi drew his high-grade blade from its scabbard and plunged it into the pond, violently stirring against the vortex's direction—two currents collided, generating fierce tearing force; the water's surface split, spewing forth countless smaller vortices.

Chen Chengbi had thought the boy arrogant and reckless—but seeing this, his eyes brightened slightly.

He clapped his hands and laughed: "Yes, yes!"

"Hahaha! The boy has talent—this better fits 【Rolling Tide】, though you're still a notch short."

"Playing with water? Watch the old man!"

The elder picked up a straight wooden stick and guided each small vortex with it—each one merged into a larger one, reforming the original vortex as before.

Chen Chengbi beamed: "See? If you change it like this—"

"Then 【Rolling Tide】 isn't just one technique!"

"One strike disperses, then you adjust your qi, let it flow back—and it gathers again."

"What is this? Unbroken continuity."

"When the enemy attacks, thinking he's withstood my first 【Rolling Tide】, he doesn't realize he's already sunk into my internal vortex—once I move, he's trapped deep within, unable to escape—capable of confinement, capable of slaughter!"

"Come, watch again—if you manipulate qi like this, hey—doesn't the vortex reverse its original direction?"

"Isn't this yin-yang circulation, endless transformation, capable of both forward and reverse, controlled at will?"

"Hahaha! Marvelous! Marvelous!"

Having bested Li Guanyi in the vortex contest, Chen Chengbi grinned triumphantly.

And Li Guanyi, watching the swirling vortex coalesce and shift, felt his mind suddenly burst open like a thunderclap.

The original Juan Tao was a complete imitation of General Xue; what this old man had said offhand just now was clearly the profoundest mysteries of the martial Dao. Li Guanyi grasped it dimly, feeling that his own Juan Tao might be about to undergo a great transformation.

This ultimate art would, in the end, walk a path different from General Xue's.

Chen Chengbi slapped his forehead and said:

"Look at me, where have I gotten to—going back to 【Crushing Mountain】. Later the ancestor discovered that 【Juan Tao】 had too many variations, which was why he couldn't break through this move. After racking his brains, one day he suddenly climbed Nanshan to gaze into the distance, saw the thousand mountains and ten thousand waters, and was suddenly enlightened. He clapped his hands and laughed heartily."

"The ancestor said, 'Crushing Mountain—how could a mountain be just one layer?!'"

"A mountain is a thousand mountains, ten thousand layers!"

"How could my inner Qi have only one layer?"

"And so he comprehended the foundation of this art, the Six Emptiness Four Harmonies Divine Art."

"After several generations of ancestors refined it, this art that could devour all manner of inner Qi finally came into being. At first it was just ordinary inner Qi, but the more inner Qi one sees, and the more different kinds of inner Qi one devours, the stronger this art's Qi becomes."

Chen Chengbi grabbed a stone, crushed it in his grip, and tossed it with a flick of his hand.

Each fragment precisely broke one vortex. The old man said: "Just like that."

"If cultivated to mastery, one punch thrown would carry countless layers of Qi—cold or hot, domineering or gentle—exactly as if countless masters were facing the enemy together. And if one uses this art to drive 【Crushing Mountain】, one can truly possess the grand spirit of 【one mountain higher than the last, a thousand mountains and ten thousand waters rolling in】."

"And that art, the Vast Ocean Qi, has similar variations. When you cultivate this method later, you can transform the Scarlet Dragon for your own use. At that time, one punch from you would carry both the Scarlet Dragon and Bai Hu layers of Qi. Isn't that wonderful?"

When Chen Chengbi said this, he was almost so happy he was dancing with hands and feet.

Happier than Li Guanyi himself.

This delight was pure—simply the joy born from witnessing the profound mysteries of the martial Dao.

Li Guanyi said:

"Then, old senior, I'll step back—would you like to demonstrate the second layer as well?"

Chen Chengbi's laughter cut off abruptly.

He glared at Li Guanyi: "Boy, don't talk nonsense. Won't teach it, won't teach it!"

"The first layer can already hold three layers of Qi; you've already made out like a bandit. If it weren't for your proven loyalty and the fact that you're from the Xue family, how could this old man possibly teach you?"

"If my old man were still alive, I'd be hung up and beaten to death with the Jin Yu ceremonial belt."

Chen Chengbi realized he'd let slip; he reached out and slapped his own mouth twice.

Then he turned and knelt toward the direction of the imperial tomb, kowtowed three loud times, and said:

"Father, don't listen to your son's nonsense—your son hasn't taught outsiders."

"Your ears deceived you."

Li Guanyi felt that this old man was different from when they first met, when he had led the Golden Guard cavalry in pursuit of General Yue Qianfeng. Most of the injuries on Yue Qianfeng's body seemed to have been inflicted by this elder. Only after Chen Chengbi finished all this did he let out a breath of relief.

He sat there, looked at Li Guanyi, and said grumpily: "Still, the benefits you've gotten from this old man mean you must be loyal to the realm and the court, boy."

"Don't be like those two boys, Wanli and Puyang."

A shade of dimness crossed the old man's face: "More than ten years ago, that Puyang Wang kid was sly as a fox. He tricked me, saying there was precious jade on Kunlun, and inside it was stored the divine art of the Kunlun Sword Sect from three thousand years ago. I set off in high spirits, killed thirty horses on the road, and finally climbed Kunlun Mountain."

"I fought a white bear as big as the mountaintop itself, and when I found the Bai Yu and came down the mountain, I learned the world had changed greatly. Puyang had raised his army and failed again. I rode back to the Great Sacrifice and saw Chen Qingyan blocking the Night-Rider cavalry."

"It was also after the great fire that day that Chen Qingyan crippled her own Wu Gong and switched to cultivating the Kunlun Heart Art, a divine art of the ice-cold attribute. Tell me why—why must people fight each other like this?"

"They used to be on such good terms."

The old man muttered, sighed—his hair had already turned white—and looked at Li Guanyi with a smile: "Anyway, you don't know who's who either. This old man's grievances can only be spoken to someone like you who knows nothing."

"And I can't tell outsiders."

"Bottling it up makes it hard to eat."

There was genuine melancholy on his face.

Li Guanyi thought for a moment, then countered: "Then if the people of Chen and the court come into conflict—say, a treacherous minister and the common people—whose side do I stand on to count as loyalty?"

This question seemed to fry the old man's brain.

He could think about the martial Dao and draw inferences from one case to many others, able to inadvertently point out the key to Li Guanyi's Juan Tao and Crushing Mountain. But this kind of complicated matter made him knit his brows, scratch his head and cheeks, and after a long while he said: "Then the common people, I suppose."

The old man said: "I haven't read many books, but I've never eaten pork, I've seen pigs run."

"If a foolish ruler holds sway, ministers should change things. When I was wandering the jianghu, I met that scholar of the Gongyang school. He had many doctrines; I was young then, listened till my scalp tingled and I was half asleep, and only remember two lines clearly."

"When the minister is without the Dao, attack him."

"When the ruler is without the Dao, replace him."

"He was one of the heads of the World Academy. Learned, and right he was."

Chen Chengbi said carelessly:

"Those great Confucians all say the Emperor is the Son of Heaven, a sage. But if the Emperor were truly a sage and Son of Heaven, he wouldn't have the desires of flesh and blood, wouldn't sneak out to visit the brothels, wouldn't have peed on me at two years old—damn him—wouldn't have cried with snot running down his face while getting beaten for not wanting to read."

"So the Emperor is also an ordinary person."

"Ordinary people make mistakes."

"Now scholars say sages make no mistakes—every last one of them is a treacherous minister."

Li Guanyi gaped and said: "Senior, those words are a bit…"

Chen Chengbi said indifferently: "Treasonable, right?"

"My old man said the same thing back then, which is why he didn't give me any throne."

"Not that he considered it—never even crossed his mind."

"Said if I governed the realm, the realm would fall into chaos for certain."

"And if one reached a high position, one would surely die. So instead he taught me all kinds of martial arts. But what of it? Boy, there are so many paths of cultivation in the world—scholars are noble and pure, the Daoists are at ease, the Buddhas are solemn—yet they all say the warrior is vulgar."

"Vulgar my ass!"

"I think they're farting and shitting."

Chen Chengbi stood up, looked at Li Guanyi, and smiled:

"You suit my taste quite well, boy."

"Then let this old man tell you what the Martial Dao is."

This royal Grandmaster stepped forward, his hair white as snow. Before the guards of the Golden Guard, he had no need for stiff etiquette. Just now he had been sealed beneath ice, then played in the water, then knelt before his father's tomb. Now his brows lifted, and a spirited vigor rose within him.

He said: "The Martial Dao cultivates three characters."

"Confucians fear the Mandate of Heaven, Buddhists fear karma and consequence, Daoists seek the Great Dao — all are bound."

"My Martial Dao cultivation is only three characters."

"They are — follow your heart's will!"

"Put crudely, whatever Mandate of Heaven, whatever karma, whatever Great Dao — they're all bullshit!"

"A steaming pile of shit!"

The old man cursed loudly, then raised his hand, and wind rose and clouds surged. He stood there as if he were the very center of the world. The sky pressed down, the earth heaved up, and in an instant all things rushed toward him. Chen Chengbi looked at Li Guanyi and said: "Mighty power returns to one body."

"Within three chi of my body, I am sovereign!"

"Look up three chi and there are gods."

"I — am the god!"

"Flower opens, sees the Buddha? Wrong."

"Look up — and see me!"

………………

Chen Chengbi pointed out the path of the martial artist for Li Guanyi, then the old man patted his shoulder and told him to go read in the library, saying: "For certain reasons, this old man guesses the Crown Prince will have difficulty ascending the throne. Your aunt's son — your younger brother — may well become the Crown Prince."

"You must protect him."

Li Guanyi suddenly understood the old man's kindness. He guessed the old man already knew of the Crown Prince's situation, guessed that Noble Consort Xue's son would become Crown Prince, and so was willing to teach Li Guanyi martial arts. The youth lowered his eyes, cupped his hands in salute, paused, and only answered:

"I will surely protect his life."

Chen Chengbi did not think too much of such a sentence.

He patted Li Guanyi's shoulder. The youth turned and went to the library. After verifying his identity, he stepped inside. There were some royal clan youths within, but when Li Guanyi entered, they too fell silent.

A crimson robe, a white jade dangling ornament at his waist.

If one were fifty and dressed so, it would only be a doddering old fool.

But at fifteen so dressed, it was true youthful nobility — a young one to be feared.

Ordinary royal clan youths would feel somewhat short of breath before such a noble minister. Li Guanyi followed the old man's advice and found that one technique. Seeing no one around, he thought of the Eldest Princess Chen Qingyan's words and focused his attention on the bookshelf.

Gradually, Li Guanyi sensed faint flowing light rising from the bookshelf.

His Yuanshen suddenly became active, naturally beginning to shift according to the technique his aunt had taught him. After circulating the technique his aunt had taught, ripples appeared in the void. The bookshelf seemed to light up, and then characters appeared one by one.

【I am Chen Qingyan. Before parting, Murong Xiao Niang told me the Murong family's techniques. Therefore, using Jiangnan Misty Rain Twelve Layered Towers as a guide, I left a message here. This technique passes down through the generations; whoever comes should be a Murong family heir — perhaps, that child……】

【I leave a message here in place of Tai Ping Gong】

【These are the true names of Tai Ping Gong's former subordinates, the various generals】

【And Tai Ping Gong's secret contact signals for the twenty-four generals under his command】