Chapter 179

Of course, the process would be difficult.

【After bidding farewell to Helmsman Qiao Feng and Duan Yu, I encountered eight masked assassins, each at the Master's Sixth or Seventh Layer, with movements swift as ghosts.】

【Later, I followed the trail and exposed the mastermind—Xuan Ci of Shaolin Temple.】

【Sure enough, after I killed Ye Mengse, this old bald donkey held a grudge against me.】

【However, the way he took revenge was to send assassins to kill me, which I never expected.】

【Even more surprising, these assassins were cultivating the Sunflower Manual!】

【So the question is: did Xuan Ci privately hire an organization with heavy gold, or did Shaolin Temple secretly cultivate them?】

"Sunflower Manual? What martial arts is this?"

Since in Jiang Sishui's eyes, this martial arts was worth Shaolin Temple, a sacred site of the Wu Lin, preserving, and even possibly secretly using to cultivate talent, it must be extraordinary.

It's just... why cultivate it secretly?

Could this be an evil art?

【The Sunflower Manual, originating from The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, has never appeared in its complete form.】

【Rumor has it it was created by a eunuch from a previous dynasty... oh, later readers gave him a name—Sunflower Ancestor.】

【The Sunflower Manual created by Sunflower Ancestor was, in the story's background, accidentally obtained by Shaolin.】

【Because the Sunflower Manual was created by Sunflower Ancestor based on his own situation, to cultivate it, one must take the most difficult first step—】

【Castrate oneself!】

【To practice the divine art, draw the blade and castrate oneself; refine pills and take medicine, internal and external both open.】

【If one does not castrate oneself, one will die from surging blood and qi, consumed by burning desire.】

【And because this art is supremely yang, women cannot cultivate it either.】

【Therefore, only eunuchs, neither yin nor yang, can cultivate the Sunflower Manual.】

"Castrate oneself to practice the art?"

The women were all stunned; there actually exists such a bizarre Wu Gong?

There are many Wu Gong in this world that hurt others by hurting oneself first, but none have ever been heard of that hurt the vital root!

Castration, for a man, is such a great shame; they, as women, all know this.

Would anyone really cultivate such an evil art?

【The Sunflower Manual is extremely sinister; it is not only a Wu Gong that can be mastered quickly, but also has low requirements for the cultivator's aptitude.】

【The hardest part lies entirely in the first step.】

【Simply put, even if a man is merely a lowly Post-Heaven martial artist, as long as his aptitude is not too poor and he can be ruthless enough to give himself a cut...】

【Then, he might become a Grandmaster or even a Great Grandmaster within three to five years, or even a shorter time!】

【And because this art emphasizes movement, with peerless speed, martial artists of the same realm cannot catch up to him; most cannot even catch a glimpse of his figure.】

【So it is no exaggeration to say the Sunflower Manual can allow a Post-Heaven trash to roam freely beneath the Heaven and Man realm in a short time!】

198 Dongfang Bubai: I just did that one thing, and became the number one under heaven.

"Within three to five years, or even a shorter time, from Post-Heaven to Great Grandmaster?!"

The women were stunned.

How difficult it is to become a Great Grandmaster is known without saying; even those with extraordinary talents like Yao Yue and Flower Fairy practiced martial arts since childhood, spending ten or twenty years to achieve their current status.

Yet the Sunflower Manual can greatly shorten this time!

Most importantly, this art does not have high requirements for martial arts aptitude!

This differs greatly from many divine arts and holy scriptures, breaking certain common sense, and can be said to be unique.

And the price to go from a "salted fish" to a "giant whale" is just that one cut...

At first glance, what then becomes of all our years of hard effort and cultivation?

Suddenly, the women felt the Sunflower Manual was not so hard to accept; there will always be those with no way out who will be ruthless to themselves and then turn the tables to become "people above people."

Of course, there are still arts like the Northern Nether Divine Art in the world that require no cost at all yet can still make one a master quickly.

Just the fact that one does not need to castrate oneself makes it superior to the Sunflower Manual.

But how many such Wu Gong are there?

Looking across the Central Region, this kind of "harming others to benefit oneself" soul-stealing demon technique has appeared only a few times; calling it as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns is not an exaggeration.

One can meet it by chance but cannot seek it!

And how many dare to hope for it?

In this situation, if you are destitute, accomplished in nothing, or even on the brink of despair, and the Sunflower Manual appears, would you cultivate it?

At this time, the answer will be hard to unify.

【At that time, Shaolin Temple Abbot Hong Ye, deeply feeling the Sunflower Manual posed a grave danger to the world, set it on fire before entering nirvana.】

"What? Burned it? To prevent it from harming the world?"

The women were stunned for a moment, thought for a brief second, and then understood.

Indeed, once this evil art flows into the Jianghu, or even spreads out, the consequences will be very serious.

At that time, many men will face a question: cultivate it? Or not?

If you cannot be ruthless, but your enemy can, and after mastering it returns to kill you, what will you do?

What? You have no enemies?

But when the number of Great Grandmasters in the Jianghu increases drastically, your status will drop accordingly, and at that time you will similarly face many dangers and challenges.

You are forced into a corner and castrate yourself to practice the sword... only to find everyone has castrated themselves, and you still have no advantage!

Then was that cut suffered in vain?

Such terrible consequences are enough to turn the entire Jianghu upside down!

No wonder Zen Master Hongye wanted to burn the "Sunflower Manual."

Perhaps this unorthodox art should never have appeared in the world at all.

【However, before the "Sunflower Manual" was destroyed, one thing happened】

【Yue Su and Cai Zifeng of the Huashan Sect came to pay a visit, snuck into the scripture library that night, secretly read the "Sunflower Manual," and then hurried back to Mount Huashan】

【Since time was tight, the two agreed each would memorize half】

【But when they later wrote it out from memory and compared notes, they found the contents contradicted each other and didn't flow logically, so they fell into dispute】

【Thus, the first incomplete copy of the "Sunflower Manual" leaked out!】

【Afterward, their secret reading of the "Sunflower Manual" was discovered. Zen Master Hongye dispatched his prized disciple—Monk Duyuan—to Mount Huashan to look into the matter】

【Upon arriving at Mount Huashan, Yue and Cai apologized on one hand, while on the other asking him to explain the martial arts recorded in the "Sunflower Manual"】

【Monk Duyuan had never read the "Sunflower Manual" himself. After hearing its contents, he secretly memorized them while casually offering Yue and Cai vague explanations to put them off】

【Over the next several days, Monk Duyuan played along with Yue and Cai until he had memorized most of the manual's contents, then left Mount Huashan】

【Moreover, he combined what the manual recorded with his own insights and created a bizarre, peerless Wu Gong—the Evil-Repelling Sword Technique—writing it on his own kasaya】

【Thus, the second incomplete copy of the "Sunflower Manual" came into the world!】

【After creating this art, Monk Duyuan could no longer suppress his worldly desires and resolved to return to lay life. He thus wrote a letter to inform his sect, reversed his dharma name, and took the name "Yuantu"】

【Afterward, Lin Yuantu, relying on the "Evil-Repelling Sword Technique," became famous across the realm】

【But this also sowed the seeds of disaster for his descendants】

【The world coveted the "Evil-Repelling Sword Technique." The later Qingcheng Sect leader Yu Canghai Mie Sect to seize the manual—targeting the Lin family—but he merely failed】

【However, this also became the fuse that ignited the story of "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer"】

Shanzhou, Mount Huashan.

Yue Lingshan's little face was full of unhappiness as she grumbled, "Why is it that in every story, the people from our Huashan Sect don't seem like good people?"

Ning Zhongze: "……"

How was she supposed to respond to that?

In truth, hadn't she herself noticed this point as well?

In "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber," the Huashan Sect, coveting the Dragon-Slaying Saber, joined the other five sects to storm Mount Wudang, forcing Zhang Cuishan and Yin Susu to their deaths and leaving Zhang Wuji an orphan at a tender age.

In "The Legend of Chu Liuxiang," the Huashan Sect's rules were strict and produced no villains—its finest hour of reputation—yet it ironically produced a Kumei who embezzled what she guarded and aided evildoers.

In "The Smiling, Proud Wanderer," before the story even properly began, two eminent Huashan elders had already played the role of thieves.

This really is… hard to put into words.

Especially since Ning Zhongze would not forget Jiang Sishui's assessment of "smug, proud, and chivalrous no more."

Clearly, after Yue Su and Cai Zifeng, the Huashan Sect was no better either.

【Meanwhile, the Dafan Sect in the book, the Sun Moon Holy Cult, somehow learned that the Huashan Sect possessed the "Sunflower Manual," and launched a full-scale attack】