C21 (1/2)

When the first new sprout appeared from the peach branches of the Zhu Residence, it was already the beginning of the second month of spring.

The citizens of Niu Yang Town began to busy themselves again.

The spring sun shone high in the sky, and a warm wind blew through the willow trees.

Meanwhile, inside the secret cave of the ”Bone Crusher Cliff,” it was still bone-chilling cold.

Master Diao was sitting cross-legged on the cold jade bed with his upper body bare. A five-inch scar on his left arm was very eye-catching.

His thick eyebrows were tightly knitted. The two palms came together and turned blood-red! Beads of sweat the size of soybeans were dripping down his face like spring water! However, his face appeared to be in extreme pain. After a long while, white mist shrouded his head. His eyes opened. His hands gradually returned to their original state.

Master Diao got out of bed and put on his clothes. He slowly walked to the cave and lightly pressed on the stone wall with his right hand. A small stone door then slowly slid open. Master Diao bent down and entered it, and then the stone door slowly closed again.

The inside of the stone room was like a study about 20 feet away! The walls were decorated with peach wood. A mahogany chair, a mahogany desk, a mahogany bookshelf. All the materials were peach wood with an ancient flavor.

The bookshelves were filled with books, and they were actually all like ”Records of History”, ”Appreciation of the Power”, ”The Art of War of the Sun's Children”, and so on. A three-foot-long signboard was hung on the wall in front of him. The words ”Endless Wind and Moon” were written in large golden characters. A few large pots of orchids were placed at the four corners of the wall. They were smoking fresh leaves, bringing a lot of life to the room.

Master Diao walked to the bookshelf and pulled up a bamboo curtain, revealing a peach wood basin stand. On it was a pot of pure silver. Half a foot or so from the basin, a bamboo tube was stretched down. The other end of the bamboo tube went straight up to the ceiling. Water was dripping into the basin. There was already half a basin of water left. He took a cloth and washed his face and body in the basin. Then, he sat down on the peach wood chair in front of the desk and pressed his right hand under the desk. Then, he sat down on the peach wood chair in front of the desk and pressed his right hand under the desk. It was facing Shaowroom Mountain. The light spilled in.

On the desk, besides pen, ink, and paper, there were also two thin books, all of which were handwritten.

Master Diao sat upright and stretched out his hand to pick up one of the books. It was ”Great Blood Demon Art”! Master Diao turned the pages in his hands, frowned, and then put them back on the table. Ye Zichen looked out the window and seemed to be lost in thought …

Back then, the Nangong family was also a famous family that was on par with the Murong family. But who would have thought that in his generation, his family would decline. When he was ten years old, he was under the tutelage of Mount Laoshan's' Grandmaster Baishan '. The rebellious South Palace City was unable to accept this reality. From that moment on, they swore to do a big thing in their hearts, determined to restore the Nangong family's prestige in the martial arts world. It occurred to him that the best way to achieve this desire was to find a position. He had learned a set of good kung fu from his own talent and hard work under the tutelage of ”Patriarch Bai Shan”. Finally at the age of sixteen, he participated in the Martial Arts Competition together with his Junior Brother Tu Feng City. It was also during that year that Southern Palace stepped into the first step of their dreams and became the emperor's personal bodyguard. As for Slaughtering Wind City, they were selected by the Embroidered Uniform Guard to become the secondary commander. The Southern Palace, however, was far from satisfied. Ever since he had entered the palace, his vision had broadened, and his desire had grown day by day. He had achieved far more than this result.

With his skill, his ability to speak perfectly and his exceptional scheming. The Southern Palace had their eyes on the famous person next to the emperor — Eunuch Wei. The first time he found out that the emperor had been brought up by this old eunuch, he knew that his fate lay with this eunuch! From then on, he kept trying to curry favor with Eunuch Wei. After that, he found his junior brother, Tu Feng City. Under the diligent recommendation of his junior brother, he finally became the ”bandit” governor appointed by Eunuch Wei himself! During those two years, fighting in the east and fighting in the west to suppress the allied army, it was a ”glorious achievement of war”! At the age of twenty, he had become the Ninth Prince of Xi Ping. And in the ”Tianshan” and ”Ming Nan encirclement and annihilation” did not fail to establish their own place in the hearts of the emperor and Eunuch Wei. After that ”great encirclement and annihilation”, the Southern Palace had even greater ambitions. He understood one thing. If he could obtain the position of Martial Forest's Alliance Master, then he would obtain half of the position! Thus, he wanted to become the Martial Alliance Master! Under the astonished gaze of the emperor and Eunuch Wei, NanGong City applied for Niu Yang to be appointed as the guardian of the city, the reason being that there were ”many bandits” in Henan, while Niu Yang was even more so. He then went to Kaifeng and ”bowed down” to become the guardian of Niu Yang, and began to walk his own path of ”lying low on the bed to taste the courage”. This would take ten years. On the other hand, Niu Yang was completely out of the question. In the battle of Tianshan, he had discovered that there was such a huge gap between his martial arts skills and others', so the most important thing for him to do now was to cultivate.

He found out by chance that his master was secretly cultivating a strange martial arts technique, so while his master was training, he sneaked into his master's secret room and secretly copied out a book of mental cultivation techniques. After returning, he built this secret cave and spent a month to move the cold jade bed from Tianshan to this place! The artisans who built this cave had already turned into white bones under the cliff!

He had been practicing the Great Blood Demon Art for six years, but he was still unable to break through. The Great Blood Demon Art and one of the Yin techniques, using Yin Qi, formed a yin poison in the body, slowly accumulating to both palms. When practiced to a hundred percent, the palms would turn blood-red like fire, instantly freezing the blood of those in the palm, closing the meridians, suffocating them to death! However, even after practicing for such a long time, he had only reached 50%! However, it was difficult for him to progress any further. He had been troubled for a long time. The last time he saw his master use this magical technique, he did not know the profoundness behind it. However, he had unexpectedly seen the legendary ”Blood Rings Sabre” in the Martial Forest. He had also personally experienced the supreme might of the Saber. He felt like he had the eyes of the heavens, sending a strand of hope to her when he was hopeless. How could he miss it!

Therefore, he had to get the blade and the ”Primordial Scripture” along with the blade! All of this had been well planned.

Master Diao looked out of the window, his mouth curling into a smile, as if success was just around the corner …

With a slight frown, Zhang Xuan seemed to recall something. With a tap of his hand under the desk, the window closed. Rising to his feet, he walked outside. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared from outside the cave.

”Master Diao, Liu Qiansui has come to pay you a visit …” Master Diao had just sat in the living room for a while when Qin Gang's voice came from outside.

”Oh?” Surprise flashed across his eyes. He then picked up the teacup.

”Well — let him in.” Master Diao shifted the chair beside him.

Just as the door was half opened, Liu Qianshun squeezed in sideways like a piece of paper. He was wearing a black silk cardigan, a red speckled vest and a small cap with a dark green melon skin on the top of his head. He looks just like a rich man.

”Aiyo, heh, Master Diao, you're busy …” Upon entering the room, Liu Qiancai bowed and greeted Master Diao from afar with a smile.

”Ah, where is the money! ”Come, sit, sit —” Master Diao greeted him enthusiastically.

”Aiyo, Master Diao is too polite …” ”Hehe, thank you Master Diao, thank you Master Diao …” Liu Qian walked slowly to the chair, put his hands behind his back, and sat down.

”Hey, come. Let's have a cup of tea first …” He handed her a cup of tea.

”Aiyo, thank you Master Diao …” Nodding his head, the sleeves of his hands trembled as he took it from Master Diao. However, he no longer stood up and bent over.

”Where is the money? Have you been recently …” Master Diao sipped his tea and asked as usual.

”Aiyo, it was all thanks to your blessings, this little one is enjoying life …” ”However, this month is really busy …” Liu Qianqiong turned the teacup in his hand.

”Sigh! — — Master Diao, I came here today to bring good news to Master Diao ….” A pair of triangular eyes slipped toward Master Diao.

”Oh? Haha … ”Tell me, how is this going to work …” Master Diao put down his cup and leaned back in his chair, as if he was listening attentively.

”Hehe, Master Diao, I've personally been in Fujian for more than twenty days …” ”I've finally discovered a situation. I wonder if it's of no use to Master Diao …”

”Hmm? ”Tell me — tell me —” A light flashed in his eyes, and he picked up his tea again, staring directly into Liu's pale face.

”Isn't it because of what Second Master Tu told me last month? I will head over to Fujian to inquire about it. He would stay in the mountains at night and wander around during the day, yet he did not find anything out of the ordinary even after ten days. But one evening, just as I was about to return to the mountain to rest, I suddenly heard a strange sound coming from above the forest. Then, I saw a figure flash past the tree above my head. At this point, Liu Qianshun took a sip of tea, his eyes seemingly filled with fear.

Master Diao's face shook, and his hand stopped moving on the table. But he didn't say anything.