Chapter 20 The Rain of Qielan Temple (1/2)

'Wooden fish, wood carved in the shape of a fish, its hollow body, produces sound when knocked upon, ... widely used in the religious songs of Buddhism.' - Wang Mingzhe, 'Sancai Tuhui'.

The man in green too seemed to have heard the sound of the wooden fish. Shen Lian saw a hint of complicated emotions in his eyes.

It was not that Shen Lian tried to read his emotions, but his eyes naturally delivered those complicated emotions.

”You asked me why, and I shall tell you the reason. I'm about to battle to the death with someone, and I didn't want to let what I've spent my entire life learning go to waste. I was going to pass my legacy on to that young lad, but unfortunately, luck was not on his side.” The man in green spilled everything in one go, and his tone was fraught with nonchalance.

”The person who was tapping the wooden fish, he's the person you are going to battle with?” Shen Lian asked in confusion.

Wooden fish was mainly used by Buddhists, but it originated from Daoism. That was why Shen Lian could not be sure if the person sounding the wooden fish was a Buddhist or Daoist.

”If you can hear the Soul Calming Melody emaciating from Tai Wei, you indeed are a rare prodigy. A normal person would not be able to hear it.” The man in green smiled as he spoke - Shen Lian obviously had exceeded his expectation.

”Ling Chongxiao oh, Ling Chongxiao, it doesn't matter how powerful you are, but could you find another prodigy like Shen Lian?”

After hearing about 'Ling Chongxiao', Shen Lian could not help but be curious. For a man as proud as the man in green to admit that someone was powerful, this was definitely something that did not happen every day.

Who was this Ling Chongxiao person, to be that man whom the man in green could not get his mind off! Could he be the person who inspired hatred out of the man in green?

Even though it was a mere conjecture, Shen Lian knew that there was an eighty percent chance that his suspicion was true.

The clothes that the man in green was wearing started to swell up, as though they were a giant inflated ball, vibrating like the waves. Shen Lian felt the strong wind circling in the cell, which almost knocked him off his feet.

Accompanied by a series of explosive cracklings, the commotion finally subsided after ten minutes.

As this was the deepest part of the prison, no one outside was alerted.

The flame from the oil lamp was dancing to the strong wind. Right before the flame went out, the strong wind stopped blowing. Shen Lian noticed that the iron cuffs on the man in green fell onto the floor, shattered into pieces.

The iron cuffs were made of pure iron, an extremely sturdy material. Yet, the man in green managed to shatter all of them, just like that.

His attainment in martial arts was beyond imagination; that was not something that a normal human could do.

However, the man in green did not shatter the iron hooks on his clavicles, nor did he try to remove them by hands. Two giant iron hooks went under his both of his shoulders, it was an alarming sight, and one could almost feel fear and pain just by looking at it.

The man in green did not seem particularly pleased about his new-found freedom. He was staring ahead icily, sending the frostiness hundreds of feet away.

Shen Lian defended himself out of instinct. There was a white flash, and out of nowhere, a dagger had landed on the man in green's shoulder. The man in green shrugged, and the dagger that was once buried in his blood and flesh was sent flying onto the ground.

”Good lad, in Jianghu, there are not more than three hidden weapons that can hurt me. Your skill with the flying dagger is sufficient for self-defense. I can rest easy knowing that. However, you better pray that I will die in battle today, otherwise, you will have to pay for the injury that you have just inflicted on me.” The man in green stopped right in front of Shen Lian and exclaimed in surprise.

He laughed cheerfully after his exclamation; his laughter was roaring and loud, like those of a dragon. With the speed of light, he brought Shen Lian out of the prison after sealing his acupoint.

He had completed his mystical art over the month, and even though he did not become a god or anything along those lines, there were significant changes as compared to the past.

Although in the past, he was considered a powerful martial art expert in Jianghu, he was never a league higher than the likes of Jin Daowang. He only went around Jianghu relying on the impressive power of Deity Vanquishing Sword.

However, his inner Qi had broken through the entry point. Those who entered the path of Daoism could slowly cease their food consumption, and be isolated from the lay life and worldly needs completely.

This explained why he could survive a month without eating and drinking, and the obvious improvement in terms of his attainment in the martial arts.