Jiumozhi's talent for the martial arts was astonishing. Together with arduous training day and night without cease, it had left him without a match in Tubo. Even set against the whole of the jianghu, he could rank among the top ten.
He rubbed his hands together, and his right hand chopped through empty air. Several streams of searing blade qi arrived before Qin Zheng, striking toward the vital points of his chest, his dantian, and the like.
Qin Zheng raised his right palm and pushed it out level. A surge of domineering true qi rolled from his palm and shattered three Flame Blade strikes. He turned his body aside, and the remaining two flew past, pressed tight against his chest.
The Flame Blades' momentum did not break. With a thunderous crash, they instantly smashed two of the Three Purities statues enshrined in the great hall.
Before Qin Zheng could strike back, Jiumozhi's left hand slapped out in a backhand blow—precisely "Subduing Heretical Paths" of the Prajna Palm.
Qin Zheng took one diagonal step forward and to the right. The incomparably fierce palm force left a deep palm print on the wall behind him and set the whole great hall trembling.
Seeing Qin Zheng come up close, Jiumozhi abruptly sent force out from beneath his sleeve and used "Universe in the Sleeve" of the Alms-Bowl Palm, driving it straight at Qin Zheng's chest. The palm force was hidden in the sleeve, and the naked eye could hardly make out its path.
Qin Zheng's gaze sharpened. He too raised a hand and flung his wide sleeve. "Universe in the Sleeve!"
Though the moves the two of them used bore the same name, the effects could not have been more different.
Qin Zheng's long sleeve swelled. In the next instant, every bit of the palm force Jiumozhi had struck out was drawn into that sleeve. The powerful suction pouring from within it yanked Jiumozhi himself off balance. He staggered and pitched forward toward Qin Zheng.
Qin Zheng followed through with a flick of the long sleeve. It lashed Jiumozhi squarely across the face, sent him flying into the air to tumble through several turns, and then dropped him heavily to the ground, throwing up a great cloud of dust.
Seeing Jiumozhi fall, Qin Zheng did not press the attack. His face full of admiration, he said, "Few in this world can fight me to a draw! We end it here today. Until we meet again!"
Duan Yu looked at Jiumozhi, beaten to the ground and unable to get up for the longest time, and said in utter bewilderment, "What kind of draw is this? You've all but beaten him to death, haven't you? And why did what you just said sound so familiar? I feel as if I've heard it somewhere before."
Jiumozhi: "..."
My lines—every word he spoke was mine!
Qin Zheng shot him a displeased sidelong glance. "What do you understand? My internal energy is already spent. Fight any longer, and both of us are sure to be hurt. Better to stop here than spoil the goodwill between us."
Jiumozhi spat a mouthful of blood. Face grave, he pressed his palms together and said to Qin Zheng, "Your skill is profound, and this humble monk is filled with admiration. Today this humble monk is somewhat unwell and cannot display all he is capable of. Another day I shall return to seek your instruction! I take my leave!"
With that he used his lightness skill, rose through the air in two bounds, and quickly fled Yuxu Abbey.
Seeing Jiumozhi gone, Dao Baifeng said, her brow faintly creased, "He got away this time. Sooner or later he will come back to make trouble for Yu'er."
Qin Zheng comforted her. "Don't worry. Jiumozhi may be base and shameless, but he is at least the State Preceptor of Tubo. He holds to his station and never takes a life. Even if Brother Duan were seized by him, his life would not be in danger. And Brother Duan is the sole heir of the Kingdom of Dali. Unless Jiumozhi wants Tubo and Dali to go to war, he would never dare lay a ruthless hand on Brother Duan."
At these words, Dao Baifeng eased a little inside and asked, "Thank you, Great Hero Qin, for coming to our aid just now. May I ask what brings you to my abbey?"
Qin Zheng said, "I took the money, so of course I was going to keep Brother Duan safe. But the term of that protection ends today. From here on, Brother Duan, you are on your own. I hear that a few days ago some villain impersonated Murong Fu in Wanjie Valley. I am just about to set out for Gusu to bring him word."
Cold sweat broke out across Duan Yu's forehead at once. With a strange look he said, "Great Hero Qin, tell me—is there a chance that the villain you speak of is the two of us?"
Qin Zheng answered with righteous severity. "Absolutely impossible. I am the dignified Great Hero of Guanzhong. Why would I impersonate Murong Fu for no reason at all? Don't talk nonsense about things you have no evidence for!"
Duan Yu sucked in a breath as if his teeth ached, steeled himself, and said, "I'll go with you to deliver the message. Let's set out now!" With that, ignoring Dao Baifeng calling after him, he grabbed Qin Zheng and ran out of Yuxu Abbey.
After they had run some distance, Duan Yu slowed his steps, let out a long breath, and only then wiped the sweat seeping from his brow with his sleeve.
Utterly at a loss, Qin Zheng said, "Why were you running so fast?"
Duan Yu smiled bitterly. "If we hadn't run, my mother would have been asking you for a gilded invitation, so she could go join the bride-seeking martial contest on Leigu Mountain..."
"Ah?"
"I can't make it clear in a sentence or two. Anyway, the two of us had better leave Dali at once, and come back after my mother's anger has cooled in a few days."
The two traveled on, walking and stopping by turns. When evening came, Qin Zheng found a Longmen Inn, and they stayed there.
After dinner they went into the guest room. Duan Yu lay on the bed and asked listlessly, "Great Hero Qin, what did those things Jiumozhi said during the day actually mean? It sounded as if he never managed to cultivate that Sunflower Manual."
Qin Zheng sensed someone eavesdropping outside the window, but he gave no sign of it and patiently explained to Duan Yu, "This is a long story. I have heard that to cultivate the Sunflower Manual, one must first disperse all of one's internal energy. Otherwise the true qi produced in the cultivation will clash. I imagine that is the trouble he has run into. If one wants to solve this problem and does not wish to disperse one's cultivation, then one must cultivate another divine art—the Xiaoyao Sect's Northern Darkness Rebirth Art."
"What sort of sect is the Xiaoyao Sect? Is it in Dali too?"
"The Xiaoyao Sect has no fixed place of its own. The previous generation had only three disciples, so its name is little known. But don't look at how few they are. Those three disciples of the Xiaoyao Sect are no ordinary people. The senior disciple of the Xiaoyao Sect is Tianshan Tonglao of Lingjiu Palace. Lingjiu Palace, the Thirty-Six Caves, and the Seventy-Two Islands under her come to nearly ten thousand people altogether, second in the jianghu only to the Beggar Gang and my Longmen Escort Agency. The third disciple, Li Qiushui, is an imperial consort of Western Xia and cultivates the Minor Formless Skill. The Western Xia First Rank Hall was founded by her own hand. The second disciple, Wuyazi, is the one from the bride-seeking martial contest..."
Duan Yu cut in. "You ought to say he is the one you insisted on arranging a bride-seeking martial contest for."
Qin Zheng said, quite unconcerned, "It is a bride-seeking martial contest either way. What difference does it make whether I arrange it or he does? Don't be fooled by how little known Wuyazi is. His disciples are famous throughout the jianghu. The Old Freak of Xingxiu, Ding Chunqiu, is Wuyazi's second disciple, and that Northern Darkness Rebirth Art is now in Ding Chunqiu's hands. Speaking of this manual, it too is a divine art that seizes the creative power of heaven and earth. Not only can it assimilate true qi of another kind, it can also make severed limbs grow anew. Even a eunuch who cultivates it can become a normal person again!"
Duan Yu said, his face full of shock, "Is that true? Can there really be a martial art so miraculous in this world?"
Qin Zheng declared with utter certainty, "The martial arts of the Xiaoyao Sect are just that miraculous. The art Tianshan Tonglao cultivates is called \"Eight Desolations and Six Harmonies, I Alone Am Supreme.\" Once every thirty years she can turn from old back to young. Cultivate the complete version of the Minor Formless Skill, and one may remain forever young. These three arts can be counted the divine skills under heaven second only to the Sunflower Manual. A pity Ding Chunqiu's talent is not enough. He simply cannot learn the Northern Darkness Rebirth Art. He grasped only a scrap of the surface and produced a laughable Energy-Dissolving Art, leaving the Northern Darkness Rebirth Art a pearl dulled by dust, so that very few know what is wondrous about it."
Outside the window, Jiumozhi—holding his breath and listening with fixed attention to their talk—felt his heart stir. All at once everything became clear.
No wonder he could not master the Sunflower Manual. It was because he had to disperse his cultivation and train all over again!
A divine art like the Northern Darkness Rebirth Art was plainly tailored for him. For it to fall into Ding Chunqiu's hands was truly a waste of heaven's gift!
Which way was it to Xingxiu Sea again? Mm. First he would find someone and ask!
Chapter 12