The world of martial arts, the immortal swordsman in the mortal realm.

Chapter 42, paragraphs 45 and 46: Strengthening Tendons and Bones, A Single Inch of Sword Light

Early the next morning, Lu Chen, Huang Rong, and Li Mochou left Xiangyang and headed towards Wuguan, intending to enter Guanzhong from Wuguan and go to Zhongnan Mountain.

The journey was not rushed; the three of them traveled day and night, leisurely enjoying the mountains and rivers, and never forgetting to hone their martial arts skills along the way.

Lu Chen still focused on swordsmanship, only practicing the "Dragon Tail Swing" move in his spare time.

In addition to swordsmanship, Li Mochou also learned two powerful fist and foot techniques to compensate for the Ancient Tomb Sect's weakness in that while their fist and foot techniques were fast, they lacked sharpness.

Huang Rong learned the most skills, including all sorts of miscellaneous techniques such as Xiaoyao You, Hunyuan Gong, Tongchui Shou, Lianhua Zhang, and Tie Zhou Tui Fa. She learned each skill very quickly, but she didn't practice them seriously.

Even when Master Qi was teaching her, he remarked that Rong'er had amazing comprehension, but unfortunately, she was too lazy and playful. Although her father was also greedy, at least he would put in the effort to study each martial art and strive to master it to the highest level. Rong'er, on the other hand, would learn something and then stop, just getting by.

Her lazy nature left Master Qi helpless, yet he also loved her cleverness and cuteness, and couldn't bear to criticize her, so he could only let her be.

Lu Chen wasn't in a hurry.

Li Mochou was two years older than Rong'er, yet she couldn't shake her playful nature and would sneak off the mountain. How much more so would Rong'er?

Now Li Mochou has realized her mistake and is going back to sleep on the "Jade Bed" and work hard. In two more years, when Rong'er is older, she will naturally restrain her temper.

Furthermore, the "Yi Jin Duan Gu Pian" will be available soon.

With this skill, which can be considered a "minor divine skill" in the low-level martial arts world, Rong'er's martial arts skills can also make a leap forward.

During their journey, Lu Chen practiced with Li Mochou twice a day, gradually dismantling and reversing the Ancient Tomb Sword Technique, while also diligently studying the "White Rainbow Sword Technique".

The White Rainbow Sword Technique's method of activating "sword light" is indeed quite profound and exquisite, especially requiring extremely high precision in controlling true qi.

However, given Lu Chen's aptitude for swordsmanship, there was no obstacle to him mastering this method.

Furthermore, since his true energy originated from his relentless practice of "half a sword move," his true energy can be said to be "sword true energy" specifically created for swordsmanship. With the sword principles he touched upon by the "sword intent imprint" every day, his control over this "sword true energy" has naturally become extremely refined.

However, although he had mastered the sword technique and had no problem controlling his true energy, and his true energy even naturally matched the "sword light and sword energy", he still couldn't develop the "sword light" because his skill was still a bit lacking.

"Once I obtain the Yi Jin Duan Gu Manual and further enhance my skills, I should be able to unleash the sword's aura. After all, my true energy was cultivated using half of the Sword One technique, naturally compatible with any sword style, so unleashing the sword's aura should be a perfect match..."

Lu Chen pondered this in his heart, harboring considerable expectations for the "sword light".

Before they knew it, they had passed Wuguan Pass. After traveling for a few more days, the three of them finally arrived at Zhongnan Mountain.

Li Mochou led Lu Chen and Huang Rong along a small path, bypassing the Quanzhen Sect's mountain gate, and arrived at the forest in front of the Ancient Tomb. Looking at the entrance to the Tomb of the Living Dead from afar, a faint fear surfaced in her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by determination—she had sneaked down the mountain this time, and returning to the Ancient Tomb would surely result in punishment from her master.

But she accepted being severely punished by her master in order to cultivate herself.

“Rong’er, Brother Lu, our Ancient Tomb Sect has very strict rules and does not allow outsiders to enter. Please forgive me for not being able to invite you to visit our sect.”

Li Mochou looked at Lu Chen and Huang Rong, her eyes filled with reluctance:

"Thank you for escorting me back. When I have mastered martial arts, I will definitely come down the mountain to meet you again."

Huang Rong took Li Mochou's slender hand and said with a smile:

"Then I'll wait for Sister Mochou to come down the mountain and come play with us!"

"Yes, definitely." Li Mochou nodded heavily. "Then... I'll head back now."

"See you again in the martial world," Huang Rong said with a smile.

"Farewell, Miss Mochou." Lu Chen smiled and nodded in farewell.

Li Mochou, deeply immersed in the sorrow of parting, said goodbye and walked towards the ancient tomb, turning back every few steps.

As she approached the gate of the ancient tomb, looking back into the woods, she could still see Huang Rong and Lu Chen standing there, waving to her from afar.

Li Mochou flashed a bright smile, waved to them, took a deep breath, and strode into the dark tomb.

In the woods.

Watching Li Mochou enter the tomb, Lu Chen suddenly smiled and said:
"Perhaps we will be able to see Miss Mochou again soon."

"Hmm?" Huang Rong blinked twice. "Why?"

"Because I plan to infiltrate the Tomb of the Living Dead."

Lu Chen stroked his chin and slowly said:
"Beneath the Tomb of the Living Dead lies a secret passage unknown even to the Ancient Tomb Sect. This passage leads to a secret chamber, equally unknown to the sect, where valuable treasures are hidden. If we obtain those treasures and then inform Mochou, we'll have secured a great opportunity for the Ancient Tomb Sect, more than enough to atone for our intrusion..."

Huang Rong looked surprised and wanted to ask him how he knew, but then she thought about it and realized that Lu Chen was an extraterrestrial with "superpowers" who could even "walk in the sky". It didn't seem strange that he knew some secrets.

She didn't press him for details, but instead looked at him with bright, sparkling eyes and asked with a hint of excitement:

Where is the secret passage?

"We still need to search carefully."

Lu Chen looked at the tomb entrance and smiled confidently:
"However, now that we know the location of the ancient tomb, finding the secret passage shouldn't be too difficult."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

Huang Rong rubbed her hands together, eager to try:
"Let's get moving!"

She has a playful nature, and for her, nothing is more fun than exploring hidden places and discovering secrets.

Lu Chen nodded:
"Yes, let's do it now."

The two then bypassed the ancient tomb and began searching in the surrounding valleys.

Lu Chen originally thought that even if he knew the secret passage existed, finding the entrance would require a lot of careful work, and might take several days of patient searching.

Unexpectedly, after Huang Rong inquired about the characteristics of the secret passage entrance, she observed the surrounding mountains and rivers, examined the watercourses, and used feng shui techniques that Lu Chen couldn't understand to calculate the possible location of the secret passage entrance.

Then she led Lu Chen straight to the location she had calculated, and found a secluded valley with a stream at the bottom, and the source of the stream was a cave.

The two put down their luggage and entered the cave. After walking for a while, the water in the cave became deeper and deeper, and gradually an underground river appeared.

Upon seeing this underground river, Lu Chen was certain that this was the secret passage leading directly to the underground of the ancient tomb, and he immediately laughed heartily:
"Rong'er, you are truly my lucky star! You found the secret passage so quickly!"

Huang Rong chuckled, tilting her chin up, a hint of smugness in her eyes.

"Of course, with me here, you can travel the world without worry."

As he spoke, he took out a luminous pearl, illuminating the dark riverbed, and then grabbed Lu Chen's hand, saying with great interest:

"Let's go see what good things are hidden in the ancient tomb."

The two held hands and waded into the underground river. Before long, the water was so deep that it covered their heads.

Huang Rong was an excellent swimmer. She could take a deep breath, hold it, and swim underwater, moving against the current as nimbly as a fish, just like a lively and agile mermaid.

Lu Chen had learned underwater skills from Huang Rong and was already proficient in swimming. However, because he was carrying the Xuan Tie Heavy Sword, he could not swim against the current like her. But he could use the weight of the Xuan Tie Heavy Sword to stabilize his body, step on the bottom of the water, and move forward step by step.

Huang Rong swam ahead for a while, found a hollow in the riverbed, floated up to take a breath, then dived down to pull Lu Chen up to get air, and then continued swimming forward.

After a short while, they took another breath along the way. The riverbed gradually rose, and Huang Rong stepped onto solid ground. Hand in hand with Lu Chen, they continued upstream and soon arrived at a dark passageway. The two of them didn't bother to wring out their clothes and continued forward, soaking wet. Before they knew it, the passageway had come to an end, and a stone chamber appeared ahead.

The two entered the stone chamber. Huang Rong raised the luminous pearl to illuminate the chamber. She looked around and then looked up at the ceiling. She saw that the ceiling was covered with dense characters, and below were four large characters: Nine Yin Manual.

Upon seeing these four large characters, Huang Rong was startled:
"The Nine Yin Manual? How could the Nine Yin Manual be here?"

Lu Chen smiled slightly:
"The good thing I'm talking about is this Nine Yin Manual. Unfortunately, it's not complete; there's only a small part of it."

Huang Rong's face flushed slightly with excitement:
"The Nine Yin Manual is the most supreme martial arts manual in the world today. Even a small part of it is extremely valuable! What my father wants you to retrieve from the Black Wind Duo is the lower volume of the Nine Yin Manual. With this part of the Nine Yin Manual, even if we can't find the Black Wind Duo, we can barely complete my father's mission."

Lu Chen laughed and said, "We still need to capture the Black Wind Duo; I can find them. But for now, let's study the Nine Yin Manual and improve our cultivation. That way, capturing the Black Wind Duo should be a sure thing."

Huang Rong completely forgot about the discomfort of being soaked, held up the luminous pearl, and read the stone carving with bright eyes.

She was different from those two academic underachievers, Chen Xuanfeng and Mei Chaofeng.

She was intelligent from a young age, possessing a photographic memory and extensive reading, having explored Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. She could even understand the Taoist terminology in the *Nine Yin Manual*. After quickly skimming through it, she grasped the general idea, her face flushed, and she excitedly told Lu Chen:
"Here is a chapter called 'Tendon Changing and Bone Strengthening,' which has the potential to improve physical constitution and rapidly enhance internal strength! Of all the chapters in this part of the Nine Yin Manual, this chapter on tendon changing and bone strengthening is the most valuable!"

Lu Chen laughed:

"In that case, I'll have to trouble Master Rong to teach me."

Although he was taught about meridians and acupoints by Huang Rong, he couldn't understand Taoist terminology.

If Huang Rong hadn't taught her, and she had practiced blindly on her own, she might have ended up like Mei Chaofeng, suffering from hemiplegia.

Huang Rong patted her chest with a grin:
"Don't worry, Master Rong will teach you until you learn!"

He then carefully read through it again, memorizing the entire text with his photographic memory, and pondered it deeply. Just as he was about to begin teaching it, Lu Chen suddenly said:

"It's too damp and cold here. Our clothes are soaked. How about we go outside and change into dry clothes before we continue practicing?"

He follows an outside-in approach, possessing a strong physique and superhuman regeneration; even soaked to the bone, he remains healthy in this cold, damp underground chamber.

However, Huang Rong was delicate and frail. Although she had internal energy to protect her, it was not guaranteed that she would not catch a cold.

Huang Rong knew he was worried she would catch a cold, and her heart warmed, but she still had to put on a little brave face:
“My skills are pretty good now, so I won’t catch a cold easily. By the way, there’s a ‘breath-holding secret’ here, which seems to be much more advanced than my underwater breath-holding skills. Let’s learn it first, so it will be easier to come and go from that underground river in the future.”

He then explained the "breath-holding secret" to Lu Chen. After the two of them studied it and learned the secret, they held hands and returned the way they came.

After emerging from the secret cave, the two picked up their luggage and changed their clothes. Huang Rong couldn't wait to explain the "Yi Jin Duan Gu" (a traditional Chinese medicine text) to Lu Chen.

Rong'er explained it very carefully.

Even though Lu Chen's comprehension in other areas wasn't as strong as his swordsmanship, he could still understand it immediately after her word-by-word explanation.

After clarifying a few remaining questions, Lu Chen got into position and began practicing the dynamic exercises of the Yi Jin Duan Gu chapter.

Since he is following the "from the outside in" approach, he naturally chooses to practice dynamic exercises.

Huang Rong gave him some pointers, correcting some of his routines and breathing rhythms. Seeing that he made no further mistakes, she started practicing with him as well.

She lacks patience for still meditation, but practicing dynamic exercises suits her personality better.

After practicing for a while, both of them felt a strange energy emanating from their limbs and bones, subtly altering their meridians and bones, and their skills could be felt to improve significantly.

With such obvious positive feedback, and without even needing to meditate, even Huang Rong, who was usually half-hearted when practicing martial arts, couldn't help but become more interested. She actually practiced seriously with Lu Chen for half a day until dusk before stopping to prepare dinner.

Lu Chen also stopped practicing his martial arts and used his Qinggang sword to cut bamboo and trees, preparing to build a temporary shack for the night and then build a proper wooden house tomorrow.

As a martial artist, he is far more efficient than ordinary people at doing all sorts of odd jobs.

Even with all the tools, it would take an ordinary person quite a while to trim a tree as thick as a bowl into usable timber. But Lu Chen did it in less than a quarter of an hour, from cutting the tree down with his sword to peeling off the branches and bark and trimming it into timber.

If he weren't in a hurry, he could carve flowers on the tree with his sword.

After everyone had been busy for a while, Huang Rong prepared dinner and invited Lu Chen to eat together. Afterwards, she helped build the shack.

The two of them worked together for another half hour and a bamboo and wood hut that could barely last one night was built. They would put in some more effort to expand it tomorrow so that they could live there permanently.

After setting up the hut, Lu Chen wanted to practice martial arts, but Huang Rong asked him to tell a story. Thinking about how he hadn't spent much time playing with Rong'er while traveling with Li Mochou, Lu Chen sat with her on a blue stone by the stream, washing their feet and admiring the moon while telling her a story.

Tonight, Lu Chen had another rare night of relaxation. Instead of focusing solely on practicing his skills, he spent quality time with Rong'er.

Huang Rong seemed to want to make up for the regrets of the past few days all at once. Until midnight, she was still chatting and telling stories to Lu Chen, and even though she was yawning, she refused to go to sleep.

However, she couldn't resist the sleepiness and unknowingly snuggled up to Lu Chen and fell into a deep sleep.

Lu Chen's voice gradually lowered as he told the story, until it finally faded away.

He looked down at Rong'er's bright and beautiful face for a while, then got up, picked her up, carried her into the shack, and placed her on a simple bed frame made of bamboo and wood and covered with a felt blanket.

Then he gently dried her soft, snow-white little feet with a cotton towel, placed those delicate, small feet, each one small enough to be held in one hand, on the bed, and covered her with a thin blanket.

Then he lay down on the other bed opposite him, closed his eyes, sensed the imprint of sword intent, and fell into a deep sleep.

The next day.

Lu Chen, who usually only sleeps four hours, got up early to finish his morning sword practice, then began to cut bamboo and wood, prepare materials, and build up his hut.

Huang Rong slept until dawn before getting up. She stretched and came out of the shack, gave the busy Lu Chen a sweet smile, washed up, and started preparing breakfast.

On this day, the two expanded their shack into a small bamboo and wood house, and built an earthen stove outside that could be used for a long time.

The two then spent the rest of their time practicing the "Tendon Changing and Bone Strengthening Technique".

Huang Rong rarely put in so much effort, and her skill improved rapidly. Lu Chen was even more remarkable; in just a few days, his skill improved by 20-30%.

this day.

After Lu Chen finished practicing the Yi Jin Duan Gu chapter, he picked up the Qing Gang Sword and began practicing the Bai Hong Sword Technique.

As he practiced to the climax, he suddenly felt that his true energy had accumulated to a certain critical point, and a strange intuition welled up in his heart. So, following this intuition, he used the White Rainbow Sword Technique to generate "sword light" and manipulated his true energy with extreme precision, pouring it into the Azure Gang Sword.

Then the Azure Sword vibrated with a hum, and a streak of azure light, about an inch long, suddenly shot out from its tip.

Upon seeing the flickering blue light, Huang Rong first widened her eyes in astonishment, then clapped her hands and cheered:
"Sword light! Brother Lu Chen, you've mastered sword light!"

That's right, Lu Chen has mastered the sword's aura.

Although it was only an inch long, it was a real sword beam.

Lu Chen suppressed his joy and maintained the flow and precise control of his true energy. He swung his sword at a log, the tip of the sword still an inch away from the log, the sword light sweeping across it.

chap!
With a soft crack, wood chips flew everywhere, and a thin, straight crack appeared on the log.

[Another two-in-one post today, please vote with your monthly tickets!]

(End of this chapter)