Martial Arts Crossover: The Sweeping Monk of Wudang? That's our patriarch!

"I want you to become my disciple. What I can teach you is another path—a path you can walk. As for how far you can go... I can't guarantee it. I just want to use your body to test the idea in my mind."

Ever since witnessing the Azure Phoenix's fierce battle, a seed of doubt had been planted in his heart: Is there truly no other path besides cultivation? There are countless paths to enlightenment, and one need not necessarily cross that single, narrow bridge. He himself, burdened with cultivation, was trapped by constraints; while this young man before him was a blank sheet of paper, a blank canvas for him to write and verify.

Wang Donglai knelt down with a thud, his forehead touching the ground, his voice trembling but resolute:

"Disciple Wang Donglai kowtows to Master! I beg Master to grant me the ladder to heaven—!"

Hot tears blurred his vision, but he stared intently at Lin Daochen, as if afraid that the light would go out if he blinked.

There was a time when he also fantasized about soaring through the clouds and shattering mountains with a single punch, and about standing tall in front of the crowd instead of cowering behind his parents, being protected and pitied.

But reality is cold and hard as iron, pressing him back into the mud time and time again. This time, even if it's just an illusion, he will reach out and grasp it tightly.

Lin Daochen did not refuse, and raised his hand to touch the center of his forehead—in an instant, a vast amount of incantations, breathing techniques, and body-tempering principles flooded in like a tidal wave.

The first thing that popped into my mind was a piece called "Nine Yang Nerve".

"What is this?"

"It's neither cultivation nor body refinement—it's a completely new form of martial arts."

"When you reach the pinnacle of skill, you can tear the sky apart with your bare hands and shatter the void without flinching."

"With your physique, you were born for this. If you can perfect the foundation of the Nine Yang Divine Skill, I will teach you the subsequent attack methods."

Wang Donglai's throat tightened, and he almost lost his voice. He never expected that someone in this world would actually be willing to open another door for him.

He immediately sat cross-legged and regulated his breathing according to the incantation. In just a moment, a scorching power rose from his dantian, like a living snake coursing through his limbs and bones—he suddenly opened his eyes, his lips moved, but he couldn't utter a single word.

It turns out... it really works!

"This method does not rely on absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, but rather refines the flesh, bones, and muscles from the inside out into a furnace. You only need to eat heartily, chew thoroughly, and replenish your strength as much as possible, and your strength will naturally increase."

This book, "Nine Yang Divine Skills," was indeed hastily rewritten by Lin Daochen.

Although rushed out, it embodies decades of martial arts comprehension and perfectly matches the rhythm of a thirteen-year-old boy whose bones and muscles are just beginning to develop and whose blood and qi are surging.

He just wanted to try it out for himself—was martial arts really inferior to cultivation?

twenty two

"I'll only stay one night, and set off for Taoyuan Town after dawn. The rest of the journey is up to you."

That night, Lin Daochen imparted all his knowledge to Wang Donglai, passing on all the essential cultivation techniques he had honed over the years.

Every sentence was a piece of truth forged in blood and fire, every word a secret gleaned from life and death. Wang Donglai listened, his eyes reddening, his throat choked with emotion, and he knelt on the ground for a long time—at that moment, he truly felt that the master before him understood his essence better than his own parents and protected his destiny more.

Burning the midnight oil all night, Wang Donglai's long-dormant spiritual meridians quietly loosened, and his temperament, like ice cracking, revealed an unprecedented clarity and resilience.

At dawn the next day, the two left the town side by side, heading straight for Peach Blossom Town. The mountains along the way were steep and the miasma was swirling. Occasionally, demonic shadows would flit across the treetops, but to Lin Daochen, it was nothing more than a passing dust, and he didn't even need to draw his sword.

It was only at this moment that he truly realized that without Qingluan restraining him, he could travel freely throughout the Nine Provinces with his own cultivation, as if walking on flat ground.

As soon as I stepped into the entrance of Qing Shi Street in Taoyuan Town, the sounds of the city, along with the heat wave, rushed towards me, and all I could hear was one name—Zhang Sanfeng.

"Have you heard? Zhang Sanfeng slapped the top-ranked member of the Tai Xuan Sect's 'Star Ranking' three times on the head yesterday!"

"That's right! That old guy slapped the Hehuan Sect's 'Rouge Sword' away with one palm strike; the sword tassel broke before he even hit the ground!"

"Your information is eight hundred years too early! I saw the secret letter from the Wanbao Chamber of Commerce with my own eyes yesterday—Zhang Sanfeng has already sent it to the ancient ruins. This time, it's going to cause an uproar!"

"Turning the sky upside down? Ha! Three hundred geniuses went in last year, and less than thirty came out alive! That place isn't for treasure hunting; it's a battlefield of carnage. If a living person goes in, you won't even have a complete skeleton!"

Upon hearing the name Zhang Sanfeng, Lin Daochen's brows relaxed slightly, and a weight lifted from his heart. His junior brother's rising fame and widespread influence were like a beacon in the darkness for their exiled sect.

He secretly inquired from various sources and finally confirmed that seven or eight out of ten cultivators on the Nine Provinces Continent had already poured into the Spirit Realm through the rift between realms. Most of his old acquaintances had joined major sects—it was precisely because of the protection of these sects that they had escaped the overwhelming hunt by the Taishu clan.

But life is unpredictable; the deeper something is hidden, the more people will dig into it. Recently, rumors have been circulating that Lin Daochen holds the key to returning to the Nine Provinces Realm.

That's true. When he hastily left the boundary back then, he did indeed bury a "Return to the Void Guide" deep within the boundary wall. However, now that his cultivation has not recovered, the guide is dormant like an inanimate object. Forcibly activating it would have a backlash strong enough to tear his soul apart.

There is only one way forward: lay a solid foundation, accumulate strength, and wait for that opportunity to break through to the next level to come knocking.

He settled in an inconspicuous inn called "Qiyun Inn" in the east of the town. As soon as Wang Donglai entered the city, he used a specially made flame signal from the Wanbao Chamber of Commerce to pierce the sky.

Within half an hour, three powerful old elders had quietly stood on the eaves of the inn, their swords unsheathed, yet their killing intent was like a double-edged sword hanging overhead—all to protect the young master of the merchant guild.

But this kid was completely unyielding, spending all day squatting outside Lin Daochen's room meditating, refusing even a sip of tea, only asking to hear half a sentence of the mantra.

Upon hearing the news, Wang Sanpang first breathed a sigh of relief, then his eyes lit up with intense interest.

He had always paid attention to Qingluan's disciple. When he first met her, he thought she was unremarkable. Who would have thought that she could enlighten his own son, making his bones and muscles remodeled and his mind clear? This was not just teaching skills, it was practically extending life!

So he prepared six boxes of precious gifts overnight: three thousand-year-old snow ginseng, a pair of lightning-struck wooden carvings of soul-suppressing lamps, and half of the long-lost "Nine Revolutions Forging God Diagram". He personally went to Peach Blossom Town, vowing to express his gratitude in person.

Lin Daochen was completely unaware of all this. He was sitting cross-legged on a futon in the guest room, his eyes closed, regulating his breathing, his movements as silent as a silkworm eating leaves. Except for the occasional gentle knock on the door for meals, he had not stepped out of his room once.

Not long after nightfall, the sky suddenly changed.

The cold rain fell without warning, pattering against the tiles, startling the townspeople who looked up in disbelief—in this heart of the icy plains, there was always only snow in the twelfth lunar month, so where did the rain come from?

Before the words were even finished, a chorus of wails erupted from the direction of the west gate:

"The dragon has broken through the ice and entered the city—run for your lives!"

"The monstrous creature from the frozen lake of Kitahara has arrived! Its scales are covered in ice shards!"

"Report to the city lord immediately! The dragon's head has reached the gate tower of the barbican!"

Everyone looked up and saw the dark clouds tear apart, and a giant dragon, hundreds of feet long, swooped down, tearing through the rain curtain. Its whiskers were like whips, and its sharp claws tore through the wind, cracking the roof tiles wherever it passed!

Meanwhile, a golden glint flashed like lightning on its neck, repeatedly striking the dragon's eyes, twisting its reverse scales, and nailing into its spine—

It was a blue phoenix!

A thin layer of bluish light, as thin as a cicada's wing, floated around her, barely covering her naked body. Her clothes had long since been burned away, leaving only charred flesh and an unquenchable fighting spirit.

But the light flickered uncertainly, like a candle in the wind; each of her attacks brought out a blinding cloud of blood mist, her lips, fingertips, and even the ends of her hair were covered in undried crimson.

Lin Daochen focused intently, his pupils suddenly contracting—

Could this woman have been fighting her way here ever since she parted ways with him?

If that's really the case... her body must be bleeding from every bone, yet she still gritted her teeth, dragging her fading soul, and forcefully led a furious dragon to the gate of Peach Blossom Town.

It seems that something unexpected must have happened to cause this strange phenomenon.

But in a battle of this level, one doesn't even have the right to be a bystander—if one gets even slightly close, the aftershocks alone could turn a person into dust.

The dragon, which was leaping among the clouds, suddenly turned its head, its golden eyes like torches, and locked onto Lin Daochen.

The gaze was so tangible and heavy that it pressed down on Lin Daochen, who immediately felt his limbs stiffen, his blood stagnate, and even his breath catch in his throat.

My heart was pounding like a drum, my back was soaked in cold sweat, and my fingertips were spasming uncontrollably.

At the critical moment, Qingluan flew through the air and kicked the dragon's head hard, knocking it off course by several feet.

"Lin Daochen, listen up—this beast has its sights set on you for some reason! Retreat immediately! Let Wang Sanpang use all his resources to stuff you into the ancient ruins!"

At this moment, Taoyuan Town was already in an uproar.

The city lord, whose cultivation level was the highest in the town, was only at the Integration stage. Under such pressure, he couldn't even maintain the protective formation, let alone make a move.

The streets were filled with cultivators fleeing in panic, some flying on swords, some riding talismans, and some tearing through space, creating utter chaos.

—That's a dragon in the Tribulation Transcending stage! Its true dragon bloodline isn't complete, yet it has already shattered the threshold of the lightning tribulation!

Lin Daochen, stepping on the Qingfeng sword, sped through the dispersing crowd.

But the dragon always followed behind. Even though the Azure Phoenix tried to intercept it several times, the dragon could turn around at an astonishing speed, and its fangs were always aimed at the dragon's location.

His heart sank: How could this beast bite him so precisely? Could it be... the Heavenly Scroll?

A thought flashed through his mind, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

There is no other explanation besides this thing.

But the scroll was hidden deep within his consciousness and was completely unresponsive, making it impossible to sever the connection.

If this drags on any longer, Qingluan will eventually collapse from exhaustion; and even if I push my escape speed to the limit, the gap between our realms is still there, and the dragon is closing in inch by inch, its scales scraping through the air with a clear hiss.

At that very moment, a yellow-striped flying boat came to a sudden stop, its cabin door wide open.

Wang Donglai leaned out and waved frantically at him, "Master! Come on up quickly!"

The moment it leaped onto the deck, the flying boat roared to life and transformed into a blinding golden streak that shot through the air.

Only then could he finally catch his breath.

There weren't many people on the boat. Wang Sanpang, with his round belly, grinned and came over: "Brother, thank you so much for taking my son as your disciple, so he can also embark on the path of cultivation!"

Lin Daochen didn't reply, his mind replaying Qingluan's urgent order: "My master wants you to send me into the ancient ruins immediately, the sooner the better!"

Wang Sanpang was taken aback upon hearing this, and subconsciously rubbed his hands together: "Brother, you don't know this, although Wanbao Chamber of Commerce has some connections, the entrance to the ruins... has always been controlled by the major sects. Cutting in line at the last minute is no small matter."

"If you don't mind, I can spare a proper spot for you to enter with the disciples of Kunlun and Taixu."

Lin Daochen directly lifted his sleeve, revealing the crimson jade bracelet specially made by the Five Elements Sect on his wrist: "I already have the qualifications—I am the trial participant recommended by the Five Elements Sect for this trip."

"I don't need to go in beforehand, but you saw that dragon with your own eyes. Brother is a smart man; he should know what this means."

Wang Sanpang's eyes widened, and he gasped.

Anything that can attract the relentless pursuit of a tribulation-crossing dragon is no ordinary creature.

Then, recalling the fragment of the map he had personally handed over a few days ago... the answer almost burst out of his throat.

"Could it be... that they got that?"

Lin Daochen did not answer, but pointed to the churning tribulation clouds above his head.

Wang Sanpang paused, his expression shifting between light and dark – this old fellow is now a ticking time bomb, wherever he goes, the dragon follows!

There are only a handful of ferocious creatures in the entire spirit world that can contend with them, even those at the Tribulation Transcending stage.

"Father, don't you still have a Wanxu Token hanging from your waist?"

Wang Donglai suddenly spoke up, "Using it should allow us to make an exception and open the relic passage, sending Master in ahead of schedule!"

Wang Sanpang's head throbbed with pain. He glared at his son and yelled, "You little bastard, why are you always siding with outsiders?"

—That's the Myriad Void Token! One of only seven life-sustaining tokens remaining in the Spirit Realm. Crushing even one reduces one's chance to ascend to the Great Dao.

The one who holds this item can command the Wanxu Sect, the number one sect in the spirit realm, to submit to his will and grant any request.

He was always stingy, but now that the old man was so fierce, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and cut his losses, no matter how reluctant he was.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, Wang Sanpang breathed a sigh of relief, shrugged his shoulders, and pulled Lin Daochen into the cabin.