A man stands before the heavens, his sword emerges from the Emei Mountains.

Chapter 102 The Five Poisons Cult Leader, the Divine Wood King Cauldron

The mountains stretch endlessly, with many cliffs and towering peaks. In autumn, the forests are ablaze with color, green, yellow, and red intertwining to create a vibrant, dreamlike scene. As the sun sets and the moon rises, the world is crystal clear. A breeze rustles the leaves, and the figures within the caves begin to move. Their movements are dynamic, their fists and palms stirring up a deep pool with powerful energy. Every gesture sends sand and stones flying.

The figure kicked and swept across, raising dust and pebbles that were then enveloped by the powerful energy, forming a tornado. Suddenly, the figure burst out of the cave, leaving the tornado trailing behind, creating a magnificent spectacle. Immediately afterward, a fist slammed into a tree as thick as a man's waist.

This punch produced no explosive sound matching the figure's imposing presence; the sound seemed to vanish completely. Yet, in an instant, the large tree snapped with a crack and flew off, crashing to the ground and scattering grass clippings everywhere.

"Congratulations, Senior Brother, on mastering your divine skill."

Under the bright moonlight, the white-robed monk arrived as if his feet were untouched by dust. As he drew closer, he was revealed to be the demonic monk Yunze, with drooping white eyebrows. As he turned, silver light dust fell on his face, revealing a bizarre face: the left side of his face was rosy and smooth, like that of an infant, while the right side was like a skeleton, with no muscle except for a sallow complexion, resembling half a skull.

The one who can be addressed as "senior brother" by the demonic monk Yunze must be Lian Zhenjia, the current leader of the Five Poisons Sect.

"How are your injuries, junior brother?"

"Thank you for your concern, Senior Brother. I have long since recovered." Yunze changed the subject. "News came from the Yuan River Wharf in Huaihua that hundreds of disciples from the Emei and Hengshan sects are heading towards the main altar."

Is Chen Yu here?

Yunze said, "This disciple does not recognize Chen Yu and can only identify him by his portrait. I have not found him, but he is extinct."

Lian Zhenjia sighed, "Birds and rabbits fly by, time flies by, I don't know what year it is today. Back then, I received guidance from the Imperial Tutor Phagpa and mastered the skills. In the battles of Qiantang and Dali, I was besieged by hundreds of Han masters and eminent monks from Tianlong Temple, but I was not afraid at all. Now, I am being attacked by Guo Xiang's disciple's grand-disciple. How laughable!"

"Actually, it's a good thing. Since Miejue has already obtained the Heaven-Slaying Sword, and Chen Yu is also here, isn't it a perfect opportunity to take the Heaven-Slaying Sword and capture Chen Yu? It's killing two birds with one stone."

"Yes, that's right."

"Senior brother, what secret does that kid Chen Yu know?"

Lian Zhenjia said coldly, "The game above is far from over."

"Junior brother, you're too talkative," Yunze said with a smile. "How about we have the Thunder and Lightning Sect and the Azure Phosphorus Cave give you a welcome?"

"Why not?" Lian Zhenjia was clearly smiling, but her face was half-glowing and half-withered, looking strange and sinister.

"Understood, junior brother, I'll take my leave."

As Yunze turned and walked out, he glanced at the broken old tree not far away. He saw that the once lush and green leaves at the break had lost all their vitality and begun to wither within a dozen breaths.

"To exterminate an old nun is like an ant trying to shake a tree; it's an overestimation of her own strength."

With that thought in mind, Yunze's figure flew across the sea of ​​grass as if cleaving through waves, quickly disappearing into the distance.

Lian Zhenjia turned and walked into the cave, took a dark yellow wooden cauldron from the square table and placed it on the ground, then took purple, black, and...

The red spices were placed inside the cauldron, and a fire was lit with a flint and steel. The lid was then closed. After about ten breaths, a rustling sound came from the grass outside the stone cave, and several large, entirely red centipedes swam toward the wooden cauldron and crawled in through the hole at the bottom.

Lian Zhenjia inserted her index finger into the hole to practice her poison skills.

He spent half his life tomb raiding, tainted by both the aura of corpses and the yin energy. During his service to the Yuan Dynasty, he obtained a sacred wooden cauldron that had once been kept by the Liao Dynasty. He used the cauldron to cultivate poisonous arts, achieving twice the result with half the effort.

m

The autumn temperature was not low, and the sun was still glaring. Chen Yu, wearing a bamboo hat and carrying a Longquan sword on his shoulder, traveled freely like a wandering knight-errant through the rolling hills dozens of miles southwest of Youyang.

During the Spring and Autumn Period, Youyang was located at the border of the states of Ba and Chu. It is situated at the junction of Hunan, Sichuan, and Guizhou. To the northwest, there are continuous mountains and shady forests, which is the Wuling Mountains.

Thanks to the unique terrain, many people traveled and traded along the road, so every few miles you could see restaurants and tea stalls on the main road.

Given Chen Yu's cautious and meticulous nature, how could he have followed the Emei, Hengshan, and Jizhuang groups in a grand and imposing manner? When the group passed Huaihua, Chen Yu packed night clothes, lime, and iron lotus seeds in his bundle and broke away from the group.

The reason he was alone was not only to scout the way, but also to prevent Ji Xiaofu from accompanying Yang An to Youyang, so that he could meet her in advance and see what her reaction would be.

As he walked, Chen Yu saw a roadside eatery. He went up to it, called the waiter for a pot of cold tea and two plates of side dishes, and then went inside.

The restaurant was simple but spacious, with more than a dozen diners inside. Some had bulging waists, while others had swords and knives on the table. Their expressions were fierce, and they were clearly江湖 (jianghu) figures who had been involved in bloodshed.

The waiter brought over some herbal tea, a bowl of brown rice, and two dishes: one meat and one vegetable, wild boar meat and stir-fried mushrooms with dried bamboo shoots. Chen Yu hung his straw hat on the wall, drank tea, ate, and enjoyed himself in solitude.

Halfway through the tea and snacks, light footsteps suddenly approached from afar. Chen Yu raised her eyes slightly and saw a figure in a yellow robe floating in like a cloud emerging from a mountain peak. The figure was graceful and elegant, and a curtain of the same color fell to her waist and hips, obscuring her face.

Chen Yu immediately lowered her eyes to eat, but her mind was unusually active. A woman traveling alone in the desolate mountains must be no ordinary person. She wondered if she had anything to do with the Five Poisons Sect.

In the world of martial arts, it's an ironclad rule to avoid provoking women, nuns, and beggars. The martial arts men in the restaurant glanced at the woman, then turned away and ate in silence. The woman walked to a corner table, ordered a pot of tea and a bowl of vegetarian noodles, and quietly began to eat with her back to Chen Yu and the others.

Chen Yu finished his bowl of rice. The sound of hooves thundered from the direction of the main road. Three yellow horses came to a stop in an instant. The burly men on horseback were skilled riders. Before the horses had even come to a complete stop, they all threw off their stirrups and landed on the ground. They then tied the horses to the stables, entered the shop, looked around, and sat down at the table next to Chen Yu. They ordered a plate of wild boar meat, four catties of flatbread, and a pot of wine. They toasted each other and began to eat.

"Senior brother, tell me what Chen Yu looks like?" The man sitting a stool away suddenly spoke up, and Chen Yu almost choked on his tea.

"How would I know?" said a tall, thin man.

"The sect leader refused to provide the portrait."

Chen Yu snapped out of his reverie, chuckling inwardly. The title of "Sect Leader" suggested he wasn't from the Five Poisons Sect; the most likely candidate was the Thunder and Lightning Sect. As he pondered this, the tall, thin man pulled a portrait from his robes and unfolded it.

"His eyebrows are like eight colors, his eyes are like bright stars, his nose is like a jade pillar, and his mouth is like a single pearl. This lad is really handsome, and he is about seventeen years old." After the tall and thin senior brother finished speaking, he saw that the junior brother opposite him was staring straight at his back.

"What's wrong, junior brother?"

The man stammered, "Senior brother, look behind you."

The tall, thin senior brother turned around.

"Ah, Chen Yu." The man's surprised expression only lasted for a moment before he was struck in the face by a straight punch, his head snapping back to its original position with a thud.

The man to Chen Yu's side hurriedly grabbed his knife, but Chen Yu stood up first, grabbed the sheathed longsword leaning against the table, and slashed it hard across the neck with a powerful stroke.

With a snap, the man's head tilted strangely to the side, resting on his shoulder, and he fell backward to the ground.

The remaining man shouted and, disregarding his weapon, leaped out of the restaurant. But in an instant, Chen Yu pounced on him like a shadow and punched him in the back.

The big man suddenly felt as if his spine and chest had been pierced through, his internal organs shifted, and his blood and qi surged.

Wow! The man spat out a mouthful of blood, his body flying across the ten-foot-wide mountain path and disappearing into the opposite forest, propelled by the force of the punch.

The atmosphere inside the restaurant was as heavy as that of a tomb. Seven or eight burly men had their hands on their waists or gripping the hilts of knives and swords, but the woman remained motionless and unaffected, eating quietly.

"I'm sorry to bother you all. This is a dangerous place, and it's not suitable for you to stay any longer. Please return the food and leave as soon as possible."

Hearing Chen Yu's words, the Jianghu men who were eating finally breathed a sigh of relief and felt much more at ease. Chen Yu then carried the two corpses out of the shop, touched and disposed of them, threw a silver ingot to the shopkeeper, and rode away.

As the sun set, the evening glow spread across the sky above Youyang like a tide. The autumn wind whipped up leaves, making them dance and tumble on the streets. Some leaves drifted down into the streams and rivers, creating tiny ripples.

Chen Yu stood under an inn on the street. In an inconspicuous place on the wall, there was a circle of Buddha's light and a small sword. He went up and wiped off the Emei Sect's contact mark, and walked in the opposite direction from where the small sword pointed.

The county town wasn't big; it only took about the time it takes to eat a meal to get to the other side. As expected, Chen Yu saw the mark on a towering tree again. He walked in the opposite direction from Xiao Jian, his mood already lifted. Yang An and the others had arrived ahead of time.

-

A warm autumn breeze blew through the woods, lifting and falling strands of hair from Zhou Zhiruo's temples, making her feel itchy and quite uncomfortable. She reached out and tucked her hair behind her ears.

A leaf twirled and swirled before finally falling. Zhou Zhiruo caught the leaf with her fair fingers, which were gathering her hair. Suddenly, her expression changed drastically. She touched the ground with her toes and leaped forward. The moment she landed, a clang rang out, the echo of a sword's cry still reverberating in the air. A silver arc of light shot upwards as Zhou Zhiruo turned and thrust back.

The tips of the two longswords collided precisely in mid-air. The immense recoil caused Zhou Zhiruo's sword to hum and arc outwards, using this force to propel her backwards several feet. She then plunged the sword into the ground to stop herself, exclaiming with delight, "Senior Brother!"

Chen Yu chuckled and followed the markers, traversing the mountains and forests. When he saw Zhou Zhiruo on guard duty, he first picked a leaf and used the "Finger Flicking Divine Skill" to send it out to see her reaction, and then used his sword to test her cultivation level.

The result was both expected and unexpected.

Zhou Zhiruo's martial arts talent has already been vividly demonstrated in the world of "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber," but Chen Yu believes it surpasses that, especially in terms of adaptability and...

His internal strength and swordsmanship were already on par with Ding Minjun's.

Of course, this result was mainly due to the fact that the other party had started practicing the "Yi Jin Duan Gu Pian" earlier than Ding Minjun.

"Tell me, how did you recognize me?" Chen Yu took off his straw hat and asked with a smile.

"You're Zhiruo's senior brother," Zhou Zhiruo said with a bright smile.

This left Chen Yu speechless.

Zhou Zhiruo sheathed her sword and, with a figure as light as a butterfly, stepped forward. "Is it just you, Senior Brother?"

"Master and the others still have at least a day's journey to complete. Who else has come?"

"Let's go, I'll take my senior brother over there. Senior Brother Yang, Senior Sister Shi, and Senior Sister Ji, come along too."

Chen Yu felt a headache coming on.

Footsteps echoed through the forest. After walking about a mile, the two suddenly found themselves in a wide-open valley nestled against the mountains and beside the water, dotted with tents. Judging by their size, they estimated that nearly two hundred people lived there.

"Senior Brother Chen is here." Zhou Zhiruo's clear voice echoed through the valley like a babbling brook. In the distance, in the distance, Yang An strode out of the tent and leaped over.

"Senior brother, I'm going to keep watch."

"Okay, I'll come and take over later."

"Thank you, Senior Brother." Zhou Zhiruo replied with gratitude and turned to disappear into the woods.

Yang An, who had been anxious the whole way, saw Chen Yu and, without waiting for him to ask, said, "This expedition was organized by selecting personnel through examination. Among the inner and outer sect disciples, Junior Sister Zhou is exceptionally talented and has the best skills, so she's going with the team. As instructed by Senior Brother, Senior Sister Ji was supposed to guard the mountain, but she volunteered and came too. By the way, Senior Sister Ji and Junior Sister Shi went to the county town to see if Master, Senior Brother, and the others could arrive, and also to buy some rice and noodles."

"Junior brother, you've worked hard. Master and the others still have a day's journey to reach Youyang. People from the Wudang Sect have also arrived. I met three disciples from the Thunder and Lightning Sect at a roadside eatery dozens of miles from Youyang. The Five Poisons Sect was prepared."

Yang An's expression turned serious. "I will arrange for my disciples to go to the county town to find Senior Sister Ji and Senior Sister Shi."

"it is good."

Yang An let out a soft sigh, as if he had overthought things. His senior brother did not question him because his junior sister and senior sister Ji had come with the group.

As the two approached the camp, the Emei Sect disciples resting in the tents came forward to greet them, and the air was filled with warm and enthusiastic words.

"Senior Brother Chen is here."

2

"Greetings, senior brother."

"Senior brother, we have sharpened our swords and are ready to slay demons and monsters, leaving not a single member of the Five Poisons Sect alive."

With a smile, Chen Yu greeted them one by one. When he heard a junior brother say, "The enemy's strength crumbles," he said, "Good spirit!" Then he added, "The enemy will not lay low and will not surrender easily. Those who underestimate their enemy rarely succeed."

Chen Yu has long established his authority in Emei. Upon hearing this, his arrogant junior brothers and sisters immediately abandoned their underestimation of him. Yang An saw this and sighed. His senior brother is now the pillar of Emei. His presence or absence makes a world of difference in the atmosphere.

Yang An sent his disciples to the county town to find Ji Xiaofu and Shi Jinkui. Afterwards, the two went to the tent, where Chen Yu briefly told them what had happened since he came from Hanyang.

Yang An, a seasoned veteran, said upon hearing this, "The Wudang Sect's assistance is indeed a great thing. However, since Senior Brother encountered the Thunder and Lightning Sect, it seems that the other side was prepared in advance."

"That's not surprising, after all, we've entered the territory of the Five Poisons Sect."

"Senior brother, what are your thoughts on how to deal with the enemy?"

Chen Yu smiled and said, "We'll discuss it further once Master, Second Master Yu, Sect Leader Shao, and the others arrive, but we'll probably still go with the night raid on Bashan."

"Okay." Yang An nodded.

As the teapot was finished, the camp echoed with the words "Senior Sister is back." Chen Yu and Yang An stepped out of their tent and saw Ji Xiaofu and Shi Jinkui rushing back from afar.

The clouds had a hint of blue, and half of the sky gradually darkened.

Ji Xiaofu turned her head to look at Chen Yu, who stood tall and straight among his fellow disciples, surrounded by them like a star. She felt inexplicably at ease. There were some things that, no matter what the outcome would be, it was time for her junior brother to know.