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

The southeast is a land of strategic importance, and Qiantang, the capital of the Wu region, has been prosperous since ancient times.

Even with the Tartar court corrupt and war raging on all sides, the city remained bustling with activity, a picture of prosperity.

Along one side of the long street stood a theater, its entrance adorned with colorful paintings and lanterns decorated with gardenia blossoms. The pavilions and terraces were magnificent. Outside, peddlers and laborers gathered in large numbers, their cheers rising and falling.

In the center, an elderly man, around forty years old with a rather comical appearance, was squatting down. In front of him were two bowls and three red pills. He was performing an ancient magic trick.

This magic trick originated in the previous dynasty and was performed in theaters, streets, and festive gatherings. By the present day, it has become quite large-scale, forming multiple schools and featuring a wide variety of performances, such as "The Immortal Picks Beans," "The Three Immortals Return to the Cave," "The Cabinet Appears," and "The Lantern Pavilion Appears Colorful."

The elder's hands kept changing positions; sometimes there were three red pills in his right hand, sometimes the red pills disappeared and appeared in the upside-down bowl, and sometimes there was one red pill in each of his left and right hands and in the bowl.

A moment later, the three red pills vanished without a trace.

"Excellent skill. In all these years in Qiantang, I have never seen anyone perform the 'Three Immortals Returning to the Cave' technique with such mastery. He deserves a reward."

A wealthy man praised the gesture and tossed out a handful of copper coins.

"Thank you very much." The elder reached out with both hands and opened his palms; the copper coins had vanished without a trace.

"Huh?" the wealthy man exclaimed in surprise, "Where did the money go?"

"The three immortals returned to their cave, their skills reaching the pinnacle of creation, and all things could be concealed within them."

"I don't believe it."

The elder chuckled.

"Give me the copper coins." The wealthy man took a handful of copper coins from his attendant and scattered them out in a flash.

The elder swayed left and right, his sleeves fluttering like a swirling vortex, and the copper coins disappeared again, not a single one landing.

The clamor from the onlookers coalesced into a tidal wave of sound. Some were curious, and the crowd threw coins at the old man. In an instant, copper coins rained down, but the old man's hands moved like phantoms, vanishing all the thrown coins.

"I refuse to believe in such superstitions!" The wealthy man was about to smash his coins again when the old man laughed and said, "I am but a humble man, and I am grateful for your generous reward. I have enough for wine today. I'm off."

The elder flicked his sleeves like flowing clouds, and the porcelain and red pills on the ground vanished in an instant. He nimbly darted into the crowd like a fish swimming in water, and before the onlookers could react, he had already quickly walked away along the street.

The old man wandered through the streets and alleys, and in no time he appeared by the willow grove of West Lake.

The sound of a pipa drifted out, "a cacophony of notes, like pearls falling onto a jade plate." The elder leaped onto the boat, the pipa music ceased, and a beautiful woman with delicate features leaned out of the window, asking, "Fourth Brother, how was your harvest today?"

"Enough for us to eat and drink for a while."

After speaking, the elder stepped into the room. Bright light shone on the wooden floor, and besides the woman, Elder Ape was also sitting in the room.

The ape is here, and the woman is none other than Lan Caidie, the junior sister of Hengshan, whom Tang Qianhuan once described as having plucked the blue sky with her pipa. The elder is also Tang Qianhuan, who is described as "bizarre and fantastical, a magical illusion in the Immortal's Cave."

"Senior brother, have you ever seen that brat Chen Yu?" Tang Qianhuan sat down, took the tea handed to him by Lan Caidie, took a small sip, and asked casually.

"Of course I saw it."

"Everywhere in the teahouse, people are talking about that kid, how he defeated the swordsman from Qinghai with his sword and fought against the two elders of Kongtong with his fists."

"That's right. Compared to Chang Ning, it's only been a few hundred days, but that kid's cultivation has improved by leaps and bounds, which is quite remarkable."

"Does Third Brother regret it?"

"It was all predestined. If I had truly become a disciple, we might not have been able to enjoy each other's relaxed and fun interactions like we do now."

"That makes sense. What happened next?" Tang Qianhuan asked.

Elder Yuan said, "It's still early. I'll take my junior brothers and sisters over later. I'll tell you that when that kid fought Tang Wenliang at the Six Harmonies Pagoda, he reversed his blood energy and spat out blood to fake his injury."

Lan Caidie and Tang Qianhuan were taken aback. "Why is that?"

"I used myself as bait to lure the Five Poisons Sect members out so I could strike them down in one blow. I told that kid about his fondness for my fourth brother."

Blue Butterfly burst into laughter.

"Interesting, interesting," Tang Qianhuan laughed. "I'll teach that kid a few fancy moves later."

"I think it's a good idea," said Blue Butterfly.

"I'm kind of looking forward to seeing that kid."

Lan Caidie then stopped smiling. "Third Brother, you said I'd teach Chen Yu pipa music. Will you learn?"

"Nonsense." Elder Ape couldn't help but laugh. Behind the laughter, which masked the vicissitudes of life, Elder Ape sighed inwardly, "I only hope that my senior brothers and sisters will remain innocent."

……

The scorching June sun enveloped the courtyard, and cicadas chirped incessantly in the sycamore trees.

The courtyard has two entrances and two exits, including the main house, side rooms, living room, study, gatehouse, etc., and also has a backyard.

Because of the large number of female disciples at Jing Shui Nunnery, Chen Yu and Tang Zhihu lived in the quiet backyard.

Chen Yu did not show up in the morning. He only arranged for Su Mengqing to go to the city to buy medicinal food to nourish the internal organs. Bei Jinyi and Tang Zhihu went to Jing Shui Nunnery to continue to help with the expansion.

If everything goes against his prediction, Chen Yu has no plans to rush back to Emei. He will focus on practicing his skills and wait until things are back on track in Qiantang before heading to Dadu to continue building the temple. It's only a half-month journey from Dadu to Lingzhou in Ningxia. Since he has Yunze's handwritten map, he might as well try his luck.

As for the Zhongnan Mountain branch of the Five Poisons Sect, it's not time for me to worry about it yet.

I am not on the same level as the woman in yellow.

Of course, this doesn't mean there are no variables. If Elder Yuan can find out the traitor within the Hengshan Sect, they can try to have the Emei Sect and Hengshan Sect join forces to attack the Five Poisons Sect's headquarters.

After arranging everything properly, Chen Yu continued to refine the Bladder Meridian of Foot Taiyang, relying on the effects of the Jade Ruyi.

Yu Ruyu allowed Chen Yu to focus all his attention on guiding his Qi, refining it repeatedly from midday to mid-morning. At this moment, he expelled the old and took in the new, his cheeks bulging. Pure, warm, and profound internal Qi warmed his upper Dantian from the lower Dantian, then separated from the Tianzhu acupoint in his neck, like a rock splitting the earth. It traveled along the inner sides of his left and right shoulder blades, along both sides of his spine, to the Shenshu acupoint in his waist, through his buttocks, down the outer edge of his back thigh, and finally along the outer edge of his foot to the outer end of his little toe, where it intersected with the Foot Shaoyin Kidney Meridian.

Wherever the extremely pure internal energy passes, the meridians and muscles tremble continuously, as if an invisible iron hammer is repeatedly forging, grinding, and hammering.

His bare back and waist muscles, with each breath, seemed to converge like countless thin snakes into the meridians, then spread outwards with the expansion and contraction of his body. In this process of tempering through expansion and contraction, his mind, meridians, and muscles gradually reached a perfect fusion.

As the sun gradually moved westward, Chen Yu's body surface became sticky, and a foul odor filled the air. Impurities between his muscles and tendons were constantly being expelled from his body. Following the rolling and stretching of the meridians, one popping sound after another came from various parts of the Foot Taiyang Bladder Meridian that ran through his body.

Suddenly, a stream of internal energy shot out from the Jingming acupoint on the head, and then the internal energy gushed out like a thousand springs along the meridian to sixty-seven acupoints such as Zanzhu, Meichong, Qucha, Wuchu, and Chengguang.

Overjoyed that the passage was open, Chen Yu lightly patted the ground with his right hand, his body leaping up from the ground like a swallow flying through the forest and past the window, landing on a bamboo stalk about the thickness of a thumb in the courtyard. The internal energy distributed in the acupoints of his little toe surged, creating a ripple on the sole of his foot. His feet felt like they were stepping on cotton balls, landing silently yet with powerful leaps.

Chen Yu lightly touched the bamboo with his feet, and he floated up like a kite.

After being tempered and perfected, his lightness skill had indeed improved considerably. When he encountered Yang Xiao again, although he was no match for him, it was impossible for Yang Xiao to catch up with him easily.

Chen Yu landed on an old tree several meters away, his body rising and falling with the branches, feeling happy and carefree.