The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

While it's impossible to learn just by looking at it, that's a Chu Lu person...

What if he insists that he stole the skills and refuses to leave unless I compensate him with a Tai Chi sword and Tiger Claw Extinction Hand technique?

Seeing Yu Lianzhou leave out of the corner of his eye, Chu Luren sighed with regret.

At the same time, whether it was because he was displeased that Chu Luren was distracted, or because he wanted to give him some pointers, Zhenwu made his move...

The snake raised its head, then spread its dorsal fin, and its abdomen faintly revealed what appeared to be "meridians," with a flowing light. Then it opened its mouth and shot out a beam of cyan true energy!

Chu Luren quickly dodged, and seeing the small crater created when the light landed, he felt that it was probably much stronger than his elder brother's Dragon Subduing Palm. Even with his "Dao Embryo" activated, he could only withstand it once...

Since the other party had already offered "guidance," Chu Luren naturally didn't hold back. After flashing to the side, he prepared a move called "Leaping Over the Abyss" and struck Zhenwu directly at the tortoise shell.

Chu Luren didn't really want to win. Although the tortoise shell looked very thick, if it was just a "shell", even if it was a rock of the same size, Chu Luren would have shattered it with one palm!

As expected, the palm strike failed to achieve its intended effect. When the force of the palm struck the tortoise shell, it did not feel like hitting a rock, but rather like striking an internal martial arts master...

The toughness of the skin was secondary; the main thing was that the internal energy within the body remained intact, firmly resisting the palm strike!

Then a burst of internal force rebounded, sending Chu Luren flying. It felt somewhat like a palm strike had hit the "Toad Qi Shield," but the nature of the blow was different.

Chu Luren originally thought that with Zhenwu's size and slow movement, especially since he was beside it, it shouldn't be easy for it to attack.

However, in reality, all that could be seen was that Zhenwu's four legs stretched and contracted in an instant, and its entire body suddenly turned around. Chu Luren only felt a gust of wind coming, and the turtle's head was already facing him again!

Chu Luren anticipated this and used his lightness skill. This time, instead of dodging to the side, he soared into the air and arrived directly above Zhenwu in a lightning-fast, serpentine motion...

This must be a blind spot, right?

After landing on the top of the "small mountain" on Zhenwu's back, Chu Luren was on guard around. Sure enough, the turtle head turned around, but it was completely useless. However, the snake head, along with the body coiled on Zhenwu's back, twisted and stretched out a bit, able to turn around from a high position.

At least this way, we only need to face the snake's head attack?

As Chu Luren was thinking this, he suddenly felt a weight on his body, and his knees buckled unexpectedly, almost causing him to kneel down.

A heavy, oppressive feeling came from all directions, making it difficult for Chu Luren to even move his feet and get off the tortoise shell!

Chu Luren raised his eyes slightly, only to see the snake-headed man looking at him with a mocking expression...

Fortunately, the other party had no malicious intent and did not take this opportunity to attack.

Chu Luren also vaguely sensed that this heavy feeling seemed to have some similarities with his own "Little Dragon Turtle Strength" Gen Gua Six Forms.

After confirming that the snake head had no intention of attacking him, Chu Luren sat down cross-legged and entered the state of Dao Embryo!

Not only has his ability to resist external forces increased, but Chu Luren also took the opportunity to use the Stealing Pill Technique, attempting to forcibly "dual cultivate" with Zhenwu.

When facing ordinary strange insects and beasts, if one resorts to "force" or even goes so far as to exert no effort, it's like the situation between You Tanzhi and the Ice Silkworm in the original work. When You Tanzhi succeeded, the Ice Silkworm was also rendered useless...

However, Zhenwu was different from others and directly rejected Chu Luren's "dual cultivation".

Unfortunately, Chu Luren completely entered the Dao Embryo state, which is the state of cultivation, as he entered the Dao Embryo state.

Therefore, what Chu Luren didn't know was that after fully entering the Dao Embryo state, the snake head curiously approached Chu Luren to observe the Dao Embryo state.

Since there was no malice, and Lingjue was not alarmed, after looking around, it shrank back and leaned against the turtle's head, seemingly communicating with something.

Immediately afterwards, Chu Luren's spiritual senses suddenly detected that Zhenwu had voluntarily accepted the meridian reconnection...

Chapter 397 Preparing to Enter Shu

Yu Lianzhou heard the noise inside subside, so he went in again to take a look. He saw that Zhenwu was in a sleeping position again, while Chu Luren was sitting cross-legged on top of Zhenwu's back.

Upon seeing this, Yu Lianzhou couldn't help but marvel. Besides his master, he and his four brothers had each received guidance from Zhenwu once or twice before. After Zhang Zhenren comprehended the "Pure Yang Limitless Skill," Zhenwu was somewhat awakened under the resonance. At that time, Yu Daiyan was already crippled, and Zhang Cuishan was forced to his death not long after returning.

However, usually only Zhang Sanfeng could sit on Zhenwu's back to cultivate...

Most of the other fellow disciples simply observed Zhenwu's sleeping posture to comprehend the principles of Tai Chi.

Yu Lianzhou was considered one of Zhenwu's more likable friends. He made an exception and bothered Zhenwu three times. On one occasion, he had a brief exchange with Zhenwu, but he did not go on Zhenwu's back.

It is said that only by looking at the patterns on its back can one most intuitively understand the "Bagua" (Eight Trigrams) formation.

However, Yu Lianzhou now had some doubts. Chu Luren was sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed. Could he really see that?

Yu Lianzhou even wanted to wake him up and stop him from using this rare opportunity to cultivate his internal energy!

However, he ultimately did not take any action, since it was Zhenwu's tacit approval. If he stepped forward to guide him, Zhenwu might become unhappy.

In reality, the Chu Lu people don't need to "see" anymore...

With the connection of meridians, Chu Luren could truly feel the special meridians of Zhenwu. As for the back markings, they were merely a manifestation of the meridians. Chu Luren had already obtained something far more important.

The transformation of true qi and the power of the little dragon turtle is secondary. More importantly, Chu Luren's spiritual sense is now completely immersed in the principles of the "Eight Trigrams," and he is unstoppable in terms of "momentum"!

After an unknown amount of time, Zhenwu probably got annoyed and shook Chu Luren away. The Dao Embryo Spiritual Sense also woke Chu Luren up at the right time. He was still in mid-air when he woke up and controlled his movements to land safely.

"Thank you for your guidance, Zhenwu." Chu Luren bowed to Zhenwu.

However, Zhenwu remained lying down, seemingly not yet fully adapted to being awake, and still drowsy.

After bowing to Zhenwu, Yu Lianzhou tugged at Chu Luren and said, "Let's go out first."

As evening approached, Yu Lianzhou sighed, "Brother Chu, you must have had quite a good time this time?"

"It's alright, it's alright. I've just gained a deeper understanding of 'gossip'," Chu Luren said modestly with a smug look on his face.

Chu Luren did indeed gain a great deal today. Connecting with Zhenwu's meridians not only brought a special change to Chu Luren's chaotic true energy, but also fundamentally strengthened the "Little Dragon Turtle Force" he had condensed...

More importantly, Chu Luren's mastery of the "momentum" contained in the "Little Dragon Turtle Strength" has advanced by leaps and bounds, and he is almost about to condense the "Bagua" emblem. At the moment of ending the Dao Embryo state, when a thousand thoughts and feelings surged into his mind, Chu Luren's consciousness was already condensing the "Bagua" momentum emblem, but he was still one step short and did not succeed in condensing it.

However, with this experience, Chu Luren will have a good chance of succeeding if he goes into seclusion to reorganize his skills.

Don't be fooled by the simple name "Bagua" (八卦). In the realm of "power," the simpler something is, the purer and more powerful it is.

The difference between "mind" and "momentum" is that the former refers to one's own state of mind, while the latter is similar to the laws of nature, or rather... the "state of mind" of nature!

The power that Zhang Sanfeng possessed must be an extremely profound "Tai Chi" – as Gu Santong said, if Zhang Sanfeng could knock on the Heavenly Gate, it would most likely be because he "integrated his own power with the power of heaven and earth".

To merge one's own "Tai Chi" with the "Tai Chi" of heaven and earth...

While phrases like "peacock spreading its tail" may sound elaborate, they are merely branches of the "Tai Chi" concept.

Compared to the force of a strong wind or the strength of a pine tree, these are all minor details.

Master Zhang first grasped the essence of Tai Chi through the concepts of "overcoming strength with softness" and "controlling speed with slowness." He then continuously incorporated more Tai Chi principles into his teachings, and it is highly likely that he has now fully mastered Tai Chi. For Master Zhang, Tai Chi Chuan and Tai Chi Sword are merely "teaching materials" for his disciples.

Chu Luren hadn't actually reached that level yet. This time, he directly connected with Zhenwu's meridians, which allowed him to touch the core of the "Eight Trigrams"...

Chu Luren's "Little Dragon Turtle Strength" essentially refers to "Bagua" (Eight Trigrams). It is based on several types of Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms, as well as Tianshan Six Yang Palms and Nine Yin Divine Claws, and is a set of "Bagua Palms" - after all, Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms itself is related to trigrams and the Book of Changes, and Tianshan Six Yang Palms and Nine Yin Divine Claws are also intentionally used as fillers.

……

As it was getting late, Yu Lianzhou offered to let Chu Luren stay the night, since they couldn't rush him to set off immediately. However, Chu Luren politely declined, saying that he had friends traveling with him at the foot of the mountain.

Although Chu Luren did not achieve his original goal during his trip to Wudang, he did not come away empty-handed.

Chu Luren is already looking forward to his next visit to Wudang, when he should be able to meet Master Zhang who has come out of seclusion!

I believe that Master Zhang is far more insightful than Brother Yu, able to see through my kind nature and gladly teach me Tai Chi Chuan and Sword...

Although none of the Wudang heroes accompanied them this time, Chu Luren had at least informed them about the "Southern Heaven Treasure," and Yu Lianzhou had also "invited" him to make the trip to Emei.

Therefore, if this matter can be resolved, Wudang will inevitably have to accept this favor...

As for the route to enter Shu, Chu Luren chose a route that was fast and convenient for him, but somewhat "dark" for others!

First, we followed the Han River from Wudang to Hankou, where the Han River meets the Yangtze River, and then... we went upstream, going against the Three Gorges into Sichuan!

To outsiders, going down the river is like "departing from Baidi in the morning amidst colorful clouds, returning to Jiangling in a single day," but going up the river means "wearing bare feet to smooth out a thousand-bladed ridges, and tearing apart centuries-old tow ropes with bare shoulders"—in many sections of the river, oars and poles are useless, and boatmen have to pull the boats across by their own strength.

The speed is not fast either. The only advantage is that the whole route is within the territory of the Song court. If you want to go north, you have to go through Guanzhong, which is too inconvenient!

This is also why Sichuan was relatively independent within the Song court—it was connected on the map, but without Guanzhong, actual travel was difficult.

However, for Chu Luren, neither the swift current nor the complex water conditions could stop him from using his internal energy to navigate the boat...

Therefore, this road upstream is actually considered relatively "smooth"!

Back in Taihu, some people questioned whether Chu Luren had used some kind of trick. Now that he has traveled a long way to enter Sichuan, Chu Luren is going to show them what tricks he could possibly use. Do they think I am the Wuhen Gongzi?

Chapter 398 Xingyuan Mansion

The Chu Lu people traveled upstream along the Yangtze River, traversing the Three Gorges backwards, and arrived in Hanzhong...

Many wonderful tales have been told along the way, such as "the little devil pushing the boat," "ferrying across the River Styx," and "the procession through the underworld"...

Even more outrageous were those who described the situation in great detail, mentioning things like eerie winds, corpses carried by water ghosts beneath the boat, and even claims that people in the mortal realm travel downstream while those in the underworld travel upstream...

Some say that the Chu Lu people's boats were decorated with white banners for summoning souls, and that the boats were actually propelled by something unseen.

Others countered that the banner actually bore the inscription "The bravest of heroes, the backbone of the martial world"...

Chu Luren was very dissatisfied with this. What was all that nonsense before?

For this performance... cough cough, for this journey, Chu Luren specially changed into a white outfit. When he stood at the bow of the boat, his white clothes fluttered and he looked quite elegant, didn't he?

Of all the rumors, only the last one, which has been refuted the most, is actually true...

Chu Luren did indeed prepare the banner of "The brave and chivalrous, the backbone of the martial world," after all, it was a reward for his own character. Chu Luren thought the principle of "Zilu receiving an ox" made a lot of sense—only by letting everyone see how glorious kind people can be will everyone learn to be kind like him!

However, the flag was lost on the afternoon of the first day...

It's all Murong Jiu's fault for insisting on replacing me, and Mu Wanqing and Azi didn't keep an eye on things properly, even though I tied them up quite securely.

Although it wasn't a perfect ending, the Chu Lu people managed to make their way to Hanzhong, now called "Xingyuan Prefecture"—who would have thought that this unfortunate name was changed by the Yuan Dynasty!

When Emperor Dezong of the Tang Dynasty fled a rebellion and came to Hanzhong, he changed the era name to "Xingyuan". After restoring order, he renamed Hanzhong "Xingyuan". This name was used until the Song Dynasty. Now, "Xingyuan Prefecture" has been lost and is under the control of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty. It is clear that Kublai Khan was reluctant to change this name...

To put it superstitiously, the people of Chulu always felt that changing "Hanzhong" to "Xingyuan" was somewhat of a disruption to their fortune.

Besides Xiangyang, this place was also one of the important border areas between the Song and Yuan dynasties. In fact, Möngke did not die in Xiangyang, but in the Battle of Diaoyu City in Hezhou, Sichuan.

However, compared to Xiangyang, the route into Sichuan was indeed more treacherous, with higher mountains and more dangerous waters. In terms of historical development, the Yuan Dynasty eventually conquered Xiangyang and destroyed the Southern Song Dynasty, after which Sichuan and Chongqing fell to the Yuan.

Now, the Chu Lu people are heading from Xingyuan to Lizhou, which is within the territory of the Song court, and there is quite a bit of war and chaos.

"Do you think we should find a security escort agency and cross the Song-Yuan border together?" Chu Luren asked Murong Jiu, somewhat uncertainly.

In terms of experience in the martial arts world, Murong Jiu actually has more.

However, upon hearing Chu Luren's words, Murong Jiu frowned and said, "Is this really necessary? Aren't you being too cautious?" Her expression seemed to say: This level of caution isn't your style!

"No, I just feel that this is more in line with the current style." Chu Luren remembered that in old-school fantasy novels, people would usually find a team of mercenaries to travel with at this time.