The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

In the past half day and night, the capital was indeed in turmoil...

After Ao Bai escaped from prison, the morale of the Eight Banners troops in the capital region was low. Tie Hu really instigated a rebellion in the Bordered Yellow Banner. Under the pretext of capturing Ao Bai, they took the opportunity to attack the city and raised the banner of "purging the emperor's inner circle".

Amidst the chaos caused by the surprise attack on the Plain Yellow Banner, they were also coerced by the Bordered Yellow Banner, claiming to support the emperor but demanding the execution of all the treacherous officials in the court!

The other banners were also in disarray, and there was no time to mobilize troops back to the city—the banner chief of the Bordered Red Banner had just been secretly executed, and the banner chief of the Plain Red Banner was still being held captive by the rebels…

It is said that some Manchu nobles even packed their belongings overnight, preparing to return to their hometowns outside the Great Wall.

After all, the Qing court was still unstable in the interior of China at this time. The regents had been killed or imprisoned. It was a time of uncertainty and turmoil, and the slightest disturbance would terrify people!

However, at this moment, the Plain White Banner, which had been heavily suppressed, stood out and was the first to return to the city to reinforce the defense of the palace.

At that time, the new banner lord of the Plain White Banner was drinking with the banner's commanders and officers, including Amida and Shiertai, outside the city. It is said that the banquet was initially held at Prince Feng's residence, but none of the Plain White Banner's commanders and officers accepted the invitation. So Prince Feng drove a carriage full of wine to the military camp outside the city and drank all night...

The very next day at noon, chaos erupted throughout the capital. However, Prince Feng, fueled by alcohol, not only avoided making mistakes but also led his Plain White Banner troops to quickly send elite soldiers into the city ahead of time…

The newly appointed banner lord, Prince Feng, led the charge into the enemy ranks outside the palace, killing Tie Hu and quelling the rebellion.

……

However, opinions differ on Ao Bai's fate.

According to the imperial court's proclamation, Ao Bai was killed by "elders of the palace" while on the run, and the proclamation was posted among the people to appease them.

However, beneath the surface, some "rebels" insisted that Ao Bai was not dead and would fight their way back to the capital...

The specifics were unknown to Chu Luren, and this was all the information the Qunyu Academy had received.

In short, the chaos has definitely ended, but it is uncertain whether Ao Bai has successfully escaped—for the Chu people, if Ao Bai is alive, it might cause some minor trouble.

Because while in prison, Ao Bai, filled with resentment, revealed the secret of the dragon vein.

If Ao Bai hadn't died, he would probably have been even more wary of the Chu Lu people!

When Chu Luren returned to the agreed-upon inn, he found that Xiao Hong had already flown back, but she still ignored him when she saw him.

Seeing this, Chu Luren took out about one-fifth of the ginseng root and said, "You can't eat too much at once... and after you eat it, you may need some time to digest it. Tell me what happened first... Is Ao Bai, that big bearded man, dead or not?"

Little Red seemed to understand; after patting Chu Luren's hand a few times, she began to perform.

First, he struck a very smug pose, then stuck out his tongue, tilted his head, and collapsed onto the table...

"Ao Bai... is dead? How did he die?" Chu Luren pressed.

Xiao Hong looked up at the ginseng root in Chu Luren's hand, giving him a "you're so fussy" look, and then started performing again—first pretending to be sneaky, then folding her wings in front of her body and making a stabbing motion that looked like the "Thousand Years of Kill"...

However, after taking a few steps forward... he stuck out his tongue, tilted his head, and collapsed onto the table!

"Does it mean... there was some sneaky guy who ambushed and killed Ao Bai?" Chu Luren deduced what Xiao Hong was trying to say.

"How could he have such an opportunity? No one stopped him?" Chu Luren was full of questions.

Putting aside the Black Hawk team, Gui Haiyi Dao and the expert who was suspected to be Shenhou rescued Ao Bai, not to deliver the final blow to Wei Xiaobao!

Little Red then covered her face with her wings, then made faces and made two hairs on her head stand up. Then, with a "whoosh," she stretched out her wings as if she were casting a spell, and then... squeezed her belly and twisted her body while puffing out her chest.

Murong Jiu looked at the man and bird communicating in this strange way with a strange expression, then looked at Chu Luren and said, "What does this mean? Is Ao Bai having a cramp?"

"No, it should be said that the master wearing the ghost mask... used the 'Absorption Technique,' the most thorough and highest level of the 'Absorption Technique'!" Chu Luren was now certain that the ghost-masked man was Shen Hou.

However, Chu Luren couldn't quite understand their purpose...

Chapter 474 The tree desires stillness, but the wind will not cease.

The final, contorted pose Xiao Hong made was precisely the "Absorption Technique," and only those who had cultivated it to the highest level and mastered the "Absorption Body" could unleash its ultimate move—"All Rivers Run into the Sea!"

It wasn't just because there were scenes from the TV series as evidence, but also because Chu Luren himself understood the "Absorption Technique," which is why he could understand Xiao Hong's abstract performance at a glance.

For example, Gu Santong mainly cultivated the "Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill" lineage in terms of body training, while the "Absorption Technique" was only a supplementary skill for him, so he was unable to use "All Rivers Run into the Sea".

After using this move, you can briefly combine the target's body with your own. With the help of the "absorption technique", you can completely drain the opponent before "spitting" them out!

Only the Iron-Blooded Marquis could have cultivated to this level...

Even with the "absorption technique," one needs to recuperate for a period of time after each instance of doing so.

Based on this, it seems that after leaving Manjing, Shenhou and Guihai Yidao turned against Aobai and others, "draining" their martial arts skills, which gave Wei Xiaobao the opportunity to launch a sneak attack.

However, Chu Luren couldn't quite understand Zhao Wushi's purpose.

Killing a peerless master is not easy; creating an opportunity to "absorb" a peerless master is even more difficult...

However, from a cost-effectiveness perspective, no matter how you look at it, Ao Bai, as the pillar of the Qing Dynasty, was by no means a "worthwhile" target—even if the young emperor wanted to get rid of Ao Bai!

The investment is large, the risks are high, and the returns... are not that high in comparison.

Zhao Wushi's meticulously planned actions were all aimed at eliminating Ao Bai.

Chu Luren always felt that this approach was somewhat foolish, or rather... there must be a deeper reason behind it.

It's just that I don't know enough about him, so I can't guess what he's thinking.

However, no matter what, Ao Bai's death was not a bad thing for Chu Luren. At least this way, no one would know that he had told them about the dragon vein.

"Alright, alright, here you go... but you can only eat this much at a time!" Chu Luren gave a fifth of a ginseng root to Xiao Hong after her performance.

Chu Luren had already learned more concrete information from Ao Bai—indeed, the eight volumes of the Forty-Two Chapters Sutra contained a treasure map of the Manchu dragon vein and treasures, and this ginseng root... was indeed part of the treasure map!

After Emperor Shunzhi left behind few words and became a monk, it was only the old minister Aobai who knew the secret of the Forty-Two Chapters Sutra in the Qing court.

Just as Murong Jiu said, there is a ten-thousand-year-old ginseng dragon sleeping in the dragon vein. Only by entering with ginseng whiskers can one avoid waking the ginseng dragon.

The Manchus obtained a total of twelve ginseng roots. Therefore, the banner leaders of the Eight Banners decided that the four copies of the Forty-Two Chapters Sutra, belonging to the two Yellow Banners and the two White Banners, would each contain two ginseng roots, while the four copies belonging to the two Red Banners and the two Blue Banners would each contain one ginseng root.

As for the four ginseng roots from the Bordered Yellow Banner and the Plain White Banner, they were indeed taken out by Ao Bai and have already been used up by him!

His hard skills were able to improve by leaps and bounds precisely because he used the tendrils of four ancient ginseng dragons as a tonic—hard skills like Iron Shirt require a great deal of nourishing medicine.

Ao Bai used his four ginseng roots as a foundation to master all twelve hard skills, including Iron Shirt, to the highest level. Afterward, his external skills nourished his incomplete Pure Yang Infinite True Qi, and he quickly formed the Golden Bell Cover from the inside out...

In retrospect, Mao Dongzhu suffered from her lack of knowledge. If she had known that the Forty-Two Chapters Sutra contained ginseng and had such miraculous effects, she wouldn't have needed to seek out Chu Luren for an antidote!

The reason why Aobai ate the ginseng root directly was also due to his confidence in the Qing court. The reason why he hid all the largest spoils of war after entering the pass back to his hometown was ultimately because the Eight Banners were not confident at the time and had the idea of ​​returning to the pass if they could not survive.

Aobai truly deserves credit for the Qing court's consolidation of power within the Great Wall. He was confident in himself and even felt that the Manchus should not have left him such a way out!

"Then why did you give the ginseng rootlets to Xiao Hong? Is there anything else you can use?" After hearing what Chu Luren told her, Murong Jiu was about to snatch the food from Xiao Hong's mouth.

Xiao Hong seemed to sense something and immediately swallowed it whole...

"It's useless, the whole thing is useless," Chu Luren said, pursing his lips.

"What do you mean?" Murong Jiu sensed that Chu Luren's words had a hidden meaning.

"When the Manchus discovered the dragon vein, the ten-thousand-year-old ginseng dragon was still asleep. Even if it was disturbed, it would only wake up slightly and flick a few ginseng whiskers to attack. Carrying its whiskers could conceal its aura. But now... after Master Zhang knocked on the Heavenly Gate, didn't you feel that many places became 'strange'? That ginseng dragon is probably not asleep at all now. What use are its whiskers?" Chu Luren said matter-of-factly.

That's right. Now, Zhenwu of Wudang Mountain has awakened, and something in Leshan and Emei Mountain seems to have awakened as well. The Chu Lu people estimate that the ten-thousand-year-old ginseng dragon has also awakened. Ginseng whiskers and such can't fool them at all!

Upon hearing this, Murong Jiu seemed to realize something and agreed with Chu Luren's statement...

"Then shall we return to Manjing?" Murong Jiu was clearly still unable to let go of the other copies of the Forty-Two Chapters Sutra, or rather, he couldn't let go of the dragon vein outside the pass.

"No, the whole capital is in chaos right now! Why should we get involved in this mess? There's no rush. Let's wait until the Empress Dowager or the Divine Dragon Sect get their hands on the other Forty-Two Chapters Sutra... Besides, even if we have a map now, your ancestors didn't tell you that you could withstand a ten-thousand-year-old dragon, did they?" Chu Luren didn't want to go back immediately.

"Let's go back to Leigu Mountain first. I also want to go into seclusion for a while to sort out what I've learned." Chu Luren was still thinking about mediating the conflict between his uncle and master in a couple of years.

Mediation is the way to go!

Of course, the higher one's martial arts skills, the easier it is to mediate.

Although his master likes good-looking people, Chu Luren doesn't plan to make a living based on his looks.

Chu Luren had previously planned to go into seclusion at Leigu Mountain for a period of time, but the elimination of Ao Bai delayed his plans...

Murong Jiu had no better idea, so he agreed and the three of them returned to Leigu Mountain together.

Chu Luren went into seclusion for more than a month—this was probably the longest Chu Luren had ever spent focusing on and practicing martial arts in one place since he transmigrated!

Perhaps it was precisely because of this that Chu Luren gained a great deal and made significant progress in his martial arts.

Previously, Chu Luren had no shortage of life-and-death battles and insights into cultivation techniques, but he lacked this opportunity to calmly accumulate knowledge and experience.

After some training, Chu Luren felt that even without sudden enlightenment, he could already hold his own as a first-class individual. In fact, with his many skills, he was considered quite outstanding among the first-class individuals, and could be considered "above first-class" for the time being!

but……

The increase in strength after enlightenment was not very obvious. After all, this increase in strength was entirely due to Chu Luren "catching up" on his studies. In essence, he had skipped too many classes, which resulted in his poor performance when he was not enlightened, and his performance did not match his true level.

Moreover, Chu Luren has also discovered that the higher one's cultivation level, the closer one's true strength and the strength gained through enlightenment become...

Chu Luren thought about it carefully and realized that it wasn't strange at all—the more skilled a person is, the more perfect their state is when they make a move. Just like when Ye Gucheng and Ximen Chuixue were dueling, they didn't need any sudden enlightenment; they were already in their best state!

Originally, Chu Luren could have continued his seclusion until the New Year...

However, in mid-October, a piece of news made the Chu Lu people restless, and they decided to set off south.

Rumors circulated in the martial arts world...

The Blood Sabre Sect's Blood Sabre Patriarch entered the land of Jingchu, committing all sorts of evil deeds along the way, which attracted the attention of the Four Heroes of the South and other great heroes, who devised a plan to surround and annihilate him...

Chapter 475 Public-spiritedness and Righteousness

"This Blood Saber Ancestor... isn't he the one who attacked Tianlong Temple with Kumārajīva back in Dali?" Mu Wanqing still remembered this evil monk.

Although I've never seen it, I've heard of it.

“Indeed, this time he went east to Jingchu and even dared to commit crimes by picking flowers everywhere. How can we, as chivalrous people, tolerate him!” Chu Luren said with a righteous and noble expression.

“You don’t need to keep emphasizing that you’re a chivalrous person…” Mu Wanqing added with a pout.

"Brother Chu, you're too vengeful!" Azi didn't want Chu Luren to leave. It would be better for him to cultivate slowly on Leigu Mountain and use the Divine Wood King Cauldron to attract insects.

Ah Zi's martial arts skills have improved rapidly recently, which has allowed her to calm down.

In her words, she wanted to cultivate diligently so that one day she could emerge from seclusion and amaze the entire martial arts world...

"Could it be..." Murong Jiu looked at him with an expression that seemed to say, "Were you cheated on by the Blood Blade Ancestor?"

"Don't talk nonsense! It's because there are too many people in the martial arts world who think this way that everyone is too proud to work together to deal with these lecherous thieves," Chu Luren said with dissatisfaction.

“But haven’t the Four Heroes of the South already made their move? Maybe Blood Blade has already been killed on the spot. We don’t need to rush over there, do we?” Wang Yuyan obviously didn’t realize the danger behind this.

Chu Luren shook his head and said, "No, it's because the Four Heroes of the South have already made their move... That Blood Saber Ancestor, his martial arts might only be on par with the four great heroes, but his methods of fighting and psychological warfare are extraordinary. I can't rest easy! You know, Master Shui, the Cold Moon Manor Lord among the Four Heroes of the South, did me a favor back then! And his daughter is so beautiful..."