The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

Indeed, Chu Luren had already guessed that since he was a "lame man," then just like in the original work, the treasure behind the artificial hill was stolen by Qu Lingfeng.

Qu Lingfeng was originally Huang Yaoshi's eldest disciple. After being expelled from the sect, he repeatedly entered the palace to steal cultural artifacts and paintings in order to please his master. In the end, he "encountered a tiger after walking too many mountains" and was surrounded and seriously injured by the palace's masters. Although he escaped on the spot, he died not long after returning home.

In any case, Hong Qigong's plans in the palace were finally fulfilled, so at daybreak he sneaked out of the palace with Chu Luren.

As for why Chu Luren didn't come out again last night, the imperial guards at the city gate didn't want to ask any more questions.

When Chu Luren returned to the inn, he found Rongrong and Murong Jiu arguing. Lianxing ignored them completely, while Liusheng Piaoxu seemed to want to mediate but didn't know how to start...

"What's wrong?" Chu Luren asked, puzzled.

"Ask your good brother, Murong the spy from the Dragon Guard Manor!" Huang Rong said sarcastically.

Chapter 562 Rumors

"Although I accepted the Marquis's invitation, I did nothing to wrong Brother Chu. Miss Huang, you are overthinking it!"

Whether you did it or not, you know the answer yourself.

"The Marquis only asked me to assist him in fighting against the eunuch faction, and my background is actually... well, never mind, I won't tell you any more. Brother Chu, do you believe me?"

After arguing, Murong Jiu and Huang Rong stopped talking to each other, and Murong Jiu then dragged Chu Luren into the conversation with a single sentence.

"Well... I naturally trust Brother Murong, but Shenhou is a very cunning man, and he has also cultivated the 'Absorption Technique.' I suspect that he is the real culprit behind the annihilation of all the experts from various sects when they besieged Gu Santong back then," Chu Luren said, half-jokingly.

That's right. From the fact that Huang Rong and Murong Jiu didn't reveal any secret information during their argument, and that they were arguing in front of Liu Sheng Piaoxu, Chu Luren already understood that they were arguing for her sake!

"Yes, I will be careful. And... if the Marquis really wants to harm Brother Chu in the future, having me here will give me another person to inform him." Murong Jiu acted as if she was thinking of Brother Chu.

Murong Jiu's actions were relayed to Shenhou by Liu Sheng Piaoxu. Although Shenhou knew that Nan Murong did not fully trust him and did not keep this matter a secret from Chu Luren.

But they would also understand that Nan Murong had been tempted by his offer and had sided with them—because although Murong Jiu did not keep his becoming a Yellow-rank spy a secret, he never leaked any crucial information to Chu Luren from beginning to end.

Especially matters related to Princess Yunluo...

Lacking crucial information, Shenhou easily deduced the "fact" that Nan Murong wanted to play both sides for the time being, but had already begun plotting against the Chu Lu people behind the scenes.

However, after avoiding Liu Sheng Piaoxu, Murong Jiu secretly met with Chu Luren again and agreed on some secret signals.

Shenhou was right about one thing: Murong Jiu was indeed very tempted by his offer, but... the one who was secretly planning to betray him was not Chu Luren!

After all, in Murong Jiu's eyes, this was his Shadow Concubine, and there was no question of betrayal.

On the contrary, it's this concubine who's always thinking about "betraying" me that's the real headache!

It's really not easy to avoid Liu Sheng Piaoxu. She always manages to be there, intentionally or unintentionally, when Chu Luren and Murong Jiu meet alone, either by the side or in a hidden place.

But... Lianxing's hearing was always locked on to her. She thought Chu Luren and Murong Jiu didn't know she was eavesdropping, but in fact, the two of them knew perfectly well!

With the Second Palace Master acting as "radar," Liu Sheng Piaoxu basically couldn't get any real information.

Originally, Murong Jiu wanted to go to Wudang with Chu Luren to pay respects to Master Zhang. Firstly, she wanted to gain Chu Luren's favorability with Wudang, and secondly, she wanted to ask about Xia Ke Island.

However, now that the Divine Marquis is so helpful, and having learned about Chu Luren's "adopted sister" situation, Murong Jiu decided to stay in Lin'an!

On the one hand, he was using Shenhou's chicken to lay his own eggs; on the other hand... Murong Jiu felt that after Chu Luren met with Zhang Zhenren on behalf of his sworn sister, his "Wudang favorability" was likely to drop. As a member of the prestigious Gusu Murong clan, it was better not to get involved with the Demonic Sect.

Instead, Liu Sheng Piaoxu found a good excuse—when she was trying to reconcile Murong Jiu and Huang Rong, she deliberately angered Huang Rong, so she couldn't stay in Lin'an anymore. She then staged a scene saying, "I want to go back to Japan all alone." As a result, after being taken in by Chu Luren, she naturally set off with Chu Luren.

In mid-June, Chu Luren bid farewell to Rongrong and Yunluo, as well as... Murong Jiu, who "feigned concern" to see him off, and set off for Wudang with "Nongyue" and Liusheng Piaoxu!

The route they took was naturally westward to Ezhou, and then northward to Xiangyang.

As they got closer to Xiangyang, the Chu people felt a growing sense of unease, and sure enough, the cotton-padded clothing issue continued to escalate.

However, Chu Luren was not a member of the imperial court, and this matter could not be resolved simply by exposing some conspiracy. Therefore, apart from having Rongrong cause more trouble, there was no other way.

However, when passing through Xiangyang, Chu Luren made a special trip to visit Guo Juxia.

Chu Luren's words subtly reminded Guo Juxia to make a decisive decision: if the Xiangyang court allowed him to defend it, he could do so; if not, he could leave.

However, although Guo Juxia was very enthusiastic towards Chu Luren, he did not engage in conversation. Clearly, the "great hero" and Chu Luren, the "brave hero," were different.

More importantly, by sheer coincidence, the Mongol Yuan dynasty was indeed showing signs of activity!

Although rebel forces have emerged within the territory and there is no immediate indication of a large-scale military deployment, in the martial arts world, it is said that the Golden Wheel Monk has gone south with unclear intentions, so this Hero Guo is even less likely to leave.

Rongrong has now obtained a lot of letters from ministers who had dealings with the Qing court and Wu Sangui, which could be used as leverage if handled properly. This should be enough to throw the upright officials in the court into disarray.

It's quite a coincidence...

After Rongrong's analysis, she discovered that the ministers who were targeting Guo Juxia were basically those who were flirting with the Qing court and Wu Sangui. The more charming they were, the louder the voices questioning Guo Juxia's treasonous intentions became.

Just as Chu Luren was about to leave Xiangyang, he heard about another "strange thing" - a woodcutter outside the city, Daheishan, saw a battle between an eagle and a snake!

In his own words, the eagle was several people tall, and the snake was so large that two or three people couldn't wrap their arms around it. Many people said he was delirious, but Chu Luren took it to heart.

During his previous visits to Xiangyang, Chu Luren had paid attention to the rumors about strange snakes and exotic creatures, but firstly, he hadn't found out anything special, and secondly, each time he went to Xiangyang, he was always in a hurry and didn't stay long.

This time, Chu Luren had nothing urgent to attend to, and having already heard the rumors, there was no reason for him to miss it!

The gallbladder of the Bodhi snake, which can enhance internal strength, may not be of much use to Chu Luren—after all, Chu Luren's current internal strength, while far from being unparalleled in the world, is already among the best in the era. If the gallbladder of the snake could still have a significant effect on Chu Luren, that would be too terrifying.

However, firstly, even if I don't need it myself, I can figure out its location and give it to someone else in the future. Secondly... there might even be Dugu Qiubai's sword tomb here!

Back then, Feng Qingyang ignored Chu Luren's behavior and showed no intention of passing on the "Nine Swords of Dugu" to him. Now, there is another opportunity to learn the "Nine Swords of Dugu".

Chu Luren found out where the terrified woodcutter lived, left him some silver, and asked him for the exact location of the eagle and snake he had seen...

"Chu Lang, are you looking for that giant eagle and the strange snake?" Lianxing asked upon seeing this.

“That’s right. You and Piaoxu wait for me in the city for two days. I’ll be right back.” Chu Luren mainly didn’t want Piaoxu to come along.

“Brother Chu, we’re not afraid of any eagles or snakes. But if there’s any danger…” Liu Sheng Piaoxu had just started to speak when Chu Luren interrupted her, “I’m worried about some kind of powerful beast. If I go alone, it’ll be easy for me to escape. If I really need help, Xiao Hong will ask you for assistance. Then… Nong Yue can go and help me.”

Liu Sheng Piaoxu saw that Chu Luren hadn't even brought Nongyue along, which is why she didn't insist. Little did she know that the main reason was that Nongyue could silently monitor her, preventing her from doing anything in Xiangyang...

Chapter 563 The Second Type

The deer from Chu arrived at the Black Mountain that the woodcutter had mentioned.

Because the situation was unclear, they didn't dare to immediately take out the "Divine Wood King Cauldron" to lure the snake, since it would be embarrassing if it attracted something they couldn't handle.

Instead, they first had Xiao Hong, the "snake-finding expert," identify snakes everywhere with her naked eye.

Chu Luren had previously heard the woodcutter mention that there were usually more snakes in Daheishan than in the surrounding area, but not to the point that people were afraid to approach it.

It was after the earthquake in Wudang last year that there became a lot of venomous snakes, and gradually no one came here to cut firewood.

He had a sudden whim that day, thinking that it was almost late August and he could go pick some wild chestnuts, so he went to Daheishan Mountain, only to be scared half to death.

Little Red hadn't returned yet, but Little Golden Gallbladder, perched on Chu Luren's shoulder, suddenly reached out and grabbed a small snake that had been lying on a tree branch!

The snake's scales shimmered with a golden hue, and it even had fleshy horns growing from its head...

"This is..." Before Chu Luren could identify it, Little Golden Gallbladder chirped and pinched the snake's head, then with his other hand, he pulled and tore, ripping open the snake's intestines.

babble-

Little Golden Gallbladder sucked the exposed purple snake gallbladder into its mouth and swallowed it. Then it showed a happy expression, waving its arms and legs and jumping around. After turning its head and calling out twice to Chu Luren, it climbed up the tree and began to swing among the treetops, while seemingly searching for other snakes!

"Dandan, wait!" Chu Luren hurriedly tried to stop it, but it was already almost gone.

Chu Luren had no choice but to... raise his hand and use the soft silk rope to roll it back.

"Don't run around!"

After that, Little Golden Gallbladder remained angry, with his arms crossed over his chest, sitting on Chu Luren's shoulders with his back to him.

"Alright, I'll give you some food later. You have to let me study it first, right? Besides, it's not safe here... such a big snake, aren't you scared?" Chu Luren said, gesturing as he spoke. Little Golden Gallbladder looked at this attempt to fool a child with disdain.

Just then, suddenly...

goo goo-

Little Red suddenly let out a series of urgent cries. At first, it seemed to be just a warning, but gradually it turned into a loud cry!

Upon hearing the sound, Chu Luren immediately channeled all his "Sunflower True Qi" and rushed over, causing ghostly figures to appear throughout the mountains and forests...

When Chu Luren arrived, he saw Xiao Hong on a branch, shouting "coo coo" at a large snake!

This snake looks similar to the snake master in the back mountain of Wudang. However, when Xiao Hong faced it, although she dared not get close, she was already making "cooing" provocations.

Chu Luren didn't know whether this snake was inferior to the snake master of Wudang, or... its "temptation" for Xiao Hong was greater than that of the snake master.

At the same time, Chu Luren felt that this snake looked familiar. Besides resembling a ferocious, enlarged version of the snake that Little Golden Gallbladder had torn apart before, he seemed to have seen or heard of it somewhere before...

correct!

Its body radiated golden light, it had fleshy horns on its head, it was over five zhang long, and its gall bladder was deep purple...

Although its gallbladder cannot be seen, judging from the gallbladder of the small snake that Little Golden Gallbladder ate before, this large snake is very similar to the description of the second type of spirit snake in the "Nameless Snake Formula" that Chu Luren obtained back then!

It just needs to be larger, possibly more than sixty years.

Such a huge creature had gone unnoticed before. Chu Luren suspected that it had been dormant since the time when the Heavenly Gate was closed, and had only recently awakened.

At this moment, the giant snake stared at Little Red on the branch with its emotionless eyes. Judging from its size, Little Red, who was making "cooing" sounds, seemed to be overestimating its own strength.

Chu Luren immediately became vigilant—Xiao Hong alone definitely couldn't handle such a big guy, even with restraint, and might even provoke its ferocity because of that restraint.

Perhaps noticing that Chu Luren was more difficult to deal with than Xiao Hong on the branch, the snake's eyes narrowed, and then suddenly all its muscles tensed up. Then, like a dragon emerging from the sea, it "splashed" towards Chu Luren.

Chu Luren also raised his hand and unleashed a palm strike, "Buddha's Light Appears," directly forcing the giant snake back. Then, Chu Luren clasped his hands in a bow, and amidst the flashing Buddha's light, countless afterimages appeared around him, all chasing after the giant snake...

It was yet another move, "Ten Thousand Buddhas Paying Homage to the Ancestor"!

Aside from the incomplete tenth move, this is already the strongest move of the "Buddha's Palm".

Although the giant snake was blasted and its body was shaking violently, it did not appear to have suffered much damage.

Chu Luren was stunned for a moment, then cursed himself for being stupid!

The structure of a snake's body makes it inherently less susceptible to injury from internal force, and...

It's just a big snake, what bad intentions could it possibly have?

As fierce as it may be, that's just their nature, and it has nothing to do with good or evil. As for the "Buddha's Palm," it's only so-so against such a target.

The story of Buddha cutting off his own flesh to feed an eagle illustrates this principle.

After Chu Luren understood what was happening, he withdrew his palm and drew the long sword from his waist. The "Light Breeze Accompanying the Moon" given to him by the Liu family had been destroyed when he fought Ding Chunqiu. This was the famous sword "Azure Sky" that Yun Luo had taken out of the royal treasury to play with and gave to Chu Luren when they parted.

"Qingming" was a precious sword forged by the famous Sword Manor in the past, based on the legend of the Qingming Sword of the Wu Kingdom in the pre-Qin period. A total of two swords were forged.