The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

As for whether Shi Wanzhen overestimated himself or whether the old monkey was truly helpless, Murong Jiu didn't know.

"Why exactly does that old monkey want to capture Wang Chongyang?" Chu Luren muttered to himself, puzzled.

He also realized that Murong Jiu probably didn't know the details either.

“I don’t know, but… I think it’s related to Yaoyue,” Murong Jiu said, offering her speculation.

"Inviting the Moon?" Chu Luren looked at her with even more confusion.

What is the relationship between Wang Chongyang and Yaoyue?

"He took me to Changsha before. Just when a certain hero was displaying his great power and causing a great battle between the red and white, he abandoned his original plan to target Yaoyue. It was at this time that he ordered me to assist Shi Wanzhen! Although Shi Wanzhen was also tracking down and trying to harm the couple before, it was obviously not the most important thing in the old monkey's mind."

It seemed more like he suddenly took it seriously after noticing Yaoyue's breakthrough..." Murong Jiu recounted what happened in Changsha at that time.

After Yaoyue's breakthrough, he paid more attention to Wang Chongyang and his wife, and especially to Wang Chongyang.

Inviting the Moon... Wang Chongyang...

Chu Luren had a vague idea of ​​what was going on, and this time his train of thought hadn't gone cold!

What do Yaoyue and Wang Chongyang have in common?

Others might not be able to find it, but Chu Luren knew it all too well—both of them had profound martial arts skills, and both Mingyu Gong and Xiantian Gong were martial arts known for their "stillness" and "stability"!

Of course, even before her breakthrough, Yaoyue should have been much stronger than Wang Chongyang, otherwise Shenhou wouldn't have thought that Murong Jiu could deal with Wang Chongyang.

If it could be considered a coincidence if it only happened once, Chu Luren also thought of a few other things...

The Divine Marquis's actions are perplexing in many ways—suddenly becoming interested in assassinating Ao Bai, disregarding the fact that doing so would actually help the Qing Emperor, even risking infiltrating the Qing court to absorb Ao Bai's essence; secretly using underhanded tactics against Guo Juxia, who was wholeheartedly protecting Xiangyang, with whom he had no conflict of interest and was of no benefit to the Song court; initially cooperating with Dongfang, but later secretly controlling Dongfang and supporting Zuo Lengchan...

Now, Chu Luren is re-examining these things and suddenly has new ideas!

The assassination attempt on Ao Bai occurred after Gu Santong's body was sunk in West Lake; the ill intentions towards Guo Juxia arose after the Sweeper Monk knocked on the Heavenly Gate; and the change in attitude towards Dongfang can be seen as a reaction to Dongfang's increasingly advanced martial arts skills...

Moreover, Ao Bai's methods are indeed equivalent to Gu Santong, who has been greatly weakened several times. Guo Jing, like the Sweeper Monk, also cultivates extreme Yang internal energy.

If it weren't for the fact that "after Yaoyue broke through, Shenhou set his sights on Wang Chongyang," Chu Luren wouldn't have thought of this connection. It seems that it wasn't that the old monkey's emotions were unstable, but rather that he had a consistent purpose. It's just that sometimes the "white moonlight" dies or breaks through, so he has to look for the "backup plan," which seems very sudden!

As for his attitude towards Lin Chaoying, it likely indicates that she is one of his backup options, but compared to Wang Chongyang, Lin Chaoying has not yet been officially recognized.

Consider the characteristics of the Jade Maiden Heart Sutra...

燥！

In stark contrast to the "Innate Skill," it even requires a restless mind to cultivate.

Chu Luren thought about it and realized that the most arrogant person in the martial arts world right now was not Lin Chaoying, but... the Golden Wheel Monk!

That guy's cultivation of the "Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill" relies entirely on impetuousness, and now he's incredibly agitated...

The change in attitude towards Dongfang may have been due to Dongfang's martial arts skills becoming higher and higher, and him gradually setting his sights on her. However... now that she thinks about it, she has already given up. Chu Luren knows all too well that the old woman who has already knocked on the gates of heaven is not someone that the "Absorption Technique" can absorb.

Gu Santong couldn't absorb it either, but he still held onto the hope that if Gu Santong continued to weaken in the dungeon, he might be able to absorb it someday. Unfortunately, Gu Santong didn't leave him a chance in the end!

Thinking about it this way, the old monkey's purpose is very clear. He is most likely "collecting stamps"—the reason he suddenly changed his target several times is because he could not rely on his original "white moonlight", so he turned to his "backup plan".

Chu Luren also understood the "Absorption Technique" and was well-versed in the properties of internal energy because of the "Chaos Technique". He could roughly guess that this old monkey probably wanted to gather the eight properties of internal energy: Yin and Yang, stillness and dryness, hardness and softness, purity and turbidity.

This is to forcefully push myself to break through!

After hearing Chu Luren's speculation, Murong Jiu vaguely felt that it made sense, and said with a strange expression, "Then this Divine Marquis has really bet on quite a lot of treasures, and each one has broken through the Heavenly Gate."

"He was already choosing the best of the best, and he wanted... Huh? Why are you taking your clothes off?"

"Since we're already here, aren't we staying overnight?"

Chu Luren: ...

Chapter 862 Arriving a Step Too Late

Chu Luren certainly didn't stay overnight. He didn't know how Li Mochou and Cheng Lingsu were doing, so how could Chu Luren feel comfortable staying overnight at Murong Jiu's place?

Although a virgin's body is gone once it's gone, as long as one doesn't indulge in excessive sexual activity and damage one's foundation, one's aptitude won't continue to decline because of such a thing—otherwise, married male heroes shouldn't be able to cultivate anymore—Chu Luren is still a self-disciplined person!

After calming Xiao Jiujiu down for a while, Chu Luren, led by Xiao Hong, headed towards Li Mochou and Cheng Lingsu's location—capturing Shi Wanzhen alive was of utmost importance!

But the Chu Lu people arrived too late...

When they arrived, Shi Wanzhen was already lying on the ground. His clothes on his chest had been melted to reveal a palm print, which was also blackish-red with a clear palm shape—clearly, it had been completely covered by the "Red Serpent Palm".

The even depression in his chest was clearly not an external injury, but rather the result of the Crimson Palm dissolving his internal organs, causing the skin and flesh to cave in...

When Li Mochou saw Chu Luren's face darken upon seeing the corpse, she couldn't help but explain, "It was this old poisoner who tried to ambush Sister Lingsu, so I killed him with one palm strike."

Cheng Lingsu wanted to say something, but after looking at Li Mochou, she could only sigh in the end.

The two of them did indeed subdue Shi Wanzhen just now...

Cheng Lingsu has a total of seven candles, which are made from the rare and poisonous Seven Heart Begonia.

The Seven Heart Begonia before the Heavenly Gate is highly poisonous, while the Seven Heart Begonia after the Heavenly Gate will absorb nutrients from each other, making it more difficult to cultivate in large quantities. However, it can produce seven flowers on one branch, six of which are completely non-toxic, and only one is a sacred object that can ward off poison!

Cheng Lingsu had meticulously cultivated the flowerbed, but after the Heavenly Gate opened, only one Seven-Heart Begonia remained, having seized the life force of the others of its kind. And it was a true "Seven-Heart Begonia," with seven flowers on one branch…

Cheng Lingsu used this to make seven candles. The one used at the inn was the only one that could ward off poison, but when she met Shi Wanzhen, she lit one of the most poisonous candles!

In order to save innocent villagers, Cheng Lingsu did consume a lot of medicinal materials, but with the help of Chu Luren in secret, there was actually no shortage of materials. She had simply deliberately tricked Shi Wanchen.

The candle that Cheng Lingsu lit at this moment was not for warding off poison, but was actually a Seven-Heart Poison Candle...

Originally, when using this candle, one needed to hold a poison-repelling drug in their mouth and wear gloves for protection, but now Cheng Lingsu has a substitute.

Earlier, after Chu Luren and Jing Ziyi mentioned the Prince of Dali, Cheng Lingsu sighed and mentioned the Manggu Toad to Chu Luren on the way. When Duan Yu and Chu Luren first entered the martial arts world, Master Wuchen was still alive, but his health had deteriorated and he no longer traveled the martial arts world. Wuchen could easily judge from some clues that Duan Yu may have "eaten" the Manggu Toad under a strange encounter.

Cheng Lingsu was somewhat regretful that she hadn't been able to see the Manggu Toad, and it was also a pity that the Manggu Toad hadn't waited for the Heavenly Gate to open, otherwise the "Plague God's Mount" could have gone even further.

Chu Luren, however, felt that judging from the speed of Duan Yu's internal strength progress, this "further progress" might actually be continuously reflected in Duan Yu!

Just like the gyrfalcon bloodline that Qiao Feng inherited, its potential becomes increasingly terrifying after the Heavenly Gate is opened.

As the two got into the conversation, Cheng Lingsu mentioned that if she ever met Duan Yu, she hoped he could help her get some of his blood—the "Medicine King's Divine Manual" mentions a poison-avoiding pill made from the blood of the Manggu Toad.

There might not be another Manggu Toad, but Duan Yu's blood might have some effect.

Upon hearing this, Chu Luren was naturally very interested—if Duan Yu's blood was useful, would his own blood, which had long since simulated the Manggu True Qi, also be useful?

Looking back, my body has been constantly tempered by my own internal energy, and my level of physical training is quite high...

So Cheng Lingsu also tried it, and the effect was really good. After taking it, she could even be immune to the poison of the Seven Heart Begonia Candle for a period of time, and she didn't need to hold it in her mouth like before, which would be easy to be discovered!

It didn't require the Medicine King Sect's internal techniques to work with, and Li Mochou could use it directly, so she really tricked Shi Wanchen.

Shi Wanzhen had already met Murong Jingyue and the others, and heard them describe Cheng Lingsu's "strange phenomenon." This old fox became even more cunning and guessed that Cheng Lingsu was just bluffing.

However, precisely because of this, he assumed that the candle was for warding off poison and did not take any precautions. By the time he realized it, the poison had already taken root!

Cheng Lingsu originally wanted to force him to swear an oath and then force him to take the poison that would take effect in stages, in order to make him abandon evil and do good. However, Shi Wanzhen held back his breath and waited for Cheng Lingsu to get close before launching a sneak attack.

Li Mochou was not polite either. Now that Xiao Hong had found Murong Jiu, what use was Shi Wanzhen?

Especially since he had just made blasphemous remarks to me...

At that moment, he struck out with a palm, instantly killing Shi Wanchen!

Seeing Chu Luren's expression, Li Mochou assumed he was unhappy that she had killed someone, so she offered an explanation.

Cheng Lingsu actually wanted to say that she had taken precautions and didn't need to be so ruthless, but she decided not to say it. After all, Li Mochou didn't know this. Although Li Mochou was venting her anger, she was ultimately trying to save herself.

Although Shi Wanzhen was her martial uncle, Cheng Lingsu was unwilling to kill anyone. However, she was so kind that she was unwilling to kill even Shi Wanzhen, so how could she blame Li Mochou?

"What's wrong? Didn't you find Wang Chongyang?" Li Mochou asked, seeing Chu Luren's troubled expression.

Chu Luren relayed Murong Jiu's words to Li Mochou in their entirety, and Li Mochou immediately frowned deeply—now it wasn't just a question of whether there was enough time, but if Shi Wanzhen really couldn't cure the poison, wouldn't Wang Chongyang be in grave danger?

"On the bright side, at least Zhao Wushi's conspiracy won't succeed!" Li Mochou was very optimistic, having already risked everything for her grandmaster.

Cheng Lingsu then spoke up, "Brother Chu, please stop peeking at me... If it really was Uncle Shi who poisoned me, I think if I go and take a look, I should be able to find a solution." Cheng Lingsu seemed very confident.

"No, it's too dangerous! Zhao Wushi... he's inhuman!" Chu Luren shook his head.

“But you’ve been secretly watching me the whole time, didn’t you want me to go?” Cheng Lingsu was very straightforward.

"Cough cough, how could that be? What I mean is, how about I disguise myself as Shi Wanzhen and you teach me how to use poison to cure poison..." Chu Luren said righteously.

"You also want the 'Medicine King's Divine Manual'?" Cheng Lingsu blinked her bright eyes.

Chu Luren felt deflated under her gaze and was too embarrassed to lie: "I've thought about it a little bit."

Cheng Lingsu shook her head seriously and said, "No, my master said that if I were to take on a disciple, I would first test his character!"

Li Mochou chuckled to herself, looking at Chu Luren with great interest—what do you have to say that this young lady wants to take you as her disciple?

Upon hearing this, Chu Luren considered it seriously and said, "Grandmaster only said that it was a test of character, he didn't say that there couldn't be other masters, right?"

Cheng Lingsu and Li Mochou: ...

Chapter 863 Single Interception

"Brother Chu, has anyone told you that 'betraying one's master and ancestors' already indicates a serious problem with one's character?" Cheng Lingsu glared angrily at Chu Luren.

"Just kidding, I'm super filial! I cured my master's paralysis and even found his wife who ran away with someone decades ago!"

Cheng Lingsu continued to stare, and Chu Luren added, "I also rebuilt the mountain gate."

Cheng Lingsu ignored him...

Moreover, ignoring it is useless. To be precise, "The Divine Manual of the Medicine King" is not a martial arts manual, but an encyclopedia, which contains many kinds of martial arts, as well as more poison and medical techniques.

In terms of profoundness, it's not actually that deep. The most valuable parts are the art of medicine and poison, as well as the methods for using various rare and precious materials.

Even if Chu Luren watched this, he wouldn't be able to learn it immediately. It's not something that can be mastered by poison overnight!

Cheng Lingsu was willing to make amends for Shi Wanchen's mistake, since she was now considered the head of the Medicine King Sect.

“However, it’s impossible for you to disguise yourself as Shi Wanzhen. Ordinary bone-shrinking techniques cannot make your body expand completely. The bone-shrinking techniques that can be done are not easy to master.” Li Mochou frowned as she looked at Cheng Lingsu.

"The Marquis also hopes that someone will rescue Master Wang, right? Let that Murong Fu take me back, and I'll leave after I've rescued him," Cheng Lingsu said casually.

Logically, there's nothing wrong with it...

Assuming that neither Chu Luren nor Li Mochou were involved, and that Shi Wanzhen died at the hands of his own nephew due to carelessness, then it would be reasonable for Murong Fu to track down Cheng Lingsu and bring her back to Lin'an after discovering Shi Wanzhen's death, since he knew that Wang Chongyang was poisoned and needed Shi Wanzhen to cure him.

After all, Cheng Lingsu and Shi Wanzhen came from the same school, so what's wrong with trying anything as a last resort?