The Great Martial Arts World: Hot Topics and Great Heroes

Chapter 1040 Shangguan Haitang's Wonderful Journey

Tianning Temple in Wuxi was once ravaged by the Western Xia people and used to imprison beggars.

At the time, Chu Luren felt that the name sounded familiar. Later, he learned that the old abbot who built the temple was from Tianning Temple in Jiangling City, so it was also called Tianning Temple.

The Tianning Temple outside Jiangling City has a remarkable history; it is the location of the treasure of "Liancheng Jue" (a legendary martial arts manual), as Chu Luren verified using the original text of "Tang Poetry Swordplay".

However, when Chu Luren arrived outside Jiangling City, he only saw the Tianning Temple, which had undergone major renovations, but he did not see any golden Buddha or secret passage. After that, Chu Luren was quite busy and did not lack money, so he did not pay much attention to the treasure.

Murong Jiu was concerned, but because the treasure in "A Deadly Secret" was poisonous in the original work, Chu Luren didn't know the extent of the poison, so he didn't tell Murong Jiu about it, lest she find it on her own and encounter any more misfortunes.

"Tianning Temple? Okay... I understand." Chu Luren nodded, and then...

We've set off for Guiyun Manor!

Why go to Tianning Temple?

Shangguan Haitang was unaware that she was already in Wuxi, so she used her last breath to reveal the crucial information. She hasn't completely passed away yet, so Chu Luren naturally has to go and save her first. Once she wakes up, she will understand everything.

To avoid Wan Sanqian being disappointed, Chu Luren didn't inform him and went back to Guiyun Manor with Lu Guanying.

Upon seeing Chu Luren, Lu Chengfeng immediately wanted to start a banquet again, but Chu Luren politely declined and went to see Shangguan Haitang, who was already on the verge of death...

After practicing internal energy to heal her injuries, Shangguan Haitang woke up.

Upon seeing Chu Luren, Shangguan Haitang immediately asked excitedly, "Tianning Temple...did you go to Tianning Temple?"

"Don't rush, tell me slowly... Today is the tenth day of the sixth month, what happened to Tianning Temple?" Chu Luren helped her correct the time confusion caused by her long coma.

"The tenth of June? Tianning Temple... There is a dragon vein beneath Tianning Temple!" Shangguan Haitang was taken aback at first, seemingly not expecting it to be the tenth of June, before immediately bringing up the urgent matter.

Chu Luren looked at her with suspicion—a dragon vein? I'm familiar with this; I even slew a dragon on one not long ago…

But what does it mean that there is a dragon vein beneath Tianning Temple? Is her understanding of dragon veins flawed?

Seeing this, Shangguan Haitang forced herself to calm down and said, "I was... I was..."

“He was seriously injured by your godfather’s men and fled to West Lake… West Lake, right? Okay, continue.” Chu Luren was afraid she would forget.

Shangguan Haitang: ...

“That’s right, it’s West Lake… I used the unique breath-holding technique my master taught me to stay submerged at the bottom of the lake. Just as the searchers were about to leave at dawn, I saw… a dragon!” Shangguan Haitang seemed a little unsure of herself, fearing that Chu Luren might think she was having a fit of rage.

"And then?" Chu Luren quickly asked.

This does correspond to what Wan Sanqian said.

"I knew that must be... what the Marquis was looking for, so I secretly followed it. As a result, it swam into an underwater cave with extremely rapid currents. Before I could even think of anything, I was swept in as soon as I got close!"

Shangguan Haitang was unwilling to call him godfather, but her long-standing respect for him made her uncomfortable with any derogatory term.

"Because the water flow was too rapid and the cave was narrow and long, I had to use my internal energy to resist the constant impacts with the rock walls. So I suffocated after holding my breath for a short time. At that time, I saw... a wide area with banks in the middle of the underground river, where the huge white 'dragon' was coiled up!"

I dared not look any longer, still feeling it had discovered me, and dared not leave, so I continued to drift away through the underground river. Then came another narrow underground waterway, and then… I found myself back in the lake. When I awoke, I was surprised to see Lu Guanying of Taihu Lake.

Shangguan Haitang's wondrous journey...

Chu Luren was also stunned. There was actually an underground river connecting West Lake and Taihu Lake.

"Then how do you know that Tianning Temple is in the middle? And... you saw the white dragon underground?" Chu Luren couldn't help but ask another question to confirm.

Ordinary internal martial arts masters, although able to see in the dark, still need "faint light," even if it is a faint light that is difficult for ordinary people to detect.

To see in complete darkness without any light source, one must either possess an extremely strong "body" capable of receiving invisible light radiated by matter, or an extremely strong "mind" capable of generating light from emptiness and radiating the light of the soul—this "extreme strength" is essentially the highest realm below the Heavenly Gate, beyond Shangguan Haitang's reach.

"At that time... I think I saw light up there, and... when I felt the white dragon looking at me, my whole body was frozen. Fortunately, I could faintly hear the sound of bells, which distracted the white dragon. Since I didn't move, I was able to drift away with the current," Shangguan Haitang recalled.

Shangguan Haitang recognized the sound as the bell of Tianning Temple.

Chu Luren frowned and pondered. If Shangguan Haitang wasn't hallucinating, then... that place should be not far underground from Tianning Temple, where the bell could still be heard!

Judging from the information from Wan Sanqian and Shangguan Haitang, Zhao Wushi is indeed looking for this dragon vein divine beast.

Although Chu Luren didn't know how Zhao Wushi planned to deal with the Dragon Vein Divine Beast alone, he knew he couldn't pin his hopes on the idea that "the old monkey doesn't know how strong the Dragon Vein Divine Beast is."

Otherwise, if Zhao Wushi succeeds, he will face a humanoid dragon vein divine beast on June 15th...

Chu Luren declined Lu Chengfeng's invitation to the banquet and came to Tianning Temple alone. Chu Luren was just there to take a look. Even if he really found the dragon vein beast, Chu Luren would not take action himself.

Can slaying a dragon be called bullying the weak by the many?

Chu Luren didn't know what Zhao Wushi was thinking, and Wan Sanqian only knew that Zhao Wushi had learned about the location of the dragon vein beast from the palace's secret scroll. He didn't explain to him how Zhao Wushi dealt with it, and in Wan Sanqian's understanding, he didn't know how strong that thing was!

However, Chu Luren knew that even if he called on Sister Dongfang, he would still be lacking in the ability to fight the dragon vein divine beast.

Even if Yaoyue and Yan Nantian arrived, they would only have a fighting chance and would be in a very difficult situation, especially since they were not far from Lin'an. They also had to be wary of the old monkey taking advantage of their situation.

Arriving quietly at Tianning Temple, Chu Luren didn't disturb anyone. He first checked the location of the bell tower, figuring he could hear the bell... Chu Luren took out his suona (a type of double-reed horn), but after thinking for a moment, he put it back on his waist.

It was getting late. If I started playing, I could locate the source by sound, but that would definitely alert others. I should try to find it myself first.

Otherwise, if the old monkey really had a simple way to deal with the dragon vein beast, wouldn't I be helping him find it?

Chu Luren arrived at the empty Mahavira Hall, said "Excuse me" to the Buddha statue, and then started knocking and banging on things.

Six years ago, when Chu Luren came here to rescue the stinky beggar, he also searched around, but found nothing.

However, back then, Chu Luren thought that the treasure was most likely in Tianning Temple in Jiangling, so he simply took a quick look and left it at that. More importantly, back then, Chu Luren was far less perceptive than he is now.

Although he did not find the large golden Buddha, Chu Luren noticed from the subtle tremors that the base of a nearby Arhat statue was hollow!

Chapter 1041 Retreat

Having slipped into the underground through the secret passage of Tianning Temple, Chu Luren felt a chill run down his spine as he looked at the dragon-like divine beast coiled on the giant rock in the underground space where the underground river flowed.

Just as Shangguan Haitang had said, the underground water was very rapid, and... this so-called "dragon" was probably a mutated white snake. It appeared damp and smooth with sticky scales, and had a ferocious, protruding dragon head bone and claws with bird-like skin. It was more ferocious than majestic. No wonder Shangguan Haitang hadn't dared to look at it much before.

Moreover, based on the senses Chu Luren received from the Heavenly Spirit Embryo, he knew that the white behemoth before him and the Ginseng Dragon of the Northeast were on the same level, and were definitely not something Chu Luren could handle on his own!

If it weren't for the legacy of Gu Santong that opened the gates of heaven, and if Chu Luren hadn't combined the true essence within the flesh of the dragon to advance his own "body" by a great step, and if he hadn't been able to control himself to not only completely close his pores, but also to completely prevent his acupoints from resonating with the great meridians of heaven and earth, he probably wouldn't have been able to hide next to the "White Dragon" now.

At the same time, the Chu Lu people also saw the source of the "light"...

Right where the white dragon was guarding, there was a pile of gold and silver jewelry. In addition to gold, silver and jade, there were also many precious gems such as luminous pearls, which gave off a faint light. This faint light was enough for internal martial arts masters to see, so it's no wonder that Shangguan Haitang could see it.

Chu Luren also realized that what was below should be the treasure of "Liancheng Jue", which was said to have been left by Emperor Yuan of the Southern Liang Dynasty.

However, Emperor Liang Yuan eventually committed suicide in Jiangling, and his main power center was also in the Jiangling area. The treasure here was probably moved here later.

Chu Luren's first reaction was to laugh—if it's left here, even the person who hid the treasure probably won't be able to retrieve it.

But then he thought of the dragon vein in the northeast, and a strange feeling arose in Chu Luren's heart.

Could it be that someone skilled in geomancy predicted the dragon vein here, and therefore... placed treasures into the dragon vein in advance, seeking the elusive concept of "luck"?

Chu Luren lay motionless on the rock, staring intently at the white dragon.

Chu Luren was also curious. Why was this guy staring at those treasures with such longing? Could it be that the dragon vein divine beast really was interested in things like gold and silver?

However, neither it nor Chu Luren moved. It wasn't that they couldn't leave, but rather that they were worried that Zhao Wushi would come after they left.

Although stronger divine beasts seem to eat less, the fact that Shangguan Haitang encountered this white dragon in West Lake means that it occasionally leaves.

Chu Luren waited all night. Just as he was hesitating whether to leave, he heard the sound of rain outside.

The white dragon seemed to sense something as well, looking towards the underground river. Then, it actually went upstream from the turbulent water and disappeared into the crevice in the rock.

Upon seeing this, Chu Luren quickly came out to examine the treasure...

It's not that I'm greedy, but I want to see if there's any poison on it!

He held one of the last two "Ten Thousand Poisons Transformation Pills" in his right hand, while his left hand touched the gold and silver, and then looked at his palm.

There was a slight sensation of poison seeping in, although it was still within the range that my poison resistance could withstand. However, it had not yet reached the most toxic state; it was merely "latent."

More importantly, the Chu Lu people have figured out the principle behind this thing's toxicity—blood can activate its toxicity!

It is undoubtedly a Heavenly Gate-level rare poison. It is fine when there is no blood, but once there is blood... even Chu Luren should carefully use his internal energy to remove the poison.

Considering the origin of this treasure, it's not surprising. The last time the Heavenly Gate opened was from the late Northern and Southern Dynasties period to the Tang Dynasty. Emperor Yuan of Liang's treasure... was also a remnant from the Heavenly Gate period!

In this regard, Chu Luren had an idea. After a moment's thought... he wondered if that story was reliable.

……

Chu Luren was busy all morning, and only left when he heard movement from the underground river again.

In the following days, Chu Luren kept a close watch on the white dragon, partly to see if his arrangements had been of any use, and partly as a precaution—if Zhao Wushi really found and had a way to deal with the white dragon, Chu Luren would definitely want to reap the benefits.

The next day, Chu Luren breathed a sigh of relief.

As expected, Bailong was very interested in Emperor Liangyuan's treasure. Chu Luren had previously noticed that it seemed to want to get closer but dared not, perhaps because it had sensed the presence of a strange poison within.

On the third day... Although it was the end of the rainy season, it had been raining quite a bit recently. It rained again today. Chu Luren came to the underground of Tianning Temple again, but this time he waited until the rain stopped, and the white dragon did not appear again!

Chu Luren's heart pounded. He gritted his teeth and hurried towards West Lake—more than two hundred li away, Chu Luren traveled at lightning speed, leaping like a roc, and arrived in less than half an hour...

Moreover, as soon as they approached West Lake, Chu Luren knew which way to go!

Chu Luren sensed Yan Nantian's sword energy!

Chu Luren and his companion traversed the lake, their movements seemingly effortless even amidst the turbulent waters, as they followed the direction from which the sword energy emanated.

From afar, one could see the sky and earth changing color at the center of the lake. As Yan Nantian swung his sword, streaks of seven-colored sword energy, each dozens of feet long, seemed to come from the heavens and earth, slashing towards Zhao Wushi, who was also standing on the water in front of him...

Zhao Wushi looked rather disheveled, with tattered clothes, disheveled hair, and even a dusty face. However, Chu Luren could tell that Yan Nantian was actually at his last gasp!

While Zhao Wushi appeared disheveled, his power was actually surging, as if it were about to burst forth at any moment.

However, they couldn't fully control the situation at this point, so they were only passively enduring it. Even so, Zhao Wushi had already begun to fight back...

Just as Chu Luren was able to clearly see the two with his naked eye, Zhao Wushi grabbed Yan Nantian's chest with a claw. Accompanied by a dragon's roar that gave people a feeling of "hysteria", Yan Nantian's upper garment ripped open at the chest.

The clothes were very thin and light. For a master... no, for anyone who was even slightly strong, they wouldn't be difficult to tear. But for a master like Yan Nantian, whose internal strength was profound and who was even at the Heavenly Gate Realm, tearing the clothes meant that his internal strength protection was completely broken!

Five deep bloodstains were imprinted on Yan Nantian's chest. At the same time, he coughed up blood and flew backward, clearly suffering from serious internal injuries.

However, just as Zhao Wushi was about to finish off Yan Nantian, Chu Luren arrived and helped him up...

Chu Luren had by then realized that Zhao Wushi was not "covered in dust and dirt," but rather that scales would occasionally appear on his face and then disappear again.

He had just snatched one of Yan Nantian's claws, which looked like a dragon's claw or an eagle's claw. It was not only thin and sharp-edged, but also covered with goosebump-like bumps. Only now did it gradually transform back into a human hand...

"Chu Luren? It really is you, hahaha..." Zhao Wushi sneered.

At the same time, the surrounding lake surface began to boil, and walls of water surged up.