On Li Muzhan’s back and chest were two black palm prints, branded onto the gray monk's robe like hot irons. Li Muzhan’s expression remained unchanged as he looked calmly at the two elders.
The two elders looked grim, their eyes sharp as a hawk’s, their cold glint almost tangible.
Li Muzhan shook his head. “It’s best if you two don’t circulate your internal energy. This poison is tyrannical; it loves nothing more than to devour qi.” The two elders sneered. One turned and said, “Family Head, we are ashamed. This little monk is too troublesome; we cannot subdue him...”
“Then forget it, no need to force it. We thank Elder Feng and Elder Lao for their efforts,” the middle-aged man said, cupping his hands.
“Alas...” Both elders sighed and shook their heads, showing shame. …………………………………………………… They were retainers of the Nanjiang family, doing nothing usually, only intervening at crucial moments. In these five or six years, this was only the first time they had acted, and yet they failed to succeed.
When they first saw Li Muzhan, they sensed he was extraordinary and immediately struck with killing moves. They hadn't expected Li Muzhan to be so slippery; it took a hundred exchanges before they managed to force a flaw.
They shook their heads. Even an iron man struck by two of their palms would dissolve into molten metal, yet this monk acted as if nothing had happened, clearly having perfected the art of external toughness to the pinnacle.
Li Muzhan traded palm for palm, striking both elders simultaneously on the chest.
His palm force was peculiar, channeled by the Canghai Divine Art—as soft as autumn water, silent and invisible, like water flowing over stone without leaving a trace.
With casual ease, two surges of violent internal energy drilled in. Then, the entire body turned numb, the qi frozen, threatening to spiral out of control. Only then were the two alarmed; his palms actually contained potent poison!
Xuexiang San spread incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, both elders felt their dantian freeze, their internal energy about to cease circulating.
At this moment, casting all else aside, they sat cross-legged on the snow.
Li Muzhan shook his head and sighed, “The more you circulate your energy, the fiercer the poison becomes. There’s no point in wasting your effort...”
“Little monk, what poison did you use?” the middle-aged man asked coldly.
Li Muzhan sighed. “Xuexiang San...”
“What! Xuexiang San?!” The middle-aged man’s face changed drastically; he knew how terrifying Xuexiang San was.
Li Muzhan said, “I am infused with Xuexiang San, and my internal energy is contaminated. When they fought me... alas, once afflicted by Xuexiang San, circulating energy is useless.”
“How is that possible!” The middle-aged man frowned, speaking in a deep voice. “You are afflicted by Xuexiang San, yet you can still stand here unharmed?”
Xuexiang San was renowned as one of the world’s strangest poisons. Its nature was bizarre, leading to the most wretched fate for the afflicted. Furthermore, the Jade Cold Palace was mysterious and inscrutable; no one could obtain the antidote, earning it the title of the Incurable Toxin. ……………………………………………… His face was grim as he looked coldly at Li Muzhan, radiating dense killing intent.
“Father...” Jiang Yuyan stepped forward and said softly.
The middle-aged man sneered, “Hmph, you still acknowledge me as your father!?” He glanced toward the house and said coldly, “Why isn't your mother coming out? Does she not acknowledge me either either?”... Raising you and your mother was not as good as raising two wolves!” He waved his hand, cutting Jiang Yuyan off, and snorted, “Go aside. I’ll settle accounts with you later... Little monk, tell me—how can the effects of Xuexiang San be suppressed?”
With a slight shift in his thinking, he realized Li Muzhan had been poisoned for quite some time. Xuexiang San was only known to exist within the borders of Eastern Chu, and Eastern Chu was not close to here.
Li Muzhan smiled faintly and said in a gentle voice, “Yuyan, go back inside. I need a word with the Jiang Family Head...”
Jiang Yuyan looked at Li Muzhan, then at the middle-aged man, nodded lightly, and gracefully returned to the main house, lifting the curtain to go in.
“A daughter grown up cannot be kept!” The middle-aged man shook his head, hands behind his back, and gave a cold snort. He turned and said, “Monk, speak plainly. If you tell me the method to counter the poison, I will pretend I never had that daughter, I’ll let her go, and the feud between you and the Jiang family will be wiped clean...”
Li Muzhan’s eyebrows lifted, and he chuckled, sizing up the middle-aged man.
He sighed inwardly. This man was also a powerful figure. By not mentioning Jiang Yuhan’s matter, he acted as if he didn’t know. But how could the vengeance for murdering his son be wiped clean so easily? It would be natural for him to renege later.
Reneging openly, leaving no fault for others to find—that, too, was a skill.
Li Muzhan smiled. “There is no other way; one must dissipate their internal energy and delay it day by day.” “How long have you delayed?” the middle-aged man asked.
Li Muzhan thought for a moment. “Ten days. I obtained an antidote pill, but alas, it couldn't completely suppress the Xuexiang San. The Nanjiang family is wealthier than the entire nation; surely you must possess similar spiritual elixirs.”
The middle-aged man narrowed his eyes, his gaze stabbing Li Muzhan like needles. After a long pause, he let out a cold laugh. “Good. Then we shall meet again!” Li Muzhan smiled and waved his hand, paying him no more mind, and turned back to the main hall.
Jiang Yuyan was standing by the doorway. His sudden entry startled her, and she quickly stepped back two paces, whispering, “Master, is he...?”
Li Muzhan shook his head, sat down on a chair. Jiang Yuyan was restless, wanting to lift the curtain and look outside, but then retracted her hand, hesitating.
Seeing this, Li Muzhan secretly shook his head. Jiang Yuyan’s feelings for this father were truly complex; perhaps even she couldn't sort them out.
“Alas...” he sighed inwardly, feeling a degree of admiration for the middle-aged man.
Despite being internally wounded, he had not lost his imposing aura, ordering people around in front of Li Muzhan—truly extraordinary presence. Such a person was a pity to kill.
Moreover, his methods were clean and decisive, without procrastination; that was admirable in its own way.
It was just a pity that this man’s time was running short, with only two or three months left to live. Zouhu Ru Mo (Rampant Qi Deviation) was a wound more terrifying to martial artists than any enemy. For someone like him not to die at the hands of an adversary was truly a shame. ………………………………………………………… “Master...?” Jiang Yuyan called softly when she saw him lost in thought.
Li Muzhan shook his head. “Yuyan, have you decided? Do you really wish to leave...?”
Jiang Yuyan bit her lip and nodded.
“Very well, say your farewells to him. Perhaps this time it will be forever...” Li Muzhan sighed.
Jiang Yuyan noticed nothing unusual, assuming that once she went to the General’s residence, there would be no more connection with the Nanjiang family. She nodded and went out.
The middle-aged man was standing beside the two elders. Seeing Jiang Yuyan emerge, his expression instantly turned icy. “Why did you come out...?”
“...Are you alright?” Jiang Yuyan asked lightly.
“I’m not dying!” the middle-aged man snorted and turned his head to gaze into the distance.
Just then, Zhou and Yao entered. They were startled to see the middle-aged man and cupped their hands in salute. “Family Head.”
The middle-aged man sneered, glancing sideways at the two. “You are grown men now, yet you still follow Yan'er in her mischief. Truly loyal, aren't you!” Zhou Dashan scratched his head awkwardly, while Yao Sitong smiled faintly, remaining composed.
“Enough, this has nothing to do with you. Go down,” the middle-aged man waved them away.
Yao and Zhou looked toward Jiang Yuyan, showing looks of inquiry. Jiang Yuyan nodded slightly. “Uncle Zhou, Uncle Yao, it’s fine.”
They nodded and headed toward the east wing, sparing a glance for the two elders sitting cross-legged on the snow.
At this moment, the two elders’ faces were ashen, as if coated with gray dust, completely dull. They seemed to have aged ten years instantly, showing their old age.
Seeing this abnormal change, the middle-aged man was extremely furious, glaring hatefully at Jiang Yuyan.
Jiang Yuyan said, “Perhaps we should listen to the Master.”
“Stop the nonsense, don't linger in front of me, you scram too!” The middle-aged man waved his hand irritably, like shooing away a fly, disgust plastered across his face.
Jiang Yuyan took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling, stomped her foot, turned, and returned to the main house.
Li Muzhan had already gone back and sat on the couch, cross-legged, circulating his energy.
Having taken two palms earlier, both from absolute masters, he had sustained internal injuries, which he had been suppressing. Now, he was employing the Guantian Renshen Zhao Jing to slowly recover.
When he awoke, it was the next morning. The room was quiet and peaceful. Sounds drifted from outside. He slightly narrowed his eyes and observed with his Sky Eye: it was Zhou and Yao, and Jiang Yuyan practicing martial arts.
Feng Qianxi and Zhu'er stood on the steps, watching with smiling faces, breathing in the fresh air.
The heavy snow had stopped, leaving everything wrapped in white. The snow in the courtyard had been cleared, leaving the ground damp, looking very fresh and full of life.
Li Muzhan pondered for a moment, then walked out to join the training session. ………………………………………………………… The three had intended to avoid suspicion; in the martial world, peeking at others practicing was a major taboo. However, Li Muzhan called them to stop; his martial arts were not afraid of being watched, so there was no need to be secretive.
Yao and Zhou politely demurred for a moment before agreeing. They wanted to know what kind of martial arts he practiced to have reached such a realm at such a young age.
But upon watching Li Muzhan practice, they were greatly disappointed. His movements were soft and languid, seemingly nonsensical, bizarre, and utterly lacking in apparent power. It looked like an old man stretching his limbs, or perhaps a child making random gestures.
Such martial arts, even practiced for a lifetime, would likely yield little formidable power and could not be used to strike others.
Did the Master deliberately perform this way for fear they might secretly watch? They immediately denied this; based on the Master’s conduct, he didn’t seem like that kind of person.
In that case, this set of martial arts must contain profound mysteries that they, being shallow in knowledge, simply couldn't comprehend. They stared intently at Li Muzhan, scrutinizing every move.
After a while, they gained no insight, only becoming more confused. They eventually gave up, content to watch it as spectacle.
Li Muzhan practiced continuously for half an hour, during which the sun climbed significantly higher in the sky, becoming bright and warm, bathing him in a comfortable heat.
Suddenly, his movements paused slightly. The gray monk’s robe suddenly stiffened, and he slowly rose, his feet lifting a foot off the ground, as if an invisible rope were pulling him upward from above.
Suspended in mid-air, Li Muzhan slowly opened his mouth, tilted his head back, and a long, piercing cry suddenly erupted from his chest, soaring straight toward the heavens.
The cry rolled like thunder across the sky, powerful enough to restrain the moving clouds.
Zhou and Yao’s expressions shifted slightly, and they quickly slid behind Feng Qianxi and Jiang Yuyan.
One reached out and placed a palm on Feng Qianxi’s back; the other placed a hand on Jiang Yuyan’s back. With one palm protecting the two women, the other pushed forward, resisting the tide-like pressure.
The invisible force surged like a tidal wave, growing stronger wave after wave. Their faces reddened, and they gradually found it strenuous. They quickly murmured, “Madam, Yuyan, let’s go inside!”
Jiang Yuyan placed her hand on Zhu'er’s back, guarding her vital points. This thunderous cry made her vision dim intermittently; if not for the gushing warmth flooding from her back, she would have already fainted.
Just as they were about to move, the cry abruptly stopped. Li Muzhan floated gently to the ground and turned to look at them.
The second layer of the Nine Revolutions Marrow Cleansing Scripture was complete; his power had doubled. At this moment, his entire being seemed to shimmer, dazzling and difficult to look at directly.
PS: Thank you all for the encouragement with the monthly tickets. With monthly tickets available even on weekends, I feel obliged to push myself even if I’d rather be out having fun. Fight on!