69novels Chapter 97 The White-Haired Witch is plotting against Lian Ni Chang...
Chapter 97 The White-Haired Witch is plotting against Lian Ni Chang...
Chapter 97 The White-Haired Witch is plotting against Lian Ni Chang...
"Today is your death day!"
Xu Qingya's voice was not loud, nor did it contain any true energy; it was light and clear.
But that clear and gentle voice, when it reached the ears of the Golden-Armed Child, was more powerful than a hundred thunderbolts.
The voice was ordinary, yet it seemed to proclaim some kind of truth. It was as if some unknown and terrifying force had made a mark on the Book of Life and Death.
Facing imminent danger, the Golden-Armed Child calmly found a rock, sat down to rest, took out the remaining flatbread and meat from his pocket, and began to eat it heartily.
"Can't you at least die knowing the truth?"
"I need you to hand over something!"
"What is it?"
"The Five Poisons Sect's treasure map!"
"Do you know who I am?"
"Do you think I'm trying to imply you're Toad Fifth of the Five Poisons Sect? You underestimate me. You're not Toad Fifth, Invincible Young Master is!"
"Go on!"
"The Fifth Brother Toad practices Toad Kung Fu, not the Toad Kung Fu of White Camel Mountain in the Western Regions. It is a kind of Qigong, very similar to hard Qigong, but it is not just hard Qigong. This is how the Invincible Young Master's protective Qi came about."
How do you know all this?
"Golden-Armed Child, if you are Toad Fifth Brother, who is proficient in protective qi, how could you have been stabbed?"
"Maybe I did it on purpose!"
"That's possible, but I'm willing to guess. Even if I'm wrong and you laugh at me, which is embarrassing, as long as I don't tell anyone, who will know I've embarrassed myself?"
"Are you done asking your questions? Now it's my turn! How did you know about our ambush plan and how were you able to accurately launch a counter-ambush against us? Who is the undercover agent?"
As soon as Jinbi Tonghua uttered his question, he knew it was a waste of time. He and Wudi Gongzi couldn't possibly be undercover agents. Du Tiandao was killed, and Xu Qingya encountered no obstacles. Who else could be the undercover agents?
Xu Qingya laughed, "To be honest, this question is really idiotic and meaningless! You might as well ask the White-Haired Witch why she betrayed you! The answer is simple: she's mine, and she always has been!"
"Impossible! How could the White-Haired Witch submit to you so easily? She needs your essence!"
"You need to understand, the White-Haired Witch needs my life essence, not my life. If you had a duck that lays a golden egg every day, what would you do? Just kill the duck and eat it?"
"It's that simple?"
"The truth is, the White-Haired Witch discovered that I was as handsome as Pan An and as talented as Song Yu, and fell in love with me at first sight. She willingly stayed by my side, making my bed, washing my clothes, cooking for me, serving me tea and water—she was incredibly obedient!"
"Xu Qingya, you're playing me!"
"I swear by the sun, this is all the truth I know so far, and there is absolutely no lie!"
"You—you—are you trying to provoke me?"
"If I wanted to take advantage of you in your moment of madness, I could just stab you to death!"
"I want to know one last thing: what exactly is on the cargo wagons being transported by the Tiger Might Escort Agency?"
"Stones! Dyed stones! Molds used for ballast in the Ministry of Revenue's warehouses, they're very realistic!"
Why are you giving me stones?
"Of course, it's to make you believe that the imperial court has allocated 200,000 taels of gold for disaster relief, so that you greedy people can join forces and then wipe us all out in one fell swoop. I don't have many supplies with me, so I have to find my own way!"
"What if I didn't fall for it?"
"There are no 'ifs'!"
"Did you know Yang Huyun was a spy?"
"Whether Yang Huyun is a spy, the third brother of Scorpion, or the chief镖头 (chief镖头 is a term used to describe a bodyguard or镖师), I don't care at all. You will definitely receive news of 200,000 taels of gold, and after receiving the news, you will be unable to suppress your greed."
"Xu Qingya, impressive skills!"
"The disaster victims need food, clothing, and medicine to treat their colds. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to strike anyone else, so I can only strike you. The despicable things you've done over the years deserve to die a hundred times over!"
"Are you truly acting in the best interests of the people?"
"certainly!"
"You think I'd believe you?"
"Whether you believe it or not is your business. You've rested enough, haven't you? Let me see your iron arm!"
"Not an iron arm, but a golden arm!"
The Golden-Armed Child circulated his inner energy, his arms flashing with a golden light. He roared, "The White-Haired Witch said you could sever my arm with a single strike! I don't believe that! Xu Qingya, draw your sword!"
Xu Qingya slowly gripped the hilt of the knife with his right hand.
This was the first time Xu Qingya had fought alongside the Magpie Blade after fusing the fragments of the Light Weapon. He was completely immersed in comprehending the sword technique, his aura as powerful as a dragon and as fierce as a tiger.
"kill!"
Jinbi Tong's fists slammed into Xu Qingya's chest and abdomen like heavy hammers. Xu Qingya took a half step back with his right foot, stretched his body into a bow stance, and his back bounced slightly. The Magpie Blade rushed out of its sheath, flashed with cold light, and a blue dragon appeared.
The Spring and Autumn Period Sword Technique is unparalleled!
"boom!"
The blades and fists clashed violently, the explosive force overturning rocks and vegetation within a radius of three zhang. It turned out that the seemingly rough and unruly Golden-Armed Boy had been hiding his true strength all along.
Jinbi Tong was worried about "blood exploding into a dragon", so the Thirteen Protectors only practiced twelve of the twelve forms of the Iron Shirt Technique, omitting the last one, which caused poor circulation of Qi and blood throughout his body and made him somewhat lacking in lightness skills.
Unexpectedly, this guy actually practiced Toad Old Five's Toad Skill. This method is completely different from "Western Poison" Ouyang Feng's Toad Skill. It is a kind of external qigong. Once you have enough true qi, you are invulnerable to swords and spears, and water and fire cannot harm you.
Without the "Iron Shirt" technique to regulate his qi and blood, Jinbi Tong's movements were still somewhat sluggish, and his lower body skills were not very good, but he made up for his defensive weaknesses.
If anyone thinks he only has a pair of iron arms and can attack the chest, abdomen, thighs, and facial features at will, he will seize the opportunity and kill them with a combo. In close combat, this guy is too strong!
However, his opponent was Xu Qingya.
The next moment, the blade flashed again, and a loud dragon's roar echoed from the cliff. A loud bang of metal clashing was heard, and a cloud of blood mist drifted through the air. The iron arm that had made the Golden-Armed Child invincible was severed by the blade's light.
The boy with the golden arm did not cry out in pain.
Because he couldn't feel any pain at all.
This is a very counterintuitive piece of advice from the underworld.
If you cut your arm and leave a deep, bone-exposing wound, it will be extremely painful and there is a risk of excessive blood loss. However, if you cut off your arm, the muscles will tighten, and the amount of blood loss will actually be less.
"Got you!"
A glint of light flashed in the eyes of the golden-armed boy.
He knew he couldn't withstand the blade's edge; his only chance of winning was to fight to the death, to fight to the death regardless of everything.
At the cost of his right arm, he sacrificed a pawn to attack, with only one wave of attacks. This was Golden-Armed Boy's last chance. The two closed the distance. The Magpie Blade was too long and would become a burden in close combat. Golden-Armed Boy's five fingers were like knives, and he fiercely grabbed at Xu Qingya's ribs, trying to tear out Xu Qingya's ribs.
Xu Qingya flipped his wrist, changing the way he held the Magpie Blade from upright to inverted, and drew an arc downwards. His body spun along with the blade's light, releasing streaks of sword light.
Creation Knife, Circular Shaving, Creating Heaven and Earth!
Sword technique is death, sword intent is life!
Is the Magpie Knife such an inconvenient object?
The sword technique was as unpredictable as snow falling in midsummer, with the sword energy conjuring up a sky full of cold phantoms. The icy mist obscured the view, and the sword light, which was difficult to distinguish from reality, attacked from an unbelievable angle. It was both continuous and extremely unpredictable. In terms of taking the unorthodox approach, it had simply reached the extreme.
"Sizzle!"
The blade flashed towards the golden-armed boy's wrist pulse point, rubbing against his protective qi like a saw blade, instantly causing golden sparks to fly everywhere.
Iron arms, iron elbows, iron fists, iron palms, and iron fingers, along with the Toad Qi Gong, were as fragile as paper before this blade. The blade flashed, blood splattered, and the two figures snapped together and separated. Xu Qingya sheathed his sword, and the Golden-Armed Child sighed and collapsed helplessly to the ground.
"Good knife—you win—"
"Thanks for the map!"
Xu Qingya reached out and grabbed a treasure map from the Golden-Armed Boy's belt. This was a treasure passed down through the Five Poisons Sect for many years, and its origin was somewhat... how should one describe it? Perhaps... fate is unpredictable!
The martial arts of the Five Poisons Sect are all righteous. Although named after the Five Poisons, they never use poison. All five sets of unique skills are genuine and real, without any deception.
Perhaps because of its name, the Five Poisons Sect was mostly a heretical sect, willingly degenerating and plundering treasures everywhere, amassing a huge fortune.
Then—then—then—the leader of the Five Poisons Sect suddenly had a change of heart, decided to reform and turn over a new leaf, and wanted to use this treasure for good. He entrusted the treasure map to his junior brother for safekeeping, and went to train his last disciple to pass on the sect's martial arts before his lifespan ran out.
Centipede, snake, and scorpion were three people he had taken in before he reformed. Except for Li Qingming, the other two were wicked, insidious, vicious, and capable of any evil.
The gecko and toad were recruited later and are relatively more upright. The gecko went into hiding and became a constable, while the toad is the Invincible Young Master, who has a family tradition of learning, not due to his upbringing. This is not the fault of the Five Poisons Sect.
Using the power of the Soul-Severing Valley and the Seven Killings Valley, the Invincible Young Master found his master and stole the treasure map. However, since his senior brothers were still alive, he was worried and thus the search for the treasure was delayed until now.
In fact, if Xu Qingya hadn't taken action, they wouldn't have survived much longer. The first task of the disciples personally trained by the Five Poisons Sect leader was to clean house.
The junior brother has mastered the Five Meridians Martial Arts to a minor level. He cannot defeat any of his senior brothers in a one-on-one fight, but as long as one of his senior brothers follows the righteous path, the junior brother can defeat all of them by joining forces with him. His main focus is on breaking the opponent's techniques.
Taking the fourth gecko as an example, if the junior brother and the fourth gecko team up and both use the gecko skill at the same time to avoid the scorpion tail kick, they can defeat the third scorpion.
The junior brother uses Snake Fist, and the senior brother uses Gecko Kung Fu to attack the centipede leader from above and below. The junior brother uses Hundred Legs and Thousand Hands to deal with the snake head, and the fourth senior brother uses Gecko Kung Fu to climb the wall and attack from the left and right to defeat the second poisonous snake.
As for Toad Lao Wu, he's too overpowered. If they can't find his weakness, even if they join forces, they can't beat him!
Thinking of the Five Poisons Sect's "Werewolf" game, Xu Qingya sighed, "No matter who you are, whether you're Toad Lao Wu or Golden-Armed Child, once you reach Broken Arm Cliff, it's your doom. Be a good person in your next life!"
Xu Qingya complained, "With such a great physique, it would be so much better to learn blacksmithing. Why did you have to become a bandit!"
After killing the Golden-Armed Child, Xu Qingya was not in a hurry to leave Broken Arm Cliff. He drew his Magpie Blade and felt the first layer of enhancement brought by the Radiant Weapon Fragment when he fought against the Golden-Armed Child—a restraint on the protective aura!
Logically speaking, the shape of the blade aura should be exactly the same as that of the blade, and its main attribute should be sharpness. However, the blade aura unleashed by the Guangwu Que Blade is serrated, like a rapidly spinning gear, and can cut through protective qi in one strike.
It is said that Guan Yu's Green Dragon Crescent Blade had a serrated blade, hence its nickname "Cold and Elegant Saw".
Based on this rumor, someone created a sophisticated palm-and-sword technique called "Eagle Wing Kung Fu".
"Eagle Wing Skill" can condense serrated qi at the edge of the palm, sharp as serrations. It can shatter the enemy's protective qi with a single palm strike, break the enemy's ribs, and even clash with precious swords with the strength of the bare palm.
Swords made of slightly inferior materials will be reduced to scrap metal after a few head-on clashes with Eagle Wing Kung Fu. However, if combined with the extremely yin and soft internal martial arts palm technique, it will be invincible in terms of using unorthodox and cunning moves.
"What a fine knife! A truly fine knife!"
Xu Qingya circulated his true energy, and a layer of serrated blade light condensed on the edge of the Magpie Blade. The more Xu Qingya looked at it, the more satisfied he became. After playing with it for a while, he put the Magpie Blade back into its sheath.
Thus, the battle was a resounding victory.
The three major underworld forces—Seven Kill Valley, Soul Breaking Valley, and Heavenly Dao Manor—were completely wiped out. The gold, silver, grain, cloth, and medicine that these three forces had accumulated over decades filled hundreds of oxcarts, greatly relieving the pressure of disaster relief.
There are enough animals to pull the cart.
Seven Kill Valley and Soul Broken Valley are bandit dens. They use mules to transport goods, and they kill and eat the cattle. But the Du family of Tiandao Village are landlords. They have herds of cattle and sheep, more than a hundred oxen, and countless donkeys and mules.
Take everything that can be taken away, and distribute what cannot be taken to the people. With Liu Qingci taking the blame, there is no need to worry about being impeached by the censor for "buying people's hearts and plotting a rebellion".
Liu Qingci: Who wants to rebel? Do you think I want to rebel? What's so fun about rebelling? I've sat on the dragon throne, slept on the dragon bed, played with the imperial seal, and even stamped memorials. What else do you want to hear?
Zhong Yuan and Dou Tiande worked efficiently and quickly organized all the supplies before setting off again. Liu Qingci rode the jade lion in front, looking back at the oxcart with its pearl necklace-like ornaments, his heart filled with pride.
Xu Qingya explained to Liu Qingci in a low voice, "There are three benefits to doing this. The direct benefit is the supply of materials, which will alleviate the pressure of disaster relief. Secondly, it will appease the people and protect the nearby residents from bandits. Finally, it will serve as a deterrent, using your decisive and ruthless approach to deter those scheming and despicable individuals!"
Liu Qingci asked curiously, "I don't understand! Why would the White-Haired Witch Lian Ni Chang help you? What are you using to communicate? I find something strange about it!"
"The White-Haired Witch has suffered a qi deviation during her cultivation and needs my authentic Xuanmen innate true qi to heal her. As for our communication tool—Tangdun'er, come here!"
Xu Qingya whistled, and Tangdun'er landed lightly on Xu Qingya's shoulder: "Tangdun'er is responsible for two things: delivering messages to us and monitoring the bandits' movements. As for tracking the bandits, that's Doubao'er's job."
Liu Qingci suddenly asked, "Qingya, I remember Doubao can track scents from a thousand miles away, and no disguise can hide it. I'm really curious, what does the White-Haired Witch look like? Can you show me?"
Xu Qingya laughed and said, "She's not here!"
Liu Qingci pouted, "So stingy! If you don't want to lend it, then don't. Making up this excuse, do you think I'm a fool like Beitang Xin'er? That I have to believe everything you say? Let me tell you, I'm very shrewd!"
"Yes, yes, yes! She's very shrewd! Nothing can escape the discerning eye of the prince, but—I really didn't lie, Lian Ni Chang isn't here!"
Where is Lian Ni Chang?
"In Xin'er's mind, Xin'er is plotting against her. Don't underestimate Xin'er. The plan to ambush the three bandit families was devised by Xin'er."
"Beitang Xin'er is indeed amazing————"
"What are you trying to say?"
"I have a discerning eye and have discovered the talent of Beitang Xin'er, and have promoted her greatly. When Beitang Xin'er was with you, she could only do housework such as making beds, washing clothes, and cooking. After following me, she has been able to fully utilize her abilities. It is all thanks to me!"