readsfreenovel Chapter 102 The Bystander in the World of Tianlong 8
Chapter 102 The Bystander in the World of Tianlong 8
In the novel *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils*, Wang Yuyan addresses Murong Fu as her cousin because Murong Fu's grandmother was Li Canghai, and Wang Yuyan's mother, Lady Wang (Li Qingluo), was Li Canghai's niece. In other words, Murong Fu's father, Murong Bo, and Lady Wang were first cousins.
The Murong family's "Huanshi Water Pavilion" is also located in Yanziwu. Most of the Murong family's martial arts books were copied and brought to the Murong family from "Langhuan Blessed Land" by his grandmother, Li Canghai. The Lingbo Weibu that Duan Yu learned in Langhuan Blessed Land was left behind by Li Canghai.
The name "Huan Shi Shui Ge" (还施水阁) implies "an eye for an eye," a phrase that originated with Murong Bo. Therefore, the name "Huan Shi Shui Ge" primarily stems from Murong Bo's mother, Li Qiushui's sister.
Murong Bo learned the secret manual that his mother copied from the "Langhuan Paradise," which greatly improved his martial arts skills and made him proficient in the martial arts of various schools and sects. This is how he earned the reputation of "using their own methods against them." Afterward, he collected his family's martial arts manual and named it: Huanshi Water Pavilion.
As mentioned earlier, the martial arts manuals of "Langhuan Paradise" were collected by Wu Yazi and Li Qiushui from various schools and sects in the martial arts world through various channels, encompassing all martial arts techniques. However, "Langhuan Paradise" is missing a few profound martial arts techniques, as noted in the "Returning Water Pavilion," which describes them in the original text:
The Shaolin School's slip of paper noted "Missing Yi Jin Jing"; the Beggars' Sect's slip of paper noted "Missing Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms"; and the Dali Duan Family's slip of paper noted "Missing One Yang Finger Technique and Six Meridian Divine Sword Technique, a great regret".
"And the Beggars' Sect's two divine skills, the 'Dog-Beating Staff Technique' and the 'Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms,' are the Beggars' Sect's closely guarded secrets. Even if you piece together the manuals from your 'Returning Water Pavilion' and my family's 'Langhuan Jade Cave,' you only have some incomplete staff and palm techniques. The internal energy cultivation methods are completely missing. How can your young master possibly practice them?"
In other words, the martial arts manuals of "Langhuan Paradise" do not contain the Beggars' Sect's, Dali Sect's, or Shaolin Sect's unique techniques. Liu Yuxi believes the main reason is that Wu Yazi was preoccupied with miscellaneous studies and lacked sufficient martial arts skills, thus failing to acquire the martial arts techniques of these three sects. This is because Wu Yazi's methods of collecting martial arts manuals were definitely not aboveboard.
True martial arts skill lies not in quantity, but in quality. No matter how many martial arts Murong Fu learned, they could not compare to Qiao Feng's single palm technique. And although the "Return to the Water Pavilion" had many martial arts techniques, in reality, only "Shifting Stars" was truly effective.
After confirming with Li Qingluo that the books in "Huanshi Water Pavilion" and "Langhuan Jade Cave" largely overlapped, Liu Yuxi figured that Murong Fu probably wouldn't agree to her copying "The Shift of Stars." Therefore, she only asked Li Qingluo for the specific location of "Huanshi Water Pavilion" and didn't formally visit her there.
Of course, she still had to go; Liu Yuxi was prepared to be a "gentleman on the thief's block." After saying goodbye to Li Qingluo, she sneaked into the "Huanshi Water Pavilion" at night, used her spiritual power to search for the secret manuals that were not in the "Langhuan Jade Cave," and copied them and stored them in her space.
Anyway, she could take care of her food, drink and lodging in her space. She didn't leave the "Return to Water Pavilion" until she finished copying the secret manual.
Shaolin Temple is a must-visit, but since we're in Dali now, let's first go to Tianlong Temple to "borrow" the "Six Meridians Divine Sword".
As the most prized treasure of Tianlong Temple, this is the legendary divine skill of the Dali Duan family. This supreme martial art of Dali was first created by Duan Siping, the founding emperor of Dali.
The so-called Six Meridian Divine Sword is a technique that uses internal force contained in the fingertips to be released remotely, causing it to move through the air at extremely high speed (unlike acupoint striking from a distance).
Right thumb – Shaoshang sword, right index finger – Shangyang sword, right middle finger – Zhongchong sword, right ring finger – Guanchong sword, right little finger – Shaochong sword, left little finger – Shaoze sword.
The Six Meridian Divine Sword represents Mr. Jin Yong's greatest vision of human potential and can be considered the first fantastical martial art in his works. It is believed that if one were to master it, one's hands would be like machine guns, making it impossible for martial arts masters to withstand.
Of course, the Six Meridian Divine Sword requires exceptionally strong internal energy to wield. Ordinary people cannot use it because their internal energy is insufficient. Only two people have mastered the Six Meridian Divine Sword: its founder, Duan Siping, and Duan Yu.
In the "Langhuan Paradise," Duan Yu became the disciple of the fairy sister's jade statue. Then, under the futon, he obtained the secret manuals of the Beiming Divine Skill and Lingbo Steps. Later, he accidentally absorbed a lot of internal energy from other masters using the Beiming Divine Skill.
He first absorbed the internal energy of seven disciples of the Wuliang Sword Sect. Those seven were only third-rate masters, and at this time, Duan Yu's internal energy was not considered profound.
During the battle at Wanjie Valley, he absorbed the internal energy of seven people: Huangmei Monk, Duan Yanqing, Yun Zhonghe, Ye Erniang, Yue Laosan, Zhong Wanchou, and Cui Baiquan. At this point, his internal energy was no less than that of a first-rate master.
When he returned to Tianlong Temple, he absorbed the internal energy of his uncle Duan Zhengming and four senior monks of the same generation.
After absorbing Kumārajīva's lifelong internal energy during the battle at the Western Xia Dry Well, he could be said to be the most powerful master in the world at that time, probably even surpassing his sworn brother Xuzhu, who possessed the internal energy of the Three Elders of Xiaoyao.
It was precisely because of such profound internal strength that Duan Yu was able to master the Six Meridian Divine Sword. Therefore, from the perspective of an outsider, the internal strength that an ordinary person gains through conventional martial arts training is simply insufficient to control the Six Meridian Divine Sword. So why was Duan Yu's ancestor, Duan Siping, able to create this martial art?
This brings us to the Valley of Immortality described in the book. The Valley of Immortality is located in the area of Shanju County and Moutong Prefecture in Yunnan (north of present-day Lijiang, Jianchuan, Heqing and other places), very close to Dali. The sacred land of the Xiaoyao Sect, "Langhuan Blessed Land", is also in Wuliang Mountain, Dali.
So is it possible that when Xiaoyaozi was searching for the Valley of Immortality, he helped Duan Siping establish Dali, and Duan Siping helped him find the Valley of Immortality?
When they found the Valley of Immortality, there was only one copy of the "Divine Skill," and according to the rules of the martial arts world, whoever finds it gets a share. So why did the Divine Skill end up with Xiaoyaozi? It's clear that Xiaoyaozi must have paid a price.
After all, the two were partners, so they couldn't just kill Duan Siping, could they? Since Xiaoyaozi took the "divine skill," he must have returned a top-tier skill to Duan Siping. At that time, Xiaoyaozi's most powerful skill was the Beiming Divine Skill. If he taught Duan Siping the Beiming Divine Skill, then it would make sense.
In this way, Duan Siping could improve his own internal strength by absorbing the internal strength of others, and then create a divine skill that required extremely deep internal strength to master.
However, the Northern Darkness Divine Art can only be practiced by the leader of the Free and Unfettered Sect. It is impossible for Xiaoyaozi to let Duan Siping pass it on to his descendants. Duan Siping only passed down the Six Meridians Divine Sword. As for whether his descendants can learn it, it all depends on their own fate.
In this way, everything can be explained clearly.