The Martial God who started at Mantuo Manor

Page 72

What is it?

What could it be that would warrant such astonishing efforts from the Free and Unfettered Sect to sink it to the bottom of this ancient, icy pool?

Murong Fu's heart began to pound uncontrollably.

He was almost certain that what was locked at the bottom of the well must be the most core and most astonishing treasure of the Xiaoyao Sect!

But he hesitated.

At this moment, he was all alone, and rashly pulling on this chain of unknown depths would be too risky.

He suppressed his greed and decided to get his hands on those readily available "secret manuals" first.

He strode to the bookshelf on the side, his face contorted with barely suppressed elation.

He reached out his hand, which trembled slightly with excitement, and picked up a jade pendant that felt cool to the touch and had a delicate texture.

Finally... finally I'm going to get it!

He channeled his inner energy into his eyes and eagerly began to decipher the ancient seal script on the jade tablet.

However, after only a few glances, the ecstasy on his face froze, replaced by an extremely strange expression, as if he had swallowed a fly, filled with confusion and disbelief.

The contents recorded on this jade tablet are neither internal energy cultivation methods nor exquisite techniques!

"...Xiaoyaozi, observing the changes of heaven and earth, comprehended the Great Dao atop Misty Peak, and thus founded this sect. At that time, no one knew where he came from, nor where he went..."

"...He took his three disciples, Wu Xingyun, Li Qiushui, and Wu Yazi, into the East Sea, slew the evil dragon, and took its inner core, intending to build the foundation for the Northern Darkness Divine Art..."

"...using meteorite iron from outer space, they recklessly cast a well of immortality in the blessed land of Langhuan..."

What... what is all this writing?

This is clearly not a martial arts manual!

This is actually... a history book about the founding of the Free and Unfettered School?

It records the "great deeds" done by those godlike figures, things that sound like myths!

"What a braggart!"

Murong Fu refused to believe it and hurriedly put down the jade pendant in his hand, then quickly picked up another one.

The result is still the same.

The above records some of the grudges and affections among the second-generation disciples of the Free and Unfettered Sect, as well as the "sources of inspiration" for the martial arts they created.

He examined seven or eight jade tablets in succession, his expression shifting from strange to astonished, and finally to ashen.

Without exception, all of these jade plaques are records of history!

From the mystery of Xiaoyaozi's origins to the extraordinary talents of his three disciples, and how they played in the mortal world... it's a vast and comprehensive account, but there isn't a single sentence that truly teaches people the methods or secrets of cultivation!

"History books... they're all history books!"

Murong Fu's chest heaved violently, and his face, which had been ashen, had turned a deep purplish-red, like a pig's liver, due to extreme anger.

He felt a surge of hot blood rush to his head, his vision blurred, and he was so angry he almost vomited blood.

He went to great lengths, using the lives of his retainers as bait to gain Wang Yuyan's trust. He even risked everything to ally with the Japanese pirates and venture into this place at the risk of his life. What was his purpose?

All for that supreme divine skill that would allow him to dominate the world and restore the Great Yan!

But what he got was a pile of useless, broken jade tablets filled with lies and old stories!

This enormous drop, like the collapse of heaven and earth, instantly destroyed all his reason.

"what--!"

A suppressed, beast-like roar erupted from the depths of his throat.

Unable to bear the humiliation of being fooled any longer, he suddenly raised his hand and slammed the jade tablet inscribed with "Slaying the Dragon in the East Sea" onto the hard jade ground with all his might!

"Snapped!"

One crisp popping sound after another rang out, and pieces of priceless ancient jade shattered into pieces, turning into fragments scattered all over the ground.

But this still couldn't quell the raging fire in his heart.

He was panting heavily, his eyes bloodshot, like a cornered beast with nowhere to run. His gaze swept frantically across the empty stone chamber, finally fixing once again on the ancient well that emitted a ghostly blue light and a bone-chilling cold.

"Using extraterrestrial meteorite iron... to forge the Well of Immortality..."

The words on the jade pendant he had smashed echoed in his mind like a curse.

His breath hitched, and the frenzied rage in his eyes was gradually replaced by a final, desperate greed.

That's right... the martial arts manuals may not be on the bookshelf, but the real treasure, the secret to the immortality of the Xiaoyao Sect, must be in this well!

Murong Fu gritted his teeth, a resolute and ruthless glint flashing across his face.

He strode to the well without any further hesitation.

He took a deep breath, pushed the internal energy of "Shifting Stars" to its limit, white energy swirled around his palms, and then suddenly reached out and used all his strength to grasp the cold, icy black chain hanging from the well!

"hiss!"

The extreme cold, upon contact, felt like a thousand steel needles piercing his palm and spreading along his meridians to his arm.

In the blink of an eye, his hands, which were infused with powerful internal energy, were visibly frozen with a layer of pale white frost, almost freezing completely to the flesh and bones of his arms.

Ordinary people would be frozen to death by this ancient cold air the moment they touched it.

But Murong Fu's skill was profound, and he actually withstood the chill. He gritted his teeth, his neck veins bulged, and he poured all his strength into his arms. In an almost self-destructive way, he began to frantically pull the extremely heavy chain upwards, inch by inch!

"Clatter...clatter..."

The harsh sound of metal scraping echoed in the deathly silent stone chamber.

As he dragged it, the deep blue well water began to churn violently, and the outline of a rectangular object slowly rose from the bottom of the deep well.

That was a coffin.

The coffin was crystal clear, as if it were carved entirely from ice that had never melted for thousands of years!

The deep blue glow emanated from inside the ice coffin.

Finally, after Murong Fu had exhausted nearly half of his inner strength, he managed to drag the enormous ice coffin out of the "Well of Immortality" intact, and it landed heavily on the floor of the stone chamber with a "thud".

Murong Fu was panting heavily, his arms were so cold that he had lost all feeling, but he didn't care. His eyes were fixed on the ice coffin in front of him.

Through the translucent ice layer, he could clearly see a woman dressed in palace attire lying quietly inside.

He leaned closer, trying to make out the woman's appearance by the blue glow emanating from the ice coffin itself.

But after just one glance, Murong Fu felt as if he had been struck by lightning. His body trembled violently, his face drained of color, and his eyes were filled with boundless shock and absurdity.

“This…how is this possible!

"It's...it's her?!"

The woman in the coffin, with a peaceful face as if she were just sleeping, was a face he knew all too well!

Just as he was deeply shaken and scrutinizing that stunningly beautiful face that shouldn't have been there, a sudden change occurred!

The woman, who had been lying quietly in the coffin like a corpse, suddenly trembled, her long eyelashes, which had been tightly closed for countless years.

Then, she suddenly opened her eyes!

What a pair of eyes those are!

There was not a trace of the confusion and bewilderment that humans experience upon awakening, nor a single emotional fluctuation.

Yes, it was nothing more than a pure, cold greed and desire, like that of a wild beast in the wilderness starved to the extreme!

Those inhuman eyes peered over the cold coffin walls, fixed intently and unblinkingly on Murong Fu…

The battle outside the stone gate has entered its final stage.

Wu Ma's situation is already precarious.

Her prized, ghostly "shadow warrior" agility became her greatest constraint under Wang Meng's relentless, overwhelming attacks, which disregarded all principles of technique and relied solely on his powerful physique.

Huang Rong's attacks were relentless, her Orchid Finger Technique always managed to strike Wu Ma from the most cunning angles the instant her movements changed and her old strength was exhausted while new strength had not yet arisen, forcing her into a sorry state and full of openings.

Finally, when Wang Meng bumped her with his shoulder again, causing her to stumble and nearly fall, Wu Ma knew that if things continued like this, she would surely lose.

A resolute determination to perish together flashed in her eyes. She suddenly spun around, no longer trying to escape. The katana in her hand transformed once more into a piercing silver streak. Man and sword became one, and with a posture of mutual destruction, she stabbed straight at Wang Meng's heart!

This was the most powerful strike she had ever unleashed, a culmination of her life's work, so fast that Huang Rong didn't even have time to warn her.

However, facing this deadly edge, Wang Meng neither dodged nor evaded. (The rest of the text appears to be gibberish and unrelated to the previous sentence.)

A cold sneer flashed in his eyes. Instead of retreating, he advanced, taking the initiative to meet the blade head-on, and took a big step forward!

Just as the gleaming blade was about to touch his chest, Wang Meng suddenly lowered his waist, bent his legs slightly, and fiercely planted himself in a stable horse stance.

Immediately afterwards, he used his waist and hips to thrust forward with a speed that was almost imperceptible to the naked eye!

This action doesn't resemble any martial arts style; it's more like the most primal and domineering charge of an ancient male beast asserting its dominance!

"clang!"

A deafening explosion, a metallic clang that should never have been heard from flesh and blood, suddenly erupted in the deathly silent stone chamber!

Wu Ma felt an unimaginable, violent force coming from the tip of the knife, flowing down the blade and surging wildly into her wrist!

That was not the hardness that flesh and blood should have; it was clearly an anvil that had been forged by the fires of the earth's core, heated red-hot, and harder than refined steel!

With a crisp "crack" sound, the katana in her hand, which could cut through iron like mud, broke in two and shattered into pieces under this brutal collision!

"Uh?"

The extreme horror and the intense pain from the shock caused Wu Ma to let out a muffled groan.

Before she could recover from this unbelievable scene, Wang Meng's second attack had already arrived.

The "weapon" that had just shattered the blade carried a scorching and domineering force, its momentum undiminished, and struck out once more fiercely!

"boom!"

This strike was no longer the clang of metal against metal, but a dull, sticky, teeth-grinding heavy sound, hitting her soft lower abdomen, dantian, with perfect precision.

Wu Ma felt... a devastating, violent force, like a flood bursting its banks, suddenly explode from her lower abdomen!

That was no ordinary internal force; it was a scorching, brutal, and purely physical collision filled with extreme masculine energy.

In an instant, it shattered the protective inner energy she had painstakingly cultivated for decades.