The next morning came quickly.
Before the sun rose Jinshui and Huang Yu had already met the other descendants in the front yard of the Bai Family residence. They had all changed their clothes and prepared their weapons to continue the previous day's fight.
Liao Xian scribbled on something using his iron pen weapon, making subtle movements that Liuxin and Zhu Baique then imitated. Apparently, he was simply teaching the necessary formations to face Xie Tianhu.
"It looks like this," Liuxin said, "I partnered with Zhu Jiejie to play this transformation, then partnered with Lin Gege to support him using the eighth transformation move."
"We only have a short amount of time, it's impossible to master everything perfectly," Li Qian said, "with these ten formation changes, I hope it will be enough to subdue Xie Tianhu."
"These ten formation changes are complicated enough," said Zhu Baique. "My wuqing xue is also only at level four, my bayinxiao flute weapon has been broken, I'm afraid my inner energy also can't break through Xie Tianhu's defense as we need."
"Xie Tianhu is very strong, we have fought him several times but until now we still cannot figure out his weakness," said Qin Liangjie. "The upcoming fight is very important because it bears our responsibility of reviving the Yumen. Whatever happens, we can't lose."
"Those two master and disciple don't hesitate to use underhanded methods," Lin Jixuan said, "perhaps, we also need to use a bit of the demonic methods."
"Jinshui, I have one thought, I don't know whether you and Huang Yu can accept it." Liao Xian said to Jinshui.
"Say it," Jinshui replied curtly.
"Last night I borrowed the yin shou yang zhang manual from Ma Yongtao and took a quick look at its contents, especially the last part," Liao Xian spoke. "Huang Zhe said that Xie Tianhu's yin shou yang zhang is not yet perfect because the last part has been stored in Baiyu Shan and he never get to it."
"You are going to hand over the manual to Xie Tianhu?" Huang Yu immediately guessed. "I can't agree to that. Xie Tianhu is already difficult to deal with now, how can we give him a chance to perfect his martial skill?"
"You put it this way, there must be some consideration of your own," Jinshui said, giving Liao Xian permission to convey his thoughts.
"Yin shou yang zhang was initially created by Liangtian Jian Shen to fight our late jiaozhu," Liao Xian explained, "In the beginning, each style is contrary to our wuqing xue technique. In fact, the internal energy training is focused on preventing it from being influenced by the nature of our inner energy which can suck up other people's inner energy. However, the last part of the book is completely different."
"How so?" asked Huang Yu.
"Liangtian Jian Shen seems to have modified the last part of this manual to help our late jiaozhu train in wuqing xue inner energy," Liao Xian also said, then recited a few lines of theory with very profound meanings. "I don't know if these few lines of the theory are of any use to us practicing wuqing xue, but if my analysis is not wrong, when a person who masters the yin shou yang zhang reaches this stage, then his inner energy can flow freely, and at that moment can transfer to anyone who masters the energy of wuqing xue."
"Really?" Lin Jixuan asked excitedly.
"I'm pretty sure of it," said Liao Xian. Among the descendants, he was indeed the most intelligent. When at Mangren Gong he had shown Jinshui how he could create such a complex mojie chen formation, at that time in Mangren Gong he also displayed knowledge of various martial theories that even Huang Yu didn't know.
"Yin shou yang zhang was originally created based on the martial skills of Jianyin Bang," said Zhu Baique, "how about we ask young bangzhu Han Budian to train it for a while and we can try out the theory Liao Xian mentioned to him first."
"This manual is complicated and cannot be learned in just a short time," said Liao Xian. "Only Xie Tianhu who has trained it for a dozen years and might be able to perfect this final part in just a short while."
"You just read this manual last night and can already think that far ahead," Li Qian said, "did you not sleep last night?"
"Liao Gege, if we give him the manual, is it possible that Xie Tianhu will find out the weakness of this ending?" Liuxin asked.
"He is not like his master who understands the character wuqing xue inner energy, he will not know." Qin Liangjie said.
"Liao Xian, do you think we will be able to defeat Xie Tianhu this way?" Huang Yu asked.
"Seven parts," replied Liao Xian, "however, this method is also very dangerous. In time, we still have to try hard to fight Xie Tianhu. Yesterday he managed to destroy some of our weapons. When this manual is mastered perfectly, some of you might feel the power of his punch. In addition, in the martial world, sucking out other people's inner energy was considered a heretical way and had long been forbidden. At some point, we can only draw on the opponent's inner energy a bit before turning it on him. That said, there was only one fleeting chance."
"Yeah," said Zhu Baique, "once Xie Tianhu finds out his energy can be sucked out, he would do everything to prevent it from happening. He wouldn't hesitate to injure or kill any of us. This loophole can only be used once."
"Right, it seems that only Hua Gege can do it," said Liuxin. "Anything else, don't know if that brother of yours will think we have a trick, and will say something to Xie Tianhu and make it hard for him to fall into that trap."
"Xie Tianhu has self-confidence, as well as ambition and arrogance," Jinshui said, "I can tell he has been curious about that last part yin shou yang zhang, and will try to train it no matter what. Huang Zhe would not be able to sway him this once."
"Then, perhaps while we wait for Xie Tianhu to perfect his skills, we have a bit of time to train this mojie chen again, perfecting every step so that it can be used properly," Qin Liangjie said confidently.
Jinshui was only with Huang Yu to meet Gu Chenhui after. They had to report to her first and ask permission to give the yin shou zhang yang manual to Xie Tianhu. After all, the manual had been stored in Baiyu Shan for a long time, and since the outcome of the battle would determine the fate of the entire sect, Gu Chenhui had to know about it.
Gu Chenhui had also prepared to join in on the continuation of the previous day's fight. She had just descended from the sunset peak, and his disciple Ma Yongtao greeted her at the end of the path. Jinshui and Huang Yu paid respects to her before they told her the intention of the descendants to hand over the yin shou yang zhang manual for Xie Tianhu to practice and refine.
"You really plan to hand over the manual to him?" Gu Chenhui immediately asked, not expecting that Jinshui and his friends would make a decision that seemed to favor the other side.
"I already told them, Xie Tianhu was the last person to have the manual, but they didn't believe it and still consider to let him have it," Ma Yongtao said to his master.
"Winning or losing that fight will determine whether you can rebuild the Yumen," Gu Chenhui said, "now that you are all here, Yumen must be rebuilt. Jinshui, I know you must have considered this matter carefully."
Jinshui gave a slight explanation according to Liao Xian's analysis results. Gu Chenhui didn't say much, because not only did she have her own beliefs, but she was also determined to rebuild the Yumen with or without Jinshui and the descendants. She asked Ma Yongtao to follow Jinshui and Huang Yu before turning around and about to return to the sunset peak.
"My mother will see you tomorrow," she said to Jinshui before walking away, "since there are no fights today, you may use the time to train and have some rest. Tomorrow I will wait for all of you in taiyang feng."
Jinshui and Huang Yu both nodded their heads and let her leave. Zhu Baique came over with Liuxin, apparently wanting to say something to Jinshui.
"Que-mei," Ma Yongtao went straight to her.
"My bayinxiao flute," Zhu Baique immediately asked sharply to Ma Yongtao. Her bayinxiao flute weapon was broken by Xie Tianhu during the fight yesterday and the fragments were later taken by Ma Yongtao.
"I plan to go to Chen-an City today and find someone who can repair your flute," Ma Yongtao replied gently to her.
"My weapon, I will take care of it myself," Zhu Baique replied sharply again. She experienced a deep disappointment towards Ma Yongtao since the incident in Wansui Gu, presumably up to this day she still thought of the Mojun as an enemy.
"Que-mei," Ma Yongtao was forced to take the broken flute out from under his clothes and hand it to Zhu Baique.
"You can't call me that," Zhu Baique snapped at him, at the same time she took the broken flute from Ma Yongtao's hand and used it to hit the second member of Liangshan Liu Mo right on his face.
Ma Yongtao did not dodge or fight back and the broken bayinxiao flute left a long scar on his left cheek. Blood immediately flowed out, startling Zhu Baique slightly and making her feel uneasy.
"Jinshui, our men from Anning Hegu have arrived at the slopes of feicui feng." Zhu Baique turned to Jinshui and avoided Ma Yongtao again. "Just now members of Yuzhi Shi Wu reported here."
"Ask them to wait, we will meet them after handing the manual to Xie Tianhu," Huang Yu replied.
--
Xie Tianhu sat quietly on a boulder, while Huang Zhe seemed to be chatting with Liang Shaoren. Last night Xie Tianhu had declared that he would get the manual left by his master, naturally he would not just leave and lose the opportunity forever. Huang Zhe was also the same, really hoping that his master will win and finally he as a disciple will also get a notable reputation.
The other people were mostly still waiting, apart from watching Xie Tianhu's fight with the eight descendants as well as seeing whether Yumen Jiao would really be revived or not. But the people of Wine Valley were nowhere to be seen, and Lin Laotai and her bodyguards had also left.
The two envoys of Dayue Mansion, Ye Menghao and Ye Menghan were still on guard. They stated that they would be the judges so that the fight would be fair, surely both of them would observe everything until the end.
The arrival of Jinshui and his friends was joined by Yaoyao and seven of her followers, each carrying one of the seven swords taken from the octagonal room. Since Lin Jixuan, Zhu Baique, and Liuxin's weapons were damaged during the fight yesterday, today if there was a fight then they can pick any of those swords as substitutes.
Seeing the arrival of the Yumen people who had already prepared their weapons, those who were still in the vicinity of the ruins immediately gathered and formed a circle, preparing to witness the continuation of yesterday's fight.
"These seven swords were forged by our late jiaozhu's order using seven different materials," Yaoyao said to those present, "each sword is also made with its own character, making up seven special weapons. Our late jiaozhu had intended to give these swords to Liangtian Jian Shen to be handed over to his disciples as well, their names had even been engraved on the bodies of the swords."
"Little miss, when the sword was made, you weren't even born yet," the shabby young man from yesterday said mockingly, "how did you know so much?"
Yaoyao paid him no heed and picked up a sword that looked the most beautiful of all. The sword was wide and heavy, and the carving on the octagonal hilt looked luxurious. When a part of the sword was pulled from the scabbard, a dazzling light appeared. The crowd fell silent.
"This sword is named feihu jian," the young girl continued. "Xie Daxia, our late jiaozhu used to regard Liangtian Jian Shen as a good friend, even made this sword for you, whether you accept it or not?"
She brought the sword over to Xie Tianhu, waiting for a nod from Jinshui before holding it out to Huang Zhe.
"Why did you give the sword to me?" Xie Tianhu asked in a cold tone.
"Didn't you all come here to see Liangtian Jian Shen's inheritance?" Huang Yu asked, also aimed at the other people present there. "These seven swords belong to him, although they are still stored in Baiyu Shan and have not been handed over. Among you, if anyone wants to take it, today we give the opportunity."
"After defeating you, I can take it myself," Xie Tianhu snorted haughtily.
"There won't be another chance," Yaoyao said sharply, then returned the sword to her follower's hand.
"Miss, can I borrow this sword for a moment?" Lin Jixuan saw Huang Zhe beckon to Liang Shaoren, he took the beautiful sword from Yaoyao. "It just so happened that my fan weapon was damaged by Xie Tianhu during the fight yesterday. I don't have a weapon now, but I haven't played swords for a long time either, I don't know if anyone is willing to accompany me to practice for a while."
The Yumen descendants knew that Huang Zhe had the intention of using the people present to make them drain their energy a little before continuing yesterday's fight. Of course, they felt the need to inform him that the fight would continue only after the yin shou yang zhang manual was handed over to Xie Tianhu to use to perfect his abilities.
"Whoever can knock this sword out of my hands, then Lin Jixuan will admit defeat," Lin Jixuan said again. His words contained a trap, actually, just because the person admitted defeat didn't mean that he would let the sword belong to someone else. The sword in his hand looked so beautiful, of course, it immediately caught the attention of those present.
"I will try it."
One of the river fishermen came forward. He was an old man who nicknamed himself Han Shui Lao E (Old Crocodile of the Han River), named Cheng Wucan. He was not a greedy person, but he had always been interested in various types of martial arts. He was late to attend the meeting in Yiling District a while ago and had not yet had the chance to witness the shrewdness of the Yumen descendants, making him a little curious. This time his opponent was only a small youth, he felt quite even.
After just greeting each other with a nod of the head, Lin Jixuan and Cheng Wucan had already attacked each other. Lin Jixuan drew the sword and a moment later felt that the sword in his hand was not an ordinary sword. It was a sword that used to be made for offerings, eventually bringing death to its maker. The sword maker's blood merges with the metal material, although it was not as powerful as wuqing xue, it also had quite some effect.
Cheng Wucan's moves came from several different origins, which he mastered literally on his own, some of the other moves were his own creations. This means that the moves from the streams were somehow imitated by him even though they turn out to be a little different. It could be called rough martial arts, which didn't follow too many actual rules, and was completely different from Lin Jixuan's character, who was more orderly, and predictable but clearly shrewd. For some of the initial moves, the two were still in the exploratory stage, the fight was in balance.
All of the attention of those present turned completely to those who were fighting. Lin Jixuan multiplied his abilities with a sword in hand, but when he realized this situation he was secretly trying to yield to the opponent, when the sword almost grazed Cheng Wucan's arm he immediately diverted to another place so as not to be seen by people he was pulling an attack. When Cheng Wucan was overwhelmed by his fast moves he loosened up his attacks and slowed down his movements.
Cheng Wucan felt the same after a while, there were at least two or three chances for this young man to hurt him, but what happened next was only a weapon clash or fistfight. Cheng Wucan was not a small-hearted person, seeing Lin Jixuan's invisible way of surrendering, he immediately knew, his opponent did not want to embarrass him by being defeated by a junior young master.
Once again, Lin Jixuan deflected his own bai he zhuo xing (white crane pecking stars) move that was about to hit the opponent. What people saw was only a balanced fight whose end was difficult to predict. Cheng Wucan admitted defeat with a laugh.
"Lin Gongzi deliberately gave in, it seems because here he cannot exert all his abilities freely," he said modestly. "Today, I represent the fishermen of the Han River, resign from fighting over Zhang Laoqianbei's inheritance. Although we cannot support Yumen Sect just yet, we would not stand in your way too."
"It was Cheng Qianbei who gave the opportunity, today's Lin Jixuan has learned a lot," Lin Jixuan also replied humbly. "Zaixia really feels bad."
Lin Jixuan returned the sword he borrowed to Yaoyao's follower. While with his people, Cheng Wucan then left the place. The Yumen descendants weren't a bunch of ruthless humans, he didn't need to worry about the return of the terrible Yumen Jiao like it was in the past. At the very least, give it a chance.
Li Qian and Qin Liangjie stepped forward, also borrowing the inherited swords and challenging anyone who was dissatisfied to have a match with them. Liang Shaoren, who was also curious about wuqing xue's shrewdness, then stepped forward with the shabby-dressed youth.
Another fight happened. Liang Shaoren and the shabby youth attacked with deadly moves, their every move seemed cruel. Li Qian and Qin Liangjie served quietly, not long after they were managing to drop their opponents' weapons and forcing the two to retreat.
"It's only one day and your skills have progressed greatly," Huang Zhe said in shock, "Who has hinted at you?"
"Of course the family of the late hero Tianbian Xing Gu Qiongnan, Gu Daxia," Lin Jixuan retorted, his tone slightly haughty.
"Xie Tianhu."