"The length of a person's life is determined by the health of their body, not by the words of others. Even if the Nipusa truly said that, I'm afraid your father would still find it difficult to live through his lifespan."
Li Xiu slowly spoke, with a hint of a sneer on his face, as if he had something specific in mind.
Dugu Ming thought that Li Xiu had emerged from the depths of the forest, and feared his eerie and terrifying lightness technique. He felt anger rising within him, but didn't dare to act on it immediately.
"What do you mean by that! My father is the unrivaled city lord of Wushuang City, and is about to form an alliance with the other martial arts powers, becoming one of the two major powerhouses in the martial arts world and standing on equal footing with the dominant forces. Who could possibly kill my father!"
"I advise you not to cause any more trouble, and to retreat to the side. Otherwise, don't blame the Wushuang City for offending you!"
Li Xiu indicated that he knew about the death of Dugu Ming's father, and Dugu Ming's reaction was one of restraint and fear. However, Li Xiu still looked at him coldly and stood still, using his force field to pull Dugu Ming off his horse.
Dugu Ming had no defense or resistance, and was pressed to the ground, unable to move a finger. It was as if every part of his body was covered by a thousand-pound stone slab.
"It seems your father didn't teach you that in the martial arts world, even if some people are rude and reckless, you can't offend them. You have to endure and be patient, because if you make a slight mistake or say something wrong, you'll lose your life."
As Li Xiu spoke, his force field grew stronger and stronger, gradually crushing many of Dugu Ming's bones and causing him to scream in pain. His face twisted in fear and he begged for mercy.
The Wushuang City followers watched as their leader was defeated, and although they drew their knives and swords, they didn't dare to move forward. Li Xiu looked at them coldly, and his overwhelming power burst forth, making them feel as if a thorn was stuck in their back, draining all of their courage and they couldn't even speak.
"Amitabha, benefactor, this person may be a bit rude, but I beg you to spare him because he has filial piety. Leave him alive, and in the future, you can verify whether your previous words were true."
Watching Li Xiu's supernatural methods, Master Shi Wu's eyes flickered with deep fear. He had never seen such an unfathomable expert in his life and begged for Dugu Ming's life carefully.
Li Xiu looked at Master Shi Wu and then killed Dugu Ming.
"I don't like people trying to influence my thoughts."
His words were light, but they struck Master Shi Wu in the heart, making it clear that he had schemed, and Master Shi Wu quickly recited a Buddhist chant to hide his shock and panic.
"Amitabha, it was my mistake for speaking too much, please forgive me."
Suddenly, a sound of wind came, and a young man with long hair appeared, he kicked twice in the air, his internal energy bursted out forming a vortex of power, bringing with it a whistling wind and raising leaves and dust, enveloping dozens of Wushuang City followers violently!
When everything settled, those followers were corpses and the rest of the followers didn't care about Dugu Ming's body they turned around and ran away, afraid of being too slow.
The old man who was gathering firewood recognized the martial arts used by the newcomer, his eyes showed a hint of panic, he pulled his granddaughter and turned to leave, his face showing a look of fear.
"They're fighting, Little Girl, let's go!"
But just as he turned around, he was stopped by another tall and handsome man, who had a mocking expression on his face and a hint of a young man's playfulness.
"I don't know where the senior is going, you were just calmly watching for so long, not afraid of dozens of people with bright swords, why do you want to leave as soon as we arrived? Is it just because they fought? That reason seems a bit weak."
Nie Feng landed and looked at the cauldron beside Master Shi Wu, and as soon as he stepped on it, he attacked Master Shi Wu again, his leg wind was fierce and fast!
Despite the fierce attack, Master Shi Wu recovered his calm appearance and fiercely countered with a palm strike, clearly still confident in facing Nie Feng.
In an instant, the leg wind and palm energy collided and Master Shi Wu was slightly weaker, stepping back and giving Nie Feng the upper hand as he stepped on the cauldron.
Nie Feng, with a gentle and calm demeanor, did not become arrogant upon gaining the upper hand and respectfully bowed with his hands clasped.
"Senior, I am Nie Feng and I apologize for any offense. This is my first time traveling in the martial arts world, may I ask for your convenience and borrow the Fire Monkey for a month and I will return it promptly."
"The Fire Monkey belongs to Shaolin and I am unable to comply."
Master Shi Wu performed a Buddhist ritual and spoke firmly.
Just as Nie Feng was hesitating whether to forcefully seize the Fire Monkey, Qin Shuang persuaded him.
"Junior Brother, let the master take the Fire Monkey. We borrowed the Fire Monkey to find the Nipusa, but now that the Nipusa is in front of us, the Fire Monkey is no longer necessary."
Nie Feng suspiciously turned his head and looked, Qin Shuang pointed and Nie Feng suddenly realized that the young girl in the arms of the old man who had been collecting firewood was tightly staring at the cauldron under his feet, as if there was something inside that she was concerned about, and the old man's eyes were also a bit too calm, he had a hunch.
"Since this is the case, then I will return the Fire Monkey to the master."
Nie Feng's forehead showed a hint of joy and felt that his teacher's command had been explained, he turned and kicked the cauldron to Master Shi Wu, who caught it and effortlessly placed it on his shoulder. The two of them nonchalantly used their strength and the cauldron, which weighed several thousand pounds, seemed as light as nothing!
Master Shi Wu nodded to Nie Feng, turned and respectfully spoke to Li Xiu.
"If one day you visit Shaolin, Shaolin will be sure to welcome you warmly."
Li Xiu's face showed a strange expression, he didn't say anything, and Master Shi Wu, after performing another Buddhist ritual, left.
Master Shi Wu's unusual attitude made Nie Feng recall the strange and terrifying scene from before, he respectfully asked with clasped hands.
"Junior Nie Feng, just starting out in the martial arts world, may I know the senior's name?"
Even though he looked similar in age, Nie Feng thought that Li Xiu must have some kind of technique to maintain his youthful appearance, so he respectfully referred to him as "senior" in his speech.
"I am Li Xiu, just starting out in the martial arts world, I have no name to speak of."
Li Xiu looked deeply at Nie Feng and waved his hand, saying, this is not untrue, I am indeed new to this world of martial arts.
"I, Nipusa, have been hiding for ten years, but today my disguise was uncovered upon our first meeting, this fate is difficult to escape!"
Nipusa removed his disguise and revealed a face half covered with poison sores, sighing.
"Alas, I have exposed too many secrets in my life and have been punished by heaven, my body is covered in poison sores and I need the Fire Monkey to suck away the poison and sores, I have struggled to survive till now, but my time has come."
"Let's go, Xiongba must be waiting anxiously."
Nipusa is the first prime minister in the martial arts world, and ten years ago he told Xiongba: "A golden scale is not a thing in a pond, it will turn into a dragon when faced with wind and clouds."
Nipusa gave a prophecy to Xiongba, telling him to find two children with special birth dates and names each containing the character for "wind and cloud" and to take them as his disciples.
This prophecy set Xiongba on the path to invincibility in the first half of his life. He then sealed the prophecy for Xiongba's second half of life in a mysterious box from the Western Regions, which was locked with a 108 complex combinations of the heavenly stems and earthly branches.
After that, Nipusa disappeared from the martial arts world. Xiongba, though clever and resourceful, failed to unlock the box even after spending ten years on it.
Now, as the first half of his life was coming to an end, he couldn't wait any longer and sent Nie Feng and Qin Shuang to find Nipusa, eager to know the second half of the prophecy.