Dueling Arts

The bow roared like thunder, its string startling like a thunderclap.

As the arrow flew, the bowstring trembled without end. Flocks of birds scattered wildly through the forest, and Xiang Ling instinctively collapsed to the ground in fright.

The Five Stone Heavy Bow had a range of a hundred paces, but wild spirits and monsters were naturally sharp and nimble. Though the fox was old, she was quick to seize an opening. She immediately shifted two steps left, hiding half her body behind a boulder.

The arrow struck the spot where she had just stood, blasting apart the earth and stones. Its power as a heavy arrow was plain to see.

"You ignorant brute, how could such a mere arrow harm my Immortal Body?" The old fox had clearly hidden herself away, yet she still mocked him aloud.

Meng Yuan grew several degrees more wary. This old fox spoke with restraint and measure; she had clearly read books and studied the classics.

She had also seen the world, knew how to duel a martial artist, and understood human nature well. That was why she taunted him, hoping that this young man would be provoked into firing arrow after arrow and exhausting his strength.

Earlier, at Peach Blossom Ridge, after hearing how Xiang Ling had been deceived by this fox matchmaker, Meng Yuan had thought the old fox was merely some mountain spirit that swindled and cheated.

But now that they had spoken of it again, he learned that the old fox had once dismissed the Buddhist teachings passed down by Great Tail Venerable with disdain. Instead, she spoke of Eating Clouds and Drinking Dew, of True Freedom—words from Daoism.

Looking at the old fox's conduct now, it was clear that she was no ordinary spirit monster. Nor did she follow the martial path of cultivation. Most likely, she cultivated the arts of the Daoist Sect.

Meng Yuan was still a greenhorn. He had only fought martial artists of the same rank, but he had heard Master Nie speak of the paths of other schools.

Daoism spoke of cultivating both nature and life. Eating Clouds and Drinking Dew was certainly possible, as was roaming freely between heaven and earth, but only once one had attained a high rank.

At low ranks, however, they did not possess much ability. Their strength could not compare with martial artists who tempered themselves day in and day out, and their bodies were even less sturdy. They merely knew some Mystical Arts.

But in terms of power, those arts were not especially formidable.

Put plainly, at low ranks, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism all fell short of martial artists. If a martial artist closed in, they could very likely be seized on the spot, perhaps even forcefully killed across ranks.

The teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism all made great sense, but a martial artist's blade made even more sense.

"I'm out! I'm in!" Leaning on her wooden staff, the old fox was astonishingly agile. Using the boulder as cover, she kept poking her head out and ducking back in, acting utterly cheap and irritating.

Meng Yuan did not indulge her. He drew an arrow and fired.

But they were a hundred paces apart, and the old fox was as restless as if she had swallowed aphrodisiac medicine. She was truly difficult to hit. Worse, she never stopped mocking him, yet refused to attack.

After firing three arrows in succession, Meng Yuan thought to himself that the distance of a hundred paces was too great, and the old fox was too cunning. He truly had no confidence in hitting her.

Of course, if the heavy bow struck her even once, she would be crippled if not dead.

When the old fox had appeared earlier, she had proposed splitting the great medicine rather than immediately trying to seize it by force. That showed she did not have absolute confidence in victory either.

Meng Yuan kept his bow drawn but did not fire again. He glanced back at Xiang Ling and saw her with her head lowered and her rear sticking up as she peeked over here, looking foolishly blank.

Even if she was useless, useless Xiang Ling was still on his side!

No matter how one looked at it, two against one meant the advantage was his!

Meng Yuan held his bow taut, fully focused, yet did not make a move. "Why have you not attacked yet, Your Excellency?"

The old fox hid behind the scarred and battered boulder, giving a strange laugh. "Would a foolish mortal like you be worthy of witnessing the wonders of my immortal arts?"

This old fox's mouth was truly hard! Meng Yuan was not in a hurry. He merely said, "Xiang Ling! Go gather the fruits first. Find the person who passed me the message and tell him there is a fox demon causing trouble. Have him bring the brothers from the Demon Suppression Division!"

"Huh?" Xiang Ling had been lying in the brambles with her two front paws covering her head, secretly peeking this way. Hearing Little Gelder speak, she quickly called back, "He's from the Demon Suppression Division too?"

Though puzzled, Xiang Ling still swiftly climbed to her feet. She first tugged at the little bundle around her neck, then leaped into a gap in the thorny brush.

Meng Yuan naturally had not expected little Xiang Ling to accomplish anything. He only meant to force the old fox to show herself.

The old fox had delayed using any means for so long. Clearly, she was not fully confident in the arts she possessed, and she feared the heavy bow in his hands. That was his advantage!

Using that advantage to force the old fox out for a decisive battle would give him an even greater edge! So long as she revealed the slightest flaw, it would be the old fox's day of death!

Before long, Xiang Ling emerged from the gap clutching a bulging bundle. Yet she did not leave. She simply stood there, staring eagerly at Meng Yuan before glancing toward the old fox in the distance.

"Little Gelder," Xiang Ling jogged to Meng Yuan's side, tugged at the hem of his clothes, and looked up at him. "Why not give mine to Old Matchmaker? What if you get hurt fighting and can't work when you get back? Better to live poorly than die well!"

Meng Yuan glared at Xiang Ling.

"Little Gelder, she's willing to give it to me, so why are you still pretending to be some good man? Are you trying to swallow it all for yourself?" The old fox's laughter drifted over, and she too used the term gelding.

"This is robbery, not a gift. You tricked Xiang Ling and her mother out of their betrothal gifts, likely just to amuse yourself in the mortal world. I would not interfere. If you had taken advantage of my absence to trick her out of her great medicine, I would not have said anything either." The arrow in Meng Yuan's hand shot forth. "But today, I am here. I cannot let a simple and pure person who knows gratitude and repays kindness be deceived and bullied by you."

Meng Yuan drew another arrow and nocked it to his bow. "Xiang Ling, go!"

Xiang Ling froze for a moment, then finally nodded. "Then I'll run faster and bring back reinforcements for you!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she raced back the way they had come in a streak of smoke.

Sure enough, the old fox grew impatient. "Then if that is how it is, all of you can stay behind!"

Still hidden behind the boulder, she raised her wooden staff and chanted in a singsong voice, "Wind, shatter the earth! Water, drown the heavens! Earth, fire, water, wind—rise!"

A gust of clear wind swept past, and the trees swayed without cease, sending dead leaves and shattered stones flying from the ground.

It was already nearing noon. Though the mountains were thick with trees, the sunlight was blazing and the surroundings quite bright. Yet once the chilling wind arose, a sense of gloom immediately descended.

"Flying Sky Cooking Fire!" Behind the boulder, the old fox unleashed her arts.

The moment her words fell, a rain of fire drifted down, stirring the dead leaves. Fire filled the wind at once, and barriers seemed to rise on all sides, enclosing Meng Yuan completely as they rapidly contracted.

Meng Yuan only grew calmer. This technique of wind and fire working together looked immensely imposing, but its true power was ordinary. It could not inflict much injury at most; it was merely meant to obscure his vision and enable a sneak attack.

The wind fed the fire, and the fire magnified the wind. Together, they drove dead leaves and shattered stones toward Meng Yuan in a pincer attack.

Then the old fox burst from behind the boulder with wild laughter. Riding the force of wind and fire, she brandished her wooden staff and surged toward Meng Yuan.

"Isn't this seeking death?" Meng Yuan raised his bow to shoot, but immediately lowered it again and sprinted backward.

After charging three or five steps out of the wind-and-fire barrier, he saw a figure in green ahead of him. It was clearly the old fox.

Just as expected! The old fox had emerged from behind the boulder moments ago in such a flamboyant display, looking as though she were ready to risk her life. Yet there was another fox here. She must have used some sort of blinding illusion.

The old fox seemingly ready to fight to the death amid the wind and fire was false. The real one had come after Xiang Ling!

All thirty-three gates in Meng Yuan's lower body opened. True Qi instantly flooded his limbs, and though he moved later, he arrived first, faster than the old fox.

The old fox discovered that Meng Yuan had caught up. Terror filled her face as her two furry hands tried to form a hand seal, but a flash of blade light had already fallen.

"Ah!" A miserable scream echoed through the mountains.

Blood flashed, and the old fox's tail was severed.

Having succeeded with one blow, Meng Yuan's confidence surged. This old fox only had a few demonic arts to cloud one's sight and a slight command of wind and fire. Her true body was actually unable to withstand a single blow!

Meng Yuan did not dare pause. He immediately stepped forward to finish her off.

The old fox lay sprawled on the ground, her eyes filled with extreme resentment. Her two furry hands grabbed a smear of blood, then pressed together as she ground her teeth. "Lead!"

For an instant, Meng Yuan's eyes met the old fox's, and he felt heaven and earth spinning.