61, 62, Soaring Cultivation, Three-Inch Sword Light!

As midnight approached, the prince's mansion gradually quieted down.

Ginseng Immortal Old Freak Liang Zi'ong, carrying a string of medicine packets and accompanied by a disciple, left his residence in the Ancient Cypress Courtyard and headed towards the Frost-Defying Courtyard where Ouyang Ke resided.

He hadn't participated in the earlier pressure on Ouyang Ke, so now was the perfect time to offer timely assistance. He had specially prepared several high-quality wound healing medicines and tonics to replenish blood and vital energy. He aimed to befriend Ouyang Ke while he was feeling defeated, hoping to connect with the Western Venom through him in the future and gain some benefits.

After Liang Zi'ong had gone far.

Two figures quietly drifted down from the rooftop. They were Lu Chen and Huang Rong.

They had arrived fifteen minutes earlier and had been hidden on the rooftop, originally planning to act after Liang Zi'ong went to sleep. However, Liang Zi'ong had been busy in the pharmacy, so they had to wait patiently.

Waiting until now, Liang Zi'ong actually went out himself, which saved them a lot of trouble.

The two came to the front of the pharmacy and listened carefully for a moment. Lu Chen made a gesture to Huang Rong, who understood and moved to the side of the door. Lu Chen then raised his hand and knocked on the door.

"Master?"

A young voice came from behind the door:

"Did Master forget something?"

As he spoke, the door creaked open, and a young man in green walked out. Before he could see who was outside, Huang Rong, standing by the side of the door, struck like lightning, using a finger to knock the young man unconscious.

Lu Chen raised his hand to support the young man, dragged him inside the door, and sat him on a chair. He then looked around, his gaze falling on a large bamboo basket.

"The smell of medicine is strong in the bamboo basket."

Huang Rong said softly.

Lu Chen nodded, came to the bamboo basket, lifted the lid, and looked inside. He saw a large snake coiled inside, completely crimson and about the thickness of a bowl, emitting a strong medicinal scent.

Although it was winter, this mutated Treasure Snake didn't need to hibernate, but it wasn't very active either.

Although the movement of Lu Chen lifting the lid startled it, its reaction was a little slow. Before it could make an attacking move, Lu Chen quickly covered the lid again and then tied the bamboo basket tightly with hemp rope.

Afterward, he picked up the large bamboo basket and smiled at Huang Rong:

"The treasure is in hand. We can go back and enjoy it slowly."

On the other side.

Liang Zi'ong was in the Frost-Defying Courtyard, chatting happily with Ouyang Ke.

Not only did he give Ouyang Ke the carefully prepared wound medicine and tonics, but he also presented Ouyang Ke with a secret art for cultivating yin and yang. This pleased Ouyang Ke greatly, causing him to change his opinion of the white-haired old man and speak much more politely.

After chatting for a while, they started talking about Lu Chen again.

Liang Zi'ong said, "What that young Lu used seems to be the legendary Sword Qi."

Ouyang Ke nodded:

"My uncle once said that the Dali Duan Family had a divine Sword Qi technique that could emit Sword Qi from the fingers, capable of breaking anything. But that technique has long been lost, and even the Southern Emperor, one of the Five Greats, couldn't master it. I don't know where that young Lu learned such a remarkable skill."

He somewhat suspected whether Lu Chen had, by chance, obtained a fragmented chapter of the Dali Duan Family's divine Sword Qi technique, but then felt this speculation wasn't very reliable: if the Dali Family's divine technique, which even the Southern Emperor Duan Zhixing couldn't master, how could Lu Chen, an outsider, possibly obtain it?

Or perhaps Lu Chen's Formless Sword Finger was just a similar technique?

Just as he was wondering, he heard Liang Zi'ong say:

"That young Lu's Formless Sword Finger is quite formidable. Does Young Master Ouyang have a countermeasure?"

Ouyang Ke said confidently:

"The Sword Qi emitted by his Formless Sword Finger is only about an inch long. Relying on surprise, it can still show some fierce power, but since he has used it once, I will definitely defeat him in our next encounter."

He believed he had seen through the secrets of Lu Chen's Formless Sword Finger, while he himself had not yet used his trump card technique, the "Spiritual Snake Fist."

In their next fight, if he suddenly used the Spiritual Snake Fist, he would definitely catch Lu Chen off guard.

Liang Zi'ong reminded him:

"Young Master Ouyang, you must not be careless. That young Lu is extremely cunning and sly. When he fought Reverend Lingzhi, he deliberately hid a move and did not use Sword Qi, only using his sword finger to break Reverend Lingzhi's Great Mudra. When he contended with you, he suddenly used Sword Qi to ambush you. What if he is still hiding something, and the invisible Sword Qi is more than an inch long?"

Ouyang Ke frowned, but still stubbornly said:

"Even if his invisible Sword Qi can extend a foot, so what? Now that I know this skill of his, how could I fall for it again? I just need to avoid the direction of his sword finger."

Although he said this, he knew in his heart that if he fought Lu Chen, he would have to be constantly cautious of his invisible Sword Qi that couldn't be seen. He would definitely be constrained, and his skills would be greatly reduced.

Liang Zi'ong observed his expression and, knowing Ouyang Ke was troubled, reminded him with a smile:

"Perhaps you could try hidden weapons. That Lu Chen's sword finger is sharp, but his fist and palm techniques are very ordinary. In my humble opinion, young Lu is probably the most traditional type of swordsman, meaning he only practices swordplay and rarely dabbles in other martial arts. Therefore, when fighting him, you could suddenly use hidden weapons to catch him off guard. Medicine and poison are inseparable, and this old man also knows a little about poison. Poisoning hidden weapons is not a problem..."

Ouyang Ke silently nodded. He actually had the same idea.

Liang Zi'ong then said:

"That young Lu's Formless Sword Finger is formless and invisible, his strikes are hidden, and he can injure people from a distance. Its power is immense, and it can be called a divine technique. If we can defeat young Lu, capture him alive, and interrogate him for the secret of the Formless Sword Finger..."

Ouyang Ke was also a little envious of Lu Chen's Formless Sword Finger.

He only had three fingers on his right hand, one less than the Nine-Fingered Divine Beggar, and his fist and palm techniques would inevitably be greatly affected. However, the Formless Sword Finger could be used with just the index and middle fingers, so the absence of his pinky and ring finger wouldn't affect it at all.

The key was that the Formless Sword Finger had a very elegant posture!

It was much more graceful than his uncle's Toad Style, perfect for a dashing young master like him.

If he could get the secret, he would definitely work hard to cultivate it.

Just then, Ouyang Ke smiled magnanimously at Liang Zi'ong:

"If we can truly extract the secrets of the 'Formless Sword Finger,' Ouyang Ke will surely share it with Elder Liang."

Liang Zi'ong was overjoyed:

"Young Master Ouyang is generous and righteous, this old man is impressed!"

Afterward, he brainstormed even more diligently:

"This old man just observed two matches, between young Lu and Lingzhi, and then against the Young Master. I've gained some small insights into his finger sword techniques and footwork..."

As he spoke, Liang Zi'ong stood up and demonstrated the movement techniques and sword arts Lu Chen had used, which he had noted from his perspective as an observer. While it was impossible to perfectly imitate the agility and speed of Lu Chen's movement, or the power and subtle variations of his sword techniques, as he didn't know the core methods, he could at least deconstruct most of the superficial footwork rhythm and move sequences.

Ouyang Ke also demonstrated the moves he had recorded from his subjective perspective, comparing his movements with Liang Zi'ong's demonstrations. The two continued to practice, discuss, and research, attempting to dissect Lu Chen's martial arts.

At the same time, in the Winter Plum Courtyard.

In the living room, three steaming bowls of snake blood were lined up on the table.

This snake blood had no fishy smell at all, only an extremely pungent and strong medicinal odor, like a highly concentrated herbal broth rather than fresh snake blood.

"Half for each of us," Lu Chen said.

"No, no, no, you should drink it all," Huang Rong said with a look of disgust, shaking her head repeatedly.

"No way. This Treasure Snake blood not only greatly increases your martial power, but drinking it also makes you immune to all poisons. We've offended Ouyang Feng, so we must guard against him using poison. Rong'er, you must drink it too."

"Ouyang Feng is one of the Five Greats, on par with my father. He shouldn't bully me, someone so much younger..."

"Rong'er, you don't know the Western Venom, how can you know his temperament? There's no room for negotiation on this matter."

Lu Chen said decisively, picking up a bowl of snake blood and handing it to Huang Rong:

"Here, this is yours."

Huang Rong pouted her little mouth, took the large bowl, blinked, and said in a soft, sweet voice:

"You drink first, show me how it's done."

"Alright!"

Lu Chen picked up a bowl of snake blood, took a deep breath, and was immediately choked by the spicy and bitter medicinal smell, coughing repeatedly. This made Huang Rong burst out laughing, her eyes curving into crescents.

Lu Chen straightened his face, looking serious:

"No laughing, be serious, I'm drinking medicine."

As he spoke, he held his breath, brought the bowl to his mouth, tilted his head back, and gulped...

In one go, he drank the entire bowl of snake blood.

Afterward, he picked up the second bowl and was about to pour half into his own bowl when Huang Rong said:

"This whole bowl is yours too. I'll only drink one bowl at most anyway. Otherwise, I won't drink a single drop. Don't think you can pinch my nose and force it down."

Lu Chen knew she actually wanted him to increase his martial power more. Feeling touched, he didn't argue with her, and gently clinked his bowl against the large bowl in Huang Rong's hand:

"Alright, this bowl is also mine. Come, let's drink this treasure medicine together!"

As he spoke, he stared at Huang Rong with piercing eyes.

Huang Rong had no choice but to wrinkle her little face, silently circulate the "Breath-Holding Secret Art," completely holding her breath. Only then did she bring the bowl to her lips, then tilted her fair neck back and began to gulp.

Seeing this, Lu Chen nodded in satisfaction and also began to drink the second bowl in large gulps.

Soon, both of them had finished the medicinal blood.

Lu Chen felt his tongue was already numb from the pungent medicinal taste, even his breathing was spicy and bitter. Huang Rong, even faster, poured water to rinse her mouth, and after using three large bowls of mouthwash, she darted like the wind to the bedroom, took out her toothbrush and toothpaste, and began brushing her teeth vigorously.

Just as she finished one round of brushing and was about to start another, Huang Rong suddenly felt a wave of heat surge in her chest and abdomen. In the blink of an eye, it spread throughout her body, making her feel hot all over, as if she were being roasted in the center of several large furnaces.

Looking at Lu Chen, she saw that his face was flushed red, sweat was beading on his forehead, and even wisps of white steam were rising from his head.

"The treasure medicine is taking effect! Quickly, practice your martial arts!"

Lu Chen reminded her, assumed a stance, and began practicing the "Muscle and Bone Strengthening Chapter."

Huang Rong also quickly put down her toothbrush and practiced the Muscle and Bone Strengthening Chapter opposite Lu Chen.

Once they started practicing, the two immediately felt the experience was completely different from their previous cultivation.

Although the Muscle and Bone Strengthening Chapter's effects were immediate and noticeable, when usually practicing, it was like a gentle drizzle, slowly nourishing the muscles, bones, and meridians, and martial power increased in threads.

But at this moment, there was a torrent-like heat within their bodies. Guided by the Muscle and Bone Strengthening Chapter, it furiously washed and tempered their muscles, bones, and meridians, rapidly improving their physique, strengthening their bones, and widening their meridians.

Their dantian felt like it was raining heavily, with countless streams of heat surging into it, transforming into True Qi, causing their martial power to surge forward rapidly.

Huang Rong only drank one bowl of snake blood and practiced the Muscle and Bone Strengthening Chapter for half an hour before completely digesting the medicinal power. The heat throughout her body dissipated, and she felt a refreshing coolness all over, with her ears and eyes becoming much sharper.

She also tried practicing a set of "Falling Blossom Divine Sword Palm." She found that some exquisite moves that she couldn't execute before due to insufficient martial power, or that had little power when performed, could now be used as she wished, no longer posing a challenge.

And each move became more agile and swift, full of powerful force.

"This has increased my martial power by at least six or seven years!"

Huang Rong looked at Lu Chen with an excited expression.

Lu Chen hadn't finished refining yet and was still practicing the Muscle and Bone Strengthening Chapter, so Huang Rong patiently stayed by his side and practiced with him.

Another half hour passed, and Lu Chen finally finished refining. He let out a laugh, pointing his index and middle fingers together like a sword. He swept them towards the corner of the table. His fingertips were still three inches away from the corner, but with a snap, the corner fell off. The break was smooth as a mirror, as if cut by a sharp sword.

Huang Rong's eyes lit up:

"Your Sword Light can reach three inches now?"

Lu Chen nodded and smiled:

"That's right. I've been diligently practicing the 'Muscle and Bone Strengthening Chapter' every day recently, and my Sword Light skill has significantly improved. Drinking the Treasure Snake blood today, with my power greatly increased, my Sword Light can now just barely reach three inches!"

Huang Rong was happy at first, then pouted and said:

"If I had known the Treasure Snake blood was so useful, I wouldn't have drunk it. If you had drunk all three bowls, wouldn't your Sword Glow be able to reach four or five inches?"

Lu Chen chuckled:

"It wouldn't reach that far. Even if I had all three bowls, it would probably only reach four inches at most."

Seeing that Huang Rong still looked regretful, Lu Chen smiled and said:

"The meat of that Treasure Snake should also have some effect, just like the meat of the Bosiqu Snake. If we eat that big snake, our power should increase by another bit."

Hearing him say this, Huang Rong stopped dwelling on it and said with a smile:

"Eating snake every day at Condor Brother's place, I'm already tired of snake meat!"

Just as they were talking, a faint, gut-wrenching scream came from outside:

"My Treasure Snake..."

Ah, that was Liang Zi'ong's voice.

He had spent half the night discussing with Ouyang Ke how to deal with Lu Chen, and Ouyang Ke had promised to introduce him to Ouyang Feng. He had returned full of excitement, only to find his Treasure Snake, which he had raised for twenty years, missing the moment he got back. He couldn't help but let out that scream.

It was the middle of the night, and the prince's manor was completely silent. He also had quite deep cultivation, so this scream instantly traveled far. The guest masters living in this area of the manor naturally all heard his scream.

Before anyone could figure out why old Liang was going crazy in the middle of the night, they heard him scream hysterically again:

"Damn it! Which bastard stole my Treasure Snake!"

"Old Liang, what are you yelling about?"

The hot-tempered Hou Tonghai came out of his room, channeling his internal energy to shout back:

"The neighbors are still sleeping! Disturbing people's sweet dreams in the middle of the night, can't you be a decent person, damn it?"

However, his voice was even louder than Liang Zi'ong's, startling half the prince's manor.

"My Treasure Snake, who stole my Treasure Snake?"

Liang Zi'ong's eyes were red. He rushed out of Ancient Cypress Courtyard and towards Green Pine Courtyard where Sha Tongtian and Hou Tonghai, the master and disciple, lived. "You, surnamed Hou, were the first to reply. Are you feeling guilty because you're the thief? Did you steal my snake?"

Hou Tonghai was righteously indignant:

"What nonsense are you talking about? What damn Treasure Snake? I've never even heard of it..."

Liang Zi'ong was almost irrational at this point and wouldn't listen to his explanation.

He rushed directly into Green Pine Courtyard, screaming, "Give me back my Treasure Snake!"

Then he pounced towards Hou Tonghai, attacking with both fists and feet.

Among the guest masters of the prince's manor, Hou Tonghai was the weakest in martial arts and relied entirely on his senior brother to back him up. Facing Liang Zi'ong's frenzied, dog-like assault, he could only hold on for about ten moves before being unable to defend himself. He quickly called for his senior brother:

"Senior Brother, help me!"

The Ghost Gate Dragon King, Sha Tongtian, let out a low shout:

"Old Liang, you're going too far! My junior brother and I have never seen your so-called Treasure Snake!"

Saying this, he leaped into the fray, parrying one of Liang Zi'ong's moves for Hou Tonghai, and began to fiercely fight with Liang Zi'ong, tumbling and rolling.

The few of them were shouting and yelling, and also fighting fiercely, which had already alerted the other guest masters.

Ouyang Ke, who had just struck up a friendship with Liang Zi'ong, was the first to arrive at Green Pine Courtyard with a few white-clothed concubines. Following closely behind was Peng Lianhu, who had a very good relationship with Sha Tongtian and Hou Tonghai.

Reverend Lingzhi also hurriedly put on his monk's robe and came over to watch the excitement, carrying a pair of large copper cymbals. Lu Chen and Huang Rong, of course, also came. They stayed together with a few manor guards who had rushed over after hearing the commotion, looking like it was none of their business, and watched Sha Tongtian battle Liang Zi'ong.

They were watching happily.

After fighting intensely with Sha Tongtian for over a hundred moves, Liang Zi'ong gradually regained some of his senses. He suddenly caught a whiff of a medicinal scent – he was an expert in medicine and extremely sensitive to medicinal smells. Catching a faint whiff of a medicinal scent at this moment, he felt that the smell was very familiar, seemingly the smell of his Treasure Snake.

Liang Zi'ong's spirits lifted. A desperate, frenzied assault temporarily forced Sha Tongtian back. He then said to Sha Tongtian, "Hold it!" and voluntarily withdrew from the fight. He took a deep breath, locked onto the source of the medicinal scent, and instantly looked fiercely at Lu Chen and Huang Rong:

"It's you!"

Looking at Liang Zi'ong's eyes, which seemed to want to devour someone, Lu Chen had a clear conscience and readily admitted:

"We did indeed eat a snake that was completely crimson just now. Could that have been Elder Liang's Treasure Snake?"

"What?"

Liang Zi'ong's eyes swam:

"You, you ate my snake?"

Lu Chen sighed:

"We were sitting in the house, and the snake crawled up to the door by itself. We thought it was a wild snake, and it smelled delicious, so we couldn't resist. We killed it and ate it."

Hoping against hope, Liang Zi'ong asked,

"What about the snake blood? Is the snake blood still there?"

He thought to himself that when eating snakes, people generally only eat the meat, and the snake blood is usually discarded. But for his Treasure Snake, the meat was secondary. As long as the snake blood was still there, it would mean he had preserved most of his hard work from the past twenty years.

"Snake blood?" Lu Chen had a look of deep sorrow. "Sorry, Elder Liang, the snake blood was used to make spicy blood curd hotpot. It was too fragrant, we couldn't resist and ate every last bit..."

"Spicy blood curd..."

Liang Zi'ong swayed, his mind buzzing, his vision darkening in waves.

In a daze, a subtle feeling of "heaven's justice is clear, and retribution is swift" actually arose in his heart.

Just moments before, he had been discussing with Ouyang Ke how to target Lu Chen, suggesting using poisoned hidden weapons and helping Ouyang Ke analyze Lu Chen's martial arts, even plotting to seize his Formless Sword Finger. He hadn't expected that Lu Chen would eat his snake right after...

Wasn't this retribution?

But he quickly cast aside that thought, his eyes red as he glared at Lu Chen, hissing in rage:

"Nonsense, utter nonsense! Although my Treasure Snake doesn't hibernate, it doesn't run around wildly in winter either. How could it have crawled to where you live?"

Hou Tonghai had just been beaten indiscriminately by Liang Zi'ong. Though not injured, he was quite unhappy. Hearing this, he folded his arms and sneered,

"If it doesn't hibernate even in winter, your snake must not be a proper snake. Since it's not a proper snake, maybe it thought your room had too much old man smell and was stuffy to live in, so it wanted to find a new place to move to. It just happened to crawl into the courtyard where Little White Dragon and Little Sword Demon live and was unfortunately eaten by them, mistaken for a wild snake. What's impossible about that?

"Besides, it's just a little broken snake, what's the big deal? Old Liang, you're a man in your seventies, your hair and beard are all white. Is it worth arguing over such a small matter with two young juniors? Do you have any of the demeanor of a martial arts senior?

"Alright, I, Old Hou, will say something fair. Let that broken snake be forgotten. When the snakes come out in spring, I'll have Little White Dragon catch a hundred or so proper good snakes to compensate you. Be generous, don't let the juniors laugh at you."

"You..."

Liang Zi'ong was already fuming, his head buzzing, but he also feared Lu Chen's martial arts and dared not act rashly. His rage had nowhere to vent. Hearing Hou Tonghai's nonsensical words, anger attacking his heart, his body suddenly convulsed, and with a thud, he fell to the ground.

Seeing him lying on the ground, foaming at the mouth, eyes rolled back, and his cheeks continuously twitching, Hou Tonghai clapped his hands and let out a strange cry:

"Oh no, Old Man Liang has had a stroke!"

Indeed, Old Hou was not mistaken. Liang Zi'ong hadn't just fainted from anger; he had directly had a stroke from being enraged.

Lu Chen blinked:

So, without even making a move, I've already taken down a key general from the Jin Dynasty's F4?

Hmm, Third Master Hou also lent a hand, so he should get some credit...

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