Farewell

At those words, the uninhibited Mo Xuanwu's eyes dimmed. "Even with both my legs broken, this little Mad Saber Sect still can't keep me here. All this time, it wasn't that I couldn't leave—it was that I didn't want to."

He seemed to recall events from the past, and his expression turned somber as his eyes sank into a hazy darkness.

Jiang Shuo watched him quietly. Since Mo Xuanwu did not wish to explain the reason, he did not press him. "Senior Mo, then how am I supposed to get out?"

After falling into the Water Prison, he had searched for a way out more than once. The Water Prison had only two exits: one was the stone door he had fallen through, and the other was the window above. The window was extremely far away, far beyond the reach of a simple leap. The entire ceiling of the Water Prison was hemispherical, with nowhere to climb or gain leverage, making it utterly impossible to leave from there. His only hope was the stone door. It was set into one wall, yet seemed to blend seamlessly with the stone surface, which was exceptionally smooth. Even if he climbed the chains to the iron ring directly above and jumped down, there was nowhere to land, so he could only fall straight into the water.

"Every day at the mao hour, noon, and you hour, disciples of the Mad Saber Sect bring me food. When the time comes, I'll naturally be able to help you out," Mo Xuanwu said.

The Water Prison was cut off from both daylight and the passage of time. Jiang Shuo had no idea how long he had been there. Seeing a large amount of leftover, cold food beside Mo Xuanwu that had not been there before, he assumed disciples of the Mad Saber Sect had brought meals while he was unconscious. "Senior Mo, how many days have I been here?"

"Seven days," Mo Xuanwu replied.

"What?" Jiang Shuo was startled. He remembered only about a day. Though he had passed out twice, he had never expected to have been unconscious for so long.

When he thought of having disappeared for seven days, with no idea how the situation outside had developed, Jiang Shuo could not help but feel deeply worried.

"Remember this: after you get out, you absolutely must not mention my name to anyone. Nor must you reveal anything about your father, Chiyun Village, Nine Tripod Mountain, or the rest. And don't casually display this Hundred Life Bone in public." With their parting at hand, Mo Xuanwu gave him one instruction after another.

After personally experiencing the wondrous power of the Meridian Swallowing Divine Skill, Jiang Shuo could naturally imagine the dangers Mo Xuanwu, a man of extraordinary abilities, had faced while traveling Jianghu in the past. Mo Xuanwu had made countless enemies, and was probably worried that they would implicate Jiang Shuo.

Jiang Shuo lowered his head and looked at the Hundred Life Bone, which was still flickering with a faint light. Curiously, he asked, "When I was in Chiyun Village, I never saw this Hundred Life Bone glow. But not long after I left, it lit up three times. What exactly is going on?"

It was merely a casual question, yet it made Mo Xuanwu frown. He hurriedly asked, "Three times? How could there have been three times?"

Jiang Shuo immediately told him everything. As for Zhu Ming, whom he had encountered in Yulin City, Jiang Shuo could only vaguely guess that he was an important figure in the Imperial Court, but he did not dare confirm his identity.

Mo Xuanwu's expression remained normal when he heard about Chiyun Village's guardian ferocious beast and Jiang Shuo himself. Only when he heard about Jiang Shuo's encounter with Zhu Ming did he show the slightest surprise.

Mo Xuanwu then questioned him in detail about the circumstances. Afterward, he smiled faintly. "What a coincidence. I never expected you to run into him the moment you came out."

From Mo Xuanwu's tone, he seemed to know who Zhu Ming was. Jiang Shuo hurriedly asked, "Senior Mo, why did the Hundred Life Bone glow when I saw him?"

"This..." Mo Xuanwu resumed a solemn expression, but evaded the question. "You only need to remember this: whenever the Hundred Life Bone glows in the future, run. That's all."

"Hm?" Jiang Shuo understood even less. If the people who made the Hundred Life Bone glow were going to harm him, then Zhu Ming and Mo Xuanwu had clearly never done anything of the sort.

He was about to ask again, but Mo Xuanwu waved his hand and cut him off. "Once you get out, an arduous battle will certainly be waiting for you. You should use this time to familiarize yourself with the Meridian Swallowing Divine Skill as much as possible. Also, remember this: it isn't only other people's Inner Force—even your own Inner Force may conflict with the Meridian Swallowing Divine Skill. From now on, you must be extremely cautious when learning cultivation techniques. However, there is one piece of good news: your Bone Sealing Technique is unaffected."

"..." Jiang Shuo was stunned, rendered utterly speechless.

Mo Xuanwu had just sworn that the Meridian Swallowing Divine Skill had every benefit and no drawbacks. In the end, it still came with such a major restriction.

Martial Artists could generally learn many internal cultivation methods. Though they might conflict with one another, at most they would affect the techniques' power; they would never backfire on the practitioner like the Meridian Swallowing Divine Skill did.

With a single sentence, Mo Xuanwu had practically told Jiang Shuo that, from now on, for the sake of safety, he could only learn one internal cultivation method. On top of that, he would have to rely on luck and make sure it did not conflict with the Meridian Swallowing Divine Skill.

If Mo Xuanwu had not been worried that his successor would go out, muddleheadedly learn a whole pile of internal cultivation methods, and meet an early death, he probably would not even have told him.

"Senior Mo... um, back then, were you tricked by someone or other into learning this Meridian Swallowing Divine Skill?" Jiang Shuo asked resentfully.

"Not at all. I chose to learn it willingly. In fact, to learn this Meridian Swallowing Divine Skill, I even crippled my former internal cultivation." Completely ignoring the resentment in Jiang Shuo's tone, Mo Xuanwu seemed to be admiring his own courage in making that decisive sacrifice as he continued, "I also have your father to thank. Otherwise, I never could have mastered this Meridian Swallowing Divine Skill."