Nine Yang Divine Skill in Hand

Zu Hao focused intently on the intelligent White Ape before him and sighed inwardly.

It really is here.

The White Ape was huge, more than twice the size of an ordinary ape. Its fur was white as snow, save for a streak of golden hair on its forehead that lent it an added air of majesty.

Yet at that moment, the old ape lay curled up on a pile of dry grass deep within the cave. The pain in its abdomen had diminished some of its originally imposing bearing.

The swollen lump was a horrifying sight. The white fur around it had been matted together by pus and blood, forming dark brown scabs. A faint stench of rot permeated the air, utterly at odds with the fresh scent of vegetation within the cave.

"Uwoo... uwoo..."

The old White Ape was highly intelligent. When it saw Zu Hao approach, not only did it fail to bare its fangs, hope instead burst forth in its eyes.

It whimpered softly, one forepaw trembling as it pointed at its festering abdomen, while the other gently patted the ground as if recounting the pain it had endured for years.

Within those clear amber eyes, humanlike anguish and an almost humble plea were plainly reflected.

Zu Hao's heart settled. He slowly stepped forward and extended his unarmed right hand, palm up, gradually bringing it closer to the White Ape to show that he meant no harm.

"Don't be afraid. I can treat your injury."

As Zu Hao spoke, his powerful psychic force spread out like invisible mercury, examining the swollen mass in the White Ape's abdomen down to the finest detail.

Under the perception of his psychic force, every layer of flesh, meridians, and bone was laid bare.

Sure enough, deep within the festering flesh, pressed against the inner wall of the abdominal cavity, was a rectangular hard object roughly a foot long and three inches wide, tightly wrapped in an exceptionally tough kind of oilcloth.

The bundle was deeply embedded in the tissue. Its edges had already been partially enveloped by proliferating flesh and adhered tightly to the surrounding tissue, with even tiny blood vessels winding over it.

It was precisely the long-term presence of this foreign object that had prevented the wound from truly healing, causing repeated infection, suppuration, scabbing, and renewed ulceration.

If not for the White Ape's constitution far surpassing that of its kind, as well as its long-term diet of several unknown spiritual fruits growing in this valley and nourished by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, it would likely have been tortured to death long ago.

"Bear with it. It'll be over soon."

Zu Hao spoke softly.

He took a thin, gleaming knife from his spatial equipment, then took out a bottle of alcohol to disinfect the blade.

Then Zu Hao held his breath and focused. His psychic force precisely locked onto the foreign object's location, while he released a faint calming intent to ease the White Ape's fear.

The blade sliced through the festering skin and adhered tissue. His movements were swift as lightning yet incomparably precise, avoiding all major blood vessels.

The White Ape's body suddenly shuddered. It let out a suppressed groan, its claws digging deeply into the stone floor and leaving several white marks. Yet it endured the searing pain and truly did not struggle violently, only releasing heavy breaths from its throat.

Before long, Zu Hao's knife tip touched the oilcloth bundle.

With great care, he used his psychic force to assist in separating the surrounding adhered tissue. At last, he fully removed the oilcloth bundle, which was stained with dark red blood and traces of rotten flesh, hard and cold to the touch.

The moment the bundle was removed, the swelling in the White Ape's abdomen visibly subsided.

Zu Hao did not stop. He first used alcohol to clean the inside of the White Ape's wound, meticulously removed all decayed tissue with his psychic force, then used specially made catgut suture from Butterfly Valley to stitch its internal wounds and external skin.

Finally, Zu Hao took out a small white jade bottle and evenly sprinkled the pale golden medicinal powder within, which exuded a cool fragrance, over the wound.

Hu Qingniu's Jade Dew Flesh-Regenerating Powder was extraordinarily effective. The instant it touched the wound, the bleeding stopped, while threads of coolness seeped in and greatly eased the pain.

"Uwoo..."

The White Ape gave a low cry, its voice filled with the relief and gratitude of having had a tremendous burden lifted.

It tried moving its body and found that the heavy pain which had plagued it for decades had vanished, replaced by a long-lost sense of comfort.

It happily patted its belly, then let out several long cries toward the cave entrance.

A moment later, more than a dozen smaller monkeys ran in, carrying over twenty fragrant, lustrously colored exotic fruits in their arms. They respectfully placed them before Zu Hao.

These fruits were oddly shaped. Some resembled flat peaches, while others looked like vermilion fruits. Clearly, none of them were ordinary.

"Thank you for the gifts."

Zu Hao smiled faintly and did not refuse. With a thought, he stored all the spiritual fruits in his spatial equipment.

Having dealt with the White Ape, Zu Hao finally turned his full attention to the heavy, foul-smelling oilcloth bundle in his hands.

He went to the pool in one corner of the cave, carefully washed away the blood and rotten flesh on the bundle, then repeatedly cleaned his hands.

Peeling apart the oilcloth, which remained tough even after decades, he found four scripture volumes before his eyes.

They were the Nine Yang Manual!

Even though Zu Hao had been mentally prepared, seeing this supreme tome coveted by countless martial artists with his own eyes still made his heart surge with excitement.

This was the divine art that, in the original course of events, had forged Zhang Wuji's earthshaking foundation of inner power. It was also the key to neutralizing the Xuanming Divine Palm.

Zu Hao took a deep breath and suppressed his turbulent emotions. By the daylight filtering into the cave, he slowly opened the manual's first page.

The opening passage was its general doctrine, every word precious as jade, expounding upon the highest principles of martial arts.

The mysteries of the Nine Yang Manual went far beyond merely cultivating inner power.

Once mastered, its inner power would regenerate at an astonishing rate and become nearly inexhaustible. Every gesture and movement would possess immense might.

Its defensive power was even more astonishing. Its protective true qi could automatically repel external attacks.

It was also a sacred tome for healing, granting immunity to all poisons and proving especially effective against every form of cold poison and yin-based art.

The manual further contained practical techniques such as the Tortoise Breathing Skill, Bone-Shrinking Skill, and Gecko Wall-Crawling Skill.

Its greatest value lay in its all-encompassing nature, integrating the principles of martial arts throughout the world. Once cultivated to great mastery, one could nearly learn any martial art technique at a glance and master it as soon as one studied it.

Within the Jin-style martial arts system, the Nine Yang Manual was undoubtedly one of the most supreme internal cultivation methods.

Perhaps only the near-immortal Taixuan Manual, along with the unfathomable techniques of the Carefree Sect lineage, could surpass the Nine Yang Manual.

In terms of the purity and vastness of inner power alone, even the equally renowned Nine Yin Manual was somewhat inferior in both quantity and purity.

In the original story, Zhang Wuji had spent five years cultivating the Nine Yang Manual to great mastery.

Later, through a fortunate chance, he was trapped within Shuōbudé the Cloth Sack Monk's Heaven-and-Earth Qi Bag. Pressed by forces from both within and without, he broke through the final bottleneck, opened several hundred acupoints throughout his body, connected dozens of profound gates, and formed a perfect Great Circulation. Only then did he reach true completion, with inexhaustible inner power and no fear of depletion.

As for Master Jueyuan, he had failed to complete this final step. Though his inner power had been profound, it was like water without a source. After a fierce battle, he ultimately exhausted himself and died.

I used the Nine Yin Manual as my foundation and rapidly attained my cultivation by devouring highly poisonous things. Though my inner power has reached the first-rate realm, it is inevitably mixed and impure, leaving my foundation somewhat unstable.

Now that I have obtained this Nine Yang Manual, it is the perfect opportunity to temper my inner power, reconcile yin and yang, and solidify my foundation.

Zu Hao's mind was clear, and he immediately made his decision.