The Guan Family Treasure

With two large bowls of Eight-Treasure Precious Soup to help her, Yue Lingshan had recovered her depleted internal energy by the next morning. Immediately afterward, however, someone dragged her outside.

"No! I don't want to practice Iron Shirt anymore!"

Clinging to the doorframe with one hand, Yue Lingshan shrank back.

The pain from yesterday still left her trembling with dread. She really did not want to experience it again.

"The path of martial arts only goes forward, never backward. How can you shrink from it?"

His expression turned cold. Tian Hao picked up the chains he had prepared beforehand and bound the girl, even stuffing a cloth into her mouth. He hoisted her onto his shoulder and strode outside, remembering to call out to his beautiful master's wife.

"Master's wife, I'm taking Little Senior Sister with me. I'll bring her back tonight. Make another pot of Eight-Treasure Precious Soup."

"That boy!"

Stepping out of her room and seeing her daughter tied up, Ning Zhongze shook her head helplessly.

Although her heart ached for her daughter, she understood the importance of strength even better.

Jianghu was far crueler than anyone imagined. Worse still, the Sun-Moon Demon Cult had been making one furtive move after another lately, and a war between the righteous and demonic factions seemed ready to erupt at any moment.

Once that war began, neither she nor her husband had much confidence in keeping themselves alive, let alone looking after their daughter.

Every bit of strength their daughter gained would give her another chance to survive when the time came.

Perhaps I could bring Hao and Shan together.

The idea suddenly occurred to Ning Zhongze, and she considered whether it might work.

Originally, she had favored their eldest disciple, Linghu Chong. But Chong'er’s recent behavior had disappointed her terribly. Afterward, she had even gone up to Reflection Cliff to speak with him, probing him with indirect questions. Sure enough, what she found differed little from what Hao had said that day.

That worried her greatly. Most importantly, the boy already loved liquor as dearly as his own life at such a young age. That was hardly a good habit.

She increasingly felt that their eldest disciple was not a suitable match for her daughter.

I'll wait and see. Hopefully, this setback will help Chong'er mature.

With a sigh, Ning Zhongze ultimately could not bring herself to separate Chong'er from her daughter.

After all, the two had grown up together, childhood sweethearts with a deep affection for each other. If Chong'er could change, he would naturally still make a good match.

As for Hao...

"Alas!"

Recalling that disciple's bizarre train of thought gave Ning Zhongze a terrible headache.

That boy did not seem like a suitable match either!

Shaking her head, she put those troubling matters aside and went to the dispensary to prepare some medicinal cuisine.

Although the Mount Hua Sect had been plundered by several mysterious forces after the Sword-Qi War and left practically destitute, she and her husband had managed to build up some savings through more than twenty years of effort. The sect had accumulated a fair stock of medicinal ingredients.

Previously, they had needed to use them sparingly. Now that her husband had gone to retrieve that treasure, there was naturally no need to economize.

As the saying went, the poor could study letters, but martial training demanded wealth. With sufficient medicinal ingredients to nourish them, martial artists could certainly cultivate much faster.

Chong'er was close to a breakthrough as well. When that happened, their Mount Hua Sect would have three Houtian Realm experts guarding it. Even if she and her husband unfortunately died in the coming war between the righteous and demonic factions, Chong'er could preserve the Mount Hua Sect's legacy.

Leaving aside Ning Zhongze as she cooked medicinal cuisine, Tian Hao ignored Yue Lingshan's objections and tossed her into the sealed chamber once again.

Although Yue Lingshan was no weakling, her strength lay in her swordsmanship.

This was also a common failing of the Mount Hua Sect. Almost everyone had ninety percent of their strength invested in their sword. Without it, they were like tigers stripped of their claws and fangs, their fighting power plummeting.

Thus, Yue Lingshan could not put up any resistance against the strong, sturdy Tian Hao.

"Damn rat!"

Locked in the chamber again, Yue Lingshan was so furious she wanted to bite someone. Still, she hurriedly took off her dress and spread A San Divine Oil evenly over her body, even applying a little extra.

The key to shedding skin through Horizontal Crab Iron Shirt lay in A San Divine Oil. Without it, there was no way to shed the dead skin and grow fresh skin beneath it.

She certainly did not want to remain black and red forever. It was hideous. If she went outside at night, she could scare someone to death.

After lighting the boiler outside and sending steam into the sealed chamber, Tian Hao walked out of the cave and glanced at a distant peak. Reflection Cliff was over there.

Forget it. The Five Mountains Sword Sects' sword techniques won't help the Mount Hua Sect much right now. I can bring them out later when I have the chance.

After some consideration, Tian Hao finally abandoned the idea of bringing the lost sword techniques of the Five Mountains Sword Sects out of the cave on Reflection Cliff.

A sword technique needed more than moves alone. It also required the corresponding formulas-the routes through which internal power and internal qi circulated through the meridians and acupoints. Those were the true core of a sword technique.

The most famous example was Evil-Warding Swordsmanship. With the Evil-Warding Internal Art, it was a top-tier sword technique. Without the internal art to support it, it was rubbish.

Otherwise, if moves were all that mattered, the martial arts of every sect would long since have been stolen by people watching fights and sparring matches.

Clearly, the sword techniques at Reflection Cliff contained only the moves, not the essential formulas. Those were closely guarded secrets of the Five Mountains Sword Sects.

Besides, the Five Mountains Sword Sects' sword techniques were nothing extraordinary. They offered little help to Houtian Realm experts.

In the original story, Old Yue had hardly used those Five Mountains Sword Techniques in the later stages, relying on Evil-Warding Swordsmanship instead. Apart from its greater compatibility with evil-warding true qi, the main reason was that sword techniques consisting of moves alone were not worth a damn.

Linghu Chong's performance made that obvious. Even after learning those sword techniques, Tian Boguang still thrashed him every which way. Clearly, the improvement was limited.

Moreover, given the state of the Mount Hua disciples, they had not even mastered a single set of Mount Hua Swordsmanship. How could they spare the effort to learn other sword techniques?

Even Old Yue had known the Sword Sect's supreme art, the Three Immortals Sword of Deadly Chain Strikes, in the original story. Had that done him much damn good?

Thus, to the current Mount Hua Sect, the Five Mountains Sword Techniques on Reflection Cliff were chicken ribs-too tasteless to eat, yet too wasteful to throw away. It was better to leave them there and retrieve them later if needed.

Of course, the Nine Swords of Dugu were something of an exception. But those dealt not in sword moves, but in the principles of the sword, having transcended mere techniques. They had to be considered separately.

"Linghu Chong, this is your last chance. Don't disappoint me, Master, or Master's wife."

His expression cooling, Tian Hao decided to give Linghu Chong a chance. If Linghu Chong discovered that cave as he had in the original story, Tian Hao would see what choice he ultimately made.

Would he continue to conceal it, or report it to Old Yue?

Two choices, two paths. It all depended on which one that fellow chose.

Still, there was little hope. After all, rivers and mountains were easier to change than a person's nature. That fellow was already twenty-five, his personality long since set. Unless something drastic happened, it would be difficult for him to change.

Meanwhile, Yue Buqun and his group hid by day and traveled by night, crossing mountains and ridges until they finally reached Guan Family Fort.

Guan Family Fort occupied an enormous area, practically a small city, measuring a full two li in both length and width.

However, the several hundred members of the Guan family had died horribly back then. Not only had their heads been cut off and piled into a Jingguan, but their bodies and the buildings within had also been burned to charcoal in a great fire.

On top of that, the illness that had afflicted the Guan family had been truly bizarre, like a plague. Afterward, no one dared live there, or even approach it.

Over time, weeds and trees had overgrown the former main road, making Guan Family Fort, with only its outer walls left standing, seem even more eerie and terrifying, especially at night.

Upon reaching the vicinity of Guan Family Fort, Yue Buqun and the others did not enter immediately. Instead, they spread out to investigate. Only after confirming that no one else was hiding nearby did they enter with peace of mind.

Back then, quite a few people had been watching Guan Family Fort, all hoping to obtain its wealth.

After all, Guan Family Fort had belonged to the richest family in Guanzhong, with untold riches accumulated over the years. Unfortunately for them, no one had imagined that Tian Hao had already moved its treasure into the cesspit.

Nor would anyone have imagined that treasure would be buried in such a filthy place. They had simply assumed that the fiend who slaughtered Guan Family Fort had carried it away.

Some had refused to give up, however. During that period, quite a few people had hidden nearby, secretly keeping watch.

Precisely for that reason, he had patiently waited three years, only coming to dig up the treasure after everyone had given up. Otherwise, the Mount Hua Sect in its current state could never have held on to such a heaven-sent windfall.

Arriving at the cesspit his disciple had described, Yue Buqun and the others took out the iron shovels they had prepared and began digging.

After three years, the cesspit that had once stunk to high heaven had dried and hardened. Even its stench was gone, and weeds covered its surface.

Clunk!

After they had dug a full two meters down, an unusual sound suddenly came from below. Yue Buqun and the others lit up with joy.

Sure enough, no one had discovered this treasure. They had struck it rich.