Jade Void Palace, Reuniting with Zhuang Yuan

As the Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic began to exert its power, golden Sanskrit characters flew everywhere, dismantling, reshaping, and completing the profound Mnemonic passed down by the Great Sage Huntian.

The originally incomplete and crude simplified Mnemonic were gradually filled with flesh and blood, the obscure scriptures became transparent, and the lofty but vague artistic conception became clear.

What worried Yu Tunzhou was that this time it took far longer than any other time!

After a full incense stick's time, this simplified Eight-Nine Mysterious Art finally underwent a complete transformation.

Just as the profound skill was completed, Yu Tunzhou felt his Primordial Spirit tremble violently, and his entire vision seemed to be suddenly pulled upward by an indescribable, vast force!

In the blink of an eye, he left the dilapidated temple, left the mountains and fields, crossed the sky, passed through layers of time and space barriers, and arrived in an endless, vast, and boundless chaos.

Like a fish that was swimming in a pond, suddenly thrown into the sky by a giant wave, in that instant it saw the whole ocean, the coastline, the source of the river, and clouds above clouds, and sky beyond sky.

At the end of all that lies a quiet, ancient, and magnificent Daoist temple, its plaque inscribed with three ancient and profound characters—

Jade Void Palace!

The ring on Yu Tunzhou's right finger trembled slightly at that moment.

The Great Sage Huntian, who had just drifted off to sleep, was suddenly awakened, his bird neck tucked in, his wings flapping, as he cautiously looked around.

How could I sense that person's aura?

The next moment, it looked blank, and then it was gone again?

Upon seeing the words "Jade Void Palace," Yu Tunzhou's heart skipped a beat.

Is this truly the Daoist temple of the Celestial Venerable Yuanshi?!

He instinctively wanted to move forward, attempting to step into the legendary Daoist temple of the Celestial Venerable Yuanshi.

But in the next instant, everything in front of them vanished.

There were no magnificent palaces, no profound Daoist charm, only endless, deathly silence and darkness, as if it were the beginning of everything before chaos.

Then, his vision began to fall back into the temple.

The Method Formula of the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art slowly flowed through his mind.

The Eight-Nine Mysterious Art, which is an evolution of the Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic, consists of two major chapters: the Unity of Heaven and Celestial Person Chapter and Man and the Fleshly Sanctification Chapter. Each chapter contains three realms.

The Unity of Heaven and Celestial Person Chapter:

The first level is [Yin-Yang Meridian Connection, Eightfold Stroke Foundation].

By opening up the meridians and acupoints throughout the body, especially the nine orifices, the primordial energy is ultimately generated from the Yin orifice and converges with the Yang energy at the Yang orifice, thus achieving "the unity of Yin and Yang, and the balance of water and fire."

At this point, all the meridians and acupoints in the body can resonate with the Power of the Eight Extremes of Heaven and Earth, drawing the power of Heaven and Earth into the body and laying the foundation for the Inner Heaven and Earth.

The second stage is [the transformation of the physical body into the mortal realm, the initial union of Celestial Person and humanity].

Using heaven and earth as a furnace and the physical body as a cauldron, the Power of the Eight Extremes of heaven and earth is transformed into one's own Inner Qi. In the process, the physical body is constantly improved, gradually becoming inhuman. The spiritual senses become clear, the ears and eyes become sharp, the strength increases greatly, and even a severed arm can regenerate.

When one reaches the peak of mastery, their physical body is enveloped in a protective golden light, making them impervious to weapons.

The essence of this realm lies not in improving physical strength, but in touching that fleeting moment when sensing the power of heaven and earth time and time again.

A sense of "Unity of Heaven and Celestial Person".

The third level is [Returning to Celestial Person's true nature, the body becoming like chaos].

This profound understanding of the essence of the Unity of Heaven and Celestial Person breaks through the limitation of "external force transforming into internal force," achieving "internal force and the power of heaven and earth mutually interacting and coexisting."

It also possesses the characteristics of encompassing and simulating all things, and can explore an opponent's meridians to replicate their energy cultivation methods. When combined with other martial arts techniques, it can enhance the original power.

The great achievement of this stage is marked by the initial creation of the Inner Heaven and Earth, resembling chaos.

The subsequent three stages of physical sanctification represent a further evolution of the Inner Heaven and Earth, ultimately leading to Indestructible Dao body, where the body merges with the Dao—a process far too obscure and profound.

The Inner Heaven and Earth chapter alone made Yu Tunzhou realize that the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art could not correspond to the Martial Dao.

After all, the second level of the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art is about pursuing the Unity of Heaven and Celestial Person.

In Martial Dao, this is something that can only be done on External Scenery!

No wonder the Great Sage repeatedly emphasized the difficulty of this method.

The threshold for Martial Dao is actually not low, especially if you want to reach a high level, you must Foundation Establishment with Profound Qi and Higher Vehicle Qi Ingestion Method.

The Eight-Nine Mysterious Art are even more outrageous, limited to geniuses; ordinary people, even with resources, are not qualified to master them.

It truly lives up to its reputation as an unparalleled divine skill from the ancient times!

No, after being elevated by the Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic, shouldn't it be of an unsurpassed level?

I just don't know if this method differs from the original Eight-Nine Mysterious Art.

Yu Tunzhou couldn't help but recall the fleeting glimpse of that scene just moments ago.

It was emptiness and nothingness, like a dark scene before chaos.

Yuanshi?

The Eight-Nine Mysterious Art seem to indeed be in the hands of the lineage of the Celestial Venerable Yuanshi.

Unlike his previous encounter with the Human Emperor, this time he saw only emptiness.

It is unclear whether Celestial Venerable Yuanshi is no longer here, or whether the Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic left by Buddha is difficult to trace back to Celestial Venerable Yuanshi.

When it came to a great figure like Celestial Venerable Yuanshi, Yu Tunzhou didn't think too much about it. He was too far removed from him, so he decided to think about how to combine the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art with Martial Dao.

"Kid, did you sense anything unusual just now?" Huntian's stern voice came.

Yu Tunzhou asked in astonishment, "Great Sage? Weren't you asleep?"

"I am protecting you!" Huntian refused to admit that he was startled awake. He figured he might as well do this kid a favor, since Human Race valued loyalty and righteousness.

Its voice was solemn as it said, "You don't know, the situation just now was very dangerous. You were almost targeted by a biased and vengeful guy! I suspect it's related to this mysterious skill!"

Are they protective of their own and hold grudges?

Yu Tunzhou was speechless for a moment.

"You brat, you don't know, the origin of this profound skill is astonishing!" Huntian said solemnly, "The reason I chose this Method Formula for you is purely because you have already opened your seven innate apertures, and it would be a real pity if you didn't try to cultivate this profound skill. But I never expected that the master behind this profound skill is actually keeping a close eye on the world—"

Yu Tunzhou thought to himself, "Based on what I just saw, I'm afraid the Celestial Venerable Yuanshi has already disappeared."

However, the first level of the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art is indeed suitable for him.

He has already opened seven acupoints; now he only needs to open the two major acupoints of Yin and Yang.

With a thought, Yu Tunzhou locked onto the two acupoints indicated by the profound technique.

Somewhat surprisingly, the Zhiyang acupoint here was not the fiftieth acupoint he had found through the Yi Jin Muscle-Tendon Changing Classic) during his Refining the True practice.

Instead, it's the "Baihui acupoint".

[The Baihui point on the top of the head is the origin of all Yang energy, receiving the Yang energy of Heaven; the Zhiyin point, also known as the Huiyin point at the base of the head, is the source of all Yin energy, emitting primordial Qi. When these two points are connected, Yin and Yang are in harmony, and water and fire are in balance.]

The Baihui acupoint is also the location of the Niwan Palace, the dwelling place of the Primordial Spirit.

This acupoint was not only opened up by Yu Tunzhou long ago, but it is also one of the acupoints that has been nourished for the longest time.

The remaining Zhiyin acupoint corresponds to the Huiyin acupoint, which is one of the fifty acupoints for Refining the True.

Therefore, at this moment, while listening to the Great Sage Huntian talk about the Celestial Venerable Yuanshi who was protective of his own and held grudges, Yu Tunzhou was circulating his Inner Qi and, following the method of the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art, re-condensing the two acupoints.

With his current level of Inner Qi, his progress can be described as rapid.

In the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, the two major acupoints, Baihui and Huiyin, had been completely re-condensed by the True Intention of the Xuan Gong, subtly resonating with the seven acupoints.

These two acupoints also correspond to the two poles of the human body, representing heaven and earth.

With all nine orifices opened, the greatest challenge of the first level of the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art has been overcome.

The next step is to open up all the meridians and acupoints in the body, then connect Yin and Yang, sense the Power of the Eight Extremes between heaven and earth, and lay the foundation for the Inner Heaven and Earth.

Yu Tunzhou silently counted, and according to the acupoints recorded in the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art, there were as many as 365. Even if all 50 acupoints for Refining the True were included, this "workload" was indeed considerable.

With his current level of Inner Qi, it will probably take him quite a while.

However, if in the end we can truly lay the foundation for the Inner Heaven and Earth, then all of this will be worthwhile, because this is something only the External Scenery can accomplish. "Hmm?"

Yu Tunzhou suddenly realized that after he re-condensed the two major acupoints of extreme yin and extreme yang according to the profound technique, the innate energy surging into his body suddenly surged!

It's like widening the opening of a bottle.

Here, Huntian stopped, still feeling a bit unsatisfied, and concluded, "In short, kid, be careful with your cultivation from now on. If you have a bad feeling, stop immediately!"

"Mm-hmm." Yu Tunzhou said with concern, "Great Sage, please rest early. I will ask you about cultivation matters when you wake up."

Huntian said with satisfaction, "Alright, try to figure it out on your own first. If you don't understand something, I'll answer it for you when I wake up."

The Yu Tunzhou had already sunk into the process of opening up all the acupoints in the body.

His Form Refinement Perfection, and most of his meridians had been opened up, with even most acupoints being nourished. Now, he needed to refine it again, and every second counted.

A few days later.

Yu Tunzhou stepped into West Xuan Commandery.

After wandering around the streets for a while, he found the branch of the Gold-Wielding Guard.

He used the connections of the Gold-Wielding Guard to learn about the local young masters of West Xuan Commandery.

West Xuan Commandery is located between the Northern Plains and the Western Desert, at the confluence of rivers, and is a necessary passage for the transport of Western Desert products. Therefore, the flow of people here is extremely large, and many families have set up branches here, with many young masters.

There are four masters on the Dragon and Tiger Ranking alone, but only two of them are worth fighting: one is Yuan Mengzhou, Through-Arm Hand eighteenth, and the other is Yang Che, Dragon and Tiger Ranking tenth, known as the Thunder Duke.

Yang Che remembered Yu Tunzhou; he was ninth on the last list, ahead of Xie Lintian, but this time he dropped one place.

The reason for this is that Daoist Xuanfa of the True Martial Sect has surged to eighth place.

As for the other two, they are both ranked in the thirties or forties.

Yu Tunzhou relaxed the conditions, allowing the Gold-Wielding Guard to help screen martial artists under the age of thirty, or those no more than the Early Divine Ability Stage, who had considerable reputations, thus expanding the number of challengers to five.

Afterwards, Yu Tunzhou inquired about the murder of the Jin Household members.

Although it was unlikely that Zhuang Yuan was lying given the circumstances that day, one should not rely solely on one side of the story. Relatively speaking, the intelligence from the Gold-Wielding Guard was more accurate.

"Yes, that's true."

He was received by a deputy envoy, the deputy to the garrison commander of West Xuan Commandery, named Xiao He. Upon hearing this, the coldness between his brows grew even stronger.

"The one who died was named Jin Shaoyan. She was only born out of wedlock in the Jin Household, but she had a good father. Her father was a strong candidate to succeed her as the next head of the family. His name was Jin Xiongfei, and he had the cultivation level of the Late Divine Ability Stage."

"Jin Xiongfei had a beloved woman, but because of her poor background, she could only be a concubine. Therefore, although Jin Shaoyan was born out of wedlock, she was extremely favored by Jin Xiongfei."

"For certain reasons, Jin Shaoyan was not allowed to practice martial arts. Coupled with Jin Xiongfei's doting, the boy's mind gradually became twisted. Over the years, no fewer than ten of his maids and concubines have died."

"The incident at Apricot Blossom Village is indeed true; half the village died, killed by Demon Beast."

Yu Tunzhou frowned and said, "The Gold-Wielding Guard?"

The Gold-Wielding Guard is responsible for overseeing all affairs of the realm, and is backed by the Great Yan Dynasty. There's no reason for them not to interfere.

Xiao He sighed, "It's not that we don't care, but we lack evidence. It's not uncommon for Demon Beast to come out of the mountains and attack villages. Besides, although Jin Shaoyan is mentally twisted, she is extremely intelligent and acts cautiously. In the incident of the Demon Beast storming into Apricot Blossom Village, she completely absolved herself of any involvement."

As for those maids—

At this point, Xiao He shook his head.

For such a large Lineage, the death of a few Lineage was nothing; these women had long since been enslaved.

Even though the Great Yan stipulated that "privately killing" a servant was a serious crime, not to mention these Aristocratic Clan, even some small Lineage didn't take it seriously and had their own ways of circumventing it.

For example, the maid might be said to have died "accidentally" while being punished for "disobeying orders," or reported as having "died suddenly from an illness."

The government will not investigate or interfere too much.

Xiao He suddenly asked, "Young Hero Yu, do you know who ultimately killed the Demon Beast in Apricot Blossom Village?"

"---- Jin Household?"

"That's right!" Xiao He said coldly, "So later, Jin Shaoyan even dared to send his guards to collect the reward from the Gold-Wielding Guard!"

Yu Tunzhou gave Xiao He a deep look and slowly said, "The Gold-Wielding Guard's control over the local areas is worse than I thought."

"We're short-handed, and the powerful Aristocratic Clan are stronger than us. Unless we catch them red-handed, there's nothing we can do," Xiao He said with a wry smile.

Having achieved his goal, Yu Tunzhou in a fist salute and left.

He first found an inn to stay in, then went to a bookstore on the street and asked the owner to help him write five challenge letters, which he then delivered to the five bookstores.

Yu Tunzhou had originally planned to visit an elder in the Jin Household, but he has now changed his mind.

Back when they were in the grotto, Master Lu had introduced him to the local customs and culture of many places, including West Xuan Commandery.

When Master Lu traveled the martial world in the past, he had many like-minded friends, one of whom was surnamed Jin. Now he is a powerful External Scenery in the Jin Household, and he is in charge of the clan.

This was the "connections" that Master Lu left him.

Whether those connections are still useful is hard to say.

Having heard about this scandalous affair involving the Jin Household, he abandoned his plan to visit Jin Household.

After delivering the challenge, he returned to the inn to continue using his Inner Qi to power up the remaining acupoints, while waiting for the replies from the other families.

The Jin Household mansion, deep within a mansion.

There was an old sycamore tree in the courtyard, most of its leaves had fallen.

Jin Ting stood with his hands at his sides on the veranda, even his breathing became lighter, watching over a young man inside the house.

The most likely successor to the position of family head in this generation of the Jin Household is Lord Jin Xiongfei, whom he has chosen to serve.

The Demon Lord has one legitimate son and one legitimate daughter. Even though his favorite son is Jin Shaoyan, who was born out of wedlock, Jin Shaoyan has never learned martial arts and cannot inherit anything from the Demon Lord.

The one who can truly inherit everything from the master is the master's eldest son Jin Qingwu, who is the young man in front of him.

"Any news?" Jin Qingwu's voice came from inside the door, not loud, and very calm.

"Yes, news came from the city defenses that this person entered the city this morning, and our men found him quickly," Jin Ting replied respectfully.

"Oh? What has this person done?" Jin Qingwu asked with interest.

"He wandered around the streets, found an inn to stay in, and finally went to a bookstore. We've already confirmed with the shop owner that he asked them to write five challenges."

"A challenge—" Jin Qingwu raised an eyebrow. "Could it be for Yang Che and Yuan Mengzhou?"

"Exactly. Besides them, the other three are well-known local martial artists, all at the Early Divine Ability Stage, and generally under thirty years old."

Jin Qingwu slowly said, "They are all young martial artists under the age of three thousand. It seems this one has come to challenge the younger generation of West Xuan Commandery."

He suddenly asked, "Have you confirmed his relationship with Zhuang Yuan?"

Jin Ting said in a low voice, "We questioned the other five people in the temple carefully, and it seems that this person and Zhuang Yuan only met by chance; they don't know each other."

Jin Qingwu glanced at Jin Ting and said, "Guard Jin, Father is very angry that you let Zhuang Yuan escape."

Jin Ting's expression tightened, and he quickly lowered his head, saying, "Please, Qingwu, give me some more time!"

"Relax," Jin Qingwu said with a smile. "I've already explained it to your father. It was just a chance encounter with a young master ranked fifteenth on the Dragon and Tiger Ranking in the middle of nowhere. It wasn't a mistake in battle."

Jin Ting looked grateful and immediately knelt on one knee. "Thank you for your kindness, young master!"

"Get up," Jin Qingwu suddenly asked. "That day at the temple, Zhuang Yuan exposed what my brother had done, Yu Tunzhou didn't attack you?"

Jin Ting nodded and said, "Young Hero Yu only gave me a warning that day."

Jin Qingwu's lips curled slightly, a hint of amusement in his eyes. "It seems this Young Hero Yu isn't exactly upright either, quite unlike the one from the Northern Dark Continent."

He looked at Jin Ting and smiled, "Here's what we'll do: help me send a message to Elder Moyuan, saying that Lu Huaiqing's successor Yu Tunzhou, has arrived."

Jin Ting looked puzzled.

Jin Qingwu smiled and said, "Actually, he wasn't lying to you that day. Even if he had killed you, the Jin Household wouldn't have stood up for a martial artist like you who was barely at the Divine Ability Lower Vehicle Dao Foundation. The reason isn't because of who's backing him, but because his deceased teacher had a close relationship with Elder Moyuan."

Upon seeing Jin Ting's face turn pale instantly, he suddenly lost interest and waved his hand, saying, "Alright, go and get on with your business."

"By the way, have all those people from Apricot Blossom Village been captured?"

"Young Master, they have all been imprisoned in a certain place as ordered by the Master," Jin Ting said in a low voice. "The news has also been released through certain channels, and as you instructed, it was specifically released to forces such as Cloud Terrace Mountain. We'll see when Zhuang Yuan returns."

Jin Qingwu nodded, his expression indifferent, and said, "That's good. If Dad wants to go crazy, let him go crazy."

Two days later.

Yu Tunzhou remained in the inn, focusing on his cultivation. He had already received three replies to the challenge he had sent out.

That night, as he was working on new acupoints, he suddenly opened his eyes to a knock at the door.

With his current Primordial Spirit, Yu Tunzhou could immediately tell who was outside the door, so he looked at the entrance with great surprise and quickly said, "Great Hero Zhuang, please come in!"

Soon, two figures flashed into his house.

The burly man with a thick beard was Zhuang Yuan, who had met Yu Tunzhou once in the mountain god temple.

The other was unfamiliar and young, with long arms and a narrow waist, strong features, and an impressive presence.

Before Yu Tunzhou could speak, the latter clasped his hands and smiled, "[Through-Arm Hand] Yuan Mengzhou greets Young Hero Yu!"

A glint of light flashed in Yu Tunzhou's eyes.

This person was actually one of the five people he wanted to spar with, and the one he most wanted to spar with!

Yuan Mengzhou, ranked eighteenth on the Dragon and Tiger Ranking, also specializes in boxing.

He stood up, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and then looked at Zhuang Yuan first, asking in confusion, "Great Hero Zhuang, didn't you leave? Why have you come back? Don't you know the Jin Household is searching for you?"

Zhuang Yuan sighed deeply, his face showing shame. "Young Hero Yu, to be honest, I've come here to ask for your help!"

"Please speak."

Zhuang Yuan took a deep breath and said, "That little beast's father, Jin Xiongfei, secretly captured the surviving villagers of Apricot Blossom Village and spread the word that if I didn't return, he would execute them all. Therefore, I had no choice but to return! I, Zhuang Yuan, will take full responsibility for my actions!"

"We've come here to ask for your help Young Hero Yu. We've found several suspicious locations where people are being held, and we'd like to ask you to draw Jin Xiongfei 'Young Hero Yu attention to them, buying us time to rescue him!"

Yu Tunzhou was silent for a moment, then said, "Now that we've found the place of imprisonment, why not notify the Gold-Wielding Guard?"

This time, it was Yuan Mengzhou who answered. He sneered, "The Gold-Wielding Guard? Many people in the Gold-Wielding Guard have received benefits from the Jin Household over the years. Otherwise, how could Jin Shaoyan have escaped so easily?"

Yu Tunzhou hadn't expected this answer, yet it seemed quite reasonable.

He looked at Zhuang Yuan, a burly man with a thick beard whose expression was full of shame, as if he was ashamed to have dragged him into this matter.

"How can I help you?" Yu Tunzhou asked calmly.

Yuan Mengzhou said in a deep voice, "Jin Xiongfei has a legitimate son and a legitimate daughter. The daughter is named Jin Qingshui. She is quite capable and is an outstanding member of the Jin Household in this generation."

"Since you've already challenged me and Yang Che, why not add her to the mix? Jin Xiongfei will definitely be there to watch the battle between the eldest daughter and you. We'll seize the opportunity to search those suspected locations and rescue the person!"

"Once these people are rescued, and with so many people involved in public, the Gold-Wielding Guard can no longer turn a blind eye!"

Yu Tunzhou looked at Yuan Mengzhou: "If I remember correctly, Young Hero Yuan comes from Cloud Terrace Mountain, and Cloud Terrace Mountain has been an ally of the Jin Household for a century."

Yuan Mengzhou was silent for a moment, then said, "Therefore, I will not show my true face; I will have to travel masked."

Yu Tunzhou nodded. "Since you dared to step forward, how could I not help? I will write another challenge letter and send it to the Jin Household, challenging Jin Qingshui."

"Thank you very much Young Hero Yu!" Zhuang Yuan his hands in a deep fist salute and said in a solemn voice, "I will remember this kindness forever!"

Yu Tunzhou sighed softly, "Your words, Great Hero Zhuang, actually make me feel ashamed. What kind of favor is this? I don't consider myself a good person, but I am still a human being. As long as I am human, I have no reason to stand idly by when I encounter this situation."

Yuan Mengzhou laughed and said, "After this matter is over, I'll have a proper fight with you! We also have a few other friends, I'll introduce them to you later!"

Afterwards, the group discussed their initial plan and how to notify each other, and then Zhuang Yuan and his companion left under the cover of night.

Yu Tunzhou sat in the room, but for a moment he lost all interest in cultivation.

Along the way, he visited many prefectural cities, from the Jade River to Danyang, and from Danyang to Xuanbei.

Along the way, I've witnessed many petty thieves and arrogant scoundrels, but this kind of callous and unbridled evil is a first.

And the family that did all this happened to be the Lineage of an old friend that Master Lu had once mentioned.

The next day.

Before Yu Tunzhou could even deliver the declaration of war.

The invitation from the Jin Household was first delivered to the inn where he was staying.

The person who invited him to visit was none other than one of Master Lu's former like-minded friends.

Jin Moyuan, Senior Jin.