socalfunplaces Page 56
Page 56
The man cupped his hands to Su Yuchen and said, "Chief Su, you may rest here for a while. Today is Laba Festival, and Laba porridge will be served today. Once the banquet begins, I will come to take you to the banquet hall, where the island lord will also appear to meet you all."
Su Yuchen had no choice but to go along with the host's wishes and couldn't appear too eager for martial arts, otherwise, as an outsider, he wouldn't be able to explain himself. He was there to secretly learn martial arts, not to wipe out someone's entire family.
Su Yuchen nodded, indicating that he should do as he pleased, and the man then left. Su Yuchen also lost his appetite, drank some water, and sat cross-legged on the bed to regulate his breathing and calm his mind.
Without thinking or feeling, I don't know how much time passed; it felt like a long time, yet also like only a moment.
Footsteps sounded outside the cave, stopping abruptly at the entrance. The man who had led the way called out, "Chief Su, the banquet has begun. You may attend now."
The sound of footsteps rang out, and Su Yuchen had already woken up. Upon hearing this, he did not hesitate and got up to walk towards the cave entrance.
When the man saw him come out, he cupped his hands in a gesture of invitation and led the way into the cave.
After passing through two caves, Su Yuchen heard the sound of string and wind instruments. Upon closer inspection, he discovered that it was a huge stone cave.
The grotto is about half the size of a football field, surrounded by colorful stalagmites, rock formations, and other natural landscapes, making the interior of the grotto even more beautiful.
Chapter 109 Reviewing Laba Congee
In the very center of the grotto, the area has been completely leveled, and more than a hundred stone tables and benches have been placed there, arranged neatly.
To the south of the grotto are dozens of wide stone steps, with two stone tables side by side, facing south, as if on a pilgrimage.
At this moment, some of the dozens of martial arts practitioners who had been forcibly invited by Xia Ke Island had already taken their seats, while others were being led in through other entrances.
Dozens, nearly a hundred, men in yellow robes moved about the cave in an orderly fashion, yet there was no disorder whatsoever, clearly indicating that they were all skilled in their craft.
The man led Su Yuchen to the first seat on the left in the first row, then bowed and left.
Su Yuchen looked them over for a moment, but didn't recognize any of them. He couldn't help but laugh at himself. Since he came to this world, he had either been cultivating in seclusion at Motian Ridge or practicing at the headquarters of the Chang Le Gang, but he hadn't made any friends among these martial arts people.
Seeing his blue robes, his hair tied up with copper rings, and his elegant and unconventional appearance, no one stepped forward to speak to him. They all looked around and pondered in silence.
Su Yuchen also lost interest, sat down and closed his eyes to rest, waiting for the main character to appear.
………………
A moment later, a jade chime rang out, and at the entrance of the cave, a man in yellow robes called out, "The two island lords of Xia Ke Island, Long and Mu, are receiving their guests!"
Except for Su Yuchen, who remained with his eyes closed in meditation, everyone else was taken aback, thinking to themselves, "So this Xia Ke Island actually has two island lords?"
Before long, two rows of tall men walked in from the cave entrance, one row on the right dressed in yellow and the other row on the left dressed in blue.
Two rows of burly men stood in order up the stone steps. The heroes who had been forcibly invited to the island looked at them and couldn't help but gasp.
Among them were the two men, one fat and one thin, who were the two messengers of reward and punishment. The fat man was dressed in yellow but ranked only eleventh; the thin man was dressed in blue and ranked thirteenth.
For years, the two envoys who had been causing trouble for the martial arts world and had to come to the island were not even in the top ten. How high must the martial arts of the number one person in the top ten be?
The voice continued, "Disciples of the two island masters, Long and Mu, of Xia Ke Island, pay their respects to the guests!"
The two rows of burly men bowed deeply in respect, and the assembled heroes rose to return the greeting, though their hearts were filled with bitterness.
With just the two envoys who reward good and punish evil, they could defeat all heroes within the time it takes to burn an incense stick. Add to that their equally skilled disciples, and it's no wonder that for countless years, no one has ever been able to leave Xia Ke Island.
And that doesn't even include the two more unfathomable island masters on Xia Ke Island, whose martial arts skills must be incredibly profound.
Then another jade chime sounded, and two old men, one in yellow and one in blue, appeared on the high platform.
The old man in yellow had a full head of white hair and beard, and his smiling face made him appear kind and gentle; the old man in blue, on the other hand, had a full head of black hair and beard, and his calm expression made him appear gentle and refined.
The voice sang: "The two island lords of Xia Ke Island greet their guests!"
The two old men then cupped their hands in acknowledgment and bowed deeply to the surrounding area. When the old man in yellow and the old man in blue looked at Su Yuchen, their eyes widened in surprise, and then they nodded in acknowledgment.
Su Yuchen nodded in return and joined the assembled heroes in exchanging greetings.
The voice sang: "Guests, please take your seats and serve Laba porridge."
The two old men gestured for everyone to sit down, and the two men sat down side by side on the high platform.
As soon as the heroes sat down, a burly man in yellow robes, each carrying a tray, brought out a bowl of steaming hot porridge and placed it in front of each person.
Su Yuchen frowned upon seeing it; the Laba porridge looked terrible. The purplish-black rice porridge contained some root-like chunks that were bubbling away.
The porridge not only looked unappetizing, but also had a bitter, medicinal smell that hit the nose and mouth, making it unappetizing. The purplish-black bubbles kept bursting and rising again, like poison.
It's really hard to associate this bowl of porridge with the sweet and cloying Laba porridge.
The two island lords on the high platform raised their chopsticks and gestured around, saying, "Please have some porridge, everyone. This bowl of Laba porridge is best enjoyed while it's hot."
After saying that, he didn't care what the people below thought, picked up his bowl and started drinking.
Su Yuchen frowned, picked up the bowl and took a bite. A strange, bitter and sweet taste wafted up and became pungent.
After tasting it carefully, Su Yuchen lost his appetite. This bowl of porridge might be of some use to those with low internal strength, but it was of no use to him. Instead, he would need to use his true energy to refine the medicinal power, which would be a waste of his time.
After taking a couple of bites, analyzing the prescription, shaking his head, and sighing, Su Yuchen put down his chopsticks.
When Su Yuchen raised his head, he found that not only were the heroes around him looking at him, but the two island lords, Long and Mu, were also looking at him and asked, "This must be Chief Su! Is there anything I have done wrong in our hospitality?"
Su Yuchen nodded, then shook his head, and said...
"The hospitality was impeccable. The island is beautiful and the scenery is lovely. I like it very much."
"This bowl of Laba porridge is quite potent, but unfortunately it's of little use to me. Instead, I'll have to spend time and energy refining its potency, which is really not worth it."
"Furthermore... please forgive my bluntness, but the people on the island who cook porridge don't have a good enough grasp of the heat and the medicinal properties."
"The dragon bone powder in this porridge was added a quarter of an hour too early, and the bone-strengthening herb and the ghost-face flower were added a quarter of an hour too late. Therefore, some of the toxicity has leaked out."
"Moreover, the effects of the two main ingredients, the Heart-Corroding and Soul-Destroying Herb and the Illusion-Inducing Fruit, have not been fully incorporated into the porridge."
"The various mistakes made here have caused this bowl of Laba porridge to lose two parts of its medicinal effect and become one part more toxic."
"After drinking this bowl of Laba porridge, those with insufficient internal strength will need to sleep for at least three days and three nights."
"Forgive my bluntness, but most of the people here have only average internal strength. Once they drink it, they will become intoxicated and unable to even refine the medicinal power."
"By the time they wake up, seventy or eighty percent of the medicine's effects have already dissipated, which is such a waste!"
"Finally, I, Su, have no shortage of this medicinal power to replenish my qi and blood and internal strength, so I will politely decline!"
The two island lords exchanged a glance, and the old man in blue said…
"Brother Long and I have been living in seclusion on an isolated island overseas. I never expected that today, the martial arts world of the Central Plains would produce another hero like Chief Su."
"Since Master Miaodi of Shaolin and Master Yucha of Wudang, Chief Su is the most unfathomable person we have ever met."
"We didn't expect that Chief Su was also proficient in alchemy. We will carefully consider Chief Su's words."
Su Yuchen said calmly, "I am only rudimentary in the art of medicine, and I have offended you in many ways. Please forgive me."
Su Yuchen spoke calmly, but the implication was that he didn't care about the heroes and the people from Xia Ke Island at all, giving off a feeling of being the only one sober in a world of fools, and feeling lonely at the top.
The two island lords were not annoyed. After whispering for a moment, Island Lord Mu said, "In that case, please leave the table, Chief Su. There is another place on the island that I believe will satisfy Chief Su."
Su Yuchen nodded, got up, and followed a disciple toward another cave entrance.
The voices of the two island lords came from behind, saying, "This Heart-Severing, Bone-Corroding, and Soul-Rotting Herb is best taken while it's hot. Please, everyone, don't be shy."
………………
The following content is not included in the word count.
P.S.: I've seen many people asking why I have to reincarnate and start over, so here's an explanation of my setup.
On the one hand, the remaining body can serve as a "beacon" in the long river of time; on the other hand, there is a lack of strength.
In the early stages of the world, because enough "legendary points" were left behind, there were already enough beacons, so the body was used as system fuel.
Later, they probably arrived in other worlds, where their physical bodies were pure Yang and possessed the attributes of immortality and indestructibility, so it was no longer a soul transmigration.
In my vision, one of the legendary status and the monk's physical body will be chosen as a guiding principle in the later stages, thus unifying the spacetime of the Martial God or "Great Luo".
Chapter 110 The Swordsman's Divine Skill
Su Yuchen didn't care what happened behind him.
After exiting the cave, the disciple led Su Yuchen into a long passageway. After walking for more than twenty feet, they saw a stone gate with the three characters "侠客行" (Xia Ke Xing) carved on it in clerical script.
The disciple gestured for him to leave, then withdrew.
Su Yuchen didn't mind. He reached out and pushed open the stone door, and there was a stone chamber in front of him. The east wall was polished to an extremely smooth finish and was engraved with images, texts and other things.
Eight torches were stuck in the top, bottom, left, and right of the stone wall, illuminating it in every detail. At this moment, more than ten people were gathered around the stone wall; some were meditating with their eyes closed, some were deep in thought, and others were practicing their skills.
Su Yuchen bypassed the group arguing and looked towards the stone wall...
In the center of the stone wall, there is a depiction of a young, frail scholar, wearing a feather fan and a turban, holding the fan in his left hand and making a flying palm with his right, his expression appearing elegant and unrestrained.
On the left side of the stone wall is carved a line of large characters, which is the first line of the novel "The Knight-Errant": "Zhao Ke Man Hu Ying".
Numerous annotations are engraved around the depicted young scholar.
Su Yuchen glanced at it, and someone commented: "Zhao Ke is the one who assassinated the King of Qin, a truly heroic and tragic figure. The strike here must be powerful and domineering..."
Later, someone commented in rebuttal: "Looking at the young man in the picture, he is actually a frail scholar. How could he be a man of great courage and tragic spirit? A frail person is also considered effeminate. When he strikes with his palm, he should appear refined and upright on the outside, but in reality, he is effeminate..."
Then, densely packed with quotations from Zhuangzi's "On Swordsmanship," Zuo Si's "Ode to the Capital of Wei," Sima Qian's commentary, and so on, covering an entire stone wall.
The mere five characters 'Zhao Ke Man Hu Ying' could inspire countless interpretations that would fill the entire stone chamber. Su Yuchen shook his head and sighed.
He seemed to see those so-called "experts and professors" from his first life, citing numerous sources and classics, just to prove that you should use an umbrella when it rains and that you won't feel hungry when you eat.
………………
Su Yuchen didn't disturb the others. He quietly walked to the side and, as the light in his heart sprouted, his heart became like light, illuminating heaven and earth.
The figures on the stone wall seemed to step out, and a figure made of light floated in Su Yuchen's heart.
Su Yuchen remained unmoved, and streams of light rose along the young scholar's sleeves, palms, and other areas. A total of eighty-one streams of light formed a diagram of meridian circulation.
Within Su Yuchen's body, a stream of true energy spontaneously moved, flowing along the meridian diagram, and in an instant, he had completed the first meridian diagram.
As the eighty-one streams of light continued to flow, causing the figure to dance continuously, it was a set of palm techniques.
Su Yuchen stood at the back, and as his true energy flowed, he naturally unleashed a set of palm techniques, his two palms working together seamlessly and moving with ease.
However, the first set of "Zhao Ke Man Hu Ying" has already been mastered.
Su Yuchen turned and left, heading towards the second stone chamber. As soon as he entered the chamber, he saw more than a dozen people fighting each other, wielding long swords and unleashing a torrent of sword energy.
The seven pairs of figures were extremely focused and paid no attention to Su Yuchen's arrival.
These people each possessed exquisite swordsmanship and unique moves, yet all were incredibly skillful and ingenious.
Suddenly, one of the elderly men started arguing, with one of them arguing that the other's swordsmanship had deviated from the general principles of "Wu Hook Frost and Snow Bright".
Another person countered with the line from Li He's poem, "Why shouldn't a man carry a Wu hook?", arguing that the key point should be the word "carry," and that the statement should be left unsaid.
The others also had their own opinions, and after only a couple of moves, they started arguing. The key point is that everyone's words made sense, and their moves were all unique. They were not just talking nonsense or being unreasonable.
Su Yuchen wasn't in a hurry; he simply listened attentively to everyone's explanations and demonstrations of their own sword techniques.
Some people's swordsmanship is fluid and unrestrained, some people's swordsmanship is flexible and unpredictable, some people's swordsmanship is fierce and sharp, and some people's swordsmanship is as curved as a snake.
Su Yuchen only stayed here for a short time, but he had already learned three or four sword techniques and their essence, and gained a lot.
He wasn't in a hurry to look at the diagrams on the wall; he just listened quietly. These people didn't hold back; when they started arguing, they really poured out all their family secrets, afraid that the other party wouldn't understand.
By the time some of these people left in a bad mood, leaving only three or four people still observing the stone wall but no longer practicing together, Su Yuchen had already learned the essence of seven or eight sword techniques.
He walked to the side, picked up a long sword, closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, then began to practice the sword techniques of those people from before.
The remaining people glanced at him, then turned to look at the stone wall and stopped paying attention.
Su Yuchen immersed himself in the sword technique. As his inner light manifested, the number of sword moves in his hand increased, and he filled in the gaps in the sword techniques and the incomplete connections.
As he continued to practice, sword energy filled the air, and a cluster of sword shadows flickered back and forth, covering most of the stone chamber.
With a flick of his wrist, a sword shadow, as sharp as a dragon or a tiger, landed with a clang on the sword rack beside him.
The remaining people were all looking at Su Yuchen with great interest, not expecting his swordsmanship to be so profound.
Su Yuchen glanced at them and realized that he already knew all the sword techniques they used, so he immediately lost interest in exchanging words and turned to look at the stone wall to the side.
The others were disappointed, but they didn't want to disturb them. Two of them left on their own, while the other two continued to argue while looking at the stone wall.
As Su Yuchen looked, he saw a row of large characters on the left side of the stone wall: "Wu Gou Shuang Xue Ming" (吴钩霜雪明). Following that were dense annotations, written to the brim.
In the center of the stone wall are carved twenty-four swords. These swords are of different shapes, lengths, widths, and directions, and after looking at them for a long time, they become quite chaotic.
Su Yuchen continued to illuminate these stone-carved sword diagrams with his inner light. As the inner light manifested, the twenty-four sword shadows gradually connected into a line. According to their length, width, and the direction of their sword tips, they indicated the acupoints where internal energy was circulating, the speed and amount of true energy, and the way the acupoints were impacted.