Gao Jianfei thought all of this was normal. What was wrong between husband and wife? So, he casually whistled and said to Song Ying, "Um, Miss Song, I can tell you with certainty that I have dealt with the group of people who caused trouble at the casino. You can drive away from ZG City anytime with peace of mind. You will have a smooth journey."
Song Ying bit her lip tightly, thinking... "How can I leave now? If I leave now, when will I find another opportunity to get so close to Gao Jianfei?"
The proud woman was conflicted, pondering various excuses to stay.
evening.
Qingcheng Mountain!
Shangqing Palace!
The Qingcheng Sect leader, Guan Xuanzi, had a very unpleasant expression on his face at this moment!
Those who cultivate the Tao value inner peace, tranquility, and detachment from worldly desires; they cultivate self-restraint. Joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness are not to be entangled in their hearts.
However, Guan Xuanzi now appears to be showing signs of becoming increasingly agitated.
That's true, how could he not be angry?
He sent his most capable disciple to ZG City to deal with a worldly person, and what was the result?
His disciple, blinded in both eyes, ran back with a mournful face!
The mission was not completed, and his limbs were crippled! You must understand, what kind of person is a martial artist if he loses his sight?
It's scrapped!
Huo Yeshui, Guan Xuanzi's prized disciple, is practically ruined! Well, from now on, he can just stay in the Taoist temple and forget about ever achieving anything in this life.
What a tragedy!
For the Qingcheng Sect, a top-tier Taoist temple in China, this is truly a huge tragedy!
"Ye Shui, his eyes have been gouged out, his eyeballs have burst, and he will never recover in this lifetime. Even with the most miraculous elixirs, it will be in vain. Alas... In the past ten years or so, it seems that my Qingcheng Sect has never suffered such a great loss, has it?" Guan Xuanzi said coldly to the disciples on both sides.
"Sect Leader!" A middle-aged Taoist priest stood up abruptly. "The other party's methods are so vicious, injuring people's eyes. This is simply putting people in a situation worse than death! For us cultivators and martial artists, our eyes are far more precious than those of ordinary people! To go blind is to abandon a lifetime of cultivation! This... is tantamount to a direct insult to my Qingcheng Sect! Arrogant! Extremely arrogant! Please, Master, issue the 'Three Mountains and Five Peaks Kill Order' to directly issue a warrant for the arrest of 'Gao Jianfei'."
A decree to kill all mountains and rivers!
This is a rather terrifying type of wanted notice within the province's Taoist and martial arts circles!
Within the province, there are hundreds of families and sects, large and small, that practice Taoism, chanting scriptures, and martial arts.
This circle is actually just like the writers' circle, painters' circle, artists' circle, and celebrities' circle in secular society; they are connected and have overlaps.
Within this circle, there's a type of wanted notice called... the "All-Out Kill Order Across Three Mountains and Five Peaks."
Once this law is promulgated, at least within the province, those who are subject to the general ban can be sentenced to death!
When this decree was initially drafted, it was endorsed by hundreds of cultivation and martial arts sects. This decree is valid indefinitely and is supreme!
Within the province's Taoist and martial arts circles, only three families are qualified to issue this supreme decree!
Emei! Qingcheng! Tangmen!
The middle-aged Taoist priest who just suggested that Guan Xuanzi issue a general ban on all three mountains and five peaks is also quite reasonable.
It's important to understand that the Qingcheng Sect alone wields terrifying power; to hunt down just one person, they wouldn't need to issue a general kill order across the entire Three Mountains and Five Peaks. However…
The truth has come out: Gao Jianfei is no ordinary person!
Could someone who could severely injure Huo Yeshui and his six disciples be an ordinary person?
In other words, Gao Jianfei must have a powerful family backing him! To be on the safe side, the best course of action for the Qingcheng Sect is to issue a general order to kill Gao Jianfei, making him a common enemy of all cultivation and martial arts sects in the province!
In that case, even if Gao Jianfei has a powerful backer, can he really stand up to the hundreds of martial arts sects of all sizes in the entire province?
Guan Xuanzi sneered. "Issuing the 'Order to Kill All Mountains and Peaks'? Luoyangzi, do you think our Qingcheng Sect would go to such lengths to issue an order just to deal with a nobody like him? Wouldn't our fellow practitioners in the province laugh at us for making a mountain out of a molehill?"
The Taoist priest who had spoken earlier immediately fell silent and dared not utter a word.
At this moment, two young Taoist disciples ran straight into the palace and reported, "Grandmaster, Uncle Huo has taken the medicine and his injuries have stabilized. He wishes to see you."
Guan Xuanzi waved his hand, "Let Ye Shui in. Alas... poor child."
Before long, supported by two young Taoist boys, Huo Yeshui slowly walked into Shangqing Palace. His eyes were covered with a black cloth, his face was pale and haggard, and the muscles at the corners of his mouth twitched nervously, sometimes turning into a sinister smile, and sometimes into a bitter smile, which was very complicated.
"Master! You must do justice for your disciple!" As soon as he entered the palace, Huo Yeshui knelt down on both knees. "Master, your disciple... your disciple... is blind! Blind!"
"Don't panic! Don't panic! Ye Shui, tell me in detail what happened! Don't worry, anyone who dares to provoke my Qingcheng Sect will not have a good ending! Absolutely not! Your master will definitely stand up for you! That Gao Jianfei is nothing less than a mortal enemy of our Qingcheng Sect!" These words were spoken extremely sternly. Clearly, seeing his disciple in such a state, Guan Xuanzi was truly enraged!
Even when beating a dog, you have to consider its owner, right?
"Master, fellow disciples, please listen to my explanation!" Huo Yeshui pondered for a few seconds, then spoke earnestly and meticulously, word by word, "That Gao Jianfei must come from an evil family sect! I could tell at a glance that he had never learned internal martial arts! His own skills were probably very weak! However, when my disciples and I saw Gao Jianfei at Qingyan Cave Temple, he was besieging 11 people who had practiced some internal martial arts! Gao Jianfei... relied on wild beasts! Mutant wild beasts! Yes, Gao Jianfei is recorded in Taoist books and unofficial histories as... a beast tamer! He can command wild beasts to fight for him!"
"A beast tamer?!" Guan Xuanzi jumped to his feet, his eyes burning with fervor. Two seconds later, he sat down again. "Continue! Keep going!"
"Yes, Master! Later, when I fought Gao Jianfei, his Tibetan mastiffs and mongrels posed no threat to us. But this guy is cunning and treacherous. Just when we were about to be defeated, he released the eagles that had been lying in ambush in the air! My eyes and the eyes of several of my disciples were gouged out by the eagles! Master, I am not convinced! If I had known beforehand that the enemy had two eagles, how could I have taken them seriously? How could I have been ambushed and blinded? I am not convinced, Master!"
“Mongolian dogs, Tibetan mastiffs, eagles…” Guan Xuanzi muttered to himself, “Taoist texts record that weaker beast tamers can command ordinary wild animals to fight, slightly stronger ones can command tigers, lions, elephants, and even more powerful ones can turn people into puppets! This is practically a form of sorcery! I never imagined that there would actually be such strange beings skilled in this kind of sorcery in the world today! So, what about the family behind him…”
Guan Xuanzi began to ponder deeply, his eyes sometimes revealing fervent desire, sometimes worry, and sometimes hope. A full three minutes passed before he finally spoke, "All disciples of the Qingcheng Sect, heed my command!"
Suddenly, the Qingcheng disciples on both sides, whether Taoist or lay, all stood up, their faces grim.
"From this day forward, Gao Jianfei will be added to the list of mortal enemies of the Qingcheng Sect. Everyone, exert all your strength to capture Gao Jianfei alive! This matter must be kept secret and must not be known to other cultivation or martial arts forces. Gao Jianfei is a beast tamer! He must be captured alive! Extract the legendary beast taming method from him! Capture him alive!"
Guan Xuanzi announced with a resounding voice.
night.
Nanhu National Community, ZG City.
Gao Jianfei's Tibetan Mastiff has found its way home and returned to Gao Jianfei's house. The four local dogs are wandering outside the community. Two eagles are perched in the green woods inside the community. With sharp eyes, they are observing the windows of Gao Jianfei's building. If anything is wrong, the two eagles will fly over to rescue him immediately!
Gao Jianfei, of course, couldn't stay at home; he had a premonition of impending doom.
Therefore, around 10 p.m., Gao Jianfei told his family that he had official business to attend to and would be out overnight, returning home the next evening. He then left home immediately.
Furthermore, Gao Jianfei also instructed his family members not to go out and wander around.
Gao Jianfei was at ease with the security of this neighborhood. Besides, with Tibetan mastiffs, eagles, and stray dogs guarding it, ordinary people would have to think twice before trying to harm the Gao family!
After leaving home, Gao Jianfei went directly to a hotel, booked a single room, locked the door, and entered the haunted house.
In the den of ghosts.
"Dear user, welcome to your haunted home. May I ask how I can help you?" the intelligent program's voice rang out faithfully.
Gao Jianfei looked at his exorcism points; in half a day, they had recovered to '700'.
“Not for now. I’ll come back to you tomorrow at noon to do my first Level 3 Ghost test,” Gao Jianfei said, and then headed towards the second floor of the Ghost Den.
Tonight, Gao Jianfei will stay in the ghost's den. Tomorrow, the first level 3 internal martial arts ghost will come!
Feeling bored tonight, I went to find Xuan Shui and Xuan Ku to learn their meager internal martial arts skills and get a feel for what they are all about.
Upon arriving at room 2-32 of the Xuan Shui residence, they found the monk Xuan Ku already there. The two monks were chatting and smiling in the room.
Gao Jianfei broke out in a cold sweat. These two monks are level 2 ghosts. Could they be having a homosexual relationship in this ghost den?
Upon seeing Gao Jianfei, the two monks immediately greeted him with respect, "Greetings, Young Benefactor Gao!"
Gao Jianfei greeted them casually, then said, "I don't have much to talk about with you sutra chanters. Fine, let's just learn your internal martial arts skills! They may be weak, but even a small mosquito is still meat. Besides, I don't have the right to be picky right now."
Then, the intelligent program's voice rang out... "Super Ghost Device, Learning Space Activated!"
Chapter 201 The Classification of Internal Martial Arts
Chapter 201 The Classification of Internal Martial Arts
Gao Jianfei found a hotel not far from his home, booked a standard room, and then locked himself in the haunted house.
The main problem is that the menacing aura emanating from that brow is subtly entwining around Gao Jianfei, like a vulgar, promiscuous woman that he can't shake off!
Repelling those six men posed a potentially enormous threat to Gao Jianfei! A deadly threat!
Therefore, starting tonight, Gao Jianfei is prepared to stay in the ghost den and make some arrangements!
First, before the exorcism points return to '1500', go to the second floor of the Ghost Den and find the two monks, Xuan Shui and Xuan Ku, to learn their internal martial arts skills.
The Super Ghost Instrument activated, opening the learning space. Gao Jianfei and Xuan Ku Xuan Shui immediately arrived at a small dam. There were some wooden stakes in the dam, but nothing else.
"Young Master Gao, if you wish to learn internal martial arts, let me first explain its origins and concepts to you!" At this moment, the two lewd and shameless young monks became extremely serious and amiable towards Gao Jianfei. Their former arrogance had long since vanished. It seems that they've become well-behaved after becoming ghosts.
"Okay. Go ahead, I'm listening carefully." Gao Jianfei took out a cigarette, found a wooden stake to sit on, and began to listen intently while smoking. Anyway, there was no rush, so he decided to listen carefully to the two young monks explaining the principles of internal martial arts.
After witnessing the formidable strength emanating from Qingquanzi and the six men he defeated, Gao Jianfei subconsciously began to strictly distinguish between internal martial arts and the external martial arts that Huang Feihong's master was skilled in.
To be honest, even if one were to reach the pinnacle of external martial arts, they could probably only defeat someone at Huiyuan's level... Gao Jianfei thought to himself.
"Young Master Gao, please hear me out... Internal martial arts is a rather general concept. The main principle is still cultivating qi, absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, circulating it within the body using special methods, and finally accumulating it in the dantian. In modern terms, it's about compressing true qi and storing it in the dantian. Once this compressed true qi explodes, it can create tremendous destructive power! And the most significant characteristic of this destructive power is that it can penetrate the surface of an object and directly seep into its interior to cause damage!" The young monk Xuan Shui revealed everything he knew. "Young Master Gao, regarding internal martial arts, my knowledge is limited to what my master taught me. As for its origins, they must be traced back to the Tang and Song dynasties, or even the Qin and Han dynasties. We won't delve into those origins. Internal martial arts, as it has developed to the present day, hasn't faded with the passage of time! On the contrary, it has become even more refined! However, since most practitioners of internal martial arts today are monks, Taoists, or nuns, these groups don't like to compete for worldly fame and fortune. Furthermore, in our country, practitioners of internal martial arts have formed a circle with certain rules: ... practitioners of internal martial arts must not use their skills to bully the good unless absolutely necessary. This is actually called 'martial virtue.' Therefore, although internal martial arts still exist in this world, ordinary people don't know that our country still has masters of internal martial arts."
"Well, before meeting you monks, I really didn't know anything about internal martial arts." Gao Jianfei nodded. "I only knew about things like qigong curing cancer, which I guess are all scams. By the way, monks, what level of internal martial arts do the monks at your Qingyan Cave Temple practice?"
Xuan Shui smiled wryly, "To be honest, Benefactor Gao, our internal martial arts are very basic. They're a branch within a branch of a branch of an internal martial arts school..."
Damn, this is outrageous!
Branches within branches within branches...
Xuan Shui continued, "Young benefactor Gao, the strength of an internal martial arts master is not measured by how many years they have practiced internal martial arts. In fact, it mainly depends on the level and scope of their internal martial arts! The internal martial arts passed down in our Qingyan Cave Temple are very low-level. Therefore, even if we practice diligently for decades, we still cannot defeat someone with advanced internal martial arts techniques! Take this humble monk for example, I have practiced internal martial arts for 20 years, but I still cannot defeat an external martial arts master like you! Our master, Master Huiyuan, has practiced internal martial arts for 50 years, but even within the entire province, he is considered a low-level internal martial arts practitioner!"
Gao Jianfei instantly understood... To practice internal martial arts, hard work and diligence are not enough! Far from enough! The key is the type of internal martial arts one is practicing!
"So, within the circle of internal martial arts, how do you distinguish the superiority or inferiority of different styles?" Gao Jianfei asked, frowning. He recalled reading fantasy novels like "Battle Through the Heavens," where martial arts were roughly divided into four levels: Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow, with strict distinctions between high and low. But how are internal martial arts levels determined in reality?
"Young Master Gao, the human body contains a vast number of meridians! Meridians are like rivers and streams, branching endlessly and extremely complex. Generally speaking, the meridians are longitudinal trunk lines, while the collaterals are transverse branches. These include the twelve regular meridians, the eight extraordinary meridians, the twelve divergent meridians, the fifteen collaterals, the minute collaterals, the twelve muscle meridians, and the twelve cutaneous regions, etc... These meridians govern 409 acupoints in the human body. We practitioners of internal martial arts have spent generations 'touching' and studying them, dividing the complex meridians in the human body into 100 paths! 100 paths that lead to the dantian!" Xuan Shui explained as if reciting a textbook.
This was Gao Jianfei's first time encountering this thing, so he was completely confused by what he heard.
Xuan Shui smiled and said, "Young benefactor Gao, let me give you a simple yet apt example. The dantian in the human body, which is the area below the navel, is an important area for storing true qi in internal martial arts! And the meridians in the human body are divided into 100 pathways, and all 100 pathways can lead to the dantian!"
"Oh!" Gao Jianfei suddenly realized. "If you put it that way, I understand. But how is this different from the ranking system of internal martial arts?"
"Young Master Gao, please don't be impatient. Let me explain in detail," Xuan Shui said leisurely. "With the concept of 100 paths, the classification of internal martial arts becomes very easy. Internal martial arts are simply about absorbing the spiritual energy between heaven and earth, and through breathing techniques, compressing and refining this energy through these 100 paths, storing it in the dantian. If all 100 paths can absorb true energy and simultaneously allow it to reach the dantian, then that's a high-level internal martial arts technique! In other words, the strength of an internal martial arts technique is determined by these 100 paths! Some internal martial arts techniques can only allow true energy to reach the dantian through 10 paths, some through 20, some through 80, and some through only 5. In short, the more 'paths' a technique has, the more powerful it is!"
"Generally speaking, we divide the internal martial arts techniques of our country into 10 grades!"
"Rank 1...Mastering 1...10 techniques!"
"Rank 2...Mastered 11...20 techniques!"
"Rank 3...Mastered 21...30 techniques!"
"Rank 9...Mastered 81...90 techniques!"
"Rank 10...Mastered 91...100 techniques!"