Chapter Seventeen: Lan Caihe

  It is indeed the case that "excess and deficiency are both inappropriate" and "labor and leisure should be combined". Although Song Qingxue felt that as long as he continued to cultivate with one mind, he would definitely break through the Washing Marrow Boundary. However, this was only a feeling and could not be taken as true.

  So Song Qing Shu slowly finished his work, walked out of the bedroom, first washed up, and then came to the empty space outside the house to practice Wudang Mian Zhang. This was something Song Qing Shu did every day, regardless of wind or rain.

  A martial artist values innate ability, but also emphasizes perseverance and persistence. Innate ability represents one's natural talent, which can be compensated for with acquired skills, but without perseverance and persistence, one will achieve nothing. No matter how exceptional their innate ability is, it will all come to naught if they lack the determination to persist.

  Just then, Song Qing was practicing his Wudang Cotton Palm technique when he furrowed his brow and stopped. He looked towards the direction of Xiaoshan Village, where faint sounds of fighting could be heard.

  Song Qing had a bad feeling and didn't have time to think much. He turned around, went back into the house, took down his fine steel sword, and with a display of Wudang's Ladder Cloud Leap, he rushed towards Xiaoshan Village.

  ......

  Arriving at Xiaoshan Village, Song Qing hid carefully in the Huangjiao tree outside the village. The tree had dense branches and leaves, making it easy to hide inside without being discovered.

  Then Song Qing looked intently and saw that at the entrance of the village, a dozen or so men in black robes surrounded a woman.

  This young woman, dressed in ethnic minority attire, had her shoulders and thighs stained with blood.

  Although the woman did not have the gentle elegance of a woman from the Central Plains, she still had an exotic beauty that was unique to her. However, at this moment, the woman's condition was not good, and her face was pale due to excessive blood loss.

  "Lan Cai'er, I advise you to surrender now, otherwise don't blame us brothers for being ruthless." The leading black-clad man said.

  "Captured easily? Humph, I'm a Miao family daughter, born to live with dignity, die with honor. If you have the ability, let's see it in action." Lan Cai'er coldly snorted, not waiting for the black-clothed man to react, her hands moved swiftly, and a golden light flashed by.

  "Be careful!" The black-clad man in the lead was shocked to see the golden light, and hastily waved his knife with a watertight motion.

  Although the black-clad man in the lead reminded them, most people still didn't react. The golden light enveloped their bodies, and all that could be heard were mournful cries. In just a moment, someone who was previously alive was now reduced to nothing but a skeleton.

  "Good, good, good. You truly live up to being the most talented bug user of the Miao family." The black-clad man leading them didn't even glance at the dead person, his expression calm as he looked at Lan Caihe, "Since you want to die, I'll grant your wish."

  After finishing speaking, he waved his hands and said to the remaining black-clothed men, "All of you come up and tie him up for me."

  "Yes." The remaining black-clad men responded in unison, then frantically pounced on Blue Adopted Daughter.

  "Hmph." The black-clad man leading the group sneered, no longer paying attention to Lan Caihe, and instead began to worship Heaven with a solemn expression, muttering incantations.

  Lan Cai'er initially had an indifferent expression, but when she saw the movement of the black-clothed man leading the way, her face changed greatly, and there was a hint of fear. She cried out in disbelief, "Please god, how is this possible? How can you possibly..."

  Then she had to rush over recklessly to stop them, but unfortunately the other black-clothed men now all had the idea of dying together, and Lan Caihe failed several times.

  He couldn't help but feel extremely anxious and called out towards the place where Song Qingchu was hiding, "Please, this friend, quickly lend a hand to stop him, otherwise it will be too late."

  Song Qing's eyes widened in surprise, he hadn't expected his hiding place to be discovered so easily. Just as he was hesitating whether to leave now or go down to help, the situation had already changed greatly.

  Only the black-clad man in front knelt three times and bowed nine times, pinched his fingers together, and recited: "Heavenly spirits, earthly spirits, disciple Shi Dashan invites the true spirit of Guan Gong to protect my dharma body, heavenly axe and earthly seal, hurry up like a law decree! Heavenly spirits,……”

  The incantation had not been finished, and Song Qing Shu felt a mysterious power coming from the void. Although Song Qing Shu knew that this was a martial arts world and should not have any immortal powers.

  But the unknown is the most terrifying, since even if one has already experienced such a thing, what else can't happen? Song Qing didn't have time to think much. Anyway, he had already exposed himself and couldn't escape even if he wanted to. Delaying would only lead to changes, so it's better to take a risk. Maybe there's still a turning point in the situation.

  He no longer hesitated, and in an instant, a crane rushed into the sky, touched the treetop, and then, as if strolling through thin air, rapidly charged towards a motionless man in black. It was Tie Yunzong of the Wudang Sect.

  At the same time, the sharp steel sword in his hand flashed a white light, and the "Wind Rolls the Broken Clouds" move, the most powerful move of the Ruyun Swordsmanship, was unleashed. It pierced straight into the back of the black-robed man.

  "Disciple Shi Da Shan for the safety of all living beings, beheading demons and eliminating evil. I invite Guan Gong Sheng Jun to descend upon my body with his golden divine carriage, quickly, as if following a law..."

  Just as the last word "Ling" was about to be spoken, the black-clad man's entire body burst into golden light, and with just one more step, he could invite Guan Gong Sheng Jun to possess his body. At that time, swords and guns would not be able to penetrate him, and water and fire would not be able to harm him. Song Qing Shu and the others would have no choice but to die.

  At this critical moment, Song Qing also rushed to the sky, mobilizing all his internal strength to slap a palm at the flying steel sword.

  The fine steel sword gained momentum once again, and its speed increased greatly, as if it had teleported, instantly piercing the heart of the black-robed man in front.

  "How could it be like this, just one word short." The black-clothed man was still unwilling to die, he was only one step away from being able to kill in all directions, but unfortunately 'lost by a hair's breadth, mistaken by a thousand miles'. With his last breath of unwillingness, he fell down, and the golden light all over his body also dissipated instantly.

  Song Qing saw that the black-clad man was dead, and his heart felt a sense of relief. However, he then crashed to the ground with a loud thud, which was the result of exhausting his internal energy.

  "Good!"

  "Leader!"

  Seeing the black-clothed leader die, the expressions of the two sides were vastly different. Blue Adopted was overjoyed, while the other black-clothed men were grief-stricken and demoralized. Seizing the opportunity, Blue Adopted instantly killed them all, not a single one escaped.

  After killing the black-clad man, Blue Joy stepped forward and said, "Blue Joy of Nanzhong thanks you, fellow Taoist, for your assistance."

  "Hehe, no need to be so polite, Blue Maiden. I'm just helping myself too." Song Qing Shu waved his hand and then said seriously, "This isn't a place for conversation, please follow me."

  "Alright," Blue nodded, knowing it wasn't the time for politeness, and pointed at the corpses on the ground, "These bodies still need to be dealt with first, otherwise it will be troublesome."

  "Alright." Song Qing also knew about murder and arson, destroying corpses and erasing evidence, without a second word.

  The two of them worked together to transport the body to a mountain and cremate it, destroying all evidence.