Chapter 6: Lu Yun Practices Swordsmanship

  The old man's words did not completely dispel Su Feng's doubts, and for some reason, he felt that the old man seemed to be hiding something. Just as he was pondering this, the old man spoke again, "Child, I advise you not to go there. It's not very clean."

  "Not very clean? Please make it clearer for the elderly." The wind seemed to have sensed something.

  "In the past few years, several people from the jianghu stayed there overnight, but later it was said that some died and others went mad, with no one ending up well. The common folk all said that the place was haunted by ghosts. Later, a wandering Taoist priest came and performed a ritual to calm things down. In recent years, not a single person has dared to go there again."

  "It seems my intuition was right, Lu Yun Guan is indeed not normal." Xun Feng muttered to himself and asked, "Then please tell me, old man, is there an inn or a place to stay around here?" Xun Feng wasn't a naive youth, he still remembered the teachings of Chang Ming, and didn't want to suffer because of his own ignorance.

  The old man sighed and said, "Looking at you, it seems like you're traveling alone or wandering around. The surrounding area is all mountainous for tens of miles, except for a few official roads, there are hardly any households. The nearest post station is also tens of miles away. However, this place doesn't have many wild beasts either. I'll give you some advice, young man. When traveling, don't be too particular, why not just make do with a thatched hut for the night?"

  A faint smile with the wind, "Thank you, old man, I understand."

  Bidding farewell to the old man, Su Feng continued on his journey. He was not familiar with this area and had originally wanted to rest for a night wherever he pleased. Later, he thought that if he didn't find Lu Yun Guan, he wouldn't be able to determine the direction of Pan Gu Mountain, which made him somewhat regretful. Earlier, when asking for directions, he hadn't asked all the questions clearly. Having no other choice, Su Feng could only go take a look at Lu Yun Shan first; even if he didn't enter that evil Taoist temple, resting at the foot of the mountain would be fine too.

  Along the way, I didn't meet anyone to ask for directions again. Either it was a knight rushing by or a large merchant caravan. Walking and stopping along the way, when Su Feng arrived at the foot of Luoyun Mountain, night had already fallen. Looking far into the distance, only a remnant sunset remained in the west. The clouds in the sky were dyed blood red, with layers of forests and shrubs below. The setting sun sprinkled down like a red silk scarf falling into the emerald green lake, creating ripple after ripple that drifted over from afar.

  It's hard not to say that this scene is filled with a tragic tone. It always makes people think of the hero's desperate situation, where the world is so big but there's nowhere to go; or the cycle of birth, aging, illness and death, the suffering of all living things. Perhaps it was because Xiang Yu, the overlord of old, saw such a sunset scene that he gave up his plan to cross the Wu River and rise again.

  After all, Su Feng still has the heart of a young man. Where is there so much melancholy and nostalgia in life? He only feels that the beauty in front of him is something that cannot be seen at home or in Yangzhou. The road to Jianghu is long and winding, with equally magnificent scenery and stories, and there are still many more waiting silently ahead. Thinking of this, Su Feng's heart is extremely excited, and he almost can't help but let out a loud whoop. However, he did not notice the hint of sadness hidden beneath the infinitely beautiful scenery.

  The wind rose, and he gradually blew it. After appreciating the scenery with the wind, he began to make some grass leaves and branches everywhere, preparing to make a simple grass mat. He had done this somewhere before, but his hands were busy and messy, and he made a mess for a long time. It was still a messy lump, completely unlike a place where one could sleep.

  Suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck, he wiped it with his hand and found a drop of water. "Won't it rain?" Feng whispered to himself, looking up at the sky, only to find that the sky which was still full of sunset just now had already turned into dark clouds and thick fog. He didn't notice earlier when the surroundings started to darken, thinking it was just nightfall. But this situation made it clear that a storm was approaching. He must find a place to take shelter from the rain; if he got his clothes wet and caught a cold, with his weak body, he would definitely fall seriously ill.

  Suī fēng de fǎn yìng yě kuài, yī jiàn tiān sè bù duì, lì mǎ wǎng shān shàng pǎo qù. zhè jìn hòu jǐ shí lǐ zhīyǒu jǐ hù rén jiā, gū suàn yě zhīyǒu luò yún guān néng ràng tā duǒ yǔ le. yī miàn shì kě néng cún zài de lì guǐ, yī miàn shì bì dìng shòu fēng hán, suī fēng hái shì xuǎn zé le mào yī mào xiǎn. ruò shì rǎn le fēng hán, xī wàng jiān chí dào tài shān jīhū shì bù kě néng de.

  Fortunately, the Luoyun Mountain is not high, only over a hundred zhang, and can only be considered a small hill. Moreover, because there was originally a Taoist temple on the mountain, there are plank roads connecting from the foot of the mountain to the top, making it convenient for people to come and worship. Although the Luoyun Temple has declined, this plank road still exists. Following the wind, he rushed along the plank road towards the top of the mountain, and when he was halfway there, the rain finally poured down with a loud whoosh.

  The mountain peak was right in front of my eyes, and I could even see the three characters "Luo Yun Guan" on the plaque. However, the rainwater on the mountain road was wet and slippery, and with the wind, I had to use my hands and feet at the same time, it was easy to climb to the top, and almost lost my luggage.

  Pushing open the wooden door of Luoyun Pavilion, it creaked loudly, feeling a bit heavy, and I guessed that it had been many years since it was last opened. A wave of ancient, dusty air wafted out. Not bothering to close the door, I hurried inside. At this moment, outside had become dark and gloomy, but with the door fully open, I could finally see clearly inside the pavilion.

  The ground and walls were covered in dust everywhere, but what was particularly strange was that there wasn't a single spider web on the beams. In the center, three Qing dynasty gods were enshrined, eerily, it had been a long time since anyone came here, let alone cleaned, yet the three Qing dynasty gods were spotless. The originally serene and natural-looking gods now seemed eerie and frightening.

  I don't know if it's because of his boldness or his carelessness, but he was completely unflappable, and calmly bowed to the statue without showing any fear. What struck Feng as even stranger than the statue, however, was that there were many pieces of firewood scattered on the ground in front of it. There were some burn marks on the ground, but those firewoods didn't seem to have been left behind after being burned. On the contrary, they seemed to have been deliberately placed here by someone.

  Suí fēng liǎng yǎn dīng zhe mù chái, bù zhī wèi hé yǒu xiē jǐn zhāng qǐ lái, hǎo xiàng yǒu shén me dàixiǎn zài kào jìn. Wài miàn de tiān sè yù fā de hūn àn, suí fēng zhǐ hǎo bǎ dì shàng sàn luò de chái huǒ zhěng dào yī qǐ, yòng huǒ zhé diǎn le qǐ lái. Huǒ yī shēng qǐ lái, pò guān lǐ liàng táng le xǔ duō.

  The cold wind wrapped in fine rain blew in from the door, and the flame was a bit weak, as if it would go out at any moment. Ran Feng's body got wet, and when the wind blew, it felt like it was cutting to the bone with coldness. He quickly closed the wooden door. What was strange was that this wooden door was not made of the usual red wood or camphor wood, but the wood grain was fine and had a faint fragrance. "What kind of wood is this?" Ran Feng wondered, he came from a wealthy family and had seen many types of furniture, and through his exposure to them, he had some understanding of these things.

  Suddenly, "This is peach wood! Peach wood wards off evil!" A loud shout came with the wind, and the door was slammed shut. With a loud bang, the wind stopped, and then the door bolt was locked again.

  The door creaked shut, and what was in front of him made Feng Yi take a deep breath. It wasn't that he saw anything eerie, but on the back of the wooden door, with vermilion paint, four large characters were written on each side. Together they read: "This place is unlucky, do not open at midnight". These few words were elegant and profound, with a hint of otherworldly flair, definitely not something an ordinary person from the jianghu could write.

  "Could it be that the old man's words were written by a wandering Taoist? If so, then the rumors of this place being haunted are probably not unfounded." This conclusion made Su Feng break out in cold sweat.

  The flames of the wood fire on the ground seemed to have lost their vitality, like a crimson flower that only trembled slightly in the rare breeze. Adding to this, the courtyard had been devoid of vitality for a long time, with stagnant and gloomy air, making Su Feng feel even more uneasy. "Could it be that something ominous will happen here tonight?" The more Su Feng thought about it, the more fearful he became.

  Pacing back and forth in the room, he was like a headless fly. Racking his brains to no avail, he wondered what he should do next. "If Uncle Changming were here, how would he handle this?" "Uncle Changming..." A string of thoughts led him to think of the I Ching diagram of 64 hexagrams hanging in Uncle Changming's house. "Why don't I try divining a hexagram?"

  "Qian three consecutive, Kun six broken, Zhen inverted bowl, Gen overturned plate, Li middle empty, Kan middle full, Dui upper deficiency, Xun lower broken." As he spoke, Suifeng took out three Kaiyuan Tongbao copper coins and placed them in the palm of his hand, with his left hand on top and right hand below. He shook them and tossed them onto the ground. He recorded the number of heads and tails, repeating this process a total of six times. Next, Suifeng drew a Qian hexagram on the ground, followed by a Zhen hexagram. "Qian above Zhen below, heavenly thunder without warning." Suifeng muttered to himself. "Could it be that disaster is imminent? One should stick to their humble station and not aspire to lofty heights..."

  "It seems that there is indeed a problem here. According to the divination, as long as I follow the advice on this door, nothing will happen if I don't open it at midnight." After calculating the divination, Su Feng felt much more at ease in his heart. This six-line divination method was something he had learned when he usually calculated divinations with Xun Tian. Combined with the calculation of the Pre-Heaven Eight Trigrams, it could be said that nine out of ten calculations were accurate.

  Look again at the three Qing gods, dignified and out of the dust, without a hint of weirdness. However, since the divination says there is a disaster of no warning, it means that this place must be somewhat evil. Su Feng also knows this point, although he is curious about what caused it. The wind and rain are raging outside, and it's late at night, with warnings on the door. Obviously, this is not the time to be curious.

  Winter nights always arrive early, and with the rain, it's even earlier than before. I finished eating my dry rations with the wind, staring at the fire in a daze. The long night was endless, and a wave of loneliness swept over my heart. The entire camp was left with only the crackling sound of the fire burning, and I looked around cautiously, clearing out a patch of empty space on the ground. Then, I spread out the white cloth that Changming gave me on the ground.

  "Hum——" A sword hum, the pure Jun sword was drawn out with the wind, and a move was demonstrated according to the sword formula. While studying the sword moves on the white cloth, he silently calculated the changes in his heart using the I Ching. Each move made had some differences, and there were several variations. The moves between each other also had the interplay of yin and yang, the five elements, and could be said to be a very mysterious and profound sword move.

  At first, it was extremely unaccustomed to the wind, and I wanted to give up several times. Each move had to be calculated for a long time, and sometimes the calculation was wrong, with a difference of only a fraction of an inch, but a mistake of a thousand miles, making the sword moves useless. As time went on, it became more and more proficient, requiring less time, and the wind's calculations for easy learning also became more skilled. By the end, there was almost no pause between the sword moves, one move after another, the sword light flashing up and down, like flowing clouds and water, floating as if in a dream.

  Although it's just a small piece of white cloth, the sword moves on it are only a few dozen, not many. However, with a gentle breeze, it's easy to deduce that there are at least five elements of yin and yang, and if these seven systems combine or merge, the changes will be truly endless.

  Even if Zongwinds were to spend the whole night, it would be impossible to fully comprehend all of this. However, this sword technique is truly exquisite and unparalleled, even if Zongwinds weren't a martial maniac, he would still be deeply entranced and unable to extricate himself. He also knew that even if he demonstrated until dawn, he wouldn't be able to exhaust all the variations. He only planned to practice the basic seven-series sword technique once, as for the other variations, they would have to be understood through actual combat.

  It delighted him that, as Changming had said, this sword technique had the effect of seizing the creative power of heaven and earth. When he was immersed in the sword moves, every time he performed them, he would clearly perceive two somewhat cold air flows, one from Baihui down, and one from Yongquan up, finally meeting at the Dan Tian. Moreover, when the air flow passed through the meridians, he could always feel a refreshing sensation throughout his body, as if the meridians had been widened a bit.

  Nowadays, there are very few people who know that the martial arts that can expand the meridians are almost divine. Only a few legendary extraordinary skills are said to be able to expand the meridians during cultivation. The width of the meridian can almost determine a person's martial arts achievements. If the meridian is wide, then more internal force can flow through it at once, and the same move will have greater power when used. Similarly, when cultivating martial arts, people with wider meridians will also be faster than those with narrower meridians. Although this is not absolute, it is generally true.

  When it comes to martial arts achievements, the root bone is a very important part. Generally, people can only use internal force violently to open up the meridians during the practice of martial arts, thereby achieving the purpose of widening them. However, this not only causes severe pain but also extremely dangerous. If one accidentally uses too much force and causes the meridian to break completely, then this set of martial arts skills will be ruined, let alone putting their life at risk.

  During adolescence, the body is still developing and the tendons are more flexible, so there is greater potential for expansion. This is also why martial arts training should start from a young age, as it becomes difficult to achieve success after reaching a certain age. Therefore, most of the top figures in the martial arts world were already famous knights during their youth.