Chapter 28: Sword Duel with Iron Corpse

  After vaguely guessing Ling Muyun's intentions, Mei Chaofeng immediately stopped in her tracks and no longer gave chase, seemingly allowing Ling Muyun to escape. In fact, Mei Chaofeng was also testing him; if Ling Muyun was indeed as she had guessed, he would surely stop in his tracks as well. If she was wrong, it didn't matter - letting Ling Muyun escape wouldn't be a big deal anyway, since she hadn't been able to catch up after such a long chase.

  Seeing Mei Chaojun suddenly stop chasing, Ling Mu Yun also stopped in his tracks. Mei Chaojun's guess was correct, he just wanted to consume Mei Chaojun's internal energy. Familiar with the plot, Ling Mu Yun knew that although Mei Chaojun had made great progress in martial arts due to practicing many excellent martial arts in the second volume of the Nine Yin Manual, his internal skills were relatively weak.

  Of course, this is not to say that Mei Chaojun's internal strength was weak. As a disciple of Huang Yaoshi from Peach Blossom Island, her internal strength was still quite good. It's just that compared to her exceptional martial arts skills, her internal strength seemed relatively weaker.

  In terms of pure martial arts skills, after Mei Chao Feng mastered the Nine Yin White Bone Claw, in the world of Shooting Hoops, only a handful of top-notch experts could stably suppress her. Apart from those few top-notch experts, there was almost no one who could stand shoulder to shoulder with Mei Chao Feng. However, when it comes to internal strength, Mei Chao Feng is not that powerful. Among the Seven True Disciples, several can compare to her, and Danyangzi Ma Yu is even more stable than her, otherwise she wouldn't have been startled away by Ma Yu in the original work.

  It was precisely because he knew her weaknesses that Ling Muyun would come up with a plan to consume Mei Chaofeng's internal energy and weaken her strength as much as possible. After all, Mei Chaofeng was no ordinary person, but a strong man who dared to fight against the seven sons of Quanzhen in the future. Although she had not yet reached the top level of martial arts, she was undoubtedly among the best in the first-class masters. When facing such a character, even with Ling Muyun's current martial arts skills, he did not have absolute confidence, and naturally would not give up any means to weaken Mei Chaofeng.

  Ling Yun stopped too, and Mei Chao Feng immediately confirmed his suspicions in his heart. He coldly hummed: "Little thief, why aren't you running away?"

  Mei Chao Feng, although both eyes are blind and cannot see objects, his hearing is extremely sharp. He had already detected that Ling Mu Yun's voice was not old from the sound of his speech earlier, so he called him a little thief.

  "You're not even chasing anymore, what am I running for?" Ling Mu Yun shrugged and said.

  "So you're indeed doing it on purpose. Speak up, what's the purpose of luring me out this time?" Mei Chao Feng asked in a stern tone.

  Actually, if it were according to Mei Chao Feng's usual habits, she would have taken action long ago. However, after the previous chase, Mei Chao Feng had discovered that Ling Mu Yun's lightness skills were exceptional and his internal strength was profound, definitely not an easy opponent. Even if she took action, she might not be able to gain the upper hand, so she patiently asked questions instead.

  Ling Muyun smiled slightly: "Actually, it's nothing much, I just want to make a deal with you."

  "What deal?" Mei Chao Feng's face was guarded.

  "I know you have the lower volume of the Nine Yin Manual, but not the upper volume's method of cultivating internal energy. I happen to have the upper volume's cultivation method, but lack a few doors of powerful martial arts that can defeat and subdue enemies. Why don't we..."

  "Think again!"

  Mei Chaofeng didn't wait for Ling Yun to finish speaking, and with a fierce cry, she pounced towards him. Her soft whip quivered in her hand, tearing through the air with a "whoosh" as it struck out at Ling Yun.

  "You crazy woman, can't you just listen to me finish speaking?!" Ling Mu Yun cursed angrily, using the lightness skill from the Nine Yin Manual, his body shifted sideways several feet, dodging Mei Chao Feng's sudden and fierce whip strike. The long whip that missed its target struck the ground, sending sand and rocks flying and creating a deep gash, showing off its immense power.

  It's no wonder that Ling Yun was angry. He had come prepared for a fight with Mei Chao Feng, but considering she was also a top-notch expert, it wouldn't be easy to take her down. So, he thought of this trading method instead. In his opinion, he wanted the powerful martial arts of the Nine Yin Manual's lower volume, while Mei Chao Feng lacked the Nine Yin Manual's upper volume's Qi cultivation methods. Exchanging them would be a win-win situation for both parties, and Mei Chao Feng had no reason to refuse. But who would have thought that Mei Chao Feng would react so violently, not even letting him finish speaking before attacking? It was simply unreasonable.

  "No need to say more, if you want my Nine Yin Manual, come and take it with your life!" Mei Chao Feng's whip fell empty but showed no signs of stopping, her arm shook, the four-zhang-long whip suddenly rose like a poisonous python, once again sweeping towards Ling Mu Yun's waist...

  In fact, Ling Yun was unaware of the special status of the Nine Yin Manual in Mei Chao Feng's heart, otherwise he would have understood her overreaction.

  Mei Chao Feng was originally a disciple of Huang Yaoshi, and had a private affair with her senior brother Chen Xuanfeng. They secretly became husband and wife, but fearing punishment from their master, they thought of escaping to Jianghu. Unexpectedly, Chen Xuanfeng remembered the dangers of Jianghu and feared that their martial arts were not yet sufficient to protect themselves and gain fame. So when they left the island, he stole the second half of the Nine Yin Manual from Huang Yaoshi, which he had obtained from Zhou Botong. However, it lacked the foundation-building and internal energy cultivation methods of the first half. The two could only practice with unorthodox methods, but still managed to cultivate a powerful martial art.

  After achieving martial arts success, the two of them roamed the Jianghu and established a notorious reputation as the Black Wind Twin Evils. They killed many top martial artists in the world, including Ke Zhen'e's elder brother, Flying Heaven Dragon Ke Bi Xie. Even Ke Zhen'e's eyes were destroyed by the duo, thus creating an eternal vendetta between them. Later, Mei Chaofeng and Chen Xuanfeng were surrounded and pursued by numerous top martial artists invited by their junior fellow disciple Lu Chengfeng, forcing them to flee into the Gobi Desert. Unexpectedly, they encountered the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan who had also come to the desert in search of Guo Jing. The duo was ambushed by the freaks, resulting in Chen Xuanfeng being killed by Guo Jing's dagger and Mei Chaofeng being blinded, barely escaping with her life.

  Later, she discovered that Chen Xuanfeng had tattooed the text of the Nine Yin Manual on his chest skin. She then cut off the piece of skin from Chen's chest and kept it as a memento to mourn her deceased husband. For Mei Chaojun, the lower volume of the Nine Yin Manual was not just a simple martial arts secret manual, but also a symbol of her love for her husband. It was something she would rather die than give to others. That's why she reacted so violently when Ling Pei Yun mentioned the lower volume of the Nine Yin Manual and immediately chose to take action.

  "Mei Chao Feng you crazy woman, since you insist on fighting, then I, the young master, will accompany you for a few rounds and see who wins or loses today!"

  Seeing Mei Chaojun's relentless pursuit and fierce beating, Ling Mu Yun was also enraged. With a long whistle, his long sword left its scabbard, the sword tip spat out and swept away the whip that had been drawn back. Immediately afterwards, the trajectory of the long sword changed, transforming into a dazzling sword light that stabbed rapidly towards Mei Chaojun, who was swinging his whip.

  "Hiss" "Hiss" "Hiss"......

  Mei Chaofeng's long whip swept wildly, like a mad poisonous snake, rolling up a vast expanse of whip shadows, and striking towards Ling Yun with a piercing whistle. Mei Chaofeng's soft whip was four zhang long, several times longer than the average martial artist's whip, and as she swung it open, the area in front of her was enveloped by the whip's shadow, fierce like a storm, dense like a sudden rain, swift and violent, leaving no gap.

  Facing the dense and intense whipping like a stormy rain, Ling Muyun's face didn't change at all. His body was like a swift wind, dashing forward with his treasured sword waving like the wind. The "whooshing" sound continued non-stop as the sharp sword energy crisscrossed, meeting the attack head-on and advancing forward. It was as if he was a warship breaking through the waves, tearing apart the dense and fierce whip curtain and charging forward fiercely.

  As Ling Mu Yun was about to rush forward, Mei Chao Feng's foot tapped the ground and her body floated backward, trying to maintain distance from Ling Mu Yun. At the same time, her palm suddenly slid, grasping the middle of the long whip. Her arm then shook strangely, and the whip head and handle whirred out one after another, like a large poisonous snake transforming into two smaller ones. Although the attack range was reduced by half, the ferocity increased to another level. Moreover, due to the circular rotation of the whip head and tail, it became even more unpredictable and difficult to defend against. Ling Mu Yun, who had been charging forward, suddenly slowed down, unable to advance for a moment.

  Seeing that the strong thrust was ineffective, Ling Yun changed his approach and began to circle around Mei Chao Feng, engaging in a fierce battle. He moved swiftly and erratically, his sword flashing as he struck with precision and deadliness. The sword light was like a waterfall, the sword energy surging back and forth, as he launched a frenzied attack on Mei Chao Feng, seeking to find an opening to close in and engage in a fierce duel.

  However, Mei Chao Feng was no ordinary person. Ling Mu Yun's movements were fast, but hers weren't much slower. Whenever Ling Mu Yun turned, she followed suit, always keeping her face towards him and not giving him any openings. Although Ling Mu Yun had a slight speed advantage, it wasn't enough to turn the tide of battle in his favor. Moreover, Mei Chao Feng was using the White Python Whip Technique from the Nine Yin Manual, which was an extremely advanced whip technique with intricate moves that were both powerful and extraordinary. Despite Ling Mu Yun's Eighty-One Routes Devil-Expelling Divine Sword being mysterious and sharp, Mei Chao Feng could handle it perfectly.

  Both were fast and swift, with speeds that shocked the world. As they exchanged blows, all that could be seen was two figures amidst a flurry of sword light and whip shadows, circling each other on the open plains. It was impossible to tell who was who. Ling Mu Yun couldn't get close to Mei Chao Feng's body, his powerful swordsmanship unable to harm her in the slightest. Meanwhile, Mei Chao Feng's whip techniques were fierce and unparalleled, yet they couldn't break through Ling Mu Yun's defensive swordsmanship. For a time, the two were locked in a stalemate, neither able to gain the upper hand over the other...

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