Chapter Nineteen: Danyangzi Ma Yu

  Because he was familiar with the original work, Ling Muyun easily determined the identity of the visitor. The old Taoist who came was none other than Ma Yu, the first of the Seven True Ones, Dan Yang Zi!

  Ma Yu, also known as Danyangzi, was the first disciple of Wang Chongyang and the second leader of the Quanzhen School after its founder. He was a kind and gentle person who thoroughly studied Taoist teachings and had the highest attainment in Taoist learning among the Seven Masters of Quanzhen. Although he was not well-known in the Jianghu world because he rarely traveled, his martial arts skills were not weak at all, ranking third among the Seven Masters, only after Chongyangzi Qiu Chuji and Yuanyangzi Wang Chuyi. Moreover, due to his longer practice time, his internal power surpassed that of Wang Chuyi, making him almost as strong as Qiu Chuji, who was known for having the highest martial arts skills among the Seven Masters.

  Ma Yuanyi appeared on the vast grassland this time because he learned from his junior fellow apprentice, Qiu Chuji, about the wager between Qiu Chuji and the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan. He knew that the Seven Freaks had traveled thousands of miles to the vast grassland for a promise, enduring many hardships over the years in search of guidance on loyalty and righteousness, and had even lost one of their brothers' lives in the process. In his heart, he deeply respected the Six Freaks of Jiangnan.

  Also from Yin Zhiping's mouth, it was learned that Guo Jing had no internal skill foundation. As the leader of the Quanzhen Sect, he deeply understood the Taoist principle of self-restraint and yielding to others, so he didn't want his junior brother Qiu Chuji to surpass the Six Freaks of Jiangnan again in this matter. However, he repeatedly advised his junior brother Qiu Chuji to admit defeat, but Qiu Chuji refused to agree no matter what. Therefore, he personally came to the vast desert, using his ingenuity to try and secretly help Guo Jing succeed. Otherwise, how could it be so coincidental that he would leave the Quanzhen Sect's foundation unattended and come to this desert grassland, just happening to arrive in front of Guo Jing?

  Ma Yu praised Ling Muyun: "Young master has written a great poem, which perfectly matches the current scene. The language is elegant and not common, deeply possessing the style of a great master. It's really a combination of literary and military talents. I just don't know what your honorable surname and name are, why did you come to this desolate and cold northern grassland?"

  The original text is a half-stanza from the famous Song Dynasty poem "Moyu'er - Yanqiu Ci" by Yuan Haowen, but at this time Yuan Haowen had not yet written it. Ma Jun naturally didn't know about it and thought it was an original work by Ling Muyun. The Seven True Men of Quanzhen were mostly from aristocratic families and although they were martial artists, their literary accomplishments were also impressive, so they could naturally discern the good and bad in poetry. Ling Muyun wore a sword at his waist, which showed that he was a martial artist, so Ma Jun said this.

  "The Taoist priest's reputation has preceded him, and his literary and military skills are well-known. I don't dare to claim that this poem was written by me, but rather it is a work of someone else that I happened to hear and remember. Seeing the white-feathered eagle die after losing its mate, I couldn't help but recite this poem. Although I have practiced some sword techniques, they are only barely sufficient for self-defense, and my literary skills are not matched by my martial abilities, which is laughable.

  Ling Mu Yun smiled sheepishly and continued: "My surname is Ling, my name is Mu Yun, and I am from Jiangnan. This time, I came to the desert to find a few friends, but I don't know how to address you, sir. What brings you to this northern grassland?"

  Ling Muyun's Nine Yin Manual was a rare book of Taoist martial arts, while the Nine Yang Divine Skill combined the wonders of Buddhism and Taoism. Both were internal skills that hid their mysteries, unlike ordinary high-level martial artists who showed off their abilities with various displays. Even with Ma Yu's keen eyesight, he couldn't see that Ling Muyun was actually a deeply hidden expert. Moreover, when Ling Muyun lived in seclusion at the foot of Mount Zhongnan, he had never revealed his name, so Ma Yu didn't suspect anything and didn't know that Ling Muyun was the main culprit who had crippled Yin Zhiping's limbs.

  Ling Muyun smiled and replied, "My Taoist name is Danyangzi, my secular surname is Ma, and my given name is Yu. I've come this time to take care of some mundane matters..."

  Ling Yun and Ma Yu were both speaking in Chinese, but Hua Jian didn't understand, so she ignored them and turned her head to look at the top of the cliff. Suddenly, she asked Guo Jing, who was standing beside her: "The two young white eagles have lost their parents, what can they do on this mountain?" The cliff was towering and connected to the clouds, with steep rocks and strange stones all around, making it impossible to climb. The two young eaglets had not yet learned how to fly, and it seemed that they would starve to death at the top of the cliff.

  Guo Jing also raised his head and looked up for a while, shook his head and sighed, saying: "Unless someone grows wings to fly up, they can rescue the little white eagle."

  After finishing, he lowered his head to pick up the long sword on the ground and started practicing again. However, after practicing for half a day, that one move "Branch Strike White Ape" still made no progress. Just as he was getting anxious, he suddenly heard a cold voice behind him say: "Practicing like this, even if you practice for another hundred years, it will be useless."

  Guo Jing put away his sword and turned around to see that the speaker was indeed the old Taoist priest who claimed to be called Ma Yu. He asked foolishly, "What did you say?"

  Ma Yu smiled slightly and didn't respond, suddenly taking two steps forward. Guo Jing only felt a numbness in his right arm, and before he knew it, the long sword that was tightly grasped in his hand had already been taken by Ma Yu. The Empty-Handed Snatching of White Blade technique was something that Guo Jing's Second Master, Qu Lingfeng, had taught him, although he hadn't fully mastered it, he had a general understanding of its key points. However, when Ma Yu snatched his long sword in an instant, Guo Jing couldn't tell what moves he used. This shocked Guo Jing greatly, and he jumped back three steps, standing in front of Huang Rong, and drew out the golden-hilted short knife that Temujin had given him to defend against this strange old Taoist's possible harm towards her.

  Ling Yun's gaze also froze for a moment, as one could tell from the first move whether or not it was done by an expert. Just from the empty-handed sword-snatching technique that Guo Jing had revealed, it was clear that he was no ordinary master. Although Ling Yun thought to himself that he too could snatch the sword from Guo Jing's hand at this moment, he absolutely couldn't do it with such ease and elegance.

  "Look carefully!"

  Ma Yu snatched the sword in his hand, nodded to Guo Jing and suddenly jumped up. All that could be heard was a series of "whooshing" sounds as he swung his sword in mid-air, creating six or seven flat flowers before gently floating down to the ground. Guo Jing stared blankly, his eyes wide with wonder. Linghu Chong understood that Ma Yu was trying to entice Guo Jing to ask him for guidance so that he could take the opportunity to teach Guo Jing some martial arts.

  Ma Yun threw his sword to the ground after demonstrating his swordsmanship and said with a smile, "That white eagle is quite respectable, its descendants cannot be left unrescued!"

  After finishing speaking, he took a deep breath and rushed straight down to the foot of the cliff, swift as a galloping horse. In just a moment, he arrived at the bottom of the cliff, using his hands and feet in unison, agile like a monkey, light as a flying bird, and actually climbed up along the steep cliff wall. The cliff was dozens of meters high, with some places being almost vertical like a wall, but Ma Yu only needed to borrow force from slightly uneven places with his hands and feet, and he would immediately jump up, even on the smooth and slippery large stone surface, he could climb up like a gecko.

  Guo Jing and Huang Rong watched with their hearts racing, thinking that if he made one misstep, wouldn't he become a pile of flesh? But they saw his figure getting smaller and smaller, as if he had already entered the clouds. Huang Rong covered her eyes and didn't dare to look again, asking: "What's happening?"

  "Almost there... okay, okay!"

  Hua Yun put down her hands and saw Ma Yu flying up, as if she was about to fall, and couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. But Ma Yu had already landed on the top of the cliff. The large sleeves of his Taoist robe were stretched out and fluttering in the strong wind at the top of the cliff, looking like a big bird from below.

  Ling Muyun couldn't help but secretly admire the scene before him. The Golden Swan Technique of the Quanzhen Sect was indeed extraordinary, and Ma Yu's skills were also quite impressive. Compared to Ma Yu, Yin Zhiping and Zhao Zijing, who had previously crossed hands with him, were like birds and eagles, incomparable. At the same time, he couldn't help but feel secretly fortunate that Ma Yu had revealed his martial arts skills. If he had faced off against him, he would have been able to hold on for at most a few dozen moves. If he hadn't chosen to escape immediately after crippling Yin Zhiping at the foot of Mount Zhongnan, he would have probably been captured by the Seven Sons of Quanzhen long ago.

  Ma Yu reached into the cave, pulled out two small carvings, and put them in his bosom. With his back against the cliff wall, he slid down straight away. When he encountered a protruding rock, he either hooked his hand or propped his foot to slow down his sliding momentum. When he slid onto the smooth stone wall, he slid down rapidly, and before long, his feet touched the ground.

  Guo Jing and Huang Rong saw Ma Yu take down the little eagle, and they were overjoyed. They rushed over together. Linghu Chong knew that next Guo Jing would ask Ma Yu to teach him martial arts, and Ma Yu would agree. He didn't follow them, as it might be inconvenient or cause Ma Yu to become guarded. So he stood in his original position, watching from a distance.

  Then Ling Yun saw Ma Yu handing over the two small white eagles to Guo Jing and Huang Rong, after which Huang Rong untied her belt and tied the two small eagles to their feet, securing them in place. Then she mounted her horse, laughing as she galloped away. Afterwards, it seemed like Ma Yu was also going to leave, but Guo Jing knelt down and kowtowed, begging him to stay. The two of them said something else, then Ma Yu glanced over at Ling Yun before disappearing into the wind. Meanwhile, Guo Jing picked up his sword and began practicing again.

  Seeing Ma Yu had left, Ling Yun stepped forward with his horse and called out to Guo Jing.

  Guo Jing stopped his sword and looked at Linghu Chong with a puzzled expression: "What's going on?"

  "I have something I'd like to ask for your help with."

  "Whatever you say, I'll definitely help." Guo Jing smiled foolishly and said.

  Ling Yun also smiled, this Guo Jing is indeed a lovely and simple-minded person, it's hard to have any bad feelings towards him, he's a good choice for making friends. Although sometimes he may seem a bit foolish, but he will never harm you, the most reliable one.

  "I still don't have a place to stay tonight, can you think of a solution for me?"

  "No problem." Guo Jing patted his chest and said, "You can go to my home to live, if my mother knows you are also from Jiangnan, she will definitely be delighted to death."

  ……