The Eighteenth Section: The Black Sun of the Great Belly

  Yuexue's Jade Snow saw the knife method was already proficient, sheathing the knife to examine the Round Moon Autumn Water Knife for any damage. She had just continuously infused spiritual energy, fearing that the bent knife would not withstand it, but saw that it was undamaged, still flashing with autumn water-like light waves, worthy of being a magical artifact! Only then did she feel at ease and jump down to the ground. At a glance, she let out a frightened cry - the mountain valley's empty land had no autumn grass, revealing black soil as if deeply plowed; the four surrounding mountain peaks' white snow was gone, leaving only ugly yellow-brown rock like bald heads. Huang Jin Hei Ri protected the four younger ones behind him, his face showing a praising smile as he looked at her. Yuexue asked:

  "Sister and brother, what do you think of these two sets of knife techniques?"

  Rich combat experience on Black Day

  "Both sets of knife techniques are good. However, the first set, Four Images Knife Technique, is too difficult for ordinary people to practice, so it's better to change it to Four-Person Joint Attack. After achieving a certain level, it can be changed to Four Images Double Knife Formation, which has greater power and can defeat opponents who are one level higher without losing."

  Everyone nodded, and Hei Ri commented again:

  "The second set of Bagua knife techniques is even better, but it has a small drawback. You have the sealed beast bell in your body, which can help you absorb spiritual energy at any time to make up for the consumption, but others don't have this treasure. As time goes on, the consumption of spiritual power will be huge and difficult to sustain. Why not change to an eight-person joint attack, moving according to the Bagua positions? On the one hand, it won't consume too much energy, and on the other hand, the encirclement will be tighter, and it's no problem to deal with cultivators who are two levels higher than ourselves. This can be called the Bagua knife array. In fact, both sets of knife techniques can be used with some modifications, whether it's a sword or a single knife, as long as it's a blade or a spear. You're really amazing, you've created two ultimate techniques with just a bit of effort! I'm impressed, old dragon that I am!" Hei Ri said with a smile, but he was truly sincere in his praise.

  Her face turned red like jade in the snow:

  "Hei Ri Da Ge will mock others!"

  Phoenix Golden smiled and said:

  "Don't be embarrassed, girl. Let's hurry up and leave, it's too noisy here."

  Three people and four wolves returned to the tribe, with their eyes fixed on something nearby. Yu Xue suddenly felt that something was not right, as Hei Ri was still wearing his black armor. Hurriedly, he asked him to change into a Mongolian long gown, and Huang Jin also transformed into a Vermilion Bird, before they set off.

  Arrived at the tribe, acted according to plan. Ah Mu'er saw that Yu Xue had entered winter and hadn't returned yet, was somewhat worried in his heart, saw Yu Xue return, as happy as if gold was falling from the sky, naturally thanked Hei Ri a thousand times, tried his best to persuade him to stay, but didn't notice the Vermilion Bird on Yu Xue's shoulder.

  That night, the tribe was lively like a festival. Ah Mu'er slaughtered cows and sheep, ordering his tribesmen to light up large bonfires on the empty ground. The crowd ate roasted beef and mutton, drank horse milk wine, and told interesting stories. Seeing Hei Ri, a big man, finish a whole sheep in the blink of an eye, he was encouraged to drink until his cup was dry, with a bold and generous personality, talking and laughing freely. The tribesmen liked him very much, and they kept offering him wine one after another. Hei Ri had long learned Mongolian with Huang Jin, seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, he felt proud in his heart, and kept telling strange stories. When he got excited, he borrowed a 3-foot-long spear from Yu Xue, and started dancing in front of the fire. He casually showed off a few moves without using much strength, and saw the spearhead flashing everywhere, making the tribesmen exclaim in admiration for his heroism. In the end, when the spear shadow was withdrawn, his face didn't turn red, and he wasn't out of breath, continuing to shout: "Drink! Drink!"

  A Mu Er was overjoyed and personally poured him a full large bowl, thinking: Such a hero, joining my department, is like adding wings to a tiger. Although Yu Xue is capable, after all, she's just a girl, and some things are inconvenient to do. With this person, everything will be solved effortlessly. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but have a radiant face.

  Black day visitor does not refuse, wine and meat a scoop to eat, extremely enjoyable. He has been in the sealed beast bell for ten thousand years, never as happy as today. Following the Xuan Nü Niáng Niáng and the Western Queen Mother, prohibiting wine and meat, he didn't even dare mention it; again in the bell, closed for two thousand years, wine and meat were not heard, only recently Yu Xue let Feng Jin bring some to him, but Feng Jin disliked the smell, never bringing much. With his dragon body not enough to fill his teeth, in the blink of an eye it was gone, which is not like today's casual eating and drinking. Only see cattle and sheep flowing like water, horse milk wine pouring out like a spring, eating until he was overjoyed. Feng Jin saw that things were not going well, feared that he would reveal his dragon feet (not horse hooves), took advantage of the situation when no one noticed to fly onto his head, on the one hand pecking hard, on the other hand transmitting sound:

  "Dead old black, are you afraid that others won't know you're a stinky dragon? Eating and drinking like this wildly, be careful or they'll take you for a monster!"

  Hei Ri reluctantly put down the beef leg in his hand and said to Amur:

  "Head of the clan, thank you for your warm hospitality. I haven't eaten in many days, and today I'm truly full. We don't need any more meat, let's just drink slowly and chat."

  A' Mu'er was initially amazed by his huge appetite, thinking he was a hero. However, after seeing him eat dozens of cattle and sheep, and seven or eight large buckets of horse milk wine without stopping, he became somewhat surprised. At this time, when he said that he had been hungry for a long time, A' Mu'er suddenly realized the situation and instead encouraged him to eat some more. Hei Rui refused to eat again, only sipping his wine in small mouthfuls, and took advantage of the opportunity to secretly stuff the cow leg into his bosom, planning to gnaw on it later when no one was around.

  That night, the host and guest had a great time. Ah Mu'er couldn't hold on any longer and went to rest first. Hei Ri and some good men from the tribe competed in drinking and wrestling matches, asking who could win over a dragon! Of course, everyone admired him. Soon, Hei Ri got along with them, calling each other brothers, until almost dawn when everyone returned drunk. Hei Ri naturally found a place to slowly enjoy his beef leg.

  From then on, Hei Ri gradually merged into the tribe. With his exceptional martial arts skills and longevity, he naturally had an extraordinary vision. The simple Mongolian men had never seen such techniques before, and they all said he was a hero among heroes, each one truly admiring him. Before he entered the Enclosed Beast Bell, he had many shrimp soldiers and crab generals under his command, as well as numerous demonic friends. Every day, he would gather his friends to drink wine and eat meat in large quantities. When the wine reached its peak, if someone asked him to take action, regardless of whether it was true or false, right or wrong, or whether he was being used by others, he would always insist on taking the lead, fighting first and then talking later. This led to a great disaster, drowning countless lives. After he sobered up, it was too late! Later, when he was captured by Wan Nian, he gradually forgot about those thrilling days. Who knew that now, encountering Yu Xue, such an owner who didn't care about him at all, also didn't make him risk his life or sell his labor? During the day, there was nothing to do, so he would herd together with the tribespeople. At night, when the eastern and western families came to invite him, they were all inviting him to drink wine and eat meat. He would go from house to house, eating a little at each one, not showing off or seeking to gain favor, but also not offending anyone, living a carefree life. At first, he still looked down on these ordinary people, but as time passed, seeing that everyone treated him with sincerity, without anyone trying to use him for anything, he gradually began to truly like these Mongolian men. Whenever someone in the tribe had an urgent matter or difficulty, he would lend a hand without hesitation; regardless of whether it was an adult or child, he would help out. These were all trivial matters to him, but in the eyes of others, they were not the same, so everyone praised him whenever his name was mentioned. Later on, when there were disputes between husbands and wives or children who wouldn't listen, they would also come to him for mediation. As soon as he spoke, everyone would be convinced, and he became like a half-tribal leader, even Ah Mu Er coming to consult with him when she had matters to discuss. This made Yu Xue feel relieved and at ease.

  On winter days, every morning, Yuxue took six hundred children to train. She found opportunities to give each of the children a dose of Xuanyu Pill, even those with average aptitude quietly opened up their meridians and left behind a foundation of spiritual power. After finishing everything, she began teaching them the Four Symbols Knife Technique. Many trees were cut down and made into wooden curved knives; each child had one, while the older ones used two. First, she organized the Four Symbols Knife Technique into forty-eight moves, letting them practice until they were familiar with it, then taught them the changing steps of the Four Symbols Body Shape. This was somewhat difficult, as most of the children found it hard to understand. Fortunately, these children were not afraid of hardship or fatigue, and practiced diligently every day. After a winter, their footwork had also improved significantly.

  After the beginning of spring, Yuxue didn't let them practice knife techniques in coordination with footwork because it was too difficult for the children and required time. After demonstrating a round moon autumn water curved knife technique, she told them that they could master it through individual hard practice, but for now, everyone was still practicing knife arrays. She divided them into groups of four, remembering the Four Images Step Method and the Forty-eight Knife Techniques; then they had to coordinate with each other, achieving seamless tacit understanding. When moving in the Four Images positions, one person would first launch a main attack, then constantly switch, requiring everyone to know who was attacking, defending, or using which technique without looking at each other's eyes, just by seeing the knife techniques. The Four Images Knife Technique required instantaneous changes in body shape in four directions when one person made a move, demanding extreme speed, but the knife array did not have this requirement; with four people facing each direction, guarding tightly, they only needed to follow the step method and move freely.

  The children practiced hard one by one, and the knife formation was beginning to take shape. Yuxue still occasionally disrupted the grouping, reorganizing it in an attempt to make any four people able to cooperate with each other.

  When autumn arrived, the knife array was almost practiced, and Yuxue let each group follow her to practice the method of surrounding the enemy. The children were excited. They didn't dare to bother Yuxue too much, but every evening they would find adults in the tribe to practice their skills. Before long, those adults would be defeated, and if it weren't for the wooden knives, there would be injuries. The brave warriors in the tribe admired them, but felt embarrassed to ask Yuxue to teach them, so they asked Heiri instead. Heiri went to Yuxue and got a lot of Xuan Yu Lu, which he gave to the tribespeople to take, transforming their bodies; then he modified the Four象 knife method into the Four象 spear method or halberd method, and also had the tribespeople practice the Four象 spear array or halberd array. For a time, the children of the tribe shouted loudly, and in the evening, they practiced fiercely under Heiri's guidance. The adults and children would fight each other until late at night before dispersing. From then on, when the tribespeople met, they would ask each other, "How many moves of the Four象 knife method (spear, halberd) have you learned?" It was truly a tribe where everyone practiced martial arts!