126: Chapter 6 Iron Palm Peak and Iron Palm Clan

After healing Lu Chengfeng's legs, Meng Li did not stay long at Guiyun Village. Despite the Lu father and son's attempts to make him stay, he drove his RV, the Dream Travel Residence, to continue his travels the very next day.

After more than two months, Silly Aunt had adapted to life at Guiyun Village. Although she was reluctant to see him leave, she ultimately had the mind of a child. Once Meng Li promised to visit her when he had time, she stopped pestering him and happily went off to play games with the maidservants.

After wandering for two days, Meng Li decided to take a trip to Iron Palm Peak, the headquarters of the Iron Palm Sect, to get his hands on Wu Mu's Testament.

He might not necessarily lead troops into battle in the future, but in this life, he was a man of the Song Dynasty and surnamed Zhao. His biological elder brother had even unexpectedly become a Prince, so he might have a use for this military treatise later on.

Even if he didn't use it, it would be excellent to use it for a bit of enlightenment and to broaden his horizons.

Meng Li remembered that according to the story's setting, Wu Mu's Testament was a military treatise left by the famous anti-Jin general Yue Fei before his death to deal with the Jin Kingdom; its original name was the 'Secrets to Defeating the Jin'.

The name 'Wu Mu's Testament' was a title others had given it based on its origin.

In addition to targeting the Jin Kingdom, it was also Yue Fei's summary of his lifelong philosophy of war, containing numerous topics such as strategy, situational assessment, offensive tactics, defense, field battles, formations, troop training, and commanding generals. It also included the dynamics of safety and peril, as well as the Dao of using formations for surprise attacks.

The reason it ended up at the Iron Palm Sect was due to the previous Sect Leader, Shangguan Jiannan.

Shangguan Jiannan was a subordinate of the famous anti-Jin general Han Shizhong.

Back when Yue Fei was wrongfully executed and Han Shizhong was stripped of his military power, the latter had to indulge in wine and women to protect himself.

Shangguan Jiannan had no choice but to shed his armor and join the Iron Palm Sect, which was just a small Gang at the time, and developed it into a powerful force.

Later, Shangguan Jiannan heard about Wu Mu's Testament and went to the imperial palace to steal it. To prevent this military book from falling into the hands of treacherous people, he took it with him into the Iron Palm Sect's Forbidden Ground before he died.

In the original plot, Wanyan Honglie analyzed various pieces of information and confirmed that Wu Mu's Testament was in the Song Dynasty's imperial palace.

This was actually correct; it was just that he arrived too late.

Thinking of the relevant details, Meng Li reminisced while driving the RV toward Iron Palm Peak.

He encountered many people on the road, including bandits blocking the way and curious commoners, but none of them had any impact on him.

There were no setbacks until he reached the Market Town near Iron Palm Peak.

The name Iron Palm Peak had two origins: first, its shape resembled a human palm, and second, it was the headquarters of the Iron Palm Sect.

However, 'Iron Palm Peak' was mostly what outsiders called it.

The local people nearby all called it Monkey Claw Mountain.

Few people ventured into the mountains because the Iron Palm Sect was stationed there.

The Iron Palm Sect had been built up and expanded by Shangguan Jiannan.

As for Shangguan Jiannan himself, he did not appear in the original plot, but Meng Li had some impression of him.

This was because even the Northern Beggar Hong Qi, known for his chivalry, admired him.

Since the leader stood upright, the many members of the sect did not stray into deviance.

Therefore, the Iron Palm Sect's reputation was quite good at that time.

But after Shangguan Jiannan, the one who took over the position of Sect Leader was Qiu Qianren.

Qiu Qianren's character was not very good.

Furthermore, his bad character affected the whole family; there were three siblings in total, and Qiu Qianren was the second. The eldest was named Qiu Qianzhang, who looked almost identical to Qiu Qianren. After the latter became the Sect Leader of the Iron Palm Sect, the eldest often impersonated him to swindle and deceive others.

The youngest was Qiu Qianchi, who was the original wife of Gongsun Zhi from the Passionless Valley in 'The Return of the Condor Heroes'.

Since the Sect Leader's character was poor, the Disciples under him naturally couldn't be much better.

Consequently, the Iron Palm Sect's reputation was now very bad. In the mouths of the nearby commoners, they were synonymous with being fierce, evil, and lawless.

This made Meng Li sigh with emotion. He then made some preparations, using the Disguise Technique and Bone Shrinking Skill from his previous life to change his appearance and physique.

Wu Mu's Testament was located in a cave on the second section of the middle peak of Iron Palm Peak. With Meng Li's Martial Arts, it wouldn't be difficult to climb up.

However, it was the Iron Palm Sect's Forbidden Ground, guarded by Iron Palm Sect Disciples.

According to the rules of the Iron Palm Sect, anyone who entered would die, and the Sect Leader was no exception. Every Sect Leader of the Iron Palm Sect would bring their precious treasures inside to wait for death when they were near the end, and the Disciples who entered with them would also commit suicide inside, viewing it as an honor.

Meng Li didn't know who passed down this bizarre rule, but to obtain Wu Mu's Testament, he had to take it into account.

Under these restrictions, it would be difficult for Meng Li to ensure he wasn't discovered during the process alone.

To avoid unnecessary trouble afterward, he felt it was safer to use a fake identity.

Once he finished gathering information and everything was ready, Meng Li quietly headed toward Iron Palm Peak.

Infiltrating the Iron Palm Sect's headquarters went smoothly, but while climbing Iron Palm Peak, he was inevitably discovered by the Iron Palm Sect members.

This was because he was acting during the day.

Iron Palm Peak was towering and steep, and the cave was located halfway up the mountain; it was more convenient and safer to climb during the day. While acting at night could reduce the probability of exposure, Meng Li's vision would also be affected. If he accidentally lost his footing and fell off the cliff, that would be a disaster.

Compared to that, Meng Li was more willing to accept being discovered.

Of course, it would be best not to be discovered at all.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.

Fortunately, by the time he was discovered, he had already reached the entrance of the Forbidden Ground's cave.

Glancing at the Iron Palm Sect Disciples rushing toward him from a distance, Meng Li didn't pay them much mind and quickened his pace to go inside.

When he reached the bottom and scanned the area, the scene before him was much as he had expected: chests of gold and silver jewelry, scattered skeletal remains, rows of spirit tablets, disordered weapons, as well as ubiquitous cobwebs and thick dust.

Regarding those gold and silver treasures, Meng Li gave a large wave of his hand and stored them all into his Portable Space.

He did not touch the skeletal remains, spirit tablets, or weapons.

Soon, he saw an iron box in front of a skeleton leaning against the wall.

Meng Li picked it up and brushed off the dust, and four large characters in an ancient script were revealed on top—Secrets to Defeating the Jin!

He felt a surge of joy and opened the iron box, finding two well-preserved books inside.

One was 'Wu Mu's Records', and the other was 'Secrets to Defeating the Jin'.

Meng Li didn't look closely; he simply stored them into his Portable Space and then returned to the cave entrance.

Just as he reached the entrance, he heard a commotion. Taking a look, he saw Iron Palm Sect Disciples climbing up toward him.

As soon as they saw him, someone shouted loudly.

"Audacious thief! How dare you trespass into our Iron Palm Sect's Forbidden Ground! Surrender now, or we will make sure you wish you were dead!"

"What guts, to actually dare to sneak into the Forbidden Ground! You deserve to die!"

"Traitorous thief, give up your life!"

Meng Li ignored the shouting. He utilized his Lightness Skill and leaped down, and with just a few points of leverage, he landed steadily on the ground.

This performance perfectly demonstrated the saying, 'it's easier to go down a mountain than to climb up'.

The Iron Palm Sect Disciples who were still climbing were stunned to see this. Then, their anger flared even more; they cursed while turning around to climb back down.

However, they weren't particularly anxious.

Because after Meng Li was discovered, the news of the trespass into the Forbidden Ground had alarmed the entire Iron Palm Sect.

There were also many Iron Palm Sect Disciples below, and even Qiu Qianren, who had been Cultivating the Iron Palm Technique, had arrived.

As soon as Meng Li landed, he immediately made a run for it. After running a considerable distance, he encountered an interceptor—Qiu Qianren!