195: Chapter 75 Plotting the Nine Yin Manual (Volume 1)

Hearing the Old Imp's skepticism, Meng Li sighed inwardly.

In the original story, Guo Jing being able to learn the Nine Yin Manual from the Old Imp was truly the result of his Protagonist Halo working its magic, a series of coincidences: first, by chance, he saved the Old Imp, then he gained some favor unknowingly through his Quanzhen Internal Skill, followed by his innocent heart inadvertently aligning with Wang Chongyang's thoughts, and finally, receiving indirect assistance from Zhu Cong, which allowed him to be taught the true manual.

If this were a game, it would definitely be a hidden chain quest.

Meng Li could not replicate this, so he had to handle it in his own way.

He pondered for a moment and said to the Old Imp, "What you say makes some sense, so how about we change the way we play?"

"Change to what way?" the Old Imp asked.

Meng Li replied, "Very simple, trading Martial Arts for Martial Arts."

"As far as I know, the Nine Yin Manual - Upper Volume and the Lower Volume are quite different. The content recorded in the Upper Volume is divided into twelve parts and is not sinister or vicious."

"They are respectively: Nine Yin General Outline, Big Dipper Method, Tendon-Changing and Bone-Forging Chapter, Healing Chapter, acupoint Striking Chapter, acupoint Unblocking Secret Technique, Breath Holding Secret Technique, Bone Shrinking Method, Flying Catkin Force, Snake-Moving and Cat-Turning Technique, Soul-Shifting Method, and Ghost Prison Yin Wind Roar."

"Among them, the Nine Yin General Outline has the effect of balancing and harmonizing. After learning it, practicing the rest of the Martial Arts in the manual allows for the mutual aid of Yin and Yang, avoiding a bias towards the Yin."

"The Big Dipper Method is the Foundation method for practicing superior skills. It is mysterious and profound. After learning it, one can verify it against the Daoist Martial Arts in the Nine Yin Manual and other Daoist Martial Arts. If they align everywhere, one will gain significant progress."

"The Tendon-Changing and Bone-Forging Chapter is an Internal Skill that combines movement and stillness, and practices both body and utility. Once mastered, it can improve one's innate constitution, allowing for rapid progress in power, Martial Arts, and other aspects."

"The Healing Chapter is for healing injuries and can also be used to increase power. It has extremely powerful effects in treating internal injuries."

"The acupoint Striking Chapter focuses on human acupoints and the essentials of acupoint striking."

"The acupoint Unblocking Secret Technique is a method for unblocking one's own acupoints. When an acupoint is struck or blocked by someone, this method can be used to clear it."

"The Breath Holding Secret Technique allows a person to not breathe for a long time."

"The Bone Shrinking Method is the lowest-grade skill, a technique for thievery and digging holes, but when practiced to the highest level, it can shrink the entire body's bones into a tiny ball, just like a hedgehog or porcupine curling up when encountering an enemy."

"The Flying Catkin Force is a clever skill for dissipating force, which can turn an opponent's strong power into nothingness."

"The Snake-Moving and Cat-Turning Technique is a movement art that uses the terrain to roll and dodge."

"The Soul-Shifting Method can captivate the mind, but it is only effective against those with weak wills."

"The Ghost Prison Yin Wind Roar is a sound wave skill that injures people with sound and tracks souls with sound, similar in effect to the Azure Sea Rising Tide Melody."

"Am I right?"

The Old Imp did not answer but quickly recalled in his mind. The more he thought, the more shocked he became, and finally, he said in astonishment, "Have you read the Nine Yin Manual - Upper Volume?"

Seeing him like this, Guo Jing and Mu Nianci immediately knew that what Meng Li said was correct, and for a moment, they also felt surprised.

They were surprised by Meng Li's familiarity with the Nine Yin Manual - Upper Volume, and also surprised by the content of the manual.

Judging from the effects described by Meng Li, the content of the Nine Yin Manual - Upper Volume indeed had nothing sinister or poisonous, at least not as vicious as Mei Chaofeng's Nine Yin White Bone Claw, which required using living people to practice.

Facing the Old Imp's words, Meng Li shook his head: "I calculated a rough idea, I don't know the specific content."

Then he added, "You have read the Nine Yin Manual and even know the Martial Arts within it, but because of the will of The Real Person of Chongyang, you cannot use them. It is equivalent to sitting on a mountain of treasure and not being able to take anything out; it is truly a pity."

"If you could use the Martial Arts within it, or use Martial Arts of a similar level of power, your strength would definitely be able to catch up to the Four Masters, or even surpass them."

"And I happen to know some superior Martial Arts that are not inferior to the Nine Yin Manual."

"Therefore, we can make an exchange."

"I will use my own Martial Arts to trade for the content of the Nine Yin Manual - Upper Volume that I am interested in."

"In this way, I can satisfy my hobby of collecting Martial Arts. You can also learn more usable Martial Arts and enhance your strength. When you meet Ouyang Feng and Medicine Master Huang again, not to mention settling grudges, at least you won't have to worry about not being able to beat them."

"If you encounter unavoidable situations, you can also use the Martial Arts you learned from me to cope, without worrying about misusing the Nine Yin Manual's Martial Arts and breaking your promise."

"How about it?"

The Old Imp did not answer immediately but began to pace in circles, pondering.

In fact, he was also very conflicted about the Nine Yin Manual.

He knew the content and understood their power, but hindered by his Senior Brother Wang Chongyang's will, he did not learn or practice them; instead, he wanted to forget them.

But sometimes, the more one wants to forget something, the more clearly one remembers it.

This was the case for the Old Imp regarding the Nine Yin Manual.

During the years he was trapped on Peach Blossom Island, not only did he fail to forget the Nine Yin Manual, but he also learned the content within it.

The Old Imp was by nature a playful child; having obtained good things, he inevitably wanted to show them off.

At the same time, he was very curious about what level it would be to learn the Nine Yin Manual completely and unleash it.

However, hindered by Wang Chongyang's will, he could not use the Martial Arts from the Nine Yin Manual.

Therefore, the Old Imp had always felt a bit itchy and stifled.

The exchange method proposed by Meng Li could, to a certain extent, satisfy his desire to show off and his curiosity.

After a while, the Old Imp clapped his hands and agreed: "Good, let's do it. Let's have a match first. If you can defeat me, it proves you aren't bragging, and we will proceed with the Martial Arts exchange. If you lose, the exchange is off."

Meng Li nodded: "It's a deal."

The Old Imp stroked his beard and said: "You saved me just now, I will let you make the first move."

Meng Li did not stand on ceremony and directly started with the Raging Dragon Palm, attacking the Old Imp.

The Old Imp heard the dragon's roar and saw the True Qi take the shape of a dragon, and said in surprise: "Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms?"

In an instant, he shook his head and said: "No, this is not the old beggar's Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms."

As he finished speaking, Meng Li's palm was already close.

The Old Imp dared not be careless and hurriedly used Quanzhen palm techniques to respond, but after only a few rounds, he felt it difficult to parry, so he had to switch to his self-created Kongming Fist.

The Kongming Fist attribute is extremely Yin and soft; against the fierce and violent Raging Dragon Palm, it had some sense of using softness to overcome hardness.

Meng Li took the Opportunity to change moves, switching to the Seven Wounds Fist.

The Seven Wounds Fist, one punch inflicts seven wounds; when the punch is thrown, the momentum is magnificent.

With Meng Li's level of mastery, one punch unleashed seven different forces: some fierce, some soft, some soft within hard, some hard within soft, some striking horizontally, some straight, or some inward-contracting.

The Kongming Fist uses softness to overcome hardness, but it could not overcome the other forces.

After taking one punch, the Old Imp felt the forces coming one after another, and none were the same.

It was his first time encountering this situation, and he was caught off guard, immediately revealing a flaw.

Meng Li immediately seized the Opportunity and threw a punch at his face, but stopped one inch away, letting only the wind of the punch blow the Old Imp's beard and hair.

Then, he withdrew his fist, looked at the stunned Old Imp, and smiled indifferently: "You lost."

"What kind of fist technique is this?"