238: Chapter 18 The Martial Arts of the Free and Unfettered Sect

The Beiming Divine Skill, one of the three great signature techniques of the Xiaoyao Sect, is known for its ability to accumulate Internal Energy.

The Old Woman of Tian Shan, Wu Ya Zi, and Li Qiu Shui all understood this technique, but due to the arrangements of the Carefree Child and the fact that switching cultivation required dispersing one's existing Internal Energy, Wu Ya Zi was the only one who practiced it.

The Beiming Divine Skill is known for accumulating Internal Energy, but it is not as efficient as the Hun Yuan True Qi, where one year of practice is equivalent to twenty years for an ordinary person; rather, its effect lies in absorbing the Internal Energy of others.

Wu Ya Zi is now over eighty years old, yet he has only about seventy years of Internal Energy, which clearly shows he hasn't absorbed much from others.

However, having practiced this technique for most of his life, he knows its effects better than anyone.

In his understanding, the Beiming Divine Skill could drain the Internal Energy cultivated from any Martial Arts, and it had never failed.

Unless the gap in Internal Energy between the two parties was too extreme—for instance, a practitioner with only a few years of Internal Energy trying to absorb someone with hundreds of years—it would not fail. Only in such a case would it fail, leading to the situation noted in the technique where Internal Energy backflows into the other person.

Yet, Wu Ya Zi had never imagined that there would come a time when the Beiming Divine Skill would fail to absorb someone even when he held the advantage in Internal Energy.

The person he was absorbing was Wang Yuyan.

He didn't mean her any harm; he simply wanted to demonstrate the miraculous effects of the Beiming Divine Skill, but the result... it backfired!

Through physical contact, he clearly sensed the Internal Energy within Wang Yuyan; the amount was barely a year's worth, yet it was perfectly unified and whole.

When he executed the Beiming Divine Skill, whether to absorb or neutralize it, the effect was minimal.

The only reason there was any effect at all was that his own volume of Internal Energy far surpassed Wang Yuyan's.

If Wang Yuyan had ten years of Internal Energy, he wouldn't even be able to shake it.

This greatly astonished Wu Ya Zi.

Meng Li was also a bit surprised by this.

By roughly comparing the effects, he guessed that the Beiming Divine Skill could not compare to the Yi Hua Jie Mu Version of the Marrying Clothes Divine Skill, and it was even inferior to Liu Xi's Absorbing Qi Technique. After all, the Beiming Divine Skill could only absorb Internal Energy, while Liu Xi's Absorbing Qi Technique could absorb Internal Energy, Martial Arts, and even people.

But a guess is still just a guess; whether the facts are truly so requires verification to be certain.

Now he could confirm that the Beiming Divine Skill was inferior to the Yi Hua Jie Mu Version of the Marrying Clothes Divine Skill.

Just as Meng Li reached this conclusion, Wu Ya Zi asked: "Yu Yan, what Internal Skill is this that you practice?"

Wang Yuyan replied truthfully: "Hun Yuan True Qi, taught to me by my cousin."

"Hun Yuan True Qi?"

Wu Ya Zi pondered this, feeling the name of the technique was well-deserved; the Internal Energy cultivated was unified and whole, making it difficult for others to shake.

"Then how long have you been practicing it?" he asked again.

Wang Yuyan thought carefully and replied: "About half a month."

Wu Ya Zi's face showed astonishment: "Half a month, truly?"

Wang Yuyan nodded: "Truly."

Wu Ya Zi looked incredulous, murmuring: "To Cultivate nearly a year's worth of Internal Energy in half a month—this is the first time I have ever heard of such a technique."

"Where did you get this technique?" This question was directed at Meng Li.

Under normal circumstances, Wu Ya Zi would not ask this, because inquiring about someone else's technique is taboo, but the effects of the Hun Yuan True Qi were truly astonishing, making him unable to resist his curiosity.

Meng Li replied casually: "It's a family heirloom."

Wu Ya Zi's expression froze.

"A family heirloom?"

"You passed down your family's Martial Arts to your cousin, my granddaughter?"

"This..."

He cast his gaze between Meng Li and Wang Yuyan, feeling that his inner suspicions were further confirmed. He wanted to say something, but recalling his own situation back then, he swallowed his words.

In the end, Wu Ya Zi only sighed: "No wonder your ancestor was able to become invincible in the world back then."

He was referring to Murong Longcheng. As for why the Murong Family had not produced another figure like Murong Longcheng despite having such a miraculous technique, he did not mention it.

The reason is simple: most powerful techniques are selective of the person.

If a person's Aptitude is insufficient, they cannot master the technique even if they possess it.

And regarding the Aptitude of Wang Yuyan and Meng Li, he had come to understand it over the past two days; it was not inferior to his own in the past, and perhaps even exceeded it.

Thus, it was no surprise that they could master this Hun Yuan True Qi.

Seeing that the Beiming Divine Skill had not achieved the expected results, Wu Ya Zi felt a bit disappointed, but he quickly composed himself and turned to talk about other Martial Arts of the Xiaoyao Sect.

For example, the Tianshan Six Yang Palm, the White Rainbow Palm Power, and the Tianshan Broken Plum Hand.

These Martial Arts, which use specific Moves to combat enemies, were basically learned by the Old Woman of Tian Shan, Wu Ya Zi, and Li Qiu Shui, though each had their own focus depending on the situation.

For instance, the Old Woman of Tian Shan had the highest attainment in the Tianshan Six Yang Palm, even creating the Life and Death Talisman, which could only be eradicated by this set of palm techniques.

Wu Ya Zi was proficient in the Swift Steps, because executing it had the effect of accumulating Internal Energy, which paired well with the Beiming Divine Skill.

Li Qiu Shui primarily cultivated the Skill of No Phase, which allowed her to execute Moves without leaving a trace, and when combined with the flexible White Rainbow Palm Power, it had miraculous effects.

Meng Li was very interested in all three of these Martial Arts.

The Tianshan Six Yang Palm's power is divided into Yin and Yang, and is related to the Life and Death Talisman.

The White Rainbow Palm Power is flexible and can change direction mid-path, making it impossible to guard against.

The Tianshan Broken Plum Hand is all-encompassing; it is said that any palm technique or grappling method can be integrated into it, raising its power ceiling without limit, so it can never be fully learned. This fits perfectly with Meng Li's path of gathering and learning from various experts (collecting stamps).

However, what Meng Li was most interested in was the The Supreme Skill of the Eight Desolations and Six Combinations practiced by the Old Woman of Tian Shan.

It was not because its name was long and imposing, but because it exceeded the boundaries of the genre.

As one of the three great signature techniques of the Xiaoyao Sect, although the Beiming Divine Skill and the Skill of No Phase were unique, they were still within the realm of Wuxia.

But the effects of the The Supreme Skill of the Eight Desolations and Six Combinations did not belong to Wuxia at all.

"Rejuvenation!"

Never mind Wuxia, even some low-level Xianxia worlds could not achieve that.

Precisely because of this, in the world where Meng Li lived in his first life, many people said that the Carefree Child was a cultivator, and even claimed that the three great signature techniques of the Xiaoyao Sect, when combined, formed a Cultivation Technique.

However, Wu Ya Zi did not know the The Supreme Skill of the Eight Desolations and Six Combinations.

Among the three Senior and junior disciples, the Old Woman of Tian Shan was the first to join and learned the most. She not only knew the The Supreme Skill of the Eight Desolations and Six Combinations, but had even read the Beiming Divine Skill and the Skill of No Phase, though she simply did not practice them.

Wu Ya Zi and Li Qiu Shui were once husband and wife; they had learned from and exchanged ideas with each other, and their Martial Arts knowledge was comparable.

In terms of Martial Arts level, the Old Woman of Tian Shan was the leader among the three.

This was stated by Wu Ya Zi himself.

Comparing this with the situation in the original story, Meng Li felt this was true.

Even though the Old Woman of Tian Shan was seen fleeing from Li Qiu Shui when she first appeared, that was because she was undergoing rejuvenation and had fallen into a period of weakness.

When the Old Woman of Tian Shan was in her prime state, Li Qiu Shui would not dare to step a single inch into the territory governed by Lingjiu Palace.

Because she knew she could not defeat the Old Woman of Tian Shan in her prime state; going there would only result in a beating, or even death.

However, the Old Woman of Tian Shan's strength at her Peak probably did not exceed Li Qiu Shui's by too much, or at least she could not crush her. Otherwise, given the hatred between the two, and following the Old Woman of Tian Shan's style, she would have killed Li Qiu Shui long ago rather than fighting her for a lifetime.

At this moment, Wu Ya Zi added: "It is shameful to say, but my position as Sect Head was the result of my Senior Sister intentionally yielding it to me back then."

"In terms of true Martial Arts, I am only a sliver higher than Yu Yan's grandmother, and far inferior to my Senior Sister."

Meng Li's expression remained unchanged, but he quickly processed some things in his mind.

Wu Ya Zi's Martial Arts were only slightly higher than Li Qiu Shui's, which should not be the case under normal circumstances; it was likely because he loved art and neglected his proper work, causing his Martial Arts to decline.

Because his strength was insufficient to suppress the situation, he did not dare to think about wanting both his Senior Sister and Junior Sister, and he only dared to harbor a secret crush on Li Qiu Shui's younger sister. It was precisely because of this that Li Qiu Shui could pull in Ding Chunqiu, who hadn't yet come into his own, and use some schemes to knock Wu Ya Zi off the cliff.

"However..."

"Listening to you, Senior, that Old Woman of Tian Shan's Martial Arts should be far superior to Ding Chunqiu's, and killing him should not be difficult."

"Why don't you have someone seek her help to take revenge?"