Guo Jing and Huang Rong knew that as Sha Tongtian and the others were defeated, Ouyang Feng would go into action and that they absolutely could not fight against him. “Let’s get out of here quickly!” Huang Rong said, “We have to raise the alarm and let the palace guards come and prevent these people from acting further.”
“That’s right!” Guo Jing said, “You go out and raise the alarm. I am staying here on guard.”
“You must not fight the Old Poison,” Huang Rong said.
“Yes. Now go! Go!” Guo Jing said.
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Huang Rong was about to go out through the hole behind the waterfall when they suddenly heard a loud grunt and a great burst of energy came through the waterfall from the outside. The two did not dare to block it and leaped sideways to evade that energy. With a loud roar, Ouyang Feng’s ‘Toad Stance’ energy penetrated the waterfall and hit the iron gate. Water splashed everywhere and the force was astonishing.
Although Huang Rong managed to leap sideways, her back was still hit by the ‘Toad Stance’s’
lateral force. She felt her blood rushing and her vision blurred. She tried to focus her mind and then dashed outside shouting at the top of her lungs, “Seize the assassin! Seize the assassin!” She ran away while continuing to shout.
As she shouted, the palace guards all around the ‘Jade-Green Cold Hall’ were startled awake.
Shouting began immediately from everywhere, raising the alarm. Huang Rong jumped up on the roof of the hall, picked up some roof tiles, and ‘Bing…bing…bang…bang!” randomly threw them to the ground.
“Kill that little girl first, then we’ll talk,” Peng Lianhu cursed. Launching his lightness kungfu, he gave chase. Liang Ziweng jumped to the left, trying to block her.
Wanyan Honglie was still calm. He said to Yang Kang, “Kang’er, go with Mr. Ouyang and get the book.”
By this time Ouyang Feng was already squatting on the ground in front of the waterfall. With another grunt he sent another burst of energy and the double iron gate at the cave’s mouth flew in.
He was about to enter the cave, when from one side, a shadow suddenly attacked. Before the person even arrived, his palm had already come, launching the dangerous stance of the ‘Flying Dragon Soaring Through the Heavens’ [fei long zai tian]. Although he could not clearly see that person’s appearance in the dark cave, as soon as he saw the stance he knew it must be Guo Jing. He was delighted, “The ‘Nine Yin Manual’ is exceptionally difficult to comprehend and I only understand two out of ten sentences. If I can capture this kid, I can force him to explain it.” He leaned sideways to evade the attack then swiftly stretched out his hand, trying to grab Guo Jing’s back.
Guo Jing was determined that no matter what he had to do to guard the entrance, he would not let the enemy enter. As long as he could hold it for a while, the palace guards would come. Although this group of traitors’ martial arts was high, they would have to run away eventually. He was slightly puzzled to see Ouyang Feng not trying to kill him but merely trying to capture him. His left hand swept the attacking hand away and his right hand counterattacked with the ‘Vacant Fist’
technique. Even though, in terms of strength, this technique was inferior to the ‘Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms’, by using the ‘Vacant Fist’, his palms floated with tricky movements.
“Good!” Ouyang Feng exclaimed. He dropped his shoulder and pulled back his hand while trying to catch Guo Jing’s right arm. His hand did not carry the gust of wind that came with his usual swift and ferocious force.
While he was on the deserted island, Ouyang Feng studied the Manual Guo Jing wrote out. The more he practiced it the more he felt something was wrong. It never crossed his mind that the Manual in his hands was altered to the point of being somewhat unintelligible. He thought that the Manual carried a very deep and profound meaning which could not be deciphered in a short period of time. Later on he heard Hong Qigong mumbling some gibberish on the raft which he thought was Eagle Shooting Hero
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the key to understanding the Manual. Also, every time he met Guo Jing, he noticed that his martial arts were continuously progressing. He was startled yet delighted at the same time. Startled: because this kid’s skills were improving so rapidly. Therefore, the power contained in the Manual must be truly something to be feared. Delighted: because the Manual was in his hands. By strengthening his own background, his advancement in the future would be limitless.
On the raft he fought a life and death battle against two enemies. This time he felt that he had gained the upper hand and wanted to fight at a leisurely pace. He thought he would be able to dissect the manual by watching Guo Jing’s every single move. He did not care whether the Wumu Legacy would be stolen or not. In his heart the only important matter right was the martial arts in the Manual.
By now the light from the many lanterns carried all around the area had made the ‘Jade-Green Cold Hall’ bright as daylight, as more and more palace guards arrived. Wanyan Honglie noted that Ouyang Feng and Yang Kang had been behind the water’s curtain for a very long time without coming back out. Meanwhile the palace guards gathered around them. He was getting increasingly anxious. Fortunately the guards’ attention was concentrated by Peng Lianhu and Liang Ziweng on the roof chasing after Huang Rong, oblivious that there was a bigger fight going on inside the waterfall. He realized, however, that sooner or later the guards’ would detect their presence there.
He stomped his feet and waved his hands continuously, while urgently calling out, “Quick…quick!”
“Don’t worry Prince, little monk will go in again,” the Venerable Lingzhi said. Shaking his left palm in front of his body he entered the waterfall. By now the light from outside had penetrated the water curtain. He was able to see Ouyang Feng exchanging stances with Guo Jing in front of the cave entrance, while Yang Kang, at one side, was trying to get into the cave. But how could he pass through the two people’s ferocious gusts of wind created by their palms?
The Venerable Lingzhi watched for several stances until he could not endure it any longer. He knew the present situation was very urgent. But Ouyang Feng was sparring leisurely with this kid. Truly he was a bastard. “Mr. Ouyang, let me help you!” he shouted.
“Don’t come near me!” Ouyang Feng replied.
The Venerable Lingzhi thought, “In a situation like this you still flaunt yourself as a hero and display your reputation as a grandmaster of a martial arts school?” He bent his knees and attacked Guo Jing’s left side. His ‘Big Hand Imprint’ [da shou yin] slapped Guo Jing’s ‘Sun’ [tai yang]
acupoint.
Ouyang Feng was angry. His right hand stretched out to grab the back of Lingzhi’s neck and fling him out. As soon as his neck was grabbed, the Venerable Lingzhi became very angry and he shouted a series of the most obscene cuss words he could think of. Unfortunately he was speaking Tibetan, so Ouyang Feng naturally did not understand a word he was saying. All he heard was “Ba ni mi hong”… half a sentence because water started to get into his mouth and his curses were drowned. As he fell backwards with his face facing the sky, he landed in the pond and water began filling his mouth.
Wanyan Honglie saw the Venerable Lingzhi come flying out and fall like he was mounting the clouds and riding the mist. Then he heard a loud clanking noise as the big flower pot in front of the
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‘Jade-Green Cold Hall’ was crushed. He groaned inwardly. He also saw many palace guards coming in succession, so he hastily tucked in his robe and went inside the waterfall.
Although he had learned some martial arts, his skill was only so-so. As soon as he was inside the waterfall he stepped on the slippery surface and fell down. Yang Kang rushed forward to help him up. It took a while for Wanyan Honglie to scan the cave and see what was going on. “Mr. Ouyang, can you expel this youngster?” he called out. He knew that no matter how he begged or entreated, Ouyang Feng might not necessarily pay any attention to him. Therefore he resorted to subtlety by asking if Ouyang Feng was capable of expelling Guo Jing. This was called ‘dispatching a general is not as good as inciting a general’.
Sure enough, as soon as Ouyang Feng heard that, he replied, “Why not?” He squatted and with a loud grunt, sent his ‘Toad Stance’ energy forward through his palms. This one push was backed by his lifelong cultivation of internal energy. Even if Hong Qigong or Huang Yaoshi were here, they would not be able to resist this attack head on, so how could Guo Jing block it?
Ouyang Feng had just exchanged several stances with Guo Jing, compelling him to use the ‘Vacant Fist’ technique. He noticed that Guo Jing’s movements were subtle with marvelous variations. In his heart he was secretly pleased and thought this must be the ‘Nine Yin Manual’s’ martial arts. He wanted to watch Guo Jing use enough of this technique so that he could steal as much as he could.
Unfortunately, Wanyan Honglie barged in and questioned his ability. He still thought that Guo Jing would be useful, and he knew the ferociousness of his own strength, therefore, he voluntarily withdrew his push.