Kou Zhong glowered hatefully at Xiang Yushan; he said, “Did Xiang Gongzi already guess that we knew you were hiding inside the building?”
Xiang Yushan replied in distress, “You harm me like this, and you still make cynical remarks.”
But when Xiang Yushan’s eyes met Xu Ziling’s, he immediately shivered and hung his head low. He had never seen this kind of expression in Xu Ziling’s eyes; it did not have the least bit of happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy [the four types of human emotions]. Instead, it was icy-cold and dark, which made people’s heart palpitating and terrified.
The snow was falling faster and denser, everybody was covered in thick snowflakes.
Zhao Deyan impatiently said, “Let’s talk less idle words, Shao Shuai, please get the Sheng Sheli out, we’ll immediately hand over the person to you.”
Kou Zhong was still unable to see through this major demonic man; he cast a glance toward Xu Ziling, asking for help.
Xu Ziling casually threw the copper jar in front of the two boys, between their legs, without even splashing a drop of mercury. He spoke indifferently, “Use the saber to pick the Sheli out.”
Kou Zhong mused that this was a comparatively safe way in the midst of no way at all. The Demonic Emperor Relics was a bizarre, unfathomable object. Nobody knew after being buried underground for many years, would it undergo any change or not?
Sticking the Moon in the Well inside the jar, he reached deep inside the mercury.
In the courtyard, the crow and peacock made no sound, including Xiang Yushan. Everybody was waiting with bated breath.
The feeling of something was not right in Xu Ziling’s heart was getting stronger.
Since Xiang Yushan was powerless to defend himself, why would he still be this expectant and attach particular importance to the ‘unearthing’ of the Relics? Logically, he should not have the ‘leisure’ to care about it.
Zhao Deyan was as unfathomable as usual; he did not reveal the slightest bit of emotion in his heart.
This major demonic figure’s knowledge of the Relics ought to come from You Niaojuan. But surely he did not know about You Niaojuan’s secret method of detecting the Demonic Emperor Relics; otherwise, he would have asked them to hand over the Relics and the copper jar together.
Yellow light suddenly appeared, enveloping Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling in bizarre, dark yellow glow.
On the tip of the Moon in the Well, there was a yellow crystal, about the size of a human fist, which had just left the mercury liquid in the jar.
The crystal appeared to be solid, yet it appeared to be soft at the same time; translucent, showing the faint blood-red thread-like lines, which was moving slowly inside the crystal, like a cloud or red clouds [yun and xia (sunset clouds)], emitting a faint yellow glow.
Following the Moon in the Well, the Demonic Emperor Relics rose slowly out of the mouth of the jar.
Zhao Deyan’s eyes shot violent and hot severe light, he stared at the Relics without blinking.
Suddenly Kou Zhong’s tiger-body shook severely, as if someone sealed his acupoint so that he froze on the spot.
Xiang Yushan suddenly straightened up; laughing aloud, he said, “You fall into the trap!”
Zhao Deyan was the first to strike. The ‘Hundred Changes Water Caltrop Spear’ shot out of his sleeves, one going up the other going down, he separately aimed for the vital points on Kou Zhong’s face and lower abdomen. As soon as the word was out, the attack arrived; there was no fore-warning at all, it was malicious and ruthless to the extreme point.
But Kou Zhong appeared to be totally oblivious; it was as if he was bewitched. He had his eyes fixed at the Demonic Emperor Relics, the strange treasure of the demonic school – resting on the tip of the saber, but his expression was blank.
Xu Ziling made prompt decision; before he was being sucked into the chaotic battle, his body flashed, he stood in front of Kou Zhong, acting as a shield. His left foot picked the copper jar, like a silver pillar the mercury inside the jar shot up to meet Zhao Deyan’s attack head-on. His right hand slapped heavily backward toward the Relics; he wanted to smash this demonic school’s inauspicious object into pieces, to end this calamity. In this critical moment when a thousand pounds hung by a thread, he rescued Kou Zhong.
For the second time Zhao Deyan retracted the Water Caltrop Spear, and shifted sideways to evade the mercury column shooting at him like an arrow. “Attack!” he shouted loudly.
Kou Zhong was another matter altogether. When the saber blade had just made contact with the Relics inside the mercury, he still did not feel anything different. But when he used his sucking power to lift the Relics out of the silvery liquid, a burst of heavy-as-the-mountain, oddly-cold-without-equal, demonic-to-the-extreme-point – stream of yin [negative] qi immediately rushed forth along the Moon in the Well, like a giant wave breaching the dike – into his system. If his meridians were breached, the entire channel in his body would definitely rupture, even if he did not die, he would definitely be crippled.
Only then did they know Zhao Deyan’s crafty scheme; no wonder he pretended to be so generous by willing to hand over Xiang Yushan. His intention was to catch Kou Zhong off guard and lose the power to hit back. Kou Zhong was using the mysterious power within his body entirely to resist the weird power of the Demonic Emperor Relics; hence he lost the ability to protect himself.
‘Bang!’
Xu Ziling’s concentrated power in his palm swiftly struck the Demonic Emperor Relics on the saber blade.
The Demonic Emperor Relics’ yellow glow suddenly flared out brightly, as its intensity increased dramatically several folds, but unexpectedly it did not suffer any damage.
Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were severely shaken; they were jolted forward and backward, respectively, as if they were struck by a lightning, and fell to the ground.
The Demonic Emperor Relics left the saber blade and fell onto the snowy ground.
The moment Xu Ziling struck the Relics, a fantastic change, which was difficult to explain in words, appeared inside the Relics, just like the core suddenly caved in, as if it turned into a bizarre vacuum that nothing could escape, nothing could go through.
There was a space within no space, it was limited but also infinite.
When Kou Zhong’s true qi came bursting inside the Relics, Xu Ziling’s true qi was also sucked into the Relics, leaving nothing.
When the two boys cried out, ‘Not good!’, their true qi ferociously met inside the bizarre space in the Relics. If it were two different people, these two streams of true qi, just like they were led by the nose by the Relics – would fight each other desperately.
But their true qi was coming from the same source, the ‘Secret to Long Life’. Moreover, one was leaning toward yang in nature and hot, the other was leaning toward yin and cold. Not only these two streams of true qi did not repel each other, they became a spiraling qi power instead, like the yin and yang, two qi in the Taiji [the Absolute or Supreme Ultimate, the source of all things according to some interpretations of Chinese mythology], growing and multiplying without end, in the snap of the fingers, at astonishing speed, revolving in more than a dozen continuous cycles.
What followed was Zhao Deyan witnessing the Relics’ light intensity increased steeply. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling felt like the core of the Relics exploded, a burst of irresistible force swung the two boys in the opposite direction. They had a faint feeling that not only the Relics was sending back the two boys’ qi power, after converging the flow and combining the movement, separately into their bodies, but also adding a considerable amount of amazing power that the two did not understand.
When the two fell to the ground, their body was tired, numb, and lacking in strength. If at that time the enemy’s weapon struck their bodies, they would die for sure.
The sound of something splitting the wind came from above, a shadow, at the speed that anybody would find it hard to believe, traversed the sky, and in an instant came to the spot where the crystal ball was falling. The crescent saber in his hand spun in a circle, sharp qi flared out, it forced the Tujue warriors to scatter away, temporarily providing relief to Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, who were lying supine and lying face down, respectively, on the snowy ground, from the danger of being killed.
His right foot picked the Relics, like performing a conjuring trick he put the Relics into a sheepskin pouch he held in his other hand. All these movements were like moving clouds, flowing waters, without wasting the least bit of time.
Zhao Deyan was the first to attack the incoming person. One of the Hundred Changes Water Caltrop Spears met the incoming crescent saber, while the other swept toward the left hand holding the sheepskin pouch; he shouted loudly, “Yun Shuai honors us with your presence, how could Ol’ Zhao dare not to show hospitality wholeheartedly?”
Kang Qiaoli was one of the people that had not been forced away by the Cloud Commander’s saber qi. Knowing that Yun Shuai’s qinggong was crowned as the number one in the world, he soared into the air, and then when Yun Shuai was getting the Relics inside the sheepskin pouch, he flew about two zhang diagonally from Yun Shuai’s backside, his cavalry saber turned into more than a dozen streaks of sharp shadow completely enveloping, and pressing down on, Yun Shuai’s head.
Zhao Deyan and Kang Qiaoli’s cooperation was like seamless heavenly clothes. Yun Shuai’s only way out was to evade sideways. But it did not matter which direction he took, potentially he would fall into the other Tujue martial art masters’ siege, and then forget about escaping, even protecting his life would become a very big problem.
This group of Tujue martial art masters only consisted of no more than thirty men, but none was not a carefully selected elite troop. On top of that, they were all valiant and vicious, expert in group warfare; their strength must not be slighted.
Just now Xiang Yushan pretended to have his hands tied and so did not make any move, but this moment he charged toward the battleground, while taking out a seeing-blood-closing-the-throat sharp dagger from his bosom. His target was not Yun Shuai, but still-lying-on-the-ground Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, whose life and death had not been decided.
Actually, Zhao Deyan already made up his mind that if he could get near, he would kick Xu Ziling, who was the closest to him – to his death, to get rid of this problem once and for all.
Yun Shuai was worthy to be called a man with remarkable attainments above the men and horses, whose name shook the Western Regions; he also showed yi qi toward Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling. “Get up!” he thundered.
His left hand swung the sheepskin bag backward, his right hand slashed the crescent saber into an arc of light to meet the Water Caltrop Spear.
Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling seemed to be awakened by Yun Shuai’s shout, they shook at the same time.
By this moment Xiang Yushan was only half a zhang away from Xu Ziling; thinking that Xu Ziling would wake up immediately, unexpectedly he did not dare to continue to pounce. Shaking his hand, the dagger shot out toward the vital point on the side of Xu Ziling’s neck, but he himself ran backward urgently, in a greedy-for-life, afraid-of-death action.
‘Bang!’
Kang Qiaoli’s cavalry saber chopped on the sheepskin pouch fully imbued by Yun Shuai’s true qi. He was jolted backward in a tumble and fell some distance away.
‘Ding! Ding!’
Yun Shuai unleashed his amazing footwork, he swiftly flashed through a very narrow space using his exceptional shenfa, forcing Zhao Deyan, who, in his disbelief, did not change his move, and thus the crescent saber struck the tip of his Water Caltrop Spear repeatedly.
However, Zhao Deyan also knew that in blocking his and Kang Qiaoli’s joint-attack, Yun Shuai already gave it his all; unexpectedly he pulled the Water Caltrop Spear and sent out a palm strike instead, forcing Yun Shuai to compete in internal strength.
This palm strike appeared to be ordinary without anything special, while in fact in was the essence of the demonic power Zhao Deyan cultivated in all his life. It completely enveloped and locked the enemy inside; the five fingers spread out, it seemed to be slow, yet seemed to be fast, skillful in the midst of clumsiness, with endless variations; it was indeed the skill that Zhao Deyan kept at the bottom of his trunk, the ‘Zhuque Ju’ [lit. vermillion bird resistance] of the ‘Gui Hun Shiba Zhua’ [lit. eighteen claws returning the soul] style.
It was based on the saying, ‘Vermillion bird refuses to bow down, holding its head high like a mountain, the head does not hang low, as if unwilling and resist to be buried by others’.
Yun Shuai originally intended that after holding up righteousness and justice for Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, he would immediately soar to the sky, and then using the backward-flying technique to get away and escape. Who would have thought that as soon as Zhao Deyan sent out his claw, unexpectedly the momentum pinned him down that he was unable to move a single step? Only too bad that this moment he did not have time to marvel at this old enemy’s outstanding demonic skill. Fully aware that this move would not change, he had no choice but to meet it head-on. In distress, he clenched his teeth and swept the crescent saber to split the air to meet the ‘Demonic Commander’ Zhao Deyan’s fierce-and-severe-without-equal strike.
Suddenly Xu Ziling flipped over to evade Xiang Yushan’s shooting-dangerously-close dagger, which was dipped in deadly poison.
Yet it was actually Zhao Deyan who was greatly shocked; his attention was completely focused on Yun Shuai’s crescent saber, he simply did not have time to check Xu Ziling’s real situation. He only knew that from lying face down, Xu Ziling suddenly lay face up. If Xu Ziling suddenly attacked him in conjunction with Yun Shuai’s crescent saber, his situation would turn bad really quickly. In order not to suffer the present loss, he had no choice but to move backwards.
Yun Shuai finally obtained a sliver of gap. He shouted, “Brothers, pull back!” and soared into the air.
Kang Qiaoli and Zhao Deyan yelled angrily at the same time, and leaped at an angle to pursue, hoping that they could intercept Yun Shuai before he had a chance to unleash his shenfa at full power.
Seeing that after flipping over Xu Ziling no longer moved, Xiang Yushan screamed at the Tujue martial art masters surrounding them all around, “Kill these two kids first!”
Who would have thought that this group of Tujue martial art masters actually only recently followed Zhao Deyan and Kang Qiaoli inside the Pass? No one understood Han language, plus every one knew that Yun Shuai was the Teacher of the State of the Western Tujue, who was their most important nemesis; unexpectedly no one paid attention to Xiang Yushan. They scattered around to expand the net, in order to prevent this archenemy, whose fame in qinggong has spread out around the Western Regions – from escaping the heavy siege.
Xiang Yushan was so angry that his lungs were about to burst. Hatred grew to the edge of his gall bladder, he rushed forward in big strides, to kick the tianling acupoint on the top of Xu Ziling’s head.
Soaring over ten zhang into the air, Yun Shuai let out a burst of long laughter, while calmly returned the saber into its scabbard, and then moving the sheepskin pouch into his teeth, his arms shook like bird’s wings, he made a circle in the air, and evaded the pursuit of the two major formidable opponents. Just like that, he glided down from a high altitude toward the perimeter wall of the nearest northern courtyard. His posture was extremely elegant.
‘Bang!’
Xiang Yushan’s foot landed heavily on the top of Xu Ziling’s head. However, hit by the kick, Xu Ziling’s skull did not disintegrate, neither did his head broken and his blood flowing. Turned out his hair was standing on its end, forming a protective cover, not only against Xiang Yushan’s full-of-internal-energy kick, but also sending out thread after thread of yin and cold qi, ferociously splitting Xiang Yushan’s qi protecting his body, and continued on to invade his system.
Although people with superior qigong would be able to send his qi into his hair, even use the long hair to attack the enemy, but using hair to counterattack and break the enemy’s defense like Xu Ziling, although Xiang Yushan was experienced and knowledgeable, he had neither heard nor seen such thing.
His soul flew away and scattered, reaping what he had sown, Xiang Yushan’s entire leg, which he used to kick, lost its strength, went numb, and was very painful. Immediately he staggered back and tumbled down, ‘thud!’ he landed on his butt on the snowy ground about a dozen steps away. The yin and cold qi spread to more than half of his body.
The ones closest to him were the two Tujue martial art masters who pretended to take him out earlier. They originally received Zhao Deyan’s order to protect him. Upon seeing what happened, they hastily rushed over to help him up, one on the left and the other on the right.
Xu Ziling suddenly leaped up. After casting a disdainful glance at Xiang Yushan, who was about two zhang away, he came over to Kou Zhong, and slapped Kou Zhong, who was lying on his back – on the pit of his stomach.
This moment Yun Shuai was about to land on the top of the wall. If he could tap the top of the wall with his toes, then he could get new spring force and escape to the wilderness!
But when he was feeling happy inwardly, suddenly he saw fluttering sleeves; with a layer of muslin covering her face, the Empress Yin Zhu Yuyan, who ranked at the top of the ‘Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Demonic Way’, suddenly appeared at the top of the wall, spreading out her delicate arms, as if she was going to catch Yun Shuai in her embrace.
Yun Shuai was able to escape to this point, he had already given everything he had, there was no strength left to change move high in the air. He knew that his only way to save his life was to obediently hand over the sheepskin pouch hanging on his teeth. Sighing inwardly, he opened his mouth while ferociously shook his lower jaw, throwing the sheepskin pouch toward Zhu Yuyan.
Zhu Yuyan let out a smug silver-bell-like tender laughter, caught the sheepskin bag with one hand, while her other sleeve brushed away, saying, “I am surprised that you are so well-behaved. Go back!”
She was certainly being lenient, although it was by no means with good intention. With her ‘Tian Mo Da Fa’ [demonic big method], although she might not necessarily be able to kill Yun Shuai, but to inflict heavy injury on him, she certainly had more than abundant power. However, her sleeve brush was intended to send Yun Shuai back to the pursuing Zhao Deyan, Kang Qiaoli, and the group of Tujue martial art masters, to use Yun Shuai to hold back the enemy.
On the other side, Xiang Yushan cried inwardly, ‘Close call!’ But by the time the two good-intentioned Tujue martial art masters were helping him up, the cold qi had already invaded his entire body. However, although he was strung through and filled with evil [idiom], his life had not ended yet; he busily transferred the cold qi in his body into the two Tujue men’s body, to use them as scapegoats.
Under normal circumstances, Xiang Yushan’s own power definitely could not accomplish this, but the demonic and strange true qi that Xu Ziling sent into his body was coming from the Relics, which was strangely yin and strangely cold, like a parasite invading the host looking for a more ideal residence, thereupon it flowed along the two unlucky Tujue men’s arm into their meridians. Although these two men’s power surpassed Xiang Yushan’s, they were still overpowered by him. Like being struck by lightning, the two Tujue martial art masters were jolted to the left and right, their face lost its color.
This moment, Kou Zhong happened to spring up from the ground; how could Xiang Yushan dare to tarry? Hastily he ran toward the troops from his side.
‘Bang!’
After resigning himself to part with his treasure and offer it as a tribute, Yun Shuai sent out a palm strike to meet Zhu Yuyan’s incoming gauzed sleeve, and was sent flying back toward Zhao Deyan and Kang Qiaoli.
If this moment Zhao Deyan decided to make an all-out attack, with the assistance of Kang Qiaoli and the group of Tujue martial art masters, tonight next year would definitely be the anniversary of Yun Shuai’s death. Fortunately Zhao Deyan’s ambition was on the Relics and he was not in the mood to pursue this. Unexpectedly from midair he simply changed direction by dropping straight to the ground, and hurried toward the north wall. “Zhu Zunzhe [honored Sir/Madame], please listen to a few words from Ol’ Zhao,” he urgently shouted.
Zhu Yuyan originally wanted to leave immediately, but in the end she decided that she could not not giving Zhao Deyan a little bit of face. Displeased, she said, “What is there to say? The Sheli for me, the persons for you. Yan Shuai must not take everything in the world for yourself! Without me, Zhu Yuyan, I am afraid you would lose both the object and the persons.”
The sound of clashing weapons rang out from behind Zhao Deyan; obviously Yun Shuai has fallen into the heavy siege and was fighting a blood soaked and hard-fought struggle.
However, Zhao Deyan did not have any interest to even look back and take a glance. Stopping about ten paces away from the wall, he spoke heavily, “The Sheng Sheli is intended to be presented to our humble Wu Zun as a congratulatory gift for the Senior’s ninetieth birthday. If Zhu Zunzhe took the treasure and left just like this, Deyan would have no choice but to go back and report as things really are. Zunzhe, please consider thrice.”
Even though Zhu Yuyan was able to move unhindered all over the world, she still could not help hesitation from appearing at the bottom of her heart. Although Zhao Deyan spoke lightly and politely, but he indirectly told her that if she snatched the Relics away, it would be akin to offending the entire Eastern Tujue, while also tying enmity against the three top figures of the Eastern Tujue, namely Zhao Deyan, the Great Khan Xieli, and the ‘Wu Zun’ Bi Xuan; which was definitely not something to joke around.
The fight behind suddenly grew in intensity, tragic screams rang out incessantly. Zhu Yuyan spoke indifferently, “If Yan Shuai does not come over to help, I am afraid not many of your men would remain alive. Those two kids have recovered!”
She finally made up her mind. Zhao Deyan yelled angrily and leaped at an angle, with both claws attacking together, in the first style of the ‘Gui Hun Shiba Zhua’, the ‘Xuanwu Beiqi’ [lit. Black Tortoise Weeps with Grief].
It was based on the saying ‘Black Tortoise becomes the water, decline and flourish are related to its shape, buckling the mystery to be sentient beings, with form comes the reaction’.
Suddenly his left claw changed into shooting straight, while he bellowed angrily. The other hand curved, it moved in a slow, mellow and deep arc.
Such claw technique, unless one sees it with one’s own eyes – would be difficult to believe.
Laughing tenderly, Zhu Yuyan said, “Yan Shuai’s skill has enjoyed great progress, worthy of celebration. Forgive Yuyan for not able to keep you company much longer!”
She floated away from the top of the wall, and flew toward the roof of the building across the street.
Even with her ‘Tian Mo Da Fa’, unexpectedly she did not dare to meet this move head-on and only sought a hasty retreat, which made it difficult for Zhao Deyan to pursue relentlessly. From this, it could clearly be seen how formidable Zhao Deyan’s move was.
Finally, because of the Demonic Emperor Relics, the four big shots of the demonic school officially broke off relations with each other.
Zhao Deyan tapped the top of the wall with his toes, he shot rapidly toward Zhu Yuyan, who was still flying backward high up in the sky. Letting out a long laughter, he said, “To be able to fight a desperate struggle against Zhu Zunzhe is indeed a life pleasure. The ranking of the Eight Major Martial Art Masters of the Holy Way is an old affair that has been stored for many years; it ought to be revised according to the latest situation. Wouldn’t Zunzhe agree?”
From the first style ‘Xuanwu Beiqi’, he changed to the most formable, the eighteenth style ‘Qinglong Ji Zhu’ [lit. Azure Dragon Jealous of Its Master]. Both hands were pulled back into the pit of his stomach first, before he rolled them out again.
Zhu Yuyan knew that since she was flying backward, her speed suffered great loss. Although Zhao Deyan started later, he would be able to arrive first and catch up with her midway. Making prompt decision, she tossed the sheepskin pouch she was carrying horizontally to the ground, while calling out tenderly, “Catch!”
Zhao Deyan’s pair of eyes emitted intense ominous glint; he knew that he could forget about snatching the sheepskin pouch back. Keeping the original style unchanged, he attacked Zhu Yuyan with all his might, to vent all his resentment entirely on her.
Da Tang Shuang Long Zhuan Facts and Figures