Chapter 88:

Noon. Qiao Mu and his companions arrived at a temporary inn by the official road to rest for a while. Most of them in the group were martial artists ranked above the 5th rank. However, even if they had reached the 5th rank in internal strength, they were still ordinary flesh and blood. Naturally, they would feel hungry and tired, just like their horses. The group of nine people were not familiar with each other, except for the mysterious Star Xuan Envoy. They had met for the first time, so they didn’t talk much. After Qiao Mu ate and drank his fill, he brought along some food and walked out of the inn. He waited quietly for a while and then heard a rustling sound coming from the grass. The little kitten popped its head out of the bushes to look at him. "So you followed me out of the city, huh? Can’t outrun a horse? Well, after all, you are a demon cat." The little kitten had eaten its fill, but instead of going far away this time, it leaped behind Qiao Mu and landed in his shadow. Its figure gradually turned into a black phantom until it completely disappeared. "Hiding in the shadow? Such a peculiar ability…" Qiao Mu was slightly envious. Each demon creature had unique abilities, cultivators had various methods, but only martial artists took a beating. Walking back to the inn, the remaining few people had finished eating and were resting. The swordsman with the bushy beard who had spoken to Qiao Mu earlier chose a corner table for himself during the break, and started reading a thin hardcover book. "Is that swordsman reading a book?" Qiao Mu suddenly became interested. Martial artists are not scholars or literati. How could they take out a book to read while chasing after a Saintess? That’s why he couldn’t help but take a few more glances. The martial artist’s excellent eyesight allowed him to see the big characters on the cover of the hardcover book at a glance. 《Asshole Pointing Hand》 Qiao Mu immediately became excited. He had only two hobbies in his life: being a saintly person in front of good people, and mastering martial arts techniques. "Acupoint technique? I haven’t practiced that yet." After thinking for a moment, Qiao Mu decided to approach the swordsman. "Old Hu, are you studying a secret book? So diligent?" Qiao Mu approached him. "Hmm…" Old Hu, the swordsman, looked up at Qiao Mu with a slightly surprised expression. Then he made a sound, instinctively raising the book in his hand, as if he didn’t want Qiao Mu to see its contents. Stingy… Searᴄh the NovelFire.net* website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Qiao Mu also knew that most martial arts experts in the world cherished their martial arts secret books. Although Martial Saint had broken into the major martial arts sects and collected many martial arts secret books, he couldn’t change the perception of martial arts experts. So it’s actually quite normal for Old Hu not to want him to see the contents. "Old Hu, you and I are different from them. We are not members of the Wuji Association, but just wanderers in the martial world for the sake of the Spiritual Refining Technique." Qiao Mu laughed and said, "Since both of us are restricted by the Wuji Association when it comes to martial arts secret books, why don’t we share and discuss the ones we have?" "I can also exchange this book, ‘Asshole Pointing Hand,’ with a similar level martial arts technique. What do you think?" Qiao Mu is now at the 4th rank, and not just an ordinary 4th rank, but a super skilled 4th rank. So, for every martial arts he has mastered, it took years of hard training and he is very familiar with them. Give him some time and he can directly copy the martial arts manual word for word from his mind. That’s why he made this proposal. Unexpectedly, Old Hu’s expression became even more surprised when he heard these words. "You want to swap my book for a martial arts manual?" he exclaimed. "Yes, I haven’t seen a manual for pressure point techniques yet. Are you willing?" Qiao Mu asked. "I am willing…" Old Hu’s expression seemed to be half-smiling. Without saying much, he generously handed over the hardcover book in his hands to Qiao Mu. "So generous? Truly a fellow practitioner…" Qiao Mu glanced through the book and suddenly froze. There weren’t many words in this manual, almost all of it was filled with illustrations, and the content of these illustrations… "Asshole Pointing Hand? Isn’t that a pornographic picture?" Qiao Mu’s voice raised a bit, causing the people around to look over. "Of course not," said the bearded swordsman, Old Hu, with a serious expression. "This secret manual is called the Art of Lovemaking. Isn’t the name already clear enough?" Qiao Mu：？ On the way to chase Saintess Wu Qingxin, he took the time to glance at the Art of Lovemaking secret manual? Old Hu, with his thick eyebrows, big eyes, and bearded face, looked to be in his fifties. It’s surprising that he’s not an ordinary person. It makes people suspect that this person’s pursuit of Saintess Wu Qingxin has some other purpose. Thinking about this, Qiao Mu instinctively moved slightly further away. The bearded swordsman seemed to notice the change in Qiao Mu’s gaze, so he kindly explained: "Actually, things are not as you imagine." "Have you also seen those haughty, inhuman beings in Heyang City who see themselves above others?" "I was thinking, since our martial artists cannot defeat the cultivators, is it because martial artists have shorter lifespans?" "If our lifespan is short, maybe we can pass on our skills to the next generation." "With each child born and each grandchild born, the descendants are boundless." "As long as these skills are passed down from generation to generation, gradually improved, perhaps one day we can truly develop martial arts to a level that can rival immortality." Qiao Mu was stunned after hearing this, almost amazed by Old Hu’s grand ideals, and only snapped back to reality after a while: "Is this your reason for studying the Art of Lovemaking?" Old Hu confidently said: "Although I am not skilled in the Art of Lovemaking, spreading the Art of Lovemaking may allow the people of Great Yan to multiply more." "For the sake of everyone, I, Old Hu, am willing to put in this effort." "Since you are so proficient in the Art of Lovemaking, you must have a lot of offspring, right?" Qiao Mu couldn’t help but make a sarcastic comment. Unexpectedly, Old Hu was taken aback by these words and sighed heavily after a while. "They say that having children will ensure a comfortable old age, but raising children is a different story…" Qiao Mu was momentarily stunned. Although he was already in his sixties, this topic was indeed beyond his comprehension, so he abruptly changed the subject. "Do you have any other martial arts manuals? Perhaps we can exchange and learn from each other? Other than the Art of Lovemaking?" "Yes," Old Hu was about to speak, but then Star Xuan Envoy approached. "Besides Xu Cheng, the two remaining Ruan brothers who hadn’t arrived yet, have also been completely burned by a fire from Wu Qingxin." "But before the Ruan brothers died, they found the direction for us." said Star Xuan Envoy. "In the depths of the forest, there is a village known as the Guo family village… called the Saintess Village." ………. Deep in the forest. Wu Qingxin’s face turned serious, riding on a big paper crane as it flew into the distance. In her hand, a shining Message Jade Talisman, which displayed the final message from the elder of Xuantian Sect. "Fifty ways of the grand path, forty-nine ways of the heavens, and one way of escape for people." "Wu Qingxin, despite being expelled from the sect and losing your title as a Saintess due to your mistakes, every hardship is a test." "As long as you can reach the Xuantian Sect’s gate deep in the Qingming Mountain Range, you can still become a disciple of our Xuantian Sect. The sect will still welcome you with open arms." Wu Qingxin’s face turned slightly dark, and her hand unconsciously gripped the Message Jade Talisman so tightly that it almost broke. "What slim chance… once outside Xuantian Temple, where is there any slim chance?" "Perhaps… Immortal Gate never considered me one of their own." As a disciple of Martial Saint and a Saintess of Xuantian Sect, she had certainly become quite well-known over the years. Once she left the city, she knew that she would inevitably face a relentless attack from the Wuji Association. How easy would it be to rush all the way to the Xuantian Sect’s main gate? Not to mention, the people of Xuantian Sect have deliberately taken away some of the protective artifacts previously bestowed upon the Saintess… "I can’t rely on Xuantian Sect anymore. If I can make it to the Saintess village in the mountains, perhaps there is a glimmer of hope." Wu Qingxin pondered to herself. Over the years, she hardly left Xuantian Temple. However, she secretly sent a martial arts slave from the Taoist temple to build a small temple in a remote village. In this small temple, people worship her as such an Immortal Gate Saintess. It is against the Immortal Gate rules to privately establish a temple in a rural area, especially if the statue being worshipped is herself. That’s why she can only act in secret. She has never visited this small village since joining the Immortal Gate many years ago. "By harnessing the long-stored power of faith in the village, if I can break through to the Foundation Building period all at once, then it would truly be a chance for new beginnings." "If I succeed, I can return to the sect later." Immortal Gate disciples in the Qi refining period are not extraordinary or strong physically. If they have a short cultivation time and engage in close combat, there is indeed a possibility of being defeated by ordinary martial artists. Wu Qingxin, who has practiced martial arts since a young age and is also a disciple of Martial Saint, is originally a 4th rank martial artist. If she were in the martial world, she would be considered a skilled expert and wouldn’t fear close combat, as she doesn’t have this weakness. "As long as it’s not Martial Saint himself… or any other Martial Saint disciple ranking higher than me." Wu Qingxin had made up her mind, but after careful thought, she still had an inexplicable feeling of fear. "Is it my intuition… instinctively sensing danger?" Since she started practicing the path of immortality in the Martial Saint Spiritual Technique, she stopped cultivating, but her intuition still remained sharp. "Could it be that the Martial Saint has really come?" She had run away from the Wuji Association for many years and had not seen the Martial Saint since then, but the fear that the Martial Saint had implanted in her when she was young had not subsided. "The intuitive perception in the Martial Saint Spiritual Technique works both ways. If the Martial Saint is also here in Nan Province and heading towards me, then my intuition should also respond…" Wu Qingxin had already mastered the Martial Saint Spiritual Technique many years ago, and based on her experience, she could indeed sense the existence of the Martial Saint. So here comes the question. If it’s not the Martial Saint, then where does this inexplicable feeling of fear come from? While she was thinking, suddenly there was a sound of something piercing through the air. A big arrow, surrounded by a chilling aura, came shooting through the air, instantly piercing through the paper crane beneath her. Without the paper crane, she could only fall downwards. Standing a hundred steps away, the "Thunder Hand" of the 4th rank retrieved his bow, with a slight satisfaction on his face. "Chase!" Qiao Mu and the others were all experts with internal strength at the 5th rank or higher, so they covered the distance in an instant with their explosive internal strength. Waiting for them was a fiery red blaze that grew larger as it faced the wind. Wu Qingxin, who had fallen from the sky, stood in mid-air on a flying sword and silently looked down at them, a talisman burning with a gust of wind. "Etching Bone Li Fire Talisman, go!" The sudden flames rushed forward, instantly enveloping the group of people. Unlike the Saintess’s companion, the Female Cultivator Ming Yue, that Qiao Mu had met before, the spell fire unleashed by Wu Qingxin spread rapidly, covering an area of several tens of meters in the blink of an eye. "Hide!" For ordinary martial artists, this spell fire is extremely difficult to deal with. If they get even a little bit of it on them, they would either die or lose an arm. Wu Qingxin’s spell fire had just appeared and already covered an area of several tens of meters, immediately causing those with weaker agility to be burned by the flames. When facing this Cultivator’s Etching Bones Li Fire, the only option for the martial artist was to hide. And the people who dared to chase and kill Wu Qingxin, the Martial Saint’s disciple, naturally had their own methods. The Jade-faced Flying Dragon, dressed in white, had the best agility among them. With swift movements on the trees in the forest, he used his momentum to avoid the swift flow of fire in the air. And Qiao Mu’s method… was to charge! He not only didn’t hide, but also pushed the surprised swordsman, Old Hu, out of the range of the flames. At the same time, he swung his sword forward, suppressing the fiery momentum. And that strand of red flames silently wrapped around his right arm holding the sword. "Shadow Step·Heavenly Demon Disintegration Method！" He stepped forward again, unleashing his internal strength from both feet. He faced the unstoppable Li fire head-on and rushed towards Wu Qingxin like an arrow released from a bow. This sudden attack not only surprised the swordsman, Old Hu, and the others, but also caught Wu Qingxin off guard. She was about to activate a talisman, but Qiao Mu charged towards her. His sword, surrounded by auras and Li fire, struck straight at her. "How dare you." She clasped her hands together, abruptly unleashing her internal strength in her palms. She caught the descending sword with her bare hands. At the same time, she bent her knee and performed a knee strike to Qiao Mu’s abdomen, sending him flying backward. Wu Qingxin glanced at her hands, which were burnt by the Li fire. Without hesitation, she quickly extinguished the fire that the martial artist couldn’t avoid. It only burned a layer of skin on her hands. "Up!" She stepped on the flying sword and soared into the sky again, disappearing in an instant before everyone’s eyes. "She escaped again… Why didn’t you chase her?" Qiao Mu glanced at his slowly burning right arm, then turned around and saw two blurry figures engulfed in flames, turning into ashes in the wind. After a short fight, Wu Qingxin only used up some magical power and had minor injuries on her hands, while Qiao Mu’s side had already lost two people. Those two were both fifth-ranked fighters with subpar agility. They couldn’t even withstand the first round of fire spells and were quickly reduced to ashes. "Qiao Zhong, why did you push me just now…" Old Hu, the bearded swordsman, approached Qiao Mu while observing his burning right arm, a strange expression on his face. "Hmm… because you haven’t exchanged secret techniques with me yet. It would be a shame if you died." Qiao Mu pondered. In reality, he didn’t think too much about it. He was just used to risking his life to save others, so he instinctively charged forward earlier. "Truly… like a soft-hearted woman." Old Hu slowly shook his head, looking at Qiao Mu’s burning right arm and drawing his long blade from its sheath.