Chapter 112 "Then this junior will have to offend you."

Jiang Ling'er quickly remembered where she had heard about the "Ghostly Path and Ghostly Soul Book".

It's still Fire Dance.

She didn't understand what it meant at the time, but after experiencing all that, although she hated the little poisoner for controlling her with the Heart-Connecting Gu, she also knew that she was saved because of him.

She originally thought it was because of the superb medical skills of the old poison master Gongye Chi, but it turned out to be because of the Ghostly Path Book.

Besides that—

"What does it mean to 'transfer cultivation techniques based on birth date and lifespan'?"

Jiang Ling'er's voice was unusually hoarse, like a dream.

"Don't you understand?" Ma Rujiao exclaimed. "Do you know about the Taoist 'furnace'? It's the same principle. There's only one evil technique in the world that involves sacrificing one's life to feed others, and countless people flock to it. As a result, the Ghostly Path and the Ghostly Soul Book, along with its inheritors, have been living in seclusion for many years..."

Ma Rujiao paused at this point, then said, "Where did Brother Jiang find such a perfect son-in-law? He's truly risking his life for you, but... he's destined to die young, he's not a good man. Brother Jiang, you're so foolish!"

While Ma Rujiao was sighing, Jiang Ling'er remained silent and did not utter a word.

Only the ten fingers hidden inside the sleeves trembled for a moment before clenching into fists.

She had initially thought... she had thought the unease she felt was due to the dog bite on her wrist, but it turned out...

Jiang Ling'er remained silent for a long time before softly saying:

"He... is not my husband."

Ma Rujiao was stunned for a moment, quite surprised:

"Where did that big fool come from? He's willing to sacrifice his lifespan for the Ghost Book. He's really good to you."

Jiang Ling'er felt a piercing pain in her chest, almost making it hard to breathe. Even though the Heart-Connecting Gu had been removed from her body, she still felt unbearable pain, even more so than before.

"Girl!"

Ma Rujiao suddenly shouted, his voice like a booming bell. Jiang Ling'er was startled and momentarily forgot her heartache, staring blankly at Ma Rujiao.

"Do you really think you've gotten a great deal, that a pie has fallen from the sky, and that you can now slack off and be lazy?" Seeing her dazed expression, Ma Rujiao truly believed she had been blinded by good fortune, and immediately said with exasperation, "Stand up!"

Jiang Ling'er understood what the old senior had misunderstood, and also knew that this person had been imprisoned in this dark and sunless secret passage for who knows how long, and that his temperament was unpredictable. Because he was an old friend of the old镖头 (bodyguard), Jiang Ling'er dared not be negligent in the slightest. However, the two true energies in her body, belonging to the Longevity Technique and the Ghostly Soul Book respectively, were stuck together, causing her to lose all her internal strength, and she didn't even have the strength to stand up.

"senior……"

Ma Rujiao clicked his tongue impatiently and struck her right shoulder with his palm. Immediately, his powerful internal energy flowed through his palm to Jiang Ling'er's entire body. Knowing that he wanted to help her, Jiang Ling'er was slightly taken aback and was about to thank him when Ma Rujiao suddenly grabbed her right shoulder with such force that it hurt her to the bone!

Jiang Ling'er had no choice but to strike him back with a palm strike!

"senior!"

Ma Rujiao immediately unleashed the Dragon Binding Fist!

Ma Rujiao is known as "Southern Fist" and is famous for his ability to "determine the fate of the world with his two fists." He is also known as the number one fist in the world.

The universe, the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, and all things in nature.

Jiang Ling'er's body went numb the moment their palms met. The Binding Dragon Fist was unlike the Thunder Palm of Star Stream and Lightning. It seemed ordinary, but the moment their palms met, it was like a mud ox entering the sea, an ant trying to shake a tree, or a palm silencing a river!

Fortunately, Ma Rujiao still retained three-tenths of his internal strength, but Jiang Ling'er was still knocked away, her back slamming against the cliff behind her!

A metallic taste rose in her throat, which Jiang Ling'er swallowed. She hadn't expected Ma Rujiao to suddenly attack again after channeling his inner energy into her, and to kill her!

Her palms went numb from the shock, and Jiang Ling'er's fingers trembled slightly before she gripped them even tighter.

“Senior has been kind to me, and I will accept any punishment you may give me for any dissatisfaction you may have, but not now. Right now, the Demonic Sect is in power, and the Jin army is invading…”

Ma Rujiao, with his fiery temper, retorted: "You little brat, get past your grandfather before you think about resisting the Jin!"

Jiang Ling'er hesitated, even though reason told her that Ma Rujiao had been imprisoned for many years and was not mentally stable, so she couldn't help but get angry.

"Then I must offend you."

She wiped the bloodstains from the corner of her lips with her thumb and immediately unleashed the two most powerful and difficult moves of the Thunderclap Palm: "Double Clouds and Flying Lightning" and "Soaring Serpent Without Feet"!

Ma Rujiao is an even more formidable expert than Kong Wu, the Right Protector of the Demonic Sect. He is the Southern Fist Master, whose double fists are as famous as the four great masters of the era: Wu Yazi of the Lingxiao Sect, Gongye Chi, the Old Poison Master, and Yuwen Wugou, the Sword Saint. Naturally, he will have to use his trump card!

Ma Rujiao used one punch to block Jiang Ling'er's approaching surging lightning, and then used the Dragon Binding Fist with the other fist, which was as swift as a dragon, to strike straight at her face!

Jiang Ling'er had never seen anyone use different moves with both fists at the same time, and with the same imposing momentum. She couldn't force them back and could only watch helplessly as the wind from their fists transformed into a dragon and swept towards her!

However, the fist, which was aimed straight at her face, suddenly turned and fell, grabbing Jiang Ling'er's other arm and injecting another surge of internal energy. But it was no longer a simple injection of internal energy; rather, it was an intentional attempt to awaken the two streams of true energy within her body that had long been dormant, belonging to the Longevity Technique and the Ghostly Soul Book!

"Is that all you've got? Girl, show me what you've got!"

Whether it was provoked by Ma Rujiao's words, or the fierce battle between the two internal energies, causing her to become hot-blooded, or perhaps both, it is unclear.

She opened her eyes, her almond-shaped eyes filled with a red mist. Remembering the incantation that Lian Sheng had once taught her, she subconsciously used the Longevity Technique in combination with the true energy in her body!

A surge of powerful true energy erupted from her palm, forcing Ma Rujiao back three steps. His dim eyes instantly lit up with the wild joy of a martial arts fanatic, and he roared:

"Okay! Let's do it again!"

Jiang Ling'er gritted her teeth, suppressing the two surging, fierce internal energies within her, and unleashed palm strike after palm strike, each one more powerful than the last. However, as Ma Rujiao retreated, his brows furrowed deeper and deeper. Finally, unable to bear it any longer, he burst into a tirade of curses:

"Complete chaos! Utterly disorganized!"

He sent Jiang Ling'er flying more than ten feet away with a single palm strike, then unleashed the Dragon Binding Fist with both hands, his left hand rising in stance while his right arm swung:

"The way of Yin and Yang is one of opposites, and the way of Heaven and Earth is one of rising and falling. All things generate and restrain each other, and also generate and complement each other, just like martial arts."

Jiang Ling'er paused, then suddenly, like a dragonfly skimming the water, a pebble fell into a clear pool, parting the clouds and light, bringing enlightenment and sudden clarity.

The red mist in his eyes dissipated somewhat, and he subconsciously imitated Ma Rujiao by waving his fists.

The two streams of true energy that had been surging and fighting within his body—one belonging to the Longevity Technique and the Ghostly Soul Book—obediently flowed to his left hand and the other to his right.

The restless true energy finally returned to calm and returned to the dantian. The strength of the limbs and bones was finally restored. Starting from the dantian, the whole body was filled with seemingly inexhaustible energy, even more than before.

Jiang Ling'er looked up, her almond-shaped eyes sparkling:

"Thank you for your guidance, senior!"

Ma Rujiao came from humble beginnings, unlike Wu Yazi, Sword Saint Yuwen Wugou, and Gongye Chi, who came from prestigious families or were well-read. He always believed that there were no absolute martial arts manuals, so he looked down on the Longevity Manual, the Ghostly Path Book, and even less on the Qin Demon Kongwu.

His Dragon-Binding Fist is not as complicated as ordinary martial arts moves; it adheres to only one principle—

All things in the universe are mutually reinforcing and mutually restraining, yet also mutually supportive. This led to the understanding of the Dragon-Binding Fist, where the left hand captures the dragon and the right hand binds the tiger, allowing for both offense and defense.

Jiang Ling'er had Shui Rong teach her how to unblock her meridians, and Ma Rujiao gave her guidance, enabling her to utilize the two streams of true energy from the Longevity Technique and the Ghostly Soul Book within her body. In addition, she had excellent comprehension and grasped the concepts immediately.

Ma Rujiao was barely satisfied and gave a cold snort:

"But he's still far inferior to your father! Where's your father! After all this talk, where's your father? Is that Jurchen dog prince dead?" Ma Rujiao grabbed Jiang Ling'er's wrist almost out of control, his cloudy eyes blazing with wild joy. "Is Wanyan Yao dead? Is that traitor dead?! Tell your father to come out and see me! Tell Jiang Leilong to come out and see me!"

What Jiang Ling'er didn't know was that the so-called "Hidden Dragon, Do Not Use" was an agreement.

It was an agreement between the old镖头 (bodyguard/escort) and Ma Rujiao.

When the Jin army invaded, the Jin prince Wanyan Jing led his men to burn, kill, and plunder. He traveled a thousand miles to capture the bandit leader. Although he killed the prince to vent his anger, the country was in a state of confusion and the court was afraid of the Jin people. In particular, under the pressure of the Jin prince Wanyan Yao, the fourth prince, the court reversed the circumcision ceremony to apologize.

The old镖头 (bodyguard/escort) cherished heroes, especially such courageous and valiant ones. He hid Ma Rujiao in the secret passage to save his life and protect his wife and children.

This hiding place lasted for more than ten years.

The secret passage is filled with gunpowder, which can only be detonated by the Thunderclap Palm technique. Once opened, either Wanyan Yao is dead, and he can finally reunite with his wife and daughters; or the Jin army is finally defeated, and he can finally see the light of day again... Either way, it's a good thing!

These are all incredibly good things!

Ma Rujiao gripped Jiang Ling'er's arm so tightly that it trembled, and his cloudy eyes shone brightly in the dim tunnel.

"My father..."

Jiang Ling'er paused under that gaze, biting her lower lip hard, her nails digging into her flesh, and said with difficulty:

"He is dead."

Ma Rujiao suddenly stopped and stared blankly at Jiang Ling'er for a long while.

Suddenly, he vomited a mouthful of old, stagnant blood and burst into tears.

------------------------------------------------------

Above the ruins.

The sudden sound of weeping instantly spread throughout the sky.

The ghostly wailing was terrifying.

The fighting crowd, no longer caring about their battle, were all horrified:

"Where...where did that sound come from?"

"...Who is crying?"

"What kind of internal strength is this..."

Pei Xuan, Yuan Zao, Gan Zishi, and the others also heard the strange crying, but at this moment, an even more troublesome matter awaited them.

Those around were either dead or wounded. Wenshan Zhenjun pierced Master Lu's abdomen with his whisk!

Master Ma's eyes widened in fury: "You bastard! I'll kill you!"

Pei Xuan's phoenix eyes were almost stained red with blood. Ignoring Gan Zishi and Wen Cheng'an's attempts to stop him, he was about to insert the second silver needle—

At the same time, the crying grew more and more tragic, and the more everyone listened, the more frightened they became: "It seems to be coming from..."

Someone pointed to the ground—

Suddenly, a deafening roar erupted!

A hole was punched through the rubble!

A strange man with long hair and a long beard rushed out!

Wenshan Zhenjun only felt a gust of wind brushing against his face, but in the blink of an eye, his throat was fiercely gripped by a slender hand!

The moment Wenshan Zhenjun saw the newcomer, his pupils constricted sharply, as if he could not believe it:

"Jiang... Jiang Ling... how could you..."

The moment Pei Xuan saw Jiang Ling'er, his long eyelashes trembled, and his hand trembled so slightly that a silver needle embedded itself in his palm!