Mysterious Martial Arts: The Record of the Swordsman

Chapter 339 Adding Wine and Reopening the Feast

Chapter 339 Adding Wine, Relighting the Lamps, and Resuming the Feast

The three-day deadline arrived in the blink of an eye. Martial arts practitioners arrived at the summit early after receiving the news, and then entered the area in twos and threes.

The already spacious and bright main hall still retains the layout of the Wuyi Manting Immortal Banquet, but seventy-two new ram horn-shaped glazed palace lanterns have been hung on the ceiling. The flickering lantern light illuminates the portrait of the founder of the Wuyi School painted in the main hall, making it radiant. The three sticks of incense burning in the incense burner also waft up, exuding a fragrance as sweet as flowers and as sweet as musk.

The center of the hall was empty, and the rosewood tables and desks that had been stacked around it had disappeared, leaving it strangely empty.

There was no joy on the faces of the martial arts practitioners, who knew that although there was still a martial arts conference today, it was not arranged as a banquet. However, there were still many bloodthirsty spectators with expectant eyes, who mingled with the whispers and turned the whispers into a buzzing noise.

"It's been three days, and I still don't know if they've found the Taoist statue of the Green Ox Elder."

"Whether we find it or not, this matter must be settled today. I heard Feng Daode said that if we don't hand over the goods, we'll slaughter everyone on Dawang Peak!"

"Nonsense! No matter how powerful the Wudang Sect is, they wouldn't be so arrogant. Would they dare to kill people from the Southern Shaolin, Taiji Sect, or Huashan Sect?"

“That makes sense. Then I’m curious, did the statue of the Green Ox Taoist end up in the hands of Sect Leader Jiang or the Wudang Sect?”

"Why do you care about all that? As long as there's wine and meat, that's all that matters. If you're scared, then you can leave first."

"That won't do, what will we eat if we leave?"

"Yes, what do you want to eat?"

"Yes, what do you want to eat?"

At the forefront of the crowd, the major powers present had already arrived, yet maintained an atmosphere of silence. Among them were Master Ji Po of the Southern Shaolin Temple, Gui Xinshu of the Huashan Sect, Shang Baozhen of the Shangjia Fortress, and the two women, Yuan Yan and Yuan Yan, from the Iron Sword Sect. Zhao Banshan of the Taiji Sect was also present, toying with two iron lotus seeds in his hands, his brows slightly furrowed. Lu Feiqing, whose injuries had just healed, closed his eyes to rest, gently stroking his beard with his fingers in a slow and unhurried manner.

These people were naturally not threatened by Feng Daode, nor were they bound to Dawang Peak. They all stayed at the inn in Xiamei Town. However, they also had to give the Wudang Sect face during these three days. Otherwise, those who left without reason would become the prime suspects.

For some reason, Jiang Wen, the host of the Wuyi Sect Martial Arts Conference, has yet to show up. People from the major sects also have serious expressions, no longer relaxed as before, only solemn.

A cold, hard voice suddenly came from the entrance of the hall, instantly drowning out the noise in the room.

"I've kept you all waiting, I've arrived."

All eyes turned to the palace gate.

Feng Daode, dressed in a Taoist robe and holding a whisk, slowly walked in. Although he appeared to be a Taoist immortal, his face was gloomy. As his eyes swept across the room with a sharp gaze, the noise immediately disappeared without a trace. Behind him followed more than a dozen Taoists from the Wudang Sect, each holding a sword and with a murderous expression.

"Master Feng, the three-day period has passed. I wonder if you have found the statue of the Green Ox Taoist?"

Lu Feiqing raised her head, met Feng Daode's gaze, and spoke calmly.

Feng Daode sneered, walked to the center of the hall, turned around, and faced everyone: "To be honest, even though my Wudang Sect has searched the entire area within ten miles, we have not been able to find that Taoist statue."

These words caused an uproar throughout the hall.

"Couldn't find it? What do we do then?"

"Didn't Master Feng say that he would find it within three days?"

"Could it be that someone beat me to it?"

"Quiet!"

Feng Daode shouted loudly, his voice booming like a bell, causing the glazed lamps on the ceiling of the hall to sway slightly. "Although the Taoist statue has not been found, I am certain that the person who stole it is right here in this Tongtian Hall!"

His gaze slowly swept across the entire room, his tone gradually hardening: "I'm giving you one last chance. Hand over the Taoist statue now, and I might spare his life. Otherwise, with the Wudang Sect here, the consequences won't be easy to bear!"

"Sect Leader Feng, what you're saying is utterly unreasonable."

Zhao Banshan, dressed in a brocade robe, stepped forward and said calmly, "You say the thief is right here, but do you have any evidence? You can't convict everyone just because of your words, can you?"

"evidence?"

Feng Daode scoffed, "Since I dare to say this, I naturally have evidence! In the past three days, only those present had the opportunity to come into contact with that Taoist statue. Now, it has been searched everywhere but cannot be found. If someone is deliberately hiding it, what other reason could there be?"

"That's utterly unreasonable!"

The elders of the Drunken Eight Immortals immediately turned pale. "We, the Drunken Eight Immortals, are upright and honest. How could we do such petty and despicable things? But you, Master Feng, are slandering everyone without distinguishing right from wrong. Could it be that you want to use this opportunity to eliminate dissidents?"

"What a silver tongue!"

Feng Daode's face remained calm and composed. "The Drunken Eight Immortals Sect, it seems you're going to have to suffer the consequences instead of accepting a polite offer."

The tall, thin elder, slightly drunk, suddenly slammed his hand on a pillar. "Feng Daode, do you really think we, the Eight Drunken Immortals, are easy to bully?"

The man approached, clutching a chipped gourd, his steps unsteady and swaying as if he might fall to the ground at any moment.

His gray robe was stained with wine, and his eyes were half-open. He was immediately stopped by a tall disciple of the Wudang Sect, who drew his sword a few inches from its sheath, clearly as a warning.

When the tall, thin elder of the Drunken Eight Immortals saw someone blocking his way, he seemed to lose his strength due to the effects of the alcohol. His body suddenly leaned back as if he had no bones, and he almost touched the ground. Then, he pushed off the ground with his right foot and spun around with his body using twisting force. He then made a fist with his left hand and struck at the ribs of the Wudang disciple with utmost concealment.

The punch came without warning, at an extremely tricky angle. The Wudang disciple was startled and quickly spun around to dodge, while simultaneously lowering his longsword, still sheathed, to aim at Lao Zui's wrist. Lao Zui flipped his wrist, avoiding the sheath, and seized the opponent's sleeve, then used the opponent's force to pull sharply.

The Wudang disciple lost his balance and staggered forward. He quickly used his strength to deflect the force and barely managed to regain his footing.

"How dare you oppose my Wudang!"

With a shout, the Wudang disciple finally drew his sword and rose up. With a flick of his wrist, the sword's momentum suddenly surged forth. The move "Pushing the Window to Gaze at the Moon" from the "Taiyi Xuanmen Sword" swept out horizontally, the sword light as smooth as a ribbon, blocking all of the opponent's escape routes.

In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged more than thirty blows. The Wudang disciple's Taiyi Xuanmen sword became more and more stable, each strike as light as a breeze, with only sword light visible amidst countless changes. As the sword circle shrank smaller and smaller, it gradually enveloped the tall, thin elder of the Drunken Eight Immortals in the sword light, clearly demonstrating that his moves were more exquisite than the disciple's.

The tall, thin elder, however, was experienced in combat. His drunken boxing became increasingly frenzied, sometimes stumbling and sometimes tumbling and leaping. Although he seemed to have many flaws, he always managed to dodge his opponent's sword at the slightest distance. He would also occasionally let out a strange cry and unleash a dangerous move or two, forcing his opponent to withdraw and return to defend.

"Hmph, playing tricks!"

Knowing that the other party was deliberately entangled, the Wudang disciple snorted coldly and then suddenly shouted, unleashing a move called "Sword Pointing Three Stars," the tip of his sword flashing like lightning, aimed directly at the throat of the tall, thin elder.

This sword strike was like a dragon emerging from the water, swift and precise. It was about to succeed, and the surrounding Wudang disciples couldn't help but cheer.

However, the tall, thin elder of the Drunken Eight Immortals suddenly raised his head and let out a deafening burp.

Then he opened his mouth and, with a "whoosh," vomited the half-gourd of wine he had drunk earlier, along with the leftover food in his stomach, all at the feet of the Wudang disciple. If the Wudang disciple hadn't dodged quickly, all the sticky liquid would have flowed down his collar and into his clothes.

A strong smell of alcohol and sourness instantly filled the air, and then a person strode in from outside, clapping and praising.

"I never imagined that Drunken Fist included techniques like 'speaking foul language' and 'a galaxy descending from the sky.' Today has truly broadened my horizons. I'm impressed!"

The host, Jiang Wen, finally made his belated entrance, but his expression was mocking. The Wudang disciples' faces turned from white to green, then from green to black; their hands gripping the sword hilts trembled slightly with anger, and they forgot to move.

Jiang Wen, who came out of the back room, brought with him a faint fragrance that temporarily blocked the strong stench of the drunkard's vomit, allowing him to maintain his composure.

"Sect Leader Feng, you failed to find the item within three days, and I, Jiang, have never hindered you in the slightest. How can you be so unreasonable?"

Feng Daode coldly replied without expression, "I said the item is in the hands of one of them. They know whether there's a problem or not."

The martial arts community was even more enraged and began to curse Feng Daode. The Drunken Eight Immortals Sect cursed him the most harshly, but Feng Daode ignored them and even stood with his head held high and his hands behind his back, seemingly at ease.

"To be honest, we have found the missing disciple of the Vajra Sect, but his death was extremely suspicious. He was ambushed by a group of hunters. The animal trap severed his hamstrings, and three bamboo spears pierced his internal organs. He screamed for several hours before dying."

Feng Daode did not come away empty-handed in these three days. He followed people as clues and obviously caught some clues, which led him to the current conclusion.

"Our investigation revealed that someone else was chasing him at the time, which is why he panicked and fell into the trap, and his belongings were taken by his pursuers."

Immediately, a martial arts expert jumped out and said, "Then you should go after him and let us leave! We've been on Great King Peak these past few days, so this matter is clearly none of our business!"

Feng Daode looked at him with a sinister gaze.

"I think you're all overthinking it. If you can't find the statue of the Green Ox Taoist today, it's uncertain whether you'll even be able to leave this Tongtian Hall alive."

"Do you really intend to go on a killing spree?" someone immediately shouted.

The scene immediately descended into chaos.

The Wudang Taoists drew their swords, the tips pointing directly at the martial arts practitioners, who then retreated, instantly creating a larger space within the hall.

Amidst this chaos, a faint and elegant fragrance silently drifted through the hall.

The fragrance seemed to emanate from the ram's horn lantern, rise from the incense burner in front of the ancestral master's statue, or drift quietly from the door behind Jiang Wen, all blending into a rich and lingering aroma with a faint medicinal scent.

Suddenly, several figures emerged from the crowd. They were dressed in different clothes, but all had bloodshot eyes and moved like puppets, performing strange martial arts while roaring as they launched their attacks.

Feng Daode snorted coldly, his figure blurring as he weaved among the men like a ghost. A series of clanging sounds rang out as their weapons were knocked to the ground. Then, Feng Daode unleashed a flurry of punches and kicks, and within moments, all the martial artists lay motionless on the ground.

"As expected, someone had ulterior motives. These people probably also tried to take the statue of the Taoist priest Qingniu Weng, but the Vajra Sect ultimately succeeded, which is why there is blood on the ground."

Suddenly, a figure darted out from the crowd, roaring as he lunged at Feng Daode from behind!

"Sect Leader, be careful!"

Someone from the Wudang Sect exclaimed in surprise. A disciple from the Xiandu Sect, who had been standing to Feng Daode's right rear, dressed in a moon-white Taoist robe and appearing respectful, also moved with reddened eyes!

Without any warning, his right hand, which was hanging at his side, flashed out of the sword at his waist. The sword straightened with a "whoosh" like a silver snake, and with a sharp sound of cutting through the wind, it went straight for Feng Daode's back!

This sword strike was incredibly fast, its arc perfectly avoiding Feng Daode's line of sight. The tip of the sword was aimed directly at a vital acupoint on his back, at an angle so cunning it was outrageous.

But Feng Daode was a master who had been famous for many years. It was as if he had eyes in the back of his head. Just as the long sword was about to pierce his clothes, he suddenly took half a step forward and spun like a ghost, barely avoiding the fatal sword to his back. At the same time, he struck out with his palm, the palm wind as fierce as iron, hitting the horizontally slashing sword.

With a loud clang, the disciple's hand was split open. Feng Daode snorted coldly, his fingers clamped the sword tip with the precision of iron pincers, and twisted it sharply. With a snap, the steel sword was broken in two!

Then, Feng Daode pressed his advantage, thrusting his whisk backward and slamming it into the chest of the man who was slapping the back of his neck. With a scream, the man broke several ribs, coughed up blood, and flew backward.

"Vulnerable."

Feng Daode dusted himself off, but his gaze was fixed on the man's eyes, which were filled with madly surging demonic thoughts. He reached out and pressed on the man's pressure point, looking at Dongxuan, the leader of the Xiandu Sect, with an unfriendly expression.

"Sect Leader of Dongxuan, why have your people also come into contact with the statue of the Taoist priest Qingniu Weng? Give me an explanation!"

Dongxuan smiled wryly and said, "Sect Leader Feng, this item was originally a clue that my Xiandu Sect had. We happened to get it last night while chasing down the bandits of the Vajra Sect. However, I was afraid that too many people would talk, so I wanted to present it to you privately."

Without wasting words, Feng Daode struck Dongxuan's acupoint with a single move, instantly disarming him. Several Wudang disciples arrived simultaneously and restrained him tightly.

"Why did you have to reveal the truth now, instead of saying it earlier or later? How could I, Feng, easily believe you... Wait, you should have also come into contact with the statue, so why didn't you react at this moment?!"

Just as Feng Daode was about to continue speaking, a sudden change occurred!

Dongxuan, who had been held hostage by two Wudang disciples, suddenly turned around strangely.

His face was expressionless, and his eyes, instead of turning red and going mad, were as empty as two dry wells.

The next second, his left hand curled into a crane's beak and his right hand transformed into a snake's head. His body twisted strangely, instantly sending two Wudang disciples flying. Then, this extremely twisted and bizarre move, already carrying a chilling killing intent, went straight for Feng Daode's throat!

Feng Daode was on high alert. He also flicked his sleeve and struck out with a palm, meeting Dongxuan's strange move head-on. With two loud bangs, the two of them were forced to take a step back.

Dongxuan breathed slowly and greedily, his previously empty eyes seeming to fill with color, assuming a special stance for regulating his breathing—

However, the strange and unnatural stiffness around him did not diminish at all; instead, it gave him a gentle and refined feeling that had never appeared before, as if a stranger had quietly awakened within him...

"Long time no see. Your martial arts skills seem to have improved quite a bit."

The voice was gentle and warm, instantly making people feel comfortable, but for Feng Daode, it seemed to be a great shock.

"what?!"

Feng Daode's expression changed drastically, his pupils contracted sharply, and he blurted out a shocked cry, "Who are you! How do you know the Thirteen Forms of the Snake Crane and the Six Secrets of Chongzhen!"