Chapter 14

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Chapter 14: Taiyuan Appears

The ‘Taiyuan Auxiliary System’ unexpectedly activated at this moment!

But what are this Automatic Protection Mechanism and overclocking synchronization mode? No one told him about this feature during classes at Blue Star Base.

What was happening just now while he was dodging? He wasn’t the one making those moves, and the pain in his shoulder and arms seemed to have mysteriously vanished.

At this moment, he was very aware but had lost control and sensation in his body, as if another "self" was controlling his limbs, just like when he first entered the Otherworld.

"…Host’s self-defense weapon check in progress… A low-quality steel long sword, four feet three inches long… Searching for long sword usage skills… No related skills found in the host… Found the Blue Star Martial Arts Alliance’s Great Arsenal… Arsenal incomplete… Found the seventeenth edition practical weapon killing skill ‘Sword Slash Technique’, which fits the host’s current conditions… Loading Sword Slash Technique skills…"

Wang Yu listened to the stream of voices in his mind, feeling a bit confused, but before he could think more, his body had already sheathed the long sword at his left waist, gripping the hilt with his right hand and resting his left hand on the back of the sword. He walked boldly toward the young man in white, walking faster and faster until he started to jog.

"A bit strange"

The young man in white saw that Wang Yu, who was clearly almost lifeless before, suddenly jumped up and rushed over fiercely, looking surprised. After murmuring softly, he began to chant words, and a strange pattern in the center of his fan started to glow with white light, growing brighter and brighter. At that moment, ‘Wang Yu’ had already dashed several steps away, a distance of about twenty feet.

"Quick!"

The young man in white shouted softly, and his silver folding fan swung forcefully toward ‘Wang Yu.’

"Whoosh"

A gust of yellow wind surged out from the silver fan, engulfing ‘Wang Yu,’ while the surrounding area filled with flying sand and stones, making it impossible to see or open one’s eyes.

The young man in white then slapped his waist, pulling out a gleaming silver sword, three feet long, thin like a rope. With a flick of his wrist, countless sword shadows appeared, aimed at the figure barely visible in the wind.

A mechanical voice echoed in Wang Yu’s mind:

"…The seventeenth version of ‘Sword Slash Technique’ has a total of one hundred twenty-five angles of attack. The fifty-fourth option is the best choice, with an eighty-nine point five percent chance of hitting the target and a one hundred percent chance of being hurt… Adrenaline is doubled, lasting for three seconds, legs starting to build power, with an eighty-five percent increase, and right hand strength bursting at one hundred twenty percent…"

"Slash!"

A cold voice came out in the wind, and a shadow suddenly jumped up. A bright white light shone in the strong wind, flickered and disappeared, and then countless sword images scattered like bubbles. ‘Wang Yu’ appeared behind the young man in white like a ghost.

"Impossible, you…"

The young man in white looked on in disbelief, suddenly throwing away his fan and silver sword. He clutched his throat with both hands tightly, but moments later, a line of blood appeared on his neck. His head rolled off, and after the headless body swayed, it fell into a pool of blood.

‘Wang Yu’ stood straight in place; the long knife that was originally at his waist had somehow been drawn out, held upside down with the blade facing up. His fingers, gripping the handle, were torn because he had used too much force, and there were three or four shallow long wounds on his chest.

"The crisis is over… Adrenaline is returning to normal, heart rate is normal, nerve block is lifted… It is advised that the host treat injuries quickly… Overclocking synchronization mode disengaged… The system’s self-protection mechanism is being released… Beep… Beep… Energy is low… The system is entering sleep mode automatically…"

Wang Yu’s legs weakened, and he sat down on the ground. He realized he regained control over his body, but all his wounds started to hurt again fiercely. His head felt unusually heavy, and his thoughts slowed down, making it very difficult to think. It was clearly the signs of mental exhaustion that Taoist Chongyun had mentioned, close to depletion.

He took a moment to catch his breath before he could barely move again. Without thinking too much, he forced himself to stab the bodies of several masked men a few more times to ensure they were really dead. Then he cut off several clean strips of cloth from the bodies and hurriedly bandaged his wounds on his body and fingers. Otherwise, if he kept losing blood, he would truly be in danger of losing his life.

At this moment, he finally had time to look through the belongings on the enemy bodies.

In the end, he found only a few pieces of broken silver and some copper coins on the bodies of the four masked men, with nothing else of value.

When he searched the decapitated body of the young man in white, they found quite a lot. Besides two shiny gold ingots, they also discovered three identical yellow talismans and a piece of soft armor.

The yellow talismans were covered in identical patterns that looked simple, but upon closer inspection, they were a bit dizzying. He knew they surely belonged to a cultivator, so he took them.

The soft armor was made of many yellow metal rings threaded together with silver silk.

He struck the soft armor hard with his long knife, but the knife bounced back and only left a shallow scratch where it had hit.

Wang Yu recognized it as a valuable item and immediately wore the soft armor over his underwear, feeling grateful that when his body was controlled earlier, he attacked the young man’s neck. Otherwise, if he had hit another part of the body, he might not have been able to defeat his enemy in one blow.

Next, he picked up the silver folding fan and the thin sword.

The edges of the silver fan were extremely sharp, and its surface had a peculiar pattern that was uneven. The thin sword was only as thick as a finger, but it was incredibly tough and flexible; even when bent into a circle, it would straighten out when released.

He noticed that the young man’s white leather belt had a flat gap in the middle, perfect for sliding the thin sword into.

Wang Yu pulled the belt off the corpse, inserted the small sword inside, and wrapped it around his waist. The sword tip and hilt fit together perfectly, making it look completely normal from the outside.

The silver folding fan, which could create a strong wind before, was so magical that it must be the magical tool mentioned by Taoist Chongyun. It was even more valuable, and he carefully tucked it into his bosom.

Then, Wang Yu dared not stay any longer and did not want to return to the Taoist temple. He grabbed his long knife and hurried down the mountain, planning to find a safe place to hide for a while, knowing that once some time passed, he would return to Blue Star.

But when he reached the foot of the mountain, thinking about where to go, he heard a sound from the sky. A Taoist priest descended from above and landed steadily in front of him.

"Master, you are okay! That’s wonderful!"

Wang Yu gazed closely and exclaimed with joy.

The person who landed was Taoist Chongyun. However, his once-clean robe was now mostly scorched black, with a large area on his chest stained with clotted blood, and his face looked very pale. But surrounding his body were wisps of white clouds, making him appear very magical.

"Let’s talk somewhere else. I used a ‘Sky Dance Talisman’ to find you so quickly. Hold on to my arm tightly," Taoist Chongyun said without saying much. He grabbed the front of Wang Yu’s shirt and chanted a spell. The white clouds around him began to swirl as they took off into the air again.

Wang Yu was shocked, threw down his long knife, and tightly held onto the Taoist’s arm. The two of them soared seven or eight meters high above the ground, flying in a certain direction.

Even though the Taoist stood in front, he still felt a strong wind roaring in his ears, moving at an incredible speed.

"Master… Master, Dongyue and I went… went our separate ways, he should be nearby," Wang Yu suddenly remembered something and spoke hesitantly against the strong wind.

"Dongyue is just an ordinary person. His family has some background in Yellow Stone City, so he will be fine," Taoist Chongyun replied calmly.

After hearing this, Wang Yu felt relieved and stopped talking.

After flying for more than two hours, when the white clouds almost faded from the Taoist’s figure, the two finally landed on a small hill near a town.

The Taoist brought Wang Yu directly to a rock wall, raised his hand and felt around its surface for a moment, and then a loud rumble came as the rock wall slowly cracked open, revealing an entrance big enough for people to go in.

Wang Yu followed the Taoist in with surprise, and not long after, the rock wall closed up again, appearing unchanged from the outside.

After walking through a dim passage about ten steps long, they reached a huge natural cave. The ceiling had several small holes that let in faint beams of white light, and in the center of the cave, there was a bronze cauldron about half a person’s height, giving off a strong smell of oil.

As Wang Yu pondered what the bronze cauldron was used for, the Taoist had already reached the cauldron, took out a fire stick, lit it with a flick of the wind, and tossed it into the cauldron.

"Whoosh!"

The bronze cauldron’s flames shot up to the sky, filling the entire cave with bright light, as if it were daytime.

Wang Yu then noticed that on the walls in all four directions of the cave, there were four tall relief sculptures.

This is…

Wang Yu instinctively moved closer to take a look. The four relief sculptures each depicted a wolf, a tiger, a bear, and a monkey, each in different poses, so vivid they seemed alive.

"This place is not built by me, but is a secret location I discovered by chance. When I found it, this Four Beast Diagram was already here. It is quite mysterious and likely contains a certain skill within it. The original owner was probably also a cultivator, but unfortunately, I have researched it for a long time without gaining anything. I can only tell that you should start your cultivation from the Wolf Running Picture. If you have time, you might try to comprehend it. Also, I have hidden some dry food here, enough to last a while. Not far outside, there is a small stream where you can fetch some water, so we won’t need to leave this place for some time." Taoist Chongyun calmly said to Wang Yu. Then, he pulled out a large bag of hard dry food from a corner of the cave, but before he could open it, he suddenly "wow" and spat out a large amount of black blood onto the ground, the blood containing dark strands with a strong, foul smell.

"Master, you are injured." Wang Yu said in shock, quickly rushing over to support the Taoist.

"I was poisoned when I went out this time. Although I took medicine to suppress the poison, I was then attacked by several strong enemies. Not only did I cause Qingfeng to be killed, but I am also running out of strength, and I’m afraid I don’t have much time left." As soon as Taoist Chongyun spoke, Wang Yu felt a chill in his heart and hurriedly asked:

"Master, with your deep skills and knowledge of magic, can’t you find a way to save yourself?"

"There are certainly ways, but unless a master above Foundation Establishment intervenes or there is the rumored magical elixir, it is already a stroke of luck that I have managed to last this long." The man shook his head, pushed Wang Yu aside, and wobbled to another corner of the cave, lightly tapping his toes on the ground.

With a loud "boom," dust flew up, revealing a small pit on the ground.

Chongyun leaned down and pulled out a package from inside, opening it right there to show four items: a thick black book, a rectangular iron box, a green gourd, and a white jade pendant.