Chapter 8
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Star Shift
(Thanks to Grand Alliance Leader Shangxia Er Qiu Suo!)
“Absurd!”
Daoist Mu, enraged, fixed his gaze on Zhou Yi’s palm and roared, “Take this palm strike!!”
He pressed his palm down into his sleeve, and qi gathered, instantly making his Daoist robe billow like a sail. In the blink of an eye, he stepped across the bluestone slab, covering two zhang (approx. 6.6 meters)! The palm, like a large fan, slapped towards Zhou Yi, who couldn’t keep up with his speed at all. In a flash, he saw the opponent’s palm lines drawing near. Thankfully, Daoist Mu had fallen into his trap without realizing it; in his anger, he hadn’t used any specific martial technique, only raw power.
Zhou Yi simply circulated his internal method and met the palm strike!
In an instant, a strong wind hit his face, and a massive force surged into his body. He felt like the ceremonial candle on the longevity hall table, swaying in the wind, with no roots to stand on!
In this critical moment, Zhou Yi activated the method his master had demonstrated with the stone lock. He treated the short, stout Daoist’s palm force as an external force, just like the stone lock that night. Meridian qi reversed flow from the Yufu acupoints on both sides, flowing through the Kidney Meridian of Foot Shaoyin. The light, floating sensation of moving qi and blood to shed the stone lock’s weight once again emerged.
The short, stout Daoist’s furious qi disappeared! Zhou Yi, who had been teetering in the storm, instead used his opponent’s force to firmly plant his feet, guiding it out of his body through the Yongquan acupoints on both soles!
The short, stout Daoist’s internal true qi was no small matter. Expelling this force pushed Zhou Yi to his limit. The true qi impacted his meridians, causing an indescribable pain in his body. It was his first time experiencing the domineering nature of true qi, and he could only grit his teeth and endure. Cold sweat streamed down his back, while the short, stout Daoist was greatly astonished!
‘No, no!’
*’Like a clay ox entering the sea, where did this Daoist priest’s true qi go!?’
He had traveled the martial arts world for decades and had never encountered such a bizarre situation. At this moment, knowing that the opponent was not simply swindling, his anger greatly subsided, and a sense of crisis arose out of nowhere. Reacting with the instinct of a martial artist, Daoist Mu felt something was wrong and immediately withdrew his palm, flipping and leaping a zhang (approx. 3.3 meters) away.
The onlookers hadn’t yet grasped the situation. They only saw the fierce palm strike from the short, stout Daoist, but the Taiping Heavenly Master remained unmoving. The two touched and separated instantly. Who had won, who had lost?
The next moment…
As Zhou Yi moved his feet in the Cao residence’s courtyard, many people gasped in surprise!
Ji Niantao stood beside her father, her expression a mix of awe and astonishment. She saw that in the grey-green stone slabs of the courtyard, two deep footprints were embedded!
It’s another Taiping Miraculous Art, absolutely no faking it.
“So that’s it!” Cao Chengyun clapped his hands, his eyes full of admiration. Now he finally understood why his grandfather treated Heavenly Master Zhou with such courtesy. First the “Blazing Wood Finger Art,” and now another strange martial art he’d never seen.
Daoist Mu stepped forward, his eyes staring at the footprints on the ground. His anger had mostly dissipated now, but his breathing was short and rapid. He took down his wine gourd, intending to drink, but the empty gourd yielded not a drop. He grunted in frustration.
Then he saw Zhou Yi suddenly cup his hands and say to him: “The Western Han Dynasty’s Huainanzi: Lanming states: ‘To perfect one’s nature and preserve one’s truth, one does not harm one’s body.’ To cultivate one’s self and nature by the straight path, the fundamental point is to maintain one’s true nature, only then can one truly accord with the Dao. Daoist priest, you associate with evildoers, yet you secretly despise them. Since this does not align with the Dao of ‘Completeness of Nature,’ why do you act against your own nature?”
This argument left Daoist Mu silent. He truly despised the actions of the Baling Gang. If he denied Zhou Yi’s words, it would mean denying his inner self, and thus denying the Daoist lineage and teachings he inherited from the Han dynasty. If he couldn’t even uphold his own Daoist lineage, what right did he have to criticize the Taiping Dao?
He had originally thought the Yongqiu Taiping Dao was merely a bunch of charlatan Daoist sorcerers, conning people. Who knew that the other party genuinely had a lineage and was thoroughly familiar with his own School of Completeness of Nature’s doctrines?
‘Sigh, I’ve fallen. This Daoist priest has fallen into the hands of a junior.’ Daoist Mu felt a chill in his heart and was very displeased.
“You win.” Though unwilling, he still squeezed out these words. Having said one thing, he might as well say two. Daoist Mu continued to ask: “You dissipated all my true qi into the bluestone slabs?”
Zhou Yi’s heart stirred. The other party didn’t seem to be a completely unreasonable person. Rather than make another enemy, it was better to gain a friend. Moreover, the opponent’s martial arts were very high. So his tone softened considerably: “Precisely, but Daoist priest, with merely two tenths of your power, you can deeply imprint the bluestone. Your internal cultivation is beyond my reach. If my master saw it, he would also praise it as excellent internal cultivation.”
This offered a comfortable step down. Daoist Mu casually swung his wine gourd and grunted in satisfaction, feeling somewhat pleased. So he also commented: “The Xihe Hunyuan Sect’s martial arts also emphasize ‘dissipating force,’ but even their Headmaster Ma Shouyi couldn’t possibly dissipate my true qi to this extent.”
Wu Guanlan, standing nearby, felt a sudden surge of displeasure upon hearing this. Absurd! These two scoundrels, why are they bringing my Headmaster into this?
Daoist Mu glanced at him. “What, Elder Wu, do you think this poor Daoist’s words are incorrect?”
Elder Wu cursed him in his heart but remained sullenly silent on the surface.
“Hmph, go tell Headmaster Ma that this poor Daoist ate your food and drank your wine, but got into a mess. With this one palm strike today, we owe each other nothing. Don’t look for me again in the future, lest others misunderstand.”
Daoist Mu finished speaking, completely disregarding Wu Guanlan’s reaction. True to his eccentric nature, he then asked Zhou Yi: “What is the name of this martial art of yours, and from which scripture does it originate?” Daoist Mu suddenly initiated an academic discussion.
Zhou Yi’s mind raced, and he bluffed about his lineage: “My Taiping Dao deeply studies the Laozi Xiang’er Commentary. It elaborates on the ‘five stars following their orbits, and guest stars not acting adversely.'”
“These are the Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Mercury, and Saturn stars. ‘Following their orbits’ signifies regularity, and ‘acting adversely’ signifies change.”
“Hence, it is… Star Shift!”
Daoist Mu’s mind was greatly shaken.
“Star Shift…”
He nodded, then repeated the name. He had his own Daoist lineage, so his understanding was naturally different, but he felt even more shocked. “The Kan Li Kuangkuo, revolving the hub to align the axis—this is ‘five stars following their orbits.’ Once a guest star acts adversely, does it not secretly correspond to Yin and Yang? This martial art observes the constellations; its concept is extremely profound, not to be underestimated.”
“Although this kid’s martial arts aren’t high, he was able to make me stumble.”
“Not good! If Jue Wuzi uses this Star Shift, even if I go all out, my chances of winning are probably not high. I’ve already lost face today; if I’m defeated again on Fuzi Mountain, that would truly be a big joke.”
“That’s right. It’s not too late to find this master and disciple to regain face once this Daoist priest figures out a way to counter it.”
The short, stout Daoist secretly nodded. With this thought, his desire to retreat greatly increased. He then swept his gaze over Zhou Yi, performed a flying leap onto the courtyard wall, making the Cao residence’s roof tiles rattle and break as he stomped across, stepping quickly outwards. Everyone knew he was fierce and had a strange temper; no one dared to stop him.
“Heavenly Master Zhou, perhaps there has been some misunderstanding between our two families, but these were all caused by subordinates. Today, I will report back to our Headmaster and ask him to personally resolve the misunderstanding, so as not to affect the relationship between our two families.”
Wu Guanlan chose to back down. Zhou Yi also didn’t want to push him too hard, fearing he might resort to desperate measures.
“Then I trouble Elder Wu to relay the message.”
Wu Guanlan bid farewell and turned to leave. Lai Changming also left with the Hunyuan Sect people. Zhou Yi exchanged a few pleasantries, then got into his carriage, surrounded by the crowd, and headed straight for Fuzi Mountain. Many people at the entrance watched the carriage, bidding them farewell.
“Grandfather, how could you let Wu Guanlan disrespect our family’s dignity like that?”
In a quiet inner hall, Cao Chengyun looked puzzled.
Cao Ruinian’s expression was calm: “Chengyun, our Cao family is ultimately a merchant family. We must clearly see the situation and follow the changes of the times. The Hunyuan Sect and the Baling Gang are in cahoots, and the Baling Gang is connected to the Yuwen Clan. The Eagle Yang Guard is on its way. How can we afford to provoke them?”
Cao Chengyun pressed on: “Then the people of Empress Liang who visited our Cao residence, is that also related to this?”
“Of course.” Cao Ruinian said, “This person is under Xu Xuanche, yet claimed to be acting on Empress Liang’s orders. What they value is the Taiping Dao’s doctrine. You should understand now, shouldn’t you?”
“Xu Xuanche…” Cao Chengyun pondered for a moment, then suddenly remembered: “If I’m not mistaken, he should be the Luoshuai (Commander) of Yuezhou, under Colonel Dong Jingzhen of the Infantry. Hmph, these people connected to Empress Liang are colluding with Sui officials and generals; they are indeed ambitious. However, when it comes to heroes in chaotic times…”
His tone shifted, a look of excitement on his face: “Grandfather, I once met Duke Mi with our sect master. That is a true hegemon! Those who follow him are all top talents in the world! Duke Mi is currently experiencing hardships, but Heaven has entrusted him with a great mission, which will surely test him. Our Cao family should act decisively and fully support him!”
“Haha…” Cao Ruinian chuckled. “My second son, although Huashan Sect Master Wei is a top master in his region, you should listen carefully to his insights, but not fully believe them. Feng Xuan once told Lord Mengchang: ‘A cunning rabbit has three burrows; only then can it escape death.’ How can our merchant family throw everything away and not avoid the dangers?”
Cao Chengyun pondered for a few breaths: “You mean…?”
Cao Ruinian took a letter from his sleeve and handed it to him. “Tomorrow, go to Fuzi Mountain and deliver this letter to Heavenly Master Zhou…”
– Mochinuna.
