Mount Hua

  In a small town under Jinan, Shandong, Lin Heng carried a long sword on his back and chewed on a straw, walking slowly along the roadside. At this moment, he looked like he had undergone many changes from before.

  In his past life, Lin Heng was a homebody, a very introverted homebody. During the time he spent in Xiao Ao Jiang Hu, he underwent some changes due to changes in his living conditions. After arriving here, he also underwent a bit of change and became more cunning. This change was actually brought about by him gradually coming to understand his own heart. Originally, this was a slow process of recognition, but the experience at Wu Ming Shan Dao Guan accelerated it.

  Now, Lin Heng, who has let go of his worries, looks very natural. Although he appears to be careless and sloppy, the expression between his eyebrows reveals a completely calm and composed demeanor. Clearly, he no longer has any concerns.

  Lin Heng, who was walking, suddenly stopped and looked slightly stunned.

  In front of him, a middle-aged Taoist priest in a Taoist robe and a man wearing Mongolian attire leading a horse were slowly walking towards him. These two people were none other than Qiu Chuji and Guo Jing.

  "It's time for the second Mount Hua Sword Conference!"

  As soon as he saw the two of them, Lin Heng thought of the original plot. He didn't expect that after just one closed-door training session, the plot of Shooting the White Deer would be coming to an end already. This was truly a case of "a day in the mountains is a thousand years in the world outside".

  "Master Shu, Brother Guo..." Lin Heng called out as he quickly walked up, clasped his fists and said: "Disciple Lin Heng greets Master Qiu. Brother Guo, we meet again."

  Qiu Chuji nodded and asked: "Aren't you with Shixiong in the Quanzhen Teaching Dao? How did you appear here?"

  "Disciple has been studying Quanzhen Taoism for half a year, but there are many doubts in his heart, so he came out to temper himself. I've been out for almost a year now." Lin Heng explained, and Qiu Chuji nodded after listening, saying: "That's just right. Jing'er and I were just about to go to Mount Hua, you happened to meet us here, come with us too."

  "Yes!"

  Listening to Qiu Chuji's words, Lin Heng knew that the time for the second Mount Hua Swordsmanship Competition had arrived. He hadn't thought of going to Mount Hua before, after all, he was very familiar with this place and it wouldn't be interesting to go again. However, since Qiu Chuji had spoken, he couldn't refuse, and besides, he had just recently made a breakthrough, so it would be a good opportunity to see what changes the Five Absolutes had undergone.

  The three of them arrived at the town ahead, bought two more horses, and rode west in a row. Before long, they came to the foot of Mount Hua. Mount Hua was famous for its steepness and danger, and from below, looking up at the peak, it seemed like a coiled dragon winding its way up.

  Lin Heng stood below, admiring the wonders of Mount Hua, when he suddenly heard Qiu Chuji say: "Mount Hua is a sacred place for my Taoist sect. These twelve large dragon vines were planted by Master Chen Tuan, also known as Xiyi."

  Lin Heng was slightly stunned, and immediately looked at the two of them, only to find that they were watching the twelve vines on the mountain wall. These twelve vines were very thick and sturdy, and from a distance, they seemed like dragons flying in the air, quite magnificent.

  "Is that Old Ancestor Chen? The immortal who slept for years without waking up?" Guo Jing asked, not waiting for the others.

  Qiu Chuji nodded and said, "Chen Tuan was born in the late Tang Dynasty and lived through the Five Dynasties of Liang, Tang, Jin, Han, and Zhou. Every time he heard about a change of dynasty, he would be unhappy and lock himself indoors for a long time. People thought he slept for a whole year, but actually, he was worried about the chaos in the world and the suffering of the people, so he didn't want to go out. When he heard that Song Taizu had ascended to the throne, he burst into laughter and fell off the back of a donkey, saying that from then on, the world would be at peace. Indeed, Song Taizu was kind and loved his people, and the common folk benefited greatly from him."

  Lin Heng had also read about the story of Chen Bo in Taoist classics and knew that he lived near Mount Hua, where there was a temple dedicated to him at the foot of the mountain. To say, Chen Bo was absolutely an indispensable figure in Taoism, and there were many legends about him in the world, but as a Taoist disciple, Lin Heng knew that most of these legends were not true.

  Watching Qiu Chuji and Guo Jing chatting enthusiastically, Lin Heng shook his head and walked to the side to carefully appreciate the scenery of Mount Hua.

  Among them, he also went to Mount Hua and saw the scenery of Mount Hua. Compared with that time, Mount Hua now seems more natural. It's also reasonable to think that at that time, Mount Hua was the site of the Huashan School, and many places had man-made traces. But now Mount Hua is an unmanned empty mountain, although there are still many human traces here, but many wonders are naturally formed. Take those twelve dragon vines, for example. Although they were planted by Chen Tuan, Laozu, they grew up completely naturally, so they shocked the world. If someone came to take care of them, maybe they would be more beautiful, but whether there would still be such a shocking feeling, it's hard to say.

  Just as Lin Heng was getting excited, Guo Jing and Qiu Chuji were chatting enthusiastically when suddenly someone shouted from the front: "Qiu Chuji, you spared your life at the Smoke Rain Building, what are you doing on Mount Hua again?"

  Lin Heng was stunned, and immediately looked up to see that Qiu Chuji had quickly taken a few steps to occupy the cave on the side of the peak. Seeing this, Lin Heng knew that Qiu Chuji was very experienced and had seized the advantageous position in the first instance.

  He shook his head, looked forward seriously, and saw that the four people standing in front of several people were none other than Sha Tongtian, Peng Lianhu, Ling Zhishangren, and Hou Tonghai, all under Wanyan Honglie.

  Just as Lin Heng was sizing them up, Qiu Chuji had already drawn his sword. With one move, "White Rainbow Across the Sky", he stabbed and cut off one arm of Hou Tonghai, who was thinking of killing one of them first. However, these four were not easy to deal with. Hou Tonghai simply sidestepped and raised the three-pronged spear in his hand, blocking Qiu Chuji's thrust. Meanwhile, Peng Lianhu and Ling Zhi Shangren on either side of him instantly counterattacked from left and right, forcing Qiu Chuji back and pushing him into the valley.

  Seeing this, Lin Heng drew out the long sword in his hand and immediately struck Hou Tonghai who was about to chase after him. At the same time, he gave Sha Tongtian a sideways kick, forcing him back to his original position. These two were considered weak among the four, and Lin Heng felt more confident against them. Moreover, he believed that as long as he could hold off these two, Qiu Chuji would have nothing to fear from Peng Lianhu and Ling Zhi Shangren.

  Six people fought together, and the battle was very lively. However, Guo Jing was hesitant on the side. Lin Heng knew that at this time, Guo Jing's heart was in a state of confusion. When he didn't know how to guide him, after all, he could only talk without practical examples to teach, the effect would be greatly discounted. Just like what Qiu Chuji said earlier, even if he spoke for half a day, wouldn't Guo Jing still not wake up?

  So he didn't put his hopes on Guo Jing either. At the same time, he also didn't think that he and Qiu Chuji would lose to the four of them.

  As in the original work, Guo Jing fought with the heavenly gods and disappeared from view after a while. Qiu Chuji shouted at Guo Jing several times during the fight, but he walked further and further away, as if he hadn't heard him. Seeing this, Lin Heng shook his head secretly, then concentrated all his strength to attack Sha Tongtian and Hou Tonghai in front of him.

  These two are from the Yellow River Gang, their kung fu isn't too strong, but they have a special skill called "Breath Control". This skill is quite useful in water, but on land, it's useless.

  As he thought of this, Lin Heng's entire being changed, his swordsmanship transformed. He had originally used the Quanzhen Sword Method, which the two men were familiar with, so they could hold their own against Lin Heng. But now, Lin Heng's swordsmanship suddenly became fierce and menacing, leaving the two men unable to adapt.

  Taking advantage of their momentary confusion, Lin Heng sprang into the air, his feet kicking forcefully towards Sha Tongtian. The latter stumbled backward several steps, immediately wanting to advance forward again. However, at this moment, Lin Heng's sword sliced towards Hou Tonghai, who hastily dodged to the side.

  But Lin Heng's downward slash with his longsword curved around at the waist, striking horizontally across Hou Tonghai's waist.

  Lin Heng's two moves were extremely fast, almost instantaneous, but Hou Tonghai was not one to be underestimated. His rich experience allowed him to jump up immediately, wanting to leap over Lin Heng. However, at this moment, the long sword in Lin Heng's hand suddenly swept upwards, his body leaning back, without even looking, he stabbed straight at Hou Tonghai's back. Hou Tonghai had no eyes on his back, but he felt a chill run down his spine, and immediately wanted to dodge. Unfortunately, in mid-air, he was unable to borrow any force, so although his body leaned to one side, he was unable to completely avoid Lin Heng's long sword, and was stabbed by Lin Heng, the sword piercing through his left shoulder.

  "Junior brother!" Sha Tongtian was shocked and lost his color as he saw Lin Heng's sword pierce through Hou Tonghai. He immediately rushed towards Lin Heng on horseback. At this moment, Lin Heng didn't have time to pull out his long sword, so he used both feet to push off the ground and spun rapidly in mid-air, kicking out with both legs again to force Sha Tongtian back. As for Hou Tonghai? He had been stabbed in the shoulder by Lin Heng's sword earlier, and now as Lin Heng spun around, his sword naturally stirred up Hou Tonghai's wound like an electric drill, digging a hole into it. The pain was so intense that Hou Tonghai fainted on the spot.

  "Junior brother!" Shatong Tian let out a loud roar, then charged towards Lin Heng with red eyes. On the other side, Qiu Chuji saw one of them fall to the ground and shouted, "Good job, kill him!" Then, another round of clashing sounds erupted as he joined forces with the two.

  Sha Tong Tian went crazy, his moves were deadly, almost without considering his own safety. He fought like this, if it was the previous Lin Heng, he would have retreated in fear. But after many battles and half a year of enlightenment, he was no longer the same as before. Now, with one palm strike coming at him, Lin Heng didn't even look, immediately counterattacking with another palm strike, while his long sword slashed horizontally, seemingly wanting to cut off Sha Tong Tian's head.

  At this, Sha Tongtian also had to take care of his own life. He immediately became a rogue donkey and rolled over to avoid Lin Heng's attack. However, before he could make another move, he felt a numbness in his back and couldn't move anymore. Opposite him, Lin Heng was taken aback for a moment, then quickly put away his sword and clasped his fists: "Disciple pays respects to Master Uncle!"

  "Huh? Are you from Quanzhen Sect?"

  It was none other than Zhou Botong, the Old Naughty Boy. This man had a childlike personality, and he had just asked Lin Heng when he saw three people fighting on the other side. He immediately said: "Haha... Fighting is fun, I want to join in too..." Before he finished speaking, he rushed over.

  Zhou Botong's martial arts skills were indeed very strong. Just by walking, he had already surpassed several people, and with a wave of his hand, he discovered the weaknesses in the hands of two others. With just one stretch of his hand, he sealed their acupoints. His cultivation was such that Lin Heng couldn't help but feel a little anxious. However, despite feeling envious, Lin Heng didn't have any other thoughts, and in his opinion, this was merely a matter of experience. He believed that once he had gained enough experience himself, he would also be able to achieve these feats.

  Lin Heng walked over, leaving his thoughts behind. Just as he reached the two people's side, he saw two figures walking from around the corner of the mountain cliff - it was Guo Jing and Huang Rong (the original scene will not be described further).

  "Brother Guo, Sister Huang..." Lin Heng greeted the two, then stood beside Qiu Chuji. Unfortunately, Lin Heng, who had originally wanted to witness the Five Absolutes' martial arts competition, was taken away by Qiu Chuji, naturally to escort the four people back to Chongyang Palace together. Why four people? That Hou Tonghai was only hit by one of Lin Heng's swords, although serious, but not fatal. So it was just the four of them.

  "What a pity!"

  Looking back at Mount Hua, Lin Heng muttered a sentence and followed Qiu Chuji as he took the four men away.

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