55: Chapter 55 Zhou Botong Escapes, Past Events of Peach Blossom Island

Since that day they bumped into Old Urchin Zhou Botong in the back mountains, Guo Jing and Huang Rong became regular visitors to the cave.

Every day, before dawn, Huang Rong would carry a food box and drag Guo Jing along to sneak off to the back mountains.

The food box was filled with Beggar's Chicken and Peach Blossom Pastry she had made herself, along with the watermelons that Old Urchin Zhou Botong loved most.

Old Urchin Zhou Botong had never seen two such interesting children in his entire life, and he praised Huang Rong's culinary skills to the heavens.

He looked forward to their arrival every day, teaching them how to climb trees to raid bird nests, weave grass ropes to play games, and even showing off his self-created Ambidexterity technique.

"Look at this! I can draw a square with my left hand and a circle with my right, using two different martial arts simultaneously—isn't that amazing?"

Old Urchin Zhou Botong's hands fluttered, his left hand unleashing the Quanzhen Palm Technique while his right hand wielded the Empty Bright Fist, leaving Guo Jing and Huang Rong dumbfounded.

"Senior Old Urchin Zhou Botong, you are too amazing!" Guo Jing praised sincerely.

"That goes without saying!" Old Urchin Zhou Botong lifted his head proudly.

"My martial arts, the Old Urchin's, are second in the world! The first was my Senior Brother, Master Wang Chongyang, but he is already dead, so now I am the number one in the world!"

Huang Rong's eyes darted, and she laughed: "Senior, since you are so powerful, do you dare to spar with Brother Jing?"

"His martial arts were taught by my Master, they are very powerful!"

"Good, good!" Upon hearing about a duel, Old Urchin Zhou Botong immediately became interested.

"I will let you have three moves. If you can touch the corner of my clothes, you win!"

Guo Jing assumed the starting stance of the Taiji Thirteen Forms, his expression solemn: "Senior Old Urchin Zhou Botong, please forgive my offense."

He slowly pushed out a palm, the palm force smooth and rounded, devoid of any aggressive Aura.

Old Urchin Zhou Botong nonchalantly dodged to the side, his right hand lightly patting toward Guo Jing's shoulder.

Guo Jing did not dodge or evade; he turned his wrist, used the Grasping the Sparrow's Tail, and followed the momentum to pull.

Old Urchin Zhou Botong felt a soft yet tenacious force coming, and his body involuntarily stumbled forward half a step.

"Eh? What martial art is this?" A hint of curiosity flashed in Old Urchin Zhou Botong's eyes. "It's soft and limp, yet so troublesome to deal with!"

"This is the Taiji Thirteen Forms, taught to me by my Master," Guo Jing answered honestly.

For the next half hour, the two traded blows, locked in an intense fight.

Old Urchin Zhou Botong's newly created Empty Bright Fist took "emptiness" as its principle; the fist force was ethereal and traceless.

Guo Jing's Taiji Thirteen Forms took "circle" as its method, with tight defense that leaked not a drop.

Old Urchin Zhou Botong's fists struck Guo Jing's Taiji circular force as if hitting cotton, with nowhere to exert his strength.

Guo Jing's counterattacks were also neutralized by Old Urchin Zhou Botong's Empty Bright force, never managing to injure him.

As the fight reached its Peak, Old Urchin Zhou Botong suddenly stopped and sat on the ground, scratching his head.

"Not right, not right! My Empty Bright Fist is clearly the softest martial art in the world, how can it not break through your Taiji?"

He looked at Guo Jing's slowly rotating palms, looked at that harmonious and unimpeded Qi, and suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

"I know! Emptiness is not nothingness, and a circle is not stagnation! Emptiness can contain all things, and a circle can turn thousands of forces! If I integrate the harmonious nature of Taiji into the Empty Bright Fist, wouldn't it be even more powerful?"

Old Urchin Zhou Botong jumped up suddenly, not caring about the duel with Guo Jing anymore, and began practicing on his own in the cave.

His fist style gradually changed; within the originally ethereal fist wind, a hint of rounded and smooth charm appeared.

Sometimes empty and void, sometimes rotating endlessly, emptiness and circles intertwined, ever-changing.

Guo Jing and Huang Rong stood by, watching quietly.

Seeing Old Urchin Zhou Botong hitting faster and faster, a faint white light gradually appeared around his body. Suddenly, he let out a long roar toward the sky and threw a punch.

With a "boom," a deep fist imprint was punched into the cave's stone wall.

"It worked! I've finally created the perfect Empty Bright Fist!"

Old Urchin Zhou Botong was so excited he danced with joy, "Ten times stronger than before! No, a hundred times!"

Just then, the internal energy within his body suddenly began to circulate wildly.

The cultivation that had been stagnant for five years due to his imprisonment, stimulated by this Epiphany, actually began to grow rapidly.

Grandmaster Early Stage, Grandmaster Middle Stage, Grandmaster Middle Stage Peak!

A majestic Aura erupted from his body, shaking the entire cave.

"Hahahaha! I've broken through! I've finally broken through!"

Old Urchin Zhou Botong laughed loudly, threw both fists out, and struck the stone door fiercely.

With a "crack," the heavy stone door shattered upon impact.

Old Urchin Zhou Botong walked out of the cave, stretched a big yawn, and felt the long-lost freedom.

The sunlight shone on him, warm and comfortable.

"Five years! I, the Old Urchin, have finally come out!"

Just then, Eastern Heretic Huang Yaoshi and Zhang Sanfeng arrived upon hearing the news.

Seeing the shattered stone door and the spirited Old Urchin Zhou Botong, a flash of surprise crossed Eastern Heretic Huang Yaoshi's eyes, but it quickly returned to calm.

"You are finally willing to come out," Eastern Heretic Huang Yaoshi said calmly.

Old Urchin Zhou Botong saw Eastern Heretic Huang Yaoshi, subconsciously took a step back, then puffed out his chest again.

"Eastern Heretic Huang Yaoshi! My martial arts are higher than yours now, you can't keep me trapped anymore!"

Eastern Heretic Huang Yaoshi snorted coldly and said nothing.

He looked at Old Urchin Zhou Botong with a complex expression.

In fact, after discussing the Dao with Zhang Sanfeng, he was no longer obsessed with the Nine Yin Manual.

After Zhang Sanfeng's guidance, his martial arts Foundation had become incredibly solid, and he was only one step away from the Grandmaster Realm Peak; the Nine Yin Manual was no longer that important to him.

That night, Eastern Heretic Huang Yaoshi hosted a banquet at the Jicui Pavilion on Peach Blossom Island as an apology to Old Urchin Zhou Botong.

After three rounds of drinks, Old Urchin Zhou Botong was dead drunk, sprawled on the table, snoring loudly.

Only Zhang Sanfeng and Eastern Heretic Huang Yaoshi remained in the pavilion.

Moonlight spilled onto the lake, shimmering, and all was quiet around them.

"Island Master Huang, this poor Daoist has a question, and hopes for your guidance."

Zhang Sanfeng put down his wine cup and said slowly, "Island Master Huang, with your character, why did you imprison Old Urchin Zhou Botong for five years?"

Eastern Heretic Huang Yaoshi was silent for a long time, picked up his wine cup and drank it all in one gulp, his voice carrying a hint of hoarseness.

"For the Nine Yin Manual, and also for my wife, Feng Heng."

He gazed at the moonlight on the lake, his eyes becoming distant and sorrowful.

"Back then, I used a scheme to win a bet against Old Urchin Zhou Botong and borrowed the second volume of the Nine Yin Manual. My wife, Feng Heng, had an eidetic memory; she read the manual once and memorized the entire second volume."

"Later, Chen Xuanfeng and Mei Chaofeng stole the second volume of the manual."

"To help me rewrite the manual, Feng Heng racked her brains day and night, exhausted too much of her mental energy, and eventually died in childbirth, leaving behind Rong'er."

"Later, Old Urchin Zhou Botong learned the truth and came to Peach Blossom Island to reason with me. I was in the depths of grief and wounded him. He fled to the back mountain cave and threatened to destroy the Nine Yin Manual, so we reached a stalemate."

Eastern Heretic Huang Yaoshi's voice trembled slightly, and a flash of pain crossed his eyes.

"I hate myself for being obsessed with the Nine Yin Manual, which caused my wife's death."

"Because of the Nine Yin Manual, I have already lost too much."

"So that's how it is. Island Master Huang, after Mei Chaofeng and the other stole the Nine Yin Manual back then, why did you vent your anger on the other Disciples, break their legs, and expel them from the sect?" Zhang Sanfeng asked.

Mentioning this, a complex expression appeared on Eastern Heretic Huang Yaoshi's face, the veins on his hands twitched, and his voice was hoarse.

"After Feng Heng died, I was devastated."

"Just then, I discovered that Chen Xuanfeng and Mei Chaofeng had not only stolen the manual but also betrayed the sect."

"In my despair, I broke the legs of all the Disciples and expelled them from the sect."

"On one hand, they were innocent victims, and on the other hand, the reason was to protect them."

Eastern Heretic Huang Yaoshi sighed, "The news of the Nine Yin Manual reappearing in the Jianghu would inevitably reach the ears of West Poison."

"At that time, my strength was on par with West Poison, and I wasn't confident in protecting them from West Poison."

"If I had just kept them locked up on Peach Blossom Island, West Poison would have come knocking sooner or later."

"To force the location of the manual out of them, he would do anything."

"Breaking their legs and expelling them from the sect, making them cripples, would let West Poison know they didn't have the Nine Yin Manual, and he wouldn't target them anymore."

"Although they were disabled, they could hide their names and live out the rest of their lives in peace. It was better than falling into the hands of West Poison and being tortured to death."

Zhang Sanfeng listened in silence. He finally understood Eastern Heretic Huang Yaoshi's "evil."

His evil was using the most cruel method to protect the people he cared about, even if it meant bearing infamy and guilt.

He also understood the reason why Eastern Heretic Huang Yaoshi was obsessed with obtaining the Nine Yin Manual; he wanted to have enough strength to deal with West Poison and prevent past tragedies from happening again.

"I saw Mei Chaofeng in Jiaxing," Zhang Sanfeng said slowly.

"She and Chen Xuanfeng practiced the Nine Yin Skeleton Claw and harmed many people."

"Chen Xuanfeng is already dead; I crippled Mei Chaofeng's martial arts and let them go to Wudang Mountain to live in seclusion."

Eastern Heretic Huang Yaoshi raised his head abruptly, a complex expression flashing in his eyes: "She... is still alive?"

"Alive," Zhang Sanfeng nodded. "Mei Chaofeng is very remorseful; she said she is sorry to you and sorry to the Mistress."

Eastern Heretic Huang Yaoshi lowered his head, looking at the wine in his cup, and remained silent for a long time.

The moonlight shone on his face, and the wind carried a scent of heartache.

This proud Eastern Heretic, who had been arrogant his whole life, finally revealed his fragile side at this moment.

For the next half year, Zhang Sanfeng stayed on Peach Blossom Island, cultivating diligently.

Combining Eastern Heretic Huang Yaoshi's Qimen Dunjia and the Xiaoyao Sect's Formation Legacy, he continued to deduce the technique of Physical Body inscriptions. Although he hadn't succeeded yet, he had accumulated a wealth of experience.

At the same time, he took the time to guide Guo Jing and Huang Rong in their martial arts. Guo Jing's Innate Pure Yang Skill advanced another level, and Huang Rong's Flowing Clouds Flying Sleeves and Winding Finger Soft Sword were practiced to Perfection.

This day, Zhang Sanfeng found Eastern Heretic Huang Yaoshi and said in a deep voice: "Island Master Huang, this poor Daoist has stayed on Peach Blossom Island for half a year. My purpose here is fulfilled, and it is time to leave."

Eastern Heretic Huang Yaoshi nodded: "If the Daoist wishes to leave, I naturally will not keep you. But Rong'er..."

"I would like to officially take Huang Rong as my Wudang Sect Disciple," Zhang Sanfeng said.

"She is naturally intelligent and is good material for practicing martial arts."

"As a Wudang Sect Disciple, this poor Daoist can provide her with the most suitable Cultivation Technique and resources."

Eastern Heretic Huang Yaoshi looked at Huang Rong, who was standing to the side, his eyes full of reluctance.

But he also knew that Peach Blossom Island was too small to contain Huang Rong's personality.

Following Zhang Sanfeng, she could see a broader world and learn more powerful martial arts.

"Good," Eastern Heretic Huang Yaoshi nodded. "Rong'er, you must listen to your Master in the future and not be naughty."

"I know, Father!" Huang Rong jumped up happily and kowtowed respectfully to Zhang Sanfeng three times. "Disciple Huang Rong pays respects to Master!"

Zhang Sanfeng helped Huang Rong up and smiled slightly: "Get up. From today on, you are the second Disciple of my Wudang Sect in this world."

Early the next morning, Zhang Sanfeng took Guo Jing and Huang Rong, bid farewell to Eastern Heretic Huang Yaoshi and Old Urchin Zhou Botong, and boarded the small boat leaving Peach Blossom Island.

The small boat slowly sailed away from the shore, and Peach Blossom Island gradually disappeared from view.

Huang Rong stood at the bow of the boat, waving toward the direction of Peach Blossom Island.

"Father, Senior Old Urchin Zhou Botong, we will come back!"

Zhang Sanfeng stood behind the two, looking at the distant horizon, a hint of expectation flashing in his eyes.

Leaving Peach Blossom Island was just the beginning.

Next, they would go to Jiangnan, to Mount Hua, and go to find that mysterious Wine-Fighting Monk.

[System Prompt: Successfully rescued Old Urchin Zhou Botong, resolving the grudge between Eastern Heretic Huang Yaoshi and Old Urchin Zhou Botong!]

[Officially accepted Huang Rong as a Wudang Sect Disciple, Daoist Legacy progress +15%!]

[Legend of the Condor Heroes World Origin recognition increased to 55%!]

Guo Jing stood at the bow of the boat, full of longing for the Jianghu.