Chapter Ten: Beyond Defense

Miao Wushuang saw her disciple so distraught and was deeply distressed, repeatedly asking what had happened. Hong Mochou, keeping her affair with Du Xin'er secret, only mentioned that Li Chongyuan had spoken rudely to her, prompting her to teach him a lesson. Huang Shan, unaware of the situation, intervened and fought with her, while Ma Beifang took advantage and attacked her from behind, causing her injury.

When asked, Huang Shan only knew that Hong Mochou had struck Li Chongyuan, but not why. Yang Wuji promptly brought Ma Beifang over for questioning, and Ma Beifang claimed he saw Hong Mochou fighting Huang Shan and, unable to tolerate it, stepped in to help; he knew nothing of the rest.

Thus, everyone looked upon Li Chongyuan with contempt. Li Chongyuan protested, "Senior Sister was bantering with Senior Brother Du Xin just now, but for some reason became angry and embraced me..." Miao Wushuang furiously shouted, "Nonsense! Since ancient times, only men embrace women, never women embracing men. You scoundrel, how dare you turn the tables!"

Yang Wuji, always protective of his disciple and intent on clearing Du Xin's name, added, "Don't try to argue your way out. Du Xin has been in the main hall all along, only stepping out briefly. How could he have time for... for such banter?"

Li Chongyuan, unable to defend himself, could only repeat, "It's not what you think, it's not what you think..."

Du Xin saw Hong Mochou in pain from her beating, but unable to explain, vented his anger at Li Chongyuan. Yet, out of respect for Zi Wuzhuo, he couldn't strike him, so he grabbed Li Chongyuan's arm and swung him hard. Li Chongyuan lost his balance and fell at Ma Beifang's feet. Seeing the crowd condemning Li Chongyuan, Ma Beifang assumed he truly had committed something sordid, causing Huang Shan's suffering and his own conflict with Hong Mochou. He cursed, "All the men of Tianshan are honorable; how dare you disgrace us!" With that, he launched a fierce attack, striking Li Chongyuan in the chest. Li Chongyuan, powerless to resist, fell to the ground, blood pouring from his mouth, his complexion sallow, gasping for breath.

Ma Beifang had thought Li Chongyuan's martial arts, though inferior to his own, were not far behind. He was shocked that Li Chongyuan was so weak after a single blow, and asked, "What happened to your martial arts?! What's going on?!"

Li Chongyuan gave a bitter smile, "I've lost all my martial arts. Now I'm just a cripple, barely surviving."

Ma Beifang turned pale instantly. He remembered that by the Heavenly Pool, he had only wanted to vent his anger and had gravely injured Li Chongyuan, never imagining he had crippled his martial arts. He regretted it deeply, unable to speak.

Hong Mochou and Du Xin were equally stunned that what began as playful banter between men and women had escalated into such tragedy, and they dared not utter a word.

Miao Wushuang, still unaware, loudly accused Li Chongyuan, threatening to discipline him on behalf of Zi Wuzhuo. Zi Wuzhuo, knowing Li Chongyuan was shy and introverted and now crippled, was certain he could not have provoked Hong Mochou; there must be some mystery here. Yet, being taciturn by nature, he was angry and bitter but unable to express it.

Li Jiu coldly remarked, "I wonder if Aunt Wushuang is here to celebrate a birthday or to discipline my master's disciples. Brother Chongyuan has lost all his martial arts; otherwise, he could not have been beaten so badly. How could someone with no martial arts dare to offend Senior Sister from the Suwen Pavilion? If this matter were brought before the Sect Leader, I doubt Sister Hong's words would hold up. What do you think, Aunt Wushuang?"

Miao Wushuang glanced at Hong Mochou in her arms; Hong Mochou immediately looked away in panic, and Miao Wushuang understood, sighing inwardly: The reputation of Suwen Pavilion is ruined today.

Li Jiu then turned to Ma Beifang, "Brother Ma, your martial arts may not be superior, but your strikes are ruthless, even making me, your senior, feel ashamed. However, Brother Chongyuan's case hasn't even been judged yet, and even if he had done such a thing, his fate should be decided by the Sect Leader. You gave him a deadly blow—was it for personal revenge? Or to cover up something for Senior Brother Du Xin, making sure there was no witness?"

Ma Beifang remained silent, his face cold. Yang Wuji, trying to defuse the situation, laughed, "Li Jiu, Ma Beifang is just reckless and hot-tempered. I'll make sure to punish him severely." With that, finding it pointless to linger, he made an excuse to investigate further and left the mountain with his disciples. Miao Wushuang, seeing Yang Wuji go, also used Hong Mochou's injury as an excuse, hurriedly leading her group away.

Zi Wuzhuo ordered Li Chongyuan to be carried into a room and personally fed him spirit pills. Then he sat silently by his bedside, lost in thought until dawn.

Li Chongyuan slowly awoke from his stupor and saw that in just one night, Zi Wuzhuo had aged considerably; strands of white hair appeared at his temples, which he had never noticed before. He suddenly felt his master was pitiable. Though not the weakest among the seven heads of Tianshan, his master always acted timidly, never daring to make decisive choices. Because of this, other halls looked down on Mingxin Hall. The fact that people from Tianlei Hall and Suwen Pavilion dared to injure him here was because they took advantage of his master's honesty. If it were Tianlei Hall, Miao Wushuang would not have dared to make such a fuss. Thankfully, Senior Brother Li Jiu maintained their dignity; otherwise, who knows what would have happened.

Thinking this, he felt deeply guilty. His master and Senior Brother Li Jiu had saved him and brought him up the mountain, yet he had ended up like this—not only repeatedly bullied, but also ruining his master's birthday banquet and causing him humiliation. He could tell his master had put great effort into this banquet and was truly happy to see Yang Wuji and Miao Wushuang attend, but in the end... Tears unknowingly streamed down his face.

On the third day, he forced himself to rise; he could not wait any longer. For two days, he had barely suppressed his injuries with Shura Divine Skill, but that morning his qi and blood surged, and the Wangchuan Death Curse seemed about to break free. He had to seek out Qu Beiyuan.

After nightfall, stumbling all the way, he finally reached the Nameless Snow Peak. Qu Beiyuan had been anxiously waiting these past days; if Li Chongyuan did not come tonight, he would surely die from his wounds, and Qu's secret of taking a disciple would inevitably be exposed.

Li Chongyuan arrived at the cave, nearly collapsing. Qu Beiyuan was shocked and quickly took his pulse. As a master of martial arts, he was skilled in all forms of internal analysis. He angrily exclaimed, "Was it that same brat who beat you again?"

Li Chongyuan gave a bitter smile, "It doesn't matter who did it. A dying man cares little for grudges." With that, he nearly fainted. Qu Beiyuan sighed, placed his hand on Li Chongyuan's chest, and used his internal energy to suppress the Wangchuan Death Curse.

After half an hour, Qu Beiyuan not only suppressed the curse but also channeled and healed the meridians injured by Ma Beifang.

Once Li Chongyuan had caught his breath, Qu Beiyuan began teaching him the next stage of Shura Divine Skill.

At midnight, Li Chongyuan hurried back to Mingxin Hall. Upon returning home, he found it still early and his body exhausted, so he wrapped himself in blankets and slept soundly. By noon, he went to the dining hall for a meal.

From afar, he heard laughter from the dining hall, especially Sixth Senior Sister Zilan's bell-like laughter. Entering, he saw Third Senior Brother Ugo had somehow acquired a small snow monkey, and everyone was playing with it.

Li Chongyuan watched the monkey snatch food from Ugo and stuff it into its mouth, its cheeks bulging. He was intrigued. Ugo explained, "These monkeys have natural cheek pouches. If they can't finish their food, they store it in the pouch and eat it later when they're hungry."

"Two pouches? For storage?" This phrase echoed in Li Chongyuan's mind like electricity. He felt as if he had grasped something crucial but couldn't quite comprehend it.

Sixth Senior Sister Zilan saw him dazed and teased, "What are you thinking? Are you wishing that, since you've lost your internal strength, if this monkey had inner power in its pouch, you could squeeze it out and steal it?" Her words were like a sudden revelation, clearing his mind. He dashed out, excited, leaving everyone bewildered—had he gone mad?

Once back in his room, Li Chongyuan immediately closed the door and jumped onto his bed, sitting cross-legged. He faced his internal focus, directing his mind inward, letting himself calm down.

First, he sank his qi to his lower dantian, regulating his internal energy with slow breathing, following the Hunyuan method to unify breath. After completing a cycle, he gathered energy in his middle dantian, at the chest, and practiced Shura Divine Skill as instructed. After half an hour, he finished. He felt warmth and a slight pulsation in both his lower and middle dantian, and his limbs seemed to regain some strength, making him both surprised and delighted. This confirmed that channeling two techniques into two dantian was the correct approach.

That evening, he hurried to the Nameless Snow Peak.

Qu Beiyuan, upon hearing, was also thrilled, exclaiming, "I am ashamed. Though I claim to be learned, I have seen ancient texts mention storing power in separate acupuncture points, but I thought it mere fabrication. Unexpectedly, you have accomplished it—truly, the will of heaven! Let me lend you a hand, strengthen your foundation, and transfer some energy to you, so you won't be bullied anymore."

He instructed Li Chongyuan to prepare himself, arms extended, palms facing each other. Li Chongyuan felt a warm current enter through the Laogong point in his palms, ascending slowly through Neiguan, Jianshi, Ximen, Quze, Tianchi, and Tianquan, building heat in his chest, as if his middle dantian was bathed in warm water, the sensation expanding throughout his body, indescribably comfortable.

Having completed the foundational process, Qu Beiyuan suddenly had an idea and channeled his energy into Li Chongyuan's lower dantian at the Guanyuan point.

As soon as the Shura energy touched Guanyuan, a counterforce arose, repelling the Shura energy. Qu Beiyuan was astonished, "Didn't his internal energies mutually cancel out? How can there be such resistance?" Testing again, he found that once the counterforce expelled the Shura energy from Guanyuan, it ceased action, as if constrained by some method, unable to leave the dantian. Upon reflection, he understood, laughing, "Marvelous! Marvelous!" This was the "Spirit Turtle Retreats into Its Shell" phenomenon described in the ancient Northern School texts: when two opposing energies meet, they do not simply cancel out; instead, they are contained in the dantian, unable to be used. If the practitioner persists, the energy grows though unusable; eventually, with enough strength, the restriction is broken, entering the "Breaking the Cocoon, Becoming the Butterfly" state described in the texts.