Chapter 116

“I walk my path without regret, an endless journey to the ends of the earth. I am free and unrestrained in the world, because I don’t care…” The melodious singing and clear zither music intertwined, swirling and floating above a secluded courtyard on Mount Hua.

“Hehe… Senior brother, you are now the number one in the world, the supreme martial arts master, of course you don’t care! But those Shaolin monks will probably die with their eyes wide open in disbelief if they hear this!”

A woman sat with her knees drawn up to her chest, tilting her head to the side and speaking in a coquettish voice, her bright eyes full of teasing.

She wore a light blue long gown on top and a long, emerald-green skirt on the bottom, her shapely figure was very alluring.

Seeing the girl’s trembling, rosy lips, the man couldn’t resist leaning over and kissing her.

The girl let out a soft moan, wrapped her arms around the man’s neck, and returned the kiss without any hesitation.

The delicate tongue was no longer as awkward and shy as it had been when it first tasted him; instead, it enthusiastically welcomed the man’s tongue’s intrusion, its smoothness and delicacy remaining as before.

“Hehe… Looks like someone’s going to be bedridden again tomorrow!” Several pretty and charming young girls were nearby, some smiling and admiring, others clapping and teasing, completely unfazed.

One of the women, whose hair was styled in a traditional Chinese updo and who exuded a more mature and composed air, smiled and shook her head. She looked up at the sky and said, “It’s almost noon, let’s have something to eat!”

Several girls immediately surrounded him, chattering like a flock of birds fighting over food.

“Brother Nie said yesterday that he would make a new kind of pastry today, and none of you are allowed to take it from me!” the girl in green shouted first.

“Hehe… First come, first served, whoever gets it keeps it!” The girl in the white dress reached out her hand before she could finish speaking.

“Slap! Slap!” The mature woman slapped their hands in annoyance and said, “Look at the state you two are in! You’re with Shuanghua every day, and you haven’t learned a single ladylike manner!”

The girl next to him, dressed in a pale yellow silk dress, smiled but didn’t say anything.

The man had already released the beauty in his arms, turned around and laughed, “Don’t worry, I know you’re all little gluttons, so I made extra, so you can all eat your fill!”

After saying that, he pulled his junior sister, who was still in a daze, towards the group.

The young women, judging from their hairstyles, were still unmarried, but they exuded a charming and alluring aura that only women who had been fully nurtured and developed by men could possess.

Needless to say, these people were Nie Yun and his five concubines who had returned from Mount Song.

On the day of the Songshan Conference, Ren Yingying led the Sun Moon Sect to submit to the Huashan Sect, which also marked the end of the hundreds of years of hatred between the Five Mountains Sword Sect and the Sun Moon Sect.

Zuo Lengchan, of course, refused to accept this outcome. He immediately accused Nie Yun of harboring evil intentions and plotting something, and even called on heroes from all over the world to attack him.

However, in this world, there are always more people who add flowers to brocade than people who offer charcoal in the snow. Nowadays, anyone who is not blind can see the huge difference in strength between the Huashan Sect and the Songshan Sect, let alone those seasoned veterans.

In the end, only the disciples of the Songshan Sect echoed the sentiment, while the rest remained silent. Even most of the underworld experts that Zuo Lengchan had recruited secretly slipped away.

Zuo Lengchan then realized that the situation was hopeless and had no choice but to admit defeat, handing over the position of leader of the Five Mountains Alliance to Nie Yun.

With everyone watching, Nie Yun naturally couldn’t bring himself to kill them all.

After all, although the two sides were sworn enemies, the only ones who actually died were Linghu Chong and Lao Denuo, so it could be considered even.

Nie Yun had already killed Fang Zheng, so if he were to poison Zuo Lengchan as well, he would inevitably earn a reputation for being ruthless.

He initially declined the position repeatedly, citing his youth, but later, under the persuasion of others, he “reluctantly” took the position of leader.

The first thing Nie Yun did after becoming the leader of the alliance was to announce that all past grudges and hatreds were wiped clean, and that neither the internal grievances of the Five Mountains Sword Sect nor the hatred with the Sun Moon Divine Sect should be mentioned again in the future.

If there are personal grudges, they can be resolved privately, but they must never fight in the name of a sect.

At this point, Nie Yun was no longer the naive young man who first appeared at Liu Zhengfeng’s residence in Hengshan City. He had already achieved remarkable feats, including instantly killing Fang Zheng, breaking the Arhat Formation, and defeating Dongfang Bubai.

These dazzling achievements have long made him the undisputed number one master in the world in everyone’s hearts.

The leaders of the Hengshan, Taishan, and Hengshan sects, who disliked fighting, immediately agreed.

He had previously purged the Sun Moon Cult once, and Ren Yingying, being no ambitious person, naturally had no objections.

As for the Songshan Sect, they already had original sins to bear, and now they are too busy keeping a low profile to dare to say anything.

A bloody conference ended in a satisfactory and harmonious manner.

Before leaving, Nie Yun held Zuo Lengchan’s hand tightly and warmly comforted him, telling him not to feel burdened, to rest and recover in Songshan, and to make further contributions to the martial arts world in the future. He also told him to let him know if he needed anything. His enthusiasm would definitely be on the news in modern times.

Zuo Lengchan was so disgusted by him that he almost threw up his dinner from the night before, but he had to put on a shameful and humble expression.

Nie Yun chuckled, patted him lightly on the shoulder a few times, and then turned and strode away.

Watching Nie Yun’s retreating figure, many disciples of Songshan Mountain discussed among themselves, all feeling that the new leader of the alliance was kind-hearted, magnanimous, and truly worthy of being called the number one in the world.

Zuo Lengchan was already so angry he was about to vomit blood, and after hearing his subordinates’ comments, he almost fainted on the spot.

“Nie Yun! Don’t be so smug. I will take back everything that belongs to me one day!” He stared at Nie Yun’s retreating figure surrounded by the crowd, his teeth grinding together.

Three days later, Zuo Lengchan suffered a qi deviation while practicing and healing, vomiting blood incessantly and severing all his meridians. He could only lie in bed and be served by others. Apart from blinking, breathing, and swallowing, he could not utter a single word or move a single finger.

Nie Yun expressed deep regret over this.

After descending Mount Song, before Yilin could even say a word to Nie Yun, she was angrily pulled behind her by her most jealous mother.

Nie Yun stepped forward to say goodbye, but was scolded by his mother-in-law. Even the monk Bujie was brought up by his wife.

The father-in-law, having been scolded, naturally took his anger out on his son-in-law. The monk Bujie, caught up in his rage, didn’t care about anything else and immediately grabbed his staff and started fighting with Nie Yun.

The father-in-law and son-in-law fought for a long time. Monk Bujie shouted that he was having a great time, but Nie Yun was in great pain because he had to try to control his strength, otherwise he would kill his father-in-law in one go.

Now that Yue Lingshan, Ling Shuanghua, Shui Sheng, and Ren Yingying all have fathers to care for, if Yi Lin is added to the list, Nie Yun simply cannot imagine how the world will talk about him.

Later, it was the kind-hearted Yilin who pleaded with the old woman, which finally made her relent and stop the two. However, it was impossible to get her to be nice to Nie Yun again.

However, the shameless Nie Yun didn’t care at all. He went straight up and took Yi Lin’s hand, and with a few words, he made the girl blush and smile sweetly.

Although Ning Zhongze felt a pang of sadness, she still stepped forward to discuss Nie Yun and Yi Lin’s marriage with the couple.

The monk Bujie and the mute old woman naturally hoped that Yilin would become the first wife, but Nie Yun insisted on not distinguishing between the first and second wives. Yilin had long been obedient to Nie Yun, acting like a little fangirl.

The monk and his wife looked at each other speechlessly. Their daughter was fixated on this philanderer, so what could they do but accept it?

Finally, both parties agreed to hold a group wedding after the mourning period for the women, or more precisely, a wedding for all the brides and only one groom.

At that time, several bridal sedan chairs will be carried into the gate at the same time, and the women will bow to heaven and earth together. The women will get along as sisters according to their age.

With both official and personal matters settled, Nie Yun finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Ren Yingying was a shy person to begin with, and now that she saw Nie Yun settle her life’s major event in just a few words, she felt so hot that she could stick a pancake on her face.

She couldn’t help but glare at Nie Yun, her beautiful eyes filled with a hint of reproach that stirred Nie Yun’s heart. He then gave her a kiss from afar.

This made the young lady even more ashamed. She cried out and turned to run away, not even bothering to sit in the sedan chair.

Xiang Wentian smiled and cupped his hands in greeting to Nie Yun before turning and leading the Sun Moon Sect members away.

The leaders of Wudang, Beggars’ Sect, and many other sects also stepped forward to bid farewell to Nie Yun. Nie Yun also greeted them with a smile and implied in his words that Huashan Sect had no ambition to contend for supremacy, and the Five Mountains Sword Sects would not merge. Each sect’s affairs were to be managed by its own leader, and he and Huashan Sect would never interfere, so they could rest assured.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, especially the Hengshan, Taishan, and Hengshan factions. They didn’t want to welcome another ambitious man like Zuo Lengchan, especially a high-end version.

After everyone took their leave, Lan Fenghuang stepped forward and embraced Nie Yun tenderly. As one of the brides who would enter the family a few years later, she naturally had to return to Miao territory to choose a suitable person to succeed her as the sect leader.

Now, with the many medical and poison techniques taught to her by Nie Yun, and her meridians being opened during dual cultivation, she is capable of protecting herself.

When the time comes, all that is needed is to convene an elders’ assembly to select a successor, hand over the cult leader’s token to him, and he will be relieved of his burden. The separation will not be too long.

Before leaving, Nie Yun went to Shaolin Temple and dragged Fang Sheng out…

The next day, Fang Sheng took over as abbot of Shaolin Temple and announced that Shaolin would be closed for a hundred years and would not concern itself with worldly affairs.

Upon returning to Mount Hua, the three women, Ling Shuanghua, and Ling Shuanghua, learned of the journey and were secretly delighted.

After all, they had only been in Huashan for a short time. Although their feelings for Nie Yun grew stronger every day and they never doubted their lover’s intentions, they were still not at ease without a formal title.

Now that they know they can marry Nie Yun in three years at most, how could the girls not feel both shy and happy?

Despite their happiness, they still expressed their deep contempt for Nie Yun’s philandering.

In response, Nie Yun could only prove one thing with his actions: it wasn’t that he wanted to take more than his share, it’s just that he was given the opportunity but failed to seize it!

Night after night of revelry, day after day of tender moments, the house filled with the beauty of spring—such bliss is beyond description to outsiders.

Summer ended and autumn arrived, then winter came. In the blink of an eye, the end of the year was upon them again. On this day, two strange people came down from the mountain, subdued the disciples guarding the mountain with a single move, and repeatedly told Nie Yun to come down the mountain to greet them.

Upon hearing the message, Nie Yun’s heart stirred, and he asked, “What do those two look like? How are they dressed?”

The disciple who delivered the message said with lingering fear, “One of them was burly, with a round face and big ears, wearing a bronze silk robe, and was all smiles and friendly; the other was also very tall, but very thin, wearing a sky-blue long robe, and was less than half the size of the first man, with a mustache, but his face was quite gloomy. Both of them were incredibly skilled in martial arts, and they subdued us in one move.”

Upon hearing his disciple’s description, Nie Yun had a guess in his mind: it was probably the two envoys from Xia Ke Island who had come to his door to reward good and punish evil.

“Hehe… I was just wondering how to get to Xia Ke Island, and now you’ve delivered yourselves right to my doorstep. Shall I go and meet you?”

When Nie Yun came down the mountain, he saw several disciples standing motionless, clearly having had their pressure points sealed.

Two men, one fat and one thin, stood in the middle of the road, their faces arrogant. Nie Yun’s expression darkened, inwardly furious: “These two are extremely rude!”

“You are Nie Yun, the leader of the Huashan Sect and the leader of the Five Sacred Mountains Sword Alliance?”

The fat man spoke first, looking Nie Yun up and down, then shook his head, seemingly thinking that Nie Yun was too young to deserve such a great title.

The skinny man glared at him with disdain. “A mere brat dares to call himself the leader of an alliance? He’s a laughingstock!”

Nie Yun didn’t speak, but instead reached out to release the pressure points of several disciples. The disciples looked ashamed and didn’t dare to lift their heads in front of Nie Yun.

“This is not your fault. You can go up the mountain first. I will handle this matter.” Nie Yun waved his hand to send the group away, then turned back to look at the fat and thin men.

“So you’re the disciples of Dragon and Wood, the two island masters of Xia Ke Island, Pig Head and Monkey Head? You grotesque creatures, how dare you come out and scare people?”

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the fat and thin men changed drastically. The fat man shouted, “Kid, what did you say?”

“What? Are you perhaps the disciple of Island Master Long, and therefore deaf as well?”

Nie Yun curled his lip, glanced at the skinny man with a gloomy face, and said with a look of mockery, “One is deaf and the other is wooden. Your master’s surname is really not wrong!”

“How dare you! You have insulted my master! You will not be spared!”

Both the fat and thin men were so enraged that their hair stood on end, and they lunged at Nie Yun.

“You trespassed on my mountain gate, injured my disciples, and you dare to talk about rewarding good and punishing evil!”

Nie Yun, who had long been unable to restrain himself, also crossed his palms and stepped forward to meet the attack.

The three figures shifted and changed positions constantly, their palms clashing repeatedly, producing loud bangs.

After a few moves, the fat and thin men saw that Nie Yun was both defensive and offensive despite being attacked from both sides, and he came up with many clever moves.

Moreover, judging from the result of the palm strike, his internal strength was unfathomable, no less than that of those old monsters who had been famous for many years.

The fat and thin men were even more shocked, never knowing when such an unbelievably young master had appeared in the Central Plains martial arts world.

I had heard before that Nie Yun killed Fang Zheng, and I thought he had taken the opportunity to launch a sneak attack or used other insidious means.

Now it seems I was wrong.

Nie Yun had roughly figured out the two men’s martial arts styles. In the world of Swordsman, they should be slightly stronger than Xiang Wentian, but only by a limited margin.

He smiled slightly and shouted, “You two are indeed skilled. Take this move from me.”

As he spoke, he turned his arms and performed the “Grasp the Sparrow’s Tail” move from Tai Chi, sticking and following, hooking the wrists of the two people and pulling them towards the middle.

The two men, one fat and one thin, felt an incredibly supple and gentle force in their hands, and then their bodies involuntarily rammed into each other. The speed was astonishing; before they could react, they were colliding head-on.

The two men, one fat and one thin, were taken aback. The fat man said, “This isn’t Huashan martial arts!”

Nie Yun clapped his hands and said, “Any martial art that can win is good martial arts. Why be bound by the moves of a particular school? Your master is a man of extraordinary learning. Didn’t he teach you this principle?”

Upon hearing this, the fat man paused, then said, “Sect Leader Nie is indeed skilled, but that’s not enough to make us admit defeat!”

Nie Yun nodded and said, “Perfect, I haven’t had enough yet, let’s go again!”

As he spoke, he pounced on it again.

This time, his palms flew in a flurry, like rain, and the two men, one fat and one thin, felt as if nearly a hundred palms had appeared before their eyes in an instant, making it impossible to defend against.

“What… what kind of martial art is this?” The two were shocked and could only wave their hands repeatedly to protect their vitals.

However, “Guanyin Chaos” is a unique skill in the legend of the emperor, capable of unleashing hundreds or thousands of attacks in an instant, even capable of shattering a rain of arrows. How could the two of them possibly defend against it?

Several loud thuds rang out as the two men were struck repeatedly on the shoulders and chests, and even kicked twice in the legs by Nie Yun’s Shadowless Kick, causing them to fall to the ground, unable to get up again.

Nie Yun withdrew his palm, gathering his strength, and stopped above the two men’s foreheads, holding it firmly without releasing it, and asked, “Do you submit?”

The fat man shouted, “I give up!”

The skinny man looked humiliated, remained silent for a long time, and then nodded.

Nie Yun nodded and said, “In that case, tell me why you’ve come!”

The two men dared not put on airs anymore and took out two gleaming white copper plaques from their bodies and handed them to Nie Yun.

The fat man said, “My brother and I have come here on the orders of the island master of Xia Ke Island, carrying a bronze plaque, to invite your sect leader to our island for a chat and a bowl of Laba porridge.”

Nie Yun took the bronze plaque, but stuffed it directly into his pocket without looking at it closely. Then he reached out and pressed his hands against the Jianjing acupoints of the two men.

The two were taken aback, thinking that Nie Yun was about to kill them. Just as they were about to struggle, they felt a warm current flow from their shoulders into their bodies, making them feel comfortable and smooth wherever it went, and the churning blood in their chests gradually subsided.

Only then did the two realize that Nie Yun had used his internal energy to heal them, and they couldn’t help but feel ashamed. After a moment, Nie Yun stopped his palm strike and took out the bronze plaque to examine it carefully.

The two bronze plaques were about the size of a palm. One plaque had a smiling face engraved on it, which was kind and benevolent, while the other plaque had a ferocious and menacing face engraved on it.

The two men, one fat and one thin, stood up, their expressions much more respectful than before.

The fat man cupped his hands and said, “Sect Leader Nie, would you be willing to go to the island for the meeting?”

“Of course I’ll go!” Nie Yun laughed and tossed the bronze token in his hand. “I’ve long heard that the two island lords of Xia Ke Island, Long and Mu, are unparalleled in martial arts and are very generous. I’ll go and see for myself.”

The two men, one fat and one thin, exchanged a glance and both breathed a sigh of relief.

Nie Yun flipped the bronze plaque over and saw a place name in Fujian engraved on the back. It also indicated that he should arrive at the place before 7:00 AM on the fourth day of the twelfth lunar month, and below it was the route from Mount Hua to the place.

Nie Yun asked, “I heard that the two bronze plaques sent out by your Xia Ke Island have the date, time, and route of arrival engraved on the back, but the date and place of the gathering are different for each person’s plaque. Is that right?”

The fat man and the thin man both looked surprised. The fat man nodded and said, “That’s right. How did Sect Leader Nie find out?”

Nie Yun smiled and said, “Since that’s the case, I suppose you two are going to other sects, so I won’t keep you any longer. Farewell.” With that, he cupped his hands in farewell to the two of them.

The fat and thin men quickly returned the greeting, but when they looked up, Nie Yun had already disappeared.

After a long silence, the skinny man asked, “Do you think he can unlock the mystery of that scripture?”

The fat man sighed and shook his head, saying, “I don’t know, but now I believe he is indeed the number one master in the world!”

The two looked at each other, a sense of frustration welling up inside them.