Purple Mist Dao Master-Chapter 119 - 104: The Indigenous Coiling Silk Fist Practitioner of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

Chapter 119: Chapter 104: The Indigenous Coiling Silk Fist Practitioner of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

"Is this the ’Mountain and Sea Realm’?"

Starry light coalesced, and Yan Chuan and Cheng Fengxiao appeared hand in hand, their expressions vigilant.

Yan Chuan’s eyes swept across the surroundings. It seemed to be a marshland forest, shrouded in dark clouds, dim and mysterious. Towering ancient trees stood tall, their vines entwined, forming an endlessly sprawling canopy.

Though it was already the winter month in Great Yan, this place remained lush and green.

The trunks of these ancient trees were covered with moss and moisture, making them appear decadent and twisted.

The ground was muddy and slippery, and the muffled sounds of sucking could be heard from time to time as if evil ghosts underground were devouring everything. On the surface of the mud, withered branches, leaves, and other decaying plants floated on the turbid water, exuding a nauseating stench of decay.

Miasma permeated the air, suffocating people.

It enveloped the woodland, reducing visibility to a low level.

"Beware of the miasma!"

"This is poisonous miasma, which can enter the body through breathing and the pores of the skin!"

Cheng Fengxiao held his breath while warning Yan Chuan.

Miasma!

Poisonous miasma!

It’s frequently mentioned in Xun Guilan’s "Mountain and Sea Geographical Record," with methods for identification and prevention well documented. Compared to Great Yan, the Mountain and Sea Realm is more expansive and sparsely populated, with more mountains and swamps. Even without any venomous beasts, the naturally occurring miasmas alone would be enough to pose a great threat to Great Yan warriors.

"Hmm!"

Yan Chuan responded solemnly.

He held his breath, focusing intently, his ears twitching slightly. He could hear many subtle sounds—bird calls, beast roars, the hissing of snakes and insects—all blending with the sinister fog of the miasma, making the atmosphere particularly eerie and terrifying.

"This is the Mountain and Sea Realm!"

Yan Chuan had his first taste of the Mountain and Sea Realm, and his restless heart settled slightly.

Just as he was about to discuss the next course of action with Cheng Fengxiao, suddenly—

"Someone!"

"There’s movement!"

Both master and disciple noticed something amiss, and upon turning their heads, they saw to the left front, someone was stepping through the mire, quickly approaching.

Listening closely.

There was chasing and fleeing.

"It’s two groups of people!"

"No!"

"More than that!"

"There are also people on the right!"

"Front!"

"Back!"

"They’re everywhere!"

Yan Chuan and Cheng Fengxiao exchanged a glance, feeling a sinking sensation in their hearts: "We’re surrounded!"

...

Thud, thud, thud!

People came from all directions, a practiced lot by the sound of their steps—there were more than a dozen of them.

Yan Chuan held his spear.

Cheng Fengxiao wielded his staff.

The two exchanged a glance, unsure of the situation or whether the newcomers were friend or foe. Cheng Fengxiao shouted seriously, "Pick a route and fight our way out!"

He brandished his iron staff, randomly picking the left front and charged ahead.

"Go!"

Yan Chuan with his Red Tassel Spear closely followed behind.

The two employed the ’Divine Movement Transformation,’ making their way as swiftly as birds, even in the muddy marshland.

Avoiding footsteps on all sides intentionally.

But as they moved, so did the newcomers, and their numbers seemed to increase!

Soon enough.

A collision.

...

"Hmm?"

"Eh?"

Upon seeing the newcomers, Yan Chuan and Cheng Fengxiao muttered in surprise—

They looked down at themselves; the two had intentionally prepared animal skins, with their hair scattered down—styled in a manner that imitated the Alien Race of the Mountain and Sea Realm, much like what Cheng Fengxiao encountered last time.

This was for blending in, not to stand out.

But somehow.

It backfired!

Looking up at the advancing group, they numbered six, armed with either spears, staffs, or steel knives, dressed in common cloth garments akin to those worn by ordinary martial artists of Guangling City.

In comparison!

Yan Chuan and Cheng Fengxiao appeared rather conspicuous and out of place!

"Woo woo ah!"

"Wawa yi ya ya!"

They collided.

The newcomers brandished their knives and shouted.

Indecipherable!

Couldn’t understand a word!

"They don’t seem strong."

"Let’s break through first."

Cheng Fengxiao wielded his staff, not bothering to entangle with these six—

Whirl, whirl, whirl!

A fierce force surged, and he advanced directly.

The staff moved in a manner of the Eight Sealing Sticks, thrusting and retracting as if weaving in and out, with no fixed form of attack.

Bam, bam, bam!

A strike.

Point, burst, thrust, parry, twist!

Four of the six fell in accordance, not able to withstand even a single exchange!

But two remained, one wielding a knife, the other a sword, and they retreated as they fought. The two worked in tandem and somehow managed to linger with Cheng Fengxiao for three to five moves without losing.

Cheng Fengxiao was startled!

Yan Chuan was too!

It wasn’t about their strength but—

"Rotten Entangled Silk Swordsmanship!"

"Coiling Silk Linked Ring Saber!"

Rather, they recognized that the two wielded swordsmanship and saber skills from the ’Coiling Silk Fist’ of the Eighteen Widespread Boxing Techniques of Guangling Academy—

Bam!

After three moves, Cheng Fengxiao knocked aside the sword wielder with a sweep of his staff.

Yan Chuan, his long spear even faster, had already reached the chest of the saber wielder. Upon recognizing the swordsmanship and saber skills, he quickly switched from thrust to burst—

Pop!!

He sent this person flying to the side.

No more obstacles in front!

"Go!"

Without a moment’s hesitation, Cheng Fengxiao and Yan Chuan dashed away, vanishing in an instant.

...

"Yun Sang!"

"Mo Yang!"

"Are you alright?"

After the two left, shortly after, a group of twenty to thirty people finally gathered, looking at their six companions lying in the mire. The later arrivals hurriedly helped them up. Seeing their companions were not seriously harmed, they inquired, "Who intruded here?"

"I don’t know."

Yun Sang shook his head. He was one of the six who intercepted Yan Chuan and Cheng Fengxiao earlier, the leader among them wielding a knife.

Yun Sang thought back to the martial arts of the two, and remembered how the young one with a spear could have easily pierced through him, yet refrained.

He shuddered in fear.

That spear technique was too strong; with one thrust, he couldn’t react at all.

Had the opponent not held back, he would be dead by now.

At this thought.

Yun Sang carefully used his clothing to wipe the long knife that fell into the mud with him. The marshland in Yize Swamp was filled with water and heavy moisture, so weapons needed to be constantly maintained and cared for to last longer.

However.

Right this moment.

After wiping away the muck on his knife, Yun Sang’s face suddenly changed.

"Yun Sang, your knife’s edge is chipped!"

Someone pointed at Yun Sang’s knife and shouted!

In the Wushan Tribe, having a good weapon was not easy. Yun Sang’s knife was a gift from one of the twenty-four Great Deacons of the tribe, and he treasured it greatly.

But at this moment, the knife’s edge was broken.

"Stop yelling!"

"I see it!"

Yun Sang’s face twisted with distress, his heart aching to the point of despair. He caressed the treasure long knife with seven or eight chips on its blade, his nose tingling, almost about to cry, yet he held back and analyzed for everyone: "Those two meant no harm; they held back. However, the elder one’s iron staff must have been a very powerful Divine Weapon. With just a couple of light taps, it chipped my knife in seven or eight places—"

As Yun Sang spoke, he couldn’t hold back his tears.

His knife!

Ruined!

"Yun Sang, managing to survive was already a blessing from fate. A broken knife can still be earned again, but losing one’s life means losing everything!"

Mo Yang, who had also gone through the life-and-death earlier with Yun Sang, patted his own long sword, which was also close to fracturing, but more rationally; after comforting Yun Sang, he said to everyone: "The two didn’t mean any harm; since they fled in an outward direction, let’s let them go!"

"Yes!"

"It’s good you’re okay."

"They ran outward; there’s no need to pursue."

"I’ll report to the Great Deacon, the rest of you continue patrolling; no one can get close to Ming Mountain!"

Among the twenty to thirty people, including Yun Sang and Mo Yang, five or six people quickly devised a plan. Some continued patrolling, while others went to report upwards.

They dispersed individually.

...

Whoosh, whoosh!

Yan Chuan and Cheng Fengxiao, unaware that no one was following them, didn’t let their guard down and ran left, right, upper, and lower, endlessly for about ten miles away from the previous encounter before finally stopping.

"Was that person just using the saber skill from the ’Coiling Silk Fist’?"

Cheng Fengxiao looked at Yan Chuan, immediately asking this question.

He was quite familiar with the former ’Coiling Silk Fist,’ but after it entered Guangling Academy and was modified and enhanced, he was far less knowledgeable than Yan Chuan and hence wasn’t certain.

"No mistake!"

Yan Chuan replied confidently, "’Rotten Entangled Silk Swordsmanship’ and ’Coiling Silk Linked Ring Saber’ are both classics from ’Coiling Silk Fist’. I could perform them with my eyes closed."

Snap, snap, snap!

Yan Chuan demonstrated a few moves with his spear as both a knife and sword.

Rotten Entangled Silk!

Linked Ring Saber!

Cheng Fengxiao watched and indeed, it was identical. He immediately had a hypothesis, "Guangling Academy has been established for eight years; theoretically, its development of the Mountain and Sea Realm has also been eight years. Those we encountered just now, could they be the wings cultivated by Guangling Academy here?"

Those people didn’t appear to be from Great Yan, though they wore cloth garments and tied top knots, fundamentally, in their essence, there was a wild power in their blood, clearly marking them as aliens.

For aliens to master ’Coiling Silk Fist,’ there were only a few possibilities—

Either they captured disciples or experts of ’Coiling Silk Fist’ from Guangling Academy and extorted them.

Or someone in Guangling Academy taught them unauthorized.

More directly.

As Cheng Fengxiao suggested, perhaps they were nurtured by Guangling Academy.

"Guangling Academy is not only spreading martial arts in Guangling County, but also cultivating Mountain and Sea Alien Race in the Mountain and Sea Realm?"

Cheng Fengxiao frowned.

Yan Chuan laughed, "That’s normal. As powerful as Guangling Academy is, it is still only supported by a single county, with a limited number of disciples. Those who can enter and exit the Mountain and Sea Realm must at least be Third-level Research Students, whose numbers are quite scarce. Even if assistants, lecturers, teachers, and professors are included, only about two to three hundred people can enter the Mountain and Sea Realm. It’s not a lot, but in the Mountain and Sea Realm, that’s too few. Supporting local forces and native experts is necessary!"

This is understandable.

In fact.

With the organizational capacity of Guangling Academy, randomly charging and fighting alone would be sheer folly.

"Coiling Silk Fist."

"Guangling Academy."

"Assuming these people are facilitated by Guangling Academy, what were they doing earlier?"

Cheng Fengxiao was puzzled again, thinking that these people seemed to be patrolling and setting up defenses. He looked at Yan Chuan, "Could it be that they discovered some treasure?"

After saying that.

Cheng Fengxiao suddenly shook his head, not waiting for Yan Chuan to reply, he continued—

"Forget it."

"Never mind."

"Our presence in the Mountain and Sea Realm is utterly as ’Black House’; we can’t reveal our identities to the Mountain and Sea Alien Race, nor should we expose ourselves to people from Guangling Academy if we encounter them!"

"There’s no need to engage."

Cheng Fengxiao understood clearly.

Of course, Yan Chuan also realized this. They entered by ’Star Stone,’ and if they were caught by someone from Guangling Academy, and questioned on how they got in, the risk of exposure was inevitable.

Therefore, Yan Chuan, upon recognizing the two using ’Coiling Silk Fist’, didn’t intentionally use ’Coiling Silk Fist’ to acknowledge them or initiate some ’temple conflict’ trope of misunderstanding, having no intention to extract any information from those people.

No need.

Prudence takes precedence.

"Let’s go first."

"Get far away from here."

"Then find a small tribe to settle, learn the local language and writing swiftly, that’ll be secure!"

Yan Chuan and Cheng Fengxiao had laid plans before coming in.

The previous time.

When Cheng Fengxiao entered, he wandered like a headless fly, although by fortune’s grace, and narrowly escaped with treasures like the ’Vermilion Fruit.’

But luck cannot be relied upon a second time.

You can’t expect such serendipity again.

This time, the two collaborated more methodically.

"Settle in a small tribe!"

"Progress steadily!"

"This trip is primarily for getting acquainted with the ’Mountain and Sea Realm’, to learn communication, and understand the geographical divisions, with no intent of seeking any treasures!"

After resting briefly, they picked up their spear and staff and moved on again.

Target—

A small tribe!