Hengshan Sect's Strongest Sword Cultivator

Hearing the angry curses of the short, fat man drifting over, Lu Gui and Qiu Guangjun came to a sudden halt in their pursuit.

Old Man?

Such a familiar name.

Both old-timers of the martial world, connecting the short, fat man's appearance, a realization struck them instantly.

Some of the Qiu Family Manor's retainers and others from the martial world also caught on.

"It's the Grand Ancestor of the Yellow River!"

"No wonder he's so formidable."

"Let's go, quickly!"

Some were frightened, hastily packing their belongings, unwilling to linger.

"The Grand Ancestor of the Yellow River, along with Zu Qianqiu, both reputedly masters, are often seen prowling the same territories. Now that we've seen the Old Man, Zu Qianqiu might well be nearby."

"What could the Grand Ancestor of the Yellow River want in Hengzhou Prefecture?"

"Yes, it would be one thing if these two were merely skilled in martial arts, but I've heard they're connected to the Demon Cult."

"They are absolutely not to be trifled with; we should leave this place at once!"

Many from the martial world settled their accounts at the station, and caravans of mules and horses were getting ready to leave; those from Jiujiang who had clashed with the Old Man made the quickest exit, heading towards Hengyang.

Although the Qiu Family Manor was more composed, it still descended into chaos.

Qiu Mengyin lay half-reclined next to Zhao Rong, her face, which had a slight rosy hue before, now considerably paler. She stared at the young man before her with a complexity of tumultuous, indescribable thoughts.

Gratitude and surprise were her predominant feelings.

She watched the youth's profile, noting the undried bloodstains on the corner of his mouth, and she immediately took out an embroidered silk handkerchief from her bosom.

But seeing him concentrate on healing, hovering unsteadily beside her, she didn't dare disturb him.

Gently pulling out one side of the blue robe beneath the youth's left leg, Qiu Mengyin, agitated, rubbed her chest where the young man had bumped into her, pain still evident.

She suddenly realized something and called out in alarm, "Brother," then scrambled to her feet toward Qiu Mengting, who was surrounded by manor retainers.

The Qiu Family Sword Casting Manor, all ten or so of them, were totally flustered.

Old Qiu was supporting his son, calling out his name repeatedly.

Qiu Mengting was extremely weak, exhaling much more than he was inhaling!

A middle-aged man in a long robe and long beard brought over a medicine box, and the crowd quickly made room for him.

"He's been struck at an acupoint!"

Qiu Guangjun tried to induce blood flow through the palace, but was unable to break open the acupoint.

First, his inner strength was not a match for the Old Man's, and if the acupoint needed to be unblocked, it would surely take more time. If a fatal acupoint had been hit inadvertently, any delay could be deadly, as the body's blood filling up the acupoint meant certain death for Qiu Mengting.

Second, he had no idea which acupoint his son had been struck at.

In the brief flash of the moment, the Old Man struck with lightning speed, and the son of the Qiu Family collapsed to the ground so swiftly, nobody could see exactly what happened.

Qiu Mengyin, who was closest, indicated it was the head.

"That man seemed to use the Phoenix Eye Hammer with fierce force. My brother..."

She spoke in starts and stops, her face full of worry, unable to continue.

Standing to the side, Lu Gui first checked on Zhao Rong, noticing his complexion gradually returning to normal, presuming he wasn't in too bad a shape, then moved towards Qiu Guangjun to see if he could be of any help.

The physician of Sword-Casting Manor, hearing her words, quickly glanced up at the sun.

"Not good! It better not be the Mute Acupoint!"

A few experienced figures of the martial world simultaneously paled, as Qiu Guangjun forcefully tilted his son's head backward, preventing him from bowing it.

There are specific moments when each major acupoint receives a surge of blood. If struck at the wrong time, the activation can cause a violent rush of blood, and if it meets with the acupoint striking Qi force from the Old Man, it's likely to cause convulsions in the limbs, leading to immediate death from asphyxiation.

Therefore, Old Qiu tilted his son's head back while a physician knelt beside him and quickly took out silver needles from the medicine box.

He applied the Breath Retention Skill to break the Qi.

When using the needle, first he channeled his own inner strength, inserting seven parts of it into the needle, timing it with the pure yang number. If the Qi was reached, he would insert the needle one inch deep, then gently extend and retract it back to the original position. If the Qi was not reached, he would repeat the process.

The physician probed the Mute Acupoint several times but couldn't detect the Old Man's True Qi.

He continued the needle technique, while beads of sweat the size of beans fell from him.

This was a hundred times more difficult than regular acupuncture treatment.

"It's not the Mute Acupoint~!"

The physician from Sword-Casting Manor was panting, but at last he managed to find the acupoint location; his exhausted face showed a hint of relief, "It's the Fengchi acupoint."

"Next, it's up to you guys."

After patting the middle-aged physician's back, Qiu took a slight breath of relief.

The optimal time to unblock the Fengchi acupoint was at dawn, and they had somehow made it to Hengyang.

This life was mostly assured of safety.

But once the Fengchi acupoint was sealed, over time, there could be bouts of coldness followed by heat, affecting the brain and extending to the spinal cord, creating endless problems.

Qiu tried to employ the method of blood invigoration to unblock the acupoints, but it simply couldn't undo the old man's wrathful blow.

"With the Yellow River Ancestor's outstanding Inner Strength, it's futile for the manor lord to overexert. You should swiftly request Liu's assistance to save the life."

Qiu heaved a sigh, only able to proceed according to the physician's method.

Now, not only had Changrui's matter remained unresolved, but they even owed Liu a favor first—all of their schemes, gone with the flowing water!

What to do about the matters of Sword-Casting Manor?

The Demon Cult elder they would be facing would certainly not be inferior to the Yellow River Ancestor.

In his moment of distraction, Lu Gui suddenly shouted, "Brother Rong."

It turned out Zhao Rong had opened his eyes.

Hearing this, Qiu quickly moved to Zhao Rong's side. Now, when they looked at this youth, everyone from the Qiu Family Sword Casting Manor wore a different expression.

Many exchanged looks, communicating their surprise to each other.

This young man...

Such a youthful age, yet able to contend with the Yellow River Ancestor!

Hengyang actually had such a youth, why had they never heard of him before?

Recalling his indifferent and even aloof demeanor towards Sword-Casting Manor earlier, everyone's hearts were devoid of any dissatisfaction.

He wasn't merely posturing after all.

"Young brother, thanks to you taking action to save a life, otherwise my Meng Yin would probably have perished under the old man's palm."

Qiu bowed deeply, his expression filled with a respect that wasn't there before.

He was about to have Qiu Mengyin come over to express her gratitude when Zhao Rong gestured with a wave of his hand. He didn't bring up the matter of the old man, instead, his gaze turned towards the young man on the ground.

"What happened to your son?"

Zhao Rong had been healing himself with his powers and hadn't noticed the situation here.

Lu Gui summarized the event in a few short sentences, explaining Qiu Mengting's condition.

Before Qiu could speak, Zhao Rong was already taking small steps toward him.

The crowd, gripped by an intangible aura, automatically parted and cleared the way.

"If the Fengchi acupoint is sealed, one's eyes might show hints of bloodlight, ringing sounds in the ear, and swelling of air in the back of the head..."

He bent down, remembering Qu Feiyan's words.

He flipped up Qiu Mengting's eyelids and sure enough, saw his eye whites threaded with blood. He then felt the back of his head to find pockets of air swelling, waiting for a rush of blood to an acupoint, at which point the pockets would burst—resulting in consequences one could well imagine.

It was undoubtedly the Fengchi acupoint.

Zhao Rong beckoned to the onlookers, "Hold his armpits and help son Qiu up."

Qiu rushed over from the side to personally assist.

The lifeless Qiu Mengting was propped up right in front of Zhao Rong, who stretched out his hands and instantly tore Qiu Mengting's shirt into shreds, which he held in his left hand.

And with his right hand, he stretched his sword fingers towards Qiu Mengting's ear canals.

He pinpointed the acupoints, consecutively touching the Tiantu, Rugen, and Yao Yan, finally using a surge of robust Qi Force, directed upward from the Dantian.

"Pfft~!"

Just then, Qiu Mengting's eyes shot open as he spat out a mouthful of blood. Zhao Rong blocked it with his left hand using Qiu Mengting's tattered shirt, evidently having anticipated this scene.

Although Qiu Mengting had been unconscious, he remained aware throughout.

Now extremely weak, he still mustered the effort to express his thanks to Zhao Rong with a cupped fist gesture.

"Many... thanks..."

"You're just temporarily weakened with no serious harm. Just replenish your Qi and blood, and within two days, you'll be as lively as a dragon."

Zhao Rong smiled faintly, then looked at the bloodstains on the clothing as if talking to himself, "The Yellow River Ancestor truly lives up to his reputation as a great master, his Inner Qi is so impressively powerful."

Those observing the mumbling youth did not speak up at first...

With such ferocious acupoint striking, you released it in one go.

Isn't your Inner Qi powerful too?

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