Jiumozhi interrupted: “Hold it! I am an old acquaintance of this kid’s father. Let him die with a complete corpse. Throw him into that abandoned well. After that, seal the well with big rocks. Even if he unblocks his acupoints, there is no way for him to climb out!”
The TuBo warriors replied: “Yes, Bright King!” After depositing Murong Fu into the abandoned well, they could not locate any suitable rocks in the vicinity. As a result, they speedily travelled to the back of the hill to search for large rocks.
Standing beside the well, a distressed Jiumozhi is gasping for breath.
Back at Mount Shaoshi, after he ambushed Duan Yu with the <Blazing Sabre Technique>, he was afraid that the numerous martial experts would gang up against him. Therefore, he immediately escaped down the mountain. Halfway down Mount Shaoshi, he could already feel his ‘Dantian’ point swelling with a burning sensation. At once, he halted his steps and tried to regulate his internal energy. To his shock and surprise, it was extremely difficult to do so. He thought: “That old rascal (monk) mentioned that I mastered Shaolin’s 72 Legendary Skills without the matching level of compassion, causing my energy flows to be blocked, thereby planting a ticking time bomb. After learning the Yijing Sutra, my energy flows become topsy-turvy, and now I am at the brink of internal energy disaster. Could it be… Could it be that old rascal (monk) ‘s prediction coming true?”
Without any delay, Jiumozhi sourced for a mountain cave and sat down to meditate. As long as he does not activate his internal energy flows, the burning sensation in his body will slowly subside. Any minor exertion will instantly trigger the full burning sensation at his ‘Dantian’ and it felt as if his organs are on fire.
His meditation lasted till evening. Unable to detect any pursuers from Shaolin Monastery, he slowly head south towards home. Along his journey, he encountered a TuBo messenger spy and learnt about the TuBo King sending the Prince to Lingzhou for the marriage and application for Xixia Prince Consort. The spy detailed: On this mission, the Prince is accompanied by a large entourage of highly-skilled warriors. They are furnished with copious amounts of gold, silver, precious jewellery, rare valuables, famous steeds and prized swords. The steeds and swords are tribute items to the Emperor of Xixia; the rare valuables are gifts for the Princess; and the gold, silver and precious jewellery will be used to bribe the Xixia eunuchs, concubines and officials of various grades.
As the Grand Priest (Advisor) of TuBo, Jiumozhi is involved in laying the strategies for the country’s political and military affairs. The success or failure of this marriage will affect the country’s future. So, despite his ill health, he headed towards Xixia to oversee the operation, dispatching the talented fighters to terrorize other potential contenders for the Prince Consort. By the 10th Day of August of the Lunar Calendar, the warriors of TuBo have already driven away hundreds of admirers from prestigious families as well as accomplished martial arts heroes. Despite the huge number of participants, every one of them is behaving in an individualistic manner, Battle Royale style. Since the applicants are mostly solo and no assistance is given to one another; one by one, they eventually succumbed to the group attacks of the TuBo warriors.
Since arriving at Lingzhou, Jiumozhi has been living in seclusion and healing his internal injuries. The turmoil of burning sensation in his body has greatly diminished, but once he triggers his energies, all his limbs and bones will tremble uncontrollably. Even when he eventually reached a new equanimity, his fingers, eyebrows, mouth and shoulders will still vibrate slightly and the spasms simply will not go away. He naturally wished to avoid exposure and chose to live alone, minimizing his contact with other humans.
Today, a subordinate has reported Murong Fu’s arrival into Lingzhou and that several TuBo Warriors have been killed or injured by Murong Fu’s entourage. Jiumozhi thought: Murong Fu is blessed with a charming appearance, good literacy background and competent martial arts. He is truly a top talent among his generation of martial artistes. If Murong Fu stays and compete, the Prince of TuBo would surely lose to him. Despite his plentiful warriors, none of them is able to match Murong Fu’s ability. This time round, he must personally get involved in order to overcome Murong Fu. Moreover, Murong Fu is well aware of Jiumozhi’s consummate skills. Based on this, he should be able to scare Murong Fu away without a fight.
With this thinking, he hunted for Murong Fu at the inn. By the time he arrived, Murong Fu had left with the captured Duan Yu. The inn is under surveillance by the TuBo warriors. Learning the direction where Murong Fu went, Jiumozhi gave chase. When he got to the woods, Murong Fu had already thrown Duan Yu into the well and is conversing with Wang Yuyan. After a bout of fighting, Murong Fu may have been captured but Jiumozhi is experiencing chaotic internal energy movements. Regardless of his arteries or meridians or acupoints, the energies are running amok, as if they are about to burst out from his body but no exit is available. Jiumozhi is heavily depressed by his predicament.
Using his hands, he clawed at his own chest as the internal energy continue to surge and expand. He felt as if his brain, chest and stomach are swelling like a balloon and at any point in time, his body would explode into a rain of mincemeat. Lowering his head to examine his chest and stomach, he could not see any physical deformity or swelling. Nonetheless, with the turbulent internal energy, he definitely felt as if his whole body has been inflated to become a large ball. In his state of helplessness, he used his right hand to stab at his left shoulder and both legs, piercing three holes in his flesh. Jiumozhi desired to guide his internal energy to these three holes and provide an exit for them to be expended from his body. Blood can be seen leaving the three wounds but the internal energy continued to plague him.
The words of the old monk from Shaolin Monastery Sutra Chamber rang incessantly in his ears. By now, Jiumozhi realised the monk was telling the truth and that he himself had been awfully greedy, mistakenly learning Shaolin Sect’s 72 Legendary Skills and Yijing Sutra in the wrong order and is presently on the brink of death. His heart was panicking but he managed to keep his wits around him. After all, he has accumulated many years of cultivation and his Buddhist meditation skill has reached a profound level.
Out of the blue, Jiumozhi had a brainwave. He thought: He… Why didn’t he himself try to master these skills? Why did he only learn selected skills and yet presented me with the complete set of 72 Legendary Skills? We barely knew each other before that and even if we can click very well and turned out to be bosom friends, there is no reason for him to bestow such generosity upon me.
In the midst of this precarious period, Jiumozhi suddenly understood Murong Bo’s agenda when the latter presented him with the manuals containing Shaolin 72 Legendary Skills. When Murong Bo first gifted the manuals, Jiumozhi did have some doubts about them, concerned that Murong Bo is trying to scam him. But after reading the manuals, he discovered that the Legendary Skills are truly peerless and such teachings cannot be easily falsified. He even tested the paper of the manuals for poison, which there are none, thereby removing all his doubts. From then on, he practiced the skills diligently and with every skill that he mastered, his gratitude for Murong Bo increased in tandem.
At this point in time, when Jiumozhi is alternating between life and death, he finally comprehended Murong Bo’s intentions and malice. He figured: He has been hiding inside Shaolin Monastery for more than ten years; he must have overhead the monks’ conversations about these Legendary Skills. Perhaps these skills are not meant to be learnt spontaneously. When we met for the first time, he is probably conscious of my martial arts attainment and decided to pass me these Legendary Manuals. First, he wants me to be his guinea pig and see the consequence of someone who has learnt all the Legendary Skills. Second, he wanted to sow discord between Shaolin Monastery and me, escalating the fight into war between TuBo and Great Song. When that happens, his Murong lineage can profit from the chaos and revive the Yan Empire. Regarding the 72 Legendary Skills Manuals, he probably has an extra copy somewhere that he kept for himself.
When he captured Murong Fu earlier, he was reminded of the Shaolin Manuals from Murong Bo and the deep appreciation for him. Despite knowing that Murong Fu is a potential enemy, Jiumozhi did not execute him on the spot but chose to let him die in the abandoned well with a complete corpse. Now that he truly understood the reason behind Murong Bo’s gift of Manuals, he realised that his sufferings today is all because of this evil man and his evil deed. Naturally, he was mad with anger. Leaning against the opening of the well, he sent three consecutive palms strikes downwards into the well.
As the blows of the palm strikes travel down, the well remained silent, highlighting the depth of the well and the inability of the blows to reach the bottom. Furious with rage, Jiumozhi forced his strength to execute a punch. With this punch attack, the internal energies went into complete disarray. It felt as if these energies are trying to vent out through the 108,000 skin pores but wherever they go, the energies met with constraints and they remained trapped in his body.
Feeling traumatized and irritated, Jiumozhi suddenly felt a movement at his chest area. From his robes, an item fell out and into the well. He tried to catch the falling object but was too late. He hurriedly employed the <Volley Catch Movement> from <Seizing Dragon Hand Technique>. Under ordinary circumstances, he could easily retrieve the object. But this time, his tendons are not under his complete control. The energy did expand but the effect could not be executed from his palm. With a ‘Pa!’ sound, the item has hit the bottom of the well.
Jiumozhi groaned to himself: “Not good!”
Using his hand to search his bosom area, he realised the dropped object is indeed his copy of Yijing Sutra.
He is aware that the internal energy chaotic movement originated from the practice of Yijing Sutra. The Yijing Sutra is therefore, the problem and the solution. To avert this disaster, he must consult the Yijing Sutra again. Since it is a matter of life and death, how could he afford to lose the Sutra? Without any further thought, he leapt into the well.
Worried that the bottom of the well may be lined with sharp rocks or thick branches that could impale his limbs; and afraid that Murong Fu may have released his acupoints and getting ready to ambush him, before his feet reached the bottom of the well, Jiumozhi utilize his right hand and sent two palms strikes downwards, with the aim of slowing down his descent. From his left palm, he executed <Leaves Scattering Wind>, a stance which protects the critical parts of his body.
Unexpectedly, his internal energies are experiencing huge transformations. Although the palm movements are precise, there is no strength behind them. Eventually, the exerted energy inaccurately dissipated, missing their targets. The two downward palm strikes not only failed to slow down his fall, they increased his falling momentum. With a loud ‘PONG!’ his skull smashed heavily against the bricks lining the inner wall of the well.
Based on his original internal energy cultivation; although he is not impenetrable; when his skull is bashed against bricks, he would not suffer the slightest injury and the bricks will be smashed into smithereens. However, he is in his worst possible state right now. Feeling dizzy and seeing stars, he bent over and collapsed at the bottom of the well.
This well has been abandoned for ages. With large mounds of dead leaves and rotting vegetation, all that is left is soft mud debris after years of desolation. As time goes by, the soft mud debris has stacked to a considerable height. With this fall, Jiumozhi’s mouth and nose ended up buried in the mud debris. He can feel his body slowly sinking. When he struggled to stand up, his limbs are unable to exert any strength. In this state of anxiety, he suddenly heard someone calling from the top of the well: “Grand Priest! Grand Priest!”