I first came across the phrase "Phoenix Dances in the Nine Skies" as the Chinese title of the RETURN OF LUK SIU FUNG TVB series starring Alex Man as the title character. In regards to the series, the phrase was not just the title, but also the name of a secret martial art that Luk Siu Fung rarely uses, but that makes him all but invincible.
I learned later (maybe here at SPCNET) that the phrase was only the title of that series, and that there was no Gu Long novel or Luk Siu Fung martial art by that name.
Later, however, I learned that there is indeed a LUK SIU FUNG novel by that name, but no mention of it as a martial arts skill that Luk practiced.
More recently, I learned that it's not only the title of a LUK SIU FUNG novel by Gu Long, but indeed a secret martial art that Luk rarely used and made it possible to defeat even powerful opponents such as Sai Mun Chui Sheut or even Gung 9 with relative ease.
So what's the real skinny here? Does Luk Siu Fung actually have a super-powerful martial art called Phoenix Dances in the Nine Skies that far surpasses the martial arts of his most powerful friends and enemies?