Entering the Spiritual Void, Chapter 115: Upon the Upside-Down Tree

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Jie Yuhua asked doubtfully, “How are you going to save them from danger?”

Yang Yifei said, “Do not worry. I have a way to save them. Sister, hurry over and help him hold them back for a while.”

Jie Yuhua could not understand her intentions. Seeing her master and Gao Yunxiang retreat toward the forest while fighting, both of them repeatedly placed in peril, she had no choice but to rush forward.

Yang Yifei warned, “Sister, be careful. Do not go near that demon!”

Jie Yuhua could never understand what sort of person this masked woman truly was. One moment she was cold, the next warm. All she could do was follow her instructions, keeping far away from the Wine-and-Meat Monk while attacking him with sharp golden and silver darts.

Every dart struck the Wine-and-Meat Monk, yet none could injure him. They merely fell to the ground. Jie Yuhua was helpless and could only stare blankly at her master.

The Old Beggar was, after all, a renowned figure. Though his martial power was not as profound as the Wine-and-Meat Monk’s, the monk had been struck in both eyes by poisoned darts. Unable to open his eyes and see, he also had to circulate his internal energy in secret to keep the poison from spreading through his body. As a result, the force of his attacks was greatly diminished, and his aggressive movements were considerably less agile. Thus, the Old Beggar and Gao Yunxiang faced danger but not disaster.

The most exasperating thing about the Wine-and-Meat Monk was that no part of his body could be pierced by blades or swords. He had mastered both the Golden Bell Shield and the Iron Shirt, and over them he wore a human-skin garment impervious to weapons.

The Old Beggar seized an opportunity, sprang into the air, and poured all the strength of his lifetime into a fierce strike at the Divine Path acupoint behind the Wine-and-Meat Monk. With a loud bang, the monk’s towering body merely swayed once, while the Old Beggar was hurled backward by the rebound and crashed to the ground.

Jie Yuhua was stunned. She immediately lunged forward to attack, but as soon as she neared her master, the Wine-and-Meat Monk spun around and swept his staff toward them. Before the staff itself arrived, its fierce force had already made it impossible to keep one’s footing. Quick-witted, Jie Yuhua dropped flat, seized the Old Beggar, and rolled rapidly away with him.

Hearing the sound of their rolling bodies, the Wine-and-Meat Monk strode forward and brought his staff down. At that very moment, a soft whip flew through the air and coiled around his foot. The Wine-and-Meat Monk stopped dead.

Gao Yunxiang had lashed out with the whip and wrapped it around the monk’s leg, intending to pull him down with all his strength. Yet it was like a dragonfly trying to shake a stone pillar—the monk did not move an inch. Gao Yunxiang was secretly horrified.

Before the force pulling at him had been released, even a martial artist as powerful as Luo Mingyuan would not dare lift his leg or shift his body. The moment he raised his leg, he would inevitably be tripped and thrown down.

This was not merely a battle of life and death; it was also a contest of wits. Whoever possessed the greater intelligence and understanding would gain the advantage.

Gao Yunxiang’s internal power was limited by his age and had not yet reached perfection, but his quick thinking was an exceptional gift. He felt the tip of his soft whip wrapped around the Wine-and-Meat Monk’s calf, its barbs locked together. The whip could not be pulled free, while his own strength could not trip the monk, who stood as immovable as Mount Tai. In such circumstances, Gao Yunxiang had no choice but to abandon the whip and retreat swiftly.

The Wine-and-Meat Monk’s martial skill was unrivaled in the martial world, and his intelligence was no weaker than Gao Yunxiang’s. Unfortunately, poison needles and powder had blinded him. In this round of wits, he was finally at a disadvantage.

Sensing that the whip around his ankle had loosened, the Wine-and-Meat Monk assumed Gao Yunxiang had abandoned it. He raised his leg, intending to step forward and pursue the enemies rolling across the ground.

That was precisely the moment Gao Yunxiang had been waiting for. When the monk lifted his leg and shifted his body, he had to release the thousand-pound anchoring force that had kept him rooted in place and exhale to lighten his upper body. At that instant, Gao Yunxiang swiftly yanked the whip.

When the Wine-and-Meat Monk stepped forward, his body naturally moved with the motion. But his leg was obstructed and could not follow his upper body. Instead, it was pulled backward. No matter how high his martial skill, he could not avoid being thrown. With a heavy thud, he crashed hard onto the ground.

Gao Yunxiang had used his wits to bring down the Wine-and-Meat Monk, and only then did the Old Beggar and his disciple escape their danger. Had Gao Yunxiang not possessed such extraordinary ingenuity, whether the lives of the master and disciple would have been spared was impossible to say.

Jie Yuhua had only just risen when she looked around and cried out, “Oh no! Gao Yunxiang is in danger! This is terrible! This is terrible!”

The Old Beggar rose to his feet and sighed. “This old demon is truly formidable. No wonder everyone turns pale at the mention of him. Even with his eyes blinded, I still cannot find a way to kill him. How could I possibly establish my reputation in the martial world?”

After being tripped, the Wine-and-Meat Monk rolled over onto the whip, sucked in a deep breath, and rolled rapidly toward Gao Yunxiang.

Seeing the danger, Gao Yunxiang had no choice but to abandon the whip. He released it, leaped into the air, caught a hanging branch, and swung himself onto the treetop. Only then did he let out a long breath and think, “That was close! This Wine-and-Meat Monk is a monster with an indestructible body. How can I subdue him? In such a desperate situation, I truly cannot think of a solution.”

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Hearing a rustling sound, the Wine-and-Meat Monk guessed that Gao Yunxiang had leaped into the treetop. He thought bitterly, “Today I have fallen into the hands of this nameless brat. He has fooled me again and again. If I do not tear him limb from limb, I shall never rest in peace!”

He suddenly sprang to his feet. With two powerful thrusts of his legs, his enormous body soared fifteen or eighteen yards into the air. His golden staff swept out with tremendous force, tracing a flash of golden light around the crown of the tree. A continuous series of crashes rang out, and in an instant the lush tree had been stripped bare, its branches and leaves swept away by a single stroke.

The Wine-and-Meat Monk heard no movement from Gao Yunxiang, nor any death cry. Standing atop the stripped trunk, he burst into laughter.

“Brat, do you think hiding in a tree will let you escape my golden staff? If that were possible, I would no longer deserve to be called the Wine-and-Meat Monk!”

The instant Gao Yunxiang saw him leap into the air, he hurried down from the tree without making a sound. He then sprang onto another tree. As soon as the Wine-and-Meat Monk finished speaking, Gao Yunxiang began laughing loudly.

“Ha! Ha! Monk, you are old and useless! My martial skill may be inferior to yours, but my wisdom far surpasses yours. I knew your words were meant to probe for my location. Since I did not answer, you had no idea where I was. I am not afraid of you. With my cleverness, I have thoroughly defeated your foolish, ox-like strength!”

The Wine-and-Meat Monk was so enraged that his heart burned and fire seemed to rise from his head. He fixed upon the direction of Gao Yunxiang’s voice and immediately launched himself into the air. His body rose several yards, then suddenly dropped.

The Old Beggar and the others saw him fall back down. In the dim starlight, they could not see clearly and assumed the poison had weakened him. Delighted, they clapped and laughed, speaking over one another.

“Wine-and-Meat Monk, from now on you will neither be able to drink wine nor eat meat!”

The Wine-and-Meat Monk had not been weakened by the poison. The two ends of Gao Yunxiang’s soft whip were still wrapped around his feet, their barbs locked together. He had been unable to shake them loose and had not had time to untie them, so the whip remained fastened around his legs.

When he leaped onto the treetop, the whip became wrapped around a thick section of trunk. The branches and leaves had been cut away by his staff. Thus, when he sprang upward, the whip pulled him back down. He ended up hanging upside down from the tree, touching neither sky nor ground, swinging helplessly in midair.

Gao Yunxiang’s whip had been made by blending wild stinging-silk with golden thread. It was both supple and extraordinarily durable; not even a treasured blade could cut through it.

The Wine-and-Meat Monk swung upside down for a while before his body suddenly hung straight and motionless.

Feng Jiezhen wanted to go over and kick him a few times to vent the anger in her heart.

Gao Yunxiang hurried down from the tree and stepped in front of her. “Fourth Sister, that monk is not dead. Do not go near him!”

Feng Jiezhen did not believe him. “If he is not dead, why is he not moving?”

Gao Yunxiang studied him carefully. “When a man dies from poison, his lips turn black. Look at him—his lips are still rosy. He is pretending to be dead, trying to trick someone into approaching and sacrificing their life.”

Feng Jiezhen looked closely and saw that the Wine-and-Meat Monk’s lips were indeed still moist and red. She sighed. “That was close! If I had rashly gone near that demon, would I still be alive?”

Gao Yunxiang asked, “How are Big Sister and Third Brother?”

Feng Jiezhen replied, “Big Sister’s injuries are not light, but she carries a special medicine from our school. After taking it, she is no longer in serious danger.”

Gao Yunxiang said, “I think Big Sister needs to circulate her energy and recover. Fourth Sister, you had better not leave her, just in case.”

Feng Jiezhen nodded, then asked, “Second Brother, is the woman you are carrying the same girl who secretly poisoned us and tried to take our lives?”

Gao Yunxiang nodded. “Yes.”

Feng Jiezhen was startled. “Is she not one of this demon’s disciples?”

Gao Yunxiang nodded again. “Yes.”

“Oh!” Feng Jiezhen cried out. “Second Brother, are you trying to get yourself killed?”

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Gao Yunxiang smiled. “Fourth Sister, do not be nervous. Your Second Brother is not so foolish as to confuse right and wrong. Her name is Yang Yifei. She is the daughter of a noble family. She infiltrated the Wine-and-Meat Monk’s sect in disguise to avenge her father’s murder.”

Feng Jiezhen said, “Big Sister, Third Brother, and I have all been worrying needlessly about you.”

Gao Yunxiang replied, “The poisoned darts that struck the Wine-and-Meat Monk in the eyes were fired by Yang Yifei. Had she not warned me that the monk was wearing a human-skin armor impervious to blades and swords, I would not have been on my guard. In that case, even if I had not died, I would have been as good as dead. In short, if not for her, none of the four of us would have escaped with our lives.”

Feng Jiezhen asked, “Where is she? I do not see her.”

“I will go bring her back,” Gao Yunxiang said.

After sending Jie Yuhua away, Yang Yifei quietly went to where her fellow disciple lay on the ground. Feng Jiezhen had sealed his acupoints. Yang Yifei thought, “I have lived alongside these men for several years. In truth, none of them is bad. I merely dealt with them superficially. Though we belong to the same sect, each of us has our own designs. I know these junior disciples feel more hatred than gratitude toward our master. Ghost Hand Xing Zailiang is their leader. I will revive him first and test his attitude.”

After Yang Yifei struck his sealed acupoints, Xing Zailiang turned over and sat up. He looked around and saw Yang Yifei sitting before him. He cried out in surprise, “Senior Sister, it is you!”

Yang Yifei raised one brow and replied coolly, “If it were not me, could you have opened your sealed acupoints by circulating your energy?”

Xing Zailiang nodded. “Yes. I heard that Senior Sister was captured after failing in her mission. How did you escape from the enemy?”

“I am alive, not dead,” Yang Yifei answered coldly.

Xing Zailiang looked around and saw that his fellow disciples, including Ke Feixiong, were still lying motionless on the ground. He hurriedly said, “Senior Sister, please show mercy and revive Brother Ke Feixiong and the others by releasing their acupoints.”

“Why are you in such a hurry?” Yang Yifei said. “If their acupoints are released and they wake up shouting, they will attract powerful enemies. Will any of us still be alive then?”

“Senior Sister has indeed thought everything through,” Xing Zailiang replied. After a brief pause, he asked, “Where is our master? Could he not subdue the masked man either?”

“There is always someone beyond the best, and skies beyond the sky,” Yang Yifei said. “Our master may not be the greatest man beneath heaven. He looks down on everyone, while the brothers of our sect are united with him only in appearance. Every one of them hates him in his heart and feels no respect for him.”

“I am not flattering you, Senior Sister,” Xing Zailiang said. “What you have said is fair and true. To be honest, we brothers have long wanted to leave and seek our own futures. But we fear his cruelty, so we have endured in silence and dared not act.”

“I know that all of you have accumulated years of suffering,” Yang Yifei said. “Patience is the key to conducting oneself in the world, but when one can endure no longer, the harm caused by continued repression becomes even greater.”

“Exactly,” Xing Zailiang replied. “We brothers have long wanted to confront our master and vent the resentment bottled up in our hearts. We simply never found a favorable opportunity and did not dare to act recklessly.”

Yang Yifei asked, “Junior Brother Xing, do you truly intend to rebel?”

“We know that you have always protected us, Senior Sister. I trust you enough to speak frankly of our wishes. You have never betrayed us.”