CHAPTER 1044: CHAPTER 824: THE LOST BIG HANDPRINT AND BONE-MELTING SOFT PALM

In the darkness of the night, a three-masted sailing ship emerged from a shadowy bay.

The ship was shrouded in black lanterns with no fire, only the sound of oars could be heard. Under the moonlight, shadowy figures could be faintly seen at the bow.

As the sails approached the shore with the wind, five shadows leaped from the ship and appeared by the shore.

Suddenly, a fire was lit in a pavilion by the side of the shore, illuminating faces and a pair of bright, sharp eyes in the firelight.

The five shadows seemed to have anticipated this and were not surprised.

The faces quickly approached, and one person suddenly bowed and cupped his fists, saying, "As Island Master foresaw, Lin’an has fallen. We rushed here as soon as we received the news."

"Ah!"

Among the five, Wu Ming, who looked as ordinary as a neighborhood old man, sighed softly, looking back at the waterside in the night, gently inhaling the mix of daytime’s hot earth energy and the cool lakeside air at night into his lungs, feeling heat mixed with cold, much like the current situation, which seemed to hold opportunity but was already half lost.

"What does Island Master mean by this?"

Xi Ying’s eyes flashed with purple light as he frowned at the mysterious Wu Ming, questioning in confusion.

Wu Ming pointed at the leading players in front of him and said, "I had already instructed these Abnormal People to gather intelligence for me. If there’s any change in the Three Kingdoms Battlefield that is extremely disadvantageous to us, they should report the intelligence to me immediately. Now that they have appeared, we need not go after Wan Wan."

Xi Ying and the other three’s expressions changed dramatically, one of the Liao Country’s strongmen shouted, "Old man, I used to think you were wise and as prescient as a deity. How can you be so foolish now to believe these Abnormal People? In the Martial World, everyone knows these Abnormal People are closest to the Black Wind Village Chief, and they’re all a profit-seeking bunch."

Wu Ming smiled silently, while several players glared angrily. The player who spoke earlier said coldly, "Not everyone has a good impression of that villain, the Black Wind Village Chief. Among us Abnormal People, some have a blood feud with him, which can’t be bought off with benefits. Besides, Island Master has given us enough, and we’re sincerely working for Island Master."

None of the Heavenly People were moved, and Xi Ying stared at the player and asked, "You just said that Lin’an has fallen?"

"That’s right. Just a quarter of an hour ago, Lin’an City was taken by the Black Wind Village Chief, and the Marshal of Liao, Adal, has also fallen into the Black Wind Village Chief’s hands. The son of the Sword Sect Master, Po Jun, is still battling with seven other Heavenly Human realm experts against the Black Wind Village Chief, but the situation doesn’t look good."

"This is impossible!"

Xi Ying and the other three’s faces drastically changed, all incredulous.

One of them even immediately made a move to capture the player for questioning, but was stopped by Wu Ming’s cold hum.

Wu Ming calmly said, "Gentlemen, they are my people. If you doubt someone, do not use them. If you use them, do not doubt them. I trust them.

Because they were originally enemies of the Black Wind Village Chief, unable to make a living in the Martial World, I took them in and cultivated them. To this day, much of the intelligence in the Martial World has been provided by them for me."

With that, Wu Ming paused and said indifferently, "You may choose not to believe and continue to pursue Wan Wan, but I will not meddle in this any further. I will also withdraw from the Three Kingdoms Battlefield."

The Heavenly People of the Jin and Liao countries were instantly furious. One of them glared at Wu Ming with hostility, "Old man, are you planning to breach the agreement? You realize that breaching the agreement means offending both Jin and Liao, and you’ll be hunted by them from now on!"

Xi Ying furrowed his brows, seemingly contemplating this thorny issue.

Wu Ming smiled at the corner of his mouth and said, "I am certainly aware of the severe consequences. I like to consider the consequences of failure in doing anything beforehand, then choose a consequence I can bear, ponder the price I need to pay and the benefits I can gain from bearing that consequence, and finally decide whether to do it."

Except for Xi Ying, the three Heavenly People broke out in cold sweat.

They just realized what kind of terrifying figure was before them, and how could this person not know the consequences of betrayal.

"So..."

Wu Ming looked at the ever-changing expressions of Xi Ying and smiled, "Brother Xi Ying, will you insist on capturing Wan Wan to threaten the Black Wind Village Chief, or will you choose to abandon it like me?"

Xi Ying clasped his hands behind his back, gazing at the bright moon in the sky and sighed deeply, "Island Master, if you calculate everything so clearly, doesn’t life become too dull?"

Wu Ming said calmly, "Life is not a chessboard; there’s no opportunity for replay. Once you’ve made a mistake, why make another? Losing this game doesn’t mean losing the next. We should all learn to relinquish before gaining, shouldn’t we?"

Xi Ying gave a bitter smile, but his eyes gradually exuded a cruel gleam, and his skin seemed to turn faintly purple, "I’m about to be convinced by you."

Wu Ming sighed, "Then let’s take action."

The other three Heavenly People suddenly sensed something was wrong, and one immediately retreated, shouting, "Wait, I’ve decided to withdraw."

"It’s too late!"

Xi Ying’s eyes flushed with evil and cruel sharp light, his figure suddenly moved, both hands grabbed, releasing wave after expanding wave of Qi Force.

Immediately, it centered on him, surging and fluctuating in all directions as if expanding and collapsing like a space.

The three who were preparing to retreat suddenly felt weighed down, as if trapped in a quagmire. They all roared angrily, harnessing the power of Heavenly Human realm to mobilize the Heaven and Earth Power, trying to break free.

At this moment, the momentum of the Heavenly Human 3rd Realm surged from Xi Ying’s body; a circle of purple light immediately appeared around his pupils. The Devil Skill peaked, his skin turned purple. With a loud laugh, his hands drew a bizarre arc, and two whirlwinds erupted, howling like ghosts as they targeted two individuals.

The Purple Qi Heavenly Net, at this moment, enveloped a three-zhang space like a web of silk threads, attacking three people from any angle, overwhelmingly domineering.

Almost simultaneously, the little old man suddenly took action. He stood still, with a smile on his lips, his five fingers opening sequentially as if stirring water, spinning around, and suddenly as if picking flowers, flicking two fingers with eerie and elusive movements.

No Qi Force erupted visibly, but one person in the field suddenly groaned, screamed tragically, and staggered to the ground, with an extra bloody hole on his body, exclaiming in horror "Ruyi Orchid Hand," then furiously charged at Wu Ming with a saber, unleashing a three-zhang arc of bright, fierce Saber Qi.

Wu Ming’s face held a calm smile, his skeletal hand suddenly swelled to more than double its size, and with a hidden purple-red hue, his body spun as swiftly as a top, smashing the Saber Qi with one ferocious palm.

Another palm suddenly, softly, and femininely swept over like brushing off dust from the opponent’s body lightly.

The Heavenly Person, unaware, rushed past in an instant, seeing Wu Ming not hindering at all, allowed him to escape, showing a look of great joy, without hesitation, sought to gather Qi and leap away.

However, the moment he gathered Qi, it was as if he was struck by lightning; his external protective body collapsed, his legs went limp, and his whole body, bones and all, became as soft as cotton, inch by inch collapsing, with a "poof," falling limp to the ground, with only a head lying in a pool of blood, eyes wide open, consciousness gradually darkening, with only one thought in his mind—Bone-Melting Soft Palm!

"Why bother?"

A sigh suddenly came through the night, appearing beside this serene riverbank.

Wu Ming’s steps paused.

He glanced at the pavilion opposite, where a graceful figure stood, then looked at the two Heavenly Persons of Jin and Liao who were about to be subdued by Xi Ying, sighing, "Yes, why bother? Why did you appear here?"

The man in the pavilion shook his head with a bitter smile, "I once asked Ximen Chuixue, some seek fame, some seek wealth, what do I seek? Ximen Chuixue said, I seek: trouble."

Wu Ming, "But you are not afraid of trouble. You even like trouble. That’s you, Lu Xiaofeng. You are not here to save them."

The person in the pavilion turned around, revealing a handsome face under the moonlight, with two lively, almost dancing mustaches, it was Lu Xiaofeng.

He looked at the two Heavenly Persons about to be bound by Purple Qi Heavenly Net and beaten to death, shaking his head, "I can’t even guarantee escaping unscathed under the Purple Qi Heavenly Net of Heavenly Lord Xi Ying, how can I save them?"

Wu Ming, "So you are here just to find out why I let you go. Now you know, you can leave."

Lu Xiaofeng patted his forehead, pondering, "I want to test you, if I don’t leave, will you still let me go, given the pressure from that guy?"

Wu Ming smiled amicably, "Everyone should have self-awareness, none should delude themselves."

Lu Xiaofeng spread his hands, "So there’s no winning here. Fine then."

He glanced at the head lying in the blood mud on the ground, a look of apprehension flashed in his eyes, "At least I just saw you use two martial arts other than the Ruyi Orchid Hand; using the Big Handprint of the Tibetan Esoteric Sect to break his Saber Qi, and then the Bone-Melting Soft Palm to kill him with one palm.

This Bone-Melting Soft Palm is much more formidable than the Big Handprint and the Heavenly Annihilation Hand of the Western Xingxiu Sea.

Ever since the Bone-Melting Immortal who single-handedly broke into Xingxiu Sea and slew the Great Lama of the Yellow Sect in Chaotian Palace passed away years ago, this kind of palm power hasn’t appeared in the Martial World for a long time.

I’m really curious, old man, just how many lost martial arts of the Martial World do you know, and how many unknown secrets do you hold."

Fear gripped Xi Ying’s heart as he engaged the two Heavenly Persons, his gaze flickering.

The little old man Wu Ming remained affable, but his tone grew cold, "A person knowing they’re a fool means they’re becoming smarter. Conversely, someone thinking they’re clever shows they’re being foolish. What do you think, Lu Xiaofeng?"

Lu Xiaofeng squinted his eyes, laughed heartily, "Ah! The moon is so round today, it suddenly reminded me of someone round-faced, round-bottomed, round all over, a girl named Yuan Yuan waiting for me.

Fair maiden can’t be missed, good wine shouldn’t be wasted, you all carry on. I’m leaving!"

Wow!——

Under the moonlit night, with a Phoenix Dance Nine Heavens, Lu Xiaofeng vanished without a trace.

Wu Ming glanced at the two Heavenly Persons yet to be dealt with by Xi Ying, knowing it wasn’t their strength and perseverance, but a change was happening in someone’s heart.

He calmly smiled, "This isn’t your power, Heavenly Lord, let me help you!"

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