Entering the Spirit Void 131. One Bizarre Incident After Another

Yang Yifei remarked, "How bizarre! The man carrying iron cauldrons to sell used one to shield himself from the rain, while the person descending from the peak is likely a woodcutter, yet he uses the treetop as a parachute?"

Gao Yunxiang looked startled and gloomy, saying, "Young Master of the Fortress, whoever is descending from the peak must possess extraordinary martial arts. Shall we witness a rare and astonishing spectacle not seen in ages?"

After the tree was scorched by flames, the individuals who had ignited the fire successively stopped. They all raised their heads in unison to stare fixedly at the dense smoke and the blazing fire tumbling through the air.

Yang Yifei said, "No matter how formidable that person's martial arts are, there is no need to fear him now—he has already been reduced to ashes!"

Just as her voice trailed off, a thunderous burst of laughter suddenly echoed from the southwest corner, roaring, "Ha! Ha! Ha! The flame cannons of the Twin Shepherds Fortress certainly live up to their reputation—truly formidable, truly formidable! However, I, the Wine-and-Meat Monk, possess boundless divine arts. No matter how powerful your flame cannons may be, they cannot stop me from entering the fortress."

Upon hearing these words with crystal clarity, Gao Yunxiang and the others were all seized by a fierce shock. Waving their hands, they leaped forward, tracing the sound.

After escaping, the Wine-and-Meat Monk, Luo Mingyuan, first used his internal energy to force the poison out of his stomach, and then expelled the flying dagger embedded in his abdomen using his inner force. Having swallowed a specialized, fast-acting pain-relieving medicine, his agony vanished completely within a mere moment.

Though one of his eyes was blinded, the other eye, struck by the iron poison sand, could still see, albeit somewhat dimly. Thanks to Luo Mingyuan's formidable martial arts and constant tempering, his sinews and bones were as tough as cast iron and hammered bronze. He had sustained no internal injuries, and after regulating his breathing slightly, his physical strength was fully restored.

Luo Mingyuan had originally intended to go to a designated place to lie in wait and plunder exotic treasures and rare artifacts. However, the thought that a precious human-skin robe had been stripped away by a few brats made his blood boil with irrepressible fury. This was the greatest failure of his life, and he had sworn to himself that he would rather forgo the rare treasures than fail to reclaim the precious robe. He vowed to capture those youngsters and drink their fresh blood, devouring their hearts raw, only then could he vent the wrath pent up in his breast.

Consequently, he had pursued them hither. Had Yang Yifei not employed a scheme to dispatch the Zhan brothers to their doom, they would all have gathered here, making the Twin Family Fortress even more boisterous!

Luo Mingyuan had originally intended to storm the front gates of the Twin Shepherds Fortress, but feeling that it was still early, he wished to scout the surroundings of the fortress to see if there were any traps or installations set up. Thus, he had flashed into view and, meeting with obstruction, vaulted up toward the mountain peaks.

The peaks surrounding the Twin Shepherds Fortress were towering indeed, featuring precipitous cliffs that bulged at the top and fell sheer to the bottom. No matter how high one's lightness skill was, scaling them was impossible.

Luo Mingyuan had contemplated returning to the front to enter the fortress when he suddenly caught sight of the mushroom-shaped parachute—a truly marvelous idea. Seizing a sturdy and long rattan vine, he tied one end to a tree branch and fastened the other to his waist. He then stripped off his long, wide monk's trousers, tied the trouser legs tightly shut, and pulled them over his head as a foolproof backup plan. Should the leafy canopy fail, the wind-filled trouser legs would slow his rate of descent and reduce the danger of impact upon landing.

With all preparations meticulously made, he severed the tree canopy with a single palm strike. Possessing boundless strength, Luo Mingyuan lifted the leafy dome and toyed with it for a moment before walking to the edge of the precipice. Looking down, he saw wisps of drifting clouds, making the entire Twin Shepherds Fortress look as though it were veiled beneath a layer of thin white silk.

Luo Mingyuan raised his head, silently channeling his internal energy and invoking his divine strength. With a deep shout, he hurled the treetop obliquely into the sky. His back strength was immensely powerful; with this single toss, the treetop sailed dozens of feet away from the cliff edge, and once its momentum spent, the leafy canopy descended evenly.

He then made a single leap away from the cliff edge. The canopy was connected to his body by the rattan vine; though his body fell swiftly, the broad canopy and lush foliage created immense air resistance, slowing his descent. With both hands gripping the vine, he swung his body beneath the canopy to control its balance during the descent.

Luo Mingyuan's masterpiece was discovered by Gao Yunxiang and the others. When the Young Master of the Twin Shepherds Fortress fired the flame cannons at him, he realized the immense destructive power of the weapons and thought to himself: If the flame cannons fired from below grow any fiercer, this natural parachute will surely catch fire, and my life will be in grave danger!

Immediately, he flipped the canopy upside down so that he remained on top, allowing him to control the balance of the descent. He hurriedly untied the rattan vine from his waist, and by the time the canopy was ignited by the flames and caught fire, he had already leaped clear of it.

Leaning on the buoyancy of the wind-filled trousers, he landed safely on the ground. However, everyone had been completely engrossed in watching the giant ball of fire floating in the air, obscured further by thick smoke, so they failed to notice his landing and assumed he had been burned to death.

The Masters of the Twin Fortresses possessed a brilliant strategy for capturing intruders, and thus, feeling completely assured of success, they grandly welcomed the newcomer into the fortress to avoid needless casualties.

Luo Mingyuan had no sooner touched the ground than the chief steward of the Twin Shepherds Fortress escorted him into the Twin Family Ancestral Hall to be entertained. Along the way, Luo Mingyuan was led through bizarre corridors that wound left and right through numerous twists and turns. Hearing the mournful shrieks of slaughtered pigs and sheep, he thought to himself: This Twin Shepherds Fortress is rather peculiar; I must exercise caution at every step, lest I fall into someone's trap once more.

By the time the Young Master of the Twin Fortresses and the others rushed to the scene of the commotion, Luo Mingyuan had already departed with the Chief Steward, Wan Quan.

Twin Fortress siblings Shuang Mengwen guided Gao Yunxiang and the others back to the ancestral hall, where they found the main hall already occupied by quite a few figures.

The most eye-catching was the tall, bald-headed Luo Mingyuan. Aside from him, there were four peculiar and mismatched individuals. One was a hunchback with a crooked mouth, whose hump was accentuated by a heavy pack strapped to his back, making him appear remarkably tall.

Sitting shoulder to shoulder with the hunchback was a man whose head was shaped like a weaving shuttle—both the crown of his head and his chin were sharply pointed, and his nose was extraordinarily long and high. He was extremely thin yet remarkably tall, towering a full two feet above the hunchback as they sat side by side. Though he appeared to be around thirty years of age, his gaze was exceptionally sharp.

Sitting opposite this pair were an elderly woman and a young girl. The old woman's hair was as white as silver, her eyelids drooped heavily, and she held a string of prayer beads in her hand while her wrinkled lips murmured ceaselessly.

Beside the old crone sat a young maiden of merely thirteen years of age. With fair skin and well-proportioned features, she was a budding little beauty. Leaning against the young girl's side was a pitch-black dragon-headed walking stick, measuring six to seven feet in length.

The old beggar, the impoverished scholar, Gu Yi, and Gu Fang were seated at the first table on the left side of the main hall, a wisp of steam still rising from the teacup before each of them.

At the table to their left sat four burly men, all bearing fierce expressions. Their garments were unbuttoned, and a hero's sash was tied around their waist, leaving their chests bare with coarse, black tufts of hair exposed to the open air, making them look akin to wild savages from remote mountains.

Luo Mingyuan sat alone at a table on the right side. At the upper table on the left sat a Buddhist monk and a Taoist priest, both appearing to be over fifty years of age, leisurely sipping their tea.

Just as Gao Yunxiang and his party stepped into the main hall, Luo Mingyuan abruptly pressed down on the edge of his table, intending to lunge fiercely at Gao Yunxiang.

The silver-haired old woman sat with her eyelids lowered and motionless, her body upright and still. With a single flick of her hand, a prayer bead shot toward Luo Mingyuan like a meteor, and she sharply chided, "It has always been the rule of the Twin Shepherds Fortress that no one is permitted to resort to martial arts within its walls!"

Seeing the prayer bead hurtling toward him with ferocious momentum and fearing it might be a palm-thunder-style hidden weapon, Luo Mingyuan dared not catch it with his hand. He dodged aside, and the prayer bead struck the wall with a crash, shattering the bricks. The resulting shards of gravel ricocheted onto Luo Mingyuan's body, causing a slight stinging sensation, while the prayer bead embedded itself deeply into the wall.

Luo Mingyuan roared angrily, "Old hag! What kind of background do you have, sticking your nose into other people's business?"

The silver-haired old crone replied coldly, "If you want to know why this old woman is interfering, go ask the fortress master."

The Fortress Master was just then ushering a pair of guests past fifty years of age into the hall. After greeting them and seating them, the Fortress Master turned, walked over to the old crone, and bowed deeply. "Respected Aunt, why don't you retire to the back rooms to rest? The younger generation, daughters-in-law, and granddaughters all hold you in high esteem!"

The old woman retorted, "Those lingering grievances follow me wherever I go, hounding me relentlessly. Do you think you can just dismiss them?"

The Fortress Master replied, "As the host, I am entertaining them. No one is permitted to violate the rules of our fortress. Anyone attempting to run wild here will not leave alive."

The old woman asked, "Would doing this not undermine the fortress rules handed down by our ancestors?"

The Fortress Master answered, "When guests refuse to respect our fortress rules, there is nothing we can do about it."

The old woman stated, "Since this matter was provoked by me, let me be the one to explain it."

With that, she straightened up and rose to her feet. Opening her eyes to flash two sharp beams of light, she swept her gaze across the room and said, "Everyone present, aside from a few youths, are established heroes with rich Jianghu experience. Yet, I daresay you are all quite strangers to this old woman."

The crowd chanted in unison, "That is correct!"

The old woman continued, "Since you are strangers to me, I am likewise a stranger to you."

The crowd once more chorused, "Naturally!"

Luo Mingyuan said in a deep voice, "We may be strangers to you, old hag, but we are no strangers to the exotic treasures and rare artifacts."

Without sparing him a glance, the old woman proceeded: "This Twin Family Fortress is my maternal home. The current fortress master is the great-great-grandson of my father. When I was fifteen years old, I accompanied my father to the Tianshan Mountains to gather herbs. Being full of childish energy, I leaped about and shouted, accidentally triggering an avalanche and plunging off a cliff. Believing I had been buried by the snow and finding the ravine too deep, my father searched for three or five days without finding a trace of me, so he returned home in tears."

Someone asked with curiosity, "The Tianshan Mountains are covered in snow year-round, and human footprints are rarely seen. How did you manage to survive, Grandmother?"

The old woman replied, "I know this is what you wish to know. It sounds like a miraculous tale, and those who disbelieve will think I am merely spinning illusions to deceive people. Yet the facts remain—whether you believe my account is entirely up to you."

The crowd chorused, "Please speak on! Everyone loves listening to tales of the miraculous and strange."

The old woman recounted: "When the avalanche struck, I was frightened into fainting. When I regained consciousness, I felt only the deep silence of the empty mountains. I shouted for my father until my throat was raw, but there was no response. The moonlight reflected off the white snow, illuminating the surrounding scenery just enough for me to realize it was nighttime and that absolutely no one was coming to look for me. My stomach felt terribly empty, so I looked left and right for wild fruit. Suddenly, I saw a flicker of light on the hillside, appearing and disappearing intermittently, and faintly discerned a child about a foot tall bouncing about there. My legs ached terribly, but after expending a great deal of effort, I managed to climb up the slope. However, the light was gone, and the child was nowhere to be seen."

The Fortress Master picked up a teacup, handed it to her, and smiled. "Respected Aunt, have a sip of tea to moisten your throat!"

Taking the teacup, the old woman took a sip and continued, "By then, I could no longer stand steadily, so I sat down with my hands pressed against the ground. To my astonishment, there was no ice or snow on that patch of ground. Finding this very strange, I began digging with my hands, digging deeper and deeper until I finally unearthed a giant, human-shaped red yam. I wiped it on my clothes and took a bite. It tasted intensely bitter and not very pleasant—nothing like the crisp and slightly sweet red yams of our southern regions. I wanted to spit it out, but my stomach was gnawing with hunger, so I chewed it with my eyes closed. After chewing for a while, the taste turned sweet. With a gulp, I swallowed it down, and shortly thereafter, my hunger vanished, while the soreness in my limbs disappeared as well. I originally intended to toss that bitten yam down into the mountain valley where no food could be found, but figuring it could at least stave off starvation regardless of whether it tasted good, I tucked it inside my tunic. The next day, I waited all day in the valley, but my father never came to look for me. With no other option—since I was too weak to climb back up to the peak—whenever hunger struck, I would take a bite of the yam to sustain myself. That yam was truly miraculous at warding off starvation; just a tiny bite kept me from feeling hungry for the entire day."

Luo Mingyuan let out a thunderous shout, roaring, "Old woman, that was no red yam—that was a ten-thousand-year-old ginseng root, a treasure so rare it can only be met by chance and never sought!"

Paying no heed to his rudeness, the old woman went on, "Relying on that yam, I endured five or six days in the valley. My eyes grew weary of looking, yet I could not hope for my father to come find me, and the yam was completely gone. I thought to myself: What am I to do? I am surely destined to leave my bones buried right here."

The crowd asked in unison, "Old Madam, after you finished eating that yam, did your body feel exceptionally light and agile?"