Chapter 27 - Flame Cloud Palm

Looking at the nine red dots on the animal hide parchment in his hand, Long Chen fell into deep thought. Nine dots, distributed without any pattern. There was no hint whatsoever, but this time Long Chen looked closely and indeed saw a faint line connecting the nine dots. "These should be nine acupoints," Long Chen concluded after a long examination. He matched them with countless meridian diagrams in his mind, and finally confirmed it. Others might not figure it out even if they exhausted themselves. "Zouli Yao, Rong Huiming... through Quqi, into Laogong?" Long Chen murmured the names of the nine points, corresponding to the acupoints. Following the route, Long Chen was stunned: "This isn't a fist or palm technique, but a weapon-mobilizing combat skill." "Such a brilliant method," Long Chen studied it and discovered that running the true energy through these nine positions was like the rolling waves of the Yangtze River. After nine layers of reinforcement, once executed, it would be extremely terrifying. Haha, I found a treasure. Although I don't know the rank of this combat skill, it definitely isn't low. Long Chen was overjoyed. With a thought, he calmed his mind, rotated the qi in his dantian, and injected it into the Liyao acupoint. However, when he tried to drive the spiritual power to the second acupoint, he found that the spiritual power was insufficient. "Hmm?" Long Chen was momentarily stunned and then understood that this technique probably demanded high spiritual power. With insufficient spiritual power, it couldn't be activated. He abandoned the spiritual power in his dantian and directly used the spiritual power in the Fengfu Star, which was indeed much more abundant than that in the dantian. However, when he reached the fourth acupoint, it still stalled. No matter how hard Long Chen tried, he couldn't reach the sixth acupoint. "I don't believe it," Long Chen gritted his teeth, drew a trace of spiritual power from the Fengfu Star, and injected it into the dantian vortex. The vortex in the dantian immediately swelled, and a violent energy surged. Controlling that energy, he quickly charged. "The sixth." "The seventh." "The eighth." "Not good..." Long Chen was suddenly startled, hurriedly withdrew his spiritual power, and ran his divine sense to observe his meridians. To his horror, he found that the meridians had already developed cracks from being unable to withstand the terrifying energy. If Long Chen had been a moment later in retracting his spiritual power, it might have shattered his meridians. If the meridians shattered, repairing them would take a long time. Long Chen broke out in a cold sweat from fright. "No, this thing is not suitable for my cultivation right now," Long Chen had to give up cultivating Kaitian. He opened his mouth and swallowed a Meridians Moistening Pill to repair his slightly damaged meridians. Long Chen slowly stood up and walked outside. Pushing open the door, a breath of fresh air greeted him, and taking a deep breath relieved much of Long Chen's fatigue over the past few days. At this moment, the sun was just rising in the east. Long Chen asked Bao'er about the situation, and everything in the mansion was normal. Aman was also well-fed and had no problems. Feeling assured, Long Chen contemplated for a moment, changed into a new set of clothes, and prepared to go to the Alchemist Guild to seek Master Yun Qi's assistance. However, Long Chen felt a bit anxious. Generally, alchemists specialize in Pill Fire and do not practice combat skills, focusing all their efforts on advancing in the path of alchemy. Alchemists are often very proud and look down on martial cultivators who engage in constant fighting, which was why Master Yun Qi had given Long Chen guidance that day. But Long Chen had his own ideas. He had been bullied for too long, and without strong martial power, he felt insecure. What identity, what status, were all illusions to Long Chen. In the face of absolute power, they were as fragile as a piece of paper. Yet Long Chen did not know if Master Yun Qi would throw him out when he faced him. "Long Chen," as Long Chen was apprehensive, he had walked a few streets when suddenly a familiar voice called out. Looking up, he saw a carriage stopped in the distance. On the carriage, a young girl lifted the curtain, her pretty face filled with joy as she looked at Long Chen. It was clearly Palace Master Chu Yao, who had met Long Chen once. "Chu Yao," Long Chen was slightly surprised to see Chu Yao, but after seeing her, his original anxiety was dispelled significantly. Chu Yao suddenly looked around, seeing no one around in the early morning, she beckoned to Long Chen: "Come up quickly." Long Chen did not expect Chu Yao to invite him into her carriage. Seeing her joyous expression, Long Chen's heart was slightly moved, and he directly boarded Chu Yao's carriage. The carriage was very spacious, with a fragrant bed and a small tea table, with a layer of carpet underneath. "What a coincidence to meet you. Come with me to Luoxia Mountain, okay?" Chu Yao's eyes were full of joy when she saw Long Chen, a stark contrast to her previous domineering demeanor. "If a beauty invites me and I dare not go, I fear being struck by lightning," Long Chen joked. Chu Yao's pretty face flushed. Restricted by various rules in the palace, she really liked Long Chen's carefree way of speaking. The carriage slowly left the city, heading towards Luoxia Mountain outside the city. "Chu Yao, why are we going to Luoxia Mountain?" Long Chen asked. "I... I just want to play," Chu Yao's face turned crimson for some unknown reason, leaving Long Chen puzzled. "Long Chen, am I delaying anything for you?" Chu Yao asked tentatively. "No? I'm just out for a stroll, and now I get to hitch a ride with you for some fun," Long Chen replied with a smile. "By the way, how's your brother doing now? I'm really sorry about last time," Long Chen felt a bit embarrassed about the Seventh Prince incident. "It's fine. Scaring him a bit is good too, so he can behave for a while," Chu Yao replied with a smile. They chatted along the way, and soon they arrived at the foot of Luoxia Mountain. Chu Yao got off the carriage and let the guard drive it back on his own. "Walk up with me. I really like the scenery here," Chu Yao pointed to a small path ahead and said, "I used to come here to climb when I was little, but after my father went into seclusion, there were fewer opportunities." Speaking of which, a hint of loneliness appeared on Chu Yao's pretty face, invoking a sense of pity. Long Chen couldn't help but sigh. It seems that no matter where one is born, there are always unsatisfactory things. "Long Chen, do you have something on your mind?" Chu Yao asked, noticing Long Chen's low spirits. Seeing Chu Yao's concerned eyes, Long Chen felt warmth in his heart. For some reason, although he had only interacted with Chu Yao once, in such a complex situation where friend and foe were indistinguishable, she gave him a feeling of great trustworthiness. It was an indescribable feeling. Seeing Chu Yao's inquiry, Long Chen's heart moved, and he said, "I indeed encountered some trouble. I want to practice more advanced combat skills now." "You want to practice combat skills? Then come to me. I don't charge tuition fees," Chu Yao's eyes lit up, and she smiled. "I am proficient in thirteen combat skills, and they all say I am an exceptional genius." "Proficient" in thirteen combat skills? And then use them to spar with others? Long Chen couldn't help but feel a bit puzzled. "Hey, what kind of look is that? Are you doubting what I just said?" Anger tinged Chu Yao's pretty face. "You're mistaken. I'm not doubting your words in the slightest; I'm not believing them at all," Long Chen laughed. "You rascal, take this!" Chu Yao cried out delicately and slapped at Long Chen. Slap! Chu Yao's palm landed on Long Chen's chest. Though she didn't use spiritual power, the force was not small, and it made a loud bang on Long Chen's body. "Why didn't you dodge?" Chu Yao was surprised that Long Chen didn't evade. "If I dodged, you wouldn't have hit me, and that would be boring," Long Chen replied with a smile. However, a jade hand was pressed against his chest, and even through the clothes, he could feel a trace of unusual sensation. "Long Chen..." Chu Yao, looking at Long Chen's cheerful face, felt a warmth for some reason and gently leaned her pretty face on Long Chen's chest. Long Chen suddenly froze. What was going on? He dared not move, standing still like a wooden stake. "Pfft," Chu Yao suddenly felt her face heat up. Seeing Long Chen's tense expression, she couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh. "You scoundrel, when you were fighting others that day, you were like a roaring tiger. Why have you turned into a kitten now?" Long Chen was embarrassed and quickly changed the topic: "Chu Yao, I don't see you as an outsider. I really need to learn some advanced combat skills now." Chu Yao's pretty face flushed, and she gave Long Chen a sidelong glance. Not seeing her as an outsider? That meant seeing her as "insider." She clearly misunderstood Long Chen's meaning. But seeing Long Chen's serious expression, Chu Yao also put on a serious face and said, "I wasn't joking with you. I am indeed proficient in many combat skills. Don't believe me, look." Chu Yao extended her jade hand, and a sweltering aura rose. A faint red glow appeared on her jade hand. "Bang," she slapped a tree as thick as a water barrel. The tree trembled, leaves fluttered, and when she removed her jade hand, there was already a shallow jade handprint on the tree. "See? This is a human-level advanced combat skill, the Fire Cloud Palm. How about that, weren't you scared?" Seeing Long Chen's dumbfounded look, a trace of pride appeared on Chu Yao's pretty face. Long Chen was indeed shocked. Could this power be considered a combat skill? Even without a combat skill, Long Chen could break it with one palm. "Hmm, it looks great," Long Chen gave a very honest assessment. Chu Yao's movements were very smooth and graceful, pleasing to the eye. Chu Yao completely missed the implied meaning in Long Chen's words, thinking he was impressed, so she patiently explained the moves of this technique. But after hearing Chu Yao explain the application method of the Fire Cloud Palm, Long Chen was slightly surprised. This was clearly a powerful palm technique. "Let me try," Long Chen said. "So soon?" Chu Yao was a bit incredulous. Long Chen smiled slightly. Combat skills are merely methods of utilizing spiritual power, maximizing its power through layered amplification in the body's meridians. Long Chen was already extremely familiar with the meridians in his body. After hearing Chu Yao's explanation once, he had grasped it. The spiritual power in his dantian circulated, and a surge of fiery energy erupted. Long Chen shouted and struck with his palm. "Boom," a giant tree that would take several people to encircle was severed, and the huge crown fell with a roar. "Bang," the tree crashed to the ground, dust flying, and the scene was astonishing. Chu Yao, standing to the side, was already dumbstruck. Was this really the Fire Cloud Palm she knew? Looking at the charred section of the broken tree, a unique mark of the Fire Cloud Palm, Long Chen nodded to himself. As expected of a human-level advanced combat skill, its power was formidable. However, seeing Chu Yao's pretty face filled with shock, Long Chen's heart stirred, and he grabbed Chu Yao's jade hand. "Chu Yao, let me check your body," Long Chen said.