C23 Use Your Internal Energy to Force out Constipation!

Xiaozhao pulled a fire piston from her bosom and blew life into it before lighting the oil lamps along the walls of the secret passage. The flickering yellow flames gradually chased away the darkness.

Ahead lay a serpentine and narrow path, its end shrouded in mystery.

They proceeded, one after the other, deeper into the secret passage, lighting an oil lamp at intervals to ensure the darkness was kept at bay.

After roughly seven or eight minutes, they reached a dead end, marked by a thick, heavy iron door.

"We've hit a wall," Xiaozhao said, attempting to push the door open, but it wouldn't budge.

"Stand back, let me try," Lin Yuanjian offered, stepping forward and gently moving Xiaozhao aside. He focused his Qi into his palms, and in a flash, his hands glowed fiery red as he pressed them against the iron door. The intense heat turned the door into a molten pool of glowing metal in under ten seconds.

Xiaozhao, standing behind him, shivered with a mix of fear and awe at the sight of such an eerie martial art, something she had never encountered before.

"Hey, could you help me out?" she asked.

Lin Yuanjian turned, "What do you need?"

Xiaozhao lifted her skirt, revealing her feet, and with a shake, a clanging sound echoed. Her legs were shackled by an iron chain.

"Can you get this chain off me?"

Lin Yuanjian suppressed a chuckle. He hadn't considered that Yang Xiao, suspicious of her origins, had locked her up with a chain.

He noticed the chain was tied in the middle with a rope, the other end firmly in Xiaozhao's grasp, keeping it off the ground. No wonder there had been no sound of chains dragging. The girl was clever indeed.

Lin Yuanjian pondered for a moment, "I could melt the chain, but only after I've acquired the Universe Great Teleportation technique."

"Is that true?"

"Would I lie to you?"

"It's a promise, then."

"Let's move on."

They walked another ten meters and entered a large stone chamber. The sight that greeted them was chilling—two skeletons propped against the corner of the room.

Xiaozhao let out a terrified yelp and quickly hid behind Lin Yuanjian.

"It's just a couple of dead bodies, nothing to fear," Lin Yuanjian said, unfazed. These remains were likely those of Yang Dingtian, the long-lost Sect Master of the Bright Cult, and his wife.

It was a tragic tale. Yang Dingtian had been practicing his cultivation when he accidentally overheard his wife and Cheng Kun together in the next room, which drove him to madness. Before his death, he wrote a final letter, intending to take Cheng Kun with him, but he died before he could carry out his plan. Madam Yang, ridden with guilt, took her own life.

Lin Yuanjian's eyes caught a piece of goatskin clutched in the skeletal hand of Yang Dingtian. He picked it up and examined it, but it was blank.

"Here, the secret of the Universe Great Teleportation is on this," Lin Yuanjian said, handing the goatskin to Xiaozhao.

Xiaozhao turned away, huffing, "How would I know what to do?"

"Use blood," Lin Yuanjian said, drawing a dagger from Madam Yang's remains and placing it in Xiaozhao's hand.

"Why are you so insensitive?" Xiaozhao complained.

Lin Yuanjian just grinned. "I hate pain."

Xiaozhao let out a sigh and, with a sense of resignation, used her dagger to slice open her finger. She then delicately smeared her blood across the goatskin.

As expected, the blood revealed the hidden words on the goatskin with startling clarity.

Lin Yuanjian's eyes darted over the text, swiftly committing to memory both the script and the intricate diagrams of human meridians.

Before long, he had flawlessly memorized the entire Universe Great Teleportation technique.

"Upgrade Universe Great Teleportation to the perfect version," he declared.

The system responded, "Upgrading. Upgrade successful. Essence Stones deducted: 500. Remaining Essence Stones: 18,500!"

With that, an even more formidable version of the Universe Great Teleportation technique was his.

Only by mastering this could one aspire to lead the Bright Cult.

As a diligent master, Lin Yuanjian was intent on providing Zhang Wuji with this superior technique.

"There, have a look for yourself," he said, handing the goatskin to Xiaozhao.

Xiaozhao, who had been silently studying the internal energy technique like Lin Yuanjian, paused in shock. "You... didn't you need the Universe Great Teleportation technique?"

"I've committed it to memory," Lin Yuanjian replied.

Xiaozhao was dumbfounded. "What? I've barely learned a tenth of it, and you've memorized the whole thing? Are you even human?"

Lin Yuanjian prodded, "We need to move quickly. We can't afford to linger here."

Without a word, Xiaozhao resigned herself to continue studying the technique on the goatskin.

Lin Yuanjian crouched down and retrieved a letter from Yang Dingtian's remains, though he didn't bother to read it.

He vaguely remembered its contents: Yang Dingtian's lamentations of his own misfortune, followed by directives for the Bright Cult's future without him. He had hoped his wife would carry out his wishes, ensuring the cult's stability even after his death. Sadly, his final wishes went unfulfilled; his wife took her own life in guilt before reading the letter, and the Bright Cult began to crumble without its leader.

Lin Yuanjian planned to deliver this letter to Zhang Wuji once he became the sect master, revealing the truth about Yang Dingtian's decades-long disappearance to the Bright Cult faithful.

And when it came to Cheng Kun, Lin Yuanjian would make sure Zhang Wuji knew everything in due time.

Ideally, they would seize Cheng Kun during the six major sects' assault on Bright Peak, cutting off the Imperial Court's influence and thwarting their scheme to annihilate the Central Plain Community of Martial Arts before the eyes of the world.

After securing the letter, Lin Yuanjian looked back and asked, "Hey, have you finished memorizing?"

"Just about," Xiaozhao replied, "give me a little longer. I'm not even halfway through."

Some fifteen minutes later, Xiaozhao finally completed the task.

"Are you taking this with you?" she asked, shaking the goatskin in her hand.

"Leave it here," Lin Yuanjian decided, placing the goatskin back on Yang Dingtian's body. "The remains of Cult Master Yang and his wife should be laid to rest by the Bright Cult after they've repelled the six great sects."

Xiaozhao nodded in agreement, content that her mission was accomplished.

The pair retraced their steps, locating the mechanism at the exit. With ease, they opened the entrance to the cave and exited the secret passage one after the other.

Outside the secret passage, Xiaozhao gazed at the vanishing figure of Lin Yuanjian, her captivating eyes brimming with profound puzzlement. "Just who is this man?"

Suddenly, Xiaozhao remembered something. "Hold on, you haven't helped me unlock these chains yet. Hey..."

...

Upon Lin Yuanjian's return to his dwelling, Yang Buhui and Zhang Wuji were deep in conversation in the courtyard.

Zhang Wuji looked up and greeted, "Master, you've returned?"

"Ah, has your little master finally finished his business?" Yang Buhui inquired with a hint of curiosity, "What took you so long?"

Lin Yuanjian let out a weary sigh. "Ah, let's not talk about it. Constipation. It's terribly uncomfortable."

Zhang Wuji and Yang Buhui exchanged glances. Constipation? Couldn't he have used his internal energy to alleviate it? Isn't that an easy fix? That's what we do when we're constipated.

Eager to steer the conversation away from further inquiries, Lin Yuanjian quickly interjected, "Wuji, come with me. I have a new martial art to teach you."