Ding Yuan walked to the entrance of the cave and saw Zeng Shan sitting on the green stone tablet. His left hand was scratching his body, and his dirty and tattered straw sandals were dangling in the air. He looked very satisfied. When Ding Yuan heard Zeng Shan ask him, he snorted and replied,""What else can I do besides facing the wall?”
Zeng Shan laughed." So you've been punished here as well. It seems that my grandmaster nephew treats you quite well."”
"I just got here, and you're already here?" Ding Yuan asked.”
"What do I not know about the grass and trees behind Zuowang Peak?" Zeng Shan said proudly. Besides, I still have this." With a flip of his right hand, he took out a palm-sized bronze mirror and waved it in front of Ding Yuan.
Ding Yuan saw that there was nothing special about the bronze mirror other than its simple appearance. He asked curiously,"What is this?"
"I'll scare you to death if I tell you. It's an ancient immortal treasure, the Supreme Heavenly Mirror." Zeng Shan chuckled. With it, I can even find a small insect a thousand miles away, let alone a living person like you.”
"So you're the one guarding the back mountain of Zuowang Peak?”
"Of course, I've been living in this godforsaken place for decades.”"I was wondering why you didn't bring the fish to find me these days. I didn't expect that you would be punished and sent to the Enlightenment Cave to face the wall."”
"Oldman Zeng, did you stay in the Enlightenment Cave before?" Ding Yuan asked.”
Zeng Shan extended five fingers and said,""And I stayed for five years. I didn't suffocate to death. Did you see the message I left in the cave?”
Ding Yuan nodded." I saw it, but the handwriting isn't very good."”
Zeng Shan laughed out loud." That was left behind by me the first year I came here. After I finished writing the first sentence, I suddenly had an urgent need to pee, so I solved it on the spot." After I finished peeing, I casually added a second sentence.”
Ding Yuan snorted." Your words are ugly, and your poems are even worse. You still have the cheek to show off."”
"What do you know, kid?" Zeng Shan said disapprovingly."You'll understand the mystery after you read my calligraphy carefully."”"Ding Yuan, how long are you going to stay here?"”
"Three years."
"That's great!" Zeng Shan clapped his hands and shouted,"I'll have someone to play with in the next three years. It'll be even better if it's five or ten years!"”
"I'm sorry," Ding Yuan scoffed,"I'm here to face the wall, not to play with you." Besides, I don't even want to stay in this damn place for a day, and I'm not interested in accompanying you for eight to ten years.”
Zeng Shan jumped down from the green stone tablet and walked up to Ding Yuan with his hands behind his back. He laughed and said,""What's the point of staring at those cold stone walls all day? They don't know how to speak. Why don't the two of us play some games to pass the time?”
"Oldman Zeng, you're hundreds of years old. Why are you still playing games?" Ding Yuan chuckled.”
Zeng Shan's old face did not turn red at all. He said righteously,"Games and enlightenment are different but have the same result. Both have profound knowledge in them. You haven't played it before, so you don't know."
"Who says I haven't played it before?" Ding Yuan said indignantly. Don't look at how young I am, but I've played more games than you. I'm afraid you haven't even heard of my name.”
"Do you know how to play marble?" Zeng Shan blinked.”
" To tell you the truth," Ding Yuan chuckled." I've been playing marbles since I couldn't even walk. Now, I can hit marbles into holes with my eyes closed."”
Zeng Shan clapped his hands and said,""Then let's play billiards."
"It's not that I don't want to play with you," Ding Yuan said,"but where are we going to find marbles in this wilderness?"”
"I've already prepared for this." Zeng Shan smiled mysteriously.”He rummaged in his bosom for a long time and actually took out six stone bullets, spreading them out in his palm.
Ding Yuan didn't know how many more things were hidden in this old man's bosom, it was like a hundred treasure pouch. "Oldman Zeng, you actually carry marbles with you?"”
Zeng Shan tossed the marble in his hand and said proudly,""Don't underestimate these six stone bullets. I went to great lengths to get them from Lady Shi Ji. In ancient times, Mother Nuwa used these stone bullets to mend the heavens. In the end, there was only a tiny bit left. Now, all of them have fallen into my hands.”
Of course, Ding Yuan had heard of the legend of Nüwa mending the sky. He was slightly surprised and said,""Bragging? I don't believe it. If it really was such a precious treasure, why would Goddess Shi Ji be willing to give it to you?”
Zeng Shan's expression suddenly became a little bashful. He stammered for a long time before saying,"Of course, I used some tricks, but this stone pearl is authentic. Let's not talk about this. Let's talk about how to play billiards.”
"There are more than ten different ways to play marbles. I wonder which one you know?"”
Zeng Shan scratched his messy hair and frowned.""There are so many tricks in billiards?”
Ding Yuan laughed secretly. Actually, he had only played five or six tricks before. He had casually increased the number by more than double and indeed intimidated this old man. "Of course, I've also heard that someone knows thirty-six ways to play." But we don't have to play so complicated, do we?”
Zeng Shan nodded like a student who was being taught.
Ding Yuan continued," Then let's play Tiger Cave. We'll first dig six small holes in the ground. Each person will take turns to shoot three marbles. Whoever finishes six holes first can turn back and eat the other person's marbles. What do you think?"”
"I know this," Zeng Shan said."Let's play Tiger Cave."”As he said that, he handed Ding Yuan three stone pearls and said,"You're younger than me, you go first.”
Ding Yuan took the stone pearl and felt that it was much heavier than ordinary stone bullets. It was warm and smooth in his hand and very comfortable. He first drew a horizontal line on the ground and dug six small pits. The distance between each pit was about 30 feet. Ding Yuan deliberately dug the pit shallow and small so that Zeng Shan could suffer a little.
As soon as the hole was dug, Zeng Shan urged,"Hurry up and fight!"
Ding Yuan stood on the line and said unhurriedly,"Don't worry, there's a rule that needs to be made clear in advance. When one person is fighting, the other person must not use any means to interfere, otherwise, it's considered a loss.”
Zeng Shan nodded." Of course. You have to play fair. Otherwise, you're just a mangy dog."”
Ding Yuan held a stone bead in his right hand, held his breath, and stared at the small pit three feet away. Then, he shot the stone bullet out.
When Ding Yuan was young, his family was poor and he did not have the money to go to school. When other children went to private school, he would play alone in the wasteland in front of his house. Naturally, he often played billiards. As time passed, even though the stone bullets didn't hit 100% of the target, the distance of 30 feet wasn't a problem for him.
However, the stone pearl rolled along the ground. At first, it was moving in the right direction, but halfway through, it suddenly turned right and stopped three feet away from the pit.
"Oldman Zeng, you're cheating!" Ding Yuan glared at Zeng Shan.”
Zeng Shan's face was filled with innocence." I didn't do that. You're the one who blamed others for your own mistakes."”
Ding Yuan had been looking at Zeng Shan from the corner of his eyes when he attacked. He saw that Zeng Shan had indeed not moved at all. However, this stone pearl should have been able to fall into the cave, so why did it deviate so much?
Seeing that Ding Yuan was confused, Zeng Shan chuckled and said,"To tell you the truth, this stone pearl is not like ordinary stone bullets. It contains the Qi of the five elements and the essence of Yin and Yang.”As he spoke, Zeng Shan closed his left eye and opened his right eye. He aimed with his heart and shot out the Stone Pearl in his hand.
Ding Yuan watched closely from the side and found that Zeng Shan's method of striking the Stone Pearl was not special. However, the Stone Pearl kept spinning rapidly, forming a " bow " shape on the ground and rolling into the pit.
Zeng Shan was about to cheer when he saw this, but unexpectedly, due to using too much force, the stone bead rolled around the edge of the cave and slid out again. It slowly rolled forward for more than half a foot before stopping.
Zeng Shan scratched his messy hair and mumbled,""Strange, I clearly calculated the strength of my attack. Why is it still too heavy?”
Ding Yuan naturally understood that he had done something when he dug the hole. Without waiting for Zeng Shan to say anything, he said,"Oldman Zeng, it's my turn."
Zeng Shan stepped aside and stared at his stone pearl while drawing. Ding Yuan laughed inwardly, his right hand holding the second Stone Pearl, ready to take it out. This time, he was much more cautious. He held the stone pearl between his fingers and turned it slightly. Sure enough, he could vaguely feel a stream of energy flowing slowly inside.
"So the name is in here." Ding Yuan said in realization. 'Hmph, Oldman Zeng wants to beat me with this trick, but I won't let him!'”
He looked at the small pit and calculated the angle and distance in his heart. A wisp of genuine Qi from his Dantian flowed into his fingertips and released a spinning force. The stone bead fell to the ground and quickly spun in an arc toward the small pit. Unfortunately, the final arc was slightly wider, brushing past the entrance of the cave and stopping beside Zeng Shan's stone pearl.
Ding Yuan felt a little regretful, but Zeng Shan patted his shoulder and shouted,""Alright, young man. Just by watching me fight once, you've already comprehended the profound mysteries. Not bad, not bad!"
"It's your turn," Ding Yuan said.
Zeng Shan stood on the line with confidence. He first looked at Ding Yuan, then at the cave entrance. The second Stone Pearl shot out. This time, he added a bit of force, and the stone pearl fell into the hole and shook for a while before finally not rolling out again.
Zeng Shan cheered and jumped up high, asking,""Ding Yuan, it's my turn to play the second hole, right?”
Ding Yuan also admired this old man's comprehension and nodded."Not bad."
Zeng Shan took out the Stone Pearl from the cave, squatted on the ground, and aimed at the second small pit." Pa!" This time, the stone pearl stopped when it was two inches away from the cave. It turned out that the place it passed by this time was full of sand, and the ground resistance was much stronger than before.
This was naturally Ding Yuan's handiwork. He had long expected Zeng Shan's cultivation to be so amazing that it would be easy for him to make a marble hole. This was why he set up traps everywhere, causing this old man to suffer a lot.
Ding Yuan did not reveal his trick and said calmly,"Oldman Zeng, don't underestimate these six pits. They are like your stone pearls, each with their own mysteries. You must not be careless.”
Zeng Shan had already figured out what was going on. He chuckled and said,""Good kid, you do have some skills. This is more interesting. Let's do it again!" As he spoke, he stood on the line and released the third stone pearl.
"Wait, it's my turn now, isn't it?" Ding Yuan stopped him.”
"Is that so?" Zeng Shan blinked and asked.”
Ding Yuan knew that he was deliberately pretending to be confused, so he ignored him and stood still on the line. With the experience from the last two times, Ding Yuan had already grasped the method and strength of hitting the stone pearl. This time, he hit the hole as expected.
The two of them fought back and forth for six consecutive rounds, but the sun had unknowingly risen to the middle of the sky. Zeng Shan looked at the sky and suddenly slapped his forehead.""Not good!"
"Oldman Zeng, why are you so surprised?" Ding Yuan asked.”
Zeng Shan somersaulted backward and said anxiously,""I almost missed my business by playing with you. I have to hurry back!”As he spoke, he stepped on the cloud and left.
"Oldman Zeng, I still have your three stone pearls!" Ding Yuan said.”
Zeng Shan's figure had already turned into a small black dot, but his voice came from afar,""I'll give it to you to play with. I'll come and play with you tomorrow."
His voice was still echoing in the mountains, but he had already disappeared.
Ding Yuan couldn't help but laugh when he saw his burning eyebrows. He returned to the Cave of Enlightenment and took out the dry food prepared by Ah Niu and ate it with water. He left half of it until night.
At this time, he was the only one left in the Enlightenment Cave, so it was somewhat deserted. Ding Yuan suddenly remembered that when he had mocked Zeng Shan for leaving a message, Oldman Zeng had said that there was something mysterious about it. Thus, curiosity arose in his heart. He walked to the stone wall at the end of the Enlightenment Cave and carefully examined the ghostly talisman that Zeng Shan had imprinted with his finger.
However, after looking at it for a long time, Ding Yuan did not see anything unusual. He felt that the twenty-two words were of different sizes. The strokes were crooked and did not form a structure. He gently swept over the places where the strokes should be heavy, and he heavily engraved the places where the strokes should be light.
Ding Yuan had practiced calligraphy in the Black Bamboo Pavilion for three years and was quite familiar with calligraphy. However, if Zeng Shan's words were not mentioned, it would be taken as a five-year-old child's handwriting. As for the content of the words, it was even more vulgar and shallow. If one were to say that it had anything to do with the Heavenly Dao, Ah Niu would probably laugh until his teeth fell off.
Ding Yuan finally gave up after watching for the time it took to brew a cup of tea. He thought to himself,"Oldman Zeng must have scribbled these bullsh * t poems. Just now, he was afraid that I would laugh at him. There's no mystery in this. I almost fell for his trick!”
He turned around, feeling a little tired. This was not surprising. Ding Yuan had just recovered from his serious injuries and had just played marbles with Zeng Shan for half a day. He had to activate his zhenqi every time he hit the stone pearl, and he had unknowingly consumed a lot of it.
Thus, Ding Yuan sat down cross-legged on the stone bed, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and closed his eyes, preparing to cultivate the Nine Songs of Cui Wei. However, when he closed his eyes, the 22 words he saw on the stone wall appeared in front of him. These ugly words were arranged according to the order on the stone wall, and they kept enlarging and rotating in front of Ding Yuan's eyes, becoming clearer and clearer.
Ding Yuan's heart skipped a beat as he vaguely grasped the crux of the matter. He focused on the word "Ceng" at the beginning. He subconsciously raised his right hand and stretched out his index finger to copy the word in front of him. However, after writing a few strokes, he felt very awkward.
Ding Yuan was not discouraged. He thought about it and slowly raised his left hand. Thus, he used his right hand to write the dot on the right side of the head, and his left hand to trace the dot on the left side of the head. Both hands copied the word "Zeng" at the same time.
An inexplicable feeling surged into Ding Yuan's heart. He slowly stood up from the stone bed without realizing it. His hands kept copying the word "Zeng", but the more he wrote, the bigger it became. In the end, he walked through the flowers and walked around the willows. He drew Zeng Shan's calligraphy treasure with his hands and danced.
After writing the word "Ceng" dozens of times, Ding Yuan suddenly opened his eyes and rushed to the bottom of the cave without putting on his boots. This time, he finally realized that the twenty-two words left by Zeng Shan contained infinite mysterious changes. It was a set of fist techniques that could change without any direction and combine hardness with softness!
At this moment, in Ding Yuan's eyes, those originally ugly words came to life one by one, dancing on the stone wall, full of vitality. Whether it was a pause, a turn, or a light sweep and heavy press, all of them were unique and natural. Ding Yuanzhi felt blessed when Zeng Shan wrote these 22 words that day. If he had to write them again, there would be no consistent logic.
Ding Yuan was immersed in it hungrily. Sometimes, a knowing smile appeared on his face, and sometimes, his brows were deeply furrowed as he pondered. Inadvertently, the sun set and the moon rose, and then the sun rose and the moon sank. Ding Yuan was unaware of the changes in the light in the cave, and he forgot about hunger and thirst.
When he comprehended the last stroke of the " seven " character, he suddenly let out a long howl, shaking the echo in the Cave of Thought and Enlightenment like rolling thunder. Ding Yuan stretched out his arms and stepped on the Flower Wrapping Willow Steps. From the word "Ceng", his figure was like a rabbit rising and a bird falling. His fists were like rain hitting pear blossoms, and the wind was like a wind sweeping away the clouds. The twenty-two moves of the fist technique were done in one go, and it was really wonderful.
Just as Ding Yuan was immersed in his punches, someone at the entrance of the cave suddenly shouted,"Ding Yuan, come out quickly. I'm here to play with you again.”It was Zeng Shan.
However, there was no response from inside. Zeng Shan walked into the Enlightenment Cave and saw Ding Yuan dancing in front of the stone wall. He couldn't help but feel happy. He walked up to Ding Yuan and reached out to pat him on the shoulder. However, Ding Yuan was completely immersed in his fist technique and had completely forgotten about his surroundings. Subconsciously, he felt that there was an external force attacking him. At that moment, he waved his hand and used the "One" Fist without distinguishing between friend and foe.
Zeng Shan was shocked. Fortunately, his cultivation was much higher than Ding Yuan's, so he managed to dodge in time. Standing 30 feet away, he shouted,"Kid, are you crazy? You want to hit me too?”As soon as she said this, she suddenly understood that Ding Yuan had forgotten everything. She had wanted to pat his shoulder out of goodwill, but she had unintentionally triggered Ding Yuan's aura.
As expected, Ding Yuan lost his target as soon as Zeng Shan dodged. He returned to his previous state and looked at Zeng Shan as if he was nothing. Zeng Shan was both delighted and surprised to see that he had comprehended the 22 fist techniques he had left behind in just one day and one night. He wanted to see how much Ding Yuan had comprehended, so he turned around and entered without saying anything. He reached out to grab Ding Yuan's right hand.
Ding Yuan's right fist moved horizontally, sealing all the variations of Zeng Shan's fist path. His left hand turned into a fist and chopped down like an axe, turning into three palm shadows that were difficult to determine whether they were real or fake. It was the second path of the "Mountain" Formula.
Zeng Shan saw that Ding Yuan's move was able to stir up the strong wind and had the power to swallow mountains. He had already grasped the essence of the "Mountain" Formula. However, he was able to completely understand the concept of the three palms forming a river. He was not surprised but happy to say,"Good!"
He withdrew his left claw to protect his chest, and his right palm moved like the wind. He found the True Dragon Son of Heaven among the three palm shadows and sealed it with a slap. In order to take care of Ding Yuan, Zeng Shan only used 20% of his strength, but he was unexpectedly knocked back a step.
Ding Yuan's left palm was blocked, and he immediately swung his right fist. It was the head of the "swim" Formula, and it smashed toward Zeng Shan's face. This fist technique was created by Zeng Shan, so he naturally knew the changes in it. The first three points of the word "swim" were taken from the "Phoenix Three Nodding" of Yuexiu Sword Sect. It could be used as a feint to dazzle people, or it could turn feint into reality and directly attack the enemy. He saw Ding Yuan's right fist moving unsteadily, and his Qi was restrained. He knew that it was a feint, so he moved his upper body, bent and flicked his left index finger, and pointed at Ding Yuan's right wrist.
But to his surprise, Ding Yuan was affected by the Qi movement and turned his fist into a palm to strike Zeng Shan's left arm. He actually transformed the "swim" Formula into the "Zeng" Formula without leaving a trace.
Even Zeng Shan did not expect this change. If he had not been preoccupied, he might not have fallen into this trap. Seeing that he had used up a big move, he could only infuse qi into his arm and refine his right arm to be as hard as gold and stone. Ding Yuan's right palm was pushed away with a bang.
Even so, Zeng Shan felt ashamed. If it was purely in terms of moves, he had already lost by one move. If it wasn't for the fact that his zhenqi cultivation was much stronger than Ding Yuan's, this arm would have been broken here today.
Ding Yuan's right palm was blocked, but his left fist did not stop and struck out the vertical line of the word "Zeng". It looked slow but it was fast, and it looked hard but it was soft. He fully grasped the true meaning of the word "water" of "once experienced the sea".
Zeng Shan did not dare to be careless after suffering a small loss. He used ten percent of his energy to deal with Ding Yuan as if he was facing a great enemy. The two of them fought for a long time in the Cave of Enlightenment, one intentionally and one unintentionally. After all, Zeng Shan was the one who had the upper hand. After five or six moves, he had the upper hand.
However, Zeng Shan wanted Ding Yuan to display his full potential so that he could experience the essence of these 22 fist techniques in actual combat. Therefore, he stopped at the point and focused on defense, instead becoming Ding Yuan's sparring target. Such a fortuitous encounter was probably something that even the experts of the Dan generation could not wish for, but it had just happened to grant Ding Yuan's wish.
Just as the two of them were fighting excitedly, Zeng Shan suddenly felt another person at the entrance of the cave. From the corner of his eye, he saw a tanned and stocky youth standing by the cave with a lunchbox in his hand, staring blankly at them.
Zeng Shan naturally didn't recognize him. He immediately calmed down and laughed,""Kid Ding, let's stop here for today. Someone has brought food!”This time, he used the Heart Calming Mantra.
Ding Yuan woke up leisurely as if he had been woken up by the morning bell and evening drum. He saw Zeng Shan standing in front of him with a smile on his face. At the entrance of the cave, Ah Niu was looking in blankly. He could not help but ask blankly,"When did you guys arrive?”
"When you were about to punch me," Zeng Shan smiled bitterly.”
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Ding Yuan walked to the entrance of the cave and saw Zeng Shan sitting on the green stone tablet. His left hand was scratching his body, and his dirty and tattered straw sandals were dangling in the air. He looked very satisfied. When Ding Yuan heard Zeng Shan ask him, he snorted and replied,""What else can I do besides facing the wall?”
Zeng Shan laughed." So you've been punished here as well. It seems that my grandmaster nephew treats you quite well."”
"I just got here, and you're already here?" Ding Yuan asked.”
"What do I not know about the grass and trees behind Zuowang Peak?" Zeng Shan said proudly. Besides, I still have this." With a flip of his right hand, he took out a palm-sized bronze mirror and waved it in front of Ding Yuan.
Ding Yuan saw that there was nothing special about the bronze mirror other than its simple appearance. He asked curiously,"What is this?"
"I'll scare you to death if I tell you. It's an ancient immortal treasure, the Supreme Heavenly Mirror." Zeng Shan chuckled. With it, I can even find a small insect a thousand miles away, let alone a living person like you.”
"So you're the one guarding the back mountain of Zuowang Peak?”
"Of course, I've been living in this godforsaken place for decades.”"I was wondering why you didn't bring the fish to find me these days. I didn't expect that you would be punished and sent to the Enlightenment Cave to face the wall."”
"Oldman Zeng, did you stay in the Enlightenment Cave before?" Ding Yuan asked.”
Zeng Shan extended five fingers and said,""And I stayed for five years. I didn't suffocate to death. Did you see the message I left in the cave?”
Ding Yuan nodded." I saw it, but the handwriting isn't very good."”
Zeng Shan laughed out loud." That was left behind by me the first year I came here. After I finished writing the first sentence, I suddenly had an urgent need to pee, so I solved it on the spot." After I finished peeing, I casually added a second sentence.”
Ding Yuan snorted." Your words are ugly, and your poems are even worse. You still have the cheek to show off."”
"What do you know, kid?" Zeng Shan said disapprovingly."You'll understand the mystery after you read my calligraphy carefully."”"Ding Yuan, how long are you going to stay here?"”
"Three years."
"That's great!" Zeng Shan clapped his hands and shouted,"I'll have someone to play with in the next three years. It'll be even better if it's five or ten years!"”
"I'm sorry," Ding Yuan scoffed,"I'm here to face the wall, not to play with you." Besides, I don't even want to stay in this damn place for a day, and I'm not interested in accompanying you for eight to ten years.”
Zeng Shan jumped down from the green stone tablet and walked up to Ding Yuan with his hands behind his back. He laughed and said,""What's the point of staring at those cold stone walls all day? They don't know how to speak. Why don't the two of us play some games to pass the time?”
"Oldman Zeng, you're hundreds of years old. Why are you still playing games?" Ding Yuan chuckled.”
Zeng Shan's old face did not turn red at all. He said righteously,"Games and enlightenment are different but have the same result. Both have profound knowledge in them. You haven't played it before, so you don't know."
"Who says I haven't played it before?" Ding Yuan said indignantly. Don't look at how young I am, but I've played more games than you. I'm afraid you haven't even heard of my name.”
"Do you know how to play marble?" Zeng Shan blinked.”
" To tell you the truth," Ding Yuan chuckled." I've been playing marbles since I couldn't even walk. Now, I can hit marbles into holes with my eyes closed."”
Zeng Shan clapped his hands and said,""Then let's play billiards."
"It's not that I don't want to play with you," Ding Yuan said,"but where are we going to find marbles in this wilderness?"”
"I've already prepared for this." Zeng Shan smiled mysteriously.”He rummaged in his bosom for a long time and actually took out six stone bullets, spreading them out in his palm.
Ding Yuan didn't know how many more things were hidden in this old man's bosom, it was like a hundred treasure pouch. "Oldman Zeng, you actually carry marbles with you?"”
Zeng Shan tossed the marble in his hand and said proudly,""Don't underestimate these six stone bullets. I went to great lengths to get them from Lady Shi Ji. In ancient times, Mother Nuwa used these stone bullets to mend the heavens. In the end, there was only a tiny bit left. Now, all of them have fallen into my hands.”
Of course, Ding Yuan had heard of the legend of Nüwa mending the sky. He was slightly surprised and said,""Bragging? I don't believe it. If it really was such a precious treasure, why would Goddess Shi Ji be willing to give it to you?”
Zeng Shan's expression suddenly became a little bashful. He stammered for a long time before saying,"Of course, I used some tricks, but this stone pearl is authentic. Let's not talk about this. Let's talk about how to play billiards.”
"There are more than ten different ways to play marbles. I wonder which one you know?"”
Zeng Shan scratched his messy hair and frowned.""There are so many tricks in billiards?”
Ding Yuan laughed secretly. Actually, he had only played five or six tricks before. He had casually increased the number by more than double and indeed intimidated this old man. "Of course, I've also heard that someone knows thirty-six ways to play." But we don't have to play so complicated, do we?”
Zeng Shan nodded like a student who was being taught.
Ding Yuan continued," Then let's play Tiger Cave. We'll first dig six small holes in the ground. Each person will take turns to shoot three marbles. Whoever finishes six holes first can turn back and eat the other person's marbles. What do you think?"”
"I know this," Zeng Shan said."Let's play Tiger Cave."”As he said that, he handed Ding Yuan three stone pearls and said,"You're younger than me, you go first.”
Ding Yuan took the stone pearl and felt that it was much heavier than ordinary stone bullets. It was warm and smooth in his hand and very comfortable. He first drew a horizontal line on the ground and dug six small pits. The distance between each pit was about 30 feet. Ding Yuan deliberately dug the pit shallow and small so that Zeng Shan could suffer a little.
As soon as the hole was dug, Zeng Shan urged,"Hurry up and fight!"
Ding Yuan stood on the line and said unhurriedly,"Don't worry, there's a rule that needs to be made clear in advance. When one person is fighting, the other person must not use any means to interfere, otherwise, it's considered a loss.”
Zeng Shan nodded." Of course. You have to play fair. Otherwise, you're just a mangy dog."”
Ding Yuan held a stone bead in his right hand, held his breath, and stared at the small pit three feet away. Then, he shot the stone bullet out.
When Ding Yuan was young, his family was poor and he did not have the money to go to school. When other children went to private school, he would play alone in the wasteland in front of his house. Naturally, he often played billiards. As time passed, even though the stone bullets didn't hit 100% of the target, the distance of 30 feet wasn't a problem for him.
However, the stone pearl rolled along the ground. At first, it was moving in the right direction, but halfway through, it suddenly turned right and stopped three feet away from the pit.
"Oldman Zeng, you're cheating!" Ding Yuan glared at Zeng Shan.”
Zeng Shan's face was filled with innocence." I didn't do that. You're the one who blamed others for your own mistakes."”
Ding Yuan had been looking at Zeng Shan from the corner of his eyes when he attacked. He saw that Zeng Shan had indeed not moved at all. However, this stone pearl should have been able to fall into the cave, so why did it deviate so much?
Seeing that Ding Yuan was confused, Zeng Shan chuckled and said,"To tell you the truth, this stone pearl is not like ordinary stone bullets. It contains the Qi of the five elements and the essence of Yin and Yang.”As he spoke, Zeng Shan closed his left eye and opened his right eye. He aimed with his heart and shot out the Stone Pearl in his hand.
Ding Yuan watched closely from the side and found that Zeng Shan's method of striking the Stone Pearl was not special. However, the Stone Pearl kept spinning rapidly, forming a " bow " shape on the ground and rolling into the pit.
Zeng Shan was about to cheer when he saw this, but unexpectedly, due to using too much force, the stone bead rolled around the edge of the cave and slid out again. It slowly rolled forward for more than half a foot before stopping.
Zeng Shan scratched his messy hair and mumbled,""Strange, I clearly calculated the strength of my attack. Why is it still too heavy?”
Ding Yuan naturally understood that he had done something when he dug the hole. Without waiting for Zeng Shan to say anything, he said,"Oldman Zeng, it's my turn."
Zeng Shan stepped aside and stared at his stone pearl while drawing. Ding Yuan laughed inwardly, his right hand holding the second Stone Pearl, ready to take it out. This time, he was much more cautious. He held the stone pearl between his fingers and turned it slightly. Sure enough, he could vaguely feel a stream of energy flowing slowly inside.
"So the name is in here." Ding Yuan said in realization. 'Hmph, Oldman Zeng wants to beat me with this trick, but I won't let him!'”
He looked at the small pit and calculated the angle and distance in his heart. A wisp of genuine Qi from his Dantian flowed into his fingertips and released a spinning force. The stone bead fell to the ground and quickly spun in an arc toward the small pit. Unfortunately, the final arc was slightly wider, brushing past the entrance of the cave and stopping beside Zeng Shan's stone pearl.
Ding Yuan felt a little regretful, but Zeng Shan patted his shoulder and shouted,""Alright, young man. Just by watching me fight once, you've already comprehended the profound mysteries. Not bad, not bad!"
"It's your turn," Ding Yuan said.
Zeng Shan stood on the line with confidence. He first looked at Ding Yuan, then at the cave entrance. The second Stone Pearl shot out. This time, he added a bit of force, and the stone pearl fell into the hole and shook for a while before finally not rolling out again.
Zeng Shan cheered and jumped up high, asking,""Ding Yuan, it's my turn to play the second hole, right?”
Ding Yuan also admired this old man's comprehension and nodded."Not bad."
Zeng Shan took out the Stone Pearl from the cave, squatted on the ground, and aimed at the second small pit." Pa!" This time, the stone pearl stopped when it was two inches away from the cave. It turned out that the place it passed by this time was full of sand, and the ground resistance was much stronger than before.
This was naturally Ding Yuan's handiwork. He had long expected Zeng Shan's cultivation to be so amazing that it would be easy for him to make a marble hole. This was why he set up traps everywhere, causing this old man to suffer a lot.
Ding Yuan did not reveal his trick and said calmly,"Oldman Zeng, don't underestimate these six pits. They are like your stone pearls, each with their own mysteries. You must not be careless.”
Zeng Shan had already figured out what was going on. He chuckled and said,""Good kid, you do have some skills. This is more interesting. Let's do it again!" As he spoke, he stood on the line and released the third stone pearl.
"Wait, it's my turn now, isn't it?" Ding Yuan stopped him.”
"Is that so?" Zeng Shan blinked and asked.”
Ding Yuan knew that he was deliberately pretending to be confused, so he ignored him and stood still on the line. With the experience from the last two times, Ding Yuan had already grasped the method and strength of hitting the stone pearl. This time, he hit the hole as expected.
The two of them fought back and forth for six consecutive rounds, but the sun had unknowingly risen to the middle of the sky. Zeng Shan looked at the sky and suddenly slapped his forehead.""Not good!"
"Oldman Zeng, why are you so surprised?" Ding Yuan asked.”
Zeng Shan somersaulted backward and said anxiously,""I almost missed my business by playing with you. I have to hurry back!”As he spoke, he stepped on the cloud and left.
"Oldman Zeng, I still have your three stone pearls!" Ding Yuan said.”
Zeng Shan's figure had already turned into a small black dot, but his voice came from afar,""I'll give it to you to play with. I'll come and play with you tomorrow."
His voice was still echoing in the mountains, but he had already disappeared.
Ding Yuan couldn't help but laugh when he saw his burning eyebrows. He returned to the Cave of Enlightenment and took out the dry food prepared by Ah Niu and ate it with water. He left half of it until night.
At this time, he was the only one left in the Enlightenment Cave, so it was somewhat deserted. Ding Yuan suddenly remembered that when he had mocked Zeng Shan for leaving a message, Oldman Zeng had said that there was something mysterious about it. Thus, curiosity arose in his heart. He walked to the stone wall at the end of the Enlightenment Cave and carefully examined the ghostly talisman that Zeng Shan had imprinted with his finger.
However, after looking at it for a long time, Ding Yuan did not see anything unusual. He felt that the twenty-two words were of different sizes. The strokes were crooked and did not form a structure. He gently swept over the places where the strokes should be heavy, and he heavily engraved the places where the strokes should be light.
Ding Yuan had practiced calligraphy in the Black Bamboo Pavilion for three years and was quite familiar with calligraphy. However, if Zeng Shan's words were not mentioned, it would be taken as a five-year-old child's handwriting. As for the content of the words, it was even more vulgar and shallow. If one were to say that it had anything to do with the Heavenly Dao, Ah Niu would probably laugh until his teeth fell off.
Ding Yuan finally gave up after watching for the time it took to brew a cup of tea. He thought to himself,"Oldman Zeng must have scribbled these bullsh * t poems. Just now, he was afraid that I would laugh at him. There's no mystery in this. I almost fell for his trick!”
He turned around, feeling a little tired. This was not surprising. Ding Yuan had just recovered from his serious injuries and had just played marbles with Zeng Shan for half a day. He had to activate his zhenqi every time he hit the stone pearl, and he had unknowingly consumed a lot of it.
Thus, Ding Yuan sat down cross-legged on the stone bed, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and closed his eyes, preparing to cultivate the Nine Songs of Cui Wei. However, when he closed his eyes, the 22 words he saw on the stone wall appeared in front of him. These ugly words were arranged according to the order on the stone wall, and they kept enlarging and rotating in front of Ding Yuan's eyes, becoming clearer and clearer.
Ding Yuan's heart skipped a beat as he vaguely grasped the crux of the matter. He focused on the word "Ceng" at the beginning. He subconsciously raised his right hand and stretched out his index finger to copy the word in front of him. However, after writing a few strokes, he felt very awkward.
Ding Yuan was not discouraged. He thought about it and slowly raised his left hand. Thus, he used his right hand to write the dot on the right side of the head, and his left hand to trace the dot on the left side of the head. Both hands copied the word "Zeng" at the same time.
An inexplicable feeling surged into Ding Yuan's heart. He slowly stood up from the stone bed without realizing it. His hands kept copying the word "Zeng", but the more he wrote, the bigger it became. In the end, he walked through the flowers and walked around the willows. He drew Zeng Shan's calligraphy treasure with his hands and danced.
After writing the word "Ceng" dozens of times, Ding Yuan suddenly opened his eyes and rushed to the bottom of the cave without putting on his boots. This time, he finally realized that the twenty-two words left by Zeng Shan contained infinite mysterious changes. It was a set of fist techniques that could change without any direction and combine hardness with softness!
At this moment, in Ding Yuan's eyes, those originally ugly words came to life one by one, dancing on the stone wall, full of vitality. Whether it was a pause, a turn, or a light sweep and heavy press, all of them were unique and natural. Ding Yuanzhi felt blessed when Zeng Shan wrote these 22 words that day. If he had to write them again, there would be no consistent logic.
Ding Yuan was immersed in it hungrily. Sometimes, a knowing smile appeared on his face, and sometimes, his brows were deeply furrowed as he pondered. Inadvertently, the sun set and the moon rose, and then the sun rose and the moon sank. Ding Yuan was unaware of the changes in the light in the cave, and he forgot about hunger and thirst.
When he comprehended the last stroke of the " seven " character, he suddenly let out a long howl, shaking the echo in the Cave of Thought and Enlightenment like rolling thunder. Ding Yuan stretched out his arms and stepped on the Flower Wrapping Willow Steps. From the word "Ceng", his figure was like a rabbit rising and a bird falling. His fists were like rain hitting pear blossoms, and the wind was like a wind sweeping away the clouds. The twenty-two moves of the fist technique were done in one go, and it was really wonderful.
Just as Ding Yuan was immersed in his punches, someone at the entrance of the cave suddenly shouted,"Ding Yuan, come out quickly. I'm here to play with you again.”It was Zeng Shan.
However, there was no response from inside. Zeng Shan walked into the Enlightenment Cave and saw Ding Yuan dancing in front of the stone wall. He couldn't help but feel happy. He walked up to Ding Yuan and reached out to pat him on the shoulder. However, Ding Yuan was completely immersed in his fist technique and had completely forgotten about his surroundings. Subconsciously, he felt that there was an external force attacking him. At that moment, he waved his hand and used the "One" Fist without distinguishing between friend and foe.
Zeng Shan was shocked. Fortunately, his cultivation was much higher than Ding Yuan's, so he managed to dodge in time. Standing 30 feet away, he shouted,"Kid, are you crazy? You want to hit me too?”As soon as she said this, she suddenly understood that Ding Yuan had forgotten everything. She had wanted to pat his shoulder out of goodwill, but she had unintentionally triggered Ding Yuan's aura.
As expected, Ding Yuan lost his target as soon as Zeng Shan dodged. He returned to his previous state and looked at Zeng Shan as if he was nothing. Zeng Shan was both delighted and surprised to see that he had comprehended the 22 fist techniques he had left behind in just one day and one night. He wanted to see how much Ding Yuan had comprehended, so he turned around and entered without saying anything. He reached out to grab Ding Yuan's right hand.
Ding Yuan's right fist moved horizontally, sealing all the variations of Zeng Shan's fist path. His left hand turned into a fist and chopped down like an axe, turning into three palm shadows that were difficult to determine whether they were real or fake. It was the second path of the "Mountain" Formula.
Zeng Shan saw that Ding Yuan's move was able to stir up the strong wind and had the power to swallow mountains. He had already grasped the essence of the "Mountain" Formula. However, he was able to completely understand the concept of the three palms forming a river. He was not surprised but happy to say,"Good!"
He withdrew his left claw to protect his chest, and his right palm moved like the wind. He found the True Dragon Son of Heaven among the three palm shadows and sealed it with a slap. In order to take care of Ding Yuan, Zeng Shan only used 20% of his strength, but he was unexpectedly knocked back a step.
Ding Yuan's left palm was blocked, and he immediately swung his right fist. It was the head of the "swim" Formula, and it smashed toward Zeng Shan's face. This fist technique was created by Zeng Shan, so he naturally knew the changes in it. The first three points of the word "swim" were taken from the "Phoenix Three Nodding" of Yuexiu Sword Sect. It could be used as a feint to dazzle people, or it could turn feint into reality and directly attack the enemy. He saw Ding Yuan's right fist moving unsteadily, and his Qi was restrained. He knew that it was a feint, so he moved his upper body, bent and flicked his left index finger, and pointed at Ding Yuan's right wrist.
But to his surprise, Ding Yuan was affected by the Qi movement and turned his fist into a palm to strike Zeng Shan's left arm. He actually transformed the "swim" Formula into the "Zeng" Formula without leaving a trace.
Even Zeng Shan did not expect this change. If he had not been preoccupied, he might not have fallen into this trap. Seeing that he had used up a big move, he could only infuse qi into his arm and refine his right arm to be as hard as gold and stone. Ding Yuan's right palm was pushed away with a bang.
Even so, Zeng Shan felt ashamed. If it was purely in terms of moves, he had already lost by one move. If it wasn't for the fact that his zhenqi cultivation was much stronger than Ding Yuan's, this arm would have been broken here today.
Ding Yuan's right palm was blocked, but his left fist did not stop and struck out the vertical line of the word "Zeng". It looked slow but it was fast, and it looked hard but it was soft. He fully grasped the true meaning of the word "water" of "once experienced the sea".
Zeng Shan did not dare to be careless after suffering a small loss. He used ten percent of his energy to deal with Ding Yuan as if he was facing a great enemy. The two of them fought for a long time in the Cave of Enlightenment, one intentionally and one unintentionally. After all, Zeng Shan was the one who had the upper hand. After five or six moves, he had the upper hand.
However, Zeng Shan wanted Ding Yuan to display his full potential so that he could experience the essence of these 22 fist techniques in actual combat. Therefore, he stopped at the point and focused on defense, instead becoming Ding Yuan's sparring target. Such a fortuitous encounter was probably something that even the experts of the Dan generation could not wish for, but it had just happened to grant Ding Yuan's wish.
Just as the two of them were fighting excitedly, Zeng Shan suddenly felt another person at the entrance of the cave. From the corner of his eye, he saw a tanned and stocky youth standing by the cave with a lunchbox in his hand, staring blankly at them.
Zeng Shan naturally didn't recognize him. He immediately calmed down and laughed,""Kid Ding, let's stop here for today. Someone has brought food!”This time, he used the Heart Calming Mantra.
Ding Yuan woke up leisurely as if he had been woken up by the morning bell and evening drum. He saw Zeng Shan standing in front of him with a smile on his face. At the entrance of the cave, Ah Niu was looking in blankly. He could not help but ask blankly,"When did you guys arrive?”
"When you were about to punch me," Zeng Shan smiled bitterly.”
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。