Chapter 7

"Daughter, I'm fine, I just thought of your father and your lost sister, which made my heart restless, and I made you worry."

At this moment, Ji Boyi finally realized that he was now in the world of Smiling, Proud Wanderer, and that he was Yang Lanting. He decided to start his life's journey early.

"Oh, it's all my fault. If I hadn't abandoned your sister and younger sister back then, we wouldn't be so lonely now."

Seeing this courtyard, which was even larger than the one in Jiangdu City, but only inhabited by Yang Lanting and his mother, it was truly desolate.

"Mother, I want to learn martial arts."

At this moment, Ji Boyi decided on his future path. He knew the outcome of Yang Lanting, who was weak in martial arts and was eventually killed by Ren Woxing.

"Can you endure the hardship, child? You could barely last three days before, and now you're already fourteen, past the golden age for learning martial arts."

Hearing the woman's words, Ji Boyi's lips curled into a confident smile. He was no longer the same person he used to be.

"Alright, since you want to learn martial arts, I won't stop you. Do you want to learn the martial arts of Huashan or Wudang? I'll help you arrange it."

The woman thought it was just a passing fancy and didn't take it seriously. In her mind, spending some money to invite a master from Huashan or Wudang would do, and after a few days, when the child's interest waned, she could send the master back.

However, Ji Boyi's words startled her.

"Mother, I want to join the Sun Moon Cult!"

"What!"

Hearing Ji Boyi's words, the woman's hand trembled, and the teacup fell to the ground, shattering into pieces.

Even this woman had heard of the Sun Moon Cult's reputation. She never thought her son would want to join the notorious cult.

"Lanting, are you joking with me? That sect's reputation isn't good at all."

Seeing the woman's frightened expression, Ji Boyi's face turned serious. He knew his mother doted on Yang Lanting and would fulfill any request. By showing his determination to join the Sun Moon Cult, he was sure she would eventually agree.

Sure enough, after two days of hesitation, the woman reluctantly agreed. However, the problem was how to join the Sun Moon Cult.

Unlike Wudang and Shaolin, which had open doors and accepted anyone with potential, the Sun Moon Cult was different. Even though everyone knew their base was at Blackwood Peak in Hebei, you couldn't just walk up to their gate and ask to join. They would likely suspect you of being a spy and kill you, even if his sister was Dongfang Bubai.

During these two days, Ji Boyi obtained accurate information about the current martial world through a large amount of silver.

Ren Woxing was still the leader of the Sun Moon Cult, and Dongfang Bubai was still the deputy leader. The Five Mountains had not yet merged, so he still had time.

A month later, Ji Boyi finally joined the Sun Moon Cult. The method was simple: he spread a large amount of silver in a brothel. The Sun Moon Cult was a large organization with significant expenses, and brothels and casinos were their main sources of income.

This was one of the reasons they were called a cult. Every time Ji Boyi visited a brothel, he wouldn't leave until he had spent at least a hundred taels of silver.

After a month, one day, after spending the night in the best room of the Red Mansion with the top courtesan Qingqing, Ji Boyi woke up to find himself in an unfamiliar place.

"Would you like to join our cult, young friend?"

A bearded man asked him directly upon seeing him awake. Ji Boyi had intended to be a bit reserved, but after three seconds, seeing the man's impatience as he placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, he nodded in agreement.

Subsequently, Ji Boyi officially became a member of the Sun Moon Cult. The bearded man was named Jiang Han, a hall leader under the Wind and Thunder Hall. For various reasons, he was raising funds here.

Ji Boyi, newly joined, obediently contributed three thousand taels of silver as membership fees, which filled the final gap in the funds. Jiang Han was very satisfied. Coincidentally, his deputy hall leader had died in a battle with the Five Mountains Sword Sect, so he appointed Yang Lanting to fill the vacancy.

The other members of the cult naturally resented this, but Ji Boyi wasn't worried about these nameless lackeys. Spending a large amount of silver, he won over some and suppressed others. By the time Jiang Han returned to Blackwood Peak to report, most of the Sun Moon Cult members had been won over by Ji Boyi.

Some stubborn members who didn't know their place met with "accidents," their whereabouts exposed, and were ambushed and killed by righteous martial artists.

However, Ji Boyi knew that in the cult, the strong ruled, and he placed great importance on his martial arts.

Fortunately, this body, though of average talent, had some foundation in internal energy, and it was pure Daoist internal energy. Ji Boyi, with his previous cultivation of "Tai Su Yin Gong," was already a top-notch martial artist. Therefore, practicing the Sun Moon Cult's clearly crude "Sun Moon Great Law" was much easier.

Two years later, Ji Boyi's internal energy had recovered to its peak state with "Tai Su Yin Gong," with six of the eight meridians already open, only the Ren and Du meridians remaining.

However, the internal energy cultivated through the Sun Moon Great Law was only about one-fifth as strong as that of "Tai Su Yin Gong." According to Ji Boyi's estimate, after breaking through to the innate realm, this cultivation method would reach its limit and could not advance further.

However, in this world, innate realm experts were already the top tier. If Ji Boyi could cultivate the Sun Moon Great Law to its peak, he could dominate the world, as long as he didn't encounter someone like Feng Qingyang.

In these four years, Yang Lanting's name had become well-known throughout the Sun Moon Cult.

His position had risen from deputy hall leader to deputy chief of the Wind and Thunder Hall. In the martial world, Yang Lanting, the deputy chief of the Wind and Thunder Hall, was a notorious figure.

However, what made Ji Boyi happiest was recognizing his sister. The chief of the Wind and Thunder Hall, Tong Bai Xiong, was a life-and-death brother to Dongfang Bubai. As the deputy chief, Yang Lanting could easily meet Dongfang Bubai.

Through various means, he made Dongfang Bubai inadvertently discover Yang Lanting's true identity, and the siblings easily recognized each other.

"Brother Lian, what do you think the leader has been cultivating in seclusion for so long?"

On Blackwood Peak, in a pavilion where flowers were in full bloom, Dongfang Bubai, dressed as a man, was holding a zither, and a soft melody echoed. Ji Boyi, dressed in a long robe with a face like a jade crown, smiled slightly but said nothing, only looking at his sister.

"The leader's Absorbing Star Technique is already renowned, what could be more powerful than that?"

At this moment, Ji Boyi finally spoke, his gaze returning from Dongfang Bubai's perfect face.

"Sister, have you forgotten the 'Manual of the Sunflower' that our cult's ten elders took from Huashan Sect decades ago? Perhaps the leader is cultivating this technique."

After hearing Ji Boyi's words, Dongfang Bubai gave him a reproachful look. The 'Evil-Exorcising Sword Manual' of the Lin family had already fallen into their hands a year ago, and they knew the true origins of the 'Manual of the Sunflower.' Ji Boyi's words were clearly a jab at Ren Woxing.

"The young lady is becoming more and more adorable, and holding her makes me happier and happier."

As they said this, both siblings looked at the young girl walking unsteadily in the garden, with a beautiful woman following her gently.

"Sister, how far have you progressed with the 'Evil-Exorcising Sword Manual'? What are your chances against Ren Woxing?"

While they spoke openly, they secretly discussed treason.

"Hardly to the second level. In a direct confrontation, I have only a two or three out of ten chance."

"Then let's wait two more years. By then, I should be able to open the Ren and Du meridians."

As Ji Boyi spoke, he opened an ancient book on the stone table, the Tai Chi symbol on it seeming mysterious.

This was the 'Tai Chi Classic' that the Sun Moon Cult had stolen from Wudang Mountain. As a personally written work by Zhang Sanfeng, it was cherished by the Wudang Sect as a secret treasure, containing profound Daoist principles.

However, because it was so profound, it would be difficult to understand without at least a decade of Wudang cultivation. But this was not a problem for Ji Boyi. His first martial arts teacher was a Wudang expert. Although he had switched to the Sun Moon Cult's techniques, his foundation was still orthodox Wudang internal energy.

Relying on this connection, he spent a year at Wudang, mastering the basic techniques. With his insight, he could understand a significant portion of the 'Tai Chi Classic.'

Two years later, with the guidance of the great expert Dongfang Bubai and his own insight, Ji Boyi opened the Ren and Du meridians, becoming a top martial artist. Apart from a few exceptional individuals, he could now walk the world like a crab.

During this time, taking advantage of Ren Woxing's seclusion, most of the Sun Moon Cult had fallen into the hands of Dongfang Bubai and Ji Boyi. The final rebellion was launched after Ji Boyi emerged from seclusion.

...

"Madam, please forgive me!"

After saying this, Dongfang Bubai struck Xue Xin's chest, directly severing her heart.

With her death, the plan against Ren Woxing reached its climax. Upon learning of his wife's death, Ren Woxing, ignoring his injuries, broke out of seclusion.

Under the watchful eyes of Ji Boyi and Dongfang Bubai, Ren Woxing displayed his might, single-handedly challenging the Five Mountains Sword Sect. Just as he was about to drain Zuo Lengshan's internal energy, he suddenly withdrew.

"Ping Yizhi, don't disappoint me!"

With mysterious smiles, Dongfang Bubai and Ji Boyi watched as Ren Woxing returned to Blackwood Peak and summoned Ping Yizhi to diagnose his injuries.

Outside the "Chengde Hall," Dongfang Bubai and Ji Boyi, along with dozens of loyalists, surrounded all the exits, ready to storm in and kill Ren Woxing and seize power as soon as Ping Yizhi confirmed his injuries.