Let me be in charge

  Step by step, Lin Heng walked to the front of the large iron gate. He took a deep breath and signaled to Linghu Chong with his eyes, warning him to be careful. Linghu Chong nodded and immediately kept a distance from Lin Heng, with his right hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

  "Mr. Ren, you've been locked up here for twelve years, how's life?"

  Lin Heng's sudden voice was met with a roar from inside, but immediately, it turned into a bellow, "What kind of people are you? Was it that dog thief Dongfang Bubai who sent you to kill me?"

  Ren Wo Xing's voice was loud and clear, with a hint of overbearing momentum that made people involuntarily shrink back.

  Taking a deep breath, Lin Heng calmed himself and continued: "Haha... Of course not. How could Dongfang Bubai possibly order my two brothers around? My brothers and I came here simply because we heard that Mr. Ren's divine technique is incredibly powerful, so we wanted to learn from him."

  "Haha…… You actually think you can learn my Stellar Devouring Technique? How ridiculous!" Ren Wuxing burst into laughter, while outside, Linghu Chong was taken aback and looked at Lin Heng in incredulity, making eye contact with him. Lin Heng understood what Linghu Chong meant and ignored him, continuing: "I also know that Senior Ren won't simply teach the Stellar Devouring Technique. Why don't we make a trade? If Senior Ren teaches us the technique, then we'll let him go. What do you say?"

  "Kid, don't waste your thoughts. I've lived for so long, do you think you can deceive me?" Ren Yi Xing sneered, clearly he didn't believe Lin Heng's words.

  Lin Heng was also helpless about this.

  "In that case, don't blame me then!" He said, and took out a bundle of dry firewood from behind his back, lit it with an oil lamp, and put it into the hole above. In an instant, the burning firewood emitted a strange fragrance, which poured into the iron cage along with the smoke.

  "You're overestimating yourself!" Ren Wo Xing shouted, and Lin Heng didn't know how he did it, but suddenly felt a pulling force coming from the front. The dry firewood in his hand flew out with a "pa" sound, and then those dry firewoods flew back again. If Lin Heng hadn't dodged quickly enough, he would have been pierced by those flying firewoods like a sieve.

  "Good move!" Lin Heng quietly praised, but he didn't think much of it. He had long known that this method wouldn't be enough to deal with Ren Wo Xing. He was just testing Ren Wo Xing's strength with this method. Now it seemed, he was truly unfathomable!

  Shaking his head, Lin Heng took out another bottle from his bag, pulled out the cork, and smashed it directly onto the iron lock on the ground. Then he quickly took out a prepared iron plate and sealed up the hole in the iron door.

  "Let me do it, and see who's more powerful, you or my Master's poison!" Lin Heng leaned against the iron plate, smiling smugly. Beside him, Linghu Chong's face looked very unsightly. Lin Heng noticed his expression and explained: "Linghu brother, don't be angry, okay? I have no other choice either. Besides the Heavenly Star Great Method, only the Easy Muscle Technique can cure your injury. You definitely won't agree to join Shaolin Temple, so there's no other way but to let you learn the Heavenly Star Great Method."

  "Lin brother, the Heavenly Absorption Technique is also an evil skill..."

  "Linghu brother, do you also believe this? What is evil cultivation? Is it just the martial arts of the demonic sects that are evil? The Heavenly Demon Cultivation Method is indeed terrifying, but it depends on who uses it. As for Ren Yingying, I won't mention her, if Linghu brother were to learn the Heavenly Demon Cultivation Method, I believe you would never use it to harm others. That's why I brought you here, because I have this faith in you."

  "But I am Mount Hua..."

  "Alright, alright, I know you're a disciple of the Huashan Sect. But why can you learn the Dugu Nine Swords and not the Xīxīng Great Method? The Dugu Nine Swords aren't even a sword technique from your Huashan Sect. Besides, once we leave, neither of us will mention it again. You won't use it to harm anyone else, who knows that you've learned the Xīxīng Great Method?"

  Linghu Cong was left speechless by Lin Heng, and he could only look at him helplessly. It wasn't until now that he realized this guy was the real rogue. However, thinking about how he had come here to take risks for his sake and obtain the Xīng Xīng Dà Fǎ, Linghu Cong's heart felt warm and fuzzy.

  "Brother Linghu, I can tell you clearly that at this point, you cannot give up. This time I brought you here, it's not just for your sake. Think about my master, what was different about him from before when you saw him on Wu Bang Gang?" Lin Heng said seriously after blocking Linghu Chong. "Yes, he looks much older and very tired. You know, my master is a divine doctor, he has never failed in treating illnesses or injuries. If he can't cure your injury, what kind of blow would that be to him? You should also know. Now, my master has found a way, but you won't live long enough, this will be an even greater blow to him. Therefore, I must cure your injury. Only then can my master put down this matter and not fall into madness."

  Linghu Cong nodded silently after hearing this. He wasn't a fool, and he could naturally see that Ping Yizhi was not right, especially when they met on Wubagang Mountain again. To be specific, when they first met a month ago, Ping Yizhi was still full of energy, but the second time they met, his eyes were bloodshot, his face was pale and tired, and even his hair had turned grayish white. Without thinking, he knew what was going on. That's why he didn't ask anything along the way. Now that Lin Heng has spoken out, it would be even harder for him to refuse.

  Time passed slowly in the silence of the two, and Lin Heng waited patiently for an hour before removing the iron plate.

  Lin Heng glanced inside and found Ren Yi Xing hiding under the iron bed. He let out a deep breath and said to Linghu Chong, "Linghu brother, just in case, use your sword to poke him now and see if he's really fainted!"

  "This..." Linghu Cong hesitated again, because Lin Heng's words were really too unrefined. But Lin Heng didn't care about that much, he knew Linghu Cong wouldn't do such a shameless thing. He immediately took the long sword from his hand and inserted it into the hole, then with a burst of strength, the sword shot out. With a "puchi" sound, the sword straightly pierced into Ren Wuxing's right shoulder.

  Lin Heng felt relieved upon seeing this. He immediately took out the key, inserted it into a nearby lock hole, and grasped the iron ring, shaking it vigorously before pushing it with force. The sound of creaking was heard as the iron door opened several inches inward. With another push, Lin Heng completely pushed open the iron door. He walked ahead, signaling to Linghu Chong not to relax, telling him to draw his sword in case of any unexpected situation.

  Two men slowly walked to the front of the iron bed and saw Ren Wuxing on it. Ren Wuxing had been locked up here for twelve years, his whole body was dirty beyond compare, his white beard hung down to his chest, and his face was also covered with a thick beard, making it impossible to see his features clearly.

  "Move him away and see if he has written down the Star Absorbing Technique?" Lin Heng said, and immediately he and Linghu Chong lifted up Ren Woxing from the front and back to move him away from the iron bed. But at this moment, Ren Woxing, who should have been unconscious, suddenly opened his eyes, then kicked Linghu Chong in the abdomen with one foot, kicking him flying out, while his left hand also grabbed Lin Heng, forcibly using the Star Absorbing Technique on him.

  The Xīng Xīng Dà Fǎ is really formidable, Lin Héng Yī was caught by him and felt his whole body lose strength, the internal force inside his body was no longer under his control and surged outwards.

  "How detestable, this old fellow is so ruthless?" Lin Heng's heart was terrified and he cursed loudly, his eyes staring fixedly at Linghu Chong. There, although Linghu Chong was spitting blood from his mouth, he also knew of Lin Heng's danger, and immediately stumbled forward with a thrust of his sword.

  His kung fu skills were profound, and even Lin Song's highly potent poison couldn't completely knock him out. However, he had inhaled a large amount of the poison, and although he was able to immediately counteract Lin Song's attack, his injured arm and the effects of the poison made it impossible for him to dodge Linghu Chong's assault.

  No choice, Ren Yingying could only use force, and with a swing of her arm, she sent Lin Heng flying out. Then she raised her left palm and struck towards Linghu Chong.

  Bang, bang, bang, three sounds in a row. First, Lin Heng crashed into the wall, followed by Linghu Chong flying back and crashing to the ground again. The last one was because Ren Wuxing finally couldn't resist the power of the anesthetic and fainted to the ground.

  "Bastard..."

  Leaning against the wall, Lin Heng cursed in a low voice. This time, it was his good fortune that he wasn't sucked dry by Ren Wuxing. He struggled to get up, quickly circulating the inner energy within him, and then walked step by step towards Linghu Chong, helping him up. Lin Heng placed his hand on Linghu Chong's pulse, slightly relieved. This time, although Linghu Chong had spat out a lot of blood, the injury wasn't severe; the most serious issue was that the eight kinds of foreign true energy within his body were rebelling again. However, with the presence of the Heavenly Absorbing Technique here, this wasn't a problem either.

  Compared to him, Lin Heng was even more miserable. His internal energy had been reduced by half. To make matters worse, it wasn't just a matter of depletion, but rather a significant portion had been forcibly stripped away. If it were merely depletion, he could easily replenish it, but now his vitality had been injured and wouldn't recover within one or two years. Of course, this was also his good fortune; if Linghu Chong had been any slower earlier, he would have definitely been drained dry by Ren Woxing.

  "Damn it, this old fellow..." Lin Heng cursed loudly, picking up the long sword on the ground, wanting to give Ren Yingying a few holes, but Linghu Chong held him back. Seeing this, Lin Heng could only sigh, this Linghu Chong was too kind-hearted, otherwise there wouldn't be so much trouble.

  Shaking his head, Lin Heng walked over to the iron bed and lifted up the quilt on top.

  "The Heavenly Star Great Method, this is the Heavenly Star Great Method... Leng Fox brother, this is the Heavenly Star Great Method..." Lin Heng was very excited as he looked at the dense small characters above. He came here for the Heavenly Star Great Method, didn't he? Now, after going through hardships time and time again, they finally got it. "Leng Fox brother, the eight true energies in your body are stirring restlessly, hurry up and cultivate, or else you won't live for much longer."

  Linghu Chong nodded, to be honest, he didn't want to practice this evil skill at all. But earlier, Lin Heng had nagged him for half a day and he had agreed, now if he opposed it again, that would be too unreasonable.

  Linghu Chong sat on the bed, starting to study the "Xī Xīng Dà Fǎ" (吸星大法) one word at a time. He soon discovered the differences in this "Xī Xīng Dà Fǎ". He asked Lin Heng about the reasoning behind it. Lin Heng naturally understood some of these things, but he wouldn't explain them to Linghu Chong. Instead, he told him to hurry up and cultivate (his internal energy), or else Ren Yingying would wake up and they would be in trouble.

  Looking at this, Linghu Chong could only honestly sit on the ground and start cultivating the Heavenly Star Great Method.

  The first step of the Stellar Devouring Technique is to disperse one's own internal energy, and in this aspect, Linghu Cong has a great advantage. Because his own internal energy had long been dispersed by the eight strands of foreign true energy, he didn't need to worry about it at all. After passing this step, comes the second step, which is also the second major hurdle of the Stellar Devouring Technique: absorbing external energy for one's own use. In this aspect, Linghu Cong also doesn't need to worry, because within his body there are eight strands of foreign true energy. These were eight strands of ownerless foreign true energy, so when he circulated his internal energy, these true energies all returned to the dantian.

  Linghu Cong was indeed destined to cultivate the Xixing Dafa, and in just a moment, he had initially cultivated the Xixing Dafa. Seeing this, Lin Heng immediately put away the Xixing Dafa oral formula he had copied, pulled her up and left.

  The two of them returned by the original route, restoring everything to its original state. After they left the underground dungeon, Lin Heng put the keys back in their respective places. Then, he splashed some wine on both of them and took out a medicine bottle, opened it, and waved it under Ding Jian's and Shi Lingwei's noses. Afterwards, he pretended to be drunk and fell onto the table with Linghu Chong.