Chapter 41: Withered Hand

"People, like plants and trees, wither and flourish; their sinking and floating are all controlled by the same sky."

To meditate and cultivate the mind as all things grow and wither may be the purpose of the Withering and Flourishing Hand.

Holding the jade slip close to his forehead, almost three days passed without Ye Yang taking a single drop of food or water.

One day, a bean-sized spiritual light burst out from between his eyebrows and appeared in the void.

His left and right hands quickly took root and sprouted, and soon grew into an old tree.

However, the old tree did not last long. In a blink of an eye, the leaves turned yellow, the bark dried up, and the tree shrank rapidly and broke, soon turning back into a seed.

Ye Yang stretched out his hands, and saw the seeds on his palms quickly taking root, sprouting, and growing vigorously. In the blink of an eye, they turned into old trees.

The old tree was split in the middle. One side was lush green, exuding a rich vitality, while the other side was dull and dry, filled with a grayish-white aura of death.

Withered Hand: Getting Started
Progress: 1%
Next level: Minor success

[Perseverance, picking wild flowers and practicing palm strikes 500 times every day, persisted for two years and achieved success.]
Ye Yang carefully felt what was required to practice the Withered and Flourishing Hand.

You need to pick wild flowers every day. It is okay in spring and summer, but in autumn and winter, the world is bleak and there are no blooming wild flowers.

He stood with his palms clasped together, a blue-black light gushed out from his palms, and in the swirling mist, his palms seemed to have grown larger.

He swung his right palm and touched a young leaf of the old persimmon tree. The leaves, which were originally green and full of vitality, suddenly turned yellow and withered, and soon turned into mud.

He flipped his left hand and touched an ordinary weed in the yard, and the weed grew several centimeters taller at an alarming speed.

The whole body is full of green, and the originally curled leaves quickly stretch out and become more vibrant than before.

The first move of the Withering and Flourishing Hand—the red fades and the green diminishes.

This move is the entry-level skill of the Withering and Flourishing Hand, which can absorb the life essence of plants and trees, making living matter withered and extremely domineering.

The second move of the withered and flourishing hand: transplanting flowers and trees
This move can graft the absorbed essence of plants and trees for other uses, achieving the effect of one plus one being greater than two.

"White dew across the river."

Ye Yang let out a light cry, and a white line suddenly appeared from his body. In the flash of a knife, it flew forward with him.

His entire body transformed into a spinning raindrop, hitting a stubborn rock at an astonishing speed.

Kang dang
A voice was heard, Ye Yang took a deep breath, put away his knife and stood up. The hard stone did not break in the middle, but there was a knife mark.

After a moment, a breeze blew, and the stubborn stone suddenly seemed to have lost all its vitality, turning into pieces of gravel. At the same time, a weak essence entered the body.

Ye Yang felt that the fatigue from swinging the knife just now was instantly swept away, and his body was filled with strength.

Ye Yang was surprised.

He walked up to the round stone, reached out his hand, held the broken stone in his hand, and looked at it carefully.

The hard stone seemed to have experienced a long time after being hit by his sword.

The life force was lost and shattered into countless small gravel by the wind.

The combination of the Withered and Flourishing Hand and the Wind and Frost Sword Technique was beyond his imagination. The Wind and Frost Sword Technique could actually absorb essence and feed it back to himself, allowing him to fight against the enemy and become stronger and stronger.

If a fight really breaks out, not to mention fighting, even being tired would kill the other person.

……

Time flies like water, and half a month has passed in a flash.

Yesterday, the construction workers from Tiangong Temple arrived at the old house and started construction.

These strong men were strong and muscular, and they worked very quickly. It didn’t take long before they demolished the old house in the backyard.
Ye Yang brought a rattan chair and sat under the old persimmon tree, which had gradually become a green shade. He had a rare moment of leisure, closed his eyes slightly, and made himself a pot of scented tea. In the past ten days, in addition to nourishing his life with spiritual stones, Ye Yang focused on practicing the Withering and Flourishing Hand, and every day he ate petals and picked wild flowers in the mountains.

He collected all the common wild flowers such as sesame seeds, lilac, baby's breath, morning glory, camellia and various unknown wild flowers.

When he came across some fragrant flower buds that were about to bloom, he would pick them with his pocket, put them in the sun to dry, stir-fry them slightly in a casserole, and put them in a rattan pot.

When you are relaxing, take a shower with boiling hot water.

Purple, red and white flowers bloomed in the teacup one after another, and the tea soup was clear and slightly yellow.

It has a natural fragrance and sweet taste.

The recliner was swaying slowly as I listened to the clanging sounds of the house being demolished in the afternoon. I don't know why, but I had no idea what was going on.

He slowly fell asleep.

After waking up, feeling refreshed, Ye Yang poured himself another cup of tea, opened the newly repaired wooden door, and poured the tea leaves in the previous cup, which had little flavor left, out the door.

"It is like stealing a little time to relax from busy life. When your mind is free from worries, you are like a god."

Ye Yang felt emotional.

Such carefree days of picking wild flowers and drinking a cup of warm tea are the most comfortable times in life.

……

After burying the withered flowers, Ye Yang looked up and saw a tall figure standing in front of his door.

She had her hair tied into a bun, wore a green skirt, a long sword as white as snow on her back, and her long black hair fell to her waist.

Her skin is not fair, but slightly wheat-yellow, and her cherry-pink lips are tightly pursed. Although she is not glamorous, she has a heroic air.

It was Yan Qingying.

It seemed that Yan Qingying had been waiting at the door for a while. She wanted to knock on the door and enter, but felt a little embarrassed.

So I had to walk alone at the door.

At this moment, seeing Ye Yang suddenly walk out the door, a trace of panic flashed across his face, which was somewhat unnatural.

"Junior Sister Yan, why are you here? Why are you standing outside the door without even saying hello? I just made some tea, come and have a taste."

This was the first time Ye Yang had seen Yan Qingying in more than half a month. As a disciple of the first echelon of Feitian Sect, she was usually full of energy and strong and resolute.

But when I saw her recently, she looked haggard, timid, a little thin, and seemed extremely unconfident, as if she had been hit by something.

Ye Yang immediately guessed something.

Yan Qingying was born in a poor family. Her parents favored boys over girls, so she had to work in the fields when she was three or four years old.

After being exposed to the sun for a long time, my skin turned dark and yellow, and it has not turned white until now.

Later, she was sold to a wealthy man as a concubine. In order to resist the bride price for her brother, she escaped on the wedding night and accidentally became a disciple of Feitian Sect, where she practiced very hard.

He would get up before the cock crowed to practice, and after evening classes, he would still stay up late with a lamp, practicing martial arts diligently.

Yan Qingying walked straight ahead with a sword in hand, chasing and killing the Flying Tiger thief. After traveling thousands of miles, he forced the thief into the green forest and mountains. He was respectfully called "Swallow Sword" by the outside world and attracted much attention.

But because of her background, she was very afraid that others would look down on her. She seemed cold and taciturn, but in fact she was quite inferior in her heart.

……

(End of this chapter)