The Legend of the Condor Heroes

Lian Penghu thought to himself "If we don't kill her now then when her husband the "Copper Corpse" arrives we will all be in deep trouble!" The events of that night when Chen Xuanfeng had died had not become known about in the Martial World. However the infamy of the two "Dark Winds" was widely known and their reputation was such that even a highly feared martial artists such as himeself was struck with dread at the thought of facing both of them together.

Mei Chaofeng's "Poison Dragon Silver Whip" was powerful in the extreme. If anyone approached from any direction they would die instantly. But Sha Tongtian, Peng Lianhu, Liang Ziwong and Ou Yangke were not about to give up so easily. Suddenly there was the sound of a whistle and Peng Lianhu began tunneling under the ground! Mei Chaofeng was prepared to defend against the sky and all four directions but not from below! At the sound of digging she became greatly alarmed and struck a slap down on the ground.

Seeing Guo Jing in danger, Huang Rong was about to rush to his aid but Mei Chaofeng was one step quicker. Using her long Silver Whip, she had already weaved a defensive barrier around herself and Guo Jing, making it impossible for Huang Rong or anyone to penetrate. However, Huang Rong knew that with just Mei Chaofeng's individual might, she would not be able to successfully defend against Peng Lian Hu's attack for much longer. Sensing that the situation was dire, Huang Rong yelled, "Everyone hold it, I have something to say." But Peng Lian Hu of course paid no heed to her. Why should he?

Huang Rong was preparing to raise her voice again when a voice from atop the wall said, "Everyone hold it, I have something to say."

Huang Rong turned her head and saw six figures on top of the wall, some taller, some shorter. In the darkness of night, she could not make out their faces clearly. Peng Lian Hu and the others knew that some people had arrived, but did not know if they were friend or foe. At present, the battles were growing ever more intense and nobody could bring themselves to stop. Two people leapt down from the wall and headed straight for Ouyang Ke; one waving a whip and the other raising a pole.

The short plump man that held the whip exclaimed, "You lecher, let's see you escape this time!" Upon hearing this voice,

Guo Jing yelled gladly, "Shifu! Save me!" The six people that just arrived were the Six Freaks of Jiang Nan.

After parting with Guo Jing at the inn, the Freaks had tailed the eight girls from White Camel Mountain. When they discovered that Ouyang Ke was leading his concubines to abduct innocent girls at night, they fought him there and then. After all, how could the Six Freaks of Jiang Nan sit by and do nothing while such atrocities were being committed? Although Ouyang Ke was highly-skilled, the Six Freaks had spent more than a decade in the desert working hard and had improved significantly since they left the Central Plains. Surrounded by six fighters, Ouyang Ke was hit by Ke Zheng'E's mace and subsequently had his left little finger dislocated, courtesy of Zhu Cong's Bone Dislocation technique. Left with no choice, Ouyang Ke was forced to leave the abducted girls behind and flee. The two concubines that had accompanied Ouyang Ke for the mission, however, were killed by Nan Xi Ren and Quan Jin Fa.

After escorting the teenage girls back to their homes, the Six Freaks went in pursuit of Ouyang Ke. But Ouyang Ke was extremely sly; he must have taken another route and thus, the Six Freaks were unable to locate him. They knew that, individually, none of them were his match, and so they did not dare to split up and search. Fortunately, the girls who rode on white camels had a strange and distinct way of dressing, and it was not difficult to ask around for their whereabouts. Thus, the Six Freaks pursued them all the way to Zhao Palace.

Ouyang Ke's white robes stood out in the darkness, and Han Bao Ju together with Nan Xi Ren attacked immediately. Upon hearing Guo Jing's cry, the Six Freaks were both surprised and glad. Zhu Cong and the rest then looked more closely and saw that the person weaving the barrier with a long, silver whip was none other than Iron Corpse, Mei Chao Feng! Mei was sitting on Guo Jing's shoulder and it certainly looked like Guo Jing had fallen into her clutches. Their faces paling in shock, Han Xiao Ying immediately brandished her sword and rushed forward, Quan Jin Fa tumbled into the silver whip's defensive radius; both hoping to rescue Guo Jing. Peng Lian Hu and the others already thought it strange that six people should suddenly arrive. Now these six people were attacking both Ouyang Ke and Iron Corpse, making it even more impossible to tell whose side they were on.

Peng Lian Hu halted his attack and, still using his Earthen Palm, got out of the whip's radius. "Everyone stop fighting, I have something to say," he shouted.

Like a large booming bell, his shout rang aloud in everyone's ears. Liang Zi Weng and Sha Tong Tian were the first to stop fighting.

Ke Zheng'E could tell from his shout that this person was a force to be reckoned with and called out: "Third brother, Seventh sister, don't be rash!"

Upon hearing their Eldest brother's orders, Han Bao Ju and the rest backed off. Mei Chao Feng had also withdrawn her silver whip and was panting. Huang Rong stepped forward and told her, "You have reaped much credit for yourself this time. My father will be pleased." Using both arms, she motioned to Guo Jing, telling him to toss Mei Chao Feng away.

Guo Jing understood Huang Rong, and knew that she had spoken to Mei Chao Feng to distract her. He said: "The 'Three Flowers Gathered Atop' is Essence transformed into Qi, Qi transformed into Spirit, Spirit transformed into Nothingness. Remember that!"

Mei Chao Feng pondered, then asked: "How does one transform?"

Suddenly, she felt her body soar through the air. While she had been dwelling on the deeper meanings of this nei gong (internal energy) mantra, Guo Jing had seized the opportunity and tossed her more than ten feet away. At the same time, he had summoned his energy and leapt backward, but even before he could land, Mei's "Poison Dragon Silver Whip" was already flying towards him, its hooks sparkling brightly.

Han Bao Ju exclaimed: "Not good!"

He unleashed his own whip and the two whips met. Suffering waves of shock from the extremely close shave, Han Bao Ju's whip was snatched by her Poison Dragon Silver Whip. Mei Chao Feng was just about to land hard on the ground but her outstretched palm met the ground first, and she lightly seated herself. Having heard Ke Zheng'E's voice and fought briefly with Han Xiao Ying, she knew the Seven Freaks of Jiang Nan must have arrived. Her heart filled with loathing and at the same time a little fear, she thought to herself: "I have searched everywhere for them in vain, and now they have delivered themselves to me. If it were any other day, I would've thanked the heavens, but this night I was surrounded by other strong enemies and already found them hard to handle. Now, with the addition of these seven scoundrels, I cannot possibly hope to live past tonight." She gritted her teeth and decided: "I have no grudge with Liang Zi Weng and the others. As for the Seven Freaks, I will fight them to the death and make sure that if I perish, they perish with me. One dead Freak is one less – I'll take as many as I can with me." Gripping her Poison Dragon Silver Whip, she listened carefully to the Seven Freaks' movements and wondered: "Out of seven only six came, I wonder where the other is ambushed?" She did not know that the Laughing Buddha Zhang Ah Sheng had already been killed by her husband on that fateful night in the Steppes.