Mei Chaofeng felt this surge of power in midair; it was like a cannonball pushing her upward. Hastily she changed her right claw into a palm, striking downward then she flipped her body backwards and landed on the threshold. She was unable to restrain her shock, thinking that these two people’s skills were very profound, certainly above the Quanzhen Seven Masters. “Is Hong Qigong and Emperor Duan in here?” she called out.
Qiu Chuji said with a smile, “We are the Quanzhen Seven Masters. What Hong Qigong or Emperor Duan?”
Mei Chaofeng was puzzled, “Tan Laodao [old Taoist] was not my match; how come there is such an expert among his martial brothers? Could it be there is such a big difference in skill among them even though they came from the same school?”
Guo Jing in the other room was also puzzled; he thought that although Liu and Wang two people’s martial art skill was higher, they were more or less in par with Mei Chaofeng or with her senior. Even if those two combined their forces, they would not be able to casually throw her out like that. Only Zhou Botong, Hong Qigong, Huang Yaoshi, Ouyang Feng, and other people of their caliber would have this kind of ability; how did the Quanzhen Seven Masters manage to do that?
Mei Chaofeng’s temper was very bold; other that her own Shifu, she did not fear anybody in the world. The more she suffered setbacks, the more she would act recklessly. That day on the peak of the Mongolian’s cliff Ma Yu was speaking to her amiably, treating her in good manners and let her go without giving her too much difficulty. But today Qiu Chuji believed Qiu Qianren’s lies that Zhou Botong had been killed by Huang Yaoshi; he also believed Huang Yaoshi killed Guo Jing. His hatred toward the Peach Blossom Island went deep to his bones and marrows; he kept calling Mei Chaofeng ‘yao fu’ [lit. goblin/witch/devil/monster woman]. Mei Chaofeng knew perfectly well that her enemies were not her match, but she was not willing to give up. She only hesitated for a moment before she reached into her waist to pull her ‘du long bian’ [poisonous dragon whip] out. “Ma Daozhang!” she called out, “I must offend you today!”
Ma Yu replied, “You flatter me!”
Mei Chaofeng said, “I am going to use my weapon. Unsheathe your swords!”
Wang Chuyi said, “There are seven of us while you are alone, plus your eyes cannot see a thing. Even if the Quanzhen Seven Masters are unworthy, we cannot use weapons against you. We will sit and not move; you can start!”
Mei Chaofeng coldly said, “Do you want to face my silver whip sitting motionless?”
Qiu Chuji scolded, “Witch, tonight you will lose your life, what more do you want to say?”
“Humph,” Mei Chaofeng snorted. Her right hand flicked, the long whip full of hooks in her hand moved slowly like a big python straight toward Sun Bu’er.
In the other room Huang Rong listened their conversation; she knew how fierce Mei Chaofeng’s ‘du long bian’ was, the Quanzhen Seven Masters went as far as daring to take the whip sitting motionless and barehanded, she wanted to know how they were going to do that. She pulled Guo Jing away from the hole and told him that she wanted to watch.
She saw the Quanzhen Seven Masters sat in a formation inside the room; it suddenly dawned on her, “This is the Big Dipper constellation! Hmm, right! Didn’t Qiu Daozhang mention the Big Dipper formation?” Huang Yaoshi was proficient in astronomy and the study of calendar calculation (almanac). When Huang Rong was small she often sat on her father’s knees in a clear night, looking at celestial constellation, hence she immediately recognized the positions of the seven Taoist priests.
The Quanzhen Seven Masters’ Ma Yu took the ‘tian shu’ [sky pivot] position, Tan Chuduan took the ‘tian xuan’ [sky jade/gem] position, Liu Chuxuan ‘tian ji’ [sky pearl], Qiu Chuji ‘tian quan’ [sky power/authority]. These four people formed the head of the constellation. Wang Chuyi took the ‘yu heng’ [jade (measuring) weight], Hao Datong the ‘kai yang’ [open sun], and Sun Bu’er ‘yao guang’ [shaking ray (of light)]. These three were the handle of the Big Dipper.
Among the seven stars of the Big Dippers, the light of the ‘tian quan’ was the darkest, but it was the link connecting the head with the handle. It was the most important position; hence it was occupied by the strongest among the Quanzhen Seven Masters, Qiu Chuji. Among the handle, ‘yu heng’ was the most important; hence it was taken by the second strongest Wang Chuyi.
Mei Chaofeng’s ‘du long bian’ was moving toward Sun Bu’er’s chest. It seemed slow but it was very fierce; who would have thought that the Daogu [Taoist priestess] was still sitting motionless. Huang Rong followed the movement of the tip of the whip and saw that there was a skull embroidered on Sun Bu’er’s Taoist robe; she was secretly amazed. “Quanzhen Sect enjoys the reputation as a Taoist orthodox school, how come her clothing resembles something from Mei Shijie’s pathway?” She did not know that when Wang Chongyang took Sun Bu’er as his disciple he drew a skull and gave it to her. His meaning was that somebody’s life was short, that very quick death will come, and the person would change into a skull; so she must cultivate the true and admired ‘way’ [‘Dao’ of the Taoist means ‘the way’]. In memory of her deceased master, Sun Bu’er embroidered this skull on her robe.
The ‘yin bian’ [silver whip] seemed to move slowly, yet it carried a gust of wind. The tip of the whip was only about several inches apart from the embroidered skull on her robe, suddenly with an abrupt movement the silver whip flew back, just like a python when its head was chopped with a knife, or like an arrow it flew straight back towards Mei Chaofeng. It was so strange and swift; Mei Chaofeng only felt that her hand was slightly shaken and the wind had already caressed her face. Quickly she ducked and the silver whip brushed through her hair. “Dangerous!” she cried out inwardly as she pulled the whip back and re-attacked. This time the whip was aimed toward Ma Yu and Qiu Chuji, who were still sitting motionless. Tan Chuduan and Wang Chuyi raised their palms and parried the whip away.
After they exchanged several stances Huang Rong was able to see clearly that the Quanzhen Seven Masters always parry the incoming attack with one palm, while the other palm was holding the shoulder of the person sitting right next to them. Huang Rong pondered deeply and it dawned on her, “It turned out that they are using the same method I use to help healing Jing Gege’s injury. They are combining seven people’s strength into one; how can Mei Shijie resist?”
The Big Dipper Formation was Quanzhen Sect’s highest and most mysterious martial art, developed by Wang Chongyang with countless meticulous care. The main principle was combining forces in combat with a wide range of variations; it might even be used in the battlefield. When the enemy attacked, the one directly bearing the brunt did not need to exert any energy to resist; it was the companions on his/her flanks who would launch the counterattack. It was as if one person with several people’s martial art; the power was truly irresistible.