Chapter 137: Out Of Control
Lu Yun and the other three entered the bamboo forest. The young attendant at the gate seemed to be perpetually sleepy. Just like last time, he was leaning against the bamboo door, nodding and dozing. He didn’t even hear them enter.
Lu Song had to push him. Only then did the young attendant jolt awake. Seeing that it was them, the young attendant rubbed his eyes in dissatisfaction and mumbled, “Why is it earlier than last time? I just fell asleep…” It wasn’t until Lu Song produced another packet of candy that he smiled and said, “You guys wait.” With that, he turned and went inside to report.
In a short while, the young attendant came out and told them to go in by themselves. He then leaned against the bamboo door again, continuing to have pleasant dreams.
Lu Yun and the other three tiptoed into the small courtyard. They saw Lu Xian still with his hair dishevelled, standing blankly in front of a clump of bamboo, staring intently at his bamboo brother, with nothing else in his eyes.
The four hesitated for a moment, then quietly greeted Lu Xian.
Lu Xian didn’t turn his head. He simply uttered a few words, “You’ve arrived, continue your deductions.”
The four responded and quickly found their respective bamboo stalks from last time, staring at them with ten times the effort they had before. If they had been somewhat dismissive of Lu Xian’s method before, then with Lu Song’s successful example, the four were now deeply convinced that they could deduce the principles of heaven and earth from these bamboos, thereby achieving enlightenment, sublimation, and ascending to heaven in one step.
Soon, Lu Song, Lu Bai, and the other two were immersed in a state of forgetting self and object, with only the bamboo brother in their perception. However, Lu Yun couldn’t manage to clear all distracting thoughts and immerse his mind in the texture of the green bamboo like last time.
He knew this was because yesterday’s experience had given him an inner demon. Without dispelling the inner demon, how could he achieve self-forgetfulness? Lu Yun could only silently chant the Calming Incantation from the Imperial Extreme Profound Cave Skill, forcing himself to calm down and focus all his attention on the bamboo.
After chanting the Calming Incantation several times, Lu Yun was finally able to calm down somewhat and focus on deducing the principles within the bamboo.
Time trickled by, and the sky gradually turned dark. Lu Yun stared fixedly at the bamboo for a full hour and a half. Not only did he gain nothing, but he even started hallucinating! He saw the bamboo in front of him float up and circle around him. Then, he experienced auditory hallucinations as the spinning bamboo began to speak, mockingly saying, “My principles are so simple, why can’t you deduce them?”
After speaking, the bamboo burst into loud laughter, its laughter filled with strong provocation.
A look of pain appeared on Lu Yun’s face. He endured and endured, but finally couldn’t hold back any longer. He roared loudly at the bamboo, “You have no principles at all, how can I possibly deduce them!”
Lu Bai and the other two were staring blankly when they were startled by his roar and quickly looked over. They saw Lu Yun desperately clutching his head, his face contorted in extreme pain! Even his body was slightly convulsing. They wondered where he got such a temper from.
Lu Bai and the others assumed Lu Yun couldn’t bear it and was venting. However, they saw Lu Xian, who had been motionless since the beginning, flash in front of Lu Yun and frown as he scrutinized him. After a moment of thought, Lu Xian realized Lu Yun was in trouble and quickly extended two fingers to press his pulse point, wanting to investigate.
The pulse point is a vital spot for martial artists. Once it is held, no matter how powerful one is, they cannot display their abilities. Therefore, unless one completely trusts another, like Lu Song trusted Lu Xin, they would obediently allow their pulse point to be pressed. Otherwise, a martial artist would reflexively counterattack to protect their vital spot!
Lu Yun’s consciousness was completely chaotic at this moment, seemingly oblivious to his surroundings. Thus, Lu Xian’s fingers easily found his pulse point. But just as Lu Xian was about to channel a wisp of True Qi into his body to investigate, the violent True Qi within Lu Yun immediately sensed the intrusion and automatically counterattacked the invader, instantly engulfing Lu Xian’s wisp of True Qi! It then launched a fierce assault on Lu Xian!
Lu Xian, caught off guard, suffered a hidden loss. He felt a surge of blood and qi in his chest, his face instantly changed drastically. He quickly used his strength to forcefully pull his fingers away, his eyes flickering as he stared intently at Lu Yun.
Lu Song and the other two watched the scene unfold, hardly daring to breathe. They also understood that Lu Yun might have suffered Qi Deviation. Moreover, seeing the Vice Sect Master quickly pull his fingers away after just touching Lu Yun’s pulse point clearly indicated that Lu Yun’s condition was extremely dire!
“Vice Sect Master,” the three blurted out, their concern overriding their judgment, “What’s wrong with Lu Yun?!”
“…” Lu Xian did not turn around. After a moment of contemplation, he said, “He encountered some trouble while circulating his Qi. You three, withdraw immediately. I need to regulate him.”
“Yes.” The three immediately withdrew from the small courtyard, fearing they would delay the Vice Sect Master’s rescue and cause irreversible harm to Lu Yun.
.
In the small courtyard, only Lu Xian and Lu Yun, who was on the verge of Qi Deviation, remained.
The sky had already turned completely dark, but the world in Lu Xian’s eyes was still as clear as ever. He took in all of Lu Yun’s condition.
Lu Xian did not act immediately as he had said. Instead, he scrutinized Lu Yun with unconcealed surprise for a long time. Only when he saw Lu Yun’s expression contort into ferocity and his skin seemed to be writhing did he slowly make his move.
At this moment, a rare hint of life appeared on Lu Xian’s face. Looking at Lu Yun, he said softly, “No matter who you are, let’s have a go first!”
This time, however, he did not act carelessly. Instead of using just two fingers, he changed to using his palm, slowly pressing towards Lu Yun’s back. Although he hadn’t made a move in many years, Lu Xian had not lost the keen perception of a Grandmaster. From that lightning-fast collision just now, he had already estimated Lu Yun’s approximate strength!
Being able to engulf the incomparably pure True Qi of a Heavenly Rank Grandmaster and counterattack him! This was not something a mere Black Rank Expert could do, even if Lu Xian was caught off guard and had merely sent out a wisp of True Qi casually!
As Lu Xian solemnly placed his palm on Lu Yun’s back, just as expected, the incredibly violent True Qi within Lu Yun immediately surged towards him. Fortunately, Lu Xian was well-prepared this time. He continuously injected his incomparably pure True Qi into Lu Yun’s meridians, enveloping his extremely violent True Qi. Then, Lu Xian divided his True Qi into countless fine threads and skillfully began to comb through Lu Yun’s chaotic True Qi.
Although Lu Yun’s True Qi was ferocious, it was completely out of control, like countless mad bulls charging forward blindly upon seeing red cloth. In contrast, Lu Xian’s True Qi was like countless pieces of red cloth, skillfully making those bulls chase in circles, only to miss repeatedly, gradually depleting their energy.
For a full hour, those mad bulls finally exhausted their strength and collapsed, panting, foam at their mouths… The rampaging True Qi within Lu Yun was completely vented, leaving his body feeling hollowed out. His expression gradually calmed, and he slumped weakly onto the ground.
Lu Xian reached out and caught Lu Yun’s body, laying him flat on the ground. He then let out a long sigh of relief. A fatigue he hadn’t felt in countless years washed over Lu Xian’s heart; this was even more draining than a fierce battle with a Heavenly Rank Grandmaster.
This wasn’t because Lu Yun’s True Qi had reached the Heavenly Rank, but because Lu Xian was using his True Qi to save someone, not kill. Even with the most exquisite control of True Qi in combat, it wouldn’t reach one percent of what was required for saving someone. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that only someone like Lu Xian, who had been a Grandmaster for many years and whose cultivation had reached an inconceivable realm, could divide True Qi into thousands of fine threads and control them at will.
Lu Xian had also encountered this situation for the first time and hadn’t expected the consumption to be so immense. However, along with the wave of fatigue, a sliver of Enlightenment also rose in his heart. Lu Xian was immediately overjoyed. Disregarding the Lu Yun on the ground, he flashed into the Bamboo House, sat down cross-legged, achieved a state of Forget Self and Object, and attempted to grasp that sliver of Enlightenment for careful study!
