Chapter 257: Desperate Straits
The ten Grandmasters split into two groups and finally began the cave-breaking operation planned by Lu Yun and Su Yingxiu.
At this time, Lu Yun and the other were completely idle. The two had originally worried that if the Grandmasters unleashed great power and completely cut off the water flow, it would expose that sealed cave entrance. But seeing that Sun Yuanlang was unwilling to waste any strength, only controlling the water flow to prevent it from entering the cave entrance behind him.
That cave entrance leading to the Treasure Vault was instead hidden even deeper in the turbulent water flow, and the two finally completely relaxed, focusing entirely on observing the Combined Attack Technique of the five Grandmasters, gaining a rare insight in their hearts.
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Compared to the five outside, the combined attack of the five inside was much more difficult, because except for Zuo Yanqing at the very end, every person in front had to accept external True Qi into their body, first comb it through, then combine it with their own True Qi, and inject it into the body of the person ahead.
This Combined Attack Technique actually originated from the Xiahou Clan’s Dragon Elephant Combined Attack, but the people of the Xiahou Clan had Martial Arts from the same sect and True Force from the same source, so they naturally did not need to laboriously comb through others’ True Qi, just directing it for their own use!
But the True Qi of the five Grandmasters was completely different, so the difficulty was naturally worlds apart from the Dragon Elephant Combined Attack! Only these Grandmasters with unfathomably deep Cultivation could use it so barbarically!
The further forward the Grandmaster, the greater the difficulty encountered, because they had to regulate more kinds of True Qi. Moreover, the True Qi of Heavenly Rank Grandmasters was either domineering or extremely resilient, requiring even more True Qi to resolve. So they could only, like Sun Yuanlang, regulate and tame it, using their own True Qi as the sovereign to direct the operation of others’ True Qi.
By the time it reached Lu Xian, the difficulty had increased countless times. He not only had to tame four kinds of True Qi for his own use, but also could not, like Sun Yuanlang, just maintain a constant Soft Strength, because he had to break rocks to open the path!
The structure of the rocks varied diversely, and even a Grandmaster could not keep using brute force to clash head-on. They had to adjust the force according to different situations, sometimes crushing, sometimes shattering, sometimes using Soft Strength along cracks to destroy the rock structure, so he had no choice but to constantly change his method of circulating Qi. And each change required simultaneously directing the other four kinds of True Qi to immediately cooperate in changing, without the slightest discrepancy.
Once the sovereign and four ministers—five kinds of True Qi—failed to coordinate, it would immediately harm his Meridians, or even destroy his entire Cultivation!
Lu Xian had already prepared mentally beforehand. But he never imagined that the actual situation encountered was ten or a hundred times more difficult than he had anticipated, absolutely the first time he had encountered such a thing in his life!
Originally, Lu Xian had planned to reserve some True Force and mental energy for emergencies. But in the current situation, he had no choice. Lu Xian had to use every trick up his sleeve and muster twelve parts of spirit to barely ensure no mishaps.
Of course, the results were also very gratifying! One could see Lu Xian’s palms, which gathered the True Force of five Grandmasters, breaking through the stone wall like pinching tofu. Under his seemingly clumsy but skillfully profound strikes, those hard rocks continuously turned into debris, and the passage extended forward at a speed visible to the naked eye.
After half an hour, the passage had already extended several zhang forward. The power of the five Grandmasters’ combined attack indeed had the might to split heaven and earth!
However, the burden on everyone was also extremely heavy. The four at the back were still alright, after all, they just needed to keep outputting True Qi along a fixed route; a Grandmaster’s True Qi was almost inexhaustible, so persisting was no problem. The four were worried about Lu Xian at the very front!
One could see that at this time, Lu Xian’s entire body was soaked in sweat, and the sweat turned into mist, enveloping him. This was a manifestation of Cultivation operating to the extreme!
The four at the back could not help but break into a cold sweat for him, worrying whether Lu Xian would suffer Qi Deviation and have his Cultivation destroyed.
Little did they know, Lu Xian’s current state could be described in one phrase: pain and pleasure intertwined!
The pain he was suffering at this moment was undoubtedly great, but Lu Xian relished it! Because he was controlling True Force several times beyond his own Strength, that state where his body and spirit were forced to elevate to the extreme, even breaking through limits, was something he had bitterly sought but never obtained after becoming a Grandmaster.
Even when he had gone up Guiyin Peak to challenge Zhang Xuanyi in the past, he had been defeated in a dazed muddle, without exerting seventy percent of his abilities. Even in the previous life-and-death struggle with Sun Yuanlang, he had only exerted ninety percent of his Strength, instinctively reserving ten percent as reserve, let alone surpassing his own limits!
And for those who practiced Martial Arts, surpassing limits meant breaking through original shackles and reaching an unprecedented Realm!
Lu Xian clearly had all his spirit focused on directing the five kinds of True Qi to break the wall, yet his mind was as clear and empty as when sparring with bamboo in the small courtyard. He even vaguely saw a layer of colorful thin film—could that be the legendary Innate Realm?
Although Lu Xian had no leisure to carefully savor this once-in-a-millennium opportunity, his heart remained undisturbed. Because having been there and seen it, it would certainly leave an imprint in his heart, and upon careful comprehension later, there would surely be profound progress!
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Two hours passed…
Outside the cave, because the main passage was blocked, and only relying on the small cave entrance beside it could not drain the surging water flow from upstream, the water level outside the cave gradually rose…
Lu Yun and Su Yingxiu had already retreated to the edge of the mountain wall; the two no longer had time to comprehend the Realm of Grandmasters, left only with full hearts of worry…
One could see the water level had already risen to the necks of Sun Yuanlang and the others. Mei Yu, who was relatively short, already had to divert True Qi from her soles to steady her stance and keep from being submerged.
Although the five Grandmasters continuously exerted more force, they still could not offset the continuously rising water pressure. Lu Yun saw that Sun Yuanlang’s expression was becoming increasingly grave. That water curtain pushed up by the Energy Shield was also inching closer to Sun Yuanlang’s palm.
A fierce glint flashed in Sun Yuanlang’s eyes, and he roared: “Go all out!”
The four behind him were shocked upon hearing this; they had previously strictly controlled the output of True Qi, trying to keep the True Qi injected into Sun Yuanlang’s body balanced. But now he actually wanted them to go all out—did this guy not fear his Meridians exploding and dying?
“No, this is already our limit for balancing; you can’t bear it!” Mei Yu cried sharply.
“Yes!” The other three also nodded gravely; Xie Ding said with a trembling voice: “If we add more force, we won’t be able to control it!”
“You’ll burst and die!” Pei Bang also shouted sternly.
Only the old eunuch Du Hui said nothing, because he was after all old and frail, having already pushed his output of True Qi to the limit, without even the strength to speak…
At this time, that water curtain was almost pressed against Sun Yuanlang’s palm. Lu Yun and Su Yingxiu’s hearts were in their throats; they were very clear that once the water curtain touched Sun Yuanlang’s palm, it would mean the Energy Shield was broken, and water would instantly flood the passage. The five Grandmasters exerting full force inside the passage would likely meet with disaster!
“What are you waiting for?” Sun Yuanlang roared: “To die?!”
“Go!” The four Grandmasters finally hesitated no longer, and True Qi surged out wildly, with no balance whatsoever…
As the four streams of True Qi surged in ferociously like wolves and tigers, Sun Yuanlang’s face became utterly contorted, clearly enduring immense pain!
One could see veins bulging all over his body, his two arms trembling uncontrollably, but that water curtain finally stopped, then was gradually pushed back by the invisible Energy Shield, stabilizing at an inch from Sun Yuanlang’s palm…
