Chapter 1064 A Desperate Gamble
In a corner of the ancient battlefield, Cang Jian and Dao Zhi looked at the gruesome scene before them, their expressions weary. Though they had escaped the pursuit of the mysterious person, each bore severe injuries. Some individuals could no longer hold on.
"That bastard didn't even consider us in the slightest!"
Cang Jian, as the Grand Elder of the Sword Sect, was responsible not only for sect affairs but also for handling the monsters within this space. He had previously led his men to clear out a batch of monsters, and this task had been carried out by others before him. Never had there been any reports of trouble. But this time, they had truly stumbled upon a formidable foe. They had dealt with the Foundation Establishment realm blood-qi monsters, but the appearance of the mysterious individual had completely crushed them. If Dao Zhi hadn't had a moment of inspiration to sever everyone's connection to their energies, they might not have survived.
Dao Zhi was also extremely infuriated, but he did not show it. "Since things have come to this, I believe there is no longer any chance of escaping this place."
"That mysterious person claimed he had destroyed the space channel. Whether it's true or not, I cannot swallow this insult." Dao Zhi calmly stated these words, and all eyes turned to him.
Elder Zhang, suppressing his injuries, forced a wry smile. "If you have a decision, speak it and let us hear it." Elder Zhang, after his previous desperate fight, had earned everyone's approval. Furthermore, he had recovered the supreme treasure of the Confucian painting lineage. This alone was enough to clear his name of any wrongdoing.
"It's actually very simple. We find a place to break through. Since there are others besides us martial artists here, we will charge out of the ancient battlefield! If we can avenge ourselves, all the better. If not, we'll take at least one with us!"
Dao Zhi and the others had initially thought this was an ordinary space, but now it seemed the situation was far more complicated. The mysterious individual before was indeed powerful, but if they could break through, Dao Zhi didn't believe the other party was truly invincible.
They looked at each other for a long time. Finally, Cang Jian raised his hand. "I am willing to gamble with Dao Zhi." Seeing Cang Jian agree, the others naturally raised their hands as well. Given their injuries, surviving to escape was already a big question. They might as well take a chance.
Although they had never attempted to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm, they had all spent decades at the peak of the Grandmaster realm. Each of them possessed their own methods. Now, they were simply risking their lives to test a path that could truly lead to advancement.
After making their decision, several heavily injured martial artists decided to scout the way for the others. Breaking through to the Foundation Establishment realm, even with knowledge of the method, was fraught with danger. Moreover, they had no prior understanding of the path.
The first to fail in their breakthrough bled from all seven orifices, their souls scattered. Due to their severe injuries, they couldn't even take that first step, forcefully absorbing spiritual energy which caused their souls to explode. Facing what had happened, no one spoke. Though their hearts were heavy with sorrow, they understood that they could very well be next.
"You old brat, you're really weak!" another martial artist said, then tossed down a few items he always carried with him. "If we manage to return, keep these for the descendants of our sect. But don't keep the bodies; they take up space." As he spoke, he sat down beside the first failed challenger.
As the others felt the powerful spiritual energy surge into him, before any changes occurred, they heard a sound of utter terror. However, the robust body of a peak Grandmaster allowed him to retain a sliver of consciousness. The second martial artist to attempt the breakthrough said in a hoarse voice, "Forcibly compressing internal energy, it's feasible!" His voice died as he perished.
With this first step taken, a hint of a smile appeared on the faces of the remaining individuals. At least when their turn came, they wouldn't be blindly stumbling around.
Dao Zhi was about to attempt it himself when someone stopped him. "You, kid, should break through last!" Hearing this, Dao Zhi's heart tightened. In the next moment, the third person to attempt the breakthrough was ready. Dao Zhi watched everything unfold, silently recording the names of these individuals. Duan Zhenge, Cheng Hairan, Miao Weifeng, Yang Xianglei... These were once geniuses who had stirred up immense waves in the martial world. After reaching the peak of the Grandmaster realm, they had never stopped their progress. Now, they were using their lives to explore a new path.
Compressing internal energy to create a qualitative change, exploring the limits of meridian capacity... As a complete and clear path emerged before Dao Zhi, few peak Grandmasters remained alive. Elder Zhang tidied his clothes and, like the martial artists before him, brought out all his possessions. Elder Zhang did not fear death, for his name was now cleared. He would no longer be misunderstood when he met the scholars of the Confucian school in the netherworld.
But just as Elder Zhang was about to act, another peak Grandmaster from the Confucian school stopped him. "Zhang Hua, your cultivation method is different from ours, even the way you circulate it. You, kid, don't join the fray." "Someone whose meridians have been severed, go to the back!" The Confucian peak Grandmaster said this directly because Elder Zhang's cultivation method was indeed too different from others. Zhang Hua had not only created his own cultivation method, but his body's meridians were also somewhat different from those of others. However, Zhang Hua understood the implication behind these words.
Watching the Confucian peak Grandmaster convert his internal energy, Zhang Hua hadn't even had a few seconds to feel happy before he suddenly felt the other party's condition rapidly deteriorate. The originally abundant power began to dissipate. In the next moment, a muffled sound like thunder boomed before them. The Confucian peak Grandmaster not only failed to break through but didn't even leave a corpse behind.
Looking at the blood mist before him, Zhang Hua weakly reached out his hand, but there was nothing in the mist. At this moment, Zhang Hua couldn't help but burst into tears, but not a single sound escaped him.
Dao Zhi took a deep breath, suppressing the pain in his heart, and said word by word, "Too much杂气 (zá qì - miscellaneous qi). When circulating the cultivation method, it directly formed a countercurrent." "After completing the breakthrough, one cannot circulate the cultivation method; the杂气 must be expelled first." As Dao Zhi spoke these words, his eyes were also incredibly red. He was in more pain than the others.