With Ling Feng on his back, Xu Yang made his way down the corridor. He soon passed the bend and saw a red Restriction blocking the path ahead. Ling Feng said solemnly, "The stone gate is at the end of the corridor. To reach it, we have to break through the nine Restrictions along the way."
"These nine Restrictions are all different. They each possess one of the nine attributes: metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, thunder, light, and darkness. Their attacks are all around the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining. I'm badly injured and can't break through them now. It's all up to you from here!"
Xu Yang nodded to Ling Feng to show he understood, then immediately strode toward the Restriction. As he approached, the red Restriction flashed. Various low-level fire spells appeared, including Fire Arrows, walls of fire, and fire dragons, all surging toward him.
Xu Yang was only at the eighth layer of Qi Refining, so breaking through the Restriction would be difficult and would surely take a great deal of time and energy. But they had pursuers behind them, who could arrive at any moment. They had to break through the Restrictions as quickly as possible and push open the stone gate to enter the inner part of the cave abode. Only then would they be safe.
So Xu Yang didn't dare waste a moment. He activated his Iron Body and used his Iron Wall divine ability with all his might. A blue-black curtain of light enveloped the two of them. Then Xu Yang ignored the incoming fire spells and charged straight at the Restriction.
The Fire Arrows and walls of fire were all scattered by Xu Yang's charge. Only the fire dragon managed to block him, but it too was knocked flying. Xu Yang accelerated again and slammed into the red Restriction with a boom. The Restriction shuddered and lifted upward, and Xu Yang immediately seized the opening and rushed through.
Ling Feng was greatly astonished. He hadn't expected Xu Yang's body-refining arts to be so powerful. Xu Yang had broken through the Restriction with such simple, brute force, and even faster than Ling Feng had before.
After passing through, Xu Yang glanced back and saw the Restriction return to its original position, completely undamaged. He was startled. He hadn't expected it to be so sturdy that it could withstand his full-force impact without a scratch.
Seeing Xu Yang's expression, Ling Feng explained, "This Restriction is extremely powerful. Since we're Qi Refining cultivators and meet the conditions for entering the cave abode, it didn't unleash its full power. Otherwise, even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would die beneath it."
Xu Yang's expression cleared. No wonder the Restriction had come through his full-force attack without a scratch! He didn't waste any more time and hurried onward. He charged straight through four more Restrictions—earth, metal, water, and wood—and reached the wind-attribute Restriction.
According to Ling Feng, the spells' power would increase again starting with this Restriction, reaching the peak of the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining. Xu Yang's Iron Body was only at the middle stage of the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining. Even with his powerful Iron Wall divine ability, he couldn't expect to break through the final four Restrictions easily.
Ling Feng was growing anxious, too. He could sense Hu Xinrong and the other two rapidly closing in behind them. If the three caught up, their situation would turn dire.
With his keen senses, Xu Yang had naturally noticed the danger as well. He tapped his Qiankun Bag, and the Yellow Heaven Bell immediately flew out, hovering above the two of them and releasing a yellow shield of light that settled inside the Iron Wall.
With the Iron Wall outside and the Yellow Heaven Bell inside, their defenses immediately grew much stronger. Xu Yang then charged at the wind-attribute Restriction. With a boom, it was knocked back, and he rushed through. He continued without pause, breaking through the thunder and light Restrictions and reaching the final darkness-attribute Restriction. Through the dimness, he could just make out the stone gate beyond it.
But Xu Yang had also expended a tremendous amount of strength. He could barely maintain the Iron Wall; it had nearly collapsed at the light Restriction. He stared gravely at the darkness-attribute Restriction before him. It was pitch-black and utterly still, without the slightest ripple.
But Xu Yang knew that the moment he crossed its line of defense, it would unleash a fierce attack. Dark-attribute spells had always been synonymous with viciousness and the uncanny. Few cultivators in the cultivation world possessed a Dark Spiritual Root; it was as rare as a Void Spirit Root, even rarer than a Light Spiritual Root. Cultivators born with a Dark Spiritual Root were natural members of the Demonic Path.
After studying it for a while, Xu Yang felt that his strength had recovered a little. He couldn't afford to delay any longer. His expression hardened, and he charged toward the darkness Restriction. With a boom, the Restriction let out a tremendous crash. Unlike the previous Restrictions, which had each launched four or five spells, this one released only a single black beam that shot toward Xu Yang.
Before Xu Yang could react, the beam had already reached him and struck the blue-black Iron Wall. A hissing sound rang out as the beam immediately ate a hole through the Iron Wall, then landed on the yellow shield of light released by the Yellow Heaven Bell.
Xu Yang's expression changed dramatically. He hurriedly dodged to the side, avoiding the black beam. Before he could recover, the Iron Wall snapped. Cracks spread across the blue-black barrier, which shattered with a crash and vanished in specks of light.
Xu Yang's expression changed again. Without the Iron Wall, the power of the Yellow Heaven Bell alone—a high-grade Dharma Artifact—couldn't get him through the darkness-attribute Restriction in front of him. And it would take at least two hours before he could gather the Iron Wall again.
Xu Yang's face turned grim. It looks like I can only use the Talisman Treasure, the Samadhi Ring. Otherwise, there's no way I can get through this final Restriction in time.
With that thought, Xu Yang raised his hand to take out the Talisman Treasure. Just then, Ling Feng spoke from his back. "The final Restriction is too powerful, and its attacks are unpredictable. When I broke through it before, it didn't launch an attack this strong, and it wasn't a black beam either. Judging by the power of that beam, it's clearly reached the power of the Foundation Establishment Early Stage."
Xu Yang asked Ling Feng with a stony expression, "What do we do now? We can't just stay here! The pursuers behind us are almost here!" Ling Feng thought for a moment, then said helplessly, "It looks like I'll have to use my trump card. Here, take it. It'll guarantee you can get through this Restriction."
As he spoke, Ling Feng took an object from his Qiankun Bag and handed it to Xu Yang. Xu Yang accepted it and glanced down curiously. It was a small golden sword, about the length of a finger, with some exquisitely wrought and mysterious symbols carved into its surface.
Xu Yang raised the little sword and gave Ling Feng a questioning look. Seeing his gesture, Ling Feng said with a pained expression, "This is a sword-shaped Talisman called the Mystic Gold Sword Talisman. It's incredibly powerful. I found it in an ancient cave abode and never had the heart to use it. I never thought I'd have to use it here!"
Xu Yang understood. So this was another Talisman made by ancient cultivators. He hadn't known anything like it existed; this trip had truly opened his eyes. With that thought, Xu Yang raised his hand and returned the Mystic Gold Sword Talisman to Ling Feng. Ling Feng caught it and stared at Xu Yang in confusion, not understanding what he meant.
As he took out the Talisman Treasure, the Samadhi Ring, Xu Yang said to Ling Feng, "I have a Talisman Treasure that I can use repeatedly until its power runs out. This Mystic Gold Sword Talisman may be powerful, but it's a one-use treasure. With powerful enemies right on our heels, we should save as many trump cards as we can."
Ling Feng was first astonished to hear that Xu Yang actually had a treasure like a Talisman Treasure. Then he realized Xu Yang made sense: it would be better to save the sword talisman to deal with their enemies behind them. He said no more and promptly put it back into his Qiankun Bag.
Xu Yang took out the Talisman Treasure and immediately channeled Gang Qi into it. It transformed into the Samadhi Ring. Under Xu Yang's control, it released a huge wave of Samadhi True Fire that rushed toward the Restriction before them.
The darkness-attribute Restriction once again released a black beam, which collided with the Samadhi True Fire. A series of crackling sounds rang out as the black beam was burned back, retreating continuously. Before long, it was driven back into the Restriction, and the Samadhi True Fire wrapped around it.
Xu Yang was overjoyed. He immediately used the Samadhi Ring to suppress the Restriction, then took the opportunity to slip past it. Once through, Xu Yang hurriedly withdrew his Gang Qi, turned the Talisman Treasure back to its original form, and put it away. The power of the Talisman Treasure had been depleted further by that use, much to Xu Yang's distress.
After crossing the Restriction, Xu Yang looked ahead and saw that the corridor had come to an end. A massive stone wall stood before them, with a semicircular stone gate set into it.
Xu Yang pushed off with his feet and quickly reached the wall, studying the stone gate carefully. Ling Feng, on his back, said, "Xu, take a look to your left. There's a stone stele over there with detailed information about the gate."
Xu Yang immediately turned to his left and indeed saw a stone stele about a meter tall. He hurried over, crouched down, and examined the writing on it.
The words recorded exactly what Ling Feng had told him. A powerful Restriction had been set on the stone gate, making it immune to all attacks. Only pure physical strength could open it.
Seeing this, Xu Yang didn't dare delay. He immediately went to the stone gate. It stood five meters high and looked plain and gray, but three silver Restrictions were set into it, their light flickering faintly.
Xu Yang raised his hand and sent a wave of Gang Qi against the stone gate. The three Restrictions on it immediately blazed with light and scattered the Gang Qi. Xu Yang understood. Unless he broke through the three Restrictions on the gate, he could forget about using Gang Qi to break it open. He had no choice but to follow the method described on the stele.
Seeing this, Xu Yang didn't hesitate. He set Ling Feng down, went to the stone gate, and briefly rested to recover some of his heavily depleted strength. Then he crouched, gripped the bottom edge of the gate, and heaved upward.
Xu Yang pushed his Iron Body to the limit, and surging strength poured from him. With a tremendous boom, the stone gate slowly rose. As it climbed higher, Xu Yang felt the pressure grow heavier. It was as if an opposing force was straining against him.
Xu Yang could only grit his teeth and exert all his strength against it. Veins stood out along his neck and face, making Ling Feng deeply worried. He hadn't expected the stone gate to be so heavy that even Xu Yang would struggle to lift it.
Under Xu Yang's all-out effort, the stone gate began to rise faster. Soon, he had raised it over his head. With a sharp clack, the gate caught in a slot in the stone wall and stopped, fixed in place above Xu Yang's head.
Ling Feng was overjoyed. He struggled to his feet and headed through the stone gate. Seeing that it was caught in place and no longer descending, Xu Yang let go and dropped to the ground, panting heavily. The blue-black color quickly faded from his body as his Iron Body shut down from the exhaustion.
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