Before the two reached a stalemate, Chen Xu had only managed to hit Lu Long once for every dozens of attacks he took, but the damage he inflicted was far greater than Lu Long's mere scratches.
Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, Lu Long's aura changed dramatically.
In Chen Xu's eyes, a giant python seemed to emerge behind Lu Long, rearing upright and hissing without end.
Yet aside from its neck and head, the rest of its body was incredibly illusory, as though it might fade away at any moment.
"In the realm between life and death, one comprehends the true principles of the Martial Dao."
Lu Long's hoarse voice was like a python flicking its tongue. "When my [Giant Python Swallowing the Sky Form] is no longer illusory, that will be the day I become a Martial Artist.
Today, I'll use you to test my Martial Dao!"
The giant python opened its bloody maw and gradually merged with Lu Long.
Chen Xu felt the air around him turn viscous, binding him in place.
Tiger Might erupted, forcibly carving out a small world of his own within Lu Long's unleashed [Giant Python Swallowing the Sky Form].
"Hm? A tiger form? I underestimated you. I didn't expect you to be nearing the step of condensing a form as well."
This was the first time Chen Xu's aura had been completely suppressed. Before his opponent had even attacked, his mind was already being relentlessly disturbed.
Every moment, images of himself being crushed by all kinds of attacks flashed through his mind, while the hissing made him restless and uneasy.
Strangely enough, he could clearly sense Tiger Might slowly growing under the other man's suppression.
Every step Lu Long took was like a python slithering close to the ground, before he suddenly sprang forward.
"Blood Python Ultimate Kill!"
Amid the hissing, a tiger's roar rang through the cave.
Boom!
The cave trembled slightly. With the two men as its center, the ground cracked over a small area, and countless shattered stones ricocheted through the cavern.
Lu Long barely managed to lower his head and glance at the bloody hole blown open in his chest. The corner of his mouth lifted, as though he wanted to say something.
"Excellent skill. Among the Martial Artists of the future, there will surely be a place for you."
Retracting his blood-soaked fist, Chen Xu removed [Assault Glory] from Millya and entered the stone room where Lu Long had initially been.
The side wall of the stone room was filled with tally marks. Clearly, they had been used to record the time Lu Long had lived here.
The instant Chen Xu saw the wall directly opposite him, he froze in place.
Looking around, where were the cave walls? There were only three to five students and two thatched cottages.
The students chatted and discussed all manner of things. Though they were not far away, Chen Xu could not hear a word they were saying.
"Tianwu."
Chen Xu thought to himself. Once the panel appeared at the bottom of his vision, his heart relaxed slightly.
"Please come in, young friend." An old man's gentle voice came from within the thatched cottage.
The world spun, and Chen Xu appeared directly inside the cottage.
The old man set down his book and turned around. "Young friend from the future."
His gaze seemed to pass through time itself before landing on Chen Xu.
Chen Xu instinctively edged to the side. When the old man's gaze did not shift, he muttered inwardly, Could this be some preprogrammed setting?
As Chen Xu circled behind the old man, the old man suddenly spoke. "There is no need for alarm, young friend. This old man merely left behind a trace of an imprint through writing."
Chen Xu glanced at the book on the old man's table, but he could not recognize a single character. This was the disadvantage of being uneducated.
"I presume you have yet to reach the realm of [Martial Form].
Since we have met, it is fate. This old man has a breakthrough method, which I shall take as a meeting gift."
With that, he began demonstrating it on his own.
"Humans possess nine apertures: four in the limbs, four in the torso, and the Heaven Gate Aperture between the brows.
Among them, opening the Heaven Gate Aperture is enough to awaken the spirituality of the Martial Dao and allow one to evolve the Form of Martial Arts.
However, this old man believes that taking any shortcut to directly open the Heaven Gate Aperture is not the proper path. Only by opening all nine apertures can one hope to reach the peak of the Martial Dao."
Chen Xu summoned Tianwu. The panel flickered, and the words Blood Surge Through the Nine Apertures (Uninitiated) appeared in the Martial Arts section.
With his hands behind his back, the old man looked up at the sky. His figure gradually faded, and his final words echoed beside Chen Xu's ears.
"When the nine apertures attain enlightenment, spirit illuminates divine form; form evolves heavenly momentum, and momentum gathers into a condensed image.
Young friend, take care!"
The uneven sensation beneath his feet returned. When Chen Xu came back to his senses, he was once again in the cave, without having moved from his original spot.
Yet the writing on the stone wall before him could no longer give Chen Xu any special feeling. It looked no different from meaningless scribbles, and his earlier experience seemed like a dream.
Rubbing his head, Chen Xu was unsure whether Lu Long had witnessed that scene as well. But Lu Long was dead, and Chen Xu could hardly go to the underworld to verify it.
"Martial Arts Enlightenment, spirit illuminates divine form; form evolves heavenly momentum, and momentum gathers into a condensed image." Chen Xu muttered to himself. The first two lines were easy to understand when combined with what he knew; they described breaking through to Martial Form. He could not understand the latter parts about evolving momentum and condensing an image, but he initially guessed they were paths beyond Martial Form.
"I wonder whether Lu Long used this breakthrough method to enter the Martial Form realm. He said the breakthrough was a near-death ordeal. I wonder if my [Tianwu] can avoid those problems."
The doubts in his heart grew ever more numerous, but Chen Xu temporarily pushed them aside and carefully searched the stone room.
"Hm? This feels like clothing."
Chen Xu crouched down and pulled a blue-and-white scrap of cloth from the corner. Dark red bloodstains, long since dried, marked its surface.
"These are Great Abyss characters. A blood-written note?" Chen Xu tried hard to make them out.
"Blood Heart Saint-Transforming Pill formula?
Main ingredient: twenty drops of heart's blood.
Supplementary ingredients: one Firegold Vine, five Golden Thread Grasses...
The user must ignite their spirituality before the medicinal effects dissipate. Those who fail will die with their skin rotting away."
Only after roughly reading through it did Chen Xu understand what Lu Long had meant by nine deaths and one life.
Using this thing meant racing the Grim Reaper. Either one ignited their spirituality, or died on the spot. There was no third option.
The effect of this pill was precisely the shortcut the old man had mentioned: directly opening the Heaven Gate Acupoint.
It seemed that the price of taking a shortcut was far from insignificant.
After placing the scrap of cloth into the pack Millya carried on her back, Chen Xu searched the entire stone room. Once he was certain he had not missed even the smallest corner, he returned the way he had come.
Fortunately, he did not encounter anyone along the way. Otherwise, with the thick smell of blood all over Chen Xu, a passerby might have called the Great Abyss police department.
Entering the bathroom, Chen Xu washed the blood from his body before fiddling with the phone Master Cheng had given him.
With memories from his past life, using a phone was clearly no challenge for him. He opened a website and began browsing article after article.
In a society similar to the modern world, the internet was undoubtedly the best way to learn more about the world.
"Risking death to film two Martial Dao powerhouses battling atop a river—this is the true Martial Dao!"
A headline that suddenly appeared caught Chen Xu's attention. He opened the video. The image quality was not very clear, accompanied by the shaking of the phone and the cameraman's suppressed exclamations.
In the blurry footage, every collision between the two black dots kicked up massive waves, turning the calm river into a raging torrent.
At times, they even seemed to ignore gravity, leaping seven or eight meters into the air.
Comments drifted across the screen from time to time. "Fake. Obviously fake. What era is this? Why is the quality still so blurry?
I'm a student from some martial arts school. Our master personally said that no matter how strong a Martial Artist is, they can't possibly reach the level these people are showing.
Which movie is this a promotional clip for?"
Chen Xu was watching with great interest when the screen suddenly turned white.
"This video is suspected of violating publishing regulations and has been removed."
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