Chapter 878

With Yuan Kong's martial arts cultivation, he could already, through the pathway of the opponent's Dantian Qi Sea internal breath circulation, reverse-engineer the opponent's cultivation method. Letting Hu Xiaotian go, this guy might not necessarily tell the truth to himself. Yuan Kong tried to inject internal force into Hu Xiaotian's Dantian Qi Sea, feeling that within his qi sea there was like a reverse-rotating vortex; as the injected internal force increased, the speed of this vortex also became faster.

Hu Xiaotian saw that he still refused to let go of him, and shouted loudly: 'Don't forget you have already sworn an oath to the Buddha!'

Yuan Kong said: 'First tell me; if there is the slightest deceit, I will shatter your meridians and take your life.' As he spoke, the internal force injected into Hu Xiaotian's Dantian increased somewhat; Hu Xiaotian was oppressed by this powerful and overbearing internal force to the point of being unable to speak. In order to dispel this foreign true qi injected into his body, the vortex in his Dantian Qi Sea spun faster and faster, trying to absorb Yuan Kong's true strength for himself.

Yuan Kong had already sensed the secret of Hu Xiaotian's Dantian Qi Sea breath circulation; the doubts that had troubled his heart for many years were suddenly resolved. He was like a hunter holding bait, gleefully toying with his prey before him, deducing the profound mysteries of the Void Great Law from the subtle changes in the opponent's meridians.

Hu Xiaotian's internal breath circulation was entirely an instinctive reaction; although his martial arts cultivation was far inferior to Yuan Kong's, he still sensed Yuan Kong's purpose—this old monk was fundamentally using this method to probe his secret.

Yuan Kong's brows would sometimes furrow, sometimes the corners of his mouth would curl into a smile; his whole person was completely immersed in his contemplation of the Void Great Law. Finally, his entire being seemed to enter meditation, the internal force injected into Hu Xiaotian's meridians flowing along with Hu Xiaotian's breath circulation, running through his entire meridian system.

Although Hu Xiaotian did not want to employ the Void Great Law, after Yuan Kong injected internal force into his Dantian Qi Sea, it triggered his instinctive reaction, beyond his conscious control. Hu Xiaotian realized it was bad; through this method Yuan Kong could learn his breath-regulation method. Although he had not spoken it aloud, his body's natural response had already betrayed him.

Yuan Kong seemed to see a vortex in Hu Xiaotian's Dantian Qi Sea, spinning wildly; the more internal force he injected, the faster the vortex spun, and the less he injected, the slower it spun. As he gradually increased the internal force injected into Hu Xiaotian's Dantian Qi Sea, the vortex, due to its high-speed rotation, developed a black hole at its center, which tried to swallow his internal force. Yuan Kong secretly rejoiced, realizing this: the internal force contained in his own Dantian Qi Sea must be many times stronger than Hu Xiaotian's. If he trained by the same method, the vortex formed by his internal force would surely have even greater devouring power.

Yuan Kong grew more and more pleased, feeling that the suction force of the vortex in Hu Xiaotian's Dantian Qi Sea was continually increasing. He shook his head, preparing to slowly withdraw his internal force. Knowing the secret of breath circulation, and then extracting the Void Great Law's formula from Hu Xiaotian's mouth, he could achieve a breakthrough. However, as he withdrew his internal force, he suddenly felt that Hu Xiaotian's Dantian Qi Sea had produced a strange suction that trapped his internal breath. Yuan Kong was greatly surprised; he did not expect this boy to actually have some skill. He then increased his force, but for every increment of his force, the suction from Hu Xiaotian's Dantian increased by the same amount. Yuan Kong had originally thought he could easily break free; otherwise he would not have dared to risk using internal force to lure Hu Xiaotian's breath circulation. Yet the sudden turn of events startled him—he had never imagined that Hu Xiaotian could cause him trouble.

Yuan Kong raised his right palm, originally intending to slap Hu Xiaotian to death with one strike, but at the moment he lifted his palm he changed his mind. Although he had grasped the method of the Void Great Law, he had not yet obtained its complete contents; if Hu Xiaotian died, he would likely never get the chance to acquire the full text of the Void Great Law.

It was precisely this moment of hesitation that allowed Hu Xiaotian to escape death. Yuan Kong's right palm fell again onto Hu Xiaotian's head; a powerful suction tried to draw his internal force from Hu Xiaotian's crown. This time, however, it had no effect—on the contrary, Yuan Kong felt his internal force gushing out through his palm, their meridians connecting, his internal force continuously flowing into Hu Xiaotian's meridians. Yuan Kong was terrified, his soul fleeing his body, wanting to break free from Hu Xiaotian's grasp but unable to.

In the crisis, he intended to lift his leg to kick Hu Xiaotian, but Hu Xiaotian anticipated his move, threw himself forward, and firmly embraced Yuan Kong.

Yuan Kong roared, 'Let go of me!' He mustered all his internal force to flick Hu Xiaotian away, but at that moment a twisted bolt of lightning split from the sky and struck his head. Lan-colored electric light played around both of them. No matter how formidable one's martial arts, they can never resist nature; Yuan Kong was struck by lightning, which traveled along his body to Hu Xiaotian.

Both collapsed to the ground simultaneously, yet remained entwined; the lightning did not separate them. Yuan Kong's eyes bulged, his two long eyebrows scorched by the electric light, and he felt his internal force rapidly draining away.

Electric light flickered and jumped all over Hu Xiaotian's body, yet that electric light also began to slowly swirl around his body. Hu Xiaotian's whole person had entered a selfless state; before him he seemed to see a turbulent sea, with lightning flashing and thunder rumbling above it, a huge vortex forming on the sea surface, constantly rotating, possessing the power to devour everything. The clouds in the sky were drawn in by the vortex's immense suction, linking sea and sky, and electric light continuously flashed between them.

Yuan Kong burst out a heart-rending roar, lifting Hu Xiaotian into the air and soaring to mid‑air, when another bolt of lightning struck his body. Lan-colored electric light enveloped them both, and their bodies plummeted straight down into the small river below.

A vortex formed on the river surface, spinning ever more rapidly, becoming a black hole about two zhang in diameter; the bodies of Yuan Kong and Hu Xiaotian emerged from beneath the water.

With one waning and the other waxing, the vortex in Hu Xiaotian's Dantian Qi Sea, due to continuously drawing Yuan Kong's internal force, became unprecedentedly mighty and overbearing.

Yuan Kong's panic reached its peak: first his internal force was siphoned by Hu Xiaotian, then he was repeatedly struck by lightning. He suddenly recalled his recent oath, wondering whether his actions had truly provoked the Buddha, thus inviting heavenly thunder. As a Buddhist disciple, he believed in rebirth and karmic retribution; at that moment a glimmer of clarity appeared in his mind, recalling his own deeds, he could not help but feel extreme remorse—he, a Buddhist monk, why would he think of killing to silence witnesses? To contemplate such an act of destroying humanity left him disheartened; his fighting spirit vanished instantly, perhaps this was his karmic reward.

When Yuan Kong was about to give up, he noticed that the leakage of his internal breath had become slow; he suddenly realized he should not struggle desperately, for the more he resisted, the stronger the suction became—only by going with the flow could he find a chance to free himself from the bondage.

Yuan Kong steadied his mind and, at the critical moment, actually comprehended the truth of going with the flow.

Hu Xiaotian also felt the speed at which he absorbed internal force slowing; opening his eyes, he saw Yuan Kong's gaze clear and tranquil, evidently having calmed from the initial shock. Yuan Kong focused his spirit, regulated his breath, slowly closed his eyes, and entered a meditative state; a vortex also formed in his Dantian Qi Sea—one principle mastered, all principles understood. Although he had not obtained the Void Great Law's cultivation formula from Hu Xiaotian, by probing with internal breath he had already understood how Hu Xiaotian's meridians circulate breath in cultivation. Using the opponent's method against himself, Yuan Kong achieved a breakthrough in the face of life and death; although Hu Xiaotian had drawn away much of his power, it still amounted only to a small fraction of Yuan Kong's internal force. At this moment Yuan Kong's Dantian Qi Sea became empty, his internal breath swirling like a vortex.

Now the meridians of Hu Xiaotian and Yuan Kong are in a linked state; any change in one affects the other. After Yuan Kong's Dantian also formed a vortex, two different forces began to vie for each other's internal force, like a tug‑of‑war; the side with the stronger internal force naturally prevails. Hu Xiaotian felt the internal force he had just absorbed being taken back by Yuan Kong. He inwardly groaned, his effort wasted—he was ultimately inferior in skill, having just turned the tide only to have it instantly reversed.

Yuan Kong opened his eyes, his gaze filled with satisfaction; he had finally regained control of the situation. Recalling how perilous the recent ordeal had been—how he had nearly capsized in a ditch—he realized he must never underestimate this boy or let him go. After escaping danger, the notion of karmic retribution was instantly cast aside; he would drain Hu Xiaotian's internal force completely, leaving no trace of mercy in his heart.

This time Hu Xiaotian's internal force was draining even faster than before; if this continued, he would soon exhaust his internal force and die.

The vortex that had originally been rotating counterclockwise, due to Yuan Kong's influence, grew slower and slower, first stopping then turning clockwise. Hu Xiaotian was greatly alarmed—this was a situation never seen before, his internal breath had reversed; he thought, 'It's over—am I going to die at Yuan Kong's hands?'

Yuan Kong felt great relief as his internal force continuously flowed back; he never expected to find life in a desperate situation—haha, it seemed the Buddha was still protecting him. But suddenly his abdomen twitched, then a sharp pain shot from his dantian through his entire meridian system; Yuan Kong did not know what had happened, yet the vortex in his Dantian Qi Sea seemed to have become stuck there.

The vortex in Hu Xiaotian's Dantian Qi Sea began to spin wildly clockwise, a new Void black hole forming in his dantian; the internal breath that had stagnated in both men's meridians began to flow again, this time returning to Hu Xiaotian's body.

Yuan Kong's face was filled with an expression of astonishment; he did not understand how Hu Xiaotian's meridians could operate in reverse, and the Void Great Law proved far more miraculous than he had comprehended.

At this moment Yuan Kong's whole body was like a clay statue; he had lost the ability to resist, allowing his internal force to flow backward into Hu Xiaotian's Dantian Qi Sea.

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