Chapter 19: Tai Xu is Me

Talisman artifact—

It was originally a fighting method suitable for Qi Cultivation cultivators.

Just because every time a talisman artifact was driven, it consumed Embryonic Breathing. Low-grade talisman artifacts were still okay to talk about, but the consumption of mid-grade and high-grade talisman artifacts was a huge number.

Especially for Embryonic Breathing cultivators—

They had not yet opened the bridge between the inner and outer heavens, and could not yet absorb spiritual energy from the void or external medicines to strengthen and cultivate their own Embryonic Breathing... The little bit of innate Embryonic Breathing *qi* in their bodies was naturally consumed permanently once used, and could not be replenished.

The most obvious example was those Martial Dao Grandmasters.

Years of fighting on the battlefield made it impossible for them to hold back, and they couldn't care about nourishing their nature and extending their lives. Often, after only three or five years of fighting, the Embryonic Breathing in their bodies was completely exhausted.

In the end, their original lifespan of one hundred and fifty years was rare to even reach sixty.

This was all because they hadn't achieved Qi Cultivation and had used up their Embryonic Breathing too early.

And because of the limitation of Embryonic Breathing, neither talisman artifacts, Daoist arts, nor elixir cauldron array paths could become the main means for Embryonic Breathing cultivators to deal with enemies.

What they truly used for execution was actually mortal Martial Dao killing.

It was just that the physical bodies and senses of Embryonic Breathing cultivators were already inhuman, so even mortal Martial Dao was a different scene in their hands, almost reborn.

But in the True Yizhen Yizhen Fa Jie.

Chen Hang didn't have to worry about the consequences after Embryonic Breathing was exhausted.

It was just a mental image anyway; it wouldn't affect the real body in the outside world, so it didn't matter how he tossed it.

"Go!"

Chen Hang pointed his hand.

The Thunder-Fire Thunderbolt Pearl in mid-air instantly transformed into a beam of flowing light, roaring toward Xu Zhi's skull; as it moved, a sliver of Chen Hang's internal Embryonic Breathing was consumed.

*Puff! *

Xu Zhi jumped backward, jumping five or six *zhang* in an instant, but the pearl still chased him relentlessly. He could only pour all his Embryonic Breathing into the iron sword and throw it with all his might.

With a thunderous roar, the iron sword shattered and exploded. Xu Zhi's body was bloody and mangled, but this mental image didn't stop there, instead grabbing the broken sword hilt from the thunder and fire, his figure folding, and lunging toward Chen Hang again.

"Want to get close? Not so easy!"

Chen Hang moved his wrist, and the pearl shot out again, hitting Xu Zhi's back.

This time, the pearl exploded with countless red and white thunders halfway, unparalleled in power, one sound after another.

Xu Zhi had almost reached within five *zhang* of Chen Hang, but was suddenly shot by a thunderbolt, forcing him to dodge, not daring to parry at all.

After dodging twelve thunderbolts in a row, Xu Zhi was finally caught up. A thunderbolt capable of melting gold and cutting iron flew up, striking directly at his heart!

With a *boom*, like a giant stone falling to the ground, countless smoke and dust scattered, and rolling flames and thunder light scattered in all directions.

"This..."

After the smoke cleared and he saw the scene, Chen Hang was slightly surprised.

Xu Zhi looked quite miserable, half his body covered in blood, and that pale green Daoist robe was even more tattered, full of fire and thunder strike marks.

But looking closely, these injuries were left behind before; that thunderbolt falling toward his heart didn't bring him any damage.

Above Xu Zhi's head, a shallow gas barrier condensed from Embryonic Breathing was constantly floating. It seemed that it was exactly what blocked the thunderbolt capable of melting gold and cutting iron.

"A Qi Cultivation cultivator's Embryonic Breathing, just by manifesting into a group like this, can block a strike from a mid-grade talisman artifact?"

Although he knew that his Embryonic Breathing was limited and could not fully exert the power of the Thunder-Fire Thunderbolt Pearl, Chen Hang was still surprised.

"Pity, pity... Senior Brother, you have wasted your cultivation. If you had a talisman artifact in hand, and casually added a few Daoist arts, how could I win against you?"

Chen Hang shook his head regretfully and pointed at the Thunder-Fire Thunderbolt Pearl again: "Come, let me see how many thunderbolts your Sixth-Layer Qi Cultivation Embryonic Breathing can block!"

The words fell.

Dozens of red and white thunderbolts "whoosh," "whoosh" exploded from the pearl, falling heavily onto Xu Zhi's protective gas barrier, making the Embryonic Breathing inside constantly roll and surge.

And finally, after enduring more than ten strikes, with a crisp sound like glass shattering, that layer of gas barrier collapsed immediately.

*Boom! *

Enduring the discomfort of his Embryonic Breathing being drained, Chen Hang gathered his last bit of spirit, took another thunderbolt from the pearl, and struck at Xu Zhi.

*Sizzle! *

The red and white thunderbolt just pounced on Xu Zhi, burning him into flying ash, with no more movement.

And after doing all this, Chen Hang couldn't support himself anymore, collapsing directly to the ground, his expression extremely listless.

That Thunder-Fire Thunderbolt Pearl also lost its master's manipulation, its brilliance dimmed, and it rolled to the ground from mid-air, its spirituality hidden deep.

"My Embryonic Breathing..."

It took a full half-stick of incense for Chen Hang to gradually recover.

He stood up dizzy, his whole body weak, feeling as if his footing was soft, as if standing in a pool of cotton.

"Is this the feeling after Embryonic Breathing is exhausted? It's quite wonderful."

The Cold-Dou True *Qi* in his body, having lost the restraint of Embryonic Breathing, began to rage again. Chen Hang had only walked a few steps before falling to the ground, having to sit cross-legged.

The consumption of a mid-grade talisman artifact was huge. Although he barely won against Xu Zhi by relying on it, it also drained Chen Hang's Embryonic Breathing, making his mind frustrated and nearly vomiting blood.

Although his shell was still as hard as iron, and the divine strength of three horses in one arm was not damaged in the slightest.

But at this moment, his feeling was like a person lying naked in the void, above, below, left, and right, all empty and vast, without anything, without anything to rely on.

Pure and simple, floating and rising.

Chen Hang frowned and realized this change. I don't know how long it took.

Suddenly, his eyes flashed, his expression moved.

"Look inward at the heart, the heart has no heart; look outward at the form, the form has no form; put the body outside and the body exists; forget the form and the form exists!"

He wanted to stand up fiercely, but his knees had long been frozen and numb by the Cold-Dou True *Qi*. This movement made him fall flat on the ground.

"So, so, this is the void in the 'Scripture of the Great Beginning Original Truth spoken by the Daoist of the Divine House Pivot Brilliance'! This void is not that void! It is! It is!"

Chen Hang didn't care, laughing loudly on the ground:

"Tai Xu is me, empty the body first; the body is empty, it is the true void... It should be so, I realized! I realized!"

It was just an ordinary fight, but after exhausting his Embryonic Breathing, it made Chen Hang realize the true meaning of the void in that Qi Cultivation Art by chance.

The wonders of opportunity in this world are nothing more than this.

Realizing the two words "void," he was not far from penetrating the "Scripture of the Great Beginning Original Truth spoken by the Daoist of the Divine House Pivot Brilliance," and the Qi Cultivation Realm was within reach.

This realization.

How could it not make Chen Hang ecstatic?

After laughing for a few times, he barely suppressed his surging heart, re-entered meditation, and pondered carefully.

But this time didn't last long.

The movement of the Cold-Dou True *Qi* woke him up again.

Chen Hang looked at his legs, only to see that the muscles there had begun to turn blue. Touching them, he couldn't feel the reality of flesh and blood, more like touching a piece of dead wood soaked in cold water.

"Really troublesome..."

Chen Hang beheaded himself with one sword.

When he was reborn again, he didn't say much, directly summoning Xu Zhi and bombarding him with the Thunder-Fire Thunderbolt Pearl.

After his Embryonic Breathing was exhausted, he closed his eyes and pondered again, until the Cold-Dou True *Qi* moved again, and he raised his sword.

Fighting, pondering, committing suicide...

Just like this, repeating it over and over, I don't know how long it took.

During this period.

Besides having to extract spirit from the True Yizhen Yizhen Fa Jie because of his body's hunger and thirst in the outside world, and eating some water and dried meat, Chen Hang poured all his energy into it.

And his cultivation practice naturally increased significantly.

Not only did he become more proficient in using the Thunder-Fire Thunderbolt Pearl, without any sense of rawness.

Moreover, he had penetrated the entire "Scripture of the Great Beginning Original Truth spoken by the Daoist of the Divine House Pivot Brilliance," and was only one last step away from entering the Qi Cultivation level.

And that last step had no obstacles.

As long as he was willing to calm down and grind for a few more months, it would naturally be a matter of course, and his cultivation would be complete.

One day.

When Chen Hang was still grinding in the True Yizhen Yizhen Fa Jie, his brow suddenly stung, and he felt something in his heart.

"What's going on?"

Chen Hang's divine intent moved, and he communicated with the Golden Cicada, leaving the True Yizhen Yizhen Fa Jie:

"How could the real body in the outside world warn me?"