In Emei, start by obtaining golden attributes.

Chapter 129 Chips, Dragon-Slaying Stone
When an arrow falls to the ground, its metallic tip makes a "clinking" sound as it hits the ground.

With a slight sidelong glance, Yang Yan could clearly sense the strange power within the three dragon-shaped energies that were swirling around them.

"Senior brother, your move 'Dragon Appears in the Field' feels different from how you used it before."

Gu Shaoan said slowly, "Excessive rigidity leads to breakage. Although the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms is unparalleled in its strength, once you reach the level of 'smooth and perfect,' you can generate the softest quality from the hardest strength, and then achieve a balance of strength and softness, with energy that is inexhaustible. This is the true power of 'Dragon Appearing in the Field.'"

Unlike ordinary martial arts, the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms places extremely high demands on the practitioner's internal energy.

For every bit of strength, the palm becomes three times thicker.

This "strength" refers not only to physical strength, but also to one's own technique of generating power.

This is also the most difficult part of mastering the "Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms".

In addition to controlling their internal energy or true qi to circulate according to the movement path of the techniques, practitioners must also be able to mobilize and control their own strength.

Aside from the different moves, the Eighteen Palms also have completely different requirements for strength and techniques for exerting force.

It should be noted that Guo Jing, the biological father of Guo Xiang, only mastered the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms to the point of "perfect smoothness" when he was over forty years old, allowing the palm force to generate the ultimate softness from the ultimate hardness.

Otherwise, Gu Shaoan wouldn't have spent nearly six years on this martial art even with the [Enlightenment] attribute and proficiency panel.

Having experienced the triggering of the mechanism the first time, both Zhou Zhiruo and Yang Yan became more cautious.

Even so, the group still triggered several traps as they walked.

Or, as at the beginning, hundreds of arrows would be launched from the walls on both sides or overhead, or the ground would suddenly collapse, revealing sharp steel needles underneath, or poisonous smoke would quietly spew out from the small holes in the stone walls on both sides.

If it weren't for Gu Shaoan, neither Yang Yan nor Zhou Zhiruo would have been able to get through this secret passage.

As they walked, all three could clearly see human bones on the ground.

Judging from the location of the broken bones, it was clearly caused by these traps.

At the end of the secret passage, there was a fork in the road leading to three different locations.

"Senior brother, which way should we go?"

After glancing back and forth at the three forks in the road, Yang Yan looked at Gu Shaoan.

In response, Gu Shaoan gently closed his eyes and slowly circulated his internal energy.

With the blessing of true energy, Gu Shaoan's hearing was also enhanced and amplified.

A moment later, Gu Shaoan seemed to faintly hear the sound of water droplets falling echoing from a certain direction.

The moment the sound reached his ears, Gu Shaoan's gaze fell on the leftmost passage, which was noticeably darker and deeper.

"Try this way."

After Yang Yan lit the torches she had prepared in her bundle, the three of them stepped into the mountain path.

However, this mountain path was different from the secret passage at the entrance, which was full of traps. The three of them had already walked a hundred steps without triggering any traps, as if there was no danger at all.

Following that, under Gu Shaoan's guidance, the three encountered several forks in the road.

Having spent an hour in this dark, damp mountain path, anyone else would have become restless and increasingly uneasy.

The same applies to Zhou Zhiruo and Yang Yan.

But when their eyes fell on Gu Shaoan in front of them, their unease and restlessness were quickly dispelled.

A moment later, the mountain path the three were traveling on narrowed sharply.

Eventually, it became so narrow that only three people could barely pass sideways.

Moreover, the surrounding stone walls have become smoother, as if they have been specially polished.

There were even some watermarks on the mountainside, making the walls on both sides appear even more slippery.

"Senior brother, this location seems different from the other places."

At this moment, Yang Yan seemed to have discovered something, let out a soft exclamation, and casually swept the torch in her hand towards the spot where the firelight had just passed.

Gu Shaoan looked over and immediately noticed a protruding rock in the area Yang Yan had mentioned, its color noticeably darker than the surrounding mountain walls.

"I have them here too."

Not only Yang Yan, but Zhou Zhiruo, who was standing next to her, also noticed an unusual spot next to her.

The two looked over and found that the stones on the mountain wall next to Zhou Zhiruo were the same in color and size as the ones Yang Yan had just discovered.

It's understandable that they only discovered a mechanism.

The discovery of two locations at the same time inevitably raises questions.

After a moment's hesitation, Gu Shaoan extended the scabbard of the Chengxin Sword from his left hand and placed it directly on the stone that Zhou Zhiruo had discovered.

The moment the scabbard touched the stone, the protruding stone was immediately pressed in.

"click"

In an instant, Gu Shaoan could clearly feel the sound of the mechanism being triggered coming from inside the stone.

"boom!"

Immediately afterwards, rows of long spears made of fine iron slowly emerged from above Gu Shaoan and the others' heads.

Originally, the height of this secret passage was only about one zhang (approximately 3.3 meters).

With these spears protruding, the height of the secret passage was suddenly reduced to only seven feet five inches (one foot 32 centimeters).

The next second, they all felt the secret passage they were in start to shake, as if something was approaching them.

Stand behind me!

Faced with this sudden change, Gu Shaoan suddenly spoke.

Upon hearing this, Yang Yan and Zhou Zhiruo immediately turned to the side and moved closely behind Gu Shaoan.

In that instant, Gu Shaoan could clearly feel the soft touch of the two women, and his heart fluttered.

But before Gu Shaoan could even process what was happening, as if he had sensed something, he looked up.

But then they saw a huge, round stone ball, nearly six feet in diameter, rolling rapidly down the smooth, steep slope toward where the three of them were.

It moved at an extremely high speed, rolling wildly downwards with the force to crush everything in its path, and the enormous wind pressure carrying gravel and dust was the first thing to hit you.

Judging from the size of the round stone ball and the noise it made when it rolled, both Zhou Zhiruo and Yang Yan immediately realized that the stone ball probably weighed tens of thousands of jin.

The purpose of the six-foot-long stone sphere, along with the long spear protruding from the top of the secret passage to seal off the height, is self-evident.

The point is that when the people in the secret passage are facing this six-foot-long stone sphere, they will have no way to avoid it.

However, upon seeing this, Gu Shaoan's eyes lit up.

Gu Shaoan didn't remember much about the forbidden area of ​​Bright Peak.

However, they knew that the area leading from the entrance to the forbidden area behind the Ming Cult's mountain to the core of the forbidden area was precisely where this huge round stone mechanism was triggered.

A thought flashed through his mind, and looking at the stone sphere that was less than five zhang away from them, Gu Shaoan stepped forward.

As he plunged the Chengxin Sword into the ground, his body sank slightly, like a pine tree firmly rooted to the earth. His deep eyes held no panic, only a calm and serene stillness.

"Roar!"

As before, Gu Shaoan flipped his palms over, one in front and one behind, and his abundant true energy, combining both strength and gentleness, along with a special kind of energy, surged out like a boiling river.

Instantly, five dragon-shaped streams of energy condensed and rushed towards the stone sphere.

It's the same "dragon appearing in the field," but this time the "dragon shape" is completely different from the previous rain of arrows.

The moment the dragon-shaped energy touched the stone ball, its gentle, water-like force quietly dissipated the kinetic energy generated by the rolling stone ball.

When all five dragon-shaped energies landed on the stone sphere, the stone sphere, which had originally been moving like a surging river, suddenly slowed down.

In that split second, Gu Shaoan's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and his aura surged dramatically, like a dragon opening its eyes.

With a single step, the moment he appeared before the stone sphere, he used the momentum to retract his forehand, his body like a taut bowstring stretched to its limit, his center of gravity instantly sinking, his boundless true energy perfectly merging with the strength of his body honed through countless trials, all concentrated in his right palm that shot upwards from behind.

The dragon that soars too high will regret it.

Strangely, despite being an unparalleled and powerful palm strike, Gu Shaoan's "Regretful Dragon" technique also carried a touch of agility and elegance.

If Sun Baifa were here, he would immediately recognize that Gu Shaoan's palm strike had clearly incorporated "momentum".

However, this kind of momentum is not the momentum of the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms itself after the form of the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms was transformed into meaning.

Rather, it's the "Immortal Supporting the Head" posture from the "Golden Summit Cotton Palm." But even so, it's enough to greatly increase the power of the "Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms" in Gu Shaoan's hands.

The moment the palm landed on the stone ball, a powerful palm force and energy emanated from it.

Bang—!! A deafening, muffled thud, like the striking of a giant bell, exploded in the narrow passage.

An incredibly powerful shockwave exploded in a spherical shape, slamming violently against the smooth mountain walls, making the entire secret passage seem as if it had been swept by a gale.

The clothes on Zhou Zhiruo and Yang Yan's clothes rustled loudly under the terrifying shockwave.

Taking advantage of the momentum of "the immortal supporting the head", Gu Shaoan's move "The Dragon Regrets" was so powerful that it suddenly made the entire stone ball freeze.

Then, seventy percent of the remaining energy flowed upwards, causing the stone sphere in front of him to tremble violently twice before remaining still.

"Senior sister, quickly gather some stones and stuff them under this stone ball."

Upon hearing Yang Yan's words, Zhou Zhiruo immediately realized what was happening.

The secret passage has a noticeable slope, and even though the stone ball has been blocked by Gu Shaoan, if the problem of the stone ball's balance point is not addressed, this ten-thousand-pound stone ball will still slowly roll.

This secret passage was originally dug out below Bright Summit, so it is naturally full of stones.

Before long, the two women worked together to fill the empty spaces under the stone ball with rocks of various sizes.

Only then did Gu Shaoan remove his hand from the stone ball in front of him.

After letting out a sigh of relief, Zhou Zhiruo looked at the stone sphere in front of her and couldn't help but frown. "The Ming Cult really went to great lengths to create such a large stone sphere for use in mechanisms. Luckily, my junior brother is here, otherwise, we would be in real trouble."

The weight of this stone ball alone is enough to make even martial artists who have returned to the Innate Realm or ordinary martial artists who have condensed Qi into Yuan despair.

"What should we do now?"

After glancing at the stone sphere in front of her, Yang Yan asked a question.

Gu Shaoan turned his head to look at the mechanism that Yang Yan had discovered.

After drawing the Chengxin Sword, the scabbard once again landed on the mechanism.

The next second, just as the "click-click" sound rang out, a stone wall eight feet high and three feet wide suddenly began to slowly rotate on the mountainside next to the mechanism.

But it was a hidden door.

Upon seeing this, Zhou Zhiruo exclaimed in surprise, "So the place that Junior Sister Yang discovered first was the mechanism to open the secret door."

Gu Shaoan shook his head.

"No, if I'm not mistaken, both of these mechanisms can open this hidden door."

Upon hearing Gu Shaoan's words, the two women were taken aback for a moment, but then immediately realized what he meant.

"Junior brother, you mean that both of these mechanisms can open the hidden door, but they will also trigger the mechanism of this stone sphere?"

Gu Shaoan nodded and said, "That should be the case."

"The normal procedure should be to hit both mechanisms simultaneously or press them in sequence, then the secret door will be opened and the stone ball will not be triggered to fall."

It must be said that the design of this mechanism is indeed ingenious.

If it weren't known beforehand, no one would have guessed that these two mechanisms would need to be activated simultaneously.

Fortunately, Gu Shaoan is always prudent in his actions. If he didn't have enough confidence, he wouldn't have brought Yang Yan and Zhou Zhiruo into the Ming Cult's forbidden area.

After exchanging a few words, the three of them passed through the hidden door side by side.

The three of them carefully slipped through the narrow, hidden doorway. As soon as they stepped into the new space, an even more desolate, heavy, and even solemn yet decaying atmosphere rushed towards them.

Suddenly, the space opened up before them, revealing not the narrow passage they had passed through, but an exceptionally spacious stone chamber. This chamber was far larger than any of the octagonal stone chambers they had encountered before, measuring a full ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) on each side.

The dome, which is about three zhang high, is not flat. Instead, it has a strangely sloping arch shape, like the inner wall of an inverted giant seashell. The natural rock texture that is not carved can be faintly seen on it, which adds to its ancient and desolate feel.

The air was thick with the smell of dust and ancient rocks, and an indescribable musty smell of a long-sealed space.

Darkness, like thick ink, enveloped everything.

After glancing around, Zhou Zhiruo and Yang Yan each leaped into the recessed areas of the stone lamps on the wall.

The inside of the groove contained traces of black, solidified grease.

When the torches were lit, the flickering light clearly revealed the interior of the stone chamber.

The stone chamber was interconnected, a stark contrast to the previous monotonous structure that was only connected by stone doors. On the stone walls surrounding this enormous chamber, eight deep, dark passageways had suddenly appeared.

However, what is most striking is not these passageways, but the hundreds of boxes prominently displayed on the floor of this enormous stone chamber.

The boxes were all open, and inside were piles of gold, silver, jewelry necklaces, agate gems, and other such items.

The surrounding firelight illuminated the entire stone chamber, making it shimmer and shine with golden splendor.

Even the usually calm and collected Zhou Zhiruo and Yang Yan couldn't help but be dazzled by the gold and silver treasures filling the room.

A few breaths later, Zhou Zhiruo, having regained her senses, finally spoke: "The Ming Cult truly lives up to its reputation as a first-rate power. The value of the gold and silver treasures in this stone chamber alone is equivalent to what several second-rate powers would have accumulated over a hundred years."

This is why, whenever a major force in the martial arts world begins to decline and its deterrent power diminishes, other martial arts forces in the surrounding area will inevitably become restless and eager to make a move.

You can tell by looking at the gold and silver treasures inside this stone chamber.

The value of these gold and silver jewels alone is enough to equal the wealth of a second-rate power over a century.

If Yue Buqun had obtained this money, he could have immediately expanded the number of disciples in the Huashan Sect, increasing the number of members in the Huashan Qi Sect from a few to several hundred in just a few years, turning it from decline to revival.

After scanning the area a few times, Gu Shaoan stroked his chin.

"I almost forgot that there is a lot of gold and silver treasure hidden in the Ming Cult's forbidden area."

"I was worried before that I wouldn't have enough chips, but now I do."

After a thought flashed through their minds, the three of them headed off to other places again.

Before long, the three of them arrived at the last stone chamber.

With the help of the outside light, the group could vaguely see what was happening inside the stone chamber.

The stone chamber is slightly smaller than the outside, and is a regular rectangle. The towering stone walls have been polished to be even smoother and flatter, and can even reflect dim shadows under the firelight.

However, the group stopped in their tracks as soon as they stepped into the stone chamber.

In the very center of this stone chamber, on a stone slab, sat a pale white skeleton.

However, as soon as the three stepped into the stone chamber, the door behind them suddenly slammed shut.

At the same time, stone walls fell from all four sides of the house, enveloping the entire stone chamber.

After a sound like a blade slicing through the air, a wisp of fire spread along the edge of the wall.

Upon closer inspection, the group discovered that a corner of the stone chamber wall had been hollowed out, revealing protruding lamp wicks.

The previously dim stone chamber immediately became bright under the firelight.

In response, Yang Yan turned around and channeled her inner energy, blasting it towards the stone wall behind her.

However, as she struck out with her palm, it was as if a gentle breeze had passed by, and the stone door in front of her did not budge an inch.

"Eh?"

Upon discovering this, Yang Yan looked puzzled.

Thanks to the "Yi Jin Duan Gu Pian" (a traditional Chinese medicine exercise), Yang Yan's already "excellent" level of physical constitution improved further.

In terms of internal energy cultivation progress alone, if Gu Shaoan didn't have the extracted internal energy and proficiency panel, he wouldn't be able to compare with Yang Yan.

According to Gu Shaoan's judgment, although Yang Yan had only been a disciple for seven years, her skill level was already more profound than that of ordinary elders of the Emei Sect.

In addition, after returning to her innate state two years ago, her internal energy transformed into true qi. With her true qi combined with the palm force of the "Golden Top Cotton Palm", she could smash down a three-inch thick wall with a single palm strike from a distance of less than ten feet.

How could things be like this now, where a single palm strike can leave this three-inch-thick stone wall completely trembling?

She immediately stepped forward and tapped the stone wall with her unsheathed sword to make sure no mechanism was triggered before raising her hand.

Noticing Yang Yan's actions, Zhou Zhiruo, who was standing to the side, also walked to a stone wall and slapped it with her palm.

The result was the same as Yang Yan's situation just now.

A few moments later, Zhou Zhiruo and Yang Yan approached the stone wall and tapped on it for a while. Zhou Zhiruo exclaimed in surprise, "It's actually made of Dragon-Slaying Stone!"

　I went to get an IV drip this morning, so the next chapter update will be at 10 or 11 PM tonight. After I finish the IV drip tomorrow, I will try my best to adjust the update time back to the previous schedule! Sorry for the inconvenience!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)