596 Dogfigh (1/2)
The two who involved in the internal energy competition were astonished for the same reason.
In the Western Regions, there were not many advanced internal energy training manuals. The Daoless Divine Power of Golden Roc Castle and several internal energy manuals of the Four Noble Truths Temple were only highly admired and recommended by their own disciples. If they talked about it in front of the disciples of the famous sects in the Central Plains, what they got would definitely be a sneer of disdain. Therefore, the internal energy was far less attractive than the external martial arts skills like the Death Sutra Swordsmanship to the kung fu experts from the Central Plains.
Shangguan Fei had never been to the Central Plains. In the castle, everyone told him that the internal energy training method passed down in the family was invincible. And he believed it. Later, when he made remarkable progress in the practice of the Three-in-One Power, he attributed it to the effect of the Daoless Divine Power and became more confident about it. In a word, the internal energy was the only thing he was proud of.
As a result, he didn't expect that the internal energy of a small, thin, and unknown Taoist priest from the Jade Pure Sect of the Central Plains could be so profound and powerful that the first wave of internal Qi poured in with the force of a landslide and the power of a tidal wave, and had almost invaded and crushed his Dantian.
The Taoist priest was more surprised. In his view, the external martial arts skills of the Western Regions were somehow unique and worth learning from. As for the internal energy training method, they were just following suit from the Central Plains and not worth mentioning. He had recognized that Shangguan Fei was the young man who came to cure his Qi deviation last time so his internal energy couldn't be very powerful.
But it was this nervous young man, who not only blocked a series of offensives he had exerted with all his might but also seemed to be able to fight back. And he had two different kinds of internal Qi, one yin and one yang, which was completely against the principle that a practitioner could only cultivate one type of internal energy.
The Taoist priest had heard of what the Dragon King was doing but had no idea of how the Three-in-One Power worked. It was not until he experienced it himself that he was bewilderedly amazed and muttered 'impossible' in his heart.
In the eyes of the outsiders, internal energy competition was a very boring scene. Shangguan Fei occasionally moved a bit but the Taoist priest stood still like a sculpture. One could only see the touch of four palms and was totally unaware of the fierceness of the fight.
Shangguan Fei's fatal drawback was his timidity. Once he found himself unable to defeat the enemy in an overwhelming manner, the idea of retreat would occupy his mind. But unlike ordinary kung fu competition, one couldn't use the unique skill like lightness skill to run away during the internal energy competition. The only thing he could do was to try his best to protect himself.
hangguan Fei felt that he was walking on the edge of a cliff and the only thing he wanted to say was 'give up', but the thought of the Dragon King behind him made him dare not to speak it out.
The Dragon King was like a combination of a stern father and a ruthless Master, Shangguan Fei felt fear as much as respect towards him. He was really afraid that the Dragon King would abandon him and he would not live another day by wandering alone in the crisis-ridden Jianghu.
'A bit longer, hold on a bit longer, then admit defeat. Let the Dragon King try himself, then he will understand my difficulty.'
After setting a standard for giving up, Shangguan Fei became less nervous. Now he just wanted to take the defensive position in a down-to-earth manner instead of wanting to snatch a victory out of defeat.
All of a sudden, he found himself able to practice the Dragon King's healing method.
The Taoist priest had kept his composure. Although the young man's internal energy was unexpectedly powerful, it was still inferior to the internal energy he had diligently trained for decades. The young man's internal energy was full of vigor only at the very beginning but soon ceased to be inactive which was obviously unsustainable.
The Taoist priest suddenly found something strange. Shangguan Fei had two strands of internal Qi which originally worked together to barely defend themselves against the enemy, but now the yin energy 'defected' and guided the Taoist priest's internal Qi to attack the yang energy.
Wouldn't that make him lose quicker? Puzzled, the Taoist priest could only think of one explanation that Shangguan Fei's Qi deviation broke out. But soon he found he was wrong, his opponent, who had changed the strategy, not only didn't break down, but also his yang energy became more refined instead of being dispersed, though it was gradually weakened under the internal and external attack. Its resistance increased as it retreated every inch in the meridians.
”Strange!” The Taoist priest couldn't help crying out. He felt that he might have been tricked so he immediately adjusted his internal Qi to attack the yin energy that was 'helping' him.
Shangguan Fei strictly adhered to the method the Dragon King had taught him and adapted himself to the opponent's change by turning his yin energy into a defensive position while using his yang energy to 'help' the external force.
This was the healing method Gu Shenwei thought of. He had been inspired by the Balanced Power handed down in the family.
Dual cultivation of the yin and yang energy was, after all, dangerous, so the Balanced Power focused more on safety rather than speed. The family inherited manual recorded lots of tricks about how to suppress the increase of power, which once puzzled Gu Shenwei a lot but now became a lifesaving trick to him.
With the Taoist priest's internal energy, Shangguan Fei was slowly refining the two different internal Qi, making them purer and easier to fuse.
It was hard for Shangguan Fei to understand the truth, but he knew that the Dragon King's method seemed to be effective. He could barely resist when he used the two strands of internal Qi, now he felt it much easier by 'turning one of the Qi into a traitor'. The only price was that his internal Qi kept contracting in the meridians and if the enemy seized the moment to invade his Dantian, he would be maimed if not be killed.
Shangguan Fei was worried and indecisive, so was the Taoist priest. He had determined that his internal energy was being used by the enemy and therefore, wanted to take the chance to push forward to destroy Shangguan Fei's Dantian. But he also wanted to break free from this eerie internal energy competition while everything was still under control.
”Really strange.” The Taoist priest shouted again with a louder voice. Just while he was thinking, his internal energy had entangled with the enemy's internal energy and it became more and more difficult to attack. That 'defected' Qi had revealed its true colors as a 'spy', which insidiously weakened its 'allies' while leading the way.
It was impossible to retreat now. No matter how he dealt with it, there would be a strand of internal Qi, either yin or yang, following to enter his body when he withdrew his own internal Qi, which would bring him great harm.
”How strange!” The Taoist priest's cry became louder and louder, and instead of expressing his bewilderment at heart, he was actually asking his fellow disciples for help in a subtle way.
Shangguan Fei didn't understand why the Taoist priest was screaming. The one who couldn't bear it any longer was obviously he himself, why the Taoist priest cried out first before he did?
”I … I…” Shangguan Fei felt that he had persisted long enough, but wasn't able to speak out the words 'give up'. It was not that he felt ashamed but because the way the Dragon King taught him was too energy consuming and he couldn't take a breath to speak it out.
Four Taoist priests walked out from different tents. Shangguan Fei had met one of them before so he became more anxious and timid. It wasn't important about whether to admit defeat or not, he only hoped the Dragon King could save himself.
”What happened?” asked one of the Taoist priests who came out later.
”This kid … This kid … Just get me out of here.” The small Taoist priest complained inwardly that his fellow disciples were really inconsiderate. The four of them actually had time to ask questions when he was so anxious.
The four of them finally realized the problem. A tall Taoist priest acted first. With no intentions to hurt anyone, he stuck out his palms and pressed on the two, trying to peacefully separate them.