"Crack——"

A crisp shattering sound echoed, and the surface of the Array appeared with web-like cracks.

Ling Xiao happened to rush to the entrance of the cave, not having had the chance to question, when a fierce Fist Power burst through the cracks of the Array, directly attacking.

"Pfft!"

Ling Xiao’s chest felt as if struck by lightning, and he was blasted away, rolling several times on the ground before barely stopping.

He crawled up, covered in dirt, with his chest burning in pain, and a metallic taste rising in his throat.

But he forcefully swallowed the blood back down, his gaze fixed on the cave entrance.

"At least a half-step Taichu Realm..."

Ling Xiao quickly assessed the opponent’s strength, his heart sinking.

In their current state, he and Gu Sheng had almost no chance of winning in a direct confrontation.

Outside the cave, Long Teng nodded in satisfaction at the destruction he caused.

He raised his fist again, preparing to completely shatter this obstructive barrier.

According to the rules of Xuanming Divine Mountain, as long as he didn’t attack Gu Sheng and Ling Xiao directly, it wouldn’t count as breaking the rules. This loophole exploitation was his usual trick.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Three consecutive punches struck the Array, each impact causing the stone walls inside the cave to tremble uncontrollably.

Ling Xiao knew he couldn’t wait any longer. Gritting his teeth, he reached into his arms and pulled out a Golden Alms Bowl.

Though only the size of a palm, it was covered with complex runes and glowed faintly gold when infused with Spiritual Energy.

"Go!"

Ling Xiao tossed the Golden Alms Bowl towards the cave entrance, biting his tongue to spit out a mouthful of Essence Blood.

The Golden Alms Bowl grew with the wind, instantly expanding to a size of ten feet, securely covering the entire cave entrance.

Gold light poured down like water, and the near-breaking Array runes miraculously began to repair under its illumination.

"Hmm?"

Long Teng noticed the sudden stabilization of the Array, frowned, then showed an expression of interest.

"Interesting."

He no longer held back, his right arm’s muscles swelling to the limit, veins visible beneath the skin.

Even more astonishing, Spiritual Energy from the surroundings began to gather towards his fist, with faint cyan Daoist Technique aura winding around it.

"Senior Brother Long can actually incite Daoist Technique aura!"

Liang Yu watched with an open mouth, eyes full of admiration.

Wang Yuchen also breathed heavily, as this method close to the Taichu Realm was practically unattainable for ordinary disciples like them.

Long Teng glanced at the two with pride.

"It’s just resonating with the Heaven and Earth Dao Technique. When I truly step into the Taichu Realm, entering the Qi Transformation Realm, the power of my attacks can double again!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he abruptly punched. This punch was more terrifying than any before, the air around his fist compressing into visible ripples.

When the fist made contact with the barrier formed by the Golden Alms Bowl, a deafening explosion echoed through the valley.

"Crack——Boom!"

The Golden Alms Bowl trembled violently, its runes extinguishing one by one.

The Array barrier shattered like glass, and Ling Xiao spat out a mouthful of blood, his face turning instantly pale.

Even more terrifying, the residual Fist Power continued, breaking through the shattered barrier and directly attacking inside the cave!

"Gu Sheng!"

Ling Xiao turned his head and shouted, his voice carrying unprecedented urgency.

Sitting cross-legged on the stone platform, Gu Sheng’s body trembled fiercely.

He was at the final stage of his breakthrough, his Spiritual Energy circulating to the extreme. Just a bit more persistence and he would succeed.

Yet at this moment, the external interference caused his energy flow to halt, the realm he was about to break through slipping away and plummeting at an alarming speed instead.

"Pfft——"

Gu Sheng spewed out a Blood Arrow, his energy completely withdrawing back into his body. He felt as if his internal organs were struck by a heavy hammer.

When he opened his eyes, they were bloodshot, with dried blood at the corner of his mouth.

The entrance filled with dust.

Long Teng’s face bore a mocking smile as he scanned the cave, his gaze landing on the disheveled Ling Xiao and the unstable Gu Sheng.

"Oh my, aren’t these Junior Brother Gu and Junior Brother Ling?"

Long Teng feigned surprise.

"I wondered who occupied such a good cultivation spot; turns out it’s you two."

Wang Yuchen followed swaggeringly behind Long Teng, a victorious smile on his face.

Upon reaching the cave entrance, he suddenly stopped, turning to pull Liang Yu, who was trying to back away, forcefully dragging him inside.

"What are you hiding from?"

Wang Yuchen whispered with malice in his eyes.

"Haven’t you always wanted revenge? Now the opportunity has arrived."

Liang Yu was pushed to the front, and facing the furious looks of Gu Sheng and Ling Xiao, he instinctively stepped back, but Wang Yuchen firmly held his shoulder.

Ling Xiao supported the tottering Gu Sheng, his eyes ablaze with anger nearly taking form.

Liang Yu’s smug face lingered in his mind, and even more hateful was Long Teng’s sinister scheme of borrowing a knife to kill.

"Don’t be impulsive..."

Gu Sheng weakly gestured, his voice like sandpaper scraping.

"Help me sit down."

Ling Xiao carefully assisted Gu Sheng in sitting cross-legged on the stone platform, seeing his pale face and the bloodstains at the corner of his mouth, clenched his fists until they creaked.

"This debt will be settled sooner or later!"

Gu Sheng said nothing in return, merely closing his eyes to meditate.

Inside him, Spiritual Energy was in chaos, his meridians feeling as if pierced by thousands of steel needles.

This was an internal injury caused by cultivation backlash, not externally visible but with his internal organs severely hurt.

He slowly guided the remaining Spiritual Power through the main meridians, repairing the damage little by little.

Outside the cave, the sky darkened, clouds pressed low as if about to crash down at any moment.

Ling Xiao stayed at the cave entrance, vigilantly observing the surroundings.

Once night fell completely, the danger of Xuanming Divine Mountain would increase exponentially.

What was more frightening was that Long Teng and his group were likely to launch an attack under the cover of darkness.