Chapter 333: Chapter 320: The Endless Yangtze River Rolls On

In the nick of time, Shang Xiaoran, having just broken free of the cage, yanked Zheng Donghong back. She then stepped in front of both him and Shen Lang, throwing up a transparent barrier with her hands to block the ripples from the energy blast.

When the smoke and dust settled, everyone stared at the scene before them, completely dumbfounded.

The protective barrier Shang Xiaoran had created was shattered, and all three of them were sent flying.

However, all three were protected by the defensive wards of Tier Four Talismans. Despite the immense force of the blast, they were completely unscathed, aside from looking a little disheveled.

Many of the nearest wooden dummies were blown to pieces, their parts littering the ground.

As for the fat and thin Martial Artists, they were both half-buried in the ground, covered in blood, and letting out weak, agonizing wails...

A Tier Four Giant Wood Talisman’s attack was roughly equivalent to a full-power strike from a Martial Artist at the Spirit Martial Realm Sixth Heaven. These two were only at the Spirit Martial Realm First Heaven. How could they possibly withstand a direct hit?

Even Hao Fengliu, when faced with such a powerful attack from Shen Lang, could only rely on the speed of his Wind Element techniques to constantly evade.

Eventually, Shen Lang had decided it was too wasteful, since it was difficult to land a decisive blow on Hao Fengliu. He had switched to Tiers Two and Three Talismans just to harass him from the sidelines.

The fat and thin Martial Artists’ Earth Element Technique was well-rounded, strong in both offense and defense. But even with their formidable defenses, they still couldn’t withstand the blast from the Giant Wood Talisman.

A single blast had left them both critically injured.

"You bastard! I’ll come back to haunt you!"

The skinny Martial Artist struggled to pull himself out of the ground, his demonic gaze locked onto Shen Lang.

"Stand back! I’ll handle them!" Shang Xiaoran shouted.

’Even though they’re critically injured, a cornered animal’s last struggle can be terrifying.’

However, Shen Lang, standing behind her, clearly had no intention of backing down. He chuckled, and with a flick of his wrists, sent two more Talismans flying.

"Let the endless river surge!"

A surging, torrential river fell from the sky. Faintly visible within the deluge were two ferocious Water Dragons, roaring as they lunged to devour the two Martial Artists!

The two men were already grievously injured and could barely move. The sight of this new attack terrified them out of their wits.

"Earth Skill: Heaven and Earth Defense!"

With a desperate hand seal, the two of them conjured a stone hut that completely enveloped them.

"Hmph. It seems you’ve forgotten about me, haven’t you?"

Furious after having been trapped, Shang Xiaoran finally revealed her ferocious side. Gripping her Short Sword with both hands, she brought it down in a vicious slash on the stone hut!

"CRACK!"

The ferocious Sword Qi instantly cleaved the stone hut in two!

The two men inside froze for an instant, then let out blood-curdling screams as the Water Dragons devoured them!

The torrential river then surged past, crashing against the walls of the Wooden Man Alley with a thunderous BOOM.

After the torrent passed, the water, now dyed completely red, suddenly dissipated into motes of light. A hammer, an axe, and two Sumeru Rings clattered to the ground.

But the fat and thin Martial Artists had vanished completely.

The entire alley fell silent...

Shen Lang quickly strode forward to pick up the hammer, the axe, and the two Sumeru Rings. "They both had Sumeru Rings, huh? Looks like they were richer than Hao Fengliu. Totally worth using a few Tier Four Talismans! Hey, what are you two spacing out for? If we keep dawdling, we’ll run out of time!" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

"Coming!" Shang Xiaoran and Zheng Donghong immediately hurried after him.

"Hey, how did you shatter that stone pillar with a single punch? Your punch looked impressive, but honestly, there’s no way it had enough power to break the pillar. Those things were incredibly sturdy, so why did it corrode like that?"

Shang Xiaoran had been holding back for a while, but she couldn’t resist asking any longer.

"Is it that strange? You want to know?" Shen Lang asked, turning his head.

"Mhm." Shang Xiaoran nodded, looking a little indignant.

Shen Lang then raised his head to the Profound Dao Sect disciples watching from above and shouted, "I bet you all want to know too, don’t you?"

The Profound Dao Sect disciples above were amused.

Someone shouted down, "We do! Tell us, kid!"

"Hahahaha..." Shen Lang let out a proud laugh, then abruptly stopped and declared, "But I’m not going to tell you!"

"Damn it!" The crowd above erupted in anger.

Many of them threw whatever they had in their hands. Fruit peels and loose bricks bounced off the barrier above the Wooden Man Alley, creating quite a spectacle.

Shang Xiaoran grabbed Shen Lang’s hair with both hands and began to furiously ruffle it. "Are you going to tell me or not? Talk! Or I’ll beat you up!"

This familiar gesture left Zheng Donghong, who was standing nearby, completely stunned. "Huh. You’ve always been so icy. I never knew you had this side to you."

Shang Xiaoran froze for a moment, then huffed softly and reverted to her usual icy demeanor.

"Every type of Magic, or Cultivation Technique for that matter, has flaws. It’s just a question of how big they are. For example, the Earth and Stone Cage has two."

"For real?" Shang Xiaoran said, a bit vexed. "It’s impressive enough that you found one flaw, but you’re telling me you found two? What are they? Spit it out!"

Shen Lang said calmly, "Well... sometimes it’s not just about the flaw, but who’s there to exploit it. The first flaw is inherent to the Magic itself."

"The entire Earth and Stone Cage is made of solid matter, but it’s held together by a unique Secret Technique that uses Earth Element Spiritual Power as a binding agent. Without that spiritual framework, a few blocks of Cyan Gang Rock on their own aren’t much use."

"The cage is essentially a net woven from Spiritual Power and raw materials. This net is held together by numerous nodes, and among them, there are always a few spots where the energy is exceptionally weak. This is true for any defensive technique or magic; it’s impossible to distribute the energy with perfect uniformity. The lower the tier of the technique, the bigger the flaws. Likewise, the weaker the caster’s Cultivation, the more pronounced the flaws become."

"So, the spot where I drew that line was, naturally, the weakest point."

"The second flaw has to do with the materials. The two main components, Cyan Gang Rock and Vajra Sand, aren’t nearly as incredible as those two made them out to be. Right now, materials that can actually be fused into an artifact to absorb attack energy are exceedingly rare. Strictly speaking, only a handful of items, like the Spirit Absorption Stone, can achieve that."

"As for Cyan Gang Rock, their claim that it ’absorbs energy for its own use’ was utter nonsense. The reason your attacks seemed to lose so much power when they hit the pillars is due to Cyan Gang Rock’s unique structure. The material appears solid, but its interior is actually hollow and latticed, allowing energy to pass through it with ease. That’s why it’s often used as a supplementary material in Artifact Refining. A significant portion of your attack’s energy simply went straight through the pillars and out of the cage entirely."

Shang Xiaoran said in a low voice, "I understand the weakness related to the energy distribution at the nodes. But the property of Cyan Gang Rock you described... that’s one of the material’s strengths, isn’t it? How is that a flaw? And why did the pillar react that way after you applied that substance to it?"

Shen Lang smiled faintly. "Anyone with the slightest knowledge of Artifact Refining or Alchemy knows that mixing various materials can create all sorts of strange reactions. Materials have different Attributes; they can strengthen or nullify one another, right? Cyan Gang Rock and Vajra Sand might be sturdy, but there are still things that can affect them—or even corrode them completely, like Wind Demon Scale or Setting Sun Illusion Dew."

"And because of Cyan Gang Rock’s inherent property—that hollow interior—it breaks down incredibly fast when it encounters a substance like Setting Sun Illusion Dew. Once one section collapses, the entire structure becomes unstable. And at that moment, you just add one punch..."

"So you coated the pillar with Wind Demon Scale and Setting Sun Illusion Dew? Both of those materials are very rare. Did you just happen to have them on you by coincidence?" Shang Xiaoran asked, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

Shen Lang rolled his eyes. "What are the odds of that? I just mixed several other materials together on the spot to concoct a similar substance that would have the desired effect. Then I found the weakest point in the Earth and Stone Cage and used it to corrode the Cyan Gang Rock there. Simple as that."

"No, no, that can’t be right. You make it sound so simple, but how did you find the first flaw? I scanned the whole thing with my Divine Thought and didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. And how on earth could you concoct something like Setting Sun Illusion Dew in such a short time from whatever you had on hand?" Shang Xiaoran said, shaking her head repeatedly.

Shen Lang said with a helpless sigh, "How did I find it... It’s a long story, but to make it short—I guessed."

"You really think I’d believe that?" Shang Xiaoran huffed in exasperation.

Shen Lang muttered to himself, "As for making that stuff, I believe I told you before that I know a bit about Artifact Refining... Ugh, a woman’s curiosity is a scary thing. Are you planning to interrogate me all the way to the other end of Wooden Man Alley?"

"Ahem! I... I was just asking!" Shang Xiaoran said, turning her head away in embarrassment.

"Curiosity killed the cat, you know... Look at Brother Donghong. He’s different. Hasn’t asked a single thing this whole time. Now that’s smart," Shen Lang chuckled.

Zheng Donghong gave an honest smile. "Actually, I wanted to ask, too. But she already asked everything I was wondering about, so I didn’t say anything. Oh, by the way, I do have one question..."

Shen Lang: "..."

「While Shen Lang and his companions were tackling the third trial」

At the entrance to the fifth trial, dozens of Martial Artists were locked in combat, their battles stirring up violent gusts of wind and choking clouds of dust.

To the west, Su Shi and Zhan Wuji had joined forces to wound a man and back him into a corner.

The man they were fighting wielded a Qi Mei Red Copper Stick and had a gruesome scar on his face. It was the same scar-faced man who had made a threatening gesture toward Zheng Donghong’s group at the entrance to the Wooden Man Alley.

The scar-faced man’s Cultivation was considerable, but he had the misfortune of running into Zhan Wuji and Su Shi.

Both of them had Cultivation on par with his, and their teamwork—one with a saber, one with a sword—was impeccable. Their offense and defense flowed together seamlessly. In the course of their fight, the man had already sustained five wounds!

"Why? Why are you two ganging up on me?" the scar-faced man demanded, gripping his stick with both hands. His eyes were like those of a Fierce Beast, his expression savage.

Su Shi let out a soft chuckle. "Why ask a question you already know the answer to? Since you came here seeking revenge, you must have already realized that we are companions of their group of three. And as their companions, we ought to do something on their behalf, shouldn’t we?"

Zhan Wuji snorted. "Why waste time with this nonsense? Back outside, you probed us with your Divine Thought multiple times. The only reason you didn’t attack is because you knew you couldn’t win. If we had been even a bit weaker, you would have charged us long ago, right? For a man, isn’t all this posturing a bit pathetic?"

Su Shi pondered for a moment before asking, "Wuji, what do you think we should do?"

A sharp glint flashed in Zhan Wuji’s eyes as he spat out a single word: "Kill!"