Zhang Cuishan sent messengers to call for the Mongol Yuan forces to surrender, but to no avail. Emperor Shun of Yuan, Toghon Temür, held out and refused to retreat.
After waiting for three days, Zhang Cuishan ordered an attack on the city. Immediately, countless Ming Cult members pushed siege ladders and rushed up the city. A fierce battle broke out between the two sides. People were killed every moment, and corpses filled the sky.
After a siege of half a month, just as the city gates were about to be breached and Dadu was about to fall, a group of lamas rushed out of the city, wielding vajras, and charged straight at the Ming army.
What was truly terrifying was that these lamas seemed to possess immense strength and indestructibility. Led by an old lama, they relentlessly pushed back the Ming army, inflicting heavy casualties.
Immediately, Ming Cult experts rushed forward, but they were no match for him. Yang Xiao, the Left Guardian of Light, died on the spot, Yin Tianzheng, the White-browed Eagle King, died in battle, the Green-winged Bat King was seriously injured, and two of the Five Wanderers died.
Zhang Cuishan immediately ordered the entire army to retreat a hundred miles and stand ready for battle. At the same time, he personally rushed back to Wudang Mountain to ask his master for help.
…………
Wudang Mountain, Zhenwu Hall.
Dressed in his finest attire, Zhang Cuishan sat at the head of the table, slowly sipping his tea. His mustache added to his imposing presence, and his every move inspired awe and deterred any disrespect.
Song Yuanqiao sat in the second seat, his expression showing more caution and fear, and he spoke much more reservedly than before.
The other five members of the Seven Heroes of Wudang were also present, sitting at the lower end of the table.
"...Therefore, Cui Shan's return to the mountain is to ask Master and Uncle for help!"
When Zhang Cuishan explained his purpose, the crowd erupted in an uproar.
"I've been practicing martial arts diligently, and I haven't even had a chance to avenge myself on you yet, and you're already dead?" Upon hearing the news of Yang Xiao's death, Yin Liting's mind went blank, and he drew his sword, looking around in bewilderment.
He seemed to have lost his soul.
Seeing this, Zhang Songxi patted him on the shoulder, sighed, and didn't know how to comfort him.
Song Yuanqiao looked troubled: "Master and Uncle have not shown their faces for many years and have not come out of seclusion. We dare not disturb their quiet cultivation!"
Zhang Cuishan blew on the tea foam in his cup and asked in surprise, "Senior Brother, have they not emerged from seclusion for so many years?"
Song Yuanqiao, whose hair was now more than half white, nodded and replied, "Not bad!"
"Hasn't left seclusion for almost ten years? This..."
Zhang Cuishan didn't say what he was going to say, but the meaning was obvious: he was afraid that they had already passed away in seclusion.
Just then, the world changed dramatically.
A dazzling golden light emanated from the back of the mountain, gradually spreading and illuminating the world in a golden hue.
Magnificent and beautiful.
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Chapter 69 Strange Natural Phenomena
Thump! Thump! Thump!
It was as if a divine being was beating a drum, the sound shaking heaven and earth!
A powerful heartbeat resounded, like the awakening of gods and demons, and a terrifying aura swept over, suffocating everyone.
With a single thought fading away, all thoughts subsided. Xiao Ning's divine sense was immersed in an unknowable realm, where he seemed to see the state of his own body.
The soul has begun to solidify and is clearly visible.
In the thick, river-like veins, blood as viscous as mercury syrup surged through, and wherever it passed, a scorching heat emanated from every part of the body.
Starting from the heart, it travels a large circle throughout the body and then returns to the heart, forming a large cycle.
The innate true energy had been completely transformed into innate true liquid. With a thought from Xiao Ning, the golden innate true liquid started from the dantian, circulated through the twelve regular meridians and eight extraordinary meridians for one full cycle, and then returned to the dantian.
The body's 206 bones, as clear and lustrous as jade, shimmered with a soft luster, their density comparable to gold and stone, and their weight as heavy as a thousand pounds.
The skin and pores have completely disappeared, locking in the body's Qi and blood to prevent leakage. Occasionally, a glimmer of luster appears, making it seem extraordinary.
Xiao Ning's mind entered his heart, as if he had entered another blood-red space, which was vast, desolate and mysterious.
He felt as if he had transformed into a great sun, radiating boundless heat, illuminating the earth and nurturing all things.
This is the source of Qi and blood for the entire human body.
After an unknown amount of time, Xiao Ning's mind returned to normal. He slowly opened his eyes, and two beams of light, each about ten feet long, suddenly appeared, illuminating the dimly lit room with a golden glow.
"Phew! I've finally broken through to the Martial Arts Grandmaster realm!"
With a thought, Xiao Ning activated the Breath Concealment Technique to completely suppress his aura, and his whole demeanor returned to that of a friendly boy next door.
He quickly calculated and realized that nearly ten years had passed since his last trip.
In this life, I am thirty-five years old, already at the age of maturity, and have been in this world for over twenty years.
From his appearance, Xiao Ning, who is in his thirties, still looks like a young man, as if time has been frozen and the years have not left any marks on him.
Once a martial artist in the world advances to the Innate Realm, they break through the limits of the human body and their lifespan increases greatly, reaching up to two hundred years. They remain youthful and until their death, they still look the same as when they broke through to the Innate Realm.
Once one breaks through to the Martial Arts Grandmaster level, their lifespan is greatly extended, reaching as many as three hundred years, allowing them to witness the rise and fall of dynasties and the ever-changing world.
In the acquired stage of martial arts training, one refines essence into qi, cultivating the essence of the five grains. There are often sayings in the world that a certain master eats five oxen a day.
Internal energy is merely an invisible force that flows through the meridians; it cannot penetrate the body, is formless and intangible, and cannot be touched.
In essence, it is simply the flow of Qi and blood through the meridians, which then refines the essence of the five grains to strengthen the internal Qi.
When one's internal energy is profound, one can transform qi into force to attack enemies.