Chapter 91 Chapter 91 Jiang Wan’s heart…
Jiang Wan's heart sank.
She had already browsed through the system's store and knew everything she could use by heart. There were no healing or internal energy-boosting medicines—this was a crafting system, not a cultivation system, and the items sold there were all related to crafting.
The only three exceptions were the previously mentioned Detoxification Pill, Recovery Pill, and Resurrection Wine. These three medicines were among the most expensive in the system. While the Recovery Pill could repair Wen Shen's injuries, it cost 2,000 points, which Jiang Wan didn't have enough.
However, there is an active potion that increases the body's excitement and endurance by 20%, lasts for four hours, and costs 80 points.
Simply put, some large-scale handicrafts require several nights of work to create. Drinking this potion can help people stay up late without feeling sleepy and maintain good inspiration and physical strength, similar to coffee or stimulants.
But this thing also has side effects: after the effect of the drug wears off, the body's functions will weaken, and within ten days you will become weak and sleepy, and you will need a lot of tonic to return to normal.
Jiang Wan had already exchanged for the potion, but when she thought of its side effects, she felt a little reluctant to feed it to Wen Shen.
Anyway, this stuff only stimulates the nerves and doesn't help much with speed. If he really wants to fight, it won't be too late to give him the drink later.
After running like this for two incense sticks of time, they were stopped by eight men in black halfway up the mountain.
The men in black formed an octagonal star-shaped formation, surrounding them in the middle.
Wen Shen protected Jiang Wan with his left hand and unsheathed his sword with his right. He carefully observed the positions and postures of the men in black, his face icy. "The Heavenly Gang Bagua Formation? I never thought the renowned Black Iron Eight Heroes were actually the lackeys of Marquis Jing'an."
Hearing the name of the Tiangang Bagua Formation, Jiang Wan was startled and without hesitation, he stuffed the activation potion into Wen Shen's hand. Wen Shen didn't even ask a question and drank it all in one gulp.
After a few seconds, his face became much redder and the wound began to scab over. The potion must have taken effect. Jiang Wan glanced at the sundial in his hand.
It was three quarters past the hour of the twilight, and there was still a quarter of an hour until the agreed time. Adding the time it took Shen Jianqing to lead his troops up the mountain, they still had to hold on for another half an hour.
The Tiangang Bagua Formation, first created sixteen years ago by the former leader of the Xuanjia Sect, incorporates the Qimen Dunjia techniques of the Bagua and Jiugong, transforming the fragmented into a whole. Its power is so strong that it can penetrate a mountain with the strength of eight people. Furthermore, the formation's core changes with the movement of its members, and no one in the martial arts world has yet cracked it.
Can they hold out for half an hour under the Tiangang Bagua Formation?
Jiang Wan knew nothing about martial arts, so she could only rely on Wen Shen to break the formation. She had faced danger before, but never had she felt so powerless. She clung to a rock like a duckweed, hoping it would be stable and heavy enough to not be swept away by the current.
She didn't like this feeling, but she could only silently hold Wen Shen's hand tightly and carefully observe the expressions of these Xuanjiamen people.
"What a running dog!" Xuan Lao San glared, "The Marquis is the king's uncle, and the Third Prince is the future crown prince! We are here to uphold the orthodoxy!"
The eldest of the eight brothers advised, "Since Master Wen has recognized the Tiangang Bagua Formation, he must be well aware of its power. You can't defeat it, so why not withdraw your men now and leave the evidence you have collected? I can still let you go."
"What a joke! You're just a rat helping a tiger. Why do you have to deceive yourself?" Wen Shen shouted, "Watch out for the sword!"
Shanhe thrust forward, and Wen Shen flew out with one foot touching the ground, stabbing towards Lao Ba, who had the weakest internal strength. In the blink of an eye, the tip of the sword was only thirty inches away from Xuan Lao Ba.
The eight men in black gathered their energy and stepped onto corresponding points, instantly connecting their internal energy. Xuan Lao Ba and his fellow disciples on either side simultaneously drew their swords, their energies radiating outwards, forming a barrier two men tall in front of Xuan Lao Ba. Wen Shen's sword energy collided with the barrier, creating a deafening buzzing sound that sent leaves falling from the nearby trees.
Wen Shen was shocked and flew backwards, while the Eight Heroes of Xuantie still stood on the spot without moving at all.
Before he could steady himself, the Eight Black Iron Heroes swung their swords in unison, infusing their internal energy into the blades and pointing them at Wen Shen. Even more bizarrely, the eight strands of powerful internal energy didn't attack him directly, but instead converged upward into an even more terrifying stream of true energy, raining down upon him with overwhelming pressure.
The wind waves were so strong that Jiang Wan could hardly stand, and most of the nearby branches were broken.
"Be careful!" Jiang Wan shouted.
The combined might of the eight men, as the legends say, could shake mountains. Wen Shen could only retreat to the right, barely dodging the attack. However, as the Black Iron Eight Heroes moved, the energies seemed to have eyes, following him closely. Fortunately, Wen Shen's Qinggong skills were exceptional, and he had the benefit of the vitality potion, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to hold out for more than a few breaths.
Jiang Wan was watching from outside the formation, feeling extremely anxious. He stared intently at the stream of true energy, hoping to find the center of the formation before Wen Shen became exhausted.
As the saying goes, all things carry the Yin and embrace the Yang, and the rushing Qi creates harmony. [1] A formation has its strengths and weaknesses. The center of a formation is both the weak point and the source of its strength. Every formation has a center, and the stronger the formation, the weaker its center.
It's common sense in the martial arts world that if you can't defeat an opponent with force, then the best way to break the formation is to find the center of the formation.
The changes in the movements and sword styles of the eight heroes pushed the direction of the true energy above their heads, but the place where the eight internal forces converged was always in the center of the octagonal formation.
According to Taoism, the Tao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to all things. [2] All things are born from the Tao and evolve in cycles according to the laws of nature. This formation has a Taoist flavor, and I think it also follows this law. Therefore, the place where the true energy converges should be closest to the origin of the formation.
While analyzing, Jiang Wan forced himself to calm down and observe the true energy above his head.
This stream of true energy took the shape of a column, formed from eight streams of internal energy twisted like a twist into a thick, shiny line. These eight streams of internal energy all spiraled downward, but upon closer inspection, one stream was different.
That internal force was wider than the other seven, and was wrapped in the other seven internal forces, standing upright in the center of the Qi column.
"Attack Boss Xuan!" Jiang Wan almost roared.
Hearing her voice, Wen Shen flashed and rushed towards Boss Xuan's position without hesitation.
Boss Xuan also had a barrier of condensed Qi in front of him, but when Wen Shen struck with his sword, he felt that this barrier was much thinner. The two sides' Qi collided, and each retreated three steps. The shockwave was not as strong as before.
The controller of the array's center has to distract himself from manipulating the array and output the most internal force, so his own defense is the weakest.
After Wen Shen's collision, the internal force output from Boss Xuan's sword tip was interrupted, and the true energy dissipated in an instant.
Jiang Wan sighed in relief, then collapsed to the ground, exhausted. When Wen Shen thrust his sword forward, her heart nearly leaped from her throat. If that sword had struck the wrong person, the central Qi column would have instantly devoured them. In other words, if she misjudged the situation, both of them would have perished.
This guy believes in her more than she does herself.
As warmth surged through Jiang Wan's heart, he heard Boss Xuan's applause: "The little girl doesn't know martial arts, but she's very smart. The Tiangang Bagua Formation has been around for over a decade, and only a few have been able to find the center of the formation. Unfortunately, the center of this formation is infinitely variable, and the one you found is only temporary."
Before Jiang Wan could ponder the meaning behind the words, he heard Xuan Lao Er shouting beside him, "Arise, Tiangang Bagua Formation!"
The Qi column appeared overhead again, this time under Xuan Lao Er's control. When Wen Shen lunged at the leader, the Eight Heroes combined their swords in a single movement, effectively switching the leadership. After several failed attempts to break the formation, Wen Shen narrowly avoided three Qi columns before being struck by the edge of the fourth, his left arm instantly covered in blood.
Wen Shen didn't dare try again and could only continue dodging around, avoiding the Qi pillars or using trees to block their attacks. Fortunately, thanks to the vitality potion, his physical condition was better than usual, allowing him to survive these waves of attacks.
In a matter of seconds, the surrounding trees were nearly chopped down, and the ground was riddled with holes carved by the Qi column. With such a commotion, the three groups of infantry on the mountaintop should have already locked onto their position. Wen Shen needed to break the formation within two incense sticks of time. Otherwise, once the soldiers arrived, with the formation in front and the pursuers behind, escaping would be even more difficult.
As one crisis after another arose, even Jiang Wan, who had seen many big scenes, was a little panicked.
When the fifth column of true energy came down, almost all the trees near Wen Shen were chopped down. The previous sprints had consumed too much physical strength. The wound on his left arm was still bleeding, and the wound on his right arm was also oozing blood.
He endured the pain, took a deep breath and poured all his internal energy into his legs, intending to speed up at the risk of bursting the meridians in his lower limbs.
However, before his internal force could be circulated, his back hit something soft.
Jiang Wan stood between him and the Qi column and hugged him tightly from behind.
Wen Shen's face changed drastically, but the Qi column arrived in an instant, and he had no time to do anything. He could only roar: "No——"
A powerful gust of wind swept over with a terrifying pressure, blowing up Jiang Wan's clothes and long hair, causing her to close her eyes out of habit and cling even closer to Wen Shen.
She didn't know why she did this. The moment she realized the Qi column would catch up to him, her heart ached unspeakably. Only by getting closer to him, by his side, could she alleviate the pain a little.
Jiang Wan had never experienced such pain before, and at that moment, she obeyed her instincts without even thinking. It wasn't until the threat of death arrived that she finally awoke from her body's instincts.
In that thousandth of a second, countless emotions flashed through her mind, but she didn't feel any regret. Instead, she felt very calm.
In the past, she didn't understand the saying "a gentleman will die for his friend" and always thought those "scholars" were foolish and pitiful. But time has changed, and now she has made the same choice.
The Qi column felt up close was like a high-voltage lightning bolt of tens of thousands of ft. It could shatter her internal organs in less than a second and turn her into a pool of flesh and blood.
one two three……
【1】【2】：From Laozi's Tao Te Ching
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