Chapter 176 - Getting Shot In A Cave

Nodding his head, Yue then gives a bow to his grandpa before turning towards the tunnel he needs to go into and starts running into the cavern tunnel. Feeling pressure unlike before, subconsciously his body begins to slow a bit. Wondering what is going on, Yue thinks to himself. 'Why do I feel the pressure once again? Is it tempering me further, or did I take to long an what I had before has been removed already? ... No, never mind it is probably the first one.'

Seemingly right, he continues to make his way through the tunnel before noticing something. 'It seems something about the tunnel is different. Did the tunnels change? That does not seem likely but I guess nothing is really impossible. Hmm, maybe I am getting different trials this time, and am going to learn something new?!'

With such thoughts, Yueliang starts feeling excited and without noticing a smile appears on his face. The trip through the tunnel feeling long and arduous, he comes across an underground ravine, and seeing no other way to cross it, Yue tries the void steps even with the increased pressure.

Passing over the underground ravine, he makes his way towards the tunnel on the other side all the while slowing himself down. Not due to the pressure but because he wants to adapt to it and get used to it before continuing.

Once in the tunnel, he sits a few meters from the edge and closes his eyes to rest for a few moments although he is not really tired. Letting himself get used to the pressure, he waits for seconds then turning to minutes, and minutes ticking by until an hour passes.

As an hour had passed since he started resting, but about 2 hours since he ran in, a massive gust of wind blows through the tunnel he is resting in. Thus pushing his body out of the tunnel, where he barely catches onto the edge, and says.

"Well, that is definitely new. Before I was only thrown back when I could not handle it.

" He says while waiting for the wind to pass that causes a very loud howling sound as it passes into the ravine.

Feeling the rocks he is holding onto start to crack, Yue makes one swift pull launching his body upward as the ledge collapses. Using the void steps he walks back into the tunnel and starts making his way while mumbling to himself with a smile.

"That was fun, although it seems this immortal cave does not want me taking too long of rests like last time.

"

"I wonder what caused my older self to create such a technique? It feels like it does not really rely too much on chi but intent. Of course chi is needed, but more through body tempering and understanding, not just absorbing and using like others. Hmm, and such strong abilities, am I being prepared for a war or going on the run for that happens later?

" Yue ponders to himself while proceeding through the pressure filled tunnel.

Not able to think of an answer at the moment, Yang interrupts answering.

"Hello brother, it has been a while. Also to answer your question, I am not quite certain myself either, regardless, these skills have you tempering your body, and utilizing and guiding your chi through your movements. Thus if I am not wrong, this is an answer to your prayers so to speak.

"

"Oh? How is that?

" He asks in reply.

Without delay, Yang answers while walking.

"Well, you always seem to be finding yourself too busy to cultivate, or making excuses not to do so. Meanwhile the further you get in cultivation the more you rely on it. For example as a mortal, one breaths air, but as a cultivator you breath spiritual energy. Without it, or at least without guiding the chi you will die. Not only that, if you do not move it regularly it will become chaotic as is what happened before. That does not mean to release a move every day or so but to actually move all the chi in your body. Do you get what I mean?

"

Feeling a little confused, he replies.

"I think so, but to sum it up. The skills I am learning, every time that they are practiced, they cause the chi to flow like other cultivators?

"

"Only for now.

" Yang says, before continuing.

"You see, cultivators are supposed to learn breathing first, then foot work, then .... You know what that does not matter for now, anyways before even when you started you never practiced breathing as needed, which is necessary. It must become second nature so that you learn to cycle your chi while breathing, these skills will only help you for a few months, and are only a stop gap measure. Although they will definitely be your life line in the future if you are ever fighting or traveling.

" Yue explains.

Seeing a light off in the distance, Yue comments.

"Thank you Yang, I understand.

" Then without another word, he keeps using void steps instead of walking on the ground, and swiftly makes his way towards the light.

*Pftu

*Pftu Pftu

Yueliang picks up his speed as he hears such a sound as well as feeling wind scraping past him, as if high powered guns that are nearly silenced are being fired at him. Not wanting to get hit, or anything he notices the farther he progresses, the more that are being fired off all around him.

While proceeding through the tunnel he wonders in his mind. 'What is going on, is the tunnel trying to kill me or teach me to advance the void steps? If it is the second, how am I supposed to just fold space?'

Trying to imagine himself moving to a distant area he can see, he jumps back as it is more likely he will get hit while trying. Then he gets an idea. 'Hmm, space is ever present yet what is in it is always moving. Maybe if I understand the flow of space, then I could succeed? More difficult that it sounds, yet at the same time you miss 100 percent of the shots you do not take, so best to keep going.'

As he keeps moving backward until he is out of the field of getting shot at, he sits in front of a stalagmite so at to hopefully not get blown away next time. Closing his eyes, he tries to think of all that he knows of space. Seconds turn to minutes, minutes turn to hours, and the wind blows hard once again, but this time with some big stones being sent flying and not losing their altitude. Goes to show how strong the wind is in the tunnel.

Without even opening his eyes, he can feel the presence of the stones flying at him, and without delay stands up and punches and kicks towards them in a style that looks as if one was displaying a cool looking martial art. However as he attacks them, without even realizing he completes the first technique he learns, thus separating the intelligence from the assigned matter, there by turning it to back spiritual intelligences and unassigned matter respectively once again.

Feeling the wind dying down, he opens his eyes and exclaims in his mind. 'Yes! I did it. I separated them just as my older self did.'

Never mind, it seems he did notice.*

However still not having found out how to fold space, or even being able to think of much that he actually even knows of it, Yue decides to just put his life in the hands of the tunnel, and just go head first. Thus he runs straight into the field of fire, and feeling it penetrate his skin, then his muscle, and etc. The bullets made of air pass through his body in some spots, while in others they just disperse and leave a hole where blood starts pouring out quickly after.

Blood pouring out from pretty much every limb and what not, pain follows, and so too does the wind then sends him flying out of the tunnel and into the underground ravine. As the chi fills his body, and begins healing him very fast, Yueliang is unable to do anything before he sees himself falling.

Seeing the river below, as well as massive purple crystals near the shore, he makes a diving form with his body and hopes for the best as he swiftly descends towards the water.

*Ppsshhh (Large Splash!)

As he enters the water, he notices it is deeper than he imagined, and so to is the flow of the river, thus he quickly starts swimming towards the shore. Once at the shore he sits down surrounded by the dark purple crystals larger than himself on all sides except where the water is.. Deciding to take a break, laying down from his sitting position, and letting his wounds heal as he rests while thinking on where he messed up, as well as what he could do better on in the future.