While still fighting the man in gray Wu Long released more steel needles in the direction of the two of the righteous trio who still had all their limbs intact. Some of the retired Grand Elders escaped the torrent of swords coming from above and launched attacks on Wu Long.
At this moment a dozen of Sword Qi strikes came from another direction as the people who were with the man in gray saw that the situation was getting unfavorable.
“Eight Extreme Strikes, first form, Unrestrained Cuts”
After pushing back the man in gray Wu Long’s sword slashed diagonally once but eight Sword Qi slashes appeared crisscrossed and went off, expanding in the direction the attacks came from. ｂｏ𝚟𝚕.
He simultaneously launched twenty-six talismans with the other hand.
Ten became a barrier that shielded him from the attacks of the retired Grand Elders, while sixteen went in the direction of the sect ancestor who lost an arm and was trying to retreat to safety. The woman tried to move her staff with the remaining arm, but it was not her dominant arm and her reaction was a little slower because of the injury so she was quickly bound in Spiritual Qi chains that came out of talismans as they swirled around her, wrapping her up and then sealed themselves on the chains.
The other two tried to help but Wu Long stepped in their direction instead. The gray-robed man who was pushed back earlier came back with a new volley of palm strikes.
“Great Wall Palm, Void Piercing Step variation!”
Suddenly, Wu Long’s free hand which was previously releasing talismans and needles came up forming a palm strike as a palm image as big as a person came out in the gray-robed man’s direction with incredible speed as if the space between them was squeezed.
This strike required a lot of Spiritual Qi to conjure so Wu Long’s palm has been accumulating it for most of the battle. Any experienced fighter would be able to notice such a long accumulation since Wu Long was only able to release a little of Spiritual Qi outside through the Qi Manipulation Rings, but he used masking techniques as well as spread some of the Spiritual Qi he released throughout his body, instantly collecting it back to the palm at the moment of attacking.
The palm shattered the volley of palms the man released and sent him flying back as he was hit while moving forward to Wu Long. A chilling sound of crushed bones sounded at the moment he collided with the palm head-on.
It was actually a utilization of the Void Piercing Step that Wu Long used to travel long distances which gave it its incredible speed with a palm technique called the Great Wall Palm that could be used to create a massive wall of giant palm images. In a way, it was something Wu Long came up with himself since it required combining the techniques that initially had nothing in common, but he did not name it and simply considered it using two techniques at the same time.
The two whom Wu Long was closing in on did not expect the gray-wearing man to be sent back in such a fashion so their response which factored in his interference before Wu Long reached them was a little delayed, and Wu Long rid the other sect ancestor of his leg below the knee in their first exchange as a result.
They fought for some more moments as the gray man’s Revolving Qi Realm subordinates who joined in with Sword Qi earlier and the retired Grand Elders also participated to give time to the man in gray and make up for the now ‘incomplete’ fighting force of the righteous trio. But as soon as they joined in they started falling like flies as they truly could not do anything in front of Wu Long.
The man in gray robes grunted while standing up from the rubble as several of his bones were now broken and he had bruises all over him. His face was particularly nearly flat and covered in blood now. There was noise ringing in his head as he tried to adjust his hazy vision and focus his disoriented mind.
Finally, his eyes shone with a light of focus and he looked at the scene to see only two of his subordinates and a little less than half of the retired Grand Elders left. The sect master was covered in cuts and gashes while the sect’s ancestor was trying his best to fight having only one leg.
Talismans were on the ground and in the air, trapping and blocking the movements and attacks around Wu Long while different ones accelerated his movements in sudden bursts when he stepped on them. All of this was happening as the Grand Formation above was raining swords of Spiritual Qi on the heads of everyone.
“Twelve Exquisite Palms Art, final form, Palms of Destruction!!!”
The man in gray shouted in anger while rushing to Wu Long and he formed a palm strike with the hand that was on the arm which was not broken and sent it forward. Twelve Palms appeared in two circles around his palm, one circle with three palms and the other one with nine palms in front of it. The circles hurled at Wu Long.
Wu Long released a flurry of talismans that rotated in circles before him, forming a heavy shield of Spiritual Qi, and also pushed his palm in that direction.
The shield shattered against the first bigger circle and the second circle of three palms went further to Wu Long’s palm. There were thin lines of Spiritual Qi spreading out of Wu Long’s palm and forming a net around it, and then the lines went crisscrossing around his arm like thin coiling springs, over the shoulder going down his side, and around his leg to spread an identical net of Spiritual Qi on the ground. As the palm circles collided with the net, it looked like they disappeared as they were absorbed and the ground below Wu Long’s foot shattered.
But his arm and leg still sustained some damage as thin streams of blood shot out from ripped-apart skin and tissue in several places along them.
The base strength and speed of his opponents, as well as the volume of Spiritual Qi they could release, were higher than his, so he was only able to keep his advantage by holding the initiative, diversifying his tactics, calculating ahead, and sheer skill.
He shattered most of the Qi Manipulation Rings he had during his attack on the Supreme Master Pavilion, releasing the third form of the Heaven Transcending Lotus. He picked up a lot of them there but he was now more conscious that at a certain moment, he might not have the luxury of having the time to wear new rings mid-battle. So he was using his Spiritual Qi conservatively, not harming the rings. The simple Eight Extreme Strikes shattered three rings of inferior quality.
The biggest advantage he had, and why he was able to keep them all at bay despite there being an opponent that was near the limit of what he could handle, and utilizing a tiny amount of Spiritual Qi was because he overrode the sect’s Grand Formation, and was not only attacking with it but mainly using it to power his own little formations and talismans.
However, he had to take this strike head-on since it came faster than he could move out of the way or come up with better countermeasures.
“You don’t disappoint”
Wu Long said with a slight grunt.
“!!!…H-How?!”
The gray-robed man looked like he saw a ghost as the strike he made was supposed to either destroy the opponent with the first circle or go into the internal system and wreak havoc from within with the second one. This was the final and most powerful form of his technique, as well as his finishing move.
Wu Long was familiar with the Twelve Exquisite Palms Art but he was just unable to utilize it efficiently at the moment since it required a large quantity of Spiritual Qi to be manifested outside. Otherwise, he would long since have used it against this man. So he naturally knew how to deal with the attack.
“Aaaaaaargh! Die!!!”
The man in gray launched at Wu Long shouting in near madness with two of the righteous trio, two subordinates, half of the retired Grand Elders, as well as three of the nine Great Elders who saw that the situation here was not good and left the stalemated fight with Wei Lan to join in here.
They all desperately tried to press him with sheer numbers and try to make their attacks as simultaneous as possible, but the two subordinates soon lost their lives as injuries accumulated on the sect master and ancestor and the retired Grand Elders fell in droves. The man in gray was already not in his top shape so his role in containing Wu Long could also not be carried on by himself anymore. The only thing that saved them from immediate annihilation was that Wu Long sustained some damage from the attack of the gray-robed man, but even that handicap was not enough for them to close the gap as it was widening with their dwindling numbers and accumulating injuries. And slowly but surely they began to lose more and more ground.