Lie Shang is ferocious. Young Master Ling is precise. Yu Feiyuan is flexible. Nonetheless, all three had to defend and attack simultaneously in order to have a fleeting respite. A way to imagine the situation would be to imagine the three passing around an explosive that would implode the moment it wasn’t in motion. They didn’t have the luxury to choose who they passed it to as they couldn’t afford to let anyone make a transgression, lest everyone wound up gravely hurt. By the same account, they had to work together, or the subtle balance keeping the bomb in motion would break. To make matters worse, each time they touched it, the bomb would accumulate their energy into itself.
If an amateur cut in between Yu Feiyuan and Lie Shang, the two could’ve broken apart, though the damage they took would be impossible to forecast. Alas, Young Master Ling engaged them on his way in to catch Long Zaitian.
“My, my, what a match. Did you decide to put on this show to ignite this old one’s motivation to drink?”
Huofeng ghost Xiao Huangquan a glare and then asked as calmly as she could, “Hero Xiao, do you have a solution to split them apart? This is dangerous.”
“Hahaha, you asked the right man.”
“You can help them?”
“No.” Before Huofeng could choke him, Xiao Huangquan added, “Oh, no, you misunderstand.”
“What do you mean?”
“There is a way, except it is beyond this old one.” Xiao Huangquan pointed to the scene. “See how they keep turning up the pace? They can only afford to go faster now, but that also means they’ll continue amassing true qi. If you want to break them up, all three need to gradually taper off. To undo this knot, you need three people of similar levels to them, or it won’t work. While both of you are commendable in your own right, your senior is superior to you, right?”
“Amitabha.”
“Empyrean Wuliang!”
Right when Huofeng was moping over where to find three people close to the three locked in a coliseum they erected themselves, the two voices sounding out in synchrony gave life to hope.
Elder Shou and Venerable Mianhua, who was avoided as much as he avoided others since arriving, meandered at a blazing-fast speed. Sporting a polite smile, Venerable Mianhua expressed, “You seem to be troubled, Abbess. If this one can be of assistance, please let him know.”
Wudang didn’t need much of an introduction when they were instated as state proctor and had Daoist Shenfa as their patriarch. Cold Mountain Temple’s prestige was hot on Shaolin’s trail after hosting Empress Dowager’s instatement and owing to their status as a White Prince. Ever since then, the relationship between Wudang and Cold Mountain Temple soured. Consequently, Elder Shou and Venerable Mianhua only had pleasantries to exchange.
As Venerable Mianhua wanted to exercise magnanimity as a Buddhist, Elder Shou had to follow along.
“… You are both skilled enough to stop their fight without hurting them. Please save them for the sake of the martial world,” Huofeng beseeched after explaining the situation.
“This one is duty-bound to help.” Venerable Mianhua halted a few metres away from the trio and shut his eyes. Upon opening them again, he recited, “When the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara had deeply understood the Supreme Wisdom, he realised that the five aggregates (skandhas) making up a person were but an illusion. With this, he was delivered from all sorrow and suffering.”
Venerable Mianhua recited Heart Sutra, a Buddhism classic and the simplest of them. Chanting the phrases wasn’t going to magically break the three up safely; however, adding his manipulated voice to it evoked drowsiness in the listener through relaxation. As long as the three slowed down in unison, then his third-party interference would protect them from harming each other.
“There are plenty of ways of helping them. Why do you opt for such a slow option? Watch me.” Elder Shou couldn’t stand Venerable Mianhua taking the limelight.
Elder Shou, from outside the danger zone, poked one’s elbow and nudged another’s foot with his foot. As a consequence, the three went faster and faster – Cosmic Empyrean Style’s mental cultivation. Once they exceeded their manageable speed, he would be able to redirect the trajectory of their forces away from each other.
“What are you smiling about? They’ve just compounded the problem,” Xiao Huangquan admonished when he spotted Huofeng dimpling.
There was no need to be confounded for long as the trio’s output increased by twenty percent all at once. Venerable Mianhua and Elder Shou’s clashing methods slowed alternated the trio’s speed, increasing their risk.
“Hyah!” All three of them targeted their attacks at Elder Shou.
Elder Shou drew air circles with both arms, sending their force toward Venerable Mianhua, giving the latter with no choice but to defuse the bomb with all his might. Though the two weren’t so fragile that they were at risk of blowing themselves up, they ended up adding themselves to the ongoing ping pong match.