Urban Martial Saint

”There must be some kind of seal preventing people from passing through this place.” Ye Qing replied softly, recalling that he had encountered similar situations in the secret room where Patriarch Bodhidharma had passed away.

Ye Qing still remembered that there were many pathways within that passageway. Each fork in the road seemed to be a moral test; those who didn’t meet the moral standards left by Patriarch Bodhidharma would be blocked by an invisible force, unable to enter the Stone Corridor, and forced to leave the cave first. The situation at that time was similar to what was happening here, as moving forward felt like hitting an invisible wall that firmly blocked passage.

”A seal?” Wen’er looked at Ye Qing in surprise and asked, ”What kind of seal has such an effect?”

”This is the Taoist Sect’s seal!” Du Canglang said in a deep voice, ”This stele is infused with someone’s strength. Its presence slowly disperses energy in the surroundings, forming a Qi Wall that keeps people out and impassable. Within the Taoist Sect, there is a martial arts technique called Heavenly Gang Qi which works in this way!”

”Oh?” Wen’er was astonished, and Ye Qing widened his eyes in surprise, looking at Du Canglang, asking, ”Heavenly Gang Qi? What kind of martial arts is that?”

Du Canglang replied, ”This is a unique skill of the Taoist Sect; I don’t know its exact nature. However, I’ve heard that when mastered at its peak, Heavenly Gang Qi allows one to transfer energy to objects, forming a stele like this one, with Gang Qi creating a Qi Wall that blocks everything, rendering passage impossible!”

Ye Qing looked at the stele in further amazement. By this explanation, the stele must have been left by some Taoist master. But which Taoist master left this stele?

”This valley must be where the Doomsday Sect is located!” Du Canglang said, looking at the stele with a solemn voice, ”No wonder the Doomsday Sect has remained hidden from the world for so many years; it was blocked by this stele. Even if later generations find this place, they couldn’t pass through the Heavenly Gang Qi and naturally couldn’t locate the Doomsday Sect!”

”Do you mean that this stele has been blocking for a long time?” Ye Qing asked in astonishment.

”Not necessarily.” Du Canglang shook his head, saying, ”The power of Heavenly Gang Qi doesn’t last indefinitely; it has a time limit. The duration depends on how strong the person leaving the Heavenly Gang Qi was. We don’t know when this stele appeared; if we could determine the era it emerged, we might guess who left it!”

Ye Qing certainly couldn’t identify the stele’s specifics, nor could he guess who had left it. He actually knew very few Taoist masters: those who created the Tao, the Great Sage Guiguzi who succeeded, then Ancestor Chen Tuan, and in this era, Wuji who was renowned alongside Shijia. Besides them, Ye Qing was ignorant of other Taoist masters. It wouldn’t be a coincidence if the stele was left by one of these figures, would it?

However, calculating the timeline, Tao and Guiguzi can be ruled out, as their eras were long before the time of the Doomsday Sect, so the stele definitely wasn’t left by them. The remaining candidates are Ancestor Chen Tuan and Wuji. Could it have been them?

”So, we can’t enter this valley or the Doomsday Sect?” Ye Qing asked.

”Not necessarily.” Du Canglang looked at the stele, fell silent for a moment, and said, ”The Immortal Lord managed to obtain the Tianzhu Sword from the Doomsday Sect; since he could enter, there must be a way. This stele may not be as terrifying as you imagine.”

As he spoke, Du Canglang approached the stele, glanced at Ye Qing and said solemnly, ”You all move aside; I’ll try to push the stele. It’s unclear how long this stele has been here, but given enough time, even if the person who left it was strong, its power might be dispersed enough to push it open.”

Ye Qing quickly retreated with Wen’er without another word. Although the foreign man didn’t understand what Du Canglang said, seeing Ye Qing and Wen’er retreat, he quickly followed suit — he wasn’t foolish either.

After seeing the three retreat, Du Canglang took a deep breath, extended his hands, and pressed them onto the stele. Suddenly, he exerted more force and pushed the stele mightily.

Witnessing this closely, Ye Qing saw Du Canglang causing the stele to sway a bit, though he himself was blocked by the stele. At that moment, one man and one stele stood in confrontation, appearing to compete in strength. Du Canglang was clearly exerting all his might; his clothes whipped with an unseen gust, yet he still couldn’t force the stele down, showing how strong the stele’s power was.

Du Canglang didn’t relent; he continued to exert power and confront the stele as if diminishing its energy. The situation persisted for an indeterminable length, during which more people returned — the Yan Family who had gone searching for the Doomsday Sect and several foreigners. Finding Du Canglang’s absence left them surprised, and they naturally searched around, breathing a sigh of relief upon finding him, as their lives were at least preserved.

Feeling these newcomers behind him, Du Canglang didn’t let go but maintained forceful confrontation with the stele.

Ye Qing and Wen’er stood by the side; although Du Canglang was engaging the stele with full strength, Ye Qing didn’t plan to flee. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but he understood the situation well — escape was impossible. His Inner Strength was depleted, and Wen’er wasn’t as strong as those people around. Attempting escape would only lead to getting stopped by these individuals. Instead, provoking Du Canglang would create even greater trouble. At this point, Ye Qing could only silently pray that Du Canglang wouldn’t manage to topple the stele, preventing him from obtaining the Tianzhu Sword.

Yet in reality, Ye Qing’s prayers had little effect. After Du Canglang sparred against the stele for about an hour, it gradually retreated under his push, seeming unable to resist him any further.

Du Canglang was thrilled, forcefully pushing the stele forward for about five or six meters. Then, with a loud shout, he launched it away, sending the stele crashing into the mountain behind. He was relieved, having advanced past the stele’s position, seemingly breaking through the Heavenly Gang Qi.

Those around mostly didn’t understand the stele’s significance, witnessing Du Canglang spending so much time pushing the stele away without grasping the situation, leading to little reaction.

Ye Qing felt speechless; he had initially hoped Du Canglang couldn’t move the stele, keeping him from entering the Doomsday Sect and consequently acquiring the Tianzhu Sword. Yet now, things had reached a stage where he pushed the stele aside, enabling entry into the Doomsday Sect. If he acquired the Tianzhu Sword inside, wouldn’t Ye Qing be in jeopardy?

After pushing the stele aside, Du Canglang was exhausted, catching his breath several times before turning around. Watching the people behind, he casually threw a bottle towards them, and said solemnly, ”Here’s your antidote, take it!”

By now, it was near the time when the poison began affecting them; anxiety and concern were on everyone’s minds. Du Canglang bestowed the antidote, causing them to rejoice, quickly running over, portioning and consuming it. Having taken the antidote, they felt much safer, knowing their toxin wouldn’t activate this time.

Though he pushed the stele aside, Du Canglang didn’t immediately enter the valley but moved to the Stone Platform beside it to recuperate. Pushing the stele took considerable effort, leaving him remarkably fatigued; he spent over two hours restoring some strength.

Meanwhile, the Yan Family’s people and other foreigners prepared lunch, eaten by everyone. Du Canglang called over the first foreign man to find the valley, handing him an antidote, saying, ”Inside this valley is where the Doomsday Sect lies; you’re the first to discover this place, so this antidote is your reward. Taking this will completely cure you of the Meridian Intestine-Breaking Pill.”

The foreign man couldn’t understand Du Canglang’s words, but the expression on his face conveyed the situation; he was evidently thrilled. Accepting the antidote, he swallowed it without hesitation.

Seeing the foreign man take the antidote, others felt disheartened. They’d struggled so much to find the Doomsday Sect for this one chance, and now this chance had been seized by the foreign man. Naturally, they were nearly desperate. Losing this chance, they’d be under control due to the Meridian Intestine-Breaking Pill for life, wouldn’t they?

”I promised to teach you a unique skill, but now isn’t suitable. I will teach you after we leave Mount Duwang!” Du Canglang concluded, scanning the crowd, saying, ”You shouldn’t lose hope; within the Doomsday Sect lies a Treasured Sword called the Tianzhu Sword. Whoever helps me retrieve the Tianzhu Sword, I’ll assist in removing the poison of the Meridian Intestine-Breaking Pill. Moreover, I’ll accept them as an Inner Chamber Disciple to inherit my full teachings.”

Upon hearing this, the originally desperate crowd instantly became excited anew. This reward was far better than the previous one — not only could they receive an antidote, but also Du Canglang’s full teachings, an opportunity of immeasurable fortune, sparking their fervor. So, before Du Canglang even spoke, they eagerly prepared to enter the Doomsday Sect in search of the Tianzhu Sword.