Chapter 159: Uncontrolled heart opens the way

The Soul Weaving Cyrtophora completely disregarded Cao Yun who was painfully getting out of the wall. All her rage was directed toward Ren Chao. From the beginning, he had butchered several males. In the tunnels, what had killed the other spiders were traps set up by Sun Liao. The beast was not knowledgeable about array formations and thus she couldn't know for sure who had prepared them. However, she clearly remembered the broken bodies of her comrades under this young man's hammer. And now, she had been mutilated and had lost a vital part of her body because of him.

Unfortunately for Ren Chao, he was now unarmed. The beast charged straight for him and was way faster than he was. Even though she was slower than the males due to her size, Ren Chao was exhausted and even at full strength, he couldn't compete with her in speed. Moreover, she was extremely agile. Despite her injuries, she expertly turned around Ren Chao and assessed all possibilities.

Too tired, Ren Chao decided to first focus on his defense with 'Unbreakable Iron Bones'. The spider kept turning around him and even above him. With her long legs, her body could rise more than three meters above the ground. That way, she could attack him from almost every angle with her legs. She could also try to crush him with her full weight. But she thought, and she was right, that Ren Chao had enough strength to pierce through her tissues if she did that.

All of a sudden, the spider made up her mind and attacked. Two legs stabbed Ren Chao straight in the chest and back. Both his robe and his technique prevented the razor sharp legs to penetrate his skin. However, the impact was almost enough to shatter his bones. Clenching his teeth to bear the pain, some blood dripped down from his mouth. Using this moment of agony, another leg swept his footing. Surprised by the attack, Ren Chao fell right on his back.

Then, the demonic beast stepped back a little so that her body wasn't directly above the human cultivator, just in case. And after that, she sent two legs toward his face. She had sensed that his clothings were special and she wanted to be sure to kill him quickly so that she could then slaughter her real target.

Ren Chao saw two pikes as sharp as razors and acted on instinct alone. Both his arms went in front of his head. Without any problem, the two legs pierced both his naked forearms. However, they got stopped by his bones. An immeasurable pain coursed through Ren Chao's body as his bones were being slowly pierced through. As they were extremely robust and further enhanced by his circulation of Qi according to his martial art, the two legs couldn't easily tear them apart. However, they would eventually get through them. And then, his head would be next. Even though his skull was even more resistant than his forearms, he wasn't looking forward to putting it to the test.

Ren Chao tried to move around, but the spider didn't leave him any room to breathe. Her other legs kept stabbing him everywhere. Although his robe was protecting him, he still felt all the impacts. Fortunately, Ren Chao's will was the strongest of the group. Thanks to that, he stood the pain and stayed focused on his 'Unbreakable Iron Bones' technique. No matter how brutal the demonic beast was, none of his bones broke under her relentless attacks.

A few meters away, Mei Hua was trying to get out of the Soul Silver Silk. In fact, there was more sticky fluid from the spider than silk. Anyway, she did not possess the strength of Ren Chao and she couldn't get herself free fast enough. Deep down, she knew that it wouldn't change much anyway. She couldn't really harm the beast. And the enraged spider would probably accept to suffer a lot of pain if it meant she could kill Ren Chao.

On another side of the cave, Sun Liao's arm was broken and he couldn't use his bow at all. Right now, he was hesitating whether or not he should attack using an arrow as a form of dagger.

But the only one who could act was Cao Yun. Finally out of his hole, he saw his friend writhing on the ground, blood everywhere around him. For a split second, the Drop of Wrath almost acted up. But by now, his mind cultivation was way too strong for it to get out of control. Channeling all of his rage, Cao Yun knew he had only one move to end it fast.

'Dragon's Heart'. Through his meridians, the Qi sped up to three times its usual speed, almost four times. Cao Yun knew that a fourfold increase was the utmost limit of what he could control. If he went all the way there for more than a few breaths, he would probably lose control. As such, he went just under the limit he knew he could control. All of his physical abilities became four times higher.

With a single step, he launched himself toward the Soul Weaving Cyrtophora. Spear in hand, he was ready to skewer the beast through and through to save his friend. Unfortunately, the beast was able to sense his attack. With one of her legs, she simply swatted him away. Once more, he got sent toward a wall of the cave. For a split second, he lost control over his Qi and some of his organs almost got damaged. Thankfully, he had been under the limit and was able to keep it under control.

However, he knew that this speed would not be enough. Cao Yun was ready to try something else, when finally Ren Chao reached his physical limit. The legs had perforated his bones all the way to the marrow. His only way to still resist the pain was to yell it out. With his powerful chest, the cave got flooded with screams of pain and agony.

Under this pressure, Cao Yun decided to try out his last move. He pushed his Qi over the fourfold limit. As he had no time to lose, he immediately got ready to attack, but it was already too late. Almost as soon as he exceeded his limit, he lost control of his Qi. Even with his Po used to the maximum, his Qi sped up faster and faster. In his meridians, it almost felt like molten lava was flowing through his body.

And in his sea of consciousness, the Heart Star was beating like crazy. Its light was so intense that the entire sky turned crimson red and so did the ocean, reverberating this ominous light. In this bright red, even his Drop of Wrath seemed soft in comparison. His entire sea of consciousness looked like a palpitating heart. Po the Metal Corporeal Soul was also bathed by this red color. Cao Yun was trying to use this character to keep his Qi under control but it became useless. He had completely lost control of the Qi circulating in his own meridians. The only thing he was still able to do was to try and keep it out of his organs. But he wouldn't be able to do so for very long.

Suddenly, a thunderous noise echoed in his sea of consciousness and then in the cave. More and more noise came out of his own body. This became so loud that Mei Hua and Sun Liao turned their gazes toward him. The rapid Qi in his meridians had tempered them. In fact, they had acted just like Chief Instructor Peng's Qi with his 'The Snake Invades the Shell'. By keeping his Qi confined in his meridians, Cao Yun had even further increased the pressure and unknowingly, he had caused a premature breakthrough.

His meridians, instead of breaking, absorbed the last remnants of Qi from Chief Instructor Peng. And, stimulated by this sudden onslaught, they had further evolved. All of his meridians and vessels had reached the 8th-grade Mortal realm. Such a breakthrough could have been a joyous occasion, but it really wasn't. In addition to the current fight, the fact that his meridians got more resistant allowed his uncontrolled Qi to flow even faster. The speed further increased and his Po character was beginning to suffer from small cracks. The perfect ivory statue was starting to look increasingly weaker.

And this intensified pressure caused another phenomenon. Some of the acupoints Chief Instructor Peng had stimulated in his forearms and legs were being assaulted by his Qi, as though his body was instinctively trying to let this Qi go to protect itself. As this pathway had been used several times during training by Chief Instructor Peng retracting his Qi, it was instinctively used by Cao Yun's body to get rid of this pressure. However, even though they had been trained, Cao Yun was not ready to open and close them at will. This forceful opening could prove incredibly dangerous. Unfortunately, Cao Yun was unable to stop anything. If he lowered the focus he was putting on his organs, the Qi would go through them and he would die almost instantly. He would rather be injured than killed by his own Qi.

Letting the Qi leave his body through some of his acupoints on his extremities, the speed in his meridian rapidly decreased. It was still above his limit, but he was not in danger of dying from the Qi going to his organs thanks to these acupoints. In total, twelve points got opened. But Cao Yun had no way to know if he could close them afterward. If he couldn't, he would always leak Qi and his cultivation journey would be damaged beyond repair. Around his forearms and legs, he felt an intense heat and the air got twisted. The Qi was so concentrated that Cao Yun's Wei Qi became almost visible, distorting the air around him.

The Wei Qi was the guardian Qi all around one's body. By reaching the 8th-grade Mortal stage, this Wei Qi became a bit denser. And as one opened his acupoints, it would further solidify. This Wei Qi was also what made a great difference between a Mortal and a Mortal Warrior. A Mortal Warrior could control it with no problem and it was so dense that few Mortals could even go through it.

During his sudden breakthrough, he had opened a bit more than 5% of his acupoints. This caused a sudden peak of Wei Qi's density. In fact, it became so dense so fast that it took some time for it to stabilize. Right now, it was visible to the naked eye. And although the situation was critical, Cao Yun felt an exhilaration like never before. He felt as though he was the strongest he had ever been. That was true, but he was also extremely fragile. All things considered though, this was the perfect opportunity.

His Heart Star had become so active that Cao Yun had gained an insight into it. Right now, he was almost sure he could perform the first variation of 'Dragon's Heart'. It was urgent for him to end the situation so that he could focus on his cultivation. If he let it go on like that, his acupoints would be ruined, his meridians would also sustain some damage and he would probably lose a good portion of the Qi he had already accumulated in his Lower Dantian. But if he didn't act, Ren Chao would die, and then him and all his friends as well.

Grabbing 'Nine Chi Black Dragon Spear' with all his strength, he heard it squeal. Right now, he was almost too strong for his own weapon. However, he felt a resonance between the spear and his Dragon Heart. Inside the spear was the scale of an Ebony Snake Dragon. Apparently, this scale reacted to the pulsating Dragon Star. And it was incredibly subservient to it. With this reaction, the spear became even more firm and sharp.

Wielding this spear, Cao Yun focused all of his mind on the Soul Weaving Cyrtophora. Everything in his mind was reduced to the tip of his spear and the demonic beast. For an instant, Cao Yun was engulfed in an absolute calm. Even the Dragon Star stopped beating. So did Cao Yun's heart.

'The Son of Heaven's Cavalry'!

Under Cao Yun's feet, the ground got vaporized half a cun deep. His shape became blurred even for Sun Liao and Mei Hua's senses. The next instant, he was on the other side of the Soul Weaving Cyrtophora. With his spear held with only one hand, Cao Yun himself looked like he was part of its shaft. For an instant, all his friends had the impression that Cao Yun was the spear itself. The weapon was not just an extension of him, his very body was the spear.

Through the Soul Weaving Cyrtophora, a gaping hole was oozing blue blood as the gigantic beast was twitching. Her legs still stuck in Ren Chao's forearms turned limp. With a single move, the blacksmith was able to take them out while screaming. Then, the body of the giant spider just fell to the ground, devoid of life.

For what felt like an eternity, there was an deafening silence in the cave. In reality, it lasted for only one breath.

Afterward, Cao Yun's spear fell to the ground. And so did he. Without even checking whether the demonic beast was dead or not, he closed his eyes and sat cross-legged on the ground of the cave. After his attack, he knew for a fact that his foe could not survive. In fact, an early Mortal Warrior would have probably been killed. Chan Weifeng's defense could maybe resist it, but it wasn't even sure. This 'The Son of Heaven's Cavalry' focused everything in the tip of the spear. After a powerful dash forward, there was only the tip of the spear that existed. If Cao Yun had used a normal Earth spear, it would have shattered at the moment of impact. Thankfully his weapon bordered on the Human rank.

But the crisis had not been averted, it just changed in nature. Now that the demonic beast was dead, Cao Yun had to control his rampaging Qi. He had to slow it down. But he also had to learn to close the twenty acupoints that had gotten open by the pressure. In the process, he could easily kill himself by sending Qi in the wrong path. But he could also cripple his future cultivation if he wasn't able to close his acupoints or if he damaged them too much.

All around him, his Wei Qi was still visible to the naked eye and caused a blue hue all around his body. This Qi came essentially from his Lower Dantian and was rich in Water element.

Mei Hua had finally gotten herself free. And, just like Sun Liao, she walked closer to Cao Yun and Ren Chao who were both near the corpse of the beast. Contrary to the blacksmith, the two of them understood what was going on for Cao Yun and how critical the situation was.