After two periods of attacking and defending were finished, the four of them understood each other. Xiao LongnĂŒ was unfortunate not to have stronger inner energy and therefore her sword moves lacked the potency thatâs needed to disarm her opponents. Had she roughly similar inner energy to either of the three, their defense wouldâve been breached long before. Xiao LongnĂŒ backtracked to the centre of the temple, and tried to conceive a plan to break past the enemy. She saw that the more they brandished their weapons the faster they became; where can she find the least bit of a weak point?
She thought: âWielding weapons at this sort of tempo will lead to an excessive exhaustion of inner energy, surely then I wonât last for long. I need to be patient and wait for a change; as the time drags on I will then be able to find a flaw. Even if Zhao Zhijing manages to escape, no matter where he goes Iâll find him in the end.â Thereupon her two swords trembled slightly, appearing as though sheâs going to attack or maybe not going to attack. She was storing up valuable energy ready to be unleashed. But she wonât make the move yet and thus not leave her three opponents any small moments of relaxation. However, although Xiaoxiang Zi and his partnerâs inner energy was deep and profound, wielding weapons in such a way will make their physical energy drop below normal levels in a short time period. As Xiao LongnĂŒ saw no loophole to exploit, she quietly stood there with an elegant expression on her face, her mood severe. With her temperament, she had generally never been anxious before. Throughout her journey of following Zhen Zhibing and Zhao Zhijing for months sheâd never even laid a hand on them. Now, if she had to wait for another day, why not? For 20 years sheâd been quietly keeping watch over the Ancient Tomb and learned a unique and unrivalled way of maintaining her patience.
Nimoxing noticed that she held her swords in a state of idleness, as self-assured as he was; he would not tolerate this any longer. Without warning he roared out like a lion, and wielded his metal snake and drove swiftly towards her. Once he was on the offence, the left side of his body revealed a weak point. Xiao LongnĂŒâs sword trembled, Nimoxingâs crutch violently rammed out and then he jumped back. He felt a slight pain in his shoulder; glancing down he was surprised to see the cloth on his left shoulder had a tiny hole pierced through it, and blood seeping out of it. If Xiao LongnĂŒ hadnât also been concentrating on defending against his metal snake, his left arm wouldâve been detached from his body.
Nimoxing racing to the attack had no merit in it and instead he received a wound. He may be angry but now did not have the nerve to hastily advance again. The three men deployed to three separate positions and brandished their weapons. Xiao LongnĂŒ, standing in the middle, did not pay any attention to them. Yin Kexiâs single â10,000 Yellow Sand Whip Techniqueâ repeated four times, and then something abruptly popped up in his mind. He called: âBrother Nimo, Brother Xiaoxiang letâs take half a step forward.â Nimoxing and Xiaoxiang Zi werenât too sure of his intentions, but since heâs the Western Regionâs greatest asset, with extensive knowledge and intelligence, they complied with his words and did move half a step. Yin Kexi at the same time stepped forward half a pace, and commanded: âDefending must be well-knit, itâs crucial for the steps to be slow. Letâs take another step.â Nimoxing and Xiaoxiang Zi proceeded forward as requested.
The three werenât at all slack or sluggish in any way. After a while, they stepped out half a foot. At that point everyone could make out what was happening; the circle of the three people surrounding Xiao LongnĂŒ was gradually shrinking, in the end they would force her into the centre. Although the three of them werenât confident about launching an assault, all of them continued to wield their weapons. They almost composed three impregnable fortresses progressively approaching the centre. The threatening defensive styles merged into a single mighty blitz, in which in its ferocity was incomparable. Everyone viewing this situation, especially the likes of the Mongolian soldiers, along with Zhao Zhijing and his fellow Taoists were secretly delighted. The other Taoists on the other hand were concerned for Xiao LongnĂŒ.
Xiao LongnĂŒ noticed them getting even closer and their weaponsâ movements still had no openings to exploit. Within a few moments, if she made an attack, their continued pressure forward would definitely crush her. So she attacked at once, her two swords in succession thrust out, with the sounds âding-dingâ that were suddenly fast then suddenly slow. Every move met with the top of their weapons. She flashed out many sword thrusts persistently with every one of them blocked and returning back on her. The three of them moved up half a step once again. Xiao LongnĂŒ gradually felt alarmed and bewildered, as she backed away to the left side she tripped, and slightly staggered. Her sword techniques showed a great deal of weakness, if Xiaoxiang Zi and his crew had not been thinking of defending only, and had been confident enough to seize an opportunity, she wouldâve been caught in an extremely deadly position.
The templeâs floor was actually littered with many swords. The weapons belonged to the Quanzhen disciples and were abandoned on the floor after they were deprived from them earlier. A moment ago, Xiao LongnĂŒâs left foot trod on one of the sword handles that lay nearby, as a result her balance wasnât steady. Suddenly she recalled: âOthers are competent enough to use two swords with two hands; since Iâve mastered the art of splitting the heart for two uses, then two hands ought to wield four swords concurrently. I suppose itâs improbable to attain a true degree of power using four swords, but perhaps it can be relied upon to confuse the enemy, and I can get a chance to escape.â Almost immediately, her left hand that carried a single sword was swapped over to her right hand, she then stooped over and picked up two more swords. Both hands contained two swords now, and she began to wield her four swords at the same time.
Xiaoxiang Zi and others watched in disbelief and all thought: âThis young girlâs moves get stranger all the time. This truly is the first time Iâve ever seen someone use four swords together.â But the three of them agreed on a plan to meet this contingency and settle with it. They werenât at all bothered about what sort of weird move or strange art sheâs going to use, they still thought only of defending and not attacking. They continued on pressing forward step by step.
Although Xiao LongnĂŒâs four swords used together was frightening when heard and observed, the power used with two swords is superior to using four swords. Normally she focused on a single sword during her training. The coordination of the Quanzhen Sword Technique and Jade Maiden Sword Technique in her right hand was flawless. Now the transition to using two swords with each hand was hardly effective, the movementâs high level of proficiency was diminished. After several strokes, Xiaoxiang Zi and others realized her moves were somewhat slow. Each time she pushed out the swords, they had lost the immeasurable essence from before. Nimoxingâs larynx created âcoo-cooâ noises, and he waved his steel snake to signal his lunge forward. Yin Kexi urgently cried out: âWhat youâre trying to do is useless, thatâs more like a plan for luring the foe.â The warning jolted him and he thought âItâs fortunate somebody else noticed really fastâ. Knowing how crafty the young girl was, once he attacked she would immediately respond with a counterattack. Not only will their besieging formation break down instantly, his life is very likely to be taken away.