Shocking Secrets of the Celestial Realm

The rumbling sound from deep within grew closer, and everyone's hearts leaped into their throats. An invisible net of tension enveloped them. They gripped their weapons tightly, every muscle taut, their eyes fixed on the direction of the sound, every nerve stretched to its limit by fear and anxiety. However, the anticipated attack did not occur. The rumbling, after approaching a certain point, mysteriously vanished, leaving only a deathly silence, which only deepened their unease.

"What on earth is going on?" Xiaofeng asked in a low voice, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, his voice trembling noticeably. In this mysterious space filled with unknowns, every unexpected event felt like the beginning of a nightmare, constantly pushing their minds to the brink of collapse.

Jasmine took a deep breath, trying to calm the tense atmosphere, but her eyes couldn't hide her worry: "Never mind that for now. Whatever it is, we have to keep moving forward. It's already the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), when the pericardium meridian is at its peak. We need to find clues related to the pericardium meridian as soon as possible; this may be the key to breaking through this predicament."

The group slowly advanced, venturing deeper into the cave. As they went deeper, the surrounding temperature seemed to drop, and a chilling aura swept over them, causing them to shiver. Just then, a powerful dark force suddenly appeared in the cave, spreading rapidly like a surging tide, instantly trapping them in a small space.

"What is this?" Mengli cried out in terror, her body trembling slightly as she tried to move closer to Yichen.

The dark power was like a thick shackle, tightly binding everyone's bodies. Their spiritual power was also suppressed by this dark power, becoming extremely weak and almost impossible to use. Jasmine circulated her spiritual power, trying to break free from the shackles of darkness, but she found that her power was so insignificant in the face of this darkness. Every struggle was like futilely splashing around in a swamp.

“This dark power is at odds with the protective function of the pericardium meridian. We must find a way to use the energy of the pericardium meridian to dispel it,” Jasmine said solemnly.

Zi Ling anxiously reminded them, "That's right, everyone calm down and focus your spiritual energy on the pericardium meridian to activate its power."

The disciples closed their eyes, concentrated their minds, and tried to mobilize the energy of the pericardium meridian. Yi Chen took a deep breath and focused his spiritual energy on the starting point of the Hand Jueyin Pericardium Meridian—Tianchi acupoint. Tianchi acupoint is located on the chest, in the 4th intercostal space, 1 inch lateral to the nipple, and 5 inches lateral to the anterior midline. He slowly guided the energy of the pericardium meridian through his body. At first, he only felt a weak current of heat surging within him, but as he focused and exerted himself, the heat gradually grew stronger. However, he still felt somewhat powerless against this powerful dark force.

"No, this power is still too weak!" Yi Chen shouted, his voice echoing in the darkness, carrying a hint of despair.

At this moment, everyone's breathing became rapid and heavy, each breath feeling like dragging a heavy stone, their chests feeling so suffocated they felt like they were about to explode. Xiaofeng felt his heart pounding like thunder, each beat accompanied by intense pain. His spiritual energy surged wildly within his body, yet he was unable to break through the suppression of the darkness.

"I can't hold on much longer!" Xiaofeng shouted, his body swaying precariously, as if he could collapse at any moment.

Just when everyone was in dire straits, Jasmine stepped forward. She took a deep breath, mobilized the energy of her pericardium meridian, and shouted, "Everyone, follow me, circulate the energy of your pericardium meridian, and form a protective barrier!"

As she spoke, Jasmine quickly formed hand seals, and a faint golden light emanated from her body, creating a protective barrier in the darkness. Seeing this, the other disciples followed suit, their light converging to barely resist the erosion of the dark power.

However, the dark power was too strong, and the protective barrier began to crack under the constant impact, on the verge of shattering. Mengli was extremely anxious as she watched the barrier about to break. Suddenly, a brilliant idea struck her: she thought of a way to fuse the light element from nature with the energy of the pericardium meridian.

Mengli concentrated her mind, guiding the light element into her body to merge with the energy of the pericardium meridian. In an instant, the protective barrier's light became even more dazzling, and its power increased several times over. "I did it! Everyone, integrate the light element into the pericardium meridian energy to strengthen the barrier!" Mengli shouted in surprise.

Everyone did as instructed, and the protective barrier became indestructible, temporarily blocking the invasion of dark forces. However, this was only a temporary defense; to completely escape the predicament, it was necessary to find the source of the dark forces and destroy it.

Yi Chen searched diligently for the source of the dark power in the darkness, his eyes gleaming with unwavering determination. Suddenly, he discovered a black sphere deep within the darkness, constantly radiating dark power—the very source of that power.

"I've found the source!" Yi Chen shouted. "I'll concentrate my attack on the source, everyone cover me!"

With that, Yi Chen concentrated all his strength and charged towards the black sphere. His body moved like a golden lightning bolt in the darkness, carrying an unstoppable momentum. The other disciples circulated their spiritual energy to provide cover for Yi Chen; their attacks shone like beams of light in the darkness.

As Yi Chen approached the black sphere, he roared and thrust his sword into it. With a deafening crash, the black sphere trembled violently, and its dark power began to rapidly diminish. Finally, under Yi Chen's all-out attack, the black sphere shattered, the dark power vanished instantly, and everyone regained their freedom.

Gasping for breath, just as they were about to relax for a moment, the ground began to shake violently without warning, and countless sharp rocks rained down from the cave ceiling. "Oh no, the cave is collapsing!" Jasmine shouted in terror. The group, forgetting their exhaustion, forced themselves to their feet and desperately fled through the falling rocks and billowing dust. In the chaos, no one knew which way to go to escape; they could only blindly and urgently search for a way out in this perilous and chaotic situation.