For the time being, it was calm in Golden Chicken Mountain. At this time, many three religious disciples were injured. Xuandu, Dipamkara, Guang Chengzi, and Medicine Buddha were busy curing wounds for the junior brother apprentices. So, they had no time to attack Impregnable Pass in Golden Chicken Mountain. However, they were not very worried about Kong Xuan's wound. After Kong Xuan was struck by two Sages, he was finally rescued, but his State of Mind was impaired. The injury in State of Mind was not easy to recover, especially since it was caused by the Sages.
Actually, they were not idle. Bo Yikao, Ji Fa, Jiang Ziya, Shen Gongbao and others negotiated over how to deal with Kong Xuan's Army of Five Elements. Kong Xuan and Black Tortoise could be handled by three religions disciples, but Kong Xuan's Army of Five Elements was still needed to be coped by themselves. Although three religions' disciples were infinitely resourceful, they did not dare not to slay recklessly and create trouble, especially not during the Cultivation Tribulation.
In the camp, Bo Yikao, Ji Fa, Shen Gongbao, and Jiang Ziya got together and discussed the matter of Amy of Five Elements. Jiang Ziya was proficient in military tactics and tactical formation, so he spoke first, "Two Childes, Formation of Five Elements is quite common in all formations, so it's not difficult to make a breakthrough. However, Kong Xuan had a profound understanding of the art of the five elements. Thus, the key to the breakthrough is to learn how strong the power of his Army of Five Elements can display through Formation of Five Elements."
Bo Yikao and Ji Fa suddenly were enlightened. From Kong Xuan's Divine Five Colored Light, it could be predicted that his understanding towards the art of the five elements was second to none. The Army of Five Elements was disciplined by Kong Xuan alone. All soldiers were battle-scarred and ever-victorious. It is thus obvious that the fighting force of the Army of Five Elements was extremely amazing.
After hearing Jiang Ziya's words, Shen Gongbao slightly frowned and said, "Brother Jiang, when senior brother apprentices fought with Kong Xuan, three religious disciples pooled efforts to sustain the shock to protect officers and soldiers of our Western Zhou Dynasty. Have you ever noticed that a Formation of Five Elements showed up to work in concert with the Army of Five Elements to withstand the impact? Therefore, if we want to break through the Army of Five Elements, we need to work both ways and break through the Formation of Five Elements inside the Pass first."
Jiang Ziya immediately knitted his brow and felt awkward. "I agreed with Brother Shen. But, Kong Xuan and Black Tortoise were both inside the Pass. So, it's a little difficult to rush into the Pass and damage Kongxuan's Formation of Five Elements. Unless they are lured away from their base, there is no chance at all."
Shen Gongbao replied, "Since Kong Xuan has been injured, he is unlikely to go fighting, and only Black Tortoise will fight with three religious disciples. If Xuandu, my Senior Brother Apprentice, and other three persons can defeat Black Tortoise, everything will go well. But if Black Tortoise is as strong as Kong Xuan, his Senior Brother Apprentice, and he can defeat the four persons by himself, it'll be impossible to defeat Kong Xuan just by senior brother apprentices, even if Kong Xuan has been injured."
After learning of the two possibilities mentioned by Shen Gongbao, Bo Yikao, Ji Fa, and Jiang Ziya all looked solemn. In case of the first possibility, it would be not bad. But in case of the second possibility, it would be hard to deal with. If they spent more time, it would be more unfavorable to them, because millions of soldiers consumed huge amounts. Moreover, they were youths of hot blood. If it lasted too long, it would harm the morale of the troops. Therefore, they could only depend on the four Sages-to-be of the three religions.
Many days later, Bo Yikao, Ji Fa, and three religious disciples came to the Press to challenge again. Those millions of soldiers stayed in the rear area and watched the battle from afar. It would be a great loss if they were affected by the aftermath. Thus, they might as well wait until Black Tortoise and Kong Xuan were defeated. And then, they went to exterminate the Army of Five Elements and invaded the Inner Pass.
On the city wall, Kong Xuan and Black Tortoise saw that three religious disciples came to look for trouble. Kong Xuan said with a smile. "My junior brother apprentice, although you have never fought in Untainted Land, disciples of the three religions did fear you. Still, you'd better take it seriously. These disciplines are not threats to you, but those four Sages-to-be are crafty. Do not be tricked by them. "
Black Tortoise said with a smile, "Senior Brother Apprentice, please rest assured. I'll be cautious. I won't lose our master's face. Please stand on the city wall and watch how I deal with them." Then, he jumped down from the city wall and went to three religious disciples. He was alone, but he was fearless. Although there were many three religious disciples, only a few people's cultivations were as same as his. Many people were not necessarily useful.
Bo Yikao and Ji Fa could not believe their own eyes when they saw Black Tortoise, who looked like a youth in his twenties. And, he was idle and did not have the profile of a Sage-to-be. Previously, Guang Chengzi mentioned that Black Tortoise's human body was comparable to the primordial spiritual treasure. They thought that Black Tortoise might be a husky fellow. It was totally out of their expectations.
Xuandu saw Black Tortoise's presence and went out of the formation. He said, "Black Tortoise, my Taoist friend since we departed in the Feast of Peaches, we haven't seen each other for a long time. I never expect that we'll meet like this. Everything is fate. I heard that your Golden Body of Martial Arts is really amazing, so I want to fight you. If I win, can you and Kong Xuan go away?"
Black Tortoise laughed and said, "No problem! But, you need to be sure that you are able to defeat me. If you want to fight with me together, I'll have no objection. I just want to see the laws of martial arts of three religions. Let's begin!" He held out his hand to tell Xuandu to come over as if he did not care about Xuandu.
All the disciples of the Tribe of Humanity were furious. In the Tribe of Humanity, Xuandu was Laozi's only self-imparting disciple. Moreover, he was friendly and sociable. Thus, he was respected by the disciples of the Tribe of Humanity from the heart. Now, they saw that Black Tortoise looked down upon Xuandu, so they were uncomfortable. As they were about to complain, Xuandu stretched his hand and stopped them. Undoubtedly, Xuandu's cultivation was directly handed down from Laozi.
Xuandu stretched his hand and held Sword of Yin and Yang. As he raised his hand, a current of Sword Aura was sent out. Sword Aura was quick and forceful as if it could strike through heaven and earth. His power was much stronger than before when he combated with Kong Xuan. During this period, Xuandu's swordsmanship had improved. For such quick and forceful Sword Aura, a master at the Secondary Stage of the Sage-to-be Realm must treat it with care.
Though Sword Aura was fierce, Black Tortoise just laughed it off. Confronted with such powerful Sword Aura, Black Tortoise had no idea to avoid or defend but stand still and bear the strike. To him, it was negligible. When Sword Aura fell upon Black Tortoise, Bo Yikao, Ji Fa, and three religious disciples were startled by a loud sound of Ding-dong.
After Sword Aura disappeared, Black Tortoise stood still without a scratch. His body emitted beams of faint golden light. The three religions disciples took a deep breath and doubted if it was Golden Body of Martial Arts. It was really creepy that Black Tortoise was sound and safe after being struck by Xuandu. It was no wonder that Xuandu and others dreaded Black Tortoise so much. It was not easy to damage such a creepy Golden Body of Martial Arts.
However, the three religious disciples also discovered that the soft golden light emitted from Black Tortoise was not common but Golden Light of Merit, which was owned by persons with merits of heaven. It was rumored that Golden Body of Martial Arts was refined by combining Martial Arts with Golden Light of Merit. Sure enough! No wonder only several ancestors in the Human Tribe had refined. After all, the key to the cultivation of Golden Body of Martial Arts was merits of heaven. It was really extravagant!
To strive for a little merit of heaven by assisting Human Sovereign, three religious disciples spared no effort. They originally planned to promote cultivation with merits of heaven. Black Tortoise used merits of heaven to cultivate Golden Body of Martial Arts so extravagantly. However, they were just confused that where Black Tortoise gained so many merits. Since Three Royals and Five Emperors, there were no merits of heaven. Did he merely depend on his preexistent merits, which was acquired by supporting the sky?