211: Quicksand River

Physics, especially fundamental physics, is actually widely applied in daily life. Of course, it also applies to the situation at hand!

Everyone knows about thermal expansion and contraction. Many hard objects, after experiencing high temperatures, become extremely brittle in an instant when suddenly stimulated by extremely cold water. To some extent, this can be called common sense.

And this physical common sense cannot be avoided even when applied to Divine Artifacts. The only difference is that Divine Artifacts have stronger tolerance, and this moment of extreme brittleness is also shorter.

Tang Ku chose to strike at that moment when the iron chains were weakest due to the alternating hot and cold.

In fact, he succeeded, and not just once.

Four of the eight chains binding Qiongqi, the ones closest together, were all broken by Tang Ku in an instant.

However, by the fifth chain, the ice shell outside it had already fully formed, and the optimal attack window during the hot and cold alternation had disappeared. Tang Ku's fist was actually bounced back forcefully.

Flipping over and finally landing on the ground, Tang Ku looked at his steaming fist and couldn't help but exclaim regretfully, "With my understanding of the Law, this punch could push its attack power to nearly thirty times its amplitude. Even with this kind of attack power, I can't directly break this chain? And I even chose the uppermost part of the chain…"

The eight chains were closest together in the section relatively near Qiongqi's body. He wanted to break all eight chains in the shortest possible time… Unfortunately, he still failed at the last hurdle!

Tang Ku stared blankly at his fist, but Ksitigarbha stared blankly at Tang Ku, speechless and aghast.

He was truly shocked, unable to imagine how Tang Ku, with his current strength, managed to do it.

"My apologies, Bodhisattva, I couldn't rescue you this time!"

Tang Ku said with a bitter smile and a look of regret to Ksitigarbha, "I still overestimated my strength. With my own power, this thing is truly difficult to break!"

"…It…it's already very good…"

Ksitigarbha finally came back to his senses and said in shock, "Sanzang, how did you manage that? Why did your punch have such power? With your Cultivation, you shouldn't be able to break this chain."

Tang Ku gave a helpless smile. What could he say? Basic physics was common sense to him, but for Ksitigarbha… well, with his wisdom, it shouldn't be too difficult to understand!

After briefly explaining his idea and the principle of thermal expansion and contraction, Ksitigarbha exclaimed in wonder, "…So, any object that exists in the world cannot escape these so-called physical Laws? Is this the knowledge and power you learned from another world? It truly is extraordinary!"

"My idea was actually correct, but my timing wasn't precise enough, and my speed wasn't fast enough. In the end, I still failed!"

Tang Ku shook his head helplessly.

"Haha, this is already very good. All the runes have disappeared, the oppressive feeling is gone, and with eight fewer chains, it allows me to relax a lot! Moreover, without the runes, I can also restore the state of my soul through meditation. At the very least, my soul won't disappear in a short time!" Ksitigarbha chuckled.

"Hmm… my strength isn't enough now, but in the near future, I will definitely rescue you. I mean what I say!"

Tang Ku suddenly clenched his fist and said seriously.

"You, you're truly persistent…" Ksitigarbha smiled, "The next hot-to-cold alternation won't happen for another two hundred years in this world. It won't be too late for you to come and rescue me then. And now there's hope; hope is always better than no hope!"

Tang Ku's figure was disappearing as the teleportation mechanism began to work. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "Perhaps I won't even need two hundred years; I'll have the strength to completely break these chains directly… Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, wait for me. I will definitely rescue you!"

In a flash, Tang Ku had appeared in the Yanluo Great Hall. Everything was the same as last time: through the teleportation node, he arrived at the foot of Mount Tai.

Tang Ku looked at the towering Mount Tai, sighed deeply, and turned to fly in the direction of Chang'an.

"My current strength is still insufficient to shatter those iron chains. To improve my strength as quickly as possible, besides relying on the System, I still have to Cultivate myself. Especially the comprehension of the Law; that must continue to be prioritized…"

Tang Ku deeply felt that although his strength was no longer weak, he was still too far behind those true powerhouses. And he couldn't rely too much on the System, as there weren't always battles to provide him with upgrade points. What truly stabilizes strength must be the abilities Cultivated by oneself.

After flying for a short while, Chang'an City was already in sight. He had already been delayed for a night; today was the chosen day for the Crown Prince's ascension.

Tang Ku did not return to Du Xin Domain but went directly to the imperial palace to attend the ceremony.

Speaking of which, this time there were no demons or monsters causing trouble, so the enthronement process went exceptionally smoothly. Li Shimin smiled like a blooming flower, thinking to himself, "This time, I can finally comfortably enjoy my retirement!"

Li Jiancheng, full of thoughts, still sat firmly on the Dragon throne, watching the court officials shout "Long live the Emperor," his heart filled with endless emotion.

Everything went smoothly. Tang Ku then went to Qintian Prison and informed Yuan Tiangang of his upcoming plans and some ideas. The old man was not surprised, but he hesitated about Tang Ku's ideas until Tang Ku stated that the new emperor would fully support them, at which point he nodded in agreement.

Everything returned to normal. It seemed all enemies had vanished in the days that followed, but the few high-ranking individuals knew that they absolutely could not let their guard down.

After arranging everything, Tang Ku left Shi Jingmo and the others to guard, taking only Pigsy, and set off in the direction of Liusha River.

He wanted to strengthen his side's power as much as possible before the great battle, so finding Sha Wujing was a must.

Fortunately, with clues, finding him was not difficult, but the challenge was how to awaken him.

Just like Pigsy, perhaps his soul was also trapped deep within his Sea of Consciousness, unable to escape.

"Eight hundred Liusha River, three thousand weak waters deep, goose feathers cannot float, reeds sink to the bottom!"

Looking at the great river and the boundary monument before him, Tang Ku couldn't help but frown.

"Master, Sha Shidi (Junior Brother Sha) is different from us. When he was a demon in Liusha River before, he ate many people. Although I, Old Pig, also engaged in such activities, I didn't kill nearly as many as him. His Killing Intent is truly difficult to subdue…" Pigsy said in a deep voice, "Moreover, no one is more familiar with doings in the water than him!"

Tang Ku didn't respond. He went to the water's edge, staring blankly at the surface for a long time before saying, "Bajie, do you think my second journey to the West began here?"