As soon as the words were spoken, Jingyuan moved with ghost-like speed, leaving afterimages. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Hengyin.

“Turn back and be saved!” Hengyin put his palms together, bowed his head, and said calmly.

The power of the Precept instantly spread, affecting everyone in the inner hall.

Jingyuan, in a pose that defied the laws of physics, ignored inertia and twisted back to his original position.

For a Huajin-level martial artist, defying Newton’s laws was commonplace.

“You’re not him. You’re Senior Brother Hengyin,” Jingyuan raised his eyebrows, recognizing his identity…

At the same time, this fourth-rank warrior monk was somewhat angry. Whether it was Chai Xian or Xu Qi’an, they all liked to use puppets to deceive people.

Hengyin’s mouth twitched as he corrected:

“No, I’m Hengyin from the shore of Daming Lake.”

Jingyuan was stunned for a moment, seemingly not expecting such a response. Before he could react, one of the warrior monks guarding the circle of chan masters suddenly collapsed, his limbs weak and numb.

As soon as he tried to circulate his qi, he felt a searing pain.

The others immediately held their breath.

“Poison!”

Jingyuan pushed both hands forward, his qi gushing out. With a series of “bang bang” sounds, all the windows in the inner hall opened.

“Senior Xu has come to save us,” Li Lingsu said gleefully. He had also been poisoned, his limbs weak and powerless. The only reason he could stand was because he and Chai Xing’er were tied together with the same rope.

Chai Xing’er held her breath in time, avoiding the poison gas.

“Can he do it?” Chai Xing’er’s delicate willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed slightly, not holding much hope for Xu Qian’s abilities.

“Didn’t I tell you? He’s a senior in the supernatural realm,” Li Lingsu said.

Chai Xing’er replied irritably, “Then why did he hide? Didn’t those two smelly monks say their sect elders weren’t in Xiangzhou?”

Li Lingsu was at a loss for words, unable to respond for a moment.

Xu Qian is indeed an old monster, I can confirm that. But from what I’ve seen along the way, I can mostly guess that something’s wrong with him… Thinking of this, Li Lingsu suddenly felt pessimistic.

No, someone as calculating as Xu Qian wouldn’t make a move without confidence. He must have a trump card I don’t know about!

Li Lingsu immediately perked up, feeling that he might be able to further unveil Xu Qian’s mysterious veil through this confrontation.

He wants to force us out of the hall with poison, then take the opportunity to snatch Chai Xian and rescue Li Lingsu… Monk Jingxin glanced at the three people within the circle, then turned his head, his gaze passing over Hengyin’s shoulder to the night outside. He said loudly:

“Benefactor Xu, since you’re here, why not show yourself? Buddhist meditation skills are not afraid of deadly poisons.”

Chan master was the title for the sixth rank in the Buddhist system. This rank had no combat bonus, only focusing on one thing – meditation.

Sitting in meditation for three days and nights was entry-level.

When meditation skills reached profound levels, one could even harmonize with heaven and earth, comprehending the profound laws of nature.

In the Western Regions, it was common for high monks to sit in meditation for several years, even over a decade.

Once Western Region monks entered a meditative state, they could go without food or water, were impervious to external evils, and even had a certain degree of defense.

Currently, more than a dozen chan masters have formed an array. On the surface, they were chanting sutras to save people, but in reality, they were also protecting Li Lingsu and the other two within.

Xu Qi’an used poison to try to force them to disperse the array.

As Jingxin finished speaking, everyone in the hall kept looking around, searching for Xu Qian who might suddenly appear.

Jingyuan was the first to notice, turning his gaze to the shadow beneath Hengyin’s feet.

The shadow became pitch black and distorted, and a man in plain clothes with the same appearance emerged, holding a sword with a black scabbard in his hand.

To be precise, it was a saber, but the curvature of the scabbard was not large, so at first glance, one might mistake it for a sword.

A saber? This was the first time Li Lingsu had seen Xu Qian use a weapon. It was different from his usual image, which immediately caught his attention.

Jingxin’s eyes flickered slightly as he put his palms together: “Put down the butcher’s knife.”

The power of the Precept enveloped the inner hall, imposing itself on Xu Qi’an.

Hengyin put his palms together: “Ineffective!”

The power of the Precept immediately dissipated into nothingness.

As expected, only a Precept can counter another Precept… Xu Qi’an’s gaze was calm. He had already confirmed that Vajra Dunan was not lying in ambush nearby, or even in Xiangzhou.

Then there was nothing to worry about.

Jingxin didn’t mind that the Precept had failed. He smiled and said, “Benefactor Xu, you’ve fallen for our trap!”

His expression suddenly became solemn. His right hand shook lightly, gripping the prayer beads wrapped around his wrist in his palm. He said in a deep voice:

“Seal!”

More than a dozen chan masters made the same motion, shaking their wrists and gripping their prayer beads, shouting in unison:

“Seal!”

A layer of golden light swept through the hall like ripples, and a “卍” symbol suddenly lit up on the ground.

Chai Xing’er’s ears twitched slightly as she realized she could no longer hear sounds from outside. Her expression changed slightly:

“This place has been sealed.”

Li Lingsu nodded gravely:

“Jingxin and Jingyuan knew all along that I was in the manor, and that Senior Xu would come to seize the Dragon Qi. Their previous words, including about Chai Xian, were all bait…”

The Holy Son’s heart sank, anxiety welling up. So far, all he had seen of Xu Qian’s moves relied on gu techniques, coming and going without a trace.

Now that his greatest asset was gone, with this place sealed and the inner hall not being large, even if he could still jump through shadows, in short-distance sprints, martial artists were invincible.

Jingxin put his palms together and said calmly:

“As long as we have a grip on the Dragon Qi host, we knew you would take the bait.

“We discovered you hiding under the window early on. All that talk was just to lure you out. Compared to Chai Xian, we care more about you. This seal is called the ‘Small Colorless Realm.’ At the fourth-rank level, very few can break it.

“To catch you, we prepared many magical tools. The ‘Small Colorless Realm’ is an array specifically designed to deal with you, perfectly countering your gu techniques.

“Amitabha, Benefactor Xu, come back to Buddhism with us. Buddhism is your only destination.”

He didn’t have the flamboyant air of the warrior monk Jingyuan, but this gentle calmness made people feel even more arrogant than the warrior monk.

Everything was under control, hence the calmness.

Xu Qi’an ignored Jingyuan who was slowly approaching, and looked at Jingxin sitting in the distance, saying, “Was Vajra Dunan also something you said deliberately to lure me out?”

Jingxin replied gently, “Just a small trick.”

Xu Qi’an nodded, “Then how did you catch Chai Xian? Why were you so sure he would attack you?”

Jingxin answered:

“The Corpse Gu Sect of the Southern Borderlands has a secret technique of raising corpses using gu cultivation methods. Regardless of who the real culprit is, since there were repeated murders and corpse refining, it couldn’t have been a simple frame-up.

“So we had my junior brother test the waters, and sure enough, it lured out Benefactor Chai Xian.”

Chai Xian snorted coldly:

“Everything in this world is fake; only power is real. With power, one controls everything. I understood this principle from a very young age. It’s a pity my flying corpse was just one step away. Otherwise, I would have had fourth-rank strength and become a dominant force ruling over an entire province.”

In Xiangzhou, a fourth-rank expert was invincible.

So the secret techniques of the Corpse Gu Sect also have this method of raising corpses. This is due to the information gap… Xu Qi’an nodded slowly.

Hearing this, the warrior monk Jingyuan interjected: “Senior brother, there’s no need to waste words with him. Subdue him quickly.”

Jingxin nodded slowly, flipped his wrist to grip the prayer beads, and said: “Seal!”

Under Xu Qi’an’s feet, the “卍” symbol began to spin rapidly, carrying a faint golden vortex of qi that firmly adhered him to the spot.

Then, Jingxin took out a bright yellow bronze mirror. He brushed his palm over the mirror’s surface, and it immediately burst into radiant light.

“I’ll trouble Benefactor Xu’s primordial spirit to stay in the mirror for a while.”

This mirror could capture people’s souls and seal them within.

Below the third rank, no one could escape it.

Buddhism was most proficient in “sealing” magical tools, spells, and arrays.

Jingxin was very clear about Xu Qi’an’s true rank and also knew that he was sealed by demon-sealing nails. Although his primordial spirit had the toughness of a third rank, it lacked the power of one.

This bronze mirror was more than enough to seal Xu Qi’an’s primordial spirit.

Jingxin flipped the bronze mirror and aimed it at Xu Qi’an. The mirror’s surface immediately reflected his image.

And then… there was no reaction.

How could this be? Does the heart gu provide such a terrifying boost to the primordial spirit? Jingxin frowned deeply and tried to activate the mirror’s soul-capturing ability again, but still, there was no response.

Jingxin’s expression became grave. Unable to understand the situation before him, he guessed that Xu Qi’an had other means, or that it was due to the enhancement from the heart gu.

“Ignorant!” Xu Qi’an said calmly. “The toughness of my primordial spirit far exceeds your imagination.”

His primordial spirit was now genuinely at the third-rank level, without any seals.

Although I don’t know what happened, Senior Xu is still Senior Xu. He didn’t disappoint me… Li Lingsu’s tense heart relaxed, and he let out a sigh of relief.

Hope also surged in Chai Xing’er’s eyes.

“Senior brother, let me!” Jingyuan raised his finger and lightly tapped his brow. A point of golden lacquer lit up from his brow, quickly spreading across his entire body.

In an instant, he transformed into a dazzling golden body.

If the primordial spirit couldn’t be captured, then they would subdue him with brute force.

Jingxin nodded slowly: “Thank you for your trouble, junior brother.”

He maintained the array, binding Xu Qi’an to prevent any accidents. Although he had absolute confidence in Jingyuan, below the third rank, very few could surpass Jingyuan.

Jingyuan transmitted a message:

“Xu Qi’an, you’ve relied on our Buddhist Vajra Divine Skill to roam Great Qi. When you faced enemies with your unbreakable divine skill, did you ever consider how you would counter if one day you faced a master who also possessed this technique?”

“I’ll only strike once!” Xu Qi’an replied, not through mental transmission, but by speaking normally.

One strike? What one strike?

The inner hall was sealed, and Li Lingsu was just feeling troubled when he heard Xu Qi’an’s words, unable to react for a moment.

Xu Qi’an’s lips curled up as he said, “One slash to break your golden body.”

His calm voice echoed in the hall, filled with unparalleled confidence.

One slash to break the golden body?! Li Lingsu’s eyes widened in surprise.

Even the defiant Chai Xian had his attention drawn, frowning slightly.

Is he trying to bluff? Jingxin furrowed his brow, believing this statement was only to conceal his true intentions, that Xu Qi’an had a deeper plan.

Jingyuan’s Vajra Divine Skill was even stronger than a normal peak fourth-rank warrior. Unless it was someone of the same rank from the Daoist or Dream Shaman sects directly targeting the primordial spirit, breaking the Vajra Divine Skill by brute force was almost impossible…

Xu Qi’an’s heart gu technique was far from being able to shake a fourth-rank expert’s primordial spirit. Moreover, with me here to support, I can protect Jingyuan’s primordial spirit…

The Pagoda of Six Realms is Ancestral Master Faji Bodhisattva’s treasure. It couldn’t possibly help Xu Qi’an against fellow disciples…

Various thoughts flashed through Jingxin’s mind, and his final judgment was — it’s just a bluff!

“One slash?” Since mastering the Vajra Divine Skill, Jingyuan had never encountered an opponent who could break his golden body.

Among his fellow disciples, there were many fourth-rank warrior monks, but not everyone could master the Vajra Divine Skill. Those of the same rank were helpless against Jingyuan’s Vajra Divine Skill.

Xu Qi’an gripped the handle of his Taiping Saber with his right hand, collapsing his qi and suppressing his emotions, preparing for the long-missed Heaven and Earth Slash.

At the same moment, Jingyuan lifted his monk’s robe and drew his precept blade, slashing furiously towards Xu Qi’an.

Clang!

In the brightly lit hall, everyone saw a flash of dark golden blade light.

Immediately after, a deafening lion’s roar sounded, causing everyone present to feel their blood and qi surging.

In the hall, Xu Qi’an and Jingyuan stood face to face. Jingyuan held his precept blade high, while Xu Qi’an still gripped his saber’s handle, maintaining their previous confrontational posture.

It was as if the earlier blade light had been an illusion, and neither had struck.

Jingxin suddenly widened his eyes, his usual gentle calmness gone, replaced by a look of astonishment… The golden light on Jingyuan’s body, like porcelain, was covered in cracks.

In an instant, it shattered into golden fragments of light.

The Vajra Divine Skill had been broken.

Not only that, a wound appeared on Jingyuan’s chest, extending from his chest to his lower abdomen, with blood gushing out like a fountain.

“You, you…” Jingyuan stared hard at Xu Qi’an, his lips moving, struggling to speak.

“Don’t talk. Go stand aside.” Xu Qi’an gripped his throat and casually tossed him away.

Bang! Jingyuan was thrown out, rolling and leaving a trail of blood on the ground. He struggled a few times but couldn’t manage to stand up.

The terrifying sword intended to destroy his life force and erode his spirit.

The inner hall instantly fell into dead silence, everyone staring at Xu Qi’an in shock.

Li Lingsu was both worried that Xu Qian might have met his match and confident in this old monster from the supernatural realm.

He had thought Xu Qian might have a way to deal with Jingyuan, but it definitely wouldn’t be easy. The reality was, it was just that simple.

The Vajra Divine Skill, known as the number one defensive technique in the Nine Provinces, had been slashed open with a single strike.

“Is he an expert from the supernatural realm?” Chai Xing’er murmured.

She instinctively turned to look at Jingxin and found that this usually composed young monk had beads of sweat on his forehead.

Chai Xing’er suddenly felt a surge of satisfaction.

“This is what a true expert is, this is the kind of expert I want to become…” Chai Xian’s face was full of longing, his eyes burning with desire.

Jingxin swallowed hard. “You… have recovered your cultivation?”

His usually calm heart was now churning with shock. The scene before him told him that Xu Qi’an had regained his power.

The Xu Qi’an who had slain the second-rank emperor and dominated the world had broken his seals!!

Recovered his cultivation?! Li Lingsu, like a shark smelling blood, suddenly perked up and looked towards Jingxin.

However, he couldn’t hear anything more. After Jingxin spoke, he didn’t open his mouth again.

Xu Qi’an said calmly, “No one in this world can suppress me, not even the Buddha.”

Because the Buddha couldn’t be bothered to suppress me… he added in his heart.

How arrogant! How dare he speak like this? Who exactly is he… Li Lingsu’s mind raced because of this statement. He whispered:

“Senior Xu’s identity might be even more terrifying than we imagined.”

Isn’t this just casual boasting? Chai Xing’er grumbled inwardly.

Xu Qi’an leaned on his saber, looking down at the monks: “You now have two choices. One: Remove the array and hand over the Dragon Qi host to me. Two: I’ll personally break the array, and casualties will not be my concern.”

After a moment of internal struggle, Jingxin sighed: “Since it has come to this, this poor monk and our fellow disciples can only submit to your will.”

He immediately had the Chan masters remove the array and untie Li Lingsu and Chai Xing’er.

The chan masters rushed to Jingxin’s side, while the warrior monks went to check on Jingyuan’s injuries. After a brief examination, they turned back with relief and said in a low voice:

“He’s not dead yet.”

“Senior!” Li Lingsu, holding his beloved’s hand, happily ran towards Xu Qi’an, feeling how good it was to have someone to rely on.

Xu Qi’an responded with a cold “Mm” and then turned to look at Jingxin:

“Little monk, I have something to ask you. Whether these bald donkeys live or not depends on your performance.”

Jingxin said solemnly, “Benefactor Xu, if you have questions, please ask.”

Xu Qi’an manipulated Hengyin to step forward and used the Precept: “No lying.”

The power of the Precept filled the hall.

Xu Qi’an asked, “Did any Bodhisattvas come out for this Buddhist mission?”

Jingxin shook his head, “No.”

“Only the Arhat Duqing, and the two Vajras Dunan and Dufan?”

“And two hundred and eight other monks.”

“They came for me?”

“Yes.”

“Where are they?”

“I don’t know, but Uncle Master Dunan and I agreed to meet in Yongzhou.”

Why meet in Yongzhou instead of traveling together? Did Vajra Dunan go to handle other more important matters midway?

Xu Qi’an voiced this doubt, and Jingxin said, “This humble monk doesn’t know.”

After asking a few more questions, Xu Qi’an turned to look at Chai Xian and sighed:

“You killed Er’ya’s family?”

Chai Xian’s face stiffened for a moment, then returned to normal as he sneered:

“I originally didn’t want to kill them. I had never even ‘appeared’ in front of their family. But that day, he returned to the village and received your note. Even then, I still hadn’t planned to come out and kill anyone. But Er’ya told me that she had told that kind-hearted uncle about my six toes.”

Chai Xian’s face suddenly turned ferocious:

“After leaving the village, I took advantage of their sleep and returned to Er’ya’s home, killing them all. She said what she shouldn’t have said, so she deserved to die.”

Xu Qi’an leaned on his saber, the veins on the back of his hand bulging, but his face remained calm as he said softly:

“Until her death, she never got to wear a pair of new shoes.

“Chai Xian doesn’t know about your existence?”

“Of course he doesn’t know, because he’s a coward, refusing to face his true self,” this Chai Xian sneered.

This is a case of dissociative identity disorder… Xu Qi’an pondered for a moment, then turned to Li Lingsu: “Is there any way to treat soul separation syndrome?”

Li Lingsu said with difficulty, “If my cultivation was restored, I could enter his sea of consciousness and eliminate that personality. But now…”

At this point, Jingxin put his palms together and said, “Buddhism can help cleanse his karmic obstacles. After Benefactor Xu extracts the Dragon Qi, you can hand him over to Buddhism.”

Xu Qi’an ignored the monk and looked down at Chai Xian: “I want to see him.”

Chai Xian didn’t speak, just lowered his head. After a few quiet seconds, he raised his head again, looking around with obvious confusion in his eyes.

He doesn’t know… Xu Qi’an’s heart gu had already reached a profound level. Just by sensing the other’s emotional changes, he knew Chai Xian was now completely bewildered.

Chai Xian looked at the Buddhist monks, then at Xu Qi’an and the others, as well as the bloodstains on the ground, guessing that some conflict might have occurred here.

“I am the orange cat who agreed with you in the village that night,” Xu Qi’an said.

Chai Xian, with his hands bound, was stunned for a moment, then his expression changed dramatically. He rushed over recklessly as if wanting to bite Xu Qi’an.

Li Lingsu acted first, slapping Chai Xian to the ground with one hand.

Chai Xian roared hoarsely, “Why did you kill them? They were innocent, you beast…”

“You’re the beast!” Li Lingsu cursed angrily.

Xu Qi’an said slowly, “Chai Xian, you killed everyone. The murderer is you. Do you know you have soul separation syndrome?”

Chai Xian was both angry and confused: “What are you talking about?”

Xu Qi’an explained the course of events in detail to this pitiful fellow. Although the reality was so cruel for Chai Xian, facts were facts.

“Nonsense!” Chai Xian suppressed his anger and hatred, his handsome face showing disdain as he said calmly:

“I’m at your mercy now. Since I’ve fallen into your hands, you can beat or kill me as you please. But if you want to slander me, don’t waste your effort.”

Selective memory loss, no wonder that Chai Xian said this Chai Xian is a coward, afraid to face himself… Xu Qi’an pointed at Chai Jianyuan’s walking corpse and said:

“Do you forget what you saw before you lost consciousness?”

Chai Xian followed his gaze. Chai Jianyuan was still sitting in the chair, his left shoe removed, revealing six toes.

Seeing this, Chai Xian’s expression suddenly froze, as if turned to stone, staring blankly at Chai Jianyuan’s toes.

Just when everyone thought Xu Qi’an was being too aggressive, pressuring Chai Xian, he said something that surprised everyone present:

“This case hasn’t reached its conclusion yet. Don’t you agree, Chai Xing’er?”