Daoist Jin Lian didn’t look back again. After landing, he kicked back Heng Yuan, who was about to turn back to save someone, and shouted: “Chu Yuanzhen, take Heng Yuan and go!
“The rest of you, quickly retreat from the main tomb.”
As he spoke, he turned back and stirred up a gust of wind, deflecting the incoming spears. Those spears, wrapped in yin energy, exploded and corroded Daoist Jin Lian’s physical body.
His face suddenly turned pale, his physical form almost instantly transforming into a yin entity.
Taking advantage of this interval, the Houtu Gang members escaped the main tomb along with Chu Yuanzhen and Zhong Li. Heng Yuan was ambushed by Chu Yuanzhen, who sealed his meridians and forcibly took him away.
Daoist Jin Lian no longer lingered to fight, trailing an afterimage as he instantly fled.
Bang!
The stone door of the main tomb slammed shut.
…
“You are not the Master, how dare you seize the Master’s fortune?”
The yellow-robed mummy raised both arms, holding Xu Qi An aloft. Dark purple yin energy spewed from its black mouth.
The temperature in the entire burial chamber plummeted. Frost crept over the platform and stone steps. With a crackling sound, the pools of water on both sides of the passage also froze.
A golden paint lit up on Xu Qi An’s brow, quickly covering his face and moving downward. But his neck was gripped by the mummy, blocking the golden paint and preventing it from covering his body surface to activate the Vajra Indestructible Body.
“Lowly insect, you dare steal the Master’s fortune. I’ll make sure you never reincarnate, devour your flesh, chew your bones, and then imprison your soul in this tomb.
“For all eternity, you’ll suffer endless torment.”
The yellow-robed mummy was furious. The flesh at the corners of its mouth split open, revealing a mouthful of sharp, interlocking fangs.
Then, it bit down on Xu Qi An’s neck.
Clang!
The sound of striking steel rang out. The teeth that could easily bite through refined steel failed to pierce Xu Qi An’s flesh. Somehow, the golden paint had broken through the restraint of the mummy’s hand, turning his neck a brilliant golden color.
The golden paint quickly spread, covering Xu Qi An’s entire body.
A dazzling golden body, like the blazing sun, appeared, its golden light illuminating every corner of the main tomb.
It was as if a celestial god had descended.
“Mere evil spirit… How dare you act so wildly before this monk.”
The first half of the sentence was in Xu Qi An’s voice, but the latter half changed, clearly coming from someone else.
Xu Qi An, now seemingly transformed into a celestial god, reached out his hand, slowly prying open the yellow-robed mummy’s fingers. He could have easily used force to open them but chose this slow, demonstrative method instead.
The yellow-robed mummy’s arms trembled slightly. With its strength, it was unable to wrestle with its opponent.
Clang!
The mummy’s other hand stabbed at Xu Qi An’s chest, still unable to breach the golden body’s defense. Its hand suddenly clenched into a fist, changing from a stab to a punch. In an ear-splitting explosion of energy, it sent Xu Qi An flying.
“Roar…”
The yellow-robed mummy opened its blood-red mouth, transforming into an endless, deep vortex. The four mummies on the high platform were caught in the air current, stumbling and falling into the gaping maw.
Next were the two rows of yin soldiers on the steps, rising into the air one by one, either forced or willingly entering the mummy’s mouth.
With a crunching sound of chewing, the yellow-robed mummy’s body swelled. Its pitch-black nails lengthened, its withered flesh expanded, and armor-like keratin protrusions covered its entire body.
Dark green bristles grew from its head.
It had transformed into a humanoid monster standing ten feet tall.
The drastically changed yellow-robed mummy stood on the high platform, looking up at the dazzling golden body floating in mid-air, and spoke in a muffled voice:
“A lowly insect able to seize fortune turns out there’s a martial artist hidden inside. It seems I’ve slept for too long; such a powerful physical body has appeared in the world.”
“It’s a Buddhist golden body,” Monk Shen Shu replied.
“Buddhist?” The monster tilted its head, its fierce gaze scrutinizing the golden body.
“Oh, you don’t know about Buddhism. It seems you existed in too distant an era,” Monk Shen Shu said calmly. “Coincidentally, I also dislike Buddhism.”
In mid-air, a golden energy wave exploded, and he crashed down like a meteor.
Bang!
Their palms met, wrestling on the high platform. This platform, which had stood for countless ages, began to emit crisp cracking sounds, with cracks spreading and wandering all over.
Finally, with a thunderous sound, it completely collapsed.
The golden body and the mummy fell simultaneously. The latter headbutted the golden body’s forehead, causing golden light to splash like debris and making the golden body dizzy.
Bang bang bang bang!
The mummy’s fists moved so fast they left afterimages, continuously striking the golden body’s chest and forehead, creating splashes of golden light-like debris.
The golden body gripped the mummy’s wrists, and a pained voice said: “Ouch, it hurts so much, Big Wet…”
Then, he asked and answered himself, “Hmm, this yin entity is quite formidable. I’ll start counterattacking…”
As soon as he finished speaking, the mummy delivered a flying kick, sending him soaring into the air.
The golden light streaked away like a line, followed by a thunderous collision sound. He must have hit the dome of the burial chamber, as chunks of broken stone cracked and fell.
The mummy stood amidst the ruins, looking up at the dome, its knees bent in a posture ready to unleash power.
Whoosh!
With a shrill whistle, the golden meteor crashed down again.
The yellow-robed mummy, having prepared early, threw a punch skyward, colliding with the diving golden body.
After a moment of silence like lightning striking, the gravel and murky water on the ground surged upward. The punch’s force transformed into ripple-like gusts of wind, crashing against the four stone walls of the burial chamber. The walls cracked open with fissure after fissure, huge rocks tumbling down.
The yellow-robed mummy’s feet sank deep into the ground. The golden body seized the opportunity to punch, and with the force of muffled thunder, smashed it into the hard rock.
“Big Wet, take off his head,” Xu Qi An shouted.
Just as the golden body was about to advance, the mummy’s blood-red mouth suddenly split open, transforming into a vortex that devoured everything.
Strands of golden paint were sucked into its mouth, instantly dimming the brilliant golden body.
In this critical moment, the golden body beckoned, and from the murky water, the black gold long saber burst forth, clanging as it struck the mummy’s cheek, making its head shake slightly.
The golden body took this chance to escape the vortex’s range, sweeping a leg to strike the back of the mummy’s head. Golden light splashed like debris, and the keratin armor on the back of the mummy’s head shattered.
Bang bang bang!
The whip-like kicks became a blur, continuously striking the back of the mummy’s head, causing energy waves to explode and the keratin to constantly disintegrate and shatter.
At this moment, an image flashed in Xu Qi An’s mind: a rusty ancient sword bursting out of the water, attacking his back.
Without hesitation, he immediately retracted the extended kick and rolled to the side.
The next moment, a shrill sound rang out as the ancient sword, its attack having missed, was gripped in the mummy’s hand.
It was still rusty, but the yin energy emanating from the blade made the golden body’s brow throb violently.
“This is a magical weapon left by the Master. It has absorbed countless years of yin energy in the tomb and is most suitable for breaking your extreme yang protective divine skill,” the mummy said in a low, hoarse voice.
As it spoke, wisps of pitch-black yin energy seeped out of the murky water, merging into its body and repairing the shattered keratin.
What to do? This great tomb is built on a feng shui treasure spot, equivalent to a naturally formed array. The mummy has all the geographical advantages… Xu Qi An had completely handed over his body to Monk Shen Shu, but his consciousness was extremely clear. He instinctively began to analyze, considering how he would deal with this evil entity if it were up to him.
Monk Shen Shu put his palms together, and a voice of great compassion rang out: “Put down the butcher’s knife and turn back to the shore.”
The voice contained a certain irresistible power. The mummy’s hand holding the sword suddenly trembled, seeming unable to steady the weapon. It switched to gripping the sword with both hands, its arms shaking.
Taking advantage of this moment of resistance, the golden body soared into the air, floating above the mummy, its hands quickly forming seals.
A metallic “卍” symbol condensed above the golden body’s head, followed by more “卍” symbols forming a circular array with the brilliant golden body at the center.
The golden body closed its eyes, continuing to form hand seals so quickly only afterimages could be seen.
Correspondingly, the “卍” symbols grew increasingly brilliant, emitting dazzling golden Buddhist light that bathed the burial chamber in a bright golden glow.
Suddenly, all hand seals stopped, returning to a palm-together position.
Boom!
The air emitted a muffled explosion as a column of golden light burst forth from the “卍” symbol array, enveloping the yellow-robed mummy.
Hiss hiss…
As water poured into boiling oil, black smoke rose. The mummy, engulfed in golden light, let out a shrill roar.
Before the golden light dispersed, Monk Shen Shu said leisurely: “Renounce anger, abandon rage, cease hostilities.”
As the golden light column dissipated, the mummy’s body was covered in burn marks, its keratin cracked, revealing pitch-black flesh beneath.
But it no longer felt any anger or killing intent. It didn’t even want to continue fighting, only wishing to settle the matter peacefully and coexist harmoniously.
Monk Shen Shu had no such thoughts. He descended from the sky and delivered a head pat attack.
His palm pressed on the mummy’s head. With a “bang” of exploding energy, the hard bristles on the mummy’s head shattered, and the keratin cracked, revealing a black, pulsating brain like a heart.
In this instant, clarity returned to the mummy’s eyes. It broke free from the restraint imposed on it. With a “crack crack” sound, its skull regenerated in an extremely short time. It reached out and grasped the bronze sword that had burst out of the water.
The sword countered with an upward slash.
Slash… This bronze sword said to have been left by the mummy’s master, easily cut through Shen Shu’s Vajra Indestructible Body, leaving a bone-deep wound on his chest.
What flowed out was neither golden nor red blood, but a pitch-black liquid.
Poisoned?! Xu Qi An’s heart sank, feeling waves of dizziness in his brain.
The two powerful physical bodies battled in the spacious burial chamber, fighting so fiercely that rocks rolled everywhere, murky waves surged, and the entire tomb shook and trembled.
Throughout the process, Monk Shen Shu used Buddhist methods to consume the mummy’s yin energy, while the mummy used the bronze sword to erode Monk Shen Shu’s golden body.
Unlike before, this was the mummy’s home turf – a yin-energy-rich underground tomb. Monk Shen Shu, on the other hand, was in a state of “castles in the air,” unable to replenish his energy.
“You’re no match for me. Why don’t you flee?” The mummy thrust its sword into the golden body’s chest, speaking with a voice like muffled thunder.
“Now that you’ve awakened, if I don’t kill you, no living beings nearby can escape,” Monk Shen Shu replied.
“I don’t wish to destroy this tomb. Return the Master’s fortune, and I’ll let you go.”
“It can’t be returned,” Monk Shen Shu shook his head regretfully.
“Then die!”
Just as it was about to crush its enemy’s internal organs, suddenly, a drumming sound echoed through the spacious burial chamber.
Thump thump, thump thump, thump thump!
The drumming grew more intense, its frequency increasing faster and faster.
The mummy suddenly felt its arm trembling, realizing it was its opponent’s heart beating violently.
When the heartbeat reached a certain point, a flame-like demonic pattern emerged from the brow, burning with pitch-black flames.
Xu Qi An’s body began to swell, his healthy bronze skin turning deep black, terrifying blue veins bulging out as if about to burst through the skin.
In just a few seconds, he transformed from a human into a humanoid monster.
This monster slowly stretched its body, making cracking sounds from within. It raised its face, showing an intoxicated expression: “Feels good…”
It raised its pitch-black hand, gripped the sword blade, and gently crushed it.
Damn, I almost forgot about Monk Shen Shu’s true form… Xu Qi An’s heart trembled at this sight.
All along, Monk Shen Shu had maintained the image of a gentle high monk before him. Gradually, he had forgotten the demon-like form when Heng Hui was possessed back then.
He had forgotten how that pitch-black, terrifying severed hand was full of evil and horror.
“I don’t want to reveal my indestructible body. It’s too consuming for me and requires constantly devouring the flesh and blood of living beings to replenish myself. But I hate killing, I hate it immensely.”
Monk Shen Shu said calmly.
He looked at the mummy with cold eyes, full of majesty, as if an ancient king had awakened. Cold, confident, looking down on the world.
“Who exactly are you? No, what kind of monster are you?”
Seeing this scene, the mummy showed an expression of extreme terror, roaring with false bravado.
The answer it received was Monk Shen Shu’s palm, slowly pressing towards its head. The mummy quickly retreated, unwilling to resign itself to its fate.
But Monk Shen Shu seemed to ignore the distance. His palm still moved slowly, yet unstoppably pressed onto the head covered with coarse bristles, exerting force silently.
Bang!
In the muffled explosion of energy, the mummy’s eyes became blank for an instant. Its evil body went limp as if losing skeletal support, and it collapsed.
“Mas-Master… I can’t wait for you anymore.” The mummy spoke with difficulty, full of reluctance.
Monk Shen Shu forced out a drop of essence blood from his fingertip, bent down, and drew a reversed “卍” symbol on the mummy’s forehead.
A golden light flashed and sank into the mummy’s body, rendering it unable to move.
Feeling the changes in its body and knowing it had been sealed, the mummy showed a bewildered expression and asked in a low voice: “Why don’t you kill me?”
Monk Shen Shu could no longer maintain an indestructible body. The flame-like demonic pattern dissipated, the blackness receded, and he returned to Xu Qi An’s appearance.
The entire process lasted only about ten seconds.
Monk Shen Shu said gently: “Killing you would be easy. You’re just a cast-off shell.
“Who is your Master?”
…
They rushed out of the burial chamber, through the passage, and back to the maze.
There was no sound of yin soldiers pursuing from behind, which made everyone feel relieved. Chu Yuanzhen solemnly undid Heng Yuan’s golden gong.
Bang!
The burly monk’s fist, as big as a clay pot, smashed into Chu Yuanzhen’s face. After hitting him, he turned around without a word, intending to return to the main tomb.
Daoist Jin Lian stopped him, saying gravely: “Going back to die?”
Heng Yuan, expressionless, said in a low voice: “Get out of the way!”
Daoist Jin Lian’s face was as pale as death, his eyes cloudy, and his condition very abnormal. He shook his head and said: “We’ve already entered the maze. You can’t go back.”
Heng Yuan clenched his fist tightly, the veins on the back of his hand bulging. He said hoarsely: “Why did you bring me out? I owe him a life, I owe him a life…”
His voice gradually changed from hoarse to choked.
No one had expected that this tough-guy-style martial monk would have reddened eyes.
“Daoist, you shouldn’t have brought him,” Heng Yuan shook his head slowly:
“When we joined the Heaven and Earth Society, we promised you we would help each other. But this has nothing to do with Lord Xu. He’s not one of us in the Heaven and Earth Society. You shouldn’t have asked for his help.
“He’s always like this. In times of crisis, he always thinks of others first, sacrificing himself for others. But you can’t take his kindness as an obligation.
“Now Number Five has been found, and not a single member of the Heaven and Earth Society is missing. But… what face do we have to go back to?
“Daoist Jin Lian, I’m very disappointed in you, extremely disappointed.”
In the capital, when they learned through the Earth Book fragment that Xu Qi An had died in battle in Yunzhou, Heng Yuan was fingering his prayer beads in meditation and crushed the beads that had accompanied him for over a decade.
But that time it was something happening far away in Yunzhou. Apart from grief, he was helpless.
This time was different. He had personally participated in this and witnessed everyone abandoning Xu Qi An to escape. Great sadness and anger filled his chest.
It made Heng Yuan doubt himself and his companions.
Daoist Jin Lian wanted to speak but hesitated. He wanted to explain, but remembering Xu Qi An’s final push, he remained silent.
Chu Yuanzhen looked dejectedly at the two arguing, the spirit of a green-robed swordsman roaming the jianghu completely gone, more like a stray dog.
The image of Xu Qi An staying behind alone in the tomb kept flashing in his mind.
Although he hadn’t known Xu Qi An for long, he greatly admired this Constable. Even before meeting him, he had gained a deep understanding of this person through the internal communications of the Heaven and Earth Society.
Heng Yuan said he was kind-hearted, Number One said he was a philanderer, and Li Miaochen said he was a chivalrous man who might neglect minor matters but never major ones.
In Chu Yuanzhen’s own view, Xu Qi An was a friend worth making, and his character and morals were worthy of affirmation.
Chu Yuanzhen felt that the greatest gain from this return to the capital was befriending Xu Qi An, an interesting and admirable friend.
Such a person had unhesitatingly stayed behind to save everyone.
It’s just like something you would do. How are we going to explain this to Number Three… Chu Yuanzhen’s eyes grew hot, his vision gradually blurring.
“He saved my life. I said I would repay him…” As he spoke, Heng Yuan’s face suddenly became fierce, muttering:
“What face do I have to live on? What face do I have to live on?”
“Not good, his Buddha’s heart is about to collapse,” Jin Lian’s expression changed slightly. He pressed his fingertip to Heng Yuan’s brow, soothing his frenzied thoughts, and calming his primordial spirit.
Heng Yuan’s eyes regained some clarity. He roughly pushed away Daoist Jin Lian’s hand.
“Heng Yuan, things are not as you think,” Daoist Jin Lian shouted. “Xu Qi An is…”
He was about to tell him that Xu Ning Yan was Number Three, the holder of an Earth Book fragment, and a member of the Heaven and Earth Society.
Just then, the entire underground palace suddenly began to shake, large stones constantly falling from the dome.
Daoist Jin Lian’s voice stopped abruptly. He frowned and looked up: “The underground palace is about to collapse.”
For some unknown reason, the entire underground palace was on the verge of collapsing at any moment.
Zhong Li suddenly said: “Something’s wrong with the underground palace. The array is breaking down on its own. We, we can get out now…”
Then, she handed Lina on her back to Heng Yuan: “Help me carry her. Take her out.”
Another huge rock fell, heading straight for Zhong Li and Lina.
“Watch out!”
The thought of saving someone overrode his grief. Heng Yuan pulled the two girls away, taking Number Five in the process. He said softly: “Alright, I’ll take her out.”
Miss Zhong was plagued by misfortune. In the collapsing underground palace, it was indeed unwise for her to continue carrying Number Five.
Everyone fled, indeed no longer losing their way. Amidst falling stones, they returned to the burial chamber connected to the thieves’ tunnel.
Feeling he had completed his task, Heng Yuan let out a breath and stopped. Turning back, he found that Zhong Li hadn’t followed.
She, she went back… Heng Yuan froze in place, suddenly feeling a heart-piercing pain.