Chapter 1172
With his hands behind his back and eyes closed, the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King waited. He could feel countless eyes staring intently at him from inside the gates of the Glazed Temple, filled with emotions of anxiety and fear, hatred and resentment, and sorrow and righteous indignation. These emotions were intense and profound, but he regarded them as a gentle breeze, for as a strong person, he never cared about the thoughts of the weak.
A moment later, a graceful and elegant figure slowly emerged from the mountain gate, stood before the Spirit King, and said, "It's been a long time, Spirit King."
The Purple-Pupiled Spirit King opened his eyes, glanced at the other party, and showed surprise. He was not surprised by the other party's gender, as marriage was permitted in the Glazed Temple and it was not surprising to have women there. Rather, he was surprised by the other party's identity.
"I had heard rumors about you before, but I dismissed them as nonsense. I never imagined you would actually join the Buddhist School. Divine General Li, should I call you a traitor? Or should I ask, 'May I ask your Dharma name, Master?'"
Standing before him was none other than the Divine General Li Henzhen. Now she was dressed in a pure white Buddhist robe, her white clothes as Baiyi as snow, holding a string of prayer beads. There was not a trace of ferocity on her, as if she had truly entered the Buddhist order and become a high -Buddhist School monk.
"It was you, Spirit King, who was defeated and killed first, leaving us leaderless and captured by the enemy. Instead of reflecting on your own mistakes, Spirit King mocked me as a traitor. Is this the responsibility of a king?" Henzhen retorted. "Or perhaps, Spirit King is blaming me for not committing suicide, wanting me to learn the Human Race's morality of loyalty to the king and patriotism?"
The Purple-Pupiled Spirit King remained silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "I admit that the defeat in the last battle was my fault, but now that I have returned, why don't you come back to my command?"
Henzhen shook his head and said, "You are not the Spirit King."
"Haven't you believed in my identity after these past few days of fighting?"
"You are merely a remnant in the body of the Spirit King. Even if you possess the same cultivation and martial arts as the Spirit King, you are ultimately just a flawed product." Before his opponent could defend himself, Henzhen continued, "Since my name is 'Henzhen,' whether I am the real deal or a fake is self-evident. This is my obsession as a member of the Monster Race."
The Purple-Pupiled Spirit King remained silent for a moment, then said, "Whether it's true or not, what does it matter? I can lead the Monster Race to rise again and restore its former glory. That's enough. Do you really think you can get along well with the Human Race without any barriers? Haven't you heard that those who are not of our race will surely have different hearts!"
"Of course I wouldn't harbor such naive thoughts, but it's not a big problem. Let alone humans and monsters, can humans get along harmoniously with each other, or even monsters with each other, without any barriers? Since we're all scheming against each other anyway, why bring it up to the difference in our identities? There are many people who are wary of my Monster Race identity, but there are also many who are willing to accept me. Even if I become human one day, those who hate me will still hate me, they'll just find another reason."
"Your words have that 'disillusioned with the world' air of a bald monk. Could it be that you've truly become a Buddhist?"
"I don't believe it at all."
"So you recited Buddhist scriptures?"
"Just looking at a single word gives me a headache."
"Then why are you standing in my way?" the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King asked, puzzled.
Henzhen sighed and said, "After you, Pseudo- Spirit King, appeared, you did not launch a full-scale attack. Instead, you declared that as long as the Glazed Temple sent a high-ranking monk to duel with you every day, you would suspend the offensive for that day. In order to protect the safety of the civilians, and because the Glazed Temple had not yet come up with a plan to eliminate you, they agreed to your conditions."
"Is it alright to tell me about this? Aren't you afraid I'll launch a full-scale attack at any moment?"
"If I don't tell you, do you think you can't guess? If I do tell you, do you think you'll believe me?"
Henzhen countered with a couple of questions, then continued, "The conditions you set were simply an attempt to gradually erode the fighting strength of the higher-ups at Glazed Temple, while simultaneously creating pressure that made everyone feel insecure. If you could force internal strife within Glazed Temple, with everyone refusing to participate in what's called a duel but in reality a suicide mission, that would be even better."
The Purple-Pupiled Spirit King said, "Judging from the performance of the Glazed Temple these past few days, it seems that my plan has not been entirely successful. Those monks who came out to duel with me were all prepared to die. Every time the battle reached its end, I had to be wary of them using a desperate, all-or-nothing killing move."
"That's not what I'm talking about. Normally, to deal with external threats, one must first pacify internal strife. Since we're choosing people to die, it would be logical to send someone like me, whose identity is sensitive and who is suspected of treason, out first. If I have no intention of rebellion, I can prove my loyalty with my death and buy Glazed Temple a day's time. If I do have intentions of rebellion, it would be a good opportunity to eliminate the hidden danger."
It seems they didn't do that.
"The first person to fight was Master Faji of the Sarira Hall. He treated me no differently than anyone else, even showing favoritism. The second person to fight was Master Fazhao of the Scripture Repository. He harbored resentment over the death of his old friend Faming and often made things difficult for me. The third person to fight was Master Fadeng of the Arhat Hall. He was brave and skilled in battle and hated strange things. Although he did not deliberately make things difficult for me, he was still cold to me... Whether they had good intentions or bad intentions towards me, they would rather sacrifice themselves than force me to fight."
"So you're doing this voluntarily today?"
"Today should have been Abbot Fahong's turn, but when everyone questioned me, he was the one who stood against the crowd and took me in. He has also taken good care of me since then, even treating me as his disciple and teaching me everything he knows. Although that person also deserves credit, kindness is kindness, and I can't bear to be ungrateful. So I ambushed him, knocked him unconscious, and took his place in the battle."
The Purple-Pupiled Spirit King's eyes narrowed, and he said impatiently, "What exactly are you trying to say?"
"Actually, whether you are the true Spirit King or a false Spirit King is not important. Our Monster Race doesn't believe in loyalty to a ruler."
"Since you agree with my point of view, why are you blocking my way?"
I'm standing here only to prove one thing to you—you've misjudged people's hearts!
Henzhen flicked the Buddhist beads in his hand, moved swiftly, and unleashed a palm strike that seemed to ride the wind and waves.
"Can Monster Race also possess human hearts?"
The Purple-Pupiled Spirit King neither dodged nor evaded, but responded with a palm strike. In the instant the two clashed, it was as if vortexes were stirred up, which quickly turned into raging storms. The black and white auras intertwined and collided, just like two inseparable bolts of lightning. Suddenly, there was another soft sound, and everything returned to calm.
Henzhen that his cultivation was insufficient, he grunted and retreated rapidly. With each step he took, he lost some of his strength and left a spiderweb-like indentation on the ground. After retreating seven steps, he finally stopped.
"You've practiced Buddhist arts?"
The Purple-Pupiled Spirit King glanced at the lingering Buddhist energy in his palm, revealing an expression of both expectation and deep disappointment. He flicked his hand to disperse it, then rubbed his palm together to form a blade, condensing a blade aura to slash at the opponent's face.
After realizing the gap between himself and his opponent, Henzhen stopped fighting head-on and used his Movement Method to dodge to the side. At the same time, he gathered Power of Anomalies in his left hand and absorbed Buddhist School holy power in his right hand, with the two sources emerging simultaneously without interfering with each other.
The two were locked in a fierce battle. Henzhen fought and retreated, while Spirit King pressed forward relentlessly. Their palm strikes and fist strikes clashed violently, creating a series of explosions like firecrackers. The shockwaves spread outwards, shattering trees and sending rocks flying in all directions.
"The Blazing Glaze, the Arhat Clears the Way!" "Ten Thousand Souls Gather Evil, Divine Souls Become Ferocious Together!"
Henzhen shook his prayer beads, which transformed into a pair of swords. He held the sword in his left hand, gathering Buddhist Power, and the sword light bloomed in bursts, like lotus flowers formed from condensed Sword Qi energy opening one after another, with compassion mixed with a firm heart to subdue demons. He held the sword in his right hand, gathering Power of Anomalies, and the sharp and murderous blade light swept away like a storm.
The swords clashed without interfering with each other, their combined momentum creating a swift and powerful attack, reminiscent of a thousand riders sweeping across a plain. The sword light flashed, transforming into hundreds of cold stars that scattered across the sky. In the blink of an eye, all the vital points on the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King's body were within the attack's range. Then, the chilling sword energy struck straight at the Yellow Dragon of the enemy.
"A combination of Buddhist Power Anomalies techniques?"
The Purple-Pupiled Spirit King scoffed, completely disregarding him. He grabbed with his five fingers, shaping sand into a blade, and his battle intent surged forth, as if he had transformed into a general commanding thousands of troops. Wherever his banners pointed, thousands of troops would sweep in, seemingly ready to crush anyone or anything that stood in his way.
"The Ferocious Spirit Divine Desolation!"
The blade, formed from condensed sand and stone, slashed through the air like a streak of light, directly intercepting the most powerful point of the Henzhen sword. The two One Sword clashed, and the sound of metal striking metal reverberated across the empty battlefield, like the collision of a thunder drum and an electric hammer, the trembling sound lasting for a long time.
The Purple-Pupiled Spirit King first used sheer force to overcome strength, shattering Henzhen energy. Then, he spun in mid-air, annihilating all the Sword Qi flying everywhere, before using the remaining force to slash at Henzhen.
Fortunately, Henzhen's Henzhen Sword of World Purification and Saber of Evil Karma were both rare divine weapons, and the Spirit King had lost the Purple Primal Emperor Slash. She managed to cross the swords in time, blocking the sand and stone blade at the last moment and shattering it. She managed to avoid being cut in two, but a domineering and powerful force still surged into her body, causing her Qi and Blood to churn endlessly.
"Your ability to simultaneously utilize Buddhist techniques and Power of Anomalies, and to ensure that these two opposing attributes do not repel each other, is indeed remarkable. Unfortunately, it is only at the level of addition. Unless you can fuse the two and transform them into entirely new power, you will not be qualified to fight me," commented the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King.
With the help of the Monster Race's extraordinary regenerative abilities, Henzhen quickly calmed her Qi and Blood and healed her internal injuries. However, through the previous exchange, she realized that her chances of winning were slim. Even if she combined Buddhist skills with the Power of Anomalies, she still wouldn't be qualified to fight.