Boom!
A violent roar shook heaven and earth!
The entire Shaolin Temple lay in ruins, with broken walls and shattered structures everywhere. Collapsed piles of wood had been ignited by Thunder Fire, blazing fiercely. Rain poured onto the flames, sending up billowing smoke.
Amid flashes of lightning and peals of thunder, two figures tore through the air.
One fled while the other pursued, both as swift as birds as they streaked onward.
The figure ahead was thin and withered, specks of Buddhist light lingering around him.
The figure close behind crackled with lightning and whirled with hurricanes, like a demonic god bringing about the end of the world.
Cough, cough!
Dark clouds gathered, blotting out the starlight.
Within the dim Buddhist radiance, Master Xinji stopped before a Glazed Pagoda. He braced himself against it and coughed violently, yet a tranquil smile appeared on his face.
"Glazed Pagoda. Is this the burial ground you chose for yourself?"
Duoyan stood before the cliff, raising his eyes toward Master Xinji beside the pagoda with a cold sneer.
Duoyan had gained the upper hand in their previous exchange, but... he had not emerged unscathed. His robes had torn over his left chest, revealing a distinct handprint deeply sunken into his flesh, as though it had been forged from gold.
However, Master Xinji was in far worse shape.
A massive hole had been blasted through Master Xinji's chest, as though his body had been punched clean through!
"Benefactor, this is where this old monk shall enter extinction—and where you shall be delivered from suffering!"
Master Xinji smiled serenely, his voice ethereal and peaceful. He raised his right hand, forming the gesture of plucking a flower.
"All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows; like dew and lightning. Thus should they be contemplated."
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