"Clang!" With a deafening crash, the blade struck Zhang Chen's right-hand claws, instantly severing three of them. But it also altered its original trajectory and slammed into the rock and dirt to Zhang Chen's left. Frost spread over the breaks in Zhang Chen's right claws, and his nails could only regrow at an extremely slow pace.
The White Robe scholar's misstep gave Zhang Chen an opening. His left claw, which had long been poised to strike, shot forward and sliced the White Robe scholar cleanly in half at the waist.
The upper half, clutching the **, flew away. Yet dense little snakes suddenly sprouted from the severed waist and connected it to the lower half, rejoining his entire body.
"A Snake Demon? What a ** ability."
The scholar was completely unaffected after recovering from being cut in half. His eyes fixed on Zhang Chen as he prepared to raise his weapon and strike again.
"Let's see if you can still recover after I turn you into a sieve."
All the spring water in the cave floated before Zhang Chen, instantly condensing into more than a hundred nail-like spikes. He had been inspired by the mermaid from before.
Zhang Chen unleashed his Telekinesis and locked onto the White Robe scholar. More than a hundred water spikes shot out at once.
A flicker of surprise appeared in the scholar's emerald-green eyes. He swung the ** in his hand, trying to block Zhang Chen's attack.
The first few water spikes that struck the scholar's blade were shattered outright. But the following hundred tiny spikes were all strengthened by Zhang Chen's Telekinetic Enhancement, coupled with his own control over water. Every one of them moved as fast as a bullet.
Blocking nearly twenty of them was already the scholar's limit. Hundreds of tiny water spikes tore the White Robe scholar to pieces and scattered them across the ground.
That move had consumed two-thirds of Zhang Chen's Telekinesis, leaving him mentally exhausted. He braced himself against the ground with the nails of his left hand and panted heavily.
"Th-this guy... what is he?"
Before Zhang Chen could rest, the chunks of flesh on the ground turned into tiny white snakes and slowly gathered together. In less than three minutes, the completely uninjured White Robe scholar stood before Zhang Chen again.
The scholar rolled his neck, slowly picked up the ** that had fallen beside him, and put it back into his mouth. But then the green pupils in his eyes suddenly dilated. He dropped to the ground and opened his mouth.
"Thousand Snakes, emerge!" The scholar spoke for the first time.
Zhang Chen sensed something in the scholar's dark, hollow mouth that threatened him with death. He immediately withdrew his left claw and stared at the scholar with full concentration.
"Hiss, hiss, hiss!" The next second, hundreds upon thousands of venomous snakes of different colors poured out of the young man's mouth, surging from all directions like a tide that sought to swallow Zhang Chen whole.
Xiao Lan was frightened by the sight as well. Countless venomous snakes packed the cave, and more than ten of them crawled across her body. Yet none harmed her; they all rushed straight toward Zhang Chen.
"Damn it, I'll eat however many you send!"
Zhang Chen put away both claws and released his Telekinesis. His eyes shut as he waited calmly. The instant the first azure venomous snake opened its mouth, its fangs dripping with venom as they were about to touch him—
"Devour!"
Zhang Chen's mouth instantly expanded to an unimaginable size. The tide of snakes all rushed into his mouth at once, vanishing without a sound.
After nearly one-third of the snakes were caught off guard and swallowed by Zhang Chen, the remaining snakes turned around and returned to the scholar's mouth.
"Enough. Stop."
The scholar wiped the corner of his mouth with his thumb, dusted off his clothes, and spoke slowly to Zhang Chen.
Zhang Chen struggled to close his mouth. He staggered and nearly fell face-first to the ground. Seeing the White Robe scholar smile kindly at him, he could not help but feel puzzled.
"Our earlier exchange was merely to test whether you were qualified to take Master Fadao's Golden Sarira. Please forgive any offense." The White Robe scholar lightly bowed and offered Zhang Chen an apology.
Damn it, was there really any need to strike to kill every time just to test my qualifications? If I'd been any weaker, I would've died without even a complete corpse left. Zhang Chen grumbled inwardly. Still, since the other party had no intention of attacking and had apologized, Zhang Chen forced a smile.
"Xiao Lan, are you okay? Walk over slowly and stand behind me." Seeing Xiao Lan's panic, Zhang Chen checked her over. Once he found that she was unharmed, he called her over in case anything happened.
"I am White Robe. And you are?"
"Zhang Chen!"
"Young Hero Zhang, when we fought earlier, I caught a trace of Blood Demon aura from you. I wonder what the situation outside is now, and how that Blood Demon is doing?"
"What Young Hero Zhang? It sounds awful. Just call me Zhang Chen. And things outside are terrible right now. The villagers are still being bewitched one after another, an enormous mermaid in the lake keeps breeding, and most importantly, my friends and I came here on a trip and ended up staying in the lair of the Blood Demon you mentioned."
Zhang Chen was in a terrible mood, so he answered bluntly.
"Oh. Then, with your current strength, even if you obtain the sarira, I fear you will still be somewhat lacking if you intend to deal with that Blood Demon. Since you are the only person who has come here in all these decades, let fate decide everything. Come over and take the sarira."
Zhang Chen first told Xiao Lan, who had just reached his back, to stay where she was. Then he scrutinized the scholar for a long while. Only after confirming there was no danger did he slowly walk over.
When he reached the spring's source, White Robe also stepped back and gestured for him to proceed.
The moment Zhang Chen reached out and touched the white bead, a warm current surged into his body, sweeping away all the fatigue from the earlier battle.
"It truly is a sarira. Then thank you, Brother White Robe, for guarding it for all these decades. I, Zhang Chen, will definitely eliminate that Blood Demon."
With the sarira in hand, Zhang Chen had no Cosmic Bag to store it in. He could only turn the right side of his chest into water and place the sarira inside for the time being.
The instant the sarira entered his body, the Blood Beetle in Zhang Chen's left arm suddenly became restless and tried to burrow out. At the same time, the black bead in his left chest trembled slightly.
White Robe frowned faintly and said slowly,
"You have this kind of Ghostly Creature inside your body as well. The sarira is a treasured artifact of Buddhism and naturally suppresses such Ghostly Creatures. Moreover, the Ghostly Creature Aura in your body is rather weak. If it remains with the sarira, it will soon be reduced to ashes."
"Then?" Zhang Chen could also feel the Blood Beetle's extreme fear of the sarira in his right chest. But what truly concerned him was the change in the black bead in his left chest. For over a year, it had never reacted like this.
However, White Robe had not noticed the black bead in Zhang Chen's left chest.
"Now that the sarira is inside your body, try sensing it. Sense the righteous energy it gives off, then slowly draw that energy back in so it does not leak out. Give it a try."
Zhang Chen closed his eyes and began sensing the sarira in his right chest. Sure enough, it emitted an extremely comforting energy. Zhang Chen slowly tried to control it, drawing back the energy that was leaking out.
Not long afterward, the Blood Beetle in Zhang Chen's arm calmed down, and the black bead in his left chest stopped trembling.
"Thanks, White Robe."
The White Robe scholar smiled and nodded, his expression full of goodwill. Zhang Chen then turned around, preparing to leave with Xiao Lan.
"Wait."
Just as Zhang Chen was about to leave with Xiao Lan on his back, White Robe's voice came from behind him.
"If you do not mind, take me with you. I may be able to lend you a hand when the time comes. Guarding the sarira was originally my duty. Now that it has been taken, I have nowhere to go. I might as well help Master Fadao fulfill his wish."
Another helper would be useful. The White Robe youth was nearly as strong as Zhang Chen, and his regeneration was incredibly powerful. Zhang Chen nodded and said,
"Then let's return to the villa together. With you there, we'll have a few better odds against the Blood Demon. Besides, I have another very powerful companion at the villa."
"To reach the Blood Demon's dwelling, we can take this passage."
White Robe pointed at another rocky passage behind him, signaling for Zhang Chen and the others to follow.
"Calling you White Robe always feels a little strange. Can I call you Little White?" Zhang Chen suddenly asked.
Xiao Lan, on his back, burst out laughing.
"Yes."
The three of them then entered the other rocky passage. Along the way, the White Robe scholar said nothing. Xiao Lan, leaning against Zhang Chen's back, also had her eyes closed and lay still.
This rocky passage was clearly much longer than the one Zhang Chen had taken before. No one spoke, and Zhang Chen gradually grew restless. After walking for a while longer, he finally could not hold it in anymore and said softly,
"Little White, are you a monster? Why can't I sense any Ghostly Creature Aura from you?"
After hearing Zhang Chen's question, White Robe paused for a step before slowly walking again. He said in a low voice,
"Actually, I am much like the Ghostly Creatures you speak of. It is simply that I was formed from the soul of a white snake."
"It should have been eighty years ago. I had just been born not long before then, when children from the city trapped me in a tree hollow with fire. Just as I was about to burn to death, Master Fadao drove the children away and saved me. He gave me water and food, and from then on, he kept me by his side."
"At the time, I had yet to gain intelligence. I only knew that Master Fadao had saved my life, and I felt close to him when I was by his side. So I followed him always, traveling the world with him."
"But after we came to this small island, I could only sense Master Fadao's lifespan dwindling day by day. There was nothing I could do. I could only follow him every day and watch him pass away before me, becoming a white sarira."
"Master Fadao's soul brought the sarira formed from his flesh to the center of this underground spring and placed it here, restoring vitality to the entire island. And I, still without consciousness, treated the sarira as though it were the master himself. I circled it all day, neither eating nor drinking."
"After only a few days, my soul left my body. At that moment, the white sarira flashed with light, and I instantly gained consciousness. I remembered everything from before. I willingly remained behind to guard this relic of the master until his fated person came to take it away, choosing not to go to the other world."
"As I circled the sarira every day, my soul grew stronger day by day. I gradually became able to take human form and use various abilities, eventually becoming what I am now. I waited for more than seventy years before finally meeting you. Perhaps it was because I was changed by the sarira that I do not possess the aura of ordinary Ghostly Creatures."
Though no emotion showed in White Robe's emerald-green eyes, Zhang Chen could feel the turmoil in his heart.
If I hadn't come here on a trip, if Xiao Lan hadn't been taken away, how much longer would this Little White Snake have stayed here? Zhang Chen could not help sighing after hearing this. The way he looked at Little White changed as well.
"Little White, you're so pitiful!" Xiao Lan seemed deeply moved, and tears even dripped onto Zhang Chen's back.
"Alright, Little White. Once this is over, will you go to the other world?" Zhang Chen asked.
"I don't know. We'll talk about it when this is over. Judging from the memories of my past life, Master Fadao was not much weaker than I am, and he knew quite a few Buddhist cultivation techniques. But before the Blood Demon, all of that was no more than an egg thrown against a stone."
"By the way, Little White, you said that sarira can make you stronger. Why don't you enter my body? Once we return to the villa, it'll be hard to explain you to my friends if they see you."
Little White nodded and directly transformed into the tiny snake, no bigger than half a pinky finger, from before. He burrowed into Zhang Chen's right chest and coiled atop the white sarira.
Not long after Zhang Chen and the others continued walking, they saw light shining down ahead. They slowly emerged from the cave entrance...
P.S. The second male lead of this novel has already appeared. Everyone can surely guess his True Form, right? If you like it, please add it to your favorites. If you have recommendation votes, please vote for A Fei. Thank you all for your support.
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