Golden Dragon Abbot grabbed the unconscious Uncle Jiu, about to throw him to the Bronze Armor Corpse to suck his blood.
Just then, with a creak, the doors of the funeral house opened.
A gust of sand-laden wind blew in, carrying a shadow within it.
The figure was wrapped head to toe in black night clothes, with a bulging bundle tied at his waist.
That figure was Bai Yu.
In a hoarse voice, he said:
"The wind and sand are fierce outside. I came in to beg for a cup of wine."
A sharp gleam flared in Golden Dragon Abbot's eyes as he stared fixedly at Bai Yu.
Judging by the strength of the newcomer's blood and vitality, he was at least a Fourth-Rank Martial Artist.
Golden Dragon Abbot laughed heartily.
"Easy enough. This humble monk shall treat you to a jug of wine."
He had no wine on him, so he removed a wine gourd from Uncle Jiu's waist and tossed it over.
That toss already contained fifty percent of his inner force.
The seemingly ordinary wine gourd spun rapidly through the air, whistling like the wind as it shot straight at Bai Yu's face.
Though this move appeared ordinary, Golden Dragon Abbot was merely casting a stone to test the road ahead.
If the newcomer caught it head-on, the wine gourd would shatter, drenching his face in wine and leaving his defenses wide open. Golden Dragon Abbot would naturally seize the chance to strike.
If the newcomer dodged, it meant he lacked confidence and was nothing to worry about.
A faint smile rose at the corner of Golden Dragon Abbot's lips as he watched Bai Yu without blinking.
Bai Yu immediately understood and naturally would not show weakness.
His right hand swept forward like an Azure Dragon grasping with its claws, instantly catching the wine gourd.
Then he spun, like a soaring serpent coiling around itself, dissolving the force within the wine gourd.
He tipped back his head and gulped down a mouthful of wine, laughing.
"Fine wine!"
Golden Dragon Abbot's expression gained a measure of gravity.
Catching the wine gourd so effortlessly meant the newcomer was no weakling. Either his cultivation was deep, or he had been born with immense strength.
Either way, he was no good target.
Golden Dragon Abbot piled a genial smile onto his face and said:
"Since Benefactor has drunk the wine, then please be on your way at once."
"The funeral house is heavy with Killing Intent, even worse than the wind and sand outside."
He could not see through Bai Yu's true capabilities and had no desire to clash with him.
His words carried a veiled warning, telling Bai Yu to leave immediately.
But Bai Yu said:
"Wine without meat—wouldn't that be a pity?"
"Master treated me to wine, so I'll treat Master to meat. Then neither of us owes the other anything."
With that, he untied a bundle from his waist and threw it over.
Golden Dragon Abbot casually slapped out a stream of force and caught the bundle.
In the next instant, his expression changed.
Inside the bundle was a human head!
The head of his eldest disciple, Jueming!
Golden Dragon Abbot's face changed, then immediately returned to normal as he smiled.
"Benefactor speaks true. Fine wine should be paired with fine meat."
"I give you a jug of wine, and you return me a piece of meat. One peck, one drink—no karma is incurred. Excellent, excellent."
He removed his precept blade from his waist, sliced an ear from the head, and stuffed it into his mouth to chew as though he were eating braised pig head.
The benevolent smile remained on his face.
The next moment, he flung down the precept blade and sprang out like a leopard, slamming a palm toward Bai Yu.
"Corpse Mound Palm!"
Golden Dragon Abbot's palm instantly turned deathly white, like bare bone.
The faint shape of a skull emerged in the center of his palm!
A sharp gleam flashed in Bai Yu's eyes. He immediately drew a heavy iron precept blade and swung it to meet the attack.
A streak of snow-bright blade light flashed as the precept blade chopped into Golden Dragon Abbot's palm.
With a crisp clang, it actually rang like metal striking metal.
Golden Dragon Abbot's palm was utterly unharmed!
He could not help smiling smugly.
This Corpse Mound Palm was his signature skill.
It was an unorthodox martial art that had to be cultivated in a forest of corpses.
Once mastered, the practitioner's palms would not only become impervious to blades and spears, but would also carry corpse poison.
Golden Dragon Abbot's palms struck out again and again, trailing howling wind as they targeted vital points all over Bai Yu's body.
Bai Yu hurriedly swung his blade in counterattack, and the two were soon locked in battle.
Golden Dragon Abbot's palms truly were impervious to blades and spears.
With every exchange, Bai Yu's precept blade not only failed to wound him, but was instead knocked slightly out of shape.
A moment later, the skull-like ghost face in Golden Dragon Abbot's palm became increasingly distinct.
With a furious roar, he thrust out his right palm and blasted it against the precept blade.
"Clang—"
A crisp sound rang out. The precept blade, forged entirely from deep-sea heavy iron, was actually smashed cleanly into two pieces!
Golden Dragon Abbot burst into laughter.
"Boy, die! This humble monk shall send Benefactor to salvation today!"
"Corpse Mound Skull Palm!"
His left palm ruthlessly slammed toward Bai Yu's head.
The skull in his palm actually let out a shrill ghostly howl, disrupting Bai Yu's mind and spirit.
Bai Yu retreated while crossing both arms before him, protecting his vital points like a tortoise shell.
"Black Tortoise Guards the North!"
With a bang, Bai Yu was blasted back five steps in succession.
Yet he had ultimately taken Golden Dragon Abbot's palm strike.
Golden Dragon Abbot cried out:
"Good boy, you do have some skill. No wonder you dared come and ruin this humble monk's business."
As he spoke, his hands moved even faster, his twin palms transforming into layer upon layer of afterimages that enveloped Bai Yu's entire body.
Bai Yu did not dare be careless. He unleashed the Four Elephants Five Elements Fist and defended against the Corpse Mound Palm with all his strength.
His footwork was nimble as he employed the Swallow Lingxu Step, as elusive as a flying swallow soaring through the sky.
Though Golden Dragon Abbot's palm techniques were fierce, for the moment he could do nothing to Bai Yu.
He happened to glance back and only then discovered that Lin Jiu on the ground had vanished at some unknown time!
This was Bai Yu's handiwork!
Just now, he had first made a show of mystery, then thrown the human head to disrupt Golden Dragon Abbot's mind, before engaging him in a fierce battle.
Yet in secret, he had sent Old Mo to sneak in and drag Uncle Jiu away.
Golden Dragon Abbot had focused all his attention on Bai Yu, giving Old Mo the opportunity to make his move.
At that moment, Golden Dragon Abbot flew into a rage.
"Boy, how dare you toy with your Buddha!"
"Your Buddha will make you pay! Three Yin Corpse Mound Claw!"
His palms shifted, transforming into claws, and his attack speed surged sharply.
Within a few moves, one claw raked across Bai Yu's chest and tore downward with force!
With a rip, Bai Yu's clothes were torn open across his chest, but the flesh beneath was completely unharmed, leaving only five pale marks.
It was the power of the Vajra Iron Shirt Skill!
Golden Dragon Abbot was startled.
"Boy, despite your young age, you've cultivated external training to such a level that you can withstand my Corpse Mound Claw!"
Bai Yu merely said flatly:
"I have sampled Master's skills. Please excuse me."
With that, he stopped entangling himself with Golden Dragon Abbot. Like a flying swallow, he rose and fell several times before leaping more than ten zhang away.
Golden Dragon Abbot sneered.
"You disrupted your Buddha's affairs and still think you can run!"
"The body of a Fifth-Rank Martial Artist will do nicely for refining a corpse!"
As he spoke, he removed a string of prayer beads from around his neck and hurled it viciously at Bai Yu.
The seemingly ordinary prayer beads were actually all forged from heavy iron, and the whole string weighed over a hundred jin!
The prayer beads flew so fast, shrieking through the air as they smashed directly into Bai Yu's back.
Bai Yu gave a muffled groan and fell from the air.
That blow had made him feel as though his spine were about to snap.
Behind him, Golden Dragon Abbot gave a wild laugh.
"Boy, your external training is impressive, but your bone tempering is lacking!"
"This humble monk shall send Benefactor to salvation today!"
With that, Golden Dragon Abbot pounced forward like a leopard.
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