Down the Mountain (Two-in-One)

The gift Ben Zhen had given him was no light matter.

To put it somewhat exaggeratedly, this small golden box carried the most important, most precious foundation and inheritance of Treasure Pearl Temple, the foremost martial sacred ground of Great Yan.

Among them, the three Great Return Pills alone were already worth a fortune beyond measure, treasures rare in the world.

In the Outside World, these pills even bore the fine names of divine pills and sacred pills.

They were said not only to revive the dead and restore flesh to bare bones, but also to strengthen a martial artist's vitality and improve the quality of their Inner Qi, helping them break through to higher martial realms.

To martial artists who drifted through the jianghu, never knowing whether they would live to see tomorrow, these two effects were absolutely priceless treasures they could only dream of.

Thus, whenever a Great Return Pill appeared in the jianghu, it would inevitably stir up a bloody storm.

Countless martial artists of the Muscle Tendon Strengthening Realm, Blood Tempering Realm, and even Internal Qi Realm would fight over it. Yet now, there were three whole pills inside this box.

Feeling its heavy weight, Gu Han could imagine how many people in the jianghu would stop at nothing to hunt him down if news that he possessed three Great Return Pills ever leaked out.

All for the faintest hope of seizing a pill.

This was the preciousness of Treasure Pearl Temple's Great Return Pills, hailed as the pinnacle achievement of pill refinement in this world.

But compared to the Great Return Pills, what was truly precious to Gu Han were the Treasure Pearl Temple's exclusive pill-refining methods engraved upon that sheet of gold foil, as well as the martial techniques created by Patriarch Bodhidharma.

The former was the crystallization of the painstaking efforts of countless master alchemists from Treasure Pearl Temple's Medicine Master Institute, gathered through innumerable experiments over hundreds and thousands of years.

The latter was a martial technique created by the true Number One Martial Artist of All Time in this world, from ancient times to the present.

He was known as the founder of Zen Buddhism and the ancestor of martial arts, a terrifying existence who had relied solely on himself to completely break through the Great Accomplishment of Internal Qi and step into another legendary domain.

Compared with the Great Return Pills, these two things might have been Gu Han's most important gains in this life.

They were the foundation upon which he would stride across countless worlds—things that would remain useful in his next life, and even the life after that.

"Amitabha! Abbot, I am overwhelmed by such generous favor. Please rest assured: so long as Jingming does not die today, I will certainly do my utmost to safely lead my junior brothers and martial nephews down the mountain, preserving the final spark of Treasure Pearl Temple."

Thinking this, Gu Han drew a deep breath. He carefully put away the golden box and the Purple Gold Secret Key, hiding them close to his body, before chanting a Buddhist invocation and solemnly making his promise.

He did have selfish motives, but he was not, in the end, a cold-blooded and ungrateful man.

The reason he had hesitated earlier was merely because he feared that if he fell in this life, his next life might never recover from the blow.

But now that he held the supreme crystallization of wisdom from Great Yan's foremost martial sacred ground, Treasure Pearl Temple, Gu Han believed that even if his next life began against every possible current, he would surely rise swiftly and climb to the summit.

"Good! Jingming, this old monk truly did not misjudge you. With those words from you, I can rest easy. The hour is already late. Take your junior brothers and martial nephews and leave at once. My fellow junior brothers, Martial Nephew Yuanyin, and I will do everything we can to buy you time."

Seeing Gu Han agree, Abbot Ben Zhen felt joy welling up from the depths of his heart. He smiled at Gu Han as he spoke.

"Mm! Take care, Abbot. I hope we may meet again someday. Jingyuan, let us go!"

Gu Han nodded lightly at those words and did not say much more, immediately urging Jingyuan to leave with him.

He was not one to dither. He knew the situation was critical: the longer they delayed, the greater the danger. Naturally, he could not wait to depart.

"Senior Brother, all right, let's go now!"

Jingyuan obediently nodded. Then he touched his neck, and his expression suddenly changed as he cried anxiously, "Oh no! Senior Brother, I left something very important in my meditation chamber. You go on first. I'll catch up after I retrieve it."

"What could possibly be more important than your life? Leave it behind and come with me!"

Gu Han frowned as he looked at the anxious Jingyuan and rebuked him.

"No, I can't! That thing is truly important. I have to go get it!"

Hearing Gu Han's words, Jingyuan, who was usually obedient and well-behaved, unexpectedly argued with him. His eyes stared at Gu Han with unwavering resolve.

"Then... all right! Go and return quickly. Once I've settled the martial nephews at the foot of the mountain, I'll come meet you."

Seeing the determination in Jingyuan's eyes, Gu Han pondered for a moment before finally nodding in agreement.

Everyone had things they held fast to and cherished. Those things might be worthless to others, yet to the person himself, they could be more important than life itself. Gu Han was not Jingyuan; he could neither make that decision for him nor had the right to do so.

"Whew..."

"Thank you for understanding, Senior Brother. I will definitely return as quickly as possible and never hold you back."

Seeing Gu Han agree, Jingyuan smiled and spoke.

"Mm, then we'll split into two groups. You go retrieve your things, while I lead the disciples in retreat. We'll rendezvous afterward!"

Gu Han nodded at the smiling Jingyuan, then swiftly led the many disciples away from this place of trouble and strife. They were reluctant to leave, and some even had tears glistening in their eyes.

"Alas! Amitabha. May the Buddha bless them. I only hope Jingming and the others return safely from this journey!"

Watching the disciples leave behind Gu Han, Ben Zhen, the former Abbot of Treasure Pearl Temple, let out a sigh. After chanting a Buddhist invocation, he closed his eyes to rest and quietly awaited the coming battle alongside the other monks of Treasure Pearl Temple.

"Charge! Kill!"

"Kill! Capture that brat Zhu Hong alive and rule the fertile Central Plains!"

"Roar, roar, roar! I'll slaughter all the men of the Central Plains! I'll seize the lands of the Central Plains! I'll seize the women of the Central Plains!"

About three quarters of an hour after Gu Han left the Great Hero Hall—

Outside Treasure Pearl Temple, waves of battle cries suddenly rose.

Under the leadership of the Barbarian King, A Yanda, countless barbarian soldiers advanced even faster than previously estimated, closing in on Treasure Pearl Temple like a swarm of crazed ants.

Wherever they went, they killed anyone they saw and burned everything they encountered. Before long, they reached the exterior of the Great Hero Hall.

"Haha! Ben Zhen, I never expected this old monk to still be alive. It has been many years. Have you been well?"

Boom!

With a thunderous crash, the doors of Treasure Pearl Temple's Great Hero Hall, which had stood for more than a century, were kicked open by Wang Zhongyi, a half-gray-haired man clad in silver armor. He strode inside with loud laughter.

"Wang Zhongyi, you traitor who has betrayed his country and forgotten his ancestors! Over the years, you have slaughtered countless common people. You deserved to die long ago and be cast into the eighteen layers of hell! Yet today, you dare lead barbarians to bring calamity upon Treasure Pearl Temple. I, Yuanyin, will now uphold justice on Heaven's behalf and rid the world of you, you rebel!"

Before Ben Zhen could say anything, the current Abbot Yuanyin could no longer endure Wang Zhongyi's arrogance. The Inner Qi of his Great Accomplishment erupted from his body. With one stomp, he shattered countless marble tiles beneath his feet, then stepped forward and shot out like an arrow.

In midair, his fan-sized palm turned over, as though it had seized the entire heavens and earth in an instant.

The space within several feet seemed to darken before his palm came crashing down toward Wang Zhongyi with overwhelming force.

One of Patriarch Bodhidharma's three supreme martial techniques—Heaven-Overturning Palm!

"Not good! Your Majesty, save me!"

Seeing Yuanyin's terrifying strike, Wang Zhongyi immediately felt his temples throb. He shouted frantically, all traces of his earlier arrogance gone.

Though he was nearly fifty and could be considered to have reached the Great Accomplishment of Internal Qi, his true strength was hardly much greater than that of an ordinary Minor Accomplishment of Internal Qi martial artist.

Otherwise, he would not have been severely wounded and forced to vomit blood by a single arrow from Xu Yuan, the great general under King Ming Zhu Hong, that day.

Now, facing Yuanyin, the Abbot of Treasure Pearl Temple, who had cultivated Bodhidharma's martial techniques and was even a notch stronger than Xu Yuan, how could he possibly be a match for him?

He truly could not withstand even one move!

"Presumptuous!"

Just as Wang Zhongyi was about to die beneath Yuanyin's hand, a furious roar came from the Outside World. In the next instant, everyone's vision blurred, and they saw Abbot Yuanyin flying backward even faster than he had charged out.

He smashed through several pillars in succession before finally crashing heavily into the golden Buddha statue, more than a zhang tall, within the hall. Only then did he barely come to a stop.

"Pfft!"

Yuanyin spat out a mouthful of blood. Raising his head, he stared in disbelief at the man beside Wang Zhongyi, who held a Halberd and was covered in thick hair, his beard and hair bristling as he stood there like a savage beast.

A name immediately surfaced in his heart.

The ruler of the Great Barbarian Kingdom—A Yanda!

"Hurry, all of you, hurry up! If we can hold on for another quarter of an hour, we'll reach the foot of the mountain. Once we get there, you'll be safe."

Below the mountainside of Treasure Pearl Mountain, Gu Han repeatedly urged the half-grown monk youths before him. They had followed him on the run for more than two hours and seemed on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion.

But at that moment, a mocking voice suddenly rang out.

"Oh, safe? How laughable. With this general here, you dogs who have lost your homes still dream of escaping alive? What wishful thinking! Fine then. Since you're tired, this general shall be merciful today and send you to hell for a good rest!"

As soon as those words fell, a man clad in black armor appeared before them. His long hair hung loose over his shoulders, a long saber in his hand and bloodlust filling his eyes. He led more than a dozen barbarian soldiers through the dead grass, all of them wearing mocking expressions.

"Heh! I wondered who it was. So it's Wang Lang, the defeated dog beneath my hand. More than ten years ago, you acted wildly before me and nearly got beaten to death by one punch. Yet today, upon seeing me, you still dare be so arrogant. You truly don't know whether you are alive or dead!"

Gu Han searched his memories briefly upon seeing the long-haired man and immediately recalled his identity.

Though this man had grown far more mature than the youth from more than ten years ago, who could barely speak clearly and possessed more beastliness than humanity, he also looked much more like a man now.

But his eyes had not changed.

They were unforgettable at a glance, lingering in one's mind for a long time. They were the eyes of slaughter, eyes that truly regarded human lives as grass and dirt.

No matter how greatly such a person changed, Gu Han still recognized him at once.

"A defeated dog? Beat me to death? Jingming, it was you, you beast!"

Hearing Gu Han's words, Wang Lang stared at him for a long while. He instantly recalled everything he had suffered more than ten years ago, and killing intent surged in his eyes. Then, as though remembering something, he gave a savage grin.

"Hahaha! Jingming, don't try to bluff me. Do you think I don't know about you? Ever since you reached the Great Accomplishment of Muscle Tendon Strengthening more than ten years ago, your martial cultivation has remained stagnant. No matter how many resources Treasure Pearl Temple gave you, you could never break through to the Blood Tempering Realm.

"Even now, I suppose you're still merely a tiny Blood Tempering martial artist, aren't you? Hahaha! Heaven is helping me at last, allowing me, Wang Lang, to avenge the bloody grudge of more than ten years ago. Jingming, die!"

The moment Wang Lang finished speaking, the killing intent around him could no longer be restrained. In the next instant, he twisted the long saber in his hand and unleashed a Mount Hua-Cleaving Strike, chopping straight at Gu Han.

Its momentum and might made it seem as though Gu Han would be cleaved in two the very next moment.

"Alas! There is a road to heaven, yet you refuse to take it; there is no gate to hell, yet you throw yourself in! Wang Lang, more than ten years ago, I showed mercy and took Wang Zhongyi's threat into consideration, which was why I did not beat you to death.

"Yet all these years, instead of cherishing that chance and doing good deeds to accumulate virtue, you threw your lot in with the barbarians, committed every manner of evil, and slaughtered the common people.

"Today, Gu Han has returned to secular life. It is just the right time to uphold justice on Heaven's behalf. Killing you with one punch should not be too late!"

Watching Wang Lang's body sweep toward him, Gu Han lowered his eyes and sighed softly. He spoke calmly, then—

He threw a punch!