Caomiao Village.
The next morning.
Sunlight spilled into the dilapidated temple.
Puzhi had turned back into the kindly old monk with benevolent features.
He sat cross-legged on the dead grass, his lips moving silently as he recited scripture.
Suddenly.
A clatter of footsteps shattered the temple's quiet.
"Zhang Xiaofan, where do you think you're going?"
"Stop! I'll catch you yet!"
A few children, barely grown, charged in like a pack of beasts released from their cage.
At their head was a handsome boy with a determined glint in his eyes. It was Lin Jingyu.
The one running in front looked rather slow-witted and was panting hard. Who else could it be but Zhang Xiaofan?
The two chased and tussled around the temple, kicking up clouds of dust.
Puzhi furrowed his brow.
His chanting had been interrupted, and he was somewhat displeased.
But he didn't lose his temper. He only watched in silence.
"Got you!"
Lin Jingyu suddenly pounced, pinning Zhang Xiaofan to the ground.
His hands clamped tightly around Zhang Xiaofan's neck.
It was only horseplay between children.
But Lin Jingyu was naturally competitive, and he didn't know how to control his strength.
Zhang Xiaofan's face instantly turned a purplish red, and he flailed wildly.
Just as things were about to turn serious,
Puzhi sighed.
He swept his sleeve.
A gentle yet irresistible gust of wind rose from the ground.
The two boys, locked in a struggle, suddenly felt themselves grow weightless.
An invisible hand pulled them apart and set them lightly down on separate piles of grass.
"Amitabha."
"Young benefactors, you're only playing."
"Why hurt each other, or even fight to the death?"
Puzhi pressed his palms together and intoned a Buddhist prayer.
Lin Jingyu froze.
He looked at the old monk in the moon-white robes. The fierce glint in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by a hint of curiosity.
This monk was incredibly powerful.
How had he done that just now?
Zhang Xiaofan, meanwhile, gasped for breath, clutching his neck and coughing nonstop. He looked at Puzhi with awe.
Puzhi's gaze swept over the two boys.
In that instant,
a glimmer of admiration flashed in his eyes.
The handsome boy had an exceptional physique and outstanding aptitude!
If he embarked on the path of cultivation, he would surely advance by leaps and bounds.
The slower boy was not as gifted, but he had a resilient spirit.
As long as he trained hard, perhaps he, too, could achieve something remarkable.
If only they could join Tianyin Temple...
The moment this thought appeared,
yesterday's encounter at Qingyun Sect came back to him.
"Forget it."
Puzhi shook his head, a trace of despondency passing through his eyes.
The divide between sects was like an uncrossable chasm.
Who in this world was truly willing to break free of the shackles?
Night fell.
Dark clouds veiled the moon, and the stars shone dimly.
The temperature inside the ruined temple seemed several degrees lower than outside.
Cold winds swept through, making the dying candle flame flicker.
Puzhi's eyes flew open.
An undisguised killing intent slithered toward him like a venomous snake.
The aura was cold and sinister. Whoever it belonged to could not be a good person.
Could it be a demon from the Demon Cult?
Puzhi tensed, instinctively tightening his grip on the Jade Prayer Beads.
"Whoosh!"
A shadow darted over the ruined temple like a specter, moving at astonishing speed.
Its target wasn't him.
It was the village!
Puzhi was about to get up and investigate when a cry rang out from a nearby house.
The voice was young, filled with terror.
It was that boy from the day, Lin Jingyu!
"Wretch, how dare you!"
Puzhi roared, his moon-white robes billowing around him.
He turned into a streak of golden light, smashed through the roof, and shot into the sky.
In midair,
a mysterious figure clad in black was carrying the unconscious Lin Jingyu, speeding away on a trail of black mist.
"You meddling old baldhead!"
Seeing Puzhi pursue him,
the black-clad figure turned and hurled Lin Jingyu at him like a sandbag.
Puzhi was horrified.
If he let the boy fall, he would surely die.
What a vicious demon!
Without hesitation, he forcibly drew back his attack, spread his arms, and caught the incoming Lin Jingyu with gentle Buddhist power.
The instant Puzhi touched Lin Jingyu,
everything changed.
A multicolored shadow suddenly darted out from inside Lin Jingyu's collar.
It was as fast as lightning!
They were too close.
And Puzhi was focused entirely on protecting the boy, leaving himself completely undefended.
"Hiss!"
A sharp pain shot through the back of Puzhi's hand.
He looked closely.
A colorful centipede with seven tails had bitten down hard on his hand, its fangs sunk deep into his flesh.
The Seven-tailed Centipede!
One of the most poisonous creatures in the world!
"Argh!"
Puzhi cried out in pain.
By the time he tried to shake it off, it was already too late.
A streak of black spread from the back of his hand, quickly reaching his entire arm.
Before this deadly poison,
the protective Buddhist radiance around him melted away like frost beneath the blazing sun.
"Ha ha ha!"
"Puzhi, you're a revered monk of Tianyin Temple, and yet look at you now!"
The black-clad figure laughed uproariously, his voice echoing through the night and sounding especially grating.
Puzhi endured the pain.
First he sealed his heart meridians, then set Lin Jingyu down on the ground.
"The Seven-tailed Centipede..."
"Are you from the Myriad Poisons Sect?"
Soon,
Puzhi lifted his head, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at the black-clad figure in the air.
"The Myriad Poisons Sect?"
"That lowlife sect doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as me."
"Hand over the Blood Devouring Pearl, and I'll leave your corpse intact."
The black-clad figure's voice was edged with disdain.
He hovered in the air, looking down at Puzhi, greed and coldness visible behind his black veil.
At this,
Puzhi's heart turned cold.
He had thought the Demon Cult had come for revenge.
He hadn't expected
the attacker to be after the Blood Devouring Pearl.
"Never!"
Puzhi gritted his teeth.
The Blood Devouring Pearl was an evil object of great menace.
If it fell into the hands of someone so wicked, countless lives would be lost.
"You won't take the easy way, so you'll take the hard way."
The black-clad figure had run out of patience.
He waved his right hand, and a celestial sword exuding a bone-chilling aura appeared out of thin air.
The blade trembled, brimming with killing intent.
Puzhi's pupils contracted sharply.
This wasn't a technique of the Demon Cult.
This was... orthodox Daoist magic!
And extremely profound Daoist magic at that!
"Who are you, really?!"
Puzhi was shaken to his core.
How could someone like this, from among the righteous, consort with poisonous creatures and covet an evil pearl?
Could it be Qingyun Sect?
No, impossible.
Qingyun Sect was the leader of the righteous path. How could they...
Before Puzhi could make sense of it,
the black-clad figure's sword strike arrived.
It sealed off every escape route.
Before the sword energy even reached him,
the ruined temple's walls had already cracked under the invisible pressure.
At that critical moment,
"BOOM!"
Thunder boomed through the night sky.
But the thunder didn't come from the heavens. It came from the east!
A dazzling blue sword light tore through the darkness like a meteor, streaking across the sky.
It moved so fast that it outran the sound itself.
"Clang!"
A clear, ringing sword cry resounded throughout Caomiao Village.
The black-clad figure's deadly strike was knocked three inches off course by the sudden blue light.
A terrifying shock wave exploded in midair.
The ruined temple's roof instantly disintegrated into dust.
Puzhi looked up sharply.
Above the ruined temple stood a tall figure, riding a sword.
The person wore the robes of a Qingyun Sect disciple, his sleeves snapping in the fierce wind.
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