At the foot of Zhongnan Mountain.
Green bamboo and sturdy pines, snowflakes dancing through the air.
Little Dragon Girl stood in midair. Though she said nothing, she made everyone feel as if they could barely breathe.
Golden Wheel Dharma King bore the brunt of it.
Not only because she had injured Qiu Chuji and the others.
But also because she was Mongolian.
Twenty years ago, Quanzhen Sect's Sect Leader, Wang Chongyang, had spent his life fighting the Mongolians. His old wounds kept returning, and his chronic illness claimed him when he was barely over forty.
This had left the founder of the Ancient Tomb Sect, Lin Chaoying, to die alone.
No matter what kind of woman she was, even someone as innocent as Little Dragon Girl was deeply sentimental.
If the Mongolians had not invaded the Central Plains, Wang Chongyang would not have rejected Lin Chaoying. Perhaps the two of them could have ended up together.
In the tomb, she had only two family members.
Lin Chaoying and Granny Sun.
So, naturally, she had no fondness for the Mongolians.
"Mm!"
Feeling the pressure coming from Little Dragon Girl, Golden Wheel Dharma King grunted.
Even his three-zhang-tall body began to tremble.
"An immortal? So what if you're an immortal?!"
Golden Wheel Dharma King looked up at Little Dragon Girl, his eyes wild as a beast's.
He threw back his head and roared. Cracking sounds rang throughout his body, and his three-zhang frame returned to normal, but a layer of golden light now enveloped him.
The sight even resembled an arhat in a Buddhist golden body descending to the mortal world.
"Fairy, be careful! That's the Esoteric Buddhist secret art, Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill. Its power is immense."
Seeing this, Qiu Chuji's pupils contracted, and he hurriedly warned her.
"Amitabha Buddha."
The Old Monk was also astonished by the change in Golden Wheel Dharma King.
"It is said that when Shakyamuni was still a prince, he was once blocked from worshipping Buddha by a giant elephant. The venerable one lifted the elephant by its trunk and hurled it into the air, and it did not fall for three days."
"Hahaha, exactly!"
Golden Wheel Dharma King laughed, baring his large golden teeth.
"Each level of Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill adds the strength of one dragon and one elephant. This old monk has cultivated it to the tenth level, giving me the strength of ten dragons and ten elephants. I could cut down even an immortal!"
Golden Wheel Dharma King bellowed. Behind him, the phantom of a dragon and an elephant appeared, roaring at Little Dragon Girl.
He took one step, and the earth shook as if an underground dragon had turned over.
Then he bent his knees before suddenly straightening them, leaping into the air and punching toward Little Dragon Girl.
Before his fist even reached her, its fierce wind nearly blew the people on the ground away.
The air shrieked as it was torn apart.
His golden fist carried a savage, primeval force—brutal and unyielding.
Little Dragon Girl merely flicked a finger. Green light burst from her fingertip, then streaked toward Golden Wheel Dharma King like a shooting star.
Boom!
A tremendous crash rang out.
Golden Wheel Dharma King flew backward and smashed into the ground. Dust billowed, and a human-shaped crater, more than three meters deep, appeared before everyone.
"Hiss!"
"Is this the power of an immortal?"
"Golden Wheel Dharma King defeated the Sect Leader and the elders with one move. And even using his full strength, he couldn't withstand a single move from the immortal?"
The disciples drew in sharp breaths, staring in disbelief at Golden Wheel Dharma King, who lay unconscious in the crater.
Talk the biggest game, take the hardest beating?
Little Dragon Girl did not look at Golden Wheel Dharma King. Though she had only just begun cultivating immortality, she had already developed spiritual awareness.
Golden Wheel Dharma King had passed out. He would not wake for at least three days.
She turned to the Old Monk, her cool voice ringing out again.
"Old Monk, did you also come to make my Divine Sect disband?"
The Old Monk felt a cold sweat break out across his back.
"No, no! I heard that the Divine Sect had just been founded, so I came to offer a gift."
His main cultivation was the Golden Bell Shield passed down by Bodhidharma. He had opened all twelve gates and reached the martial arts realm Bodhidharma had once attained.
He could go a hundred days without food, withstand water and fire, and even swallow a poison that would dissolve his insides without damaging his golden body.
But when he looked at Golden Wheel Dharma King's miserable state, the corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably.
His technique's defensive power was a little greater than the other man's, but not by much.
Perhaps he could withstand two of Little Dragon Girl's moves if he gave it everything he had?
But that would be utterly pointless. He might as well admit defeat.
"A gift? Where is it?"
Little Dragon Girl had always lived in the tomb and was innocent by nature, so she did not doubt his words. Instead, she asked curiously.
"The gift...?"
The Old Monk grimaced. Where was he supposed to get a gift? Who brought a gift when they went to cause trouble?
"Yes. Didn't you say you came to offer a gift?"
Little Dragon Girl nodded, as if it were only natural.
"Were you lying to me? Did you not prepare a gift?"
Sensing a change in Little Dragon Girl's tone, the Old Monk hurriedly said,
"Of course I have a gift!"
With a pained expression, the Old Monk drew a manual from his robes and laid it across both palms.
"This is the Golden Bell Shield manual left behind by Patriarch Bodhidharma. I offer it to... the immortal."
Little Dragon Girl did not respond. Instead, she looked toward Qiu Chuji.
Qiu Chuji understood and nodded, then said quietly,
"Shaolin Temple's Golden Bell Shield is completely different from the versions practiced outside. It is a supreme martial art, second only to Yi Jin Jing among Shaolin Temple's techniques."
Only then did Little Dragon Girl beckon with her hand. The manual in the Old Monk's hands seemed to be drawn by invisible threads and flew into hers.
She had never left the tomb and knew little about the martial arts manuals in the world. In the tomb, she had only followed the routines to practice the martial arts left behind by the founder. After cultivating the Heavenly Emperor Visualization Diagram, she had gone straight on to cultivating immortality, so she naturally knew even less about martial arts.
But Qiu Chuji was the Sect Leader of Quanzhen Sect. If he said it was good, it probably was.
Once the Old Monk saw the manual in Little Dragon Girl's hands, the reluctance vanished from his eyes.
He even felt that the Golden Bell Shield was unworthy of such a peerlessly beautiful fairy.
"Amitabha Buddha. Once we return, Shaolin Temple will close its gates and enter seclusion for a hundred years. As long as the Divine Sect exists, we will never appear in the world again."
The Old Monk continued making his promise to Little Dragon Girl.
Those words also made his position clear.
After all, he knew that as long as Little Dragon Girl was around, Shaolin Temple would be suppressed.
If they could not resist, they might as well give up and leave a good impression.
Little Dragon Girl merely nodded, her expression unchanged.
But below, Qiu Chuji and the others exchanged looks, their hearts pounding.
"Junior brother, what does Shaolin Temple mean by that? Have they submitted?"
"Could they do anything else? Did they want to end up like that Dharma King?"
"An immortal, indeed! She subdued Shaolin single-handedly and forced them to close their gates!"
The brothers grew excited.
Shaolin Temple was the foremost Buddhist school of martial arts in the world, with a long history.
Since ancient times, it had closed its gates only twice.
The Northern Wei Emperor Taiwu and Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou had mobilized their entire nations to eradicate Buddhism.
After the Old Monk finished speaking, he left, chanting the Buddha's name.
No one tried to stop him. After all, he was different from Golden Wheel Dharma King.
Although they were both Buddhists, they were also Han Chinese.
"What about you? Did you also come to cause trouble?"
Little Dragon Girl looked levelly at Dugu Qiubai and asked curiously.
Her curiosity was not about Dugu Qiubai, but the giant eagle beneath his feet.
Giant eagles were common, but she had never even heard of one that stood two meters tall and could carry a person.