Iron Buddha

This has blown up. Li Fan no longer needs to hide. Before the one in the General of Pacifying the East's Mansion arrives, he quickly crawls out of the ground, grabs the severed wrist that has fallen to the ground, sticks the talisman that was still between his concubine's fingers back onto the magic mirror that was on cooldown, and then puts the mirror and the severed hand together in the secret box on the table, puts it in his pocket, and leaves.

The banquet in the front hall was still in chaos. Although there were two Nascent Soul Stage cultivators present, they couldn't easily barge into the inner quarters of the Marquis's residence. They were all protecting the Marquis's family first. By the time the Marquis's Golden Core soldiers and guards arrived, they had already let Li Fan slip away without even seeing him.

However, the crisis was far from over. The three Nascent Soul Stage in the Iron Buddha Temple had been alerted and rose into the sky together, like three golden fireballs, their intense light illuminating the entire Jiujiang City. These bald men were quite capable; they had actually discovered Li Fan's whereabouts, and these three even knew how to use escape techniques! They chased after him, following him all the way out of the city!

Li Fan cursed these bald monks for being nosy, but he didn't have time to deal with them. He had already unleashed his full power as Divine Transformation cultivator, which covered almost the entire city. If he didn't leave now, it would be too late. So he used the Wind and Cloud Dragon Ascent Technique to escape, but was chased by three golden lights from behind. He fled through the sky and into the earth, over mountains and into rivers, for hundreds of miles before Li Fan suddenly stopped and turned to glare at the three people chasing him.

"Hey, that's enough, isn't it! Why have you been chasing me for so long? Are you bored and have nothing better to do?"

Three venerable monks, dressed in blue robes and cotton kasayas, appeared in the distance, standing together on the clouds.

On the left is a black monk with a thick beard and gray eyebrows that are tied up like a broom. He exudes an imposing aura without being angry, like an angry King Kong. Underneath his robes is a body full of muscles, suggesting he must have been a fierce warrior in his youth. Although he is now old, he still has a very large build.

On the right was an old monk who looked like a withered tree branch. He had no beard, and his long eyebrows, like cockroach antennae, hung down to his cheeks and fluttered in the wind. His triangular eyes gleamed, and his pupils were fixed on Li Fan.

In the middle was a handsome young monk with delicate features, red lips, and white teeth, who even had a somewhat effeminate appearance. If he changed his clothes, he could easily play the role of a pretty young nun.

The long-browed old monk spoke first, "Your Excellency has trespassed into the Marquis of Jianchang's Mansion, committing a grave offense. Do you really think you can escape unscathed?"

Li Fan, of course, refused to admit it. "Hey! You old bald monk, don't wrong an innocent man! You say I broke into the Marquis's mansion, do you have any evidence?"

"If you didn't break into the Marquis's residence at night, why are you running away!"

"Pah! Can't I just run around to help with my digestion after eating too much dog meat? What's it to you? Did you eat too much dog meat too?"

Long Eyebrows was so angry he couldn't speak, "You! Me! You!"

The bearded, burly monk roared, "Senior brother, there's no need to waste words with this scoundrel! Take him directly to General of Pacifying the East!"

"Junior brothers, please hold your hand," the youngest of the three called out to the two old monks beside him, "I have a few questions for this fellow Daoist."

The two old monks on either side obediently shut their mouths, clasped their hands in greeting, and said, "Yes, Abbot Brother."

"Oh, so you two are junior brothers? You've lived such a long life, yet your manners are worse than a little kid's, and your cultivation is still lacking."

The two old monks, however, remained unmoved by Li Fan's words, showing neither joy nor anger, and did not utter a single word.

Li Fan smiled outwardly, but inwardly he thought, "Damn it, these guys are just retraining themselves... These three old monks are really tough to beat. I can sense from my Divine Sense that they are at least at the Lou Guan level of True Nascent Soul Stage. I'm afraid I won't be able to defeat them without some real skill..."

The junior abbot asked softly, "Namo Acalanatha Buddha, greetings, fellow Daoist. I am Fa Jue of Iron Buddha Temple. May I ask why this fellow Daoist would steal our temple's Phantom Moon Treasure Mirror?"

Li Fan chuckled coldly, "First you said I stole from the Marquis's mansion, and now you're saying I stole from your temple? You're just making things up with your mouth, aren't you? A monk doesn't lie, little monk."

Fa Jue smiled and said, "The Phantom Moon Treasure Mirror originally belonged to our temple. It was only because our temple received a lot of donations from the Xun Kingdom that it was temporarily stored in the Marquis's residence to protect the house. Now that the Marquis of Jianchang has passed away, it is only natural that we should take it back after the seven-day memorial service."

If you require proof, the box in your possession was personally blessed and sealed by me."

Li Fan narrowed his eyes, took out the box, and said, "Heh, you little bald monk, you've got a big appetite. Here, take the box back. As for what's inside... even if it really is some kind of treasure mirror, would it respond if you called out to it?"

The young abbot remained composed and said, "What you say is true, Heavenly Treasure belong to the virtuous. However, this time, due to my limited cultivation, I was unable to save the young marquis. He has not yet completed his seven-year mourning period, and I have no face to compete for the treasure at this time. I beg your understanding, fellow Daoist, to return the treasure to our temple. For the sake of the Nine Great Xuan Sects, my fellow disciples and I will not pursue the matter."

Li Fan, "..."

This Iron Buddha Temple, a local rogue sect, not only has three powerful Nascent Soul Stage, but it also knows the escape techniques of Qingcheng Mountain. The Central Plains is indeed full of hidden talents and should not be underestimated.

"...Alright! Since the monk is so reasonable, then don't say I didn't give you a chance," Li Fan paused for a moment, smiled, and held the box in his left palm, extending it out horizontally. "Come and take it."

The atmosphere suddenly became tense.

The three monks fell silent for a moment.

Li Fan smiled but remained silent.

The long-browed old monk couldn't contain himself any longer and said, "Very well, the Dharma Image of Iron Buddha Temple! I'd like to ask for your guidance..."

As he spoke, he pulled out a string of Bodhi seed prayer beads from his sleeve, while the black-bearded man beside him silently pulled out a King Kong from his robes, and the two were about to engage in a magical duel.

Unexpectedly, upon seeing them display their magical weapons, the young abbot immediately shook his head and said, "Wait a moment. Using magical weapons inevitably leads to injury, and we are not here to make enemies of the Xuanmen. How about this, this humble monk will personally exchange a few moves with you, benefactor. We'll stop here when we've reached our goal, and you two junior brothers should not make a move."

His two protectors, one black and one white, were taken aback. They exchanged glances, but still put away their magical weapons, put their palms together, and said, "Yes, Senior Brother."

Seeing that Fa Jue indeed did not have his junior brothers gang up on him, but only came up to compete alone, Li Fan frowned. It was rare for someone to dare to fight him one-on-one. He hesitated for a moment, but his right hand, hidden behind his back, still flicked his fingers and put away the Golden Dragon White Star.

"Then let's see what the Iron Buddha Temple has to offer!"

Regardless of their schemes, Li Fan had no time to waste with these monks. Since they wanted a one-on-one fight, so be it! He'd deal with one of them first!

He immediately put away the box, then swiftly closed in, relying on his recent improved skills, his Dalu Jingtian Wind Finger strike was already faster than expected, aiming straight for Fa Jue's heart!

Fa Jue, Fajue still had the leisure to nod slightly with his palms together, then opened his hands and pushed them out as if in a Buddhist prayer, saying, "Please instruct me, the Veda Palm!"

This move unleashed a flurry of palm shadows, like maple leaves blown by a strong wind, aimed directly at Li Fan's face. The light and shadow effects weren't particularly exaggerated, but the moment the move struck his face, Li Fan felt every hair on his body stand on end. The force of the Heavenly Finger, when it struck that palm shadow, was like a toothpick hitting a brick—it couldn't even make a hole.

Holy crap, what do you mean by "stopping at the right point"? Taking that palm strike would probably kill him on the spot!

So Li Fan charged forward with a Wind and Cloud Dragon Leap, then immediately retreated with another Wind and Cloud Dragon Leap. It seemed that while the power of the Veda Palm was terrifying, its effective range was relatively short, and its killing area was only a fan-shaped region in front of the attacker. As long as one was fast enough to dodge,...

"Dragon Subduing!"

To Li Fan's surprise, Fa Jue also activated his superior movement technique, following the Wind and Cloud Dragon Ascent Technique! Not only did he catch up, but his attacks were even faster than Li Fan's! He first unleashed a golden dragon with a punch! No, it was an overwhelming, majestic fist aura, like a mighty dragon, crashing straight towards Li Fan!

The punch came too fast, and judging from the force, Li Fan immediately realized that even the finger strength of the Wind, Rain, Obscurity, and Illumination Four Styles was powerless against this fist's force. Of the Six Styles of Heavenly Path, only the Yang Style was usable, but the opponent's pursuit was so swift that Li Fan didn't have enough time to channel his Qi and unleash his power. Therefore, he was forced to dodge again to avoid being blasted away by the punch and to find another opportunity to gather his Qi...

"Subdued Elephant!"

"What!"

Li Fan was shocked. As soon as he landed, Fa Jue once again used his escape technique to catch up, and unleashed a fierce barrage of fist energy, the Dragon Elephant Dharma Image! This forced Li Fan to use his escape Fa Jue again to barely dodge Fa Jue's overwhelming ultimate move!

After three consecutive moves, he lost one each time! Under the fierce fist energy bombardment of the Dragon Elephant Dharma Form, Li Fan suddenly caught a glimpse of the raging flames surrounding Fa Jue, which were the same golden color as the fist energy, and suddenly realized what was happening.

It's a problem with the matching of the Cultivation Method.

The Dalu Jing Tian Finger and the Wind and Cloud Dragon Ascent Technique are not from the same lineage at all. They are divine skills derived from two different systems belonging to Three Great Sects. One is the top finger skill of the Luo Feng Immortal Palace, and the other is the supreme movement technique of the Qingcheng Xuan Sect.

Not only do they use different types of Qi, but their techniques for exerting force and channeling energy are also different, and even the meridians and acupoints through which they channel Qi conflict! Let alone coordinating with each other, if these two were used together without any conflict, Qi deviation, demonic possession, or paralysis of half the body, that would only be because Li Fan relied on his talent and cheated. If an ordinary person were to do this recklessly, they would have been finished long ago!

The slight flaw caused by the mismatch in these Cultivation Method is easily overlooked when bullying ordinary Nascent Soul Nascent Soul Stage. However, when encountering a master like Fa Jue, who is rich in combat experience, proficient in his sect's Cultivation Method, and whose sect's ultimate moves and escape techniques complement each other, Li Fan's flaw of inconsistent skill connections will be exposed in the slightest.

To be honest, if Li Fan hadn't encountered an opponent like Fa Jue today, he probably wouldn't have even realized he had such a weakness. That's why real combat is the best teacher.

Having grasped the concept in that split second, a solution naturally emerged. Li Fan's solution was to stop using the Dalu Jing Tian Finger!

Just as the overwhelming fist energy was about to strike him, Li Fan used his escape technique again, but instead of dodging away, he charged in at close range. Without using any complicated Heaven-Piercing Finger Technique, he took the hit head-on with a Pifeng Biyue Palm, which went straight at the monk's bald head.

Fa Jue was caught off guard and shouted, "Thousand Leaves Hand!"

With both hands withdrawing from fists and transforming into palms, like Fan Hua blooming, it was as if seven or eight arms had grown out, unleashing hundreds or even thousands of palm shadows in an instant. With a flick, a sweep, and a slap, the palm force of the Pifeng Biyue Palm was dispersed and dispelled.

But at this moment, Li Fan's Dalu Jingtian, Wind and Rain Obscurity Four Forms had already taken turns demonstrating their power!

Good. After using the stealth technique, first take two moves of the Emei Obscuring Moon Palm. This introductory palm technique only has two moves, and the power generation and energy flow are straightforward and simple, without many profound energy flow routines. This way, you can seize the initiative and prevent Fajue from having the Fa Jue to cast a powerful ultimate move! When you get into close combat, look for the right opportunity and switch to the exquisite Cultivation Method of the Dalu Jing Tian Finger to defeat the enemy!

Of course, this is just Li Fan's impromptu solution. To fundamentally resolve the current hidden dangers and enable the Dalu Jing Tian Finger to be used in conjunction with the escape technique, he would need a deeper understanding and greater proficiency in both Cultivation Method.

However, Fa Jue was no pushover either. He could tell that although Li Fan's escape technique used the secret teachings of Qingcheng Mountain, his actual hand skills were a completely different, miscellaneous set of things.

So he first used the Thousand Leaves Hand to Pifeng Biyue Palm, and then, relying on the Thousand Leaves Hand for defense, he exchanged seven or eight moves with Li Fan's Heaven-Tracing Finger, testing the depth of his Cultivation Method. After the test, he immediately experienced the insidious nature of the Dalu Jing Tian Finger.

I quickly determined that this finger technique was extremely profound in its routine and the skill of channeling energy. It combined internal and external cultivation, and not only had a domineering and destructive finger force that could break through defenses, but it could also inflict insidious internal injuries, harming the internal organs, meridians, and bone marrow. The longer the fight went on, the more severe the damage would be. It was best to avoid getting entangled in the fight for too long.

So he immediately used his escape technique to create distance between himself and Li Fan, while unleashing his mid-range attack, punching out with both fists in a powerful burst, "Subduing Dragon and Taming Elephant Divine Skill!"

This time, Li Fan wasn't in a hurry to catch up. He subtly struck Fa Jue three or four times, and the opponent actually withstood it, demonstrating extremely profound cultivation and deep understanding of the Dao. What surprised Li Fan the most was that the opponent's Thousand Leaves Hand technique was extremely mysterious and profound. It could not only neutralize the domineering palm force of his Obscuring Moon Palm, but also intercept the rapid attacks of the Wind and Rain Style. It could even stack palms layer upon layer to interrupt and deflect his finger force. It was not something that he could easily break through with only 20% of his current strength. Chasing after him would be of no use.

Moreover, Fa Jue clearly had a backup plan. Since the opponent already knew about the internal injuries caused by the Dalu Jing Tian Finger, using the same move to launch a surprise attack again would be troublesome if the opponent countered with Veda Palm. In addition, to be honest, any one of these three monks was a level higher than Li Fan in his current cultivation.

He knew now was not the time to hold back, so he immediately made a hand seal and, facing the oncoming Dragon Elephant Fist, flicked his sleeve and shouted, "Qiankun Flying Dragon Sword!"

The dragon roared and the wind howled, the gale burst forth, the black and white vortex of the Qiankun Flying Dragon Sword clashed with the golden fist Subduing Dragon and Taming Elephant Divine Skill and Elephant Divine Skill, the three dragons and one elephant clashed and swirled together, the gale burst forth and the Dao Qi reversed! The two ultimate moves clashed and the smoke and dust were completely destroyed, even the clouds rolling in the sky were blown away.

Seeing Li Fan deftly break his Subduing Dragon and Taming Elephant Divine Skill with a flick of his sleeve, Fa Jue seemed surprised and clasped his hands in praise.

"Namo Acalanatha Buddha, fellow Daoist has deeply inherited the true teachings of the Nine Great Xuan Sects. Your cultivation is indeed profound. This humble monk admires you."

"The abbot's cultivation is profound and his Daoist practice is superb; I have truly broadened my horizons."

Li Fan was genuinely surprised. He had unleashed the full power of his Qiankun Flying Dragon Sword, and it had actually managed to clash head-on with a single attack! That Monk's Fist was truly amazing... Should he perhaps find a chance to sneak into the temple and learn a couple of moves...?

Fa Jue declined the attack and instead pulled out an iron Buddha statue from his sleeve. The iron Buddha stood on a square base with four corners, its face dignified and devout, its body slender, with a long face and thin neck, its clothes intricately folded, and it had a large halo. The entire body was forged from black iron, except for its eyes, which were two bright white diamond-like stones.

Li Fan's mood dampened slightly after just one glance at the iron Buddha.

"What, you can't take it by your own skill, so you're going to use your magic weapon?" Li Fan smiled and put his hand in his sleeve to press down on the Golden Dragon White Star.

Fa Jue shook his head and said, "Fellow Daoist's skills are superb, while this humble monk's skills are inferior. I only wish to ask Venerable Iron Buddha to be a witness. Besides, the Seven Sacrifices are still two days away, and this item was originally supposed to come into our temple two days later."

"As long as you personally agree to return the Phantom Moon Treasure Mirror to our temple in two days, this humble monk will lend it to you temporarily. Once it's returned, we can both leave each other alone. What do you say?"

Li Fan was taken aback, unable to figure out what trick the other party was playing. But seeing that the two old monks behind him were still sitting still without any reaction, it seemed that the abbot could do whatever he wanted.

"What do you mean? You're lending it to me? Do you think I'll pay it back?"

Fa Jue smiled slightly, "This item is of no use to a true person like you who comes from the orthodox Xuanmen sect. In my humble opinion, you are just looking for something that the Marquis hid in the treasure mirror at someone's request."

The conflict between the two palaces of Xun Kingdom has nothing to do with my Iron Buddha Temple, and the struggle between the Three Great Sects is even less something my temple can get involved in.

So as long as the True Man agrees, my fellow disciples and I will return immediately. Otherwise, with the strength of the three of us, we can still hold you off for a day or two until General of Pacifying the East arrives in person."

Li Fan fell silent. These three monks were indeed not weak; they could not be dealt with by mere fist and foot techniques. Only by using the Golden Dragon White Star in conjunction with the Taiyin Sword Art could he possibly kill them in one blow.

But that would expose their biggest trump card, and who knows what other tricks they might have up their sleeve, or that lingering, mysterious figure, or the Nascent Soul Divine Transformation from the Xun Kingdom who could arrive at any moment...

"Okay! I promise! I'll return it to you in two days," Li Fan said with a smile.

The three monks stared at him without saying a word.

"Tsk, I'll borrow it for two days, then I'll return what's in the box, okay? How am I supposed to know if this broken mirror is some kind of treasure mirror you're talking about? What if you're just trying to scam me?"

The three monks hesitated for a moment, looked at each other, and nodded to indicate that they could.

Then Iron Buddha closed his eyes. In the darkness, it seemed as if a bolt of lightning struck his head.

'With Iron Buddha as witness, Li Fan entered into a contract with Fa Jue, and Li Fan's mood dropped slightly.'

Li Fan swallowed.

... So what happens if you break a contract?

'My mood will drop a bit... and it will displease Iron Buddha.'

Oh~~hehe~~