Hiss—bang!!!
Before Indra could explain the situation to his fellow disciples, a firework shot into the sky and exploded.
He looked toward where it had launched. That was where his bedroom was.
The ninjas sent to assassinate him in his room had presumably found him absent and decided to act ahead of schedule.
At the signal, ninjas leaped out from all around the mountain gates and charged into the Three One Sect, intent on a retaliatory massacre.
Jo took it all in. This was probably an operation the Bihu Mountain Ninja Group had been planning for a long time.
If he had not returned, they would likely have stayed hidden a while longer.
Jo was not worried as he looked toward the commotion breaking out nearby.
It was coming from the main hall, where Si Chong, Cheng Zhen, and Zuo Ruotong were still discussing sect affairs.
The ninjas had clear targets: first assassinate the strongest and highest-ranking members of the Three One Sect. Even if they could not defeat them, they could at least hold them up for a while.
Then they would attack the Three One Sect under cover of darkness to carry out their revenge.
Boss Zhao had simply been unlucky enough to stumble into it.
Jo took out the Rabbit Talisman and held it in his palm.
In an instant, everything seemed to stand still, and all sound vanished.
His gaze swept across the grounds, locking onto every ninja who had broken into the Three One Sect.
Chakra flowed through his body, then gathered in his right palm.
As he streaked past, he casually thrust his right palm forward.
Dense blasts of air shot out, striking every ninja squarely over the heart.
Bang, bang, bang!
A string of dull impacts rang out. By the time Indra appeared in the main hall, nearly a hundred ninjas had fallen together.
Each blast had precisely shattered a heart without causing any further damage.
"Split-Air Palm may be a common technique, but it's pretty handy."
Split-Air Palm was a basic unarmed technique that was easy to learn but difficult to master. In the extraordinary world, its standing was equivalent to Taizu Long Fist.
Though the Three One Sect primarily cultivated Reverse Birth Triple Layer, it also taught ordinary martial techniques like this.
The chakra in Indra's palm dissipated as he raised his eyes toward the ninjas inside the main hall.
These ninjas had picked the wrong opponents. They had arrived just when Zuo Ruotong happened to be there.
The instant they revealed themselves, Zuo Ruotong had subdued them.
"Japanese ninjas. It seems this is their retaliation."
After establishing their identities, Zuo Ruotong broke their necks without hesitation.
Si Chong agreed grimly. "These Japanese are vicious. To think they even plotted to assassinate us."
Cheng Zhen, the most perceptive of them, suddenly realized something, his pupils contracting. "The Japanese ninjas probably aren't just trying to assassinate us. They mean to take revenge on the entire Three One Sect!"
He moved to head outside, but Indra stopped him.
"No need, senior brother. I've already dealt with those ninjas."
"What?!"
Cheng Zhen stared blankly at Indra, his expression frozen.
Hadn't this only just begun? How was it already over?
Zuo Ruotong was the calmest of all. If Indra said so, it had to be true.
He gave his instructions in an orderly fashion. "Cheng Zhen, coordinate the disciples and dispose of the attacking ninjas' bodies.
"Junior brother, make the arrangements immediately. The Three One Sect will suspend recruitment and go on alert!"
"Yes, Master!" "Yes, senior brother!"
Cheng Zhen and Si Chong immediately left the main hall.
Zuo Ruotong beckoned Indra over to sit down.
"Indra, I need to explain the matter of assisting the Tang Sect in detail.
"After the ninja leader of Mount Hiei died, his successor wanted to settle the conflict as soon as possible, so he arranged a battle with the Tang Sect at Sky-Piercing Cave in Jilin.
"There is a great deal at stake in this battle. That must be why Boss Zhao came to us.
"Si Chong originally intended to send Lu Jin, but..."
Zuo Ruotong's voice faltered at the end.
After a moment's hesitation, he said gravely, "Apparently, Wugen Sheng and people from various major sects, thirty-six in total, swore brotherhood. Some of them comprehended extraordinary skills said to grant immortality. There seem to be eight of them.
"No one knows who leaked the list of names, but the extraordinary world is in chaos now.
"Lu Jin received a letter saying that one of his sworn brothers was among those being hunted.
"He couldn't stand by and do nothing. Among our younger disciples, you're the only one who can represent the Three One Sect now, Indra."
Cultivating Reverse Birth Triple Layer was far too difficult. Without twenty or thirty years of effort, it was hard to reach Reverse Rebirth Second Layer.
Naturally, they could not send old men like themselves to fight at Sky-Piercing Cave.
After weighing his options, Zuo Ruotong had no choice but to trouble Indra again.
After hearing Zuo Ruotong explain the circumstances, Indra stood stunned for a long while before recovering.
The Jia Shen Chaos had broken out early?
He had originally planned to visit Twenty-Four Solar Terms Valley beforehand. That plan had apparently fallen through.
And from his master's tone, it was clear this had probably been going on for some time.
Back then, he and Zuo Ruotong had been entirely focused on wiping out bandits and invaders. They had been completely cut off from the news, unaware that such a major event had shaken the extraordinary world.
Jo was in no hurry. He knew where all the Eight Extraordinary Skills would end up, so acquiring them would not be difficult.
Besides, across the myriad worlds, methods more powerful than the Eight Extraordinary Skills were everywhere.
In terms of practicality alone, the Twelve Talismans in his possession utterly outclassed most of the Eight Extraordinary Skills.
Without any change in his expression, Indra replied, "Master, I'm willing to shoulder this responsibility and assist the Tang Sect!"
"Good. Then I won't keep you from resting. Get some sleep early."
Zuo Ruotong looked kindly at Indra and walked out of the main hall beside him.
Master and disciple tacitly avoided mentioning the rumors about the Eight Extraordinary Skills.
Zuo Ruotong disdained the idea of seizing those so-called extraordinary skills from the Thirty-Six Thieves.
These supposed methods of attaining immortality were probably no different from the promise of ascension through Reverse Birth Triple Layer, merely dressed up in different words.
With his lingering internal injuries now healed, Zuo Ruotong only wanted to manage the Three One Sect well and deepen his understanding of Reverse Birth Triple Layer.
After returning to his room to rest, Indra did not rush to prepare.
The Tang Sect's arranged battle was still a month away. With the Rabbit Talisman, he had no need to set out in a hurry.
The next morning, after breakfast, Indra went straight to the Three One Sect's library.
After some searching, he had two books in his hands.
One was the Complete Guide to Hundred Herbs, and the other was The Art of Artifact Control.
The former contained the Three One Sect's inherited illustrated records of medicinal herbs, along with detailed instructions on processing them, combining their medicinal properties, and other essential techniques.
Jo planned to study it thoroughly before asking his master for pill-refining formulas.
The latter taught methods of refining and controlling artifacts with qi. Mastering it all would allow him to become an artifact refiner.
He did not actually intend to become an artifact refiner. His main interest was that its methods of controlling artifacts with qi could be applied to his chakra short sword.
"Feed an object with qi to turn it into a weapon the user can control at will.
"The other approach is to channel qi directly to control an object. Its precision and power are limited, but it's simple and straightforward, with no need to feed the object qi over a long period."
Jo memorized the artifact-refining and control methods, then drew his chakra short sword and infused it with chakra.
Hum—!
Pure white chakra seeped into the short sword as he carefully sensed its structure.
Normally, feeding an object with qi to refine it took years, if not more than a decade.
But the chakra short sword was naturally compatible with chakra and could actively absorb his, so he did not need to feed it little by little.
In addition, cultivating Reverse Birth Triple Layer had brought Indra's control over chakra to an extraordinary level.
As chakra poured into the short sword, Indra quickly memorized its entire structure.
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