With that, his figure vanished in an instant.
Clang!
The instant the Blood Demon Blade fully left its sheath, Cui Wei's poison palm had already struck within three inches of Li Chen Zhou's face! Yet Li Chen Zhou neither dodged nor evaded. Sanskrit characters from the Golden Bell Shield suddenly surfaced over his throat—then came a clang, and the poison palm was rebounded with such force that every finger bone shattered!
"First mistake." Li Chen Zhou slashed upward with his blade, severing Cui Wei's right arm at the shoulder. "You shouldn't have used poison. I hate underhanded tricks the most." Before the severed arm even hit the ground, his blade flashed again. "Second mistake..." This time, it was Cui Wei's left knee. "You shouldn't have mentioned Heavenly Desire Palace."
As Cui Wei collapsed, the Blood Demon Blade was already pressed against his throat.
A pale purple poisonous mist suddenly rose around the arena—this bastard had actually poisoned the air while bleeding!
"Third mistake." As the Soul Absorption Art circulated, Cui Wei's vital blood and essence flowed backward along the blade. "You shouldn't have played with poison in front of me." In the blink of an eye, a dignified Earth Ranking expert had become a dried corpse.
"Ding—Obtained 10 years of refined inner force." Current inner cultivation: 145 years.
The Soul Absorption Art gathered in Li Chen Zhou's right hand. Every trace of poison in the air and on Cui Wei's body converged into his palm, forming a foul green liquid, which Li Chen Zhou finally blasted into the ground with a single strike.
"Next." Li Chen Zhou flicked the remaining blood from his blade, his gaze sweeping over those below the stage. The jianghu folk all retreated three steps in unison. Then, a bald man stepped forward.
"Amitabha. Benefactor, your killing intent is too heavy. You already show signs of falling into demonic ways. Why not follow me into Shaolin's Buddhist pagoda, receive the teachings of the Buddha, and purge the demonic intent from your heart?"
"That is Xuan Ye, chief disciple of Shaolin's Damo Academy—the Little Vajra."
"Shaolin's martial arts should not fear that evil technique."
Li Chen Zhou cast Xuan Ye a sidelong glance. "Oh? So you are a master from Shaolin Temple."
Xuan Ye pressed his palms together and gave a light bow. "Lay down the butcher's blade and become a Buddha on the spot. Benefactor, you too cultivate Shaolin Temple's ultimate Golden Bell Shield. This shows that you still possess considerable Buddha-nature. Why not take refuge in the Buddha?"
Amusement flickered in Li Chen Zhou's eyes. "Take refuge in your Buddha? Can you save me?"
Seeing an opening, Xuan Ye felt a surge of hope. "If Benefactor is willing to give this humble monk a chance, this humble monk shall certainly do his utmost."
The smile on Li Chen Zhou's face did not fade as he said coldly, "You have not become a Buddha yourself, so you had better not lead others astray."
Xuan Ye refused to accept this. "Though this humble monk's Buddhist teachings are limited, saving Benefactor would still be more than enough."
Li Chen Zhou continued, "Then let us see the real thing with our hands today."
With a sweep of Xuan Ye's cassock, his name immediately appeared on the life-and-death contract. Then he crossed the air as if walking on nothing and landed on the arena.
He stripped off his monk's robe, revealing powerful muscles.
"Then today, I shall first exchange fists and kicks with Benefactor."
"Amitabha. Benefactor, your killing intent is too heavy. You already show signs of falling into demonic ways." Xuan Ye, chief disciple of Shaolin's Damo Academy, pressed his palms together. His voice boomed like a great bell, making the ears of the jianghu folk around the arena ring. His body was broad and imposing, muscles knotted beneath his monk's robe. With every step, he left footprints an inch deep in the bluestone slabs.
"Lay down the butcher's blade and become a Buddha on the spot."
Li Chen Zhou gave a scornful laugh, the Blood Demon Blade slanting toward the ground. The blood dripping from its tip corroded wisps of green smoke from the bluestone.
"Since Master knows that I have practiced the Golden Bell Shield, then you should understand—"
He suddenly closed in. The blade had not moved, but he was already within three feet of Xuan Ye!
"—I know a little about Buddhist martial arts as well!"
Bang!
Xuan Ye neither dodged nor evaded, crossing his arms to take Li Chen Zhou's sweeping kick head-on. Their force exploded, shattering every bronze bell at the four corners of the arena!
"What an Indestructible Body!" A trace of surprise flashed through Li Chen Zhou's eyes before he sneered. "Unfortunately, what you cultivate is merely 'Golden Bell Protection,' while I—"
His five fingers formed a claw as he fiercely grabbed for Xuan Ye's throat!
"—cultivate 'flawless and leakless'!"
Xuan Ye's expression abruptly changed. He hastily retreated three steps, but five bloody gashes had still been torn across his throat. Looking down at the bleeding wounds, his pupils contracted—his Golden Bell Shield had actually been broken?
An uproar erupted below the stage!
"Shaolin's Indestructible Body... was broken?!"
"Li Chen Zhou's Golden Bell Shield is actually stronger than even the chief disciple of Damo Academy?!"
Xuan Ye drew a deep breath and pressed his palms together. A pale golden Buddhist radiance suddenly spread around his body.
"Since Benefactor is versed in Buddhist martial arts, then you should know the Arhat Demon Subduing Force—"
He suddenly opened his eyes, golden light surging within them!
"—please enlighten me!"
Boom!
He threw a punch, and the air exploded! Li Chen Zhou neither dodged nor evaded, meeting it with a punch of his own—
Bang—!
The two fists collided, and shockwaves burst outward. The bluestone slabs at the center of the arena cracked apart inch by inch!
Xuan Ye gave a muffled grunt and staggered back seven steps, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth. Li Chen Zhou, meanwhile... did not move an inch.
"Your Demon Subduing Force lacks sufficient refinement." Li Chen Zhou shook his wrist, the scarlet in his eyes deepening. "Why not... try my Avici Path?"
Xuan Ye's face turned solemn as he slowly assumed one of Shaolin's Seventy-Two Supreme Arts—"Great Stele Shattering Hand!"
Li Chen Zhou laughed wildly. The Blood Demon Blade returned to its sheath, and when his fists struck together, they rang with the clang of gold and iron!
"Come! Let me see whether Shaolin's thousand-year martial arts can save this 'demon' of mine!"
Great Stele Shattering Hand!
Xuan Ye suddenly brought his palms together. Buddhist light flared from them, condensing into a golden palm print in the air that came crashing down on Li Chen Zhou like Mount Tai pressing upon his head!
The scarlet in Li Chen Zhou's eyes deepened, but a cold smile curled at his lips.
"First form of the Avici Path—Sever Reincarnation!"
His right fist suddenly clenched. Blood mist churned around his body, and a savage ghostly face surfaced over his fist!
Boom—!
Fist and palm collided, and shockwaves exploded!
Xuan Ye's golden palm print shattered inch by inch, yet Li Chen Zhou's fist force did not diminish in the slightest. Wrapped in chilling ghostly qi, it drove straight toward Xuan Ye's chest!
Pfft—!
Xuan Ye spat out a mouthful of blood and flew backward, crashing heavily into the edge of the arena. He barely forced himself upright, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"Y-you... your Avici Path has actually reached the realm of great completion?!"
Li Chen Zhou slowly withdrew his fist as the blood mist around him gradually dispersed. He sneered. "Now, do you still think you can save me?"
Gritting his teeth, Xuan Ye suddenly pulled an ancient Buddhist bead from his robes and crushed it!
Bzzz—!
The instant the bead shattered, a vast Buddhist radiance shot into the sky, condensing into the phantom image of a Buddha in midair!
"Shaolin's secret inheritance—the Buddha Subduing Seal?!" someone below the stage cried out.
Li Chen Zhou narrowed his eyes, finally revealing a trace of gravity.
"Benefactor, this seal was left behind by Shaolin's founding patriarch and was made to restrain heretical demons." Xuan Ye wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and pressed his palms together. "Today, I shall use this seal to bring you into the Buddha's path!"
The Buddha phantom slowly raised a hand. Golden Buddhist light poured down like a river from heaven, pressing directly toward Li Chen Zhou's head!
Li Chen Zhou took a deep breath and suddenly closed his eyes.
"You think... you are the only one with a trump card?"
He abruptly opened his eyes, his pupils having turned completely blood-red!
"Three Abyssal Slashes—Avici Hell!"
Boom—!
Centered on Li Chen Zhou, the air within a radius of thirty feet suddenly twisted. The scene of Avici Hell directly emerged around him. Those with even slightly weaker resolve were already cowed by that state of mind.
"T-this is impossible!" Xuan Ye blanched in horror. "How? How can this be?!"
Li Chen Zhou grinned savagely and slashed out. Wherever the blade passed became like a hell on earth. At the instant of collision, the entire Buddha phantom began to crumble inch by inch!
"The Buddha cannot save me—"
He stepped forward, appearing before Xuan Ye like a ghost, his five fingers clamping down on Xuan Ye's crown!
"—so let me save you instead!"
Soul Absorption Art—Full Power!
Aah—!
Xuan Ye let out a miserable scream as all his Buddhist inner force poured madly into Li Chen Zhou's body like floodwaters bursting through a broken dike!
"Ding—Obtained 12 years of refined inner cultivation." Current inner cultivation: 157 years.
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