"Tap, tap..."
Perhaps because he was concentrating too hard, the footsteps, which had already been drowned out by the monks' chanting, sounded especially grating to Xu Taiping now.
He could hardly be blamed for being so tense. The despair and pain of approaching death when he had just been cleaved in half at the waist had felt far too real.
If possible, he never wanted to experience it a second time.
"Tap."
Just then, his clone stepped out through the main hall's doorway.
Xu Taiping's gaze remained fixed on the dozen or so monks sitting cross-legged by the doorway, chanting scriptures.
Thanks to the Shentu Bow's divine ability, Xu Taiping could clearly see every expression on the monks' faces, even from over a hundred zhang away.
Just as before, the instant Xu Taiping's clone appeared at the doorway, the chanting monks abruptly fell silent, their faces filling with astonishment.
At the same time, a young monk began shouting, just as he had before:
"Quick, fetch the abbot! The Buddha has manifested! The Buddha has manifested! He really has sent a Dharma Protector down from beyond the heavens!"
After that shout, the previously orderly monks began falling into confusion.
The sight made Xu Taiping frown slightly, and he glanced at the monk who had shouted first.
"Shing!"
Immediately afterward, a flash of snow-bright blade light lit up the gloomy square.
Even Xu Taiping found that slash stunning.
Because even seeing it a second time, he felt that without prior warning, he still would have failed to detect it.
Of course, prepared as he was now, he had locked his gaze on the monk the instant the man rose and drew his blade.
He was a thin, small monk with delicate features.
Nothing appeared unusual about him from the outside. Only at