An enemy more formidable than ever before

"Abbess, we've had no quarrel in the past and bear no grudge now. Why must you hound me so relentlessly?" Fang Ling's expression darkened as she continued her pursuit.

"If you tell this humble nun how to cultivate the Sarami Realm, I... will let you leave today!" Abbess Purple Bamboo said.

Fang Ling laughed at her words. "You rotten nun, you're after my divine power."

"Weren't you all righteous just now, demanding that I abandon evil and return to the right path?"

"Now you're willing to let me go for this divine power. What a..."

A blush instantly rose on Abbess Purple Bamboo's fair face, as though Fang Ling had struck a sore spot and shamed her.

She, too, realized she had become attached to appearances. Her mind was now consumed by that divine power.

But it was one of the legendary Buddhist Ten Great Divine Powers. If she could obtain it, then in the future...

"Amitabha! This humble nun has indeed succumbed to greed, but... so what?" The corners of Abbess Purple Bamboo's lips lifted slightly.

There was now something almost sinister about her, a stark contrast to her earlier plain, compassionate demeanor.

"You vile wretch! You murder people to cultivate. Even dying a thousand, ten thousand times would not atone for your crimes!"

"Today, this humble nun will carry out heaven's justice, seek redress for the million cultivators of Boundless City, and rid the world of you!"

As she rebuked him, a golden Buddhist Wheel slowly rose behind her, and a pure, powerful energy swept in all directions.

Fang Ling's face was grim, his entire body taut.

This wicked nun's cultivation was terrifyingly high, even more frightening than that of the Fairy of the Li River he had encountered in Windstone Gorge.

"This humble nun possesses only late-stage Dawn Light Realm cultivation!"

"If you repent now, benefactor, I can still forgive you and deliver you from the sea of suffering!"

Abbess Purple Bamboo gazed at Fang Ling and spoke in a stern voice.

When Fang Ling gave no answer, she snorted again. "Obstinate fool!"

"Buddha's light shines upon all, Thousand-Hand Guanyin!" She sat cross-legged, and a Guanyin Dharma Form appeared behind her.

The Dharma Form abruptly opened its eyes and looked at Fang Ling.

At the same time, it raised its hands to crush him.

In an instant, a thousand Guanyin hands struck toward Fang Ling with the might to suppress all things.

Abbess Purple Bamboo's cultivation was far too high. Even Fang Ling dared not take this attack head-on.

He was about to use Divine Movement Step to put some distance between them when he suddenly discovered that he could not move.

Abbess Purple Bamboo had unleashed two divine powers right from the outset.

Beneath the Buddha's light, he could not move so much as a finger. Even the spiritual energy within his body had been sealed.

All he could do now was watch helplessly as a thousand Buddhist hands slammed toward him.

Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang!

The Buddhist hands smashed him to the ground, their terrifying force driving the earth itself downward.

Countless palm prints were stamped across the area, creating a spectacular sight.

Amid the clouds, Abbess Purple Bamboo pressed her palms together and closed her eyes. "Amitabha!"

"This wretch's sins towered to the heavens. Delivering him to the next life has earned this humble nun boundless merit."

Then she slowly opened her eyes and descended beside Fang Ling's flattened body.

She raised a hand, about to use a divine power to read Fang Ling's memories and obtain the cultivation method for the Sarami Realm.

But just then, Fang Ling, who had been flattened into a puddle of pulp, suddenly came back to life!

His flesh-and-blood body regenerated in an instant, and he jabbed a finger into Abbess Purple Bamboo's waist.

Abbess Purple Bamboo let out a startled cry and immediately sensed something wrong with that finger strike.

"Wretch!" Furious, she struck a palm at Fang Ling. "Diamond Prajna Palm!"

"Galaxy Boundless Fist!" Refusing to back down, Fang Ling met her with a punch.

Fist collided with palm, and Fang Ling was sent flying backward.

Abbess Purple Bamboo also retreated a small step.

She stared at Fang Ling in astonishment, profoundly shocked.

This little wretch's cultivation isn't high. He's only at the early stage of the Heavenly Authority Realm.

But his physical body is extraordinary. He actually withstood my palm!

After being sent flying by Abbess Purple Bamboo, Fang Ling spat out three large mouthfuls of blood before his breathing steadied somewhat.

The gap between their cultivation levels was far too great. Without his nearly deathless body, he would already have died beneath that Thousand-Hand Guanyin.

That Diamond Prajna Palm had nearly taken his life as well.

Thump, thump, thump. His Undying Heart pounded furiously, working at full capacity.

Galaxy Boundless Fist only forced her back a small step. It seems Sword Demon Three Forms won't pose any threat to her either.

Let's try this! He stood up, condensing his Innate Spirit Treasure, the Mysterious Gold Heaven-Piercing Spear, in his hand.

"Kill!" he roared, unleashing this deadly weapon.

The sight of it brought even greater surprise to Abbess Purple Bamboo's eyes.

With her knowledge, she could naturally sense its innate aura. It had to be an Innate Spirit Treasure.

"Golden Light Mantra!" Abbess Purple Bamboo cried softly, and golden light shimmered over her body.

The Golden Light Mantra was an extremely powerful defensive divine power, offering protection that could resist nearly all arts and was difficult even for divine weapons to break.

As the Mysterious Gold Heaven-Piercing Spear hurtled toward her, she raised her slender, fair hand to block it.

The Mysterious Gold Heaven-Piercing Spear, which had always swept aside everything in its path, failed to work a miracle this time. Abbess Purple Bamboo blocked it outright.

"You wretch, you do have some ability."

"If I don't eliminate you today, you will surely become a great scourge upon our Southern Dipper Domain!"

Abbess Purple Bamboo was about to unleash her ultimate technique when a purple tinge suddenly rose on her fair face. She staggered several times, nearly losing her footing and falling.

"Is this... poison?" She hurriedly circulated her power to suppress the toxin.

Fang Ling had known from the beginning that even the Mysterious Gold Heaven-Piercing Spear would struggle to injure her, so he had merely used it as a carrier.

His true killing move was the poison he had cultivated since childhood. Just now, he had gathered as much of it as possible onto the spear's tip.

Abbess Purple Bamboo's realm might be profound, but Fang Ling refused to believe she could withstand his poison as well.

First, she had been struck by Scent-Stealing Finger. Then she had been poisoned.

Now, Abbess Purple Bamboo had no attention to spare for anything else.

Rather than seize the opportunity to flee, Fang Ling charged straight at her.

She already coveted the Sarami Realm. If he did not kill her, the future trouble would be endless.

"Swastika True Art!"

The Buddhist Wheel behind him shone brilliantly, even more dazzling than the one that had risen behind Abbess Purple Bamboo.

The gleaming golden swastika in his palm seemed to contain the supreme Great Dao.

"This is..." Abbess Purple Bamboo froze as she stared at the swastika in Fang Ling's palm.

Fang Ling slammed his palm into her chest, blasting her away.

Abbess Purple Bamboo tumbled along the ground for a considerable distance before finally coming to a stop.

With a splutter, she spat out a mouthful of blood.

Seeing that she had taken the palm strike head-on yet remained alive, her aura only slightly weakened, Fang Ling's heart grew heavy.

Swastika True Art was more powerful than Boundless Galaxy Fist and Sword Demon Three Swords, yet even it had only inflicted a minor injury on Abbess Purple Bamboo.

It looks like I won't be able to kill her today. Fang Ling clenched his fists in frustration, then immediately turned and left.

Although his physical body was nearly deathless, his spiritual energy was almost exhausted. Continuing the fight would be pointless.

Instead, Abbess Purple Bamboo would capture him alive. If she caught him, the consequences would probably...

Seeing Fang Ling withdraw, Abbess Purple Bamboo did not immediately pursue him, for her body felt terribly uncomfortable.

She sat cross-legged and devoted all her strength to suppressing the poison.

After a while, she finally brought the toxin under control, and it no longer posed any serious danger.

But to her alarm, her body was becoming stranger and stranger, and no matter how she tried to suppress it, nothing worked.

A look of shame and anger rose on her face.

"Damn it, how could I..."

That strange sensation grew increasingly intense, and certain thoughts lingered in her mind, refusing to leave.

She shook her head hard, looked in the direction Fang Ling had fled, and said through gritted teeth, "Wretch! I'll deal with you first!"