A thick white fog blanketed everything.
The chill in True Lord Shendu's heart was hard to suppress.
In just a few breaths, if he hadn't used his handy Law Treasure [ Five-Colored Miasma Light Treasure Vase ] to block the sword in time, the Sword Intent wouldn't have landed on him. But in the blink of an eye, Qiujing, who was at the Nascent Soul Early Stage, died right in front of them!
How did you do that?
How did he do it?
What gives him the right?
This Nascent Soul True Lord of the Celebrated Origin Sect had hundreds of thoughts flash through his mind, and then only one thought remained.
"Walk!"
Without the slightest hesitation, he transformed into a streak of poisonous light, soaring into the sky, and turned to leave.
But the situation has already reached this point; how can we leave so easily?
The moment he took that first step, a terrifying murderous intent surfaced in his mind. Without the slightest hesitation, Shen Du replaced his body with a life-saving Shendu insect the instant the Grand Yin sword, bathed in the soft light of moonlight and snow, pierced into his flesh.
Chen Shuangbai's figure slowly emerged from behind the insect corpse. She gently flicked the insect corpse, now frozen into ice crystals, from her sword, then looked at Baotong and Shendu, who were standing side-by-side not far away, staring at her with horrified eyes, and laughed:
"Not bad, you reacted much faster than Qiujing, managing to dodge my sword strike a step ahead!"
Shendu's heart felt like it was about to jump out of his throat.
In that instant, he truly felt the taste of impending doom—never before had he been so close.
Chan Master Baotong had a solemn expression on his face.
He had already assessed the power of Chen Shuangbai's Sword Intent before arriving and prepared corresponding treasures to counter it, but he still hadn't expected that Chen Shuangbai, after achieving the Nascent Soul... would possess such a strange and unpredictable Divine Ability?
He also considered retreating, but looking at the sword immortal before him, if he turned and retreated, wouldn't he be simply offering his unsuspecting back to the sword?
A rich, golden, Glazed Glass light illuminated the surroundings. Chan Master Baotong clasped his hands together, and hundreds of golden eyes on his body opened simultaneously. His voice, like thunder, shook the heavens as he said, " Far-Reaching Luminous Sword Immortal, this time my Lotus Temple has offended you. Could you forgive this humble monk...?"
"Cannot!"
The sword immortal's voice was like ice, chilling to the bone, and resolute as he spoke.
Baotong's face flushed red, and a bright red rage appeared in his hundreds of golden eyes. His fierce aura intensified, and he shouted sharply, "This humble monk has been in the Nascent Soul Early Stage for over two hundred years, and is only one step away from the middle stage... Do you really think you can keep me here?"
The three-headed, six-armed, thousand-eyed Dharma body suddenly expanded, its hundreds of golden pupils shooting out even more surging golden light. At the same time, a Dharma picture appeared in the Zen master's hand, depicting the Buddha sitting cross-legged under the Bodhi tree with a compassionate face. Beneath him was a ferocious beast resembling a lion, its blood-red mouth wide open, but the Buddha used one hand to pry open the mouth and the other to smash its head, making the beast's face look miserable.
The Dharma Law Treasure of Shixiu, [ The Lion-Subduing Compassion Painting ].
When this image was summoned and stimulated by the incantation, the Buddha in the image seemed to come alive, transforming into a hundred-foot-tall golden body, sitting cross-legged on a lion-shaped beast, radiating a vast, Glazed Glass light, accompanied by falling golden dust.
"Duh!"
The golden body spoke, its voice like rolling thunder, like a great bell. Then it clasped its hands together into fists, raised them high, and then... hundreds of golden fist shadows fell like lightning and thunder, carrying boundless power, almost shattering the entire void.
Shendu also knew he couldn't hold back any longer.
He summoned the [ Five-Colored Miasma Light Treasure Vase ], which was already covered in cracks, and spat out several breaths of colorful light, making the treasure bottle magnify several times. Countless densely packed blind snakes emerged from it, spewing out bright and poisonous light. Wherever they passed, even the wind and rain were corrupted into various poisonous insects, and their hissing and opening mouths further amplified their power.
Amidst the barrage of attacks, Chen Shuangbai simply walked on calmly.
His pine-frost-colored Great Yin Feather Robe exuded a soft hue, yet his figure seemed to exist in another dimension, as if this place were merely a phantom, as he calmly strolled upwards.
Upon seeing Shendu, Shen Du was nearly scared out of his wits!
He's been a Nascent Soul for almost a century now, and he's encountered quite a few Nascent Soul, but none of them have ever... given him such a terrifying feeling as he is now?
He gritted his teeth and shouted sharply, " Baotong, now that things have come to this, are you still planning to hide your weaknesses?!"
Where is your [ Heavenly Eye Divine Ability ]?
A sharp shout caused Baotong to hesitate, but seeing Chen Shuangbai walking up unharmed, he could only close his eyes tightly, take out an object from his pocket—a stone bead shaped like an eyeball—and forcefully stuff it into his forehead, even as golden blood flowed down his cheeks.
"Open!"
The eyeball transformed into a golden vertical pupil, without a pupil, only a vast expanse of Glazed Glass light, as if it could pierce through everything. It then scanned the surroundings, chasing after Chen Shuangbai's shimmering figure.
After several attempts, when Chen Shuangbai's figure flashed again, the Glazed Glass light from the golden vertical pupil suddenly fell, and she felt her body freeze as if she were stuck in mid-air.
"Found it!"
A hint of joy flashed in Chan Master Baotong's eyes. He quickly activated the golden Buddha statue, and hundreds of golden fist shadows fell like a torrential rain, shattering the void and causing waves to surge and tsunamis to erupt on the sea.
True Lord Shendu seized this opportunity and activated the cracked [ Five-Colored Miasma Light Treasure Vase ]. Countless blind snakes transformed into streaks of brilliant poisonous light, coiling towards Chen Shuangbai in an attempt to trap him.
Faced with this overwhelming and deadly attack, the figure, seemingly frozen in the golden light, simply endured it without any resistance. After a dozen breaths, everything returned to calm, and when the Glazed Glass light swept past, only a pine-frost-colored hem remained on the spot.
"Call..."
Baotong let out a long breath, feeling a sudden sense of relief. However, he did not relax his vigilance completely. The [ Lion-Subduing Compassion Painting ] quietly floated beside him, summoning three layers of Glazed Glass light to protect his body.
Such a genius... Baotong was actually not too keen on provoking him.
But this is a major undertaking for Lotus Temple, and that ancient Buddhist treasure must be taken back.
As for Jingxu... he was just a side effect.
The Lotus Temple wouldn't be affected by his presence or absence... After all, once that great undertaking is completed, the Lotus Temple's strength will increase significantly.
But he had indeed gotten himself into trouble... For the sake of the temple's great cause and for Baotong's future Dao Path, he had no choice but to harden his heart, abandon this Divine Ability stone, and get rid of it!
But as he was thinking, Baotong suddenly realized something was amiss.
"Strange... why is it so quiet?"
Once this thought arose, it spread rapidly like wild grass. Chan Master Baotong activated his Divine Ability in response, and rings of Glazed Glass light emanated from the [ Lion-Subduing Compassion Painting ] beside him, spreading out like ripples to the infinite distance.
As far as the eye could see, everything shattered like a broken mirror, turning into fluttering snowflakes that revealed the extremely handsome face of the Far-Reaching Luminous Sword Immortal, like a celestial being from the moon palace, and the golden-white halo between his brows, from which rings of iridescent light emanated, illuminating Baotong's entire body.
Like a reflection in water, hazy and indistinct, seemingly real yet unreal, it's hard to tell the difference.
Baotong was startled and was about to use his Divine Ability again, but only emptiness responded to him.
He suddenly realized something, looked down slightly, and saw that the Grand Yin Sword in the hand of the sword immortal in front of him pierced through the three layers of colorful light protecting him, as if piercing through a curtain of water, and deeply penetrated his heart.
The dark blue frost spread inch by inch, turning his entire body into ice crystals. His hundreds of golden eyes were also frozen, and slowly, slowly, cracks appeared on them.
"You..."
The Zen master opened his mouth, as if to say something, but the frost spread and froze his tongue as well.
Chen Shuangbai slowly drew his sword, the blade rubbing against the ice crystals, producing a soft, crisp sound, like the sound of stepping on thin ice in winter.
final.
The sword immortal raised his left hand, put his fingers to his lips, and gently exhaled a breath of white air, blowing it onto the body of the Chan Master Baotong in front of him. The enormous Dharma body collapsed with a roar, turning into countless tiny ice crystals that scattered in all directions.
It reflects a dazzling, cold brilliance under the moonlight.
[PS: Five chapters today! Hope you enjoy reading! Please give gifts! Please give a five-star review! Please urge me to update!]