Fang Jie's left hand plunged into Chen Ya's lower abdomen, then crushed his dantian. The intense pain and fear instantly drained the proud monk of his strength; his hand, gripping Fang Jie's right arm, fell limply to his sides. His knees slowly buckled, a pleading look even in his eyes.
Fang Jie slumped to the ground, panting heavily, looking at his twisted right arm and giving a helpless, bitter smile.
Chen Ya's body slumped backward, and Fang Jie's left hand was immediately pulled from his body. Blood smeared his left arm, emitting a foul stench.
Pain caused sweat to bead on Fang Jie's forehead, streaming down his face.
He collapsed to the ground, like a deflated balloon.
Marilian and several students from the martial arts academy were stunned for a moment, then she was the first to react, rushing forward while calling Fang Jie's name. In her haste, she stumbled twice. Just as she climbed to Fang Jie's side, Professor Mo Wanwu finally arrived.
He was injured.
Severely injured.
Half of his shoulder had almost collapsed, his arm hanging limply from his body like a strip of cloth. His face was as white as paper, even more so than Fang Jie's. He had come from the direction the old monk had fled with Fang Henshui, clearly indicating he hadn't just arrived but had first intercepted the old monk and been seriously injured.
He staggered a few steps as he leaped down from the tree, ultimately collapsing to the ground. As he fell, Fang Jie saw the apologetic look in his eyes. For a fleeting moment, Fang Jie even felt she shouldn't blame him. But quickly, she forcefully banished that thought. Two students rushed to support Mo Wanwu, somewhat at a loss as they looked at their teacher, who was barely alive.
"How are you!"
Marilyn ran and scrambled to Fang Jie's side, lifting him from the ground. Fang Jie gasped for breath, the intense pain almost preventing him from speaking. He pointed to the broken knife lying nearby, his finger trembling in mid-air. Marilyn reached out and pulled the broken knife over, but as she handed it to Fang Jie, he slowly shook his head.
"What's your name?"
Fang Jie swallowed hard before asking.
"Marilyn..."
At this moment, Marilyn felt a pang of sadness, because Fang Jie didn't remember her name at all.
"That's a really awful name."
The wretched guy in her arms even chuckled, a trickle of blood spilling from his mouth. Marilyn panicked, instinctively reaching to wipe Fang Jie's mouth. But the blood, once it started, wouldn't stop; every time Fang Jie opened his mouth, blood flowed out.
"Damn it... I was still too slow."
Fang Jie cursed, looking down at his chest. There was a hole in his clothes, right above his heart. Before Fang Jie could deliberately let his right arm be grabbed by Chen Ya, Chen Ya's finger-pinching technique still struck his chest. At that moment, Fang Jie was surprisingly calm. He had thought his fear of death was insurmountable, but when he felt death approaching, he felt no fear at all.
So, having died once, dying a second time is surprisingly peaceful. Damn it, I always thought I would be more terrified.
The flustered Marilyn tried to stop the bleeding wound on Fang Jie's chest, looking even more disheveled.
Fang Jie's bloodied left hand gripped Marilyn's hand, and he asked weakly, "Have you ever killed anyone?"
Marilyn hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. Tears streamed down her face as she shook her head, seemingly flowing even more profusely than Fang Jie's blood.
"Then try it, kill him."
Fang Jie looked at Chen Ya, whose body was still convulsing.
"He...is already dead."
Marilyn told Fang Jie in a trembling voice.
"No…either slit his throat…or shred his heart…otherwise, I won't be at ease."
Marilian froze, her hand gripping the broken knife trembling uncontrollably. She glanced instinctively at Fang Jie, and seeing the pleading look in his eyes, a surge of courage welled up within her. She gently placed Fang Jie on the ground, then moved to Chenya's side. Looking at this monk who had killed several of her companions, seeing the fear and pleas in his eyes, Marilian screamed, then plunged the broken knife into Chenya's heart.
"Again,"
Fang Jie said from behind her.
Marilian screamed shrilly as she frantically stabbed the broken knife into Chenya's body again and again. Driven by excitement and fear, her strikes were inaccurate. Not every stab pierced Chenya's heart, but she made a sufficient number of cuts. When she finally stopped, the upper body of the venerable monk Chenya was almost a mangled mess. His neck and body were only connected by a thin layer of skin, his head lolling to one side, his eyes still open.
He died with his eyes wide open, unable to rest in peace.
Covered in blood, Marilyn looked at Fang Jie and noticed his eyelids were drooping. Even so, this perplexing young man managed to raise his left hand and give Marilyn a thumbs-up. Then, smiling, he said to her in a broken voice, "Now...you look much prettier."
...
...
Half-Moon Mountain.
In a secluded cave, the old monk Zhihui quietly swallowed the blood that welled up in his mouth. Leaning against the cave wall, he looked at Fang Henshui, who was trembling to one side, and couldn't help but smile mockingly.
"You think you can capture me by sending four ninth-rank experts? You Sui people are too arrogant. If that Zhou Banchuan in Chang'an, pretending to be stupid, had made a move, if that Master Xiao from the Qing Le Mountain Qi Temple had made a move, I might really be dead here today. Unfortunately… those are two cowardly, fame-seeking bastards. They dared not come because they were afraid of being defeated by me."
Zhihui caught his breath for a moment, then continued to vent, "They are afraid of failure because they bear the weight of the myth that your entire Sui Dynasty has bestowed upon them. If they lose, then that myth will be shattered. Come to think of it, those two are even more cowardly than you, laughable… shameful!"
He coughed as he spoke, faint traces of blood appearing at the corner of his mouth.
"That village girl… I remember her. Eleven years ago, she was one of those demons who went west. And that swordsman, he went with them too, but he was a coward and ran away. He was the only one from your Sui people who escaped that westward journey, a disgrace to your Sui!"
"Eleven years have passed, and he wants to avenge himself? Bah!"
Zhihui spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva. He looked nothing like a virtuous monk; he resembled a shrew who had lost an argument, utterly lacking in composure.
"Speak!"
Zhihui pointed a finger at Fang Henshui's forehead, forcing him to say, "You said the Sui people are worse than pigs and dogs!"
Fang Henshui blankly looked up at Zhihui, his eyes vacant. He seemed terrified, his very soul seemingly leaving his body. He had once been a handsome young man, but now he resembled a lifeless walking corpse.
Hearing Zhihui's command, he subconsciously muttered, "The Sui people are worse than pork."
Zhihui laughed, but the laughter aggravated his injuries, causing him to cough violently.
"That scholar in plain clothes had decent magic, but unfortunately, he lacked powerful offensive methods. That swordsman was utterly worthless; his sword couldn't break my Vajra Indestructible Body. The most hateful were that Taoist priest and that village girl; their cultivation was entirely focused on offense, making them quite troublesome. And that reckless junior—a mere eighth-rank cultivator dared to provoke this Heavenly Venerable?"
"So what if there were five? This Heavenly Venerable killed one and injured four. Isn't that impressive?"
He asked Fang Henshui.
"Yes, Heavenly Venerable is very powerful."
Fang Henshui answered mechanically.
"Hmm, among the Sui people, you are the smartest."
Zhihui finished cursing, leaning against the stone wall, panting heavily. His chest heaved, clearly indicating that his injuries were far more severe than they appeared. As he cleaved Mo Wanwu away with a single palm strike and then repelled Li Nan with another, he was restrained for a fleeting moment by the combined efforts of He Li Daoren and Zhuo Buyi. In that instant, the landlady seized the opportunity and delivered a devastating punch to his chest.
Wisdom possessed an indestructible body, yet even so, enduring the landlady's blow damaged his heart meridian. At the crucial moment, he gritted his teeth and forced all his internal energy out of his body, leveling a ten-meter radius of dense forest. Li Nan, shielding the landlady, was killed by the shockwave. Zhuo Buyi and He Li Daoren were also injured.
A full-force attack from a Buddhist Celestial Venerable was as terrifying as a natural disaster.
Eleven years ago, Li Nan escaped.
Therefore, the landlady, who had personally witnessed that battle, despised him and would never forgive him. Eleven years later, Li Nan ultimately died at the hands of the Buddhist sect, thus washing away his shame. When he died, half his body was mangled from the shock, yet he smiled at the landlady, still with an apologetic expression.
The landlady knelt beside him and whispered,
"They're waiting for you."
Li Nan nodded in satisfaction, then closed his eyes.
Four top-tier ninth-rank experts besieged a Buddhist Celestial Venerable, paying a heavy price, yet still failed to capture him. This outcome was hard for everyone to accept, especially Crane Cry Daoist; the proud red-robed high priest finally saw the gap between himself and wisdom. They also finally confirmed that there were people in this world who stood firmly above the ninth-rank experts.
How long will it take for the Daoist sect to surpass the Buddhist sect?
Crane Cry Daoist didn't know the answer, and perhaps he would never have the chance to hear it in his lifetime.
...
After resting for a while, the Wise Celestial Venerable, having regained some strength, slowly opened his eyes and pointed outside at Fang Henshui, saying, "Go outside and find some water. Be careful not to let those Sui people see you. Although they are all injured and won't recover for a while, this is, after all, outside the capital of the Great Sui Dynasty."
Fang Henshui, who had also regained some strength, nodded and then carefully climbed to the cave entrance to look outside. After confirming that no one was outside, he crawled out. After Fang Henshui left, the Wise Celestial Venerable slowly let out a sigh of relief, but his expression suddenly changed, and he couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood.
He subconsciously turned his head to look, and only breathed a sigh of relief when he found that Fang Henshui hadn't returned.
Instantly unleashing almost all of his cultivation power—such a powerful attack was indeed terrifying. But afterwards, he would have a considerable recovery period. For a certain period, he would be weaker than a child.
"Chenya, don't blame your master."
He muttered to himself, a hint of hatred flashing in his eyes.
"I only just realized this myself. You, even I... Da Zizai deliberately led us down this deadly path to the Sui Dynasty. Unfortunately, your death was meaningless. I thought that by abandoning you, the Sui people would subdue you first to rescue Fang Jie before intercepting me, but I never expected them to ignore Fang Jie entirely! The Sui people's intentions are hard to fathom..."
He sighed, his eyes filled with growing hatred. "Da Zizai, your two-birds-with-one-stone plan is indeed brilliant. If I hadn't met Fang Jie, I wouldn't have understood your ruthlessness. Master... if that's the case, why didn't you stop me fifteen years ago? You watched me send people to hunt down Fang Jie for fifteen years without lifting a finger. Fifteen years later, he's grown up, so you had Da Zizai plot to kill me. Master... you've endured me for fifteen years; it must have been tough."
"Mengge!"
He roared in a low voice, unwilling to accept it. "You're an idiot too! The person you wanted to kill was someone like this, haha... if you knew, wouldn't you be as unwilling as I am?!"