Chapter 120: Nine Dragon Divine Fire, Hundred Poisons Corpse Puppet
Daoist Ten Thousand Calamities!
Hong Yuan had a very clear understanding of his own position.
To open the gate of the Blessed Land and take control of the Great Year Blessed Land, he needed to climb martial power and power to the peak and reach the absolute summit.
But peaks towered everywhere, and the scenery at the top had long been occupied by others.
Some had just reached the summit not long ago, a mere few generations or decades, yet there were plenty of forces entrenched at the summit for hundreds of years.
Could he persuade them to step aside with words?
Only killing!
Kill all the way up from the foot of the mountain, carve out a road to the heavens, straight to the Firmament.
Hong Yuan had come to this world not to be polite and harmonious with these old hegemons and overlords, but to overturn this old era.
He would be the calamity for the myriad forces of this old era.
‘Ten Thousand Calamities’!
Destroying the Grain Transport Gang, Hua Family, and Guo Family, and attacking the Zhongyu Sect were merely rehearsals; making a move against Vajra Temple, a top-tier sect, was only now getting serious.
Thus, even though he knew the Red Lotus Sect had plans against Vajra Temple, he did not sit idly by to reap the benefits.
If he could not even cross Vajra Temple, how could he speak of the world?
“Daoist Ten Thousand Calamities?”
Hui Chi was slightly taken aback, not because he found the name intimidating—there were plenty more arrogant and domineering titles in the Martial World.
It was just that he racked his brains but could not think of anyone who matched the name.
“What a fine Jianghu wanderer.”
The big-eared monk Hui Zhen sneered coldly.
In this world, all advanced martial arts had hidden instructions; without inheritance, even entering the basics was impossible—where would any wandering master come from?
“A sneaky coward like you, no need to say more; once this seat captures you, I will pry open that mouth of yours.”
Hui Zhen stepped forward, a cold ferocity appearing on his round face.
Vajra Temple had numerous disciples spread throughout Songyang Prefecture, but nine out of ten were outer sect or lay disciples; the Inner Courtyard actually took a streamlined approach.
Selecting the best of the best, only the disciples with the highest talent could be granted Dharma names.
For example, among Vajra Temple’s current ruling generation of Hui-character monks, there were only seven.
Among the seven, Abbot Huiming, Disciplinary Courtyard Huitong, Secret Treasure Courtyard Huizhao, and Charity Courtyard Huizhi formed the core.
Hui Chi and Hui Zhen were considerably inferior in cultivation, so they became the chief stewards handling all external affairs.
“Junior Brother, stay calm; let me ask him one more question.”
Hui Chi’s face was like tree bark, without the slightest expression, as he gazed faintly at Hong Yuan: “Layman, you have come to attack my Vajra Temple for no reason today; surely you must give some explanation?”
Hong Yuan smiled faintly: “I have many hobbies in life, with a particular fondness for martial arts. Vajra Temple is renowned in Mingzhou with an ancient inheritance. I have come here naturally to witness Vajra Temple’s martial arts. Buddhism is pure, vast, and opens the gates of convenience widely—can it satisfy this small wish of mine?”
“I will satisfy you.”
Hui Zhen could no longer hold back; with a furious shout, force erupted from his feet, cracking the green stone slabs in front of the hall fiercely, as his whole body shot out like a soaring eagle.
“After this seat captures you, I will throw you into the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda: ten years to dispel evil thoughts, ten years to dissolve karmic obstacles, and in twenty years, this seat will accept you as a disciple.”
Hui Zhen’s voice was ice-cold; his body spun like a swift eagle, arms spread as if stirring up gales, one foot like a heavenly pillar smashing down from mid-air toward Hong Yuan’s head.
At the same moment he attacked, Hui Chi also moved.
Without Hui Zhen’s ferocity, his sleeves whipped up waves of qi as his whole body shot forward like a small boat; one hand changed rapidly, suddenly surging with sharp qi energy concentrated between two fingers.
The two fingers were like sharp swords piercing the air, stabbing swiftly at Hong Yuan’s heart.
This seemingly steady old monk’s attack, though less imposing than Hui Zhen’s, was equally ruthless.
Vajra Temple had stood nearly four hundred years undefeated not by compassion, but by thunderous means suppressing all forces daring to resist within its territory.
Not to mention all of Mingzhou—even in Vajra Temple’s base of Songyang Prefecture, there were numerous Noble Clans and gang forces; did they not covet Vajra Temple’s status?
Dispelling the rebellious thoughts of these forces was all planned by Hui Zhen and Hui Chi, the two monks in charge of external affairs.
As for how to dispel them?
Naturally with Buddhist Dharma!
Now, in the eyes of Hui Chi and Hui Zhen, this so-called ‘Daoist Ten Thousand Calamities’ was just another evil demon daring to defy their Vajra Temple.
He must be resolved with Buddhist Dharma.
Hui Zhen’s foot came down like a heavy hammer, Hui Chi’s finger-sword pierced through the air even faster, so that the foot and finger-sword seemed to arrive simultaneously.
‘Freely Control? No?!’
Hong Yuan’s Net probed out, sensing the qi energy released by the two monks.
These two monks gave him a strange feeling: their force transformation was still at the second layer, yet their combat power far surpassed any ‘Freely Control’ level martial artists he had seen.
Even Qing Lingzi, now at the Microscopic Level, surpassed them in technique but not in the sheer dominance of their force.
‘Did they once reach the Microscopic Level, then age caught up, unable to maintain ‘Force like drawing silk’ technique, and fell back?’
‘No, these two monks show no sign of declining qi and blood—quite the opposite, their qi and blood are extraordinarily vigorous… I understand.’
Hong Yuan instantly understood.
Either they were ‘gifted with extraordinary talent’ like him, or they used alchemy and pills to boost their own qi, blood, and physique.
Likely the latter.
Combined with top-tier force methods, they achieved the ability to fight Microscopic Level Grandmasters despite not having reached that level themselves.
‘This is the foundation of a major sect: core disciples get pill assistance even upon Entering Force.’
Hui Chi and Hui Zhen, fellow disciples for decades, brought pressure in their joint attack even surpassing that of Grandmasters Lei Meng and Han Ding Tian back then.
Over the years, they had advanced and retreated together; no matter how powerful the opponent—whether from righteous paths, Noble Families, or evil path masters—they had all been slain by their hands.
Never any mishaps.
This time would be no exception.
A cold smirk appeared on Hui Chi’s sallow, withered old face, but then he froze—his fingers struck ‘Daoist Ten Thousand Calamities” heart, yet felt nothing solid.
Hui Zhen’s foot also landed on the opponent’s head; with his explosive force, even a head forged of steel would bear a footprint from this stomp.
But Hui Zhen’s face also showed astonishment.
Immediately after, the figure before them burst ‘pop’ like a bubble, as if an unreal phantom.
Hui Zhen’s foot missed; unable to retract his momentum, his rigid leg stabbed toward the green stone ground like an iron cone.
Before he hit the ground, Hui Chi shouted sharply; his free hand reached out, grabbing Hui Zhen’s leg, spinning it like a windmill to dissipate the force while Hui Zhen flipped in mid-air and landed steadily!
Their coordination was extremely tacit; only then did they steady themselves, their eagle-like gazes sweeping around.
No need to look everywhere—their ears caught the ‘whoosh whoosh’ of qi energy breaking through the wind as a slender, pale hand reached toward them.
Though just one hand, in the eyes of Hui Chi and Hui Zhen, it unfolded like a heavenly net on earth; the two were like fish in the net, struggling yet unable to escape.
Bang!
Hui Zhen’s face burned with intense pain, as if countless needles stabbed, then converged into two streams drilling viciously into his pupils.
As Hui Zhen let out a miserable scream, his pupils exploded, blood spraying.
“Junior Brother!” Hui Chi heard his junior brother’s cry of pain, fury and anxiety surging in his heart; his fists surged with gusts of wind as he roared fiercely, ready to fight to the death.
Immediately, his qi and blood stalled; astonishment appeared on his face as a bloom of blood flowered on his chest, his whole body seeming drained of strength, collapsing limply.
“Martial Uncle Hui Chi!”
“Martial Uncle Hui Zhen!”
Shouts of alarm rang out as more temple monks rushed forward, some holding staff, others monk’s knives, surrounding with eyes nearly splitting in rage.
Vajra Temple’s prestige was too great, its position too secure; even seeing two Hui-generation monks defeated, these monks’ first reaction was not fear, but outrage.
Hong Yuan’s hand grasped as if scooping some intangible thing from the void—it was the force drawn from Hui Chi and Hui Zhen’s bodies.
He used Six Void Force to sense its transformations, analyze and crack its applications, ignoring the surrounding monks entirely.
Suddenly, his gaze shifted eastward to a cluster of halls guarding a nine-story pagoda standing tall.
As he watched, bursts of fireworks shot out, coiling up the pagoda like an angry dragon, in an instant the fire dragon rushed into the sky.
Then, rumbling shocks came from various places in Vajra Temple’s Inner Courtyard, like thunder.
The encircling temple monks all felt the ground quake beneath them, staring dumbfounded at the burning pagoda, faces filled with bewilderment and shock.
Panicked screams and chaotic footsteps rose inside and outside the temple.
Vajra Temple was a holy land in Songyang Prefecture; devotees came to make offerings at every moment, and many wandering knights admiring Vajra Temple’s martial arts were also present, all now looking toward the fire.
“Vajra Temple is on fire?”
“No, that earlier sound was porcelain thunder—someone is attacking Vajra Temple.”
“How is that possible? Who has such audacity?”
Hong Yuan’s figure floated up, leaping onto the Mahavira Hall; looking out, the flames burning on the pagoda were extremely bewitching, like a roaring mad dragon.
‘Hm? Did the Red Lotus Sect make their move? So coincidental?’
‘The fire spread so fast—Vajra Temple is not the ‘Biwu Immortal Realm’; even if they could smuggle in fire oil, it wouldn’t be this fierce… this is… sorcery?’
‘Why burn a single pagoda?’
Before the nine-story pagoda, in the vast courtyard, several figures stood silently: Lady Miaoyun, Illuminating Envoy, Dharma King Qingjing, Dharma King Baosheng, and others.
Behind Lady Miaoyun stood a burly figure wrapped entirely in black cloth, face covered by a bronze mask, standing motionless like wooden stakes.
Flames roared; boiling heat whipped by fierce winds made Lady Miaoyun’s wide robe flutter loudly. She sighed: “This ‘Nine Dragon Divine Fire’ technique is the pinnacle of fire-attribute among the five elements sorcery; once activated, it even burns the air and is hard to extinguish, with vast range and immense power—few sorceries in the world can match it. It’s just too costly in lifespan.”
As she spoke, she glanced in one direction at the pagoda’s base, where three people stood in triangular formation; two were silent, bodies still rigid like javelins.
Only the Daoist in the ‘man’ position gasped heavily, his black hair rapidly turning white, tight skin crawling with wrinkles.
“The Holy Religion trained sorcerers for this very day; as long as we obtain that Buddhist treasure, it’s all worth it.”
Illuminating Envoy glanced at the white-haired sorcerer and said flatly: “Moreover, Huizhao is also in this Secret Treasure Pagoda; if we can burn him to death, it’s killing two birds with one stone.”
Lady Miaoyun smiled: “Is the Buddhist treasure really in this Secret Treasure Pagoda? Won’t it burn away with the treasure?”
Illuminating Envoy flipped his palm, revealing a thumb-sized yellow-brown crystal in it; faintly, whether reflecting firelight or inherently mystical, it glowed slightly.
“No mistake; though we couldn’t bring the Holy Religion’s sacred object to sense that Buddhist treasure, this item’s material is one with the sacred object and has long absorbed its aura, gaining some sacred properties!”
“According to its sensing, the Buddhist treasure is in the pagoda, though its exact position is hard to pinpoint—better to burn it empty and search easily.”
During their talk, sounds of robes breaking through wind came from all around as Vajra Temple’s numerous masters rushed over swiftly.
Inside the Secret Treasure Pagoda, piercing wails rang out one after another; many monks were in the pagoda, now melting in the sea of fire.
Roar roar!
A roar echoed; from high above, a figure wrapped in flames crashed through the thick pagoda wall, plummeting from the air, and upon hitting the ground, an arm trailing fire snakes slammed fiercely into the earth.
Crack!
With a crisp snap, the arm broke; the flame figure leaped up, slashing back like a blade to sever the broken arm, roaring furiously as it charged viciously at Lady Miaoyun and the others.
“What a Secret Treasure Courtyard Head Huizhao—true skill accomplished; even ‘Nine Dragon Divine Fire’ can’t burn you dead.”
Lady Miaoyun giggled, seductive charm in her eyes; with a flick of her long sleeve, a bell appeared in her hand, gently shaking to emit strange ringing sounds.
“Facing such a ferocious demon, how could a weak woman like me dare? Monsters must be handled by monsters—go!”
As the bell sound rang, the bronze mask figure also moved, emitting a inhuman growl from its throat, charging fearlessly at the flame figure.
The ground trembled; the two collided instantly, neither defending—the bronze mask figure and flame figure’s fists clashed, erupting with deafening shocks and roars.
In one breath, dozens or hundreds of exchanges; then the flame figure was punched flying backward.
A mocking smile appeared on Dharma King Baosheng’s fat face: “After all, he was once one of the four Heavenly Kings on par with us; after being refined into this ‘Hundred Poisons Corpse Puppet’, his strength is even greater—pity he was too stubborn, or he wouldn’t have ended up a puppet.”
Lady Miaoyun chuckled lightly: “This servant didn’t tamper with the Hundred Poisons Bodhi Gang; it was purely Heavenly King Song’s talent falling short, failing at the last step… Since he’s dead, with our past ties, if he knew under the nine springs that his puppet body could help this servant, he would surely approve gladly.”
Dharma King Baosheng rolled his eyes; Song Yinglong had a 99% failure rate cultivating Hundred Poisons Bodhi Gang, true—but if this woman didn’t tamper, he wouldn’t believe a word.
“Enough joking; the other Hui-generation have arrived.” Dharma King Qingjing said gravely; before his words finished, sharp whistles descended!
