That frost-white sword-qi seemed capable of cutting through everything in the world! Wherever it passed, the ground was plowed into a deep trench, soil and gravel surging to both sides like waves.
Green bamboo, flowers, and grass were all snapped at the waist, as if bowing in submission to this single strike.
Even Pang Wei, who had tried to dodge in a panic but had nowhere to run, was cut in half at the waist along with his blade by that crescent sword-qi.
Pang Wei did not even have time to let out a scream before his upper and lower halves separated. The terror and unwillingness in his eyes were frozen in that moment forever.
The sword-qi's momentum remained undiminished.
It swept right through the long spear Xiong Laosan held in front of himself.
Screech!
Like a knife cutting through paper, the long spear snapped instantly.
Immediately after, the sharp white light tore through the mid-grade protective treasure armor he wore inside without any resistance. It surged through his abdominal cavity, completely shredding his internal organs, profound acupoints, and meridians!
Thud...
Xiong Laosan was severed at the waist, his hot blood splattering everywhere.
His lower body still stood in place, while his upper body toppled backward.
The white crescent blade still did not lose its power, crashing violently into a tall dirt cliff at the entrance of the valley behind them.
Rumble!
The sword-qi carved into the dirt cliff, producing an earth-shattering roar.
Mids crumbling earth and flying dust, the massive cliff, which stood dozens of feet high, was actually cut clean at its base by this single strike and collapsed sideways.
Boom!!
Boulders and dust crashed down, perfectly blocking the only opening of this valley surrounded by cliffs on three sides...
It was as if the secluded valley had been sealed into a natural tomb.
“Heh... heh...”
Bloody froth poured into Xiong Laosan's windpipe. His body twitched a few times, the light in his eyes gradually fading until he completely stopped breathing.
With this, the second and third of the Six Cangwu Demons, Pang Wei and Xiong Laosan, were dead!
“Huh...”
Shen Xiuhan took a couple of slow steps forward, his green robes completely unstained by dust.
Looking around at the devastated valley, the trench plowed by his sword-qi ran straight from the valley entrance to its very depths. Broken bamboo and shattered branches littered both sides, and the collapsed cliff had sealed the entrance tightly with a pile of rubble. Two corpses lay sprawled in the middle of it all.
Shen Xiuhan let out a breath and clicked his tongue softly. “I didn't lie to you, did I? This sword strike... how was its grace?”
Pang Wei and Xiong Laosan could naturally no longer answer.
Their mutilated corpses lay quietly in pools of blood, their eyes still wide open, frozen with the terror and confusion they felt right before their deaths.
Only the rustling of the cool breeze blowing through the bamboo leaves echoed in the secluded valley, as if applauding the magnificent display of this single strike.
Clap... clap... clap...
Suddenly, an extremely abrupt sound of clapping slowly drifted down from high up on the cliff wall.
The clapping was neither hurried nor slow, maintaining a calm and measured tempo.
Following the applause was a gentle voice, so warm it felt like a spring breeze: “As expected of Wen Qingye's disciple! This strike of yours, young benefactor, is truly powerful.”
Shen Xiuhan was startled, his pupils shrinking instantly. He subconsciously gripped Hanlin tighter and whipped his head toward the source of the voice!
High up on the cliff, before the half-collapsed ruined temple, a figure had appeared at some point beneath a towering, gnarled ancient pine tree.
It was an old monk dressed in yellow robes. Around his neck hung a string of dark brown prayer beads, each the size of a longan fruit.
He had a kind and benevolent face, with white eyebrows that reached down to his cheekbones. A gentle, warm smile played on his lips as he unhurriedly clapped for Shen Xiuhan.
Shen Xiuhan's face darkened slightly as waves of shock crashed through his mind.
This place was Thousand Pools Island, a restricted area of the Star-Plucking Sect. It was surrounded by water on all sides, completely isolated from the outside world.
If the Six Cangwu Demons hadn't colluded with Lu Zhaoyuan, it would have been absolutely impossible for them to sneak into these waters.
Yet how on earth did this old monk get in?
What made Shen Xiuhan's heart turn even colder was...
this morning, he had already checked his intelligence reports, and other than the collusion between the Six Cangwu Demons and Lu Zhaoyuan, there had been no other news.
Yet this old monk had appeared out of thin air...
Moreover, with how sharp his senses were, he had actually been completely unaware of this person's presence, failing to catch even a sliver of his aura.
The intelligence system cannot make a mistake... Therefore, this person must be harboring some massive secret!
He narrowed his eyes to scrutinize the old monk's face, noting his gentle smile and eyes as clear as water, completely devoid of any killing intent or hostility.
After a brief hesitation, he tapped his toes against the ground and soared into the air, sweeping up the cliffside like a green crane to land on the open ground in front of the ruined temple.
“Your movement technique, young benefactor, is quite remarkable...” For some reason, the old monk's originally peaceful expression shifted slightly as a sharp light flashed deep within his eyes upon seeing Shen Xiuhan use Swift Swan, Swimming Dragon.
Shen Xiuhan took a deep breath, suppressing the doubts swirling in his mind, and cupped his hands in a respectful bow.
“Shen Xiuhan, a disciple of the Tingquan Academy of the Star-Plucking Sect, greets you, Great Master. Since you mentioned my movement technique... do you perhaps know its origins?”
Seeing him ask so directly without any hesitation, the old monk was not angry at all. Instead, the smile on his face deepened by a fraction.
Slowly bringing his hands together in prayer, his voice was calm: “Indeed. If this poor monk's eyes do not deceive him, this movement technique should be called... 『Swift Swan, Swimming Dragon』.”
Hearing this, Shen Xiuhan's heart leaped!
This was the first time someone had identified this movement technique right to his face.
One must know that 『Swift Swan, Swimming Dragon』 was a movement technique he had obtained by tracing the origins of the 『Iron Bone Technique』 he got from Tian Erhu, performing deduction all the way up.
At its root, it should be a lower-tier technique of the Longxiang Army's renowned divine ability, the 『Dragon-Elephant Luminous Prison-Suppressing True Body』.
Back then, Shen Xiuhan had even used it during the Longxiang Martial Feast, and not even Colonel Zhenyue Zhao Zheng of the Longxiang Army had been able to see through it.
Yet this old monk had named it in a single breath!
Just who on earth was he?
As if sensing the shock deep within Shen Xiuhan's eyes, the old monk smiled slightly, brought his hands together, and bowed: “This poor monk comes from the State of Yan. I am from one of the three lineages of Buddhism, the Mercy Dao, the Great Mercy Dharma Realm, and am the abbot of the Ci'en Temple. My Dharma name is...” He raised his eyes slightly. Though his gaze was as clear as water, he possessed a natural, awe-inspiring presence: “Shouchong!”
Shen Xiuhan's expression turned solemn upon hearing this. Tightly controlling his emotions, his thoughts raced.
The State of Yan... that Buddhist nation to the west of Great Qi?
The Mercy Dao? That name sounds somewhat familiar...
Ah, I remember! Back in the Ji family's Library Pavilion, I read a fragmented manual from a Buddhist holy land of the Dayang Dynasty, called the 『Mercy Deliverance Scripture』...
At the time, I thought the Mercy Dao had long since vanished into thin air with the fall of the Dayang Dynasty. But now it seems they went to the State of Yan in the west to keep their lineage alive?
Unaware of what was going through his mind, the old monk Shouchong continued:
“If one traces the source of your movement technique, young benefactor, it also originates from our Mercy Dao's great sublime technique, the 『Dragon-Elephant Luminous Prison-Suppressing True Body』. It was personally written by our lineage's Buddhist Lord, the ‘Sufferings and Calamities Deliverance Aspect’. In the terms of you martial artists, this technique belongs to the category of ‘Body Divine Abilities’.”
Hearing this, everything suddenly clicked for Shen Xiuhan.
So that's how it is!
The Longxiang Army's divine ability, which is said to make one 'immovable like a dragon-elephant, suppressing hell and subduing all demons,' actually has its roots in the Mercy Dao.
Names like 'dragon-elephant,' 'true body,' and 'prison-suppressing' certainly carry a strong Buddhist style...
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