Volume 1, Chapter 168 – Storm

“Other than divine phoenix blood, there’s another, even higher-grade bloodline aura…”

The man licked his lips, his nostrils flaring as he stared fixedly at Shi Lan, eyes full of hunger. “You are definitely not human… Your bloodline is even nobler than Demon Emperor bloodline descendants, almost on par with an Emperor’s child…”

As he spoke, his gaze burned hotter. Spittle gathered at the corners of his mouth as he muttered, “The ultimate tonic…”

“This is a Heaven Demon. His strength is roughly equivalent to the second stage of the Heaven-Man Realm. He’s likely had his eye on you for a while. I’ve been monitoring the battlefield just now and got careless for a moment. Give me control of your body, or it’ll be hard to get out of this.” Reincarnation spoke up.

Shi Lan sighed inwardly. It seemed the aura of this phoenix blood very easily drew the attention of the demon race. That transformation-stage demon king from before had been the same.

“Boom!”

Before Shi Lan could hand control of her body over to Reincarnation, a streak of golden light crashed down like a falling meteor, kicking up dust dozens of zhang high. With it came a rain of staff shadows from the sky, smashing straight down toward the red-haired man’s head.

When the dust cleared, an old monk with a bare torso stood there with his hands pressed together. His whole body looked as though it had been dipped in liquid gold. He was nearly a zhang tall, with corded muscles.

Shi Lan recognized this old monk. His terrifying combat power, suppressing a Heaven Demon the instant he acted, was something no one who had seen it could easily forget. The kasaya he had worn earlier was long gone, and the Vajra Demon-Subduing Pestle from before had also disappeared without a trace.

But judging from those golden hands thicker than an ordinary man’s waist and hips, his combat power was still frightening.

This imposing figure of the old monk made Shi Lan think of that Chan School vajra on the front page of the Vajra Divine Fist manual, the same untouchable majesty.

The rain of staff shadows tore open space and forced the red-haired man back several thousand zhang.

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In midair, a handsome man in his early thirties stood holding a pitch-black long staff. It was Ji Yun. After receiving the order to retreat, he had first stabilized his own small world, which had already started to crack, and then begun searching for Shi Lan’s whereabouts. Fortunately, he had not arrived too late.

“Many thanks for your aid, Senior!”

Feeling the suppression vanish, Shi Lan lifted her hand and shouted her thanks. For the moment, she did not connect the handsome man in the air with the old monk from before.

Ji Yun was a little pleased, nodding slightly and seeming very aloof.

The old monk turned around and walked up to Shi Lan, joined his palms, and spoke softly. “Benefactress, may I ask where the prayer beads on your wrist came from?”

Seated on horseback, Shi Lan’s head only just came up to the old monk’s chest. She had to tip her head back slightly to see his face.

Hearing the old monk’s question, Shi Lan glanced at the prayer beads on her own wrist and said, “A little monk gave them to me.”

The presence of these prayer beads was not particularly strong. As Shi Lan had used the Vajra Divine Fist less and less, the slight boost they gave had become almost negligible. If the old monk hadn’t suddenly brought them up, she had nearly forgotten about them.

“That little monk, is his name Wuya, looking about thirteen or fourteen?” The old monk’s expression changed slightly.

“Yes. He seemed to be looking for his master.” Shi Lan looked at the old monk, a bit of doubt rising in her heart. Could there really be such a coincidence in this world?

Casting a glance at the beast horde not far away, Shi Lan signaled for the people behind her to hurry on toward the fortress, while she herself stayed behind.

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Her presence was too conspicuous, and she might very well draw more demon powerhouses over again. Following the old monk would probably be safer.

“Wuya is indeed this poor monk’s disciple. His temperament is unruly, and he often runs off on his own. Benefactress, where did you meet him?” The old monk chanted a Buddha’s name, then asked again.

Watching the old monk chat away on his own and Ji Yun standing in midair, the red-haired man in the distance had a gloomy look in his eyes. His divine sense turned into countless threads, conveying part of the information to many of his companions.

Doing this would certainly mean sharing the spoils, but if he didn’t, this pot of meat would only be his to watch, not to eat.

Standing in the air, Ji Yun felt faintly uneasy. How had Shi Lan come to be connected with Chan Buddhism, even forming karmic ties with them? The monks of Chan were far too good at sweet-talking people. If Shi Lan’s mind got tangled up and she shaved her head to become a nun, wouldn’t that be a colossal joke?

Thinking of this, Ji Yun immediately said, “Master Jingkong, please help me suppress that demon first. Whatever needs to be discussed can wait until later.”

“Very well.” Master Jingkong slowly parted his joined hands. In his golden palms, a “卍” Buddhist seal glimmered faintly.

Jingkong assumed a stance that was very familiar to Shi Lan. It was precisely the opening move of the Vajra Divine Fist.

“Ka——”

His huge hand clenched tight, grabbing a pitch-black void out of thin air. The corded muscles across Jingkong’s body bulged high, brimming with a terrifying power that could shatter heaven and earth.

“Boom——”

A golden fist-qi rose like a scorching sun, smashing down toward the red-haired man. Its momentum was unstoppable; even if a star blocked its path, there would be nothing for it but to be punched through.

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The red-haired man’s face changed dramatically. He had not expected Jingkong’s divine power to be so terrifying.

Ji Yun struck at the same time, the pitch-black long staff in his hands smashing down as well.

Before their attacks could land, a blade light like a hanging Milky Way cleaved out in the air. More than ten terrifying auras approached together. Having received the red-haired man’s message, the many Heaven Demons besieging Luo Xiuhan simply dragged the battlefield over.

Watching the many demons in the sky drawing ever closer, Shi Lan felt a vague sense of dread for some reason. This was a place of trouble; she could not stay long.

In their spare moments, the Heaven Demons swept their gazes over Shi Lan, who was about to leave the ground below. Their hearts all stirred. They understood that the information the red-haired man had sent back before was no lie.

Jingkong’s expression grew solemn, and Ji Yun’s face was not looking good either. He barked at Shi Lan, “Leave, quickly…”

Before he could finish, the aftershocks of the experts’ clash in the sky shattered the endless void. Spatial ripples churned without cease.

Once a few of the Heaven Demons freed up their hands, they immediately charged toward Shi Lan.

There were six or seven Heaven Demons attacking together. Ji Yun and Master Jingkong had no way to block them.

Shi Lan’s gaze turned dark. She handed control of her body over to Reincarnation. At this moment, she had no power to protect herself at all.

Two resplendent streaks of saber qi slashed out from Luo Xiuhan’s hands, and their targets were actually Ji Yun and Master Jingkong.

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The two of them turned pale and could only hurriedly block. The saber qi struck beside them and transformed into a tremendous force that hurled them sideways for several thousand li, briefly pushing them out of sync with the battlefield.

“Boom!”

Reincarnation had only just taken control of the body when a spatial storm suddenly rose between heaven and earth. At the very center of the storm, Luo Xiuhan and several Heaven-Man Realm experts of the Sacred Martial Immortal Sect stood together, shrouded in a faint white light, then vanished in an instant.

“Damn it, a Void-Shattering Jade refined by an Emperor level expert. He played us!”

“Luo Xiuhan…”

“Bastard!”

The Heaven Demons all cursed in fury. A few of them still refused to give up and pushed through the spatial storm toward Shi Lan.

“Shi Lan” stood in place with her eyes half closed, ignoring the Heaven Demons drawing near as she felt the spatial ripples in the area. A surge of spatial power flowed out around her, like a film separating her from her surroundings.

A clump of energy that gave off strange ripples seeped from her fingertip and merged into the space around her. Like a spark falling into a haystack, it instantly ignited the chaotic spatial storm on the battlefield.

“Sss…”