"Observe the impermanence; the five skandhas are empty."

"Bodhisattva, through reliance on Prajñāpāramitā, the mind is without hindrance. Life, death, thriving, and withering... attaining Anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi."

Deep in the forest.

The wrinkled-faced Yuanle pressed himself tightly against a tree trunk, silently reciting the Heart Sutra of Life and Death as the Method circulated within his body.

The Life and Death Technique!

This technique was a Breath Concealment Secret Technique from the Buddhist Sect, capable of completely restraining one’s aura and merging them with the surrounding environment.

Its sophistication was in no way inferior to the Celestial Capital Sect’s Hidden Element Technique.

As the Method circulated, his aura vanished bit by bit, and his body and clothes also began to quietly transform.

He became indistinguishable from the tree trunk behind him.

Never mind seeing him from a distance; even if one walked right up to him or even touched him, they wouldn’t notice anything amiss.

Life and Death was just that profound.

SWOOSH!

A figure holding a saber appeared nearby. With a casual swing of his long saber, streaks of Saber Qi shot out.

"He’s gone?"

Zhu Ju glanced around and quickly departed.

Yuanle remained motionless, not stopping the circulation of his Life and Death Technique.

「Not long after.」

Zhu Ju’s figure reappeared. He swung his saber around as if venting his frustration before finally shaking his head in resignation.

"Looks like he really escaped."

Yuanle watched this scene, his heart as calm as still water.

Long before joining Bamboo Mountain Temple, he had spent many years knocking about the Martial World. His experience with pursuits and escapes was, to say the least, extensive.

As expected, after a while longer, the vanished Zhu Ju appeared yet again. His gaze swept the area before he turned and departed without a sound.

’This time, it should be for real.’

But Yuanle still did not reveal himself.

He couldn’t be absolutely sure the other man had truly left. If he were discovered, it would be certain death.

’Who is this person? His Saber Technique is terrifying. My Six Ren Flying Saber has seen me through no fewer than a hundred battles, yet this is the first time I’ve met someone who could withstand it at close range.’

’The key is that he not only tanked the Flying Saber, he even charged through it to get close. In a close-quarters fight, I’m afraid not even a Great Mage would be his match.’

’And that Magical Power...’

’So strange!’

He had exchanged a palm strike with Zhu Ju and had instantly coughed up blood. Worse, his Meridians were now being ravaged by Five Elements Evil Qi.

Even now, the injury remained.

While in the state of Life and Death, all of Yuanle’s life force fluctuations were suppressed to their absolute minimum, but this also prevented him from healing his wounds.

Time slowly trickled by.

「One day later.」

The fighting inside Bamboo Mountain Temple was drawing to a close. The army began to mop up the monks hiding in secret places.

「Three days later.」

Cart after cart of goods traveled toward Yidu under military escort.

Four days!

Five days!

...

Yuanle was like a piece of deadwood, his body merged with the tree trunk, not moving an inch for days.

During this time, people passed by this spot.

Some fighting, others fleeing...

He was like an emotionless bystander, unmoved even when gold and silver rolled to his feet, as if he had truly become a part of the tree.

「Seven days later.」

RUSTLE...

The ’bark’ trembled, and dust fell from it in streams.

His face deathly pale, Yuanle slowly moved his body, allowing his long-dormant Qi Blood to begin circulating once more.

His cheeks were visibly sallow and shrunken, and the light in his eyes had dimmed.

After standing withered for seven days without taking in a single speck of external sustenance, he had been relying entirely on his internal energy reserves.

For an old man, this was indeed a grueling ordeal.

What’s more, he was still injured.

Not only had his injuries failed to heal, but they had actually worsened. His fingers trembled uncontrollably.

"I need to find a place to recuperate as soon as possible."

Checking his physical condition, Yuanle’s heart sank.

’Otherwise, if my injuries worsen, I’ll be in deep trouble.’

Fortunately, he knew of a few secret locations nearby that he and Yuanchen had prepared for their ’hunts’ down the mountain. They contained enough supplies and would allow him to hide for a while.

After stretching his stiff limbs, Yuanle quickened his pace and ran toward the edge of the forest, where the sunlight ahead grew brighter.

Just as he was about to step out of the dense woods, a figure suddenly plunged down from above.

"I’ve been waiting!"

"You’ve finally decided to show yourself."

SLASH!

A flash of saber light.

Yuanle’s body froze. He stared with wide, unblinking eyes at Zhu Ju descending from the sky, his face contorted.

Resentment!

Despair!

...

Seven days!

It’s been seven days!

This person was actually still here, waiting?

"My Five Elements Evil Qi is inside your body. Although I didn’t know where you were hiding, I could sense that the Evil Qi hadn’t dissipated or moved far away."

Zhu Ju sheathed his saber and looked at the corpse slowly falling into two halves in front of him, shaking his head.

"You certainly are good at hiding, and very patient. Even I started to wonder if you had already escaped."

"Fortunately."

"I won."

*

*

*

「Main World.」

Dragon Head Peak, Inner Sect Disciple courtyard.

Looking at the small mountain of loot piled before him, Zhu Ju couldn’t help but grin.

A huge haul!

Whether it was Spiritual Crow Master or Yuanle, both had carried their most powerful items with them, one for the siege and the other for escape.

Spiritual Crow Master’s Red Gourd and Yuanle’s Six Ren Flying Saber were both genuine Magical Artifacts.

Besides, there were other gains.

The Red Gourd contained its own pocket dimension. It could not only be used like a Qiankun Bag to store items but could also devour and refine flames.

With the Red Gourd in hand, Spiritual Crow Master could summon dozens of Fire Crows from within it, making it useful for both offense and defense.

Unfortunately for him, he ran into Zhu Ju.

Zhu Ju shattered his Monster Transformation Technique with a single slash, and before he could fully unleash the powers of the Red Gourd, he was shredded by the Sword Qi of the Ten Thousand Swords Map.

As for Yuanle...

The man had not only the Six Ren Flying Saber on him but also a dusty Beast Hide Bag, which also contained a pocket dimension.

The bag was mostly filled with books.

"As expected of the Scripture Pavilion’s Chief Steward. Did he pack up the entire Scripture Pavilion?"

Looking at the piles of Buddhist Scriptures before him, Zhu Ju shook his head, speechless.

"But you weren’t a real Monk, so what was the point of packing all these scriptures?"

When he first saw these books, he thought they were the legacy Magic of Bamboo Mountain Temple and was overjoyed.

Who would have thought that while there was some Magic, it was just a few paltry scrolls.

The vast majority were Buddhist Sect scriptures.

The Heart Sutra, the Lengjia Sutra, the Three Plate Scriptures of Tibet, the Mandala Fire Heart Sutra...

Shaking his head, Zhu Ju picked out the items that suited his fancy.

The Sumeru Mountain Pendant!

Ming King Fist!

Six Paths Reincarnation Leg!

The Skinning Charm Technique!

The Six Ren Saber Technique!

The Profound Heart Sword Control Skill!

...

Among these, Methods for Martial and Magical Dual Cultivation like Ming King Fist were useless to Zhu Ju, who was already in the Innate Realm.

At most, they could broaden his horizons a little.

The Skinning Charm Technique was a Demonic Method, and he certainly wouldn’t practice it.

As for the Six Ren Saber Technique and the Profound Heart Sword Control Skill, these were Methods that Yuanle had chanced upon before he became a monk.

The Saber Technique was part of a set with the Six Ren Flying Saber, while the Profound Heart Sword Control Skill had never been practiced.

"The Saber Technique and Sword Control Skill are good, but they aren’t as suitable for me as my Five Elements Sword Control. What a hassle."

"Heh..."

"With too many Methods, it’s actually hard to choose."

Smiling, Zhu Ju took out the Methods he had found on Spiritual Crow Master.

The Golden Crow Visualization Image!

The Monster Transformation Technique!

The Fire Crow Array!

...

Besides the Methods, there were also various materials brimming with Spirituality. These were all the "tolls" that Spiritual Crow Master had intercepted over the past few days, and they nearly filled the gourd’s space.

It had to be said, Spiritual Crow Master had been extremely diligent in intercepting people coming down the mountain. His haul was impressive, but unfortunately, it had all fallen into Zhu Ju’s hands.

Hm?

Looking at the item in his hand, Zhu Ju’s eyes flickered as if he had thought of something. He turned and pulled a jar out of Yuanle’s Beast Hide Bag.

The jar was three feet tall and shaped like a large wine vessel.

He had assumed it was a wine jar before and had casually set it aside without opening it.

Now, upon lifting the lid, he saw a viscous liquid inside.

Zhu Ju dipped a finger in, brought it to his mouth, and licked it. The taste was intensely sweet, and it even had the effect of nourishing the Divine Soul.

"Buddha’s Heart Dew!"

It must have taken who knows how long to collect and store this much Buddha’s Heart Dew.

Although the Divine Soul nourishing effect of Buddha’s Heart Dew was not as good as Yellow Millet, there was so much of it that it would last him for a very long time.

...

「At the foot of the mountain.」

The disciples of the Dragon Head Lineage gathered together once again.

Zhu Ju, dressed in the white-and-gold-thread robes of an Inner Sect Disciple, stood out conspicuously among the crowd of Outer Sect Disciples.

"Senior Brother."

Ning Ruxue stood beside him, smiling gracefully.

"Since you advanced to the Innate Realm and became an Inner Sect Disciple, this seems to be your first time coming down the mountain to visit the Marketplace, isn’t it, Senior Brother?"

"It is."

Zhu Ju nodded.

"Blindly cultivating is not a good method. I’ve been in seclusion for so long, it’s about time I got out for a walk."

He had gained a great deal in the Magic World this time, but many of the items were useless to him. He definitely needed to make a trip to the Marketplace.

"It’s good that you came out," Ning Ruxue said.

"A while ago, a Foundation Establishment Pill surfaced in the Marketplace. No one knows who ended up with it, but it caused a huge commotion."

"Because of that, the Marketplace has been much livelier recently. If you’re lucky, you can get some good things for cheap."

’A Foundation Establishment Pill?’

Such a thing was still too far beyond their reach, so much so that they weren’t even qualified to come into contact with it. It could only serve as a topic for conversation.

"Senior Sister Pei is here."

A stir went through the crowd.

Pei Jingque, dressed in purple, was seen walking slowly down the stone steps. As she drew near, her gaze paused on Zhu Ju.

"Junior Brother Zhu!"

"Senior Sister."

"Good, very good!" Pei Jingque looked him up and down, her face showing pleasant surprise.

"In less than a year, you’ve already succeeded in Breaking One Acupoint, Junior Brother! This is truly worthy of celebration!"

What?

Ning Ruxue froze upon hearing this.

’Zhu Ju has already succeeded in Breaking One Acupoint?’

"It’s all thanks to the guidance of my fellow senior brothers and sisters. Otherwise, I would not be where I am today," Zhu Ju replied with a faint smile.

He hadn’t deliberately hidden his Cultivation. Sometimes, revealing one’s Talent made things more convenient.

"But I heard you don’t visit your fellow disciples much," Pei Jingque said with a smile.

"To be able to advance so rapidly through hard cultivation alone... Junior Brother, your Talent is truly exceptional. Congratulations!"

Breaking One Acupoint in less than a year meant he could definitely succeed in Breaking Four Acupoints within ten years. In twenty or thirty years, he would be a pillar of the Sect.

And Zhu Ju was just twenty years old.

Given time, he might even have a hope of reaching the Dao Foundation.

A pity!

The only pity was that he cultivated an Earth Evil Technique; otherwise, his progress would be even faster. The thought crossed Pei Jingque’s mind, a mix of surprise and regret in her eyes.

Beside them, Ning Ruxue’s cheeks were taut.

She and Zhu Ju had entered the Immortal Sect together. Back then, her Cultivation was even a little deeper than his. Now, she hadn’t even stepped into the Innate Realm, while he had already broken through the Innate One Acupoint.

The gap between them was growing wider and wider!

HUFF...

As if having made a decision, Ning Ruxue took a deep breath, a look of determination flashing in her eyes.

"Let’s go!"

Pei Jingque released the Jade Leaf.

"First, to the Marketplace."