Lu Yang decided to use his golden finger cheat. “Immortal Fairy, help me take a look. What’s the situation with those three?”

He didn’t dare extend his spiritual consciousness to scan them, fearing that they had someone behind them and that doing so would alert them.

“Let this immortal see, let this immortal see... I see.”

“What’s the situation?”

“One has a cultivator hidden in his jade pendant, another has one hidden in his compass, and the last has one hidden inside him. Is this a custom of Xitian Temple? Does this count as doing as the locals do?”

“I don’t think Xitian Temple knows it has such a custom...”

Lu Yang remarked inwardly, Xitian Temple, could you please keep an eye on your servants’ courtyards? Every menial monk here is impressive.

The three menial monks from the North, South, and West courtyards each believed themselves to be the strongest. As if by unspoken agreement, they chose to fight individually.

Xinding had the lowest cultivation, so none of the three took him seriously. So what if he has the prayer beads? How much of their power can he bring out? And how can that compare to our trump cards?

“Carefree Steps!”

“Bodhi Sealing Fist!”

“Formless Divine Art!”

Each of the three had their own fortuitous encounters; none used Bodhi Fist. Their techniques varied in power, and the battle was evenly matched.

Bodhi Sealing Fist and Formless Divine Art were fierce and powerful, while Carefree Steps was a movement technique that allowed one to evade most attacks.

Xinding’s opponent was Xinchen from the South Servants’ Courtyard. Faced with Bodhi Sealing Fist, Xinding dared not hold back any longer. He coiled the prayer beads around his right hand and directly employed Arhat Fist.

Boom!

Their fists collided. Both retreated several steps before steadying themselves.

Xinding had taken three more steps than Xinchen!

The crowd erupted in an uproar. Despite his advantage in cultivation, the crowd favorite, Xinchen, was losing ground in the fight!

“This is Arhat Fist!” The monk presiding over the competition from the Martial Vihara was astonished. He shot to his feet, his face full of disbelief. He had been fortunate enough to see prominent figures like the head of the Martial Vihara and the elders of Xitian Temple perform it. This is the renowned Arhat Fist of our Buddhist sects! Even an ordinary monk of the Martial Vihara like myself is not qualified to learn it!

“Senior Brother Zhiyuan, were you the one who imparted it to him?” If anyone here is capable of teaching Xinding Arhat Fist, it is most likely Zhiyuan, who was once a prodigy.

But as far as I know, Zhiyuan isn’t qualified to teach it.

If the higher-ups find out, he’d be lucky to get expelled from Xitian Temple; if worse comes to worst, his cultivation would be completely crippled!

Zhiyuan shook his head calmly. He had already asked Xinding where he had learned Arhat Fist. “He found it in the scripture library. Even I only have the first chapter of Arhat Fist, but what he found is the complete version.”

This alone ruled out the possibility that Zhiyuan had taught him.

“The scripture library? This kid is truly lucky.” The monk from the Martial Vihara envied Xinding. This is Arhat Fist; even Transcendent Tribulation cultivators can use it. Countless people outside covet the Buddhist Arhat Fist.

Lu Yang knew Arhat Fist, and so did everyone he knew. He didn’t think it was particularly rare because of his lofty standing. For ordinary Divine Transfiguration cultivators, Arhat Fist was a technique they could only dream of.

“I’ve heard that the scripture library also hides the Ultra-Strength Vajra Palm, Dragon-Subduing Tiger-Vanquishing Scripture, and śarīra relics. It’s a pity that no one has ever found them,” the Martial Vihara monk said regretfully.

Xinding and Xinchen were locked in an intense battle. Even with his magical treasures, Xinchen was not a match for Xinding. Growing anxious, cold sweat formed on his forehead.

I’d wanted to take first place. How am I losing to someone with lower cultivation?

“Trash. Let me take over.” An imperious voice sounded in Xinchen’s mind, and he instantly lost control of his body.

Xinchen’s fighting style abruptly changed. The previously awkward Bodhi Sealing Fist became fierce and fluid, every punch heavy enough to crush a skull.

The soul hidden within Xinchen rejoiced at the sight of Arhat Fist. Isn’t this the reason I’d infiltrated Xitian Temple through a menial monk? I thought I’d need to conceal myself and wait patiently. I never expected the Arhat Fist to appear right before me!

Lu Yang understood at once what had happened to Xinchen.

“You think you’re the only one who can swap people out? Juniors of later generations have no respect for the rules. Little monk, let this esteemed one fight for you!”

As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. The Tofu Heavenly Sovereign was well-versed in the ways of body takeover thanks to extensive experience with having his body taken over. He immediately took over Xinding’s body.

“Arhat Fist!”

With Lu Yang fighting in his stead, the Arhat Fist unleashed became extraordinary. Buddhist chants resonated within him, surging like tidal waves.

He wasn’t worried about exposing his identity through Arhat Fist. Xitian Temple is full of monks, so there is no issue of hair falling out to give me away.

Lu Yang’s fist struck “Xinchen”’s lower abdomen, nearly causing his eyes to pop out of their sockets.

Why does the other party have someone hidden inside, too?

And their combat power is terrifying!

After Lu Yang took over, the battle became one-sided. “Xinchen” couldn’t retaliate at all.

Seeing this, the souls hidden within Xin’an and Xinping could guess what had happened on Lu Yang’s side.

If that’s the case, there’s no need to hide any longer! Let’s just swap out the fighter!

Two powerful souls seized control of Xin’an and Xinping’s bodies and charged at Lu Yang and “Xinchen.”

What had been two separate duels now turned into a melee. Though all four were powerful existences, they were now using bodies at the Qi Training Stage. No matter how great their techniques were, they could not fully execute them.

Moreover, the Martial Vihara monks were watching. They couldn’t go overboard, lest they let something slip.

“This won’t do.” Lu Yang gritted his teeth. He wasn’t afraid of the three. If the fight continued, his chances of winning were rather high. But the problem was that Xinding was only at the Level Six Qi Training Stage, so he couldn’t withstand having someone else fight in his stead for long.

“All of you, come in here!”

Lu Yang stopped occupying Xinding’s body and returned to the Qingfeng Sword’s small world. He opened the small world and sucked the other three powerful souls into it.

Each of the three souls believed themselves to be the strongest and wasn’t afraid of any tricks from Lu Yang. They allowed themselves to be drawn into the small world, thinking it would be a convenient way to deal with the trouble all at once.

Once he was inside the small world, Lu Yang finally saw their true forms—an old man, a middle-aged man, and a young man.

“Who would have thought? I assumed I was the only one using this method to infiltrate Xitian Temple. I didn’t expect three more of you.” The speaker was the soul hidden in Xinchen’s jade pendant, an old man.

“I’m Mo Xiaochou, Intermediate Divine Transfiguration Stage. You should have heard of me.”

Mo Xiaochou had figured it out. Xinding hadn’t found Arhat Fist in the scripture library. The person behind him had taught it.

He looked at Lu Yang. “Fellow Daoist, would you be willing to pass me the Arhat Fist book? The price is negotiable... You’re Lu Yang!”

Mo Xiaochou hadn’t paid much attention to Lu Yang’s appearance before, but now that he looked properly, he got a fright.

So this is the famous Prodigy Lu, renowned for punishing evil and upholding virtue?

Why is he here?

“Fellow Daoist Mo, it seems the reason you’ve sneaked into Xitian Temple is to steal the Arhat Fist book.” Lu Yang produced the Chengying Sword with a knowing smile. I’ll treat it as helping Xitian Temple catch a thief.

Mo Xiaochou inwardly cursed. Despite being a fellow Intermediate Divine Transfiguration cultivator myself, I am no match for Lu Yang.

“Hey, how about the three of us join forces and take him out?” Mo Xiaochou called out. This is our only option now.

The young man hidden in Xinping’s body ignored Mo Xiaochou’s proposal.

“Prodigy Lu? Just an ambitious junior seeking fame and glory,” the middle-aged man hidden in Xin'an's compass commented coldly, “Since you’re a prodigy nurtured by the Dao-Seeking Sect, you should have plenty of good things. Leave your life and your possessions here.”

As the last word left his lips, the aura of a Basic Fusion cultivator burst forth, forcing Mo Xiaochou to his knees.

“A Basic Fusion cultivator reduced to a mere soul dares to be so arrogant?” Lu Yang sneered. These three were all in a soul state, their cultivation halved. On the other hand, he had both his body and soul intact. He didn’t have to fear the middle-aged man. Furthermore, his soul’s strength was comparable to that of an Intermediate Fusion cultivator.

The middle-aged man was infuriated by Lu Yang’s attitude. “Arrogant? I’ll show you the gap between the Fusion Stage and the Divine Transfiguration Stage today!

“I hereby establish Rule:...”

“Immortal-Exterminating Sword Array!” Lu Yang instantly released the Chengying Sword and the Seven-Star Sword Set. The eight immortal-treasure-grade swords formed the Immortal-Exterminating Sword Array above the middle-aged man’s head.

Before the middle-aged man could finish his sentence, he dropped to his knees with a thud, as if ten thousand mountains had crashed down upon him.

Moving like a kunpeng, Lu Yang summoned the Chengying Sword and imbued it with Three Flavor True Fire and Golden Bird True Flame. The Golden Bird True Flame was supremely pure in yang energy and thus a bane to souls. Moreover, Lu Yang’s soul was so powerful that he could dominate the middle-aged man in a one-on-one battle.

Lu Yang transformed into a sword immortal, his sword light deadly cold. The sword qi carried by every sword left the middle-aged man trembling with fear. He had no time to establish any rules.

Shk!

The Chengying Sword pierced through the middle-aged man’s head, pinning him to a large rock.

“Challenging beyond your level, huh? An interesting junior.”

The young man who had remained silent throughout finally spoke. He clapped lightly and looked at Lu Yang with approval. “A mysterious sword array, the legendary Chengying Sword, and this small world—even this old man doesn’t have as many treasures as you do.”

A trace of greed flickered in the young man’s eyes. Lu Yang’s possessions are worth more than anything I had come to Xitian Temple to obtain. “Treasures belong to fated ones. All these have an affinity with me. They shall all be mine!”

With that, the young man stopped suppressing his aura. The aura of a Basic Transcendent Tribulation cultivator radiated from him, an invisible oppressive pressure spreading rapidly from him in all directions.

Mo Xiaochou felt as though his own soul was about to be crushed, on the verge of dissipating in an instant.

“Basic Transcendent Tribulation Stage? Indeed, I can’t beat that.” Sensing the young man’s cultivation, Lu Yang lowered his head with a helpless smile and unhurriedly put away the Chengying Sword and the Seven-Star Sword Set.

“Immortal Fairy, I’m counting on you.”