Gou can devour and become a saint in the cultivation world.

Chapter 324 Face to Face, the Gourd Shell Shows Its Power

Chapter 324 Face to Face, the Gourd Shell Shows Its Power

Above Qingfeng Ridge, the clouds were forcibly torn apart, revealing several high-hanging figures.

Below, beside a pile of rubble, Chen Yi and Ning Bu'er stood side by side.

The two men were dressed in tattered clothes, stained with blood, and their auras were unstable, typical of those severely injured in the early stages of the Nascent Soul realm.

Chen Yi's face was deathly pale, and a trace of blood that had not yet dried clung to the corner of his mouth. It was from the reverse flow of his meridians caused by the powerful spiritual impact he had just suffered.

He stared intently at the monk in the air, his chest heaving violently, his eyes filled with a hint of anger at being interrupted from healing, yet he had to suppress it because the situation was beyond his control.

The acting was so convincing, it was almost unbelievable. *Pfft*

Ning Bu'er couldn't hold back and spat a mouthful of blood onto the gravel at his feet. He swayed and his face turned ashen.

Ning Bu'er also cooperated well.

Even so, Zen Master Xuanhui in the air showed no sign of restraint.

He was wearing a bright red kasaya, with one palm held upright in front of his chest, while the other hand was gently caressing inside his sleeve.

It was a finger bone as white as jade, with a faint golden glow flowing over it. It was the Zen Relic, a quasi-fifth-tier treasure secretly passed down by the Vajra Temple.

Xuan Hui closed his eyes slightly, a glint of light flashing in them. He ignored Chen Yi and the other man's words and directly activated the relic in his hand.

hum.

A barely perceptible ripple spread through the air.

An extremely domineering perception, imbued with the unique Buddhist intent of salvation, swept over Chen Yi's body without restraint. This power did not linger on the surface of his body, but rather forcefully pierced into his inner courtyard.

Chen Yi felt as if every pore on his body stood on end, and every inch of his flesh and blood was exposed to the other party's gaze.

If it were an ordinary cultivator, they would surely be in a panic at this moment, desperately mobilizing their spiritual power to resist.

But Chen Yi did not move.

The moment he sensed the presence of the newcomer, his long-dormant concealment abilities quietly began to activate.

Deep within the bone marrow, the once vast and powerful energy of the golden crystal marrow seemed to have heard some command. It instantly condensed and settled, transforming into the most inconspicuous mundane impurities, deeply hidden in the finest crevices of the bones.

His physique, which was originally powerful enough to shake mountains, was now showing only the meager level of someone who had just entered the first stage of body refinement.

The pitiful amount of golden crystal marrow inside his body looked so thin that it was less than two hundred strands.

Such a level of body refinement is as fragile as a piece of paper in a battle between Nascent Soul stage cultivators.

If Xuan Hui were to go all out, he could kill three people with a single finger.

After scanning the area three times to confirm that the golden crystal marrow was indeed scarce and its spiritual aura was dim, clearly indicating that its foundation was damaged, Xuan Hui withdrew his domineering perception.

That's it?

Even Yuanzhen's protective golden light couldn't break through it, let alone kill anyone.

With a clearer understanding in his mind, Xuan Hui's aggressive demeanor softened somewhat.

He didn't care at all whether his actions were impolite; in his view, the weak have no privacy.

"Amitabha."

A single Buddhist chant, like the resounding toll of a great bell, caused the surrounding rocks to tumble down.

Xuan Hui slowly opened his eyes, his gaze filled with compassion and indifference, and said condescendingly, "Benefactor Chen, this old monk has disturbed you."

Chen Yi wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, looked at the other person coldly, and did not return the greeting.

Xuan Hui didn't take it to heart and continued, "I came to Qingfeng Ridge this time to ask if you know any clues about the death of my disciple Yuanzhen? I heard that he had quite a bit of contact with you in the Black Mountain Secret Realm?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the air suddenly became still.

Chen Yi's pupils suddenly contracted to the size of needles.

His body stiffened for a moment, and the anger on his face caused by being disturbed froze instantly, replaced by extreme astonishment and shock.

"What?!"

Chen Yi gasped in surprise, his voice sharp with shock.

"Fellow Daoist Yuanzhen is dead?!"

He took a half step forward, looked up at Xuan Hui, his face full of disbelief: "How is this possible? Fellow Daoist Yuanzhen's Buddhist teachings are profound, and his defensive supernatural powers are indestructible. Who could kill him?"

This act was flawless.

Xuan Hui exchanged a glance with the two monks behind him. All three of them had a serious look in their eyes, and there was no hint of joking.

Chen Yi stared at the expressions of the three men for a few moments, seemingly finally digesting this astonishing news.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, his brows furrowed, and began to recall: "In the Black Mountain Secret Realm—Fellow Daoist Yuanzhen did indeed have some misunderstandings with me."

He spoke slowly, observing Xuan Hui's expression as he spoke.

"But that was just a minor matter."

At the time, Fellow Daoist Yuanzhen did something that was detrimental to Chen, but the matter was already settled before the end of the secret realm.

The victim is the side of the Crane-Crowned True Lord; he will naturally go to the Vajra Temple to demand an explanation.

Chen Yi paused, a wry smile appearing on his face, and pointed to his still-bleeding wound.

"As for Mr. Chen, we will just wait for Senior Crane Peak to give us some compensation."

Chen had already told Yuanzhen Daoist that he would not pursue the matter further.

Moreover, Chen did not suffer any substantial losses because of him. On the contrary, he was seriously injured while exploring other dangerous places in the secret realm, which is why he was eager to return to heal his wounds.

Chen was completely unaware of Yuanzhen's death.

If Master Xuanhui doesn't believe it, he can always ask other fellow cultivators in the secret realm for verification.

Chen Yi spoke sincerely and logically, with no faults whatsoever.

However, even as he spoke, Xuan Hui's hand, hidden in his sleeve, did not stop.

The Zen relic spun wildly between his fingertips, emitting obscure fluctuations that only high-level cultivators could perceive.

Buzz!

Chen Yi felt a chill run down his spine.

An immense, mysterious, and indescribable pressure descended from nowhere.

This is neither spiritual pressure nor divine consciousness, but rather the forced gathering of some kind of causal energy between heaven and earth.

It was as if an invisible net was tightening from all directions, trying to extract all the secrets of his entire being and even the depths of his soul, and expose them to the scorching sun.

That was a causal lock forcibly activated by a fifth-tier supreme treasure!

Chen Yi's heart skipped a beat. This old bald monk was asking questions, but in reality he was actually making a deadly deduction!

If he hadn't been prepared, he would probably have been exposed by this aura by now.

His left hand, hidden in his sleeve, was tightly clenched into a palm-sized piece of gourd fragment.

That was a parting gift from Lao Hu.

Just as that force of heaven and earth was about to penetrate Chen Yi's soul defense, the fragment trembled slightly, and the mottled and ancient patterns on its surface seemed to come alive, exuding a vast and ancient aura.

This aura wasn't fierce, but like a deep-sea reef, it remained unmoved despite the raging storm.

Within Chen Yi's body, the spiritual energy accumulated from the fragments was being burned and consumed at an alarming rate.

Each instance of spiritual annihilation silently negates the probing of a wave of Zen relics.

The feeling was like swimming upstream in a flood, but he endured it without showing any abnormality, and even kept his tone of voice steady.

After a few breaths, the terrifying aura that had enveloped his entire body finally receded like a tide.

In mid-air, Xuan Hui's fingers, which were twisting the prayer beads, suddenly stopped.

He frowned slightly, a hint of doubt flashing in his eyes.

What happened?

The hexagram represents a state of complete chaos.

It was like throwing a pebble into a bottomless swamp, without creating a ripple or receiving any feedback.

That's impossible.

The Zen Relic was left behind by the old patriarch of the temple after his passing. It contains a trace of the great Zen principles. It should be as clear as the lines on the palm of a mere rogue cultivator in the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

Unless—this kid has a treasure of the same level concealing the secrets of heaven.

It's one thing for Ji Wuchen of the Ji family to have such methods, but that's because his ancestors were once wealthy and produced several Nascent Soul stage experts.

But what makes Chen Yi, a rogue cultivator with no connections, stand out?

Xuan Hui gave Chen Yi a deep look, his gaze becoming somewhat playful.

He didn't really care about what Chen Yi had just explained. His words basically matched the results of his previous investigation, with few discrepancies.

What truly interested him was the kid's hidden trump card that he had blocked from being deduced.

"Benefactor Chen, it seems you have quite an opportunity."

Xuan Hui no longer concealed his intentions and went straight to the point, his gaze sharp as lightning, piercing Chen Yi's eyes: "Even the Zen relics of my Vajra Temple cannot discern the truth of what you say. Heh heh."

The laughter carried a hint of probing and a touch of intimidation.

Since you've already been seen through, pretending to be stupid would only make you look foolish.

Chen Yi slowly raised his head, his gaze falling on the finger bone in Xuan Hui's hand that exuded profound Zen-like energy.

Deep within his soul, the Insightful Eye flashed and disappeared.

nice one.

The causal lines swirling around the finger bone were almost solidifying.

This thing's ability to forcibly lock onto the Qi is comparable to the fragment that Lao Hu gave it.

Is this the profound heritage of a long-standing school? Indeed, one should not underestimate the heroes of the world.

Chen Yi's mind raced, but a look of sudden realization appeared on his face.

He didn't panic. Instead, he reached out and picked up the ordinary-looking fragment, which even had some worn edges.

"Is this the item Master Xuanhui was referring to?"

Chen Yi held the fragments in his palm and showed them to the other person openly.

The fragments were dull and gray, devoid of any brilliance, and looked like ordinary objects.

"This item was obtained by me when I was in the Qi Refining stage from an old man in a mortal market."

A wistful smile played on Chen Yi's lips as he said, half-jokingly, "It was an old man with white hair who gave it to me. He insisted that it was the core shell of some kind of Nascent Soul Crimson Object, and that carrying it would ensure my good fortune and protect me from all misfortune."

At this point, Chen Yi chuckled self-deprecatingly, his fingers gently tracing the rough texture of the fragments.

"I didn't believe it at first, but—"

He looked up at Xuan Hui, his eyes clear: "Throughout this journey, I, Chen, have indeed been quite lucky, escaping death several times. It seems that the old man wasn't lying to me."

Xuan Hui stared at the fragment, his pupils shrinking slightly.

Even with his keen eyesight, he couldn't discern the material of this thing.

It looked like an ordinary object, but it faintly exuded an aura that made even the relic in his hand feel wary.

A marketplace for mortals? An old man with white hair? A spirit that has transformed into a deity?

This story sounds absurd, but in the world of cultivation, the more absurd the adventure, the more likely it is to hide a shocking cause and effect.

If it truly involves beings at the Nascent Soul level—

Xuan Hui felt a new layer of apprehension.

Chen Yi keenly noticed the hesitation in the other person's eyes. He sneered inwardly, but on the surface, he put on the appearance of a merchant looking for a bargain and weighed the fragments in his hand.

"If the master is interested, he can exchange it for the bone in his hand."

Chen Yi pointed to the Zen relic in Xuan Hui's hand, a hint of undisguised greed and provocation flashing in his eyes.

"Hehe, the only thing is, if you encounter that white-haired old man in the future, you should think about how to explain it."

After all, that old man seemed to have a bad temper; if someone snatched the things he gave away, he'd probably try to get revenge.

While he called it an exchange, Chen Yi wasn't entirely bluffing.

The spiritual essence within Old Hu's fragment has been almost completely depleted after the previous use and the previous rounds of use; it's practically a useless piece of armor.

The Zen relic in the other party's hand was frighteningly full of spiritual energy.

If I could get my hands on it and devour its Zen-like spirituality—

Chen Yi secretly calculated that if he occupied a certain path, he could probably break through the bottleneck directly, reach the peak of the fourth level, and even glimpse the door to the fifth level.

At that time, even if a Nascent Soul cultivator wanted to scheme against him, he would have to break a few teeth.

The air seemed to freeze for a moment.

Xuan Hui looked at Chen Yi's confident and fearless appearance, tightened his grip on the relic, and then loosened it.

Replace? Of course, it's impossible to replace.

The Zen Relic is just as important in the temple as the Prisoner of Heaven Relic; no matter how powerful that fragment is, he cannot exchange it for it.

Moreover, this kid's background seems to be much more complicated than imagined.

Although he was weak in his own right, he dared to show off a Nascent Soul level treasure and even dared to threaten the rogue cultivators of the Vajra Temple. If he said he had no one behind him, who would believe it?

Xuan Hui stared at the fragment, his pupils instantly shrinking to needle-like sizes.

The Zen relic in his hand trembled wildly inside his sleeve, and the suppressive force originating from the same source law rushed straight into his sea of ​​consciousness through his palm.

That's right, absolutely right.

In an inconspicuous corner of the ordinary people's market, there was a seemingly mad, white-haired old man—all the fragments were pieced together at this moment into a suffocatingly large web.

The lingering aura on these fragments is ancient and weathered, carrying an indifference that regards all living beings as worthless.

This is the core shell shed by a spirit creature at the Nascent Soul stage or above; it is the remnant of the highest level of power in this world.

Chen Yi is merely a Core Formation cultivator, so how could he possess this item for so long without suffering a backlash?

The only explanation is that someone suppressed the cause and effect above for him.

Xuan Hui's eye muscles twitched slightly.

This Chen Yi is no ordinary rogue cultivator; he is clearly a pawn placed by a Nascent Soul Heavenly Lord, or even the one personally chosen by that powerful being who walks the mortal world.

Although the Vajra Temple is domineering, it must still bow its head in submission before the Nascent Soul Heavenly Lord, lest it disrupt that powerful being's plans—

Cold sweat trickled down my back, soaking my inner lining.

Xuan Hui forcibly suppressed the turmoil in his heart, forced a stiff expression of compassion onto his face, and clasped his hands together.

"That's enough."

His voice was a little hoarse, but he masked it well.

"Keep your things safe. I'll pretend I didn't see what happened today."

He didn't want to touch upon even the slightest cause and effect on those fragments, or even glance at them.

"Since Benefactor Chen is unaware of Yuanzhen's affairs, then this old monk will not disturb him any further."

After saying that, Xuan Hui turned and left without any hesitation. Although the two disciples did not understand why, they did not dare to say anything when they saw their headmaster doing so, and quickly followed.

Three golden beams pierced the sky and disappeared into the horizon in the blink of an eye.