Chapter 1184: Chapter 444: When Enemies Meet, Their Eyes Blaze with Hatred! Ancient Emperor Secrets! (Part 2)

However, since the Eightfold Exorcism Array has yet to be unraveled, the court is still scrupling over the rat in the china shop and will not act rashly for the time being, but he knew very well this delay would not last long; the day the Array was fully deciphered would be the day the Great Yuan Iron Cavalry trampled the Buddhist Sect!

So he had to restore his strength as quickly as possible to deal with the coming crisis; this was also his main reason for entering the Secret Realm this time.

And this Mystic Fire Treasure Mirror was the key!

"There’s barely any Buddha Bone left, but as long as I can find the remaining body, no price is too high. In the end, everything can be made up for anyway!"

As this thought rose, Hui Neng clenched two Buddha Beads again.

Just as he was about to crush them, he suddenly felt the hair all over his body stand on end as an intense sense of danger surged over him; by reflex he tore one off and hurled it out.

The sandalwood bead froze in midair; its outer shell shattered, releasing rays of Buddha light that turned into a giant bell, shielding his body.

The next instant, the sword edge had arrived.

The amber-like blade carried invisible Dao Power; like a hot knife through butter, it instantly tore through the Buddha light, and along with it, cleaved his body into two!

"Chen Mo!!"

In that split second, catching a glimpse of that indifferent face, Hui Neng couldn’t help but roar.

"Bald donkey, go die."

Chen Mo’s gaze was indifferent; his wrist flipped, flowers of sword light blooming in a brilliant flare.

The Dragon Marrow Sword rang sharply; sword energy surged forth, chopping the torso into countless tiny pieces of flesh.

Worried the other party might not be dead enough, he repeatedly blasted with Divine Soul assault techniques, then urged the Meteor Departing Fire; mercury-like flames poured down, completely engulfing Hui Neng.

Only when every inch of flesh and blood had been burned to ash did the flames finally go out.

The Buddha visage at the horizon gradually thinned, and in the end vanished completely; only a string of incomplete Buddha Beads floated quietly, radiating a serene halo, utterly unscathed by the raging flames.

"Huu—"

After finishing this entire combo, Chen Mo was somewhat tired, but he didn’t dare relax in the slightest.

His Divine Soul carefully swept through every inch of space around him; only after he sensed no trace of Hui Neng’s presence did he finally let out a long breath of foul air.

Though Hui Neng’s strength was not weak, he ultimately wasn’t truly First Grade; as long as the timing was grasped well, there was still a chance to kill him.

Of course, this was mainly thanks to that expert of the Sikong family holding him head-on, putting enough pressure on Hui Neng that a one-hit kill became possible.

"This thing..."

Chen Mo steadied his breathing and looked toward that string of Buddha Beads.

To let a cultivator at the Transcendence Realm leap across several major Realms and stand shoulder to shoulder with top Grandmasters—its power spoke for itself; its value could no longer be measured by ordinary grade ranks.

Just as he伸 out his hand, ready to seize it, suddenly the beads split apart of their own accord, two of them cracking open; dazzling Buddha light surged forth again, ripping open the void, and the remaining string of beads vanished in a flash.

"Mm?!"

Chen Mo’s expression tightened.

To prevent Hui Neng from escaping, he had already used the Purple Extreme Cave Heaven to seal the surrounding space when he struck, yet this string of Buddha Beads had easily broken through it...

"What on earth is this thing?"

"If I’m not mistaken, those beads are his true body."

A clear, cool voice sounded by his ear.

Chen Mo turned his head and saw that black mist swirling over, settling in front of him. "If I’m not mistaken, that monk should merely be a vessel; the true master’s consciousness has always been hidden inside the prayer beads."

"So it wasn’t Hui Neng using the Buddha Beads, but the Buddha Beads controlling Hui Neng?"

Hearing this, a flash of lightning ran through Chen Mo’s mind; he seemed to realize something.

No wonder that after Shi Yun’s death, Hui Neng so quickly took over the position of First Seat—because in essence, the two of them were actually the same person!

Just now he hadn’t missed; Monk Huineng was indeed dead, but the one behind him was still alive. If the grass wasn’t uprooted, most likely a new First Seat would pop up very soon!

"Wuwan Temple cultivates the Reincarnation Path—endless life and death, cycles upon cycles; among the Six Paths of cultivators, they can be said to be the hardest to kill."

The person within the mist spoke: "With your Third Grade cultivation, to force him to this extent is already extremely impressive. And in this strange and unpredictable Heaven and Earth, without the protection of a fleshly body, I doubt he’s in any good shape either."

Chen Mo didn’t respond; he lifted his eyes and sized her up for a moment, then said, "And who are you?"

"Sikong Zuiyue," the person in the mist answered. "A direct descendant of the Sikong family, and barring any accidents, I should also be the next Family Head."

"Zuiyue? Why does that name sound like a woman’s?"

"I am a woman."

"..."

Chen Mo’s brows lifted slightly. "Let me state first, I don’t mean any disrespect to women, but generally speaking, the one to inherit the family business should be the eldest legitimate son, right? All the more so for a massive aristocratic clan like yours..."

"Because among my generation, I am the strongest." Sikong Zuiyue’s voice was calm, without the slightest pride, as if merely stating a fact. "The Sikong family is different from other clans; we pursue transcendence, not officialdom. So gender doesn’t matter—what matters is who can lead the clan farther."

Chen Mo could understand this.

In this world, the strong reigned supreme; before absolute power, all etiquette and rules were just empty words. The Daoist Venerable and the Empress were the best examples.

"Mr. Chen, are you alright?"

At this moment, An Mengni and Zhu Shuang also came flying over.

"I’m fine."

Chen Mo’s brows furrowed slightly.

He had been deliberately stalling to buy these two time, never expecting that they hadn’t left.

When opportunity is at hand, anyone can become an enemy; if a real fight broke out, he still had some energy in reserve. Even if he couldn’t match them head-on, he could disengage at any time.

But An Mengni would be in trouble...

Sikong Zuiyue took this in and said mildly, "Rest assured, I have always kept my grudges and favors clear. Whatever grudge lies between you and that monk, you just helped relieve my predicament; the Sikong family now owes you a favor."

Chen Mo indeed did not sense any hostility from her. After a brief moment of thought, he asked, "Why were you clashing with Hui Neng just now?"

Sikong Zuiyue didn’t shy away. "We were fighting over a Magical Treasure called the Mystic Fire Treasure Mirror. That thing can guide me to the remains of a Great Emperor."

"A Great Emperor’s remains?"

Chen Mo recalled the BOSS he had encountered while grinding in a dungeon in his previous life and vaguely connected a few things.

"It’s said that a thousand years ago, there were no shackles in Heaven and Earth; cultivators could freely comprehend the Tao Origin, and beyond the Ultimate Venerable, there existed even higher Realms."

"Until, after a world-shaking war, some sort of aberration occurred between Heaven and Earth; the path to transcendence was severed, and things gradually became what they are today." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Sikong Zuiyue was surprisingly patient as she explained, "Those sages who touched upon the Realm of Transcendence are called ’Emperors.’ They fell in that war, but their bodies did not perish. Hidden within them may be the secrets to breaking the shackles."

A war?

Ancient Emperors?

Chen Mo felt somewhat at sea; he had never heard the Daoist Venerable nor the Empress mention such a thing.

Sikong Zuiyue said, "It’s perfectly normal you don’t know. Because with the fall of the Ancient Emperors, that segment of history also disappeared... truly disappeared. All Cause and Effect was erased along with it; no one remembers what actually happened."

Chen Mo asked in puzzlement, "Then how do you know all this so clearly?"

Sikong Zuiyue fell silent for a moment, then said, "Among the cultivators who took part in that war was an ancestor of my Sikong family. And our bloodline is somewhat special; it can pass down certain fragments of memory..."

Chen Mo suddenly understood.

So it was a bloodline inheritance—much like the Dragon Clan.

Speaking of which, he couldn’t help recalling the scene he saw when he obtained True Dragon Blood back then; there had indeed been an ancient battlefield, a few towering figures, and that True Dragon...

"Could it be that the ancient battlefield recorded within the Dragon Blood lies inside this Secret Realm?"

"And that Martial Saint Mountain’s founding patriarch, Pei Fengmian, is one of the fallen Ancient Emperors?"

Chen Mo’s emotions surged; he then asked, "This is only our second meeting. Why tell me something this important? Aren’t you afraid I’ll be like Hui Neng and try to compete with you for this opportunity?"

"I’m not afraid, because you’re not my match." Sikong Zuiyue shook her head.

"..."

The corner of Chen Mo’s mouth twitched.

"And this isn’t our second meeting. To be precise, it should be the third." Sikong Zuiyue said.

Chen Mo froze for a moment. "What do you mean by that?"