Chapter 201: Chapter 199: To Hell With You

Even if only a silhouette against the incredibly dim candlelight, her peerless elegance could not be concealed.

Clad in white, with a slender waist, she was kneeling on one knee—beautiful beyond measure.

Though her face was unseen, the combination of the ancient temple at midnight, the woman in white, and the delicate charm of her kneeling form created an allure beyond imagination.

After all, the Buddhist Sect was a tranquil Ancient Land, yet the scene before him was so sensual and tempting. The impact on his mind and senses was intoxicating, making his heart tremble.

Jiang Jichen couldn’t help but walk toward the Buddha Hall.

In that moment, he felt an irrepressible urge to see the woman’s true face.

As he reached the Buddha Hall, his spirit trembled, and an expression of horror crossed his face.

’To think that even with my mental fortitude, I was still so enchanted. I almost lost control of myself.’

’But she clearly hadn’t used any mind-enchanting Secret Skill. It was just the allure of her figure, kneeling and striking the wooden fish...’

The thought alone sent a cold sweat down Jiang Jichen’s back, and he grew immensely wary of this peerless, mysterious woman striking a wooden fish in an ancient temple in the middle of the night.

’This woman is incredibly dangerous!’

With this thought, Jiang Jichen stepped cautiously through the entrance to the Buddha Hall, his hand already gripping the Wandering Dragon Holy Sword tightly in secret.

"You’ve come."

However, just as Jiang Jichen stepped through the temple hall doors, the sound of the kneeling woman striking the wooden fish stopped abruptly as she suddenly spoke.

Her voice was impossibly pleasant, like an echo in a lonely valley or the call of a Spirit Bird.

But the sound was so sudden, coming in the dead silence of the ancient temple at midnight, that it struck Jiang Jichen’s ears like a thousand thunderclaps. He almost drew his Holy Sword and struck down the kneeling woman.

In the end, however, he forced himself to a halt. His intuition told him that in front of this woman, he was less than an ant. Her power far surpassed his imagination.

’But why would this kneeling woman in white say such a thing? Could she have been waiting for me?’

Jiang Jichen had this wishful thought. Just as he was about to speak, a wind suddenly rose from nowhere within the Buddha Hall. It stirred the thousands of candle flames, causing them to dance wildly, yet miraculously, none were extinguished.

Then, the gust of wind settled upon the Buddha statue at the far end of the hall and vanished.

The statue’s eyes suddenly snapped open. Two beams of golden light shot out like a pair of divine lamps, illuminating the entire hall.

Finally, the Buddha statue spoke. "One hundred thousand long years, a dream of life and death. If I had not come, would you have left?"

The kneeling woman maintained her posture, her voice like a clear, flowing spring. "If I don’t kill you, how will I know if I am alive or dead? The years have been too long. One must do something to test whether it is real or false."

"The Buddha’s law states: ’All conditioned phenomena are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow. Like dew or a flash of lightning, thus shall you contemplate them.’ You should know this is all an illusory existence, as are we both. Life and death are preordained. Dust to dust, ashes to ashes. Why must you still be so attached?" the Buddha statue’s voice rang out.

"Preordained? All an illusion? Heh... Ridiculous. I have returned, so I am most certainly alive. Don’t try to deceive me. If... if I can kill you this time, then I can finally leave this place!" the cold voice replied.

"You cannot kill this humble monk. In all these long ages, we have fought once every thousand years. But whether it is you or I, no matter the injury, we heal in an instant. Tell me... can anything real be like this? Snowplum, you should fade away. Enter the cycle of reincarnation and seek your next life!" The Buddha’s voice vibrated throughout the Buddha Hall.

Jiang Jichen felt the meditative sound rock his very soul. His Divine Soul nearly disintegrated, and he almost followed the statue’s words—to enter reincarnation and seek his next life.

Fortunately, his was a mutated Divine Soul. Had any other Foundation Establishment Perfection Realm Cultivator been here, they would have had their body and soul utterly obliterated.

’That was... the Buddha’s Sound of Soul Salvation!’

Jiang Jichen was utterly stunned. This was the Dao of True Words, something that could only be uttered by a being at the Realm of True Buddha.

To think such a terrifying figure was hidden in this dilapidated ancient temple. Jiang Jichen desperately wanted to turn and flee for his life.

However, before he could move, the Wandering Dragon Holy Sword in his hand trembled, transformed into a streak of cold light, and flew into the white-robed woman’s hand.

At that moment, the woman in white was no longer kneeling. She rose to her full height, standing tall and graceful, her perfect figure on full display.

With her back to Jiang Jichen, she lightly flicked the Holy Sword, her voice, though sweet, was laced with ice. "Old bald donkey, there’s something I’ve been wanting to say to you!"

"And what is that?"

"Go to hell!"

The woman in white, whom the statue had called Snowplum, completely shed her previous tranquil and gentle demeanor, erupting into a fiery tirade.

The words were barely out of her mouth when she raised the Wandering Dragon Holy Sword and slashed through the air toward the Buddha statue.

Jiang Jichen could only watch, dumbfounded and utterly bewildered.

By now, however, he had taken in the general layout of the Buddha Hall.

The hall was massive and empty, its interior as spacious as a small plaza.

It contained only a forest of candlesticks, their flames burning brightly, seemingly eternal—a truly mystical sight.

Other than that, there was only the single Buddha statue. The rest of the hall was completely bare.

Snowplum’s casual slash tore through the void and struck the golden Buddha statue.

BOOM!

The statue was instantly cleaved in two, unable to resist in the slightest.

But from within the statue, countless golden lights surged forth, filling the Buddha Hall. Then, an old monk emerged from the Buddha Light.

He wore a golden kasaya, his frame withered and thin, the very picture of an ascetic monk.

"The Wandering Dragon Holy Sword... How did it end up in your hands?"

The old monk, whose expression had remained as tranquil as an ancient well for millennia, now wore a look of utter shock.

"Someone delivered it to me, naturally. Today, I will kill you, take back my Life Tower, and then I shall be free to leave!"

Even as Snowplum spoke, her assault never ceased. The Wandering Dragon Holy Sword flowed like clear autumn water and moved like a dragon emerging from the sea. The Sword Intent that erupted from it was terrifying to the extreme. If not suppressed by the Rules of Heaven and Earth, a single strike could undoubtedly annihilate a city.

Jiang Jichen stood at the entrance to the Buddha Hall, shielded by faint, layered barriers of light that perfectly blocked all the Sword Qi.

Otherwise, if even a single trace of the Power of Destruction had leaked through, he would have been instantly obliterated.

The old monk’s eyes, now like divine lamps, suddenly turned toward Jiang Jichen.

BOOM!

In that instant, everything about Jiang Jichen was laid bare under that gaze, with nowhere to hide.

’This is the Eye of Truth at the Great Success Realm! Ouyang Jin has an Eye of Truth too, but compared to this old monk’s, his is weaker by an untold number of times!’

Jiang Jichen’s Spirit Cultivation and Body Refining Cultivation were completely exposed to the old monk’s eyes.

’He can see my golden Spirit Vein, and he’s still probing deeper, trying to see all my secrets... like the Seven-Colored Spiritual Vein!’

But just then, a flash of Sword Light flared. The golden light shooting from the old monk’s eyes shattered instantly. Blood began to stream from his eyes, which had clearly been wounded by the terrifying Sword Qi.

"Heh... Old bald donkey, he’s my man. Did you think you could just stare at him as you please? If you look again, I won’t just be wounding your eyes. I’ll be digging them out!"

As Snowplum’s voice rang out, she abruptly turned around.

The moment he saw Snowplum’s face, a roar went through Jiang Jichen’s mind. Just what vision had he witnessed?