Chapter 170: Each Has a Reserve

Li Lin stood atop the roof, looking coldly at that thin man.

In fact, that thin man had seen Li Lin long ago; twice he even tried to approach Li Lin, but was driven back by the village militia's bow formations and spear formations.

Both sides were currently in a state of temporary stalemate.

But the morale of the village militia had been steadily declining; if a few more people were injured or killed, someone would likely try to flee.

By that time, even the military formation would be hard to maintain.

Xiao Chunzhu stepped in front of Li Lin.

Li Lin looked at the opponent and first threw down a large pile of small paper men.

These paper men quickly turned pink, hopping and jumping around Li Lin.

Then Li Lin threw a stack of prepared Fallen Thunder Talismans onto the ground.

Immediately, small paper men ran over and carried the talismans on their backs.

The thin man also saw these paper men; he did not know Li Lin's plan, but he was clear that he absolutely could not let the opponent easily unleash powerful supreme arts.

He leaped high, intending to charge at Li Lin.

Xiao Chunzhu acted; a wisp of sword light flashed, and the two fell from the air simultaneously.

Xiao Chunzhu indeed had no way to break through this man's outer skin, but blocking the opponent was still within his reach.

At this moment, Li Lin began forming hand seals with both hands.

Thanks to the effect of Yuan Qi and the effect of the magical artifact Sha Gu Jiu, Li Lin's Fallen Thunder Incantation casting speed reached an absurd degree.

In the instant he formed the seals, the atmospheric energy in the sky changed.

Shortly after, a purple heavenly thunderbolt fell from the sky.

Xiao Chunzhu, terrified, immediately leaped backward with all his strength.

Thanks to Lingxiao Sect's exquisite lightness technique, Xiao Chunzhu retreated two zhang in a single instant.

That thin man also retreated, but his speed was clearly not as fast as Xiao Chunzhu's.

This was normal; those practicing external art and hard qigong had slightly slower reactions.

The purple heavenly thunderbolt flashed, striking the thin man's body.

The man let out a wretched cry, his body turning charred black, yet he only retreated two steps, standing firm and unyielding.

However, his hair suffered greatly.

It turned to flying ash; the entire person became bald—no hair, not even eyebrows remained.

The thin man felt numb pain all over his body, extremely uncomfortable; he roared and was about to leap up.

At that moment, he discovered a pile of small paper men had run to his side, clinging to his shorts, which were about to turn into strips of cloth, and climbed up.

He reached out, just about to tear off these small paper men, but then discovered that on their backs, talismans were self-combusting.

Shortly after, over a dozen purple heavenly thunderbolts fell, but compared to the one Li Lin cast himself, they were much smaller.

Their power was naturally far inferior.

After the booming, booming, booming sounds, the thin black man's pants also turned to flying ash, and his body became that charred black color.

Cracks lined his body, blood flowing out, looking extremely gruesome.

Yet even so, this thin man still did not fall.

Without the obstruction of hair, his eyes were exposed before everyone.

They were blood-red.

Xiao Chunzhu sighed: "County Commandant, this man has already cultivated the Raksha Body."

"What does that mean?"

"A special physique from the Ksitigarbha Buddhist sect; on the surface it is hard qigong, but in essence it is dual cultivation of internal and external arts." Xiao Chunzhu's expression became somewhat angry: "It requires absorbing massive amounts of blood qi to cultivate; upon success, the eyes turn red."

"In other words, he has cultivated it."

"Correct!"

Li Lin snorted.

Raksha Body?

Still an evil cultivation method, using blood qi; it sounds very powerful, but is it superior to high-grade spiritual qi?

Without another word, he prepared to cast a spell again, summoning another heavenly thunderbolt to fall.

Li Lin simply did not believe it; he had now begun cultivating immortality, practiced the Foundation Establishment method, and the power of the Fallen Thunder Incantation had increased dramatically; he did not believe he could not strike down this murderer opposite him.

He continued forming hand seals; the atmospheric energy in the sky surged.

On the thin black man's face, fear finally appeared.

In his blood-red eyes, there was a hint of intent to flee from the strike; he dared not resist head-on again.

And at this very moment, Li Lin suddenly felt a chill behind him; he immediately halted the hand seals, formed his right hand into a tiger claw, and directly delivered a slap.

Smack!

Li Lin's right hand struck the palm of another man.

Both sides retreated two steps simultaneously, crushing a large number of roof tiles.

But both men's lightness techniques were formidable; no one fell.

And at this time, Li Lin clearly saw the newcomer.

A man with messy hair and a dirty face.

Lianhua!

This man pressed his palms together, chanted a Buddhist title, then smiled and said: "County Commandant Li is formidable; not only do you understand Daoist arts, but your fist technique is also so proficient; this humble monk is deeply impressed."

At this moment, the people around finally reacted.

"To ambush, how despicable!" Xiao Chunzhu immediately protected Li Lin from the front, shouting angrily.

Those government office Runners and local militia also abandoned their cordon around the thin, dark-skinned man and immediately formed a ring around Li Lin to protect the official first.

At this moment, Xiao Chunzhu's heart pounded incessantly, filled with lingering fear.

Just now, he had suggested releasing the man before Li Lin to cooperate with them against that thin, dark-skinned man, but Li Lin had rejected the idea.

Deep inside, he still felt somewhat unconvinced, thinking Li Lin was overthinking things.

The result... this man appearing here now clearly indicates a prison break.

Moreover, he attacked the Commandant immediately upon arrival; had the Commandant not reacted quickly... he likely would have succeeded.

Li Lin paid no attention to Xiao Chunzhu's current mental state; his gaze fell upon the other man's face.

"Lotus... you are not here to purge the sect's unrighteous, but to guard the Dharma!"

"The benefactor speaks truly," Lotus nodded lightly. "Since my junior brother has reached a critical moment, I naturally must guard the Dharma for him."

"But he is killing people."

"I know," Lotus nodded again. "My junior brother is destined to become a Raksha Dharma Master; the flesh and blood of those people can merge with him, aiding his cultivation. Is this not a tremendous opportunity!"

Li Lin's expression turned cold.

"Official, you might be able to trap my junior brother, but now that he and I join forces, you are no match for us," Lotus said with a smile, his face radiating a sacred Buddha-nature. "Why not pretend you saw nothing and let us depart? This way, it is good for you, and good for us."

"Let you go? The deceased commoners would not agree." Li Lin took his red-tasseled spear from a nearby local militiaman.

"Then this little monk can only painfully send the Commandant to the Western Heaven to meet my Buddha," Lotus said with a laugh. "Originally, I felt you had a karmic connection with my Buddha and wished to save you."

Li Lin held the spear and spun a flourish.

With just this simple movement, not only did Xiao Chunzhu freeze, but even Lotus across from him paused in surprise.

Afterwards, Lotus hissed, "Spear Intent! Commandant, you truly are deeply hidden."

His expression became solemn.

With any weapon, once it possesses 'Intent', one can relatively easily break through the opponent's external art.

Then, Lotus took a deep breath, the sound loud, as if he were sucking in something.

At the same time, his face—or rather, the skin of his entire body—turned a pale gold.

Xiao Chunzhu's face grew even more grim. "Commandant, this Monk's external art has already reached the sixth realm. Perhaps my lord should withdraw first, and I will cover your retreat."

Xiao Chunzhu felt his lightness skill was good; escaping would not be difficult.

Li Lin merely sneered and said, "He has a backup; do I not? Sister Yan Jing, come out!"

At some unknown moment, a beautiful woman in magnificent robes had appeared not far from Li Lin.

A faint scent of incense wafted through the air.

(End of this chapter)