Chapter 194: Corpse

Master Xibei withdrew his hand, everything returned to silence, the snow filling the sky as if it had never fallen, the Buddha statue in the heavens as if it had vanished and retreated back into the clouds, once again guarding Shaolin Temple.

Lei Bai slowly landed and returned to the spot where he had stood before. The Cold Frost Blade was sheathed by him. He stood there coldly, staring coldly at the person before him.

"Amitabha, good, good, patron, please go back." Master Xibei was only a step away from the Mahavira Hall; he finally took that step and walked into the hall.

Lei Bai knew he had saved his life; he never imagined that his strongest move, which he excelled at, would be broken by a single finger. At this moment, intense regret surged repeatedly in his heart!

The task Eunuch Zhang entrusted to him, he had never failed to complete; he was the Chief of the Ten Deputy Generals of the Western Depot Embroidered Uniform Guard! In his eyes, there was no emperor, only Eunuch Zhang; he was a person above ten thousand and below one!

But today, he failed to complete the mission, which will leave a black mark on his illustrious life record.

"Patron, you need not feel disheartened; for many years no one has been able to force him to act. At the very least, you are the first in ten years." Master Lebei said to Lei Bai.

Lei Bai naturally knew of the rumor that Master Xibei never acted; he had also prepared himself for the outcome of his defeat, but he simply could not comprehend that he had actually lost to Master Xibei's single finger!

"Is that the legendary 'One Yang Finger'?" Lei Bai asked.

"Yes, the One Yang Finger of the Nine Heavens."

"Alright, alright..." Lei Bai waved his hand and turned to walk down the mountain, saying as he went, "Although today I, the General, cannot capture or kill you, don't get too pleased—your other three companions won't have such luck, for the Western Depot's Eighteen Cavalry have all been dispatched, and they are far more lethal than my hundred‑thousand‑strong troops!"

"What!" Nun Shang Rong exclaimed in shock.

However, before she could receive an answer, Lei Bai had already vanished. Immediately afterward, one could see the Embroidered Uniform Guard troops on the mountainside and at the foot of the mountain moving, their heads bobbing together like a single mass, retreating like a tide...

"Thank you, Master, for your rescue." Having returned to the Mahavira Hall, Nun Shang Rong and Hong Liang expressed their gratitude to Master Xibei.

Master Xibei sat in the exact center of the main hall, his legs crossed, one hand placed before his chest, the other turning his prayer beads.

"He is injured." The speaker was Master Aibei standing beside Master Xibei; he said sorrowfully, "Yesterday he probed the heavenly secrets, already damaging his meridians, and today he forcibly received the 'Snow Drifts in the Human World' strike..."

"Master, how severe is his injury?" Hong Liang asked Master Aibei.

Before Master Aibei could answer, Master Xibei said, "Junior brother, don't you still need to take the two guests to the Arhat Hall to rest? They still have to set out early tomorrow."

Master Xibei's single remark both rejected Hong Liang's concerned goodwill and forced the three of them to leave.

"Yes."

……

By the second day, before dawn had even broken, Master Lebei bade farewell to his two senior brothers and, leading the two outsiders, proceeded along a concealed path down the mountain.

"Will the Embroidered Uniform Guard be lying in wait down the mountain?" Nun Shang Rong asked her two companions.

"Surely not? We are returning by the same path." Hong Liang replied uncertainly.

"The northern slope of Song Mountain is the safest; Zhang Huayu surely assumes we will descend east, west, or south, but he certainly thinks we are unaware of his scheme, so the path beneath our feet leading north is undoubtedly the safest." Master Lebei said.

Thus it seems, all of this is under Master Xibei's control; he has already made arrangements for the three of them.

"No delay, then let us hurry back to the capital and find Zhang Huayu." Nun Shang Rong urged.

"However, Nun, this time Zhang Huayu sent people to kill us…… Are you certain he will cooperate with us?" Hong Liang asked anxiously.

Indeed, they had not yet found Zhang Huayu, but Zhang Huayu had instead first sent men to assassinate them.

"Besides, hearing what Lei Bai said last night, I don't know how the three of Sect Leader Yan are faring now..."

"Now is not the time to dwell on so much; what you say makes sense—if we have nothing in hand to use as leverage in negotiations with Zhang Huayu, he likely will not act." Nun Shang Rong said, "I even suspect he will collude with those three from the Heavenly Dao."

"That also depends on whether they are willing to play along with him." Master Lebei chuckled in reply, "Heh, anyway, things have come to this point. Even if we have no recourse, we must still face it, right?"

"So we just have to grit our teeth and go back to look for him?" Hong Liang asked unwillingly.

"This journey hasn't been in vain; at least we've delivered news for Chen Yi He." Master Lebei quickened his pace, "Horses have been readied down the mountain; this return to the capital should be the safest route."

……

Meanwhile, the Heavenly Dao Trio had already been staying for several days in the subterranean world of the Thousandfold Gate.

"The remains of a flood dragon." Tian Zai crouched by the dried lake, pulled up a piece of withered flesh, and speculated.

"I never expected it could not withstand such turmoil." Tian Ming sighed.

"Here the power waxes and wanes, the spiritual aura has long vanished, turning this place into a barren wasteland. Alas, this once‑wonderful spot has been exploited by mortals for a thousand years, now reduced to this sight—truly a waste of heavenly bounty!"

"What a pity." Tian Ba stepped on the flood dragon's remains; in this sealed realm he felt depressed and wanted to leave early, asking, "When will we leave this place? Isn't the outside world more beautiful than this?"

"You also know we must wait for our forces, yet you keep urging me like this," Tian Zai said irritably, "Since you're so impatient, I'll summon them early to spare you this anxiety!" Having spoken, Tian Zai raised both hands high, as if propping up the ceiling of this sealed realm, his mouth incessantly chanting an ancient incantation that none but the three of them could understand.

"Ancient remains, do not stay asleep any longer—awaken quickly!" After the incantation finished, Tian Zai shouted thus.

Immediately afterward. Only feeling the subterranean world trembling! Trembling nonstop! As if the mountain were about to collapse, as if seawater were about to pour back upstream!

Heaven trembled, earth trembled! Everything teetering on the brink of collapse, about to level the subterranean world!

"Open!" Tian Zai roared.

Pale white finger bones protruded from the ground, clutching firmly to the earth.