Chapter 158: Unexpected

It took a full half hour to reach the immortal crane's corpse, and that was with Bai Lang acting as an innate-level meat shield clearing the way at the front. But by the time they got close to the corpse, the pressure had already become something everyone was accustomed to. Bai Lang reached out and touched the feather taller than a person, 'Wow, it's as hard as iron. Look, this feather even has an edge, though it's also somewhat flexible......'

The feather was filled with immortal spirit energy, making a clang when struck, but pulling it out was no easy task—just finding the shaft and pulling in the right direction wasn't enough, as it was hidden beneath other sharp feathers. Murong Hua drew his treasure sword, yet the sword snapped easily on the feather...... Only after Bai Lang repeatedly exhaled and shouted, using palm force to vibrate it, and Qin Lian'er produced a special medicine to soften the feather, did they finally clear a three-foot-square patch exposing the crane's skin.

Two feathers were pulled out, with several big handfuls of down underneath; the feather was like iron, but the down was surprisingly soft. Bai Lang curled his fingers and tapped the crane skin with two knuckles, 'It makes a metal-on-metal sound—looks like the meat inside is mostly inedible—at least we don't have the teeth for it.' From the recoil of the taps, Bai Lang realized the flesh inside was about as tough as steel; ordinary people definitely couldn't eat it.

Such a huge immortal crane—its meat must be aged beyond edibility, something Bai Lang had already anticipated, so he wasn't disappointed—after all, his martial arts training didn't rely on eating. 'A living immortal crane is already that strong; what kind of being could snap its neck so easily? Judging by this, the killer didn't even seem to care much, slaying the crane as casually as killing a common soldier.' Ma Rulong also examined the crane's corpse and said the same.

Everyone agreed on that. Bai Lang, who considered himself somewhat more skilled in fist and palm techniques, could tell that the blow breaking the crane's neck was clean and decisive—just one strike extinguished its life force; the one who delivered it was absolutely unbelievably strong. There's nothing else to gain from this corpse—now the only things worth taking are the feathers and down, but spending too much time on them isn't good either, and as for the immortal crane's inner elixir, forget about it.

Everyone gave up on the immortal crane's corpse and continued climbing the stairs; the feathers and such were left to Murong Hua, whose treasure sword had broken, to take—after storing them in his ring, he might still be able to forge a new treasure sword...... Bai Lang continued to lead the way, but this time his feeling wasn't good either.

As if facing a great enemy.

This is Bai Lang's feeling: the innate attainment granted him perception that made it seem as if the heavens were pressing down, an extremely terrifying aura looming ahead. Bai Lang swallowed saliva, wondering how high he'd climbed—at least two-thirds of the way to the summit, maybe several dozen li? The source of that pressure, still unseen but already radiating here, was something Bai Lang couldn't withstand—indeed, even if the white crane ahead were alive, Bai Lang couldn't block it either.

Those behind also sensed the pressure, but fortunately Bai Lang bore most of it, and their martial arts were not lacking either, so they could still press upward. Bai Lang had already seen who was emitting this pressure; frankly, for such a thing to appear here made him wonder what kind of place this was. Before him appeared a golden humanoid with six arms and one head, clad in a silk robe and barefoot.

The humanoid's face was rather ferocious, but of the sort that feels suppressive toward demons; the objects held in its six arms made Bai Lang more certain: 'Bell, drum, treasure pearl, vajra pestle... aren't these typical of the Buddhist Sect?' Bai Lang thought, but Murong Hua spoke up directly, 'Isn't this a Buddhist Sect warrior? Though judging by the aura, it seems to be at the Arhat level.'

This Arhat before them was also a corpse, though he glared with eyes wide open, six arms posed as if striking, standing dead in that posture—the fatal wound was a hole punched straight through the chest, the heart gone from front to back. 'This place...' Murong Jiu Xiu also sensed, 'Could this be a holy site of the Buddhist Sect? After all, Arhats have appeared and died here. An Arhat at least has achieved the Golden Body Dharma Aspect, which is a step above the External Release of Inner Landscape......'

Experts of the Golden Body Dharma Aspect like this seemingly don't exist in the Great Yan at least openly—only rumor has it that the Old Lord of the Ancestral Palace might be one. Among the Seven Kingdoms, only Qin, Zhao, and Chu openly have Golden Body Dharma Aspect masters; the rest of such masters are all from martial arts sects—these are super prestigious clans, their power intertwined across many nations, truly transcendent beings above courtly struggles.

Such a master, and now there's one right before our eyes—yet he's been killed. This aura is far more terrifying than the immortal crane's, making approach impossible. 'Although this old lord is dead, his dying strike still stores power; even if we only trigger its aftershock, we'll surely be left without remains.' Ma Rulong whispered, while Murong Jiu Xiu took out a compass and swayed it, 'Dangerous—we have to crawl past.'

Fortunately the corpse isn't blocking the path; crawling along the edge still lets us reach the steps, but we must be careful—if we accidentally trigger the corpse's final blow, everyone present will be reduced to ashes—even though Bai Lang has attained the Innate realm and trained to the fourth level of the Golden Bell Shield, on the verge of the fifth level, it's the same. Crushing him with a fingertip would already be excessive force......

Nevertheless Bai Lang glanced at the Arhat's corpse with the corner of his eye, 'What kind of big shot could fell this Arhat with just one blow?'

As an expert in killing many people barehanded, especially one whose killings are extremely bloody, Bai Lang could of course see a subtlety in this blow—'It's more like a flick of the finger......' After that he dared not think further, not even dare to think of the corpse, for here lies the Arhat's domain, where even a mere 'thought' might provoke a reaction. Looking was even more unthinkable, lest he be struck down by a fatal blow.

Everyone lay prone on the ground, trembling and devoid of decorum; Bai Lang demonstrated what the crawling advance was among the five infantry techniques, and the others followed...... 'Lower your buttocks!' Murong Hua whispered, though Murong Jiu Xiu's face flushed red and she could only lower it a little, 'Damn big butt!' Murong Hua also grew anxious, but dared not slap her—a big movement would surely mean death.

Bai Lang up ahead also caught a bit of it, 'Miss Jiu Xiu standing up you can't tell, but when she's prone crawling, you don't notice how big and perky her butt is...... Moreover,' Bai Lang turned his head slightly, 'her chest is also big, lifting her upper half higher......'