Chapter 188: Taking Refuge in the Shi

Inside Dragon-Slaying Pass.

The blood-filth qi that Yinshan True Person had sent into the formation using Qi Refining cultivators during the previous great battle had been completely cleared, and the formation had restored itself to a perfect state.

Thanks to this, the moods of the various True Persons had improved considerably.

Except for Many Treasures Boy.

Because at this moment, he was subtly isolated; although Five Elements True Person said nothing aloud, he clearly still suspected him in his heart of being a spy from the Mo Sect.

This left Many Treasures Boy filled with stifled rage with nowhere to vent; he admitted that Old Man Fishing Dragon's death had a tiny bit to do with him, but wasn't that simply because the Mo Sect was cunning and he had carelessly fallen for their trap? How could he possibly be a spy? He had been robbed by the Mo Sect back then! He shared a blood-deep hatred with the Mo Sect!

Everyone understood the logic.

Yet prejudice in the human heart is like a massive mountain; once a fixed impression forms, no matter how much he explains, it is extremely difficult to move it aside.

In his bitterness, he could only seek out the Owner of the Black Iron Sword.

After all, among all the True Persons present, only the Owner of the Black Iron Sword was a newcomer who held no prejudice against him and would not ostracize him, so they could at least chat a few words.

As for how to deal with sword cultivators, Many Treasures Boy was quite experienced.

Just praise his sword.

"Fellow Daoist, may I touch your sword?"

Many Treasures Boy got straight to the point, expressed some admiration for the Upper Profound Sword Sect, and after a few exchanges, quickly became familiar with the Owner of the Black Iron Sword.

"Actually, I previously felt that Fellow Daoist Five Elements' statement was somewhat biased," Many Treasures Boy smiled. "That Yuan Tu, though powerful, is not invincible; with your strength and being a sword cultivator, even if you are not his match, holding out for over a hundred moves should be no problem."

These words immediately scratched the Owner of the Black Iron Sword's itch.

After all, Fellow Daoist Five Elements' words earlier had left him speechless, so now that he finally heard a "fair word," how could he not be satisfied?

For a moment, he felt several degrees more fondness toward Many Treasures Boy.

"Fellow Daoist overpraises me."

The Owner of the Black Iron Sword waved his hand: "If that demonic head is truly as Fellow Daoist Five Elements described, then I fear only our Sect Master of the Jian Sect could fight him."

"Upper Profound True Person?"

Hearing this, Many Treasures Boy's eyes lit up; he offered another round of praise before saying, "Speaking of which, I heard that Upper Profound True Person is currently breaking through to the late stage."

"This action is far too dangerous; the tribulation of heavenly lightning is hard to survive. Are you not worried, Fellow Daoist?"

"Hahaha!"

Hearing this, the Owner of the Black Iron Sword laughed loudly: "The so-called breakthrough to the late stage is merely false news we deliberately spread; how could our Sect Master be so rash?"

"Our Sect Master has received sponsorship from the Jiange this time and plans to refine a supreme spiritual sword; once refined, he will immediately rush to support us. That is why I was not worried about anyone sneaking an attack on Profound Sword Mountain before—because our Sect Master is not in closed-door cultivation attempting a breakthrough; he can act at any time should a crisis arise!"

"If necessary, I can even contact the Sect Master."

Saying this, the Owner of the Black Iron Sword took a lamp out of his sleeve and said, "Before I left, the Sect Master specially refined a soul lamp and gave it to me."

"Inside the lamp is a strand of the Sect Master's spiritual sense."

"Relying on this spiritual sense connection, I can contact the Sect Master at any time through the soul lamp to understand the recent situation at Profound Sword Mountain, so what is there to worry about?"

As the Owner of the Black Iron Sword spoke, he realized something was wrong.

Because the Many Treasures Boy before him, for some reason, had a face terrifyingly pale, his mouth twitching wildly, and one finger trembling as it pointed at him.

"Fellow Daoist?"

The Owner of the Black Iron Sword paused, looked at himself: intact clothes, an extinguished lamp, an intact spiritual sword—nothing seemed wrong, so what was amiss...

"... h?"

The Owner of the Black Iron Sword froze.

The next second, he blinked, and then this mid-stage Foundation Establishment True Person, unstained by dust, even unprecedentedly rubbed his own eyes.

He hadn't seen wrong... it was extinguished.

Extinguished!?

With a clang, the lamp fell directly to the ground and shattered into pieces, simply because the spiritual sense and magic power that originally sustained its existence had now completely dissipated.

At this moment, the Owner of the Black Iron Sword actually hoped that Upper Profound True Person was in closed-door cultivation attempting the late stage, because then he could comfort himself by saying the Sect Master had failed in his breakthrough, causing the soul lamp to extinguish; yet right now, he could not deceive himself—the extinguishing of Upper Profound True Person's soul lamp had only one possibility:

The Upper Profound Sword Sect had perished!

"Impossible, impossible!!!" The Owner of the Black Iron Sword's eyes turned dim; he murmured in a low voice, sword qi erupting from his entire body—he had actually lost control of his sword heart!

Yet the next second—

"Slap!"

A slap swung with full force landed heavily on the Owner of the Black Iron Sword's face, waking him up; he looked blankly at the person who had struck him.

It was none other than Many Treasures Boy.

At this moment, Many Treasures Boy had also changed; his face was twisted with fear, yet his eyes revealed clarity, even an extreme calmness.

"Fellow Daoist, do not panic," Many Treasures Boy said in a deep voice. "I have already sealed our qi signatures; no one knows about the affairs of the Upper Profound Sword Sect yet. This is our opportunity! Taking advantage of this time lag, let us quickly think of a way to slip away; there is no longer any need to defend Dragon-Slaying Pass!"

Many Treasures Boy saw very clearly.

The sudden destruction of the Upper Profound Sword Sect meant that the strongest reinforcement force on the 【Qing Kingdom】 side was gone, instantly turning Dragon-Slaying Pass into water without a source!

In comparison, the Mo Sect's morale was currently high.

What was there left to fight?

"Staying in Dragon-Slaying Pass is waiting for death; now we must either find a new backer to come over, or run. Or does Fellow Daoist Black Iron wish to reincarnate?"

With life and death at stake, the Owner of the Black Iron Sword also came to his senses.

"Fellow Daoist... you speak correctly!"

After the destruction of the Upper Profound Sword Sect, Dragon-Slaying Pass had become a land of death; if they did not flee now, once the Mo Sect marched south and attacked, they would not be able to escape!

Yet very quickly, he became dejected again: "Even if we flee, where do we flee to?"

South? To the south lies the Jiange; the Jiange sponsored his Upper Profound Sword Sect precisely so he would fight desperately at this moment—how could they allow him to desert in the face of the enemy?

East? The 【Qing Kingdom】 would certainly make an example of them.

North? Defect to the Chusheng Sect?

Thinking of this, the look in the Owner of the Black Iron Sword's eyes toward Many Treasures Boy immediately changed.

You kid... could you actually be a spy from the Mo Sect—no, the Sheng Sect?

At the same time, Many Treasures Boy noticed the Owner of the Black Iron Sword's gaze, half suspicious and half expectant, and instantly understood the implication behind his words.

"I really am not!"

Many Treasures Boy looked helpless; right now, he actually wished he were a spy from the Sheng Sect, but he truly had not the slightest relation to that group of beasts in Jiangbei.

"I am speaking of going west, to take refuge in the Shi!"

Saying this, Many Treasures Boy reached into his robe and took out a Buddha statue carved from emerald: "To be honest, the Pure Land once approached me."

He truly was not a spy from the Sheng Sect.

He was a spy from the Pure Land!

"The Great Luo Han of the Pure Land promised me that as long as I bring people into the Pure Land during this great battle, the higher my status will be when I establish temples and monasteries within the Pure Land in the future."

Many Treasures Boy said in a low voice: "And Fellow Daoist Black Iron, you are the first True Person I have found; joining the Pure Land at this time brings the greatest benefits. Later, you can also recruit people; the more people we recruit, the more resources for our future cultivation they will be when we join the Pure Land."

"..."

Hearing this, the Owner of the Black Iron Sword fell into a brief silence, but then thought that since his own Sword Sect was already gone, what was there left to hesitate? Immediately, he gritted his teeth:

"How do we do it?"

Many Treasures Boy was instantly overjoyed: "Just place your hand on the Buddha statue."

The Owner of the Black Iron Sword immediately extended his hand.

The next second, he felt a beam of Buddhist light suddenly arise in his sea of consciousness, like a proud sun rising slowly, illuminating his thoughts in an instant.

Immediately afterward, within the Buddhist light, a white lotus platform appeared; seated upon it was a Dharma Body possessing the thirty-two perfect marks, with a flesh protuberance on the head, holding a Dharma treasure, emitting splendid light, wearing a smile of compassion on his face, and exuding an otherworldliness far surpassing that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment True Person in his every movement.

"Amitabha."

The four-character Buddhist title emerged from that Dharma Body, instantly smoothing away the Owner of the Black Iron Sword's recent panic and terror, causing him to also reveal a countenance of peace and tranquility.

Subsequently, he actually joined his palms together and sighed:

"Alas, only today do I realize who I truly am!"

"Amitabha!"

(End of Chapter)