Chapter 74: Divine Steps, Strike!!

At the same time, in the artillery-bombarded combat zone.

Xia Mei's heart beat in time with the sound of gunfire and artillery rain, extremely nervous.

Closer.

The Six-Eyed Demon is approaching.

She gripped her demon-quelling bow tightly in her hand, her palms sweating, soaking her palms; she was afraid. As the distance shortened, that pressure drew near. Even though the pressure was not acting directly on her, its residual force still pressed down on her until she could barely breathe.

Just the residual force was nearly more than she could bear; one could imagine that before the demon even got close, she would be unable to withstand the pressure and die first.

No wonder she couldn't hold on.

The Six-Eyed Demon's pressure was something even soldiers with strong physiques couldn't block, let alone a girl like her, a Gao Zhongsheng at that.

Seeing that Xia Mei was about to give in.

Just as she was being pressed to the point of suffocation, her heart pounding violently, her blood surging rapidly, her pulse and blood pressure reaching the highest peak a human could endure.

"Amitabha."

A single Buddhist chant, like a spring breeze brushing the earth, like the first dawn ray breaking the darkness, dispelling the dark, carrying away the cold, warm and peaceful; Xia Mei's tense heart suddenly calmed, and the pressure oppressing her body dissipated along with it.

Xia Mei froze, instinctively turning her head to look.

Beside her, at some unknown time, an old Monk wearing a large Japanese-style wide-brimmed hat and dressed in ancient, simple monk robes had appeared.

At this moment.

Unlike others who saw the old Monk, who, having brushed past him, were unable to see his face clearly due to the wide-brimmed hat's concealment and the heavy rain blurring their vision.

But this time, Xia Mei saw him clearly.

Though his face was clearly aged, it showed no signs of twilight, no signs of senility; his eyes were closed, his expression peaceful yet dignified and solemn, carrying an ancient, weathered aura.

For some reason, Xia Mei felt a strange impulse arise, wanting to ask the old Monk how many hundreds of years old he was.

Yes, exactly, to ask the old Monk how many hundreds of years old he was.

This feeling, this impulse was very strange, because how could a person live at most a hundred or so years tops; how could it be possible to be several hundred years old...

The old Monk gave Xia Mei an extraordinary feeling, not just in his appearance, but also in that aura, as if he had lived for a very, very long time, experienced much, much, having passed through the red dust of the years, his Buddha-heart unstained, transcending the mundane world, solely for the salvation of all beings.

Xia Mei came back to her senses, startled back by her own impulsive thought, and couldn't help but look ahead, hurriedly speaking.

"Old grandpa, there is a demon here, it's very dangerous, you must leave quickly."

Her eyes showed worry, her expression anxious.

The demon was about to arrive; if the old Monk stayed here, he would surely be killed.

"Amitabha, thank you, benefactor, for your concern."

The old Monk clasped his hands together, showing no sign whatsoever of moving or leaving; seeing this, Xia Mei grew very anxious, wanting to speak again to persuade him.

But before she could speak, the old Monk instead smiled gently and peacefully with his eyes slightly closed, speaking leisurely.

"Benefactor, you need not persuade me to leave, for this humble monk came here precisely for the demon."

Hearing this, Xia Mei couldn't help but freeze.

Came for the demon?

Could it be... that the old grandpa, like me, wants to stop the demon?

These thoughts were all Xia Mei's instinctive reactions and ideas after hearing the old Monk's words.

Before she could think further, the old Monk's words continued.

"As for you, benefactor..."

Before the words finished, the old Monk, as if sensing something, looked up.

Ahead.

That demon, which had previously been several kilometers away from them, had now walked to a distance of several hundred li from them.

At the same time, the demon discovered them.

Inside the building.

"Did I just see things?" The streamer rubbed his eyes violently, looking as if he had seen a ghost: "A girl? An old Monk?"

The instant the demon discovered Xia Mei and the old Monk, the streamer and media reporters inside the building also saw the two of them.

There was no way around it; Xia Mei was too close to the demon, only a few hundred meters away, and there was not a single person around the demon except for Xia Mei and the old Monk; it was hard not to discover them.

The next second.

The streamer and reporters adjusted their camera lenses, changing angles, adjusting focus, filming the Six-Eyed Demon while also capturing Xia Mei in the shot.

【Am I dreaming? Two people standing in front of the demon?】

【Did I drink too much coffee, causing caffeine hallucinations? I actually had a hallucination, seeing two people chatting in front of the demon!!】

【Is it because I've been single for too long that I see a woman in front of the demon?】

【Is it because I'm too afraid of the demon, feeling the world is ending, feeling I'm about to die, so before dying I want a girlfriend, and I actually hallucinated a cute girl, but why did I also hallucinate an old Monk? Is my subconscious taste that heavy?】

【My god! What's going on?】

【A Monk? A girl with a bow? What kind of strange suicide combination is this?】

【Is social pressure this high these days? Even Monks are being forced to commit suicide.】

【An old Monk committing suicide, what is that woman doing? Committing suicide too? But why does she have a bow? Is she trying to kill the demon? If you really want to kill the demon, you should at least use a powerful modern bow; using such a broken, old, wooden bow, I suspect the bow handle would snap as soon as you draw it.】

【If you want to die, that's not the way to do it.】

【This is definitely suicide; damn it, they are actually chatting right in front of the Six-Eyed Demon; they must be crazy with the desire to die.】

【Seeing them chat in front of the demon reminds me of a Huaguo metaphor for courting death I learned a few days ago: dancing on the edge of death in the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss; they are giving me exactly that feeling now.】

【Planning to commit suicide? That old Monk is understandable, but that girl is so cute; I can't think of any reason for her to commit suicide.】

However, before countless people could mourn or mock the suicide-style behavior of Xia Mei and the old Monk, someone suddenly noticed something wrong.

"Something's wrong, everyone look at the Six-Eyed Demon." The streamer pointed at the Six-Eyed Demon.

Instantly, everyone in the livestream followed the streamer's pointing finger, their expressions freezing in unison before suddenly turning horrified.

The battle zone.

Rain was falling.

A torrential downpour soaked the earth.

At this moment, ignoring the rain lashing against its body, the Six-Eyed Demon remained oblivious, its gaze fixed straight ahead; only its six eyes now bore a solemn expression, staring fixedly at the old monk beside Tomimura Xia Mei.

For some reason, it sensed a thick threat emanating from this old Monk who possessed no spiritual power, a primal sense of dread.

Many people captured this scene.

Shocked, they wondered if they were hallucinating: was the Six-Eyed Demon wary of two people?

After verifying it repeatedly, they were astonished.

They hadn't misseen it; it wasn't an illusion! The demon was truly wary of the two people ahead.

And at the very instant they confirmed it.

"Amitabha."

The old Monk, hands clasped in prayer, ignored the Six-Eyed Demon and looked at Tomimura Xia Mei; his weathered face bore a gentle, Buddha-like smile:

"Benefactor, this demon is fierce; let this poor monk deal with it."

As the words fell.

The old Monk took a step.

Without warning, the earth trembled, and the shaking grew increasingly violent.

At first, everyone thought it was an earthquake, but soon they realized the tremors synchronized with the old Monk's steps; with every step he took, the earth shook, and step by step, the tremors grew more severe.

It seemed his body was growing heavier with each step, heavy enough to crush the earth beneath him.

Every step struck like a drum of the gods, the sound reverberating in all directions.

Boom!

Everyone gasped, their scalps tingling.

The old Monk advanced toward the Six-Eyed Demon; with every step, the ground collapsed and sank inward from the point of impact, the earth cracking like a turtle shell, riddled with fissures and gullies, sinking into the abyss!!

The shaking made hearts flutter, the heavens and earth trembling.

Boom!!

In the end, it was as if a small mountain had crashed down; with each step, the earth sank, a hundred meters in all directions subsiding, the void itself trembling, the cracks in the ground resembling thousands of lightning bolts weaving and spreading in all directions, a maze of gullies!