Chapter 105: The Fall of the Jin Gang Gate

Atop Pingkang Mountain, the rocks trembled.

A thin figure shot out in a flash, soaring into midair.

The thirty-odd Golden Eagle Captains who had been keeping watch for a long time, led by two Deputy Generals, were caught somewhat off guard in their hearts, but the movements of their hands had not slowed in the slightest.

"Restrain him!"

Cold, sinister chains shot out like spirit snakes, and in an instant the figure in the air was bound up tight.

Dozens of Demon-Suppressing Chains pulled taut; the two Deputy Generals focused their minds, planted their feet on the formation's eyes, and channeled everyone's Qi, gathering it upon the Demon-Suppressing Chains.

They then took out the specially-made silver hooks meant for piercing the scapula, about to leap into the air—when their expressions suddenly changed.

They saw the iron chains growing ever more taut. These things could lock down even Nascent Core Realm demons and monsters, so naturally they couldn't snap. The problem lay with the dozens of Demon-Suppressing Captains below.

Their features twisted, veins bulging on their foreheads, gripping the chains with all their might.

Their boots sank into the ground, their knees cracking.

Even so, the figure in the air still swayed faintly.

"……"

On the crown of a tall, ancient cypress, Jiang Chengyun stood with his hands clasped behind his back.

Taking in the distant scene, he felt a touch of surprise: "What an overbearing body-tempering art."

Only one who had truly reached the Nascent Core Realm could understand just how terrifying the gulf separating it from the Jade Liquid Realm was, and the strength the Abbot was displaying now had already crossed half of it… perhaps even a little more.

He saw the Jin Gang Gate Abbot stare blankly downward, then look at the Demon-Suppressing Chains wrapped all over his body, and immediately afterward, he seized the chains with a backhanded grip.

His mind seemed to clear a little.

The eerie smile faded from his face, replaced by endless cold indifference.

"Below Nascent Core, I am invincible."

As his words fell, he gave a casual tug, and the dozens of Captains immediately staggered.

"Above Nascent Core…"

The Abbot unhurriedly pulled the chains from his body, every movement unhurried and composed: "…is not necessarily beyond a fight."

"Heh."

Jiang Chengyun shook his head, but did not refute the man's words in his heart.

He stretched out a palm and quickly gathered a wisp of Qi in hues of profound and white. With the Abbot's ability, he now had the capital to escape with his life; even if Jiang Chengyun himself took the field, he could not afford to be too careless.

Just as he was about to leap down from the treetop, his movement stalled slightly.

He saw, at the great hall's entrance, a figure in dark robes suddenly stride forth; without the slightest hesitation, the man instantly vaulted into midair.

A clean, decisive whip-kick slammed viciously into the Abbot's shoulder!

Boom!!

The old Abbot, still calmly removing his chains, was caught off guard, and his thin frame was suddenly smashed downward.

Crash—

Radiating outward from where he landed, several fissures rapidly spread across the ground.

The Jin Gang Gate Abbot lay in a deep pit, staring up at the figure above with eyes full of incomprehension. He saw Shen Yi tug at his collar, casually unfastening the cumbersome Fierce Wolf cloak, and then—charge in once more!

Opening with the Pulse-Severing Dragon-Catching technique.

Fists came hammering down like a rain of blows!

The Abbot rolled to his feet and answered with fists and palms of his own. Neither man dodged in the slightest; there was no flourish in their movements—brutal and clean!

Trees thick enough for several men to embrace toppled at a touch; mountain rocks weathered by the ages shattered on contact.

The onlookers' hearts pounded with dread; whichever one they watched, neither looked like anything a Jade Liquid Realm cultivator should possess.

"……"

Jiang Chengyun watched the distant fight in silence.

In a clash between body-tempering martial artists like this, even he could not quite tell who would win.

He merely reassessed Shen Yi's strength.

No wonder the lad dared be so arrogant. Not only did he possess Jade Liquid Perfection cultivation at such a young age, he also had a startling body hardened by horizontal training.

Even if he had not come today, even if the other party could not take down the Jin Gang Gate Abbot, at the very least self-preservation was more than enough.

Good! Good!

Arrogance without the strength to back it is self-conceit, but with force sufficient to match that arrogance, that is true talent!

Outside Qingzhou needed a fresh batch of blood like this, and only with such ability would one be qualified to stand behind Jiang Qiulan in the future!

Jiang Chengyun had no desire to babysit Chen Qiankun's children, nor did he care for the Old Lady's inexplicable mercy.

But at this moment, he slowly took a step forward toward the front of the treetop. Tidying up the aftermath for a young colleague who had not yet fully grown into his strength was still no problem.

Just then.

Shen Yi, currently exchanging blows with the Abbot, calmly glanced toward the distance.

Under that suddenly-cast gaze, Jiang Chengyun's brow furrowed slightly: "……"

He had only just now leaked a trace of his aura, yet amid such a fierce fight, the other still had the leeway to observe his surroundings?

And what was that look of warning supposed to mean?

Jiang Chengyun's expression shifted slightly… this time he truly had no intention of stealing credit. It seemed this lad had adapted to the identity of a Silver Bell Demon-Catcher even faster than they had imagined.

"You thieving little wretch!"

The Jin Gang Gate Abbot suddenly let out a long howl, fury pushed to the extreme. The hues of profound and white blazed fully upon his arms, and the force contained within was a full thirty percent greater than before!

Clearly, he had already discerned where Shen Yi's hardened body came from.

Within his rage was mingled jealousy!

The Bodhi Treasure Tree had been drained without measure by martial artists ignorant of Buddhist teachings and had long since withered. Where on earth had this fellow found a similar spiritual plant? If they could have obtained one, why would they have gone to such roundabout lengths, foolishly attempting to revive the Jin Gang Gate through other martial arts?

Moreover, the youth's strength had already far surpassed the upper limit of the Bodhi Jin Gang Body, and compared to his own half-volume Condensing Pill Body Tempering Art, it was only slightly inferior by a few tenths.

If not for finally achieving completion today, he really would have fallen at the other's hands.

"..."

Shen Yi adjusted his breathing, the final jab sealing the monk's right arm.

Even with the many augmentations of the Flood Dragon Demon Power, the Hundred-Refined Crocodile Dragon Body, and a top-grade Jade Liquid Realm body-tempering martial art, he still felt it was somewhat strenuous.

Pulse-Cutting Dragon Catch was blocked by that black-and-white light, and its effect was not great either, only making his movements slightly sluggish — barely enough, but enough to prevent the opponent from escaping.

In an instant, the straight Yi Blade was drawn.

Driving the Greedy Wolf Slaying Evil with full force, the blade instantly turned pitch-black and lightless, stabbing straight into the abbot's heart, sinking a few inches into the flesh.

The old monk pressed his palms together, clamping the blade.

The pierced muscles surged rapidly, the black-and-white light pulsing in and out, actually pushing the blade out bit by bit.

"I said it before — below Condensing Pill, I am invincible!"

The abbot's face was savage, his smile chillingly cold, as his palms slowly exerted force, wanting to snap the straight blade clean in two!

Shen Yi's expression did not change; only a speck of crimson welled up in his pupils.

The Melting Sun Treasure Furnace, composed of countless dark-red veins, roared — activating only for an instant — and the external pill suspended in the qi sea quietly awakened, wisps of demon baleful energy swiftly drilling out.

Compared to the completely uncontrollable scattering before, this time with experience, under Shen Yi's guidance they surged along his palm and into the Yi Blade.

A bewitching aura rose over the pitch-black blade!

Puchi!

The old monk stared blankly downward, looking at the long blade that had run him through, as his qi and blood were uncontrollably drawn into the blade's edge.

His once-mighty body rapidly withered, the smooth skin wrinkling at a speed visible to the naked eye.

He reacted extremely fast, wanting to push the other away, but the red glow that abruptly appeared on the Yi Blade rampaged savagely and brutally through his body — his five viscera were instantly churned into pulp, then all sucked dry together.

"..." The many Captains and Vice-Commandants had originally felt the two were evenly matched, but the result was that Lord Shen seemed to have played enough — he drew his blade and cut down that old monk in a single strike.

"..." Compared to the others, Jiang Chengyun saw much more clearly, but his feelings were not far different.

First using the Commander's ultimate art Pulse-Cutting Dragon Catch to lightly seal the abbot's meridians — this was to prevent the enemy from escaping, showing Shen Yi was not very confident in his own lightness skill.

That final blade seemed utterly unremarkable, but was actually a vicious killing move with considerable cost.

Even for himself, a martial artist who had condensed a pill, receiving it would require some focus.

The current Jade Liquid Realm... really is one more incomprehensible than the last.

"Hah."

Shen Yi drew out the blade and casually sent it back into the scabbard.

He reached up to adjust his collar, glanced at the abbot who was now nothing but a husk, and slightly raised an eyebrow.

You are invincible below Condensing Pill.

Then what am I?

(End of chapter)