Chapter 877: [Void Great Law] (Part 2)

Good and evil lie in a single thought; becoming a Buddha or falling into demonhood is no different. A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, lighting Yuan Kong's face; his originally kind visage had twisted into a ferocious, terrifying expression.

A deep, muffled thunderclap made Hu Xiaotian shudder from the bottom of his heart; he wished this thunder could wake Yuan Kong.

Bu Wu said: "We bear deep karmic debt; spending these decades still leaves us immersed in pain day after day. Our sins will not be absolved by saving a life, nor will they be worsened by taking another."

Hu Xiaotian cursed angrily: "Bu Wu, I fuck your grandfather!" This evil monk is utterly vicious and treacherous; although he didn't personally strike, his methods are a hundred times more poisonous than doing it himself. If Yuan Kong killed Hu Xiaotian to keep the secret, wouldn't his sin increase even more?

Bu Wu laughed loudly.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Master, I swear to heaven!"

Yuan Kong said: "No one in this world is willing to keep a secret..." His blood-red eyes were nearly mad.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Master! You must never listen to that evil monk's provocation." He already understood that Yuan Kong had murderous intent toward him; there was no way he would be let go.

Yuan Kong exclaimed: "Buddha! Why must you torment the disciple, why must you torment the disciple?" His former gentleness and kindness vanished; a chilling killing intent spread all around. Hu Xiaotian suddenly felt a cold flash in his hand; he had already drawn the concealed dagger while begging for mercy. Even with no chance of victory, he would stake his life—better than waiting to die.

Hu Xiaotian thrust the dagger with all his strength toward Yuan Kong's dantian, but the blade struck the opponent's body as if hitting metal or stone, unable to pierce the flesh at all.

Yuan Kong roared: "Indeed, there is no trustworthy person in this world!" He raised his hand and slapped Hu Xiaotian's crown with a crisp "pa!" sound.

Hu Xiaotian was slapped until his head swam and his soul scattered; he secretly thought that with Yuan Kong's power, this palm might burst his brains, but if his brains burst, how could he still have the capacity to think?

Yuan Kong gritted his teeth: "This old monk is merciful at heart. I originally wanted to give you a quick death, but you are so treacherous—don't blame me for being ruthless!"

Hu Xiaotian felt as if a breach had been opened at the crown of his head, his internal energy surging out incessantly toward that gap. The sensation was like when the black corpse had drained his internal energy, only far stronger. He realized this must be the Void Great Law.

Bu Wu clicked his tongue in admiration: "These methods are even more vicious than mine—hah, this is truly your nature!"

Yuan Kong's blood-red eyes glared at Bu Wu: "Shut up! The person this old monk ought to kill most is you!"

Bu Wu let out a strange laugh, his body shooting straight upward: "Although you want to kill me, I don't yet want to kill you; if you die, who will keep me company in my loneliness?" His body rose higher and higher, soon vanishing into the night.

Yuan Kong never imagined Hu Xiaotian possessed such formidable internal energy. What astonished him further was that Hu Xiaotian's internal energy was extremely mixed, clearly not from a single source, nor cultivated by himself—meaning the boy's internal energy circuit resembled his own. It was likely drawn from others.

Hu Xiaotian felt his internal energy surge out like a flood, impossible to restrain; at this moment he could not speak, only gaze at Yuan Kong, eyes pleading.

Yuan Kong's eyes were blood-red, his expression growing ever more frenzied. A hint of delight appeared at the corners of his mouth; he never expected this boy to be a treasure trove. If he could absorb all of the youth's internal energy, his cultivation would surely advance a level—perhaps even achieve a breakthrough.

Hu Xiaotian felt ever weaker; his dantian qi sea seemed to have formed a hollow that grew larger as his internal breath ebbed. At this rate, he would soon be sucked dry into a corpse by Yuan Kong. Bu Wu was not wrong—this Yuan Kong is no benevolent sort, constantly proclaiming great mercy and compassion yet committing deeds more vicious than Bu Wu's. You want to silence me by killing me—why also drain my internal energy? Hu Xiaotian regretted bitterly; had he known, he would rather have stayed in the earthen cave with Ji Feihua, who probably never imagined that this kind‑looking old monk was the one to guard against.

Yuan Kong seized Hu Xiaotian's right hand, sending a thread of internal energy into his meridians. Curious about Hu Xiaotian's cultivated internal energy, he wished to probe his dantian qi sea with internal breath to see what internal art the fellow practiced.

As all people have curiosity, Yuan Kong was no exception. Years ago he stumbled upon half of the *Void Great Law* in the Sutra Pavilion. Knowing the art was evil, he still could not suppress his curiosity and decided to have a look; who would have thought that a single glance would hook him, prompting secret practice. Although lacking the upper half of the *Void Great Law*, he gleaned much insight from the lower half, and, lacking a foundation in that art, he forcibly cultivated the lower half using Buddhist internal energy—and actually achieved some success.

Yuan Kong still dare not be certain whether the strange true qi within Hu Xiaotian's body stems from the Void Great Law; a trickle of internal energy flows along Hu Xiaotian's meridians into his dantian to investigate what martial art he cultivates.

While continuously drawing internal energy from Hu Xiaotian's body, he could also use internal breath to probe Hu Xiaotian's dantian qi sea—something only Yuan Kong in the world could accomplish.

Hu Xiaotian clearly felt a filament‑like true force threading through his meridians, quickly reaching his dantian qi sea and wandering about within it. Yuan Kong's eyes showed astonishment: "You practice the Void Great Law?"

Hu Xiaotian could not speak, only gaze at Yuan Kong.

Joy lit Yuan Kong's face; he was obsessed with martial arts, having long sought to master the Void Great Law. Relying on his own solid, profound internal foundation, his early progress was as swift as splitting bamboo, but later he hit a bottleneck. His orthodox Chan internal energy clashed with this demonic art, causing his training to stall. Ultimately he took the step he would regret for life: siphoning the internal energy of a thief who had entered the Sutra Pavilion, breaking the long‑standing bottleneck and filling him with ecstasy—yet the respite was brief; soon he fell into another bottleneck, and finally he could not resist turning on his fellow disciples.

One misstep leads to another; reflecting on this, Yuan Kong's face showed regret and anguish. Hu Xiaotian saw Yuan Kong's expression shift complexly—sometimes like a madman, sometimes bearing compassion, sometimes remorseful beyond remedy—knowing that good and evil were fiercely contending within Yuan Kong's heart at that moment. He wished Yuan Kong would soon regain his conscience, for only then could he himself escape disaster.

Yuan Kong said: "I can spare your life, but you must recite the Void Great Law in full for me to hear!" His eyes brimmed with greed. Hu Xiaotian saw that his gaze now made it clear: Yuan Kong had been utterly deluded; even if Hu Xiaotian told him the Void Great Law, he would still not spare his life. Hu Xiaotian blinked.

Yuan Kong knew he had agreed, a flicker of joy appearing on his face—yet at that moment he sensed the internal breath flowing into his body suddenly stall. He first thought he had drained Hu Xiaotian's internal energy dry, but seeing Hu Xiaotian's eyes still bright, not resembling someone completely emptied, he used his own internal breath to search Hu Xiaotian's dantian qi sea and found that it still held a considerable amount of internal energy.

Hu Xiaotian also felt his internal energy suddenly cease to leak out, assuming Yuan Kong had decided to spare him; he regained his voice: "I will give you the complete Void Great Law, but you must swear before the Buddha to release me unharmed, otherwise may heaven strike you with thunder and you meet a bad end."

A twitch crossed Yuan Kong's facial muscles, yet he refused to swear; the palm pressed to Hu Xiaotian's crown exerted force again, trying to suck out all his internal energy—yet there was still no response.

Seeing Yuan Kong refuse to swear, Hu Xiaotian knew he would not be let go, and coldly said: "If you won't swear, I'd rather die than reveal the Void Great Law's cultivation secrets to you."

Yuan Kong said: "Speak first so I can hear; how would I know you're not deceiving me?"

Hu Xiaotian casually uttered a sentence—exactly the opening line of the Void Great Law.

Upon hearing it, Yuan Kong's two white brows trembled with excitement; he could not wait to ask: "What comes next?"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Swear first, then speak!"

Yuan Kong said: "Before the Buddha, disciple Yuan Kong swears to heaven: if the little benefactor teaches me the art in full, I will let him go; should I break this vow, may heaven strike me with thunder and I meet a bad end."

Although Hu Xiaotian heard the oath, he doubted Yuan Kong's character greatly; seeing his hand still resting on his crown while speaking the vow, he said: "First release me!"

Yuan Kong nodded, thinking to himself that he had already drawn away most of Hu Xiaotian's internal energy; if he continued, he might endanger his life, so better to release him first, wait until he had spoken the entire Void Great Law, then silence him. Although his right hand left Hu Xiaotian's crown, his left hand remained pressed to the youth's abdomen.

Hu Xiaotian said: "Release the left hand as well."

Yuan Kong tried to draw internal energy out of Hu Xiaotian's dantian qi sea, but the energy seemed to have fallen into a void; that void actually attempted to absorb the true qi he had injected into it. This had never happened in his practice of the Void Great Law. He added a bit more force, yet felt Hu Xiaotian's dantian qi sea as if a force were slowly turning within. Yuan Kong was greatly astonished: he had already siphoned off most of the youth's internal energy, yet the dantian qi sea still possessed the power to swallow true qi—evidently this boy had grasped quite a bit of the Void Great Law. (To be continued~^~)