Chapter 885: [Cave Annihilation] (Part II)

Hu Xiaotian dared not clash head‑on, after all this Longevity Buddha was an object of concern for the Laohuangdi; if it were damaged, he feared he could not explain it. He supported the statue with both hands, and at the moment his palms touched the Buddha, there was clearly a bending motion of an arm to buffer the statue's impact force.

A masked black‑clad figure flashed out from inside the cave, striking the Buddha's back with both palms; this move is called Striking the Cow from Across the Mountain. Although it appears to strike the Buddha directly, the explosion point is actually in front of Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian felt a force transmitted from the Buddha, silently thinking it was bad; if the intruder who had sneaked into the cave was Bu Wu, then he was no match for him. The opponent's power had already passed through the Buddha to Hu Xiaotian's palm, yet the palm strike caused him no harm.

Both of their palms pressed against the Buddha, and the statue stalled under their mutual action. The masked black‑clad figure secretly circulated his inner energy and suddenly exhaled, intending to use Striking the Cow from Across the Mountain to send Hu Xiaotian flying with internal force, but after exhaling, the force vanished like a stone sunk in the sea, raising no ripple, and could not possibly harm Hu Xiaotian.

The masked black‑clad figure furrowed his brow, withdrew his palms intending to draw his waist sword, yet his hands stuck to the Buddha, feeling his inner energy continuously flowing into the statue. The masked figure's eyes showed panic; he strained to break free, but the harder he struggled, the faster his inner energy leaked, not knowing why the Buddha behaved so strangely.

Hu Xiaotian, however, knew it was not the Buddha's fault; over the past six days, aside from eating and sleeping, he had almost constantly used the Void Grand Method to dissolve the vast inner energy of Monk Yuan Kong. When faced with external force, his first thought was not resistance but how to absorb and neutralize it, which had nearly become his natural reflex. Thus, when the masked black‑clad figure attempted to use Striking the Cow from Across the Mountain to shock Hu Xiaotian with internal force, he unwittingly walked into a tiger's mouth.

The Void Grand Method could draw away the inner energy of experts like Yuan Kong, let alone this person. Yet Hu Xiaotian had not expected that he could, in a dazed manner, absorb the opponent's inner energy through the Buddha. Actually, this is not difficult; it also belongs to transmitting power through an object—one releases power outward, the other draws the opponent's power inward.

Qi Daine saw the two facing each other across the Buddha, unaware of what was happening. He and Hu Xiaotian could now be considered allies against a common enemy; Qi Daine went around the Buddha to the side of the black‑clad masked figure and kicked at his groin. His kick was accurate and vicious, striking the opponent's crotch, but after making contact, an invisible suction force grabbed his leg, preventing him from pulling it back. Qi Daine lost his balance, reached out to steady himself on the Buddha, making things worse as he felt his inner energy continuously flowing into the statue.

Qi Daine and the black‑clad man neither understood what was happening. They merely thought the Longevity Buddha had manifested its power, drawing their inner energy ceaselessly into the statue; both were shocked and frightened, actually forgetting that the enemy stood beside them. Neither had any intention to attack again, desperately struggling to free themselves, trying to move their palms away from the Buddha.

Only Hu Xiaotian truly understood what was happening; it was his Void Grand Method that created this state, while Qi Daine was merely an unlucky fellow who had unfortunately joined in. After absorbing Yuan Kong's massive inner energy, Hu Xiaotian's mastery of the Void Grand Method had increased severalfold, directly shown in the speed at which he devoured opponents' power—like a full‑throttle pump, in just a moment he had drained the internal energy of both the black‑clad man and Qi Daine.

Qi Daine and the black‑clad man collapsed limp on the ground, as if suffering a serious illness, lacking even the strength to stand.

At that moment another feathered arrow shot into the cave from outside. Hu Xiaotian swiftly turned, watching the incoming arrow; with his inner energy refined, he could even see the faint trajectory of the arrow gliding through the void. He reached out and firmly seized the arrow, tipped his toe, and rushed out of the cave. He intended to charge up the opposite stone cliff to eliminate the assassin who had wounded him with a covert arrow.

On the stone cliff, the masked archer again drew his bow and nocked an arrow, aiming at Hu Xiaotian who burst out of the cave like lightning. A look of surprise flickered in his eyes; despite some mental preparation, he still had not imagined that Hu Xiaotian could escape from the cave.

Just as he was about to release the shot, a black shadow suddenly appeared behind him, seized his throat, and with a crack broke his neck bones, then kicked his corpse away. The archer's body fell like a cannonball straight toward Hu Xiaotian, who shifted his footwork, performed two consecutive turns in place, lightly dodged it, and the corpse slammed into the ground, instantly mangled into a bloody pulp.

Hu Xiaotian looked up and saw Bu Wu standing on the opposite stone cliff, his black monk's robe fluttering in the night wind like a ghost.

Seeing Bu Wu finally appear, Hu Xiaotian's heart gave a sudden thump; this man was indeed a serious trouble.

Without seeing Bu Wu move, two successive afterimages flickered in the air and already stood before Hu Xiaotian, less than three feet away; the ugly, demon‑like face lifted slightly, he inhaled sharply and said in a low voice, "Kid, heaven has a road you refuse to take, hell has no gate yet you insist on coming."

Hu Xiaotian said, "As a monk, you actually strike to kill—how will you answer to the Buddha?"

Bu Wu gave a strange, grating laugh: "This Split Cloud Valley is indeed lively." He stepped closer to Hu Xiaotian, a powerful pressure bearing down that almost made Hu Xiaotian retreat, but he stubbornly held his ground without backing off, his heart pounding in his throat; if Bu Wu dared to attack him, he would rather fight to the end, draining Bu Wu's inner energy just as he had done with Yuan Kong.

Bu Wu's brows furrowed, his ugly face showing bewilderment: "After not seeing each other for days, you seem much bolder." He brushed past Hu Xiaotian and entered the cave together.

Hu Xiaotian thought for a moment and then followed him inside.

Bu Wu seized the limp heap of Qi Daine on the ground, grabbed his pulse, and his expression grew grim: "Where has your inner energy gone?"

Qi Daine stammered, "The Buddha has manifested… the Buddha has manifested…"

Bu Wu snorted coldly, raised his palm and slapped down on Qi Daine's head; Hu Xiaotian could not stop him in time, watching helplessly as Bu Wu killed Qi Daine with a single palm—even if he had spoken up, Bu Wu would not have listened. Bu Wu then seized the collar of the black‑clad masked man, ripped off the black cloth covering his face, and said coldly, "Why are you here?"

The black‑clad masked man moved his lips slightly; even such a minute motion did not escape Bu Wu's notice. Bu Wu pinched his mouth, fingers jabbing at his throat; the man turned his head and vomited, and among the mess lay a golden pill wrapped in gold foil, held in his mouth. If danger arose, biting the foil would release the poison that would kill him shortly—this was a precaution against capture, to prevent him from revealing his mastermind under torture.

Hu Xiaotian watched from the side, secretly admiring; although Bu Wu was blind, he was far more formidable than Hu Xiaotian with his sight—had it been him, the black‑clad masked man would likely already be dead.

Bu Wu said, "If you obey honestly, I'll give you a quick death; otherwise I'll keep you alive and torment you with a hundred different methods every day." His hand fell upon the black‑clad man's head; the man's body shuddered violently, his facial muscles twisted from extreme agony, his eyes rolled up, and his limbs spasmed incessantly.

"... I... I say... I say..."

Bu Wu's lip curled with a faint cold smile: "Now that's obedient."

"... I... I came to find a book..."

"What book?"

"\"Opening the Heaven and Earth\"..."

Bu Wu said, "But isn't that the one written by Chu Fufeng?"

"Yes..."

"Nonsense! That book is no secret at all; Chu Fufeng long ago passed it to his disciples."

"I didn't lie… Chu Fufeng hid the Cauldron Chapter… that's why we came to seek this Longevity Buddha..."

Hu Xiaotian examined the Longevity Buddha closely, but saw no secret at all.

Bu Wu suddenly turned and struck the Longevity Buddha with a palm—boom! —startling Hu Xiaotian, yet the statue shattered from top to bottom, turning into a pile of stone dust in the smoke. Hu Xiaotian silently cursed Bu Wu for being overly crude, but he was also curious; he flicked his sleeve to brush away the dust and carefully searched, finding nothing hidden inside.

Bu Wu said, "Kid, what's inside?"

Hu Xiaotian replied, "Nothing."

Bu Wu snorted coldly, turned to the black‑clad man and said, "Even at death's door you dare to lie to me!"

The black‑clad man trembled, "No, I swear I didn't deceive you; it was Mr. Hong who sent us to look for… I don't know anything else..."

Hu Xiaotian pressed, "Is it Hong Beimo?"

The black‑clad man replied, "Yes..."

Bu Wu suddenly lashed out, smacking the black‑clad man's crown with a slap—crack! —shattering his brains and killing him instantly. Hu Xiaotian never expected him to kill at this moment, and angrily demanded, "Why are you silencing them?"

Bu Wu sneered, "I'll do whatever I want; if you dare to talk back, I'll kill you just the same!"

Hu Xiaotian glared at him, but dared not say another word.

Bu Wu said, "Search their pockets; there should be bone‑dissolving water."

Hu Xiaotian searched and indeed found a bottle on the corpse; opening it, he smelled the unmistakable scent of bone‑dissolving water. Bu Wu must have overheard their conversation, which explained his certainty. The more Hu Xiaotian thought, the more alarmed he became: Hong Beimo had clearly sent these two to silence him and Qi Daine, planning to kill them then dissolve their bodies with the water to fake a flight from justice—in that case, the Laohuangdi was almost certainly Hong Beimo in disguise.

Hu Xiaotian dragged the two corpses to the riverside, together with the arrow‑man who had died earlier on the ground, sprinkled some bone‑dissolving water on them, and soon the three bodies turned into a pool of blood‑water; a quick rinse washed it away cleanly, leaving no trace. (To be continued~^~)