Chapter 417: Monk Jiemie

Before he could kill Gui Yibu, Zhang Nuo's figure flickered several times, and he dodged to the high sky above. He cast his gaze toward the place where the Buddhist chant had originated, only to see a monk wearing plain white monk robes, looking at him with a smile!

Zhang Nuo's heart was beating like a drum, his heart pounding as one; after a moment, it finally eased. Meanwhile, the Gui Yibu below used this time to flicker his figure, escape the encirclement of the Flying Swords, transform into a long rainbow, and flee without looking back!

The monk in the sky was exactly the flesh-and-blood appearance of the Skull Monk, whom Zhang Nuo had once met on Tianqi Immortal Mountain!

"Little benefactor! It seems you really did fake your death back then! This old monk was almost deceived!"

The white-robed monk flashed and arrived before Zhang Nuo, a kind smile on his face, devoid of even a shred of killing intent. Yet, Zhang Nuo understood in his heart that this monk was no small matter; even with his current cultivation, it was hard to say whether he was the other's match!

Lowering his head to glance at the fleeing Gui Yibu, Zhang Nuo had no choice but to put away his Magic Treasure, and with a faint smile on his face, he said:

"Master truly has great divine abilities! I did not expect to meet you here again! Back then, I was forced by circumstances, which is why I used the trick of faking my death!"

His thoughts raced; for the Skull Monk to entangle him like this, it must be for those two prayer beads of his. But the prayer beads had already been refined by his Divine Sea, so how could he return them to the other?

"Whether the benefactor truly died or faked death has nothing to do with this old monk; it is just that those two prayer beads of mine, should they not be returned?"

What he feared most came to pass; the monk went straight to the point!

"Master, where does this talk come from? I have never taken any prayer beads of yours!"

Things having reached this point, Zhang Nuo could only deny it to the end.

"Benefactor Zhang, back then this old monk always thought the prayer beads were taken by fellow Daoist Nanxuan, but you have already killed fellow Daoist Nanxuan, and you have the aura of my prayer beads on you. Could it be that you want to refine them?"

When the white-robed monk said this, two fierce, inch-long glints suddenly appeared in his kind gaze! Zhang Nuo remained calm on the surface, but his heart had been churning for a long time! The monk had actually distinguished the existence of the prayer beads from the aura on his body, yet he himself had been unaware!

"Master, I do not understand what you are talking about!"

Sticking to his story, Zhang Nuo simply refused to admit it!

"It seems the benefactor will not shed tears until he sees the coffin!"

The monk flicked his robe sleeve, and a row of prayer beads filed out from within. Counting carefully, there were as many as one hundred and six, missing only the two that had been refined by Zhang Nuo!

As soon as these prayer beads appeared, a faint halo immediately rose on their surface. And the moment the prayer beads appeared, the Buddha and Demon within Zhang Nuo's two Divine Seas, which had been quiet, suddenly became restless! Had they not been forcibly suppressed by Zhang Nuo using his cultivation method, they likely would have burst out of his body!

"Still saying you didn't take them! This old monk clearly already felt their existence!"

This time, the white-robed monk's expression changed drastically, his grim gaze like two steel blades, as if he wanted to split Zhang Nuo in half!

Things having reached this point, no matter how much Zhang Nuo quibbled, it was in vain! He sighed lightly, raised his eyebrows, and said with a cold laugh:

"Master! To tell you the truth, the prayer beads have already been refined by me! It is simply impossible to return them to you!"

"What?"

A look of surprise appeared in the monk's eyes. He looked Zhang Nuo up and down for a long time before saying in disbelief:

"Benefactor Zhang, why must you use such lies to deceive this old monk! Those prayer beads simply cannot be refined!"

"If Master does not believe me, then please look carefully!"

As he spoke, Zhang Nuo moved his body slightly, and in an instant, two figures emerged from his body and stood on his left and right respectively! Once the Skull Monk saw the two figures clearly, his eyes widened into circles! It was as if he had received some kind of intense stimulation! The monk, who was always composed and steady, moved his chin for a long time before a sentence finally popped out!

"Amitabha!"

Watching the monk's shocked appearance, Zhang Nuo was truly greatly puzzled. These two Buddha-Demons had no abnormalities; why would this old monk have such an expression! With a movement of his Divine Sense, the two Buddha-Demons returned to Zhang Nuo's body once more!

"Master, now you believe me, right!"

The monk's gaze remained fixed on Zhang Nuo. At this moment, time seemed to have stopped for him! He was completely deaf to Zhang Nuo's words!

"Master!"

Zhang Nuo deliberately raised his volume. The white-robed monk woke from his trance, his eyes filled with a dull expression!

"How did you do it?"

"I obtained a secret technique by chance, so..."

"Impossible!"

Before Zhang Nuo could finish his sentence, the white-robed monk roared like a madman.

"The prayer beads have existed in this old monk's hands for hundreds of years, yet I have never had a way to refine them. You have only just advanced to the Nascent Soul Stage, how could you have a way? Secret technique! There is no secret technique in the world that can contend with it! Unless..."

The light in the monk's dull eyes suddenly flared, and there was actually a feeling of ecstatic joy!

"Unless you understand Underworld cultivation methods!"

Once these words were spoken, Zhang Nuo was immediately shocked. This monk seemed to know quite a lot; he even knew about Underworld cultivation methods!

"Master, I don't think I need to reveal everything I know to you, do I!"

If he let the monk continue to analyze like this, Zhang Nuo would eventually show his flaws! But even though he said this, the monk had already faintly guessed something!

"Hehe! I truly did not expect that you, a mere Nascent Soul Stage cultivator, could actually possess cultivation methods from three different realms!"

This time, Zhang Nuo could no longer hide the surprise in his heart. The 'Shangqing Sword Art' he practiced was a Righteous path cultivation method, while the 'Eight Extremes Demon Veins' was a Demon Sect cultivation method, and as for the 'Immovable Underworld King', it was an authentic Underworld cultivation method! Aside from Chunyangzi and Baji Laomo, basically no one knew about this, yet the white-robed monk before him had pointed out the mystery in a single sentence!

Seeing Zhang Nuo's expression pensive and no longer as stubborn as before, the white-robed monk became even more certain that his conjecture was correct!

"It seems this old monk truly underestimated Benefactor Zhang!"

The cold, emotionless sentence made Zhang Nuo feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar. At the same time, a faint killing intent also assailed his heart; the monk's words were clearly ill-intentioned!

Taking a few steps back, Zhang Nuo straightened his expression and assumed a posture of being ready for battle!

"Hmph! Even if you know cultivation methods from three realms, I am afraid you are still not this old monk's match. I think it would be better to be obedient!"

The monk took a step forward in the void, and at the same time, the massive Spiritual Pressure on his body, like a mountain ten thousand fathoms high, bore down upon Zhang Nuo! With a sway of his figure, Zhang Nuo was almost frightened by the monk's might! The ominous feeling in his heart grew increasingly intense!

Judging solely from that step just now, Zhang Nuo was definitely not the monk's match! The pressure between the two differed by a great deal!

"Master, what exactly do you want to do?"

In Zhang Nuo's estimation, the monk now didn't just want the prayer beads back; he seemed very interested in his cultivation methods as well!

"Hehe! This old monk has painstakingly researched for hundreds of years, and at most, I can only possess both Demonic Arts and Buddhist cultivation methods, yet you can possess cultivation methods from three realms! So, this old monk would like to invite Benefactor Zhang to come with me for a trip!"

Just as Zhang Nuo had expected, this monk had no good intentions at all! Taking a deep breath, since he had already reached this point, Zhang Nuo simply snorted coldly and said:

"Going with Master is not impossible, but I still do not know Master's name!"

"This old monk is Jiemie!"

The monk seemed eager to obtain Zhang Nuo, so he was not willing to waste any more breath.

"Jiemie Chan Master! Zhang Nuo has one thing he does not understand. If the Master can explain it clearly to me, I might consider staying by the Master's side!"

"Oh! What question? Ask quickly!"

Given Jiemie Heshang's composure, such a thing should never have happened, yet at this moment, the monk's eyes radiated a light like that of a starving wolf, completely devoid of any remaining poise!

"What exactly is the thing inside the Master's prayer beads! Why does it have the strange appearance of demonic nature and Buddhist nature coexisting?"

"Hehe! So it is this matter! Since you cannot escape from my palm anyway, there is no harm in telling you! To tell you the truth, what is sealed within my one hundred and eight prayer beads is a powerhouse from the Demon Realm! Back then, this powerhouse was severely wounded and, forced by circumstances, had to disperse the Nascent Soul of his original body, and his primordial spirit was also split into one hundred and eight strands of divided consciousness! He originally hoped to escape by this means, but man proposes and heaven disposes; all of his primordial spirit was completely sealed within the prayer beads!"

Speaking to this point, a sinister smile appeared on Jiemie Heshang's face, as if the imprisonment of that powerhouse's divided primordial spirit had a great deal to do with him!

"I originally wanted to merge his primordial spirit with my own. In this way, my cultivation base would return to its former realm, and I could also return to the Demon Realm! I did not expect... sigh! I have meditated for hundreds of years, yet I have made no progress at all! I originally wanted to use Zen cultivation methods to dissolve that powerhouse's demonic nature, but in the end, I did not succeed! Although I have thought about trying with Underworld cultivation methods, I have suffered from not having any good Underworld cultivation methods! Now that I have met Benefactor Zhang, I believe your Underworld cultivation method must be very powerful!"

Zhang Nuo had been listening to the monk's account, and suddenly, the phrase "return to the Demon Realm" caused his heart to stir deeply. Could it be that this monk named Jiemie also came from the Demon Realm! What was his relationship with Baji Laomo! Furthermore, listening to the meaning in his words, Chunyangzi and Baji Laomo seemed to have come to the Human Realm at the same time!

What exactly happened to the several higher planes tens of thousands of years ago, and why did so many cultivators from the upper realms fall into the Human Realm, and every one of them was severely injured! Their cultivation bases greatly reduced!

Seeing that Zhang Nuo had not made a sound and was bowing his head in deep thought, Jiemie Heshang did not pay much attention!

"Benefactor Zhang! To me, you are just a small cultivator! I have not taken action against you all this time entirely to obtain your Underworld cultivation method! If you do not know what is good for you, I can also use the Soul Searching Technique!"

The monk flicked his robe sleeve, taking back all the prayer beads, and then looked coldly at Zhang Nuo; what he was waiting for now was a single word! Yes or no!