Chapter 483: The Earth Store Corpse Garden

The appearance of the Maitreya Sect was no surprise to Sha Li Fei.

If the Ghost Sect arose from the pursuit of immortality and greed,

then the Maitreya Sect was born from injustice.

This sect's philosophy originated from the Pure Land School, initially representing the poor masses' longing for a Pure Land world.

It symbolized a single thread of hope in dark, muddy soil.

At first, many from both court and common folk supported it, even some renowned scholars of the time joined.

But no matter how beautiful a false hope may be, it remains illusion.

When hope shattered, rebellion followed.

And that power would inevitably be exploited.

That was how the Maitreya Sect became.

No matter how many commoners joined, once the Jianghu forces, heretical sects, or ambitious men joined, it had already become a tool for amassing wealth and influence.

But likewise, as long as injustice exists in the world,

the Maitreya Sect will have soil to grow in.

So its presence in Sichuan was no surprise.

What puzzled Sha Li Fei was this: from what these people said, did the monks know about the tomb of the "Nine Heaven Buddha Lord"?

He couldn't help stealing a glance.

The several old monks showed no fear at all, still seated cross-legged, not even lifting their eyelids.

"Good sirs, please return…"

The central monk spoke calmly: "Past grievances and karmic debts should remain buried. If they emerge, disaster cannot be avoided. We will not speak."

The fat leader of the Maitreya Sect now wore nothing but impatience in his eyes: "You truly aren't afraid of death?"

The old monk replied calmly: "Greed breeds sorrow; greed breeds fear. Without greed, what sorrow, what fear?"

"Good!"

The fat merchant barked sharply:

"Then we'll grant you death!"

With that, he slashed his hand downward.

At his command, Maitreya Sect disciples scattered across the area immediately nocked arrows, igniting the oil-soaked cloth wrapped around their arrowheads.

Sha Li Fei feigned panic: "Venerable masters, think of something! Or we'll all die here!"

But the monks merely closed their eyes.

As if already prepared to die.

"Oh dear~"

Sha Li Fei slapped his forehead, face full of helplessness.

Facing these old monks who were impervious to reason or threat, who feared not even death, he had absolutely no temper left.

"San'er, move!"

Sha Li Fei's eyes glinted with malice as he raised his Divine Fire Gun.

Meanwhile, Lu San had already leapt out the temple's broken gate, right hand gripping his bone club, left hand forming a seal as he blew a sharp whistle.

The enemy was using fire—staying inside the temple was impossible.

So Lu San chose to charge immediately.

"Kill this brat!"

The fat merchant leader roared.

They had moved early partly because of Sha Li Fei and Lu San—they couldn't tell their origins and assumed they'd come to intercept.

At this point, whoever they were, kill them first.

Immediately, three men turned their bows.

Shhh-shhh-shhh!

Three flaming arrows screamed through the air, leaving brilliant trails.

Lu San didn't dodge or blink—he swung his bone club left and right, deflecting every arrow.

His speed didn't slow a single bit.

"Hard opponent! Watch out!"

The fat merchant's pupils shrank sharply.

He wasn't a sorcerer, but a peak Hidden Force expert—he ripped off his sleeve, rubbed his palms together, turning them crimson.

Clearly, he had trained the Zhu Sha Palm.

Beside him, the Daoist drew a peachwood sword and a soul-subduing bell, swinging the sword and shaking the bell while muttering incantations.

Instantly, cold winds howled around them.

Several white figures danced in the wind, faces pale, paper funeral robes rustling—these were the paper puppets that had been spying earlier.

This place was suppressed by the statue of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, rendering spiritual senses useless—so they hadn't realized Lu San was a sorcerer.

Seeing the arrows deflected, others nocked new ones.

BOOM!

At that moment, Sha Li Fei fired.

Smoke scattered inside the ruined temple; dust rained down.

Sha Li Fei had aimed squarely at the fat leader.

Due to the distance and the fat man's exceptional instincts, he instinctively twisted aside.

Even so, he was hit.

He screamed as his right shoulder and arm exploded into a spray of blood.

"Big brother!"

Those nearby turned bloodshot—some slashed at Lu San rushing forward, others dragged the wounded leader backward.

But in that instant, Lu San was already upon them.

His unarmed combat skills ranked second only to Li Yan and Wu Ba—he knew animal-form fists, continuous flying needles, and countless sorcery techniques and spirit beast aids.

But against these minor players, he didn't bother.

He flicked his bone club—hook, smash, cover, pound—one strike, one foe: incoming thugs either had their skulls crushed or their ribs caved in.

Since acquiring the bone club, Lu San had trained hard.

The bone club originated from ancient "club-heads," called "Shu" in Yin and Zhou dynasties, used as a staff of punishment in Tang, and later adopted as ceremonial weapon in Song and beyond, commonly known as "Golden Gourd."

Today, few still use it.

"It's a new-type firearm—run!"

Seeing Lu San's ferocity, a fierce-looking monk finally panicked, abandoning his comrades and turning to flee.

"Ahhhh—!"

The fat leader, dressed like a squire, was a man of grit—he let out a piercing scream, broke free from those holding him, forced his energy, and turned his left palm crimson as he slammed it toward Lu San.

Before his palm even reached, searing heat blasted forward.

The Zhu Sha Palm is one of the soft internal yin arts, also called Plum Blossom Palm or Red Sand Palm. Its origin is lost to history, yet widely known in Jianghu.

This palm technique is brutal—its force penetrates directly to the internal organs. Days after being struck, the victim's skin bears a crimson palm print resembling Zhu Sha; death follows.

Ordinary Zhu Sha Palm leaves deep red spots on the palm, resembling medicinal Zhu Sha, hence the name.

But this fat man's entire palm was blood-red—clearly his cultivation was profound, and he used the balanced offensive-defensive Si Ming Fist.

In Jianghu, he was no unknown.

Unfortunately, he was gravely wounded, pain-driven into madness—his strikes looked fierce, but were riddled with openings.

Lu San leapt forward like a monkey, then twisted suddenly, his body slithering like a snake to evade the Zhu Sha Palm, slipping past the fat man's side.

Simultaneously, he used the "King's Backward Sword" technique—without looking—he swung the bone club backward.

CRACK!

The fat man's skull caved in; he collapsed, dead.

At the same time, accompanied by a rustling sound, snakes and scorpions crawled out of the darkness.

Screams erupted as the men frantically dodged.

They knew they'd encountered a ruthless opponent and only wanted to flee.

But Sha Li Fei had already charged out.

He had average talent and age; forced by Li Yan into Hidden Force, his progress was painfully slow—but his Guanzhong Fast Blade grew ever more vicious.

Blade light flashed; torches flickered.

Soon, silence fell around them. As for the paper puppets, the hidden white fox Chu Qi lured them out and tore them to shreds.

Lu San shook his bone club, patted his waist gourd, and muttered: "Hurry up. Don't always make us act."

Earlier, they'd taken the Yu family father and son to hunt treasures and found a venomous bee nest—a heavenly treasure—which they'd fed entirely to the demonic gourd.

Combined with the demons insects it had previously devoured, the demonic gourd finally reached its limit, like constructing a tower, gestating venomous bees within.

Unfortunately, it hadn't succeeded yet.

If they had the demonic gourd, they wouldn't have needed to lift a finger against these people.

Sha Li Fei turned around, searching, and found a survivor—the monk who had abandoned his comrades to flee.

The man had a cruel face and lecherous eyes—he was no Buddhist disciple, merely hiding behind the monk's identity.

This man was unlucky, bitten several times by a venomous snake; his body was half-swollen, his face tinged an unnatural bluish-gray.

"Speak."

Sha Li-fei tapped the man's face with his blade and said coldly, "What are you doing here?"

!.

"Speak clearly, and I'll give you a quick death."

The fake monk, poisoned by the snake venom, writhed in agony, his throat gurgling as he mumbled, "We… we fell into a trap… fooled by Guo Laosan into coming here… gurgling…"

Before he could finish, something blocked his throat; his face turned purple and blue, gasping for air.

Seeing the man's wretched state, Sha Li-fei knew his throat was swollen shut; no more answers would come. He ended it with a single slash.

"Who is Guo Laosan?"

"Don't know. Ask the monks."

The two exchanged glances and turned back toward the ruined temple.

The earlier fight had left some damage.

Several flaming arrows had struck the wooden beams, but the beams were rotten and damp; though they billowed thick smoke, they failed to ignite a fire.

Sha Li-fei quickly extinguished the flames and looked at the monks—his temper flared.

Several old monks still sat cross-legged, as if eager to die, utterly ignoring the fire.

"You all truly wish to die? Then hang yourselves—why make such a spectacle?" Sha Li-fei couldn't help cursing.

One old monk spoke calmly, "Monks do not break the precept against killing—even killing oneself is killing. All beings are embodiments of the Bodhisattva; to slaughter them is to stain the Buddha's blood."

"So we just splattered ourselves with Buddha's blood?"

Sha Li-fei was utterly speechless. He waved his hand. "Fine, fine, do whatever you want. I only want to ask: have you heard of Guo Laosan?"

"We have."

The head monk spoke: "The Treasure Seekers have a branch called the Probe of the Deep. He is the leader of this branch in Shu, constantly digging up graves."

"Years ago, they came here and killed several of our senior brothers, and broke open a stupa built by an Indian monk."

He hesitated, then added, "He is also searching for the Corpse Garden."

Sha Li-fei's heart jolted. "Why are they searching for the Corpse Garden?"

The old monk shook his head. "I do not know."

Lu San frowned. "Then, Venerables, where exactly is the Corpse Garden?"

The old monk fell silent for a long while, then raised his head.

His eyes were clouded white with cataracts, long blind to the world, yet seemed to pierce straight into the soul: "It is here. Right within your hearts."

"I told Guo Laosan the same thing—the Corpse Garden has never been a secret. Whether you find it depends on your karmic connection…"

Right here?!

Sha Li-fei and Lu San exchanged glances, both thinking of the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva statue outside.

That thing suppressed spiritual powers.

Could it also be hiding the Corpse Garden?

…………

"Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva…"

Li Yan stared at the secret letter in his hand, lost in thought.

This matter was indeed strange.

The flow of Gang and Sha energies permeated all things; no force—even the Yin Soldiers of the Underworld or the Great Luo Divine Gang—could exist without relation to these two energies.

The power of incense worship followed the same principle.

What truly mattered was not the incense itself, but the human will concentrated within it, which summoned Gang energy.

Human will held profound mystery: just as some evil entities arose from lingering obsessions or extreme love, hate, and resentment, drawing forth Sha energy.

Thus, only temples and shrines with abundant incense worship could generate enough power to suppress a cultivator's techniques.

But that Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva statue had been built less than a hundred years ago, standing in a desolate wilderness, worshipped only by a few old monks—it clearly lacked such power.

Therefore, only two possibilities remained.

One: something was hidden inside the statue.

Two: another force was supporting it from behind!

Very likely, it was the "Corpse Garden"…

Thinking of this, Li Yan set down the letter and looked out the window.

Outside, fine rain drizzled; the noise of carts and horses never ceased.

This was the Wufengxi Wharf near Longquanyi.

Since the Han Dynasty, it had been a vital water-and-land port on the Tuojiang River.

Goods and imperial documents flowed constantly along the Tuojiang, making it a crucial hub for Chengdu's trade.

Folk saying went: "One sail at Wufengxi can carry half of Chengdu's salt; one oar stroke can carry half of Chengdu's sugar."

He had thought he had things under control—but now Sha Li-fei had made progress, while he himself was stuck here.

At that moment, a shout came from outside.

"Li Shaoxia, please show yourself!"

Li Yan's face darkened. He rose and stepped to the window.

Below, in the misty rain, a young swordsman wearing a conical hat and short robe, his skin dark, was shouting at the inn.

"Here he comes again! Again!"

The townsfolk immediately grew excited.

Undeterred by the rain, they gathered to watch; the narrow street, already crowded with mules and carts, became utterly jammed.

Only the space outside Li Yan's inn remained clear.

"Fight! Fight!"

"I bet three moves…"

"Three moves? I bet one!"

The crowd buzzed with chatter, faces alight with excitement.

Li Yan cursed inwardly, grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds from the nearby tray, leaned against the window, cracked a few, and spat the shells out with a soft *pfft*.

He refused to speak, his disdain unmistakable.

This was his problem.

Someone—some bastard—had spread rumors about his past, causing a sensation across the Shu underworld.

There was no help for it; his past was too shocking.

The events in Jinzhou need not be mentioned.

Several major incidents in Ezhou had also been publicized.

He had slain many top experts of the Ghost Sect, leaving that fearsome cult unable to track him down despite issuing night-time assassination orders…

At the Gui Mountain Tournament, he defeated all challengers; though under twenty, he held his own against veteran Xuan Sect masters…

Some even claimed he had slain the dragon in Shennongjia.

Though true, outsiders had no way of knowing that.

In short—he had become famous.

He was now the most sought-after figure in the Shu underworld.

But Li Yan knew this was a trap—a setup to destroy him.

It was not the Wang Fu's doing.

Another force was targeting him!

The first consequence: challengers came one after another.

Whether he could win was secondary.

Just fighting gave them bragging rights for life.

Pure, unadulterated harassment…

(End of Chapter)