Chapter 158: Fifty Steps Laughing at a Hundred Steps

I instinctively looked toward the direction where Liu Junyan and the false ascetic monk were fighting; the battle there was in full swing.

Just then, the man who had thrown away his leg bone suddenly clenched his fists and hammered his chest hard a few times; immediately after, his long, sharp nails dug into his own chest, and from there a yellow liquid that gave off a nauseating smell flowed out.

The moment the liquid surged out, the scriptures on the man's body lit up one after another, and a Yīnfēng shot up from the ground, swirling continuously around him.

The scriptures on his body seemed to be blown off by the wind, gradually merging with it.

The swirling wind turned into swirling scriptures.

Then the swirling scriptures connected into a sheet, forming a scripture bell.

The scripture bell enveloped the man's entire body, and after he let out another explosive shout, the bell shot up and came down over my head.

I wanted to dodge, I wanted to resist.

But the moment the scripture bell came down, my body was locked by an invisible force, unable to move at all.

The man opposite gave a couple of heh-heh laughs, then shoved his fingers deeper into his chest.

What the hell kind of way is this!

How utterly evil!

Just as the scripture bell was about to cover me, a hand came from behind my waist, one pulling me up forcefully, the other drawing a talisman in midair, forming a seal and pushing it forward.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye.

The moment the scripture bell exploded, I looked up and met the side profile of the person who had come.

Just moments ago Liu Junyan had been fighting the false ascetic monk; how could she suddenly appear beside me?

Liu Junyan set me down, and after I steadied myself, he thrust another talisman forward, slamming it hard into the opposite man.

The hand the man had plunged into his chest, under Liu Junyan's palm wind, sank completely into his chest, and a thick, foul-smelling yellow liquid gushed out; the color of the scriptures on his body instantly faded.

Liu Junyan squeezed out two words from between his teeth: "Evil Cultivator!"

"Heh, this really is a case of fifty steps laughing at a hundred steps."

Just as the scriptures on the opposite man's body kept dimming and his body swayed on the verge of collapse, a somewhat hoarse voice suddenly sounded: "Could it be that you are not an Evil Cultivator?"

The next moment, the false ascetic monk stood beside the man.

I had only caught a brief glimpse earlier, not knowing the full appearance.

At this moment, I lifted my eyes to look at the false ascetic monk; just one glance left me stunned.

I know a bit about physiognomy; for an ordinary person's face I can generally make out about seventy or eighty percent, but I cannot read the face of this person before me.

His physiognomy is too complex, changing moment by moment, making it impossible to grasp the main points.

A more down-to-earth description would be that from his face I can see not just one person's fate trajectory.

His physiognomy is many physiognomies superimposed together.

My grandma once told me that this is called the myriad forms of beings.

The so-called myriad forms of beings does not mean this person has a generic face; rather, from his face one can see as many fate patterns as there are beings.

Although somewhat exaggerated, it truly exists.

Such physiognomy is generally found in people like Reincarnated Spirit Children.

They reincarnate generation after generation, some even retaining memories of several lifetimes; their physiognomy and fate are superimposed, thus forming this myriad forms of beings.

Could it be that this false ascetic monk before me actually has a significant background?

What was his status when he was in the Zàng Qū?

Having appeared here and caused all this trouble, what does he intend to do?

A flood of questions instantly surged into my mind, causing me to unconsciously overlook the false ascetic monk's muttered "Fifty steps laughing at a hundred steps."

I also overlooked his mocking of Liu Junyan as an "evil monk."

The trembling of the ground grew stronger, and the roars like those of oxen and tigers shook heaven and earth.

Liu Junyan said, "You occupy this place, colluding with the prison, gathering the corpses of death-row inmates to refine them, intercepting the earth's vein Dragon Qi here—what is your intention?"

The other party obviously didn't expect Liu Junyan to be so direct; his ashen face grew even uglier.

He covered his chest and coughed a few times, then after a pause said, "I have never harmed anyone here; in fact, I have suppressed the Qiongqi Evil Formation for the surrounding villages and towns, sparing many from disaster—even if I were to sue in the Heavenly Court, my conscience would be clear."

"What a clear conscience." Liu Junyan sneered, "You occupy this place—what for? You know best in your heart."

"You suppressed the Qiongqi Evil Formation—was it truly for the people, or for the Dragon Qi?"

"You, a Dalai Lama from the Zàng Qū, why travel thousands of kilometers to this remote place—what exactly are you after?"

The false ascetic monk opened his mouth, realizing that no matter what he said, Liu Junyan would not budge.

Without waiting for the false ascetic monk to speak, Liu Junyan continued, "Then let me guess what you've been doing."

"You came from afar, heading for a Dragon Qi suppressed beneath this mountain by the Qiongqi Evil Formation—ordinary people can't detect it, and even if they did, they couldn't break the formation to draw out the Dragon Qi."

"Every year at year's end, a group of Dalai Lamas gather here, chanting sutras and holding a Dharma assembly under the guise of delivering the prison souls; in reality it's a covert move to help you breach a corner of the Qiongqi Evil Formation, letting the Dragon Qi leak out."

"As for how to gather the leaked Dragon Qi and how to bring it back to the Zàng Qū, that is precisely why you refine the corpses of death-row inmates, forming a Corpse Formation as the fundamental basis."

At first the false ascetic monk remained calm, but when the talk turned to the leaking Dragon Qi and the Corpse Formation, his expression changed.

Obviously, he had been hit where it hurt; everything Liu Junyan said was true.

"Under heaven and earth, such sealed Dragon Qi certainly isn't limited to this one spot." Liu Junyan continued, "You rack your brains to collect Dragon Qi—what for?"

"At this moment the false ascetic monk finally tore off his hypocritical mask and snarled, 'Surname Liu, I advise you to stop meddling; if you dare to move against me tonight, to touch my Corpse Formation, just wait for the Buddhist cultivators behind me from the entire Zàng Qū to trample every inch of your Dang Pu.'"

"Heh." Liu Junyan gave a low laugh, "Threatening me? You're a cornered dog jumping over the wall, aren't you?"

Liu Junyan was calmer than I imagined, constantly provoking the other side: "So unable to hold your breath, it seems very likely that the person behind you has suffered a major calamity, struggling on the line between life and death; if he dies, the Buddhist cultivators of the whole Zàng Qū will fall into chaos, right?"

I saw the false ascetic monk's fists already clenched, his monk's robe stained with blood underneath.

It seems that in his earlier clash with Liu Junyan, he gained nothing at all.

"Let me think." Liu Junyan rubbed his chin, pondered, then suddenly said, "Could it be that your Living Buddha is about to fail?"

"Or perhaps your Living Buddha is about to enter final nirvana but hasn't yet worked out the reincarnation of the next Living Buddha; your lineage is on the verge of dying out, so you can only gather Dragon Qi to overturn heaven and earth."