Translator: CinderTL
The Horned Dragon Staff clashed with the Purple Mansion Divine Thunder.
The divine thunder cascaded down like a purple waterfall, instantly engulfing the Horned Dragon Staff.
The staff, like a carp unwilling to remain ordinary, struggled relentlessly against the current, determined to break free from the shackles of fate.
The Horned Dragon Staff pierced through the purple waterfall.
The thunderlight exploded around the staff, transforming into countless tiny electric sparks.
The Purple Mansion Divine Thunder was shattered by the Horned Dragon Staff.
While the Horned Dragon Staff and the Purple Mansion Divine Thunder were locked in combat, the short spear regrouped and thrust toward Fayan from behind.
Fayan took out a string of prayer beads.
The prayer beads numbered eighteen, each about the size of a thumb, emitting a faint, bone-like glow.
He no longer fled but resolutely turned around, coldly staring at Song Wen.
"Killing this humble monk won't be so easy."
As he spoke, a fierce and menacing aura erupted from Fayan, like a cornered beast, exuding a dangerous presence.
The spiritual power within him surged like a collapsing dam, rapidly pouring into the prayer beads.
The string of the prayer beads suddenly snapped, and the eighteen beads shot out.
Simultaneously, the beads rapidly enlarged, each growing to the size of a zhang (about 3.3 meters).
"Clang! Clang! Clang..."
Under the successive impacts of six beads, the short spear's momentum gradually weakened and was eventually knocked away.
The remaining twelve beads charged straight toward Song Wen.
A river of blood suddenly materialized in front of Song Wen, suspended in mid-air, flowing endlessly from top to bottom.
The twelve beads arrived simultaneously, striking near the same spot.
Instantly, the blood river churned, waves surging violently.
Unable to withstand the impact of the beads, the blood river abruptly disintegrated, turning into a mist of blood.
Eleven of the beads, blocked by the blood river, lost all momentum and scattered in all directions.
The remaining bead, however, continued its relentless charge toward Song Wen.
Facing the bead now within arm's reach, Song Wen seemed somewhat unprepared, barely managing to raise a spiritual power shield.
Yet, the shield was easily crushed by the bead.
The bead, like a meteor from the heavens, struck Song Wen with immense force.
Song Wen's body appeared exceptionally fragile before the bead, instantly torn apart.
With the death of 'Yin Shuo,' the fierce aura around Fayan dissipated, replaced by a deep sense of exhaustion and weariness.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
Fayan coughed several times, the sound unusually muffled, as if his body was nearing its limit.
With each cough, crimson blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, staining his robes, a sight both tragic and heroic.
His vital essence was severely depleted, and the prolonged battle, coupled with the forced mobilization of spiritual power, had pushed his already grievously injured body to the brink of collapse.
Fortunately, the formidable enemy had been eliminated.
His tense nerves finally relaxed.
At that moment, a figure abruptly appeared behind him.
It was a zombie, towering three zhang tall, standing like a small mountain, exuding an overwhelming sense of oppression.
Fayan's heart tightened, and he frantically channeled all his spiritual power into the Horned Dragon Staff, attempting to activate it to block the zombie's impending attack.
However, a flicker appeared at the zombie's brow, and nine transparent blades suddenly materialized, piercing directly into Fayan's consciousness.
"Ah..."
Fayan let out a scream, his body jerking to a halt. The movement to activate the Horned Dragon Staff also ceased.
The zombie's razor-sharp hands struck with deadly precision—one aimed for his head, the other for his waist.
Fayan's smooth, bald head exploded instantly.
His waist was also severed by the zombie's claws.
The zombie's claws clenched tightly, revealing a three-inch-tall Nascent Soul struggling desperately within.
"No... please don't kill me..." the Nascent Soul screamed in terror.
Before it could finish, the claws tightened abruptly, and the Nascent Soul exploded, dissipating into pure spiritual energy that drifted into the heavens.
Fayan's Divine Sense was stronger than Song Wen's, making it impossible for Song Wen to search his soul. Instead, Song Wen directly devoured Fayan's soul and the remaining traces of his essence blood.
Song Wen quickly gathered Fayan's Storage Ring, the Two-Faced Buddha, the Horned Dragon Staff, the Prayer Beads, and other items. After spreading his Divine Sense to confirm no one had witnessed him using the Undying True Corpse Transformation, he left without delay, swiftly making his escape.
After ensuring no one was following him, Song Wen returned to Qingluo Mountain.
The moment he entered his cave dwelling, he began inspecting the contents of Fayan's Storage Ring.
Most of the treasures inside were related to Buddhist practices, which were of little use to Song Wen.
The only item that piqued his interest was the Two-Faced Buddha.
After several attempts, Song Wen discovered that the Two-Faced Buddha could not be refined. Neither his Divine Sense nor his Spiritual Power could leave a mark on it.
After a moment of contemplation, Song Wen reversed his qi and blood.
A drop of essence blood was forced from his fingertip and dripped onto the Two-Faced Buddha statue.
Faintly, Song Wen felt a connection forming with the statue.
However, the connection was weak, allowing him only to sense the statue's presence, not to control it.
He continued to force out drops of essence blood, letting them fall onto the statue.
One drop, two drops...
Gradually, the statue turned a deep crimson.
The connection between Song Wen and the statue also grew stronger.
By the time he had expended about twenty percent of his essence blood, the connection was strong enough for him to activate the statue.
At the same time, Song Wen understood the statue's functions.
It combined defensive, offensive, and concealment abilities.
With a slight infusion of Spiritual Power, the statue moved according to Song Wen's will, floating in the air and releasing a pale white light.
"This thing is quite interesting," Song Wen murmured to himself.
Song Wen also noticed that over time, the connection between him and the statue began to weaken.
He estimated that in at most two quarters of an hour, the connection would completely break, and he would no longer be able to control the statue.
However, if he continued to drip essence blood, the connection could be reestablished.
After playing with it for a while, Song Wen stored the statue away and began practicing the Forbidden Divine Art.
During his recent excursion, he had devoured the souls of dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators, ten Golden Core cultivators, and the late-stage Nascent Soul of Fayan. His sea of consciousness was now filled with a vast amount of soul fragments.
If he could absorb all these soul fragments, his Divine Sense would be close to breaking through to the late-stage Nascent Soul.
Song Wen settled into his cave dwelling to cultivate in peace. Meanwhile, in the outside world, Fayan's death had caused an uproar.
The first to discover Fayan's death was naturally the Mixed Yuan Temple.
It was unclear who leaked the news, but soon, most of the Immortal Cultivation World knew about it.
Except for the Nine Palaces Sect, which was unusually delighted, the other major sects remained indifferent, showing little reaction.
Song Wen had assumed that the Mixed Yuan Temple would soon come to Tiancang Mountain to investigate Fayan's death.
Despite Song Wen's numerous attempts to cover his tracks when killing Fayan, the news of the Blood Bodhi appearing in the Wuyuan Market, as well as the fact that a Nascent Soul cultivator had taken action in the Wuyuan Market on the night of Fayan's death, was almost universally known.
Therefore, the Asura Sect and 'Yin Shuo' were highly suspected.
Even if it wasn't the Asura Sect's leader, 'Yin Shuo,' who committed the murder, he was undoubtedly involved.
This was the view held by the majority of cultivators in the Immortal Cultivation World.
Even Yu Wen had sent a message to Song Wen to verify the matter. However, Song Wen managed to brush it off with a few words.
However, contrary to Song Wen's expectations, the Mixed Yuan Temple did not come to Tiancang Mountain. Instead, it was someone else who sought out Tiancang Mountain.
'Yan Yiwen'!
(End of the Chapter)
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