Chapter 326: I Want Your Sword

Spiritual Power recovered slowly. It took Chen Yuan several hours to restore his to its peak, and he used the time to gain a preliminary grasp of the Doroduma Barrier-Breaking Curse.

Learning this Cultivation Technique wasn’t difficult; as long as one had sufficient Spiritual Power and practiced Buddhist Cultivation Techniques, it was quite easy to cultivate.

Later on, as his Spiritual Power grew stronger, the power of this Spell would naturally increase as well.

Of course, “easy to learn” was only relative to the other profound and difficult Cultivation Techniques Chen Yuan possessed, such as the Valley Spirit Scripture.

If other Martial Artists were to cultivate this Secret Technique, even those from the Buddhist Sect would not find it easy to master the basics. The Spiritual Power requirement alone was extremely high.

Chen Yuan had previously cultivated the Emperor’s Qi Observation Skill, which was why he was able to grasp this Cultivation Technique so quickly.

Once he was ready, Chen Yuan stepped through the doorway into a dark, narrow passage. It branched out in all directions, with intersections everywhere. He followed one path to its end only to find it was a dead end, just like a maze.

Looking at the dead end, Chen Yuan’s brows furrowed.

He should be in the heart of Militan Temple now. Normally, there should be one Buddhist hall after another. Who would build their own Sect like a maze? ‘Did they have nothing better to do?’

Chen Yuan tried to smash the wall at the end of the dead end with his power, but the moment he struck, the wall erupted with the blinding light of an Array, forcing him back. ℯℓ.

‘Looks like I can’t use brute force here,’ he thought. ‘Otherwise, the backlash from the Array alone would be more than I can handle.’

With no other choice, Chen Yuan turned and tried a different intersection, where he made a discovery.

Set into the wall was a vermilion gate, painted with red lacquer and inscribed with Sanskrit Talismans in gold dust. It looked just like the entrance to a normal Buddhist hall, but it had no business being in a maze.

Chen Yuan cautiously pushed the gate open. A foul, pungent stench of decay instantly assaulted him.

Mangled flesh and bones. The entire hall was filled with nothing but.

At a rough glance, there were over a hundred of them. Most of the corpses were clad in tattered red monk’s robes and were extremely dismembered. Severed limbs and shredded flesh were strewn across the hall. Not a single complete body could be found among the hundred or so corpses, and the floor was coated in thick, black blood.

At the back of the hall stood a statue of the Medicine Buddha. It, too, was splattered with bits of flesh, giving it a somewhat eerie appearance. Yet, the statue’s face still wore a solemn and compassionate expression as it gazed down upon the mutilated corpses on the floor.

Chen Yuan took a deep breath, his expression turning grim.

‘This scene is far too bizarre.’

‘Countless years have passed. It makes no sense for these bodies to still be here; they should have turned to dust long ago.’

Chen Yuan crouched down to examine a corpse, his brow furrowing slightly.

‘These bodies are strange. They must have belonged to powerful Martial Artists in life—I can tell from the color of their bones.’

‘But now, with the slightest touch, their flesh dissolves like mud, and their bones have become so fragile they shatter at a light touch.’

‘And if I’m not mistaken, all hundred-plus Martial Artists from Militan Temple here killed each other.’

Chen Yuan took out the Human Skin Evil Book and asked, “You’ve seen this place. Do you know why it’s like this inside?”

The Human Skin Evil Book answered cautiously, “I don’t know either. The Militan Temple I knew was a Major Sect of the Esoteric Sect within the Heaven-Reaching Tower, famous for its numerous disciples and Cultivation Techniques. Each of its halls represented a different esoteric lineage.

“But even though there were many lineages and competition among them, it wouldn’t have led to infighting and mutual slaughter.

“Especially not like this. The Monks in this hall should have all been from the same branch; there’s no reason for them to butcher each other in such a way.

“As for why their flesh hasn’t decayed, it should be the effect of an Array in Militan Temple.

“Militan Temple has a hall that worships the Lamp-Burning Ancient Buddha, the Past Buddha. His unique power can preserve the original state of all things. When used on corpses, it can keep them from decaying for millennia.

“That’s why when many elders from the Sects and Families in the Heaven-Reaching Tower passed away, they would come to Militan Temple and ask them to place a Sanskrit Spell Seal on the bodies to preserve them from decay.

“Of course, it only prevents decay, not deterioration. The vitality within them dissipated long ago. Just like now, they turn to mush at a touch.”

Having learned no new clues, Chen Yuan put away the Human Skin Evil Book and searched the hall, but found nothing of value.

There were some Weapon fragments on the ground, but they were all broken. Even if they were once Celestial Soldiers, all their power was now gone.

Moreover, this hall should have had a back door. When Chen Yuan found it and pulled it open, he was met with the sight of a solid wall. This left Chen Yuan stunned.

It was then he realized that Militan Temple definitely hadn’t been like this before. The space within seemed to have been completely twisted and thrown into chaos, with each Buddha Palace deliberately isolated from the others.

Leaving the hall, Chen Yuan continued to explore the maze-like passages. He found a few more halls, but they were all like the last one: the Monks inside had died from slaughtering one another with extreme ferocity.

And this mutual slaughter was exceptionally abnormal. It was as if the Monks had lost their minds and turned into savage, cruel beasts. Some had even torn their opponents apart and devoured them alive, leaving flesh and blood everywhere.

Most of the halls contained nothing of value. The only intact item Chen Yuan found was a Prayer Wheel, inlaid with magnificent gems and engraved with intricate Sanskrit patterns.

Every time the Prayer Wheel spun, it emitted a sound like a whispered Brahma Sound that could calm the mind and even slightly speed up the recovery of one’s Spiritual Power.

This item was quite useful for Chen Yuan, perfect for quickly recovering his Spiritual Power after it was depleted.

Just then, Chen Yuan opened another hall and froze at the sight of the figure inside. It was Shen Wugui. This was the first time he had encountered anyone else; it seemed they were all trapped in this maze, and no one had found a way out.

Shen Wugui seemed to have had some decent luck. He was holding a complete Demon-Subduing Pestle, which, by the looks of it, was a Celestial Soldier.

Here, any fragmented Weapon would have lost its power. Only intact Celestial Soldiers could have been preserved to this day.

“Looks like your luck is pretty good.”

Chen Yuan closed the hall door behind him and looked at Shen Wugui, a strange smile playing on his lips.

‘Outside, there were too many of them, so I couldn’t take care of them right away.’

‘Now that I’ve finally found one all alone, things are much simpler.’

Shen Wugui put away the Demon-Subduing Pestle, and his Demon Sword appeared in its place. He watched Chen Yuan warily.

“Chen Jiutian, you and I have no deep-seated grudge. The feud is between Fang Zhibai and Gu Lichuan. Why should we fight here?

“This Militan Temple is incredibly bizarre and filled with unknown dangers. Instead of wasting our strength fighting to the death, why don’t we make peace, each take what we need, and go our separate ways? What do you say?”

As he spoke, Shen Wugui backed away, but he was actually gathering his Demonic Qi, preparing to strike at any moment.

“Each take what we need… That does make sense.”

A smile spread across Chen Yuan’s face. “I’m very much in need of that Nine Nether Demon Sword of yours. Hand it over, and I’ll let you live. How about it?”

Chen Yuan really did want the Nine Nether Sect’s Nine Nether Demon Sword.

Some Divine Artifact Demon Soldiers require a specific Cultivation Technique or bloodline to activate.

For example, Star Shifting of the Murong Family. If you’re not from the Murong Family, you can’t use it at all. ⅇ

The same goes for the Shangguan Family’s Celestial Ice Treasure Mirror; you have to cultivate the Shangguan Family’s Beichen Ice Soul True Skill to be able to use it.

But the Nine Nether Sect’s Nine Nether Demon Sword was much more lenient. It didn’t even require a Nine Nether Sect Cultivation Technique. As long as you’ve cultivated a Demon Technique and your Qi Blood is sufficiently vigorous, you can wield the Nine Nether Demon Sword.

“Chen Jiutian! You’re courting death!”

Shen Wugui roared, but instead of charging at Chen Yuan, he turned and fled.

His Divine Artifact Incarnation was his trump card, his very lifeline. Even if he were truly in a desperate situation, he would only use it to fight Chen Jiutian to the bitter end. How could he possibly hand it over to save his own life?

If he actually did that, even if he survived, his masters back at the Nine Nether Sect would not let him off.

However, Shen Wugui wasn’t stupid enough to fight a battle he knew he couldn’t win. This place was strange and unpredictable. As long as he could escape into the maze, he could shake Chen Jiutian off in no time.

But just as Shen Wugui reached the back door of the hall, thinking he had a clear escape, he pulled it open to find a solid stone wall!

Shen Wugui was completely dumbfounded. What kind of proper hall has a back door that leads to a dead end?

Behind him, a smile tugged at the corner of Chen Yuan’s mouth.

‘The fact that Shen Wugui tried to escape out the back proves he got here even later than I did. This must be the first palace he’s found, and he hasn’t fully explored it.’

‘If he had explored it completely, he would have already discovered that every hall here is a dead end.’

Before Shen Wugui could react, he heard a piercing shriek from behind him.

A slash imbued with Nether Blood Fiend Power descended from the air, and a Karma Fire Red Lotus suddenly bloomed.

Red Lotus Sin-Slaying Saber!

Nine Nether Demonic Qi coalesced on Shen Wugui’s Demon Sword. As he thrust it out, a demonic howl echoed, and countless dense, demonic shadows swirled around the Long Sword.

But they were all torn apart by Chen Yuan’s strike. A surge of immense Giant Power struck Shen Wugui, sending him flying backward.

Before he could recover, Chen Yuan was already forming a Seal Technique, his body erupting with surging Buddha Light.

With the Six Paths of Vajra Mantra of Master Padmasambhava, Buddhist Chanting resounded, directly shattering Shen Wugui’s protective Demonic Qi.

At the same time, the Three Generations of Bright King’s Demon-Suppressing Spell crashed down. The Eight-Armed Bright King formed a Buddha Seal, descending with the world-shaking power to suppress demons and exterminate evil.

Buddhist Cultivation Techniques were naturally a powerful counter to Demonic Martial Arts, not to mention that Shen Wugui was already weaker than Chen Yuan.

The two spells from the Nine-Character Secret Mantra were unleashed, striking with the force of a landslide and instantly backing Shen Wugui into a corner!