The sudden change shocked all who were present. Even the head abbot himself never expected it, not even as the coalescing Desert Sword tore through his body, propelled forward by the full might of the legend of Grand Xia.
Qing Ning was the first to react to this unforeseen sneak attack with a swift attack of her. Giving the silver spear in her hands one last swivel, she thrust it right into the Danzhong of the Mortal Buddha and with a push of her palm, sent it barreling through with palm strike. With a gaping hole opened up, she ignited the True Qi in her palms and blasted as much energy as she could into the Buddha’s body.
“Hrghh”
The head abbot gave a chesty grunt before stumbling backwards, mouth corners dripping red.
However, that wasn’t the end of the powerful monk. Buddhist energies raging, the abbot readied his palm for a counter strike but lo and behold, his strike was almost instantaneously frozen by a pair of bloodied hands from Ning Chen that forcefully gripped down on his own like a wintry vice.
It was a mere moment of stillness and yet that was the final opportunity Qing Ning needed for a strike. Slender arms whipping around, she grabbed the Bloodvein sword along with Ning Chen’s hand, and upon activating every last True Qi in her body, drove it into the Mortal Buddha’s danzhong with both their powers combined, nailing him into the cliff wall behind with a deafening clang.
Immediately, the vengeful weapon erupted in hateful energies more powerful than ever before and started ravaging the Buddhist energies within the man, forcing out another gout of fresh blood while immobilizing him at the same time.
It was then that Ning Chen finally ran out of energy and collapsed to the ground.
“Ning Chen!”
Qing Ning grabbed the teen in the nick of time and began infusing her Xiantian energy into the him in order to protect that last thread of life force within him.
The Danzhong, just like before. Right in the center of the teen’s chest was a grisly, gaping hole created by the head abbot’s palm strike, made even more bloody by his own crimson-stained garments.
At the very last, desperate moment, the abbot’s palm strike came rushing right for Ning Chen’s heart and although he managed to avoid getting hit in a lethal spot at the end, he still received a frightening injury.
“He…*cough*…he’s dead, isn’t he?” Ning Chen weakly opened his eyes and amidst spurts of blood, asked.
“No, for now we have no way to finish him off.” Qing Ning answered while maintaining the True Qi infusion.
While the Danzhong might have been the weak point of his invincible Diamond Bodies, it wasn’t a lethal point. Injuring but not killing; that was the limit of her powers right now.
“Burn him.” Having said that, Ning Chen doubled over in a violent fit of coughing. Suppressing the encroaching lull of exhaustion, he barely managed to force out a complete sentence. “Leave a few men behind…keep up the fire…dump the vengeful blood of those Buddhists onto him…no matter what, don’t let him recover.”
No matter how sturdy the abbot’s Diamond Body was, it had its limits as well. As long as the vengeful flames didn’t die, a day would come when they finally broke through his defenses.
Nearby, the Forbidden Guard’s commander, upon receiving those instructions, immediately gathered the surviving troops and had them scour the mountainbase for firewood in order to roast this false Buddha.
With one last matter to take care of, Nine Chen mustered the last bit of strength he had in him and murmured: “Ming Yue is still on the mountaintop waiting, send me up.”
Hearing that, Qing Ning didn’t say another word but instead sped off towards the mountaintop in a ray of light, Ning Chen securely held in her arms.
……
Back in the head abbot’s room, little Ming Yue sat on the bed, ears perked up and brows knitted together in worry. She had long since awoken from the thunderous din at the mountainbase, however, Ning Chen had stated in very clear terms not to leave the room no matter what she heard.
It was then that the door flung open with a bang and Qing Ning came in bearing Ning Chen.
Looking at the bad man’s battered and bloodied form, she immediately broke down in tears, “What happened to you? Don’t scare me, please!”
“Sister Qing Ning, can you excuse us for a moment.” Ning Chen wearily said.
Qing Ning hesitated but left in the end.
“Stop crying first, listen to me.” His already-drained energy reserves emptied out further as he heaved with each word, “For the next few days, I might not be able to look after you, however, you have my True Qi infused in you, as long as no one checks your meridians, you should be fine. Sister Qing Ning will definitely bring us both back to the palace so you just need to be careful and ensure your identity isn’t exposed.”
“Alright, I’ll remember that.” She nodded while crying.
Seeing that, Ning Chen’s lips curled into a slight smile of appreciation before he finally passed out.
“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” Those were his last words but they were already too faint to be heard. His hands sagged, twitched and then moved no more.
*bang*
The door flung open once more, Qing Ning rushed into the room, picked up the both of them and then sped off towards the palace in a flash of green light.
……
Within Gu Lan City.
The last dharmapala of the Buddhist Nation sat quietly in the meditation hall when suddenly, a ray of green light descended from the heavens and without any warning whatsoever, pierced him with a silvery spear of light. The Xiantian energies contained within immediately exploded, killing off the unfortunate buddhist.
Having killed the last dharmapala, Qing Ning left without wasting another second more.
……
Within the command tent of the Mongols.
Fan Lingyue sat there, eyes closed and deep in thought. Beside her stood an erect Qing Wuyou, quietly guarding over her ruminations.
A long while later, Fan Lingyue finally opened her eyes and in a calm voice, said, “Call for Lady Mu.”
“Understood.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly as a flash of graveness crossed them. The possibility of Ning Chen emerging victorious seemed to have slipped her mind completely, till now.
Though the head abbot was known as the Mortal Buddha, he was still mortal. As long as he was human, there remained a chance of failure and that meant that she mustn’t be careless.
His victory would undoubtedly be a huge gain for the Mongols, should he fail however, she had to be prepared.
As of right now, the only thing she could be certain of was that whether or not Ning Chen won, there was no way he would emerge unscathed, especially against an opponent like the Mortal Buddha where just surviving was a good outcome.
A moment later, Mu Chengxue entered the room, dress whiter than snow and face as devoid of emotions as before.
The pair traded words for a brief period before Mu Chengxue departed in a burst of white light.
Back within the tent, Fan Lingyue coughed lightly, causing a few threads of blood to flow from the corners of her mouth. Ever since she was injured, her body seemed to weaken even more each day.
She knew that her time was coming and that the plan to destroy Grand Xia had to be pushed forward.
“Men!”
“Yes.” An officer stepped into the tent to receive his orders.
“Inform the two military marquis that the Mongolian Empire is willing to consider a compromise but the safety of his Majesty must be guaranteed. Also, I want news of our desire to negotiate to spread out.”
“Understood.” The officer acknowledged the order and swiftly left.
……
Back within the palace, within Revelation Hall, Zhang Sun eyed the letter sent by Ning Chen with an ever-growing frown on her face.
The letter recounted the battle situation against the Buddhist Nation in one broad stroke and ended off with a simple ‘do not worry’. However, how could she not worry?
The report from Nan Li had already arrived, within was the news of the Mortal Buddha’s return to the Buddhist Nation —that was what worried her the most.
She wasn’t a martial practitioner and thus she couldn’t comprehend how strong a Third-calamity expert was. However, Prince Yan once told her that such an expert was no longer one that could be defeated by mortal means. Without an expert at the same level as him, no amount of soldiers would be able to topple the Mortal Buddha.
“Men.” Zhang Sun slammed the table as she rose to her feet.
“Your Majesty.” A member of the Forbidden Guards rushed in and did a half kneel.
“Aren’t those from the Confucian school ready yet? A marquis of Grand Xia and his soldiers are out there risking their lives while they dally about in the capital. Tell those four heads of Confucian that this Empress wants them out there in two days or else!”
“Yes, your Majesty!”
Zhang Sun walked up to the front of the hall and peered gravely at the southwest, eyes filled with worry. “You must hold out, just a while more!” She muttered to herself.
Within the grand hall, the letter by Ning Chen laid quietly on the table, page folded up to the last few lines of earnest reminders left by the teen. Because of her worry, these words of warning were simply glossed over by Zhang Sun.
“Do not trust any intention of peace talks.” Were the words left by Ning Chen. Because there was no one in this world who understood their adversary, Fan Lingyue, more than him, he made sure to emphasise this point specifically.
……
On the riverside of Nan Li.
The trio of Qing Ning, Ning Chen and Ming Yue took a brief break of a day inside their base. Though the elixirs of the Forbidden Guards weren’t as good as those of the palace’s, they didn’t have much choice in this matter. Ning Chen’s condition couldn’t hold out for that long and needed immediate attention.
Qing Ning had already done her best to suppress the roiling Buddhist energies within his body but that was all she could for now. With her cultivation level, it still wasn’t possible for her to force out the energies of such a powerful expert. Such a matter could only be accomplished by Prince Yan back in the Imperial City.
What she had to do right now was to stabilise his condition and perform emergency aid on not only his Danzhong, but also the surrounding innards damaged by the Buddha’s palm, lest the teen died before they reach the palace.
Naturally, pills of the level of the Revolving Heaven Pill would work but this makeshift army base of theirs had no such medicines so Qing Ning had to make do with what she had for now.
As for Ming Yue, she was by Ning Chen’s bedside, resolutely guarding the teen and refusing to leave no matter what anyone said.
With no other choice, Qing Ning decided to leave the little girl there for now.
The little Great Khan was a unique presence here in the base of the Forbidden Guards. She was a hostage of Grand Xia but as long as Ning Chen lived, no one dared to lay a finger on her lest they incurred his wrath.
Back then, the Emperor himself tried to have Ning Chen surrender the Great Khan. But even after his maniacal efforts, Ning Chen refused to budge an inch, forcefully fighting his way out of the Emperor’s blockade.
Nearby, Qing Ning stood in silent vigil, taking care to infuse another round of True Qi into Ning Chen every hour in order to minimise the effects of the Buddhist energies. However, the Mortal Buddha was simply too strong for her. Even as she continued infusing her own power, she was starting to feel her own energy lose control over the rampaging Buddhist energies.
At dawn on the second day, Ning Chen’s fever finally showed signs of receding, and his injuries no longer flared up as well. Seeing that, she took the two with her and left without wasting another word.
Yet, it was at that moment that a snowy white figure appeared and in the span of one breath, cut off their escape route.
“Mu Chengxue!” To think it was her that they sent after Ning Chen.
Even now Qing Ning still remembered their first meeting. Back then, she had just woken up from her severe injuries while Mu Chengxue laid there comatose from her own. It was a short meeting to be sure but still it was a meeting. To think they would meet again under such circumstances.
Still, there was nothing to be said here, nothing to be discussed at all. Mu Chengxue’s figure disappeared, transforming into a shadow as quick as a sword’s flash.
*shing*
The snow white sword painted a bright streak of blood across the air. Three zhang away, Qing Ning came to a stop with the other two safely tucked under her arms though she herself failed to dodge the sword’s deadly edge. On her left shoulder, a blood rose just bloomed as if it had just reacted to that unbelievably fast sword slash.
Sword Qi tearing through her, Qing Ning staggered momentarily as her face paled.
That battle with the Mortal Buddha had cost them too much True Qi. With two non-combatants to take care of as well, she no longer had the energy to dodge any further attacks by Mu Chengxue ‘s sword.
“Take the brat and leave, this King will cover the rear.”
It was then, in their moment of danger, that a towering figure appeared from the southeast, stepping between the two sides in an instant. It was the Man King, the guardian of the Man palace and an expert who rarely left the Man dynasty.
