At the foot of Mijie Mountain, the bloody glow grew only greater by the second. The head abbot of the Western Doya temple frowned slightly, and as he felt the Buddha’s power within get increasingly suppressed, the murderous intent in his eyes also intensified.
This child cannot be allowed to live!
On the other side, Ning Chen’s face turned grimmer than it had ever been before. This was, without doubt, the strongest foe he had ever faced in his life.
Even with the suppression placed upon him by the vengeful energies, he was still the head abbot of the Western Doya temple, a Buddha who lived in the mortal realm!
Their only chance was to beat him in a battle of speed, for the abbot was not so proficient in speed. With the Bloodvein Blade’s power slowing him down, Ning Chen could just about keep up.
In other words, Qing Ning was already faster than the abbot.
The Bloodvein Blade was crucial to that battle. He had to ensure that he kept the vengeful energies active as much as possible, to suppress the old monk and his Buddhist energies, so that Qing Ning would have a fighting chance.
The abbot was knew that as well, as his gaze fell upon the vengeful weapon bathed in a grisly blood-red light. He slowly raised his right hand, and rushed at Ning Chen.
Golden light shone out brightly, cutting through the bloody glow and bathing the skies in a radiant glow. All around, sharp, clashing sounds rang out, as the powers of Buddhism and vengeance crashed violently against each other.
In that moment Qing Ning made her move as well. With a flash of green, she sliced through the air and instantly appeared before the two, stabbing towards the abbot’s Danzhong with her silver spear.
“Clang.”
The abbot blocked the blow with his left palm, preventing the silver spear from proceeding an inch further.
At the same time, Ning Chen sidestepped to the front, and slashed at the abbot’s eyes with his Bloodvein Blade.
A thunderous boom of metal and rock blasted across the surroundings . The abbot closed his eyes, forming a Buddhist seal with his right hand at the same time. Moments later, a swastika 卐 appeared in front of his palm as he lunged at the former.
“Bang.”
Just in the nick of time, the silver spear flew in and diverted part of the blow’s force. Making use of that tiny window of opportunity, Ning Chen backed away ten zhang. Just like before, Maimed made its appearance in a shower of snowflakes that were summarily blown away soon by the tailwinds of a silvery arrow.
Qing Ning’s follow-up to his attack was to turn her spear around and, her movements as graceful as a swallow’s flight, strike at the mortal Buddha’s Danzhong from the other side.
Yet, the abbot of Western Doya temple showed no change in his expression, even when faced with this tag-team attack. He clasped his palms together, glowing with golden light. Against the peerless, inviolable power of the Buddha, the arrow shattered with a bang, and the silver spear stopped short just an inch shy from his Danzhong.
“Return of the Green Sparrow”
With her silver spear blocked, Qing Ning released the hand clasped around her weapon and immediately it begun spinning around at a blinding pace. The spear glowed a radiant green followed by an ear-splitting screech that seemed to cut through the air.
The next moment, Qing Ning slammed her palm against the butt of her spear and the weapon broke through the Buddha’s light with its centrifugal force, advancing it forward by that one crucial inch.
Just when it looked like she was about to succeed however, the Buddha’s palm grasped the spear’s blade, and prevented it from advancing.
As that happened, the 卐 seal reappeared, and the abbot struck Qing Ning with his other palm.
A chance! Ning Chen pushed off hard against the ground and flew straight at the abbot, aiming his sword at the Danzhong.
“Did you think it would be so simple?”
The abbot of the Western Doya temple scoffed, and instantly shifted his palm strike towards Ning Chen.
“Bang!”
Ning Chen immediately brought his sword up to block and it blazed with that same blood-red glow. However, the power behind that Buddha’s palm wasn’t one to be denied so easily. Even though the power of vengeance had neutralized much of its Buddhist energies, the amount that remained was still far and beyond what a mere Ninth-grade could resist. Thus, his blood sprayed into the air.
A look of dismay came over Qing Ning’s face, but she had no time to check on his injuries. With a turn of her right hand, the head and shaft of her spear separated, and the bladeless spear struck at the unguarded chest of the mortal Buddha.
“Ugh!”
The silver True Qi pierced the abbot’s body, and he gave a grunt before blasting the woman with a backhand strike which sent her flying.
Qing Ning flew backwards for several metres before she found her footing, and then backed a few steps more before she could halt her momentum. Fresh blood dripped from a corner of her mouth.
“Are you okay?!” Qing Ning asked, looking towards Ning Chen.
“Not dead yet.” But even as he spoke, Ning Chen was already coughing up another mouthful of blood, which fell on his blade and brought out waves of even stronger bloodlust.
In those brief moments, both of them had sustained injuries, particularly Ning Chen who seemed like his body was giving out after receiving that strike.
The mortal Buddha was too powerful. Even with the suppression by hatred, his raw power was still formidable, and near impossible to defeat.
On the other side, the three hundred Forbidden Guardsmen who remained, lead by their commander, were battling the three dharmapalas. With the help of the suppression cast by that bloody glow, they were just able to prevent the three from advancing further.
The three hundred soldiers laid their lives on the line, and there was a madness in their faces. They would not let these three bald donkeys interrupt their Marquis, even if they had to die for that.
They trusted that the Marquis would definitely put a stop to the false Buddha. They needed no reason for that belief, other than the fact that he was their Marquis.
Two battles, one more difficult than the other. Of the one month that Grand Xia needed, only less than ten days remained, and it all depended on this battle, on whether or not they could make it through this night.
They could not allow the abbot of the Western Doya temple to return to Gu Lan City, or the four thousand Forbidden Guardsmen by the Nan Li River would be wiped out.
The soldiers who fought bathed in blood had no regrets. If one fell, another would rush forth to take his place without hesitation.
Finally, there was a casualty amongst the three dharmapalas. Thanks to the sacrifice of four Seventh-grade soldiers, the commander finally found an opening in one dharmapala’s defence, and sank his blade into the man’s Danzhong.
The other two, enraged, both struck at him with their palms, but two soldiers blocked the blows with their bodies. Instantly they exploded, blood and flesh staining the surroundings.
Nobody mourned, and nobody wept. The remaining soldiers continued to fight, unmoved, their blades ruthless and their hearts even more so.
It was the the most tragic loss in the history of the Grand Xia’s Forbidden Guards. Three hundred men against three men. One falling almost every second, they departed with smiles of hope on their faces as they entrusted their wishes to the ones who still lived.
It was not long before less than a third remained of their original number, and yet they were still falling.
Ning Chen did not allow his attention to stray, but he could feel the gruesome tragedy of the battlefield nearby. Since he was powerless to bring them back well and alive, at the very least, he would drag these false Buddhas down to hell with them.
The abbot of the Western Doya temple suppressed the silvery True Qi ravaging his body, paling for a moment.
Qing Ning flipped her spear around and pulled out another spearhead, immediately fixing it on.
The three stood facing each other. Moments later, Ning Chen made the first move. Grasping down on his left hand, he called forth the Ink Sword, frost crystallizing around him as he flew forward to attack.
“Clang!”
Just like before, the Buddha’s palm stopped the sword an inch away from striking his Danzhong. After the unexpected attack from earlier, the abbot was even more careful about protecting that weak spot.
With the Ink Sword blocked, Ning Chen raised the Bloodvein Blade in his right hand and brought it down with a huge bang on the Buddha’s eyes. Scarlet light blazed forth as the forces of Buddhism and hatred clashed violently, welcoming another wave of ear-splitting screeches.
The abbot, keeping his eyes tightly closed and his left hand protecting the Danzhong, formed a Buddhist seal with his right palm. Golden light instantly bathed the skies, as the Buddha’s simulacrum reappeared in the mortal realm.
Qing Ning’s expression changed slightly as she looked at the impending crisis. Raising her qi to its highest point, she struck with her silver spear and pierced into the body of simulacrum.
With a huge boom, the silhouette of the Buddha lost its shape. However, Qing Ning was also injured by the aftershock of that impact and coughed up blood once more, her mouth stained scarlet.
“Sister Qing Ning!”
Ning Chen’s heart jolted, and the two heavenly scrolls within him spun. Cold frost and dark yellow light appeared amidst the blood-red glow which bathed the skies, the three colours glowing brilliantly as they battled for dominance.
The abbot was momentarily taken aback by the sudden change. Thanks to that, there was a slight delay in his parry – the briefest of pauses when he moved his left hand.
In that moment, shorter than the blink of an eye, there was an opening and the Danzhong was briefly exposed. Before the head abbot could even react to this, Ning Chen’s Ink Sword was already attacking and pierced the spot, True Qi gushing forth.
“Impudence!’ The abbot, holding back the pain in his chest, grasped the Ink Sword with his left hand and then blasted everything away from him with his Buddhist energies.
“Crack!”
The Ink Sword snapped into pieces and Ning Chen was sent flying many metres back by that explosion of Buddhist energies. Another burst of blood sprayed from his lips, and he had to hold himself up with his broken sword amidst ever worsening injuries.
Having been injured several times by his juniors, the abbot could hardly suppress his rage, and revealed an unrestrained look of murderous intent. With a stamp of his foot, the Buddhist seal materialized itself. All around him, golden lotuses appeared out of thin air, rapidly forming into a boundless pseudo-realm known as the Hundred Lotus Realm.
With the hundred lotuses set in place, the might of the blood-red light was instantly weakened, even becoming suppressed instead.
“Retreat!” Ning Chen barely managed to force out that command through another mouthful of blood.
The Forbidden Guardsmen instantly reacted, and retreated up the mountain without hesitation.
The two dharmapalas would have pursued them, but the light of a silver spear flashed past faster than they could react, and with a bang they were sent flying, blood pouring from their mouths.
On his side, Ning Chen suppressed the injuries within him and fired three arrows in a triangular formation towards the old monk’s eyes and Danzhong.
A golden light instantly surrounded the abbot, and the arrows shattered just as they drew near.
“Run,” Ning Chen said, looking at Qing Ning.
“You wish to leave? Hmph!”
With a scoff and a stamp of his foot, the light of the lotuses shone down, looking to entrap the heretics before him.
Ning Chen sliced at it with his Bloodvein Blade, and an infinitely vast wave of bloodmist gathered to block the lotus’s light. However, all it took was a mere moment for it to break apart before the holiest of Buddhist powers.
By then, Qing Ning was already by Ning Chen’s side and, in an incredibly risky move, grabbed him and swiftly retreated.
There was a great distance up the mountain round. The two of them acted as the rear guard for the army, buying the remaining seventy-plus Forbidden Guardsmen some time to catch their breaths and allowed them to barely retreat past three hundred metres.
After all, not everyone was a Xiantian like Qing Ning, and it was already difficult to escape with the injuries they bore.
The abbot and the two dharmapalas were in swift pursuit up the mountain path when, all of a sudden, an arrow glowing with fiery light flew past and buried itself in the ground, followed by the boom of a terrifyingly huge explosion.
The explosion, which had caught them all by surprise, shook the mountain violently. Rocks were sent flying, and everyone stumbled.
The next second, the light of the golden lotuses shattered with a bang and was consumed by the fire.
Upon seeing that, Ning Chen did not hesitate. His figure dashed forward like a streak of light and dove into the fiery glow of the explosion, the Bloodvein Blade pointed forward as he sprinted faster than he had ever done in his life.
“Ning Chen!”
Qing Ning paled and she immediately followed after him, to defend him with her silver spear, but it was already too late.
Amidst the inferno, the mortal Buddha stood calmly, one hand grasping the spearhead, and the other hand having soundlessly pierced through the body of the heretic. Blood sprayed forth, dying his robes scarlet.
Amidst the chilly winds of the night, pieces of fabric flew about and scattered into nothingness. The bloody battle was finally about to end.
Behind them, the soldiers stopped in their tracks, staring in horror as despair began to creep over their faces.
As the Mortal Buddha stood within the raging inferno, his buddhist frock was nowhere to be seen, having been burnt to a crisp by the flames. The two dharmapalas were severely injured, barely able to stand and yet that didn’t matter as the mortal Buddha remained standing.
This mountain was one they ultimately failed to climb over.
Yet just when everyone believed that the battle had come to an end, a stream of fine yellow sand appeared, without the faintest of sounds. It quickly formed into a longsword, which in an instant pierced into the Danzhong of the Mortal Buddha.
