Chapter 872 – Holy Maiden Peak in the Clouds (2/2)

At this sight, the two girls finally sensed the difference in strength. They couldn't help but feel despair, as well as a deep humiliation.

South Stream Temple was a holy land of the Daoist faith. Whether in the village or at other sects, they would always be regarded as fairy-like existences. No one had ever treated them with such disrespect.

In the past few days, when they guarded the mountain gate, they had encountered a few cultivators or ordinary travelers that wanted to enter the mountain. They had only needed to say a few words to make them retreat—not one had dared to intrude upon the mountain.

Even if the disciples of South Stream Temple were no match, they could not just allow invaders to enter Holy Maiden Peak.

They took an item from their sleeves, possibly a magical artifact that they intended to use to warn the mountain.

At this moment, two thick and broad palms fell on their shoulders, restraining their two most important meridians.

Hu Thirty-Two had silently passed the mountain gate and come up behind the two disciples.

He smiled and shook his head, indicating that they should not struggle.

What he thought was a suitably gentle smile was as frightening as a fiend in the eyes of these two girls.

Sensing a man's hands on their shoulders, imagining how he only needed to use a little true essence to sever their meridians, thinking about how this man had so easily intruded through the mountain gate that they were guarding, the two girls were anxious, angry, and scared. Suddenly, they began to cry.

”I said that we shouldn't copy the words on those books, as something was sure to go wrong.”

”The senior sisters are busy every day with matters of the temple. They don't have the mind to pay attention to us, and how could I know how to guard the mountain gate?”

The two girls sobbed as they talked, occasionally using their sleeves to wipe their tears. Their tear-stained faces were truly most pitiful.

Tang Thirty-Six repeatedly shook his head and thought, just what is going on in the temple that they had these two clearly inexperienced girls guard the temple gate?

No matter how tragically the girls wept, Hu Thirty-Two's expression did not change. He maintained his faint smile and then glanced at Chen Changsheng.

Chen Changsheng understood his meaning and said, ”I'll go first and take a look.”

Zhexiu said, ”I'll be in the shadows.”

Saying this, he vanished into the forest. The blazing sun made the tree leaves cast countless shadows, and one of them was his.

……

……

After walking past South Stream Temple's mountain gate, Chen Changsheng was still welcomed by a seemingly endless mountain path.

It was not appropriate for Nanke to appear right now, so Chen Changsheng pushed his speed to its maximum. Occasionally, he would use the Yeshi Step, appearing on the side of the path, then the west. Like a gale, he swept across the path. Only when the road turned would he leave a blur on the shiny surface of the green bamboo.

The graceful curves of the mountains made for a pleasing sight, but he had no mind for such things. He let the howling wind strike him, his eyes wide open as he stared at the path in front of him, looking out for the smallest changes. His spiritual sense was also traveling with the wind, sensing the activity in front of him, but its primary goal was to identify those arrays.

In her letters, Xu Yourong had not described the matters of South Stream Temple in too much detail, but she had spoken about the arrays and restrictions on the mountain path.

As expected, in the ten-some li of mountain path after the bamboo forest, Chen Changsheng had encountered several ingenious arrays. Even at his level of strength, even if he simultaneously struck with all his swords, he would still need a very long time to break through those arrays.

Fortunately, Xu Yourong had described these things many times, both in their conversation in the Garden of Zhou's snowbound temple and in the Mausoleum of Books, so he had a certain understanding of these arrays. He was also the Pope, and even though the north and south factions of the Orthodoxy were somewhat different, they had still originated from the same source, so he managed to very quickly find the gate of life for these arrays and easily pass through them.

The gates of life for these arrays were often far from the mountain path, at some stream or by some boulder, but they pointed in roughly the same direction. He continued to run towards the cliff, and behind this cliff were clouds that seemed like they would never disperse. Holy Maiden Peak's indistinct form lay within these clouds. Even so close, he still could not see its true appearance.