588 To Save or to Kill, by the Compassion of Buddha (2/2)
Sangsang weakly murmured an affirmation.
Master Qishan sighed, ”The world is vast, yet you are welcomed nowhere. Where do you plan to go from here?”
Ning Que said, ”Back to the Academy.”
The master said, ”The Academy will surely accept you, but what about her? Before her lineage was revealed, the Academy could protect both of you and treat her illness in secret. But now?”
Ning Que went quiet, unsure of what to do. There was no way he could bring harm to the Academy.
Master Boshu spoke, ”The issue now though, is that neither of you are leaving.”
As soon as he finished, a flurry of footsteps could be heard outside of the temple. The back doors to the Lanke Temple were thrust open. The cultivators who realized something was wrong were blocked out of the temple by temple monks while 68 monks clad in yellow robes made their way in. The monks split themselves into teams of four and sat upon the stone pedestals before the temple sanctum.
The sound of chanting reverberated through the temple and an aura of solemn Buddhist compassion enveloped the entire Lanke Temple. As the great bells of the 17 halls tolled once again, the tactical array of Buddha's Light grew stronger and stronger.
Master Qishan looked at the Lanke Temple's abbot who knelt outside the temple doors and seemed to have grasped what was going on. Despite wanting to reprimand his unfilial disciples, all he did was to let out a long and painful sigh.
After all, Master Boshu was the president of the Commandment Yard of the Xuankong Temple and all of the Buddhist disciples held him in the highest regard. These few days of seemingly locking himself in his meditation room were actually just a cover for him to easily take over the Lanke Temple.
Monk Guan Hai knelt behind Master Qishan, to support his teacher who was on the verge of collapse. The grief and anguish on his face was evident, as he looked at the disciples of Buddha sitting on the stone pedestals outside of the temple sanctum.
Master Boshu spoke with indifference, ”Uncle, if you choose not to betray the way of Buddhism, to be laden with the great sin of the destruction of the world, then today you shall not interfere.”
Upon saying this, this great monk of the Xuankong Temple frowned as though he felt some form of pain. At the same time, his luminous eyes lost some of its luster, as though some Dharma had left them.
Ning Que was not prepared in their last encounter and allowed Boshu to shake his copper bell. However, this time around, there was no way he would even give his opponent the chance to do so. He also deduced that using such a mystical Buddhist artifact would take a heavy toll on Master Boshu, which meant that Boshu's actual combat strength would decrease. Hence, Ning Que observed and waited, waiting for the moment when Master Boshu would use the bell's powers once again, for that would be the time to strike.
Just as he caught a glimpse of Boshu's furrowed brow, Ning Que stuck his blade into the ground before him and drew his metal bow instantly. The arrow fired at Boshu flew at an unimaginable speed.
The silent iron arrow pierced through the air and arrived before Boshu in the blink of an eye.
Standing in front of the Primordial Arrow, strong enough to disregard space itself, it was impossible for anyone to evade unless it was someone like Long Qing who had plenty of experience with it, or a talented fighter with great instincts such as Ye Hongyu.
Master Boshu thought himself prepared enough for the legendary Primordial Thirteen Arrows of the Academy. However, never could he have imagined the deadliness and terror that the arrows possessed.
The Xuankong Temple's great sage had no time to change his facial expression, constrict his pupils, to be afraid or even react in any possible way.
The bell in his hand was the only thing that was able to react.
The copper bell went beyond the concept of time as it sensed the danger from the approaching arrow, disappearing from Master Boshu's fingers and instantly reappeared before the arrow.
The Yue laan Bell left behind by Buddha had miraculous properties that truly exceeded the level of cultivation achievable in the current realm.
The iron arrow struck the copper bell with grim accuracy.
Alas, it did not even leave a scratch on the bell.
No matter how powerful the Primordial Arrow may be, it was still just the cumulative wisdom of the disciples from the Academy. At least for now, it couldn't match the mystical artifact left behind by Buddha.
Another important reason why the iron arrow couldn't leave but a scratch on the copper bell was that the arrowhead wasn't sharp, but instead consisted of a small round metal canister.
The canister was intensely compressed and exploded because of the massive impact.
A loud boom!
Countless sharp fragments shot out with a terrifying whoosh, straight at Master Boshu.
When the copper bell blocked the iron arrow, Boshu's inner zen was greatly shaken. Although in pain, in this time of danger, he demonstrated his strength as the great sage of the Xuankong Temple. In such a short span of time, he recited the nine Jingang scriptures in his heart and placed nine layers of protective Buddhist aura in front of him.
Most of the shrapnel was blocked, but there were still some that managed to reach Boshu before the protective aura was thrown up. His entire body was instantly covered in blood.
Ning Que's speed in combat was second to none. Almost simultaneously as his arrow was shot, he realized that it would be difficult for the Primordial Thirteen Arrow to penetrate through the copper bell's defenses in so little time. Slinging back his bow and grabbing hold of his blade, he shot forward along with the arrow without a second thought.
The Great Spirit enveloped every inch of his body. Every fiber of his muscles became hard as stone, every step he took sprayed gravel and left a hole in its wake.
This was the first time Ning Que released his full strength without reservation while in his demonic trance, pushing his body to the absolute limit. With it, he gained a terrifying speed that was unimaginable.
As he thrust himself toward Master Boshu, he could still feel the residues from the iron arrow's explosion.
With a strike as ferocious as a wild beast, his blade went straight for Boshu's face, the light gleaming off the edge of the blade as bright as the blazing sun.
Master Boshu shut his eyes tight and with outstretched hands attempted to recall his copper bell.
The sound of clashing metal reverberated.
The razor sharp blade cut through the aura surrounding Master Boshu like paper. In an instant 6 layers of the protective aura were cleaved away.
Boshu spewed blood as he fell to the ground. However, he pushed against the floor with his palm and jolted back up straight as he shook his copper bell.
As the crisp and clear sound of the bell sounded, the 17 ancient bells of Lanke Temple rang out once more. The statue of Buddha that sat atop of the Tile Mountain radiated light that penetrated through the forest, into the temple sanctum at the foot of the mountain. The Light of Buddha that fell onto the big black umbrella was further intensified!
Under the umbrella, Sangsang grew paler still and coughed up more blood. All of her strength had left her as she leaned weakly on Ning Que's back, as though she could faint at any time. However, despite such adverse conditions, she still held onto the umbrella's handle tightly.
Master Boshu attained a very advanced state of cultivation, with a deep understanding of the ways of Dharma. Against Ning Que's attacks driven with recklessness, he could have used his copper bell as a weapon and put up a good brawl. In that case, even if he lost the opportunity to strike first he could still recover from it, rather than being thrown into such a dangerous situation like he was right now.
However, only one thought dominated him at this moment; he shall not give Ning Que any opportunity to take Sangsang away from here. Sangsang absolutely must die right here, right now.
For this very purpose, he would not hesitate to sacrifice himself.
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