The Immortal’s Poison

At this point, Third Brother Wei finally recognized the demon rabbit, Shan Duan. He stared at little monk Hope Voice in surprise, "What happened?" He did not recognize Bu Le and thought that Bu Le was just a normal eminent monk of the Great Mercy Temple.

The Great Mercy Temple was the leader of all Buddhism sects in the world. In the eyes of an outsider, not only was the abbot Shan Duan profound in his Buddhism dharma cultivation, he was also a master cultivator renowned to the rest of the world. Seeing him being severely injured in his own house, while none of the people who were traveling with him were the master cultivators of the Great Mercy Temple, Third Brother Wei’s expression was filled with a combination of anxiety and doubt. He could not understand what was the reason behind all of this.

The little stutterer hummed and hawed for a long while trying to figure out a way to answer Third Brother Wei. The old monk Ji Fei answered instead, "The two demons over there were stirring up trouble earlier. The abbot of the Great Mercy Temple went over there to vanquish the demon but he ended up almost being injured by the demons…" As he was saying that, he pointed to the direction of the desolated mountain.

As demon flames erupted from the direction that the old monk Ji Fei was pointing to earlier, Third Brother Wei was not suspicious. He frowned as he nodded his head, "Are the two divine monks alright?"

The little stutter nodded his head. He continued to hum and haw strenuously, "T-t-t-they a-a-are" Everyone watched helplessly as the last word was stuck behind his front tooth and he could not manage to spit it out. All of them could not help but feel anxious on behalf of him. The little monk Hope Voice suddenly shouted the last word loudly, "Alright!" His hands intertwined concurrently, releasing a gentle yet vigorous golden-colored Buddha’s light that enshrouded his body as he surged upwards!

At the same time, Wen Leyang moved.

Wrapped within the Buddha’s light, a solemn expression appeared on the little monk’s childish and innocent face as he dashed towards the favus-headed old man!

Swaying, Wen Leyang created a humongous inertia that rippled and erupted through the air surrounding him. A ruthless and tyrannical storm erupted in a flash as he slammed his body into the seven smiling fat men.

On the other hand, Ji Fei and Shui Jing dashed away, carrying the two demon monks on their backs. The old monk Ji Fei muttered some incantations in his mouth and slapped two pieces of talisman simultaneously onto his thighs. With a whoosh, he broke far away from the fat monk Shui Jing and fled away, like a breath of vapor, disappearing to the front. Shui Jing broke out in a torrent of curses behind, yet his footsteps were still as fast as before.

Hope Voice was always clumsy and confused but he understood better than everyone else that no lie in the world could trick the enemies before his eyes. The seven peculiar men had met Shan Duan and Bu Le in the past. Even as he stood before Third Brother Wei, he knew that he would not allow the opposing enemies the opportunity to speak at all. Wen Leyang had a similar thought.

No one had thought that this pitiful-looking little monk and a silly-looking village boy could fight. Moreover, all their moves were astounding and definitely no less inferior than a famous master cultivator in the cultivation world.

Albeit being surprised, the favus-headed old man adjusted quickly to the circumstances. He giggled scornfully as his palms glowed with blood-like radiance. Both of his palms were outstretched, with one on top and another below, akin to a blind person patting on another person. He appeared clumsy but he was as fast as lightning. He swung his palms heavily onto Hope Voice’s bald head. 

With loud noises similar to the sound of a broken gong, the little stutter Hope Voice was slapped down like a fly being swatted. He stood on the ground all confused and disoriented as he started spinning around in the same spot.

The favus-headed old man’s body shook once as well. His arms were incredibly sore and numb. Yet, he laughed loudly, "It seems like the little monk is also rather remarkable!" As he was saying that, he was prepared to swing his palms again. However, he suddenly broke out in a raging scream. His body was tossed up high into the sky! In the midst of the loud bang, a streak of flame-patterned long rod knocked onto the spot where he was standing just moments ago.

Third Brother Wei chuckled, "Hey old man, there is no glory in bullying a child!" As he was saying that, he knocked hard with the long rod once. Millions of rod shadows surged towards the enemy that was hanging in mid-air.

The favus-headed old man was reluctant to show weakness, his palms that were enshrouded with blood energy waved around continuously. Dozens of sharp little blood-colored crescent blades appeared swiftly around him. With some hissing sounds, all the rod shadows were shattered.

Hope Voice spun for a few circles before he finally regained his consciousness. He said to Third Brother Wei, "Thanks!" He flipped over his little hands and brandished a purple-colored wooden fish. As he hit the wooden fish, the little monk was like a wounded up spring, he ran and spun about the enemies in a disorderly manner. Every step he took matched the rhythm of the wooden fish. He hit the wooden fish harder and faster with time. The wind and clouds gushed around in the sky, dark clouds gathered and formed into the dharma body of a fierce-looking Vajrassatva, which lowered its head and looked towards the ground.

Finally, at the sound of a pop, the wooden fish made a hoarse growl and shattered into pieces. The little monk was ghastly pale. He was so weakened that he could no longer stand. He sat on the ground panting.

The fierce-looking Vajrassatva that was summoned was completely animated in the sky. Its eyes were burning with scorching hot brightness. Its chest puffed up as it drew a long breath. The air suddenly condensed and tightened visibly.

Favus-headed man’s expression was obviously stunned. His blood-colored blades were blocking the outer layers of rod shadows, while he clasped his thick palms together and rubbed his palms in a swift motion.

After a few minutes, the fierce-looking Vajrassatva finally drew in enough air, as it suddenly shouted loudly, "The Buddha!" The churning waves of air blast surged out from its mouth and the Buddha’s light erupted. The immense air blast was plated with a layer of dazzling Buddha’s light, which faintly turned into a raging dragon that was baring its fangs and brandishing its claws. It roared fearlessly before it pounced forward with a loud bang.

The favus-headed man’s eyes transformed into the color of thick blood. His hands were raised up high in the sky. His mouth appeared to be muttering incantations, as he uttered six words in a ghastly voice, "Triple Blood Lotus on a Stalk!"

Three blood-colored lotus flowers that were large enough to hold the entire heaven and earth abruptly bloomed. Under the boundless roaring of the raging dragon and the loud noises of an eruption, the flowers spun around madly, firmly blocking the favus-headed man from the Buddha’s protective golden dragon’s rage. The favus-headed man was safely protected in the middle of the flowers.

The golden dragon in the sky and the blood lotus flowers battled against one another on a spectacular scale. The air and the ground were chugging and shaking along. No one had the time to take notice that, the nameless mountain peak under their feet was struggling unwillingly as well.

Third Brother Wei appeared to be full of valor and vigor but he was actually not exerting his full force yet. Nonetheless, upon seeing the conjuration of the blood lotus flowers he suddenly screamed out in surprise. He shouted loudly to the little stutter that was feeling exhausted on the ground, "This is the surviving cultivator of the Blood Sect. Engage the master cultivators in the temple quick!" As he was saying that he held the rod with one hand and pointed towards the sky. He raised his head and looked strenuously into the night sky in the direction where his flame-patterned rod was pointing. Gushes upon gushes of imposing mannerism surged out from his body towards the long rod, the flame pattern on the rod was moving restlessly.

The little monk shook his head weakly, as he explained in a stutter, "T-t-t-the master gave t-t-the instruction…" Before the group departed the abbot Shan Duan issued a strict decree that no one was allowed to go forward and investigate any unusual events in the mountain. Even if they were to overturn the heaven over here, the monks in the Great Mercy Temple’s monk ought to sleep when it was time to sleep and prayed when it was time to pray. Unless the abbot abolished the Buddhist sutra, nobody would attend to the little monk even if he were to seek help the temple.

Finally, Third Brother Wei squeezed out a howl from his tightly clenched teeth, "Rod!"

The flame pattern on the long rod shattered abruptly. The noises from the blood lotus flowers battling the golden dragon in the sky could not conceal the maniacal laugh that burst out from the rod. A silver-colored radiance surged skywards from the shattered rod, accompanying the Buddha’s protective golden dragon. It started waving around its sparkling killing intent and slammed ferociously into the circle formed by the blood lotus flowers!

When the favus-headed old person dressed in a green robe was launching his supernatural powers in preparation to attack the golden dragon, his expression was solemn but he still appeared calm. When he found out that Third Brother Wei was exerting his full force, he was shocked and enraged. The silver chain in the sky was also in the shape of a big rod. Every time the rod blasted against the red lotus, the corner of the favus-headed man’s mouth would spout a streak of fresh blood.

Third Brother Wei was not any better. Every time the rod struck the red lotus, his face became more and more ghastly pale.

The little monk could not do anything else except to lie on the ground. His gaze was frightful as he watched the serious battle in mid-air. He stuttered a sigh, "Y-y-you… have already c-c-c-cultivated the r-r-rod shadows into r-r-rod intent!"

The One Word Palace placed itself amongst the Five Blessings. Third Brother Wei was a top personage in the cultivation world. All the cultivators in the world thought that he had already cultivated to the ascension of rod shadow. Who would have thought that he had already acquired a new level of cultivation five years ago? He cultivated the rod shadow into the rod intent. If it was not for the terrifying status of this green-robed favus-headed old person before Third Brother Wei, he would never take the initiative to reveal his actual power. He was bearing the risk of damaging his life vitality as he exerted his full power and fought the enemies.

On one side, the battle was akin to aliens invading the earth. On the other side, Wen Leyang was extremely stressed out. Each of the Rainbow group’s seven fat men had rough skin and thick flesh. Their bodies were unimaginably sturdy. Even though they were exceptionally oversized, their movements were so agile it was frightening.

Wen Leyang shuttled back and forth like a raging leopard. The fat men also displayed each of their unique skills. Some were as agile as panthers, some were as powerful as goshawk, some were as cunning as a poisonous snake, but they were all equally agile and swift. Considering that all the seven men looked exactly the same, as they were running and leaping about messily on the ground, Wen Leyang was very confused.

In the beginning, the Rainbow’s seven fat men were still laughing about as they fought Wen Leyang. However, when they saw that the favus-headed old man was risking his life to fight the enemies, all of them revealed their ruthless images. They each raised up their big weapons that were so huge one would feel dizzy at its sight. They slammed ferociously towards Wen Leyang as if they were swatting at flies. He suffered unspeakable agony from the beatings.

Wen Leyang was risking his little life to distract these enemies, to prevent them from going over to the other side and provide reinforcements. Both battlefields fought into a ball of mess. Suddenly one of the brothers frowned, and asked the brother next to him, "Can you feel the spiciness?"

As one person spoke, the rest of the six fat men immediately started chatting.

"Slightly. What are we having for dinner tonight?"

"I forgot. Anyhow our food is always spicy ever since we came over to Szechuan."

"In the past, my mouth feels spicy after each meal. My buttocks will feel the same spiciness the day after."

"But nothing like today, my entire body feels spicy now."

"It is becoming spicier now. Can I have some water please…"

"Ouch…"

The last fat man simply could not continue the conversation anymore. His entire body turned red from head to toe. His mouth was puffing and gasping for air, as he sat weakly on the ground.

The other six peculiar fat men acted brotherly. All of them stopped fighting Wen Leyang, but leaped in a hurry next to their brother. They were preparing to help in a great bustle when suddenly everyone started screaming in surprise. One by one the fat men tumbled onto the ground.

"Are we poisoned?"

"Certainly!"

"What kind of poison is that?"

"This is called the Spicy Poison!"

Only four of them managed to forcefully analyze the situation. It seemed like the others really wanted to continue the conversation, but the poison ‘Szechuan Cuisine’ was reacting at its highest stage. It was as if each and every one of the blood vessels in their bodies were flowing with glistening red chili oil. The seven fat men held on to each other’s hands. They could barely speak, as their voices turned into the agonizing screams of ouches.

The favus-headed old man was exuding with a desolated evil energy through his appearance, attire and expression. It was as if he had eaten children raw before. However, he only expressed his affection and compassion towards these seven fat men with a common name of The Rainbow. Even within the ferocious battle, he was still thinking of these seven men.

As he realized that they had fallen on the ground after being poisoned and their body turned red all over, he assumed that they were cast with a cruel spell by the enemies. His expression turned violent and deranged in a flash. He tried on a few attempts to conduct the blood lotus flowers to crush the little monk and Third Brother Wei’s attacks. However, the Buddha’s protective golden dragon and the rod intent in the sky trapped him firmly.

The seven fat men’s voices grew softer and softer. Wen Leyang’s entire body was wrapped in the storm. He was hesitating whether he should pounce forward and use the Faulty Punch to punch through the blood lotus flowers.

The Faulty Punch was effective at breaking spells. However, considering that both the Buddha’s protective golden dragon and the instant-kill rod intent were hopeless when facing the three gigantic blood lotus flowers…Wen Leyang was in a daze. He felt that if he were to truly pounce forward, there was a high possibility that he would not be able to break the spell.

The favus-headed old man failed to break off the golden dragon and rod intent’s siege. In the contrary, his blood lotus flowers gradually withered. It was as if its master was in distraught. His power was slowly suppressed by the enemies. As the old monster gradually could not withstand the attacks, Wen Leyang suddenly noticed that, within the enemy’s blood-red eyes, his rage and violence were slowly turning into a sorrowful hatred. He roared strenuously, "We shall die together! I will avenge my seven babies once again in the afterlife!" He raised his hands madly and slammed ferociously into his chest. He spat out a mouthful of blood arrows. With a sharp howl, the arrows immersed into the blood lotus flowers that were spinning rapidly around him!

Third Brother Wei’s expression changed wildly, he roared subconsciously, "That demon person has decided to perish both sides!" He could no longer care about conducting the rod shadows in the mid-air or the little monk on the ground. He dashed as quickly as he could towards the far end!

For someone as sincere as Wen Leyang, he dared not rush forward at this moment either. He managed to bend over and pick up the little monk before turning around and dashing madly towards the Great Mercy Temple. When he passed by the side of the seven fat men, he suddenly could not find it in his heart to leave them be. The seven fat men were attacking him in a disorderly manner earlier but their minds were pure and innocent, just like the two silly uncles back at his home. They were exuding with silliness that one could not help but to feel affectionate towards them.

Wen Leyang did not have the time to think. He stretched out his leg and kicked at the fat men continuously as he ran past them. He wanted to kick them as far away from here as he could.

He did not expect that albeit being severely poisoned, the seven fat men still retained some strength on their hands and legs. They were like a group of drowning man who suddenly grabbed onto a piece of straw. They instinctively used a form of an extremely peculiar method. Each of their bodies coiled around Wen Leyang’s body. Wen Leyang was so worried. He was preparing to tear them away when a streak of bright blood’s light appeared out of nowhere and shattered the moonlit night with a bang. The scarlet color of blood filled every person’s eyes!

Three large red lotus flowers contracted vigorously and squeezed into the green-robed old person’s body. The old man’s body inflated as he became exceptionally large. He was so enlarged that it was incredulous. His entire body then exploded with a bang in the blink of an eye. Millions of streaks of blood’s light accompanied by a long howl shattered the golden-colored Buddha’s protective golden dragon, the silver chains of the glistening rod intent and the fierce-looking Vajrasattva formed by the dark cloud in the sky.

Million of streaks of blood’s light dispersed off the supernatural powers of the two master cultivations and immediately coagulated into to two ruthless and tyrannical blood spindles. The blood spindles separated into two with one on the left and one on the right. The blood spindles whirred as one chased after Third Brother Wei, who was escaping the mountain, while the other one roared in the direction of Wen Leyang, who had rolled into a ball by the fat men and the little monk!

Wen Leyang’s mind was shattered by the quake earlier. His vision was covered in the scarlet color of blood. His body felt like an octopus as the fat men were coiling around him. The heavy wind pounced behind his back. He could not even hide. He could only hold the little monk tight in his cradle as he crouched down with all his might. He shifted the power of the Faulty Punch to the back of his body. His muscles and joints shook rapidly, preparing to brace the oncoming blood spindle.

Unexpectedly, as the blood spindle was about to hit his back, it suddenly halted. It was as if the blood spindle acquired some spiritual intelligence. It hesitated for a while, like a thick and large python, before surrounding him and the pile of fat men and coiled around all of them. This time, Wen Leyang was really in trouble. The power of Faulty Punch was rippling through his body. He adjusted his body according to the direction of the blood spindle’s spinning. After the blood spindle spun around him once, Wen Leyang’s had already adjusted himself to a vibration mode.

Golden dragon, rod shadow, blood lotus flowers, the three supernatural powers with formidable force simultaneously exploded. Everything vibrated vigorously. Even the lush green forests nearby were torn into a boundless stretch of broken branches and wooden splinters due to the humongous powers exerted by the cultivators.

A shrill scream echoed from far away. The other blood spindle had already caught up and killed Third Brother Wei.

The seven fat men were groaning and muttering. They were in an agonizing pain from all that spiciness that they could barely open their eyes. They had utterly no idea what just happened.

The favus-headed old man saw that the seven fat men had all fallen on the ground after being poisoned. Of course, he did not know that Wen Leyang’s ‘Szechuan Cuisine’ was incapable of killing with spiciness. He was in distraught, thinking that they were all incurable. He knew that once the blood lotus flower spell was broken, he would be left with nothing but a destroyed body. As such, he opted to simply launch the black magic of the blood sect before he died, sacrificing his life to avenge the enemy.

The two blood spindles each contained a portion of the old man’s primordial spirit. One of the blood spindles murdered Third Brother Wei, while the other blood spindle could not bear to harm the seven fat men. After it coiled around them for once, it finally gave up on Wen Leyang. It raised its head and surged towards the sky. Wen Leyang did not expect that his final strand of pity towards the seven fat men saved both the little stutterer and his lives. He wanted to run away directly earlier. Yet, regardless of how fast he could run he would never outrun Third Brother Wei. He guessed that Third Brother Wei had already turned into a pile of ground meat by now.

Moments later within an ear-piercing howl, the blood spindle spun around in the sky and plunged ferociously into the mountain rock nearby!

Meanwhile, on the opposite side, a fine angry voice echoed, "Third Brother Wei you’re…" Before his voice died away, he screamed out once in fear. A monkey-like little old man was overthrown onto the ground by the residual earthquake from the blood spindle explosion earlier.

Looking outside from the human shield, the little stutterer Hope Voice gave a forced smile as he said to Wen Leyang, "Ob-obscure cultivator!"

Wen Leyang shook his head as he returned the forced smile. He had learned about that back in the Great Mercy Temple that there were quite a few obscure cultivators on Mount Emei. They did not care about anything else as long as their act of cultivation was not disturbed. He was preparing to exert all his strength to pry away the few fat hands coiled around himself. Suddenly, the land below his feet shook ferociously. The group of people that were tightly intertwined together were tossed out due to the immense force. The sound of a muffled bang rose up from the ground beneath their feet. It struck terror into everyone’s heart. The tiny little nameless mountain peak could not endure this heaven-fearing supernatural powers summoned by a group of top cultivators with their lives. Within its unwilling moans and wails, the ground abruptly burst and shattered!

The monkey-like obscure cultivator was panic-stricken as well. He pounced ferociously back to the spot where he bore out of.

The mountain rock under their feet shattered. Any cultivator of any ability was of no difference than a pile of bullshit when faced with the mighty virtues of heaven. Wen Leyang risked his little life trying to stand up and drag along the fat men that weighed almost a ton. He clenched his teeth and headed towards the direction of the obscure cultivator. Upon running a few steps, he felt that his body was suddenly lighter. It was as if the fat men’s weight had reduced exponentially.

The little stutterer was muttering incantations as he crumbled a string of Buddhist prayer beads that he usually wore on his wrist in his hands. A streak of golden-colored Buddha’s light faintly lifted up the seven fat men.

Wen Leyang was delighted. He was thinking in his heart, ‘how could a little stutterer recite incantations’. He took bigger strides to follow closely behind the obscure cultivator.

‘A huge ball’ of people followed the monkey-like old man. They circled three rounds, took two leaps and disappeared from the mountain peak in the blink of an eye.

The gigantic mountain rock started cracking from the middle. Tall and straight trees were uprooted. The vigorous quake continued for another few more minutes and the entire mountain peak disappeared entirely. Mountain stones of all sizes rolled down from all directions and firmly blocked the mountain’s crack.

When the dust finally settled, the mountain regained its prior tranquility, as if nothing had ever happened. After a while, streaks upon streaks of Buddha’s light brightened the sky abruptly, the old monk Hope Sense tossed around his eye bags as he rushed over, leading a group of monks from the Great Mercy Temple. He frowned as he started scouting about in the nearby areas.

Ji Fei and Shui Jing ran back to the Great Mercy Temple in tandem. The little demon rabbit Shan Duan managed to wake up for a while. He immediately instructed all the monks from the entire temple to rush to rescue Wen Leyang. However, they were still dozens of steps late when they arrived…

Before the mountain peak collapsed, Wen Leyang followed the obscure cultivator for a few steps. He felt the vision before his eyes darkened as he entered into a spacious tunnel.

However, as the vigorous quake had not ceased, Wen Leyang dared not stop for even a moment. Following the obscure cultivator, he dashed all the way. The obscure cultivator did not turn over to acknowledge him, fearing that the tunnel, which was right underneath the mountain peak, could collapse anytime.

The collapse of the mountain peak only lasted for a few minutes but the earthquake in the tunnel never cease. Everywhere in the tunnel was shaking vigorously with a blood-curling loud noise, the seven fat men held on to each other’s hands and legs and remained coiled around Wen Leyang’s body.

Wen Leyang was staggering around. He was confused and disoriented and he could no longer distinguish directions anymore. The pores on his skin opened and closed violently. He focused on the obscure cultivator that was running in front of him.

It was unclear how long Wen Leyang was running before the vision before his eyes brightened abruptly/ He arrived before a stretch of wide and boundless gigantic stone steps, which wriggled downwards into the depth.

Every step was about seven to eight meters high. The obscure cultivator in front of him was agile. He leaped down along the edge of the stone steps in an unimaginable speed. Wen Leyang knew that he must follow him. So, he lugged around the group of fat men and leaped along the stone steps, running towards the depth.

The stone steps were thickly dotted with engravings of old Chinese calligraphy inscriptions. As the vigorous quake spread to the edge of the stone steps in the tunnel, all the inscriptions suddenly erupted into piercing colorful rays of light, brightening the empty mountainside with a lustrous and dazzling glow.

The vigorous quake was like an invasive tidewater, while the stone steps were like the causeway built by the sage of primitive ages. The quake weakened in time. By the time Wen Leyang leaped down dozens of steps, the quake behind him had completely vanished.

Wen Leyang followed the obscure cultivator, leaping all the way until the lowest point of the stone steps, where a spacious void hidden in the collapsed mountainside appeared before his eyes. The obscure cultivator halted his steps, his small mung bean eyes glimmered with a bewildered glow, as he looked up and down at Wen Leyang.