White-Robed Chief

Suddenly, he appeared in the forest outside of the Fairy’s Capital.

In the forest, Fa Xiang and Xing Ming were standing back to back while fending off the siege of three men.

The three middle-aged men were Grandmasters with ordinary faces.

Their fist technique was very special. Every fist they thrust was done slowly and calmly, but it was able to strike the target so many times it was as if ten hammers had appeared in the sky and were about to engulf Fa Xiang.

Fa Xiang activated his Sentient Menace. A purplish gold radiance started to flow around his body and covered Xing Ming. His body movement was swift, and he looked completely at ease even when he was being surrounded by three men. He did not seem to mind that he was hit.

Chu Li could tell that Fa Xiang had already tried his best. He might look calm on the outside, but he was actually barely holding on and waiting for Fa Yuan to return.

Fa Xiang was not this powerless, but he had previously channeled his inner energy to Xing Ming to prevent his cultivation from being wiped off completely.

The three men appeared when he had almost channeled all his inner energy into Xing Ming’s body.

“Great Master Fa Xiang…” Chu Li appeared and called out his name.

“Almsgiver Chu!” Fa Xiang’s spirits lifted immediately at the sight of him.

Chu Li said, “Who are these people?”

“I don’t know either.” Fa Xiang shook his head and sighed. “They appeared as soon as we left the Fairy’s Capital!”

Chu Li smiled. “You guys must not be some commoners to have the courage to mess with the Tempest Temple. You’re from the Holy Church of Light, am I right?”

The three men took a step back all at once. Their attacks came to a stop.

“You better not get involved in this.” One of the middle-aged men gave Chu Li an icy glance. “The Holy Church of Light doesn’t like to have anyone else bothering us when we’re going about our business. Please leave now or don’t blame us for being impolite!”

Chu Li smiled as he shook his head. “This is not the Holy Church of Light’s domain. Such a confident tone you have there. What will you do if I don’t leave?”

“We shall kill you first!” the middle-aged man sneered. “If you leave now, we’ll let you go. If you continue babbling and sticking your nose into our business, then you deserve death!”

Chu Li said, “Great Master Fa Xiang, I want something from you. Let’s think about it as a trade and be clear about what we give and receive.”

“Almsgiver Chu, what do you want?”

“The Heart of Asura,” Chu Li said with a smile. “If you give me the Heart of Asura, I shall help Great Master get rid of these three men.”

“Amitabha Buddha…” Fa Xiang chanted the Buddha’s name and sighed. “Almsgiver Chu, you know that this object brings misfortune. Why do you want to be involved in this cause and effect?”

“Great Master Fa Xiang, are you worried that I’ll cultivate the Asura Power Technique?” Chu Li said.

“I’m worried that Almsgiver Chu wants to consume the Heart of Asura.” Fa Xiang shook his head and exhaled heavily. “The possibility of death is very high, so you really shouldn’t risk it. Almsgiver Chu, it’s not that I’m stingy, I just don’t want to put you in danger.”

Chu Li said, “Dead or alive—it all depends on one’s fate. If Great Master disagrees, I shall leave now!”

“Fine, the Heart of Asura is yours, Almsgiver Chu.” Fa Xiang nodded helplessly.

Chu Li smiled. “Please toss it over then, Great Master.”

Fa Xiang took the small black stone out and tossed it to him.

Chu Li held out his hand and caught it.

As soon as it reached his hand, the refined spiritual force that coursed through him caused the ball of water in his precordium to stir. It wanted to swallow it in one go. The Heavenly Demonic Power could probably be advanced to another stage. Chu Li was delighted.

He went from resisting the Heavenly Demonic Power to being curious or even eager to know more about it.

He wanted to try and see if the Heavenly Demonic Power could reach the Heaven God’s Boundary. Maybe he would be able to reach it by cultivating the technique.

The three men’s expression was growing darker and darker.

Chu Li saw the three men as nothing to and did not even acknowledged them.

“Kill him first! Then, kill the two monks!” one of them demanded.

“All right!” the other two answered.

The three of them sped toward Chu Li.

Chu Li escaped from the three men in a flash. He appeared in front of Fa Xiang, held on to Fa Xiang’s cowl, and ran. In the blink of an eye, they disappeared from the three men’s sight.

In a single breath, he had already run a distance of a couple hundred miles. He dropped Fa Xiang and Xing Ming at the side of the road. “The two of you should get going first. I’ll stop them.”

“Almsgiver Chu, thank you!” Fa Xiang pressed his palms together in front of his chest.

“Are you all right, Young Master Xing Ming?” Chu Li looked at Xing Ming. He looked dazed and was trying his best to keep his eyes open by constantly widening them, but his gaze was unfocused.

Fa Xiang shook his head. “It’s not a big problem. He only needs a short rest.”

“Great Master Fa Xiang, how’s the Golden Lohan’s Power?”

“Oh, it’s the top antique study of our temple,” Fa Xiang said after some thought. “Almsgiver Chu, where did you hear about it? This secret skill was never revealed to outsiders, unlike the Sentient Menace.”

Fa Xiang had taken a liking toward Chu Li. After all, he had saved their lives. If it were not for him, he would really have to sacrifice his cultivations to stay alive this time.

Although they have made a deal, they were the ones who would benefit from it more.

“Fa Yuan had passed down the Golden Lohan’s Power to King An,” Chu Li continued. “What exactly do you hope to gain from that?”

Fa Xiang let out a sigh. “It’s just a way to show the temple’s sincerity.”

“Cultivating this technique requires a profound dharmic base. If King An wanted to cultivate this technique, he’ll have to learn the Buddhist Scriptures, which in return requires him to be close to the Tempest Temple. Am I right?” Chu Li scoffed.

“You’re right. We have no choice but to resort to this.” Fa Xiang said.

Chu Li smiled. “Your temple really put in a lot of effort! Are there any hidden risks to it?”

“This technique requires an even more profound dharmic base during the later stages. If your dharmic base advances, your Martial Art will advance as well until your body becomes invincible. Almsgiver Chu, you came from a background of Buddhism. Do you want to cultivate this technique?” Fa Xiang asked.

Chu Li waved his hand dismissively. “Take care, Great Master. I shall leave now!”

Fa Xiang pressed his palms together in front of his chest, turned, and rushed away.

On the other hand, Chu Li held up the three middle-aged men that had caught up to him. He struck three fists across the air.

The three of them received his attack with ease.

Chu Li did not want to fight them to death. He just wanted to stall by engaging with them continuously.

The three of them wanted to go after Fa Xiang and Xing Ming, but as time went by, they realized that Chu Li was very persistent in his attacks. The three of them could not get themselves out of the situation, so they had no choice but to fight him.

When they were about to lose, Chu Li started to go easy on them.

When they tried to go all in, Chu Li immediately dodged.

The moment they let out their sighs of relief, Chu Li began to annoy them once again.

Two hours passed as the cycle repeated itself.

Chu Li reckoned that the both of them were probably far away by now. He left without killing the three disciples from the Holy Church of Light.

Chu Li mentioned that they were from the Holy Church of Light on purpose to avoid embarrassing them. It was also an excuse for himself.

The three men were actually secret guardians from the imperial house. They were sent by the imperial court to kill both Fa Xiang and Xing Ming.

Now that he ruined the assassination attempt, he could push the blame onto the disciples from the Holy Church of Light. It was an accident that arose from many causes. If anyone were to be blamed, it should have been the three of them. They should have told him their identities in time so that he would not behave badly.

——

He returned to the courtyard and placed the Heart of Asura on his precordium. Strand by strand, the ball of water in his precordium devoured the force from the Heart of Asura.

He realized that even though the process was going to take some time, he did not have to practice Isolated Cultivation to focus on cultivating it.

As soon as he sat down in the courtyard and finished getting his share of the Heart of Asura, Xue Ling rushed toward him. “Master, the lady wants to see you.”

Chu Li’s eyebrows rose, and he appeared in Xiao Shi’s Tianshu Courtyard in a flash.

Xiao Shi frowned as she sat at the side of the stone table. She said quickly as soon as she saw Chu Li, “Something happened!”

Chu Li looked at her gorgeous face.

Xiao Shi said, “There was an assassination attempt on the heir to the High Duke of the Huay Public House. He had sustained some serious injuries.”

“Who did it?” Chu Li furrowed his brows.

“The assassin has yet to be caught. The man’s cultivation level is really high. The heir to the High Duke Song was injured badly. He might have to cripple his cultivations.” Xiao Shi said with a frown.

Chu Li said, “So Master Xiao Tieying’s marriage…”

“I’m afraid there’ll be some changes to it,” Xiao Shi said.

Chu Li nodded slowly. “It seems like someone hasn’t given up yet. They’re still trying to test the High Duke’s Public Houses’ persistence and thoroughness. The grand wedding must continue as planned, or the High Duke’s Public Houses will become a joke and lose their reputable might.”

“Who has the mood to marry now?” Xiao Shi furrowed her brows.