Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

"Om… Ma… Ni… Pad… Me… Hum…".

Master Xingchi sat cross-legged on the ground and clasped his hands together. Wearing a tranquil expression, he began to chant and was unflinching in the face of death.

When he sensed that Ling Yun was piercing his sword at him, Master Xingchi gave an enigmatic smile.

Even if that was the case, he was unable to dispel Ling Yun's murderous intent. Ling Yun was still maintaining his stance with the Dragon Vein Sword and aimed it directly at Master Xingchi's throat!

Without warning, a walnut-sized bead shot out from Ling Yun's spatial ring. It was phenomenally fast and instantly blocked the tip of Ling Yun's sword in mid-air!

As it flew out from the spatial ring, the bead seemed to retain its ordinary appearance; it was gray, non-luminous, and unaccompanied by any Buddhist power!

However, it was suspended in mid-air and managed to block the tip of Ling Yun's rapidly descending sword!

Despite Ling Yun's immense strength and the sharpness of the Dragon Vein Sword, he was unable to change its course or pierce downwards!

"Om… Ma… Ni… Pad… Me… Hum…"

The mantra chanted by Master Xingchi had been instantly amplified by a hundred times. The hearts of all the mansions' inhabitants overflowed with compa.s.sion as their expressions turned solemn!

Master Xingchi could sense an unceasing supply of Buddhist power in his midst. Immediately, he opened his eyes and witnessed the astounding scene!

"Amitabha, this…" Master Xingchi was so astonished to see the walnut-sized bead that he had even abandoned his chanting.

Ling Yun was even more astonished than anyone else at the scene. He thought, What sort of rebellious treasures did I unearth in the Crater? Why is it that they're able to fly out from the spatial ring at whim?

Although it was unbeknownst to anyone else, Ling Yun was clearly aware that the bead had been held by the hands of the mummified monk with the Diamond Glazed Body! He had made this discovery in the small temple at the heart of the Yang Spell.

Hmph! Isn't it just about killing an old monk from your Buddhist Sect, why are you even interfering with this? Ling Yun was infuriated and struck nine times with his sword!

As expected, all of his strikes were blocked by the mysterious bead!

In addition to that, the bead was actually emitting a surge of Buddhist force that gradually diminished Ling Yun's intense desire to kill!

Master Xingchi wasn't bothered by Ling Yun's downward piercing sword. After recovering from his astonishment, he was agitated to the point of insanity and immediately fell prostrate before the bead that was suspended in mid-air!

After displaying his utmost piousness and kowtowing nine times to the bead, Master Xingchi — with his head bowed and his hands clasped together — sent a telepathic message to Ling Yun. "Young master, please sheathe your sword. I've got something to tell you."

Ling Yun knew that his plans to kill had fallen through. When he stored the Dragon Vein Sword in his spatial ring, the bead miraculously flew back with it.

This is really sinister and weird… Ling Yun quietly considered whether he ought to search for a place to discard the bead.

The powers of the mummified old monk were simply overwhelming and could easily obliterate an Earth Deity from the Period of Great Accomplishment. Even if Ling Yun had attained the Yuan Ying Period in his cultivation, there was no guarantee that he could tackle the bead that the monk had left behind. It would definitely be better to discard it.

If the item was unusable to Ling Yun, he was willing to discard it like a pair of tattered shoes regardless of its intrinsic worth!

"Go ahead, speak!" Ling Yun sheathed the Devil's Blade without hesitation. Placing his hands behind his back, he stood before Master Xingchi, who remained in a kneeling position.

"Young master is definitely not from the Devil Sect! Not only that, you have an affinity with our Buddhist Sect…" Master Xingchi began.

Ling Yun was frightened to the point that his mind was racing wildly. He hastily whispered, "Old monk, don't try to a.s.sociate me with it. I can set you free, but rest a.s.sured that I won't have anything to do with your Buddhist Sect!"

What a joke, Ling Yun hadn't even had a taste of the bevy of girls who had flocked to him. Despite his resolve, Ling Yun wouldn't entertain the idea that he had an affinity with the Buddhist Sect.

With a faint smile on his face, Master Xingchi explained, "Young master could have used the Devil's Blade to kill me just now, but you chose to use the sword instead. Why was that the case?"

Ling Yun curled his lips and thought, The monk truly embodies the typical traits of his profession. His remarks are so absurd. Since he's going to die anyway, why does he care about the weapon being used?

When Master Xingchi saw that Ling Yun was silent, he smiled once more and said, "If I may venture to ask the young master, where did you obtain this bead?"

Ling Yun replied flippantly, "I picked it up from the road. I thought that it would make a nice toy and took it for a closer inspection. But now, I don't think it's such a great toy after all — I'll toss it away tomorrow!"

Master Xingchi knew that Ling Yun had given a flippant answer and didn't take it to heart. He immediately responded, "It's up to the young master to decide whether to keep it in his possession or discard it. But I must warn you that this bead is the greatest treasure of the Buddhist Sect, the Bodhi Bead!"

Bodhi Bead? Ling Yun was trying his best to recall any memories concerning the Bodhi Bead, but he was unsuccessful in that attempt.

He hadn't even heard of it in the Cultivation World.

"The Bodhi Tree is non-existent, and so is the mirror. Since none of it exists, how can they acc.u.mulate dust? Young master, if you possess our greatest treasure and deny any links to our Buddhist Sect, aren't you deceiving yourself and others as well?"

As he posed the question to him, Master Xingchi wore a benevolent smile on his face and gazed at Ling Yun intently.

"Hmph, so what if it's the greatest treasure from the Buddhist Sect? I'll throw it away tomorrow!" Ling Yun retorted defiantly.

Although Ling Yun's cultivation was primarily based on Daoism and he ought to be deemed as a partially inducted member, he wasn't a true disciple of the Daoist Sect!

He had his own method of cultivation. Of this, the concept of invincibility was highly esteemed in the Path of the Heart. Since Ling Yun had made it a point to kill any deity or buddha who opposed him, it was only natural that he wouldn't want to have any ties with Buddhism.

"Oh? It looks like the young master truly intends to discard this Bodhi Bead. Let me ask you then, is the young master able to discard the Emperor Brush and Earth Emperor's Book?" Master Xingchi gave an enigmatic smile.

Ling Yun was befuddled!

F*ck, although this old monk wasn't good at fighting, he seemed to be rather knowledgeable. Ling Yun had a.s.sumed that he was the only one who knew that the Emperor Brush was stored in between his own eyebrows, while the Earth Emperor's Book was inside his energy center. How was it that the old monk knew about it too?

Ling Yun's eyes flashed with murderous intent, and the pupils of his eyes turned black and white respectively. Even if the Bodhi Bead were to obstruct him, Ling Yun had decided that Cui Lao and Dugu Mo would be the ones to slay Master Xingchi at the scene!

Except for the Emperor Brush and Earth Emperor's Book, everything else — such as the Dragon Vein Sword, Devil's Blade, spatial ring, magical gourd, and dragon saliva — could be revealed in broad daylight. All of them except those two items!

There were serious implications concerning their exposure. They were highly desired by virtually everybody in the world, and with his relatively weak powers, wouldn't Ling Yun be a living target if this piece of news were to be leaked?

"I've never heard of those strange items that you mentioned…" Ling Yun's murderous intent died away in an instant. It was fortunate that Master Xingchi had kept his head bowed the whole time and didn't see his expression.

It was of no consequence even if he had seen it.

"Anyway, Ling Yun, take things as they come. As a divinely appointed person, you're unable to s.h.i.+rk this immense responsibility…"

Master Xingchi was getting increasingly absurd in his speech. He seemed to be speaking in riddles and didn't adhere to the principles of logic.

Taking things as they come, a divinely appointed person, an immense responsibility that he was unable to s.h.i.+rk… what was he referring to?

Bewildered by his words, Ling Yun was particularly intrigued by Master Xingchi's advice to "take things as they come".

The Earth was simply mysterious beyond description, and doubts started to arise in Ling Yun's mind.

"Everything has its destiny and yet is non-existent… so it seems, so it seems, heh heh…"

Master Xingchi gradually lowered his voice, and after a final laugh, he was motionless and silent.

"Master Xingchi!" Ling Yun was perplexed by his words and discovered that Master Xingchi was already motionless and silent before he had the chance to question him.

Still wearing a faint smile on his face, Master Xingchi had self-ruptured a coronary artery in an act of suicide!

"This…" Ling Yun stared at Master Xingchi's corpse and remained speechless for a long time. After an extended period of solitude and contemplation, he finally heaved a sigh.

Since the Bodhi Bead hadn't allowed him to slay Master Xingchi, Ling Yun was prepared to pardon him. Although Master Xingchi could have chosen not to divulge any of those secrets before departing from this world, he had done so.

After Ling Yun had considered killing him on the second occasion, Master Xingchi had opted to commit suicide instead of waiting for him to make a move!

"Thank you so much, Master!" After a long time had pa.s.sed, Ling Yun cupped his fist and bowed at Master Xingchi's corpse. He then darted towards Sun Tianbiao and arrived in front of him.

"Big Brother Biao, it's your turn now…" Ling Yun smiled playfully at Sun Tianbiao, who was seated on the ground.

Cui Lao and Dugu Mo hemmed Sun Tianbiao in and thwarted his escape.

"Ling Yun, what was the subject of the telepathic dialogue you had with that old monk? What's with that bead?" Dugu Mo asked spontaneously as he watched Ling Yun return after a prolonged stay with Master Xingchi.

In their earlier conversation, Ling Yun and Master Xingchi had used a profound technique of telepathic communication. The duo didn't even move their lips to communicate, and it was virtually impossible for an expert from Xiantian Realm Level Nine to eavesdrop on their conversation, not to mention anyone else from a lower realm.

"Oh, we were exploring things such as ideals in life…" Ling Yun blabbered.

"What?" Dugu Mo almost spat the word out and scratched his head in perplexity. "You and the Shaolin monk were exploring ideals in life? Then how is it that he ended up dead?"

Ling Yun didn't wish to mention anything concerning Master Xingchi. He frowned and replied, "Everyone has his own destiny. He chose to rupture his own coronary artery. What could I have done about it?"

Following which, he decided not to waste any more time conversing with Dugu Mo. With a flip of his wrist, the Devil's Blade appeared in his hand.

"Sun Tianbiao, do you still recall that I swore to tear you to pieces?" The expression in Ling Yun's eyes resembled the sharp edge of a blade that had been quenched in frigid waters for thousands of years.

Sun Tianbiao now knew that Ling Yun was indeed a serial killer. However, out of consideration for his own status, he chose to put on a brave front.

"Ling Yun, on the night of the Qingming Festival, you…"

Sun Tianbiao knew that death was his inescapable destiny. Nevertheless, he wanted to clarify certain matters before he died.

Ling Yun remarked casually, "That's right, they were all killed by me. Your arrogant wife, your wastrel son, and the four experts — all killed by me. If your Sun Family wants to seek revenge in the future, they're welcomed to do so. Let me give you a chance now to relay this news to your clan."

"But, whatever the case, you have to die!" Ling Yun stated plainly.

It was precisely because of Sun Tianbiao's coercion that Zhuang Meifeng had no choice but to agree to become a disciple of the Tranquil Sect. Ling Yun's feathers were ruffled by this!

Once his feathers had been ruffled, there was no question that he would be slaying the agitator!