The moment the Forbidden Army set foot on the mountain, the experts in the temple immediately picked up on their presence. One by one, these powerful figures awoken and made their presence known as if they wanted to announce that they fully intended to vanquish this blasphemer.
Within the darkness of night, their br.i.m.m.i.n.g power almost seemed like a guiding light with its blinding radiance. Even ten li away, Ning Chen could easily sense their location.
Naturally, such an overt display made them more target dummies than lights to Ning Chen.
Thus, with no hesitation whatsoever, Ning Chen drew forth Maimed. Bow pulled back like a crescent moon, he fired off a chain of arrows into the sky, their frightening power lighting up the night sky as they careened through the horizon towards those guiding lights.
An instant later, a violent quake shook the mountain as the experts, who had just awoken not too long ago, failed to react to the arrows in time and fell prey to the devious sneak attack. One by one, their presence were swiftly snuffed out.
"Blast it all."
From within the nearest temple, a figure rushed out, hair frizzled and bloodied.
"Leave behind a hundred soldiers." Said Ning Chen as he threw the head of the Forbidden Guards a quick look.
"Understood!" The commander gave a wave of his hand and immediately, a hundred guardsmen rushed forth to surround the injured Buddhist expert.
Each had a cultivation at the level of eighth-grade and below. Thus, when faced with an injured Ninth-grade, they knew not to waste any time and instead rushed right into battle, swords drawn.
Like that, Ning Chen led the remaining 900 guardsmen up the mountain without any hesitation. None of them knew if those 100 guardsmen would survive but no matter what they had to push onwards.
Time waited for no man. Should they ascend to the mountain top, those hidden experts would all rush out to meet them. Thus, they had no time to waste at all.
Furthermore, there were still those four Vajras to contend with; that was the greatest problem facing them right now.
Ning Chen wasn"t sure if he could triumph over them so he had to ensure that he remained in his peak condition before reaching them.
Along this mountain road, temple after temple produced an expert that stepped forth to hinder them. In response, the amount of soldiers left behind increased as well. By the time they reach the mountain top, there were less than 500 guardsmen there.
With the giant Buddha statue in sight, Ning Chen called for a short break to rally the troops before ordering an advance. Once more, a Ninth-grade expert made his appearance. Judging by his br.i.m.m.i.n.g power, this one had already reached the level of Late Ninth-grade. This time, the head of the Forbidden Guards himself stayed behind to handle this expert while the rest of the contingent moved on, his gaze silently sending us off as they did so.
Like that, Ning Chen and the remaining 400 guardsmen climbed up the last leg of the mountain road. As the colossal silhouette of the temple loomed ominously over the horizon, the atmosphere grew even heavier till finally they reached the giant doors of the Western Doya Temple.
Right away, the ornate doors creaked open, revealing 18 topless monks bathed in golden light from top to toe, followed closely by those four Vajras.
"Golden Arhats…" Ning Chen murmured with an ever sinking heart. This was going to be a tough fight…
Each of the golden experts before him had a cultivation level that ranged from Eighth-grade to Peak Eighth-grade. With their Diamond Body aiding them, they could probably put up a fight against a Ninth-grade, and when working in unison, even defeat said Ninth-grade.
As for his own side, there were no more Ninth-grades to spare, all he had were three Eighth-grade experts. With such a disparity, victory was basically impossible.
Moreover, he still had those pesky Vajras to deal with; his hands were completely tied down already.
"Sir Marquis, don"t worry about us, we"ll do our best to hold back these 18 arhats." It was then that one of the Eighth-grade guardsmen stepped forth and in a resolute voice, rea.s.sured him.
"Live." Was all he said and was all he had to. Turning around, Ning Chen brought little Ming Yue to a safe corner ahead.
However, he was immediately hindered by the four Vajras and thus the battle kicked off with an explosive start.
The three Eighth-grade experts along with the remaining guardsmen swiftly took up positions around the 18 arhats in a bid to buy some precious time for their marquis.
"A Sword to Part the Infinite Waves."
Deeply aware of how strapped for time they were in this battle, Ning Chen immediately started off with one of his ultimate skills. With a wave of his Ink Sword, he stirred up a frightening tsunami to ravage the lands.
Faced with such a terrifying force of nature, the four Vajras immediately joined hands to erect a golden barrier but even so, they barely managed to deflect the blow and were forced back half a pace.
In the instant they retreated, Ning Chen"s eyes narrowed. The air around him immediately froze and as it began to snow, his sword will exploded forth. A million wills coalescing into one, he appeared before one of the Vajras in a flash.
*Clang* The sound of metal and diamond clashing echoed in the night. As golden palm met with Ink Sword, the monk was forced by once more by another pace.
"Waves of the World Converge Eastward."
Palms turned and Qi raised, Ning Chen promptly struck at the monk"s Dantian, barely giving him any time to breath with this follow-up strike.
A thunderous bang and spurt of red later, the Vajra was blown backwards ten paces.
In just the blink of an eye, Ning Chen had expended 20% of his True Qi. Throughout all that, the Scroll of Life within him furiously spun around as it continually replenished the spent True Qi. Even so, the recovery rate simply couldn"t keep pace with his rapid consumption.
Seeing their opponent so desperate in his tactics, the four Vajras stepped up their pace as well, clearly not willing to put forth a weak showing. Palms joined together in prayer, a burst of golden light blasted outwards in an instant. Amidst the blinding display of Buddhist energies, the familiar sound of sanskrit chanting filled the air as four transcendent Bodhisattva simulcrums descended from the heavens. Faces filled with compa.s.sion, they extended their golden palms.
"Hng"
Ning Chen kicked off with one feet. Around him, a wave of ocean blue Qi rapidly surged and coalesced into a giant tsunami. Waters roaring, it careened towards the Vajras with a thunderous boom.
The palms of the Bodhisattvas, heavy as the world itself, faced off against the unstoppable waves of Ning Chen"s ocean blue Qi. As the two crashed into each other, a torrent of shockwaves washed over the mountain top. The stony ground rumbled as if a terrifying calamity had struck it.
*ugh*
Ning Chen heaved slightly, a trail of blood dripping down the corners of his mouth soon after. Even with the two Heavenly Scrolls housed within him, a mighty warrior like him found it hard to receive a combined strike from the four Vajra. Despite meeting their palms head on, his cultivation body still suffered significant injuries from that exchange.
On the other side, the four hundred Forbidden Guards weren"t any better off either. With their golden bodies, neither palm not sword could leave a scratch on the arhats. In the face of such resilience, the seasoned veterans found themselves powerless.
"I can"t let this drag on any further."
Having weighed the consequences, he finally decided to throw all caution to the wind. Picking up little Ming Yue, Ning Chen leaped towards the last remaining palm of the giant Buddha statue.
Taking issue with that, the four Vajras frantically chased after them with a kick of their feet.
Ning Chen narrowed his eyes; now was the time! Thrusting the Ink Sword into the Buddha palm with a violent toss, he drew out the bow, Maimed, and fired off four arrows glowing with power.
That forceful act however, crossed the limits of his own body. The moment the arrows left his finger tips, Ning Chen"s body screamed in protest. His skin began to redden till finally cracks appeared like a b.l.o.o.d.y rose blooming, staining his body a gory red as they snaked their way across his skin.
Given his current strength, his safe limit was five arrows per day, a sixth was the absolute limit his body could withstand at the moment. And yet tonight, he had just fired off his eighth arrow. Though there was a gap between the two sessions, such a reckless act had crossed the physical limits on his body. As a result, it began to show signs of collapsing.
In the blink of an eye, the silvery arrows careened through the air like a speeding bullet right up to the Vajras. By the time they were able to react to the arrows, it was already too late to dodge.
*Bang bang bang bang*
A chain of explosions resounded across the night sky as the monks did their best to endure the attacks with their fleshly body. However, the arrows were too mighty for them and they were simultaneously sent flying away, landing meters away in a giant pit of their own making.
An opportunity! And a hard-won one at that. Ning Chen wasted no time in driving the Ink Sword further into the Buddha statue with a palm strike of his. As he did so, the Scroll of Life, the Scroll of Earth and the blue Qi whirlpool in his body spun around furiously. Gulp by ravenous gulp, the three whirlpools sucked up the Buddhist energies within the statue via the opening created by the Ink Sword.
Immediately, a colossal shockwave blasted outwards from the statue. The heavens and earth began to rumble as if they resonated with the statue itself. The skies darkened, eclipsing the moon in an instant. The skies shook with thunderous lightning strikes as if the heavens themselves were weeping for the Buddha"s impending demise.
"AAAHHHHHH."
Ning Chen bellowed, black hair dancing wildly in the air and body glowing with golden light. An immeasurably pure surge of Buddhist energy rushed into his Qi Ocean, shattering the bottleneck between the Eighth and the Ninth grade in an instant.
*rumble*
Suddenly, the nine heavens themselves quaked. The skies turned a blinding white as a bolt of lightning descended upon what should have been a mere Houtian breakthrough. Such a tribulation should not have appeared during such a stage and yet it did. With a deafening boom, the bolt of lightning, a zhang wide, rushed towards Ning Chen.
As it closed in, the two Heavenly Scrolls flew out of his Dantian as if reacting to the lightning"s presence. In a burst of golden light, the two scrolls charged into the crackling bolt and began voraciously devouring the heavenly lightning in order to repair their own bodies.
Yet, as this tribulation was one that shouldn"t have appeared during a Houtian"s breakthrough, the heavens merely sent down a single bolt to punish the blasphemer before returning back to a peaceful state. Thanks to that, the two scrolls merely managed to repair a third of their body before returning once more to Ning Chen"s Dantian.
It was at that moment that the four Vajras pulled themselves out of the giant pit and with a flash, appeared before Ning Chen in an impeccably straight file. The four swiftly formed the hand seals for their Buddhist arts and summoned a beam of golden light from the sky. Within, one could see the ever growing silhouette of a sacred simulacrum.
"Om Ma ni Pad me Hum"
Energies working in unison, the supreme art of Buddhism descended upon the mortal realm once more. As the six sanskrit words materialized, they gathered within them the most sacred and most supreme energies of Buddhism and mercilessly pushed down upon Ning Chen.
Faced with the ultimate technique of Buddhism, Ning Chen had no choice but to endure the excruciating pain around him as he continued to forcefully drain the endless well of Buddhist energies below him. With a flip of his palm, he called forth another tsunami and sent it surging forth. With his newfound powers, it almost seemed as if the heavenly rivers themselves descended in a gigantic waterfall to feed the growing waves.
An instant later, the ultimate technique of the Zhang Sun clan collided with the supreme arts of Buddhism. As the two ultimate techniques clashed, Mt. Mijie shook violently as if it had been struck by a calamity sent by the heavens. Boulder after boulder flew off the already crumbling statue of Buddha. With this final nail in the coffin, it rapidly collapsed.
Struck by the residual shockwaves as well, the four Vajras were sent flying in a spurt of blood. Meters away, they landed with a loud crunch, mouths bloodied and eyes glazed. Most likely they would not be getting up any time soon.
With the collapse of the Buddha statue, Ning Chen lowered little Ming Yue back onto the floor. Around him, the residual Buddhist energies flickered unsteadily. Even so, his presence had never seemed so powerful.
Taking advantage of the Buddha"s stored energies, he managed to enter the realm of Ninth-grade. Finally, he had nothing to fear from anyone below the realm of Xiantian. Aura overflowing with murderous intent, he closed in on the 18 arhats, step by ominous step.
Within the Forbidden Guards, those that were below the level of Eighth-grade all retreated, leaving a wide berth for their marquis to finish off these monks.
Mid Ninth-grade facing off against a bunch of Eighth-grades; no matter how one looked at it, it was a one-sided slaughter for Ning Chen. The arhats were all extraordinary pract.i.tioners, but so was Ning Chen. WIth the two Heavenly Scrolls enhancing his body, along with his mastery of the Zhang Sun clan"s ultimate techniques, he easily tore apart their Diamond Bodies just by relying on the brute strength of his unparalleled cultivation base.
Today marked the day the Buddha fell. Of the 18 arhats, none survived. As for the four Vajras, their cultivation bases were all destroyed, leaving them as cripples unable to cultivate forever.
Down below, the battles had ended as well. The survivors of those battles slowly streamed onto the mountain top while the dead laid there buried beneath a foreign land for all eternity.
In the end, of the 1000 Forbidden Guards, only 300 survived. Their commander had suffered severe injuries and of the Eighth-grade experts, only one survived. Truly, it was a desperate battle to the death for both sides.
"Stay behind, I want you all to get as much rest as possible."
He ordered the survivors before proceeding into the temple with little Ming Yue in tow.
Hearing that, the guardsmen promptly sat down to meditate, no one daring to waste even a second dallying around. They knew that while this battle had ended, albeit with a pyrrhic victory, there was another harder battle ahead of them.
The Buddhist Nation had lost, thoroughly. Such a shocking news wouldn"t take long to spread to Gu Lan City and to the ears of the head abbot. Once that esteemed personage returned, Ning Chen and his guardsmen would immediately be thrown into a disadvantaged position once more.
Even though their marquis was powerful, there was still no hope of victory when faced with a Third-Calamity expert.
As of right now, all they could hope for was that Lady Qing Ning arrived in time to aid their marquis.