Chapter 805: Heart Art Buddha Master, Beautiful Female Ghost King
"Boom, boom."
Heart Art Buddha Master raised his head, looking toward the dozens of tombstone slabs flying toward him. Each slab was dozens of zhang tall, like dozens of square stone mountains.
Black ghostly aura covered the tombstones, making them seem as heavy as lead and iron.
"Amitabha!"
Heart Art Buddha Master formed a Buddhist seal with his left hand, placing it before his chest, while his right sleeve flicked.
Immediately, a patch of golden Buddha light transformed into Sanskrit characters, sweeping outward. The dozens of flying tombstones were all shattered, turning into stone powder.
By the Blood Lake, a rustling sound arose as grains of stone powder fell like rain onto the ground.
Hao Chuan Wuchang and the other five Wuchangs fanned out in a semicircle, advancing rapidly to attack the four evil monks of the Dead Zen Sect.
Heart Art Buddha Master remained standing by the Blood Lake like an unmoving rock, while the other three evil monks of the Dead Zen Sect led hundreds of Half-Saint puppets to meet the attack of Hao Chuan Wuchang and the five Wuchangs.
The appearance of the six Wuchangs immediately lifted the crisis from Zhang Ruochen and Han Xue. The pressure on them vanished in an instant.
The two quickly retreated, stopping only after they were a hundred li away.
"Master, could that Heart Art Buddha Master be the 'Nan Xinshu' from the *Heroes' Ode*?" Han Xue asked.
"It should be him. I never thought such a formidable figure would also come to the Underworld."
Zhang Ruochen's gaze turned toward the Blood Lake, where ghostly aura and Buddha light clashed, sending out ring after ring of energy ripples.
The intense battle fluctuations naturally alerted Mu Lingxi. She, along with Xiao Hei, the Divine Demon Rat, and Xin Kong Wuchang, hurried over and gathered with Zhang Ruochen and Han Xue.
Seeing that Zhang Ruochen was unharmed, Mu Lingxi breathed a slight sigh of relief and asked, "What happened?"
"Experts from the Dead Zen Sect are fighting a group of Wuchangs, apparently over a Sun-Moon Crystal Coffin," Zhang Ruochen explained.
"Sun-Moon Crystal Coffin."
Xiao Hei's eyes rolled around. He gnawed on his claws with his teeth and chuckled, "That's a legendary sacred artifact that can help cultivators train. Just lie inside the coffin, and it absorbs the essence of the sun and moon, automatically injecting it into the cultivator's body, speeding up training several times over. Zhang Ruochen, we can't miss out on a treasure like that."
Zhang Ruochen recalled the young monk standing by the Blood Lake and immediately shook his head. "There's a powerful figure from the Dead Zen Sect guarding the Sun-Moon Crystal Coffin. If you don't want to die, we must leave this place immediately."
If that young monk was indeed the legendary "Nan Xinshu," then all of them combined probably couldn't withstand even one of his fingers.
Although Hao Chuan Wuchang's cultivation was formidable, he was absolutely no match for Heart Art Buddha Master.
This man was a legend.
Zhang Ruochen was always cautious, so Mu Lingxi naturally agreed with his view.
Just as they were about to leave, Xiao Hei suddenly exclaimed, "Look up above!"
Xiao Hei was always prone to overreacting, so Zhang Ruochen didn't take it seriously. He casually looked up.
Suddenly, his neck stiffened, and his gaze froze. Above the dark clouds, a beautiful woman in a blood-red robe stood motionless in the air, as if completely still.
Because she was so far from the ground, she was hard to spot without careful observation. This made the scene all the more eerie.
"It's her."
Zhang Ruochen's expression turned grim.
The blood-robed woman hovering in midair was none other than the Beautiful Female Ghost King guarding the outskirts of the Fallen God Tomb Forest. Who would have thought she would pursue them all the way to the territory of the First Ghost King?
Xin Kong Wuchang also spotted the Beautiful Female Ghost King, a glint of joy flashing in her eyes. She spat out a wisp of ghostly mist from her mouth, and a strange sound came from her throat, transmitting outward.
The Beautiful Female Ghost King above seemed to hear her. She glanced down.
Her cold eyes fixed on Xin Kong Wuchang. She extended a finger and shot a stream of cyan flame, connecting the sky to the ground.
"Watch out!"
Seeing the fire snake bridging heaven and earth, Zhang Ruochen immediately released sacred qi, wrapping up Mu Lingxi, Xiao Hei, and Han Xue, and retreating dozens of zhang backward.
"Sizzle, sizzle."
The cyan flame struck the iron chains binding Xin Kong Wuchang. In an instant, the chains melted, turning into droplets of molten metal. Not only that, but the ground itself melted under the flame, turning into a crimson lake of rock.
Xin Kong Wuchang regained her freedom. She shot a venomous glare at Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei before fleeing toward the Blood Lake.
The Beautiful Female Ghost King in the sky didn't bother dealing with Zhang Ruochen and the others. Instead, she fixed her gaze on the Blood Lake, her eyes landing on the Sun-Moon Crystal Coffin.
An intense chill emanated from her body, causing black snowflakes to drift through the Underworld.
"Whoosh!"
The Beautiful Female Ghost King descended from the sky in an arc, landing above the Blood Lake. She stood on the water's surface and extended a ghostly claw, distorting the air as she tried to reclaim the Sun-Moon Crystal Coffin.
"One palm, one universe."
Heart Art Buddha Master chanted a Buddhist mantra.
His right hand formed a seal, and the lines on his palm emerged, taking the shape of mountains and rivers.
The five finger-shaped palm lines stretched dozens of li long, evolving into a golden world that pressed toward the Beautiful Female Ghost King.
The massive handprint bathed the entire area in golden light. The golden radiance fell on the tombstones, making them look as if they were forged from gold.
The palm descended with a rumbling roar, causing the ground by the Blood Lake to sink.
Cracks split the earth, extending far into the distance. Wherever the cracks reached, the ground immediately collapsed.
Both Heart Art Buddha Master and the Beautiful Female Ghost King were no ordinary beings, and their cultivations were terrifying. Zhang Ruochen didn't pursue the fleeing Xin Kong Wuchang. He had only one thought: "Leave immediately."
Zhang Ruochen led the group, fleeing into the distance, wanting to get as far from the Blood Lake as possible.
About half an hour later, when they were far from the Blood Lake, they finally stopped.
Han Xue looked around for Xiao Hei but couldn't find him. "Master, Xiao Hei didn't follow."
Xiao Hei's speed was among the best in their group. How could he have gotten lost?
Mu Lingxi frowned. "I'll go back and find him."
Zhang Ruochen immediately grabbed Mu Lingxi's wrist, stopping her. He shook his head gently and looked into the distance. "Look, he's already caught up."
Mu Lingxi gazed into the distance and indeed saw Xiao Hei's figure. That fat cat was bounding and hopping toward them.
But...
Xiao Hei had a nine-foot-long crystal coffin slung over his neck, his black cat tail sticking up, and his two paws working hard as he sprinted.
Behind him, an evil monk from the Dead Zen Sect was chasing, followed by dozens of Half-Saint-level puppets. Some puppets ran on the ground, while others flew in the sky, trying to intercept Xiao Hei.
The evil monk, named Jialuo Yuan, looked furious. He shouted, "Fat cat, put down the Sun-Moon Crystal Coffin, and I'll let you keep your corpse intact."
"If you can catch me, it's yours."
Xiao Hei's speed was astonishing, always keeping a certain distance from Jialuo Yuan, making his attacks completely miss.
From another direction, a black yin wind blew, carrying a chilling aura that swept toward Xiao Hei.
In the yin wind, three ghostly bodies condensed into three Wuchangs with cold auras. They descended from midair, blocking Xiao Hei's path.
One of the Wuchangs, clad in black armor and holding a sharp long spear, pointed it at Xiao Hei and growled, "Where do you think you're going? Hand over the Sun-Moon Crystal Coffin immediately!"
Xiao Hei stopped but showed no intention of giving up the coffin. He laughed loudly, "You couldn't hold onto the treasure yourselves, so why can't I keep it safe for you?"
"You clearly stole the Sun-Moon Crystal Coffin while I was fighting the two Wuchangs!"
Jialuo Yuan, leading dozens of Half-Saint puppets, caught up and formed a line, completely sealing off Xiao Hei's escape route.
"Fat cat, hand the Sun-Moon Crystal Coffin to me, and I'll spare your life. Otherwise, if the Wuchangs of the Underworld catch you, they'll devour even your beast soul."
Jialuo Yuan put on a friendly face, extending an olive branch to Xiao Hei first.
Xiao Hei naturally didn't believe Jialuo Yuan. He chuckled, "If you want the Sun-Moon Crystal Coffin, come and get it yourself."
Jialuo Yuan's smile vanished, his eyes turning cold and murderous. He snorted, "Since you're asking for death, I'll grant your wish."
"Whoosh—"
Jialuo Yuan didn't act personally. Instead, he quickly formed a Buddhist seal, using his Buddha qi to control two Half-Saint puppets to attack Xiao Hei.
The foreheads of the two Half-Saint puppets glowed with golden Sanskrit characters, and their eyes turned gold in an instant.
The corpses of the two Half-Saints hadn't been specially refined, so they could only be called Half-Saint puppets, not Half-Saint battle corpses.
The combat power of Half-Saint puppets wasn't particularly strong, at most a bit stronger than cultivators at the Fish-Dragon Ninth Change. They couldn't truly contend with real Half-Saints.
Just as Xiao Hei was about to be besieged by both sides.
"Whoosh!"
A figure shot out, appearing beside Xiao Hei, materializing as Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen channeled sacred qi into the Abyssal Ancient Sword and swung it forward. A crescent-shaped sword qi slashed at the two Half-Saint puppets.
The two puppets were sent flying, crashing into two tombstones and shattering them.