Chapter 6

With the support of Lu Xuan’s secret technique, Cheng Lingzhu calmed down.

The temple hall was extremely high. The stone steps in front of the hall were dark and the corners were worn out. It looked like it had been through a lot of hardships.

Cheng Lingzhu took out a weapon from her magic storage. It was wrapped in black silk and looked like a long sword.

Lu Xuan found it familiar, but he didn’t think too much about it. He just assumed that this was an artifact Cheng Lingzhu had brought from the sect.

“Watch my back,” Cheng Lingzhu said to Lu Xuan as she stepped on the steps.

Her waist was slender and called out to be held, and her curves were generous.

Her Daoist robe seemed to be a little tight, outlining Cheng Lingzhu’s figure. From the back, she looked alluring.

Lu Xuan suddenly remembered that Cheng Hongtan had said something similar to him many years ago. The only difference was that her master was barely attractive while Cheng Lingzhu had a great figure.

His expression was slightly dazed as he nodded.

“I won’t disappoint you, Fellow Daoist.”

Thus, Cheng Lingzhu turned her back to Lu Xuan. With one in front of the other, they ascended the temple hall.

…

“Du, du, du…”

As she approached the door, Cheng Lingzhu heard the knocking of a wooden fish.

This sound was very rhythmic, or rather, very mechanical. The interval, strength, and sound of each knock were exactly the same.

The two of them arrived at the front of the hall. The door was open. In the empty hall, there were four figures kneeling with their backs facing the door.

From the side, one could see that the four of them were holding Chinese traditional paper cuttings in their hands. They were using it to knock on the wooden fish, and the sound it made reverberated throughout the entire hall.

Cheng Lingzhu noticed that these four figures wore the uniform of the Heavenly Water Temple cultivators.

Three of them were dressed in disciple robes, and the other wore an elder’s uniform.

They had their backs facing Lu Xuan and the other man.

“Du, du, du—”

In the next moment, the sound of knocking on the wooden fish stopped. The four figures turned their heads at the same time and looked at the two of them like marionettes.

Their eyes were empty and lifeless, unlike a living person’s. Their faces were filled with compassion, which resembled the clay sculptures in the temple.

“Du, du, du…”

The sound of the wooden fish rang out once again, but the four figures did not turn around. The frequency of hitting the wooden fish became faster and faster, and their four pairs of eyes were fixed on Lu Xuan and Cheng Lingzhu.

Cheng Lingzhu held her breath.

In front of the four of them, in the deepest part of the hall, where the Buddha statue should be worshipped, there was an extremely huge black shadow.

The knocking of the wooden fish became more and more urgent and gradually became sharp, as if it had turned into a tangible awl that wanted to tear their minds apart.

The four people from the Heavenly Water Temple looked at Lu Xuan and Cheng Lingzhu, their expressions constantly changing.

The compassion faded, but a strange smile hung on their faces. The corners of their mouths opened, and their flesh began to crack. Their smiles almost reached their ears.

This appearance was extremely similar to the face behind the black stone Buddha.

Cheng Lingzhu frowned and gripped her sword.

A dazzling bloody light that covered the sky and the earth burst out from the scabbard.

The black silk that was wrapped around the long sword was torn off inch by inch. The long sword was unsheathed, glimmering brightly like blood and appearing resplendent like the rosy clouds.

Cheng Lingzhu took a step forward, her black hair dancing in the wind. The moment she drew her sword, her hairpin shattered inch by inch, no longer able to bind her.

The aura from her body rose rapidly, and her eyes turned red. The intelligence in her eyes disappeared and was replaced by coldness and indifference.

Lu Xuan’s pupils shrank.

It wasn’t because he was surprised by the changes in Cheng Lingzhu’s body, but because…

He recognized the sword she was using.

This resplendent bloody sword was clearly Cheng Hongtan’s Natal Dharmic Weapon.

Judging from the aura that was released after it was unsheathed, he was definitely not mistaken.

But…shouldn’t she have ascended to the Upper Realm long ago?

Natal Dharmic Weapons were very different from ordinary Dharmic treasures. From the day they stepped on the path of Dao, they were nurtured by cultivators and could be considered a part of the cultivator’s body.

If he ascended, he would definitely bring his natal Dharmic Weapon with him to kill enemies and protect his Dao.

Lu Xuan’s heart sank.

In the main hall, Cheng Lingzhu had already slashed out with her sword.

The Dushi Sword House cultivated the way of killing. The four Heavenly Water Temple people had long been possessed, so she would not hold back.

The sword was as red as a rainbow, dazzling as if the blood of a phoenix was flowing through it. It was very shocking.

The blood-red sword light carried a murderous sword will and crushed the four Heavenly Water Temple people. Then, without losing its momentum, it slashed at the black shadow in the depths of the hall.

Cheng Lingzhu saw the true appearance of the black shadow.

It was not that the sword light was too dazzling and reflected everything in the hall. Instead, the other party had taken the initiative to show his appearance.

A monstrous demonic flame was burning on its body. A huge monster with a green face and fangs, a bulbous head, and a pair of eyes burning with green-black flames was sitting on the lotus platform.

This was…an Evil Buddha.

This Evil Buddha was huge. Just by sitting, he was as tall as the hundred-meter hall.

Twelve chains extended from the lotus throne and bound the Evil Buddha, making it unable to take even half a step away. However, the pitch-black demonic flames enveloped the surroundings and surged out, still swallowing Cheng Lingzhu’s sword light and dissolving her attack.

Cheng Lingzhu raised her head, her eyes glowing red. Instead of retreating, she took a step forward and raised her sword.

At this moment, the aura on her body rose again, and a phenomenon appeared around her, spreading out like a painting.

As mountains and rivers collapsed, people were plunged into misery, resulting in heaps of corpses and seas of blood. It was crazy and terrifying.

Cheng Lingzhu stood on top of that Mountain of Madness and the Sea of Horrors. Beneath her feet was a stretch of bloody bones. The phenomenon dyed the world scarlet. However, the cultivator in the painting was not stained with blood. Even the red light in her eyes had receded. Her eyes were cold, and she looked like a banished immortal.

A blood-red light wheel spread out like a bright moon on the sea. The crimson blood moon slowly rose and appeared behind her.

At this moment, Cheng Lingzhu’s aura had reached its peak.

She raised her hand, and the various phenomena collapsed and turned into a point. Accompanied by the sword aura, they stabbed forward!

It was like a hot knife cutting through butter and like pouring hot oil into the snow. The sword split the pitch-black demonic flames, and it scattered to both sides.

The sword momentum was sharp and went straight into the heart of the Evil Buddha.

Boom!

Demonic flames exploded and scattered in the sky.

A huge wound appeared on the chest of the Evil Buddha. The sword pierced through from the front to the back.

In the Evil Buddha’s eye sockets, the green-black flame flickered like a candle in the wind, almost extinguished.

The phenomenon in the hall dissipated, and the crimson moon was destroyed. Cheng Lingzhu fell from the sky and supported herself with her sword.

A pair of clear eyes stared fixedly at the Evil Buddha not far away.

However, the result disappointed her.

After a few breaths, the green-black flame stabilized and lit up again.

She sighed in her heart.

The gap between her and the Evil Buddha was still too great.

Even if the Evil Buddha was trapped by the lotus throne and sealed in the City of Death for who knew how many years, her cultivation level would have been greatly reduced.

The strength he had preserved was still terrifying.

She had a trump card. The Ancestral Saintess’ Spirit Subjugation technique was the strongest attack she could unleash at the moment.

However, the power of this secret technique was limited by the strength of the caster.

The power of Golden Core cultivators was still a little weak when it came to attacking.