Dexiang Monk looked at Lei Jun across from him, his expression growing even more bitter.

*This was precisely the helplessness faced by Xuantian Temple's heirs.*

In theory, their defensive abilities were incredibly strong.

They could protect not only themselves but others as well.

But when the pressure from an enemy's attack became overwhelming, forcing them to defend only themselves, there was nothing the descendants of Xuantian Temple could do to help anyone else in danger.

In such situations, even if Dexiang Monk wanted to sacrifice himself to block a blow for someone else, it was impossible.

*Because he wasn't fast enough…*

The Holding Vow Lineage had always been about steadfast self-preservation, and only when someone in the Upper Three Heavens Realm cultivated Divine Power, also called Lotus Step by Step, could they actually increase their own speed.

Before that, for Xuantian Temple heirs of the Middle Three Heavens level, there were still other methods to save people, even sacrificing oneself for others.

But the problem was, Dexiang Monk hadn't yet practiced those dharma ways…

So he could only watch with open eyes as tragedy befell that middle-aged Confucian scholar.

Dexiang Monk had tried a moment ago; his small lotus hadn't managed to pin down Lei Jun.

This thing in itself didn't make him feel frustrated.

*But his heart still sank.*

He had also arrived at the valley earlier, just been hiding in the dark and not revealed himself.

When Lei Jun never appeared, Dexiang suspected the opponent hadn't gone down into the fissure at the bottom, and so went outside the valley to search once more.

Who'd have thought that when he returned, almost all the Gao family people in the valley had been annihilated.

You'd expect to find divine archers lying in ambush on the mountain, yet now there was no movement at all…

There were just the two of them left in Qiluo Valley now?

Oh, one more.

The Yuhang School Tao Boy, He Bin, who had been captured alive by the Gao family disciples and confessed to having met Lei Jun in Qiluo Valley, lay limp to one side.

He had been restrained by the Gao family disciples, unable to move.

Seeing Lei Jun suddenly appear and the Gao family wiped out, He Bin didn't feel happy at all.

He didn't know if Lei Jun was already aware that it was he who'd drawn everyone here.

*He Bin's mind spun, seeing as most of those involved were already dead, he considered pushing all the blame onto Yuhang School's disciple Chen Xi.*

*After all, Chen Xi had already died over at Youpeng Mountain's main peak; dead men tell no tales…*

As this thought raced, He Bin suddenly saw Lei Jun flick his hand toward him from afar.

*Coming to save me?*

Just as He Bin had this thought, his head flew skyward.

The valley floor was littered with the swords of the Gao family disciples; with a casual sweep of mana, Lei Jun swept one up and beheaded He Bin.

*Well, now it's really just the two of us…* Dexiang Monk took a long, deep breath.

He simply shut his eyes, then sat down cross-legged.

Given Lei Jun's earlier speed, like thunder rolling in, running for it—Dexiang had to admit—would be useless; he'd never outrun him.

*That's that, let's just keep you attacking while I defend.*

*Anyway, you can't possibly break through my defense.*

*Worst case, even if I can't protect myself, I've still got the magic artifact my sect bestowed upon me.*

Dexiang Monk closed his eyes and chanted scripture, pressing his palms together, a string of prayer beads hanging from his hands.

The surface of the beads shimmered with radiant light, blending seamlessly with Dexiang Monk's own Glazed Buddha Light.

The lotus that shielded him did not expand, remaining just about three feet in diameter, but the glazed light solidified, as if becoming tangible—clear through and through, radiating an indestructible, unmoving Buddhist aura.

Lei Jun looked at the other man's 'I'll never leave this shell' attitude, and wasn't the least bit anxious.

He hefted his long staff, approached Dexiang Monk, and swung it down in a full arc.

The lotus shuddered.

The ground beneath shattered instantly, Dexiang Monk along with the lotus driven deep into the earth by Lei Jun's strike.

Cracks opened on the surface of the lotus.

But the prayer beads in Dexiang Monk's hands flashed, the glazed light flowing and rapidly filling the gaps to repair the lotus.

This monk, once of the prestigious Gao family of Zezhou, now a Buddhist disciple of Xuantian Temple, was no longer even trying to counterattack or trap Lei Jun.

He focused everything on defense, merging his mana with his Buddha treasure, murmuring scripture.

The young Taoist before him, truly, was formidable.

And that strange short staff in his hand was also a fearsome artifact… Dexiang Monk thought to himself.

*Even with his Buddha treasure's protection, he couldn't entirely withstand Lei Jun's attacks; he had to rely on a steady supply of restorative power to keep repairing the lotus and hold out.*

Because of that, Dexiang Monk felt his mana draining rapidly.

Luckily, the Xuantian Temple lineage—sacred to the Buddhist Sect—had always been renowned for endurance and tenacity.

When it came to lasting power and mana reserves, the Holding Vow Lineage was nearly unmatched within all of Buddhism.

Dexiang Monk was confident he could test Lei Jun, see who could persevere the longest in such a standoff.

*Still, this youth's strength exceeded expectations. If allowed to keep growing, he'd surely become a future prodigy of the great sects and sacred lands—a most unfavorable outcome for the Ye clan, the Gao family, and all the old noble lineages…* Dexiang Monk's expression grew even more somber and resentful.

Suddenly, Dexiang Monk felt Lei Jun had stopped striking with his staff.

Instead, he began to circle around him.

Though Lei Jun's movements seemed leisurely, as one coming from the Buddhist sacred land, Dexiang Monk didn't need his eyes to sense what he was doing.

Star-stepping Spell!

As Lei Jun made a circuit around Dexiang Monk, faint motes of light appeared around his body, weaving together like a thin nebula.

Shrouded in starlight, Lei Jun's figure seemed ethereal.

But when the long staff fell again, it was clearly heavier than before!

The lotus shook violently, as if about to erupt in full bloom; obvious cracks appeared on the top.

Dexiang Monk kept his eyes tightly closed, jaw clenched.

He felt the speed of glazed light repairing the lotus could scarcely keep up with the rate of destruction; this monk from Xuantian Temple sighed helplessly.

From his shut eyelids, two streams of blood trickled down.

Then blood ran from both ears as well.

Next, his nostrils.

Then the corners of his lips.

Dexiang Monk sat upright, palms pressed in prayer, immobile, as if already entering Nirvana.

Only the glazed Buddha Light that shielded him became even more refined than before, the lotus even more tangible and real.

Seeing this, Lei Jun nodded, retreated a few steps without hurry.

He dispersed his Star-stepping Spell.

Stowed away the Supreme Pure Golden Bamboo.

Even the spiritual energy from the Heavenly General Talisman and the Five Ding Open Mountain Talisman on his body began to slowly dissipate.

Dexiang Monk had all but lost his senses, but his mind remained; he could feel Lei Jun's attack had ceased.

*This was sooner than he'd expected.*

*Had the other just given up?*

*Though it made his heavy sacrifices feel worthless, to see his opponent retreat in the face of such resistance was enough to satisfy Dexiang Monk's wish.*

*Wait…*

*Something's wrong!*

Dexiang Monk's spiritual sense faintly warned him of unrest.

"I don't know if you can still hear me."

Lei Jun calmly eyed the monk under the lotus's protection, "Looking at you now, if I just turned around and left, it'd be a pretty funny sight, but…"

He pulled out a spirit talisman, "Why is it I just can't bring myself to spare you?"

As he spoke, he activated the talisman.

This talisman contained spiritual power far beyond Lei Jun's current realm and was a heavy burden for him to wield—it needed his full focus to control.

Luckily, the Breathing Soil Banner was steadily supplying him with mana.

Brilliant light flared, the talisman swelling in the air until it almost covered the whole of Qiluo Valley.

When the talisman unfurled, it became a full talisman array; at each of the four directions and the center, dazzling, utterly intense thunder light was born—supreme hardness, extreme force, blazing heat, purest yang.

Dragon Tiger Mountain Celestial Master Mansion, Five Thunder Righteous Talisman.

Yuan Mobai's top-grade Five Thunder Righteous Talisman!

Wild thunder raged, roaring downward, instantly engulfing the lotus that protected Dexiang Monk.

Lei Jun had already moved clear to one side, shading his eyes with a hand, peering through narrowed lids.

He watched as thunder light danced—inch by inch, the lotus shattered and turned to ash.

Beneath the lotus, Dexiang Monk, who'd already bled from every opening, now wore a look of terror, his mouth opening as if to cry out.

But no sound escaped him; he too was consumed by the thunder light.

Those prayer bead Buddha treasures could no longer protect him, and likewise dissolved into dust under the thunder's fury.

Lei Jun didn't feel the least bit sorry.

As the thunder dissipated, Lei Jun looked around Qiluo Valley—now empty again—and nodded in satisfaction, his spirits lifted.

After tidying up the battlefield, collecting whatever needed cleaning, and sweeping it all into the valley's fissure, Lei Jun finally left that mountain valley.

The place, affected by the intense upheaval in earth vein spiritual qi, was now cloaked in chaotic spiritual mist.

This, originally, was part of the Gao family's and Dexiang Monk's plan to ambush Lei Jun—cutting him off from outside help, trying to block any later investigation by the Celestial Master Mansion.

But in turn, when Lei Jun slaughtered them, the same logic applied.

Having killed another sacred ground heir directly, Lei Jun's mindset was steady as ever.

*Asked how he felt, the first thing that came to mind was that the Xuantian Temple defensive legacy was truly robust.*

*Sure, his opponent had a Buddhist artifact helping him, but Lei Jun himself had the Supreme Pure Golden Bamboo.*

*And yet, even so, he couldn't break Dexiang Monk's turtle shell in just a few moments.*

Of course, throughout the whole battle, he kept absolute initiative.

Whether killing Dexiang Monk's allies right before his eyes, or walking away whenever he wanted—Dexiang Monk couldn't stop him.

*Still, today's fight had yielded Lei Jun new harvests.*

*All the cultivation methods in the world each had their own subtleties and unique strengths.*

*Not just the Buddhist Sect's Holding Vow Lineage and its sacred Xuantian Temple—even the less exalted Gao family of Zezhou let Lei Jun experience the real fighting style of Confucian Scholars firsthand.*

*Speaking of which, it was only after Lei Jun underwent the transcension ritual and went through his own sect records that he discovered the world's 'Way of the Sword,' in most people's minds, was the type practiced by Confucian Sword Immortals.*

*Seeing it in person today, it was just as he'd thought.*

*Boundless sword qi, drawing lines as prisons, walking the world, winning widespread admiration.*

*As for the Taoist sword path, Mount Shu was famous for its flying artifact swords, wielded remotely.*

*Martial Artists, of course, used swords too.*

*That was another branch of martial inheritance, aside from body refinement and healers, generally referred to as weapon strike.*

*Not limited to swordsmanship—other weapons counted, too.*

*But their approach was more akin to assassins: sudden strikes, one-hit kills…*

*Thus, Confucian scholar cultivators often dubbed them crude warriors, 'burning zithers to cook cranes.'*

*How things truly stood, Lei Jun was keen to find out personally someday.*

*He'd have to wait for another chance.*

Though he'd just survived a little murder ambush, Lei Jun's frame of mind remained as usual, his pace unaffected.

Having successfully refined both the Shadow Rabbit Vine and the Heartburn Chi, his next step would proceed as planned: heading to the Celestial Master Mansion's own Red Abyss Cave Heaven to officially begin training to refine malicious energy.

Yet while traveling, whenever Lei Jun had time to rest, he began to investigate the new third-rank opportunity given to him by that best lot the other day.

That peculiar page of ancient scroll.

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