The Path of the Martial Arts BOSS
Chapter 361 - 173 Death Omen

Chapter 361: Chapter 173 Death Omen

Great Zen Temple wasn’t just difficult to contend with—it was utterly insurmountable.

But when Zhang Yuanlu saw the two figures soaring into the skies above Divine Capital, his face was filled with a bitter smile, "Bodhi Temple’s head Xin Zhu, Prajna Hall’s head Xin Zhou, the Great Zen Temple really wants me dead."

In the Great Zen Temple, Xinyuan Abbot was the fourth-ranked supreme warrior on the Heavenly List. Even though he was of the same generation as Xin Zhu and others, it was not a discussion of equals. For a person from the Heavenly List to take action against Zhang Yuanlu, it was somewhat a case of the strong bullying the weak.

Thus, Meng Shanhe only intended a minor punishment and a stern warning, treating his task of pinning Zhang Yuanlu to the ground as done and dealt with.

However, at the Great Zen Temple, Xinyuan Abbot did not act, but instead, Xin Zhu and Xin Zhou stepped up. Without the issue of strong bullying the weak, they could act with full force, clearly aiming to kill Zhang Yuanlu.

"Big brother, what should we do?" Zhang Yuanfeng asked anxiously.

He had never imagined that an action intended to assassinate Gong Ziyu would end with him being the one in mortal danger. It’s said fortunes change, but that change came way too fast.

"You take Young Hero Qiao and Yang Ping and leave. Their target is me; they won’t make a move against you."

After Zhang Yuanlu finished speaking, he immediately took flight, darting toward the distance.

Xin Zhu and Xin Zhou saw this and didn’t stop for a moment, streaking over the top of Zhang Yuanfeng’s head like a long rainbow across the sky.

"Big brother..."

Zhang Yuanfeng knew his elder brother’s journey was fraught with extreme danger. His previous move to intercept the Great Zen Temple’s reinforcements had already given them a pretext. It was only Zhang Yuanlu’s cunning denial of any knowledge regarding the Esoteric Sect’s alliance with Japan that had avoided the Great Zen Temple’s severe scrutiny.

Now, having given the Great Zen Temple an excuse to attack, they would fight fiercely to the death.

Unexpectedly to the Great Zen Temple, the death of the Mahayana Institute’s head Xin Wen—who was also the openly acknowledged second-strongest of the Great Zen Temple—meant that, to maintain the balance of strength between Buddhism and the Daoist sects, especially the leading Dragon Tiger Mountain, a warrior of the Divinity Realm would also need to die.

Still, Zhang Yuanfeng had underestimated the ruthlessness of the Great Zen Temple.

"I, Monk Xin Hui, wish to learn a thing or two from Taoist Zhang,"

The voice grew from a distant echo to a nearby presence very quickly. A tall monk with a young one appeared before Zhang Yuanfeng.

"Xin Hui," Zhang Yuanfeng uttered, his face turning grim upon recognizing the senior monk’s name.

Xin Hui, a master of the True Pill Realm from the Great Zen Temple and ranked sixth on the Earth List. As for Zhang Yuanfeng, he had not made the list at all.

And that young monk—formerly the number one on the Dragon and Phoenix List, Shi Jue, who had now advanced to the Divine Origin Realm, was also an extraordinary force even within the Divine Origin Realm. Such a rapid advancement truly justified his title "Little Buddha."

"Is the Great Zen Temple really intent on total annihilation? If so, although I’m not your equal, Xin Hui, killing a little monk shouldn’t be a problem," Zhang Yuanfeng said through clenched teeth.

Xin Hui, clearly, had come for Zhang Yuanfeng, and Shi Jue, in Zhang Yuanfeng’s view, was perfectly matched against the Divine Origin Realm’s Zhang Yangping, True Pill against True Pill, Divine Origin against Divine Origin. The Great Zen Temple wanted to completely eradicate all from Dragon Tiger Mountain who came to Northern Zhou.

"Goodness gracious, Taoist Zhang misunderstands me. My visit here is simply to exchange a few moves with Taoist Zhang, and my nephew Shi Jue is merely here to gain some experience. There’s no talk of total annihilation. If your nephew wishes not to stay, he may take his leave first, and I surely will not stop him," Xin Hui said.

Could this really be true?

Zhang Yuanfeng’s face was a study in contrasts, his mind swirling with countless thoughts. For a martial expert of the True Pill Realm like him, his Mental State should have long been polished to be as calm as still water, but now that his inner turmoil had surfaced, it was clear his Mental State was still completely shaken.

However, facing what was almost certain defeat and very likely death, and with his nephew’s life hanging in the balance, it was understandable that Zhang Yuanfeng’s spirit wavered.

Finally, Zhang Yuanfeng made his decision. He stared intently at Monk Xin Hui and, without looking back, shouted loudly, "Young Hero Qiao, Yang Ping, you go first."

"Uncle Three..." Zhang Yangping also understood their current predicament. He immediately said to Qiao Baixuan, "Young Hero Qiao, let’s go."

Although he harbored some resentment towards Qiao Baixuan for leading to this outcome, Zhang Yangping, as a chosen one of his generation, was not one to irrationally shift blame onto others.

Qiao Baixuan had already done very well. At least, had it been someone else facing Gong Ziyu’s layered obstructions and interference, they would have likely failed to even catch a glimpse of his shadow.

If it had come to this, it was actually because Gong Ziyu was too cunning and ruthless. Who would have thought that Gong Ziyu would suddenly capture a strand of the Dragon Vein Qi?

It should be noted that this strand of Dragon Vein Qi had almost caused Feng Tianming to sustain even more severe injuries, nearly leading to his death. Wasn’t Gong Ziyu supposed to be a Prince of Northern Zhou? Why would he want to harm Feng Tianming?

Moreover, Qiao Baixuan had been invited by Dragon Tiger Mountain to deal with Gong Ziyu. If he failed to return, then Dragon Tiger Mountain would have to count Fate Altar among its enemies.

"Cough, cough, cough..." Qiao Baixuan suddenly coughed loudly, expelling several mouthfuls of red pill, "Taoist Zhang, I was previously outwitted by Gong Ziyu and have suffered grave injuries. If I were to go with you, I fear I may slow you down. It might be better for me to stay behind. I believe the monks from Great Zen Temple would not endanger my life."

With that, Qiao Baixuan’s gaze turned to the two monks from the Great Zen Temple.

"Amitabha, I have known Mr. Qiao for a long time, and I will ensure his safety," said Monk Shi Jue.

The mission of the Great Zen Temple was to take out the individuals from Dragon Tiger Mountain. Qiao Baixuan was not part of their target range, especially since their master, Elder Shiming, was not someone to be trifled with. Dragon Tiger Mountain didn’t want to become mortal enemies with Fate Altar, and Great Zen Temple felt the same.

As for the incident of Qiao Baixuan locking the Northern Zhou Dragon Vein and leading to the loss of the Dragon Vein Qi and Feng Tianming’s severe injury, that was merely an excuse. Besides, wasn’t Feng Tianming still alive?

Zhang Yangping also understood the current situation and made a decisive call, "In that case, I shall take my leave first. Take care, Young Hero Qiao!"

Having said that, Zhang Yangping swiftly vanished from sight.

Watching Zhang Yangping’s departing figure, Qiao Baixuan gazed for a long time, until his silhouette completely disappeared.

"Sigh!" Suddenly, Qiao Baixuan, for reasons unknown, let out a long sigh.

"Why do you sigh, Young Hero Qiao?" Monk Shi Jue had approached Qiao Baixuan at some point.

"I’m just sighing over the twists and turns of my fate and future," Qiao Baixuan replied indifferently.

In his sleeve, his right hand was caressing the Heavenly Destiny Compass his master had given him.

Before departing, to prevent the recurrence of a life-threatening situation, Elder Shiming had left a final move on the Heavenly Destiny Compass.

This move had no power to kill an enemy or defend against an attack. It would merely give a warning when Qiao Baixuan was about to step into the realm of death.

The more black lines that appeared on the crystal-clear Heavenly Destiny Compass, the greater the probability of death. Therefore, Qiao Baixuan called these black lines the death lines.

Just then, as Qiao Baixuan’s mind gravitated toward leaving, the Heavenly Destiny Compass had become densely covered with death lines, nearly blanketing the entire surface. This was nearly a certain death situation; if he were to leave now, it would be a case of nine deaths and one chance of survival, or perhaps even certain death.