The sound was like a resounding bell, shaking up the hall.
A tall lean figure appeared in a flash. The cloud pattern on his daoist robes fluttered behind him as he caused a rippling wave in the air.
After his shout exposed Zhao Mu's tracks, the approaching man tapped his foot lightly and rose in the air.
With his right palm filled with a fearsome true Qi, it stirred up an air current as it rushed straight at the uninvited guest standing before the nine-dragon stone sculpture.
It must be a thief for the trespasser to avoid the main entrance and trespass in the dead of the night!
"Cough cough. That's a good
A hoarse voice suddenly drifted to the daoist's ears.
The opponent seemed to be advanced in age and was ill.
He did not turn around, nor hide. It was as though he did not notice anything and just allowed the daoist to hit him with that powerful palm strike.
'How did he recognize the move?'
The daoist did not stop his attack despite his confusion.
His right palm covered in a metallic gold color met no resistance as he pushed it against the thief's back.
The daoist was confident that even if the opponent's body was forged from metal, he would still be seriously injured by his Wuding Mountain Splitter filled with 30 years of true Qi, causing the thief to vomit blood and die.
Dong!
Before he could touch the robes, the daoist's expression changed suddenly
He felt as though his palm had hit a wall of iron and could not advance even a single inch!
It was as though a layer of sturdy barrier had securely blocked off that fearsome palm strike.
30 years of painstakingly cultivated true Qi felt like a drop in the ocean, causing no reaction at all.
Before he could make a quick retreat, waves of fiery energy rushed at him.
His right hand felt as though it was pushed into a furnace as he felt the burning sensation.
It was accompanied by a sizzling sound as a vague out-of-place smell of burning flesh wafted through the inside of Purity Hall.
"True Qi emission!"
The daoist did not have a strong cultivation background, but he knew his stuff.
He quickly pulled back his hand and put over a dozen steps distance between them before asking, "May I know why would this senior trespass into Truth Monastery in the night?"
"What's your name?" That man asked with his back facing the daoist, never once turning over.
"I'm Chang Yun, the master of Truth Monastery," the daoist lowered his tone and replied honestly.
After all, he was a martial artist at the fourth Mortal Stage, Circulation.
In the world of martial arts, he could be considered a second-rate expert.
The Wuding Mountain Splitter he used earlier had been strengthened with massive true Qi.
With one palm strike, splitting rocks and boulders was not an issue, much less a body of flesh and blood.
However, that person's figure was not shaken at all and only showed his back.
The massive energy behind that palm strike felt like a drop in the ocean that did not even cause a splash.
Just how strong was that person's physique?
The daoist was in complete shock.
Furthermore, the opponent managed to emit his true Qi and deploy a Qi field that felt like a burning furnace.
Putting together all that he had seen, the daoist concluded that he was at least a Qi Refinement Expert that achieved the state of unity!
He might even be of a higher cultivation stage!
"Your palm strike earlier lacked something."
The hoarse voice said slowly, enunciating each word.
"The Wuding Mountain Splitter palm strike's essence is probably taken from 'crumbling mountain kills the strong!', accumulating strength behind the palm strike. Once unleashed, it would strike like a furious thunder that causes the mountains to tremble."
A glow flashed across Daoist Chang Yun's eyes. He seemed to be both surprised and terrified.
Each of the senior's words seemed to hit him right in his heart.
"Crumbling mountain kills the strong…"
With just a few words, that person had simplified the essence of the palm technique.
That person did not even take a look at him. From just the force of the palm strike alone, that person managed to figure out the secret behind it.
Absolutely profound!
That was the only description Daoist Chang Yun could think of at that moment.
He could not help but feel relieved. If he turned around to escape and call for the royal guards, he might have lost his life before leaving the gates of the monastery.
"Senior, thank you for your guidance."
Daoist Chang Yun placed his hands together, apparently happy to submit himself.
"I've long heard of the nine-dragon stone sculpture within Truth Monastery to be interesting. I'm free tonight and decided to pay a visit out of the blue. I hope you'll forgive my intrusion."
That hoarse voice seemed to be filled with lamentations, as though it was filled with many memories of the past.
'Could this senior have some sort of intertwined fate with the Truth Monastery?' Daoist Chang Yun thought to himself.
The monastery was originally built for a princess from the previous dynasty for her use in cultivation.
The nine-dragon stone sculpture was a legacy of the previous dynasty.
The monastery had the Nandou and Beidou Halls, the sculpture of Celestial Venerable Taiyi, the constellation mural, and so on.
However, this senior did not look for the others, He only picked out the nine-dragon stone sculpture. That definitely meant something.
With that, Daoist Chang Yun followed his heart and said respectfully, "Senior, your knowledge of martial arts is profound and can come and go as you like in the imperial city inner districts. There's nothing wrong with you coming into Truth Monastery."
"I've seen nothing tonight and will never bring this up to outsiders!"
That person seemed to be satisfied as he nodded slightly and sighed, "I never liked to owe others favors, but also like to ponder on fate.
"Since you've found me tonight, I'll naturally have to leave something behind…"
Daoist Chang Yun's gaze seemed to be confused as he looked at the senior.
That person turned around and stepped lightly.
It was only a single motion, yet the world seemed to shake around him.
That man looked as though he was stepping on the entire Divine Continent and was able to subdue mountains and rivers with his fists.
The grandeur of his presence brought about a feeling of submission from within oneself.
Daoist Chang Yun's eyes were filled with fear, almost unable to make a sound.
He was trying hard to see the senior's appearance but felt his eyes being stung. It was as though he was looking directly into the sun.
There was a layer of golden-colored flames that blocked off his vision.
"Seeing one part is sufficient to extrapolate the rest. From the Wuding Mountain Splitter, the martial arts you practice should be going along the lines of ferocity. Your techniques are focused on quick and powerful strikes, fighting openly."
The hoarse voice was like rumbling thunder to Daoist Chang Yun's ears, causing his head to buzz from the vibrations.
"However, you're too focused on speed and power and neglected the illusory aspect of things.
"Have a look at what my palm strike is like!"
Daoist Chang Yun had already been stunned, standing still like a marionette.
Upon hearing the senior's voice, he subconsciously focused his attention over.
All he saw were five slender fingers slowly opening up as though they were pillars that supported the skies.
The strength gathered in the palm, accumulating without moving outward. It was just the birth of a storm.
'This is...Wuding Mountain Splitter?'
Daoist Chang Yun was shocked to his core, absolutely terrified.
It was just a simple palm strike without any special changes, but in the hands of the senior, it had somehow become something exceptionally scary!
He felt as though the world around him had disappeared.
All that was left was that palm that felt like crumbling mountains, collapsing downward!
'I'll die if I touch that!'
Daoist Chang Yun had difficulty breathing. He could not help but feel a sense of dread welling up within him.
It was as though a blood-red word was written in the middle of the palm—Death!
It encompassed his entire vision!
"This is—"
"Crumbling mountain kills the strong!"
Just as that palm strike was about to land on Daoist Chang Yun's chest, the force retracted suddenly.
It was as though the storm just passed and peace returned.
As if everything earlier was just an illusion.
"Senior…"
When Daoist Chang Yun snapped back to attention, the mysterious expert had long disappeared.
All that was left was the terrible and horrifying Wuding Mountain Splitter imprinted deeply in his mind.
"The will of martial arts can grab one's mind…It's really like a demon!"
Daoist Chang Yun analyzed it in detail, reliving his experience, trying to understand the key points taught by the senior from earlier.
He stood in the courtyard and kept mumbling "illusory" repeatedly.
"Is it the emission and retraction of strength?"
Daoist Chang Yun tried to imitate the senior's move. He directed strength to his legs and let the force move through his waist, connecting to the small area within his palm.
Breathing in and out, he imprinted all his strength on the pagoda-shaped brazier used for incense burning behind him.
Bang!
It sounded like rolling thunder!
Daoist Chang Yun opened his eyes and looked at the remnants of the incense brazier that was torn to multiple parts in a stupor.
To have such expert control over that massive true Qi force was impossible for him.
"Manifesting reality from illusory. The palm's force lingered on the bronze brazier for such a long time without dispersing…I'm afraid that senior must be a Spiritual Transformation Expert!" Daoist Chang Yun muttered to himself.
—