Chapter Ninety: First Drive Back the Invaders

Baozi was startled. The first thing that came to mind was that Kameda had circled behind him. Without turning around, he swung his mace backward with all his strength. Kameda specialized in speed, far surpassing Baozi, and after several fruitless attacks, Baozi had begun to grow anxious. Fully aware of his disadvantage in speed, Baozi calculated silently: if you attack, I will counter; if you run, I shall not pursue.

Once again, a blade stabbed at him from behind. Baozi spun around in an instant, holding his mace horizontally before his chest. The tip of the blade struck squarely against the handle. Baozi darted sideways and forward, landing a punch straight at Kameda’s head. Kameda failed again and immediately vanished from sight.

Baozi chuckled. The moment Kameda disappeared, he smashed his mace down upon the empty space in front of him. It turned out that Baozi had already opened his Heavenly Eye when he stepped onto the stage. Though the vision was blurred, Kameda’s ninja arts were rendered useless.

Even though Baozi had broken the little wildling’s ninja technique, he was still not gaining the upper hand. Standing behind Yuan Tingyu, Mu Chen grew increasingly anxious, glancing down the mountain. With no sign of Zhou Yi’s return, her eyes flashed and she quietly slipped away to find him.

Down the mountain, Zhou Yi and Xu Hua had already fought more than a hundred rounds. Both wielded pale purple spiritual energy, and neither’s techniques outmatched the other. Careful and fierce, neither could best their opponent. Xu Hua was like a stubborn piece of taffy—impossible to chew, impossible to shake off. Zhou Yi worried about the battle on the mountain and grew impatient. After another hundred exchanges, Zhou Yi thrust his Blazing Fire sword at Xu Hua’s chest. Xu Hua had been wounded by this move before and dared not evade, pressing his feet to the ground so hard the blue bricks shattered beneath him, then retreating swiftly like an arrow loosed from a bow.

He expected Zhou Yi to pursue, but as soon as Xu Hua withdrew, he realized he’d been tricked: Zhou Yi retreated simultaneously, increasing the distance between them. By the time Xu Hua stopped and wanted to chase after Zhou Yi, the latter was nearly at the Maoshan gate.

Xu Hua gritted his teeth, flipped his palm, and two pearl prayer beads appeared in his hand. These beads had been scattered during his last battle with Zhou Yi—there were eighteen in all, but Xu Hua had only found sixteen. Such pearls were rare, but the prayer beads were incomplete, and even if restrung, could no longer carry Buddhist power.

Xu Hua now abandoned two more, hurling them straight at Zhou Yi. Zhou Yi was fast, but the beads were faster. In the blink of an eye, they were behind him. Feeling a chill at his back, Zhou Yi spun and managed to snatch one bead, but the other struck him squarely in the chest.

Xu Hua had cast the beads with a dark weapon technique from Mount Wutai, and the force was immense. Zhou Yi felt as though his chest had been struck by a hammer, his stance faltering as he stumbled back several steps. His face flushed, his throat grew sweet, and he spat a mouthful of blood.

He then pinched the bead between his middle and index fingers, channeling spiritual energy through them, and flung the bead back in fury, aiming straight at Xu Hua’s groin.

Xu Hua, seeing the bead hit Zhou Yi’s chest, was delighted and hurried up the mountain. Mid-air, the bead arrived.

There was no way to maneuver in mid-air. Xu Hua wanted to dodge but could not. In panic, he dropped his body a few inches; the bead struck him in the lower abdomen.

Xu Hua’s body halted in mid-air, and upon landing he staggered back two steps before steadying himself. "Master Zhou, how despicable," he said.

Zhou Yi gave a cold, sinister laugh. "How am I despicable? Tell me!"

Xu Hua had cultivated Buddhist arts for decades and now felt regret, not even reciting his usual Buddhist chant. "Master Zhou, your despicable ways need no explanation; you know well enough yourself."

Zhou Yi laughed heartily. "Xu Hua, you bald donkey, you’ve already become a monk. That thing between your legs is now nothing but idle baggage." With that, Zhou Yi burst into laughter.

"Namo Amitabha, today I shall break my vow not to kill! Boy, prepare to die!" Xu Hua roared, pressing his palms together before his chest and beginning to chant a spell.

This technique had once been used by Zhang Zuozheng in the mountain’s belly, and Xu Hua, as Zhang’s senior brother, naturally knew it as well.

Zhou Yi knew that once the spell took effect, Xu Hua would be shielded by Buddhist light, making him impossible to approach. Yet Zhou Yi had never seen the aftermath of this spell and was uncertain what to do.

Run. With that thought, Zhou Yi turned and fled.

"Brother Yi, what are you doing here? Why are you hurt?" Mu Chen arrived at that moment and immediately saw the blood at Zhou Yi’s lips, asking anxiously.

"Quick, go!" Zhou Yi didn’t waste words, grabbing Mu Chen and running.

"Where do you think you’re running? Today I break my vow and deliver you to the next world!" Xu Hua shouted, already in pursuit. Xu Hua, originally wielding pale purple energy, now surged to near pure purple under the spell, approaching the peak.

"Master, wait!" Mu Chen stepped protectively in front of Zhou Yi and shouted.

It must be said, Mu Chen’s move was extremely risky. She was only at the peak of blue energy, and facing Xu Hua now, even a glancing blow could kill her instantly.

Xu Hua, though attacking in anger, was not without reason. Seeing Mu Chen block Zhou Yi, and unable to bypass her, he reluctantly withdrew most of his force by the time he reached her.

But Mu Chen would not sit and wait for death. She thrust both palms forward, intent on matching Xu Hua blow for blow.

Though Xu Hua had reduced much of his force, his forward momentum was unstoppable. Seeing Mu Chen’s intent, he met her attack head-on.

The four palms met; Xu Hua was immediately thrown back, coughing up another mouthful of blood.

Zhou Yi, meanwhile, placed a palm against Mu Chen’s back, combining their strength to wound Xu Hua.

"You two are truly despicable," Xu Hua said, coughing up another mouthful of blood, clearly badly injured.

"Hurry up the mountain—Baozi is fighting, and things aren’t going well," Mu Chen ignored Xu Hua and spoke directly to Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi nodded, and the two turned to ascend the mountain.

"Today, neither of you will leave. Even if I have to sacrifice this body, I will see both of you stay," Xu Hua said, clutching his chest, preparing to cast another secret technique.

"You bald donkey, don’t forget this is the Maoshan gate. Do you think you can rampage here as if Maoshan is empty?" Mu Chen retorted, pointing at Xu Hua.

Xu Hua didn’t answer, beginning to chant again.

"Xu Hua, I have no personal grudge with you, so I only run and never fight. Today, Maoshan faces trouble, so I must attend to business. After I drive off that Japanese ninja, I’ll gladly duel you for three days and nights if you wish."

Mu Chen said that Baozi was in trouble, and Zhou Yi grew anxious. Tangling endlessly with Xu Hua would solve nothing, so he explained.

Xu Hua, hearing Zhou Yi, stopped his spell. "You say Maoshan is being troubled by a Japanese ninja?"

Mu Chen nodded. "Otherwise, would we let you rampage here? The Maoshan disciples would have sent you back to Mount Wutai long ago."

Xu Hua knew she was not lying and frowned. "Let’s put our feud aside. I am willing to lend Maoshan a hand."