Zang Yuan was a disciple of a mysterious ancient Buddhist temple. The temple was called the Righteous Buddhist Sect. It wasn’t the oldest Buddhist sect in existence, but it was a branch of the oldest Buddhist sect. The oldest sect had now sealed itself in seclusion, effectively making the Righteous Buddhist Sect the oldest active Buddhist sect. It was now the biggest and strongest Buddhist organization.
Zang Yuan was a high monk from a different era. In fact, it had been almost 10,000 years since he died. He was not this secret space’s master. Rather, he was merely someone who had entered by accident while fleeing with heavy injuries. He ultimately hid at the bottom of the lake to heal himself, but his injuries were too heavy. He eventually passed away in meditation.
The golden stinging energy Xiang Shaoyun absorbed was the special energy Zang Yuan cultivated while alive. Although it had weakened considerably after the continuous corrosion in the lake, it was still extremely powerful. One could say that this energy was the reason for the lake to be gold.
Zang Yuan’s final wish was to have his sarira delivered back to the Righteous Buddhist Sect. His wish was to be returned to his roots.
Xiang Shaoyun immediately agreed to the request as he said, “Don’t worry, master. I will definitely bring your sarira back to the Righteous Buddhist Sect.”
Zang Yuan had a grateful look as he thanked, “Thank you, young benefactor. Allow me to teach you a unique battle technique, the Flux Finger Sword Technique. This is the only battle technique capable of fully utilizing the flux goldthorn energy. I will also teach you a body refining technique, the Limit Stimulation Technique. This is an ancient secret technique, capable of tempering your body to perfection. Doing so, one would be able to stimulate one’s potential and increase one’s combat strength. Unfortunately, I only have half of the technique’s mantra. Even that much was enough to forge me an extreme physique that made me almost undefeatable among my peers.”
When Xiang Shaoyun learned that, he immediately realized that both were amazing techniques. His eyes burned with passion. He quickly regained his calm and asked, “Lord, are you not worried that you would mistrust a person with your final wish? Don’t forget that few people can resist the urge to pocket the sarira for themselves.”
Zang Yuan replied solemnly, “I am confident in my judgment. I am also confident in your character. If I really am entrusting this to the wrong person, it must be the will of fate that I can’t return to my roots, and it would be proof that I have not earned Lord Buddha’s recognition. If so, I might as well scatter with the wind. This stubbornness of mine is in itself a violation of the teachings of Buddha. Where in this world can’t I rest? My heart is always with Buddha, the merciful Buddha. Amitabha.”
A look of respect covered Xiang Shaoyun’s face as he listened. He said, “Don’t worry, master. I, Xiang Shaoyun, may not be a good person, but I am one to always keep my words.”
“Good. The sarira might be valuable, but one without the Buddhist aura and the Buddhist root will not be able to inherit it. In fact, if one tries to inherit it forcefully, one will suffer the backlash for it,” said Zang Yuan.
Xiang Shaoyun felt a chill creep up his spine. He thought, Good thing I wasn’t aiming for this thing at all, or I would’ve suffered.
Zang Yuan then passed on the two techniques’ mantras to Xiang Shaoyun. By the time he was done, his figure had turned incredibly transparent, and he was slowly fading away from existence.
At his last moments, he gave a warning, “Do not disturb the slumbering lord at the massive palace.”
“Do not disturb the slumbering lord at the massive palace?” Xiang Shaoyun muttered blankly.
When he first entered the secret space, he heard something similar about some lord from the evil spirit possessing the corpse of a whitebone snake. With the high monk saying the same thing, it was obvious there was a powerful big shot residing there.
“Forget it. It’s pointless to think too much about it. For now, I need to cultivate the Limit Stimulation Technique and Flux Finger Sword Technique. Also, I need to refine a piece of goldblood stone,” Xiang Shaoyun muttered to himself. He decided to start cultivating his newly gained techniques.
Unfortunately, after putting Zang Yuan’s sarira and remains away, he saw a massive shadow heading toward the cave. Clearly, either the gold-scaled dragon turtle or the goldmark toad was returning.
He paled as he exclaimed, “Shit! If they find me here, I’m dead!”
It was a good thing Xiang Shaoyun had many tricks up his sleeve. He turned invisible and completely vanished from view. He then stayed still, trying not to make any sort of sound. Soon, the gold-scaled dragon turtle’s head appeared at the cave entrance. The head peeked into the cave, scanning the cave with a pair of massive eyes.
“Weird, why has the flux goldthorn energy gone missing? I can still smell that kid. He should still be here,” muttered the gold-scaled dragon turtle doubtfully. His body turned small, and he swam into the cave.
Xiang Shaoyun was feeling great pressure. The gold-scaled dragon turtle was a top-tier Demon Sovereign. A random breath from this turtle was enough to kill him. He hadn’t even recovered from his injuries.
He prayed inwardly, Please don’t notice me.
Although he was confident in his invisibility, nobody knew if the gold-scaled dragon turtle had a special ability capable of detecting him. Fortunately, after taking a casual look around, the turtle left the cave. Xiang Shaoyun heaved a breath of relief.
Suddenly, the turtle returned. His crafty eyes were filled with doubt as though he was having a hard time believing there was nobody in the cave.
“How weird. I can obviously still smell that kid. No movement in this lake can be hidden from me. How can I not detect him? Something is not right,” muttered the gold-scaled dragon turtle.
He then decided not to leave and started absorbing the remnant flux goldthorn energy in the surroundings. Xiang Shaoyun’s mood sank. He was far stronger than before, and his trait of invisibility had also grown in duration. But if the gold-scaled dragon turtle insisted on staying here, he would be exposed sooner or later. What should he do now?
Numerous thoughts went past Xiang Shaoyun’s brain. He had the urge to sneak near the gold-scaled dragon turtle before unleashing a bombardment of flux goldthorn energy on the turtle. He was confident the energy was powerful enough to kill him.
But he erased the thought as fast as it came. Attacking with the energy would be his last option. If he tried it and failed, he himself would be in great danger. Fortunately, the goldmark toad soon showed up.
