Meiduo looked at the snow lotus that had suddenly appeared, and her eyes were full of surprise. She asked happily, “Is this the 1,000-year-old snow lotus? It’s the first time I’ve seen it!”
Saying this, she quickly ran over to the side of the lotus, squatted down gently, and touched its petal. She turned her head and said to Li Yundong with a smile on her face, “I have heard many old people say that this flower is the guardian treasure of the Holy Mountain, but no one has seen it before. Today, I’m finally getting to see it.”
Li Yundong fixed his eyes on the swaying lotus, only to see that the snow around it was soaked with blood. After absorbing human blood, the snow lotus seemed even more gorgeous and dazzling.
He sighed and said, “Many people died for the sake of this flower!”
Mei Duo also stood up. She put her palms together and silently recited a passage of scripture, then sighed softly and said, “Yes, the old man said that the 1,000-year-old snow lotus is holy, but also ominous. Every time it appears, it inevitably brings on a bloody war.”
Li Yundong was silent. Thinking of past events, he couldn’t help but feel frightened. If it weren’t for all kinds of lucky coincidences, he would have been killed by Xu Ling and Xu Kong. And though Taoist Xu Ling was arrogant and seemed brainless, his strength was nothing to joke about. For the first time in his life, he understood how terrible the Jinshen phase was.
Although he could be said to be unparalleled in the Yangshen phase, the masters in the Jinshen phase were difficult even for him to deal with. When the two sides fought, regardless of their powerful magical weapons and magic, the jinshen masters could guarantee their invincibility only with powerful body-protection jinshen skills.
As the saying goes, fighting is like directing troops. Fighters consider the concept of failure instead of victory first. When a jinshen master met a Yang Spirit master, he did not have to consider failure at all, as his body-protection jinshen could not be broken no matter how powerful the Yang Spirit master was!
When they fought in this way, one side would be afraid of being savaged, while the other would be fearless and rush forward. After all, how could they not win?
The gap between Yang Spirit and jinshen was only cultivation, but the difference was like the distance between heaven and earth!
Since Su Chan had been taken away by Ao Wushuang last time, Li Yundong felt that he was not strong enough to protect the people around him. However, as his cultivation had improved by leaps and bounds, he could be said to have become invincible. Even if he met someone stronger than him, he could defeat them by exploiting their weaknesses.
However, when a cultivator reached the Jinshen phase, a weak opponent defeating them would become nothing but a fairytale. Once the gap between Yang Spirit and jinshen was pulled apart, it would be an insurmountable chasm. No powerful magical weapon or magic could bridge the gap between the two sides.
This was the so-called “might that can defeat ten practitioners of martial arts!”
“I have to reach the Jinshen phase…” Li Yundong thought silently, a wish intensified by the remembrance of the escape of Xu Kong. He would rather be blinded by his own fingers than be caught with his Shixiong. This kind of determination and decisiveness in an enemy was really terrifying and disturbing.
Thinking of this, Li Yundong couldn’t help but think of Yan Fang again. He felt a little worried and thought to himself, “My enemies seem to be multiplying. It was already hard for me to sleep and eat with someone like Yan Fang lurking in the shadows. Now, there’s Xu Ling and Xu Kong, and one of them is a jinshen master! I don’t know how Xu Ling was injured. How did my Mahamudra hurt him? If he was injured, it’d be okay. I finally know how to deal with a jinshen master. If he was not injured, it’ll be dire. None of my magic can hurt him, so I have to reach the Jinshen phase immediately!”
As Li Yundong fell into deep thought, Mei Duo, who was standing beside him, looked into his pensive face.
At this time, Xu Ling, who had been using jinshen, had already left Kari Holy Mountain. Meiduo had returned to her true self from Tsing Lam. Kari Holy Mountain slowly returned to its usual calm, quiet state. The thick, dark clouds that had been hovering in the sky slowly dissipated and sunlight shone down over the snow-crested mountain, shining over Li Yundong’s cheek and making his handsome and thin face look a little dazzling. When Li Yundong turned his head, Meiduo suddenly felt that although he was against the light, his whole body was shining with a golden glow, as if he was wearing a golden cassock.
Mei Duo couldn’t help but feel her heart beating wildly. She thought to herself, “No wonder the Living Buddha said that this guy was the reincarnation of the Immortal Wisdom King. He, he is so powerful… I’ve definitely fallen for the right guy!”
Li Yundong didn’t know the girl’s thoughts. He was hesitating over how to ask Meiduo for the 1,000-year-old snow lotus. Clever Meiduo could see that he had been staring at the snow lotus, and she sensed that he was about to speak but saying nothing. She immediately understood and squatted down to pick up the snow lotus. She held it out to him with both hands and said with a warm smile, “Here you are!”
Li Yundong was stunned and found that the words he had been agonizing over for a long time had been rendered unnecessary. Even though he was usually eloquent, he became a little speechless and said falteringly, “Meiduo, this…”
Meiduo looked at Li Yundong strangely. “What’s wrong? Didn’t you come here for this? The Living Buddha said that you came here for this.”
Li Yundong sighed inwardly. He had always been afraid that Meiduo would be sad if she found out, so he now couldn’t say anything. When he saw Meiduo cleverly offering the 1,000-year-old snow lotus of her own volition, he was moved and grateful. Unpretentiously, he took the snow lotus carefully with both hands. Just as he was about to take it in his arms, Meiduo suddenly stopped him.
“Hey!” she said loudly. She withdrew a snow-white handkerchief from her pocket, then reached out her hands to carefully wrap it around the snow lotus in Li Yundong’s palm. “Well, that’s better. This is the treasure of our Holy Mountain. Don’t damage it.”
Li Yundong fixed his eyes on Meiduo. He couldn’t help asking, “Meiduo, aren’t you going to ask me what I want this 1,000-year-old snow lotus for?”
She shook her head and smiled. “What’s that got to do with me? Anyway, you won’t use such a treasure to do bad things like those two evil Taoists.”
Li Yundong nodded slightly. He stopped talking and put the 1,000-year-old snow lotus away before turning back to her. “Let’s go. I’ll take you back to Lhasa, okay?”
Meiduo’s face lit up with joy. She was just about to agree but she bit the words back. She looked at the guardian sentinel, who was lying on the ground, and said softly, “No, I have to help the dead Vajra by carrying out a celestial burial. I’m afraid it will take me one or two days.”
Li Yundong hesitated for a moment. He figured that it would take him one or two days for a round trip to Tibet at the most, but he had not been counting on being delayed for three days. Now that the Fox Zen School was suffering from internal and external troubles, and he had just provoked two powerful friends, if he delayed for one or two days and stayed away for so long, things could turn sour!
Meiduo studied Li Yundong’s expression. Seeing the lingering worry between his brows, she said with a smile, “Brother, if you have something to do, you can go now. It doesn’t matter.”
Meiduo was so considerate that he felt a wave of relief, but he was also a little uncomfortable as if he had done something sinful. He sighed in his heart and said, “Meiduo… I’ll see you some other time when I‘m free, okay?”
Although she had tried to persuade him to leave, in her heart, she hoped that he would stay. When she heard that he was leaving, her chest suddenly ached. She was so sad that she almost burst into tears right then and there. She looked at Li Yundong with infatuation in her eyes, but she was still smiling. “Okay, as long as you come to see me later!”
Li Yundong nodded. He thought for a moment before saying, “Meiduo, if… I mean if one day you are no longer Banda Lam… What will you do?”
Meiduo’s heart skipped a beat. She looked at Li Yundong, her eyes flickering, and almost blurted something unwise. However, when the words came to her lips, she suddenly stopped. She hesitated for a moment, and finally said with a smile, “If I weren’t Banda Lam… Well, let’s talk about it next time.”
Li Yundong didn’t sense the way the girl was feeling. He smiled slightly and said, “Well, I’ll be off then. I’ll come and see you later.” After that, he nodded at Meiduo and Dorjee Tenzin, then quickly turned into a beam of green light and flew away.
Meiduo saw him disappear instantly into the horizon, and her body suddenly went rigid. She subconsciously stretched out her hand, as if she wanted to touch him. However, as soon as she reached out into the air, she went rigid again, as if she had turned into a stone statue, standing still where she was.
After a long time, she looked at the distant sky with tears in her eyes. She suddenly yelled in the direction in which Li Yundong was leaving, calling loudly, “Brother, I want you to stay! If I’m not Banda Lam one day, I will come to you. Will you let me?”
Meiduo’s cry echoed over Kari Holy Mountain and rippled through the sky. Li Yundong had disappeared without a trace. No one could answer her. The sky was indifferent and silent, and the earth was solemn and quiet.
Dorjee Tenzin beside her couldn’t help sighing in his heart. He put his palms together silently and sighed softly. “Amitabha!”
After a long time, Meiduo turned around and wiped away her tears. She forced a smile and said, “Master Dorjee Tenzin, let’s go.”
Just as Meiduo and Dorjee Tenzin were descending the mountain, Xu Kong and Xu Ling were hiding at the hidden foot of the mountain and healing their wounds.
Xu Kong had been blinded by his own fingers. Although the pain was unbearable, he was, after all, a cultivator with an extraordinary Cultivation Quotient and a master of Yang Spirit. He went out of his body using his Yang Spirit and guided himself, carrying his almost paralyzed Shishiong to an inconspicuous place.
After shaking off the death stare of Tsing Lam, Xu Ling had stayed in a stiff state for a long time, especially after getting hit by Li Yundong’s Peace in the Tao Fundamental Seal. His body was seriously injured, and it was difficult for him to even move.
However, as he had broken free of the restraint of the power of death, although his body was injured, his meridians and internal organs were not injured. In particular, the Essence, Qi, and Blood in his body were still functioning as usual.
Xu Ling slowly mobilized his breath. After a short period of recuperation, the bones throughout his body started making chaotic sounds, as if the meridians were being adjusted. A few hours later, he gradually returned to his short, fat appearance.
After finishing the final round of Qi circulation, he jumped up and looked at his Shidee, Xu Kong, nervously.
Although he had been so frightened by the power of Tsing Lam that he had been unable to move, his mind had been very clear. He remembered what had happened before very clearly, especially when his Shidee had destroyed his eyes to save him, which had made him even more pained and angry.
Xu Ling grabbed Xu Kong’s shoulder and looked at his two bloody eyesockets in shock and anger. He couldn’t help roaring, “Shidee, I will definitely help you get revenge!”
After Xu Kong found a place to settle down, he hid his Yang Spirit and carefully restrained his breath, lest the enemy found him. Then, when he heard the voice of Xu Ling, he knew that his Shishiong had made a recovery. He laughed and leaned over to Xu Ling’s ear to say a few words.
Xu Ling suddenly became so furious that he yelled, “That won’t do! I’ll take an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth! I’ll avenge you!”
Xu Kong looked anxious and whispered a few more words into Xu Ling’s ear.
Xu Ling’s livid expression froze. He bit back his anger and said, “What should I do? Must I just rein in my anger? Humph, although Tsing Lam is terrible, the bastard’s just a soft persimmon. When I regain my power, I’ll dig out his eyes to take revenge for you!”
Xu Kong shook his head, then carried on whispering into Xu Ling’s ear.
Xu Ling was stunned and said, “They’re working together? Well, it’s possible. It seems that these guys are indeed in cahoots! Damn it, so what if they’re with the Esoteric Sect? When has Zhenkongism ever been afraid of those guys?”
With this, Xu Ling seemed to think of something. He said with a dark grimace, “Shidee, let’s find the current Master of Zhenkongism and kill him. Once that’s done, we can reorganize Zhenkongism. At that point, we won’t have to be afraid of Esoteric Sect or Tsing Lam, and we can avenge your eyes!”
