The Prodigies War

Meanwhile, the black-clad monk at the head of the group glanced at Miss Le, seemingly a little surprised at her knowledge of the Earth Treasury Temple.

The black-clad monk said, "The lady is right. This little monk’s dharma name is Mu Zheng."

His clear eyes were still calm and indifferent. He stood there like a tall and majestic mountain, displaying an extraordinary presence.

"Since the lady knows our origins, please leave immediately." Mu Zheng placed his hands together. Although he appeared to be peaceful, there was a certain firmness in his tone that did not tolerate objection.

"Please leave!"

The other four black-clad monks also placed their hands together. Unlike Mu Zheng, their expressions were sterner and almost cruel, making them appear more intimidating.

"Wow, how arrogant!"

Shun Baixuan displayed an astonished expression. "This is the first time I have seen such domineering monks. If you want us to leave, you’d better defeat me first!"

Rumble!

As he spoke, a golden divine glow surged around him like a raging sea, creating an intimidating pressure.

Despite this, Mu Zheng the monks appeared unfazed. They stared at Shun Baixuan as if he was a fool, making him furious.

"What are you looking at? Don’t waste time if you want to fight. I’m not afraid to tell you guys that your companions were massacred by me. However, they were too weak and could not satisfy me."

Unexpectedly, hearing such bad news merely caused Mu Zheng and the monks to frown. Their expressions turned colder, but there was no sign of agitation.

This surprised Lin Xun and the others. The Earth Treasury Temple disciples resembled cold-blooded reptiles. It was scary how they showed no emotion.

"Never mind, let's continue." Mu Zheng withdrew his gaze, turned around, and sat back down again to face the black altar-cabinet. He cycled the black rosary beads with a solemn expression as he chanted something under his breath.

He stopped paying attention to Lin Xun and the others, treating them as if they were invisible.

The other four black-clad monks also did the same. They sat at the four corners of a square with Mu Zheng at the center, and black Buddhist light began to emerge from their bodies.

"You baldies are so arrogant!" Shun Baixuan was upset that he had been ignored and wanted to rush over immediately to kill them.

"You must not!" Lin Xun immediately blocked him.

Rumble!

Shun Baixuan, who was already quite unsatisfied with Lin Xun, refused to listen. Instead, he summoned his golden battle spear and slashed at Mu Zheng and others.

A sharp golden spear shadow zipped through the air with astonishing power.

Before they could approach, however, the restrictions heaved and unleashed a terrifying suppression power.

With a loud bang, the spear shadow exploded while Shun Baixuan was blown away.

"Doh!" At this critical moment, a strange sound burst from Lin Xun's tongue as he waved his sleeve. The air was immediately filled with brightly shining runes that swiftly dissolved the Buddhist light restriction.

Meanwhile, Luo Jia reached out, grabbed Shun Baixuan, and pulled him back.

"Damn, these bloody restrictions are way too terrifying." Shun Baixuan was drenched in cold sweat, and his expression had turned ugly. Just earlier, he had felt a suffocating sensation as if he was about to be suppressed to death.

It made him realize the terror of the restriction, and he no longer dared to act rashly.

"I won’t save you if you act recklessly again." Lin Xun frowned as he shot a glance at Shun Baixuan.

It felt unpleasant to be reprimanded, but Shun Baixuan couldn’t retort since he had been saved by Lin Xun earlier.

He inwardly cursed in frustration. Why are you so angry? I'll find an opportunity to save you in the future and let you have a taste of being scolded as well!

"Lin Xun, we have to hurry. They are trying to subdue the Dark Blood Black Phoenix in the altar-cabinet, and we won’t be able to achieve our goal once they succeed."

Miss Le had a grave expression.

Mu Zheng and the others didn’t even care about the lives of their companions. It was easy to imagine how determined they were to obtain the object inside the black altar-cabinet.

It was a bad situation.

According to Luo Jia, the Dark Blood Black Phoenix's remnant spirit was sleeping inside the black altar-cabinet. It would be terrible if the Earth Treasury Temple disciples managed to obtain it before them.

Lin Xun nodded. He also realized the severity of the situation.

Whoosh~

He took a deep breath and made a decision. With a wave of his sleeve, bronze array flags flew out and disappeared into various locations.

These were the array flags of the Four Divisions King Array. Lin Xun was attempting to break the array with another array so they could advance as quickly as possible.

However, there was a downside to this method. The array flags would be damaged while breaking the array, which was why Lin Xun had been reluctant to use them in the beginning.

However, these concerns were no longer important. The array flags could be remade. If he allowed the opponent to seize the prize first, all of their efforts would go to waste.

Boom~

The array flags swiftly revealed their magic. They spread out and formed a rune array that clashed against the alpha divine restrictions with a loud boom.

"Go!"

Lin Xun proceeded forward to lead the way.

However, a shocking scene occurred soon after.

The restriction power covering the entire temple seemed to fully awaken, producing a burst of Buddhist light that soared into the sky.

The blazing light was magnificent but as black as the eternal night. It gave off a frightening and suffocating aura.

At the same time, the sound of a bell echoed as if in warning. It also resembled the chanting of the sutras and shrouded the area in an indescribable aura of solemnness.

Lin Xun's heart shuddered. This wasn’t caused by his attempt to break through the restrictions.

"It's them!"

Lin Xun and the others quickly noticed astonishing images emerging from Mu Zheng and other Earth Treasury Temple disciples.

A mysterious illusory scripture appeared above Mu Zheng and sprinkled strings of strange characters that looked as if they were made from black jade. Buddhist light overflowed from the characters and enveloped the altar-cabinet.

As for the other four black-clad monks, four different objects appeared above them.

A Vajra branded with the symbol of a black lotus.

A black lamp inscribed with strange Buddhist runes.

A Bodhi tree that seemed to be made of bronze and jade.

A Buddhist jade that was as round as the full moon.

These illusory images released Buddhist light together with the Buddhist scripture above Mu Zheng's head, and enveloped the altar-cabinet.

They were clearly reaching the final stage of capturing the object!

A burst of incomparably terrifying Buddhist light burst from the originally silent altar-cabinet, brightening the surroundings.

Meanwhile, densely-packed runes surged from the curled up black phoenix within it and turned into black flames as if it was awakening from a deep sleep.

This series of shocking events triggered the restriction power covering the temple, causing violent fluctuations!

Shun Baixuan cussed, "These damn baldies are crazy!"

"What do we do?" Luo Jia failed to keep her composure.

"We’ll charge through!"

Lin Xun gritted his teeth. The fully activated restrictions multiplied the pressure on him, leaving him no choice but to channel all his power into breaking through the array.

Upon arriving at the area where the altar-cabinet was located, they were immediately greeted by cries of alarm.

Mu Zheng and the monks staggered backward as if they had been struck by lightning while their expressions fluctuated indeterminately.

At the same time, a glowing shadow charged out from the altar-cabinet and disappeared deeper into the temple in the blink of an eye.

The altar-cabinet was empty. There was no sign of the Dark Blood Black Phoenix.

Lin Xun and the others were stunned. The sudden developments caught them by surprise.

"Abominable! We were just one last step away!" A black-clad monk gnashed his teeth, unhappy with the outcome.

"This Buddha embryo not only contains the power left by Ancestor-Master Duji but also the Dark Blood Black Phoenix's Saint Life-blood. It is an incredibly mystical Buddha embryo that has never appeared before, and we should not be overly forceful when dealing with it."

Mu Zheng was unfazed. "Fortunately, it cannot escape from this place. There is still a chance to bring it back to the sect."

"Eh?" At this point, Mu Zheng's face changed slightly. He had been so focused on subduing the target that he failed to notice the arrival of Lin Xun and the others.

Meanwhile, Lin Xun and others displayed various expressions while inwardly shaken. A Buddha embryo containing the Dark Blood Black Phoenix Saint Life-blood?

What kind of mystical existence was this?

Only Miss Le seemed to have some understanding as she involuntarily muttered, "The rumors are true. After defeating the Dark Blood Black Phoenix, the Earth Treasury Temple’s Saint Monk Duji didn’t leave but instead used a special method to make an exchange with the Dark Blood Black Phoenix. The two of them used some kind of forbidden art with the intent of creating a new lifeform! "

"That new lifeform was probably the thing that was enshrined and nurtured in the black altar-cabinet!"

Lin Xun and the others immediately lost their composure, realizing that Mu Zheng’s and the other monks’ true goal was to subdue the lifeform conceived by the Buddhist Saint Monk and the Dark Blood Black Phoenix which they called the Buddha embryo!

"Junior brothers, I’ll leave this place to you guys." With an indifferent expression, Mu Zheng glanced at Lin Xun and the others before rushing deeper into the temple.

At the same time, the four black-clad monks stepped forward and blocked Lin Xun’s group with emotionless faces.

Miss Le currently looked even more anxious than Luo Jia. There was no trace of her previous composure as she hurriedly said, "Lin Xun, you go after Mu Zheng while the rest of us deal with these guys. You must hurry. The Buddha embryo hides a great secret that Mu Zheng must not be allowed to obtain!"

"Okay!"

Lin Xun took a deep breath and moved.

Rumble!

The four black-clad monks immediately attacked Lin Xun. Each of them displayed dreadful power. They were clearly several times more powerful than the black-clad monks killed by Lin Xun’s group earlier.

These four were undoubtedly top experts in the Earth Treasury Temple. Even if they weren’t as strong as Mu Zheng, it wasn’t a big gap.

"Baldies! I’m your opponent!" Shun Baixuan released a thunderous roar. He had been itching to fight for a while and immediately pounced as golden light flared from him.

Clang!

At the same time, Luo Jia also took action and immediately brought out the Demon Purging Absolute Heavenly Sword.

A battle swiftly broke out. Lin Xun didn’t waste time and activated the Hornless Ice Dragon Step, leaving them behind as he rushed deeper into the temple at an unbelievable speed.