Volcanic Age

"Wind Demon Squadron Leader!"

A wicked smile spread across the Golden Saber Demon's mouth.

"Attack the Divine Monk!" the Western Domination Guardian shouted.

The Wind Demon Squadron Leader responded by flying in.

"You dare!"

Feng Jin, who had been fighting the Wind Demon Squadron Leader, attempted to follow, but several quick-witted Wind Demon Squadron members blocked his path.

The Golden Saber Demon glanced at the Wind Demon Squadron Leader and exclaimed, "Leave the Hundred Paces Fist Demon alone!"

It was a strange order, but he didn't think too deeply about it.

After all, this wasn't a leisurely situation, and the orders of one's superiors were absolute in the Demon Cult.

The Golden Saber Demon welcomed Hong Gao's agitation.

"I won't interfere, so do what you have to do!"

The Cult Leader's orders were to kill the Southern Yang Guardian. Considering their goals were the same, the killer's identity didn't really matter, even if they were a monk from Shaolin, their nemesis. Unlike the Shaolin Temple, the Demon Cult had no qualms about using any means to achieve their goals.

"Take the Iron Fist Demon's life!" the Golden Saber Demon shouted, referring to Fang Fotong by his old title to provoke Hong Gao.

Hong Gao tried to use his footwork techniques to escape the Divine Monk's grappling range. Realizing what his disciple wanted to do, he tried to block Hong Gao's path, but the experts of the Demon Cult blocked his way.

"No! Run away!" Hui Mian shouted urgently. His voice echoed throughout the battlefield, but it was drowned out by the people's screams and the sound of metal clashing against metal.

Fang Fotong must have heard the voice anyway as he turned around and ran toward the forest beyond the hill.

"Iron! Fist! Demon!" Hong Gao shouted, enunciating each syllable as he threw another fist forward.

The Hundred Paces Divine Fist, which had a range of about a hundred paces, made a hole through the air as it flew forward. Fang Fotong barely had enough qi to escape, so the punch missed, allowing him to flee.

"I won't let you go!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Deafening explosions reverberated as Hong Gao sent punches after punches.

However, none of his attacks were successful. Hui Mian was reading the trajectory of Hong Gao's fists, and he used his Formless Hands to block them all.

"You monstrous old man!" the Golden Saber Demon exclaimed, looking exhausted as his tongue lolled out.

The Western Domination Guardian and the Wind Demon Squadron Leader were Extreme Demon masters. They were attacking Hui Mian from both sides with saber aura and sword aura, but the monk was not only blocking all of their moves but was protecting the distant Fang Fotong as well.

"Move!"

The Divine Monk's hand seemed to engulf the Demon Heads.

It was an incredibly powerful attack, but the terrifying part was the Internal Piercing Force embedded into each palm, making every strike fatal. If either Demon Head were distracted, they'd vomit blood and collapse to the ground.

However, both the Golden Saber Demon and the Wind Demon Squadron Leader would never make such a rookie mistake. They were both at the top of the Demon Cult and had gone through many hardships to reach their current heights.

Although they could not overwhelm Hui Mian completely, they managed to hold him down by joining forces and harassing him from a safe distance.

Hong Gao chased after Fang Fotong while Hui Mian chased after Hong Gao. The Golden Saber Demon and Wind Demon Squadron Leader were chasing after Hui Mian.

The chasing seemed like it would continue forever.

The Divine Monk is trying to protect the Southern Yang Guardian without hurting his disciple. Meanwhile, the Hundred Paces Fist Monk is trying to kill Fang Fotong with all his might, making the chase fatal for Fang Fotong.

The Divine Monk is an Absolute Master and an Empyrean Overlord, but he'll definitely find it hard to deal with this.

He was also being chased by Extreme Demon Stage masters. It wouldn't be too difficult for Hui Mian to shake them off, but if he were to do that, Fang Fotong would surely die.

Locked in a stalemate, Hui Mian, Hong Gao, Fang Fotong, the Golden Saber Demon, and the Wind Demon Squadron Leader detached from the main group and headed into the forest.

"This is troublesome…" Hong Jin's face hardened, and anxiety appeared in his eyes.

The Abbot and the future Abbot had disappeared into the forest.

The Abbot was the Divine Monk and an Empyrean Overlord, to boot, so he wasn't really worried about the former. However, Hong Jin was concerned about the unseen conflict between his fellow monks.

At this rate, those two will end up with severe injuries.

People were animals prone to making mistakes.

If both the Abbot and the future Abbot were to insist on their clashing opinions, they could end up in an accident. Moreover, the two in question weren't just any monks, and the fact made Hong Jin feel even more worried.

He wanted to go and help them right away, but the Wind Demon Squadron was stronger than he had expected. They were the elites of the Demon cult. He could have never expected that they would still be struggling despite bringing the Eighteen Arhats with him.

Should I ask them for help? Hong Jin turned his gaze toward the alliance of the small and medium-sized sects and clans in Shanxi. They were just watching from the sidelines with their eyes wide open.

However, Hong Gao's declaration was the reason they had been standing on the sidelines.

"Junior Brother Jin. I no longer want to use someone else's hands to relieve the Shaolin Temple's grudges. I hope for your understanding."

Hong Gao had declared that this was the Shaolin Temple's business, so there was no need for the others to interfere. The Shanxi Alliance knew well the relationship of reciprocation that the murim held dear, so they agreed without being offended.

Above all, they were talking about the strongest sect here, the Shaolin Temple. It was a sect with an Empyrean Overlord, so none of them even considered that something untoward would happen. Thus, none of them stepped forward.

Hong Gao's declaration meant that even if he wanted to ask for help, he wouldn't be able to do so, as doing so would damage the Shaolin Temple's reputation.

"Die!"

Wheeew. Hong Jin lamented. To think I took my eye off of them, how foolish!

He had made a mistake by looking away from the cultists. His pride had led to a critical mistake.

The blades of the Wind Demon Squadron cut through the wind and aimed for his neck, but two vertical lines of dazzling light suddenly manifested.

Squelch!

"Huh?!" The Wind Demon Squadron member aiming for Hong Jin's neck exclaimed in confusion. Moments later, his eyes became filled with disbelief and incredulity. "My arm…"

His arm had been severed. The cut was clean, and the stump looked smooth.

Clang!

The cut was so clean that the severed arm was briefly suspended in midair. Then, it spun once and fell to the ground along with the saber.

Before the Wind Demon Squadron member could scream, someone intervened from the side. It was a young Daoist. The plum blossoms adorned on the sleeves fluttering in the wind stood out the most.

The Daoist of the Mount Hua Sect showed off his agility before whipping out with his leg in a splendid side kick.

Bang!

It was a flashy and powerful move.

Crack!

Upon impact, the cultist's ribs broke, and it wasn't just one or two ribs. In fact, the shockwave alone had shattered every single rib in the cultist. Then, according to the laws of nature, the cultist was blasted away.

Woosh!

The cultist shot out like an arrow, bouncing off the ground several times before crashing into a boulder.

BOOM!

It sounded like an explosion. Everyone turned in surprise at the loud sound.

"Ah!" someone gasped in fright.

The Wind Demon Squadron cultist was torn apart upon hitting the boulder five meters away.

Rumble!

The boulder was marred by the outline of the cultist's figure, and it soon collapsed, unable to withstand the impact.

"Benefactor Sword Dragon!" Hong Jin exclaimed in surprise and delight.

He had been pretending to be indifferent on the outside, but the truth was that he had been hoping for anyone's helping hand.

The fact that someone had flown in at the perfect moment to intrude and help them made Hong Jin feel like a thorn in his chest had just been removed.

"What's going on?" Zhou Xuchuan asked, his expression demanding an explanation.

Hong Jin hesitated briefly, worried, before giving a brief explanation.

Damn. Zhou Xuchuan frowned. The situation was worse than he thought. Things were getting complicated as well. Hong Gao's behavior wasn't strange. Compared to how he had reacted in Zhou Xuchuan's previous lifetime, it could be said that he had been diligently holding it in so far. It was understandable, as he was still full of vitality, after all.

We have to stop him.

If the relationship between Hui Mian and Hong Gao grew problematic and the position of the Abbot of the Shaolin Temple went to someone else, things would become difficult and troublesome.

Hong Gao was problematic, and his personality had led to him getting into frequent fights with the members of the Righteous Faction in Zhou Xuchuan's previous life.

Despite that, the martial artists recognized and respected Hong Gao's achievements as the Abbot.

His love for Shaolin was great, and he succeeded in nurturing successors as well as increasing the Shaolin Temple's power. Above all, he would inflict a fatal wound on the Dark Heavens Association Lord in the final battle, so Hong Gao was absolutely necessary.

"The three Plum Blossom Swordsmen, the Poison Dragon, and the Poison Phoenix will arrive soon, so you don't have to worry about support."

"That's fortunate."

"So just leave that side to them. I'll leave this side to you."

Zhou Xuchuan flew away without even waiting for Hong Jin's answer.

"Haaa… Haaa…" The Southern Yang Guardian and the Iron Fist Demon, Fang Fotong, ran until his lungs were about to burst. The killing intent licking him from behind was more intense than the killing intent of most cultists.

"Iron! Fist! Demon!"

Crunch!

The trunk of a giant tree that seemed to be more than two hundred years of age was torn apart in the blink of an eye. When the cloud of dust cleared up, a massive hole in the giant tree was revealed.

The tree was thick enough that it would take six men to wrap their arms around it, but a hole was cleanly made in the middle of it.

Creaaak.

Its roots were deep, but the tree's trunk had been torn apart, so it could no longer hold itself up and fell slowly to the ground.

"Damn it!" Fang Fotong threw himself to the right. One of the Four Great Guardians of the Demon Cult rolling around in the dirt wasn't exactly a common sight to see.

Boom!

Fang Fotong rolled like a donkey, allowing him to avoid the falling tree. Relieved, he tried to flee once again, but…

Bang!

"Argh!" Fang Fotong staggered forward with a scream. An excruciating pain had pervaded his back. It started from his spine, and it went all the way to his stomach.

He was channeling his qi into the meridians in his legs, but he was attacked in the middle of it, and he suffered severe internal injuries as a result. Fang Fotong felt dizzy, and he almost face-planted onto the ground.

"D-damn it!" Fang Fotong exclaimed. He barely managed to stand up by using a nearby tree branch as a cane. His legs were trembling in exhaustion, and his face was as pale as a sheet of paper. His haphazardly grown beard was quivering like an aspen tree.

"This is the end!" Hong Gao roared, unleashing a fierce barrage of the Hundred Paces Divine Fists from afar.

BOOM!

A fist flew from a hundred paces away. It was wrapped in fist aura, and it left behind a storm of qi in its wake.

The nearby trees bent and gave way as if they were executing the Flicking Bow Moving Shadows. The tree branches moved as if they were dancing in a storm, and every single leaf on their branches was blasted away.

"Duck!" the Divine Monk exclaimed at the critical juncture.

Fang Fotong instantly followed Hui Mian's words and ducked, tucking his head into his arms.

Just as the Hundred Paces Divine Fist was about to land on Fang Fotong, a Formless Hand appeared and blocked the strike. To a passerby, it looked as if the fist aura had collided with an invisible wall before disappearing into thin air.

"Master," Hong Gao said, but he didn't back down even a single step. One could easily misunderstand this scene—No, actually, the monk had already committed a foolish act as a disciple.

However, his heart and will for the Shaolin was pushing him forward, preventing him from backing down. He couldn't give up. His master would surely scold him for what he was doing, but Hong Gao felt that what was about to happen next was more important than anything else.

"Woe only breeds… trouble. Don't you know what Buddha meant when he said to bestow mercy?" Hui Mian asked sadly.

"I know."

There was no way Hong Gao wouldn't know the meaning of Buddha's words. He loved Shaolin more than anyone else, and he studied and practiced day and night.

He had read as many books and Buddhist scriptures as there were in the Keeper of the Sutra Depository.

"But sometimes, don't we have to uphold the Dharma? Like the Lord of the Eight Legions, Di Shitian Sakra, who became the Guardian God of the Dharma and subdued the army of Asuras, there are times when we must wage war."

Hong Gao's stubbornness showed no signs of backing down. His conviction was as firm as the thousand-year-old Shaolin Temple.

"Divine Monk, stop interfering!" the Wind Demon Squadron Leader roared, and his voice imbued with demonic qi tore through the air. The air was devoured, and the atmospheric pressure distorted; even the weather itself changed in an instant.

The wind appeared and billowed out around his sword. It was one of the One Hundred and Eight Cult Protecting Arts, the Wind Demon Art!

If a bystander were here, it would look like the wind was blowing on its own, but they were mistaken. After mixing the qi imbued in the sword with the wind, it leveraged the tempest-like power of the wind to create a storm that would tear the surroundings apart.

If the Wind Yin Squadron had been here, the art would have been several fold stronger, but it was impossible to bring what wasn't here, so there was nothing that could be done about it.

"Di—!"

"Die" was what the Wind Demon Squadron Leader wanted to say.

BOOM!

However, a deafening explosion cut him off, and his frame keeled over.

The sword in his hand slipped away, and his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

Someone's hand was pressing down on his head. A powerful aura flowed out from the man's palm into the crown of the Wind Demon Squadron Leader's head, transforming his brain into mush. Then, it pervaded his meridians and spread throughout his entire body.

"AAAARGH!" The Wind Demon Squadron Leader's fleshly body screamed, instinctively screaming to alert that there was poison in the Wind Demon Squadron Leader's system. The poison had an indescribable heaviness to it.

The Wind Demon Squadron Leader's head was crushed, and he slammed into the ground without being able to do anything against the attacker.

"You…" Hui Mian's eyes widened. "Benefactor Zhou!"

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