The old monk did not answer, but instead looked at the two children carefully with his eyes, and could not help but take a few more glances at Lin Jingyu, thinking to himself: "Good talent, but why is his temperament so extreme?"

  At this time, Zhang Xiaofan stepped forward and said, "Hey, who are you? Ive never seen you before."

  Caomiao Village is near Qingyun Gate. Daoism is revered here and Buddhist disciples are rarely seen, so Zhang Xiaofan has this question.

  The old monk looked at him with a hint of a smile in the corner of his mouth and asked, "Little donor, your life was hanging by a thread just now. If you had admitted defeat, that would have been it. Why did you insist on struggling so hard? If I hadnt intervened, youd probably have lost your life for nothing!"

  Zhang Xiaofan was stunned for a moment, feeling that the old monks words were not unreasonable, but when it came to the point, he still couldnt say why, and could only stand there in a daze.

  Lin Jingyu glared at the old monk, pulled Zhang Xiaofans hand and said: "Xiaofan, this old monk is weird, lets ignore him." After finishing speaking, he pulled him to walk outside, several children followed, obviously they all looked up to him.

  Zhang Xiaofan unconsciously also took a step forward, but after walking out of the temple gate for a while, he couldnt help but turn his head back to look inside. He saw that the sky was gradually darkening, and vaguely, he could still see the old monk standing there, only his face had become blurry and unclear.

  ※※※

  Its late at night.

  A thunderclap, wind rolled up residual clouds, black clouds at the edge of the sky were rolling.

  The wind and rain are coming, with an ominous and murderous intent.

  The old monk was still in the thatched hut, sitting on the ground. He looked up and saw that the distant Qingyun Mountain had only a faint mist left, the fields were quiet and there was no human voice, only the sound of strong winds and thunder all over the sky and earth.

  What a strong wind!

  A flash of lightning cut through the air, and the small grass temple standing alone in the wind lit up for a moment. The old monk was already standing at the door of the temple, his face stern, looking up at the sky with furrowed brows that grew tighter by the second.

  In the village to the west, a black air had risen at some unknown time, as thick as black ink, churning ceaselessly. The old monk stood in the thatched hut, staring fixedly at this black air.

  Suddenly, the black air rolled up and rose in a swirl, heading straight out of the village towards the direction of Cao Miao. It moved extremely fast, arriving in the blink of an eye. The old monk had sharp eyes, and at a glance, he saw that among them was a small child, who was none other than Lin Jingyu, whom he had seen during the day.

  The old monks face sank, and without hesitation, he didnt see how he made a move, his thin body suddenly rose from the ground and plunged straight into the black air.

  From an unknown place in the darkness came a faintly surprised voice: "Huh?"

  A few muffled sounds, the black air suddenly stopped, swirling above the grass temple. The old monk slowly fell down with Lin Jingyu in his arms, but a piece of his cassock had been torn off behind him.

  By the faint light, Lin Jingyus eyes were tightly closed, his breathing steady, and it was unclear whether he was asleep or had fainted.

  The old monk didnt put him down, looked up at the black air in the sky and said: "Your Taoist skills are profound, why do you use them on ignorant children? Are you afraid of losing your reputation?"

  A hoarse voice came from the dark air, saying: "Who are you, daring to interfere with my business?"

  The old monk didnt answer, but instead said: "This place is under the Qingyun Mountain, if you are a disciple of the Qingyun Gate, Im afraid you will not have a good future if you continue to cause trouble here."

  That man snorted, his tone disdainful, saying: "Whats the big deal about Qingyun Gate? Its just relying on having more people. Old bald donkey, dont say any more, if you know whats good for you, quickly hand over that little kid to me."

  "The old monk joined his palms together and said: Amitabha Buddha, as a renunciate, I am filled with compassion. I absolutely cannot just watch you harm this child."

  "That man angrily said: Good thief baldy, youre looking for death."

  As he spoke, a deep red glow flashed in the black air that had been swirling around him, and in an instant, the small grass temple was surrounded by strong gusts of wind and a surge of eerie energy.

  "Poisonous Blood Banner!" The old monks face suddenly turned furious, "You wicked creature, you actually dare to cultivate such an evil object that destroys all conscience and harms humanity. Today, I will not spare your life."

  That hoarse voice let out a cold laugh, but didnt answer. Instead, a loud whooshing sound was heard, and a huge red banner slowly rose from mid-air, emitting a strong stench. At this time, the wailing of ghosts grew even more mournful, as if countless vengeful spirits were crying in the night. Amidst the cries, there were faint rattling sounds of skeletons, which sent shivers down ones spine.

  "Thief, die!" A loud shout came from the black air, and suddenly a ferocious ghost face appeared on the blood-red banner. It had three corners and four eyes, with sharp teeth and fangs. "Ka, ka, ka, ka", the sound of bones cracking echoed everywhere. The four eyes on the ghost face suddenly opened wide, let out a loud roar, and transformed into a real entity, bursting out from the banner, carrying an extremely bloody aura, striking towards the old monk.

  The old monks face grew even darker with anger, knowing that the more powerful the poisonous blood banner was, the more innocent lives would be lost in its creation. To refine it to this level of power, he feared that at least three hundred peoples pure blood would have to be sacrificed to the banner.

  This wicked person has completely lost all sense of conscience!

  As the ghostly object was about to rush in front of him, the old monk did not put down the little boy Lin Jingyu under his arm. He only used his left hand holding the biyu rosary to draw a circle in the air in front of him, and with one hand, he formed the Buddhist Lion Seal, his five fingers flexing and extending, his fingertips emitting a faint golden light. In an instant, a golden Dharma wheel appeared in front of him, shining brightly, and countered the ghostly object suspended in mid-air.

  "Just a small trick, and youre here to sell" He hadnt even finished saying the word "trick" when his whole body shook violently. All he knew was that his right hand, which was holding Little Lin Xingyu, had been bitten by something, and a numb sensation spread throughout half of his body in an instant. His vision went black, and the Dharma Wheel in front of him began to shake precariously.

  At this moment, the ghost in front of him changed again, and with a "click" sound, another huge blood-red eye opened on its forehead. A strong bloody wind rose, and its power became even more intense. Suddenly, a loud wail was heard, and a flash of red light shot out. The ghost struck the golden wheel of the law into powder, heavily hitting the old monks chest.

  The old monk was beaten and flew backward, Lin Xingyu under his ribs also fell to the ground, amidst several muffled sounds, probably all of his ribs were broken. After a moment, his thin body slammed into the wall of the grass temple, "Boom" a loud noise, dust flying everywhere, an entire wall collapsed.

  "Hahaha~~~~~~" A man in black gas burst into a fit of crazy laughter, extremely pleased with himself.

  The old monk stood up with a tremble, his throat suddenly hot, and he couldnt help but spit out a mouthful of hot blood, dyeing the monks robe in front of him red. He only felt that the golden stars in front of his eyes were flashing wildly, his whole body was in severe pain, and that numbness was getting closer and closer to his heart.

  He forced himself to calm down, his eyes scanning over Lin Xingyu who was lying on the ground in a daze. However, he saw that from Lins collar, a colorful centipede slowly crawled out, as big as a palm. The most bizarre thing was that its tail had seven forks, looking like it had seven tails. Moreover, each one presented a different color, all of them being distinct and resplendent. Yet, amidst the beauty, there was a hint of eeriness.

  "Seven-tailed scorpion!" The old monks words sounded like a groan.

  His face grew darker, and blood continued to flow from the corners of his mouth. He seemed unable to hold on any longer, yet he still forced himself to stand upright. Looking at the black air in mid-air, he said: "You put this worlds most toxic substance on that childs body, and intentionally concealed your strength, waiting for an opportunity to strike me down. Youre here for me, arent you?"

  The man in black let out a cold laugh and said, "Not bad, Ive come specifically for you, Pu Zhi. If it werent for that, with your Tianyin Temple Buddhist cultivation, you wouldnt be easy to deal with either. Alright, now quickly hand over the Xue Xue Pearl and Ill give you the antidote for the Seven-Tailed Scorpions poison, sparing your life!"

  Pu Zhi sneered and said, "I have the word wisdom in my name, yet I didnt think youd refine this poisonous Blood Banner evil object. Is it reasonable not to covet the Blood Devouring Pearl? His face turned solemn, and he said decisively, "Wanting me to give you this worlds most ferocious object is a wild dream."

  In the dark energy, the person was furious: "Then go see your Buddha ancestor." A red light flashed, the poisonous blood banner fluttered in the wind, wailing sounds echoed, a huge ghostly creature reappeared, hovering briefly in mid-air before charging at Puzhi once again.

  Pu Zhi let out a loud shout, and his robes puffed up without any wind. His originally slender body seemed to swell up a lot. With a forceful grasp of his left hand, there was a crisp cracking sound, and the string of jade prayer beads was snapped in two by him. More than ten crystal clear prayer beads didnt fall down, instead they spun around rapidly, each one emitting a blue light, floating in front of Pu Zhis body. Only that single deep purple bead fell straight down.

  Pu Zhi flipped his palm, grasping the deep purple bead in one hand. His two hands immediately formed the left and right water bottle seals. His eyes were wide open, and a golden light was faintly visible all over his body. He recited word by word from his mouth: "Om, mani, padme, hum!"

  "The Six-Word Great Brightness Mantra." The persons tone in the dark air suddenly became several degrees more solemn.

  As Pu Zhis "moo" sound fell, in an instant all the jade beads emitted a brilliant light. At the same time, the evil mans conjured object had arrived right before them, and a bloody aura rushed towards their faces. But as soon as it came into contact with the green light of the jade, it instantly vanished into thin air, unable to advance further, and was suspended in mid-air.

  Even so, Pu Zhis body swayed again, and the seven-tailed scorpion was a deadly poison in the world. With his hundreds of years of cultivation, he still found it difficult to resist. However, on his face shrouded in dark energy, a faint smile appeared, with a hint of coldness.

  "Ah!"

  Pu Zhi let out a loud roar, like the sound of a lions growl, shaking the air in all directions. The jade rosary in front of him was imbued with the power of Buddha, and its radiance grew even stronger. Suddenly, one of the beads shattered with a "popping" sound, transforming into a character for "Buddha" that shot forward and struck the ghostly creatures face.

  "Wah~~~~~!" The ghostly creature let out a shrill howl, immediately retreating several steps, its red aura greatly diminished, clearly having suffered an injury. A person in the black air angrily shouted "Good rascal!"

  He was about to make a move, but just as he spoke, the seven or eight beads of rosary suddenly turned into Buddhist mantras and hit the ghost. The ghost wailed incessantly, retreating continuously, showing a terrified appearance. When it was hit by the ninth bead of rosary, it finally let out a long howl, its five eyes bursting open, its skeleton rattling, and with a loud "boom" sound, it fell to the ground, struggling for a few times before stiffening and slowly turning into blood water, emitting an extremely foul odor.

  At the same time, Puzhi let out a loud "ahh" and spat out another big mouthful of blood, but this time the color of the blood had turned black.

  "Ah!" A shrill cry came from the entrance of the thatched cottage at this critical moment when the two powerful men were engaged in a fierce battle.

  Pu Zhi and Na Ye were both startled, the black air in the sky moved, Pu Zhi also looked towards the door at the same time, only to see the little boy Zhang Xiao Fan who had been seen during the day, for some reason he had arrived in front of this thatched cottage, standing at the door, staring blankly at the strange scene inside the temple.

  A cold hum came from the black air, and without seeing any movement, the seven-tailed scorpion that was originally crawling on Lin Jingyus body suddenly shook its tail, borrowed momentum to fly up, as fast as lightning, towards Zhang Xiaofan.

  Pu Zhis eyebrows rose, his right hand pointed, and a jade rosary bead rushed forth. The seven-tailed scorpion seemed to possess spiritual awareness, knowing it was in trouble, and didnt dare resist. With a flick of its tail, it turned into a wing-like shape and flew into the dark energy, disappearing without a sound.

  A figure in the dark mist spoke in a gloomy tone, "Heh heh, indeed worthy of being one of the four great divine monks of Tianyin Temple. Despite being heavily injured, you were still able to break my Toxic Blood Corpse King. But after taking that hit from the Corpse King and getting poisoned by the Seven-Tailed Scorpions venom, how much longer can you hold on? Why not just hand over the Blood-Drinking Pearl to me obediently?"

  Pu Zhis eyes suddenly began to flow with black blood, and he let out a mournful laugh. In a hoarse voice, he said: "Even if I die today, I will make sure to eliminate you, you demon."

  As soon as he finished speaking, all the jade beads in front of him lit up at the same time. The person in the air immediately became vigilant and suddenly a whistling sound was heard. An object flashing with cyan light rushed into the black gas from behind, which was the jade bead that had just hit the seven-tailed scorpion. It flew out for a while and was secretly controlled by Pu Zhi, turning to the back of the black gas, making it difficult to guard against.

  Only a loud roar was heard in the dark energy, and that person was apparently caught off guard. "Bang, bang, bang" several chaotic sounds rang out, and the green light flashed, the black energy scattered, and finally dispersed everywhere, disappearing into nothingness. A tall and thin man slowly fell from mid-air, his entire body tightly wrapped in a black robe, making it impossible to see his face or age, with only a pair of eyes gleaming fiercely, and on his back, a long sword was tied up.

  Pu Zhi said in a low voice: "Your Excellency is so virtuous and righteous, why are you afraid to meet people?"

  The man in blacks eyes flashed with a fierce light as he shouted: "Bald donkey, today you will die without a place to be buried!"

  He finished speaking and suddenly drew out the long sword from behind his back with a "brush" sound. The sword was as clear as autumn water, shining but not dazzling, with a faint light attached to it.

  "Good sword." Fuzhi couldnt help but exclaim.

  That man in black let out a low hum, grasped the swords hilt, stepped on the Seven Stars, took seven steps in a row, and with a swift motion, his long sword pierced the sky. He muttered to himself:

  "The Nine Heavens Mystic Realm transforms into divine thunder."

  "Resplendent heavenly might, with sword in hand, I shall guide it!"

  In an instant, the dark clouds in the sky surged and churned ceaselessly, thunder rumbled, lightning flashed at the edge of the black clouds, the world was filled with a solemn and murderous atmosphere, and the strong winds howled.

  "Divine Sword, Thunderous Truth!" Pu Zhis face turned pale as ash in an instant, followed by a look of astonishment, a thread of despair and a hint of inexplicable frenzy.

  "Youre actually a disciple of Qingyun!"

  ps：

  The "Om Mani Padme Hum" recited by Wen Zhongwu is also known as the "Six-Character Great Bright Mantra", and in Buddhist scriptures, it is called the "Avalokiteshvara Spiritual Inspiration True Words". The Buddhist scriptures say that this mantra can penetrate heaven and earth, creation and transformation. Reciting it can free one from worldly dust, cleanse the minds mirror, and reach a state of great joy and ultimate bliss. It is one of the most famous classic mantras in Buddhism.

  The full text is attached as follows:

  The mouth is a cave, the teeth are like rocks, the tongue is a sharp knife, the lips are like a bow, the saliva is like a river, the uvula is like a lotus flower, the tonsils are like two hanging lanterns, the throat is like a narrow pass, the Adams apple is like a pendant, the larynx is like a small door.