Chapter 480 — Realms in Fusion

"Xing An!"

Ban Gongcuo shuddered and forced out a smile. "Brother Xing An, it has been a long time. You and I go back quite a ways — the last time we met, you asked me about Shen Mu's whereabouts, and I even drew you a map. Quite vivid, was it not? With our friendship, I trust you bear me no ill will, surely?"

Xing An sat upon the chest and sneered, "Shen Mu! Shen Mu again!"

His teeth ground together with a chattering clack, and killing intent swept through the entire ruin, pressing the strange beasts to the ground, where they lay prostrate and utterly still.

Ban Gongcuo's heart convulsed violently. Trembling, he said, "Brother Xing An has suffered at his hands as well?"

"Suffered?"

Xing An laughed aloud. "Would I suffer at his hands? His household simply has too many elders. I miscalculated, and so he rallied a host to besiege me. I had no choice but to fall back and avoid his edge."

Ban Gongcuo's eyes darted about. Clearly, Xing An had suffered a loss — hunted all the way by the elders of Shen Mu's household until he had no choice but to flee into the Barren Ruins and hide near the Western Lands, not daring to show his face.

What he did not know was that Xing An was not nearly as wretched as he imagined. On the contrary, he was ferociously powerful beyond measure. He had gravely wounded a whole host of great masters — the Blind Elder, the Deaf Elder, the Silent Artisan, the Lame Elder, Granny Zhu, Emperor Yanfeng — more than a dozen patriarch-level experts who could not withstand even a single move in his hands before being left broken and bedridden. Had Shen Mu not used poison against him, the entire army would likely have been annihilated!

Even while poisoned and grievously wounded, he had still evaded the Slaughterer's pursuit, fleeing all the way from Jingping Kingdom to this place. The ferocity of this man surpassed even the gods of the Upper Heaven!

"As for the present Great Honored One, I have no interest yet."

Xing An glanced at him and shook his head. "Only when you have cultivated your fleshly body or your primordial spirit into a god will I take even a sliver of interest in you. You and I do have a friendship, after all — you once dutifully offered me both your arms, and so I will not strike to kill. What happened to your leg? This sword wound..."

He suddenly seized Ban Gongcuo and gave a light twist. Ban Gongcuo's deer leg, so recently reattached, was snapped off in an instant.

Ban Gongcuo endured the pain and did not dare speak.

Xing An examined it closely. "Wounds left by that fellow Shen's sword technique! So then, you encountered Shen Mu, the great divine physician, and he severed one of your legs."

Beads of sweat the size of beans broke out on Ban Gongcuo's forehead. His voice hoarse, he forced a smile and said, "I was pursued by Shen Mu and Imperial Preceptor Jingping. In a moment of carelessness, that fellow Shen cut off half my leg. Brother Xing An, if you wish to seek revenge on that fellow Shen, I happen to have a fine opportunity for you."

"I need to borrow your hand to seek revenge on him?"

Xing An shook his head. "If I want to kill him, no one in heaven or on earth can protect him! Where is he? I hear Imperial Preceptor Jingping is also a master — it will be convenient to take a few things from him as well."

Ban Gongcuo said with an ingratiating smile, "I do not know where that fellow Shen is at present, but I do know where he is going. He intends to go to Yin Mountain to seek my master's primordial spirit. Imperial Preceptor Jingping never leaves his side, so he will surely go as well."

Xing An's interest was immediately piqued. "Your master's primordial spirit? You once pledged yourself to me and nearly cost me my life — that phantom of a god-devil, that was your master's primordial spirit?"

Ban Gongcuo's heart tightened. He said hastily, "I had no choice in the matter. As the saying goes, 'no blows exchanged, no bond formed.' Had I not crossed blades with Brother Xing An once, how would I ever have had the chance to know you?"

Xing An smiled faintly. "Your master's primordial spirit — I would very much like to add it to my collection."

Ban Gongcuo was just thinking of luring him into some perilous place, letting him clash head-on with Imperial Preceptor Jingping, and delighting in the sight of both sides suffering grievous losses. He smiled and said, "If Brother Xing An finds it worthy, by all means take it. Only, brother, this leg of mine — you see..."

Xing An leaped into the chest with a thud, and his voice came from within. "The great divine physician Shen has seized no small number of my collection. What remains is not much. Make do with the deer leg for now. Once I have killed Divine Physician Shen and Imperial Preceptor Jingping, gifting you a divine leg will be no trouble at all."

Ban Gongcuo had no choice but to pick up the deer leg and reattach it, this time with greater care, lest it leave some hidden ailment. He thought to himself, "Xing An is stingy. When the time comes, he may not be willing to give me a divine leg. But once he and Imperial Preceptor Jingping have battered each other half to death, his entire collection will be mine!"

Long Qilin bore Shen Mu back into the Barren Ruins, racing like wind and lightning all the way toward Yin Mountain. After two days of travel, he saw that the strange beasts around them gradually grew sparse, but many villages appeared, along with monks coming and going.

When those monks saw him riding past on Long Qilin, they halted one after another and turned to look at him, their gazes strange.

"Sect Master, why are they staring at us?" Long Qilin wondered.

The formation patterns in Shen Mu's eyes rotated as he looked toward those monks. What met his gaze was no longer monks at all — but one after another great demon with a ferocious, snarling visage!

He looked at the villagers along the way. These villages were thriving with people, and they too were a host of great demons, each with a different face.

Suddenly, a bell tolled from afar with a single resonant note, deeply melodious.

Shen Mu's heart stirred slightly. "We have arrived near Little Thunderclap Monastery."

He leaped down from Long Qilin's back and proceeded on foot. The monks who had been watching them all turned their heads away and looked no more.

Long Qilin was puzzled. "Sect Master, why have they stopped looking?"

Shen Mu said in a low voice, "All beings are equal."

Long Qilin was still somewhat confused. "I carry you on my back, Sect Master, to earn a meal. If all beings are equal, who will refine spirit pills to fill my belly?"

Shen Mu could not help but laugh. After a moment, they passed by Little Thunderclap Monastery. Shen Mu looked up and could not help but marvel again and again.

Little Thunderclap Monastery was built by Little Tathagata. Little Tathagata had originally been a demon monk of Great Thunderclap Monastery, who became a disciple of the Tathagata of that time. His cultivation realm was exceedingly high, his divine powers vast. Because he had not become the Tathagata of Great Thunderclap Monastery, he left in indignation and came to the Barren Ruins to found Little Thunderclap Monastery.

The luxury of this Little Thunderclap Monastery was in no way inferior to Great Thunderclap Monastery — it even surpassed it. Strange peaks and steep ridges rose tall and sheer; upon each peak stood stone statues clad in gold; temples and monasteries great and small burned with abundant incense; and there were good men and faithful women transformed from all manner of great demons, come to worship the Buddha.

The smoke of the incense had even transformed into clouds and mist among the mountains, wreathing and spreading, forming incense clouds.