Sword drawn from the constellations, poison as its edge.

Chapter 222 Four Talented Individuals Battle Against a Group of Mysterious Figures

Seeing that Xuan Ku's swordsmanship was extremely high, Deng Baichuan and Gongye Qian were afraid that Murong Fu would not be able to handle it, so they went to help him from the left and right. However, the Shaolin Temple had a large number of people and would not stand by and watch them attack. So the two old monks jumped out and fought fiercely with him.

The one who blocked Deng Baichuan was Xuanming, who also wielded a steel blade. This old monk practiced the Compassionate Blade Technique, one of the Seventy-Two Ultimate Skills. Every move he made was solely for self-defense and defeating the enemy, devoid of any killing intent. It was the complete opposite of the Breaking the Precepts Blade Technique.

Deng Baichuan possessed profound internal strength and superb swordsmanship. His offensive was even more ferocious than Murong Fu's. However, Xuanming's Compassionate Blade Technique emphasized defense. His blade was impenetrable, earning praise from anyone who saw it.

Gongye Qian and Xuan Gou engaged in a fierce battle. Xuan Gou wielded an ordinary wooden stick, but his Little Yaksha Stick Technique was extremely fierce. Gongye Qian also adopted a hard-hitting approach, his fleshy palms whistling through the air as he continuously broke into Xuan Gou's stick circle, resulting in an exceptionally intense fight.

Another old monk rushed towards Kumārajīva, but before he reached him, he suddenly raised his hand and flicked him three times. Kumārajīva laughed and said, "Brother, did you use the flower-picking hand because you saw me picking a flower?"

He plucked three petals and flicked them three times. The pink petals flew out slowly, but they exploded one after another with a series of bangs in the middle of the flight. However, they could not withstand the power of the two people's fingers colliding. The old monk groaned and stumbled backward. He was supported by the monk behind him and exclaimed, "Senior Brother Xuandu!"

It turned out that the old monk was none other than the monk Xuandu, who specialized in practicing the Flicking Flower Finger technique. Xuandu had been practicing the Flicking Flower Finger technique diligently, but he never imagined that one day when he used it against his opponent, his finger strength would be slightly weaker, and he would be defeated by his opponent and injured by the aftershocks.

Ignoring the pain, he clutched his chest and exclaimed incredulously, "How do you know the Flower Finger? You stole my Shaolin martial arts!"

Kumārajīva boasted, "Nonsense! Although I am not a great figure, I am still the National Preceptor of Tibet. How could I do something like stealing knowledge? This finger technique was learned from the masters in India. How did it become something of your Shaolin?"

He secretly rejoiced: With Jiang's help and the strong support of my Tubo, young Murong might just be able to accomplish something great. When the time comes, my Tubo will reclaim the snowy region, let him go south, drink from the Ganges, and his father Murong Bo will be considered an Indian. The Indians passed on this finger technique to me, so it can't be considered that I lied.

He thought of a brilliant idea, and his smile widened. He flicked his fingers, sending out silent bursts of finger force toward Xuan Du.

He defeated Xuandu in one move, which surprised everyone in Shaolin. When they saw that he still wanted to kill him, Xuan Nan, the head of the Bodhidharma Academy, was furious. He jumped in front of Xuandu and waved his sleeve to neutralize all the finger strikes.

Kumārajīva laughed and said, "What a fine move, 'Universe in the Sleeve'! Senior brother, you should also take a snip from my sleeve!"

He immediately stepped forward, and with a wave of his sleeve, an invisible force cleaved through Xuan Nan.

Xuan Nan was taken aback. The "Sleeve Universe" skill he practiced seemed to involve waving his sleeves, but in fact, the sleeves were just an illusion. The real power came from the fists hidden in the sleeves. In contrast, the "Kasaya Subduing Demon Skill" used by Kumārajīva truly used the sleeves and the corners of his robe to generate power.

Xuan Nan frowned and asked, "Did you also learn this Kasaya Subduing Demon Technique from India?"

He spoke as he moved swiftly, his sleeves fluttering and his fists pounding with power.

Kumārajīva used only his right hand to deal with the situation, his large sleeves swung back and forth, striking like a blade or an iron plate, extremely fierce. Yet, his face showed no murderous intent as he smiled and said, “Exactly! Senior brother, you may not know this, but the monks of the Song Dynasty are wealthy and particular about their clothes. Their robes are mostly made of silk, which is soft yet resilient, embroidered with gold and silver threads, and often adorned with gemstones. This gives them a great advantage in using this sleeve technique. The robes worn by Indian monks are made of inferior cloth, which is the hardest to apply force to. But precisely because of this, their sleeve technique is more profound than yours.” His words were not entirely untrue; he had simply made them up after seeing the magnificent robes of Xuan Nan and the others. However, Xuan Nan took them seriously. There were several people in Shaolin Temple who practiced the Robe Subduing Demon Skill, the most powerful of whom was Abbot Xuan Ci. But in Xuan Nan's opinion, even Xuan Ci's strength in this skill was slightly inferior to that of Kumārajīva, and Kumārajīva was much younger than Xuan Ci. With such a comparison, he had no choice but to believe it.

He thought to himself: Have the monks of Shaolin really become too pampered? I've heard that many eminent monks in India practice asceticism, but in my temple, there are mostly well-fed and bloated monks. Alas, especially the Hui generation. How many skilled warriors did our Xuan generation produce at their age? Senior Brother Xuanci is even more famous throughout the martial arts world, earning the title of "Tiger-Taming Arhat." Yet, their generation has yet to produce any pillars of strength. Could it be that pampering the monks has truly been a mistake?
Xuan Nan's martial arts skills were originally extremely strong, otherwise he would not have been able to become the head of the Bodhidharma Academy. However, at this moment, his mind was disturbed by Kumārajīva's few words, and he was unable to stop him for a while.

Seeing this, the old monk Xuanzhi whispered, "Brother Xuannan, I'm here to help you!"

He drew his longsword and unleashed the Bodhidharma sword technique, launching a fierce attack on Kumārajīva.

Kumārajīva said smugly, "The Bodhidharma sword technique? I happened to be in India and had some knowledge of it. I can compare it with the Central Plains and India to see if there are any differences."

He held a peach blossom branch in his left hand and used the Bodhidharma sword technique. The tender branch touched the spine of the steel sword, making a clanging sound. Each time it touched the branch, Xuanzhi's longsword was deflected. The monks who saw this couldn't help but change color.

Xuan Ci, after all, possessed profound self-control. Although he had been so shocked he felt like his soul was about to leave his body, he had quickly regained his composure. Observing the battle, he was secretly alarmed: This little demon from the Star Constellation Sect was already terrifyingly powerful, but where had he found such a ruthless foreign monk? Could it be that before Bodhidharma crossed the sea to the East, he had truly left behind a lineage in India? Xiao Feng was also an extremely formidable opponent, but this Murong Nan, though famous, still had limited abilities…

As he pondered a solution, he suddenly heard Xuanbei shout, "Impossible! Impossible! How long has it been? How could your internal strength be so much higher? Where did you learn my fist techniques from!"

Xuan Ci was shocked when he heard this. He suddenly remembered that when Xuan Bei returned from Dali, he recounted his experiences on the way. Xuan Bei said that he had met a disciple of the Star Constellation Sect named Zhai Xingzi. He was young, ruthless, and had superb internal strength. He brought a girl and four disciples with him. Xuan Bei crippled one of them and poisoned another. Xuan Bei himself was also forced back when he tried to fight back.

According to Xuan Bei, Zhai Xingzi's internal strength was incredibly powerful, and no one knew how he cultivated it. Fortunately, his martial arts skills were limited, so he couldn't fully unleash his internal strength; otherwise, even Xuan Bei would have had little chance of winning.

At this moment, Xuan Ci understood half of it. He thought that it was not surprising that this demon possessed the Northern Darkness Divine Art and had profound inner strength, but how did he also know the Great Vajra Pestle?
Then Jiang Mingzhe laughed loudly: "Last time I asked you to teach me the fist technique, you would rather poison your disciple than agree. I had no choice but to go back and think about it day and night for a full forty-nine days. Only then, based on the power and moves of your punch, did I slowly deduce the subsequent variations. Do you think my deduction is correct?"

Actually, during the battle at Shenjie Temple, Jiang Mingzhe's offer to exchange his fist techniques for the antidote was just a ploy to distract him and allow him to escape. Now, however, he's using it as an excuse, claiming that he came up with the idea himself when others refused. This was all inspired by the nonsense spouted by Kumārajīva.

Xuan Bei refused to believe this. However, it hadn't been long since he last fought Jiang Mingzhe, and he couldn't fathom where Jiang Mingzhe had learned this set of boxing techniques in such a short time. Therefore, he couldn't help but believe it a little, but he shouted, "Nonsense! Nonsense!"

Seeing Xuan Bei's frenzied attacks, Xuan Ci knew something was wrong. He thought to himself that since this kid knew Xuan Bei's fist techniques so well and had just absorbed a lot of internal energy, Xuan Bei was in danger as the balance of power shifted.
He shouted loudly, "The young heroes of the Starry Constellation Sect are indeed remarkable. Let this old monk experience your ruthless skills!"

Having said that, he strode forward, gathering his inner energy in his fists. Unexpectedly, Xiao Feng leaped backward, blocking his way, and said in a deep voice, "If Abbot Xuanci wants to make a move, I, Xiao, am willing to oblige! Master Xuanku once said that the Abbot's Vajra Fist is the most powerful and fierce fist technique in the world. I, Xiao, am not talented, but I am willing to use my Dragon Subduing Palm to learn from you!"

(End of this chapter)