Sword drawn from the constellations, poison as its edge.

Chapter 225 Arhat Formation
If Xuan Ci's fighting style were used against Xiao Yuanshan back then, as long as he could withstand sixty or seventy rounds, Xiao Yuanshan would probably find it difficult to maintain the state of the Divine Might Technique.

However, Jiang Mingzhe's endurance is so strong that, apart from Duan Yu, it is probably difficult for anyone else in the world to compare with him.

Although Jiang Mingzhe was originally skilled in martial arts, he relied on a fortuitous encounter to quickly master it. For a master like him, once he encounters an opponent of the same level, he is usually unable to match the opponent's skills and awareness, which have been honed through countless trials. He can only resort to overwhelming others with brute force and bully opponents who are slightly weaker.

He understood this deeply after his defeat to Li Qiushui, so he never missed the opportunity to hone his skills when he encountered a master, which is why he fought with Xuan Ci and others to this point.

Seeing that Xiao Feng was being held back and that Murong Fu and the other two were in grave danger, he had no choice but to use all his strength.

With a long roar, he used the Great Vajra Pestle to clash with Xuan Ci, then leaped up, using the Cloud-Dropping Body Technique to turn and twist, his figure like a leaf falling in the wind, leaving the battle and landing gracefully behind Xuan Bei.

Xuan Bei was startled and quickly struck out with a "turning strike". Jiang Mingzhe immediately raised his hand to catch the other's wrist and used the Northern Darkness Divine Art to absorb it.

Xuan Ci had not expected that Jiang Mingzhe's lightness skill was so amazing. When he turned around, Xuan Bei had already fallen into the enemy's hands. He immediately switched to the Prajna Palm and silently struck Jiang Mingzhe's back.

Jiang Mingzhe, however, seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. He took a step back several feet, reached out with one claw, grabbed the old monk Xuanjue by the back, lifted him up, and began to absorb his internal energy.

Knowing that he possessed the Northern Darkness Divine Skill, Xuan Ci immediately shouted, "Put them down!"

Stepping forward to catch up, he unleashed seven or eight palm strikes in succession. Jiang Mingzhe took a step to the east and a step to the west, his figure ethereal and ever-changing, easily dodging the attacks. The two monks in his hands were pulled swaying precariously, and they were almost accidentally injured by Xuan Ci several times.

Seeing this, Xuan Ci knew he couldn't catch up with him. Without further hesitation, he shouted sharply, "Quickly form the Arhat Formation!"

Jiang Mingzhe laughed and said, "Why don't you shout 'Quickly invite the Buddha!'"

Before the words were finished, the monks watching the battle moved in unison, leaping up as if turning beans into soldiers, and forming ranks according to their red, gray, yellow, or black robes, rushing towards the center of the square.

Inspired, Elder Xu immediately shouted, "Beggar Clan disciples, quickly form the Dog-Beating Formation to guard the outer perimeter and do not let a single enemy escape!"

The Arhat Formation is Shaolin Temple's most treasured weapon, said to be invincible. Murong Fu and Xiao Feng's expressions changed drastically.

Xiao Feng had studied martial arts with Xuan Ku and knew the power of this formation best. In his anxiety, he suddenly increased his palm power by three times at its peak, and with a series of rapid palm strikes, he forced Shen Shan and the others to retreat step by step. Taking advantage of the opportunity, he leaped out of the encirclement.

He shouted, "Brothers, run! I'll cover your retreat!"

Kumārajīva's eyes darted around, and his attacks became increasingly restrained. Seeing that Xiao Feng was so skilled, he was still nervous, so he knew that this formation must be earth-shattering. He planned to escape before Xiao Feng could finish setting up the formation and see just how powerful it was.

Murong Fu was even more panicked. Xuan Ku's Yin-soft palm technique was like a spider web, extremely fine and dense. It was not good at attacking, but good at keeping people in place. At this moment, it tightly bound him and he could not break free. He couldn't help but cry out, "Brother Mingzhe, come and help me quickly!"

But then Jiang Mingzhe laughed loudly, "Brother, don't panic! Watch me make a fool of myself and take down this Shaolin Arhat Formation in one fell swoop!"

Upon hearing this, several members of the Xuan generation of Shaolin shouted in unison, "You ignorant brat, spouting nonsense!"

It should be known that the Arhat Formation was painstakingly created by Bodhidharma. Once set up, it is said to be invincible in the world. No matter how skilled a person is or how many troops there are, they will all be defeated within it.

Therefore, Xuan Ci did not believe that Jiang Mingzhe could break the formation and win. Seeing that the formation was about to be completed, he simply stopped and watched Jiang Mingzhe and the others be defeated and killed in the formation.

The old monk stared intently and saw that Jiang Mingzhe's speed suddenly increased again, and he crashed into the still-unformed Arhat formation. With Xuanbei in his left hand and Xuanjue in his right, he wielded the two old monks as weapons. The surrounding monks were hesitant to attack, so who dared to use their weapons?
Xuan Ci thought this was Jiang Mingzhe's method of breaking the formation and was about to command the monks to intercept them when suddenly more than ten monks screamed in unison and fell to the ground. Then more monks screamed and fell down.

Xuan Ci was greatly surprised, only then realizing that a thick, bluish-black mist had spread and dissipated wherever Jiang Mingzhe had passed, as if building a wall behind him. "Ah! What a vicious demon! This is the poison technique of the Xingxiu Sect!"

Xuan Ci roared in a trembling voice, his eyes wide with fury. He never expected that Jiang Mingzhe would be so resourceful and skilled in using poison.

He naturally didn't know that the "Lingbo Poison Step" technique was something even Ding Chunqiu himself didn't know. In the whole world, only that freak Jiang Mingzhe could use poison in this way.

Jiang Mingzhe used the Lingbo Weibu technique to charge around, his internal energy turning into poison, which overflowed from his Yongquan acupoint.

With his current internal strength, the effect of transforming poison is far more terrifying than when Wuliang Mountain dealt with the Shennong Gang back then.

Wherever it passed, black mist formed a wall, like a sorcerer opening a path of flames or a magician running away from poison. Its movements were swift and its poison was potent. The renowned Arhat Formation, making its first appearance in over a hundred years, was broken before it could even unleash its power!
Seeing the monks screaming and rolling on the ground, even with Xuanci's cunning and composure, he felt a chill run through his body, as if his soul was about to float out of his fontanelle. He cried out in anguish, "Buddha above, is this Jiang the nemesis of Shaolin Temple? I'll fight you to the death!"

Having said that, he rolled up his sleeves and gave chase.

As Jiang Mingzhe weaved through the crowd, he laughed loudly: "Hahahaha, old monk, you associate with such wicked people as Ye Erniang, how could your Buddha protect you? Hahahaha, not only will he not protect you, but he will also suffer retribution. You caused the Xiao family father and son to be separated, and now your own son is missing somewhere. Isn't this the retribution your Buddha is giving you?"

Before he came to Shaolin Temple, he regarded the secret of Xuan Ci breaking the precepts and having an affair with Ye Erniang, resulting in the birth of an illegitimate child, as the key to breaking the deadlock. However, he never expected to learn such a divine skill from Xiao Yuanshan. With his combat power soaring, this secret became less important. Otherwise, how could Xuan Bei have stopped him from finishing his sentence?

Seeing Xuan Ci's defenses breached, he didn't mind continuing to attack his mind.

Xuan Ci, who was still chasing after him, suddenly stopped upon hearing this. A young monk behind him, who was eager to enter the formation, lost his footing and bumped into Xuan Ci's back.

This young monk was clumsy and his martial arts skills were obviously not very good. Xuan Ci, with his great skill, was actually knocked off balance by him and fell to the ground.

The Xuan generation members were all shocked. They had thought Jiang Mingzhe was just talking nonsense, but seeing Xuan Ci's appearance, it was clear that he had lost his composure and was completely at a loss.

The young monk, realizing he had bumped into the abbot, was terrified and quickly helped him up, almost crying, "Abbot, please forgive me! Abbot, please forgive me! This disciple deserves to die a thousand deaths..."

Xuan Ci glanced at him subconsciously and saw that the young monk had thick eyebrows, big eyes, and upturned nose. He was quite ugly and shook his head, saying, "No wonder."

He helped her to her feet, and after a moment of stunned silence, two streams of tears rolled down her cheeks. Gathering her strength, she shouted at the top of her lungs, "Ring the bell! Ring the bell! Today, the evil forces have invaded, and annihilation is imminent. We beg all fellow practitioners of the martial world to lend their full support and protect the Dharma. The Shaolin monks will never forget you!"

In a short while, all the bronze bells in the temple rang out at once, their sound carrying for dozens of miles.

Xuan Ci had also calculated the timing perfectly—Elder Xu had just set off the fireworks to signal the invited martial arts practitioners. It was only twenty miles from Dengfeng to Shaolin, and after fighting for half a day, it would have been enough for the most skilled martial artists to arrive nearby. Therefore, Xuan Ci personally asked for help, and the bell was to urge the practitioners who were further away to come as soon as possible.

Jiang Mingzhe didn't care. He circled the arena and poisoned more than 300 Shaolin monks of the Hui and Xu generations. This was only because he had converted the centipede's venom. If he had used the deadly poison of the Manggu Toad directly, Shaolin would have become a hell on earth.

Hearing the loud whistling sounds outside the temple, indicating that many experts were rushing over, Jiang Mingzhe shouted, "Abbot Xuanci, you have quite the heart! To protect the foundation of Shaolin, you're not afraid to lose face in front of all the heroes of the world! By the way, Ye Erniang also died at my hands. Before she died, she told me a secret: after giving birth to your son, she burned nine incense scars on each of her buttocks and back to commemorate his monk father. She asked me to find him so that you and your son could recognize each other!"

Xuan Ci trembled uncontrollably. As he trembled, he suddenly noticed that the ugly monk supporting him was also trembling, as if he had been infected by him.

Xuanci glanced at him, thinking that this ugly monk was young and inexperienced, and had become flustered upon hearing that he, the dignified abbot, had done such a disgraceful thing. He suppressed his emotions and advised, "Don't listen to his nonsense. This is a demon deliberately ruining the reputation of our temple..."

The young monk's expression was extremely complicated as he whispered, "Abbot, this disciple has nine incense scars on his buttocks..."

(End of this chapter)