Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

Chapter 290 Demonic Cult Technique, Nine Spiral Shadows!
Chen Zhan hid behind an ancient tree, observing quietly. He could sense the black aura on the bronze cauldron, which had a very faint fishy smell, but he could only smell it because his five senses were too sharp.

After the other party left, Chen Zhan did not choose to enter the Sutra Repository.

Chen Zhan followed the man in black, watching him sneak into the backyard and head straight for the last meditation room in Guangyuan Temple.

The man in black took out the bronze cauldron again and chanted for a while. This time, Chen Zhan saw that something was burning inside the cauldron, but it was covered by a lid, so he couldn't see the details.

The night wind swirled the shadows of the ancient trees, and the dim light from the meditation room in the backyard cast a faint yellow glow on the window paper.

The small bronze cauldron in the man in black's hand trembled slightly, and the black gas emanating from the gaps in the lid grew increasingly thick. The stench, a mixture of sweet and foul smells, quietly permeated the night.

A moment later, three wisps of black smoke drifted out from the mouth of the cauldron, like three long black snakes, rising silently into the air, and then splitting into three paths, drifting towards the three meditation rooms in the backyard.

On the left is the residence of Abbot Xuanhe of Shaolin Temple, on the right is the meditation room of Fayuan of Huayan School, and in the middle is the residence of Master Xuankong.

The black smoke drifted extremely fast and disappeared into the night, completely unnoticed by the patrolling monks.

The meditation rooms on the left and right sides were completely unobstructed. Black smoke seeped into the cracks in the doors and windows like water, silently entering the rooms. The lights inside did not flicker at all, as if everything was normal.

The man in black shook his head, looking very disappointed.

As the last plume of black smoke approached the central meditation room, a sudden and unexpected change occurred!
The wisp of black smoke drifting towards the central meditation room suddenly hissed as it approached the door.
A faint golden light suddenly appeared around the meditation room. The golden light spread like wildfire, and the black smoke ignited at the slightest touch, turning into wisps of white smoke that instantly dissipated into the night without leaving a trace.

The man in black's eyes gleamed; he knew he had found the right place!
Before he could react, the wooden door of the central meditation room shattered with a loud bang, and a beam of golden light shot out from the room, transforming into a huge golden handprint that struck the man in black directly in the face with overwhelming force!

"You wicked scoundrel, how dare you lay a hand on me!"

Master Xuan Kong's voice was like a resounding bell, causing the surrounding leaves to rustle.

He was dressed in a red kasaya, surrounded by golden light. He had activated the Crimson Vajra Kung Fu to its fullest extent. His face was solemn, and his eyes were full of murderous intent. There was no trace of his usual compassionate demeanor.

The man in black moved nimbly, leaving behind a trail of shadows. The large handprint swept across the man in black, but only dispersed the afterimages.

He seemed to have been prepared all along, showing no surprise whatsoever.

"Hey, the relic was indeed kept close to Master Xuankong's body; the Scripture Pavilion was just a cover!"

"Master, do not worry. Our Holy Sect will naturally retrieve the Holy Lord's relic. We will keep it on you for a few more days!"

Before the man in black finished speaking, he moved, creating more than a dozen overlapping afterimages around him. Some drifted to the left, while others shot straight into the sky, making it difficult to distinguish between the real and the fake. Each afterimage carried a light whistling sound as it cut through the air, instantly widening the distance between itself and Xuan Kong.

"Where to go!"

Xuan Kong roared, his body radiating golden light. He pushed the Crimson Vajra Technique to its peak, his hands forming hand seals like wheels, unleashing a series of golden palm prints that whistled through the air and caused the surrounding air to collapse.

The palm print crushed down, instantly shattering several illusory figures.

The man in black moved with incredible speed, creating countless afterimages that carried a chilling wind as he rushed toward the back gate of the mountain.

Xuan Kong pursued relentlessly, unleashing a continuous barrage of Vajra Palm prints, yet he could never touch Xuan Kong's physical form, infuriating Xuan Kong so much that his hair stood on end and he roared repeatedly.

"Oh!"

The back gate was kicked down by the man in black. As soon as he rushed out of Guangyuan Temple, he felt two extremely powerful innate internal energies pressing down on him.

Under the moonlight, Abbot Xuanhe of Shaolin Temple and Fayuan of Huayan Sect stood side by side, Xuanhe's hands clasped together, his palms glowing with an ancient bronze light.

The Shaolin martial art, the Vajra Palm!
Fa Yuan then condensed his energy at his fingertips, unleashing a faint golden finger strike as sharp as a needle.

The Huayan School's "Nianhua Zhi" (拈花指)!
The two men locked their auras onto the man in black. As soon as Xuan Kong made his move, the two men dispersed to surround him and prevent him from escaping.

The man in black was both shocked and furious. His phantom moved again, and his body suddenly twisted, trying to break through from the left.

But Xuanhe's Vajra Palm had already blocked his way, and the palm wind was like a wall, making his phantom tremble. Fayuan's Flower-Picking Finger was even more precise and ruthless, directly targeting the major acupoints on his body, and the sound of the finger force cutting through the air was extremely ear-piercing.

The combined power of two innate masters is boundless.

Xuan Kong is on his way and will arrive in a moment.

Although the man in black possessed uncanny lightness skills, he still couldn't dodge two deadly attacks at the same time. His left ribs were struck by the Vajra Palm wind, and he let out a muffled groan as blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. His afterimage vanished almost instantly, and his movements were momentarily slowed.

"The Demonic Cult's technique, 'Nine Spiral Shadows'!"

"Capture him!"

Xuanhe gave a low shout, increasing his palm strike by three-tenths of his strength. The bronze palm print struck the man in black directly in the back, intending to shatter his meridians.

Fa Yuan's innate fingertip power was already upon him; if he advanced just half an inch further, he could pierce through the black-clad man's brow.

The man in black dodged to the side, only to be met by another palm strike from Xuanhe!

Three experts at the Innate Realm were surrounding and killing one person, leaving him with absolutely no way to retreat.

Despair flashed in the man's eyes as a dark figure suddenly darted out from the side.

Chen Zhan appeared without anyone noticing. He carried no weapon, his right hand clenched into a fist. There was no fluctuation of internal energy, but it carried the power of blood and qi that could shatter mountains and split rocks, and he went straight for Xuanhe's palm print.

"Oh!"

When fists and palms collided, there was no burst of golden light, only a dull thud.

Xuanhe felt an extremely powerful force rebound from his palm, instantly dispersing his innate internal energy. His arm went numb, and he was forced to take three steps back by this punch, his palm burning with pain.

At the same time, Chen Zhan swept his left foot horizontally, and the resulting gust of wind struck Fa Yuan's finger-pinching technique.

Fa Yuan's finger strike was disrupted by the strong wind and failed. He was shocked and angry, and was about to make another move when he saw Chen Zhan approach the man in black and push him away towards the forest with his left hand.

"go!"

Chen Zhan's voice was low and deep, only the two people behind him, Xuanhe and Fayuan, could hear it.

The man in black was taken aback, but quickly reacted. Without hesitation, he unleashed his Spiral Nine Shadows once more, his figure transforming into a black streak as he darted into the forest and disappeared into the night. "You dare, you brat!"

Xuanhe was furious, and Xuankong arrived as well.

Chen Zhan took a step to leave.

Xuan Kong roared, "You traitorous demonic cultist, if he leaves, you will die!"

Although Chen Zhan wasn't dressed in black, his face was covered only by his eyes under a brown hood, and his attire wasn't much different from the person from before.

However, Xuan Kong's "Crimson Vajra Skill" had been activated to its limit, and golden light flowed around his body like molten gold. His right hand formed a seal, and the golden palm print, carrying the force of burning mountains and boiling seas, struck Chen Zhan's back.

Xuanhe and Fayuan launched their attacks simultaneously, employing the fierce Vajra Palm and the insidious Flicking Flower Finger techniques to encircle Chen Zhan from three sides, sealing off all his escape routes.

Chen Zhan frowned slightly. He didn't care about the three people in front of him, but there was an aura hidden in Guangyuan Temple, like a lurking beast. The aura was mixed and astonishing, with both the solemnity of Buddhism and the sinister nature of demonic arts.

That aura seemed to be very interested in him, making him feel uneasy and threatened.

Chen Zhan immediately decided to chase after the man in black instead of fighting the three of them.

"roll!"

Chen Zhan let out a low shout, and his blood and qi suddenly erupted! Under the brown hood, his eyes flashed with cold light, and his originally restrained aura erupted like a volcano. His robes fluttered and rustled even without wind.

He twisted his waist, turned around, and with a backhand strike of his left hand, his palm surged with qi and blood, turning a faint crimson color, forcefully catching Xuan Kong's Vajra Seal.

"Oh!"

The collision of gold and red created ripples that spread outwards, shattering the surrounding bluestone slabs and sending leaves flying.

Xuan Kong felt a surge of scalding blood energy flow into his body through the palm print, like magma scorching his meridians. His innate internal energy was thrown into disarray. He groaned and staggered back dozens of steps, his chest heaving with blood and qi, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

The robe on his arm was also blown to shreds, leaving most of his upper body naked.

At the same time, Chen Zhan slammed his right foot off the ground, his body shooting out like an arrow. His fist and palm were loosely clenched, like a hammer and a fist, his blood and qi condensed at the peak of his fist, carrying a sharp whistling sound as he directly attacked the pincer attack of Xuanhe and Fayuan.

This punch was devoid of any fancy moves; it was delivered with the utmost strength and power, and the force of the punch was so great that even the air itself was compressed and emitted a wailing sound!

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

Chen Zhan was still some distance away from the two of them and did not release his internal energy, so how could he possibly exert such pressure?

Xuanhe and Fayuan's expressions changed drastically; it was too late to leave.

He could only gather his inner strength to withstand the attack.

"boom!"

The two men's internal energy shattered instantly like ice crystals. The next moment, they were swept backward by the force and crashed into the outer wall of Guangyuan Temple. The outer wall could not withstand the force of the two men and created a pile of ruins.

Chen Zhan swayed and broke free from the encirclement of the three men. He pushed off with his feet and sped towards the mountain forest where the men in black had fled.

His method of rushing forward this time was completely different from before. He relied entirely on his qi and blood to drive the attack. Each step covered several feet, and when he landed, the ground trembled slightly. His figure was like a streak of red light, and he disappeared into the night in an instant.

The monks inside the temple heard the commotion and rushed over, intending to follow the figure.

"No need to chase!" Xuan Kong roared.

Chen Zhan only needed two moves to scatter the three men, leaving them barely clothed. He fared somewhat better, but the other two abbots of the three major Buddhist sects were directly blasted into the ground.

If these monks chase after them, they'll only be throwing their lives away.

"Senior brother, this person's qi and blood are so strong that he doesn't even need to use his internal energy. It's unheard of!"

Xuanhe, with veins bulging on his arms and blood at the corner of his mouth, emerged from the ruins and spoke.

Fa Yuan nodded, gazing in the direction Chen Zhan had disappeared, his brows furrowed: "This person is colluding with the demonic sect, yet he doesn't seem to follow the demonic sect's ways. Who exactly is he?"

"Let's go to the secret room to talk first." Xuan Kong was the oldest and the senior brother of the two, so he naturally made the decision.

Meanwhile, in the mountains and forests, Chen Zhan was tracking at full speed.

He held a speck of pale yellow powder between his fingertips—pollen from the photinia flower.

When she pushed the man in black away, she had secretly stuck some pollen on the corner of his clothes.

The pollen had a very faint scent that ordinary people could not detect at all, but it did not escape Chen Zhan's keen sense of smell.

Chen Zhan was more curious about the members of the Demonic Sect.

The old monk's words just now made him think of something; the origins of this demonic sect must be extraordinary.

He sped along following the scent, his blood surging, showing no signs of fatigue.

The mountain forest was rugged and difficult to traverse in the darkness, overgrown with thorns, yet he walked as if on flat ground, as the scent gradually drew closer.

A dilapidated mountain god temple appeared in the distance, its roof broken and vines climbing the corners of the walls. Moonlight shone through the holes, casting dappled shadows.

The scent of pollen gathered here, indicating that the men in black had clearly entered the temple.

Chen Zhan slowed his pace, his aura becoming more restrained, and he moved like a ghost close to the temple wall, peering inside through a hole in the window frame.

Three oil lamps were lit inside the temple, casting a dim light that illuminated five figures.

One of them was the man in black who had just escaped, and he had now removed his mask.

She was a beautiful and charming woman.

(End of this chapter)