Wandering Swordsman |

"I see..." Shen Mo slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, which condensed into white mist in the cold night before dissipating.

He leaned against the ruins of the dilapidated temple, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the still-healing wound on his left shoulder, his eyes as calm as a deep pool.

"The power of the Buddha Relic and the aura of the Heavenly Demon are two extremes of heaven and earth—one is pure and righteous, like the sun and moon shining; the other is yin and evil, like the cold tide of the nine netherworlds. Forcing them to coexist is tantamount to setting oneself on fire or drowning oneself in fire."

He lowered his eyes in deep thought, when suddenly, a flash of inspiration streaked across his mind like lightning.

"Wait... the Great Rejuvenating Pill!"

He suddenly sat up straight, a sharp glint in his eyes.

Back when he was in the Moon Demon Pavilion, when he swallowed the Shaolin secret medicine "Great Rejuvenation Pill", there was no demonic energy in his body. The medicinal power of the Great Rejuvenation Pill was as gentle as spring water and was completely absorbed by him without any conflict.

Looking back now, although the Great Rejuvenating Pill was not even one ten-thousandth as powerful as the relic, it faintly exuded a Buddhist aura that shared the same origin as the relic—pure, righteous, and untainted by worldly dust.

"Could it be... that the Great Rejuvenation Pill was originally refined using the aura of Buddhist relics?" Shen Mo's heart trembled. "If that's the case, then my ability to refine the Great Rejuvenation Pill back then means that my physique could originally withstand Buddhist power—it's just that now, due to the entry of demonic energy into my body, the conflict between Buddhism and demonic forces has occurred!"

A bold idea quickly took shape in his mind, spreading like wildfire.

"Since the two will attack each other within the body... why don't I—first completely expel the demonic energy from my body?"

His eyes were piercing, and his breathing became rapid.

"Once only Buddhist power remains in the body, refine the relic with all your might! After the Buddhist power has completely integrated into the meridians and stabilized the dantian, reintroduce the demonic energy... At that time, the relic and Buddhist power will have been refined and absorbed, and the demonic energy will no longer conflict with the relic. Perhaps... they can truly coexist!"

Once this thought arises, it is difficult to suppress.

Shen Mo immediately sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and concentrated. He no longer suppressed the restless demonic energy within his body, but instead actively guided it to flow backward through the eight extraordinary meridians, converging at the Laogong acupoint in his palm.

"out!"

He let out a low shout and slammed both palms onto the ground!

"boom--!"

Black energy burst forth from his body like an ink dragon, gushing from his palms and pouring into the soil beneath his feet. In an instant, the surrounding vegetation withered, the chirping of insects ceased, and even the moonlight seemed to be shrouded in gloom. He trembled violently, as if his bones had been ripped out, his face instantly turning ashen, and cold sweat poured down his face like rain.

But the tearing pain in my body caused by the collision of the two energies actually... lessened.

He suppressed his weakness and looked inward at his dantian—sure enough, all the demonic energy had left his body, leaving only a faint wisp of energy lying dormant deep within his mingmen acupoint, ready for later use. As for the power of the Buddha Relic, it was like a lone sun suspended in the air; although still intense, it was no longer provoked by demonic energy and instead showed a somewhat docile state.

"Now!"

Shen Mo bit his tongue to wake himself up with pain, and at the same time, he circulated his true energy with all his might, like a silkworm spinning silk, slowly enveloping the relic's Buddha light.

"Refine!"

The Buddha's power initially resisted, and the golden light surged, seemingly trying to break free of its restraints. However, Shen Mo was prepared. He used the "Formless Scripture" to transform the illusory into the real, using his own Heavenly Martial Body as a furnace and his mind as fire, refining it inch by inch.

Time passed by, second by second.

The moon rises high in the sky and then slowly sets in the west.

Inside the dilapidated temple, a faint golden light gradually emanated from Shen Mo's body, as if fireflies were dancing beneath his skin. The black energy no longer emanated from his seven orifices, but instead exuded a gentle Buddhist aura. His breathing was long and steady, and the shadow between his brows gradually faded, replaced by an almost sacred tranquility.

"It's done..." He felt a slight joy in his heart, "The Buddha's power has transformed into internal energy and is now merging into my meridians!"

However, just as Shen Mo was about to complete the refining process—

Deep within the dantian, the wisp of demonic energy dormant in the Mingmen acupoint suddenly awakened like a sleeping black dragon! It seemed to sense that the Buddhist power was about to take root completely, and it suddenly erupted, the black energy like needles, striking the dantian directly, trying to tear apart the newly formed Buddhist light barrier!

"Oh no!" Shen Mo's heart tightened, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

He knew that if he let them cause trouble, not only would all his previous efforts be wasted, but he might also trigger a backlash from the Buddha's power, causing his meridians to rupture on the spot!

At the critical moment, he reached out with his right hand, and the Green Ox Sword was drawn from its sheath with a clang!

The sword's blade gleamed with a bluish light, simple and unadorned, yet subtly imbued with a spiritual aura.

Without hesitation, Shen Mo pointed the tip of his sword at his Tanzhong acupoint, quickly channeling the wisp of demonic energy within his body into the sword.

In an instant, the restless demonic energy was drawn by an invisible hand, rapidly ascending from the Mingmen acupoint, passing through the Ren meridian, the Yutang acupoint, and finally gushing out from the Tanzhong acupoint, transforming into a wisp of black smoke that completely disappeared into the Green Ox Sword!

The sword trembled slightly, a flash of blue light appeared, and the black mist, like ink dripping into clear water, quickly sank deep into the spine of the sword and disappeared without a trace.

At this moment, there was no trace of demonic energy left in Shen Mo's body.

He let out a long sigh of relief, as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He then closed his eyes, focused his mind, formed a mudra with his hands, and concentrated all his attention on the now gentle light of the relic in his dantian.

"change!"

The Buddha's light, like the spring sun melting snow, slowly seeped into every inch of Tianwu's meridians, every bone, and every drop of blood. His pores opened, and golden light shone from beneath his skin, like sunlight reflecting off glass; his hair moved without wind, faintly exuding a Buddhist charm; even his breath became a long, clear sound, like a low chant.

At this moment, no one noticed—

The green ox sword stuck in the ground trembled quietly.

The sword tip lightly touched the ground, and circles of black ripples, barely visible to the naked eye, spread out from the sword, absorbing all the demonic energy that Shen Mo had previously expelled from his body and scattered in the soil!

The black energy flowed like rivers flowing into the sea, all surging into the sword.

Suddenly, the Green Ox Sword let out a soft "hum" and rose into the air on its own!

The sword hovered in mid-air, its blue light and black energy intertwining and flowing like a yin-yang symbol. It slowly circled around Shen Mo, once, twice... its speed unhurried, its trajectory perfectly circular, like a silent guardian protecting him!

As the first rays of dawn shone, amidst the ruins of a dilapidated temple, a man sat cross-legged like a Buddha, a sword coiling around his body like a dragon, golden light and blue shadows intertwined, as if a divine miracle.

I don't know how much time passed—

"boom!"

A soft sound came from within Shen Mo's body, like spring thunder breaking through the earth.

The Buddha's relics were finally completely transformed into a vast amount of internal energy, which was then fully integrated into the Heavenly Martial Body!

A miracle then occurred.

Where his left shoulder was broken, the bone reconnected itself, the flesh grew back like spring grass, and the skin healed completely without leaving a single scar. The sword wound on his chest left by Master Ma had also disappeared without a trace, and his skin was as smooth as jade, as if he had never been injured. Even more astonishingly, his original muscles and bones were now as supple and full as if they had been reborn, and his internal organs felt as if they had been cleansed by sweet dew. He felt light all over, as if he could ride the wind.

He slowly opened his eyes—

A flash of golden light appeared in his eyes, but it was replaced by an unprecedented clarity and tranquility.

"It's like... a complete transformation!" he murmured, his voice clear and melodious.