The Reversal of Heaven Begins with The Smiling, Proud Wanderer

"boom--!!"

The deafening explosion of the clashing energies created a small whirlwind, sending sand and gravel flying. The monks watching were forced to retreat, some even being struck by the energy, blood trickling from their mouths.

Lin Mu's left hand met Fang Zhi's "Vajra Palm" head-on. Fang Zhi felt a bone-chilling cold rush into his palm, and the fierce Buddhist true energy was instantly frozen. His arm felt as if it had fallen into an ice cave, and with a "crack", his wrist bone was shattered.

He screamed and flew backward, crashing into the ginkgo tree behind him and spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Dodging Fang Tong's staff, Lin Mu unleashed "Frosty Snowflakes," his fists flashing like snowflakes as he launched a dense attack, knocking Fang Tong back and dislodging two pebbles that had been used as hidden weapons.

Then he added a move called "Frosty River," a straight punch that sent chills surging like a long river.

Of the group, only Master Fangzheng was able to maintain his composure.

Seeing how powerful Ren Woxing was, he no longer held back. The internal energy of the Yi Jin Jing surged within him, and a faint golden light emanated from his body.

That's a sign that you've reached the Innate Realm in the Yi Jin Jing!

"The sea of ​​suffering is boundless, but turning back is the shore!"

As Fang Zheng spoke, his hands quickly formed a mudra, unleashing the "Thousand-Hand Tathagata Palm." The palm shadows were numerous, as if the Thousand-Hand Guanyin had descended. Each palm shadow carried pure Buddhist true energy, creating a mixture of illusion and reality, with endless variations. It was even somewhat similar to Lin Mu's "Phoenix Dance Six Illusions" movement technique.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Lin Mu and Fang Zheng exchanged more than ten palm strikes in quick succession. With each collision, Lin Mu could feel that the opponent's internal energy was as condensed as steel, and even if he used the "Star Absorbing Technique", he could not shake it in the slightest.

[This Yi Jin Jing truly lives up to its reputation as the Shaolin Temple's supreme martial art; it can even preserve one's original essence under the influence of the Star Absorbing Technique.]

This Fang Zheng is indeed quite capable; there was a reason why Ren Woxing was wary of him back then.

Lin Mu secretly praised him, but his fighting spirit only intensified.

Chapter 28: Esteemed Masters, I Need Your Assistance in My Cultivation

Compared to Lin Mu, who became stronger with each battle.

Master Fang Zheng became increasingly alarmed as the fight progressed.

The demon's inner strength was like a vast ocean, unfathomable. After dozens of rounds, it not only did not run out, but became even stronger.

What's even more terrifying is that the opponent's strength is extremely formidable. Each punch carries the force of a thousand pounds and is accompanied by a bone-chilling cold. If it weren't for the internal energy of the Yi Jin Jing protecting his body, he would have already collapsed.

Seeing this, Fang Tong, Fang Zhi, and the two elders guarding the pavilion disregarded their pride and launched another attack.

But Lin Mu's movements were too fast, and their attacks repeatedly missed.

No matter how strong the attack, if it doesn't hit the target, it's a waste of effort.

Moreover, Lin Mu has cultivated the "Indestructible Vajra Divine Art," which allows him to condense protective qi, so even if he is hit, they cannot break through his defenses.

Lin Mu could fail many times, but apart from Fang Zheng, who was protected by the Yi Jin Jing, anyone else from Shaolin would be instantly absorbed and refined by Lin Mu if they made a mistake.

"This demon has such profound cultivation!"

Fang Tong leaned on his monk's staff, veins bulging on his forehead.

He blocked three of Lin Mu's Heavenly Frost Fists, but nearly half of his internal energy in his dantian was depleted. Although the thin frost on his arm was melted away by the Buddhist true energy, it still left behind a bone-chilling cold.

"We can't waste any more time!"

Fang Tong thought to himself, then suddenly exerted force with his feet, his body shooting out like an arrow. His right leg bent at the knee and straightened, kicking Lin Mu in the lower abdomen with fierce Buddhist energy.

It is the "Huai Xin Leg" from the Seventy-Two Shaolin Arts. This move requires the internal force of the dantian to activate, and the leg wind is fierce, which is used to break close-range entanglement.

However, his internal strength was ultimately insufficient, and his kick was a fraction slower than usual. In the instant his knee straightened, a fleeting opening appeared on his side.

Lin Mu's eyes are as sharp as an eagle's; how could he miss this flaw?

Instead of retreating, he advanced, flipped his left wrist, and white frost suddenly condensed on his palm. The extremely yin and cold frost energy surged like a tide, and the "frost-cold embraces the moon" fist force struck Fang Tong's chest!

This punch, though seemingly simple, contains three layers of chilling force: the first breaks the body's protective qi, the second freezes the meridians, and the third injures the internal organs.

It was after refining his internal energy during this period that he gained a new understanding of the Heavenly Frost Fist.

"Crack!"

The sharp crack was ear-piercing. Fang Tong felt as if his chest had been struck by an ice pick. His protective inner energy shattered instantly, and a chill rushed into his chest. The excruciating pain from his broken ribs made his vision go black.

He screamed in agony as his body flew out like a kite with a broken string, crashing into the merit monument behind him. Cracks spread across the stone, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood, staining the inscription "Namo Amitabha Buddha" on the monument.

But he did not die.

Lin Mu deliberately held back three-tenths of his strength, and the cold force in his palm avoided the vital point of the heart, only breaking three of his ribs.

If a person dies, their internal energy will dissipate. How can a fresh "container of internal energy" be as real?

Lin Mu followed closely, and before Fang Tong could even land on the stone tablet, he had already rushed over, his right hand gripping Fang Tong's dantian like an iron clamp, and a suction force quietly erupted from his palm.

"Junior Brother Fang Tong!"

"You wicked scoundrel!"

Master Fangzheng was shocked and furious. The palm shadow of the Thousand-Hand Tathagata Palm instantly enveloped Lin Mu's back; Fang Zhi also launched a rapid palm attack, trying to force Lin Mu back.

Lin Mu was prepared. He condensed the Heavenly Frost Qi in his left palm and struck out with a backhand strike called "Frost Condensation Reveals Clumsiness." The frost was as cold as a wall, forcefully blocking the two people's attacks.

"Ugh—!"

Fang Tong's screams rang out again. He felt as if his dantian was being swallowed by an invisible vortex. The Buddhist internal energy he had cultivated for more than 30 years was like a flood bursting its banks, pouring out wildly through Lin Mu's palm.

He tried to use his internal energy to resist, but found that the more he resisted, the faster his internal energy was lost.

In just a few breaths, the face of this top Shaolin master visibly withered, his once rosy complexion turned ashen yellow, his eyes were filled with despair and hopelessness, and when he collapsed to the ground, he didn't even have the strength to lift his hand.

A surge of pure, early-stage innate internal energy flowed into Lin Mu's body, and he felt his dantian qi surge.

Fang Tong's internal energy was even more powerful than that of the previous head of the Bodhidharma Academy. After merging with his own pure Yang true energy, it actually allowed Lin Mu to break through the bottleneck and reach the late stage of the Innate Realm.

Lin Mu's aura suddenly surged, his black robe fluttering in the turbulent energy. He looked at the remaining monks with a hint of amusement and said in Ren Woxing's tone, "Masters, I need your help in my cultivation."

Having said that, he moved swiftly, his Frosty Ice Steps shattering the afterimages, and instantly arrived in front of Fang Zhi with a sharp, cold wind.

Fang Zhigang blocked the attack with his Vajra Palm and immediately felt a numbness in his wrist.

Lin Mu's fingertip had already struck his Quchi acupoint, instantly causing the powerful Buddhist true energy to stagnate.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Lin Mu grabbed his wrist and activated the Star Absorbing Technique again. Although Fang Zhi tried his best to defend himself, he only lasted for three breaths before losing all his internal energy and collapsing to the ground, half-dead.

With the balance of power shifting, only Abbot Fangzheng and two elders guarding the gates of Shaolin were still able to hold on.

The two elders, whose cultivation was already slightly weaker, were terrified to see their fellow disciples suffer defeat after defeat, and their finger strikes became increasingly scattered.

Lin Mu dodged a finger strike to the side, then flicked a cold current from his palm, sending two icy energies precisely aimed at the elders' knees. With two "thumps," the two elders' knees buckled, and they collapsed to the ground, where they were helped aside by the martial monks who arrived shortly afterward.

Now, only Master Fangzheng remains on the field.

He looked at his junior brother lying on the ground, and at the disciples around him who were filled with fear. His eyes were filled with grief and indignation. The internal energy of the Yi Jin Jing in his body suddenly circulated, and a layer of shimmering golden light appeared on his body.

That was the ultimate manifestation of practicing the Yi Jin Jing to the mid-stage of the Innate Realm, with every inch of skin containing pure Buddhist Qi.

"Demon! Today, I will use my crippled body to protect the thousand-year-old foundation of Shaolin!"

Fang Zheng formed a hand seal and unleashed the Thousand-Hand Tathagata Palm, the palm shadows overlapping and covering Lin Mu like countless Buddha hand seals.

Lin Mu neither dodged nor evaded, but instead unleashed both fists simultaneously, releasing the Heavenly Frost Fist with effortless ease.

After more than ten rounds, Fang Zheng's blood and qi were churning, but his eyebrows and cassock were covered with frost.

He discovered that Lin Mu's internal energy was like a bottomless abyss, and although his own Yi Jin Jing internal energy was pure, it was also being depleted very quickly.

Just as he was distracted, Lin Mu suddenly changed his move, abandoning his fist and turning his right palm into a finger, shooting a condensed icy force towards Fang Zheng's left shoulder.

It imitates the Shaolin finger-picking technique, but appears even more domineering.

Fang Zheng hurriedly turned to the side, but was still grazed on the shoulder armor by the force of the finger. With a "hiss", the red kasaya was pierced, and a sharp pain came from the shoulder bone.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Lin Mu pressed his left hand against Fang Zheng's dantian and activated the Star Absorbing Technique at full power.

Fang Zheng realized something was wrong and gathered all his life's power in his right palm, unleashing the killing move "Buddha Descends to Earth" from the Thousand Hands Tathagata Palm, aimed directly at Lin Mu's crown.

The force contained in this palm strike is enough to splatter the brains of an ordinary innate master!

But Lin Mu neither dodged nor evaded. A faint golden light suddenly emanated from his body, his protective aura like a thin armor covering him—it was none other than the "Indestructible Vajra Divine Art"!

Chapter 29: Abbot, I'm here to help you!

With a muffled thud, Fang Zheng's palm struck Lin Mu's head hard, but it only produced a metallic clang, and Lin Mu's scalp didn't even have a red mark.

The force of the recoil surged into Fang Zheng's body through his arm. He felt a tightness in his chest, staggered back several steps, his blood and qi churning violently, and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

"You...you actually know the Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill!"

Fang Zheng's pupils suddenly contracted, and his voice trembled.

He knew all too well the significance of this martial art—it was the supreme defensive technique of Shaolin, personally created by Bodhidharma, and ranked among the ten most difficult to master of the Seventy-Two Arts. It had been lost three hundred years ago.

The only remaining boxing manuals in the temple are incomplete, and even the weakened version of "Hun Yuan Tong Zi Gong" has not been mastered by anyone.

This demon in front of us not only knows the Star Absorbing Technique, but also has mastered a lost Shaolin martial art.

A sense of despair welled up in Fang Zheng's heart.

This person moves with ghostly speed, his fists are cold and unpredictable, his defense is indestructible, and he can even absorb people's internal energy—he is simply an unsolvable opponent!

His fellow disciples were becoming the enemy's "internal energy reserves" one after another. He was struggling to hold on alone, and if the fight continued, he might also perish here.

Just when he was in despair, Fang Zheng suddenly remembered something.

Ren Woxing's Star Absorbing Technique, while capable of absorbing others' internal energy, has a fatal flaw.

[The mixed and chaotic internal energies are extremely prone to conflict within the body, and the slightest carelessness can cause the meridians to burst.]

This demon has absorbed the internal energy of Fang Tong, Fang Zhi, and many others. These energies have varying properties; how can his dantian and meridians withstand them?

A thought flashed through Fang Zheng's mind like lightning.

[The strange internal energy within this fiend's body must be chaotic and disordered, and his meridians are on the verge of collapse. As long as I actively infuse him with the internal energy of the Yi Jin Jing, I will surely be able to detonate the internal energy within his body and burst his meridians!]

Thinking of this, a tragic light flashed in Fang Zheng's eyes.

This is a fight to the death; if it doesn't succeed, it's all for naught.

But as long as he could get rid of this demon and save Shaolin, he would die without regret.

Fang Zheng suddenly withdrew his palm, no longer dodging, but instead actively met Lin Mu's palm, circulating his inner strength in his dantian without reservation, and even deliberately loosening his protective true qi.

"Ok?"

Lin Mu sensed something was wrong the moment his fingertips touched Fang Zheng's shoulder.

Just now, the internal energy of the Yi Jin Jing was as condensed as iron. Even if he used the reverse version of the Star Absorbing Technique, it would take him a lot of effort to shake it. But today, Fang Zheng's internal energy was like a flood breaking through a dam, actively surging towards his palm.

Lin Mu was slightly taken aback, but instantly saw through Fang Zheng's scheme and sneered inwardly.

[Trying to burst me apart with some kind of alien energy? Ren Woxing might fall for it, but for me it's just free!]

However, in order to better absorb Fang Zheng's internal energy, Lin Mu pretended to hesitate, his fingertips paused slightly, and a hint of panic appeared in his eyes.

That look happened to fall into Fang Zheng's eyes.

[As expected! He's nearing his limit! He dares not absorb any more internal energy. You don't want it? This old monk will give it to you anyway!]

Fang Zheng was overjoyed. He suddenly grabbed Lin Mu's wrists and pressed his hands firmly against his shoulders. He said in a deep voice, "Demon! Didn't you want to absorb my inner strength? I'll give it all to you today! Let's see if your body can withstand it!"

The internal energy of the Yi Jin Jing flowed into Lin Mu's body like a mighty river.

Although this internal energy is gentle, it is extremely condensed. If it were Ren Woxing, not only would he not be able to absorb it, but even if he did, he might be overwhelmed and die.

However, Lin Mu's reverse version of the Star Absorbing Technique has no flaws in the conflict between different types of true energy. Moreover, each time he absorbs internal energy, it not only automatically purifies it, but also integrates some energy into his meridians and dantian, increasing its strength.

The more Lin Mu absorbs, the stronger he becomes.

Once the internal energy of the Yi Jin Jing enters the body, it is instantly refined, so there is no risk of it bursting.

However, in order to get Fang Zheng to cooperate, Lin Mu still pretended to be panicked, and even used his internal energy to force out sweat to make it more realistic.

His wrist trembled slightly, as if he wanted to pull his hand away and back, his voice carrying a deliberately feigned pain: "No...enough! Stop! Stop it now, ah..."

Seeing his appearance, Fang Zheng became even more convinced that his judgment was correct, and poured his inner strength into him even more rapidly.

"What goes around comes around! When you were absorbing the internal energy of my Shaolin disciples, did you never think of this day? Now you regret it, but it's too late!"

A resolute glint flashed in his eyes: "Today I will send you to hell, so that you may repent for those disciples who died unjustly in the deepest hell!"

"Stop...stop pouring! Get away!"