thefictionvixens Chapter 134 A Visitor in the Rain, a Disciple of a Sect, and the Identity of the Head
Chapter 134 A Visitor in the Rain, a Disciple of a Sect, and the Identity of the Head
Chapter 134 A Visitor in the Rain, a Disciple of a Sect, and the Identity of the Head
Outside the temple, wind and rain raged, with lightning and thunder.
Inside the temple, a person and a stone Buddha gaze at each other in silence.
Seeing the head of the blind man he had met once before, Modi felt a pang of sadness at the impermanence of life.
If he hadn't traveled at night but had instead traveled with me, I might have been able to avoid my inevitable death.
But there aren't that many "what ifs" in life.
Modi remembered that the blind man had told him before he set off that his purpose was to track down the "Blood Demon".
Judging from its name, this "Blood Demon" is probably not a good thing; it might even have practiced a blood-sucking and blood-refining martial art.
Judging from the blind man's condition, he is now decapitated, with only his head and two arms remaining, while the rest of his body is missing. It is highly likely that he was killed by the Blood Demon.
Perhaps, the torso would be dragged to some unknown corner by the Blood Demon and drained of its blood.
"Wait, Blood Refining, Blood Demon, is this really not talking about me?"
Modi rubbed his chin and raised an eyebrow. No wonder he always felt that the title of Blood Demon was destined for him.
He gestured towards the Buddha statue from afar, and the deathly aura of the Styx swept up three heads and brought them before him.
The three heads bobbed up and down, each with a ferocious expression and a clean cut on its neck, as if they had all been beheaded with a single sword stroke.
Besides the blind man, one of the remaining two heads had a completely shaved head and still had a monk's scar, clearly indicating that the person was a monk.
The other one had two mustaches and a sleazy demeanor, and was probably the owner of that magical curved sword.
Modi examined the cuts under the head and determined that they had been severed about half an hour earlier.
Based on the degree of decomposition of the skulls, he determined that the three had been dead for about half an hour, and that their time of death should be roughly the same.
Based on the traces he observed before entering the ruined temple, which showed only footprints leading inwards and none leading outwards, he roughly drew a conclusion.
If the murderer did not leave from behind the temple, or did not make a point of erasing his footprints, then he is most likely still hiding in the temple.
"There were no signs of a fierce struggle around, which suggests that the three did not put up a strong resistance, or that they were killed by the assailant before they could even make a move."
Modi looked around, mentally assessing the killer's strength.
"The fact that the killer was able to take down three Nascent Soul Realm cultivators so quickly, even if it was through a sneak attack, is enough to prove that the killer is not simple. Even if he is not at the Divine罡 Realm, he is still a top Nascent Soul Realm cultivator."
After placing the three heads on the offering table, Modi took down the three sacred objects held by the Buddha statue and examined them carefully.
He had previously had the idea of studying the blind man's erhu, but he hadn't found a suitable excuse. Now that the blind man was dead, he could just pick up the erhu.
He picked it up; he figured nobody wanted it anyway.
"Spiritual artifacts possess spirituality and are imbued with the true essence of their owners. Only their true owners can unleash their full power."
Modi tried playing the erhu, but as soon as the Styx death energy attached itself to the string, it snapped due to the conflict of nature.
As the string snapped, two sword energies flew out along with a shrill whistle, leaving two deep sword marks on the wall of the dilapidated temple.
"No wonder that old blind man admires Wan Jinghan so much. It turns out he himself is also a swordsman. His string sword technique is quite interesting."
Seeing that he had already broken the erhu, Mo Di had no choice but to put it in his pocket and start tinkering with the remaining two magical artifacts.
Vajra, as you can tell, is something monks use. It's all about "smashing it hard," and by actively activating it, it can release protective Buddhist light.
Unfortunately, after he infused it with the death energy of the Styx River, this thing followed in the footsteps of the erhu and snapped in two with a crack.
"Is it that my Styx Death Aura is too domineering, or are these spiritual artifacts too fragile?"
Modi focused his gaze on the last scimitar, about to destroy it, when suddenly several hurried footsteps came from outside the temple.
At the same time, several voices could be heard through the rain.
"Brother Zhang, there's a dilapidated temple over there. Let's go inside and take shelter from the rain."
"That's exactly what I was thinking. Fellow junior brothers and sisters, let's hurry up!"
Judging from the footsteps, there should be five people outside—three men and two women—all skilled in martial arts, but their cultivation levels should be below the Qi Condensation Realm.
Based on the sound of their footsteps, Modi determined their height and weight, and created a rough model of them in his mind.
He put down his scimitar, turned around, and looked through the wide-open temple door into the rain. His gaze quickly locked onto five figures running in the rain.
The five people were about the same size as he had expected, and the one with the highest cultivation level was only at the Blood Refining level, while the one with the lowest cultivation level was only at the Bone Refining level.
The other three were all at the Refining stage.
Led by a young man in white robes, the four ran into the temple in the rain. As soon as they stepped through the temple gate, they saw the headless, six-armed Buddha statue.
Lightning struck the sky just as perfectly, casting a distorted shadow on the Buddha statue in its glow.
Including the Buddha's head, the four heads on the offering table faced the five people, appearing particularly childlike under the light of lightning.
The five people gasped for breath, never expecting to witness such a horrific scene just after finding shelter from the wind and rain.
They were ultimately just inexperienced rookies with little experience in the martial arts world; even Zhang Lingjun, who was leading the team, had never seen such a scene before.
On the contrary, the young man at the end of the group, whose cultivation level was only at the Bone Refining level, reacted immediately after a moment of stunned silence and cautiously touched the hilt of his sword.
At the same time, he took a step back, shielding everyone in front of him.
Zhang Lingjun finally reacted, drew his sword, stared intently at the heads in front of him, and stood protectively in front of everyone.
"Fellow disciples, do not go in yet, and do not stray too far from me. Be careful, there may be an ambush in the temple."
The dilapidated temple was pitch black, and the five people were so engrossed in the most conspicuous Buddha statue and head that they did not immediately notice that there was another person standing in the dark corner.
Instead of stepping forward to assert his presence, Modi remained standing in the corner, observing the group of five.
They appeared to be disciples of some sect, dressed in matching white robes, and were soaked to the bone, looking quite disheveled.
The leader should be their senior brother. He has a kind face and a scholarly air about him. He also has the highest cultivation level.
The three people in the middle were all at the Refining stage, one man and two women. The man had a horse-like face and his eyes were always squinting, so it was hard to say whether he had actually opened his eyes or not.
The two women were quite different. One was cold and aloof, with her shoulder-length hair tied back. The other was lively and energetic, with two ponytails, and looked no more than fifteen or sixteen years old.
At that moment, they were all pale with fright from witnessing the horrific scene inside the temple, and it took them several deep breaths to recover.
Except for the boy at the very back.
The boy had an ordinary face, and he had long since recovered from his shock, but his brows were full of vigilance.
His muscles were tense, as if he were ready to slip away at any moment.
"They all use swords, could they be disciples of some sword-wielding sect?" Mo Di speculated.
As he was sizing up the five people, they were also sizing up the heads on the offering table.
"Isn't that a famous senior?" The girl with the ponytail exclaimed, pointing at the blind man's head. "A famous senior is a renowned figure in the martial arts world, how could he die here?"
Famous? So the old blind man's name is "Famous"? What a strange name.
Modi's expression was strange.
"And there's also the monk Bujie from Qingtai Temple; I never imagined he'd die here too!"
"And this last one, isn't that the notorious lecherous thief Tian Boshe, known as 'The Unyielding Swordsman'? He also died here. Who did it?"
One by one, the crowd explained the identities of the three heads on the offering table in detail.
Mo Di was slightly taken aback. Good heavens, these three were not unknown figures. They might even be considered experts in the Condensation Realm.
But now they are all dead here, dead in a dilapidated temple.
A flash of lightning briefly illuminated the dilapidated temple.
Taking advantage of the lightning, Zhang Lingjun quickly scanned his surroundings.
Boom!
Amidst the rumbling thunder, a sudden chill ran down his spine, and his eyes fixed on a dark corner. Just moments before, he seemed to have seen a dark figure standing there.
No, this is no illusion. Someone has been hiding right under their noses all along, and they haven't even noticed.
He instinctively drew his sword, pointed it at the corner, and shouted:
"Who, who's hiding there?!"
The other four looked toward where his sword tip was pointing and could vaguely see the outline of a person in the corner. They all drew their swords and became alert.
At the very back, a hint of surprise flashed in the boy's eyes, and he took another step back without making a sound.
Under the watchful eyes of the five people, the figure in the dark corner finally moved.
As if carrying some kind of invisible pressure, with each step he took forward, the five people simultaneously took a step back.
Large beads of sweat gathered on Zhang Lingjun's forehead. He gritted his teeth, feeling as if he were facing not a person, but some kind of behemoth.
The invisible sense of oppression only dissipated when the figure finally emerged from the darkness and was fully revealed in their eyes.
The young man, dressed in a red Taoist robe, had fair skin and a slender build; he was none other than Modi, who had undergone body modifications.
Because his original physique was too eye-catching, making him particularly attractive to both the opposite sex and some members of the same sex, he made some adjustments to his appearance to minimize trouble, adopting the physique and appearance he had when he first transmigrated.
At that time, he was still very thin, untouched by Devia's torment or the secondary development caused by blood magic, and his eyes were clear.
She is no different from a college graduate who has just entered the workforce.
"May I ask how you are addressed?"
Zhang Lingjun looked into the young man's eyes, and for a moment, he seemed to see a lake of blood.
With the sound of rushing water, blood filled his nasal cavity and throat, making him feel suffocated.
Just when he thought he was about to drown in the icy blood, the blood disappeared in an instant, and he returned to the dilapidated temple. The cold rain lashed his face, soaking his hair and clothes.
He then realized that he had somehow retreated outside the temple.
The four people around them were the same; their faces were pale, and they were panting heavily, like drowning people who had been rescued and were breathing in the fresh air.
Without exception, their eyes were filled with fear as they looked at the young man at the temple entrance.
"Come in, all of you. Next time, don't point your swords at me again."
Modi left those words behind, turned around, and went into the temple.
The five brothers exchanged glances, clearly reluctant to go in again. In the end, Zhang Lingjun made the final decision: "Since our senior has given such an order, we, as his juniors, certainly cannot refuse."
The implication was that they were worried the young man in the Taoist robe might be so angry that he would kill him.
As the eldest disciple, he went to the temple first, and the remaining four had no choice but to follow in his footsteps and head towards the dilapidated temple.