Chapter 390 - 100 Breaths to Battle a Grandmaster, Deer Head, Celestial Waterfall Peak

HUMMM—

Inside the sealed tomb, a massive Dharma Form stood with its eight arms clasped together. Ripples spread through the air, carrying the faint, ethereal sound of Buddhist chanting.

The sound had no discernible distance or direction, seeming to well up from beneath the earth and fall from the heavens simultaneously.

“Even Tributor Mao…”

Someone from the Nine Banners side mumbled, his voice trembling, his face a mask of despair and terror.

Beneath the Dharma Form, a composed Fu Juemin slowly took a step forward.

THUMP—!

It was as if that foot had stomped on everyone’s chest. Their hearts all gave a violent lurch, as if seized by an invisible hand and then suddenly released.

The surviving Nine Banner Prodigals, their faces deathly pale, scrambled backward.

Only Wei Jie remained still, seemingly oblivious to the increasingly oppressive atmosphere.

His lips were pressed into a thin line. He didn’t move an inch, his eyes fixed on the center of the eight clasped Buddha Palms, as if waiting for something.

THUMP—

A second step.

The crowd retreated again. Wei Jie remained motionless.

THUMP—!

A third step.

CRACK!

Finally, at the exact moment Fu Juemin took his third step, a strange sound came from the palms of the eight-armed Dharma Form.

Beneath it, the strolling Fu Juemin paused, a hint of surprise on his face as he lifted his head slightly.

The next second—

BOOM!

An unprecedentedly terrifying aura erupted in midair.

From between the fingers of the Demonic Buddha Dharma Form’s eight tightly shut Buddha Palms, streams of black energy—like mist, like frost, like snow—poured out frantically!

WHOOSH—

The shattered scene of the “Old Snow Courtyard” reappeared.

But this time, there was no courtyard in the scene—only a deluge of pure white snow falling from the sky!

The snowflakes weren’t drifting down; they were crashing down. Each one carried a bone-chilling killing intent, as if determined to bury the entire Pill Hall.

Amidst the raging blizzard, which seemed almost solid, the eight Buddha Palms were slowly forced open from within by an immense power.

A figure slowly rose from between the palms. It was vaguely recognizable as the silhouette of Elder Deer Horn—only now, the head on his shoulders had transformed into a massive, ancient-looking deer’s head.

He stood there amidst the blizzard, radiating a terrifying, world-consuming aura.

“Haha!”

The raging snowstorm obscured the Dharma Form’s body, completely shattering the oppressive atmosphere. It was as if something had broken free from its cage.

Wei Jie, who had been standing still, finally saw the scene he had been waiting for and couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“Master Mao!”

Wei Jie pulled a simple yet exquisite box from his sleeve. He faced the deer-headed figure, his eyes shining and his spirits soaring, his voice filled with unconcealed ecstasy. “The Demon-Controlling Pill is here! Master Mao, you may act without restraint!”

ROAR—!

From within the blizzard came a cry that was not quite human, nor quite a deer’s, as if in response to Wei Jie’s call.

By now, the rapidly expanding, raging “blizzard” had completely enveloped the Demonic Buddha Dharma Form, which had occupied nearly half the Pill Hall, along with Fu Juemin’s figure beneath it.

It was a sea of white. Nothing could be seen, only the howling of the blizzard and the ever-thickening, suffocating pressure.

Wei Jie glanced in the direction where the figure had disappeared, a cold smile playing on his lips. He had once again regained his initial confidence, the feeling that everything was under his control.

“Let’s go!”

With a wave of his hand, he turned and strode off in a different direction.

The remaining Nine Banner Youth scrambled to follow, stumbling over themselves.

The group quickly arrived before a stone wall covered in strange indentations.

The wall was tall and massive, its grayish-blue surface carved with intricate patterns. The indentations were arranged in an irregular circle, each with a different size and depth.

Wei Jie, moving with practiced ease, took out twelve Jade Talismans from his robes and began fitting them into the slots on the wall one by one.

“Wei… Wei Jie…”

As the Nine Banner Prodigals watched Wei Jie work, one of them couldn’t help but ask, “Where… where are we going?”

“Out, of course.”

Wei Jie shot the speaker a glance and sneered, “Weren’t you all clamoring to get out?”

“But the things in this tomb…”

“We’ll come back for them after Master Mao takes care of everything.”

Wei Jie was expressionless, as if stating the most ordinary thing in the world.

CLICK!

He forcefully pushed a Jade Talisman into a slot on the wall and said nonchalantly, without looking up, “Helu found himself a good dog. That Fu Lingjun’s strength really did exceed my expectations. But since Master Mao has already fallen into demon, the rest of the fight won’t be worth watching…”

His tone carried an absolute, unquestionable confidence.

“Do you have any idea? For every breath Master Mao spends past the Heart Demon Barrier, his power increases. Every ten breaths, his power doubles. If he remains fallen for a hundred breaths…”

Wei Jie paused, then suddenly smiled, the curve of his lips carrying a hint of inexplicable cruelty. “I’m afraid he could even try his hand at slaughtering a Grandmaster!”

“What’s a Grandmaster?”

Someone interjected. Wei Jie couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

“You idiot! The National Preceptor is a Grandmaster!”

“Oh, oh…”

The prodigals had a sudden realization, and the terror on their faces immediately subsided.

No matter how strong Young Master Ling of the Profound Banner was, how could he possibly compare to National Preceptor Sang Luo?

One by one, they became overjoyed and resolute, as if they could already see the dawn of victory.

Wei Jie suddenly realized that talking to this herd of swine was a waste of breath. He shook his head and focused on opening the doorway before him.

Just as he was about to insert the twelfth Jade Talisman into its corresponding slot, a series of gasps erupted from behind him.

Someone shoved him hard, causing him to stagger. The twelfth Jade Talisman slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground with a CLATTER.

“You imbecile!”

Wei Jie gritted his teeth in anger, violently pushed away the person who had crowded him, and hastily picked up the Jade Talisman at his feet.

But as he straightened up, he found that the area around him had fallen strangely silent.

The Nine Banner Prodigals beside him were all facing the same direction, their faces ashen and their teeth chattering, as if they had seen something utterly horrifying.

Wei Jie frowned and followed their gaze.

The instant he saw what it was—

He froze as if struck by lightning, his expression one of stupefied shock.

There, five or six meters away, a massive deer head lay silently on the ground.

The neck had been brutally torn apart. Jagged tendons and blood vessels were exposed, and dark red blood dripped down, forming a small, viscous pool on the floor.

The head’s dark golden, inhuman eyes were still wide open, retaining the cold indifference they held in life.

But now, they were completely devoid of vitality.

Wei Jie stared blankly at the deer head, his mind a complete void.

Then, he followed the trail of blood on the ground behind the head, his gaze inching forward.

—Not far away, the Pill Hall, which had been ravaged by the “blizzard,” was once again calm.

A Dharma Form stood silently in the center of the room.

Unlike the previous Dharma Form that shone with brilliant Buddha Light, this one, while still having four faces and eight arms, had a central face that was murky and formless. It stood on a black lotus, and its body was entwined with the Five Poisonous Creatures… A demonic inferno raged!

Under the shimmering light of the Luminous Pearls, this Dharma Form looked like a true demon descended upon the world.

Behind the Dharma Form, a vast shadow was rapidly expanding outward, like a giant black net being cast to envelop the entire Pill Hall…

Fu Juemin, still in his long robes, stood beneath this Dharma Form. He casually flicked the blood from his fingertips as he ambled toward them.

His gaze swept over the twelfth Jade Talisman in Wei Jie’s hand, and he smiled.

Then, in a gentle tone, he said softly:

“If you want to get out, why go to all this trouble?”

“I’ll… help you.”

Not far away, the dying Hong Huan let out a sharp, strange peal of laughter.

The laughter echoed through the silent hall, and Wei Jie felt something explode in his mind with a BOOM.

At this very moment, staring at the deer head before him, only a single thought spun endlessly in his mind—

‘How many breaths?’

‘From the moment Master Mao fell into demon until now, how many breaths have passed?!!!’

…….

「Lu Mountain, Celestial Waterfall Peak.」

This peak was located above Five Elders Peak, hidden in the clouds and mist, connecting to the Celestial Waterfall Platform above.

Water vapor among the clouds was drawn in by a unique climate and a natural force field, collecting celestial dew to form a suspended pool that cascaded down in a vast, magnificent torrent, like a waterfall from the heavens.

It was a pity that the world only knew of the Yellow Rock and Xiu Feng Waterfalls, praising the wondrous sight of the “Nine Falls of the Milky Way,” yet was unaware that the Celestial Waterfall was the true king of them all!

Below Celestial Waterfall Peak, a mighty, snow-white waterfall thundered down from the roiling clouds, crashing against a strange, protruding rock halfway down and kicking up a sky-full of mist. Sunlight pierced through gaps in the clouds, passing through the mist and refracting into a myriad of rainbows, enveloping the entire waterfall in an ethereal halo.

Xie Mingzhi was currently seated on a giant rock beneath this rainbow-filled expanse, his hands resting on the Winged Ring, his eyes slightly closed.

A group of his Fire Cloud Army subordinates were scattered around him, each polishing their blades and firearms.

There wasn’t a single human sound, only the celestial music of the waterfall, which rumbled like muffled thunder.

Suddenly, a muffled boom echoed from within Celestial Waterfall Peak.

The men stopped what they were doing, all looking up toward the source of the sound before turning to Xie Mingzhi.

On the giant rock, Xie Mingzhi’s eyes snapped open, and he slowly rose to his feet, his expression calm.

“They’re here.”