Chapter 440 : Lending a Hand
440: Lending a Hand
At the moment the Buddha dissipated, everyone present felt it, and only then did the Buddha Sect disciples finally look up.
What they saw wasn't good—the Abbot and Huiqian were falling together. But before anyone could rush forward to catch them, a figure appeared first, catching the Abbot perfectly while also scooping up the half-dead Huiqian—with black hair and defined features, who else could it be but Golden Peng, arriving just in time?
Seeing this, the disciples finally relaxed, but with the battle now over, they still swarmed toward the rear mountain. They didn't know how things had developed to this point, but the Abbot appeared seriously injured, which was clearly no small matter.
Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue also wanted to follow and see, especially those demonic patterns on Huiqian's face, which were truly mysterious, even able to bewitch the White Tiger. However, this was the Buddha Sect's internal affair, so Jiang Mo took a step forward before hesitating and pulling back to ask: "Is it appropriate for us to follow them now?"
It wasn't really appropriate, especially with the Abbot seriously injured, making the timing rather delicate. But Yun Qingyue was also quite concerned about this matter, so after a moment's consideration, she still pulled Jiang Mo along behind the monks.
The rear mountain of the Buddha Sect wasn't open to outsiders, but it wasn't entirely forbidden either. Most of it contained the residences of the Abbot and elders, as well as important sect locations like the Scripture Pavilion, which was why outsiders were politely refused entry. However, places like the Scripture Pavilion were naturally protected by formations, so while it wasn't entirely appropriate for Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue to follow the crowd to the rear mountain, it wasn't a major transgression either.
Cultivators move quickly. By the time the group reached the rear mountain, Golden Peng had just finished settling the injured Abbot. He looked at the wound on the Abbot's chest and abdomen, and a golden light flashed through his black eyes as he noticed black energy swirling within the bright red blood.
Golden Peng's heart immediately tightened as he thought of Huiqian who had been entangled with demonic qi earlier. He had no time to deal with this traitor and quickly used spiritual energy to seal the wound—under his gaze, the black energy at the Abbot's wound seemed alive, actively trying to burrow into the Abbot's body. However, Buddhist light naturally countered evil forces, and the Abbot's profound Buddhist light had prevented it from easily succeeding.
But that was before. The Abbot had just summoned the Buddha to subdue Huiqian, obviously depleting himself considerably. Now his Buddhist light was weak, and the black energy that had previously failed to find an opportunity to invade the wound was now vigorously trying to enter the Abbot's body.
At this moment, as Golden Peng's spell sealed the wound, the black energy's invasion was finally suppressed. Unfortunately, he had arrived a step too late—some black energy had likely already entered the wound, and he lacked the power to extract it. This black energy was demonic qi, but different from what was commonly known. Just look at Huiqian—even the Buddha summoned by Abbot Huining at full strength couldn't immediately affect the demonic patterns on his body.
This was truly troublesome. Would the Abbot himself have a solution?
While thinking, Golden Peng placed a medicinal pill in the Abbot's mouth. The pill dissolved instantly, its effects rapidly spreading throughout his body, finally bringing some improvement to his complexion, which had been pale to the point of near transparency.
After waiting a while longer, the Abbot finally expelled a deep breath and opened his eyes.
Golden Peng's anxiety eased somewhat, and then he reached out to pull over the half-dead Huiqian: "Abbot, are you alright? And Elder Huiqian, what happened to him?"
The Abbot looked at Huiqian, his expression extremely complex, but he still recounted what had happened.
It turned out that after Tan Xin disappeared, the Buddha Sect had sent many elders and disciples to investigate. Since they didn't even know how the person had disappeared from the Buddha Sect, searching became like finding a needle in a haystack. At first, it wasn't a big deal—at worst, they just couldn't find the person. But later, somehow, the Buddha Sect disciples who had gone out lost contact one team after another, and the soul lamps remaining in the Buddha Sect began to flicker.
The cultivation world was full of opportunities but also dangers. If one or two teams temporarily lost contact, the Buddha Sect wouldn't have been concerned. Moreover, as long as the soul lamps hadn't extinguished, it meant the people weren't dead, so encountering some danger could be considered tempering.
Until later, when more and more people lost contact, even the senior members guarding the Buddha Sect grew restless, so they sent out messages recalling disciples back to the sect.
The message was sent out ten days ago, and then Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue arrived with that bottle of malevolent qi. The harm of malevolent qi was self-evident, especially since this had previously nurtured a malevolent beast—keeping it nearby was no different from planting a bomb. So after the elders conferred and obtained the Abbot's approval, they deployed most of their masters to purify the malevolent qi.
Everything had been proceeding orderly, with disciples who received the recall notice gradually returning, but today something went wrong with the malevolent qi purification. So everyone except the Abbot had rushed to contain it, including the hardworking Golden Peng.
The subsequent events were largely witnessed by everyone. First, Huiqian had hurriedly returned and had a private audience with Abbot Huining. Then, claiming disciples were in trouble, he distracted the Abbot, and finally, taking advantage of his unpreparedness, Huiqian stabbed the Abbot with a pre-prepared dagger—the dagger he used was clearly tainted with demonic qi, which clung like a persistent parasite, which was why Huiqian, whose cultivation was far inferior to the Abbot's, had been able to fight him to a standstill.
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In the urgency of the situation, Golden Peng and the Abbot conversed without avoiding the crowd. Thus, Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue, who had mixed with the crowd to reach the rear mountain, also heard the Abbot's account clearly.
After listening, Jiang Mo had no particular thoughts but commented: "The timing is really too coincidental, isn't it?"
The cultivators, with their sharp hearing, naturally caught this remark, and Golden Peng immediately turned his head to look.
Meeting his gaze, Jiang Mo suddenly felt nervous, but with her senior sister beside her, she didn't back away. Steeling herself, she explained: "We happened to see what occurred and were worried about the Abbot, so we followed everyone to check."
Golden Peng showed no intention to reproach her, but instead gestured toward the two: "You've come at just the right time. I have something I'd like to ask for your help with."
Hearing this, Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue exchanged glances. They had come seeking the Buddha Sect's help and were currently staying on Buddha Sect territory, so when the other party made a request, they couldn't easily refuse. They stepped forward from the crowd and asked: "What does Senior need from us?"
Golden Peng was about to speak, but glancing at the many monks of various ranks around, he swallowed his words for the moment. Using spiritual energy to support the weakened Abbot, and casually carrying the clearly demonically possessed Huiqian, he said to them: "Let's go. First, let's take the Abbot back to his residence to recover, and then we'll discuss what I need your help with."
Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue naturally agreed. Golden Peng didn't stand on ceremony and quickly dispersed the disciples who had gathered.
Golden Peng led everyone to the Abbot's residence, familiar with the way. After closing the door, he pointed to the Abbot's wound and asked the two: "Do you have any solution for this?"
Following his gesture, Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue first saw only the Abbot's bloody wound, and then noticed the black energy clinging to it. They both instinctively glanced at Huiqian, their expressions changing slightly.
Golden Peng knew they had understood, his mood slightly heavy: "Well? Any ideas?"
Jiang Mo examined carefully for a moment, then shook her head with some difficulty: "I haven't tried before, I don't know."
Yun Qingyue also shook her head. The Phoenix True Fire could exorcise demons, but she wasn't sure if her true fire, which had merged with ice flame, would work.
Seeing their reactions, Golden Peng couldn't help but show disappointment. The Abbot, however, was much more open-minded—even his terrible injuries hadn't made him dejected. He looked at Jiang Mo with kind eyes: "If you haven't tried, then why not give it a try?"
The old monk's attitude was very good, but Jiang Mo didn't dare agree—what if trying led to death? This was a sect leader, and even though Buddhist cultivators were generally good-tempered, she had seen Tan Ming swing his staff at people before. She couldn't bear this responsibility!
Golden Peng immediately saw her concerns and quickly pulled Huiqian over, pointing at the demonic patterns on his face: "The Abbot is injured and shouldn't be subjected to experiments. Why not try on this traitor instead?"
Jiang Mo hesitated, clearly thinking that compared to the injured Abbot, Huiqian, who had already been tormented by the Buddha, was in an even worse condition.
But Golden Peng had a point. Regardless of whether Huiqian was controlled by demonic patterns or something else, the fact that he attacked the Abbot made him a traitor. And since he was a traitor, there was no need to show mercy. Jiang Mo's only reminder was: "You're just handing him over to me? Haven't you interrogated him yet? He suddenly returned to assassinate the Abbot—who's behind this?"
This question prompted Golden Peng to look at Huiqian before shaking his head: "It doesn't matter. Just leave him with a breath of life. Besides, he's currently controlled by demonic patterns, so questioning him would yield nothing. Let's wait until after you try to remove the demonic patterns."
This made sense. Jiang Mo nodded after hearing this, then yielded her position to Yun Qingyue.
Seeing this, Yun Qingyue looked at Jiang Mo, who gave her a pleasing smile. The senior sister immediately understood—Jiang Mo had previously been affected by these demonic patterns, and although it hadn't caused any consequences and she was now prepared, making a repeat unlikely, she was still somewhat wary.
This was a small matter for Yun Qingyue. After glancing at Huiqian's face covered in demonic patterns, she pinched her fingertips, and an ice-blue flame blossomed at her fingertips, resembling an ice flower. Then she casually flicked her finger, and the "ice flower" floated toward Huiqian. He seemed to sense the danger and instinctively shrank back, but given his current physical condition, he couldn't escape.
Soon, familiar agonizing screams echoed through the quiet room, sounding even more miserable than when he was held in the Buddha's palm—then, the Buddhist light had fought against the demonic patterns, creating a conflict of power that was painful enough. Now, the ice flame was burning his very soul, naturally causing even more pain.
Jiang Mo got goosebumps from the screams, but she had to admit that this burning was effective. Although Huiqian's already weak soul became even weaker, like a candle in the wind, the dense demonic patterns on his face truly began to dissipate. His eyes, previously completely black from the demonic patterns, revealed some white, and there seemed to be a hint of clarity in them...