Urban Martial Saint

In the manor used as the base of the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance, several top masters were congregated, discussing how to deal with the Corpse Ghost Dragon. However, despite lengthy discussions, everyone was still at a loss for solutions. The Corpse Ghost Dragon’s power was simply too overwhelming, already beyond the existence of a peak master. Even if all these peak masters joined forces, they would still be no match for it!

Mr. Ding Lianshun, though a protector of the Twelve Green Halls, was also seated in the hall, participating in the consultations. On the matter of dealing with the Corpse Ghost Dragon, everyone was uncharacteristically united. After all, if the Corpse Ghost Dragon was not removed, the Twelve Green Halls and the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance would be inevitably crushed by it; no one would emerge unscathed. Instead of waiting for the Corpse Ghost Dragon to deal with them one by one, it was better to join forces against it, which would offer a higher chance of success.

During the discussions, Mr. Ding Lianshun remained silent. He had originally gone to Medicine King Mountain intending to awaken Yin Xianzi. However, even after meeting Ning Qianshu and Bai Li Xi, both skilled doctors, they couldn’t revive Yin Xianzi, which concerned him even more. If things continued like this, who else could awaken Yin Xianzi?

While worried about Yin Xianzi, Mr. Ding also recalled the words Heavenly Master Lin Xuan Yue had once shared with him. After leaving Beimang Mountain, Mr. Ding contacted Heavenly Master Lin Xuan Yue again, inquiring whether he could request the Miaojiang Witch to confront the Corpse Ghost Dragon. After all, in today’s world, only the Gu Mother from Miao Borderlands, who hadn’t appeared in centuries, could stand against the Corpse Ghost Dragon.

Being part of the Twelve Green Halls, Mr. Ding naturally knew about Miao Borderlands’ situation and understood that the Gu Mother was actually the Fire Sang girl, who had an excellent relationship with Ye Qing. If Ye Qing personally sought out the Gu Mother, she would surely not sit idly by. As long as the Gu Mother were willing to act, dealing with the Corpse Ghost Dragon would be a breeze.

Yet, as soon as Mr. Ding mentioned this proposal, Lin Xuan Yue immediately rejected it. Lin Xuan Yue’s response was simple, Shijia also knew the true identity of the Miaojiang Witch but hadn’t informed Ye Qing nor planned to involve the Gu Mother, so the people of the Twelve Green Halls should refrain from meddling in this affair.

The relationship between Shijia and Ye Qing was fairly good; Shijia had quietly aided Ye Qing extensively to reach where he is today. Since not even Shijia planned to reveal the real identity of the Miaojiang Witch to Ye Qing, there must be some issue within. Hence, Mr. Ding dismissed the notion, knowing that if Heavenly Master Lin Xuan Yue made this decision, there must be a reason for it!

In actuality, Mr. Ding was unaware that the reason Shijia and Lin Xuan Yue hadn’t disclosed the Miaojiang Witch’s matter to Ye Qing was primarily because they didn’t want to bear the consequences. The Miaojiang Witch is inherently a being transcending Fate; every emergence of a Gu Mother is invincible, supreme, unrivaled, and even the Buddhist and Taoist paths are overshadowed by its glory. Fortunately, every Gu Mother from Miao Borderlands tended to remain there, seldom venturing out, thus their external influence wasn’t significant.

However, the situation of this generation’s Gu Mother differed; she had an extraordinary relationship with Ye Qing. If the Miaojiang Witch left Miao Borderlands due to Ye Qing, the outcomes could be unpredictable. The Miaojiang Witch transcends fate; neither Shijia nor Heavenly Master Lin Xuan Yue could foresee everything about the Gu Mother. If the Gu Mother did come out, Fate might be forcibly altered, causing many things to deviate from their predicted path, deviating from the path envisioned by Buddhist and Taoist calculations. This is precisely what they most desired to avoid. Therefore, neither Shijia nor Heavenly Master Lin Xuan Yue wished to provoke the Miaojiang Witch into coming out!

Besides the Buddhist and Taoist figures capable of calculating Fate, only the people of the Twelve Green Halls knew the true identity of the Miaojiang Witch; even the Seven Steering Committees of Hong Alliance were unaware of her true identity. Hence, no one considered inviting the Gu Mother to deal with the Corpse Ghost Dragon. After all, given Miao Borderlands’ long-standing discord with the Han people, how could their Gu Mother possibly lend a hand?

Listening to the group’s discussion, Mr. Ding Lianshun suddenly suggested, ”Why not use Sha Men’s Seven Kills Formation to deal with the Corpse Ghost Dragon?”

Everyone’s eyes turned toward Mr. Ding, and Ye Qing said, ”Mr. Ding, although the Seven Kills Formation has considerable power, confronting the Corpse Ghost Dragon might still be far from sufficient. The Seven Kills Formation of Sha Men probably couldn’t even trap you, let alone the Corpse Ghost Dragon!”

”You misunderstood my point.” Mr. Ding shook his head and said, ”I’m suggesting we find seven peak masters to set up the Seven Kills Formation together, possibly making the power even stronger? By using the Seven Kills Formation, we could enhance the combat strength of our seven people. We might have a fighting chance against the Corpse Ghost Dragon!”

The mention of the Seven Kills Formation piqued everyone’s interest immediately, and Bai Li Xi glanced directly at the Bloody Monk, saying, ”Baldy, I think Old Ding’s idea is pretty good. What do you think? Why not bring out your Seven Kills Formation Map so we can practice the formation. When the Corpse Ghost Dragon arrives, we seven peak masters can encircle him within the formation, making it a manageable ordeal.”

The Bloody Monk and Bai Li Xi were acquaintances, and Bai Li Xi had even aided him once before. Thus, despite Bai Li Xi’s decidedly impolite words, the Bloody Monk showed no anger. He slowly shook his head, saying, ”This approach won’t work; the Seven Kills Formation can’t deal with the Corpse Ghost Dragon!”

”How can that be?” Bai Li Xi argued, ”The Seven Kills Formation can enhance a person’s skill by more than tenfold, right? Amplifying seven peak masters’ skills by more than tenfold—what concept is that? Even if the Corpse Ghost Dragon had regained only thirty to forty percent of his power, confronting him would still be possible!”

”It’s not quite like that,” the Bloody Monk explained, ”The Seven Kills Formation is indeed a powerful enhancement technique for those below the level of top masters. But for those above that level, it’s entirely ineffective because the formation’s power has a limit, which is the level of a peak master. Essentially, seven ordinary martial artists mastering the formation to its extremity would equal one peak master. Similarly, seven peak masters would only maintain peak level proficiency without much enhancement, meaning they couldn’t handle the Corpse Ghost Dragon!”

”There is that notion?” Bai Li Xi was stunned, saying, ”So this Seven Kills Formation is unusable. Then how would we face the Corpse Ghost Dragon? Are we destined to sit idly by and wait for demise?”

Everyone fell silent, understanding that while ”waiting for demise” was unpleasant to hear, it was an apt description of their current predicament. With their current abilities, they were no match for the Corpse Ghost Dragon!

After a moment of silence, Helian Tiehua suddenly turned to the Wolf Monk and asked, ”Wolf Monk, did Master Shijia mention when he might come to Shenchuan City?”

Thinking for a moment, the Wolf Monk replied, ”My brother said he needed to find a crucial item, which might provide a way to counter the Corpse Ghost Dragon.”

”What’s this item?” everyone inquired simultaneously, for anything capable of confronting the Corpse Ghost Dragon was surely extraordinary.

”This item, the Bloody Monk probably knows!” The Wolf Monk looked at the Bloody Monk, saying, ”It’s a map discovered fifty years ago by Xiaolin Temple. The map marks the location where Patriarch Bodhidharma passed into nirvana.”

”Patriarch Bodhidharma!?” Everyone in the room exclaimed collectively, having heard of Patriarch Bodhidharma’s deeds. Notably, those like Helian Tiehua, Shen Tianjun, and the masked elder, had received the Patriarch Bodhidharma’s legacy, a very pivotal matter indeed.

The Wolf Monk said, ”My brother noted the Corpse Ghost Dragon’s power is overwhelming, and uncontrollable, suggesting they visit the location where Patriarch Bodhidharma attained nirvana, seeking secret techniques left behind by the Patriarch, which might offer a solution against the Corpse Ghost Dragon.”

With brows tightly furrowed, the Bloody Monk said solemnly, ”Fifty years ago, the people from Xiaolin Temple set out in full force to find the marked location but returned empty-handed. Now, that old bald Shijia wants to search again. Does he believe he can find it this time?”

”My brother said, ’Fifty years ago and now are different!’” the Wolf Monk replied, ”recently, the secret techniques of Patriarch Bodhidharma have appeared repeatedly, indicating the Patriarch may have made preparations long ago. Therefore, this time they’re bound to uncover something!”

The Bloody Monk didn’t refute this notion; events of the recent years had been numerous, with Patriarch Bodhidharma’s techniques, buried for hundreds of years, continually appearing worldwide. This occurrence was inherently peculiar. It might indeed be as Shijia suggested: these things were prearranged by the Patriarch before his departure. But centuries ago, could Patriarch Bodhidharma predict all future events? That strength would truly defy the heavens!

”So, in the short term, Shijia won’t come to Shenchuan City to help!” Ye Qing suddenly asked.

”My brother needs to find Patriarch Bodhidharma’s grave and it’s unclear when he can find it,” the Wolf Monk nodded, ”when he can come to Shenchuan City to assist remains uncertain.”

”Given this, we shouldn’t place all our reliance on him alone,” Ye Qing said, looking at Helian Tiehua and others. ”The Seal Mountain Array in Medicine King Mountain won’t trap the Corpse Ghost Dragon for long. I feel he may arrive in Shenchuan City before Shijia does. So, we must devise a plan to deal with the Corpse Ghost Dragon!”

The group stared at each other. They had been discussing for so long precisely to devise this plan.

”Ye Qing, the Corpse Ghost Dragon’s power is excessive, the gap in strength between us is far too large,” Mr. Ding said solemnly, ”alone, facing him, is utterly impractical. Even with a plan, it’d still be futile; against absolute power, ambush or assault yields the same result!”

Ye Qing slowly shook his head and said calmly, ”If strength is lacking, then we should avoid direct confrontation!”