Chapter Thirty-Six: The Primordial Cave Dwelling

Zhang Xiao had stayed in Wang Ben’s military camp for half a month before the agreed-upon day arrived. During these days, Zhang Xiao kept himself busy; apart from the occasional drink, he spent most of his time poring over the tome of spatial magic, studying it with great care. Though he still only half understood many things, his insights into spatial magic had already proven immensely rewarding.

Wang Ben mounted his steed and led thirty thousand elite soldiers in grand procession towards the ancient cavern. Though neither side had yet shown hostile intent, Wang Ben remained exceedingly cautious—after all, as the saying goes, there is no such thing as too much guile in war. Should the Peacock Buddhist Kingdom suddenly turn against them, Wang Ben would be in dire straits. Thus, all the men he brought were the most skilled from his ranks. Zhang Xiao, clad in the same black armor as the other soldiers, blended unobtrusively among them.

When the ancient cavern first appeared, the disturbance was immense. Yet when Zhang Xiao saw its entrance, he realized that if one were not paying attention, it would be impossible to guess there was a cultivator’s dwelling hidden within what appeared to be no more than an ordinary earthen tunnel.

Thirty thousand armored troops lined up behind Wang Ben, their formidable presence making the commanders of the Peacock Buddhist Kingdom across from them grip their weapons tightly, wary that Wang Ben might suddenly attack.

“General Wang, of your warriors selected for this expedition, which ten will it be? Would you introduce them to me?” A foreign monk clad in robes and holding a staff stepped out from the opposite ranks with nine others.

Zhang Xiao’s eyes narrowed at the sight. This monk had already attained the rank of “Master,” equivalent to a Nascent Soul expert. In the Buddhist hierarchy, only those who reached the Master realm could don such robes and bear a staff. The other nine monks, though not weak, were only at the “Disciple” stage and wore plain robes.

Wang Ben smiled and replied, “Oh, how could my men compare to you, Master? Come, step forward and let the Masters have a look. Perhaps with some luck you’ll even receive some guidance.”

At his words, ten soldiers stepped out, Zhang Xiao among them. The leading foreign monk swept his gaze over the group and, seeing that all ten were only at the late Golden Core stage, couldn’t help but look down on them. “Hmph! With such paltry strength, they think to compete with me for treasure? I wonder why King Ashoka is so wary of the Huaxia Kingdom.”

As dusk approached, Zhang Xiao and his group, along with the ten monks from the Peacock Buddhist Kingdom, strode into the earthen tunnel. Though the two sides walked together, they kept a wary distance from each other. The tunnel was deep, and as Zhang Xiao proceeded, he felt increasingly uneasy, as if the path would never end. Though those who’d come before warned that the road was strange and long, they found it not dangerous. Yet as Zhang Xiao and the others walked, they couldn’t help but feel discomfort. An hour passed as they pressed forward.

Suddenly, a flash of light appeared ahead. As they drew near, they saw it was a massive doorway veiled in a shimmering curtain of light. According to those who had previously entered, once you passed through this curtain, you would be randomly transported to any corner of the ancient dwelling within.

“Amitabha. Please, honored guests, after you,” the leading monk said with a smile, stepping aside.

Zhang Xiao quietly transmitted a message to the soldier beside him: “Once inside, find a place to hide and don’t rush deeper. Mark your position—when everyone is gathered, wait at the periphery. Whatever happens, don’t die here.” The nine elite soldiers’ expressions didn’t change as they strode into the light, and Zhang Xiao entered last.

When Zhang Xiao and his team vanished into the light, one of the monks couldn’t help but ask, “Senior Brother Lazan, why not take the opportunity to kill a few of them here?”

Lazan smiled. “Hmph, what’s the point in killing them? If they die, who will draw the corpse-fiends’ attention inside for us?” At this, the monks burst out laughing.

As Zhang Xiao passed through the curtain of light, his body suddenly felt weightless, as if he were floating in midair. All around was a white mist, obscuring everything. Then, the scene abruptly darkened.

When Zhang Xiao could see again, he found himself at the foot of a palace wall. Before him towered a massive red stone barrier, surrounded by rubble. For a moment, he couldn’t tell where he had landed. Spreading his spiritual sense, he found he could only probe seventy meters or so—likely due to the restrictive spells in this place. Suddenly, a guttural roar echoed nearby. Zhang Xiao’s face changed as he realized over a hundred corpse-fiends were charging at him.

These monstrosities were grotesque, pieced together from various corpses. Yet their numbers didn’t trouble Zhang Xiao. With a sweep of his wide sleeves, he summoned surging pure yang energy that transformed into blazing spiritual fire, reducing the fiends to ash in an instant.

After dealing with the threat, Zhang Xiao called forth his bronze-armored corpse, intending to use its earth-burrowing ability to hide underground. Unfortunately, the bronze-armored corpse, usually unstoppable, seemed to have regressed to an iron-armored one here—its earth-burrowing talent rendered useless. With no other choice, Zhang Xiao put it away.

Luckily, though the bronze-armored corpse was of no use, his “Divine Step” technique was only slightly affected. Using this movement art, Zhang Xiao pressed eastward along the stone wall. The deeper he went, the more corpse-fiends appeared—hundreds, then thousands, then tens of thousands—but with the Divine Step, not a single one could even touch the hem of his robe.

He followed the wall for several hours. At one point, Zhang Xiao tried to leap over the wall, but some restriction here made flight impossible. Fortunately, his patience held. After half a day, he finally found a stone door. But pushing it open, he was stunned: a group of foreign monks were locked in battle with a horde of corpse-fiends.

Though outnumbered, the monks, fighting in formation, cut down the fiends with ease, as if chopping vegetables. Especially the Master-level monk—one tap of his staff sent waves of Buddhist light surging out, burning the fiends to cinders. In the midst of this fierce battle, Zhang Xiao’s sudden entrance caught both sides off guard. Though each side wished to slay the other, neither expected a direct encounter at this moment. But seeing Zhang Xiao was alone, the monks relaxed.

One Disciple-level monk hurled a demon-subduing hammer at Zhang Xiao, while the others chanted, sending waves of Buddhist light toward him. Only Lazan, the Master, paid Zhang Xiao no heed. To his mind, with his own strength at the Master level, he could easily slaughter even a typical Nascent Soul expert, much less a late-stage Golden Core soldier like Zhang Xiao.

But Lazan miscalculated. Seeing the monks attack, Zhang Xiao smiled. Golden light erupted from his body as crimson scales sprouted, encasing him like armor. His fingernails grew three feet long, leaving only his eyes visible. At the same time, he activated his Immovable Dharma Body—a golden wheel appeared behind his head, within which sat a tiny golden figure cradling a jade bell.

“What is this?!” The monks were dumbfounded. If Zhang Xiao’s technique was from the Buddhist canon, none of them had ever heard of a method that could create such a terrifying transformation. Nor was it Daoist; yet the aura he emitted was unmistakably pure Buddhist force.

Spiritual treasures and Buddhist light struck his body with resounding cracks, but did not so much as scratch his scales or make him budge.

“Hmph!” Zhang Xiao snorted coldly, used Divine Step, and instantly appeared before one of the monks. His three-foot claws pierced the monk’s chest like five sharp daggers, and with a twist he tore a bloody hole in the man, who was no weaker than a late-stage Golden Core cultivator.

“Monster! You court death!” Lazan, who had been watching from the side, was furious at seeing his junior brother killed before his eyes. He slammed his staff down, unleashing a massive swastika wreathed in Buddhist light. The sigil sealed the air around Zhang Xiao, leaving him no room to dodge.

The swastika descended with deceptive slowness but terrifying force. Lazan was confident that, with his Master-level power, even if Zhang Xiao survived the blow, he would be left half-dead. But as the swastika was about to fall upon him, a five-colored banner unfurled before Zhang Xiao, blocking the attack head-on.

Taking advantage of the moment, Zhang Xiao summoned the Celestial Sounding Bell, striking it with his palm. The bell, tolling with deafening force, shot toward another monk. This monk was considered a formidable expert—ordinary late-stage Golden Core cultivators might not be his match. But the bell’s waves stunned him senseless, leaving him defenseless. Before he could recover, his senior brothers yelled a warning, but as he turned, the jade bell crashed down on his head, splattering blood everywhere—his skull was smashed to pulp.

“Bastard! Kill him!” Lazan was now truly enraged, his form blurring as he unleashed a tide of overwhelming Buddhist might. Zhang Xiao’s expression changed. He had yet to reach the Nascent Soul stage, and resisting Lazan’s pressure taxed him greatly. Lazan swung his staff, launching a barrage of golden lotus flowers.

Zhang Xiao flipped his palm and summoned the Crystal Demon-Subduing Staff, countering with Buddhist chants and all his strength. The two staves collided with a thunderous crash, and a shockwave exploded outward, instantly grinding a nearby would-be ambusher into a heap of flesh.

Cracks began to spider across Zhang Xiao’s Crystal Demon-Subduing Staff. Lazan’s eyes gleamed gold as he redoubled his force. Behind him, the shadow of a Vajra Arhat loomed, raising its iron whip and preparing to strike at Zhang Xiao.

(Author’s note: Still need 15 more for the collection to hit 240—help me out, fellow cultivators! Seven more red tickets as well. If either goal is reached, I’ll add another chapter.)