Chapter 1781 - 1377: The Difficult Sutra
Dharma’s Heart quietly lies in a pit five feet deep.
The dust and mud around the pit have crystallized under the terrible shock of Mixed Heaven Energy, evident of the immense power in Xiao Jingtian’s enraged strike when he escaped. That impact was at least hundreds of tons, and even with Mixed Heaven Energy, its destructiveness was beyond measure.
This caused Dharma’s Heart, originally indestructible, to directly twist and deform, the combination of iron blocks forming a dice-like mechanism scattered, revealing the shimmering ’X’ mark within.
Jiang Dali’s expression became extremely serious, recalling the warnings from Shaolin Monk Hui Qi and others.
Once Dharma’s Heart is opened, the corresponding position of the ’Catastrophe Weapon’ sealed inside will be fully exposed to daylight.
Even if immediate remediation and sealing are carried out, the exposure of the Catastrophe Weapon’s location will lead some with ulterior motives to quickly advance, attempting to seize the Catastrophe Weapon that could overturn the world.
"This is bad! During the combat’s instant changes, when Xiao Jingtian seized Dharma’s Heart, I thought he, like the Purple Robe Scripture King, was simply interested in Dharma’s Heart. I didn’t expect he was determined to create catastrophe, going so far as to directly destroy Dharma’s Heart, exposing the location of the Catastrophe Weapon."
Jiang Dali frowned and squatted by the pit, speaking in a low voice.
Although that’s how the situation was described, the main reason was never imagining Dharma’s Heart would be forcibly destroyed in such an absurd manner.
After all, anyone attempting to get the location of the Catastrophe Weapon hidden inside Dharma’s Heart would carefully open the mechanism through normal means, obtaining the most accurate coordinate information inside, avoiding not only damage to the coordinate information, but also the sudden emergence of the corresponding location, which could lead to strong opponents beating them to the punch, resulting in a loss that is detrimental only to oneself.
Furthermore, Dharma’s Heart’s inherently robust quality makes it comparable to a Second Grade Divine Weapon, and extraordinarily rare are those capable of destroying it, among whom Great Demon God Xiao Jingtian happens to be.
These various factors make it difficult for even Jiang Dali to consider the extremely low probability and nearly impossible occurrence of such events.
Listening to these words, Xiao Sanxiao went to the side of the pit, his face changing continuously, teeth grinding in frustration before a long, disappointed sigh, "Ah, Dharma’s Heart in your hands, these two rebellious sons brazenly, from the very beginning, showed interest in the Dharma’s Heart in your possession, not targeting you because of me. I should have figured it out! I should have realized!"
The more he sighed, the more regretful he appeared, glancing at Xiao Aoshi on the ground with eyes full of disappointment.
Previously, there was still a feeling of guilt and hesitation about having wasted two sons, but now anger boiled up from his heart, suddenly turning fiercely to strike toward Xiao Aoshi’s head with a vicious palm.
Buzz! ——
An intense surge of Qi Force energy wrapped in shocking Primordial Spirit Shock, violently landed atop Xiao Aoshi’s head.
"Crackling!"
Xiao Aoshi trembled like a shrimp sprung up by a blow, his joints bulging and moving violently, and the blue veins bulged under the skin like writhing worms, his Qi Force quickly leaking and spilling out, absorbed into Xiao Sanxiao’s body.
"Ah!——"
Xiao Aoshi let out a painful howl, awakening from unconsciousness painfully, hair disheveled, his eyes bloodshot, glaring fiercely at Xiao Sanxiao, grinding his teeth with a sneer and a loud shout.
"You old bastard! Absorb away my power, consider it paid back to you, we owe each other nothing, owe nothing! Haha... hahaha!"
Furious, Xiao Sanxiao restrained the impulse to slap this rebellious son to death, yelling angrily, "Why? Why did you and your brother meticulously plot to bring disaster to the world, why? I predicted your misfortune before you were born, and absolutely forbade you from learning Martial Arts, yet you still learned.
I wanted you to comply and conduct yourselves, but you privately built a huge force, intending to overturn Ying Country’s Imperial Authority, wreak havoc upon the world, and now you even rashly destroy Dharma’s Heart, you rebellious sons! You’re not worthy of being the sons of Xiao Sanxiao!"
"You’re not worthy of being our father!"
Xiao Aoshi let out a heavenly sorrowful roar, breath chaotic and emotions furious, "Just because of your damn divination, my brother and I were abandoned by you from childhood, my mother never saw you until her death.
You uphold so-called justice and peace in the Martial World, yet abandon wife and children, unheeding of family, did you fulfill the justice in your home?
My brother and I were driven by you, we set our minds early, while you safeguard peace and justice in the world, we would destroy it, you wrecked our home, caused our mother’s death, made us suffer a lifetime, we would personally destroy the world you guard, to bring you more pain!"
"You bastard!"
Xiao Sanxiao, enraged to look menacing, his once kind-faced visage turning red as his breath became chaotic as well.
Beside him, Jiang Dali frowned, noticing something was amiss. This Xiao Sanxiao... seemed to be somewhat obsessed with inner demons. For a formidable opponent like him, once a mental obsession arises, it can be no small problem.
At this moment, Xiao Aoshi was still raving maniacally, "The foolish one is you! You old undying fool, now the Dharma’s Heart has been destroyed by my big brother, hahaha, and the legendary Catastrophe Weapon is about to emerge. The world you painstakingly protected will be destroyed because of this, and it’s all your fault. You dragged the Black Wind Village Chief down with you, hahaha—"
"Silence!"
Jiang Dali snorted coldly and suddenly struck out. His thick fingers flicked like lightning, sending two strands of Qi Force hitting the acupoint behind Xiao Aoshi’s ear, instantly knocking the chattering man unconscious.
Seeing Xiao Sanxiao breathing heavily, his emotions extremely agitated, Jiang Dali’s brows slightly furrowed. Suddenly, he formed a seal with his hands, turned the handprint, and gave a low shout:
"All!"
At the moment the Outer Binding Seal Mantra was uttered, Xiao Sanxiao felt his mind waver, waking abruptly from the brink of going Devilish. Cold sweat broke out all over his body, and the resentment in his eyes, along with the flush on his face, quickly faded. He let out a long sigh of relief and looked at Jiang Dali with gratitude:
"Thank you, Brother Jiang, for your righteous reminder. Otherwise, I fear that just now I would have been beyond redemption."
"No worries!"
Jiang Dali waved dismissively and frowned at the unconscious Xiao Aoshi, saying, "I don’t want to deal with your family affairs. You shouldn’t get too caught up in your obsessions either. I’ll give you time to adjust your state before demonstrating the Shattering Void Technique for me. In the meantime, Xiao Jingtian’s Primordial Spirit will be temporarily housed with me. What do you say?"
Xiao Sanxiao was momentarily stunned, then looked at the damaged Dharma’s Heart in the pit and said, "I have no objections, but with the Dharma’s Heart damaged, I fear the location of the legendary Catastrophe Weapon will be exposed. This..."
Jiang Dali raised his hand decisively and said, "You don’t need to worry about this for now, senior. Adjust your state before concerning yourself with this matter. I think by then, even if there are any troubles, you’ll be in a better state to handle them. Otherwise, if I still have to take care of you, I don’t have that much energy."
With that, Jiang Dali had effectively issued an eviction order.
"Very well! This old man will adjust his state within half a month and will then come to find you."
Xiao Sanxiao nodded slightly, then said, "We just fought here, causing a disturbance in the Qi Mechanism, which might have caught the attention of other world masters. You should take the Dharma’s Heart and leave quickly."
Jiang Dali’s tiger eyes flashed as he said lightly, "I realize that."
Xiao Sanxiao immediately refrained from further words, picked up Xiao Aoshi, and lifted off into the air to leave.
By this time, the aftermath of the battle had gradually calmed down. The mountain night was dim and gray, and the stars that once dotted the sky seemed afraid of the cold and wind, having all disappeared into the black sky, leaving the vast wilderness even more desolate and barren.
Jiang Dali watched Xiao Sanxiao’s figure disappear into the darkness, then retracted his gaze, shaking his head.
In his opinion, Xiao Sanxiao seemed righteous and benevolent, trying to save the world. However, just as his two rebellious sons said, he was also an unrepentant scoundrel. At least for his family, Xiao Sanxiao was indeed not a qualified husband, nor a qualified father. No wonder the Xiao brothers bore deep resentment, opposing him in every possible way.
"Besides, since Xiao Sanxiao had long suspected that his two sons were rotten, and forbade them from learning Martial Arts, why did he leave Martial Arts at home when he left? He could have removed it entirely. I refuse to believe that Xiao Aoshi and Xiao Jingtian could independently comprehend the Four Extremes of Chaos, such Returning to Truth Ultimate Skills..."
With a dive into his thoughts, Jiang Dali took a deep breath, feeling the fiery pain in his lungs diminish as his wounds healed. He looked down at the scabbed over chest wound, then turned to the Dharma’s Heart in the pit.
He crouched down and reached out to grasp the twisted Dharma’s Heart, half-revealing an ’X’ symbol.
Suddenly, a dazzling white light erupted from the ’X’ mark, shooting up like a brilliant Extreme Light, piercing the sky, breaking through the clouds. Within the white light, it seemed to be surrounded by rings of Sanskrit-like Buddha’s Curse characters, looking exceptionally mysterious.
Such an astonishing change instantly focused Jiang Dali’s eyes, as he observed the Sanskrit inscriptions encircling the white light, wondering, "Could these possibly be the clues pointing to the hidden Catastrophe Weapon location? But this... it’s all cryptic texts. How can Laozi understand Sanskrit, what to do..."
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(More updates tonight! Seeking a wave of monthly tickets!)