Arhat Fist

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou had heard that robbery was rampant around Demon Quelling Pass, and that people who bought goods at the chamber of commerce were frequently ambushed in the dense forest. They had originally intended to falsely report their cultivation to bait robbers into taking the hook. Yet instead of luring in bandits, they had attracted a group recommending themselves as bodyguards. "Among Foundation Establishment stage bodyguards, we have the best reviews! Reasonable prices, attentive service, and long-term cooperative partnerships with multiple half-step Golden Core stage demon beasts, resolving the issues of intelligence transmission and safety in the forest to the greatest extent." "If the two young heroes' noble clan or sect assigned trial tasks, we can even customize three plans for you to choose from at no extra charge." The hook-nosed leader was still enthusiastically pitching their bodyguard services. "How many spirit stones to hire you?" Meng Jingzhou asked with great interest. They needed to learn as much as possible about the dense forest, and these local snakes possessed plenty of intelligence. They didn't need bodyguards, but they could use them as guides. Seeing their extraordinary bearing and speech that was anything but ordinary, the hook-nosed leader guessed they had considerable backgrounds, so he held up five fingers. "Five hundred thousand spirit stones? Not expensive." The hook-nosed leader was frightened out of his wits. What he had meant to say was fifty thousand spirit stones, and if the client found it too pricey, he had even been prepared to lower it. He had never imagined this wealthy young master would multiply the price tenfold without batting an eye. Meng Jingzhou brought out two hundred thousand spirit stones, piling them into a small mountain. "Here is two hundred thousand first. We'll settle the balance at the end. If your service satisfies this young master, I'll add a bonus." "Just you watch, gentlemen, our service is definitely worth far more than the price!" The five looked at the mountain of spirit stones, their eyes shining. They had never encountered such an extravagant patron. "Strange, do any of you feel it's getting stuffier and hotter in here?" Meng Jingzhou tugged at the chest of his robe, feeling uncomfortably warm. "I feel it too," Lu Yang said, puzzled. The hook-nosed leader said faintly, "Could it be because the seven of us are crammed inside an earthen cell, and we've nearly breathed all the air dry?" The earthen prison was underground and airtight; in the time the seven had spent talking, the oxygen was almost completely used up. Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou dissolved the spell constraints, and the seven returned to the surface. "Old Turtle, come on out! The terms are settled!" the hook-nosed leader shouted. A millstone-sized old softshell turtle crawled over slowly from not far away, exuding a power unlike that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator. Lu Yang figured that when the Five Heroes of Eagle Mountain mentioned clashing with a half-step Golden Core, they had been referring to this old turtle. *What a complete cast of actors they have—they even included a demon beast.* "This is Old Turtle. There is a small lake ahead, and Old Turtle is the lord occupying one-fifth of it," the hook-nosed leader introduced. Old Turtle bobbed its head side to side. "Little Eagle, I told you long ago that your sales pitch sounds just like a robbery, easily creating misunderstandings. I saw from afar that these two young heroes are geniuses capable of casting Drawing a Circle as a Prison. Why on earth would they need you as bodyguards?" "That really was Drawing a Circle as a Prison?!" The five were astonished. Earlier, they had merely suspected it, not daring to assert it for sure, wondering if it might be some lifesaving method bestowed by their sect. After all, a spell like Drawing a Circle as a Prison not only existed solely in legends, but its cultivation difficulty was ridiculously steep. For someone at the Foundation Establishment stage to master it was practically impossible. "Good eye, Old Turtle. What I cast was indeed Drawing a Circle as a Prison," Lu Yang readily admitted, drawing an eye-roll from Meng Jingzhou. "Two young heroes, may I ask your purpose in coming to the dense forest...?" "To challenge demon beasts. We've long heard that demon beasts run rampant here, with no lack of ancient remnant species possessing formidable strength. We hope to clash with them to temper ourselves." The hook-nosed leader nodded. That was a fairly common reason. "May I ask what level of demon beasts the two young heroes wish to challenge? The kind that just entered late Foundation Establishment, or seasoned veterans of late Foundation Establishment?" "Golden Core stage." "Golden Core stage?!" The five men and one beast all cried out in shock. "Do not boast so recklessly, you two! The chasm between Foundation Establishment and Golden Core is like a vast abyss—how could it be crossed so casually? Moreover, living in the dense forest for years, whether human or beast, everyone strikes with vicious cruelty; they cannot be treated as ordinary opponents!" Old Turtle warned. It knew these two were generous patrons; protect them well, and there would be no shortage of spirit stones. "Never mind the Golden Core stage—you two might not even be able to defeat me!" Old Turtle said with composed confidence. It had lingered at the half-step Golden Core stage for a long time, possessed seasoned experience, and boasted astonishing defense. Even if that tiger demon that refined chang ghosts were revived, it would never break through its shell. "Then let's test it," Meng Jingzhou chuckled, loosening his muscles and joints. Without demonstrating his strength, the Golden Core demon beasts these people found for him wouldn't be strong enough to provide any real tempering. The group arrived at the edge of the small lake, with Old Turtle and Meng Jingzhou standing on opposite sides. "Begin!" Lu Yang announced. Old Turtle took two deep breaths and circulated the technique inherent in its bloodline. A faint golden mark surfaced on its shell, signifying that it was a descendant of the ancient demon beast, the Sky-Reaching Softshell Turtle. Ancient Sky-Reaching Softshell Turtles were famed for their impenetrable defense, and it had been fortunate enough to inherit this trait from its ancestors. "If you cannot even break my defense, then don't bother mentioning—" "Arhat Fist!" Meng Jingzhou took a massive stride forward, his legs like a drawn bow and his upper torso like an arrow. His body snapped taut as he unleashed explosive power, striking the turtle's shell. The golden mark shattered into dispersal, and Old Turtle was sent hurtling into the distance. Like a skipped stone skimming across the water, it bounced several times across the lake's surface before plunging into the depths. Watching this, the Five Heroes of Eagle Mountain couldn't close their dropped jaws for a long time. Old Turtle was famed for its defense; all five of them combined couldn't crack it, yet Meng Jingzhou had knocked it flying with a single punch? Four other half-step Golden Core stage demon beasts lived in this small lake, ruling as its masters alongside Old Turtle. Seeing Old Turtle swatted away like a stone, they were even more struck with sheer terror. "Arhat Fist? I haven't seen you use that before. Newly learned?" Lu Yang asked curiously. "Master said part of his inspiration for the Heaven-Shaking Six Forms came from the Arhat Fist, and he wanted me to study it as well to aid in cultivating the Heaven-Shaking Six Forms." "I heard that cultivating the Arhat Fist to the supreme realm allows one to attain the fruition of an Arhat. Perhaps you might actually pull it off," Lu Yang teased. "Give me a break. Attain the Arhat fruit? You might as well just tell me to become a monk." "The way you live isn't much different from being a monk anyway." "Screw off! I'm planning to break the precepts and unleash my true self once I become an immortal." Breaking the pure yang state meant one's cultivation speed would plummet drastically. But becoming an immortal was the pinnacle of cultivation, at which point cultivation speed no longer mattered in the slightest. "Arhat Fist, is it..." The Immortal Fairy, who hadn't spoken for a long time, heard the key phrase, stirring up some distant memory. "You know the Arhat Fist too, Fairy?" Lu Yang actually wouldn't mind learning a new fist technique; at present, he only knew the Imitation Fist. The Immortal Fairy put on a disdainful expression. "What is an Arhat Fist worth? I've never even heard of it. This immortal knows an even higher-grade fist technique that points directly to the Arhat fruit once mastered. Want to learn it?" "What fist technique?" "Monk Fruit Fist." Lu Yang: "...Does its effect happen to clear heat, moisten the lungs, soothe the throat, and restore the voice?" "How did you know?!" The Immortal Fairy was immensely astonished. Could Lu Yang have practiced it before?