Prayer Beads

"So the Purple-Gold Gourd belongs to Senior Yiqi." Everyone in Chunjiang City raised their heads to watch the battle, awaiting its outcome, and Lu Yang was no exception. He had only heard Eldest Senior Sister mention the name of the Purple-Gold Gourd—how it contained yin-yang qi, and anyone sucked into it would be shredded to pieces in mere moments. Yet he had never known who actually possessed this treasure. Earlier, at the black market stalls, he had seen a magic treasure claimed to be the Purple-Gold Gourd, but had seen through the fake at a glance. Selling the entire black market wouldn't even fetch enough to match the real gourd's stopper. "It's over just like that?" Lu Yang felt the battle had ended surprisingly fast. "Did you think a half-immortal is that easy to beat? That guy's rudimentary Dao fruit can create matter from nothing. Even trapped inside the gourd, he can still use that ability." "Don't underestimate any half-immortal. His ability doesn't amount to much in the outside world, but once inside the Void Realm, hardly any half-immortal can defeat him." "That strong?" Lu Yang was astonished. Didn't that mean the Void Supreme hadn't even gotten serious yet? Sure enough, just as the Immortal Fairy had predicted, the Purple-Gold Gourd began to shake violently. No matter what techniques Venerable Yiqi used to suppress it, he could not stop the gourd from trembling. *Bang!* The gourd's stopper was forced open by an endless torrent of magical treasures, and the Void Supreme broke free with ease. "It seems you, a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator, aren't entirely useless." The Void Supreme was pitch-black, shielded by countless layers of armor. The armor was covered in scars and fissures, clearly damaged by the yin-yang qi. Layer after layer of armor peeled away and fell, yet the Void Supreme himself was completely unharmed. ... "Senior Brothers, I sense that the protective prayer beads I left for Benefactor Kong Que have been activated. She is in danger; I am going to check on her." Hearing Shi Chan's voice transmission, Lu Yang was startled. "Be careful! Ye Xiao hasn't shown himself this whole time; he might very well have gone to kill Miss Kong Que. Old Meng and I will hurry over as well!" ... Lu Yang had guessed correctly. After breaking free from his restraints, Ye Xiao's immediate priority was rushing toward the inn to kill Miss Kong Que. He had stated that anyone he set his sights on would either submit to him or die! He was a man of his word. "*Pant, pant*... Who gave you this treasure!" Ye Xiao panted with exhaustion. Kong Que was right before his eyes, but no matter what technique he used, he was repelled by the prayer beads nestled in her bosom. The person who crafted this treasure had to be an exceptionally powerful figure whose strength was by no means inferior to his own! "You don't need to know!" Seeing that Ye Xiao couldn't harm her, Kong Que breathed a sigh of relief. It was all thanks to the treasure gifted by Master Shi Chan. She could never afford a treasure capable of withstanding the attacks of a Nascent Soul cultivator for a quarter of an hour. "Since I can't deal with you for the moment, that twin next to you—whichever of you is the older or younger sister—is in grave danger!" Ye Xiao flashed a cruel grin. He was already imagining what kind of twisted, grief-stricken expression Kong Que would wear once he butchered Fu Ling. "Little Sister, run!" Kong Que urgently shouted, throwing her body in front of Fu Ling to block a strike from Ye Xiao. However, her reaction speed was far inferior to Ye Xiao's. With a mere circle around her, she could no longer protect Fu Ling. Turning into a black shadow, Ye Xiao slipped behind Fu Ling. Completely unguarded, the blue veins on the back of her neck were clearly exposed. *Got you!* A giant golden hand materialized abruptly between Ye Xiao and Fu Ling, intercepting the fatal blow. "Benefactor, your murderous intent is too heavy." Failing his strike, Ye Xiao swiftly retreated. His opponent's cultivation was not low; in an open clash, he might suffer a loss. He was an assassin, skilled in sneak attacks; head-on combat was not his forte. "Master Shi Chan!" Seeing Shi Chan arrive, the two sisters felt as though they had found hope of survival, overcome with excitement. "Little monk, you were the one who gave Kong Que those prayer beads!" Seeing Shi Chan, Ye Xiao glared at him as if facing a mortal nemesis. If not for those beads, he would have succeeded long ago! "Amitabha. Benefactor has a keen eye. These sandalwood prayer beads are a treasure that this humble monk refined using the power of vows upon gaining an epiphany while in the late Golden Core stage." "Nonsense! That's impossible!" Ye Xiao was furious. A treasure refined by someone in the late Golden Core stage could block attacks from an early Nascent Soul cultivator like him? "Please calm your anger, Benefactor. Monks do not speak falsehoods. Since stepping into the world, this humble monk has suffered only a single defeat. There is no shame in losing to me." Shi Chan was telling the truth. His only defeat had been when he went to the Dao Seeking Sect to challenge Eldest Senior Sister. Ye Xiao grew even more incensed. As an esteemed cultivator who had dispersed his cultivation to start anew, the Pavilion Master of the Dark Night Pavilion who had struck terror into countless cultivators during the Great Yu era, how could he fail to best a little monk from a later generation?! This was surely a psychological ploy! "Little monk, I'll show you the consequences of angering an assassin!" *BOOM!* The two-meter-long Sword-Washing Pool smashed right through the wall and barreled headlong into the inn's hallway. Ye Xiao felt only a colossal impact slam into him before he was sent flying, several bones shattering on impact, as he was hurled out through the opposite wall. "How are things? Are you two young ladies hurt? Where's Ye Xiao?" Worried that Shi Chan couldn't handle Ye Xiao, Lu Yang had piloted the pool at top speed. Truth be told, steering a water pool was way faster than flying on his own. Shi Chan pointed to the gaping hole in the opposite wall and pressed his palms together. "Senior Brother Lu Yang has already knocked him flying." Immediately afterward, Meng Jingzhou walked in through the opposite wall, dangling a person by the hand. "On my way here, I saw someone lying on a rooftop. He's badly hurt, but looks like he's still breathing. Does anyone know this guy? I figure he might still be saved." "Senior Brother Meng, this is Benefactor Ye Xiao, whom Senior Brother Lu Yang just knocked flying." "Ah, so he's Ye Xiao? Never mind then, no saving him." Meng Jingzhou tossed Ye Xiao onto the floor in disgust and stomped on him twice for good measure. What trash. Even Lu Yang can beat him. "What should we do now..." Before Meng Jingzhou could finish speaking, the ground quaked violently. The sisters Fu Ling and Kong Que tumbled head over heels, and the roof of the inn was ripped clean off. As the dust cleared, the indifferent figure of the Void Supreme was revealed, surrounded by hovering treasures of the Tribulation Transcendence grade, paying no heed to Lu Yang and the others. They were merely a few Nascent Soul cultivators—hardly a threat. With a flick of his finger, he conjured a drop of celestial nectar and let it fall into Ye Xiao's mouth. Ye Xiao's vitality surged back, his injuries mending rapidly. His purpose in coming here was twofold: first, to whittle down Great Xia's Tribulation Transcendence experts; second, to have Ye Xiao train a cadre of Body Integration stage assassins. Both measures served the singular goal of destroying the Great Xia established by Jiang Ping'an. Lu Yang inwardly thought that things looked grim—this meant Venerable Yiqi had lost. The ability of the Void Supreme's rudimentary Dao fruit was a secret. Pulling everyone into the Void Realm meant that everyone had witnessed his methods. The Void Supreme had never planned on leaving anyone alive! "Supreme." Knowing full well he was no match for Lu Yang and his companions, Ye Xiao slunk dejectedly behind the Void Supreme. The Void Supreme casually swept his gaze over the trio, his eyes settling on Meng Jingzhou as his brow furrowed slightly. "You are from the Meng Family?" He had been defeated by the joint efforts of the Jiang and Meng family ancestors, and the Void Sect he had founded with his own hands had been systematically dismantled and eradicated by those two powers. His hatred for the Meng Family was not a shred less than his hatred for Great Xia! Anyone from the Meng Family had to die! The Void Supreme raised his hand, about to execute Meng Jingzhou, when suddenly his expression shifted. He sensed someone assaulting the barrier of his Void Realm. "Who's there!" *Crack!* A fissure split open in the sky, and a tall, gaunt man who looked like a bamboo pole appeared, glaring coldly at the Void Supreme. "Damn it, I finally managed to find a clue about the Twin River! I'd like to see which blind bastard dares lay a finger on someone I've marked!"