Chapter 185: Master Jingkong

Inside the cave, a foul odor permeated the air, a mix of damp decay and the stench of urine and feces. Bai Qiliao sat on the ground, two wooden buckets before him: one for water, one for food. The water bucket was dry, not a single drop remaining. The food bucket held little food, and what remained was sour, with maggots faintly squirming within.

He was barely breathing, each breath a weak, strained wheeze like a broken bellows. His disheveled white hair lay scattered, tangled like dry grass, a few strands clinging to his grime-and-blood-stained face. He lifted his head to look at Lin Duanyun, a hoarse, weak sound escaping his throat: "Water... water..."

Lin Duanyun unfastened the water skin from her waist, opened it, and tossed it to the ground. Water spilled out.

Bai Qiliao quickly crawled to the ground, struggling to reach for the water skin. His body, pierced by iron chains, made movement extremely difficult. Yet, his eyes burned with thirst, and despite the excruciating pain, he finally managed to grab the water skin, only to find it less than half full.

Lin Duanyun looked at Bai Qiliao and said coldly, "Look at you, like a dog!"

Bai Qiliao gulped down all the water in the skin. A little revived, he looked at Lin Duanyun and said, "You... kill me!"

Lin Duanyun sneered, "I will kill you, but not now. Not only will I not kill you, I'll visit you often and tell you everything I do. You said the Zombie Art is an evil cultivation technique, that it shouldn't exist in this world, didn't you? I want you to see that I will not only master the Zombie Art but also become the revered martial arts alliance leader. No one will question me; no one can question me.

Evil cultivation? What makes the Ice Soul Golden Body an evil cultivation? It's just a few commoners dying; what's the big deal? I'll become the martial arts alliance leader, the strongest under heaven, and I'll benefit countless people. What's wrong with me taking a little blood? I'll eliminate all heretics and save tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, countless people. After saving so many, what's wrong with taking a little blood? Shouldn't they worship me?

Why, why did you kill my father back then? Did he save too few people? He saved and protected so many; what's wrong with him killing a few and taking a little blood? Is that considered unforgivable? Yet you ordered his death. You truly deserve to die! My father treated you well back then!"

Bai Qiliao sat on the ground, eyes closed, murmuring, "Those with different principles cannot work together."

"Nonsense," Lin Duanyun scoffed. "You're just a hypocrite. You were merely jealous of my father's reputation as the greatest martial artist of his time. With him around, you'd never rise to prominence. He was so close to success, just one step away from achieving the Golden Body. Then he wouldn't have needed to absorb blood anymore. He was so close to succeeding!

Did you ever consider if the people who died for him were not worth it? Their deaths would have been incredibly valuable! They would have contributed to the greatest martial artist under heaven, a supreme martial arts master. From then on, not just Mobei or Qingzhou, but the entire Qian Kingdom, the entire world, would have seen righteousness triumph over evil. It would have been a blessing for the martial world, a blessing for the world. What's wrong with a few deaths? They died for a worthy cause. But you, for your own selfish reasons, you destroyed everything!"

Bai Qiliao kept his eyes closed, merely muttering, "Those with different principles cannot work together..."

Lin Duanyun sneered, "But it doesn't matter. What my father couldn't accomplish, I will. Back then, I won't let go of any of you who participated in persecuting my father. Besides you, only three remain now. They will all die, and I'll send their families to join them. Don't worry, after you die, I'll send your sons and grandsons down to join you too; you won't be lonely."

Bai Qiliao still kept his eyes closed.

Lin Duanyun paid no attention to whether Bai Qiliao would respond, continuing to speak to herself, "If only my father hadn't been so impatient back then. Like me, I secretly supported a puppet. A mere half-finished silver-armored zombie and a few bronze-armored corpses were enough to completely conceal my identity. No one will ever suspect me, and even if I continue to absorb blood and kill people later, the world will only say it's the zombie remnants left by Ke Wenhui at work.

Ah, it's just a shame that the Six Gates of Mobei arrived a bit too early. If they had come a little later, my Golden Body would have been perfected. But it doesn't matter; no one will suspect me now. I have plenty of time to slowly advance. Oh, by the way, the Diamond Iron Shirt you created is so useful! From now on, it can perfectly conceal my invulnerability to blades and spears and immunity to fire and water. No one will ever suspect I've cultivated the Zombie Art. I'll absorb anyone's blood I want!"

Bai Qiliao sighed, murmuring, "He who commits many injustices will perish by his own hand."

"Heh heh, what a joke," Lin Duanyun said. "When my Golden Body is perfected, do you think anyone in this world can kill me? Hmm, this time down the mountain, I did encounter a formidable master, terrifyingly strong.

You might not have heard of him; he only became one of the Qian Kingdom's Top Ten Grandmasters in recent months. People in the martial world call him the Cloud State Hero, Gu Mo, and he has arrived in Mobei."

Bai Qiliao slowly raised his head, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

Lin Duanyun raised an eyebrow and said, "It seems you've heard of him. Well, that's normal. After all, I've only kept you captive for half a year. Before that, even though Gu Mo wasn't yet known as one of the Qian Kingdom's Top Ten Grandmasters, he was still the Cloud State Hero, the second-strongest master in Cloud State. It's natural you'd have heard of him.

But are you thinking perhaps he can discover my abnormality and then kill me? Hahahaha, old man, don't hold onto such pipe dreams.

That Gu Mo is indeed powerful. The half-finished silver-armored corpse was no match for him. But that day, I saw him in action, and I know the extent of his martial arts. As long as he doesn't have that Gouchen Demon Blade, when my Golden Body is perfected, he won't be able to break through my armor. Even if he wields that blade, he won't match my speed.

You simply don't understand how strong the Ice Soul Golden Body becomes upon mastery. By then, I will achieve a state of indestructibility, immune to water and fire. My speed will be lightning-fast, and my claws will be able to tear through anything. My offense, defense, and speed will all reach their peak; I will have no weaknesses!"

Bai Qiliao said nothing more.

Lin Duanyun continued to ramble on at his ear for a long while before slowly getting up. She took out a few dried biscuits and a leather water skin from her robes, dropped them on the ground, and slowly walked away.

After only two steps, she suddenly stopped and turned back. "I know what you're hoping for. Are you hoping that old monk Jingkong will see through my puppet decoy plan? Don't bother hoping. I already know that old monk Jingkong knows my true identity. So, do you think he still has a chance to expose my decoy plan?"

Satuo City was an ancient city in the Mobei region, now lost to history. Today, only its name remains, along with a small section of its city wall peeking out from beneath the shifting sands.

The name Satuo City was still remembered in Mobei primarily because of a temple located there, Satuo Temple. It was a small temple with little incense, consisting of only three to five meditation rooms and five or six novice monks.

However, while Satuo Temple was not well-known among the common people, it held a crucial position in the Mobei martial world. This was because its abbot was Master Jingkong, the most senior figure in the current Mobei martial arts community. His seniority surpassed even that of Bai Qiliao, the former sect leader of Qiongshan Sect and the number one martial artist in Mobei, whose death was reported just days ago.

Master Jingkong was not only highly senior but also extremely virtuous and revered within the righteous martial world of Mobei. Nine out of ten prominent figures in the current martial arts community had received his favor or guidance. Throughout his life, Master Jingkong dedicated himself to reducing martial conflicts. He resolved countless disputes but never killed anyone.

Although he possessed formidable martial arts skills, he never established any martial arts faction, choosing instead to guard only the modest Satuo Temple. His noble character earned the admiration of all martial artists.

Consequently, even though Satuo Temple was not a martial arts faction, it held great renown and a respected position within the Mobei martial world.

The setting sun, red as blood, cast its light upon the half-buried temple gate of Satuo Temple. Wind-swept sand swept over the crumbling courtyard walls, revealing faint Buddhist bas-reliefs on the eroded rock face. The ten-foot-high rammed-earth courtyard walls were cracked like tortoise shells, and copper bells hung on the gate, trembling intermittently with the wailing northern wind.

A black-clad youth, carrying two swords on his back, arrived outside Satuo Temple. He slowly raised his head, revealing a dark-skinned, youthful face. This was Yu Shijiu, the Flying Swordsman, feared by evil cultivators in the Mobei martial world.

Yu Shijiu pushed open the gate and entered the temple.

In the courtyard, two novice monks, one older and one younger, were sweeping. They clearly knew Yu Shijiu and bowed with hands clasped together, saying, "Benefactor Yu, the master is currently with a visitor. If you wish to see him, you may have to wait a moment!"

Yu Shijiu nodded, "Alright."

He was quite familiar with the novice monks of Satuo Temple because his home was right next to it. Whenever he was home, he would often come to Satuo Temple to share meals or seek guidance from Master Jingkong. He sought advice on many things, not just martial arts, but also beliefs, consciousness, and even reading and writing.

Immediately, he sat under a ginkgo tree in the courtyard, pulled out a flatbread from his robes, and began to eat it.

The younger novice monk, similar in age to Yu Shijiu, sat beside him and asked, "Benefactor Yu, why do you have an extra sword? Don't you always only use your own sword, no matter how good others' swords are?"

Yu Shijiu chewed on his flatbread as he replied, "A master gave it to me. This sword is different."

"How is it different? Is it famous or very precious?" the novice monk asked.

Yu Shijiu answered, "To me, it's extremely precious, more precious than any renowned sword in the martial world."

The novice monk mused, "I think I understand. It must hold an extraordinary significance for you."

Yu Shijiu nodded slightly and asked, "Who is Master Jingkong meeting?"

"I don't know," the novice monk replied. "It's a guest I haven't seen before, probably an old acquaintance of the master's. Did you just come back and immediately come looking for the master? Is something wrong?"

"Yes," Yu Shijiu said. "I wanted to tell the master that the Zombie Art, from thirty years ago, has reappeared. I wanted to warn him to be careful; someone might seek revenge on him."

"Why would someone seek revenge on the master? Does the master have enemies?" the novice monk asked, puzzled.

Yu Shijiu began, "Back then, the master once..."

"Boom!"

Suddenly, at that moment, a loud bang came from inside the meditation room. A wall collapsed directly, and an old monk fell into the rubble of the earthen wall, spitting blood.

It was Master Jingkong.