Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

"Whoosh—!"

Upon seeing the crimson relic, all the monks present were in an uproar.

The faces of the seven high-ranking monks of the Xuan generation, including Xuan Ci, turned deathly pale instantly. Some of them could only vaguely understand what Chen Zhan meant.

'Could it be that Xuan Nan was instantly drained and injected into the sphere?'

Most people didn't understand what it meant, but Xuan Ci sensed something was different and felt a sense of fear. He took two steps forward and asked, "What exactly do you want, sir? What grudge does Shaolin have against you?"

With a slight movement of true energy at his fingertips, Chen Zhan caused the crimson relic in his palm to suddenly fly up and hover in mid-air, motionless.

The crimson relic was surrounded by a faint smell of blood and a halo of Buddha's light, eerie and dazzling.

"There is indeed no personal grudge or enmity between us."

He spoke calmly, his gaze sweeping over the assembled high-ranking monks of the Xuan generation, “However, the enmity between your Shaolin Temple and the common people, and between your temple and the Song Dynasty, is far greater.”

What grudge could there be?

Xuan Ci's face was ashen. He clasped his hands together and spoke with a hint of feigned grief and indignation, "Since its founding, Shaolin has always taken the well-being of all people as its responsibility, saving all beings, persuading people to do good, and accumulating merit. We have never done anything to harm the Song Dynasty or harm the people. Your words are too arbitrary and slander the reputation of Shaolin!"

Xuan Ci questioned Chen Zhan again, but Chen Zhan did not respond.

Looking beyond the small courtyard, towards the depths of the Shaolin Temple's back mountain, towards the direction of the Sutra Repository, the atmosphere was serene, as if no one existed there.

"Old man, if you don't come out, I will kill all your disciples and followers first, and the thousand-year foundation of Shaolin will be destroyed in an instant." Chen Zhan's voice pierced through the air and entered the direction of the Sutra Pavilion, clearly audible.

The courtyard fell into a deathly silence, and everyone's eyes were instinctively drawn to the direction of the scripture pavilion.

Only a handful of people, including Xuan Ci, understood some of what Chen Zhan was saying.

After a moment of silence, there was still no movement from the direction of the Sutra Repository.

A cold smile curled at the corner of Chen Zhan's lips, and he said lazily, "Not coming out? Fine. Since you refuse to show yourself, I'll start with Xuan Ci and kill them one by one. Let's see how long you can endure."

As soon as he finished speaking, his gaze suddenly locked onto Xuan Ci, and his tone was icy and resolute: "Xuan Ci, you deserve to die the most, and I will make sure you die with your eyes wide open in disbelief."

"Bam—!"

With a loud bang, Chen Zhan's blood and qi suddenly erupted, and the powerful blood and qi flowed out of his body wildly, like crimson dragons coiling around him.

Blood and qi surged, and the roars of dragons and tigers echoed throughout the courtyard.

The shock caused the monks present to experience a ringing in their ears and a profound mental tremor.

With a flash, Chen Zhan disappeared from his original spot, and when he reappeared, he was already standing in front of Xuan Ci.

His speed was so fast that it far exceeded everyone's reaction limit. Even a top expert like Xuan Cheng couldn't see his movement trajectory clearly.

With a sweeping punch, boundless and unparalleled power of blood and qi instantly spread out, freezing the void within several feet of Xuan Ci, rendering him unable to move.

Xuan Ci was shocked and his true energy surged wildly as he tried to resist and retreat.

But he found that his body was as if it were locked by invisible shackles, and he could not even move his fingertips. He could only watch helplessly as Chen Zhan's fist came toward him.

Before the fist even arrived, the immense power of his blood and qi had already crushed him, shattering his bones and breaking his meridians.

He spat out a mouthful of blood, and his expression instantly became listless.

"Snapped--!"

With a soft thud, without any earth-shattering collision, Chen Zhan's fist gently landed on Xuan Ci's body.

With a single punch, Xuan Ci's body instantly turned into a cloud of blood mist, scattering in all directions, without even uttering a scream.

This time, all the monks present saw it clearly.
Abbot Xuanci of Shaolin Temple was a renowned Buddhist monk who had been famous in the martial arts world for decades, and a top master with unfathomable martial arts skills.

They were completely powerless to resist.
With just one punch from Chen Zhan, he was reduced to a bloody mist, leaving no trace of his body.

Chen Zhan's blood and qi did not stop. He pointed his sword finger, and the scattered Xuanci blood mist did not dissipate. Instead, it was drawn by an invisible force and transformed into a crimson torrent, slowly gathering into the relic in mid-air.

The relic absorbed Xuan Ci's blood and cultivation, its color becoming increasingly crimson, its Buddhist light becoming more intense, and the bloody aura emanating from it becoming even stronger.

Only some impurities, small pieces of bone, and powder from Xuan Ci's red monk's robe slowly drifted to the ground.

"You! You!!!"

The surviving high monks of the Xuan generation, including Xuanji, Xuanku, Xuandu, and Xuantong, trembled and pointed at Chen Zhan.

His expression was filled with extreme shock and disbelief, as if he were living in a dream and could not believe what was happening before his eyes.

They had been fellow disciples of Xuan Ci for decades, and they knew Xuan Ci's strength better than anyone else.

But now Xuanci has been punched into a bloody mist, how can they accept this?
They didn't even have time to feel sadness or anger; all that remained in their hearts was endless fear.

If Xuan Ci is already like this, how many moves can they withstand?

In contrast, the monks of the Xu and Hui generations who were watching from the sidelines had already completely collapsed, and screams rose and fell.

Some people turned to flee, but their legs went weak and they could not move an inch.

Some people clasped their hands together, knelt on the ground in prayer, their faces filled with despair.

Chen Zhan gave everyone no time to think or react. His blood and qi surged like dragons, coiling around him once more. He took a small step forward, and his figure vanished from the spot. The slaughter had begun.

Among the eminent monks of the Xuan generation, Xuan Cheng possessed the highest martial arts skills.

He was proficient in thirteen of the seventy-two Shaolin arts and was known as the "Thirteen Divine Monk." He was a martial arts prodigy that Shaolin had only seen once in a century, and his reaction time was also the fastest.

The instant Xuanci was reduced to a bloody mist, he regained his senses and shouted sharply, "Be on guard! Everyone, scatter immediately! Go and ring the bell to summon all the martial monks on the back mountain and set up the Arhat Formation!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he flashed away, not stopping Chen Zhan, but heading straight for Gu Yu.

He knew in his heart that Chen Zhan's martial arts were too powerful, and the only way to restrain Chen Zhan was to capture Gu Yu.

This woman, who seems to have a close relationship with Chen Zhan, is probably his Achilles' heel.

Xuan Ji, who was beside him, was blown to pieces into a mass of flesh and blood before he could even use his martial arts or make any defensive moves.

Chen Zhan's vital energy, formless and intangible, descended silently and instantly crushed his body into dust.

Then, the mass of flesh and blood was once again drawn into the relic in mid-air.

Xuan Cheng's eyes widened in horror, and his heart grew even colder, but his movements did not stop at all.

Gu Yu was not stupid; she instantly saw through Xuan Cheng's thoughts.

A playful smile played on her lips as she nimbly dodged Xuan Cheng's outstretched hand, her tone light yet tinged with sarcasm: "Heh heh, big monk, you think you can catch me? Not so easy." As soon as she finished speaking, Gu Yu's longsword slashed out again, its shimmering white energy erupting in mid-air.

A sharp sword aura shot straight at Xuan Cheng's face.

Xuan Cheng's expression hardened, and he quickly dodged to the side. However, the sword energy suddenly turned around and slashed from behind him. Its speed and angle were so tricky that he was caught off guard.

Startled, Xuan Cheng could only stop his pursuit and turn around to deliver a palm strike.

Golden Buddhist energy surged forth, colliding fiercely with Gu Yu's shimmering white sword energy.

"Bam—!"

With a loud bang, true energy scattered in all directions. Xuan Cheng took two steps back, his eyes filled with shock: "A different kind of true energy!"

"You know your stuff."

Gu Yu chuckled softly, her movements nimble, and she did not entangle with Xuan Cheng.

She knew that her strength was inferior to Xuan Cheng's, and that she would definitely suffer a loss if she forced a duel.

At that moment, she used the Lingbo Weibu technique, her figure elusive and unpredictable, like a ghost, to evade Xuan Cheng's palm strike.

At the same time, the sword slashed horizontally, and a sword aura swept past the two stunned monks of the Xu generation beside him.

"Pfft pfft—!"

With two soft sounds, the two monks of the Xu generation had no chance to resist and were cut in two by the sword energy, their flesh and blood flying everywhere, dying tragically on the spot.

Xuan Cheng glared angrily, his heart burning with rage, yet he was helpless.

He shouted sternly, "Everyone, scatter immediately! Do not gather together! Monks with staffs, form a formation immediately and trap her!"

Upon hearing this, the remaining monks quickly reacted, each grabbing their staffs and attempting to surround the group and form a Shaolin staff formation.

But Gu Yu moved swiftly through the courtyard, her Lingbo Weibu technique reaching its peak. Her figure was elusive, leaving numerous afterimages throughout the courtyard, making it impossible to discern which one was her true form.

The monks' staff formation was disrupted by the lingering shadow of Gu Yu before it could be fully set up.

"Who's waiting for you to form your formation?" Gu Yu's voice came from the afterimage, tinged with a hint of mockery.

The next moment, a sword light flashed, and three more monks with staffs were killed by the sword energy, falling into pools of blood.

Xuan Cheng trembled with rage, using his light footwork to its fullest extent to relentlessly pursue Gu Yu's afterimage.

However, no matter how hard he tried, he could not catch Gu Yu and could only watch helplessly as Gu Yu slaughtered indiscriminately in the courtyard.

On the other hand, Chen Zhan's killing speed far exceeded everyone's expectations.

His figure was elusive, and his qi and blood power was formless and intangible. Wherever he passed, whether it was a high monk of the Xuan generation or a disciple of the Hui or Xu generation, none of them could withstand his attack. They were either crushed into dust by his qi and blood power or punched into a bloody mist.

Subsequently, his vital energy and cultivation were completely absorbed by the relic in mid-air.

In a short while, of the original eight Xuan-generation monks, only Xuan Cheng remained, along with Xuan Du and Xuan Tong, who were terrified and fled in all directions.

In the small courtyard, corpses lay strewn everywhere, and blood flowed like a river.

"Bam—!"

With a violent tremor, a figure plummeted from mid-air, crashing heavily onto the bluestone slab of the courtyard. The slab shattered again, sending fragments flying everywhere.

That figure was Xuan Tong, who was trying to escape. He was struck in the back by a burst of blood energy from Chen Zhan, and his body exploded.

"Om-!"

In the courtyard, the air froze instantly, and all the surviving monks were stiff and unable to breathe properly.

Gu Yu stopped the killing, and Xuan Cheng also stopped the pursuit, his eyes fixed on the center of the courtyard, his expression full of solemnity and apprehension.

An invisible barrier suddenly unfolded, and the Tongxuan Heavenly Domain enveloped the entire courtyard.

Within the domain, time seemed to stand still. The sword energy that Gu Yu unleashed was instantly obliterated, yet remained suspended in mid-air.

Xuan Cheng's pursuing palm strike was firmly frozen, unable to advance even an inch further.

The monks who tried to escape were also unable to move, stuck in their fleeing posture, their faces pale and their eyes filled with fear.

Even the relic suspended in mid-air stopped absorbing blood and qi, remaining completely still.

A figure slowly appeared in the center of the courtyard.

It was an old monk dressed in a plain robe, with a weathered face, white hair and beard, and a hunched back, holding a broom in his hand.

He appeared unremarkable, like an ordinary old monk sweeping the floor, but he exuded an unfathomable aura, calm and composed, completely out of place in this bloody and terrifying courtyard.

"Amitabha."

The old monk chanted a Buddhist prayer, its resounding power echoing throughout the courtyard. "Benefactor, you've gone too far. While Shaolin may have made mistakes, it doesn't warrant such ruthless extermination. Your rampant killing and harming of my Shaolin disciples is no different from that of evil demons and heretics."

At the same time, Chen Zhan's figure slowly came into view.

He stood quietly in the courtyard, his body still entwined with crimson blood dragons and snakes, calmly watching the old monk who had appeared.

One step, two steps.

Chen Zhan strode forward, his steps steady, and with each step, the bluestone slab beneath his feet trembled slightly.

He seemed completely immune to the old monk's Profound Heaven Domain. The dragons and snakes of blood and qi around his body swayed gently, dissolving the invisible constraints within the domain. He walked step by step to a distance of one zhang from the old monk and stopped.

"I asked you earlier, but you wouldn't come out. Now that you see that most of your disciples and followers are dead, you can't help but show yourself?"

Chen Zhan's tone was calm, yet tinged with sarcasm, "Buddhism emphasizes severing the seven emotions and extinguishing the six desires, purifying the mind and reducing desires, and remaining untainted by worldly dust. You have cultivated to such a level, yet you still cannot do it, you cannot let go of Shaolin, and you cannot let go of these disciples and followers."

Faced with Chen Zhan's questioning, the old monk was not angry, but slowly nodded: "What you say is right, this old monk really cannot do it. This Shaolin is a thousand-year-old foundation, and these disciples have all been watched by this old monk to grow up. I cannot sit idly by and watch them be slaughtered one by one by you."

He looked at Chen Zhan, his tone pleading: "Benefactor, do you really want to extinguish the incense of my Buddhist sect and destroy the thousand-year foundation of my Shaolin Temple? Even if there are a few people in Shaolin who have done evil or wrong, they should be handed over to the court for trial and decided by His Majesty's decree. Why do you have to force me to commit such a heinous crime and increase the bloodshed?"

Chen Zhan nodded slightly, his tone calm but his words piercing: "What you say makes sense, and it sounds quite righteous."

"May I ask, Master, when Shaolin Temple decided on its own to unite with various martial arts sects outside Yanmen Pass to lead the massacre of Xiao Yuanshan's family and harm innocent people, was this matter discussed with the imperial court? Was it authorized by His Majesty?"

"Shaolin Temple is located at the foot of Mount Song. It has seized land from the people, forced displaced people to sign slave contracts, treated the people as servants, and arbitrarily beat, scolded, exploited and oppressed them. Has this matter been discussed with the imperial court?"

"Shaolin Temple operates incense halls within the Buddhist town, monopolizing business, inflating prices, and reaping exorbitant profits, yet it doesn't pay a single penny of tax to the imperial court. Relying on its Buddhist power, it evades taxes. Has this matter been discussed with the imperial court?" (End of Chapter)