Martial Arts Crossover: The Sweeping Monk of Wudang? That's our patriarch!

Lin Daochen's brow twitched. He had thought it was just an ordinary forbidden area, but who would have thought that such a violent past was buried beneath this gentle peach grove. The name Kuafu has always been associated with sincerity and fierceness, but the tragedy before him was chillingly sinister.

"Such evil magic exists in the world..." he murmured softly, his voice almost inaudible.

The shadows of the trees swayed, and the shrieks of wronged spirits seemed to come from near and far, crashing back and forth among the branches, like countless withered hands tearing at the night. Lin Daochen stood there, his heart churning with helplessness and burning pain—how cheap life is, yet how resilient it is? And just how powerful is the person behind all this?

He stared at the winding dark red patterns on the tree bark, his thoughts spreading like a spider web: Kuafu, the divine map, the Blood Palace… Why did the master sitting high in the palace avoid coming out? Are myths just illusory smoke and clouds, or are they real records buried for thousands of years? He didn't believe in legends, but he believed in the devastation before his eyes.

The sword flashed again, and another peach tree collapsed with a deafening roar. The humanoid tree core was exposed in the moonlight, and a wisp of bluish-gray soul fire flickered weakly in its empty eye sockets. Lin Daochen's hand holding the sword was as steady as a rock, but his heart felt as if it had fallen into an abyss.

Kuafu chased the sun and burned himself to ashes—but why did the forest he transformed into become an execution ground that imprisons living souls?

This question pierced his back like a thorn, making him both clear-headed and burning with anxiety.

The night wind, carrying a cloud of blood, swept towards Lin Daochen, causing him to shiver with a chilling aura. Far from retreating, the fire of inquiry within him burned even brighter.

Yang Kai looked around. The shadows of the trees writhed as if they were alive, and the wailing in his ears grew louder. Finally, he couldn't hold back any longer: "Master, the evil spirits here are too strong. If we go any further, we might end up in the underworld! We should retreat for now and devise another plan!"

Lin Daochen hesitated for a moment, then raised his eyes, his gaze sharp as a nail: "We cannot retreat. If we dare not even set foot here, what are we talking about inquiring into ancient history?"

Yang Kai's Adam's apple bobbed, and he finally gritted his teeth and shut up. He understood his master—this in-depth investigation was no longer just about solving a case, but about personally lifting the coffin of mythology to see if there was gold and jade or rotten bones underneath.

"The peachwood staff transforming into a forest, the power of Kuafu is indeed unprecedented... The Blood Palace Lord avoided it, probably because he was wary of this lingering, untamed power." Tianlangzi echoed in a low voice.

Lin Lei stood three steps away with his hands at his sides, his gaze calm, without uttering a single word, yet he entrusted all his trust to the upright figure in front of him.

The wailing of the wronged spirits in the forest suddenly rose in pitch, their mournful cries as sharp as a knife scraping bone, as if the entire forest was weeping for old grievances. Yang Kai stared at the black spots flickering in the shadows of the trees, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

"Master, this is too eerie... Are we really going to go any further?" His voice was tense as he spoke again, "Let's... retreat first."

However, a cold glint flashed in Lin Daochen's eyes, and his chest heaved slightly. How could we stop because of a little danger? I was certain that the secret buried deep in this forest was related to the whole situation and could not be missed.

Lin Lei stood beside him, nodded in acknowledgment, his attitude firm.

Tianlangzi chimed in, "That's right, let's give it a shot! Maybe the opportunity lies within."

The moment he stepped into the woods, a smirk played on his lips as he glanced sideways at Lin Daochen, his voice laced with a hint of mockery: "Young friend, the more dangerous the place, the more it showcases the skills of an old hand like me. This peach grove, fraught with hidden dangers, is just what I'm looking for."

Lin Daochen only smiled faintly, without saying a word. Yang Kai's face darkened, his brows furrowed, and he felt an increasing disgust for Tianlangzi's demeanor.

The forest was shrouded in darkness, with mist drifting like snakes and branches casting shadows like claws. Lin Lei stayed close to Lin Daochen, his eyes like an eagle's, scanning the surroundings. Tian Langzi, however, strolled with his hands behind his back, his steps light and quick, his eyes gleaming with the light of a hunter discovering a new hunting ground—he was filled with eager interest in this strange peach grove.

Suddenly, the fragment of the divine map trembled slightly, emanating a cool sensation that penetrated his palm. Lin Daochen's heart skipped a beat: the truth was one inch closer.

"Good stuff, it was definitely worth the wait." He curled his fingertips slightly, suppressing the surging heat, his face remaining calm as still water.

But Tianlangzi's eyes twitched, and he immediately sensed something was wrong. He asked in a hurry, "Oh? Is there some movement?"

Lin Lei lowered his brow, his gaze sharp as a blade, piercing towards Tianlangzi.

Lin Daochen opened his palm, and a bluish-gray storage bag lay quietly in his hand: "Tianlangzi, this time, I need you to protect it." Before he finished speaking, the bag was already handed to the other party.

Tianlangzi grabbed him tightly, his eyes crinkling with laughter: "Don't worry, I've always treated your safety as my own."

Lin Lei stared at him, his eyes cold and sharp, utterly devoid of trust. Yang Kai, on the other hand, snorted softly, finding the man's slickness utterly repulsive.

Lin Daochen's tone was low but left no room for doubt: "Inside are fragments of a divine map. The road ahead is unpredictable, and I must be fully focused—this bag, once handed over to you, must remain unharmed."

Tianlangzi patted his chest and assured him, "With me here, everything will be fine!"

But as soon as he bent down to count the bags, his face suddenly froze. He had intended to show off his memory, but then realized the numbers were wrong.

His fingers flew across the paper, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He prided himself on his photographic memory, having memorized even the wear patterns and sealing methods of each bag, but right now—something was wrong!

His brows furrowed, and his Adam's apple bobbed. Lin Lei took in his expression, a mocking smile playing on his lips.

"What?" Lin Lei's voice was cold. "Did you misremember?"

Tianlangzi stiffened his neck and forced a smile, saying, "Ridiculous! My memory is as good as iron!"

Lin Daochen looked up into the depths of the forest, his tone calm: "Perhaps this forest is strange, disturbing our senses. Once we go in, we'll have to keep our eyes and ears wide open."

Yang Kai watched silently, secretly relieved—thankfully, he hadn't been fooled into getting agitated by the old fox's few words again.

Tianlangzi gritted his teeth and swallowed his anger, glaring fiercely at Lin Lei before finally lowering his head and remaining silent. The allure of the divine map fragment ultimately outweighed his pride.

Deep in the forest, a golden ray pierced the mist, fragments hovering in mid-air, their light shimmering. Lin Lei's back tensed, his gaze sharp as a hook, scanning every shadow of the trees; Yang Kai stared intently at the golden light, his breath catching in his throat; Tian Langzi, however, stared blankly at the bag in his hand, sighing deeply, "Alas... back then my hands were steady and my mind meticulous, now I can't even count a bag properly."

Lin Lei's lips curled slightly, finding his self-pitying appearance both comical and laughable. Yang Kai muttered under his breath, "That old scoundrel is really strange."

Tianlangzi suddenly paused, shook open the bag and poured out the contents—he counted them once, sixteen hundred; he counted them again, still sixteen hundred. He scratched his bald head, clicked his tongue in annoyance, and said, "Tsk, I'm getting old, my memory's failing me. I was busy with the treasure bottle all day yesterday, and I forgot to put the bag back."

Yang Kai chuckled, "Grandpa, why don't you mark the bag opening with cinnabar? So you won't forget things again."

Tianlangzi's face darkened, and he glared fiercely: "Hmph! We masters rely on the imprint of our hearts, not mere scribbles!"

Yang Kai shook his head, too lazy to say anything more.

The longer they went, the more glaring the strangeness in the forest became. The deeper they went, the more uneasy they felt—the forest surface was withered, the branches gnarled and twisted like bones, yet a few wisps of barely extinguished green smoke seeped from the cracks in the bark; even more eerie were the raised human face patterns on the tree trunks, crooked, stiff, as if nailed alive to the wood, eyelids half-open, staring but not really.

An hour later, they stumbled upon a desolate clearing. In the center of the clearing, the fragment of the divine map hung suspended half a foot above the soil, its golden light dazzling and blinding. Lin Daochen crouched down, his fingers digging into the soft, black earth, deftly clearing away the loose mud to reveal the entire fragment—but beneath it, stark white ribs and curled knuckles were embedded among the decaying leaves, gleaming with the grayish-white hue of age.

Everyone's faces darkened simultaneously. Lin Lei's brows furrowed, Yang Kai's pupils contracted slightly, while Tian Langzi turned his head away, his nostrils flaring as if he had smelled stale, leftover food.

Lin Daochen stared at the severed wrist, his voice low and dull: "There are people buried in the woods, and the remains are a mix of old and new... Things are deeper than we suspect."

He reached out and picked up the fragment. His palm was slightly warm, and he thought he could feel a trace of antiquity flowing through it, but all he found was deathly silence.

"That's strange?" Linley blurted out.

Lin Daochen's expression hardened slightly. He silently channeled the Maha Sutra's mental cultivation method, his spiritual energy probing into the fragment like a thread, but the fragment remained completely still, like a piece of stubborn, burnt iron. His Adam's apple bobbed, and doubts churned within him.

"It's clearly the real thing, so why is there no response?" Yang Kai asked in a low voice.

Lin Lei squinted and scanned his surroundings: "I'm afraid the earth's energy is off, suppressing the spirituality of the fragments."

Lin Daochen remained silent for a moment, then with a flick of his finger, he steadily placed the fragment into his storage bag. He knew in his heart that if that person were still alive, they would never have allowed the fragment to be scattered in the wilderness, left to gather dust and shatter.

On the night the blood-red sun broke through the dawn, he seized seven fragments. Strangely, apart from the first fragment which still retained a faint, firefly-like glow, the other six were as dull as stone, showing no further signs of life. As the silver moon faded and blood-red light filled the sky, the group, weary, stopped at the foot of the hill.

Lin Daochen sat on a moss-covered rock, his back ramrod straight. Yang Kai approached and tentatively asked, "You've been chewing on an unripe fruit the whole way here—have something on your mind?"

Lin Daochen raised his eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips, but remained silent. He untied his storage bag and shook out seven fragments, arranging them neatly on the stone surface. Only the first fragment shimmered with a faint light; the rest were dull gray, heavy as if soaked in water.

"What's going on here?" Yang Kai hovered his fingertips above the shards, not daring to touch them.

Lin Lei also strolled over, his brows furrowed. Lin Daochen's gaze swept over each bead with a heavy expression, then he suddenly spoke: "They're not scattered—they're beads with a broken string. We need to find that string."

Everyone nodded. Lin Daochen stood up, dusted himself off, and pointed towards the depths of the forest.

The further you go in, the less the forest seems to be alive: the tree trunks are twisted into pretzel shapes, the branches point towards the sky like barbs, and the air is filled with a rusty, sour smell mixed with aged vinegar, which gets heavier and heavier the more you breathe in.

His sense of direction gradually became distorted—the road beneath his feet was clearly straight, but no matter how he wandered around, he always ended up back under the same crooked old locust tree. Yang Kai's heart pounded, and he hurriedly reported to Lin Daochen, only to find that the other man was already sitting cross-legged at the foot of the mountain, resting with his eyes closed.

Tianlangzi stood with his hands behind his back on the slope, and sneered: "This forest isn't lost, it's been bent by an array. Every step we take, it subtly twists a corner."

"Then what do we do?" Yang Kai asked urgently.

Tianlangzi didn't even lift his eyelids: "Break? This array pattern is engraved in the mountain's bones, suppressing three hundred years of resentment—do you think it's like tearing down a fence?"