'What happened here?' wondered abbot Hui Wen in astonishment.
'Is this…the Blood-Sucking Devil?' thought abbot Hui Wen as he approached the corpse. His expression froze.
Even though the Blood-Sucking Devil changed his appearances, he still gave off a strong sense of Evil Path aura.
In that day and age, everyone knew every martial artist of the Upper Realms. It was even more true for a demon of the Upper Realms!
Abbot Hui Wen was deep in thought and managed to identify the Blood-Sucking Devil from the aura coming from his corpse.
'The Mystical Village Tower? The Blood Sucking Devil…' Abbot Hui Wen seemed to have inferred something from the situation. While he was deep in thought, the sound of footsteps was heard.
All the temple court heads arrived.
"Abbot?"
"What happened here?"
"Why do I sense the aura of an Evil Path warrior?" asked the Luohan Court head as he scanned the area.
The rest of the temple court heads remained silent and instantly looked toward abbot Hui Wen. In their eyes, abbot Hui Wen knew more about the situation since he arrived at the scene before them.
"I only got here a few minutes before you. It looked like this when I arrived," said abbot Hui Wen with a bitter smile.
"What!?"
"Abbot, is this the corpse of the Blood-Sucking Devil?" asked the Luohan Court head in shock.
"According to the reports we received, the Blood-Sucking Devil's merely a third-rank demon. However, I can tell that he was much powerful before he died. It's closer to a second-rank and it might even be a peak second-rank," intoned the Dharma Court head slowly.
As soon as he said that, the rest of the temple court heads paled in shock. They were not in shock because the corpse was previously a peak second-rank demon, but at how he died.
The temple court head examined the extent of the Blood-Sucking Devil's injuries. His internal organs were completely crushed. The blow that ended his life was a killing blow. What kind of person could have killed a peak second rank in an instant?
The temple court heads saw an expression of utmost horror on the Blood-Sucking Devil's face. It was clear that right before he died, he was in a hopeless and despairing situation.
What type of person could make a powerful peak second-rank feel utter despair and not even be able to escape…
It sent chills down the spines of all the temple court heads.
"I think I know what happened with regards to the power of the Blood-Sucking Devil." said abbot Hui Wen as he walked out of the Mystical Village Tower.
He continued slowly in a gruff voice, "The Blood-Sucking Devil must've disguised himself as a demon of the Lower Realms and deliberately allowed himself to be imprisoned within the Mystical Village Tower. After that, he took the opportunity to consume the Life Essence of all the demons in the tower. His power and ability grew dramatically…"
The rest of the temple court heads nodded in agreement when they heard his words. Abbot Hui Wen's explanation made sense of one part of the puzzle. However…They still had no explanation for the most important part of the puzzle.
The Luohan Court head then asked, "Abbot, how did the Blood-Sucking Devil end up dying here?"
"So this..."
Abbot Hui Wen was silent. He too did not understand. With the power of the Blood-Sucking Devil, he would only have been able to withstand an attack even if abbot Hui Wen faced him. It would have been impossible if abbot Hui Wen wanted to kill him, let alone kill him instantly.
"Is it possible that it's the Divine Master Abbot who did this?" guessed the Precepts Court head.
Not too long ago, when the Demon Buddha successor created havoc in the Shaolin temple, it was the Divine Master Abbot who saved them from grave danger. When that happened, everyone including abbot Hui Wen believed that an ancestor of the Shaolin temple who was a Divine Master Abbot secretly presided in the temple.
Since the Blood-Sucking Devil mysteriously died in front of the Mystical Village Tower, the Precepts Court head thought that it might be the reason. Apart from that Divine Master Abbot, no one in the entire Shaolin temple had that kind of power.
"That's the only possibility." Abbot Hui Wen nodded his head slightly.
"That's right, all our disciples lost consciousness but none of them lost their lives." Abbot Hui Wen walked toward Zhen Zhi.
"Even though some of his Qi Vitality's absorbed, it's not at a critical level. He should recover with a few months of rest," said abbot Hui Wen after he inspected Zhen Zhi.
"Are you going to wake up!?" muttered abbot Hui Wen as he pointed a finger at Zhen Zhi's brow.
Bong!
It was like a large bell that rang within Zhen Zhi's consciousness. Zhen Zhi whose consciousness was plunged into darkness suddenly saw a bright light coming toward him.
"Abbot…" Zhen Zhi opened his eyes. He saw abbot Hui Wen and the other temple court heads in front of him. He immediately moved in an attempt to get up and bow as a sign of respect.
"Please don't move. You're Qi Vitality's weak and you need rest," said abbot Hui Wen as he gently stopped Zhen Zhi from doing so.
"My brothers! Are my brothers okay?" asked Zhen Zhi quietly.
"Relax, a Divine Master Abbot killed the Blood-Sucking Devil. The other disciples are all fine and not one life's been lost," said abbot Hui Wen with a smile. His tone of voice was filled with respect and awe.
That Divine Master Abbot patriarch had appeared multiple times. Firstly by defeating the Demon Buddha's successor and saving the Shaolin temple. Next, he killed the Blood-Sucking Devil. This kind of grace was sufficient for the Shaolin temple to build a gold statue to honor the patriarch. Thousands of years of honor and worship were the least that he deserved.
"A Divine Master Abbot patriarch?" Zhen Zhi's expression was one of shock. In his last moment of consciousness, he saw someone arrive. Even though his memory was blurry, he could tell that the upright figure he saw was not an elderly person.
How could the person be one of their ancestors?
However, Zhen Zhi might be mistaken. When he saw the look of sincere confidence in the faces of abbot Hui Wen and all the other temple court heads, he felt as though he must be mistaken.
"Alright, get a couple of days of rest and head to the Bodhi temple to take a Vitality Replenishment Pill," said abbot Hui Wen.
The Vitality Replenishment Pill was a pill specifically meant to restore the Qi Vitality of the body. Since Zhen Zhi's Qi Vitality was weakened, he needed the pill to increase the speed of his recovery.
"Thank you, abbot," thanked Zhen Zhi gratefully.
...
While abbot Hui Wen and the temple court heads were guessing the identity of that Divine Master Abbot, Su Qin returned to the Miscellaneous Court.
Su Qin saved the Shaolin temple and the lives of numerous Shaolin temple disciples several times. His secret acts were considered great deeds deserving of recognition by the Shaolin temple. However, to Su Qin, he felt like it was no more effort or deserving of recognition than swatting a few flies dead.
"I love days like this when I can sign in when I'm free and elevate my power. This kind of life's so relaxing…"
Su Qin was in a good mood.
After an hour, the Shaolin temple returned to its usual calm. Su Qin quietly sneaked out of the Miscellaneous Court and went to an empty hill nearby.
The moon shone brightly in the sky, like a curtain of brilliance. Su Qin sat cross-legged and began to slowly activate the
"It turns out that the Yin Refinement technique's the perfect match for the Impenetrable Armor technique. When Yin and Yang's forces combine, it brings outstanding results in training the body!"
Su Qin opened his eyes and sensed the gradual feeling of his body growing stronger. A flash of satisfaction appeared in his eyes.