Chapter 84: Recruitment

Hearing the drastic change inside the cave, Huo Yuanzhen rushed out. With a tap of his toes on the grass, his body glided through the air, and in an instant, he arrived at the entrance of the cave. He lowered his body and entered the cave.

Inside the cave, Mingxin staggered forward, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. He raised one hand, preparing to strike at the elderly man lying on the ground.

The elderly man, known as Du Laoguai, was lying flat with a disdainful look, not showing the slightest hint of fear in his eyes. 

It was clear that after being trapped in the cave for thirty years, Du Laoguai had lost his fear of life and death. Even when he was at his most desperate, trapped with no escape, he had cleverly set up a trap to lure Mingxin into the cave. He successfully poisoned him, pulling Mingxin down with him.

Huo Yuanzhen admired Du Laoguai's martial arts and intellect. This old man was far too valuable to be allowed to die. He had a great use for him.

Suddenly, Huo Yuanzhen dashed into the cave, startling Mingxin. When he saw Huo Yuanzhen, he realized the situation was not good. This abbot was not here to chat.

However, he could tell that Huo Yuanzhen's martial arts seemed to be only in the mid-to-late stage of the acquired realm, which, in his eyes, was no more than an ant he could crush with a flick of his hand.

At this critical moment, Mingxin couldn't afford any more mishaps. Ignoring the pain from his injuries, he immediately raised his hand to strike at Huo Yuanzhen.

Huo Yuanzhen held the Duantian Sword in his hand. Although he didn't know much about swordplay, he had seen enough to perform a simple strike. He swung the sword to slash at Mingxin's raised palm!

Sensing the sword's sharpness, Mingxin dared not block directly. He quickly retreated.

Huo Yuanzhen's goal was to force Mingxin back, gaining the initiative. He surged forward aggressively, unleashing a rapid series of blows from his "Great Compassionate Palm."

Although Mingxin's strength was greatly diminished due to his injuries, he was still far stronger than Huo Yuanzhen. He struck back with powerful palms.

But after a few exchanges, Mingxin was shocked. Huo Yuanzhen's palm techniques were far more refined than he had expected. This style of martial arts seemed to have been perfected to the highest level. Every movement was seamless, and it was a deadlock, with the two of them fighting evenly.

Moreover, Huo Yuanzhen's strength was immense. Even though his internal energy was not very high, his strikes were so powerful that Mingxin's injured internal organs began to ache more with each hit.

Mingxin had already been poisoned by snake venom. As the fight accelerated his blood circulation, he feared he might die from the poison before he could defeat Huo Yuanzhen.

In the end, realizing that death was inevitable, Mingxin gritted his teeth and yelled, "Foolish thing! You came to die. You can keep me company in the Yellow Springs!"

"Keep you company? In your dreams!" Huo Yuanzhen retorted.

Seeing that Mingxin was about to unleash a deadly attack, Huo Yuanzhen suddenly jumped up and began circling around the cave. Even though Mingxin was injured and poisoned, he was not an opponent Huo Yuanzhen could easily defeat. He preferred a more cautious approach, engaging in guerrilla tactics. He doubted that, after reaching the brink of death, Mingxin could still unleash any devastating attacks to threaten him.

Sure enough, Mingxin, who had prepared a fatal move, couldn't use it. He staggered a few steps in pursuit of Huo Yuanzhen, but his speed slowed down, and eventually, he collapsed to the ground, unable to continue.

Huo Yuanzhen did not rush to approach him. Instead, he picked up a stone from the cave ceiling and hurled it at Mingxin's head.

"Bang!" The stone hit Mingxin's forehead, knocking him to the ground with blood streaming from his head. His eyes became dazed, and he couldn't even wipe the blood from his face.

Another stone struck his abdomen. This time, Mingxin let out a faint groan, with black blood beginning to spill from his mouth.

"Looks like he's done for," Huo Yuanzhen muttered.

He didn't bother with Mingxin any longer. The man had become a source of contamination, and Huo Yuanzhen didn't want to risk being infected.

He walked slowly over to Du Laoguai. "Senior Du, I'm sorry I couldn't rescue you earlier. Can you understand my hesitation?"

"Ai, that's understandable. Anyone would hesitate to rescue me," Du Laoguai replied without any joy at Mingxin's imminent death. Instead, he sighed lightly.

"Dust to dust, earth to earth. In the end, it's all empty. I'm over a hundred years old. Why should I cling to life so much? Little monk, if you want to save me, cut the chains. I've lost my power and cannot threaten you anymore. You can take the pills here, and this as well."

Saying this, Du Laoguai pulled out a large, white, egg-sized relic from his robe.

A faint white glow shimmered around it, more beautiful than the finest gemstones, exuding a sacred and solemn aura.

"Is this the relic of Master Kongyin?" Huo Yuanzhen asked in awe.

"Yes, indeed. This relic of Master Kongyin has been with me for thirty years. During this time, I've been refining pills, living in regret every day. Master Kongyin died to save me. Kongfan imprisoned me here for thirty years to punish me. Sigh, thirty years... how many people have three decades in their lives?" Du Laoguai lamented.

Huo Yuanzhen thought for a moment and asked, "Senior, do you feel that you have repaid Master Kongyin's debt?"

Du Laoguai shook his head. "Even if it was three thousand years, I could never forget the way Master Kongyin was wounded. It's enough. Little monk, give me a swift end."

"No, I think you've already repaid your debt."

Huo Yuanzhen stepped forward, looking down at Du Laoguai. "You've been trapped here for thirty years. No matter whether you unintentionally harmed Kongyin or did so deliberately, no one will hold it against you now. Even Sun Wukong killed many immortals in the Heavenly Palace, but didn't he end up being imprisoned for five hundred years and eventually let go?"

Du Laoguai looked at Huo Yuanzhen in confusion, not understanding the reference.

Huo Yuanzhen realized that this old man had never heard of the story of the Monkey King causing havoc in the Heavenly Palace.

"Forget it. I'll rescue you now. From today, you're free!" Huo Yuanzhen said, swinging the Duantian Sword down and slashing at the cold iron chains binding Du Laoguai.

The clang of metal on metal, sparks flying, followed by a sharp screech. The chains were immediately severed!

Huo Yuanzhen was overjoyed. He had been worried that the Duantian Sword wouldn't be able to cut the chains, but now that he saw it was fine, he quickly slashed through all the chains binding Du Laoguai.

"Amitabha. Senior Du, congratulations on escaping your suffering and being reborn."

Huo Yuanzhen said a Buddhist chant and stood waiting for Du Laoguai to thank him. However, after waiting for a while, he remembered that Du Laoguai had been poisoned with Huagong San and Ruanguo San and was temporarily powerless. He hurriedly went over to help the old man up.

"Senior, I will take these pills. As for the relic, keep it for now. If, after your recovery, you still wish to give it to me, it will not be too late."

Du Laoguai's eyes flickered for a brief moment, and after a subtle nod, he allowed Huo Yuanzhen to help him out of the cave.

Mingxin, however, had already become a corpse.

"Moonlight. Thirty years... Finally, I see the moonlight again." Du Laoguai gazed at the sky as he stepped out of the cave.

Although the cave had some ventilation and light, it was still a cave. Even with these features, it could not change the fact that Du Laoguai hadn't seen the night sky in thirty years.

"Little monk, this place is too beautiful. The wind, the flowers, the trees, and the moonlight... I don't want to leave. Please, let me stay here for just one night," Du Laoguai said with a contented sigh.

Huo Yuanzhen complied and set him down, standing aside.

However, Huo Yuanzhen was not idle. He had already sent the Golden-eyed Eagle to look for Yiyin. Since Mingxin was dead, Yiyin definitely couldn't survive. Otherwise, if the news reached the Southern Shaolin, it would be detrimental to him.

Yiyin was not far away, just a mid-stage acquired martial artist. In the claws of the Golden-eyed Eagle, there was no chance for him to escape.

After giving the instructions to the eagle, Huo Yuanzhen turned back to Du Laoguai. "Senior, those who abandoned me yesterday should not be kept. The past is like smoke. Only you and I still know what happened. What do you plan to do from here on out?"

"Plan…" Du Laoguai thought for a long time before shaking his head. "I don't know. At first, I wanted to go out and confront Kongfan. But now that Kongfan is dead, I have no friends from my past, no family, and no idea what the world is like anymore. I don't know what to do."

"Then... Do you wish to return to the Jianghu?" Huo Yuanzhen asked.

"No. I'm too old. I have no desire to compete anymore. The Jianghu is dangerous, and with my old body, I don't want to get involved in that chaos," Du Laoguai replied.

Huo Yuanzhen listened to Du Laoguai's words, feeling a sense of melancholy. But at the same time, he secretly rejoiced. He once again asked, "Then, senior, do you think becoming a monk would be a good choice?"

Du Laoguai seemed moved by the suggestion but hesitated before answering. "I originally wanted to become a monk in Shaolin. Master Kongyin had agreed, but before I could be tonsured, that battle happened. Kongyin died, and I was imprisoned here instead."

After saying this, Du Laoguai looked at Huo Yuanzhen with a faint smile. "Little monk, you're interesting. You want me to join Shaolin, but I can't do anything. I don't want to teach those young people martial arts either. I'm just a useless old man. What would you want with me?"

Huo Yuanzhen squinted his eyes. Although Du Laoguai said he didn't want to join, Huo Yuanzhen could still sense the faint surprise and hope in his tone.

Did he really not want to join?

After thinking for a moment, Huo Yuanzhen said again, "Shaolin does not keep idle people. If Senior Du wants to join Shaolin, you must be tonsured and work. However, since you said you don't want to do much, I won't make you do too much work. Just sweep the floor. Would you agree, Senior?"