"Monk, who are you?"
A Blue-Faced Man stepped forward. The atmosphere grew tense, and several Masked Men from below the mountain began to arrive as well. Soon, more than a hundred masked figures crowded the plaza, each clenching their fists. Instantly, I sensed waves of murderous intent.
As expected, these people were no good. I glanced suspiciously at the Monk standing at the entrance of the Grand Buddha Hall. He no longer looked in my direction, but I was certain he could see me—and very likely knew who I was.
From the very first glance at this Old Monk, a surge of unease welled up inside me. Yet I chose to remain silent and watch, not daring to step forward.
This was clearly an illusion, yet they could enter here—even the Old Monk was flesh and blood, undeniably real.
"I am but the gatekeeper of this temple," the Monk replied. "There is nothing here for you, seekers. Please leave at once."
The Old Monk bowed as he spoke. By now, the Blue-Faced Man had slowly approached, stopping about ten meters away and glaring at him fiercely.
"Monk, if you value your life, hand over the Blood Jade. Spare yourself needless suffering."
The Old Monk smiled faintly, then made a Buddhist gesture.
"Amitabha. All of you, like me, are but mere mortals of flesh and blood. However..."
With a thunderous roar, the Blue-Faced Man struck out, his fist moving with blinding speed. Wisps of blue smoke curled through the air. The Old Monk merely shifted his body, narrowly dodging the blow. But behind him, the Grand Buddha Hall was instantly reduced to ashes—debris flying, the structure collapsing, and the massive Buddha statues exploding and tumbling to the ground.
"Enough talk. Hand it over."
As he spoke, the Blue-Faced Man suddenly swung his other fist at the Old Monk, but the Monk remained calm and effortlessly dodged the attack again.
The ground rumbled and cracked, stones flying everywhere. The Old Monk seemed not to move a single step, standing his ground as the Blue-Faced Man unleashed a relentless barrage. No matter how fast or furious the punches, none could touch the Monk. Two more Blue-Faced Men joined the fray. My heart tightened, but then I relaxed, settling comfortably on the shoulder of a shattered Buddha statue.
There was not a single patch of intact ground left. The Old Monk stood surrounded by craters, as three Blue-Faced Men attacked together, each strike aimed to kill. Everything around us was gradually being destroyed.
Now, the Old Monk stood atop what looked like an irregular, rounded column, the three Blue-Faced Men launching repeated assaults from the air. Yet their fists never so much as grazed him. Even the Buddha statue beneath me had been shattered by a surge of force.
Gradually, the entire ground warped and twisted. The Old Monk still stood before the ruined Grand Buddha Hall. The three Blue-Faced Men stared at him in silence—then, suddenly, their bodies swelled, growing larger by a full size. They raised their right fists in unison, drawing back, and the air grew thick with dread.
"Eightfold Extreme..."
With a unified cry, the three unleashed overwhelming force upon the Old Monk. At that moment, he reacted—bringing his palms together, his entire body erupted in golden light. The radiance spread outward, forming a vast, shimmering shield.
A deafening boom echoed as the three immense forces struck the golden shield, sending shockwaves through the air. The instant the shield began to crack, the three Blue-Faced Men moved in perfect synchrony.
A series of deafening crashes rang out. My eyes widened as I saw the Old Monk unleash a mysterious technique—within an instant, all three Blue-Faced Men were flattened to the ground, as if crushed by some invisible force. The air was filled with creaking sounds and their agonized screams; blood spurted from their mouths as their bodies twisted under the pressure. The Masked Men and Red-Faced Men behind them quickly retreated.
"Amitabha. Seekers, please leave!"
The Old Monk's voice had lost its gentleness. His entire body blazed with golden light, his eyes shining with a fierce radiance. Strands of Sanskrit script shimmered and danced across his ashen-gray robe.
Yet the three Blue-Faced Men continued to resist, pressing their hands to the ground. Suddenly, one of them bulged his eyes grotesquely, as black, tentacle-like tendrils crawled across his eye sockets. He signaled the other two with a glance, and I noticed the source of the force pinning them down.
Sure enough, the three Blue-Faced Men simultaneously struck at a single spot. With a thunderous boom, they broke free and lunged at the Old Monk.
With a whoosh, I revealed myself, standing before the Old Monk. Raising my hand, I drove three fingers into the chests of the Blue-Faced Men at once. With a sickening squelch, all three spat blood and were hurled backward. I saw it clearly—their power came from the pulsing black hearts within their bodies. I pierced straight through them, and in an instant, they lost all strength.
"Zhang... Qingyuan..."
One Blue-Faced Man clutched his chest, struggling to rise but unable to move. Instantly, I sensed new energies—Masked Men and Blue-Faced Men surged toward me. I watched them approach, unflinching.
Though they knew the power gap was insurmountable, they charged at me with reckless abandon. I realized their intent—they meant to escape with the Blue-Faced Men.
"Seeker Zhang, it has been a long time!"
The Old Monk muttered something behind me. I turned to look at him, suspicion flickering in my eyes—then I managed a faint smile.
"I'm sorry, Master. I've lost all memory of my past."
As I spoke, I clenched my fist, noticing some Masked Men preparing to carry away the three Blue-Faced Men. I couldn't let them escape.
Suddenly, my eyes transformed into swirling Taiji symbols. Raising my hand, I froze everyone in place—their fists seemed to sink into invisible sponges, rendered utterly motionless. Then their bodies began to rotate slowly in midair, as if caught in a vortex.
With a subtle backward motion of my hand and a single thought, a violent, spinning black-and-white vortex erupted—silent and instantaneous. In that moment, every masked figure crashed to the ground, their bodies twisted like braided dough, blood gushing from their mouths. I had destroyed part of their hearts in an instant.
"Impossible... Ethan Zhang, weren't you already dead?"
A Blue-Faced Man cried out, clutching his chest as he struggled to crawl away. In a flash, I appeared beside him, blocking his path with a single raised finger.
"Do you know who I am?"
As I spoke, a jet-black fist swung at my head without hesitation. With a flick of my finger, the Blue-Faced Man behind me spat blood and was hurled backward, blue smoke pouring from his body. With a sickening squelch, black blood spurted from his wounds in every direction.
I stood silently on the steps, gazing at the ruined Putian Temple. A surge of unexplainable anger welled up inside me.
"Well done, well done. Amitabha, Seeker Zhang, it seems you have not changed at all! With your power, you could have destroyed them in a single blow, yet you restrained your urge to kill. Admirable and worthy of respect!"
I turned away in silence. None of the masked figures could move now; the Red-Faced Men and Masked Men had all lost consciousness. Only three Blue-Faced Men remained awake, but they were completely immobilized.
"Master, who are you really?"
"Amitabha. My Dharma name is Fuyuan. Seeker Zhang, we have met several times before. I am now the host of Luoyin Temple, but this Putian Temple was built by my own hands. When I sensed members of the Immortal Society entering, I rushed here. I never expected you, Seeker Zhang, to exist here after your death. Perhaps this is fate. On behalf of all Buddhists, I thank you."
I stared in astonishment as Fuyuan bowed to me. A wave of warmth filled my heart, and I hurried over to him.
"Master Fuyuan, can you tell me who I truly am? I can't remember anything from my past."
"We can talk about that later, Seeker Zhang. Another guest has arrived."
My eyes widened. As Fuyuan finished speaking, a tidal wave of murderous intent surged from the foot of the mountain. Someone was approaching at incredible speed. With a sharp swish, I heard the whistle of a sword slicing through the air. I turned and raised a finger—there was a crisp ring as I blocked a dagger aimed at my chest.
Before me stood a woman wearing a half-fox mask. The left side was a swirling vortex, the right a golden fox cheek—her power was utterly different from that of the Blue-Faced Men.
I gazed quietly at the brocade-clad woman before me. Her eyes flashed with shock, as if seeing me was beyond belief.
"Stand down, miss!"
I muttered, then suddenly raised my hand. With a thunderous crash, the force that had just attacked me transformed into a massive blade of energy, slicing through the mountainside. Rocks crumbled, and the earth shook violently.
"I never expected to see you again, Ethan Zhang."
As she spoke, the woman removed her mask, revealing a beautiful yet cold face, her expression blank as she stared at me.
"I've lost all memory of my past, miss. May I ask..."
"Just call me Wu, Ethan Zhang. Since you've lost your memories, don't interfere with our affairs. You're no longer the person you once were."
I couldn't understand what this woman named Wu truly meant, but I could see the icy murderous intent in her eyes—directed not at me, but at the Monk, Fuyuan, behind me.
"I'm sorry, miss. Even though I can't remember the past, I can't ignore the evil I see before me."