King of Tomb Raiders

Chapter 114

In the history of military development in modern countries, the North Korean military's improvement of "gliding suit" technology is the most successful, far surpassing that of the United States and European powers. This is mainly due to the natural characteristic of North Koreans being small in stature. Moreover, according to research by Asian medical experts, the body structure of the indigenous people of North Korea is very strange. Many of them have "hollow thin-walled bones" like pigeons, which makes them more suitable for gliding in the air.

When it comes to Koreans, the first thing that comes to mind is the Chiyan Army that Xiao Keleng reported on.

I watched the fiery serpent of lights draw ever closer, frowning as I smiled at Xiao Lai: "Look, we've finally alerted the monks! These guys won't budge unless you hit them where it hurts. If I'd known, I would have fired a couple of shots much earlier—"

Suddenly, I realized that I fired before "Fire Serpent" set off. In other words, they rushed over here not because of my gunshot, but for something else. That is to say, something else big happened at Maple Temple.

Xiao Lai wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, still feeling lingering fear as he looked at the clear shoe print on his chest: "Mr. Feng, the opponent's swordsmanship, martial arts, and lightness skills are all very strange... He must be a master from the North Korean military's Red Flame Unit. It would be terrible if we were on the opposite side."

At this moment, the "Meditation Hall" is right below us, its roof bare, like a strange rectangular stone box.

The distribution of the bushes resembles a giant "田" (field) character facing southwest, and the house is situated at the intersection of these two characters.

A thin white mist shrouded the bushes, but no matter how strong the mountain wind blew, the mist remained trapped within the square-shaped area, not being blown away at all. Approaching the house from any direction required passing through the bushes and the white mist; all the strangeness of the esoteric arts lay hidden within the mist.

Xiao Lai laughed: "Mr. Feng, if we had a sniper rifle, the entire 'Meditation Hall' and even the entire Maple Branch Temple would be under our control." People in the underworld admire the power of firearms, especially sniper rifles that can kill with a single shot, and Xiao Lai was no exception.

I pointed to the swirling fog and shook my head in opposition: "Xiao Lai, even if I gave you a high-powered sniper rifle, could you see what was behind the fog through the scope? A ninja's earth-escape technique could easily take advantage of the tower's cover and sneak up to attack you. You wouldn't even have a chance to fire."

In battles in such complex terrain, sniper rifles are often out of reach. To survive or achieve victory, one must rely on their own martial arts skills, wisdom, and adaptability.

After gazing down for a long time, I suddenly felt a bit dizzy, because beyond the grid-like arrangement of bushes, a winding, dry stream, following the contours of the terrain, formed an irregular circle around the bushes. Around the stream were four narrow, winding paths paved with colorful pebbles, seemingly intermittently encircling it… The more I looked, the more astonished I became by the profound depth of Tanino's Japanese esoteric arts. The twelve barriers Xiao had mentioned were still an underestimation; from my vantage point above, there were at least seventeen. Anyone entering Fuuki-ji Temple who wanted to approach Tanino's house would first have to overcome these seventeen barriers.

The above calculations only account for the static distribution pattern and do not take into account the variables that will arise once the formation is activated. Perhaps the truly formidable variables will only emerge after the enemy has infiltrated the formation, like an interlocking maze that will trap and kill any enemy who dares to attack too easily.

"Listen up, those above... come down here immediately and speak to us, or you will be killed without mercy..."

The long, winding "fire serpent" came to a stop in the plaza below the tower, and someone looked up and shouted. In this picturesque place of Hokkaido, it seems everyone has forgotten that Japan is a polite and law-abiding society, where problems should be reported to the police, and "kill without mercy" is a slang term often used by bandits in ancient times.

Xiao Lai chuckled nonchalantly, "These monks from Fengge Temple are passable in martial arts, but when it comes to firearms, I alone am more than capable of handling this whole group below..."

He looked down at the square, roughly counted, then looked up at me with a smile: "Forty-five. It seems most people are still holding back at the 'Marrow Cleansing Hall,' preparing to use their mental power to awaken that girl! Mr. Feng, shall we go down and take a look?"

The only regret was not bringing a high-powered telescope to observe Gu Ye's house in detail. If Zhang Baisen and the Shao brothers hadn't come, these changes in the Qimen Dunjia divination system would have been quite troublesome.

We slowly descended the tower and emerged from the doorway on the first floor.

The group was led by two monks, Lion and Tiger, who were furious. The monks following behind them all carried two-foot-long black iron monk knives. They came with a menacing air, as if Xiao Lai and I had committed a terrible crime.

"You two broke into Fengge Temple at night and injured the disciples guarding the temple. Now please come with me to see the abbot and await his judgment." The lion monk said coldly, solemnly pinning this crime on us.

I ignored him, and just looked back at the first level of the tower, wondering to myself, "Did Guan Baoling also stand here with her hands clasped in prayer? What would she pray for—for the tycoon to be healthy, make a fortune, and live a carefree life?"

The thought of all this makes my heart ache as if it were being stabbed with needles.

After Guan Baoling disappeared, the useless Wang Jiangnan returned to Xunfu Garden to rest, feeling dejected. He was just like most men in the world, only seeing the "beauty" of girls and thinking only about holding a beauty in his arms as soon as possible, but having no patience to silently make sacrifices for the person he liked.

"What about the tycoon? Does he also have the same feelings for Guan Baoling?" The tycoon, who has been a womanizer for half his life, probably can't be infatuated with Guan Baoling forever, especially since he is already an erectile dysfunction man. It's easy to imagine that Guan Baoling's future is definitely bleak.

"Mr. Feng, should we...should we go with this group to see Master Shenbi?" I was so lost in thought that Xiao Lai's voice snapped me out of my reverie and I started to move forward. I really was going to see Master Shenbi, prepared to take a desperate gamble and try the spell left by Yelan.

The one who killed the monks of Fengge Temple must have been the North Korean who had just used the "glider." This raises another question—"After killing the monks, why didn't they hurry to escape and hide? Why did they keep running all the way to the top of the tower? Could there be some hidden secret at the top of the tower?"

I glanced at the top of the "Tower of the Dead" a few times, but couldn't see anything noteworthy about it.

The building of "Xisuitang" has been renovated, and indeed there are still more than two hundred monks, young and old, sitting exhausted in the courtyard, yawning and counting prayer beads while chanting sutras. It was so cold at night that almost half of them were shivering, but no one retreated or ran away; they just kept chanting sutras with their heads down.

The paper door to the north room was half-open, and a wisp of smoke drifted out, exuding the pleasant aroma of authentic red sandalwood.

Before the Lion Monk could report, I strode to the door and loudly announced my identity: "I am Feng, and I request an audience with Master Shenbi!" The mantra I had memorized thousands of times was rolling under my tongue, and in another minute, it might be the moment to verify its authenticity.

"Please come in," Master Shenbi replied hoarsely from inside the room.

I stepped into the room, where the floor was covered with flickering candlelight. At least hundreds of white candles were crisscrossed in the middle of the room, their flames trembling violently as the strong wind blew in.

"Hema Tunamne... Hema Tunamne... Hema Tunamne..." Master Shenbi shouted three times, raising his arms to unleash another gentle force that melted away the strong wind, causing the flickering candlelight to come to a standstill.

At this moment, he and the elephant monk sat cross-legged at the head and tail of the coffin of the vine, which was also the core of the candle formation.

I took a step to the side and stood with my back against the wall.

The candles were arranged in a five-pointed star of varying lengths, with the longest and sharpest point pointing due north. I remember that the back wall of this house was connected to that strange treehouse, where the eminent monk, Master Bumenlu, should still be.

“Mr. Feng, I’m certain that you weren’t the one who killed the temple’s disciples. Could it be that you’ve come here to search for the missing Miss Guan Baoling?” Master Shenbi raised his eyelids, his left hand clutching the large brown prayer beads on his chest, revealing an unfathomable expression.

I took another step forward, finding the entrance to the "Five-Star Soul-Summoning Array," and sneered with a hint of worry: "Master Shenbi, there's no need for further explanation or justification. My purpose in coming here is only twofold: to find Miss Guan and, more importantly, to awaken Miss Tengjia. It's a spell, an incredibly magical spell. Give me a second, and I might be able to bring her back to the mortal realm..."

The lion monk outside the door suddenly sneered: "A spell, heh heh, a useless spell..."

His voice was loud, and both Master Shenbi and the Elephant Monk looked up at the same time, staring at the door with disgust.

The lion monk cried out, clearly regretting his mistake. In that instant, I saw the unmistakable murderous intent on the elephant monk's face.

I feel something's not right: "Watanabe Castle was the first to receive the Yelan Spell, and from the 'Twin Assassins' conversation, it's clear they tried the spell at the temple. If the Lion Monk said that, does he also know about the 'Twin Assassins' visit? Doesn't that mean that Maple Temple and Watanabe Castle are actually one and the same?"

"Lion, you should go and rest," Master Shenbi coldly ordered.

I hope that Xiao Lai, who is also standing outside the door, can remember the Lion Monk's awkward expression. If Watanabe Castle and Fuuki Temple are really in cahoots, I need to be very careful.

I walked to the coffin, stared at the sleeping Fujika, and suddenly took a deep breath, focusing my mind.

The phrase "Wake up" is expressed in Egyptian and has twelve syllables. I'm sure I've mastered it better than a native Egyptian.

"Wake up......" I whispered the incantation, forcing my mind to focus entirely on Fujika's face. Suddenly, her eyelids seemed to twitch, and her lips seemed to move. But when I rubbed my eyes, everything returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.

This almost hallucinatory feeling suddenly gave me confidence, and I reached out and placed my hand on the coffin lid: "Master Shenbi, pause your 'Five-Star Soul Summoning Array' for a moment. I have a way to awaken Miss Tengjia—"

I could absolutely sense Fujika's telepathy; she was like someone who had been drowning for days, waiting for my rescue.

"Haha, just kidding! You're kidding!" The elephant monk jumped up, ignoring Master Shenbi's pleading gaze, and strode towards the door, kicking away more than a dozen burning candles along the way, sending them flying in all directions.

I walked to the top of the coffin, reached out and pushed open the glass lid. A long-lost fragrance of "Thousand Flowers Bird" wafted up and spread throughout my entire body. It was truly exhilarating.

Fujika lay there, eyes closed, her sharp chin, straight neck, and rounded shoulders forming the beautiful curves of a young woman. I must wake her, but this has absolutely nothing to do with her status as a princess.

"Wake up... wake up..." I pressed my palms against her forehead, repeatedly uttering these words while channeling all my inner strength, hoping to receive a "wake-up call." As I bent down, half of my body covered the coffin, and the increasingly strong fragrance of "Thousand Flower Bird" filled my nostrils, making me feel lightheaded.

Suddenly, Fujika's body began to twist strangely, moving incessantly like a sleeping child having a nightmare.

Master Shenbi couldn't help but exclaim, "Ah! She moved! Princess Tengjia's body... moved!"

With a loud "snap," the paper door was almost ripped off, and the three monks—an elephant, a lion, and a tiger—rushed in, stomping and kicking, destroying another forty or fifty candles.

They all gathered around the coffin, staring intently at me.

I channeled my inner energy even more powerfully, pressing my palms against Teng Jia's temples and continuously pouring my own internal energy into them. For someone who is unconscious, regardless of their martial arts level, directly stimulating their temples to rouse them is the only effective method of rescue for all schools of Chinese internal martial arts.

She was just moving, her mouth remained tightly closed, and she didn't make a sound, not even a painful groan.

*Plop*—A bead of sweat fell and landed on Teng Jia's nose. With the continuous exertion of internal energy, my body quickly showed signs of exhaustion and collapse; cold sweat streamed down my forehead. I knew that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't hold on for more than two minutes.

As the internal energy flowing into Tengjia weakened slightly, the frequency of her body twisting slowed down. This also indicated that the input of internal energy could directly stimulate her brain nerves, causing her to transition from a deep coma to a shallow coma.

"I'm here!" Master Shenbi shouted, and with a flick of his right arm, he slammed it onto my back. A surge of immense, yin-like internal energy rushed over, like a raging ocean wave, and after passing through my body, it directly poured into Tengjia's temple.

I breathed a sigh of relief. I was just acting as a conductor, so I didn't have to exert any effort at all. I could finally rest for a bit. However, I soon noticed that the frequency of Fujika's twisting suddenly decreased, and after half a minute, it returned to a still state.

"What happened to her? What happened to Princess Tengjia?" Master Shenbi withdrew his hand in confusion.

After the violent writhing, Fujika's hair was in complete disarray, with several strands even tangled around her ears. I didn't know what had happened, so I gently smoothed her hair, then lifted her eyelids to check, and checked her breathing. Strangely, she wasn't awake at all. Her writhing seemed like a struggle in a nightmare; I had only wasted my time.

Xiao Lai, who had been standing outside the door, patted the back of his head and slowly strolled in.

"Did you find anything?" I asked him, because a sly smile was already showing in his eyes.

“Mr. Feng, the martial arts you practice are very different from those of the high monks of Fengge Temple. After the two different internal energies entered Miss Tengjia’s body, she was like being suspended between water and fire. Not only could it not save her, but if it continued, she would be drowned and burned, and her life might be in danger!”

I had already thought of this problem; I just wanted to verify whether Tengjia could keenly sense the stimulation of internal force. Whether I used internal force to wake her or an electric shock device to "wake her up," it was all the same thing.

After this experiment, we can definitely try an electric shock device tomorrow—in this cold weather, with half of Tengjia's body exposed to the air, she certainly won't feel good. Fortunately, the coffin has a temperature control system, and even when all else failed, Master Shenbi never neglected to take care of her.

I left the coffin and paced back and forth in the room, stretching my aching arms as I did so.

"Young man, you've done very well! Let's have a proper spar sometime, and I'll see just how far you've progressed with your 'Small Heavenly Circuit Reincarnation Technique.' It's said that the cultivation method for this skill was lost half a century ago; I never imagined you'd be able to revive it..."

Someone was speaking to me using the skill of "transmitting sound over a thousand miles." My ears keenly picked up the source of the sound, which was behind the north wall, undoubtedly Master Bumenlu in the treehouse.

I approached the north wall and bowed deeply to it: "Master, I don't understand what you mean, and my martial arts are not some 'Small Heavenly Cycle Reincarnation Skill'. My master calls it 'Heavenly Mountain Snow Refining Skill'."

Suddenly, Bumenlu coughed violently, forgetting about using "Telepathic Communication" anymore, and instead burst into horrified laughter: "What? What what... what are you saying..."

The wall in front of me silently slid to the left, and an invisible, enormous suction force swept over me, pulling me into the dark treehouse. Then, the wall slid back behind me, trapping me in this deep darkness.

Since I couldn't see anything, I simply closed my eyes slowly and faced the tree hole where the cloth shoes were, relying solely on my senses.

"Cough, cough... cough, young man, what do you know about 'Tianshan Snow Refining Skill'? It's utter nonsense! If you knew this skill, all the martial arts masters in mainland China would probably have to call you 'senior.' Do you know? This is a skill created by Xia Junhou, the eccentric martial arts master known as 'Number One Under Heaven,' at the beginning of the Tang Dynasty in China... And you actually say that you use this skill... Ridiculous! Absolutely ridiculous! In my 137 years of life, this is truly the funniest thing I've ever heard..."

I don't want to argue, because in the face of a true martial arts master, the more you argue about this issue, the easier it is to fall into a passive stalemate. The current focus is on reviving Teng Jia, not arguing about the martial arts school affiliation of any particular person.

If the incantation works, next time I use my powers, I'll employ the "Great Disintegration Technique," unleashing the full potential of my body and exerting all my strength; perhaps that will create a miraculous effect. Right now, I'm so tired; every joint in my body aches terribly, and I just want to find a bed and lie down immediately.

"Master, if you have no further instructions, I would like to take my leave." I bowed respectfully again towards the tree hollow.

"Young man, come here, perhaps I can help you in some way..."

Before I could react, the suction force returned, causing me to slide forward more than ten meters, my toes slamming into a tree trunk with a "thud." At the same time, a withered hand silently pressed down on my Baihui acupoint on the top of my head, the movement so swift that I had no chance to dodge.

Baihui acupoint is one of the most fatal acupoints on the human body, and it is also the place that martial arts masters pay the most attention to protecting. However, my internal strength has not recovered at all, and before I could even raise my arm to block, I was hit by Bumen Lu.

Even though we were so close, I couldn't hear the other person's breathing. Even when a warm, overwhelming force came from that palm, the cloth door in the darkness remained silent, without the slightest sound of hurried breathing.

"Don't think about anything, just imagine yourself soaking in the most charming hot spring in Hokkaido, with a gentle spring breeze, surrounded by beautiful women, feeling relaxed and happy..."

After that force rushed into my body, it suddenly transformed into hundreds of trickling streams, attaching themselves to the eight extraordinary meridians of my body. Moreover, this process of "attachment" and "accumulation" was continuous. A warm and gentle feeling spread from the top of my head to the soles of my feet. My body truly felt like I was soaking in a hot spring, feeling incredibly comfortable.

I don't know how much time passed, maybe five to ten minutes, when suddenly my eyes were bright and I could see clearly in the dark.

Before them was a large tree that had been placed inside the house. The person inside the tree hollow remained in a cross-legged meditation posture, but his body was suspended in mid-air. His gray monk's robe was mottled and covered in dust, like an old piece of furniture that had been sealed away for hundreds of years.

"Heh, your body is truly... astonishing! Are you... really not an Earthling?" Bumenlu's voice finally began to pant. Even the most invincible grandmaster of an internal martial arts sect in this era would not be able to withstand the long-term infusion of internal energy.

I felt incredibly light, as if a gust of wind could carry me away.

He withdrew his hand and fell heavily to the ground, stirring up dust in the tree hollow and making us both sneeze a dozen times at the same time.

The tree's diameter is astonishingly large; a hole big enough to fit a person occupies less than a third of its trunk. Of course, the tree is still growing vigorously, as can be seen from the strength of its bark.

"I'm not from Earth? Hey, if I'm not from Earth, where am I from? Surely I'm not from Saturn like the great god Tu Liehan, am I?" Having grown accustomed to such inexplicable and shocking statements, I actually felt that the person who had such doubts was not from Earth.

If my martial arts skills, internal strength, and wisdom are indeed different from those of Earthlings, then I must thank my master… (End of the fourth part of “The Tomb of the Undersea Gods,” titled “Reincarnation and Resurrection.” Please read the fifth part, “Undersea Horror.” Thank you.)

The fifth film, Sea Horror

— Chapter 1 - Yin-Yang Divine Power —

“I’ve transferred a portion of my power into your body. If it helps to awaken Princess Tengjia, that would be for the best. Young man, your… your meridian structure is clearly different from ordinary people. Your Ren and Du meridians are incredibly strong, and the speed of your eight extraordinary meridians is almost twice that of ordinary people… I can’t understand it… I can’t understand it…”

This question is as ridiculous as his disbelief that I used the "Tianshan Snow Refining Skill." No one can imagine that a martial art created in the Tang Dynasty and lost in the late Song and early Yuan Dynasties could be reproduced in a young man in his early twenties. This is the living reality, more dramatic and intriguing than any carefully staged play.