The Legend of the Netherworld

Chapter 125 Breaking into the Zen Hall

As the crowd thinned, Lin Jiao turned and headed for the back hills. The moonlight was cold, and she couldn't help but quicken her pace, worried about Lin Xiao's safety.

The back mountain was quiet. Lin Xiao was lying quietly on the wooden bed in the thatched hut. Although his face was pale, he looked peaceful.

Lin Jiao carefully examined him, confirming he was alright before she sat cross-legged beside him and began practicing breathing exercises. She quietly stayed by Lin Xiao's side, watching over him as he entered a deep, healing sleep.

Late at night, a bright moon hung in the sky, casting its silvery light across the earth. A lone figure quietly stood atop the Sutra Repository Pagoda, gazing up at the full moon, seemingly lost in thought.

On the sixth floor of the Sutra Library Pagoda, a sweeping monk sits among a pile of books, reading quietly with an ancient book in his hands.

Suddenly, his brows twitched slightly, as if he had sensed the person at the top of the tower. Then, he smiled calmly, and his figure floated up like smoke, reaching the top of the tower.

On the top of the tower is the leader.

Seeing the Sweeping Monk coming, he looked a little excited and said with a smile, "You kid is willing to admit defeat this time. You almost let your two disciples of the Jiazi Ninth Realm ruin my martial arts competition!"

The Sweeping Monk smiled faintly, his eyes relaxed, and responded, "I will naturally do what I promised. But—" He changed his tone, "I have a condition."

"Why do you always have so many requests, man? Just tell me, as long as you are willing to come out and lead disciples, I will agree to any conditions!" The head of the sect shook his head and sighed helplessly.

The Sweeping Monk said calmly, "I will only take one disciple. Once he becomes accomplished and leaves, I will take on the next one. Our bet only stipulated that I would take on disciples, but it didn't specify how many I would take."

"Alright, alright!" The headmaster waved his hand helplessly, his eyes also looking towards the distant mountain. "Then Lin Xiao is your disciple now. After he leaves, you can take the next one."

Upon hearing this, the Sweeping Monk smiled, a rare smile, and nodded.

The two stood side by side, gazing at the hills behind them under the moon, as if recalling the past. The wind blew gently, bringing with it a trace of distant longing.

The headmaster lowered his eyes slightly and sighed softly, "If my senior brother were still here, he would definitely not acknowledge the outcome of this battle."

The sweeping monk sighed and looked up at the starry sky: "Alas..."

“…”

The early morning sunlight gently shone into the thatched hut, waking up the sleeping Lin Xiao.

He slowly opened his eyes, his vision gradually becoming clearer, and what came into view was the familiar thatched roof and Lin Jiao who was meditating and practicing.

He frowned slightly, and the scenes of last night's fierce battle flashed quickly in his mind.

"Lin Jiao, I...what happened?" Lin Xiao's slightly hoarse voice broke the tranquility of the thatched hut.

When Lin Jiao heard Lin Xiao's voice, she suddenly opened her eyes and said with an excited smile, "Brother Lin Xiao, you're finally awake! Yesterday you fought with all your might on the martial arts arena, but you ran out of energy and fell unconscious."

Lin Xiao nodded, his brows furrowed slightly, feeling the weakness within him. He struggled to sit up and said, "Lin Jiao, bring me my elixir wine."

Lin Jiao did not dare to delay and quickly took out a bottle of jade-green medicinal wine from the corner of the thatched hut and handed it to Lin Xiao.

Lin Xiao raised his head and took a sip. He immediately felt a warm current flowing through his body, gradually gathering in his dantian, and his strength began to recover. He took a deep breath and said, "Let me meditate and regulate my breathing for a while."

After saying that, Lin Xiao sat cross-legged, formed seals with his hands, and silently practiced the "Boundless Sea of ​​Mind Art".

He closed his eyes and concentrated, his energy coursing rapidly through his meridians. Every move and technique from last night's fierce battle replayed in his mind. He was summarizing his gains and losses, trying to break through yesterday's bottleneck.

Time slipped by quietly, and outside the thatched cottage, the sun gradually grew brighter. Lin Jiao sensed approaching footsteps outside and went to check. It was Liu Yi, Wang Hao, and Yuan Hong. This was their second visit to Lin Xiao, and they seemed familiar with the place.

"Sister Lin Jiao, is Lin Xiao awake?" Liu Yi asked anxiously.

"He's awake, but he's still meditating and regulating his breathing. Why don't we wait outside for a while?" Lin Jiao responded softly.

The three nodded and found a flat spot by the well to sit down and share interesting stories from their respective factions. Wang Hao was particularly talkative, recounting recent anecdotes from the Xingchen Pavilion, which drew laughter from the crowd.

After an unknown amount of time, Lin Xiao slowly opened his eyes inside the thatched hut. His strength had fully recovered. He stood up and pushed open the door. The sunlight shone on his face, and he looked refreshed.

"Brother Lin Xiao, you've recovered!" Lin Jiao was overjoyed seeing this.

"Thanks to the elixir wine that helped me recover, I'm fine now." Lin Xiao responded with a smile.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that Lin Xiao was safe and sound.

Yuan Hong took out a shiny pear from the package behind him and handed it to Lin Xiao, "I specially exchanged this for Senior Brother Minghu. It is said to be very beneficial for recovering strength."

"Thank you very much." Lin Xiao took the pear without hesitation and took a bite. He felt the spiritual energy enter his stomach and a warm feeling in his dantian. His eyes then fell on the package brought by Wang Hao, and he could faintly feel the spiritual energy fluctuations of the fairy jade inside.

"Is this the fifty fairy jades that Minghu owes me?" Lin Xiao asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That's right. Senior Brother Minghu asked me to pass it on and ask you to return the IOU to Yuan Hong." Wang Hao unpacked the package, revealing fifty neatly arranged fairy jades that emitted a faint glow.

Lin Xiao nodded with satisfaction, took out the account book, tore off Minghu's IOU, and handed it to Yuan Hong: "Take it back to your Senior Brother Minghu for me, and tell him to come to me if he has business in the future."

"No problem!" Yuan Hong smiled and put the IOU away.

At this time, Lin Xiao looked around at everyone and smiled, "Since everyone is here, why don't we go see Wang Yiming together? He's recuperating in the Zen Hall alone, and he must be bored."

"Good idea!" Wang Hao responded immediately.

So, everyone got ready and headed towards the Chanyi Hall. Along the way, everyone chatted and laughed, and before they knew it, they had arrived at the entrance of the Chanyi Hall. However, just as Lin Xiao was about to step inside, he was stopped by two doormen.

"Elder Chanxin has ordered that Lin Xiao is not allowed to enter." One of the doormen said coldly, while another doorman quickly ran to the inner courtyard to report.

Soon, the disciples who guarded the Chan Yi Hall rushed out, holding sticks and ready for battle. It was obvious that they did not intend to let Lin Xiao take a step forward easily.

Lin Xiao's eyes turned cold, and he sneered, "With people like you, you think you can stop me?"

He secretly circulated the energy in his body, the energy sea in his dantian surged, and his aura suddenly increased. He was obviously angry and ready to break in forcefully.

Just as the atmosphere was tense, a deep and majestic voice came from the depths of the Zen Hall, piercing my ears like thunder: "How dare you trespass into my Zen Hall!"

Before the voice fell, a strong sense of oppression enveloped him, as if the world had suddenly become heavy.

Lin Xiao's expression changed slightly, and he snorted coldly, his strength surging through his body to resist the pressure. He looked up and saw Elder Chanxin walking slowly towards him, followed by several stern-looking disciples.

"Lin Xiao, you are not welcome in Chanyi Hall today, please leave immediately." Elder Chanxin's eyes were like torches, and his voice was cold, leaving no room for doubt.

Lin Xiao smiled coldly, a hint of stubbornness flashing in his eyes, "I just want to visit Wang Yiming, why do you keep stopping me? If you don't let me go, don't blame me for being rude!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the energy in his body suddenly surged, there seemed to be faint thunder in the air, and the air was turbulent and scattered.