Chapter 14 The gaunt image of the Death-Taming Yama came from the underworld...

"Tch, what are you pretending for? Who told you cultivators to put on airs and act like saviors? Wasn't it their own choice to die? Why are you blaming us? If you ask me, this so-called sacrificial array is evil magic. If it weren't for this demon incident, who knows what you cultivators would have done in the future..."

"That's right! Aren't many of the treasures in your cultivation world stolen from other people's territories? Maybe you even want to monopolize the cultivation world, otherwise why would you keep so many secret techniques? If it weren't for the demon's involvement, your cultivation world might have become the new demon!"

"Sigh...so young, they don't understand a thing or two about the rules of the game. They start crying and begging for forgiveness when they can't win..."

As their words came in one by one, Shen Zhengyuan's face grew increasingly grim. In the end, he was so angry that he bent over and vomited blood. If his injuries had been any more severe, he might have died of anger on the spot.

Li Chen watched from the sidelines, thinking to himself, "No wonder Shen Zhengyuan was so cold-blooded later; it turns out he was destined for this calamity."

To be honest, even she, who didn't know the specifics and had never lived in the world of cultivation, felt uncomfortable hearing these words, let alone Shen Zhengyuan himself.

The fact that Shen Zhengyuan was only so angry at them that he vomited blood instead of fainting is already a testament to his strong will.

"Gentlemen," Li Chen coughed lightly, his gaze calmly sweeping over the people around him, and said slowly, "Take my advice: if it's not yours, don't covet it. It's not worth losing your life for it."

No sooner had Li Chen finished speaking than someone spoke up: "We got it through our own abilities! You..."

Before the man could finish speaking, Li Chen suddenly raised his hand, a flash of white light appeared, and before anyone could react, the man's voice stopped abruptly, and then with a "bang," his body fell backward to the ground.

This sudden turn of events startled everyone around. Upon closer inspection, they discovered a wooden hairpin stuck between the man's eyebrows, almost entirely embedded in his brain, with only a small portion of the tip remaining outside.

This kind of injury shouldn't be fatal immediately, but when Li Chen threw out the wooden hairpin, he used some spiritual power. So the moment the hairpin, carrying spiritual power, pierced the man's brow, it turned the man's brain into a mess.

Because the wooden hairpin blocked the person's brain matter in the wound, the person's blood and the shattered matter in their brain could only slowly flow out through their eyes and nose.

Although the man had already lost his breath, his face still retained the expression of his last second before he died, as if he was still ready to have a good "argument" with Li Chen. Obviously, he hadn't had time to react before he lost his life, which sent chills down the spine of the person who saw it.

Everyone looked up in alarm and saw Li Chen standing there, groping his fingertips, wondering where the wooden hairpin had come from.

But soon, she pulled the wooden hairpin out of her hair, and her long black hair cascaded down like a waterfall, the ends of her hair and the hem of her skirt fluttering in the breeze.

After stroking the wooden hairpin in her hand a few times, she pulled out a hair ribbon from her sleeve and slowly tied her hair up as if no one was around. She looked serene and gentle, but no one had the mind to appreciate her.

What's the use of looking harmless?!

She kills without blinking an eye, and doesn't even give a warning before striking. She really does things whenever she wants!

They each had their own thoughts, and none of them dared to be the first to speak out. However, they were also reluctant to let him leave, so they could only stand still and keep a close eye on Li Chenjin's every move.

A moment later, Li Chen finished tying his hairband, stroked the wooden hairpin a few times, and then slowly raised his head.

The moment she looked up and smiled, everyone around her took a big step back, as if she were some kind of man-eating demon.

Li Chen watched their reactions, smiled, and then said somewhat casually, "Gentlemen, I once heard this saying in the Zen meditation community: 'Sentient beings should not belittle small evils, thinking them without sin. After death, there will be retribution, and one will suffer even the slightest punishment. Even the closest of relatives, father and son, will go their separate ways. Even if they meet again, no one will be willing to suffer for the other.' (1)"

“What do you think will happen to this young man after he goes down there? What does the hell described in the scriptures actually look like? Why don’t you all go down there for your families and see if what the scriptures say is true or false? Afterwards, you can also send a message to your living relatives in a dream and persuade them to do more good deeds so that they don’t end up like you.”

No sooner had Li Chen finished speaking than someone suddenly said, "You, you've been to the Zen cultivation world, so you should know that you can't kill! You, you!"

Before he could finish speaking, Li Chenjin interrupted, saying, "Bodhisattvas lower their brows in compassion for the six realms; Vajras glare fiercely to subdue the four demons (2). I can't just stand by and watch you try to hurt people and steal treasures, and then remain indifferent, or even offer up the treasures with both hands, thus fueling the arrogance of your evil ways, can I?"

The people around looked at each other in confusion. Just as some were about to step aside, someone suddenly said, "Don't be afraid, everyone! I think that kid from the Dharma Cultivation Realm seems to be injured and can't use his spiritual power. We only need to deal with him!"

"Look at her sickly appearance. Everyone knows what the sword cultivator world is like now. So what if she is a powerful figure in the sword cultivator world? Even if she is alive, she must be injured. With so many of us attacking together, we are not afraid that we cannot subdue her!"

With that man's words, those who had begun to waver suddenly gained more confidence. Seeing that they were all preparing to make a move, the man who had been standing next to the man killed by Li Chenjin suddenly drew his long sword, pointed it in Li Chenjin's direction, and shouted, "Give me back my brother's life!"

One of them took the lead and attacked her, and the others also drew their weapons.

Seeing this, Shen Zhengyuan, who was unable to speak for a moment due to the recurrence of his old injury caused by the surge of qi and blood, coughed up another mouthful of blood. His trembling hands quickly and laboriously untied the Qiankun bag from his waist and handed it forward. The meaning was self-evident.

Before those people could react, a pale hand covered the Qiankun bag in Shen Zhengyuan's hand and took his hand in turn.

When Shen Zhengyuan turned to look at her, he felt Li Chen tighten her grip on his hand and pat the back of his hand with her fingertips, as if she were comforting a frightened child.

As she reassured him, she suddenly jerked her other wrist, and the wooden hairpin she had just removed flew out of her hand, sending the person who had just urged the people around her to take action directly into the cycle of reincarnation.

But Shen Zhengyuan was far from at ease. Li Chenjin's actions caused him to cough again, blood seeping from between his fingers. He then said in a hoarse voice with great difficulty, "You... don't do it... give them the things... that's enough..."

His voice was very soft and somewhat indistinct, but fortunately Li Chen was close enough to hear it clearly.

But listening carefully is one thing, doing it or not is another.

She used force to press down Shen Zhengyuan's hand, and with her other hand she reached to her waist, tore open the storage bag, reached inside, and pulled out a wooden stick that was longer than her arm.

She found this stick while traveling and originally intended to use it to make a fishing rod, but she never expected that before it could be used as a fishing rod, it would first become the "dog-beating stick" in her hand.

Li Chen stroked the wooden stick and sighed softly, "I searched for this stick for a long time on the road before I found it. It's obviously perfect for catching big fish, and it suits my taste perfectly. I originally wanted to keep it as a keepsake for a while longer..."

Those who had already attacked Li Chenjin felt their weapons being blocked by something invisible. Some of the spiritual energy they gathered and launched at Li Chenjin was also resisted by that force and instantly bounced back.

With several loud "bangs," the spiritual energy rebounded and blasted several craters into the ground, sending those affected flying backward.

They initially thought that the young man from the cultivation world had been feigning injury and was now secretly exerting his power, but upon closer inspection, they discovered that the power was emanating from around Li Chenjin.

A barrier emanating a faint white light had formed around her from spiritual energy, but because it was daytime, the barrier was not very noticeable, which was why they hadn't noticed it at first.

Upon discovering the barrier, they were immediately horrified.

This barrier was clearly not some kind of magic array from the cultivation world, but rather a barrier that she forcibly created around her body by condensing her own spiritual power and releasing it outwards.

To achieve this, one must possess extremely profound cultivation; otherwise, even if one manages to hold on, it can only be maintained for a moment.

Although they had heard that Li Chen was a powerful figure in the sword cultivation world, they did not know the extent of her cultivation. Now it seems that she must be at least a Mahayana stage cultivator.

After they realized this, they immediately wanted to stop, but Li Chenjin had no intention of giving up. Before they could beg for mercy, he raised the wooden stick in his hand, and the white spiritual power enveloped the stick. In a daze, the stick seemed to have turned into a peerless sword.

"forward……"

The moment they uttered their voices, they were met with a powerful sword aura that shot straight at their faces.

Those passersby who had heard there was something to see and had come to watch were immediately met with a group of people being thrown backwards in their line of sight, leaving behind a trail of crimson blood mist in the air. It was the blood that had gushed from their mouths after they were injured by the sword energy.

Some of those people ended up crashing into walls, others into the ground, and still others flew off to who knows where. In any case, after landing, they twitched a few times and then fell silent, scaring away those who were about to gather around to watch the spectacle.

Upon witnessing this scene, the shops and households along the roadside immediately closed their doors and windows, not daring to look any longer, as if afraid of being drawn into this terrifying war.

The remaining people were all dumbfounded, their faces pale, their eyes filled with horror as they watched the thin figure carrying a wooden stick slowly walk towards them, like a death knell from the underworld...

A note from the author:

(1) From the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Sutra

(2) From Taiping Guangji