The Shaolin Abbot Born in the 1980s

Chapter 32: Thieves on the Back Mountain

It had been three days since Huo Yuanzhen began walking alone in the courtyards of the Shaolin Temple. Over those three days, the number of pilgrims visiting Shaolin—as well as those signing up to become lay disciples—had dropped significantly. Such is the nature of the common folk: as soon as they hear of something new happening somewhere, they flock there in droves. These past few days, the Dharma King Temple had been bustling with worshippers, and many were talking about the Great Hall of the Buddha, which was soon to be consecrated. There were five days left until the eighth day of the seventh lunar month—the temple fair at Dharma King Temple—and Huo Yuanzhen was looking forward to that day as well. Apart from this matter, one thought had been constantly on Huo Yuanzhen’s mind these past few days: the mysterious figure on the back mountain. Since the Iron Ox arrived at Shaolin, he has been behaving quietly and respectfully, showing no signs of anything unusual. However, Huo Yuanzhen has noticed that the tiger he brought with him, Dahuang, has been crouching on the back mountain all day long, as if searching for something. Huo Yuanzhen couldn’t help but wonder: Could the person on the back mountain be hiding some secret? Ever since obtaining the secret manual on the “Crossing the River on a Single Reed” lightness skill, Huo Yuanzhen had come to believe that, although his combat prowess still left much to be desired, he had at least acquired a certain ability to escape danger. Even back then, Huo Yuanzhen had wanted to explore the back mountain, and now, seeing that tiger crouching there all day, his desire to do so grew even stronger. Huo Yuanzhen was the type to act on a whim. After lunch, when most of the Shaolin monks had gone down for their afternoon nap, he slipped out alone through the back gate and headed for the back mountain. After passing by Yinma Lake, he came upon a cluster of oddly shaped rocks forming a small, rugged peak—in fact, this was the highest point of Shaoshi Mountain. Huo Yuanzhen did not use his lightness skills but walked slowly up the mountain. Since he did not know the exact location of the mysterious figure, he kept a close watch on his surroundings. This mountain range was neither particularly large nor small, spanning several li in circumference. After walking for about two hours, Huo Yuanzhen had circled the entire mountain but found nothing. “Where could he be?” Huo Yuanzhen considered using the Lion’s Roar, but didn’t want to alert the Shaolin monks. After much deliberation, his gaze suddenly fell upon the highest rock at the very summit of the peak. This time, Yuanzhen used his lightness skills to ascend directly to the summit, where he scanned the surroundings. “There!” In the distance, Huo Yuanzhen spotted a flash of yellow—it was indeed the great tiger. The tiger hadn’t noticed him yet and was crawling through a patch of wild grass. “Could it be hunting?” Huo Yuanzhen wondered, watching quietly from his vantage point. There were no large animals at all on these back mountains; in recent days, the tiger had likely been subsisting on nothing more than wild pheasants and ducks to satisfy a minor hunger, but such small prey could never truly fill its stomach—so it was only natural that it would try its best to hunt. The tiger moved slowly through the tall grass. Huo Yuanzhen watched as it headed toward a massive boulder and couldn’t help but wonder: What on earth was it going up there for? When the tiger was only a dozen or so meters away from the boulder, it suddenly picked up speed and charged straight toward the base of the rock, as if there were some delicacy waiting there. “You wretched beast, you dare come here again! Get out of here!” A faint voice drifted over, and Huo Yuanzhen’s heart skipped a beat—that voice belonged to the mysterious figure! Before the tiger could reach the base of the boulder, it was suddenly struck by something, its body hurled into the air. After landing several meters away, it fled with its tail tucked between its legs. Standing on the mountaintop, Huo Yuanzhen licked his lips. Good heavens—that was clearly an internal energy strike. A surge of air had sent such a massive tiger flying. What kind of martial prowess must that be! At the mid-stage of the Post-Heaven Realm, with internal energy circulating throughout the body, one can indeed unleash a pure internal energy attack—though its power is minimal and practically useless. However, once reaching the late stage, the power of such attacks becomes terrifying. A single wave of the sleeve is enough to kill an ordinary person or inflict internal injuries on someone at the early stage of the Post-Heaven Realm. The problem is that internal energy attacks are extremely taxing; even practitioners at the Late Post-Heaven stage can’t afford to use them frequently. And even at the late Post-Heaven stage, it’s impossible to achieve what this mysterious figure has done with inner energy alone; his strike is something even a master at the Perfect Post-Heaven stage likely couldn’t pull off. Could it be that this mysterious figure in the back mountains is actually a Xiantian-level master? But Huo Yuanzhen was too far away to see clearly what was happening over there. After thinking it over, he steeled his resolve and decided to go investigate. Carefully making his way down the mountain, Huo Yuanzhen gradually approached the rock. When he reached the thicket of wild grass, it seemed as though a breeze was blowing at his feet. Logically, there shouldn’t be any wind beneath his feet. If there were, it would likely mean there was a massive underground cavern nearby—one with ventilation—which would explain why he could feel the breeze beneath him. If that were the case, the underground cavern was most likely right there by the rock. Recalling how the tiger had been sent flying with a single blow moments ago, Huo Yuanzhen couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease. He held his breath and slowly crept toward the rock. The breeze beneath his feet grew increasingly distinct; he must be getting close to the underground cavern. But apart from a bare rock, the area was covered only by weeds nearly a meter tall; unless one was specifically looking for it, it would be impossible to discover the secret hidden here. As he drew closer to the rock, Huo Yuanzhen actually began to sense a faint fragrance. That’s right—it was a fragrance, not the scent of food. It seemed to be… the scent of flowers, though more like the scent of medicinal herbs! Most medicinal herbs are bitter when simmered, but once they’re boiled down and refined into elixirs, they often give off a fragrance—and the better the elixir, the more intense the scent. It suddenly dawned on Huo Yuanzhen why the tiger had crept over here—it had been drawn by this fragrance. Animals have a much keener sense of smell than humans, so it was only natural that it would have discovered this place. With the scent of elixirs and the presence of a person, it was clear that the mysterious old man here was likely refining something. Huo Yuanzhen knew full well that spying on someone’s alchemical process was a major taboo—especially when the other party was a master. Approaching him rashly would likely be dangerous. But Huo Yuanzhen had never been a coward. As the saying goes, “The bolder the person, the greater the harvest; the bigger the temple, the more the monk pees…” Pfft, pfft! Finally reaching the edge of the rock, Huo Yuanzhen discovered the entrance to a cave. The hole had originally been concealed by the rocks, but at some point—he didn’t know how long ago—a crack had appeared. It was likely torn open by a wild beast drawn by the scent. The entrance wasn’t very deep, and there even seemed to be a glimmer of light inside. Since the tiger had been attacked right at this spot just moments ago, Huo Yuanzhen dared not let his guard down. After a moment’s thought, he crouched down and peered inside. At this point, Huo Yuanzhen’s strongest feature was his head. Having mastered the Iron Head Technique, he was impervious to blades and spears, so he always peered ahead first to ensure safety. As he peered into the hole, Huo Yuanzhen was taken aback and nearly cried out in surprise—he never expected that inside this hole lay a whole other world. The cave wasn’t deep, but it was quite spacious—a circular chamber with a diameter of about thirty zhang. The outer rim was densely covered with a profusion of rare and exotic flowers and plants, so many that Huo Yuanzhen couldn’t identify most of them. But that wasn’t what astonished Huo Yuanzhen the most. What truly astonished him was that right in the center of the cave stood a massive alchemical furnace, over two meters tall, with a glow of fire emanating from within. At the very top of the alchemical furnace was a protruding circular lock, from which hung an iron chain as thick as an arm and over ten zhang long. It emitted a faint blue glow, clearly indicating that it was no ordinary steel. One end of the chain was secured to the alchemy furnace, while the other was, surprisingly, fastened to the waist of an elderly man. Clad in tattered black robes, he stood with his back to Huo Yuanzhen, seemingly sorting through some medicinal herbs. On the ground at his feet lay some thirty or forty gourds of various sizes; most were yellow, though there were even two red ones. Beside them lay piles of what appeared to be prepared ointments—though Huo Yuanzen had no idea what kind of medicine they were. Without even asking, Huo Yuanzhen knew these herbs were of excellent quality; otherwise, they wouldn’t have attracted even tigers trying to sneak a bite. However, Huo Yuanzhen dared not take a single step forward. The old man was chained to this massive alchemical furnace with an iron chain, rendering him unable to move; yet the chain itself was over ten zhang long. Within the confines of this underground cavern, he could still move about freely—meaning that in a cavern thirty zhang in diameter, his chain was likely about fifteen zhang long, allowing him to reach any spot within the cavern. Just as Huo Yuanzhen was holding his breath and observing intently, the old man suddenly spoke: “You damned beast! Trying to sneak in and steal this old man’s medicine again? You’re asking for death!” After speaking, the old man didn’t even turn his head; he simply hooked a yellow gourd with his foot, spun around, and kicked it out. The gourd whistled through the air with a piercing wind and flew straight toward Huo Yuanzhen! Its speed was astonishing; Huo Yuanzhen didn’t even have time to react before the gourd struck him squarely on the forehead! With a loud “thud,” Huo Yuanzhen staggered backward. To his surprise, the yellow gourd didn’t shatter; instead, it bounced back and landed about five meters in front of him. Just then, the old man turned his head. Upon seeing Huo Yuanzhen, his face lit up with surprise, and for a moment, he was actually taken aback. His first reaction had been slow, but Huo Yuanzhen’s second reaction couldn’t possibly be any slower. “Now’s the time!” Huo Yuanzhen suddenly darted forward, reaching the yellow gourd the moment it hit the ground. He snatched it up and ran. The old man finally snapped out of it and roared furiously, “You bald-headed monk from Shaolin Temple! Ahhh! Put down my gourd!” Before his words had even finished, the old man was already lunging through the air; the iron chain wrapped around his waist clanked loudly, and his hands weren’t idle either—he swung a palm strike at Huo Yuanzhen from a distance. Feeling a powerful gust of wind sweep toward him, Huo Yuanzhen didn’t dare linger for even a moment. After grabbing the gourd, he immediately unleashed his “Crossing the River on a Reed” lightness skill, moving swiftly as he charged straight toward the cave’s exit. It was truly supreme lightness kung fu. Just as Huo Yuanzhen burst out of the cave, the old man’s palm strike arrived, exploding with a thunderous roar behind him and sending dust flying everywhere. However, the old man never in his wildest dreams imagined that Huo Yuanzhen’s lightness skills had reached such a level; in the end, he was a step too late, watching helplessly as Huo Yuanzhen burst out of the cave and vanished without a trace.