Jianchou stood there and didn't answer for a long time.
The mist floating in the void seemed to be condensing into ice crystals at this moment.
Xie Buchen did not react any further. He just strangled the monk's neck and looked at her calmly, waiting for her to give him an answer.
In fact, her murderous intent was so obvious that she did not hide it, and it was impossible for him not to notice it.
But no one said more about it.
Everything intensified silently, and then disappeared silently, and finally gradually dispersed. The cold wind from the mountains blew into the valley again, and the mist surged, bringing a chill.
Jianchou laughed slowly and walked over, as if the murderous intention towards Xie Buchen had never appeared before. He looked at the monk who was restrained by Xie Buchen very naturally.
"Soul search, I know a little bit. But this technique is domineering and dangerous. If I'm not careful, either this person will become a fool, or I will become a fool. Brother Xie, please be careful. If I make a mistake and the soul search hits you, I will be really ashamed."
An undisguised threat.
Even though she chose to suppress her murderous intent and not take action at this moment, the turbulent emotions in her heart made her no longer want to pretend to be nice to him, so she said these words at this moment.
However, he had suppressed his murderous intent, so Xie Buchen naturally did not take this threat seriously.
From the moment he walked the same path with Jianchou, he knew clearly that even if she hated him, she would not attack him before she found out why he came to the Snow Region.
Just because, in her heart, Yashan is more important than Xie Buchen.
In a sense, he should be thankful for this, but unfortunately and horribly, he is not.
—Once she only had eyes for him, but now, he is no longer the most important one.
and…
This kind of non-action and restraint is only temporary.
He believed that if he revealed the slightest flaw and disclosed the true intention of his visit, Jianchou would not hesitate to kill him.
The so-called "friendship of life and death" and the so-called "friendship of Yashan and Kunwu" were nothing but empty words that could not be stopped by anything at that time.
Unless, by that time, he already had enough strength to compete with him and could give it a try, otherwise, the result of this trip to the Snow Region would not be very optimistic.
For Jianchou, it was very frustrating that he couldn't kill to his heart's content at this moment;
For Xie Buchen, if he made a mistake he would be killed, which was even more frustrating.
They said "walking the same path and looking after each other", but in reality they were spying on each other and suppressing their murderous intentions, both of them were waiting for a suitable opportunity.
Either kill or counter-kill.
But at this moment, there are too many hidden crises in the snowy area, forcing them to cooperate on certain things.
Just like now.
Xie Buchen pretended not to hear Jianchou's veiled threat and directly threw the monk to Jianchou.
All the major meridians in his body had been blocked, and his spiritual energy could not flow even half an inch in his body, which was extremely painful. But what frightened the monk more at this moment was not his cultivation, but the conversation between Xie Buchen and Jianchou.
The moment Xie Buchen let him go, he started yelling in a timid way: "Who are you? You are so bold that you dare to attack me! Do you know who I am?!"
Although Jianchou is not a person who judges people by their appearance, the cultivator has his own set of techniques to judge people.
The monk's eyes were gleaming with a dull gleam, and he was clearly in his prime, with cultivation at the middle stage of the Golden Elixir. However, looking at him gave people the feeling that he was overindulging himself, which was really disgusting.
He doesn't look like a person who practices any righteous Dharma.
It would have been better if he hadn't asked such questions. After he asked, Jianchou was actually interested. So he raised his eyebrows and looked at him curiously: "Oh? Who are you?"
Suddenly she looked so easy to talk to that the monk couldn't help but think that Jianchou was afraid of her, and he immediately felt more confident.
Although his body could not move at all due to Xie Buchen's tight restrictions, the expression on his face immediately became arrogant and he snorted coldly.
"I am the only disciple of Master Di Yi, a direct descendant! I will soon go to the temple to inherit his legacy. You two, if you know what's good for you, let me go and I will spare your lives. Otherwise, hmph—"
"otherwise?"
Jianchou still had an interested expression on his face, and there was no sign of danger at all.
"Otherwise, what are you going to do to us two?"
"Otherwise, when the people from the Holy Temple come to pick me up, I will definitely throw you two into the hell of endless suffering. You will be subjected to all kinds of punishments, and your souls will be imprisoned after death, and you will not be able to reincarnate!"
Vicious words came out of his mouth almost without thinking.
The monk had no idea what kind of danger he was facing, and thought that Jianchou and Xie Buchen would be horrified after hearing what he said.
But what disappointed him...
Nothing that he expected or anticipated happened.
Jianchou just said: "Avici hell?"
Then she looked at the monk's eyes, which became a little deeper, and a faint and obscure dark light passed through the depths of her eyes, leaving a strange glow.
"Have you ever been to hell? Do you know what the punishments there are like?"
"W-What do you mean?"
The monk finally realized that something was wrong and felt a cold sweat break out on the back of his forehead.
Jianchou shook his head, as if lamenting his slowness and ignorance.
It was a kind face and expression, but when he said these words, he looked terrifying!
"Nothing interesting. I just thought, since you haven't seen the real hell, I'd like to show you a little bit, okay?"
"ah-"
The next moment, screams suddenly broke the dawn.
But both Jianchou and Xie Buchen knew very well that the scream would not actually be heard beyond ten feet around them. It had been firmly locked by Jianchou in a small area nearby and would never be discovered by anyone.
The five white and slender fingers had been gathered together into claws and fell on the monk's head mercilessly.
Five blood-red lights shone through Jianchou's five fingertips, like hard swords and spears, instantly piercing through his crown, reaching the ancestral orifice between his eyebrows, and penetrating into his spirit and soul!
Under the pressure of powerful spiritual consciousness, all the memories of this person were revealed in her mind without reservation.
At the same time, the monk's expression suddenly became dull.
Then, as if he had seen some horrific scene, his eyes, which had almost stopped moving, were filled with endless fear. His purple mouth opened wide, but he could no longer even make a hoarse cry.
I didn't expect it, and I didn't have the slightest power to resist!
How could he have imagined that in the Snow Region, after he announced the name of "Master Di Yi" and the Holy Temple, these two people would actually dare to attack him!
How unscrupulous!
But when I woke up, it was too late.
As Jianchou retracted his five fingers, his entire body lost its support and he immediately fell to the ground like a puddle of mud. His eyes, which were originally ethereal but still had some light, immediately became cloudy. Even the expression on his face became dull and stupid, as if he had lost his mind.
Xie Buchen could tell at a glance that this man was useless.
When Jianchou started to search the monk's soul, he didn't show any mercy at all and was not polite to the monk at all - he just made him look like a fool.
In this state, even if he survives, all his future is ruined.
The means can be described as cruel.
But Xie Buchen still did not show any emotional fluctuations, nor did he express any opposition. He just turned his gaze away indifferently and looked at Jianchou again.
"how?"
Jianchou's expression was so ugly that it could not be described.
Even though she already had some understanding of the Snow Region Tantric Buddhism and had heard of all kinds of bizarre behaviors in the Eighteen Levels of Hell in the Extreme Region, when she "saw" it so vividly in the monk's memory, she felt it was ten times more shocking!
Disgusted, even nauseous.
This man's real name was Chamuda. Later, because of his good physique, he was fortunate enough to be accepted as a disciple by the "Master Di Yi" he referred to, and was given the Dharma name "Huaijie".
Generally speaking, masters have several disciples, but only one direct disciple can inherit their teachings. Unfortunately, Master Di Yi took in only one disciple until he passed away in the internal struggle of the Tantric sect last month.
Therefore, Huaijie naturally became the disciple who could inherit Master Di Yi's mantle.
In the Snow Region, if one’s cultivation reaches the fourth level of Nascent Soul or above and has paid homage to the holy temple, he can be called a “Master”; if one’s cultivation reaches the seventh level of Void or above and has paid homage to the holy temple, he can be called a “Dharma King”.
All monks above the level of master basically have their own temples.
After his death, his robe, bowl and status should have been inherited by his disciples.
However, this kind of "inheritance" must be carried out under the witness of the Buddha in the temple, and the monk who is to inherit must go to the temple and kneel down to officially obtain the qualification.
This was the reason why Huaijie had said before that people from the temple would come to pick him up.
But all of this, although very different from the rules of many sects in the Central Region, was not enough to make Jianchou feel disgusted and nauseous. What made her feel uncomfortable was the various details related to the Buddha Mother Mingfei in Huaijie's memory...
Undoubtedly, Huaijie and his master belonged to the New Esoteric School of Tantric Buddhism. They followed the so-called "dual cultivation" method of the Highest Yoga School, practiced Vajrayana, and meditated on Joyful Zen.
She casually told Xie Buchen the situation briefly.
Xie Buchen had come to the Snow Region, so naturally he had already learned a lot of common sense about Tantric Buddhism beforehand. After listening to her brief talk, he knew exactly what kind of people this Huai Jie and the "Master Di Yi" he mentioned were.
"Tantric Buddhism is already an evil sect, and the New Tantric Buddhism has taken this evil to the extreme."
"This man has committed many evil deeds, so there is no point in saving his life..."
Jianchou didn't reply to Xie Buchen's words, she just lowered her eyes to look at Huaijie who was lying on the ground, and directly used her strength to slap him down. No sound was heard, and a ball of spiritual fire came out of her hand and fell on Huaijie's body.
In an instant, it turned into ashes.
Faintly, Xie Buchen heard a "click" sound.
It seemed as if something had not been completely burned, mixed in the ashes and fell to the ground.
He casually bent over and lightly touched it with his fingertips, and picked up a dark black iron plate with a lotus shape from the ashes. The lotus heart was decorated with white jade, and the word "Di Yi" was engraved in Sanskrit at the bottom.
Jianchou took a glimpse and said, "It is a token from Master Di Yi, and it is also the proof that he will be brought back to the Holy Temple to inherit his legacy. Huaijie was originally just a disciple, and he did not leave any token of life in the Holy Temple, and others did not recognize him. It is made of the Nine-Turn Lotus Heart Jade, which is impervious to water and fire, and it can be considered a treasure."
After all, there aren't many things that can remain unscathed by the Green Lotus Spirit Fire.
But Xie Buchen's vision obviously cannot be limited to this.
He didn't have any desire for treasure or anything, but after hearing Chou's description, he became interested and put the thing away.
"Perhaps it will be of some use in the near future."
Jianchou didn't comment.
She didn't think that the two of them, with their ability to conceal their aura, could easily sneak into the temple and reach the core of the entire Tantric Buddhism.
But there’s no harm in putting it away.
If it were Jianchou himself, he would probably make the same choice as Xie Buchen: be prepared for any eventuality, because who knows what will happen in the future
"This Huaijie doesn't know much. But there is one thing that can confirm what we knew before."
Jianchou paused, and a hint of thought flashed across his eyes.
"The monks of the old secret sect we met in the teahouse said that the strength of the new secret sect in the secret sect has increased dramatically. Before Master Huaijie Diyi passed away, his cultivation level had indeed increased significantly. But at that time, Huaijie was only a heart-to-heart disciple, so he didn't know the details."
In other words, what they want to know is not essentially profound.
The only thing worth being happy about was that after this soul-searching, Jianchou had a very intuitive understanding of the Snowy Region and was no longer at a loss.
But for Xie Buchen, nothing changed.
Even though he could teleport, his actual realm still remained at the peak of the Golden Core stage. He was not strong enough to use the "soul-searching" technique on a cultivator in the middle stage of the Golden Core stage.
In other words, even if he had this ability, he would not show it in front of Jianchou.
So at this moment, he took a last look at the ashes on the ground, then walked back to the other end of the canyon and collected the corpses lying on the ground with his special Qiankun Ring.
This time, of course, no one bothered to disturb the black energy lying on the corpse.
Soon, there will be no more corpses to be seen on the riverbed in the entire canyon, and the traces left by swords and blood will be buried by the snow season that will soon arrive.
After Xie Buchen buried his fellow disciples with an expressionless face, he walked back to Jianchou as if nothing had happened.
Jianchou couldn't help but mock him half-seriously, saying "You have a cold face but a vicious heart."
But Xie Buchen did not explain, let alone argue, as if he had acquiesced. Instead, he asked her, "Continue going in?"
"nature."
Although he had no plans to explore the temple, Jianchou was still very interested in the current developments in the Snow Region and whether the sudden increase in the strength of the Xinmi faction was related to the "Great Master Shao Ji" who had appeared in the Starry Sea.
What's more, there is Xie Buchen by my side
She didn't say anything more. Based on the knowledge she gained about the Snow Region from the previous soul search, she and Xie Buchen decided on the next route to take in a few words.
At this time, the entire faction of the Old Mi was on the verge of collapse, and the Snow Region was almost entirely taken over by the New Mi.
Therefore, they were more cautious than when they first entered the Snow Region. They only traveled on swords when they were in deserted areas. Once they came across any temples or settlements, they pretended to be ordinary people and walked.
They were so careful that two days passed and no one discovered their identities.
On the third day, they both changed into robes similar to the style of most residents in the Snow Region, which were rougher, thicker, and brighter in color.
Xie Buchen was still dressed in dark blue, but compared to the simple and plain clothes he loved, this robe had many more colorful and contrasting precious lotus patterns everywhere.
It looks somewhat similar to the pattern on the Ran Deng Sword.
As for Jianchou, she changed into a light blue dress with a half silver-blue peacock embroidered on the hem of her skirt, which set off her face and added a bit of awe-inspiring brightness.
If you ignore their overly delicate and perfect facial features, they look pretty much like most people in this snowy area.
But whether it was Xie Buchen or Jianchou, neither of them had any thoughts of changing their appearance for the time being.
At this moment, both of them put away their swords and walked on the road with empty hands. They seemed to be casual, but in fact they were carefully and attentively looking around.
This was the first small town they had entered since entering the snowy area.
It is indeed a "small" town.
Standing at one end of the street, you can see the other end at a glance.
The buildings on both sides are sparse and are all built with stones and clay piles of varying sizes. Most of them are residences of local residents.
The people walking on the road looked no different from those in the Central Region.
Most of them had no cultivation at all, or their cultivation was so insignificant that it could be almost ignored. Only a very small number of them had reached the realm of foundation building.
It can be seen that this is indeed still on the edge of the snowy area, and there are very few monks.
But Jianchou did not take it lightly.
She searched the soul of the monk Huaijie and learned the distribution pattern of these small towns in the Snow Region - such settlements would only form where there were temples.
Because the entire Snowland region is devoted to Tantric Buddhism, it is known as a "pilgrimage".
Every year, no matter what season it is, there will be believers scattered all over the snowy land, traveling through mountains and rivers. Those who are nearby will go to nearby temples, while those who are far away will go to the holy mountains and temples to worship.
As people come and go and gather, towns and villages will naturally form around the temples.
The small town they are in at the moment is undoubtedly one of them.
Moreover, the temple located in the town is the "Zhaohua Temple" presided over by Master Huaijie's master Di Yi. Although Master Di Yi has passed away, there are still several powerful monks in the temple.
Although Jianchou didn't think they could pose a threat to him, it was always better to have less trouble on other people's territory.
The two people walked and looked at the same time.
There were ragged old men on pilgrimage along the road, children running on the muddy streets with prayer wheels in their hands, a few monks in red robes walking by, but there were more ordinary people.
Whether joy or sadness is on one's face, it is the most natural expression in the world.
The cold wind from the snowy area blew from the ice field thousands of feet high, shaking the prayer flags hanging high up.
The old window shutters of the only small inn not far ahead were rustling in the wind, as if they were about to fall off at any moment.
A round-faced little girl stood behind the counter, her bright and innocent eyes intently watching the passers-by outside the door.
Then, she saw Jianchou.
Jianchou was very keenly aware of her gaze, turned his head, looked up, and found that this was a very simple inn.
"What's wrong?"
Seeing her suddenly stop, Xie Buchen also stopped and looked inside in the direction of her gaze, only to find that the girl was just an ordinary person. Although her eyes were bright, she had no cultivation at all.
In fact, Jianchou couldn't explain why he stopped.
She just felt that the pair of eyes staring at her were particularly beautiful, revealing a kind of true purity without any impurities. Even the whole person gave people a comfortable feeling like a spring breeze.
So, she asked Xie Buchen a question that she would never ask before: "Do you want to stay in the hotel?"