Journey to the West: Signing in for 500 Years-Chapter 266 - 260: Battle Against the Peak Daluo Golden Immortal [Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets]_1
The White Bone Saint’s expression was indifferent as he stared at the Black Tortoise Cave, his gaze clear and cold, showing no emotion. It was as if he could see through the Black Tortoise Cave and spot Sha Chen inside.
Sha Chen was also staring at the White Bone Saint. Both were engaged in a battle of wits, each waiting to see who would come out on top.
Once again, the White Bone Saint spoke, "I give you three breaths’ time to open the cave abode. I can let you and Bai Jingjing leave. Otherwise, I will kill her as a sacrifice to my banner before destroying your cave abode."
Clutchching the White Bone Demon’s forehead, he said, "Don’t think for a moment that I am unaware of the secret messages you’ve been exchanging."
"She has been cultivating diligently for the past six months, likely practicing the Divine Powers you’ve taught her, all to facilitate an escape. Unfortunately, she can’t escape my control."
The White Bone Demon was utterly shocked, realizing that her strategy had failed.
Sha Chen, on the other hand, was quite composed. He knew that the White Bone Saint was an old monster of ancient cunning, not so easily deceived. The White Bone Demon clearly knew she was doomed to die; would she still willingly serve the White Bone Saint? Anyone would realize there was a trick. The White Bone Saint, such a clever old monster, definitely knew from the start, or at least suspected it. But he still allowed the White Bone Demon to proceed with the plan, purely because he felt everything was under his control. If he could use this to trick Sha Chen into leaving the Flowing Sand River, that would be for the best. If not, he would take matters into his own hands.
Now that everyone’s strategies had been laid bare, it was a straightforward fight to see who had the strongest punch.
Tears streamed down the White Bone Demon’s face; she was in complete disarray.
Because, with the plan failed, there was no chance for her to live. Sha Chen wouldn’t be able to defeat her master, so under these circumstances, Sha Chen wouldn’t come out for her sake. If he didn’t come out, her ruthless and merciless master would certainly kill her before assaulting the Flowing Sand River. It could even be that her master’s intent to kill her was to enrage Sha Chen, to see whether he could be forced to come out and rescue her. In any case, her master was just using her. And she knew Sha Chen well; he didn’t fight battles he wasn’t sure of winning. It wasn’t just that the White Bone Saint was stronger than Sha Chen—even if he were merely on an equal footing with Sha Chen, Sha Chen might still choose not to show himself. That is to say, her death was certain.
Thinking this, the White Bone Demon was filled with terror and began to mourn. She couldn’t blame anyone; after all, the suggestion to steal from her master’s treasury was hers, a desperate bid to seek redemption and survive.
Later, Sha Chen sent her on other tasks which, while still dangerous, were relatively easier. But after finishing those tasks, hoping to gain more favor when she returned to Sha Chen, she entertained crooked thoughts and actually went to steal from the White Bone Saint’s treasury. Everything went smoothly, but she didn’t realize that the moment she returned to her territory, she had already fallen under the White Bone Saint’s surveillance. It wasn’t until she had packed up the treasures from the treasury and was about to flee that her master arrived and captured her on the spot.
Then, the White Bone Saint used her to try and trick open the gates of the Flowing Sand River. But it failed.
In fact, even if it had succeeded, it would have been a dead end.
The White Bone Demon knew she couldn’t survive either way and thus was overcome with grief, crying out, "Master, I have served you diligently for many years. Can’t you spare my life just this once?"
Daoist Faceless glanced at her and said, "Are you begging for mercy? You know that I am even more ruthless to those who beg for mercy."
The White Bone Demon was frightened.
Daoist Faceless then said, "Sha Chen, three breaths’ time has passed. Since you do not come out, I understand your intentions well enough."
"Very well. Let me refine my disciple right before your eyes, absorb her hundreds of thousands of years of cultivation, and then attack the Flowing Sand River."
Within the Flowing Sand River, Sha Chen frowned, knowing he could no longer stand by and do nothing. If it were someone else, he could let them die without intervening. But the White Bone Demon had fallen into the hands of the White Bone Saint, and he could not allow her to die unaided. He worried that the White Bone Saint would refine the White Bone Demon and obtain information about the inside of the Flowing Sand River from her soul.
If outsiders learned what was inside the Flowing Sand River—that it was a blessed land with Post-Heaven Earth, Pan Peach and Sweet Osmanthus trees, a variety of elixirs, along with many prominent figures’ Magical Tools, and numerous Divine Powers and Cultivation Techniques—the consequences would be unimaginable to him. A common man is guiltless; it’s his possession of jade that incurs guilt. He understood this principle well.
Sha Chen picked up the Sky Shaking Bow and Shooting Sun Divine Arrow. At first, he aimed at the White Bone Demon, intending to silence her by death. But in the end, he aimed at the White Bone Saint. It wasn’t that he was soft-hearted, but rather that he wasn’t sure if the White Bone Saint could extract memories after the White Bone Demon died. Even a fragment of her memory was unacceptable to him.
The Sky Shaking Bow and Shooting Sun Divine Arrow aimed at the White Bone Saint instantly made his hair stand on end—no, made his bones clatter. The White Bone Saint was shocked, feeling a tremble in the depths of his soul that he hadn’t experienced in a long time. It was the feeling of being on the brink of death, as if one foot was already stepping onto the Ghost Gate Closed.
The White Bone Saint’s complexion changed dramatically, and he hurriedly dragged the White Bone Demon back, shouting with horror, "Who in the world are you? Show yourself!"
It turned out he had misunderstood, thinking that some great figure had set their sights on him.
Sha Chen laughed and said, "There’s no great figure here, only the Sky Shaking Bow and the Shooting Sun Divine Arrow. White Bone Saint, do you think the distance you’ve retreated is far enough?"
The Sky Shaking Bow!? The Shooting Sun Divine Arrow?
The White Bone Saint’s face changed dramatically. Sha Chen still had the Shooting Sun Divine Arrow? His heart was in turmoil, but he didn’t change his expression, still faceless as he said, "You already shot Bodhisattva Manjushri with one arrow. I don’t believe you have a second one."
Sha Chen chuckled, "Not only do I have a second arrow, but I also have a third one. Here I’ve got one, two, three... nine arrows. Counting the one I already shot, that adds up to ten arrows in total."
In fact, he only had three in total. He had already shot one, and now only two remained, but all’s fair in war. After all, the White Bone Saint did not know the truth, and the deterrence provided by the Sky Shaking Bow and the Shooting Sun Divine Arrow was unmistakably real.
As expected, the White Bone Saint hesitated, his expression grave.
With a cold smile on his lips, Sha Chen felt somewhat pleased. With such a divine artifact, he truly could intimidate others. Those who were not Quasi-Saints would find it impossible to dodge his Shooting Sun Divine Arrow at such close range. Though the White Bone Saint’s strength meant that getting hit by one arrow wouldn’t necessarily kill him, he would certainly be severely wounded. The White Bone Saint was not willing to gamble with his life, as these were the Sky Shaking Bow and Shooting Sun Divine Arrow that could once take down a Quasi-Saint. Nine out of the ten Golden Crow Crown Princes of the ancient Monster Court had died, all falling to the Sky Shaking Bow and Shooting Sun Divine Arrow. Because of this, the two divine items became notoriously infamous; furthermore, the Shooting Sun Divine Arrow, having killed the Golden Crows, had accumulated a vast amount of Essence Blood, thereby growing in power.
That Sha Chen was once able to shoot the Shooting Sun Divine Arrow proved that his physical body was strong enough to draw the Sky Shaking Bow. This arrow, he could shoot. Of course, the White Bone Saint was incredibly wary, his eyes flickering.
However, indeed, Sha Chen could shoot this arrow, but he simply chose not to. Back then, the Great Witch Hou Yi had shot too many arrows too quickly, which was why Chang E left him. No, it was because he died quickly. Because Hou Yi had almost completely drained his vitality, energy, and Essence Blood to draw the Sky Shaking Bow nine times, pouring his life’s force into the Shooting Sun Divine Arrow to slay the Golden Crows.
Standing with an arrow at the ready, Sha Chen did not immediately let it fly. He knew that a fist held back, rather than thrown, held the most threatening power.
As expected, the White Bone Saint’s expression turned serious; he was indeed intimidated.
In fact, the White Bone Saint was also puzzled. He had heard that Bodhisattva Manjushri had been wounded by Sha Chen’s Sky Shaking Bow. However, it was merely a wound, inflicted only because Bodhisattva Manjushri hadn’t dodged in time. Now, on full alert and not taking his eyes off Sha Chen, the White Bone Saint still felt like he had a thorn in his side. Based on the incident with Bodhisattva Manjushri, he could surmise that Sha Chen’s Sky Shaking Bow and Shooting Sun Divine Arrow could injure those below the Quasi-Saint level. But if a Peak Daluo Jinxian were prepared, there would be no issues. He was prepared, yet he lacked the confidence to emerge unscathed from Sha Chen’s Sky Shaking Bow and Shooting Sun Divine Arrow. Naturally, he did not think himself inferior to Bodhisattva Manjushri. In fact, he was quite certain that if he were to really fight Bodhisattva Manjushri, he would have a greater chance of winning. Because he was already half a step into the Quasi-Saint Realm, his special trip to attack the Flowing Sand River was precisely to seek out that one-in-a-million chance to see if he could make a breakthrough. Yet, he hadn’t anticipated that Sha Chen would actually have some skill. Not only did he still possess Shooting Sun Divine Arrows, but they also posed a threat to him. The only explanation was that Sha Chen’s strength had grown greater than when he had faced Bodhisattva Manjushri. Previously, rumors had it that Sha Chen had already reached minor completion in the Da Luo Dharmakaya; being stronger now meant he had reached Great Accomplishment. This didn’t even take into account his Mana cultivation and Primordial Spirit on all fronts; his pure physical body alone was nearly on par with him.
The White Bone Saint was shocked. "Who would have thought that this mere river god could be so exceptionally gifted? In just two hundred years, to have achieved Great Accomplishment in the Da Luo Dharmakaya."
He pulled Bai Jingjing to the front, using her as a shield, and chuckled, "Sha Chen, if you’re capable, then shoot her dead first."
Sha Chen replied, "You don’t need to use her to threaten me. She’s just a pawn to me, disposable."
"You’re ruthless enough to kill your own disciple; do you think I’d hesitate to abandon her? Faceless man, we are both cultivators. Do you think such a threat would work on me?"
The White Bone Saint fell silent for a moment.
Indeed, it was useless. Had it been someone else, he might have thought they were merely putting on a brave front. But this was Sha Chen. He was one hundred percent sure that, given the right moment, Sha Chen would even take the initiative to kill Bai Jingjing.
Bai Jingjing was in tears. Sha Chen’s words were harsh, yet true, and she knew his character well. He really would do such a thing and was being completely honest. In Sha Chen’s heart, she really wasn’t important.
At that moment, Sha Chen said, "Faceless man, I don’t care what you’re here for. Set her down, then take your disciples and their followers and beat it."
"Otherwise, my nine arrows could blow you to pieces. Don’t doubt it; you’re welcome to give it a try."
The White Bone Saint’s face darkened. Suddenly, facial features appeared on his face, and his hair also grew out, disheveled. Moreover, the skeleton of the White Bone Saint was now covered with flesh and blood, filling his whole body, and the aura emanating from him became fierce and terrifying.
When the White Bone Saint’s face stretched out from behind Bai Jingjing, Sha Chen saw it and sharply inhaled.
That face was actually...
