Who gave you permission to travel through time with Earth?

But now... even though he was only a step away from the ancestral temple, Fang Jin stopped his hurried steps and stood quietly outside the stone statue array, suppressing his burning aura.

This time, he didn't need to bother searching for the hidden warriors beneath the thirty-six stone statues, because the guardian was sitting openly inside the ancestral hall.

The candle reflected her alluring figure on the screen, and her transparent water sleeves swayed lightly with her movements. Even through the floor-to-ceiling paper window, one could almost feel the beauty's voice and smile inside.

"...Matchmaker?"

Fang Jin smiled and cupped his hands to the people inside the ancestral hall. He could indeed feel the pressure from the person opposite him, who was completely different from the martial arts practitioners in front of him who only knew how to perform tricks.

Having experienced dozens of killings, Fang Jin had come to understand what a martial artist was. Cultivating true qi merely meant having the qualification to cross the bridge; internal energy and true qi were just an aid to external martial arts.

Accumulating the first twenty years signifies a true break from the mundane world, while the second twenty years signify the natural and unrestrained release of true energy, where even ordinary martial arts techniques possess profound mysteries.

Fang Jin has not yet encountered the age of Jiazi, but each stage of a martial arts master is a dramatic transformation, and an elder who has accumulated forty years of cultivation... is enough to make him take it a little more seriously.

"Young master... you should leave."

A sigh came from behind the paper window, and the flickering candlelight seemed to intensify. Inside, a beautiful woman held a tinder stick, gently poking at the hot oil in the lamp, before speaking.

"To possess such skill at such a young age, the Fang family has truly produced a prodigy. But because of this, you should be even less involved in such matters."

"You have a bright future ahead of you, why wade into this murky water? The merits you've accumulated are already enough for you to be ennobled and appointed to official positions, why go any further... and how dare you go any further?"

"..."

"...I don't need these merits. As for Buddhism, it has nothing to do with me."

Fang Jin grabbed the wooden box containing Chang Xiao's ears and, under the latter's pained gaze, casually tossed it into the stone statue array. His gaze remained fixed on the paper window screen as he smiled.

"Well, I'm just very curious. I don't want to miss the last stop in the fight against Buddhism, and that mummified Buddha is an unmissable attraction... It's best if Hong Niangzi doesn't bother people."

"...Lust is a sin, and it drags countless innocent people into it. Doesn't the young master feel even the slightest bit of remorse?"

Yes, but not many.

Fang Jin spoke frankly, so frankly that even Hong Niangzi was somewhat speechless. However, Fang Jin stopped not to listen to her lecture, but instead spoke directly.

"I'm even more curious about what makes you still resisting. No matter how much preparation this nunnery has made, it can't possibly withstand the malice from the entire Central Plains. It had no chance of winning from the very beginning."

"But you don't seem to think so. The 108 Flower Halls and the 36 Main Shrines and Stone Statue Formation—all these arrangements can't even buy time... The only thing they can do is kill the lower-ranking soldiers."

"With such a great maze, you didn't target and ambush the best soldiers in the army. Instead, you only did trivial things like scraping flesh and bones. Only now have some real strongmen emerged."

"...What are you trying to do? What's the purpose of putting the Jinxiu Army generals in the ancestral temple? There was an opportunity to ambush them beforehand, so why wait until the very end to concentrate your attacks?"

"I don't quite understand... What exactly does your 'Buddha' want to do?"

Fang Jin spoke with a half-smile, but this time, the figure behind the paper window remained silent for a long time before a slightly heavy sigh finally escaped from within:

"Young master, isn't the answer already here?"

Having said that, Hong Niangzi lightly flicked the fire stick in her hand, and a few sparks landed on the paper window in front of her, silently burning it to ashes. Her beautiful face, as if painted, made its appearance in the firelight and ashes.

"I'd like to ask for your advice..."

"Kid."

Fang Jin laughed heartily, having confirmed his guess. He then pulled out the embroidered knife and threw it into the air, where his right foot, transformed into fire, shattered it!

The shards of the embroidered knife exploded and shot towards Hong Niangzi, as fine as shotgun shells from another era. She frowned and waved her water sleeves, which made a clanging sound like metal clashing!

Hong Niangzi's eyes couldn't help but change. She had only heard that a powerful centurion had appeared in the Jinxiu Army, but rumors were far less direct than actual contact. Her arm, which had just received the attack, was even a little sore and numb.

What kind of power is this? It's probably close to the full power of the Sea Dragon King! What's even more terrifying is that Hong Niangzi couldn't sense any true energy flowing through this move; it was pure physical power!

"Such ferocious external martial arts..."

She immediately dared not hold back any longer, and with a gentle tap on the door, all the stone statues surrounding the main hall collapsed at once! Thirty-six wide and brightly colored feathers flew out from them, faintly obscuring the sky and the sun!

The Red Maiden's technique is called the Red Embroidered Hand, but it's not purely a physical tempering method; rather, it's the most refined manipulation of internal energy. The true energy she unleashes can flow through any medium.

She even maintains near-original peak power, making every strike she delivers feel like a direct blow to the opponent's flesh, turning ranged attacks into the most direct and domineering close-quarters combat.

...and it is everywhere.

“Pah!”

Even Fang Jin had to retreat temporarily. His approaching haori struck the stone ground, creating a wide, deep pit! The splashing stones even cut through Fang Jin's armor!

Fang Jin immediately realized that his current limestone skin couldn't hold, and that this was the only defensive skill he had, which he had never had the opportunity to improve. It had now become his weakness in his reckless charging.

Using the furnace mode is also inappropriate at this time. No matter how much his physical fitness is improved, he cannot get close to the main shrine through the thirty-six feather arrays. Every time he makes contact, he may be affected by the force.

"...Then let's give this so-called Buddhist teachings a try."

"To be honest, the original purpose of this dungeon run was to practice this second talent."

Fang Jin gently inhaled... and then exhaled a string of white smoke. He did not release the state of the Star Eater, but instead converted a portion of the energy in his body into Buddhist power as bright as the sun.

The most brilliant aspect of the Source System is that it can be compatible with and imitate all talents. Source can be transformed into other types of energy at any time and circulate and exert its influence according to different circuits.

This is why the source matter can repair the defects of Earth, and it is also the basis for the compatibility of all methods. Fang Jin felt as if there were condensed characters flowing within his body.

A few streaks of crimson gold flashed in his pupils for a fleeting moment, his body transformed into an intensely hot state unlike anything before, and his feet, which had stepped into the ground, seemed to sink into it...

By the way... my hair roots seem a little itchy.