Bear School Astartes

Inside the thirty-three halls of Immortal Peak Temple, aside from the chaos caused by the Qi Flow Blade and vibrations of the battle, the Buddha statues remained solemn and majestic.

The living Buddhas turned to ashes, and the illusion of the head of Immortal Peak Temple also became flying ash.

The {God Devourer} that Lann split in two took effect, and the pill made from the corpse of a small deity that parasitized plants caused Black Conical Hat Li to sit up as if awakening from a dream.

The ninja, short as a dwarf, propped himself up with both hands and sat up straight, his eyes lost and wandering aimlessly, his palm unconsciously touching the area of his heart.

At the moment he drew the Undying Slash and bore the curse of the Demon Blade, he only felt that something was wrong with his heart.

After a bout of heart paralysis, this numbness spread throughout his body, and then he was left with no awareness of anything.

He was mentally prepared for this situation.

In the illusory corridor entered through the sound of bells, he saw a monk who seemed like withered wood and a noble 'Miko'.

The Undying Slash was originally kept by the Miko, although Black Conical Hat never knew such a place existed in the temple.

Nor did he know why those monks, who fervently sought immortality, would keep a blade in the temple that could 'slay the undying'.

Yet, for the sake of those outside still caught in the heated battle, he used his ninja's sharp instincts to take out four strange monkeys and obtained the qualification to face the Miko.

The young Miko seemed to have seen many who came for this blade.

After emphasizing the curse of the blade, she allowed him to take it.

The Buddhist teachings talk of 'fate', and if you truly need it and have the ability to possess it, then the Undying Slash kept in her care was yours to take.

But if later you find you lack the necessity or capability to hold on to the Undying Slash, then returning it would suffice.

"Am I... not dead?"

The bewildered eyes under the conical hat looked towards the distance.

There, the Demon Hunter was pulling up the frail old man from the ground.

The old man was swearing under his breath.

"...Why didn't you give it to me earlier? Just now, I was ready to become a Buddha."

Iwami Yixin still felt weak, cold sweat pouring. But it was clear that the life force he had extracted to use as strength was intact.

Even on his sparse shaved head, a trace of black sheen had appeared.

The power contained within the {God Devourer} could instantly restore a person, even if their heart was broken or intestines were torn. It couldn't extend one's lifespan but could heal hidden wounds without issue.

Iwami Yixin had struggled and fought too fiercely throughout his life. His body's terrible condition was due not only to age but also to overexertion in his youth.

"Give it to you earlier?"

Lann held the blood-misted Undying Slash upside down as he helped the old man from the ground, his tone calm.

"This thing only restores vitality, not physical strength. What was the point of giving it to you earlier? To let you drain the replenished vitality and swing your blade again? I see through you; you're just an old madman who wants to die at someone else's hands."

"I've said it before, I couldn't care less about your so-called Bushido, samurai honor, all that nonsense. If you want to die, wait until I leave and then find someone else to duel with."

"Damn it!"

As he spoke, Lann cursed softly.

He just realized that these three people who broke into Immortal Peak Temple with him all seemed indifferent to their own fates.

Is your tendency towards self-destruction this serious in this place?

The Demon Hunter watched the old man, who had nearly died moments ago, standing nonchalantly before him, then turned to stand beside Black Conical Hat Li.

"Sorry, Lann."

Before the Demon Hunter could speak, the ninja, looking at the giant sword embedded in the ground, spoke in a low tone.

"I came too late."

Lann did not react to this statement. He first checked the heartbeat on Black Conical Hat Li using his hands, then his eyelids, pupils.

His expertise in biological knowledge was nine parts out of ten focused on the human body.

The moment Black Conical Hat pulled out the Undying Slash, he basically identified the symptom—heart paralysis.

The symptom was painful and fatal, but not immediate. That's why he fed him half a {God Devourer}.

Thanks to Iwami Yixin and Black Conical Hat Li, one had organ damage from aging and extracting life force, the other heart paralysis.

Neither was the type to cause significant physical damage like a broken heart or slashed throat, so half a {God Devourer} each could bring them back.

After checking and confirming Black Conical Hat's body had no issues, the young man pursed his lips and shook his head.

"Old Robert was adamant about dying. In that situation, even if I gave him the {God Devourer}, it would only let him suffer a bit longer beneath the auxiliary limbs of those three Undying Insects. His armor had already been torn to pieces, and even if his body was miraculously healed, he could only hold on for half a minute, still unable to wait for the Undying Slash."

"Don't dwell on it; you probably went through a lot to obtain this blade, didn't you?"

Black Conical Hat Li, persuaded, quickly adjusted his mood. As a ninja, he had seen many deaths. His emotional turmoil earlier was mostly because both he and Old Robert had just lost their sons and had stormed Immortal Peak Temple together.

Black Conical Hat Li briefly recounted his strange journey of finding the Undying Slash.

The corridors and towers in the environment, the peculiar magical monkeys, the serene monks like withered wood, the noble Miko...

Black Conical Hat Li thought such an extraordinary experience might slightly surprise Lann, but was taken aback to find the Demon Hunter's expression quite normal.

Upon second thought, given this guy's experience probably spanning half the world, he's likely seen a lot of oddities, so his heart also settled.

Lann had not actually encountered such vivid and illusory realms described in this world.

But he had perused materials on illusion techniques in Airetusa's library.

A mastery illusionist from Toussaint—Atorius Veges, once created an illusory fairytale kingdom from a storybook as a playground for two royal heirs of the Knight Kingdom.

It was not only a gift for the heirs but also a showcase of his own illusion mastery, with many depictions of this fairy tale world found in his various works.

The extraordinary powers of the monks at Immortal Peak Temple felt more aligned with the 'mysterious and profound' ideations under Eastern cultural backgrounds. Yet, if there truly was such an illusory mastery, it wouldn't be surprising.

"Be careful, don't touch the blade."

Lann helped Black Conical Hat Li up from the ground again. His blood had stagnated in his body for a while, and he was still a bit numb, nearly grabbing onto the blade of the Undying Slash shrouded in blood mist.

This blade seemed specifically designed to deal with the supernatural immortals within the mirror of Iwami Country, yet Lann had no wish to find out what would happen if a normal person got cut.

Demon Blade, better to prepare cautiously against it.

"In Immortal Peak Temple, as far as you know, is there still a need for the Undying Slash? I can't walk around with this drawn Demon Blade; it's too dangerous."

Lann picked up the redwood scabbard from nearby, sheathed the rusty, blood-smoked crimson blade, but didn't press it into the scabbard's clip yet.

Black Conical Hat Li thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"There shouldn't be any. We've already dealt with the living Buddhas within Immortal Peak Temple. Just the head whose whereabouts are unknown..."