Chapter 1199: Chapter 1199: Golden Buddha

The four arhat statues held long sticks in their hands. One of the statues pointed, one stabbed, one hacked, and one swept. The coordination among the arhats was flawless.

They were not too speedy and their power not too shocking, but when Zen looked them over, he could not find any imperfections in them. The shadows of the sticks seemed to have sealed off all of Zen's escape routes.

“What exquisite stick techniques!”

However, even if there were no flaws, it did not mean that Zen failed to break through the stick attacks of the four arhat statues.

He took a step forward perfunctorily and his figure disappeared from where he stood, appearing behind one of the arhat statues in the next instant.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Even though Zen had teleported through space, three shadows of the sticks still followed him.

Facing these stick shadows, Zen seemed to be calm. His right hand moved like lightning and pressed on the arhat statue in front of him.

Clang!

The arhat statue shattered, accompanied by the sound of debris disintegrating.

The moment the arhat statue broke, Zen leaped like a fish out of water. He took Sword Steps to avoid the three stick shadows, then he teleported through space again and appeared behind another arhat statue.

He hit this particular arhat statue like he had done to the other one.

Clang!

The stick techniques of the four arhat statues were indeed marvelous and their teamwork flawless.

But anyhow, he was facing only four stone arhat statues. With Zen's tough physique, allowing these stick shadows to hit him could not cause him much damage.

Clang!

Clang!

Within moments, all the four statues were destroyed by Zen.

Now Zen's gaze landed on the entrance of the adytum. The instant the arhat statues shattered, the adytum's door opened by itself. There was no wind that assisted it.

“There is another adytum within the adytum?”

Zen was confused. Before he entered the ancient temple, he had observed that it was not large. However, now he could see another adytum inside the adytum. The size obviously exceeded Zen's calculations.

Despite his doubt, Zen did not hesitate and once again stepped into the new adytum.

Entering the second adytum, Zen looked around and found another group of four arhat statues.

“Another four statues...”

However, these four were slightly different from the previous group.

The four statues in the first adytum had been the Holding Staff Arhats. Their eyes were solemn and alert, and they had a spirit of eliminating devils.

But the arhat statues in the second adytum looked quite jolly. They celebrated with their hands held high. Zen glanced at them and found himself influenced by their aura. He felt much more relaxed. ȒÀ₦ỐꞖƐ𝒮

“Happy Arhat...”

Many kinds of arhats existed in the world. Although Zen had never been to the Blessed Buddha Land before, he knew that the arhats were of eighteen kinds.

The Happy Arhat before him was one such type.

Would there be eighteen adytums in total for him to encounter?

It was at this moment that cracks began to appear on the surface of the four Happy Arhats. The arhats leaped off the lotus flowers, their long sleeves fluttering as they charged straight toward Zen with smiles on their faces.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The four Happy Arhats used the finger movement. The light that emitted from each of their fingers was sharp, as if it could pierce through any and everything. They went straight for Zen's vital part.

Now that the possibility that there were still sixteen adytums remaining had occurred to Zen, he did not hesitate any longer. He fought the arhats using his dominating physical strength. He did not want to waste too much time here.

However, even when he took them head on, Zen changed his footwork to avoid their attacks. He did not allow the finger lights to reach his body.

“Break now!”

When the four arhat statues drew nearer, both of Zen's palms shot out in unison.

Accompanied by the whistling of the winds that emanated from the palms, sounds of rubble shattering echoed out. The four statues of the Happy Arhat were instantly shattered as well.

Breaking the four arhat statues, Zen continued to walk forward. Once he was before the back door of the second adytum, the door opened.

As he entered, the first thing to meet his sight was the third adytum. Inside the third adytum were four more arhat statues!

“Riding Deer Arhat!”

On the lotus flowers knelt four lifelike stone deers. On the stone deers were four unperturbed and proud arhat statues. Anyone who looked at them could sense the noble feeling they exuded.

Before long, the four Riding Deer Arhats rode their stone deers toward Zen as well.

In the fourth adytum, Holding Bowl Arhats...

In the fifth adytum, Holding Tower Arhats...

In the sixth adytum, Sitting Arhats...

All types of arhats had different kinds of attacking skills and cultivation. For instant, the Sitting Arhats did not attack people.

They just sat quietly and did not approach Zen.

However, if Zen did not destroy these four arhat statues, he would not be able to enter the next adytum. He had to rush to the four corners of the adytum and smash each of them.

The Sitting Arhats sat quietly, but mysterious Buddha light covered their bodies. The defensive power was astonishingly impressive. It was not easy to shatter them with just one hit. It was because of Zen's immense strength that he could do it. If any other martial artist had entered the temple in his stead, he would have expended much more of his strength.

In the seventh adytum, Crossing River Arhats...

In the eighth adytum, Riding Elephant Arhats...

Just like Zen had guessed, there were indeed eighteen adytums in total.

Beginning with the Holding Staff Arhats in the first adytum, the further he went, the stronger the arhats became. The way they attacked also varied. Zen could not help but be stunned at how profound the Buddhism was. It was no wonder that the Blessed Buddha Land—a Buddhism sacred place—was able to hold up such a great force of the human race on its own!

In the seventeenth adytum were four Taming Tiger Arhats. They were also known as Venerable Maitreya.

Zen could feel the pressure as he entered the door.

Although the Taming Tiger Arhats were only four stone statues, the strength they exuded far exceeded that of the previous arhats.

With every step the four arhats took, the sound of roaring tigers could be heard. Whether it be speed or strength, they were comparable to warriors at the peak of the Soul Sea Realm.

Roar!

Facing the four Taming Tiger Arhats, Zen held a solemn expression on his face. The Thunder Wind Divine Sword appeared in his hand.

He had a feeling of crisis. These statues were made from special stones and were extremely fragile. However, their moves were far more exquisite than those of any warriors at the Soul Sea Realm outside of this temple.

At this moment, Zen knew it would be difficult for him to escape. He was caught in this encirclement.

Zen had passed through all sixteen adytums without a hitch, but the fact that everything had gone smoothly initially did not mean that he would be successful to the end. He knew of plenty of examples of failures at the last minute. Zen would not lower his vigilance just because everything had gone in his favor previously.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Tens of Nether God Shadows shot out from the Thunder Wind Divine Sword.

However, the palms of the four Taming Tiger Arhats were sharp. They were experienced. What was more, they were fast. Many Nether God Shadows surrounded them, but before they could even approach the four arhat statues, they were repelled by mysterious palm shadows.

“Come on!”

A glint flashed in Zen's eyes.

The Thunder Wind Divine Sword had been activated to its limit by Zen. Other than the Nether God Shadows, the wind blades were like blossoming lotuses. Each of the wind blades floated along with the wind like petals. However, these 'petals' contained a very powerful and destructive force.

There were also streaks of lightning that shot out. The release was slower than that of the wind blades, but they reached the arhats before the blades did and struck at the four Taming Tiger Arhats.

Crack! Swish! Swish!

All kinds of powers were being emitted within the adytum. Zen, who was in the middle of the powers, looked like the center of a typhoon. He still looked on calmly, no hint of panic in his stance. Not even the sleeves of his robes swayed in the chaos.

The four arhat statues deployed their hitting method to the extreme. Every single one of the Taming Tiger Arhats brandished the power in their palms. As one palm print swung out, a faint image of a fierce tiger pounced out. In an instant, three to four hundred palm prints were launched. The four Taming Tiger Arhats all waved their palms at the same time, as if a thousand fierce tigers were circling and roaring around Zen!

The shadows of the ferocious tigers slowly nullified the momentum launched by Zen's sword. The two sides had come to a deadlock.

At this moment, deep within the ancient temple, a massive golden Buddha opened its eyes.

The golden Buddha held a sword in one hand and a lotus in the other. His face was calm and imposing. He was indifferent when he felt Zen's sword aura.

“In this grand era, another young fellow who cultivates the Emotion Closing Godly Way has come. The Emotion Closing Godly Way has been sealed for over a hundred grand eras. How has it suddenly appeared a number of times in a row?”