Chapter Sixteen: Desai's Comeback

In an instant, four or five bodies fell to the ground, startling the mutant rats present, who began to growl lowly at Wujue. Wujue, however, recited a Buddhist chant and said, “Vile beasts, do you still intend to act fierce? Do you believe I won’t slay every one of you right here?”

The horde of rats was about to retreat in terror when a voice burst into wild laughter, saying, “Wujue the Great Monk, you’re truly imposing. Are you planning to scare off all my pets with just a few words?”

A familiar figure then leapt down from the entrance, landing among the rats like a sovereign among his subjects. It was none other than the long-absent Desai.

At the sight of him, Wujue immediately understood—only the great demon, the heretical cult leader, could have concocted such a devious scheme. He snorted coldly and stepped forward. “Desai, you finally reveal your true nature. I thought perhaps you’d repented a little after the last time, when you tried to destroy the warship, but it seems you remain as stubborn as ever!”

“Spare me the nonsense. Thanks to you, I am neither man nor ghost. Since I’ve become someone else’s puppet, then let’s all go to hell together,” Desai sneered. With a wave of his sleeve, colorful spiders crawled from beneath him, landing on the giant rats and sending them into a frenzied attack against Wujue and his companions.

Wujue was no stranger to these tactics. Desai had once used the same dark arts to incite the cult’s leaders, creating a legion of undead warriors who slaughtered their own brethren. Now, he was merely applying the method to these mutated monsters.

Roaring in fury, Wujue charged, unleashing the Lion’s Roar of Buddhist martial arts—a thunderous shout filled the air, shaking the very ground and stunning the mutant rats once more. Wujue leveled his machine gun at Desai. “Desai, if you have even a shred of humanity left, do you dare face me in a duel and let these people go?”

Desai was surprised by Wujue’s commanding presence and, floating over to stand less than half a meter before him, replied, “If you want to save these people, Wujue, you and I must fight to the death. If you kill me, you may lead them out. If you fail, this place becomes their slaughterhouse.”

With that, he waved his hand, and four or five patterned spiders shot forth, spewing vile webs that wove into a net in midair, aiming to ensnare Wujue. Wujue had already raised his machine gun and fired wildly, shredding the web to tatters and killing two spiders, but the remaining ones spat ever-thicker silk, soon enveloping him completely.

In a flash, Wujue was cocooned and vanished from sight. The onlookers gasped, fearing for him, but within the web, Wujue summoned the power of his Golden Bell Shield technique. Since his last evolution, he’d only revealed a fraction of his physical strength. Now, surrounded by a dense web, his energy surged, bursting his monk’s robes and revealing powerful muscles.

His hands whipped up a whirlwind as he unleashed the Wind Demon Palm, shattering the web to pieces. Then, like an arrow, he streaked toward Desai, seized him by the throat, and hurled him a dozen meters away.

They crashed against the cold wall, finally coming to a stop. Wujue’s fists rained down in fury, releasing all his pent-up rage. His evolved body, combined with the formidable skills inherited from Huron, unleashed such savage power that Desai’s body was driven half a meter into the wall.

Trapped in the crack, Desai grinned darkly. “Do you think brute strength is enough? Take a good look at the body you face.” He threw back his black robe, revealing the monstrous form beneath—his flesh, transformed by the Celestial Executioners, was no longer human. Bronze skin rippled with bulging veins; the grotesque mutations had made Desai into an abomination.

Instinctively, Wujue stepped back, but the veins on Desai’s arm snaked out like vines, wrapping around Wujue and pinning his upper body.

“Aren’t you supposed to be invulnerable, Wujue?” Desai sneered, tightening his grip. “Let’s see how I break your legendary defense.”

Wujue could barely breathe, but wasted no time. His hands darted, striking Desai’s pressure points with the Flower-Plucking Acupoint technique of the Great Forest Temple, desperately attacking the vital spots.

“You think you can break my defenses? It won’t be that easy!” Desai cackled, bursting from the wall and shoving Wujue back a dozen meters.

Wujue, undeterred, increased the speed of his strikes. “I refuse to believe there’s anything in this world I cannot do!”

His fingers moved even faster, and in moments, a flurry of blows sent splashes of blood across Desai’s mutated flesh.

Desai roared in pain, and in that instant of distraction, Wujue slipped free with his Bone-Shrinking Skill. In a flash, he stood before Desai, pressing a steel blade to his forehead. “Do you believe that if I bring this blade down, nothing you possess will save you?”

Only now did Desai feel the unexpected effects of Wujue’s assault. Gritting his teeth through the pain, he spat, “It’s not that easy. I’ll see you all dead!” With a whistle, the rat horde erupted into chaos, and the chamber descended into a ghastly bloodbath.

Furious, Wujue slashed at Desai, and though Desai retreated swiftly, he was sliced in two at the waist. Watching Desai flee in a frenzy, Wujue could only turn back to rescue the others.

Fortunately, Xiao Yang had prepared in advance. Using data from the Celestial Executioners’ equipment, he played a special frequency through the computer. The mutant rats, disturbed by the noise and under gunfire from the survivors, turned on each other in uncontrollable slaughter.

Wujue then moved to clear out the remaining rats. Under Huron’s guidance, he perfectly combined the martial arts of the Great Forest Temple with firearms, killing most of the monsters; the rest destroyed themselves.

Surveying the devastation, Wujue realized the place was no longer fit for shelter. He told everyone to gather what supplies they could and prepare to leave in search of a new refuge.

A headcount after the chaos revealed less than fifty survivors and food for barely ten days. Water supplies were nearly gone. Wujue wondered bleakly if they had any future left.

“At this point, we can only hope Xiao Han brings us good news,” Xiao Yang analyzed calmly.