One Pound Meat, One More Attribute Point

```

With this thought, Su Heng abandoned the idea of removing the mark.

He opened his eyes and looked towards Cui Mingri on the other side, and then politely declined the latter’s invitation.

"Very well..."

Cui Mingri nodded in agreement, not saying much more.

After all, it was his first meeting with Su Heng, and the two had no relationship.

Next, the three of them looted the temple’s resources completely, and then reported the happenings here to the headquarters of the Demon Suppression Army. In the future, specialized personnel would be responsible for handling it. In a short time, the resources to be exchanged would be sent to a designated location.

After attending to these miscellaneous matters.

The sky had already begun to lighten.

"Then, this is farewell," Cui Mingri said, as his injured arm had mostly healed.

At that moment, he clasped his hands together and bowed to Su Heng and Li Lingxiu from a distance.

"See you in Cloud Heaven," Li Lingxiu said with a smile.

"If fate allows, we will meet again," Su Heng also nodded slightly, bidding farewell casually.

Afterwards, the two turned and left, one rise, one fall, and in the blink of an eye, they disappeared into the lush, verdant forest.

"Before leaving the mountain, my master once told me that although my Fiery Sun Sect has a long heritage, I should not underestimate the heroes of the world. Although I agreed, whether I truly took it to heart is another matter. Today, I’ve seen that the old man’s words really do have merit..."n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Cui Mingri looked at the huge crater left by the battle in front of the temple gate.

He shook his head in reflection.

...

...

...

Deep within Skull Plain, within a valley.

A streak of white flowed straight down along the cliff and only as one drew close would the sound of gushing water become audible.

The waterfall fell from a high place, splashing up a mist that dissipated with the wind and gradually lingered throughout the valley.

The valley was desolate.

There wasn’t much vegetation, just large areas of tenacious rocks smoothed by the water flow.

An impurity-free, clear stream flowed among the rocks, divided into a fine network of water, exuding a sense of serene coolness.

Snap!

A foot clad in monk’s shoes stepped into the stream.

Splashing up, the shoe was completely soaked, but its owner didn’t mind.

While murmuring scripture with palms together, the monk walked forward with a bowed head until he was barely ten meters away from the waterfall before stopping.

The white of the waterfall, the white of the mist.

Yet, within them, there was a persistent black shadow.

The black shadow flickered like flames, becoming more distinct, condensing, and before the monk, it formed into a pitch-black humanoid figure.

This person was over three meters tall, completely enshrouded in darkness.

Even the teeth within his mouth were black as he spoke.

His body was muscular and sculpted as if carved from stone. His skin, black as coal, had many golden Sanskrit inscriptions. His eyes burned with red fire, and his face bore an expression full of rage. Just by appearance, this person was seven or eight parts similar to the Vajra Yaksha King that Su Heng had encountered before.

It’s just that he lacked a certain dignity in his face, and his stature was not as vast as the six-armed Yaksha King.

But the over three-meter-tall frame and bulging muscles still endowed him with an explosive power.

Especially upon appearing, a golden buddha light poured out like a tidal surge. Where the light touched, be it the drifting fog, the waterfall descending the cliff face, or the droplets of water suspended in the air, all were frozen still.

The roar of the waterfall vanished.

The valley fell into a terrifying silence due to the arrival of the black-skinned monk.

In this silence, the gray-clad monk’s chanting of scriptures became even clearer and more peaceful.

After reciting the complete Diamond Sutra, which symbolizes supreme enlightenment and great wisdom, the young monk finally lifted his head and calmly looked towards the giant, "I wonder for what matter has Great Dark Secret King Uncle summoned me?"

In Hundred Buddha Temple of Skull Plain, many traditions are passed down.

But only the successors of the five great Vajra Kings can be referred to as "Secret Kings".

The giant before him was a direct disciple of the Vajra Yaksha King with a huge and vast body and skin naturally as black as burnt charcoal, thus known as the "Great Dark Secret King".

In terms of strength, the Great Dark Secret King ranked towards the end among the five Secret Kings.

But his temperament was the most explosive.

Now, the face of Great Dark Secret King was full of anger, but upon seeing the young monk, the raging flames around him began to subside, and his expression returned to calmness.

"Dingguang Zen Master is dead," the Great Dark Secret King stated plainly.

"Dingguang elder brother..." The young monk fiddled with his Buddha beads, paused briefly, then consoled, "He ventured alone into the territory of the Great Zhou Dynasty to carry out his mission; encountering danger was inevitable. I hope elder brother Dingguang does not fall into the eight sufferings and attains liberation soon."

"Do we know who killed elder brother Dingguang?"

The young monk asked in surprise, "Some time ago, I heard that elder brother Dingguang had found the whereabouts of the Li Family’s heir. Was he harmed by the elders of the Li Family of Jiangzhou, or perhaps, was he accidentally slain by someone in retaliation?"

"Neither," the Great Dark Secret King said coldly, "Some nobody whose name doesn’t carry any weight."

"If he was able to kill elder brother Dingguang, then he can’t be considered a nobody," the young monk’s brow furrowed slightly. After thinking for a moment, he spoke again, "Black Fiend Bodhisattva and elder brother Dingguang went together to the Zhou imperial dynasty; has He also not returned?"

"He likely met with a calamity," Great Dark Secret King seemed to recall something, and a look of irritation crossed his face, "If it were only about killing those two, it would be one thing, but to arrogantly boast in front of me..."

"He thinks hiding in the Great Zhou Dynasty will allow him to act recklessly, huh—"

```

Great Dark Secret King sneered coldly, "I’m going to make him pay."

"Does the uncle intend to take action personally?" the young monk furrowed his brows and said. "Nowadays, various powers are watching around Jiang’e, and if the uncle acts rashly, it might trigger a storm. No one can predict what the outcome would be."

"No matter," the Great Dark Secret King shook his head and said, "That person is not from one of the major powers in Jiang’e."

"As long as we deal with him swiftly and neatly, there won’t be any additional complications."

"Since uncle is resolute, so be it..."

The young monk knew that the Great Dark Secret King’s character had always been so and did not persuade him further, only putting his hands together in prayer and blessing, "May the uncle have a smooth journey."

"Om Rulu Jialu Ki, Qie Sui!" the Great Dark Secret King replied with the mantra of the Vajra Yaksha King.

"During my absence, I will trouble you and our fellow brother to look after the matters of the Vajra Yaksha King lineage," Great Dark Secret King entrusted.

"Of course," the young monk smiled and nodded in agreement.

The brother referred to by the Great Dark Secret King was the leader of Hundred Buddha Temple’s five great secret kings, "Immovable Secret King."

And this young monk, as a direct disciple of the Immovable Secret King, also held a revered position in the Hundred Buddha Temple. He was the leader in charge of all worldly affairs, Great Compassion Zen Master.

...

...

...

Time moved to the next day, at the crack of dawn.

The eastern sky had just begun to reveal a sliver of a pale belly of a fish, and bundles of golden-red sunlight sprinkled across the heavens.

This is Liu State, Zhuqiong Mountain.

It is also where the Cloud Heaven Secret Realm is about to descend and open up.

Zhuqiong Mountain, unlike other ordinary mountain ranges, consisted of towering and vast columns of rock, rising thousands of meters into the air and shrouded in clouds and mist. Standing from a high vantage point, one could see pillars and peaks of stone, sheer cliffs and precipices, ancient trees, and notable woods, as well as the morning mists and airborne water vapors yet to dissipate, and more.

Cascading waterfalls plummeted from mountain summits, bringing forth resounding noises.

A large black-winged roc spread its wings and took to the skies with the wind, returning to its gigantic nest perched on a precipice.

And under the shadow cast by the roc,

In the midst of the misty, dense forest, a man and a woman were dashing forward furiously.

Both individuals were young in appearance, the man handsome and the woman beautiful. However, their expressions were somewhat panicked, and their breathing was disorderly and increasingly labored. Clearly, they had just gone through a fierce battle and were now approaching their limits.

Bang!

The young woman dressed in water sleeves and long skirt stumbled, finally unable to persevere.

Her tiptoes tripped over a piece of deadwood on the forest floor; losing her balance, she would have fallen face first if it hadn’t been for her timely grip on an ancient tree beside her.

"Brother..."

A plea was evident on her face as she called out from afar.

One hand clung to the trunk of the nearby tree; the other, she forced tightly against her thigh.

Even so, black blood still seeped through her fingers, and her face grew paler; it was obvious that she was deeply poisoned.

"Sister, you..." The handsome man stopped in the distance upon hearing her.

On one hand,

He remembered the terrifying scene they encountered deep within Zhuqiong Mountain.

On the other hand, there was the painful and pale face of the sister he spent his days with.

After a moment’s hesitation in his heart, his usual sense of duty finally overcame the fear deep inside him. Ji Hao took a step forward and swiftly approached his sister. First, he took out an antidote healing pill from his bosom, stuffed it into her mouth, and then helped her to stand up.

The medicinal power slowly spread through her abdomen, and Sister Chen Xi’s pale complexion gained a hint of color.

"Thank you, Brother," Chen Xi said gratefully, her eyes filled with tears.

"Why bring that up between us," Ji Hao held Chen Xi’s wrist and then transferred half of the scarce strength from his body into hers.

"Are you able to move now?" he asked anxiously.

"Yes," Chen Xi nodded her head.

"That’s good..." Ji Hao sighed in relief upon hearing that, "That creature might still be chasing us from behind. We have to leave quickly, and once we reunite with the seniors from our sect, we will be safe."

The two of them were from a medium-sized sect in Liu State, Lingxiu Sect.

Compared to powerful forces like the Fiery Sun Sect, Lingxiu Sect was far behind, and they did not obtain a "Cloud Key."

However...

Even without a "Cloud Key," one couldn’t enter deep into the Cloud Heaven Secret Realm.

Just staying on the periphery for a while, if luck was good, one could still gain something.

Discover stories with empire

Ji Hao and Chen Xi, brother and sister, came with this thought in mind.

They arrived at Zhuqiong Mountain early.

They wanted to explore inside before the Cloud Heaven Secret Realm opened, hoping for some unexpected finds.

But they didn’t expect to not only come up empty-handed but also to encounter a powerful demon beast, leaving both of them severely injured and still not out of danger.

"Brother..." The sister’s trembling voice reached his ears.

Ji Hao was startled by the sound, and then he came to his senses, his face turning pale in an instant.

He felt as if his neck was locked in place, unbearably stiff, slowly turning around, only to see a gaping maw of sharp teeth dripping with thick saliva onto the stones with a sizzling sound, bringing an overpowering stench directly in his face.

"We’re finished!" In his moment of despair, Ji Hao’s vision darkened.

A gentle voice drifted over from afar.