Hearing Mu Jinyu's words, Rushi's expression suddenly changed.
His face darkened as he said, "If it were something else, there might be room for discussion, but not with the Relic. Dragon King, please leave!"
Mu Jinyu persuaded, "Master, why must you be so, with the situation being so severe? If we do not promptly find a way to shelter all beings, sooner or later they will be plunged into misery. Would you want to see that happen?"
"Is the Dragon King trying to morally blackmail me?" Rushi remained unmoved, his tone cold and harsh.
Mu Jinyu shook his head and said, "I'm not trying to morally blackmail you; I genuinely need the Arhat Relic in your possession. And it's not for free—I'm willing to meet your terms, be it gold, magical instruments, or even demons, anything I can offer, I will strive to satisfy your demands."
"No need, the Arhat Relic is a treasured possession of our Guang Buddha Temple, and it cannot be loaned out. Dragon King, please leave!" Rushi still refused.
Before coming here, Mu Jinyu had already gathered from Arhat and Ruyi's attitudes that Rushi was not easy to convince. Yet he had not anticipated such unapproachable sternness from him and could only plead desperately:
"Master, please show some leniency. Monks are known for their compassion. I believe that the Arhat, who lived three hundred years ago, knowing today's circumstances, would certainly agree to release his relic after passing into nirvana to benefit all sentient beings..."
"Hmph, utter nonsense!"
Rushi, annoyed by Mu Jinyu's persistence, suddenly halted his Zen Staff in his hand, and a force energy immediately spread, shattering the surrounding tiles into countless pieces, like spreading a web.
"I care not for what all beings you speak of; if you want the Arhat Relic, defeat me first!" he shouted angrily.
Rushi suddenly swung the Zen Staff and leapt up, smashing it towards Mu Jinyu's head!
Mu Jinyu, watching this unfold, stood stunned, not dodging, only thinking of one thing.
"With one strike of my staff, you will die!"
This Master Rushi was too violent, wasn't he?
Then, Mu Jinyu came back to his senses, and seeing the Zen Staff about to hit his head, he sighed resignedly and raised one hand lightly holding back the staff, then said, "Alright, I've caught it. Can you lend me the Relic now?"
"What?!!"
Rushi gripped the staff tightly, his entire body hanging in mid-air.
He yelled forcefully a few times, putting his all into it, but still could not continue swinging the staff downward.
Even when he tried to wrest the staff back from Mu Jinyu's grasp, he couldn't manage it, just hanging in mid-air, kicking his legs, his straw sandals almost falling off.
In the end, Rushi could only bitterly let go of the staff, not wanting it anymore, and then leapt down from the air.
He glared at Mu Jinyu, feeling incredulous. After all, he was once nearly the leader of Buddha's Light Shines Everywhere and also a martial artist at the peak of Energy Transformation. How could he not overcome Mu Jinyu?
Wasn't this new Dragon King supposed to be just at the peak of Energy Transformation?
The intelligence was wrong!
Suddenly, he thought back to the Gold Inlaid Jade Magical Instrument that Mu Jinyu had shown him earlier.
It appears that their Guang Buddha Temple had been vastly misinformed.
This new Dragon King might have already reached God Realm!
With this thought, Rushi gathered his qi in his Dantian and shouted fiercely:
"Ru Nei, Ruwai!"
"Foreign invaders are breaching our Guang Buddha Temple!"
"Invading... Guang Buddha Temple..."
His voice boomed like a great bell, resonating far and wide!
Mu Jinyu stared at Rushi's demeanor, taken aback.
This Master Rushi—hadn't he agreed to lend the Arhat Relic if I could defeat him?
Why was he now calling for reinforcements?
Was he expecting me to fight their whole temple on my own?
Mu Jinyu gave a wry smile and said, "Master, this isn't quite fair, don't you think?"
Rushi glared at him and shouted angrily, "What now? Are you, a divine realm Dragon King, proud of bullying a humble martial artist merely at Energy Transformation?"
"If you, Dragon King, can defeat all three of us brothers, then the Arhat Relic is yours to take, no more words to say!"
Mu Jinyu sighed, "Then, if I defeat your three brothers again, the master won't go back on his word, will he?"
Rushi scoffed coldly, "The advanced level combat strength of Guang Buddha Temple is just us three brothers. If we lost, even if I'm unwilling to hand over the relic to you, Dragon King, do we still have the capacity to resist?"
Pausing, he added, "Moreover, whether you, Dragon King, can survive our joint attack is still a question!"
As soon as these words fell.
The chiefs of Arhat Hall and Dharma Hall from Guang Buddha Temple, Ru Nei and Ruwai, simultaneously scaled the walls and arrived inside the Mahavira Hall!
As soon as they landed, seeing Mu Jinyu holding the abbot's Zen staff, they instantly knew he was the external enemy.
Without asking another word, they ungraciously bellowed and both swung their palm and clenched fist towards him!
"Ha!"
Qi force exploded, and the floor tiles beneath them shattered instantly under their footsteps.
"Da!"
Mu Jinyu swung the Zen staff he had just seized, blocking their attacks!
"Dang!"
A sound like the clash of gold-iron rang out, and the Zen staff in Mu Jinyu's hands shattered instantly.
Both Ru Nei and Ruwai possessed the strength of the Half-Step Divine Realm!
"Ha, die!"
"Amitabha, I will help you attain enlightenment!"
One displayed the fierce expression of a Vajra, and the other a compassionate demeanor, yet their movements were uniformly lethal and aggressive!
Soon after, Rushi also joined the circle to attack, similarly clenching his Fist Seal, his murderous aura raging as he aimed for Mu Jinyu's throat and heart, among other vital spots!
"Why must this be..."
Mu Jinyu sighed deeply and felt helpless as he saw this. He didn't want to retaliate; his sole purpose here was to borrow the relic.
But unexpectedly, they were unwilling to even converse more with him and resorted directly to combat, now even going as far as to attempt to kill him!
As the three's joint attack was about to close in, Mu Jinyu's expression turned serious. He let out a long shout, resonating like the sudden boom of spring thunder, incessantly rumbling!
"Ha!"
His shout left Rushi, Ruwai, and Ru Nei's killing moves stagnating momentarily.
Then, Mu Jinyu fiercely retaliated, his force channeling through his entire body, connecting heaven and earth, drawing the profound Heaven and Earth Vital Energy and pouring it ferociously in all directions from himself as the epicenter!
"Boom!"
Rushi and the others were like boats in a gale, flipped over by the storm.
"Ugh..."
"Puh..."
The three vomited blood simultaneously, flying backwards!
They crashed heavily to the ground!
Smashing the few intact floor tiles into powder!
Seeing the three severely injured, Mu Jinyu expressed a hint of apology, "Master, may I borrow the relic now?"
"Dragon King, your bullying is too much. Do you really think you have beaten us?"
Clutching his abdomen, Rushi trembled as he rose from the ground, meanwhile ominously saying, "You forced us into this!"
"Hehehe..."
At that moment, Ru Nei and Ruwai, still on the ground, abruptly let out a sinister sound.
Then, with a few tearing sounds, their monk's robes were ripped apart.
A thick dark aura immediately spread throughout the Mahavira Hall.
Afterward, Ru Nei and Ruwai shakily got up from the ground, and upon seeing their current state, Mu Jinyu's pupils involuntarily contracted!