62: Try it and you'll die

"As for whether it's truly real, I cannot be certain either."

"I also only happened upon news regarding the heavenly demon zither by chance twenty years ago."

"The previous owner of the heavenly demon zither was the Six-Fingered Zither Demon, who struck terror into the hearts of the entire Jianghu."

"The primary attack of the heavenly demon zither is a sonic attack that kills invisibly. Once struck, one can only be at the mercy of others; no one but the owner of the heavenly demon zither can undo it."

"If you have truly been struck by the Eight Tones Piercing Heart, then you must absolutely not move. Once you take eight steps, even the gods cannot save you," Great Master Kongwen said with a grim expression.

Abbess Miejue's expression shifted as she sensed the condition within her body once more, yet she found nothing.

"Great Master Kongwen, aren't you being a bit alarmist?"

"If it's truly as you say, why don't I feel anything at all?"

"Furthermore, everything inside my body is normal; there isn't a single thing out of place."

Now Great Master Kongwen was also somewhat uncertain. Under normal circumstances, even if a Great Grandmaster wanted to leave a hidden hand in a person's body, it would be impossible for there to be no trace at all.

Moreover, how could a power capable of shattering someone's body leave no trace whatsoever?

"Abbess, if you trust me, This old monk will check your pulse. After all, a human life is at stake," Great Master Kongwen said after a moment's thought.

Upon hearing that Great Master Kongwen wanted to check her pulse, Abbess Miejue's expression immediately changed.

"No need. This seat is quite confident in my own strength."

"With my strength, I couldn't find anything wrong. Even if the Great Master intervenes, it would be useless," Nickname refused quite decisively.

Great Master Kongwen shook his head helplessly.

"The Abbess is right. In my view, this kid is just intentionally trying to fool people."

"Where in this world is there such a powerful martial art?" Xianyu Tong sneered.

Abbess Miejue found Xianyu Tong's words quite agreeable.

She had already checked herself several times and found nothing.

Duan Zhengchun's words were definitely an intentional attempt to scare her.

"Master, it's better to believe it might be true. After all, Great Master Kongwen likely wouldn't lie."

"Therefore, it's better to be cautious," Zhou Zhiruo spoke up.

Abbess Miejue, who was about to take a step, stopped again. What Zhou Zhiruo said did have some merit.

Great Master Kongwen's change in expression didn't seem fake, but if she had to believe a young brat had such methods, she would rather die.

"Zhou Zhiruo, what do you mean by that? Are you questioning Master's strength?" Ding Minjun said coldly.

She didn't let any opportunity to target Zhou Zhiruo slip by.

"Master, I definitely didn't mean that. I'm also worried about your safety," Zhou Zhiruo quickly explained.

"Enough, I will decide on this matter myself."

"Compared to what he says, Master trusts her own judgment more," Abbess Miejue interrupted coldly.

With that, Abbess Miejue took a direct step forward.

After this step, Abbess Miejue didn't notice anything wrong.

This also allowed her to breathe a sigh of relief, making her even more firm in her previous judgment.

This kid was indeed just fooling her.

"Brat, this seat has already walked. Why am I fine?" Abbess Miejue said coldly.

"Are you stupid? I said Eight Tones Piercing Heart—not one step more, not one step less."

"If you're not convinced, you can try it, but when the time comes, it'll be a case of 'try it and you'll die'," Duan Zhengchun looked at Abbess Miejue with a smile.

He knew Abbess Miejue's personality well; the more you confronted her, the more worked up she got.

This woman was a complete idiot; he didn't know where her mysterious confidence came from.

"Fine, this seat wants to see what methods you have," Abbess Miejue said as she took six steps in a row.

Adding the previous step, she had already finished seven steps, only one step away from the eighth.

Just as she lifted her foot to take the final step, she suddenly froze. In that instant, Abbess Miejue felt as if an electric current was running through her entire body.

A numb, tingling sensation appeared, immediately causing her raised foot to freeze. She had only taken half a step, with half a step remaining.

"Abbess, don't..." Great Master Kongwen spoke to stop her.

However, Abbess Miejue had still ignored the warning and taken seven steps; now, only half a step remained.

Seeing this, Great Master Kongwen sighed helplessly, closed his eyes, and began to silently chant the Diamond Sutra.

At this moment, Abbess Miejue's expression also changed.

She stood there like a golden rooster on one leg, not daring to take that final half-step.

Everyone noticed this bizarre scene.

"Master, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Zhou Zhiruo asked with concern.

Abbess Miejue's complexion turned from its previous flush to a pale white.

She was now already at the Early Stage of the Grandmaster Realm; it was impossible for her to have a sensation like that.

The only explanation was that she had truly fallen for it, and despite checking so many times just now, she hadn't been able to find where the problem lay.

Now, only half a step was left. After that half-step, she would be finished.

"Zhiruo, your Master suddenly felt a numb sensation just now. I don't know if it was an illusion," Abbess Miejue said with a pale face.

"Master, check your body again to see if there's any problem."

"Whatever you do, don't move again," Zhou Zhiruo said with an anxious look.

Abbess Miejue circulated her Cultivation Technique again, but still found nothing. This time, her expression changed completely.

She didn't believe that the sensation from a moment ago was an illusion.

She was a Grandmaster; how could such an illusion occur?

Moreover, she had carefully checked several times before and found no issues. In this situation, it was very likely as the other party said—after eight steps, even the gods would find it hard to save her.

"Sigh... Amitabha. Abbess, there is no longer any room for maneuver."

"If you had admitted defeat and softened your stance at the beginning, asking the other party to help you resolve it, you would have been fine."

"In this current situation, even if the other party were willing, they would be powerless," Great Master Kongwen said helplessly.

"The Shaolin Temple truly isn't simple, to actually know the special effects of the Eight Tones of the Heavenly Dragon," Duan Zhengchun said.

"Amitabha. Could it be that the benefactor is a descendant of the Huang Family?" Great Master Kongwen asked, frowning at Duan Zhengchun.

"Pah, you bald donkey! You're the one named Huang, your whole family is named Huang!"

"It's best not to make wild guesses about things you don't know. Otherwise, I wouldn't mind letting you hear the Eight Tones of the Heavenly Dragon as well," Duan Zhengchun sneered.

"You..."

Great Master Kongwen's face instantly turned the color of pig liver. He was a Senior of the Kong Generation of the Shaolin Temple, yet he was being rebuked like this by a Junior in front of so many people; how could he not be Life Qi?

But he had no way out at all.

The heavenly demon zither was unpredictable and mysterious; he didn't want to challenge it.

Once struck, life and death would be uncertain, and his fate would be entirely in the other party's hands.

Just like Abbess Miejue now, who could only stand there like a golden rooster on one leg, not daring to put her foot down or take that final half-step.

Seeing that Great Master Kongwen, who usually looked down on everyone, was holding his tongue, Abbess Miejue's heart skipped a beat.

She now basically believed what Duan Zhengchun had said.

Yet, no matter how hard she tried, she still couldn't find any abnormality within her body.

"Why? Why don't I feel anything at all? There's still no change inside my body. What on earth is going on?" Abbess Miejue said, her face covered in cold sweat.