80s Shaolin Abbot

Huo Yuanzhen had been wandering alone in the Shaolin temple for three days. During this time, the number of pilgrims and lay disciples coming to Shaolin had noticeably decreased.

The common folk were like this — wherever something new and exciting occurred, they flocked to it in droves. In the past few days, the King of Law Temple had seen a surge in visitors, and many were talking about the grand opening of the Mahavira Hall that was soon to be inaugurated.

In just five days, it would be the 8th day of the 7th lunar month, the day of the King of Law Temple's temple fair, which Huo Yuanzhen was eagerly anticipating.

In addition to this event, his mind had been preoccupied with one thought — the mysterious figure in the back mountain.

Ever since Tie Niu came to Shaolin, he had kept to himself, behaving unremarkably. However, Huo Yuanzhen noticed that the tiger, Dahuang, that Tie Niu had brought with him, had been lurking around the back mountain, as though searching for something.

This thought lingered in Huo Yuanzhen's mind — could the mysterious person in the back mountain be hiding some secret?

Ever since acquiring the "One-Stroke Crossing the River" lightness skill, Huo Yuanzhen believed that, although his combat ability was still lacking, he now had a certain level of escape skills.

At that time, he thought about going to the back mountain, and seeing the tiger lurking there these past few days only made him want to investigate even more.

Huo Yuanzhen was a man of action. After lunch, when most of the monks at Shaolin had retired for their midday rest, he quietly slipped out the back gate and headed toward the back mountain.

He passed by the small Drinking Horse Lake, and ahead of him stood a cluster of strange rocks, forming a small perilous peak. This was, in fact, the highest point of Shaoshi Mountain.

Instead of using his lightness skill, Huo Yuanzhen walked slowly up the mountain, being cautious as he did not know the exact location of the mysterious figure. He kept a sharp eye out for anything unusual.

The mountain was neither too large nor too small, covering several miles. After walking for about two hours, Huo Yuanzhen had circled around it, but found nothing out of the ordinary.

"Where could it be?" Huo Yuanzhen wondered.

He considered using the Lion's Roar technique but decided against it, not wanting to alert the monks of Shaolin. After thinking for a while, he suddenly noticed the highest rock at the peak of the mountain.

With a sudden burst of speed, he used his lightness skill to reach the top. He looked around carefully.

"There!" he muttered, spotting a flash of yellow in the distance. It was the large tiger, Dahuang. The tiger hadn't noticed him yet and was creeping through the tall grass.

"Is it hunting?" Huo Yuanzhen wondered, observing quietly.

There were no large animals in the back mountain, so Dahuang must have been hunting smaller creatures like wild chickens or ducks. However, such small prey would hardly be enough to satisfy its hunger, so it made sense that it was still hunting.

The tiger moved silently through the grass, heading toward a huge rock. Huo Yuanzhen was puzzled. Why would the tiger be going towards the rock?

As the tiger approached the rock, it suddenly accelerated and charged directly toward it, as though it had detected something delicious beneath it.

"Damn beast! How dare you come again!" A voice rang out, sending a shiver down Huo Yuanzhen's spine. It was the voice of the mysterious figure!

Before the tiger could reach the rock, it seemed to be struck by something and was flung several meters away. With its tail tucked between its legs, the tiger scurried off.

Huo Yuanzhen licked his lips in amazement. "This is pure inner power! The force was enough to fling such a large tiger away. What kind of power is this?"

At the middle stage of the acquired realm, inner power could circulate through the body and unleash attacks, though the power was small and not practical. However, in the later stages, inner power attacks could be terrifying — with a wave of the sleeve, a normal person could be killed, and a beginner in the acquired stage would suffer internal injuries.

But even in the later stages, the power of the mysterious figure was beyond that of any normal practitioner. His strike was powerful enough to fling the tiger away with ease.

Could this mysterious figure be a congenital master?

Huo Yuanzhen was too far away to see clearly what was happening, but after thinking for a moment, he decided to investigate further.

He cautiously descended the mountain and moved closer to the rock.

As he approached, he could feel a breeze beneath his feet.

There shouldn't be wind here, so the wind must be coming from a large underground tunnel. The tunnel was likely located under the rock.

Realizing this, Huo Yuanzhen's heart raced with unease. He held his breath and moved carefully toward the rock.

The breeze grew stronger as he neared the spot, confirming his suspicions that the tunnel was nearby.

However, apart from the bare rock, the area was filled with nearly a meter-high grass, making it hard to detect any secrets without a careful eye.

As he closed the distance, Huo Yuanzhen began to smell something faintly sweet in the air.

It wasn't the smell of food, but rather something floral, almost like the fragrance of medicinal herbs!

When herbs were being boiled, they often had a bitter taste, but once refined into pills, they would release a fragrance. The better the pill, the stronger the scent.

Huo Yuanzhen suddenly understood why the tiger had been lingering around. It had likely been drawn here by the scent. Animals had far better senses of smell than humans, and it would have easily detected the aroma.

With the scent of pills in the air, it seemed that the mysterious figure in the back mountain was likely refining medicine. Huo Yuanzhen knew well that spying on someone refining pills was a forbidden act, especially if that person was a powerful master. He had to be careful.

However, Huo Yuanzhen had never been one to shy away from danger. "Fortune favors the bold," he muttered, and pressed on.

Finally, he reached the edge of the rock, and there, hidden beneath it, was an underground entrance.

The tunnel wasn't very deep, but it was surprisingly spacious, about thirty meters in diameter. Around the edges of the cave, many strange flowers and herbs were growing, making it nearly impossible for Huo Yuanzhen to name them all.

But what truly stunned him was what he saw in the center of the cave. A huge cauldron, at least two meters high, stood in the middle, with flames flickering within it.

At the top of the cauldron, there was a round locking mechanism, and a thick iron chain, as thick as an arm, was fastened to the cauldron. The other end of the chain was connected to an old man, whose back was to Huo Yuanzhen. The old man appeared to be selecting herbs.

Around the old man's feet were several dozen gourd-shaped containers, most of which were yellow, though there were a couple of red ones. There were also some piles of prepared medicinal pastes that Huo Yuanzhen couldn't identify.

Clearly, these herbs were of high quality — no wonder even a tiger was drawn to them.

But Huo Yuanzhen didn't dare to get any closer. The old man was chained to the cauldron, but the chain was long enough that he could move freely within a large radius, meaning the old man could cover the entire cave.

As Huo Yuanzhen quietly observed, the old man suddenly spoke.

"Damn beast! Coming again to steal my medicine? Looking for death!" The old man didn't turn around but kicked a yellow gourd on the ground, sending it flying toward Huo Yuanzhen with a swift kick.

It flew through the air at lightning speed. Huo Yuanzhen barely had time to react before the gourd struck him on the forehead with a loud bang.

He staggered back, but the gourd didn't break. Instead, it bounced back and landed about five meters away.

The old man turned around and stared at Huo Yuanzhen, his expression filled with surprise.

In the split second that the old man hesitated, Huo Yuanzhen seized the opportunity.

"Now!" he thought.

He dashed forward, grabbed the gourd, and ran.

The old man quickly regained his senses and shouted, "You bald monk from Shaolin! Ah, stop! Put down my gourd!"

Without missing a beat, Huo Yuanzhen used his lightness skill to dash out of the cave, just as the old man unleashed a palm strike. The wind from the strike caused the ground to shake, but Huo Yuanzhen was already out of the cave, vanishing without a trace.

The old man gnashed his teeth in frustration, watching helplessly as Huo Yuanzhen escaped with the gourd in hand.