dmims Page 378
Page 378
This formation can consist of at least nine people. The more people there are, the stronger the formation becomes. The Arhat Formation can be formed by a maximum of one hundred and eight monks.
When the nine-person Arhat Formation faces off, they work together to surround the enemy, like a python coiling around them. Their attacks and defenses are as one, and the formation is perfectly coordinated, leaving no openings.
Above the nine-person formation is the Eighteen Arhats Formation, then the Twenty-Four Arhats Formation, and finally the Thirty-Six Arhats Formation. The more people there are, the stronger the power. The Arhats Formation, composed of up to one hundred and eight monks, is the most powerful of this formation.
Legend has it that once the 108 Arhats Formation launches its attack, it is like a raging river, never-ending and never-ending. Being in the formation is like being in a whirlpool, facing attacks from all directions, unable to escape. Even if you fight to the death, you will end up exhausted.
However, it is said in the martial arts world that Shaolin has never used the 108 Arhats Formation; it is only rumored to exist.
Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong were quite surprised when they were told by Bu Huo that they should attempt to break through the legendary highest-level Arhat Formation.
Is this a high-level sparring match?
"Master, this..."
Linghu Chong's expression was somewhat broken at this moment.
He was truly dumbfounded.
It's just a friendly sparring match, is it really that big of a deal?
Isn't this bullying?
"Young Master Linghu, may I have a word to say?"
He smiled slightly, though he was not yet forty.
Linghu Chong took a deep breath, suppressing his dissatisfaction, and said, "Please speak, Master."
The man smiled and said, “You two young heroes are highly skilled in martial arts. There are only a handful of people in the world who can surpass you, and there are none in my Southern Shaolin Temple. If we’re talking about a friendly spar, there is no one who can compare with you. That’s why I had this idea. But you two don’t need to worry. This is just a friendly spar, and we’ll stop when we’ve reached a point.”
Even after hearing what Bu Huo said, Linghu Chong found it outrageous, even feeling that the Southern Shaolin Temple was bullying its guests. Just as he was about to continue speaking, Bu Huo spoke again.
"Our Southern Shaolin Temple had no intention of humiliating you two young heroes. It is simply that no one in the temple is capable of competing with you two individually, so we had no choice but to take this desperate measure."
Bu Huo continued, "This humble monk will not let you two young heroes come for nothing. I'm sure you've heard the rumors in the martial arts world that as long as you pass through my Shaolin Arhat Formation, you can read all the secret manuals of Shaolin."
"To show the sincerity of Shaolin, this humble monk is willing to stand as a witness with you two young heroes."
"Our temple's Sutra Repository is where we store the secret manuals of Shaolin. It has three floors. If you two young heroes can break through our Shaolin Arhat Formation, you can read the Sutra Repository at your leisure. There is no time limit. Our temple will not disturb you while you are reading the Sutra Repository."
"If you two young heroes are unable to pass through, it is alright. The first and second floors of our temple's scripture pavilion will be open to you for three days."
The man smiled and said, "I wonder what you two young heroes think? If you still feel it's inappropriate, then let's drop this matter."
Hearing Bu Huo's words, Linghu Chong couldn't bring himself to say what he wanted to say.
If you succeed, you can see it; if you fail, there's a safety net?
Moreover, Bu Huo also said that as long as they pass the test, they can go to the Sutra Repository to read it at any time, and no one will disturb them. It was almost as if he was saying that they could even write down all the Shaolin secrets and take them back to Mount Hua.
Linghu Chong felt a little tempted and looked at Jiang Ning.
Jiang Ning laughed upon hearing this: "With such sincerity from the master and your temple, how could my fellow disciple and I refuse?"
This is consent.
Bu Huo also laughed.
Yue Buqun sending Jiang Ning to the Southern Shaolin Temple to exchange martial arts techniques was something they hadn't expected. The Southern Shaolin Temple now has many masters, including Zen Master Lingxuan. However, Zen Master Lingxuan is the abbot of the Southern Shaolin Temple and is quite old. It's definitely not appropriate for the abbot to personally spar with a junior.
Even inviting other eminent monks from the Southern Shaolin Temple to spar wouldn't work. There were quite a few with first-rate martial arts skills, but none who could truly rival Jiang Ning.
It's not that the Southern Shaolin Temple lacks hidden masters; rather, these masters represent the temple's core strength, kept secret from others. If they were exposed, what kind of core strength would it be?
However, the reputation of the Southern Shaolin Temple cannot be tarnished. If word gets out that no one in the entire Southern Shaolin Temple is a match for the two junior disciples of the Huashan Sect, it will greatly damage the reputation of the Southern Shaolin Temple.
After racking their brains for several days, Bu Huo and a group of high-ranking monks from the Southern Shaolin Temple finally came up with this plan: to use an array to confront Jiang Ning and his companion, and they even had a reward in mind.
That way, even if word gets out, no one will say that the Southern Shaolin Temple is a sore loser.
"Master, shall my fellow disciple and I begin our challenge of the formation now?"
Linghu Chong asked.
Bu Huo smiled slightly and said, "Our temple's 108 Arhats Formation needs some time to prepare. Please wait a moment, young heroes. We will begin tomorrow morning after you have rested."
Chapter 506: Entering the Formation
Upon hearing that the challenge would be held the next day, Linghu Chong's initial eagerness subsided.
"It's getting late, you two young heroes should get some rest."
After Bu Huo left, a young novice monk escorted Jiang Ning and his companion back to the guest quarters.
Linghu Chong was still excited after returning to the guest courtyard.
The Shaolin Arhat Formation is world-renowned. Tomorrow he will be able to see the complete 108 Arhat Formation. Regardless of whether he wins or loses tomorrow, Linghu Chong will feel that the trip has been worthwhile.
Compared to Linghu Chong's excitement, Jiang Ning was rather calm.
At this moment, he wasn't thinking about the Arhat Formation that Bu Huo had mentioned, but rather about the matter of the Sutra Repository.
We don't need to go to the library tonight.
Because of what Congruent said today, Jiang Ning abandoned his previous plans.
Since the other party was able to mention this, it means there's nothing worth visiting in the Sutra Repository.
Jiang Ning couldn't help but frown.
Finding out the truth from decades ago is no easy task. Even if Shaolin Temple and Zen Master Hongye had set up a trap back then, it's impossible for them to have left any evidence until now; it's highly likely that the evidence has already been destroyed.
Jiang Ning had already prepared himself for the possibility of not being able to find anything before he arrived.
However, Jiang Ning was not discouraged. Even though this trip might be in vain and the truth could not be found, it would not be harmful to Huashan. After all, the matter of Songshan Sect had basically confirmed that Shaolin had secretly taken action against the Five Mountains Sword Sects a long time ago, and Yue Buqun had long been on guard against Shaolin.
"Junior brother."
Linghu Chong then said to Jiang Ning, "Let's conserve our energy today, and tomorrow we, brothers, will challenge this most extraordinary formation in the world!"
Linghu Chong spoke with great ambition, but received no enthusiastic response, only Jiang Ning's indifferent reply, "I know."
Linghu Chong's heroic spirit vanished instantly, and he muttered to himself that Jiang Ning was too indifferent, seemingly unmoved by anything.
"sleep."
After saying goodnight, Linghu Chong went back to his room to rest.
Jiang Ning then returned to his own guest room to rest.
The next morning.
The young novice monk came to the guest courtyard to invite Jiang Ning and his companion, leading them to a spacious place.
However, there were quite a few monks standing in this area, with several eminent monks from the Southern Shaolin Temple standing in front, including Bu Huo.
Even Zen Master Lingxuan came.
"Zen Master, several masters."
Jiang Ning was the first to greet them.
The eminent monks, including Bu Huo, responded one by one.
Master Lingxuan then smiled and said, "I heard from Buhuo that you two young heroes are going to challenge the Arhat Formation of my Shaolin Temple today. I was curious and came to take a look. Please don't mind, young heroes."
"How dare you?"
Linghu Chong said in succession.
"Young heroes."
At this moment, Bu Huo spoke up: "The martial monks behind us are the ones who will spar with you two young heroes today using the Arhat Formation. There are exactly one hundred and eight of them."
Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong looked up and saw that these martial monks were all tall and strong, each holding a demon-subduing staff. Some were arranged in rows of nine, with nine people in each row, making a total of twelve rows. The rows stood in neat rows and columns.
At that moment, a gust of wind blew by, lifting the robes of the warrior monks, and a powerful aura swept over them.
Linghu Chong's expression became somewhat solemn.
These monks were just standing there, and an invisible sense of oppression surged over me, making my chest feel inexplicably heavy.
Upon seeing the expression on Linghu Chong's face, the monks, including Bu Huo, couldn't help but smile.
But when the group turned their gaze to Jiang Ning, they paused. They couldn't see a trace of emotion on Jiang Ning's face. Even when facing the formation of 108 Shaolin monks, his expression remained unchanged, and he remained calm.
Regardless of Jiang Ning's thoughts at this moment, the group of people, including Bu Huo, held Jiang Ning in even higher regard.
"Would you two young heroes like to have a meal before venturing into the formation?"
At this moment, a high-ranking monk asked a question.
Linghu Chong smiled nonchalantly.
"No need."
The same applies to Jiangning.
Generally, one shouldn't eat too much before taking action, and Linghu Chong and Jiang Ning weren't very hungry either, indicating that they could start now.
"Master, shall we begin here?"
Linghu Chong asked.
Bu Huo smiled and said, "That's right."
One hundred and eight people are too many, and the space required for a fight would be even greater, so Bu Huo and the others specifically chose this place as the location for their sparring match.
"Young heroes, please enter the battle."
With a slight smile, Bu Huo, along with several eminent monks and Zen Master Lingxuan, retreated and left the area.
At this moment, the 108 warrior monks put their hands together in prayer and chanted.
"Amitabha."
The venue was windless and the voices of 108 people blended together like chanting.
Linghu Chong and Jiang Ning exchanged a glance.
"Junior brother, I'll go in first to probe the formation. You stay outside and see how to break it."
After saying that, Linghu Chong drew his sword, took a step forward, and rushed in first.
Linghu Chong moved with incredible speed, which caught the attention of Bu Huo and the others watching the battle.
"What a fast movement."
A high-ranking monk said something.
Another person said, "This Linghu Chong doesn't seem to be an ordinary master."
After exchanging a few words, they stopped talking.
At this moment, Linghu Chong was about to kill his way to the group of monks.
These martial monks remained motionless, their expressions unchanged. But just as Linghu Chong was about to attack, they moved, scattering to both sides. When Linghu Chong entered them, they all gathered together again, forming a circle that completely surrounded him.
"drink!"
Three monks, wielding their demon-subduing staffs, stepped forward and immediately engaged Linghu Chong in battle.
Jiang Ning observed from outside for a while and found that this Arhat Formation was indeed very versatile. When combined, it could gather the strength of several or even dozens of people to launch a single attack. When separated, each person performed their own duties and cooperated extremely well. One wave of attacks followed another, one after another, without end.
when!when!when!
The sounds of swords and staffs clashing were dense and numerous. Linghu Chong's figure moved swiftly through the formation, trying to break through, but the monks surrounding him pushed him back into the formation each time.
Linghu Chong initially used the Huashan sword technique to fight against the sword techniques of the Hengshan sects, but at this moment he was forced to use the Dugu Nine Swords.
Linghu Chong originally intended it to be just a friendly spar and had no intention of using the ruthless Dugu Nine Swords, but now he was forced to use it, or he would lose.
The Dugu Nine Swords is indeed a peerless sword technique, and Linghu Chong's use of it was remarkably effective.
when!
At this moment, three monks wielding demon-subduing staffs charged in.
Linghu Chong immediately used a move from the Dugu Nine Swords, knocking away the attack of one of the monks with a clang and closing in, pointing his sword at the monk's right eye with unbelievable speed, intending to take his life in the blink of an eye.
The monk also showed a hint of fear.
But just as the sword tip was about to pierce his right eye and enter his brain, it stopped less than an inch in front of him.