Led by the two Fire Worship Sect disciples, Zhang Yongjun and Wang Ju, the party rode at full speed. Their hearts were fixed on the safety of those defending the Hall of the Sacred Fire. They urged their horses onward without daring to pause, resting only at night.
During each evening's halt, the Beggars' Sect gave their newly appointed chief, Lu Rou, special training. He practiced martial arts under close instruction and drank tiger bone wine to strengthen his internal energy. After all, Fei Jin was renowned throughout the martial world for his unparalleled martial arts. His successor could not afford to disgrace the Beggars' Sect. With a formidable enemy before them, the leader of the greatest sect under heaven bore a heavy responsibility. As the representative of the Beggars' Sect, he had to meet the enemy head-on, crush them decisively, bring glory to the sect, establish himself as a rising legend of the jianghu, and secure the prestige of the new Beggars' Sect Chief.
After three days of relentless travel, they arrived at Lingzhou. By dusk they had reached the foot of Sacred Fire Mountain, where the Hall of the Sacred Fire stood. Leaving their horses behind, everyone hurried up the mountain on foot.
The path was littered with corpses. Most belonged to disciples of the Fire Worship Sect, though many lamas from Tubo's Lamaist order also lay among the dead. Clearly, despite being at a disadvantage, the Fire Worship Sect had fought to the bitter end without surrender, leaving both sides with devastating casualties.
As Fei Jin and his companions neared the summit, the sharp clang of clashing weapons suddenly echoed through the mountains. The fierce sounds of battle brought him a measure of relief.
"Since the fighting has not yet ended," he thought, "perhaps the lamas have not yet broken into the main hall."
The group immediately quickened their pace toward the battlefield.
Before the Hall of the Sacred Fire, the plaza was packed with warriors.
On the eastern side stood the smaller force. Most were drenched in blood, sitting or lying on the ground. They were the remaining disciples of the Fire Worship Sect.
The western side outnumbered them several times over and was divided into three formations.
At the center stood the Lamaist forces.
On the left were the warriors of the Nine Heavens Palace: Dragon Zhentian, the Divine Lord of the Nine Heavens; the Left and Right Envoys of Heaven and Earth, Li Han and Ling Yun; Elder Lin Ping, known as the Qilin Elder; and the Four Envoys of Heaven, Earth, Wind, and Thunder—Zhou Da, Xu Er, Sun San, and Ma Si.
On the right stood various martial artists from the Western Regions, including Prince Danba, Darius, and the twin sabers of the Great Desert, Aimaiti and Aimaiti.
The three armies had clearly formed a complete encirclement around the Fire Worship Sect.
With a quick glance, Fei Jin saw that the Fire Worship Sect Leader Li Ning, together with Dharma Kings Zhao Ke, Zhou Yu, Chu Ping, and Shi Ming, were all seated among their disciples. Judging from their appearance, every one of them had already been seriously wounded.
At the center of the plaza, two men were locked in fierce combat.
Li Jian focused his eyes upon them. Both fighters were unarmed, yet the force of their palm strikes generated violent gusts that reached several dozen feet away.
He recognized them immediately.
One was Dharma King Li Rui of the Manichaean Sect.
The other was Xu Sheng, the famed Thunderbolt Palm.
Their bodies flashed back and forth with astonishing speed. Suddenly, the four palms collided. In that instant, both men unleashed the full power of the internal energy they had cultivated throughout their lives.
Boom!
Li Rui staggered backward several steps before coughing up a mouthful of blood.
Xu Sheng looked coldly at him.
"You are a Dharma King of the Manichaean Sect. Why interfere on behalf of the Fire Worship Sect? Why involve yourself in this conflict? Leave the mountain while you still can."
Standing proudly with his robes billowing in the wind, Li Rui answered in a ringing voice,
"The Fire Worship Sect and the Manichaean Sect are brother faiths. When one's brother is in peril, the other must stand beside him. We would gladly take a knife between our ribs for our brothers. It is our duty."
His words rang with heroic conviction. Every syllable struck like metal against stone, stirring everyone present.
Xu Sheng nodded slightly.
"Dharma King Li Rui, your courage earns my respect. But today the Fire Worship Sect must surrender this place... otherwise..."
"...there will be no mercy."
At that moment, the outcome seemed all but decided.
Nearly every master of the Fire Worship Sect had either fallen or been wounded. Only Dharma King Li Rui remained to hold the line, and even he was gravely injured.
The destruction of the Fire Worship Sect appeared imminent.
Yet at this desperate moment, Sect Leader Li Ning showed no trace of fear.
Instead, he began chanting solemnly:
"Blazing Sacred Fire, Lord of Light.
Drive away the darkness and lead us into the light.
Practice virtue, cast aside evil, for the sake of the Holy Light.
Eternal Sacred Fire, have mercy upon the people!
Eternal Sacred Fire, have mercy upon the people!"
Every disciple of the Fire Worship Sect joined the prayer.
Their voices echoed throughout the valley.
Above them, the Eternal Sacred Flame that had burned for countless years atop the Hall of the Sacred Fire blazed even more fiercely.
At that very moment, several figures descended into the plaza.
Leading them was an elderly man dressed in ragged beggar's clothing. Though advanced in age, his majestic bearing inspired awe. His eyes shone with lightning-like brilliance as he thundered,
"Enough of your arrogance!"
The newcomer was none other than Fei Jin, Chief of the Beggars' Sect.
The moment Fei Jin spoke, every eye turned toward the ragged old man.
Whether they were masters from the Western Regions or warriors from Tubo, everyone was visibly startled.
The old beggar's appearance and astonishing martial presence left no room for doubt. Apart from the world-renowned Chief of the Beggars' Sect, there could be no one else.
Moreover, many of those present had crossed swords with him more than a decade earlier, when Fei Jin had overwhelmed numerous Western masters using nothing but his bare hands.
No one had expected that, at this critical juncture, the legendary Beggars' Sect Chief would once again appear with reinforcements.
His fame had spread throughout the martial world.
Though elderly, his martial arts remained peerless. His profound cultivation and immense prestige had long established him as one of the greatest grandmasters of his generation.
The two armies remained locked in tense confrontation across the plaza.
Before Xu Sheng could answer, a middle-aged monk clad in crimson robes stepped out from among the Lamaist ranks.
In a clear voice he declared,
"I am Dharma King Marpa. Why has the Beggars' Sect chosen to interfere on behalf of the Fire Worship Sect today?"
Fei Jin replied,
"Dharma King Marpa? If I remember correctly, your master was Guru Geleba, wasn't he?"
More than ten years had passed.
Marpa had never imagined that Fei Jin would still remember those events.
With an embarrassed expression, he answered,
"Guru Geleba is no longer my master. I now serve as Dharma King Marpa of the Red Sect."
Just then, two more figures descended into the plaza.
The elder among them shouted,
"Marpa! You have betrayed your master and your ancestors! You are ungrateful and faithless!"
The speaker was none other than Great Dharma King Aluosi of the Church of the East.
Standing behind him, Dharma King Alopen pointed accusingly at Marpa and shouted,
"Have you forgotten how your master, Guru Geleba, and your senior brother, Karmapa, fought to the death to save your life back then?"