Once his transformation was complete, his entire form resembled a giant bear.

Then, with a roar, he dropped to all fours and addressed us: "Old House, located on Sang Mountain, is over a hundred li from here. If we walk, we definitely won't make it in time. All of you, get on my back!"

I finally understood his intention: he wanted to serve as our mount, carrying us to the Old House.

At this point, Number 2 interjected, "You are injured, so such strenuous exertion is ill-advised. If we need to travel quickly, there are other methods."

Hearing this, Da Zhu’s body slowly began to shrink, and he asked curiously, "What method? Tell me about it!"

Number 2 glanced at me and said, "My weight is 65 kilograms, and Number 10's psychic power can move a maximum of 10 tons. This means that at full running speed, he can throw me a thousand meters."

After hearing that, I quickly calculated, "It might be more than 1000 meters, perhaps even 2000 meters, but no one can withstand that kind of pressure. You would die."

Number 2 shook his head and asked, "What is the signature technique of the Shaolin Temple? Can you name it?"

I paused in thought and replied, "Iron Head Skill, Yi Jin Jing?"

Number 2 laughed, "You missed one: the Golden Bell Shield and Iron Cloth Shirt. The Shaolin Eighteen Bronze Men practice exactly this. This skill, which hardens the skin using qigong, can reach levels harder than steel. So, just throw me casually."

Da Zhu exclaimed, "That is best. If Number 2 can get there first, it would be the best possible outcome."

At this, I smiled, "It's not just Number 2 going first; we are all going together."

Da Zhu was stunned and asked, "Huh? What do you mean?"

I deliberately played coy and said, "You'll know soon enough."

With that, I mobilized every bit of my psychic power, forming a massive, invisible hand in the air.

Number 2 sensed the presence of this giant hand and flipped himself up onto it.

I asked, "Are you ready?"

Number 2 nodded but said nothing.

Seeing his composed confidence, I gritted my teeth and began to run at maximum speed.

When I reached top velocity, I swung my arm and hurled Number 2 forward.

The sheer force was comparable to a bullet leaving a barrel. There was a whoosh as he broke the air, and Number 2 was launched like a rocket, his black robe whipping in the wind, moving faster than a falcon. After five or six seconds, he traced a beautiful parabola across the wasteland and began to descend rapidly toward the ground.

At that moment, Number 12 said, "Hold onto my hands."

Da Zhu, carrying Old Man Li on his back, and I, carrying Number 2's pack, each grasped one of Number 12's hands. Just as Number 2 was about to hit the ground, our vision blurred, and suddenly we appeared precisely where he was about to land.

Having swapped places, Number 2 was now a kilometer away, and he quickly started running back toward us.

Perhaps due to practicing a special Shaolin technique, Number 2's running speed was abnormal.

Even so, it would take him about five minutes to catch up to us.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, we continued moving forward, waiting for Number 2 to arrive.

Da Zhu commented, "I never expected the three of you to have such coordination. That was quite the idea!"

I laughed heartily and replied, "As long as you dare to think it, there is nothing you cannot achieve."

As we spoke, we had already advanced another five hundred meters. At this point, Number 2 caught up again, and we repeated the previous method: throwing him out and swapping places.

As a result, we covered the hundred-li distance in just over forty minutes.

Moreover, when we arrived at the foot of the mountain, we were all calm and composed, showing not the slightest sign of exhaustion.

Looking up at the continuous range of peaks before us, we noticed a strange phenomenon.

These mountains shared a common characteristic: the slopes facing us were utterly barren—the stones cracked, the earth parched, appearing as if they had been an arid desert for many years.

Yet, looking over the crest of the mountain to the other side, we could vaguely discern dense vegetation, and we seemed to hear the sound of water coming from that direction.

I thought that the other side of the mountain must be like the mountains in many southern regions—lush green, with gurgling streams, a world teeming with diverse life.

What kind of force could have transformed these mountains like this? Could it be the climate?

I didn't believe it; a single mountain range couldn't cause such a drastic climatic difference between its two sides.

Perhaps this could happen on towering mountains exceeding four thousand meters in altitude, but the peaks before us wouldn't exceed five hundred meters above sea level. They were more like high slopes than true mountains.

After gazing up from the base for a while, we spotted numerous structures on the slopes. We could even make out dried terraced fields and roads that were now difficult to discern.

It seemed Da Zhu was right; this place must have been a village before, and judging by the few Western-style buildings, it must have been a very affluent village once.

Seeing this, I thought the Six-Armed Bodhisattvas were truly malicious, turning a well-to-do village into a desolate ruin steeped in deathly stillness.

At this, I turned to Da Zhu and asked, "Right, you still haven't told me exactly how those Six-Armed Bodhisattvas transformed the village? Besides turning the well water poisonous, what other methods did they use?"

In reality, the question was redundant, as those black-furred monsters were already formidable enough in their incomplete form. Once fully grown into Six-Armed Bodhisattvas, their power would surely have escalated further.

Da Zhu then explained, "Six-Armed Bodhisattvas are inauspicious beings born from Yin energy. Their very existence brings misfortune to a village. Any village inhabited by a Six-Armed Bodhisattva is doomed to crop failure, constant natural disasters, and people falling ill with strange diseases. There was a case where the entire populace of a village went mad."

"Not only that, but those Six-Armed Bodhisattvas have bodies as supple and tough as tree limbs. Their six arms can all wield weapons, making them virtually unmatched when fighting."

"Most critically, besides spreading misfortune and curses, these creatures can deploy many bizarre spells, making them exceedingly difficult to deal with."

Number 12 then asked, "If you compare the strength of a Six-Armed Bodhisattva to the Rank 9 individuals, where would they rank?"

Da Zhu didn't hesitate, sighing as he replied, "I regrettably inform you that every single Six-Armed Bodhisattva is stronger than Rank 5, and that's not counting any mutants among them."

Hearing this, we collectively gasped.

This was because the Rank 9 Da Zhu knew referred not to our generation, but to the stronger generation before us. A Rank 5 from that era was probably comparable to our current Rank 3.

If that were true, then if either I or Number 12 encountered one of those beings alone, it would be certain death!

Seeing the worry on my face, Da Zhu seemed to want to comfort me, saying, "However, for some reason, what has appeared recently are only the incomplete forms—monsters like me who can only grow black fur. Once the Six-Armed Bodhisattvas fully form, they leave this place to cause destruction elsewhere. I haven't seen a true Six-Armed Bodhisattva in a long time. So we only need to concentrate on dealing with the Toad King."

Number 12 interjected, "Even if all the Six-Armed Bodhisattvas aren't in the village now, what about the one that originally destroyed this mountain village? Where did it end up?"

Upon hearing this, Da Zhu paused and said, "That one..."

Before he could finish, Number 12 suddenly exclaimed, "Could it be that thing standing behind us?"

At his words, we all turned our heads simultaneously, just in time to see a bizarre creature standing unnervingly on a small rise not far behind us.

The thing stood about three meters tall, but its legs alone accounted for nearly two meters. These legs were extremely slender and long, resembling two sticks.

In contrast, its short upper body sported six abnormally thick arms, each bulging with muscle, holding a collection of damaged items like a broken short sword, a hoe, and a sickle, which it wielded ceaselessly.

On its face, we saw none of the legendary benevolent Bodhisattva countenance; instead, it wore a square, white mask. Strange patterns were drawn on the mask with black lines, resembling a sacrificial mask used by some ancient civilization.

Seeing us turn, the thing emitted no sound, but its body twitched slightly as if a hidden mechanism had been wound up, and then it slowly descended the slope on its spindly legs.

I noted that every step it took seemed strenuous, its slender legs looking as if they might snap at any moment under the weight of its upper body.

I thought to myself, how powerful could something so unstable be? It couldn't even stand steady!

Just as I was thinking this, the entity moved with an utterly inconceivable action.

It abandoned its cumbersome legs entirely and used its six arms to support itself on the ground. Then, leveraging the slope of the hill, it began to roll like a wheel.

However, unlike normal rolling, its speed was astonishing. Coupled with the constant swinging of the weapons in its hands, the whole mass resembled a rapidly moving meat grinder.

Seeing its ferocious momentum, Da Zhu's face changed dramatically. "Everyone be careful! This thing is a mutant Six-Armed Bodhisattva! It's extremely powerful."

As soon as he finished speaking, the rolling speed intensified, and a strange, eerie purple flame ignited around its rapidly spinning exterior.

Noticing the eerie nature of the flames, we all retreated, trying to evade it.

But at that moment, the rolling wheel seemed to target Da Zhu's position and abruptly bore down on him.

Seeing Da Zhu in mortal danger, I urgently channeled my psychic power, trying to push the wheel away.

But to my utter shock, the wheel was completely unaffected when struck by my psychic force.

I thought, could its weight have surpassed 12 tons?!