Tome Godfrey and the Buddhist Door

The dome of the heavens was covered with dark clouds, they stretched endlessly towards the horizon and they rumbled occasionally with lightning and thunder.

Drizzling rain fell down from the sky and fog permeated the surroundings, only making it possible to see a hundred meters forward, no more than that.

Inside a lush jungle, there lay an inconspicuous cottage.

The cottage seemed otherworldly, with flowers and plants decorating it.

All sorts of cute, small and petite animals could be seen huddling up together under the roof tiles, enjoying each other's warmth and hiding from the rain.

Inside the cottage, there was a young man laying on a couch next to a fireplace.

Oak wood was burning, heating up the place.

The young man's appearance was something out of a painting, he was extremely handsome.

He had long black hair that draped over his shoulders, slanted eyebrows, a gentle expression and a nonchalant gaze. If any girls encounters this young man, she would almost immediately fall in love with him.

Some would even say the word 'handsome' was invented solely to describe his appearance.

The aura and feelings the young man exudes is something indescribable that only served to increase his handsomeness and attractiveness.

Currently, the young man was using a hand cloth to clean a longsword. He gently swiped it left and right, making sure not a single speck of dust was on his blade until it sparkled.

After feeling that he sufficiently cleaned his longsword, he put it aside and stood up from his seat. The wind coming from the open windows fluttered his white robes lightly, his hair swayed gently as well, making the scene seem almost from a fairy tale.

The young man turned his gaze towards the window, looking into god knows where.

His eyes held a certain tone of melancholy to it, he stayed just like that silently for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, then he sighed heavily.

"Looks like one of my descendants and heirs are entrapped somewhere beyond my senses, but I can guess the general direction..."

Suddenly, a look of surprise could be seen on his face, "Oh? My descendant, Dustin, had a breakthrough as a Ki Refiner."

The young man chuckled, "Looks like the clan will be having a new elder today."

The Godfrey Clan was an ancient powerhouse established by none other than Rank 7 True Immortal Godfrey.

True Immortal Godfrey was an absolutely terrifying figure of the legends, his power alone shook the entire world. His name is feared and revered by many, and is immortalized in books and legends for eternity.

As for the moment, no one have heard of his illustrious name for thousands of years, it is unknown whether he is dead or alive.

However, it is a widely known fact that he had seven children.

Each one of them cultivated up to the sixth rank as both a Ki Refiner and Body Forger.

They were terrifying figures in their own rights, shaking up the entire Southern Domain and even some parts of the surrounding continents. Unfortunately four died, with the remaining three being unable to breakthrough to the seventh rank.

This young man is called Tome, he is an early-stage Rank Six Body Forger and Ki Refiner, one of the three of True Immortal Godfrey's children and the weakest one amongst them.

Dustin and William are amongst his descendants.

Opus is the eldest son of True Immortal Godfrey, he possesses an unfathomable cultivation base and is a peak-stage Rank Six cultivator.

He is the patriarch of the Godfrey Clan and his descendants are referred to as the primary bloodline members.

As for the other one, Timber, he did not leave behind any descendants or children. He is also a middle-stage Rank Six cultivator but unlike Opus and Tome, he does not involve himself with the affairs of the clan.

Together, these three brothers are the backbones and foundation of the Godfrey Clan. They are the deterrent force that serves to inspire fear and awe into the hearts of other powerhouses, and without them, the Godfrey Clan would not be as powerful or as awe-inspiring as it is today.

Tome walked forward towards the door, he exited his cottage and flew up into the sky.

"I've heard my entrapped descendant has top-grade spiritual roots, with enough nurturing he definitely has a shot at the fifth rank if not the sixth rank. As for his father Dustin, he is promising enough. He is already a Rank Four Ki Refiner and a Rank Three Body Forger, sooner or later he will become a Rank Five powerhouse."

Sonic booms echoed throughout the surroundings as Tome transformed into a rainbow-colored prismatic beam heading towards the location where Dustin and William were at, disturbing the flora and fauna of this safe haven.

"But he is too weak, he will certainly perish if he agitates these monks and buddhists. I should intervene."

Sooner or later, Tome disappeared into the horizons.

...

..

.

The spiraling staircase was darker than darkness itself.

It was pitch black with no light whatsoever.

William had to rely on Noy's heightened senses and 'immortal' intitution in order to not stumble and fall down.

They did not bring any torches or any form of light with them to avoid bringing attention and getting caught.

Pitter-patter. Pitter-patter.

William's light footsteps could be heard within the darkness. He and Noy had been descending the staircase for almost ten minutes and yet they still didn't see the exit.

Judging from the speed they were going at, William guessed they are at least four hundred meters underground. Which in no way shape or form reassured him of the situation, after all they were supposed to go up and escape, not go down.

However, Noy insisted that they keep going down.

"William, keep following behind me. I sense a strong calling from this place.", this is what Noy said. According to him, his 'immortal' senses and intuitions are telling him to go this way, if they went the opposite way, they'll certainly perish.

Fortunately quite some time passed and Noy replenished a little bit of his divine power, allowing him to unleash his divine abilities and powers at least one time.

This greatly increased their chances of survival, because Noy can use that tiny bit of divine power reserves to cast a defensive-type divine ability, a movement-type divine ability or simply engage in reconnaissance, scouting the enemy ahead of time and avoiding him in the process.

After what it felt like an eternity for William, they finally reached the bottom.

What lay in front of them was a large, extended hallway with two oil lamps hanging on the sides.

At the end of the hallway could be seen an old Buddhist temple door, decorated with dragons, clouds and the Buddha.

The door was quite extraordinary, the hinges and the lock were made of adamantite. A mythical material that transcended mortal-type ores, it was found in the deepest levels of the earth and in order to mine and forge it, very special equipment is needed.

Thankfully, Noy was a Body Forger of the first rank. His divine body allowed him to unleash physical prowess beyond human comprehension, he can rip metal apart with his bare hands.

To him, although adamantite metal is very hard to tear apart, with enough time, effort and a bit of divine power, he can manage to do so.

However, for now, both Noy and William acted very low-key.

If they wanted to survive this endeavor, they had to think rationally and take every step cautiously.

They took a seat in front of the door, and both studied the art painted on it.

Upon recognizing the Buddha, William let out a surprised gasp. He pointed towards the peaceful figure who is seated cross-legged and asked Noy, "Noy, who is that person?"

"That's Siddhartha Gautama of the Buddhist Sangha, a very powerful figure of the Southern Domain whose influence once affected the five continents. The major powers were not happy with what he was doing and thus, banished him to the Demon Continent alongside his followers. Today, their influence is almost non-existence.", Noy explained casually.

Hearing Noy's reply, William put on a pondering expression as multiple thoughts flitted across his mind.

Who was that black figure that abducted them? He certainly did not look like a Buddha, the same goes for that white-haired man so what's their relation with the Buddhist Sangha?

Why did Noy's senses lead them to this place instead of the outside world, perhaps they could find safety hiding here? Should they proceed and open the door forcibly or stay in this place, waiting for rescue?

'Agghhhhh!!!', William ruffled his golden hair in distress. He looked towards Noy expectantly, perhaps his personal guard would come up with a solution, alas Noy also looked towards his young master expectantly.

Both sighed at the same time.

"Noy, break this door for me.", William put on a resolute expression as he ordered.

The most sensible choice would be to wait here and at least wait for Noy to recover his divine powers, however the kidnappers could catch up to them at any second. Perhaps the ruckus that was happening outside stopped, and the white-haired man went back.

Once that happens, the kidnappers would search the entire place thoroughly, after all both William and Noy had nowhere to hide.

So, when you think about it, the only choice they had was to go forward and hope for a miracle to happen.

Noy knew this as well, and therefore did not question his young master.

However, before breaking the door. Noy mustered all the divine power he had and casted one of his divine abilities.

His fingers went in various incantation gestures as his body glowed in golden color.

"Divine Ability [Lesser Heightened View]"

The golden glow expanded in size and seeped through the ancient buddhist door, exploring the other side of the room thoroughly to make sure there are no threats.

This is an investigative, scouting-type divine ability that relies back everything the golden glow touches to the caster.

After gathering enough information, Noy opened his eyes, within them there was a tinge of gold that went away almost as soon as it appeared.

Because he depleted all his divine power, a tired expression could be seen on his face, but that did not stop him from moving closer towards the door.

The door was locked in place due to a long adamantite bolt secured by a padlock. The hinges were too made of adamantite, but they were far too small for Noy to pull them apart.

Noy's gaze changed from the hinges to the padlock.

"Young master, please stay back."

William nodded as he took a few steps backward. He occasionally looked behind towards the stairs in fear someone may appear unexpectedly.

"This is going to make a lot of noise, but we have no choice.", William sighed.

Noy clenched his hand into a fist, he's a Body Forger who is adept at close-combat and martial arts. His speciality lay in fist-orientated techniques and punches, he figured it'd be way easier to blast the padlock into smithereens with a punch than tear it apart with his bare hands.

Against materials such as adamantite and orichalcum, brute-force is the way to go. Using soft approaches will have no results even if you were a powerful cultivator.

WHOOOOSH!

Noy had a solemn expression on his face, his fist was sent towards the padlock at unbelievable speeds.

BOOM!

The hallway shook and the light of the oil lamps threatened to die out, the shockwaves from Noy's punch made William lose his balance, almost resulting him in falling to the ground.

As for the padlock, it was bent slightly and some cracks could even be seen on the surface.

Punching was his speciality, if he tried tearing the shackles apart in hopes of breaking the locking bar, the results would clearly not be as prominent as this.

"Tsk.", clearly Noy was not happy despite almost breaking an adamantite padlock.

He backed a step away and took a punching stance, seeing this, William braced himself for impact as Noy went in for another round.

POW!

BOOM!

POW!

The hallway shook three more times, after three punches, the padlock became pieces of metal as it fell on the ground. Almost nothing remained of it.

William looked in astonishment towards Noy, clearly amazed by the immense physical prowess of Body Forgers.

"Amazing, almost nothing remained of that lock.", William complimented as he grabbed a piece of adamantite scrap from the ground and shoved it in his pocket.

This was an entirely new material exclusive only to this world, he wanted to study it sufficiently once he returns back home.

"Hmph, this is nothing. If I had a tiny bit of divine power, even this door would stand no chance in front of my prowess.", Noy raised his chin as he shamelessly complimented himself.

William rolled his eyes as he hurriedly said, "We made quite the disturbance, we should hurry and enter."

After dismantling the adamantite bolt and picking it up, both William and Noy entered the room.