Chapter 24: The Mysterious Village (Part 1)

  Lü Wú Huò glanced at Hǎi Lóng with a hint of disdain, despite the latter's intimidating appearance under the Star Blue Armor. With her level of cultivation, she could clearly discern that Hǎi Lóng's abilities were extremely lowly. She couldn't help but say with contempt: "Not bad, you're right that we did capture him. But he's already been killed. There's one thing you got wrong, though - we belong to the great Demon Sect, so you should address me as 'Demoness', not 'Yao Girl'."

  Hailong's entire body shook violently, and he exclaimed in a voice that was almost lost: "What? You killed them. I...I'll fight you to the death!" With a sudden movement of his hand, the Blood Eight Trigrams shot out a beam of red light. The Vajra Mantra was only for defense against external forces, and it was only effective against evil creatures like demons and monsters. The red light pierced through the yellow light shield without any obstruction and flew straight towards Hailong's chest. Hailong didn't even move; he still had his head lowered, and when the red light reached his cloak, it seemed to disappear like melting ice and snow. Hailong let out a cold snort and said: "You think you can resist me? You're far from being my match." He turned his head to look at Hongzhi, who was still reciting the Buddhist incantation, and said: "Master, earlier when you used your Buddha powers to summon us, were you trying to deal with us? I must admit that your cultivation is deep, and this Vajra Mantra is indeed a powerful divine technique. However, with just one person's power, it's absolutely impossible for you to resist the six of us. Unless Wuyun comes in person, no one here can stop us. If Master leaves immediately, I might spare your life." In her eyes, the Vajra Mantra in front of her was emitting a vast Buddha power, which was the nemesis of the Demon Sect. Although she didn't think she would be weaker than that monk in terms of cultivation, if they really clashed, she might not have the upper hand. As the adopted daughter of the Demon Sect's leader, Hailong wouldn't easily give up on killing Hongzhi. She also saw Hongzhi as a disciple of the Mantra Sect, and with his cultivation surpassing that of the Mantra Sect's founder, if she could kill him when he was alone, it would be a great achievement. Her reason for telling Hongzhi to leave was mainly to find an opening to launch a surprise attack.

  "Amitabha, the donor is being too serious. Since ancient times, good and evil cannot coexist. My master once taught me that when facing an evil person, even if it means sacrificing my physical body, I must not compromise easily. The donor's magical powers are indeed strong, but I am no match for them. However, if you think you can make me leave, that is absolutely impossible. Buddha said: All phenomena are illusory. If one sees all phenomena as non-phenomena, then one sees the Tathagata."

  Golden light suddenly burst forth, and the eighteen Buddhist crystal beads on Hongzhi's head began to spin rapidly. Under the interweaving golden light, a golden Tathagata appeared in mid-air, and the air suddenly became silent. The Tathagata sat on top of the Vajra mantra, with his palms first clasped together and then separating, two beams of golden light suddenly expanding and shooting towards Liu Wuyue and the others.

  Mo Yu's whole body shook, and she involuntarily exclaimed: "The Tathagata Curse, isn't this already lost?" As she spoke, a black longsword floated out, and under her guidance, the black ripples quickly formed seven seals in front of her. The five people behind her almost simultaneously took out their own magical instruments, and the black light suddenly surged, rigidly meeting the golden light emitted by the Tathagata's Dharma form.

  By the power of the Tathagata mantra, a pure and majestic Buddha's power emerged between heaven and earth. The dark magic released by the six people, including Rie Wuyou, collided with this Buddha's power but couldn't stop the golden light from advancing even slightly. Although the black glow seemed powerful, as soon as it came into contact with the golden light, it quickly dissipated like melting ice.

  Rie Wuyou whispered to himself that something was wrong and loudly shouted: "Look at the Dharma Treasure, fix the Heavenly Shield!" A gigantic dark blue shield appeared just in time to block the golden light that was about to hit Rie Wuyou and his companions. With a loud explosion, the golden light disappeared, and Rie Wuyou's group flew back over 100 meters.

  Hongzhi didn't fare well either; the glow of the Tathagata Dharma form in mid-air dimmed slightly, and a thread of blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. The six people on the other side were elite members of the Demon Sect, each with cultivation that was not inferior to Hongzhi's. He could only barely hold his own against them by relying on the restrictive Buddhist methods, the powerful Buddha instrument, and the continuous chanting of the Prajna mantra by hundreds of devout villagers.

  Hailong anxiously watched Hongzhi but couldn't intervene at all. He tentatively launched a few attacks using the Blood Eight Trigrams, but Rie Wuyou's group seemed to ignore them, and the red glow couldn't cause even minor damage to them.

  A furious voice shouted from behind him, "Good bald donkey, looking for death. The Devil's Sea has no shore, and the flames of Yu Huo will burn your body." A small white bottle appeared in front of him, like a jade pendant. The black-clothed man pointed his sword at Hongzhi, and a chain-like purple flame floated down, gently falling onto the Vajra Mantra. This was the black-clothed man's demonic fire, refined from his own Samadhi True Fire and infused with lustful energy. Although it couldn't break through the Vajra Mantra's boundary, it still put considerable pressure on Hongzhi. With a wave of his right hand, the Bodhi Bowl that Haicheng had seen earlier appeared, gently falling into the empty space within the Buddha's Dharma Body. Supported by the Bodhi Bowl, the Buddha's Dharma Body suddenly shone brighter. The purple flames were suppressed by the Buddha's light and instantly dimmed.

  Mo Wuju's expression turned grave as soon as she saw the Bodhi Bowl, knowing that even if Guo Xiangchen were to come in person, the Buddhist artifact he would use might not be as powerful as the one this monk possessed. If she allowed him to continue cultivating, he would eventually become a thorn in the side of the Demon Sect. With a surge of murderous intent, she said in a low voice, "Five Demonic Spears, attack with all your might and kill." After giving the order, she stepped back with her hands clasped behind her back. Upon receiving her command, the Five Demonic Spears burst forth with a massive amount of dark energy, their demonic powers surging forward.

  He released the alms bowl, and Hong Zhi felt a slight reduction in pressure. He turned his head to transmit a message to Hai Long: "Big brother, these demons are too powerful, I'm afraid I won't be able to handle them. Later, I'll try my best to hold on, you take the villagers here and hurry up and run away. If we can make it back to our Lianyun Sect in time, maybe we can still escape with our lives. Big brother, I know your cultivation level is not high, but these past few days, you've taught me a lot of things and been very good to me. I'm willing to sincerely acknowledge you as my big brother. If the Buddha takes me today, don't be sad."

  After finishing speaking, he swung his sleeve and used his Buddhist powers to lift Hai Long's body off the golden lotus. With both hands forming a seal, he slowly pushed upwards, and his Buddhist powers surged out. The Tathagata's Dharma form suddenly appeared in the air, and Hong Zhi's monk robes puffed up like a balloon, clearly having raised his cultivation to its limits.

  "The Tathagata is the true nature of all phenomena. Protecting and supporting is done with the Prajna Paramita method. The Tathagata protects and supports all Bodhisattvas with this method. Entrusting is done by the Tathagata using the Prajna Paramita method, entrusting Mahasthamaprapta and other great Bodhisattvas to protect and support all practitioners with Prajna wisdom, not allowing them to mistakenly give rise to love or hate, be tainted by the six external dusts, and fall into the sea of suffering. In their own minds, they constantly maintain correct mindfulness, not allowing evil thoughts to arise. The self-nature is the Tathagata, naturally protecting and supporting itself."

  The Tathagata's Dharma form moved in response to his fundamental mantra, and with both hands holding up the alms bowl, a strong golden light appeared, making it impossible for people to open their eyes.

  At this time, the five demon leaders simultaneously took action, and the five magic instruments mixed with their vast magical powers whizzed in, all sorts of illusions appeared outside the Vajra mantra boundary. Hongzhi pointed his hand at the sky again, and a loud Sanskrit chanting sound came out of the Tathagata's mouth, under the protection of the golden light, the demon leaders' magic instruments were unable to advance an inch, and under the influence of the pure Buddha power, the five magic instruments all trembled slightly. The five demon leaders simultaneously changed their faces, each pinching their hands in a spell seal, using all their might to urge the magical powers into the magic treasures.

  Hong Zhi's face revealed a hint of weirdness, although from an individual perspective, any one of the five demons was not his opponent, but they were almost evenly matched. The combined efforts of the five, even under the suppression of Buddhism, would be difficult for him to withstand. Suddenly, Hong Zhi looked up at the sky and shot out a mouthful of blood arrows, which suddenly splashed onto the Buddhist crystal rosary in mid-air, as if everything between heaven and earth had come to a standstill.

  "Boom——" Under the joint explosion of Buddha Crystal Beads and Bodhi Bowl, the five powerful magic instruments emitted by the Five Demons were actually crushed to powder, and the five people simultaneously suffered a severe shock, each spitting out a mouthful of black blood. In comparison, Hongzhi was even more miserable, with the Golden Lotus under his seat completely dissolving into tiny lights drifting in the air, the Tathagata's appearance disappearing, and even the Vajra Mantra's barrier becoming dull and lightless. The two Buddhist instruments returned to his hands at the same time, and he was now relying solely on a small amount of residual energy to support his body from falling down. Being able to severely injure the Five Demons alone was something to be proud of.

  With a sudden burst of anger, he flashed in front of the five devils, his hands grasping, and a black, arrow-shaped treasure with purple lightning fell down. The Vajra Mantra's seal was instantly shattered without any magical support, and the arrow-shaped treasure rushed straight to Hongzhi's chest without stopping. A hint of despair appeared on Hongzhi's face, and he barely managed to gather two Buddhist instruments in front of him, clasped his hands together, and closed his eyes. He had almost given up resisting, exhausted as a lamp with no more oil.

  At this moment, a blue figure leaped high into the air, dashing towards Hongzhi with lightning speed. A small black iron rod stood upright, rigidly blocking the arrow-shaped magic treasure. This sudden appearance was none other than Hailong. Earlier, after being flung away by Hongzhi's Buddha power, his heart had been completely shaken. He thought numbly, his mind filled with chaotic thoughts. Hongzhi knew that his cultivation wasn't high, ah! He should have known. With his cultivation, how could he not see through it? But he still wanted to act as if he was the big brother, and pretend to be a good person. But what about himself? He just wanted to use him. Various negative emotions continued to erode Hailong's heart. At this moment, a strange change had occurred, the Vajra Mantra had been broken, and Hongzhi was on the verge of being killed by Luoyinwu. Hot blood surged up instantly, Hailong's brain became feverish, and he could no longer care about considering anything else. With determination, he activated all his magic powers, blocking the attack in front of Hongzhi.

  The spindle-shaped magic treasure and the small iron rod collided suddenly, and the vast magical power instantly filled the entire village. The roofs of many houses were lifted by this powerful force, and even the dust on the ground was stirred up.

  In the midst of astonishment, the dart-shaped magic treasure returned to Ruo Wu's hand. The dust gradually dispersed, and Hong Zhi stood stupidly on the ground, holding a blood-soaked Ha Long in his arms. Ruo Wu's cultivation was already equivalent to the Unfallen Realm in the Cultivation World. Under that powerful blow, Ha Long's meridians were severed, and his chest glowed with silver light as the Inverse Heaven Mirror burst forth at the last moment. However, due to Ha Long's extremely weak magic, it could only barely protect his internal organs, preventing him from suddenly dying. Blood spurted out of his mouth in large gulps, and Ha Long's consciousness was already somewhat dazed. Nevertheless, a hint of a relieved smile appeared on his face. His eyes gazing blankly at Hong Zhi, he muttered: "Little...Zhi, I...I...finally saved you...one life, this big brother also...counts as...doing his job well, right? You...you...take care of yourself." After finishing speaking, his head lolled to one side, and he instantly fainted.

  Although Hong Zhi's Buddhist practice had reached the realm of "ancient well without ripples", he was now crying with tears streaming down his face. He desperately poured his remaining Buddha power into the body of the sea dragon, but it was like a wild goose flying in the void, having no effect whatsoever.

  Lü Wu Xian gazed at the silver light on the chest of the sea dragon and exclaimed with joy: "So it was this little guy who killed Mo Kuai! It's really 'treading on iron shoes without searching for a place', getting something without putting in any effort! Getting back the Inverted Heaven Mirror, Father will definitely be very happy. Unfortunately, this little guy has already died under the Purple Electric Arrow."

  Muttering to himself, Lü Wu Xian floated down and reached out with his hand to grab the sea dragon from Hong Zhi's arms.

  It turned out that after receiving the order of Mo Zong's sect master, Lü Tian, Lü Wu Xian immediately led the five demon slayers to launch a search for the sea dragon's trail on the road from Fan Xin Zong to Lian Yun Zong. However, several months passed, and no matter how they exerted their divine powers, they still couldn't find any trace of the sea dragon.

  Lü Wu Xian was extremely intelligent and suddenly thought that the sea dragon had taken a detour to return home. He immediately led the five demon slayers to Lian Yun Zong's vicinity.

  Originally, she wanted to probe into the virtual reality of Lian Yun Zong, but the Lian Yun mountain range was covered by a vast array of laws, which was not something she could enter with her abilities. Helpless, she could only wait nearby.

  The small village in the Western Regions where the sea dragon was born caught Lü Wu Xian's attention. In his boredom, he led the five demon slayers to select several talented young men from here and had them sent back to Mo Zong by his subordinates. Among them was Zhang Huan, the best friend of the sea dragon, who happened to be one of the most outstanding ones.

  Hong Zhi was already powerless to resist, he suddenly turned his body over and used his back to meet Ruo Wu Yu's palm. Ruo Wu Yu slightly stiffened, and his body momentarily paused. At this moment, a sudden change occurred. Without any warning, between Ruo Wu Yu and Hong Zhi, a figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was a figure similar to Ruo Wu Yu, shrouded in a cloak, only shorter and more hunched. With a light swing of his sleeve, Ruo Wu Yu felt an unstoppable wave of energy wash over him, and before he could even react, his body had already been knocked back into the air.

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