CHAPTER 745: 620

Zhao Changsu sought help from Shi Pi the Elder, who was irritated because he couldn’t quickly subdue Atong and Li Ning.

He flung his horsetail whisk back, sending the Blood Flame Gold Saber flying over and enveloping Zhao Changsu, destroying his physical body in an instant.

With extreme grief and indignation, Zhao Changsu’s Primordial Spirit struggled within the blood flames, "You promised, as long as we worked for you, you wouldn’t kill us..."

Shi Pi the Elder shouted angrily, "You blockhead! Like a stupid pig or a slow ox, you can’t even subdue your own Lifebound Divine Demon. If I don’t destroy your physical body, they would’ve penetrated deep into your organs, ready to devour your soul and essence entirely!

Eventually, even your Primordial Spirit couldn’t escape, it would be torn apart and swallowed whole! Now that I’ve shattered your physical body, I’ll use the Asura Great Technique to merge your essence energy and divine blood, strengthening your Primordial Spirit to achieve a Lifebound Demon.

Then, by casting and offering sacrifices, these Demon Lords will submit to you, and you can help me fight our enemies. As long as we succeed this time, I’ll send you for reincarnation, guaranteeing a safe rebirth, and I’ll even subdue these demons for you!"

Hearing this, Zhao Changsu turned his anger into joy. These Demon Lords were both his aids and his shackles, and one day, they would become his doom.

Demons are for tempering!

Originally, the Buddhist translation meant ’to temper’, signifying the suffering and tribulation on the path of cultivation. Later, Emperor Wu of Liang changed it to include the character "ghost" in the term for demon.

Those on the Demon Path raise and refine such Demon Lords, driving Divine Demons, exploiting this demonic power to harm others, becoming the tribulations of others, but in the end, these will fall back on themselves. These Divine Demons torment others by a fraction but afflict the cultivator themselves even more.

The stronger the Demon Lord, the greater the repercussions, eventually becoming inseparable from one’s Primordial Spirit, possibly entangled for eternity, doomed to sink together. The torture they experience far exceeds the suffering they once inflicted on their victims by a hundredfold!

At his moment of distress, Zhao Changsu was unable to dominate those Demons, and the outcome could indeed be as Shi Pi the Elder described: being torn to shreds and digested. Even if he wanted to reincarnate, he couldn’t escape. Even with someone’s help for reincarnation, he would be hounded by these demons in the next life. And with the help of someone as supremely skilled as Shi Pi the Elder to tame these Demon Lords, his future was secure!

Shi Pi the Elder quickly executed the Asura Great Technique, continuously swinging the horsetail whisk, spitting out beams of blood light that he infused into Zhao Changsu’s Primordial Spirit.

The thirty-six Heavenly Gang Vajra Divine Demons whirled and fluttered about, moving up and down, incessantly attempting to pounce and tear Zhao Changsu’s Divine Soul to pieces, only to be blocked by Shi Pi with a Magical Treasure that turned into golden light.

Zhao Changsu’s Lifebound Divine rapidly grew within the Blood Flame, surging to dozens of feet tall, full of sharp teeth, and bearing a fierce visage.

Shi Pi the Elder manipulated the Five Mountains Divine Peaks with his left hand, attacking Atong and Li Ning, while with his right hand he quickly helped Zhao Changsu subdue the Demon Lords, intending to hurry him to assist the Golden God Monarch in dealing with Li Hong.

During this brief time, the Golden God Monarch was beaten by Li Hong to the point of scrambling for his teeth, crying out in agony, not only having mostly sacrificed the Magical Treasures he had cultivated over the years but also having a left hand blasted to pieces by the Boluo Divine Flame!

Zhao Changsu, in his Divine Demon body with his thirty-six subordinates, returned for another attack.

"You demon, it’s good that you’ve come back. If you had escaped, I would have to spend much more time finding you again. Today, I will ensure your complete destruction to prevent you from harming others in the future!"

Li Hong, outnumbered, still maintained the upper hand, pressing the attack against his opponents.

However, he gradually began to notice illusions appearing before his eyes!

This was also a result of his nine lifetimes of accumulated cultivation, as well as being taught by a master, upon his emergence into the world he received guidance from the eminent monk Tian Meng Zen Master, who had personally instructed him in his eight past lives.

Despite the illusions, his reaction was extremely quick, immediately realizing that he had been heavily schemed against by the Yin Demons. Yin Demons, formless and intangible unlike the physically imposing Vajra Divine Demons, could directly affect the heart, making them difficult to guard against.

It was then Li Hong realized, he had underestimated the two old demons he faced!

He quickly released the Golden Lotus Throne he had obtained from the Great Hero Treasure Vault, and feeling that was not safe enough, he also deployed the Xiangyun Treasure Cover given to him by his good friend, the fat reducing ascetic.

The Golden Lotus Dharma Seat unfurled layer upon layer of a thousand golden lotus petals, emitting plenty of Buddha Light that cloaked him tight. Surrounded by a halo of fragrant clouds and capped with the precious cover, he was protected as thoroughly as could be.

Yet, such defenses could only guard against tangible demons. Zhao Changsu, leading the thirty-six Vajra Divine Demons, rushed at him, and not even the fragrant clouds could be dispelled.

The Magical Treasures activated by the Golden God Monarch were even less effective, indeed unable to so much as scratch Li Hong.

However, the Yin Demons previously released by the Golden God Monarch had already taken root in Li Hong’s heart, influencing his mindset, as well as his Seven Emotions and Six Desires.

Strictly speaking, such Yin Demons can only target those whose mind and heart still have flaws.

Daoists in the Human Immortal stage can rid themselves of illness demons, achieving perpetual health. The Earth Immortals rid themselves of death demons, obtaining eternal life. Heavenly Immortals rid themselves of Yin Demons, and after the Primordial Spirit achieves Pure Yang, they are essentially immune to the invasion of Yin Demons.

This is also where Li Hong differs from Li Yingqiong and Qi Lingyun. In terms of mana, Li Hong is not the least bit inferior to Li Yingqiong and Qi Lingyun, perhaps even surpassing them slightly, and is far stronger than the likes of Yu Yingnan and Yan Renying.

But in terms of mindset, he always possessed a slight flaw. Buddhism, especially the Pure Land, preaches that anyone can be reborn within it across three generations and nine grades, provided they sincerely chant the Buddha’s name, so its requirements for one’s heart-mind are not as stringent as those of Daoism.

Having underestimated Zhao Changsu and the Golden God Monarch before, Shi Feiyang recognized that their actual abilities were indeed far inferior to his own. Yet, this Yin Demon was unexpectedly elusive, and while he previously focused on burning the opponent with the Boluo Divine Flame, almost killing Zhao Changsu in an instant and forcing the Golden God Monarch to flee in panic,

on the surface, it seemed he had the upper hand. But underhandedly, he had fallen into the Golden God Monarch’s trap, his heart-mind invaded by the Seven Emotions Yin Demon, carefully nurtured over a millennium.

Li Hong also realized things were amiss, promptly releasing the Golden Lotus Divine Seat and the Fragrant Cloud Treasured Cover.

Each of these Magical Treasures was formidable on its own, akin to a diamond shell. Even if Shi Feiyang were to come, he wouldn’t be able to break through them right away, let alone Zhao Changsu and the Golden God Monarch, those dullards.

They tried to attack from outside, using Demon Fire to burn and Yin Thunder to blast, numerous demons clawing and grabbing, but it was as effective as a tiger attempting to wipe a glass window, completely fruitless after much effort.

The distinguishing feature of Buddhist Spells is their exceptionally high defense; typically, once the Buddha Light is activated, no matter how ferocious the opponent, they are as ineffective as a dog biting a turtle, unable to gain any leverage.

Atong and Li Ning linked the Sandalwood Buddha Light together in an impenetrable barrier. Had it been anyone else, all of their efforts combined would not have been enough to make an impact; they could only stand by, watching and sighing in vain.

Shi Pi the Elder, with his profound Mana, managed to crush their Sandalwood Buddha Light with the Five Mountains Divine Peaks and engaged them in a duel.

Atong and Li Ning were no match for Shi Pi the Elder, nearly overpowered by the pressure of the Five Mountains Divine Peaks.

They grew anxious within, wondering why their eldest senior brother had not emerged yet. Without him, they could not stand against the Sect Hierarch of the Asura Sect!

Little did they know, Caiwei Monk Zhu Youmu, at that moment, was underground engaging in a duel with Shi Sheng.

Shi Sheng had previously left to clear his thoughts. His connection with Jile Perfected, Li Jingxu, was in fact not particularly intimate.

His maternal grandfather Lu Min didn’t even qualify as a nominal disciple; their interactions were limited to helping the family through one calamity.

Furthermore, Li Jingxu had always been closely aligned with the Emei Sect, especially with Master Changmei.

Li Ning was right in one aspect; their connection with Li Jingxu was indeed much closer.

But most importantly, the Bai Mei Zen Master and their Buddhist peers represented the orthodox Buddhist lineage and, for whatever reasons, would never oppress a disciple of Li Jingxu.

Shi Sheng ultimately decided he would seek out Chen Yan, speak to him face to face to clarify matters, and then respect his wishes—should Chen Yan choose to follow him, Shi Sheng would take him along; if not, he would remain, for his visit this time was to repay a favor to Jile Perfected, to save his successor, and help him through this tribulation. Since safety had been assured, he could leave with peace of mind.

With this plan in mind, Shi Sheng returned to Stone Tiger Mountain.

By that time, Shi Pi the Elder had arrived, and the opponents were engaged in a duel that literally ripped the heaven and split the earth.

He slipped underground, exploiting his Innate constitution, and moved silently along the earth’s veins, directly entering the other’s cave dwelling.

Stone Tiger Mountain was Zhu Youmu’s cave dwelling, where he had cultivated for several lifetimes. The interior chambers were not few in number, and after searching them, Shi Sheng quickly found Chen Yan, with Zhu Youmu at his side.

Shi Sheng saw that Zhu Youmu had restored all of Chen Yan’s past life memories and was persistently pressing him to reveal the whereabouts of the Three Lights Divine Water!

Chen Yan, visibly suppressing his anger, had sealed his own memories before his reincarnation, and they had now been unlocked, nearly nullifying his spiritual practice in this life!

At the very least, this would drastically diminish his progress, severely diminishing his chances of reaching Heavenly Immortal status—now even more unlikely, potentially leading to unto Soldier Disintegration and another reincarnation!

What enraged him more was that this man was demanding the relics left behind by his master’s Ascension!

Chen Yan had no clue about the secrets of the Three Lights Divine Water; he didn’t even know where the Treasure of the Cave, the Heavenly Silver Bottle, currently was.

Originally, on Jingxu’s orders, he only delivered one of the boxes to Shi Feiyang, unaware of its contents. He had never even heard of the Three Lights Divine Water!

Nor had he ever heard of the Star True Liquid.

Li Jingxu had arranged for Shi Feiyang to lead the Mysterious Sect in his stead, giving him the Silver Bottle and instructing him on combining the Three Lights Divine Water, primarily to deal with Chi You.

Already having cast spells to disrupt the Heavenly Number, the scheme was concealed to prevent others from deducing any traces related to this matter.

Thus, no one knew that the three ingredients needed to create the Three Lights Divine Water were all in Shi Feiyang’s possession, waiting for him to finish and fully concoct it.

Chen Yan, being ignorant of all this, and feeling pushed too hard by Zhu Youmu, couldn’t help but retort sharply.

The more they argued, the stiffer the atmosphere became, and Chen Yan intended to leave the place, but of course, Zhu Youmu wouldn’t allow it.