Free Web NovelChapter 89: Chapter 62: Thousand Jin Dharma Qi Sea, Refining Demons in an Instant
The wind howled, and the sea of clouds stretched into infinity.
Xuzhuang gracefully glided across the mountain’s suspended path, reaching the opposite peak in moments. He emerged from a pavilion, expecting to see more lush greenery, but as he rounded a corner, he was met with an unexpected sight: unending snowfall blanketing the pines and cypresses, a hundred-li expanse of pure white.
Xuzhuang took two steps back and looked over his shoulder. It was no illusion, nor had the world itself been transformed. Behind this peak, it was still spring. Before it lay a magnificent, snow-capped range.
Slightly surprised, Xuzhuang remarked with admiration, "What a remarkable sight." He didn’t linger, however, and continued forward. Soon, through the flurrying snow, a pagoda appeared at the end of the mountain path.
The pagoda stood five stories tall and was made entirely of wood, with pillars carved in wave patterns and beams painted with the trigrams Kan and Li. It had an ancient, simple look, lacking the brilliant glow of other treasures, yet it possessed a natural solemnity.
Before he even neared the pagoda, Xuzhuang heard strange noises coming from within. It sounded like wood-boring ants gnawing away, or perhaps some beast mindlessly grinding its sharp teeth against metal. His expression shifted. Suppressing his aura, he floated silently to the pagoda’s entrance and stepped inside.
The moment he entered, he was surprised to find the first floor in complete disarray. All manner of shelves and wall niches were overturned on the ground, bearing traces of restrictive spells being broken by brute force. It looked as if it had been plundered by some crude thug ignorant of the ways of magic.
Xuzhuang ascended to the second floor. His gaze hardened. The scene was much the same as the floor below, with one difference: a few display stands here were still intact, though it was clear they were only moments away from being destroyed.
On these stands were precious materials and Magical Artifacts, each shimmering with its own light. However, perched on each one was a short, stunted demon—with no eyes, no nose, and no ears, only a mouth filled with sharp teeth—gnawing relentlessly at the protective spells.
With his aura concealed, Xuzhuang went unnoticed by the demons, who continued their ceaseless gnawing. After a short while, one of the demons chewed through a spell. It pounced excitedly onto the display stand, not caring that it knocked it to the ground, and snatched the treasure within before wobbling its way up to the next floor.
Xuzhuang raised an eyebrow, a cold smirk touching the corner of his lips. He ignored these little demons hard at their work and continued upward.
He moved quickly, passing through the third and fourth floors. The layout of each was the same as below, confirming that this pagoda was a storehouse for Magical Artifacts and precious materials. The higher he went, the fewer treasures there were, but their brilliance was more dazzling and the protective spells were naturally more profound. Demons were gnawing away everywhere, but their master was nowhere to be seen.
In no hurry, Xuzhuang calmly ascended to the fifth floor. As expected, two people were already there, personally using their magic to break the spells on the fifth-floor treasures. He heard one of them say with great impatience, "Strange. Why are the spells on this fifth floor so much stronger than the ones below?"
The other person replied, "Fellow Daoist Tantai, the fifth floor holds either Perfect Magical Artifacts, secretly refined treasures, or Celestial Materials and Jade. It’s only natural that the spells are stronger..."
This man wore a black Daoist Robe and carried a large banner with a black sun emblem on his back. He was sitting cross-legged before a treasure rack, casting a spell to break its protection. As it happened, he was facing the stairwell. His eyes met Xuzhuang’s as the latter calmly ascended the steps. The man’s entire body trembled, and his eyes filled with terror. "Xuzhuang!"
The moment Xuzhuang set foot on the fifth floor, his gaze fell upon this man, and he heard him cry out in terror, "Xuzhuang!"
Without a moment’s hesitation, the man hastily formed a Magic Formula with his hands, leaped to the side, and enveloped himself in a sudden black wind. He smashed through a window and flew out of the pagoda. The rumbling sound of thunder and fire from the anti-flight spell outside could be heard, but the Daoist didn’t even cry out, enduring the blasts as he fled for his life.
Xuzhuang had seen this man once before, outside this Grotto Heaven. It was Si Xuan, one of Jiri Lie’s associates. But they had never fought, nor had they even crossed paths since entering this realm. No one could have guessed why this man would be so terrified of Xuzhuang, as if he couldn’t bear to be in his presence for even a second.
This scene gave even Xuzhuang a moment’s pause. ’Strange,’ he thought. ’Where did I get such a terrifying reputation?’
It wasn’t just Xuzhuang; the other man in the pagoda was also taken aback by the scene. He stopped his spell-breaking work, rose slowly to his feet, and a grave look appeared on his face. "Xuzhuang of Tai Su?" he asked uncertainly.
Xuzhuang’s gaze shifted to him. The man wore a long robe that draped to the floor like a woman’s dress, its collar revealing a slender, elegant neck and shoulders. His appearance was androgynous, and he even had beautiful jade stones dangling from golden cords at his temples, looking for all the world like a foppish playboy. Xuzhuang replied coolly, "The very same. And you are?"
Perhaps because he had just witnessed a man flee in terror at the mere sight of Xuzhuang, this person remained wary. The grave expression on the foppish playboy’s face did not fade as he answered cautiously, "Yinji Tantai Jing. Does the fellow Daoist have some guidance for me?"
’So, a Yinji Demon,’ Xuzhuang thought, a flash of understanding in his eyes. He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he slowly walked up the last few steps, his body subtly blocking Tantai Jing’s path of retreat. Then, he spoke with composure, "Fellow Daoist, leave everything you’ve acquired here, and you may depart safely."
"What?" Tantai Jing was stunned for a moment. All his caution evaporated, replaced by a surge of rage that shot straight to his head. He laughed from pure anger and roared, "Xuzhuang! Do you really think you can scare me?!"
Before the words had even left his mouth, he launched a surprise attack. With a fierce flick of his sleeve, a Magical Artifact shaped like a bronze *gui* vessel flew out. It tipped over in mid-air, and a torrent of black water poured forth, surging toward Xuzhuang like a tidal wave.
Xuzhuang’s magical sight pierced through the illusion. He saw thousands of demons of all shapes and sizes swimming within the black water. All of them had ferocious faces; some bared their fangs and brandished their claws, leaping and roaring, while others even wielded blades and forks, waving them about chaotically.
He glanced around. The pagoda’s interior wasn’t exactly cramped, but it certainly didn’t offer enough room to use many of his techniques. A thought flashed through his mind. He formed a hand seal, and a torrent of white qi erupted from his body.
Streams of Thousand Jin Dharma Qi poured out, forming a vast, misty sea. A single surge from this sea shook the entire pagoda, causing it to tremble. Xuzhuang pointed a finger, directing the sea of qi to descend upon the black water and begin grinding against it.
The demons in the black water were like beans under a great millstone, ground into dust. They were instantly resurrected from the black water by Tantai Jing’s Magical Power, but Xuzhuang’s power was relentless. The sea of qi continued to churn, obliterating the newly-spawned demons. No matter how many times they reformed, they only faced another death.
Though it takes long to describe, the exchange lasted only a few breaths. Tantai Jing sensed that three or four hundred of his demons had already been destroyed. His heart sank. ’This is bad,’ he thought. ’His Daoist techniques are one thing, but how can his Magical Power be this tyrannical? How dares he act with such brute force?’ He scrambled to cast another spell, but he saw that Xuzhuang’s sea of Thousand Jin Dharma Qi, having already neutralized the threat of his demons, was now pressing down on him.
The moment Xuzhuang had tested the waters, he had perceived the celestial gulf between their levels of Magical Power. He instantly abandoned any notion of finesse and attacked in the most direct way possible, intending to crush Tantai Jing with overwhelming, majestic force.
Tantai Jing’s face paled slightly. This was the exact scenario he dreaded most. He formed a hand seal, raising a brilliant white Protective Spirit Light. Then, with a flick of his finger, he summoned a Bone Demon God, which strode across the sea of qi, reaching for Xuzhuang.
But in the face of Xuzhuang’s boundless Magical Power, all his efforts were futile. With a low shout, Xuzhuang sent a tidal wave of Thousand Jin Dharma Qi surging forward. A single crash smashed the Bone Demon God to pieces. The wave’s momentum didn’t even slow as it slammed head-on into Tantai Jing’s Protective Spirit Light, causing it to flicker violently.
The next instant, successive waves crashed against it. Tantai Jing’s Protective Spirit Light shattered with a crack. The white Thousand Jin Dharma Qi surged forth and instantly crushed Tantai Jing to dust.
Xuzhuang let out a soft sound of surprise. He withdrew his Magic Formula, and the sea of qi receded like the tide, revealing a shattered skeleton.
