The footsteps came to an abrupt halt.

The monk had stopped.

Teng Yu’yi felt her heart trembling in her chest, suspended by the silence beyond the door.

Even with its supernatural powers, no magical artifacts could stop it, but she knew this great monk had always had one peculiar inclination – he loved to engage in debates of riddles and mysteries.

Last time in the underground palace of the Yuchen Daoist Temple, Lin Chengyou had used precisely this trait to help her escape with her life.

At first, she couldn’t understand why a Buddhist renegade who had fallen into demonic ways would be so obsessed with such matters. Later she learned that this monk Zangji had once been destined to inherit the Dharma robe and bowl of the Wheel-Turning King, but was stripped of his kasaya robe and alms bowl for committing the sins of anger and jealousy.

It was intriguing that a Buddhist monk of such cultivation would inexplicably sin “envy.”

Even more curious to her was the question of who ultimately received the Dharma robe and bowl that Monk Zangji had sought but failed to obtain.

Unfortunately, the Buddhist sutras contained very few passages about Naichong. The monks Juesheng and Qizhi told her that even when Master Mingtong of the Sutra Repository led a large group of monks in day-and-night translation work, they couldn’t find records of who Naichong’s fellow disciples were before his fall into demonic ways. It seemed that for the Buddhist community, the story of a monk falling from the Asura realm to become the King of Ten Thousand Ghosts in hell wasn’t worth recording in detail.

But by piecing together these fragmentary legends, Teng Yu’yi could roughly conclude – that this great monk’s obsession with debating riddles likely had something to do with the trigger for his transformation into a demon. When he couldn’t obtain what he desired, it gave rise to “anger and jealousy”; when jealousy lingered in his heart, it gave birth to murderous intent.

Whenever he encountered mysterious riddles with hidden meanings, it would trigger jealousy in the monk’s heart. His debates weren’t about the matters at hand, but about that fateful debate that had cost him the robe and bowl.

He was trapped in this demonic obstacle, never to find liberation for all eternity.

At this moment, Teng Yu’yi was taking a gamble.

She was betting that this monk wouldn’t be able to resist engaging in conversation.

If he was willing to talk, it meant there was a chance to delay, so she wouldn’t be eaten by this demonic creature before help could arrive.

She held her breath and waited. Though barely a moment had passed, it felt like an entire lifetime. She was so tense that sweat dripped onto her eyelids, yet she didn’t dare blink.

Soon there was movement outside. Teng Yu’yi’s back hair stood on end, dreading the sight of that thing entering. Fortunately, the monk’s thunderous question came instead.

“Amitabha. Dear benefactor, what item does this humble monk forget?”

Teng Yu’yi’s taut nerves loosened slightly as she hurriedly replied, “Does the Master truly not remember?”

Silence fell outside.

Mingtong turned back to look at Teng Yu’yi in shock. Everyone knew this demon loved debating riddles, but carelessly posing a puzzle without thinking it through would only greatly anger the creature.

The riddle had to be self-consistent, both solvable and meaningful. That’s why earlier, even though he knew they should pose a riddle to buy time, he didn’t dare speak up. First, he knew few riddles could stump this monk. Second, if the monk realized he was being toyed with, he wouldn’t just eat a few people – he would release all his yin energy in rage.

By then, even if the Abbot and others arrived, they would be pushed back far away by the yin energy.

Had this benefactor Teng considered the consequences of rashly posing a riddle?

Sure enough, they heard Monk Zangji laugh outside, a flat, chilling sound that made one’s blood run cold.

Mingtong’s heart trembled in fear. If benefactor Teng made another careless response, the monk would begin a massacre. But before he could take over the conversation, he heard Teng Yu’yi say: “Last time in the underground palace, I promised to take your fourth disciple to fetch water, but failed to keep my word due to fear. Fortunately, Master showed no anger or resentment, and I felt deep remorse and enlightenment. Tonight when Master came to seek alms from me, I cast aside my foolish thoughts and prepared the water early, yet I only saw Master alone. I wonder if Master has forgotten our agreement from that day? Not bringing Acharya Dingji means missing the token of fulfilling the promise.”

Mingtong’s mouth fell open. His mind had been in chaos, but hearing these words gave him a feeling of finding life in death. He almost forgot that benefactor Teng had encountered this demon once before. These words were credible and verifiable, immediately establishing benefactor Teng as the target of Zangji’s alms-seeking.

Whatever Zangji’s response might be, he would inevitably hit a wall.

If Monk Zangji said he “didn’t bring” his disciple, it would mean admitting to breaking his own promise, committing the grave sin of “false speech” among the four prohibitions, and thus having no grounds to pursue benefactor Teng’s earlier breach of faith.

If Monk Zangji said he “did bring” his disciple, given this demon’s nature, he would inevitably pose a riddle. A riddle would be manageable – this creature had a rule when debating with others that it would never kill before the other party had answered.

Therefore, benefactor Teng’s words undoubtedly bought everyone inside a bit more time to survive.

Mingtong wiped the abundant cold sweat from his brow while nodding sheepishly at Teng Yu’yi, wondering how the monk would respond. After waiting anxiously for a moment, they heard the sound of a palm-leaf fan swaying outside, and Zangji answered leisurely: “Dingji has already arrived. Can’t the benefactor see him?”

***

In the front courtyard, four dharani sutra pillars towered several zhang high before the Buddhist hall.

A great creature was trapped within the formation, dressed as a monk, holding an alms bowl in its left hand and a palm-leaf fan in its right. However, its body was over a zhang tall, pitch-black all over, with eyes bright as lightning that chilled one’s heart at a glance. The creature continued to crash about in the formation, seemingly in great pain. With each movement of its form, the dark clouds in the night sky surged ceaselessly.

Abbot Yuanjue sat cross-legged on the lotus platform to the north, one hand rapidly striking the wooden fish while the other swiftly turned prayer beads.

Hundreds of monks sat in circles in the east, west, south, and north directions, all holding prayer beads and chanting sutras in unison.

The Sanskrit chants held back the moving clouds as purple light flickered faintly within the formation.

To prevent Naichong from summoning fierce ghosts from the underworld, the temple had earlier buried sutra pillars around the area, which should theoretically be enough to keep spirits and demons at bay for several li. However, to ensure absolute safety, the Daoist priests from various temples still insisted on standing guard nearby.

Lin Chengyou sat on the eaves, somehow feeling a bit idle. The dharani sutra pillars of the Four Heavenly Kings rose higher than the roof corners, towering in each direction, while hundreds of monks sat densely packed in the courtyard, united in helping protect the formation at the base of the lotus platform.

This was the first time Lin Chengyou had seen such a grand Buddhist formation. It seemed that as long as Naichong couldn’t escape the formation, there would be no need for them to intervene.

But perhaps because it was the King of Ten Thousand Ghosts, even though trapped in the formation, Naichong’s yin energy showed no signs of diminishing – this was evident just by looking at the star clouds overhead.

However, if they could delay until daybreak, everything would be fine.

Seeing it was almost the Hour of Zi, Lin Chengyou suddenly became vigilant. After carefully observing for a while, the great creature in the formation showed no signs of escape attempts. He relaxed slightly, when suddenly he smelled something burning, as if something was on fire.

Could something have happened in the kitchen? Lin Chengyou’s internal warning bells rang loudly, and he hurried to leap over but suddenly stopped. He turned his head to look at Naichong within the sutra pillars – the creature was still struggling vigorously. Looking down at the Daoist priests from various temples, they too seemed to have smelled the burning odor and were raising their heads one after another, searching for the source of the smoke.

Soon, several Daoist priests leaped onto the roof beams and asked anxiously: “Young Master, is something on fire elsewhere?”

They didn’t dare speak too loudly, fearing they would distract the monks in the formation.

Lin Chengyou stared fixedly in the direction of the kitchen. The response stone in his chest showed no reaction, suggesting nothing seemed amiss there. He thus cautioned: “It’s the Hour of Zi – be wary of tricks.”

The Daoist priests were startled and hurriedly slapped their foreheads: “Indeed, this creature is incredibly clever – we must not fall for its schemes.”

Someone said: “The Abbot sits firmly on the lotus platform – no worldly calamities can approach him. As long as the Abbot doesn’t move, everything must be an illusion.”

But immediately after, they saw Abbot Yuanjue’s long eyebrows twitch slightly as if he too had detected the burning smell in the air.

Not just Abbot Yuanjue, but even the expressions of senior disciples like Minxin and Jianxing showed subtle changes.

Lin Chengyou’s heart sank – could it not be an illusion?

The response stone in his chest showed no movement – could those black-robed people have returned? He instantly broke out in cold sweat and said without hesitation as he darted toward the back courtyard: “Honored elders, please remain here and keep watch while I go see what’s happening.”

After leaping for a while, he realized something was wrong – the light halo above the kitchen was perfectly fine, and there were no signs of fire anywhere around. Realizing he had been tricked, he hurriedly turned back to the front courtyard. Fortunately, the great creature was still trapped in the formation, everything before the hall was fine, and Abbot Yuanjue and the others remained seated in their original positions.

The Daoists said with both relief and tension: “We’ve figured it out – one of our fellow Daoists accidentally burned his robe while lighting a talisman with a fire stick. The wind blew the smoke over there, but it’s been put out now. We thought that great creature was playing tricks.”

Lin Chengyou looked down at the burned Daoist robe – the smoke had indeed drifted up from the front hall. He clicked his tongue, wondering why he had lost his composure earlier. Looking again at the formation to confirm nothing was amiss, he sat back down and raised his head to look at the star clouds above. One glance was like a bucket of cold water poured over his head – that cluster of stars hadn’t moved at all.

A wild wind swept through Lin Chengyou’s heart as he suddenly stood up: “Abbot, that great creature has escaped!”

As he spoke, he rushed urgently toward the kitchen in the back. Judging by the situation, the demon had escaped around the Hour of Zi. Damn it, why had the response stone shown no reaction? If it had escaped elsewhere that would be fine, but if it had gone to the kitchen – cold sweat instantly burst forth on his forehead.

In the formation, Abbot Yuanjue seemed to have long noticed something was wrong and suddenly opened his eyes. The monks’ forms wavered slightly as they raised their heads to look at the Dharani sutra pillars. Even if they couldn’t tell the difference at first, they could now see that the ghost in the formation was merely a shadow.

Someone immediately threw out an alms bowl, and the ghost shadow in the formation shattered at once. The dark wind howled as black clouds gathered from all directions. Without anyone noticing, the temple had already become a huge sealed cage.

The monks and Daoists were greatly alarmed – everything before had been an illusion. When Yin energy surged at the Hour of Zi, the formation could no longer contain Naichong.

They had all been fooled by this demon!

***

When Monk Mingtong heard Naichong’s response, he couldn’t help but breathe a great sigh of relief. All things in the world have weaknesses, and Naichong was no exception. Benefactor Teng’s words had already stirred up the demonic thoughts in this great creature’s heart. With a riddle posed, they had at least managed to buy some time.

Juesheng and Qizhi didn’t understand what was happening and hurriedly opened their eyes wide to look around. The darkness outside was complete – where was this “fourth disciple”? Mingtong shook his head at them secretly, indicating it was better to wait patiently than to answer rashly.

He turned back to look at everyone in the room, gesturing for them not to speak carelessly. The people inside were already scared out of their wits and hurriedly nodded in agreement.

Teng Yu’yi held her breath waiting. Having barely managed to delay the demon, she only hoped that Lin Chengyou and the others would hurry over during this time. Suddenly she heard the “whoosh whoosh” sound of the palm-leaf fan, and her heart immediately lodged in her throat again. Although this demon would occasionally be provoked into posing riddles, it never had much patience.

After just three waves of the fan, a dark wind rose outside, stirring up fallen flowers and leaves with a rustling sound. The monk said, “Oh? Has the benefactor still not seen Dingji?”

His tone revealed traces of impatience as if he’d waited too long for an answer.

Juesheng and Qizhi hurriedly moved to shield Teng Yu’yi behind them, while everyone else in the room panicked. They all knew that every moment Teng Yu’yi could stall meant another moment of survival for everyone. In their desperation, even the Peng family’s elderly servants helped search for any sign of the young monk, cursing their inability to find anything after looking everywhere. What could they do now? Without seeing anyone, how could they offer the water?

Teng Yu’yi looked around anxiously and spotted the water vat in the kitchen corner. She quickly said to Dunfu: “Hurry, fetch a bowl of water.”

Everyone rushed to get the water. Just as Teng Yu’yi received the bowl, the monk’s patience seemed to break. He fanned his palm-leaf fan while stepping into the room: “This humble monk is extremely thirsty and can’t wait any longer for water.”

Teng Yu’yi hurriedly replied in a trembling voice: “Ah, I see Acharya Dingji! He’s standing three chi away from that thing which has no color or form, no name or surname, no beginning or end, no shape or appearance. No wonder I didn’t see him earlier.”

Monk Zangji paused, then laughed loudly: “‘No color or form, no name or surname, no beginning or end, no shape or appearance’ – the benefactor speaks of moonlight. But dark clouds now cover the moon – where is this moonlight?”

His laughter turned cold and harsh at the end. With a wave of his fan, the ghostly yin energy suddenly transformed into a cold wind, making the window frames rattle loudly.

Teng Yu’yi quickly called out: “Wait—”

The monk’s voice seemed to contain an ocean of rage: “Hmph! Do you still dare to quibble? Your clever mind harbors great foolishness, speaking falsehoods at will, committing unforgivable sins – you deserve to be cast into the hell realm!”

As he spoke, the tall figure wearing the kasaya robe suddenly appeared in the room. As his straw sandals moved, the wind rose with a howling sound, carrying all manner of strange and grotesque ghostly shadows that shrieked as they rushed toward Teng Yu’yi.

The people in the room screamed in terror and covered their heads, but before they could run away, their feet were grabbed by invisible ghostly hands and violently thrown to the ground.

The lamp in the corner of the room went out with a whoosh, the darkness deepening their fear. The people’s cries became even more miserable. As they watched the figure in the doorway draw closer and grow larger, even Teng Yu’yi began to despair. Suddenly, they heard someone outside say from midair: “Master is greatly mistaken.”

Everyone felt as if a light had appeared in a dark room, crying with joy and relief – Lin Chengyou had arrived! They were finally saved! Teng Yu’yi quickly wiped away her cold sweat, then shuddered again. With the monk blocking the doorway, no matter how capable Lin Chengyou was, he probably couldn’t stop this demon from swallowing them all.

Indeed, the dark wind showed no signs of stopping, instead transforming into sharp blades that whooshed around their feet. Just as their lives hung by a thread, they heard Lin Chengyou continue: “‘No color or form, no name or surname, no beginning or end, no shape or appearance’ – if it is something with ‘no name or surname,’ why did Master immediately speak the words ‘moonlight’? This riddle remains unsolved – Master has already lost.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the dark wind stopped.

Half of the monk’s figure was hidden in the shadows of the doorway, as if contemplating Lin Chengyou’s words, or perhaps regretting his own mistake. Though the room was now windless, the cold sensation grew increasingly intense.

Just as Naichong was distracted, suddenly in the hazy darkness outside, a bright flame burst forth. A fire dragon leaped down from the treetops, its mouth opened wide in fury as it spiraled down, swiftly attacking the doorway. Taking advantage of Monk Zangji’s unpreparedness, it caught his head in its jaws with one bite.

Moving faster than words can describe, Lin Chengyou broke through the window: “Run!”

Mingtong could finally move again and quickly jumped up to protect everyone as they ran outside: “This way to the back door, hurry!”

Though Teng Yu’yi was busy fleeing for her life, her heart remained suspended in her chest. Lin Chengyou’s sneak attack had succeeded, but how could Naichong be constrained by a mere talisman dragon? Juesheng and Qizhi were also anxiously worried. Suddenly they heard the sound of the wooden fish and sutra chanting outside, knowing that Abbot Yuanjue had arrived with others. Only then did the two of them give up their worry, planning to first escort Teng Yu’yi and the others to safety before returning to help their senior brother.

The group closely followed Mingtong’s steps and quickly ran out the back door. The narrow alley had exits on both sides – the left led out of the temple while turning right would loop back to the east wing. Without hesitation, everyone followed Mingtong to the right. If Naichong wasn’t eliminated, they would face death no matter where they fled. Better to stay in the temple where they at least had the protection of the temple’s monks and Daoists.

Above them, the moon was dim and the stars were sparse. Without even a lantern for illumination, they could only rely on footsteps to discern direction in the darkness. Just as they were about to exit the alley with the forest ahead, suddenly a strange, tremendous sound came from behind.

The sound was terrifying, like a huge beam crashing to the ground. With a “boom,” it shook all the surrounding trees. Immediately after one sound came another, “boom boom boom,” drawing closer and closer.

Everyone looked back and couldn’t help but gasp. Not far behind them, a giant shadow suddenly appeared, several zhang tall and as imposing as a celestial god, rushing straight toward them. The thunderous sounds were made by this giant creature’s footsteps.

“Not good, it’s that demon’s true form!” Juesheng and Qizhi cried out in alarm.

Seeing that thing drawing ever closer, Peng Huayue and the others were scared witless. No longer caring about following Mingtong, they scattered and disappeared in an instant.

Teng Yu’yi also ran, and she ran the fastest of all.

But after she had only run a few steps toward the east wing, she unexpectedly saw that thing appear ahead, so she turned to run toward the west wing, only to see it appear in the west.

Even Dunfu could now see something was wrong and desperately tried to protect Teng Yu’yi while retreating: “Miss, it seems to be coming specifically for you.”

That thing moved with lightning speed. As it passed through the forest, countless pine and cypress trees had their branches broken under its feet. In an instant, it was before them. Teng Yu’yi had nowhere to hide. Gripping the Xiaoya sword tightly, she said in desperation: “If it comes to it, I’ll fight to the death!”

Just then, a golden net suddenly flew out from the side, as wide as a blanket, immediately blocking the monk’s steps. Caught off guard, the monk stumbled.

After throwing the golden net, Lin Chengyou seized the opportunity to dive down, and upon landing, grabbed Teng Yu’yi and pulled her behind him for protection.

At the same time, Sanskrit chants suddenly rose from all around as Abbot Yuanjue, holding his wooden fish, led his disciples quickly out from the forest on one side.

The Daoist priests also jumped out from the shadows, each holding their magical implements.

Teng Yu’yi’s chest was still heaving as she wiped away sweat while hiding behind Lin Chengyou. Then she heard Lin Chengyou say: “This golden net won’t hold it for long – go over there.”

“All right.”

When the giant creature was bound by the golden net, it transformed on the spot into a tall monk with a face as white as a gourd. Unable to move its feet, it began tearing furiously at the golden net. However, instead of damaging the net, its palms began to smoke.

Lin Chengyou hadn’t intended to go far. He led Teng Yu’yi’s group to the edge of the forest and stopped to examine her. Her hairpins and ornaments were askew, and her dress was wrinkled, but at least there were no signs of injury. He said: “This creature moves as swift as lightning. If we can’t subdue it tonight, it could catch you even if you ran to Luoyang. Don’t waste energy running – better to rest here. Besides, I need to help Abbot Yuanjue subdue the demon.”

Teng Yu’yi nodded while catching her breath. Looking around, she found a rock to sit on. Lin Chengyou remained standing in front of her. Juesheng and Qizhi stayed close to their senior brother, counting the number of monks while saying: “One hundred and eight monks in total. Have they switched to the Arhat Formation? Brother, will the Arhat Formation be more effective than the Four Heavenly Kings’ dharani sutra pillars?”

Lin Chengyou wasn’t entirely confident either. He kept his eyes fixed on the monk in the golden net and gave a casual “mm” in response.

As they spoke, footsteps were heard from outside the forest. Looking back, they saw it was Mingtong leading Peng Huayue and the others.

Mingtong had spent considerable effort finding and gathering all the scattered people. Thinking nowhere else was safe, he had no choice but to bring them to the forest’s edge. Upon arriving, he first bowed to Lin Chengyou and the others, then had the women find places to sit.

Though Naichong was now trapped by the Arhat Formation, his yin energy showed no signs of diminishing. Lin Chengyou stared intently at Abbot Yuanjue and the others, his expression showing subtle signs of unease.

Juesheng and Qizhi waited anxiously for a while, then remembered what had happened earlier and asked puzzledly: “Brother, so many people ran out from the kitchen, why did this demon keep chasing only Miss Teng?”

Lin Chengyou glanced at Teng Yu’yi. Earlier, all the monks and Daoists in the temple had been fooled by that demon. If Teng Yu’yi hadn’t found a way to stall for time, by the time he arrived it would likely have been too late. Thinking of this, that uneasy feeling rose in his heart again. After some thought, he said: “Earlier, Miss Teng posed a riddle to this demon, but the demon couldn’t even understand the riddle’s surface meaning. For it, this was an enormous humiliation. Given this demon’s nature, it’s not surprising that it would fixate on Miss Teng.”

Teng Yu’yi let Chunrong wipe her sweat as she responded: “This monk seems to have such a profound understanding of Chan Buddhist principles, how could he fail to understand even such a riddle?”

Lin Chengyou: “Of course, it’s because of its excessive pride. You should know that back then—”

He suddenly stopped: “What did you just say?”

Teng Yu’yi was confused and hurriedly repeated her words: “I said this monk has a profound understanding of Chan principles.”

Lin Chengyou was stunned. He finally understood what that strange feeling had been. Throwing away the branch in his hand, he smiled and nodded: “You make a good point. How could I have forgotten this – this monk indeed has a ‘profound understanding of Chan principles.’ Now I finally understand why even the Four Heavenly Kings’ dharani sutra pillars couldn’t stop this demon.”

Juesheng and Qizhi opened their mouths in surprise: “Brother, do you mean…”

“No Buddhist formation, no matter how profound, can hope to stop it,” Lin Chengyou looked back at the monk in the formation. “This creature has been immersed in Buddhist teachings for many years – how could it not know how to break these formations? Perhaps our approach to subduing the demon was wrong from the start.”

He called out: “Honored elders, may I have a word?”

The Daoist masters led their disciples over in surprise: “Young Master.”

Lin Chengyou said: “Traditionally, Buddhist renegades are dealt with using Buddhist methods. But this creature has fallen into demonic ways – we shouldn’t follow conventional wisdom. The Arhat Formation cannot contain this demon. It’s only pretending to be trapped while waiting for its yin energy to fully recover. Before it escapes, we must quickly set up the Daoist Dark Heaven Soul-Binding Formation.”

“The Dark Heaven Soul-Binding Formation?” Everyone was shocked. This formation was even more complex than the Dark Heaven Formation and was historically invincible. However, it had one drawback – it placed extremely strict requirements on both the formation master and the formation guardians. The formation required exactly twenty-one people, and they had to be…

Lin Chengyou looked around: “If we delay any longer, none of us will escape. I’ll lead the formation – anyone who can assist, step forward immediately.”

Jiantian and Jianxian exchanged glances and helplessly waved their hands: “Ah, Young Master, we old Daoists can’t help you this time – we’re no longer virgin youths.”

Their voices weren’t small. At these words, Lin Chengyou’s expression remained unchanged, but the ladies and matrons in the forest fell silent. Teng Yu’yi was dumbfounded – so that was it. Though she had been paying attention to Lin Chengyou’s actions, she hadn’t expected to hear such a thing.

Juesheng and Qizhi were the first to run behind their senior brother.

Several young Daoist priests also raised their hands one after another: “This humble Daoist can also assist the formation—”

In the blink of an eye, they had gathered twenty people. Adding Lin Chengyou, was enough to start the formation.

Lin Chengyou shook out the soul-binding beast from his sleeve, chanting an incantation to transform it into a long sword. With a serious expression, he said: “Don’t forget the lesson from earlier. This creature can use far more ghostly tricks than we imagined. No matter what happens later, remember not to lose focus.”

The young Daoist priests responded in unison and immediately took their positions according to the formation.

Lin Chengyou then said to the Daoist masters: “I trouble the honored elders to guard the formation, especially protecting those in the forest.”

Jiantian and the others nodded solemnly: “Rest assured!”

The monk in the formation seemed to sense something. While struggling in the formation, he laughed strangely: “You Daoists, how dare you meddle in Buddhist affairs?”

Lin Chengyou sneered: “All things grow together without harming one another, all ways exist side by side without interfering with one another.’ You, a creature rejected by heaven and earth, dare to call yourself a Buddhist?”

As he spoke, he leaped lightly onto a treetop, took his position, and pointed his sword to the sky: “God of the East Sea, Aming; God of the West Sea, Zhuliang; God of the South Sea, Jucheng; God of the North Sea, Yuqiang. Great Gods of the Four Seas, dispel all ghosts and eliminate evil disasters – urgent as commanded by law!”

“Break—”

Following Lin Chengyou’s command, in the night sky, four streams of light like silver snakes struck from four directions. The lights reached Lin Chengyou’s sword tip, merging into a silver wave several chis wide that coiled down the sword. Lin Chengyou gathered his power and pointed his sword forward, and that silver wave surged toward the monk in the formation.

The Daoists in the formation closed their eyes and chanted, working together to help Lin Chengyou drive that snow-like light to its extreme.

When the talisman lightning struck the monk, it was as if a sharp blade had pierced his vital point, causing him to howl in agony.

That cry entered people’s ears, deeper than thunder. Teng Yu’yi felt her head buzzing and quickly covered her ears.

Abbot Yuanjue and the others raised the volume of their wooden fish and sutra chanting. Naichong was already wounded, and hearing these Sanskrit sounds became unbearable. He struggled to raise his palm-leaf fan before his chest but couldn’t wave it. His feet stumbled several steps as he let out another low roar.

This roar shook leaves from the forest trees. Lin Chengyou lowered his sword tip, drew in the air, chanted for a moment, then suddenly raised his sword tip again, striking out another bolt of silver lightning.

Naichong’s body was forced to crouch from the strike, but he still struggled to resist, his body shaking violently as he tried to raise both hands.

How could Lin Chengyou allow this demon to find a gap in the formation? He had already secretly channeled all his internal power into his sword tip. During the confrontation, his forehead was covered in sweat. The Daoist priests guarding the formation noticed and hurriedly released all their internal power as well.

Finally, Naichong seemed unable to resist any longer and crashed to the ground, remaining motionless for quite a while.

A young Daoist priest guarding the formation on the east side thought they had finally subdued the great demon and was instantly overjoyed, craning his neck to see more clearly. But with this movement, the long sword in his hand tilted.

Jiantian shouted harshly: “Don’t lose focus! Do you want to die?”

The young priest finally realized his grave mistake and hurried to correct his sword tip, but it was too late. An extremely cold wind struck from behind grabbed his collar and threw him out with one sweep.

The young priest screamed once and then fell silent. Naichong gave two chilling laughs, then flipped over and sat up, raising his alms bowl with his left hand and beginning to wave his palm-leaf fan with his right. With each wave, a gust of dark wind swept through the forest.

Lin Chengyou shuddered. With one person missing from the formation, it was like opening a gap. No matter how much power the others in the formation exerted, they couldn’t fill this gap.

Once the formation was broken, yin energy would surge in from every corner. Even though Naichong was still trapped in the formation, it was as if countless assistants had appeared outside. Within moments, the people in the formation would be killed without a trace by this yin energy that Naichong controlled.

He frantically tried to think of a solution. The more critical the moment, the more one needed to stay calm. Fortunately, Naichong was wounded and also needed to adjust. Suddenly he saw Teng Yu’yi desperately waving to him from under the tree. When he noticed her, she quickly pointed to Dunfu beside her.

Lin Chengyou’s eyes lit up. Although Dunfu didn’t know Daoist arts, his internal power was enough to resist that yin energy.

However, Dunfu was a eunuch and couldn’t be considered a pure yang body.

But there was no better solution now – impure qi was better than an unfilled gap. He pointed to his sword tip, indicating to Teng Yu’yi to have Dunfu join after he struck his third sword attack. Teng Yu’yi pondered for a moment, then nodded in understanding.

As expected, Naichong didn’t strike immediately. Instead, he chanted a Buddhist phrase, unhurriedly sat upright, then used his palm-leaf fan to point at Abbot Yuanjue before him, saying harshly: “What is repentance? What is regret? Repentance is to repent of past sins. You monks keep telling me to repent! What sins have I committed?!”

Seizing the moment, Lin Chengyou prepared to swing his sword again. Just then, someone suddenly leaped in from outside the forest, immediately picking up Naichong’s thread:

“What sins? You killed innocents indiscriminately, and slaughtered your fellow disciples, your six roots are impure, your benevolence is false, your righteousness is fake, and you commit countless evils and disturb the natural order. Yet you, such a fake monk, keep saying ‘Amitabha’! Pah! You’re truly a disgrace to Buddhism. No wonder the Wheel-Turning King had such keen insight – if I were the Wheel-Turning King, I wouldn’t have passed the Dharma robe and bowl to you either!”

The person’s voice was elderly but spoke very quickly, firing off a string of rebukes like bullets before swiftly moving closer.

Lin Chengyou’s sword tip trembled, and his face suddenly showed wild joy.

As the person landed, they happened to stand exactly where the young Daoist priest had died.

With this, the formation was restored.

When everyone saw who it was, they couldn’t contain their joy: “Daoist Master Qingxu!”

Juesheng and Qizhi were moved to tears. If they weren’t still needed to guard the formation, they would have jumped up: “Grandmaster!”

Teng Yu’yi studied Daoist Master Qingxu carefully. He was about sixty or seventy years old, unremarkable in appearance, with a thin frame. Just judging by looks, he didn’t seem to take as good care of himself as Abbot Yuanjue – his hair was almost completely white, his face full of wrinkles, and his lips were tightly pressed together, suggesting a not-so-pleasant temperament.

After being thoroughly berated by Qingxu, Naichong’s expression became extremely dark. He slowly turned his face toward them, and with a wave of his palm-leaf fan, the dark wind suddenly rose in the forest. Qingxu sat cross-legged while rolling his eyes at the treetop: “Boy, what are you still standing there for?! Hit it!”

Teng Yu’yi mentally added that his behavior was also different from Abbot Yuanjue’s – he didn’t bother with formalities before taking action, simply striking when he decided to strike.

Lin Chengyou’s expression returned to calm. His sword tip trembled, summoning the third divine lord talisman. That silver wave was dazzlingly bright as it swept toward Naichong again.

“Break!”

Before Naichong could raise his palm-leaf fan to his chest, he was struck by this talisman lightning. Lin Chengyou was merciless, specifically targeting his two previous wounds. He howled in pain and fell to the ground again.

Teng Yu’yi’s heart finally settled, when suddenly she heard more footsteps from outside the forest. Turning to look, she was stunned to see her father hurrying over with several deputy commanders.

“Father!” Teng Yu’yi quickly went forward with Dunfu and the others.

Teng Shao had been very tense, but seeing his daughter safe and sound, his expression relaxed slightly: “We met Daoist Master Qingxu outside the city. When the old master heard that Naichong had appeared in the world, he hurried back to Chang’an. His cart broke down on the way and couldn’t move for a while. I was also worried about you, so I escorted the master here.”

So Daoist Master Qingxu had been brought by her father.