In the Shadow World controlled by Lamp Holding Siming, he was bewitching Li Yan, making him sink so deep into Lamp Shadow Temple that he couldn't pull himself free.
What he didn't know was that Li Yan's side effect had already made him immune to this realm's Yao Jue Dao Patterns.
An ordinary cultivator dragged into Lamp Shadow Temple by Lamp Holding Siming would inevitably be deceived by the peace and quiet of this place.
Every detail in this realm was constantly planting suggestions in people's minds.
It was safe here, quiet, and peaceful.
There was no strife here. It was a paradise far removed from the world.
On top of that, the instant they entered Lamp Shadow Temple, a great many Yao Jue Dao Patterns interfered with their will. Amid the monks' chanting, they would sink into an atmosphere of false reassurance.
[Notice: The chanting in Lamp Shadow Temple is attempting to erase the host's memories and empty the host's mind.] [Side effect turned positive: The host's consciousness will become even clearer.]
The chanting that kept coming from all around could make a person forget everything, including the troubles of the real world.
The old abbot spoke in a peaceful voice. "Empty your mind. Listen—to the cicadas, to the flowing water."
"Benefactor, don't speak."
"This old monk knows you have many questions: why you came here, and what has become of your physical body."
"But for now, please empty your mind. Set aside all worldly distractions and feel the peace of this moment."
"Benefactor, worldly ties are like a lamp held aloft; when the lamp goes out, its shadow scatters. What you clutch so tightly isn't resentment—it's a lampwick that burns your hands."
"What in this world is real, and what is false? And what does it matter what you spend your whole life pursuing?"
"Better to set aside your troubles, shave your head, and become a monk here in Lamp Shadow Temple. Join this old monk in chanting the Lamp Shadow Sutra."
With that, the old abbot began murmuring a chant.
"The lamp is illusory dust; the shadow is the true realm.
"One lamp, like delusion, illuminates and shatters the false shell, revealing the true form of the shadow. Bone is cast from shadow, blood flows from shadow, and thoughts float upon shadow.
"The world takes the lamp for reality and chases illusion as truth, never seeing the mountains and rivers within the shadow—stone is shadow condensing, wind is shadow in motion, and reincarnation is shadow turning."
"When the lamp burns out and its light dies, only then do you know the shadow does not perish with the lamp. The awakened knew this long ago: your body was shadow from the start. Why fear falling into the dust?"
The old abbot's ceaseless words were deeply bewitching. They made one's head swim and sway.
An ordinary person would have long since been unable to tell the real world from the false, after being subjected to Lamp Holding Siming's barrage of words.
Lamp Holding Siming gave no one a chance to speak. He chanted on and on, forcibly pouring his thoughts into Li Yan's mind.
And Li Yan played along, chanting the incantation with the old abbot conjured by Lamp Holding Siming.
"The lamp is illusory dust; the shadow is the true realm..."
All of this was visible to the people outside.
On the jade platform in White Jade Capital, the other four Simings watched Li Yan through the lamp's shadow.
Lamp Holding Siming cast the scenes inside Lamp Shadow Temple onto the white jade wall through the lamp's shadow.
It was just like a projector, clearly displaying everything happening inside Lamp Shadow Temple.
Longevity Siming saw Li Yan nodding and swaying as he chanted along with the old abbot.
He shook his head again and again. "Sigh, I didn't expect Li Yan to fall for it so easily. Lamp Holding's technique has grown ever more polished."
"I was planning to make a move myself, but it seems old Lamp has already taken Li Yan down."
Glutton Head looked rather displeased. "I thought he was so impressive. And this is all he can do?"
The ailing scholar, Li Zai Sì Mìng, offered a timid comment.
"Ordinary people don't cultivate their shadows. If Lamp Holding hooks them into Lamp Shadow Temple, they can't escape calamity."
Indeed.
Ordinary people didn't cultivate their own shadows, while Lamp Holding Siming had made a specialty of this sinister art.
Once he dragged someone's shadow into the Shadow World, he could do as he pleased with them.
Hearing the others praise him, Lamp Holding Siming grew even more pleased with himself.
"As long as I leave a shadow mark, no one can escape my grasp."
"I thought Li Yan was well-versed in Dao Patterns and could defend himself against my Lamp Shadow Temple. I never imagined he'd be so utterly helpless."
Just as Lamp Holding Siming was basking in his triumph, Eclipse Moon doused him with a bucket of cold water.
"Don't forget that Li Yan understands Dao Patterns better than any of you."
"Are you sure he really fell for your scheme?"
Faced with Eclipse Moon's contradiction, Lamp Holding Siming remained unruffled, as if everything were under his control.
"Lamp Shadow Temple is a world I created. How could he fight back in my world?"
"Besides, the scripture he's chanting now is something I made up. The more he chants, the deeper he'll sink into Lamp Shadow Temple, unable to pull himself free."
In the Lamp Shadow Temple created by Lamp Holding Siming, he was a god!
Lamp Shadow Temple held countless powerful people captive. If they didn't realize what had happened right away, almost none of them could escape!
Since ancient times, hardly any cultivator who entered Lamp Shadow Temple had ever managed to get out.
That was the confidence behind Lamp Holding Siming's words. He watched Li Yan nodding and swaying as he chanted the scripture.
Then he looked again at Li Yan inside Lamp Shadow Temple. Li Yan had even shaved his head and donned a monk's robe.
"Everyone, look! Li Yan's eyes are vacant. He's become my Shadow Slave!"
But Lamp Holding Siming had no idea that, elsewhere, a voice was ringing in Li Yan's mind.
[You are transforming Lamp Shadow Temple through "turning the false into the true."] [Side effect of the Lamp Shadow Sutra: You will become a slave within Lamp Shadow Temple.] [Side effect reversed: Lamp Shadow Temple will become a world under your control.]
What did it mean to turn the tables and make the thief your host?
Lamp Holding Siming still hadn't realized that the small world of Lamp Shadow Temple, which he had painstakingly built, was becoming Li Yan's territory.
In the eyes of the other Simings, Li Yan had shaved his head and donned a monk's robe. Lamp Holding Siming had already brainwashed him.
Meanwhile, inside Abyss Palace in the Abyss of the Netherworld.
The voice of the Ancient Dragon King suddenly came from within the Coiled Dragon Pillar.
"This is bad! Someone has hooked Li Yan's shadow away!"
At those words, Ao Yan and Ao Jiao, the siblings guarding Li Yan outside the door, immediately rushed into the main hall.
"Ancestral Dragon, what did you say?"
The Ancient Dragon King's anxious voice came from within the Coiled Dragon Pillar. "Look. The room is brightly lit, yet Li Yan has no shadow."
"Besides, he hasn't moved for two hours."
"I suspect he must have been hooked out of his shadow by Lamp Holding Siming of White Jade Capital!"
Hearing the Ancient Dragon King's words, Ao Jiao panicked.
"What do we do? Is it serious if someone's shadow is hooked away?"
The Ancient Dragon King's solemn voice came from within the Coiled Dragon Pillar.
"If a person loses their shadow, it's like a lamp losing its oil: the three souls have nowhere to rest, and the seven spirits cannot find peace. Within three days, the body will turn into a wisp of green smoke, unable even to reach the threshold of reincarnation."
When Ao Jiao heard how dire it was that Li Yan had lost his shadow, she was struck as if by lightning.
"How could this happen? How could it?"
The Ancient Dragon King fell silent for a moment, then sighed. "The Simings of White Jade Capital have strange methods, impossible to guard against."
"The other party must have found a way to hook away Li Yan's shadow."
"And shadow arts are what I'm worst at."
At that, Ao Jiao anxiously pleaded for help. "Your Majesty, is there any way to save Li Yan?"
"Mm..."
The Ancient Dragon King hesitated for a moment, then told the siblings the truth.
"There's no way. Even if you went in, you'd face certain death. You wouldn't be able to save Li Yan."
Ao Jiao didn't hesitate for a moment. "Let me go in and try!"
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