Three Battlefields

The forest was deathly silent now. Aside from the trees, flowers, and grass, there was not the slightest trace of life.

This made Fahai grow wary.

In two successive formations just now, his purple-gold alms bowl and protective golden dragon had both been lured away.

Though he was confident that neither the golden bowl nor the golden dragon could be taken from him, without the two guarding him now, he had no choice but to proceed cautiously.

Fahai did not have to wait long before an ethereal poetic announcement drifted from the sea of trees: "One stroke inscribes the Longevity Talisman, growing the root of all spirits' creation; within the Zhen Palace, grasses and trees flourish—Azure Lord Wondrous Existence subdues the evil monk!"

The verse had barely ended when, before Fahai could even glimpse a figure, the vegetation around him began growing madly.

Like serpents, like lightning, they coiled toward him, as though they meant to bury him underground as fertilizer.

"Demon, how dare you play tricks before me? Watch me take you in!" Fahai shouted, changing the hand seal before him.

At once, boundless golden light shone in all directions. The roots, stems, branches, and leaves reaching toward him became like burnt ash, scattering through the air in an instant.

Yet everywhere his eyes could reach was filled with every kind of grass and tree.

Some turned to ash the moment his Buddhist light touched them, but others withstood it head-on, endlessly spreading along the very edge of his Buddhist light.

They sought to wrap both him and the Buddhist light within themselves.

Still others carried endless Demonic Sha qi, using it to erode his Buddhist light.

Fahai could sense that if that Demonic Sha entered his body, he feared he would never be able to break free again.