"Master, what keen eyesight!"
Zhou Yi's words struck straight at the heart. For the sake of cultivation, Ku Bu Luohan had blinded himself.
Purple Sun Sword Qi, the Golden Crow Dharma Sword, and the Arhat Silver Corpse formed a perfect threefold combination.
The sword qi relied on speed, the dharma sword on sharpness, and the silver corpse on strength!
Zhou Yi had only recently advanced to the Innate Grandmaster realm. However, thanks to Old Ancestor Tai Yin, he was already no weaker in single combat than veteran Innate Realm experts.
The Heavenly Corpse Sect's silver corpse in particular had been passed down for two hundred years, refined with numerous powerful bodies that surpassed even the Arhat Golden Body.
The Buddhist Sect's golden body techniques were severely countered by the Arhat Silver Corpse.
Old Ancestor Tai Yin had been so confident of claiming the Grand Tutor's position precisely because of his peerless zombie body.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The repeated collisions thundered like war drums.
The silver corpse met him head-on, forcefully suppressing the Arhat Golden Body.
Zhou Yi used sword qi and the dharma sword to attack weak points at unexpected moments. Surrounded in the center, Ku Bu Luohan could only defend.
Yet after one hundred and twenty years of bitter cultivation, Ku Bu Luohan had gone blind, deaf, and ruined his voice, but he had mastered one of the Buddhist Sect's supreme secret arts.
Mind Telepathy.
This art did not peer into people's hearts, but granted the ability to foresee the future.
Even with Zhou Yi's Swift Sword Intent, said to possess the fastest sword speed under heaven, together with the Golden Crow Dharma Sword and the suppressing silver corpse, he still could not defeat Ku Bu Luohan.
At every critical moment, Ku Bu always evaded the killing blow.
Ku Bu Luohan used only the Great Demon Subduing Fist, yet he stubbornly withstood attacks from all three sides.
Zhou Yi felt as if he were attacking a turtle. Whether from the front, the sides, or anywhere across its body, there was a heavy shell protecting it.
And this turtle could even foresee his attacks!
There was simply nowhere to bite!
"Though this man's eyes are blind, his mind's eye is open. He is even more troublesome than someone who can see!"
Zhou Yi was not worried. "His defeat is only a matter of time. However, this magical combat will not be decided by these three arhats alone!"
While Ku Bu Luohan barely held on, the other two Buddhist Sect arhats, Pu Zhao and Du E, were in an extremely miserable state.
They faced two opponents each, and the Daoists had seized the initiative. Their defeat was imminent.
Pu Zhao Arhat was the oldest. He could no longer fully display his strength, and he was the first to fall.
The Azure and Crimson Twin Swords directly severed one of Pu Zhao's arms.
Daoist True Men were not skilled with words, but their hands were vicious indeed.
Tai Yuan and Tai Su looked like benevolent immortals, with white hair and youthful faces, but in magical combat, they struck to kill without hesitation.
"Amitabha."
Pu Zhao proclaimed a Buddhist invocation. A Sarira rose into the air as he shouted, "Pu Du Ci Hang, why have you not acted yet?!"
Sarira were the concentrated essence left behind when eminent Buddhist monks passed away, akin to heavenly treasures.
Buddhist Sect cultivators were not adept at Artifact Crafting or alchemy, but they could wield Sarira to unleash all manner of divine abilities and wondrous arts.
"Namo Paradise of Ultimate Bliss! The Tathagata of the Western Heavens descends!"
Along with the speaker's voice came a chant from the Buddhist Sect. Rather than calming the mind, it was piercingly harsh, filling listeners with endless irritation.
Daoist Tai Su asked in shock, "Pu Du Ci Hang?"
"Pu Du Ci Hang!"
Guan Lan Zi answered with a shout. With a wave of his hand, the Four Symbols Array Flags withdrew from the encirclement and landed in the east, south, west, and north.
"Finish the three of them quickly. This poor Daoist will hold back Pu Du Ci Hang!"
As he spoke, he bit his tongue and sprayed a mouthful of heart's blood onto the Four Symbols Array Flags.
"Four Symbols Boundless, heaven and earth cannot break!"
The Four Symbols Array Flags transformed at once, severing the inside from the outside. The remaining Daoists, monks, Crown Prince, and Li Zhu were all forced out of the battlefield.
Only three monks, four Daoists, Zhou Yi, and the silver corpse remained within.
Five against three. As long as they held Pu Du Ci Hang back for a moment, the three Buddhist arhats would Enter Paradise today.
The Four Symbols Array Flags had been passed down directly by White Crane Temple for a hundred years. They were forged from four kinds of spirit iron—Earth Water Wind Fire—and sealed with the souls of four spirit beasts: the Fire Crow, Earth Bear, Dark Serpent, and Wind Wolf.
Once activated, the Four Symbols endlessly generated and cycled without end. Unless all four array flags were destroyed together, the formation could not be broken.
"The Buddha Dharma is boundless; turn back and reach the shore! Fellow cultivators, why let worldly power lead you astray? Why not ascend to Western Paradise with me?"
Pu Du Ci Hang arrived with his voice, crossing the sky on air. Golden lotuses bloomed beneath every step, as though the Buddha himself had descended into the world.
He struck the Four Symbols Formation with a palm, and a crisp crack rang out.
The Fire Crow Array Flag could not bear the force. A fissure split across its banner.
The Fire Crow Spirit Beast Soul let out a mournful cry, transforming into a fire dragon several zhang long as it burned toward Pu Du Ci Hang.
The Dark Serpent, Earth Bear, and Wind Wolf manifested their true forms within the formation. The spiritual pressure of each beast rivaled that of an Innate Grandmaster.
"If four spirit beasts had formed the Four Symbols Formation, even I would need to be cautious! Mere demon souls, how dare you be so arrogant!"
Golden light burst from Pu Du Ci Hang's dharma robes, and an awe-inspiring aura directly suppressed the souls of the four spirit beasts, leaving them unable to move.
"True Dragon Qi?"
"It is the qi of a wicked dragon!"
"How dare Pu Du Ci Hang do this?"
"Is he truly not afraid of backlash from Incense and Vow Power, of having his soul scattered and destroyed?!"
Their voices carried shock. The four Daoist True Men could not understand what Pu Du Ci Hang intended to do.
Buddha Dao cultivators did not dare touch even a trace of True Dragon Qi, yet he had actually refined it into his body and even used it to cast spells.
After the four spirit beast souls died, they had been sealed within the array flags, unable to enter reincarnation and especially vulnerable to Incense and Vow Power.
Zhou Yi was not surprised in the slightest. He even knew where Pu Du Ci Hang's Dragon Qi came from. Who knew how many officials of the Great Jing Court were still alive?
"This Buddha shall send you into reincarnation!"
Pu Du Ci Hang pointed a finger. A strand of Black-Gold Mixed Dragon Qi pierced directly through the Fire Crow's soul.
Shriek!
The Fire Crow screamed miserably and scattered into countless sparks.
What reincarnation? Its soul had been utterly destroyed.
"Pfft! Bald donkey, you dare destroy my Magical Artifact!"
The Magical Artifact Guan Lan Zi had refined with his blood was ruined. Sweetness rose in his throat, and he sprayed blood onto the ground as his face instantly turned pale.
"Fellow Daoists Tai Su and Tai Yuan, end this quickly!"
Xuan Qing Zi shifted his Thunder Method and blasted it toward Pu Du Ci Hang.
Thunder Methods were most effective against yin and evil entities. Pu Du Ci Hang's Dragon Qi was clearly not legitimate and likewise belonged to the demonic path.
Supreme Heavenly Demon Subduing Thunder Law!
White Crane Temple was a direct inheritor of the Maoshan lineage. Its Thunder Method was supremely firm and yang, renowned throughout the world.
Dozens of bolts of lightning formed a net that descended over Pu Du Ci Hang's head.
Moved by the shared grief of their fallen companion, the Earth Bear, Dark Serpent, and Wind Wolf roared and charged upward from below.
The two True Men, Tai Yuan and Tai Su, also attacked with all their strength, intending to kill the three arhats before turning to besiege Pu Du Ci Hang.
Zhou Yi ordered the silver corpse to hold Ku Bu Luohan back while he himself turned and rose into the air, like a black eagle striking after yet arriving first.
Those who entered the Dao through martial arts were several degrees stronger in pure killing power than those who entered it through spells.
"Amitabha."
"My Buddha descends!"
Pu Du Ci Hang pressed his palms together and proclaimed a Buddhist invocation. A Golden Buddha more than ten zhang tall sat cross-legged in midair.
The tallest buildings in the capital were only three or four zhang high. The appearance of this Golden Buddha over ten zhang tall caused countless citizens of the capital to kneel in worship.
Golden light radiated in all directions, while Buddhist chants drifted through the air.
"The sea of suffering is boundless!"
"Turn back and reach the shore!"
"The sea of suffering is boundless!"
"Turn back and reach the shore..."
The Buddhist voices rang directly within everyone's hearts.
Neither sealing the five senses nor locking down one's soul could block the Buddhist Sect.
The three demon souls had originally been furious with hatred reaching the heavens. Yet bathed in Buddha Light and Buddhist chants, their enmity vanished entirely, and they sat cross-legged.
The lightning net fell upon the Golden Buddha, raising only a ripple.
A True Yuan Flying Sword condensed beneath Zhou Yi's feet, carrying him swiftly backward. The situation had indeed exceeded his expectations.
According to his original estimate, Pu Du Ci Hang's strength was at most equivalent to three or four Innate Grandmasters. His senior brother Yan Chixia should still have been able to fight him for several exchanges.
With Guan Lan Zi and Xuan Qing Zi joining forces, they could certainly hold on until the three arhats were killed, then turn around and eliminate Pu Du Ci Hang. Zhou Yi had been ninety percent certain of securing the Grand Tutor's position.
The Daoist True Men had no interest in becoming Grand Tutor. They fought for the position only to resist the Buddhist Sect's power. Once Pu Du Ci Hang died, they would likely return to their respective homes and devote themselves to cultivation.
Unfortunately, Pu Du Ci Hang was far too powerful.
It was no exaggeration to say that Pu Du Ci Hang alone could crush the four Daoist True Men.
Not to mention that there were still three Buddhist arhats!
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