Having escaped death, Jiang Che felt as though he had just awakened from a dream.
How could he still not realize why the Azure Cauldron looked familiar? Wasn't it the very cauldron Du Yongchang had used to refine people into pills in Willow Source?
The thing he had feared so deeply back then had now saved his life.
And now that Du Yongchang was here, surely the other two were here as well?
Just as that thought crossed his mind, the headless Buddha beneath the True Demon actually moved!
Its arms rose with a thunderous rumble, and its enormous hands slammed together above its severed neck, intent on crushing the True Demon perched there!
Boom!
Dust and smoke exploded outward. A True Demon was a True Demon, after all. At the critical instant, it darted out from between the palms, evading the crushing blow. As it landed, it even slaughtered the three Azure Mystic disciples closest to it.
Fortunately, it had not landed beside Jiang Che.
"Accursed fiend!"
With a furious shout, County Commandant Li arrived as well. A dark steel mace in his hand lashed down at its head, wrapped in fierce gales.
The True Demon swept its sword upward with a backhand stroke. Mace and sword collided in a shower of sparks. It retreated half a step, while County Commandant Li staggered back several.
It was about to pursue him when the Buddha's hand came at it again!
At some point, Steward Wei had climbed onto the stump of the headless Buddha's neck. His hands formed seals, his sleeves billowed, and he drove the Buddha into a relentless assault as he said:
"During our dozen-odd days outside, we saw every last scrap of what you have to offer. The tide has turned against you. Submit to your death."
Du Yongchang stroked the sword mark on his cauldron and ground his teeth. "You damaged my precious cauldron! Today, I'll refine you inside it!"
"Ha!" The True Demon threw back its head and laughed scornfully. "Three mongrels dare to refine me?"
Thus began a battle of spells at the Qi Refining level.
Wielding his Demon-Subduing Mace, County Commandant Li took the front line. In truth, he was no match for the True Demon, especially since he could not withstand its Demon Sword.
But with the other two helping him, the situation was entirely different!
As Steward Wei waved his sleeves, the thirty-foot clay Buddha strode forward with a thunderous rumble, joining the assault. Its enormous palms swept sideways and hammered down, sending bricks and stones flying through the hall. The True Demon was forced to dodge again and again, never getting a chance to unleash its swordplay.
Du Yongchang withdrew to the perimeter, chanting in an ancient, archaic cadence. Yellow-green mist billowed continuously from his Azure Cauldron. The mist seemed alive. No matter how the True Demon dodged, strand after strand spread over it and wound around its body. The moment even a small patch touched its purplish-gray flesh, its skin hissed and corroded, giving off white smoke.
Yet the three of them were exceedingly cautious. The Demon Sword in the True Demon's hand surged incessantly, black Sword Qi sweeping in every direction. None of them wanted to take even one extra hit.
Jiang Che watched without blinking, but the corner of his eye remained fixed on the Buddha that Steward Wei had brought into the battle.
His dungeon instance was chasing the True Demon around the hall and beating it under someone else's spell!
The Buddha took the most blows. After all, it was merely an inanimate object controlled by Steward Wei, who felt no heartache whatsoever over using it.
Jiang Che could not help worrying: if the Buddha statue was smashed, would the dungeon instance still remain?
It should still be there, right?
Could I get a chance to touch it?
Just as he was thinking this, a hand grabbed him from either side and dragged him away.
The main hall's doors had opened at some point, and Zhang Erguo and Hu Yan hauled him outside.
Once they were out, Hu Yan snapped, "What are you staring at? Do you want to die?"
How could Embryonic Breath disciples like them stand by and watch a fight to the death between Qi Refining Cultivators? Even the tiniest trace of the battle's aftershocks could kill them.
Even retreating outside the main hall did not make them safe.
Every crash from the hall made the ground tremble. Following the stream of people retreating, the three ran all the way out of the temple before finally stopping.
The rumbling within the temple walls never ceased. From time to time, black Sword Qi shot skyward, only to be forced back down.
"That Demon Sword is the True Demon's trump card," Hu Yan said slowly, gazing into the temple. "It's an excellent treasure, but... it's still not quite enough. It won't hold out for long against three Qi Refining Cultivators at once."
Jiang Che nodded.
He had seen it too. The three masters had probably been watching the hall for some time.
Barely an instant had passed between the True Demon drawing its sword and the Azure Cauldron appearing. They had clearly been prepared.
Zhang Erguo wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and asked, "Then I don't understand. If the True Demon couldn't defeat the three masters even with its Demon Sword, why didn't they just come straight in and fight? Why spend all these days throwing our lives into the pit?"
"Heh..." Hu Yan gave a derisive laugh. "Without us Embryonic Breath disciples going in to probe it, who would know what tricks the True Demon had? A Demon Sword from who knows where was something the masters could handle, so naturally they came. If it had been some demonic formation, demonic gu, or something even deadlier, they might not have cared if every last one of us died. They could just wait for the next batch."
Zhang Erguo opened his mouth, but no words came out.
As the two exchanged their question and answer, Jiang Che's mind was elsewhere.
He was still thinking about his dungeon instance.
The situation he had feared most earlier probably would not come to pass. Back in the hall, the Buddha had fought fiercely under Steward Wei's control, taking numerous sword strikes and losing untold chunks of clay. Yet the azure light upon it had never dispersed or gone out.
In other words, ordinary damage from battle should not be enough to destroy the dungeon instance.
But what if the True Demon smashed it to smithereens?
He turned it over and over in his mind, yet could not devise any way to take the initiative.
The gap was simply too great.
Jiang Che put those thoughts aside. Man proposed, Heaven disposed. For now, all he could do was wait patiently.
He did not have to wait very long.
A short while later, with a thunderous crash, the temple's entire main hall collapsed. Another moment passed, and as the crowd stood horrified and bewildered, three figures walked slowly out of the dust and smoke.
All three Qi Refining masters were wounded, with none of their usual composure or imposing dignity.
Only now, Steward Wei held a pitch-black Demon Sword. Seven or eight talismans were wrapped around its blade. As he carried it, it occasionally struggled and hummed, but ultimately could stir up no waves.
Since the Demon Sword was already in Steward Wei's hands, the True Demon's fate needed no explanation. It had been slain.
After a brief, deathly silence, cheers erupted outside the temple as everyone celebrated surviving the disaster.
Jiang Che stood among the cheering crowd too, but his gaze passed over them toward the ruins. After the main hall collapsed, the headless Buddha had fallen as well. Its shattered body lay among the rubble, broken into several pieces.
Yet the flowing azure light remained wholly undiminished.
With his mind finally at ease, Jiang Che immediately went forward to meet them.
"Master Du!" He hurried over and asked with concern, "Are you badly hurt, sir? If your precious cauldron hadn't protected me from that sword strike in the hall, I would have lost my life today. You have truly given this disciple a second life!"
Du Yongchang glanced at him and snorted.
"None of that!"
He beckoned, and the Azure Cauldron flew back into his palm, shrinking to the size of his hand. Yet the sword mark on its body remained painfully conspicuous.
His face was full of anguish. "Look at it, just look! That fiend's sword left a gash like this in my cauldron. It'll take three to five years of nurturing to restore it."
"You've worked hard and rendered a great service by slaying the True Demon, sir. Surely there'll be a generous reward?"
At that, Du Yongchang merely stroked his beard without answering.
A reward was naturally forthcoming. Just like the Embryonic Breath disciples, he would receive considerable rewards from both the sect and the imperial court for helping slay a True Demon in Ailin. They would more than cover the repairs to the Azure Cauldron. More importantly, they would also shorten his sentence in Ailin.
But naturally, he would not tell this brat Jiang Che any of that.
His expression turned fierce, and he faced the crowd and barked, "What are you all shouting about? Have you no work to do? Go sift through the main hall's ruins! Gather everything tainted with demonic energy and burn it all with Spiritfire!"
At his command, the crowd's cheers immediately caught in their throats.
This was a miserable chore.
Jiang Che alone strode forward without another word!
Before you continue