"Su Jiu is this humble monk's dearest friend. I would walk through boiling water and fire for her."
The Nightmare Demon sneered. "A monk like you is surprisingly loyal and devoted. In that case, wouldn't I be wasting your goodwill if I refused to grant your wish?"
With that, the Nightmare Demon sprang into the air, transformed once more into a cloud of black miasma, and charged straight at the Buddha Child.
The Buddha Child's gaze remained still and quiet, but a closer look would reveal that his fingers had unconsciously begun moving faster over his Buddhist Prayer Beads.
Holy Buddhist light rippled outward from his hands, ring after ring. Half intertwined with Su Jiu's innate origin qi, while the other half continued spreading toward the black miasma.
Against demon aura, however, Buddhist light was nowhere near as effective as it was against demonic qi.
Blade after blade materialized within the black mist and shot straight at the Buddha Child's face. Unperturbed, he turned his palm over and brought forth another talisman, also shimmering with golden light. His thin lips parted slightly, and soon the runes on the talisman detached from the paper and positioned themselves before him.
The blades formed from black miasma tangled with the golden patterns, beginning a fierce struggle.
Meanwhile, as the demon seeds scattered on the ground were gradually purified, the purification ritual also drew to a close. The innate origin qi surrounding Su Jiu began to fade from excessive depletion, and without its support, the Nine-Star World-Cleansing Pearl slowly lost its luster as well.
The area enveloped by the golden radiance gradually shrank, which also meant that Su Jiu's protective circle was steadily contracting.
If the enemy wanted to deliver a fatal blow now, it would be much easier than before.
Yet although the