Demon

At Lin Jing's request, Elder Mo saw that they could indeed withstand the pressure with ease and began considering taking them to the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda.

That Buddhist cultivator had possessed vast divine abilities, and the Buddhist light he had left behind had always been an important opportunity for disciples of the four sects to strengthen their minds.

If Lin Jing and his companion could obtain it while still in the Qi Refinement Realm, it would bring extraordinary benefits to their future Foundation Establishment.

"Come with me. Because of our Beast Taming Sect's unique cultivation methods, and because our second Sect Master was on friendly terms with that Buddhist cultivator, practitioners of the Beast-Taming Path can withstand the pressure together with their contracted beasts inside the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda and receive the strengthening of Buddhist light together."

"When the time comes, use your illusions to withstand the demons' might and look after your companion. Both of you will be able to seize this opportunity!"

With a sweep of his hand, Elder Mo whisked Lin Jing and his companion away toward Clear Pool Peak in the Beast Taming Sect. Along the way, Lin Jing muttered inwardly, Sure enough, connections matter everywhere. Disciples from the other sects have to undergo their trials alone, but Beast Taming Sect disciples can bring their beasts. This... is excellent!

Though it was called the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda, its entrance was actually a secluded clear pool.

This part of history had gone unrecorded, perhaps out of concern that someone might try to release the demons.

"Who goes there?"

Just as Lin Jing had expected, the pagoda's guardian in the clear pool was not human either, but a beast king.

He rose from the water, and even Elder Mo had to offer a deep bow upon seeing him. "Greetings, Patriarch."

"Oh, it's you."

"Patriarch, I wish to send a disciple into the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda for a trial."

"Lin Jing, this is Senior Wang Batian, one of our sect's guardian patriarchs." The sect patriarch guarding the Buddhist pagoda was actually an enormous tortoise.

Lin Jing immediately bowed.

"Qi Refinement Realm?" The sect patriarch glanced at Lin Jing and the Pineleaf Squirrel, then cast an impatient look at Elder Mo. "Are you trying to turn them into idiots?"

"When the demons' intimidation frightens them into mental collapse, leaves them pissing and shitting themselves, and scatters their souls to the winds, let's see what you do!"

"Patriarch... You have been guarding this place all this time, so you may not know that Lin Jing is one of our Beast Taming Sect's new generation of prodigies. He was even chosen by the Grotto Heaven previously. Naturally, he has sufficient confidence before attempting a trial in the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda while still in the Qi Refinement Realm," Elder Mo explained.

"Forget it. As long as you think it's fine." The patriarch closed his eyes, unwilling to concern himself further. As the second Sect Master's pet beast, he had already outlived three Sect Masters. Living beside a Buddhist pagoda had also left him thoroughly Zen about everything.

Seeing that the patriarch had agreed, Elder Mo turned to Lin Jing and his companion. "I forgot to tell you: you won't enter the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda in your physical bodies, nor can any physical objects be brought inside. Cultivators whose realms are too high cannot enter either. This is to prevent evil beings from entering the pagoda and damaging the seals within."

"What will enter is a manifestation of your magical power, mind, soul, and intent, much like an out-of-body experience," Elder Mo said. "You won't be able to use any of your magical treasures inside, but you can still use the spells you've mastered."

"I assume that should be enough?"

Hearing that it could not bring its Red Leaf or bombs inside, the Pineleaf Squirrel was startled. Lin Jing, however, nodded. "That's enough."

As long as he could still use Myriad Transformations, he could withstand the demons' pressure.

"Once you're ready, leave an imprint on this stele."

The sect patriarch followed procedure. "Leaving a mental imprint allows me to monitor your progress at any time. Also, if the imprint flickers, it means you're in poor condition. I will immediately summon your consciousness back into your body so you don't become lost inside the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda."

Outside the entrance to the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda stood an ancient stone stele divided into nine levels. Hearing this, Lin Jing stepped forward and pressed his palm against it, and the blurry image of a little squirrel was immediately branded onto the stone.

"The interior of the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda connects all four sects. If you encounter disciples from other sects inside, do not get into any conflicts."

After one more warning, the sect patriarch helped open the entrance to the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda. It lay within the clear pool, rippling continuously, looking like the reflection of a black Buddhist pagoda.

"In you go!"

Before Lin Jing and his companion could react, their consciousness blurred, and they crossed the boundary between life and death as though drowning. When Lin Jing and the Pineleaf Squirrel opened their eyes again, they were already standing before a great door, surrounded by black pool water.

Intricate runes and patterns were carved into the enormous doors. In the faint light, these ancient symbols shimmered with an eerie blue glow, mysterious and profound.

"So this is the inside of the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda." Lin Jing tried to take the Mechanism Bamboo Gun out of his Storage Bag, only to discover that the Storage Bag had indeed become an ordinary bag. He could not connect with the Hanging Gourd either.

Seeing this, the Pineleaf Squirrel sighed. It could accept being forbidden to use its equipment during training in the Cave Abode, but even here in the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda, its Storage Bag had still been sealed. How was it supposed to live like this?

It poked Lin Jing, urging him to turn into that great Buddha from before before going inside. That would make it feel safer.

"Transforming into the Buddha requires too many special effects. It wastes too much true qi," Lin Jing said. "An ordinary Buddhist cultivator will do."

With that, he used his Illusion Path True Qi to slowly sketch out a familiar figure from his memories.

This Buddhist cultivator wore a sumptuous red-and-yellow kasaya and a bright yellow monk's hat. He held a golden Buddhist staff in one hand and a purple-gold alms bowl in the other. With white brows and a white beard, he was unsmiling and solemn, his face dark and brooding.

"Amitabha. This humble monk is Fa Hai," Lin Jing said to the Pineleaf Squirrel, leaving it utterly bewildered. It could not understand why Lin Jing's head was full of such strange figures.

"Let's go." Holding his Buddhist staff, alms bowl, and prayer beads, Lin Jing pushed open the pagoda doors.

He had originally wanted to transform into Tang Seng, but that fellow was always fated to be carried off by monsters. He simply could not stand up to demonic might, and even Lin Jing himself had no confidence in him.

The essence of the illusion path lay in convincing yourself first.

That old rascal Fa Hai knows a thing or two about vanquishing demons. He'll do!

The instant the doors opened, a demonic wind blew out. A pressure comparable to that of a Foundation Establishment demon had almost taken physical form, lashing Lin Jing and the Pineleaf Squirrel like a violent storm.

But intimidation of this level was nothing to Lin Jing, protected as he was by his illusion path. Even the Pineleaf Squirrel, after all its long tempering, could resist it through willpower alone.

The two of them advanced step by step against the demonic wind. Demonic power leaking from the surrounding walls gathered like ink, soon forming a terrifying serpent's head in midair. It bared its sharp fangs and hissed.

With that hiss, countless streams of water on the ground turned into venomous snakes and crawled onto Lin Jing. Though the Pineleaf Squirrel standing on his shoulder had a firm will and knew that everything before it was an illusion caused by the pressure shaking its mind, it did not even have a flying leaf in its paws now, and its scalp had begun to prickle.

It climbed from his shoulder... onto the higher perch of his bald head.

"Petty tricks. Don't be afraid." Ignoring the venomous snakes crawling over his body, Lin Jing walked straight toward the innermost depths. It was not that he was unafraid of these snakes, but that he could not see these illusions at all. At this moment, he was that conservative-minded eminent monk, boundless in magical power. Within the illusory domain Lin Jing had constructed himself, this demonic intimidation was not enough to affect his mind and cause hallucinations, much less inflict mental injuries.

Seeing that the Pineleaf Squirrel was being affected, Lin Jing gave a cold snort. "Fiend!" At once, seas split and mountains crumbled around them. His magical might dispersed the demonic power, and only then did the venomous snakes before the Pineleaf Squirrel's eyes disappear.

Meanwhile, deep underground, the shadow of an enormous demon roared, "That damned Buddhist aura! A bald donkey is here! Damn it! Damn it! I want to eat him! No! No! This man is a Buddhist, and his magical power is profound. He must have a way to undo the Buddhist pagoda's seals. I have to find a way to make him help me escape!" Sealed away for so long that its mind had grown muddled, the demon had also been fooled by Lin Jing's illusion.