Chapter 8

Lan Caihe was frantic. His voice transmission was blocked by the fierce wind, and the Five-Colored Flower Basket had been snatched away by Garuda, leaving him unable to aid Zhuang Yan.

Before Zhuang Yan's eyes were nothing but raging wind and swirling sand, his vision completely obstructed. He kept shifting positions until he finally found a gap where the wind was weaker. Looking up, he saw golden light filling the sky as it hurtled toward him.

He seized the opportunity and used One Thought Capture again.

In an instant, the raging wind ceased, turning into a tiny gust that fell into Zhuang Yan's hand. More than a hundred golden halberd shadows were also enveloped by the capturing force and collected along with the wind.

The true body of the Heavenly King Golden Halberd sensed the capturing force and flew back at high speed. Garuda's thoughts raced as he tried to summon it back.

Before Garuda could react, the Heavenly King Golden Halberd turned into a streak of golden light and fell into Zhuang Yan's palm.

"My golden halberd!" Garuda roared. This was his bound Immortal Artifact—how could he allow someone else to claim it? With a flap of his wings, he shot toward Zhuang Yan like lightning. "Give it back!"

Zhuang Yan laughed heartily. With a turn of his hand, he refined the Fierce Wind Golden Halberd. Then he swung his arm, sending a hundred illusory golden halberds wrapped in fierce wind back at Garuda.

The gale howled, and golden light tore through the air. Caught off guard, Garuda was swallowed by the fierce wind as a hundred halberd shadows came hurtling toward him. He abruptly folded his golden wings around himself. The halberd shadows struck his feathers and shattered one after another, failing to harm him in the slightest.

When the wind weakened, Garuda swept his wings, churning the airwaves and instantly dispersing the gale. Qingfeng brushed past, stirring Zhuang Yan's immortal robes. Holding the Three Treasures Silver Pestle in his left hand and the Heavenly King Golden Halberd in his right, he raised his head and laughed. "This Immortal Artifact is mine now. Consider it your offering!"

Garuda's heart jolted as he realized his connection to the golden halberd had been completely severed—it had already been refined by Zhuang Yan!

Enraged, Garuda shot into the sky as golden flames surged around him. A piercing cry rang across the heavens, and he revealed his true form—a hundred-zhang Golden-Winged Divine Bird, with blade-like wings and sword-like claws.

Whoosh! The Golden-Winged Divine Bird dove down faster than a streak of light. Zhuang Yan flashed repeatedly, and before the afterimages at his original position had vanished, the ground had already been ripped open by golden light.

Boom—!

Dacang Mountain shook with earth-shaking tremors. Where the two clashed, the mountainside collapsed and dust blotted out the sky. When the dust settled slightly, the Golden-Winged Divine Bird hovered high overhead and shrieked, "You may evade me for now, but let's see how you avoid this strike!"

Before it finished speaking, heaven-burning golden flames ignited across its body. Like a meteor crashing to earth, it charged straight at Zhuang Yan with earth-destroying force!

The enormous golden bird swooped down, stirring up towering airwaves that sent Lan Caihe and his cloud tumbling.

The entire Dacang Mountain trembled violently. Zhuang Yan was pinned to the ground by the crushing pressure, and his ability to evade completely failed.

Yet he remained calm in the face of danger. He quickly crouched and drove the Heavenly King Golden Halberd upright into the ground, its icy gleaming tip pointing directly at the heavens.

Garuda's pupils shrank sharply at the sight—he knew the sharpness of this bound divine weapon better than anyone.

Neither side had any path of retreat now. No matter where the halberd blade struck, it would pierce straight through Garuda's body.

Garuda's ferocity flared. He brought both claws together toward the halberd tip as his magical power surged around him. Even if he suffered grievous injuries, he would crush Zhuang Yan to dust!

As the colossal shadow that blotted out the sky descended over his head with earth-destroying force, Zhuang Yan's evasion still failed to trigger.

At the critical moment, Garuda's magical power suddenly collapsed, and the golden flames protecting his body extinguished in an instant.

His enormous body changed from a falling meteor into a withered leaf, all its might gone.

Zhuang Yan silently activated his status effect, applying it to his enemy while gaining a boost himself.

High in the sky, Garuda felt utterly exhausted in body and spirit. His golden wings drooped, and the strength throughout his body ebbed away like a receding tide.

With a deafening crash, the giant bird slammed into the ground. The Heavenly King Golden Halberd pierced through its abdomen, while Zhuang Yan was pinned beneath it.

The mountain crumbled, and dust swallowed the entire Dacang Mountain.

After a long while, Lan Caihe returned on a cloud. Seeing Garuda crush half a mountain peak beneath his mountain-like body, with no sign of Zhuang Yan, he could not help sighing. I told you not to come...

Before his words could fade, the giant bird suddenly raised its head and vomited blood. Its head then crashed heavily back to the ground, and its wings hung limp.

The weakened status, combined with the divine weapon piercing through him and the critical strike effect, left Garuda completely unable to move. He could only gasp and glare at the sky.

Sensing the weakening aura of his formidable foe, Lan Caihe's eyes gleamed. Though his Self-Healing status had ended, his injuries had stabilized and more than half his magical power had recovered.

He formed a hand seal and summoned immortal light, slowly lifting Garuda's enormous body. This heavy body nearly exhausted all his remaining magical power.

Once the huge body left the ground, Zhuang Yan was finally revealed, buried deep in the earth. He lay quietly in a pool of blood, with only the Golden Halberd standing firm. Blood continued to drip from Garuda's abdominal wound.

Lan Caihe leaped to Zhuang Yan's side and asked with concern, "Mountain God of Lingtai, can you still hold on?"

Although Garuda's magical power had been suppressed by the status effect, the weight of his enormous body was still beyond what Zhuang Yan's mortal body could bear.

Zhuang Yan groaned twice and gritted his teeth. "I feel wonderful."

Lan Caihe frowned. "Strange. Your left leg and right arm are clearly both broken. How can you feel wonderful?"

Zhuang Yan snapped, "You know perfectly well! Hurry up and get me out!"

Still talking tough after being injured like this? Though displeased, Lan Caihe quickly dragged Zhuang Yan from the pit and took him into the clouds.

Above the clouds, Lan Caihe took out an Immortal Pill. "Your injuries are not too severe. Take this Spirit Pill, and you'll be fine."

Zhuang Yan shook his head. "No need. Just set my broken limbs back in place."

Lan Caihe did as he said, first straightening his left leg before moving to adjust his right arm. However, Zhuang Yan's right hand was tightly gripping the Heavenly King Golden Halberd, making it difficult to reposition.

"Put down the weapon first," Lan Caihe reminded him.

With a thought from Zhuang Yan, the Three Treasures Silver Pestle in his left hand and the Golden Halberd in his right instantly vanished into the void.

As his bones were set back in place, under the status effect, Zhuang Yan's broken bones, torn tendons, and damaged internal organs rapidly healed.

At that moment, another loud crash came from the ground—Lan Caihe's magical power had run out, and Garuda's body fell once more.

"Help me up, quickly." Zhuang Yan urged. The status effect on him was about to disappear.

"What status?" Lan Caihe asked, utterly confused.

"No time to explain!" Zhuang Yan pressed. Though reluctant, Lan Caihe immediately helped him to his feet.

Zhuang Yan focused his gaze and saw that Garuda's status had only ten breaths remaining. He swiftly took a clay jar from the void, held it in his left hand toward Garuda, and activated One Thought Seal.

In an instant, Garuda's enormous body rapidly shrank, turning into a streak of light that entered the jar. The jar trembled faintly, then a crystalline sealing barrier appeared around it.

Lan Caihe leaned closer in curiosity. Garuda had shrunk to the size of a cricket and was furiously crashing about inside the jar. Though he had recovered his strength, he could not shake the seal in the slightest.

Looking up at Zhuang Yan, Lan Caihe's eyes were filled with admiration. "Truly remarkable!"

[Zhuang Yan put away the Sealing Pot and descended from the clouds with Lan Caihe. The demons of Dark Gold Cave had scattered like birds and beasts as soon as Garuda was sealed away, and not a single demon remained in the cave.

After the two entered the cave and rescued the trapped people, Zhuang Yan summoned the Heavenly King Golden Halberd and hurled it down at Dark Gold Cave with all his strength.

With a thunderous crash, the Heavenly King Golden Halberd smashed heavily into the roof of Dark Gold Cave. Rocks collapsed at once, and the entire cave caved in, instantly becoming ruins.

Lan Caihe waved his sleeve and summoned an auspicious cloud, which carried several thousand terrified mortals down to Xiaotian Village at the foot of Spirit Platform Mountain. Once they landed, the mortals finally came to their senses and understood that the two immortals had saved them.

Everyone fell to their knees, tears streaming down their faces as they repeatedly kowtowed toward Zhuang Yan and Lan Caihe in the clouds. Someone shouted, "Thank you, Immortal Masters, for saving our lives! Please tell us your honored names so we may build temples and offer worship!"

Lan Caihe called out from the clouds, "Remember, the one who saved you was the Mountain God of Lingtai." With that, he activated the cloud talisman and turned into a streak of light, returning to the mountain.

After returning to the Mountain God Temple, Lan Caihe returned the Thousand Light Cloud Talisman to Zhuang Yan. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Mountain God, could you return my flower basket to me?"

Zhuang Yan looked puzzled. "I did not take your flower basket."

Lan Caihe hurriedly grabbed his sleeve. "When I fought Garuda earlier, he took my flower basket. It must still be on him now."

Zhuang Yan smiled. "Returning your flower basket will not be difficult. But just now, you only mentioned my name to those mortals and said nothing about yourself. Why?"

"This was your achievement to begin with. I merely did a little." Lan Caihe paused, then lowered his voice with a smile. "Besides, Garuda is connected to a Buddhist bodhisattva. It would not be convenient for me to get too deeply involved."

Zhuang Yan nodded in understanding and took the jar from his sleeve. Garuda lay sprawled at the bottom, seemingly exhausted. Zhuang Yan said coldly, "Garuda, hand over the Five-Colored Flower Basket."

Garuda immediately sprang up upon hearing this and shouted, "I am a divine bird under Akashagarbha Bodhisattva! You dare imprison me? Can you bear the karmic consequences?"

Zhuang Yan remained unmoved. "Hand over the flower basket, or I will break your wings." As he spoke, he thrust the Heavenly King Golden Halberd into the jar.

With a cry, the golden halberd pierced Garuda's left wing, and blood splattered everywhere. Garuda rolled about the bottom of the jar in agony, wailing.

"I'll say this one last time. Hand over the flower basket." Zhuang Yan's voice was icy.

Garuda gnashed his teeth. "Fine! Mountain God of Lingtai, I will remember today's grudge!" A streak of five-colored light flashed, and the flower basket flew out of the jar.

Lan Caihe quickly caught it. After inspecting it carefully, he happily cupped his hands. "Thank you for your help, Mountain God."

Zhuang Yan put away the Heavenly King Golden Halberd and casually placed the jar beneath the Mountain God statue.

Lan Caihe stared in surprise. "You are just leaving it there? Aren't you afraid someone will steal it and release Garuda?"

Zhuang Yan smiled faintly. "Try it and see."

Lan Caihe truly reached out to grab it, only to grasp empty air. His hand passed straight through the jar. His face filled with shock as he tried repeatedly, even using immortal arts, yet he still could not touch it.

"This item bears my seal," Zhuang Yan explained. "Unless I unseal it, others may only look at it, not touch it."

"Wonderful!" Lan Caihe praised repeatedly. Then, changing the subject, he asked, "Akashagarbha Bodhisattva will surely not sit by while Garuda is captured. How do you plan to handle this?"

"I will report it to the Heavenly Court according to Heavenly Law," Zhuang Yan replied.

Lan Caihe nodded. "Reasonable. At least you will have justice on your side." He paused. "I will submit a joint memorial with you. I'll return to the True Palace of Great Mystery first. Once your memorial arrives, I will submit it together with mine."

"Didn't you say you did not wish to become too deeply involved?" Zhuang Yan asked.

Lan Caihe smiled. "I have my own considerations, Mountain God. You need not worry." He cupped his hands in farewell. "I'll be going ahead."

Zhuang Yan glimpsed that the wound on Lan Caihe's chest had mostly healed and nodded. "All right."

Lan Caihe turned into immortal light and shot into the sky. Zhuang Yan then wrote a memorial detailing Garuda's atrocities of devouring humans and cast it into the shrine, sending it directly to the Department of the Mortal Realm.

In the Western Pure Land, Buddhist light shone everywhere, and precious radiance spread across the land.

At the spiritual mountain's sacred ground, Akashagarbha Bodhisattva sat upon a Lotus Throne. He wore a Five Buddha Crown, held the Wisdom Sword in his right hand and a precious lotus in his left, while a brilliant pearl rested atop the lotus. The Merit Wheel behind his head shone brightly.

Suddenly, the bodhisattva opened his eyes and summoned an attendant. "Is Garuda on the mountain?"

The attendant bowed his head and replied, "Since the bodhisattva entered seclusion three years ago, Garuda has taken leave to descend the mountain."