Drip, drip.
The colorful lights of the Purple Mansion Realm cultivators rose through the rain. Each Daoist Master held their dharma artifact, their expressions varied—some calm, some filled with pity, others complex. Their divine abilities interconnected seamlessly, leaving no gaps between them.
"Nine Daoist Masters..."
The Wrathful Maha glared with his golden eyes, attempting to activate his metallic essence discreetly, only to find that the void was intricately linked, with a grand formation already set up to prevent his escape. His heart was instantly filled with a mix of shock and fury.
"You... you all... plotted against me?"
The Wrathful Maha's handsome face twisted, his body heating up, steam rising from his being. His well-defined back glistened with sweat as his deep golden eyes stared angrily at the Purple Mansion Realm cultivators.
With a twisted smile, he shouted in rage, "I see... I was too preoccupied to notice that something was amiss. You must have been planning this for a long time... No wonder... No wonder!"
The nine beams of colorful light each displayed different forms but stood firm, blocking his way without the slightest concession.
"Azure Pond Sect... Golden Feather Sect... Changxiao Gate... Purple Smoke Gate... Golden Tang Gate... Excellent! You are all here!" The Wrathful Maha roared maniacally, his voice causing the surrounding forest to bend and animals to bow. The oppressive aura thickened, his presence growing ever more powerful.
As the Wrathful Maha faced off against the Purple Mansion Realm cultivators, Li Tongya kneeled on the ground. The overwhelming pressure forced him to stay low, crawling carefully and painfully slowly. Blood continued to pour from the wound in his abdomen, dripping steadily into the rainwater.
Hiss...
Li Tongya took a deep breath, performing a hand seal and using the last of his mana to form a water membrane, covering the gaping hole in his abdomen. Using the Qingche Sword for support, he inched toward Li Xuanling's remains.
"Ling'er..."
After the fierce battle, Li Xuanling's body was now in pieces with only his head remaining—eyes open. Li Tongya curled his body and cradled his son's head.
With blood-soaked hands, he reached for his waist, only to realize that his storage pouch had been lost in the fight. Throughout his frugal life, he had only used the most basic storage pouch, with no protective enchantments. Without his mana to shield it, the pouch had been torn to shreds by the immense power around them.
Fortunately, the pouch had contained only items of little value. Li Tongya struggled on the ground for a moment, taking deep breaths to restore his strength. He removed his long robe and wrapped it around Li Xuanling's head, tying it carefully to his waist.
Removed from Li Tongya's body, the robe quickly turned a reddish-brown, soaked by blood and rain. Glancing at the colorful lights above, a constant warning echoed in his mind— If you stay any longer, you will die!
He gritted his teeth, his entire body feeling as if it would tear apart at any moment now. Fortunately, the Profound Pearl Talisman Seed in his qihai acupoint provided a continuous stream of cool energy, keeping him conscious. Li Tongya performed a hand seal and shakily rose into the wind, flying only half a li before crashing into the forest like a falling star.
————
The situation in the sky grew increasingly tense as the colorful radiance of divine abilities shone brightly. The Wrathful Maha roared, his body expanding like an inflating balloon. His face became as large as a house and his eyes were like two lanterns, emitting a blazing golden light in the sky.
"Zhang Tianyuan! It is you, as I suspected... You are the one leading this. I have not seen you in nearly a hundred years. Let us see what divine abilities you have mastered!"
The central beam of light revealed a figure—a young man in a Daoist robe decorated with the eight trigrams. Handsome and exceptional in demeanor, he was the Daoist Master Tianyuan who had been leading the others. He glanced sideways at the wrathful golden figure above, and said calmly, "Wrathful Subduer of the Four Demon Emperors... Monk, you have already been consumed by the Wrathful Form and lost sight of yourself."
"Hmph!"
The Wrathful Maha's patterned short rods expanded along with him, transforming into two large bronze pillars. He swung them vigorously, deflecting two probing artifacts, and sneered defiantly. "As long as I can exorcize evil, what does it matter if I am consumed by the Wrathful Form? You all conspired with traitors from my sect to harm me, yet you underestimate my resolve... A ninth Maha Reincarnate is beyond your understanding!"
The extremely complicated golden patterns on the rods shone brightly. Daoist Master Tianyuan raised his hand, and a small black tortoise shell flew out from his sleeve, growing rapidly in the wind until it was as large as a house. Radiant with mana light, it met the bronze rods head-on.
Thud—!
Daoist Master Tianyuan's artifact blocked the Wrathful Maha's attack easily. He said gently, "Monk, you are just one step away from becoming a Dharma Master. Under normal circumstances, we could not defeat you... But now that you have been possessed by a reincarnate and lost your thread of fate, you are much weaker!"
"Weaker..?"
The Wrathful Maha's eyes gleamed even more brilliantly with gold, showing no fear as he looked around at the Purple Mansion Realm cultivators. His immense voice thundered through the air.
"Ridiculous! Do you know what the Wrathful Subduer of the Four Demon Emperors truly is?"
The Wrathful Maha stomped heavily, making a swallowing motion. His teeth, large as human heads, gleamed sharply. Golden light spewed from his throat, scattering in the torrential rain, and transforming into various shapes upon landing.
They turned into monks wielding short rods, arhats entwined with serpent dragons, children, tigers, wolves, foxes, and snakes—all flying through the air and forming formations. The sky was filled with figures, all glaring angrily.
"So, you have mastered the Wrathful Form of Subduing Evil of the Heaven and Earth ... It seems you are the closest to becoming a Dharma Master among the Buddhist cultivators. No wonder you are so confident!" Daoist Master Tianyuan praised, yet remained unafraid.
He smiled and continued, "In these centuries, I have not seen a more talented Buddhist cultivator than yourself. It is a pity your mind is filled with twisted ideas of purging worldly filth with wrathful fire, making you mad and wasting your talent. If only you were more reasonable and cooperative with the Seven Dao of Buddhism in the north, you would not have ended up like this..."
The Wrathful Maha, sensing Daoist Master Tianyuan's calm demeanor, felt a growing sense of unease. Speculation began forming in his heart. Daoist Master Tianyuan laughed as he clasped his hands together and performed a hand seal, saying, "I respectfully invite the dharma relic to appear!"
Clang...
As Diaost Master Tianyuan spoke, the clear and unmistakable sound of metal chains echoed through the sky. Black chains emerged from the void, stretching across the heavens, descending upon the Wrathful Maha. They interlinked and branched out, creating hundreds of offshoots, darkening the sky.
The Wrathful Maha finally showed fear, his golden patterns glowing brightly as he tried to evade the chains.
But the dharma relic was inescapable, binding him tightly. The Wrathful Maha screamed wildly, shouting in rage, "A dharma relic... It is a dharma relic... Which True Monarch is it?"