The people of the Land of the Rising Sun possess an innate spirit of adolescent fantasy, a trait passed down through generations. In ancient times, many of them attributed inexplicable natural phenomena to spirits and deities.
It is in such a land that literary works like "The Night Parade of a Hundred Demons," which revolve around ghosts, can emerge.
In reality, many ghosts are mere figments of imagination, conjured by those "adolescent fantasy" Onmyoji.
The reason Kitano Wankawa believed these monsters were summoned by Ling Tian stemmed primarily from his own experiences.
The three treants he had just unleashed were, in fact, created by catalyzing seeds with his spiritual energy, accelerating their growth into treants.
The cultivation of these three treants had nearly drained all the spiritual energy from the precious green gem within his staff. This energy was even greater than his own personal reserves!
If Ling Tian's summoned flames and the two willow tree spirits were also cultivated through spiritual energy, the expenditure would be astronomical. In his estimation, even if Ling Tian had been cultivating since birth, he wouldn't possess such vast reserves of spiritual energy!
Yet, Ling Tian showed no signs of spiritual energy depletion. This left only one explanation: these monsters were summoned by Ling Tian from another dimension!
Coincidentally, Kitano Wankawa's assumption was remarkably accurate. These entities were indeed summoned by Ling Tian from the Spirit Realm!
"Come on, keep struggling. I want to see what else you've got!" Ling Tian taunted.
Kitano Wankawa gritted his teeth, looking at the Zen staff in his hand. The numerous gems on it had lost their luster, some even showing cracks. Only a few remained intact, and their number was dwindling.
His opponent was so powerful that it instilled fear in him. However, he could not retreat. Even if he died here, he was one of the most important guardians of the Ise Grand Shrine, and the Zen staff in his hand was a treasure of the shrine.
Holding this artifact, he was bound to share the fate of the Ise Grand Shrine!
With this thought, Kitano Wankawa chanted a mantra. A surge of spiritual energy flowed from the staff's handle into the gems, activating two of them. One was a sapphire of exceptional purity, and the other, a priceless opal.
Instantly, a wave of extreme cold erupted from the sapphire, instantly turning the surrounding air white!
Having interacted with the Ice Bear for an extended period, Ling Tian recognized the extraordinary nature of this extreme cold. Its temperature was astonishingly close to absolute zero!
The next moment, a gust of wind surged from the opal gem. This wind, carrying the wave of extreme cold, swept directly towards Ling Tian!
This was a composite spell. The extreme cold was highly lethal but moved at a slower pace.
However, with the force of the wind, the extreme cold would rapidly spread, forming a frigid storm. Once caught in this storm, the target would inevitably be frozen into an ice sculpture!
Kitano Wankawa did not believe Ling Tian could escape his attack. Even if Ling Tian summoned those two willow tree spirits or those fireballs, they would all be frozen into ice sculptures by this terrifying extreme cold!
In his understanding, when a summoned creature suffered a fatal blow, the summoner would also be severely injured!
Just as Ling Tian was about to be engulfed by the extreme cold, a colossal figure, approximately five meters tall, appeared before Ling Tian!
Kitano Wankawa's heart sank. It seemed this fellow was indeed a summoner!
The figure that appeared before Ling Tian was none other than the Ice Bear. As this behemoth emerged, the wave of extreme cold collided directly with its body. The Ice Bear's massive form perfectly shielded Ling Tian behind it.
Even more terrifying was that this extreme cold, capable of freezing people into ice sculptures, caused no damage upon striking the giant creature. Instead, the Ice Bear opened its maw and the wave of extreme cold rapidly condensed into a small vortex, which the bear then inhaled.
"Baka!" Kitano Wankawa's eyes blazed with fury. The spell he had just unleashed was almost his last resort, yet it was so effortlessly neutralized by this mysterious giant bear.
Moreover, judging by the bear's expression, absorbing the cold was as enjoyable as a seasoned smoker enjoying a puff.
Seeing the bear's demeanor, Ling Tian chuckled. He leaped into the air and landed on the Ice Bear's back.
The Ice Bear obediently lowered its body, standing on all fours, allowing Ling Tian to sit firmly upon it.
Indeed, riding the giant bear, Ling Tian exuded an aura of immense power, reminiscent of the great emperors of certain northern nations.
"There's an old saying in our Huaxia: 'To receive without giving back is impolite.' You've used many means against me, and I must reciprocate!"
As Ling Tian spoke, a cluster of talismans appeared in his hand. He immediately infused his true essence into them and, with a flick of his wrist, ten fireballs whistled towards Kitano Wankawa!
Kitano Wankawa's face contorted in alarm. He raised the Zen staff in his hand. At this moment, only a jade stone of exceptionally high purity remained intact on the staff.
With no other option, Kitano Wankawa immediately channeled his spiritual energy into the jade stone.
Instantly, a beam of white light erupted from the gem, tightly enveloping Kitano Wankawa and the Zen staff, forming a barrier of light!
Ling Tian's fireballs struck the barrier squarely, then exploded, transforming into raging flames that engulfed the entire light barrier.
After more than ten seconds, the flames dissipated, and the light barrier grew increasingly dim before vanishing. What appeared before Ling Tian was Kitano Wankawa, his face ashen and his spirit shaken.
Sensing the unfavorable turn of events, Kitano Wankawa turned and fled. Although he was not skilled in close combat, his speed in escaping was remarkable. As he ran, he called out to the approaching samurai, ordering them to intercept Ling Tian while he made an excuse to seek reinforcements.
Ling Tian extended his hand, pointing his fingers at Kitano Wankawa. Just as Kitano Wankawa had run a few dozen meters, a fiery red sword materialized less than a meter behind him.
The sword flew with incredible speed, appearing as if from nowhere, and pierced directly into Kitano Wankawa's chest!