Chapter 1789: Chapter 1816: The Peculiar Time Stop
Space substitution!
The talisman took effect, and Li Xiaobai swapped positions with Master Tianxuan, appearing in the midst of the monks in the blink of an eye. Meanwhile, Elder Tianxuan suddenly found himself in front of a collapsing spatial rift. Before he could react, a massive force pulled him into the void turbulence.
“Amituo… Buddha!”
Tianxuan’s body rapidly expanded, hair sprouting all over, and his eyes turned white. Within him, the bloodline of the giant ape demonic beast awoke, attempting to break free from the pull of the void turbulence. Unfortunately, he was a step too slow, his massive form being entirely dragged into the pitch-black universe.
A moment later, space restored to its previous state, the scene fell into silence, and the monks’ faces turned from dazed to ferocious. The suppressed beast transformation in them surged once more, and deep growls echoed through the forest.
“Roar!”
“Demon monk, you killed Master Tianxuan of our Buddhist Sect; you deserve to die!”
“We will tear you to pieces!”
In the open area of the forest, countless demonic beasts surged up, the scent of blood permeating and staining the woods.
“This is the true nature of the mixed-blood human race. Human rationality ultimately cannot contend with the demonic beast bloodline. If they maintain beast transformation for an extended period, they will completely become beasts.”
Yu Huan Shui marveled at the wild beasts before him. In the universe, almost all humans possess traces of the Demon Race bloodline, yet the human race refuses to acknowledge the demonic part within them. It’s rare, just like these monks who freely unleash their demonic parts.
Frequent beast transformation is akin to saying you’ve given up on being human; however, achieving this by oneself, letting go of the shackles of the demonic bloodline, is very hard, let alone all these monks being able to do so. Someone beyond ordinary must be guiding them, helping release the Demon Race bloodline.
Li Xiaobai strolled, unhurried: “I will burn you to ashes, so you can feel the coldest flame in the world, like soaking in icy spring on a deep winter’s night!”
As he explained, the surrounding environment instantly froze, a desolate emptiness engulfed the heart. This is the feeling of everything shattering, time halting—every additional second induces suffocating despair.
Under Li Xiaobai’s feet, copious black flames surged up, the Hellfire swept over the demonic beasts like a tide, cleaning the ground to a flat plain, not a bone or speck of dust remaining—smooth like a mirror.
After consecutively pausing time twice, he grasped the knack of narration. Though he didn’t understand the principle, it seemed merely mentioning “second brother” during narration paused time for a second.
Hellfire retracted, vanished, and time resumed.
Yu Huan Shui blinked, looking at the empty forest, a bit stunned. He missed it again, seeing nothing. For a moment, he felt disconnected from the surrounding environment, feeling the power of the Time Law.
“Little brother, the power of time is truly so magical. Twice in a row, I didn’t see how you made a move; they were gone even before making preparations.”
Yu Huan Shui was shocked. In order to observe the power of the Time Law, he quietly operated the Law of Fate and the Minor Law of Causality, hoping to escape solidified time, but it was fruitless; time overwhelmingly prevailed.
“I’m also a bit confused, still exploring.”
Li Xiaobai chuckled casually, glanced at the three survivors left in the corner—three trembling little nuns—and said nothing more, heading deeper into the forest.
Jing Ci and the two others were as silent as cicadas in winter; today’s events far exceeded their understanding. Elder Tianxuan and dozens of senior brothers perished, and they couldn’t comprehend Li Xiaobai’s methods of killing at all.
Moreover, a moment ago, the three of them were amidst monks being cared for, and in an instant, they found themselves moved to a corner. They were sure they hadn’t blinked, nor felt anyone touching them—it all happened too strangely. They had inadvertently brought back an amazing monster.
In the wild, encountering no monks, Yu Huan Shui asked, “Did we take a wrong turn?”
Li Xiaobai replied, “Are we not heading west? But it is quite strange, not encountering any monks or spirits either.”
“What is a spirit?”
“A kind of creature formed from human resentment after death, specializing in corrupting the Divine Soul.”
Li Xiaobai thought of the female ghost in his mind, who vanished after pulling him into the space where Ye Wushuang was within the Netherworld.
“Resentment?”
“Are you referring to that?”
Yu Huan Shui pointed to one side, curiously asked.
Li Xiaobai followed the direction of his finger, instantly feeling his scalp tingle, frost qi rising from his feet to his head.
Outside the bushes not far to his left, countless spirits were swarming, entrapped by a formation. Despite their attempts at escape, they were unable to break free, numbering at least in the thousands.
“Who did this, setting up a formation to encircle the spirits? No wonder there were no wild spirits seen.”
…
Elsewhere, within the mountains, outside the Task Hall.
A large group of bald heads, countless monks sat cross-legged, faint golden light emanating from them.
“Senior Brother Lingtai, the truce with the east is almost at an end. Seeing the state of our sect disciples, we might not withstand the next wave of attacks.”
Two yellow-robed monks said with furrowed brows, sighing deeply.
“If the Divine Beast were still here, we would not be in such a predicament. The Abbot is also besieged by a few experts from the east and cannot extricate himself. In Lingyin Temple, only a few elders and the Abbot have some battle capability left.”
“No worries. Our Buddha stimulates the Demon Race bloodline within disciples. For them, calamity and fortune coexist. In survival or destruction, those who can harness the Demon Race bloodline become strong. Our Buddha is not only considering the defense of the Pure Land but also selecting disciples, retaining the fine and discarding the flawed.”
Elder Monk Lingtai brought his hands together in prayer, expressionless: “These are choices made by the disciples themselves. Normally they are fond of fighting, seeking fame and profit; their cultivation in Buddhist Law slackens daily. One reaps what they sow. This old monk only needs to follow our Buddha’s steps.”
The yellow-robed monk asked: “What to do next?”
“How is our plan going?”
“Fairly smoothly. Really going to do this? Cultivating these disciples isn’t easy. If we implement that plan, they won’t be themselves anymore.”
Lingtai slowly closed his eyes: “Truly strong-willed people don’t lose their essence over such things. Proceed. The east has already made contact with the demonic beasts; resisting their joint assault is the only way.”
“Agreed!”
“Greatly agreed!”
The two yellow-robed monks floated into the air, standing before thousands of Buddhist Sect disciples, loudly declaring: “Amitabha, our Buddha is compassionate, opening a path for us to become stronger. All Buddhist Sect disciples and elders, immediately go up to the mountain and accept Buddha’s blessing. Do not resist!”