Chapter 160 : Turning the Tide
When Tan Xin followed the trail and caught up, Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue had already dealt with most of the vicious souls.
Seeing his carefully refined magical treasure destroyed, Wuxiang no longer maintained his previous serenity. He glanced at the remaining twenty or so vicious souls, a flash of ruthlessness crossing his eyes as the Buddhist seal in his hands suddenly changed.
Yun Qingyue immediately sensed the shift in atmosphere. After quickly scanning Wuxiang and the vicious souls, she pulled the white tiger: "Run quickly, these vicious souls are about to self-destruct!"
Having witnessed cultivators' Nascent Soul self-destruction before, Jiang Mo immediately understood the gravity of the situation. She ran faster than her Senior Sister, intending to take her Senior Sister along, but there simply wasn't enough time—the moment Yun Qingyue's words fell, the remaining remnant souls in the field let out skyward howls in unison, a blinding red light bursting forth from their bodies.
Seeing the danger, the white tiger had no time to escape. Instead, she lunged forward and pressed Yun Qingyue beneath her. In the next instant after she pinned Yun Qingyue down, the twenty-plus vicious souls self-destructed simultaneously, their vigorous energy surging outward in all directions.
Yun Qingyue could feel the white tiger's enormous body tremble, and her heart immediately tightened.
Jiang Mo silently swallowed a mouthful of blood—the white tiger's blood was too precious to spit out carelessly. Moreover, the cultivation world was full of strange techniques, and they were currently facing a monk who had fallen into demonic ways. She didn't dare leave any blood traces; what if the opponent used them to cast evil spells?
At the moment of injury, Jiang Mo's mind was in chaos, with many random thoughts surfacing. Even she couldn't clarify what she was thinking. Only when she felt her Senior Sister's hand gripping her fur more tightly did she suddenly come back to her senses, breaking free from that inexplicably blank state, and transmitted a message to reassure her: "Senior Sister, I'm fine."
Hearing this, Yun Qingyue's heart first relaxed, then tensed again—the white tiger was certainly injured, otherwise she wouldn't have used voice transmission. And even if the white tiger was unharmed, they still had to face the demon monk. In their previous battle, they had merely destroyed one of his prayer bead necklaces!
Thinking of this, Yun Qingyue's hand tightened slightly, her palm containing the sword talisman her master had given her for life preservation...
It was at this moment that Tan Xin arrived.
He had been delayed in the pagoda, and by the time he pursued, not only was Wuxiang nowhere to be found, but even Yun Qingyue and the white tiger had vanished without a trace. The woman and tiger had been in such a hurry to chase that they hadn't noticed the young monk behind them hadn't followed, so they hadn't left any markers. Thus, Tan Xin could only search while pursuing, and the reason he could arrive so quickly was thanks to the substantial commotion caused by the vicious souls' self-destruction.
However, Tan Xin, who had rushed here following the disturbance, could hardly be pleased. With one glance, he saw the aftermath of the vicious souls' self-destruction—the once-dense forest had been leveled in an instant. The surrounding area for dozens of miles looked as if it had been finely plowed, not only barren of vegetation but also devoid of any sizable stones. At the center of the explosion was a deep pit, with faint golden light flickering and extinguishing at the bottom.
Seeing this, Tan Xin's heart lurched. Without time to investigate what had happened, he immediately rushed to the edge of the deep pit and looked down. There he saw a white tiger lying at the bottom, covered in wounds, its protective golden light gone, seemingly on the verge of death.
His heart raced with anxiety at the sight, and just as he was about to go down to check the situation, from the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of a red robe.
Tan Xin suddenly looked up, immediately meeting the eyes of the red-robed monk.
Perhaps upon seeing his former sect member, Wuxiang's expression momentarily froze, but his eyes quickly turned cold. He glanced at the deep pit, then back at Tan Xin, somewhat mockingly saying: "Well, arriving so late, have you finally thought to come to their rescue?"
Though Tan Xin didn't recognize Wuxiang, this statement filled him with guilt. Whether the demonic cultivators were after him or Foguang Temple, it had nothing to do with Yun Qingyue and the white tiger. They were merely passing by, yet each time trouble arose, they stood at the forefront, while he arrived belatedly—no matter how one looked at it, he had failed them.
"Junior Brother Tan Xin, don't listen to his nonsense, this has nothing to do with you," said Yun Qingyue, freeing herself from beneath the white tiger. Immediately noticing the white tiger's mottled injuries, she felt heartache while also speaking fairly.
Traveling with Tan Xin had been her own choice, as was her principle that righteousness and demonic cultivation could not coexist. Tan Xin had never asked her to do anything, so she naturally had no grounds to blame him. Moreover, even if she had reservations, these words should never have come from Wuxiang. The demon monk had no good intentions; he spoke only to shake Tan Xin's faith in Buddha.
Hearing her strong voice, a flash of delight crossed Tan Xin's clear black and white eyes, but with the great enemy before them, he remained alert without turning back. His vigilant gaze fell on Wuxiang: "Who are you?"
Wuxiang gave a cold laugh, but answered nonetheless: "My Buddhist name is Wuxiang. Does my nephew not recognize me?"
Tan Xin's expression suddenly changed, clearly familiar with the demon monk's name—born into the Buddha Sect, with Wuxiang having been a Buddha Sect disciple before falling into demonic ways, the latter was considered a disgrace to the sect, and Tan Xin naturally knew of him.
However, Tan Xin's sudden change of expression wasn't due to Wuxiang's identity as a demon monk, but because Wuxiang had appeared here. Unlike Yun Qingyue who needed Wuxiang's explanation, Tan Xin possessed Wisdom Eyes and immediately saw Wuxiang's soul issue. His soul was incomplete, merely a separated part, and this physical body didn't quite match the soul, obviously obtained through possession.
In the cultivation world, possession was already taboo. Some Nascent Souls who had lost their physical bodies would possess others, which was not only despised but would also face pursuit and killing once exposed. But Wuxiang's actions were clearly more excessive—he had needlessly taken a human life!
Tan Xin recited a Buddhist invocation, his expression unprecedentedly serious: "You have long defected from the Buddha Sect; this poor monk dares not accept the title of nephew. However, since you originated from the Buddha Sect and have now committed evil deeds, the Buddha Sect naturally should clean house..."
As his words fell, his hands formed a Buddhist seal, with white jade prayer beads hovering before him.
Seeing this, Wuxiang gave another cold laugh, clearly not taking this junior sect member seriously. The other's talk of "cleaning house" was laughable to him. He immediately formed a Buddhist seal with his hands, the gesture identical to Tan Xin's.
However, what Tan Xin used when forming the seal was white jade prayer beads, radiating golden Buddhist light, with the six-syllable mantra faintly visible.
After forming the seal, what Wuxiang summoned was a monk's staff. The staff was entirely golden, yet oddly, the light it emitted had a reddish tinge. In the eyes of someone with Wisdom Eyes like Tan Xin, that staff's radiance was not merely golden with red, but clearly wrapped in a thread of black energy. This black energy wasn't demonic energy, but killing intent and death energy, suggesting countless deaths at the hands of this staff.
The monk's staff, originally a Buddhist instrument, had become a demonic weapon in Wuxiang's hands. Tan Xin felt pained at the sight, just as he was pained by Wuxiang's wrong path—Wuxiang had originally been extremely talented, a junior whom the sect had once placed great hopes in. Unfortunately, after one misstep, he defected from the sect, and now as a demon monk, who knew how many people he had harmed. Many sect elders blamed themselves for this.
However, the more pained Tan Xin felt, the more merciless his actions became.
With the Buddhist seal formed in his hands, a layer of golden Buddhist light appeared around his entire body, making his still-immature face appear solemn and dignified. At the same time, enunciating each syllable clearly, he recited the six-syllable mantra: "Om Mani Padme Hum!"
[ TN: 唵、嘛、呢、叭、咪、吽 (Om Mani Padme Hum) is a sacred Buddhist mantra associated with Avalokiteśvara, believed to purify karma, cultivate compassion, and aid in spiritual enlightenment. ]
As the Great Bright Mantra was uttered, the white jade prayer beads immediately radiated intense Buddhist light, and the six-syllable mantra transformed into distinct characters hovering in mid-air. Then, as Tan Xin extended his hands forward in a pushing motion, these six syllables struck toward Wuxiang.
Seeing this, Wuxiang sneered disdainfully, similarly forming a seal with his hands and reciting the six-syllable mantra. However, unlike Tan Xin, who despite his notable cultivation was still young and needed the aid of a magical treasure to use the Great Bright Mantra, Wuxiang's cultivation was far more profound. Even though this was merely an avatar, he used the six-syllable mantra effortlessly.
But desiring a fatal strike, he infused the power of the six-syllable mantra into his weapon. Empowered by the six-syllable mantra, the monk's staff's golden-red light grew dazzlingly bright, attacking Tan Xin with tremendous force.
The two techniques quickly clashed, two streams of golden light colliding, silent yet oppressive.
Though Wuxiang's staff seemed superior in terms of momentum and power, for some reason, the moment the golden-red light touched the pure Buddhist light, it was like ice and snow meeting high temperature, instantly melting away—under Wuxiang's incredulous gaze, the golden-red light gradually vanished, followed by the golden staff, which from top to bottom seemed to peel like paint, gradually turning black.
Finally, the staff fell to the ground with a dull "clang." A sweet, metallic taste instantly surged in Wuxiang's throat, a mouthful of blood nearly spewing out, which he forcibly swallowed back.
His eyes tinged with red light, he gazed madly at Tan Xin: "How is this possible? That's not Buddhist light at all. What technique have you used?"
Tan Xin didn't answer or even look at him, his hands still pushing forward. The characters of the six-syllable mantra, emanating intense Buddhist light, breached the staff's barrier and advanced once more, this time directly targeting Wuxiang himself.
Wuxiang's expression turned extremely ugly. No longer daring to underestimate the young man before him, he hastily summoned the purple-gold bowl for defense. However, even this bowl, known for its defensive prowess, didn't fare well against the six-syllable mantra. The light on the magical treasure was gradually eroded, seemingly about to damage the treasure itself—unlike the prayer beads and monk's staff, this purple-gold bowl was Wuxiang's life-bound treasure; how could it be easily destroyed?!
Seeing the situation deteriorate, Wuxiang decisively recalled the purple-gold bowl while rapidly retreating, intending to avoid the attack. However, no matter how swift his movements, how could he outpace Buddhist light? Just as he recalled the purple-gold bowl, a stream of Buddhist light shone upon him.
Demonic cultivators and Buddhist practitioners were naturally incompatible, so most demonic cultivators would be harmed when facing Buddhist light. But this didn't include Wuxiang; he had originally been a Buddhist practitioner, and though he later fell into demonic ways, his cultivation hadn't been wasted. Instead, it had led him to another path of dual cultivation in both Buddhist and demonic arts. Buddhist light had almost no effect on him, but this time, for some reason, when that gentle Buddhist light shone on him, it felt like thousands of needles pricking him.
Wuxiang quickly avoided the Buddhist light, his face as gloomy as if water could drip from it—the pain was secondary; when struck by that Buddhist light, he felt his soul waver, as if about to leave this possessed body.
This was extremely inauspicious. He had gone to great lengths to enter this secret realm, not to deliver himself to others!
Seeing the six-syllable mantra miss its first strike and come at him again, Wuxiang glanced at Tan Xin enveloped in Buddhist light, weighing his options before abandoning the idea of eliminating his opponent. With a light tap of his toes on the ground, he floated back onto his demonic elephant mount, then smiled hatefully at Tan Xin: "Very well, very well, truly worthy of being a distinguished disciple of the Buddha Sect. Considering we share the same sect origins, I'll spare you today."
As he spoke, the six-syllable mantra had reached Wuxiang. With a cold snort, his demonic elephant immediately raised its tusks to block the mantra, followed by a miserable howl as three of its six fearsome tusks were instantly broken.
The tusks were manifestations of the demonic elephant's cultivation. Though they could regenerate in the future, the damage to it was undeniable.
Fortunately, after this interception, the six-syllable mantra finally exhausted its last bit of energy, shattering into specks of golden light that dissipated.
Seeing this, Wuxiang didn't linger. After a final glance at Tan Xin, he rode the demonic elephant away swiftly.
Tan Xin didn't pursue, but stood in place watching him leave. After a moment, the Buddhist light surrounding the originally dignified young monk suddenly dispersed. Then his legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground, the color instantly draining from his handsome face.