108 A New Avatar
A hundred miles away.
In the void, demonic light flickered as a vine ball rolled out. The largest vine on the ball shifted and transformed, eventually revealing the figure of Pang Yue. Inside the protective vine ball were nine disciples of the Luo family, including Luo Qingyuan.
The vine ball rolled through the sky, appearing and disappearing intermittently, swiftly covering several miles in an instant.
Luo Qingyuan’s phoenix-like eyes brimmed with frost as she angrily exclaimed, “This Le Feihuang really doesn’t know when to quit. Does he truly think the Luo family is so easy to control?!”
Pang Yue’s vine clone hurriedly offered some comforting words before leading everyone toward the teleportation island.
...
Elsewhere.
Ignoring the beautiful woman’s bargaining with Le Feihuang, Pang Yue activated the Boundless Light Buddha, unleashing a vast sea of golden sun-glass Buddhist flames that surged toward the two.
The beauty lightly shook her flower basket, releasing thousands upon thousands of multicolored malevolent energies that collided silently against the Buddha’s flames.
Upon contact, the flames fell like a fine rain, dissipating the multicolored energies without hindrance.
Alarmed, the woman quickly abandoned her disdain, concentrating her power to condense the malevolent energies into a single orb above her head, barely holding back the flames.
The golden Buddha’s giant hand opened, swirling the flames into a golden fiery戒刀, slowly slashing toward her.
The blade seemed slow but was in fact swift, imbued with an ethereal Zen aura, cutting close to the woman.
Her hands opened like blooming flowers, spiritual light radiating fiercely as the basket emitted a dazzling brilliance that clashed with the blade’s glow.
Boom!
The golden Buddhist flames exploded with a deafening roar, sending shockwaves rolling through the air.
Waving her fair hand, the woman attempted to lead Le Feihuang away from the blast.
Suddenly,
a jet-black sword light flashed by, wrapping around Le Feihuang before vanishing.
Moments later,
as the light faded, the woman saw that Le Feihuang had been captured by the opponent, standing atop the golden Buddha’s shoulder.
Thick golden sun-glass Buddhist flames gathered around him, suppressing the golden core-level protective treasures he wore.
Behind the Buddha, swirling light accompanied countless chanting voices.
The golden fiery戒刀 slashed again; the woman hastily focused to counter.
Slash after slash thundered forth.
The giant golden Buddha and the enchanting woman formed a stark contrast.
---
Hundreds of feet of blade light cut and shifted unpredictably, repeatedly pushing the woman beyond her limits.
To her horror, she realized that the talisman left by Le Feihuang’s father, Elder Le Yu, and his golden core replica on the Buddha’s shoulder were being silently dismantled one by one.
The golden sun-glass Buddhist flames reduced all treasures to ashes without a sound.
Suddenly,
the golden Buddha’s blade forced the woman to retreat.
Pang Yue called out sharply, “Stop this at once!”
He grasped Le Feihuang’s head in his large hand, sealing his entire power. He knew that even a slight squeeze could crush his skull!
The woman’s heart tightened; she hurriedly ceased her attack.
If Le Yu discovered her failure causing his beloved son’s tragic death, the consequences...
She was merely a scattered cultivator relying on the Chongxuan Sect, utterly incomparable to Elder Le Yu in strength or influence!
At the instant she stopped, the golden fiery戒刀 in the Buddha’s hand dissipated.
Just as she thought Pang Yue might negotiate, a dense Buddhist light suddenly enveloped her!
The flames burned through her protective aura, striking her directly!
A grand, solemn Buddhist chant echoed deep within her mind—
“Convert... convert... convert...”
Startled awake, she found her power being refined and transformed into pure Buddhist energy by a mysterious force.
An irresistible urge to pay homage and convert to Buddhism surged within her!
Countless layers of chanting voices rolled in like a mighty tide, flooding her consciousness and saturating her soul alongside the majestic chant.
She struggled fiercely but was already too late!
Within three incense sticks’ time, all her power had been purified into Buddhist energy.
Le Feihuang watched helplessly as the woman transformed into a beam of Buddhist light, merging into the Buddha’s back, disbelief etched deeply on his face.
Behind the golden Buddha, the light intensified; the Buddhist wheel trembled slightly, gaining another layer!
The Buddha’s aura grew deeper and more profound.
“What sorcery is this? This is definitely not a true Buddhist skill!” he trembled, speaking softly.
For a golden core-level cultivator to be forcibly converted and made a follower of the golden Buddha was utterly unacceptable.
He had thought Pang Yue had exhausted all his methods in this duel, yet his greatest trump card was this... golden core-level Buddhist puppet.
“I have underestimated him!”
Snapping back to reality, Le Feihuang immediately changed expression, smiling obsequiously, “Brother Pang, please hold on. I have something to say...”
He feared speaking too freely might cause Pang Yue to crush his head in an instant.
Pang Yue smiled faintly. “To be honest, I’m the type who never forgets a grudge.”
With that, thick black mist surged from his hand, enveloping Le Feihuang.
---
Soon, the black mist condensed and vanished.
Le Feihuang appeared before Pang Yue, expression calm.
They exchanged identical smiles.
...
At the teleportation island.
Outside the magnificent teleportation hall, Luo Qingyuan stood shoulder to shoulder with the vine clone of Pang Yue, gazing toward the distant horizon.
A jet-black sword light streaked across the sky, suddenly descending to the hall’s front.
The sword light shifted, revealing a tall, elegant figure with flowing sleeves.
“Elder Luo has not arrived yet?” Pang Yue asked.
As he spoke, the vine clone shimmered and transformed into a slender vine, flying back into Pang Yue’s sleeve.
“He’s here.”
An aged voice sounded.
A moment ago he was far on the horizon; the next he stood before them, looking slightly disheveled from a hard-fought loss.
He glanced at Luo Qingyuan and nodded to Pang Yue: “Good. Let’s return to the demon talisman first.”
The group entered the hall and soon teleported away.
...
In the Chongxuan Sect mountain city.
Within a resplendent palace.
Twenty-four fist-sized luminous pearls were embedded in the dome, radiating brilliant light that bathed the hall in soft, bright glow.
At the center stood an exquisite jade bathing pool, its spiritual liquid rippling, saturated with pure spiritual energy that seemed almost tangible.
“Le Feihuang” lay contentedly in the pool, eyes closed, cultivating as his internal power circulated and strengthened.
A beautiful maid knelt by the pool’s edge, speaking softly, “Master, there’s news regarding your investigation into Disciple Mingfei.”
Le Feihuang lazily responded, “Tell me about it.”
When he had returned from the Treasure Pavilion, he had vented his anger on Disciple Mingfei, ordering an investigation to find faults and punish her.
The maid replied gently, “Actually, this isn’t a secret. When Mingfei was still at the Qi-absorption stage, she had a close senior brother. She advanced to the Dao Foundation first and was favored by an elder from the Golden Glow faction, becoming the Dao Foundation elder’s partner...”
“In recent years, their ties seemed tenuous, and rumors swirled, but that Dao Foundation elder turned a blind eye. Until recently, that senior finally broke through to the inner sect and personally visited Mingfei.”
“The Ghost General captured him and interrogated him, discovering Mingfei had secretly passed on the Golden Glow Banner inheritance to him.”
“Mingfei violated sect rules, and if reported, she might lose her status as a true disciple...”