Boom!!!
Amidst the onslaught of over a dozen talismans, a wisp of dark golden light surged. Despite the continuous impact of overwhelming spiritual energy, it never diminished in the slightest.
Wu Hai let out roar after roar, his malevolence thoroughly ignited. He brandished his monk's robe, using it to forcefully disperse the surging spiritual energy around him, utterly unconcerned about the damage to this magical artifact.
In just a moment, more than half of the dozen attacks had dissipated, revealing Wu Hai's figure.
However, just as he was about to take a step forward and crush Ji Yuan to death with the one hundred and eight prayer beads in his hand, he saw the opponent fling a talisman, shimmering with radiant colors, into the air.
With a loud shout, a torrent of thick and pure spiritual energy gushed forth, then condensed into a semi-transparent, massive sword shadow, about ten feet long.
The wide sword body flowed with colorful clouds, raining down infinite sword qi. With just a pause, it slashed down from the sky.
Upon witnessing this, Wu Hai immediately let out a low cry and, in the first instance, swiftly flung his partially damaged monk's robe towards the colossal sword shadow that was slashing down from the sky.
Yet, this half-destroyed magical artifact only lasted for a moment before shattering amidst countless sword qi, scattering into dozens of tattered cloth fragments.
"Rise!"
A fierce glint flashed in Wu Hai's eyes. With a movement of his mind, the alms bowl in his palm suddenly flew into the air. Although bound by several dark ink-like chains, it still emitted a rich, clear light.
However, in front of the massive sword shadow, this alms bowl, also a reasonably good magical artifact, only lasted for three or four breaths. Then, the sword shadow flashed past, cleaving it in two!
At this moment, on Wu Hai's face, besides boundless rage, a trace of fear involuntarily emerged.
The Buddhist light around him blazed, and dark golden Sanskrit characters appeared, transforming into two enormous palms that, following his movements, reached upwards to receive the sword held in his hands.
Bang!!!
The floor tiles beneath Wu Hai instantly shattered, and his legs sank more than halfway into the ground. His robes were torn by the falling sword qi, making him look nothing like a venerable high monk.
At this moment, demonic energy billowed from him, sweeping out alongside the dark golden Buddhist light, continuously merging into the pair of giant palms that materialized above his head.
"Hurry!"
Ji Yuan roared, immediately jolting awake those who had spoken.
Zhao Yuan Song reacted the fastest. He formed hand seals with both hands, and with a surge of spiritual energy within him, earth-yellow spikes materialized out of thin air. Within a couple of finger snaps, more than half of them pierced into Wu Hai's back.
Beside him, Shen Lang, at this moment, tapped the book in front of him, transforming the text into a palm-sized imperial seal, which he forcefully smashed onto Wu Hai's head.
With two consecutive attacks, Wu Hai's vision instantly darkened, and the spiritual energy within his body stagnated for a moment, almost causing the materialized palms to collapse.
However, before he could recover, a slender figure suddenly appeared before him.
Su Hong Zhu, enduring the discomfort caused by the Buddhist light, revealed her true form with her arms. Her crystalline white bone palms transformed into fist shadows, falling upon the opponent like a torrential downpour.
Even though Wu Hai was a Buddhist cultivator with a physique comparable to martial artists of the same realm, and protected by dark golden Sanskrit characters, he could not withstand such a dense, ferociously powerful assault.
After enduring over a dozen punches, the dark golden Sanskrit characters on his body exploded, and with a final punch to his forehead, his entire body was sent flying backward.
"Slash!"
Ji Yuan shouted loudly, his index and middle fingers together, pointing at the colossal sword shadow in mid-air.
In an instant, the sword shadow, formed by the Heavenly Sword Talisman, circled and fiercely struck Wu Hai's body. With a muffled thud, the robust physique, tempered by Buddhist cultivation, instantly exploded into a mist of blood.
Seeing this, everyone retreated to avoid being splattered by the blood, but the surrounding divine statues could not escape, being drenched in the crimson rain.
Twenty-odd breaths later, as the spiritual energy of the Heavenly Sword Talisman dissipated, the hall slowly returned to calm. Apart from the blood splattered all around and a string of prayer beads on the ground, there was nothing else.
Wu Hai, once a venerable high monk who had fallen into the demonic path and entered the second realm, despite unleashing his full might, could not escape his fated demise.
"Are you alright?"
Shen Lang skirted around the bloodstains and approached Ji Yuan, placing a hand on his shoulder.
He knew well that Ji Yuan's feelings for that person were even deeper than his own; he had truly regarded him as family, often using the pills he refined to extend the life of the aging Wu Hai.
However, for mortals to extend their lives, how difficult it was. Even Ji Yuan, at this moment, found it difficult to successfully refine such life-extending pills, let alone gather the necessary spiritual herbs, no matter how much they racked their brains.
Now, not only had Wu Hai fallen into the demonic path, but he had also been killed by their combined efforts, and the final blow had come from Ji Yuan's hand…
With this thought, Shen Lang opened his mouth but ultimately could not utter any comforting words.
At this time, Zhao Yuan Song and the others also approached, holding the string of prayer beads that had fallen into the bloodstains. After wiping them clean, they offered them to the silent Ji Yuan.
Even setting aside their relationship, the final blow to kill Wu Hai had been delivered by him, and according to the rules, any spoils of war should first go to him.
After a long while, Ji Yuan let out a sigh, glanced at the prayer beads before him, and took them into his palm.
He raised his head and saw the concerned and worried expressions in everyone's eyes. He managed a forced smile.
"You might not believe it, but I feel like Master Wu Hai… he might not have truly died."
Ji Yuan thought for a moment and then voiced his feelings.
However, the group merely assumed he hadn't yet emerged from his emotional state and was experiencing some illusion.
After all, to personally kill a former elder, even if he had fallen into the demonic path and it was unavoidable, would surely be difficult to bear.
"Let's not talk about this. Let's go see how Hui Xin is first."
Ji Yuan shook his head, temporarily suppressing his thoughts. If Wu Hai truly wasn't dead, he would inevitably reappear.
Thus, the group quickly left the hall and followed a small path to the backyard of Baiyun Temple.
This was usually where Buddhist monks gathered for cultivation, but it had now become a place of evil, devoid of any Buddhist aura, with thick demonic energy filling the air.
And at this moment, under an old tree in the courtyard, Hui Xin sat cross-legged, a faint layer of Buddhist light emanating from him, constantly chanting Buddhist scriptures to resist the encroachment of the surrounding demonic energy.
He had likely been placed under a restriction by Wu Hai, his essence and vital energy stagnating, leaving him only able to rely on the Buddhist light he had cultivated over the years to barely hold on.
If the group had arrived even half a stick of incense later, Hui Xin might have been unable to hold on any longer, the demonic energy would have entered his body, and he would have met the same fate as Wu Hai, falling into the demonic path.
However, despite their urgency, the group did not rashly enter the courtyard. After confirming it was safe, Shen Lang stepped forward, using his righteous energy to dispel the demonic energy from the area.
Afterward, the group stepped in and quickly approached Hui Xin.
"Break!"
Zhao Yuan Song formed several hand seals, and with a low shout, pointed his sword finger at several of Hui Xin's acupoints.
As spiritual energy surged in, the restriction on him shattered. He then slowly awoke, opening his tightly closed eyes.
However, as soon as Hui Xin saw the group before him, the light in his eyes suddenly dimmed, and a look of sorrow appeared on his face.
It was evident that their presence here and the unblocking of his restriction meant that his master, Wu Hai, had been killed by Ji Yuan and the others.
Otherwise, a cultivator in the second realm who had converted from Buddhism to demonology would not have allowed enemies to come to the backyard of Baiyun Temple and easily rescue someone.
"My master..."
Hui Xin's expression was dejected, and he looked towards his two close friends beside him.
Seeing this, Ji Yuan hesitated slightly, then quietly said, "It was a swift death, without any pain."
"Amitabha!"
He clasped his hands together, softly recited a Buddhist phrase, and said no more.
This outcome, for Wu Hai who had fallen into the demonic way, could be considered a peaceful end.
If he had fallen into the hands of the court, he would have endured years of torture and torment, and they would never have granted him a swift death until the interrogators were completely satisfied.
"Let's go, let's leave this place first."
Ji Yuan glanced around, then, along with Shen Lang, helped the seated Hui Xin to his feet.
Baiyun Temple, once a place of flourishing incense, was now ruined, with demonic energy permeating the surroundings. Even if powerful figures from the court came to purify it later, there would be no more incense offerings.
Moreover, after this incident, the court would no longer allow Baiyun Temple to continue to exist and would likely demolish the site directly.
Not long after, the group walked out of Baiyun Temple. As they stepped out of the temple gates, Ji Yuan and the others subconsciously looked back.
Ji Yuan and Shen Lang felt a sense of nostalgia, as they had many fond memories associated with this place.
As for Zhao Yuan Song and Xu Qi Qi, they felt a lingering fear, especially Zhao Yuan Song, whose mind was filled with chaotic thoughts.
He had originally thought that after breaking through to the second realm in the face of death, even if he could not defeat a powerful enemy, he could still retreat at any time and safely escape with his junior disciples.
However, after this battle, he finally understood the vastness of the world's powerful cultivators, the truth that there is always someone stronger.
Su Hong Zhu, on the other hand, felt no such emotion. Bored, she stayed by everyone's side, her gaze often drifting towards the members of the Three Blades Society in the distance.
Those strong, healthy young men, with their robust vital energy, appeared to her like walking delicacies, and it took great effort to resist the urge to feast on them.
"Amitabha..."
Hui Xin clasped his hands together, his face filled with bitterness.
Finally, he bowed three times towards the temple before him, and then left with the others.
However, even he did not notice that at the moment he turned away, a wisp of demonic energy flashed in his eyes.