Only a single thought passed through Li Ximing's mind, yet the colored light in the sky broke free from the suppression of his divine ability, Audience at the Heavenly Gate, swelling back to the size it had possessed upon its first appearance.
The three-eyed Lianmin had finally received the full empowerment of the divine ability. Not only did he sprout four arms, but illusory golden magical artifacts materialized in each hand—saber, spear, axe, and staff, held firmly at the ready.
Chiluo was still casting his spell. Seeing the Three Hou Shuxuan Fire spat forth by Li Ximing surging toward him, accompanied by the divine ability Audience at the Heavenly Gate flying alongside it, he decisively pulled back the pagoda originally used to suppress the flames to shield himself, leaving the three figures ahead of him completely exposed.
From this single move alone, Li Ximing knew that this old fellow was no novice in experience.
Audience at the Heavenly Gate was a divine ability meant to suppress magical artifacts. Buddhist cultivators lacked adept artifact refiners to begin with, so this old fellow Chiluo's pagoda could hardly compare to a true spirit artifact. If Audience at the Heavenly Gate were to press down upon it head-on, he could forget about ever retrieving it!
Yet this retreat exposed the three directly to the formidable momentum of Li Ximing. Though the three-eyed Lianmin had just been scorched by the true fire, having received the empowerment, he still stepped forward to meet the charge. Just as he was raising all four arms to block, heavenly light darted across the sky, and Audience at the Heavenly Gate transformed into a gateway the height of a man, crashing violently toward him.
The three-eyed Lianmin was rather clever; taking a stride forward, he blocked the path in front of the hammer-wielding Lianmin—who was heavily injured and had yet to recover—intending to react to whatever change came. To his surprise, Audience at the Heavenly Gate bypassed him and hurtled straight toward Chiluo's face!
Chiluo was halfway through forming his hand incantation. Seeing his posture, he had clearly been intending to petition for an empowerment of divine abilities as well. His expression instantly chilled. Unwilling to sacrifice his pagoda just to buy time to cast the spell, and even less willing to have his empowerment severed and be suppressed beneath the pass, he chose to abort his technique, enduring the bone-chilling pierce of heavenly light as he transformed into fire and dispersed.
The three-eyed Lianmin, Pingling, immediately realized he had been tricked. He moved to provide reinforcement, yet neither of the others was willing to throw themselves beneath the pass and sacrifice themselves for another's sake. Pingling's four arms flailed together, directing the golden weapons straight at Li Ximing's dharma body.
These Buddhist cultivators were not of one mind, which gave Li Ximing his opening. The Mountain-Driving Profound Screen lit up; tilting his head suddenly, the heavenly light between his brows burst forth.
Bracing himself against the opponent's four golden weapons, he still wielded the Shangyao Subduing Light to entangle Chiluo, while Audience at the Heavenly Gate soared high into the air, poised to crash down atop Chiluo's head! This made the red-faced Lianmin's expression turn thoroughly grim.
Now, even if the two Lianmin on the sides hesitated, they were forced to act. If they kept avoiding the fray and Chiluo returned to the Pure Land, he would surely lodge a complaint against them. Chiluo served under Golden Lotus, and the two would have plenty of misery to endure!
After exchanging several blows, the two were compelled to traverse the Great Void to intercept the Shangyao Subduing Light.
Li Ximing's Mountain-Driving Profound Screen shattered under Pingling's four golden weapons. Immediately afterward, the brownish-yellow light of Gen Earth Spirit Absorption shone across his body. The utility of this marvel was narrow—it could ward off neither the Twelve Qi nor Fire Virtue—yet it once again held firm against the Lianmin's golden weapons!
Sparks burst with a crackle as the colored clouds in the sky trembled. A surge of pale-white Mingyang Qi erupted from where he had stood, accompanied by a torrent of Mingyang purple fire, yet Li Ximing had already vanished.
The two Lianmin intercepting the Shangyao Subduing Light had only just emerged when a chill gripped the backs of their hearts. To their shock, Audience at the Heavenly Gate—which had been chasing Chiluo through the sky—halted right above them, plunging down like a golden mountain to crush them from above!
"Rumble!"
The impact was terrifying, brightening the sky. The blow instantly shattered their protective treasure lights, made their knees creak, and choked the dharmic power within their bodies. In the next instant, the Great Void echoed with a hollow hum, the space beneath Audience at the Heavenly Gate gleamed, and a jade-white palm slipped through the heavenly light, reaching straight for a face.
The palm came down firmly on the forehead of that imposing golden face.
Deprived of the protection of treasure light and colored luminescence, that skull—harder than a magical artifact—held out for only a fleeting moment before bursting open in all directions. Pouring forth with it were surging waves of golden fire and fierce purple fire, while the rest of the body blew apart into pieces, raining down across the sky as myriad bits of gold, stone, and jewels.
At the same time, a beautiful and opulent heavenly domain populated by countless golden bodies faintly emerged on the horizon. As if receiving some streak of colored light, it shimmered briefly before disappearing.
Stones flew across Mount Xiaoshi, scattering everywhere. A Lianmin had perished, returning to the Pure Land!
"Boom!"
Immediately following that, Audience at the Heavenly Gate, suspended across the heavens, shuddered violently. Having been thoroughly played, Pingling's eyes burned red as his four hands pressed against the exterior of the pass, shaking the luminous portal unceasingly.
Being outside the pass was naturally vastly different from being trapped beneath it. Furthermore, Pingling had received the full empowerment, subjecting the divine ability to wave after wave of tremors. Rather than striking at the sword-wielding Lianmin cowering in the corner, Li Ximing lightly flicked his sleeve and slipped away, letting the majestic luminous pass disperse into heavenly light while he stood atop the colored clouds, panting softly.
The empowered three-eyed Lianmin Pingling was indeed a force to be reckoned with when striking at full strength. However, although the Mountain-Driving Sea-Crossing Tiger was not meant for direct physical confrontation, its Mountain-Driving Profound Screen and Gen Earth Spirit Absorption proved exceedingly effective against these Lianmin. Though the divine ability and dharmic power within Li Ximing's body surged turbulently, they soon calmed, leaving only a minor scratch on the shoulder of his dharma body.
Pingling's face was flushed so red it looked ready to drip blood, yet a burst of laughter rang out from midair:
"Well done!"
This was clearly Kuiqi's voice. Though at a slight disadvantage against Pijia, the other party evidently did not dare press him too hard, leaving Kuiqi with enough leeway to observe the battle.
Li Ximing smiled inwardly:
'This method truly works like a charm. Changxiao was indeed an excellent teacher.'
That Li Ximing could inflict such horrific damage in the span of a spark and send a Lianmin to his death was primarily because the two had traversed the Great Void and could not react in time; Audience at the Heavenly Gate had temporarily shattered their protective treasure lights and colored luminescence, allowing him to succeed. First, Audience at the Heavenly Gate was exceptionally useful; second... this tactical approach was something he had learned from Changxiao.
Back then, Li Ximing had been naive and unversed in battles between divine abilities. Changxiao had possessed the wonderful ability to divine points of emergence from the Great Void, so every time Li Ximing traversed the void, he was forced to eat one of Changxiao's spells, nearly beaten to death within dozens of exchanges. Now it was his turn to overwhelm others with pure momentum. Though he could not deduce where his foes would emerge, by attacking what they were compelled to defend, he could still anticipate their positions, suppress them catching them unawares, and unleash the Three Hou Shuxuan Fire to achieve extraordinary success!
Li Ximing had barely caught his breath and had no time to celebrate when the colored light at the horizon completely settled. Chiluo now possessed a six-armed body, bearing two spears, two shields, and two swords—all gleaming brilliantly with gold. His four eyes were sharp and fierce, and astride a winged tiger, he stepped across the sky with glaring eyes.
Yet this Lianmin clearly felt no camaraderie toward his fellows. Li Ximing saw that although Chiluo appeared enraged, his actions were exceedingly cautious; gripping his treasures, he was brewing flames within his maw.
Chiluo served under Golden Lotus after all, and reaching his level placed him at the pinnacle among Lianmin; the difference lay solely in certain spells and the possession of treasures. Manning the luminous pass, Li Ximing saw Chiluo suddenly open his mouth:
"Rumble!"
Instantly, lightning and fire converged in radiant harmony, pooling in his throat before surging out as a beam of spiritual light. Alarmed, Li Ximing earnestly raised his divine ability. Sparks and lightning clashed violently, and a plume of black smoke erupted atop Audience at the Heavenly Gate.
Li Ximing felt only a faint sting. With a jolt of the divine ability beneath him, the black smoke dispersed.
Fortunately, though the beam carried formidable power, the lightning within was far weaker than the flames. He knew not where the lightning had originated, while the flames carried a trace of Lihuo, refined clumsily. Li Ximing's Mingyang shared a deep affinity with Lihuo, so he suffered no great harm.
Yet as soon as the beam subsided, Chiluo had already closed in before the pass, meeting Li Ximing's Three Hou Shuxuan Fire. The pagoda suppressed the fire, while two long spears appeared in his hands, thrusting through the flames straight toward Li Ximing's dharma body.
On the other side, the three-eyed Lianmin was not idle either. Shaking the divine ability with one effort, he gathered resplendent light anew with the eye between his brows, pooling a thick white glow there while his remaining two eyes glared fixedly at the figure in the white-and-gold Daoist robe, clearly awaiting his opportunity.
Li Ximing activated the Solar Yingli Technique, transforming it into two beams of purple flame to bind the incoming golden spears, then waved his sleeve to sweep out heavenly light, exposing the sword-wielding Lianmin who was rapidly creeping closer.
Unfortunately, Chiluo's dharma body after empowerment was far beyond any Lianmin he had previously faced. His cultivation in the Solar Yingli Technique was insufficient; it endured for only a moment before being broken by the two golden spears, and the winged tiger let out a roar, lunging with gnashing jaws beneath his robe.
Li Ximing had no choice but to take a step back into the Heavenly Gate, using the divine ability to block the two golden spears. With a resounding boom, his face paled, and Audience at the Heavenly Gate shuddered once more, appearing somewhat strained under the pincer assault from Chiluo and Pingling outside the pass.
His weakness in spells was finally exposed—his repertoire for engaging enemies was simply too limited. Even though the Three Hou Shuxuan Fire raged fiercely, burning the opponent's pagoda until it groaned and clearly faltered, he was still forced to withdraw the Violet Palace spirit fire and direct it toward Chiluo to stall him, while channeling the full force of his dharmic power toward the disc spirit artifact hidden in his sleeve.
Meanwhile, though exposed by the heavenly light, the sword-wielding Lianmin still pressed forward through the radiance. Li Ximing had no choice but to turn his head and unleash the Shangyao Subduing Light, crying foul inwardly.
Sure enough, how could Pingling pass up such a golden opportunity? The white light gathered for so long in his third eye shot forth. As a seasoned Lianmin, Chiluo's eyes shone as well; with an angry shout, he helped shake the divine ability! Taking advantage of this, the white light pierced through the heavenly light and fell straight toward Li Ximing!
The Mountain-Driving Profound Screen and Gen Earth Spirit Absorption flared up simultaneously. That gossamer veil of profound screen, having held several times, finally shattered beneath this inch of resplendent light. Weakening the radiance by only a fraction, it landed on Li Ximing's sleeve.
To his shock, the brownish-yellow Gen Earth Spirit Absorption was completely ineffective against the white light, offering no resistance at all and allowing the radiance to fall through. He only had time to shake loose purple flames in haste, detonating them into a brilliant flash.
'This is... the orthodox resplendent light of Buddhist cultivators! This light originates from the Twelve Qi! The Buddhist light is indeed Hua Qi, one of the Twelve Qi!'
In an instant, Li Ximing recalled what Changxi had mentioned during his lifetime, as well as the matter of Hua Qi that Li Zhouwei had once brought up regarding Bai Rong. His wrist was already scorched bright red, and Audience at the Heavenly Gate, affected by the blow, suddenly dimmed.
Enduring the stinging pain in his arm, he drummed up his dharmic power once more, but Chiluo shook off the Three Hou Shuxuan Fire, thrusting his two golden spears through the heavenly light viciously toward his chest.
At this critical juncture, though injured by his misjudgment, Li Ximing let out a cold laugh and shook a gleaming golden object from his sleeve.
The Chongyang Governing Star Treasure Plate!
The eight-directional talismans carved upon the treasure plate shone with extreme brilliance. Around the rim on its face, fine, pale-white incantation patterns overlapped layer upon layer until they were almost pure white, while the center radiated a dazzling golden glow, hovering before the chest of this Daoist in white and gold.
Li Ximing had covertly channeled dharmic power into it for so long, unwavering even when injured. Now, the brilliant golden light in the center had already split into four stars from top to bottom, forming a box shape angled toward the north. The foremost point of golden light carried an aura majestic without arrogance, freezing the two golden spears in their tracks!
The true manifestation of Shangyao—the lethal light of Mingyang!
Having been empowered by the divine ability, Chiluo possessed some degree of calculation and intuition. Forewarned by an omen, he felt a rising chill and a scorching ache in his chest, and he pulled back the two hands holding shields to block before him.
The lethal light of Mingyang descended from the Chongyang Governing Star Treasure Plate without a sound, like opening a skylight in a dim attic. A beam of golden-white brilliance cascaded down, illuminating the two golden shields Chiluo had barely managed to raise.
Without suspense, the two golden shields turned to ashes, not even leaving behind a drop of molten gold. The lethal light of Mingyang dimmed slightly before softly falling upon Chiluo's two arms.
All the golden runes densely engraved upon his golden-bodied arms lit up together with blinding radiance, then exploded into black smoke. In the next breath, both arms also disintegrated into ashes. Chiluo's eyes instantly filled with liquid gold that rolled down like tears, and he stumbled back two paces, crying out:
"Aiya!"
Li Ximing's face turned pale as his divine abilities and dharmic power plummeted rapidly. He had to retract the divine ability beneath his feet to protect himself, allowing the three-eyed Lianmin to break free. The Chongyang Governing Star Treasure Plate in his hand was scalding hot, but seizing the moment, he unleashed the Three Hou Shuxuan Fire in pursuit!
Taking a direct hit from the lethal light of Mingyang at such close range not only destroyed both of Chiluo's arms, but as the radiance dissipated, his eyes were also scorched by the heavenly light, weeping endlessly and plunging his mind into a dizzy daze. Yet his reactions were remarkably swift. With no time for his pagoda to return to his aid, he actually managed to pull a round alms bowl from his waist, radiating brilliance.
Had Gen Earth Spirit Absorption not failed, causing him to be struck by the opponent's treasure light, Li Ximing's condition would have been much better. Even so, he hurled another mass of flames onto the enemy's dharma body, gathering his breath to hoist his divine ability once more. Audience at the Heavenly Gate abruptly manifested and slammed heavily downward!
Chiluo's round bowl disregarded everything else and offered no defense for himself; instead, it soared upward and smashed savagely against the base of the luminous pass. The bowl, nurtured for who knew how many years, instantly detonated, releasing an intense, blinding radiance.
Chiluo's choice was unquestionably the correct one.
Having taken that technique unprepared, he could not afford to be suppressed beneath the luminous pass again. Once the empowerment from the Pure Land waned and compounded with his sudden grave wounds, he might never turn the tables from under the pass again; it was far better to let Li Ximing crush a treasure instead!
Moreover, Buddhist treasures were inherently inferior to Daoist ones; if suppressed like that, nine times out of ten it would be lost forever. It was better to gamble and detonate it, saving him from handing resources to the enemy!
Chiluo was truly worthy of serving under Golden Lotus. Even in such dire straits, he still made a series of remarkably sound choices, instantly arresting his losses and even making Li Ximing's divine ability tremble.
Yet because of this, the unimpeded Three Hou Shu Fire had already poured down upon this Lianmin, exuding a terrifying aura that struck dread into the heart.
Chapter 892