Chapter 105: Where There Are Flood Dragons, Slay the Flood Dragons

Lu Li followed the monks of Shaolin Temple to the summit of the back mountain, only to see that the peak was a bare, flat expanse.

Upon this flat ground stood three pine trees, arranged in the shape of the character "pin" (a triangular formation).

The trunks of these three pine trees were straight, as if swimming dragons wanting to soar into the sky, yet they were trapped by iron chains. In the trunks facing each other, there were hollowed-out cavities, each capable of holding one person.

The three Chan masters, Wuxiang, Wuse, and Wuwo, sat into the cavities respectively. Inside each cavity was a black chain; as the three men took these chains into their hands, the aura on their bodies changed abruptly.

A hazy True Qi could be seen emanating from the three men, slowly seeping out along the pine trunks. The three long chains in their hands seemed to be under some kind of pull, suddenly dancing about.

The three chains were pitch-black and lusterless, and when they danced, not a shadow could be seen. They were like ghosts, indescribably eerie.

From the outside, it looked as if the chains were formed from the black energy radiating from their bodies.

In fact, among Shaolin martial arts, many moves are paths of slaughter that are incomparably fierce and violent. To practice higher-level martial arts, one needs to use deeper Buddhist teachings to suppress the killing intent within the moves; otherwise, one will fall into a martial arts barrier and be doomed forever.

Yet at this moment, the aura on the three high monks, including Wuxiang, was indescribably eerie, as if they had not fallen into a martial arts barrier at all, but had themselves transformed into evil, fallen demons.

Guo Xiang said in a low voice, "Brother Lu, this formation is quite strange. Standing outside, I can feel the cold killing intent contained within it. These three were originally enlightened high monks, but sitting in those pine trees, they have become like skeletons and ghosts, which is frightening."

Lu Li nodded; he had the same feeling as Guo Xiang.

He had originally thought this formation would be an upright Buddhist formation, but he did not expect it to be so eerie.

At this time, Abbot Tianming spoke up: "Lay Buddhist Lu, the formation is complete."

"This formation is exceptionally dangerous and condenses baleful energy. Once it is unleashed, I fear even the three uncles, Wuxiang and the others, cannot fully control it. Regarding the dangers within, I ask Lay Buddhist Lu to think thrice before acting."

Upon hearing this, Lu Li let out a long whistle and flew into the formation.

He had come to Shaolin this time to change the rules of Shaolin. He wanted the entire pugilistic world to know that even Shaolin, the leader of the righteous path, needed to abide by the rules set by the Bright Venerable.

Moreover, besides wanting to pull Shaolin Temple down from its pedestal,

Lu Li also wanted to read the Shaolin Seventy-Two Ultimate Arts.

To avoid trouble, he had to beat Shaolin Temple until they were convinced and submissive.

The moment he stepped into the Vajra Subduing Demon Circle, the surroundings around Lu Li changed abruptly. It was as if he were no longer on the summit of the back mountain of Shaolin Temple, but in the terrifying eighteenth level of hell.

Slaughter, tyranny, greed, and jealousy—countless negative emotions shrouded this world along with the black energy. This cold emotion made one feel irritable and disgusted.

Lu Li was about to speak to remind the three monks that he was ready to challenge the formation. Just at this moment, Lu Li felt an unusual fluctuation in the airflow around him.

The next moment, the sound of breaking air suddenly rang out, and three black chains smashed toward Lu Li from three directions.

These three black chains were pitch-black and lusterless, and when they danced, not a shadow could be seen. Not only that, the long chains seemed slow but were actually fast, yet there was not the slightest sound of wind; they were like ghosts and demons, indescribably eerie.

Even with Lu Li's peerless cultivation, he could not help but be startled. He swept his body, and in a flash, he had already dodged the sneak attack of these three strange weapons.

Just as he stood steady, another black chain stabbed toward his chest. The black chain was originally a soft rope, but at this moment it transformed into a straight weapon, stabbing like a long spear, while the other two black chains also curved around to entangle him from behind.

Those outside the formation only saw the black chains dancing wildly, like black dragons rolling. In the blink of an eye, the three black chains had already entangled and bitten for dozens of moves, each move and stance fierce and dangerous to the extreme. If Lu Li had been even a fraction slower, he would have lost his life here. Lu Li, being in the midst of it, was like a lone boat that could be capsized by the waves at any moment.

However, the True Qi within Lu Li surged, and as he danced between the surging black dragons, he was like the most powerful wave-rider on the turbulent waves, and even more like Nezha stirring the sea. He moved with ease, treading on danger as if it were flat ground.

The three high monks desperately unleashed the formation to attack, but they could never do anything to Lu Li.

From time to time, the black chains were knocked down by Lu Li's long sword, or were gently led by Lu Li to become entangled with each other.

The three men fought more and more anxiously; before long, black energy permeated their bodies, bloodshot eyes appeared, anger rose, and their moves became increasingly fierce.

Guo Xiang frowned and said, "Abbot Tianming, even if those three are high monks of Shaolin Temple, how can their attacks be so ruthless!"

Abbot Tianming's brows furrowed tighter and tighter, and his complexion grew worse and worse. Suddenly, he sighed: "Alas, it is ruined."

"Ruined what?" asked Guo Xiang.

Abbot Tianming pointed to the three monks under the pine trees and said, "Amitabha. Miss Guo, look at my three uncles."

The crowd looked over upon hearing this and could not help but be greatly shocked.

The appearance of the three monks was now completely different: one's face was pitch-black like black iron; one's face was withered and yellow like dead wood; the other's face was as pale as paper, even paler than the mourning clothes worn by those in mourning.

The only thing the three monks had in common was that their cheeks were deeply sunken, and they were so thin they had no muscle left. One must know that before this, these three were still rosy-faced Shaolin high monks!

Guo Xiang said in shock, "Monk, where is this a Buddhist formation? I think it is even more terrifying than evil paths!"

"What is there to compare now? Even if you defeat Lu Li, your three uncles will be exhausted to death!"

Abbot Tianming smiled bitterly: "It is too late... the formation is out of control."

In the formation, black dragons danced wildly, and the three monks all had frantic and ferocious expressions on their faces. Moreover, the fluctuations were becoming more and more violent, as if they were about to lose control and explode at any moment.

The crowd saw the black dragons flying larger and larger, and before they knew it, they had already enveloped the entire summit.

The formation was no longer limited to the three pine trees, but had surrounded everyone.

"Abbot, what is going on?" Except for Guo Xiang, the other monks of Shaolin Temple were also frightened by the scene before them. The crowd kept retreating, but they still could not walk out of this Vajra Subduing Demon Circle. It was just that the three monks' attention was all on Lu Li, so the black chains did not attack the crowd, but the black energy that occasionally swept past still made everyone's bodies feel cold.

Abbot Tianming said, "This Vajra Subduing Demon Circle is extremely powerful. Several hundred years ago, someone in our Shaolin Temple practiced it, but all who practiced it went into a demonic frenzy. Those who entered the demonic state lost their humanity and slaughtered all living things, which is why no one has practiced this formation for several hundred years. Today, Lay Buddhist Lu came, and to protect the reputation of Shaolin, the three uncles had no choice but to forcibly activate this formation."

"They originally wanted to rely on this formation to defeat Lay Buddhist Lu, but they did not expect this formation to be too overbearing, actually turning around to manipulate the three uncles. Now it seems that the three uncles have entered the demonic state."

"Now, not only will Lay Buddhist Lu die in the formation, I fear none of us will be able to escape!"

Upon hearing this, the monks could not help but look sorrowful and indignant, and they shouted violently: "Lu Li, this is all your doing. Not only did you attack our Shaolin, but you also caused our three uncles to enter the demonic state!"

"If it weren't for him, we wouldn't be like this. Are we, hundreds of people, to be buried with him?"

"The evil thief of the Ming Cult, he should be killed!"

In the end, it was Lu Li who came to pay his respects to the mountain, while the three monks and the crowd were only there to oppose Lu Li. As for the fact that the three monks themselves lacked sufficient cultivation and the formation was too evil, they all ignored it. If Lu Li had not been too troublesome, how would they have found themselves in such a dangerous situation, unable to escape?

Whether it was influenced by the formation or not, the resentment and jealousy in the hearts of the monks surged violently.

In the final analysis, it was all Lu Li's fault!

In the shadows of the black dragons, Lu Li suddenly sighed: "What kind of Buddhism is this, only knowing how to pin the blame on others."

He paused his steps and stepped on the end of the three black chains, just like stepping on the head of a black dragon.

"But a true powerhouse will not fear anything."

As Lu Li said this, he suddenly leaped up.

The next moment, a sword light descended from the sky, slashing toward the dragon's head along with him.

Boom!!!

The sword light tore through the horizon, slicing open the space before it. Everything was to be severed by this single sword strike.

The violent airflow made it impossible for the crowd to open their eyes; they stared desperately into the formation, only to see that Lu Li's long sword had already been sheathed. The black chain had been severed in the middle, and one end of it fell to the ground like three dragon heads rolling onto the earth.

"This... this... this!" Abbot Tianming and the others were dumbfounded, unable to believe it.

They had never seen such terrifying swordsmanship; perhaps such swordsmanship should not exist in the human world at all. Even the Sword God in the heavens could possess no greater brilliance than this.

Brilliance swirled in Guo Xiang's eyes, as if she were seeing an immortal. Back then on Huashan, she had witnessed Lu Li's sword strike that was like that of an immortal, and now, this strike appeared before her eyes once again.

At this moment, Zhang Junbao, who had just climbed up from the foot of the mountain upon hearing the news, sat on the ground, staring at the scene before him in a daze.

He suddenly recalled a quatrain written by Lv Dongbin:

"Relying solely on the three-foot sword in the case, wherever there are flood dragons, I shall slay them."