Chapter 233

An Lushan picked up his own head and placed it back on his neck; the wound sealed instantly. He chuckled softly: "A few brats from the Daoist sects—flatter you a bit, and you actually believe it? This is no longer the age when your sects wielded the Extermination Edict and went around killing and slaughtering demonic cultivators!"

"I guard the borders for the state—what's wrong with killing a few barbarians who cultivate demonic arts?"

Brother Qian Chen paid no heed, standing shoulder to shoulder with Seeing Yan Shu with his hands behind his back: "He has forty teeth, and the demonic light that shot from his eyes a moment ago wasn't pure—it carried a faint scent of Buddhist sandalwood. The golden hand bones revealed also bear the aura of a Buddhist Golden Body."

"Buddhist and demonic cultivation combined?" Seeing Yan Shu frowned.

Brother Qian Chen shook his head: "Such a pure demonic entity has lost nearly all traces of humanity—how could he possibly resemble Monk Xiang You? I suspect he, like that blood demon who seized a foundation, fused other divine-demonic forms."

"Can you tell what other divine-demonic forms he's cultivated?"

"Look at his eyes—this plug-and-play method reminds me of a mysterious demonic entity in the demonic path: the Yan Demon. In ancient times, there were puppeteers called Yan Shi—mysterious and powerful, capable of refining corpses, crafting objects, creating deities, worshipping demons, consecrating artifacts, and turning mechanisms into puppets. The modern Corpse Manipulation Sect are merely the remnants of the corpse-refining lineage. Yan Shi controlled their puppets with immense power—even demonic cultivators who turned themselves into immortal demonic beings were captured and turned into puppets."

"Today's corpse demons and zombies are far weaker than they were in life, requiring long cultivation to surpass their former strength. But Yan Shi treat divine and demonic beings as raw materials—their puppets are incomparably stronger than their components. In ancient times, many bloodline-remarkable beast clans, demonic cultivators' primordial divine demons, divine path Golden Bodies, and Daoist immortal bodies were all raw materials for Yan Shi."

Seeing Yan Shu said gravely: "I've heard of ancient Yan Shi. Legend says the Qin Dynasty inherited their legacy—the Qin people forged puppets with consciousness, requiring no Yan Shi to control them, called 'Yong'! It's said the Qin Emperor's tomb holds countless powerful war yongs. There were even twelve national-guarding golden figures that slew Daoist Lords from higher realms!"

"But although Yan Shi's puppets were powerful, they themselves were extremely weak. Though Yan Shi could hide within their puppets to fight, they couldn't withstand curse attacks. Yan Shi roamed everywhere, digging up graves and hunting divine and demonic beings—ultimately, weren't they all cursed to death by a supreme spell cast jointly by the divine path, demonic path, Daoist sects, and Buddhist sects?"

Brother Qian Chen sneered: "That's why Yan Shi, before dying, chose to possess their own puppets and live as puppets."

"They lost their humanity, twisted their Dao hearts, and over the endless, cursed time—tormented by divine, Buddhist, and demonic curses—fell into demonic corruption, eternally suffering in the Uninterrupted Hell, unable even to die."

"Because they aren't even living beings… The Qin war yong technique came from a handful of Yan Shi who never fell into demonic corruption, using inanimate objects as their bodies."

"Those Yan Shi who used living corpses as puppets were already morally corrupt. Using half-dead, half-alive corpse puppets as their bodies, they were slowly infected by the corpses' resentment and poison. To maintain power and vitality, they had to constantly replace their own organs!"

"Such demonic entities wander endlessly across the myriad worlds, seeking desirable bones and organs, killing to claim them as their own. Among the earliest Yan Demons were Daoist Lords who seized the bodies and organs of divine beings and true dragons. Some demonic cultivators, worshipping their power, imitated them—refining their own bodies into puppets!"

"This is the origin of demonic scriptures like the 'Yan Demon Puppeteering Scripture' and the 'Great Method of Excising Bones and Seizing Souls'…"

Brother Qian Chen understood the demonic path far too well. After just one encounter with Master Sima Master Sima Chengzhen, he'd only deduced An Lushan's military demonic heritage—but now he saw far more!

"He has forty teeth—that's the Buddha's countenance. His eyes emit demonic variants of the Lihe Divine Light, which is clearly cultivated by Buddhist disciples. Combined with the Golden Body bones… he clearly seeks to fuse the Buddhist immortal Golden Body with the demonic immortal demonic body. This does bear some resemblance to Xiang You!"

Seeing Yan Shu stared at An Lushan and said gravely: "He used the Yan Demon Path to seize part of the Buddhist Golden Body!"

Upon hearing this, the monks of Qinglong Temple stirred in agitation.

Someone shouted: "Brother Dao Shi cultivated the Lihe Divine Light! He vanished during his pilgrimage to Luoyang twenty years ago! His eyes looked just like Dao Shi's!"

Brother Qian Chen added quietly: "Moreover, An Lushan's Buddhist teeth and bones clearly came from the remains of a great being. Even your sword light left no trace—yet these teeth left faint marks on my blade. They must be the skeletal remains of a Luo Han who achieved the Golden Body, ascended to the Pure Land. Equivalent to the relics of a Primordial Spirit…"

"But those eyes? Only from a monk who just attained the Dharma Body, no higher than the Yin Spirit level. Of course, now grafted onto the Devouring Demon's Immortal Body, they've gained the function of a Yang Spirit's Divine Eye!"

The monks from Qinglong Temple grew even angrier, their clamor rising like a storm…

Yet privately, Seeing Yan Shu whispered to Brother Qian Chen: "This demon's body possesses both immortality and indestructibility. That dark-gold Buddhist bone—no telling whose Golden Body he absorbed. Even my full-power strike left no mark."

Brother Qian Chen said gravely: "Even if I used my primordial flying sword, three or four ordinary strikes wouldn't break those bones!"

"Brother, do you have any plan?" Seeing Yan Shu was anxious. Though they'd used the Robe of Rainbow Feathers to form the Purple Cloud Array and suppressed An Lushan's Yang Spirit-level magic power, their intelligence had failed—they hadn't anticipated An Lushan's immortal demonic body had fused with the Yan Demon Path. They'd weakened the Devouring Demon's regenerative power to its limit…

But how could they destroy this indestructible Golden Buddhist Bone?

"If I were a demonic cultivator, I'd have a way—Tian Mo Hua Nian, strike directly at his demonic intent and Dao heart. This Golden Bone? Merely a stinking carcass!" Brother Qian Chen hissed through telepathy: "But I'm not a demon among demons…"

"So there's no way out!"

An Lushan laughed loudly, clenching his dark-gold bones. Demonic and Buddhist light interwove, emitting a dark-gold radiance. With a casual flick, his palm struck like a stone tablet inscribed with ancient demonic script, shattering the sword qi river clustered behind Seeing Yan Shu's sword case.

Seeing Yan Shu's sword pellets split into countless blades, piercing frantically at the golden bone hand—ding-ding-ding sounds rang incessantly, sparks flying across the dark-gold Buddhist bone.

When he withdrew his sword light, not a single mark remained on the dark-gold Buddhist bone.

Seeing Yan Shu's face turned ashen. He sighed: "We're dead now."

Before he finished speaking, the phantom tablet slammed into him, shattering his protective spiritual light. Seeing Yan Shu was flung backward, crashing into the wall of the Huae Xianghui Tower. He spat blood—his chest caved in. Had his Exorcist Sword Case not blocked the blow, his entire ribcage would have shattered.

Seeing Yan Shu finally pried his right arm from the wall, swallowed the spirit pill Brother Qian Chen had given him, and caught his breath.

Within the Purple Cloud Array, Brother Qian Chen wielded the Sword of Emotion, pushing the artistry of swordplay to its utmost.

He moved like a phantom around An Lushan, his footwork perfectly synchronized with the Purple Cloud Array, stepping to the rhythm of the Robe of Rainbow Feathers, using the array's power to maneuver against An Lushan.

Swordlight flickered like illusions, layer upon layer, converging into a celestial river that pierced through the purple clouds.

The swordlight was lethal, prioritizing sharpness and ferocity. Such illusory variations proved Brother Qian Chen's full-power strike couldn't kill An Lushan—he could only rely on deception and entanglement.

Seeing Yan Shu gritted his teeth, adjusted his breath slightly, then charged again. This time, guided by Li Gui Nian's pipa melody, he too moved and distracted.

Their only hope now was that Brother Qian Chen, through battlefield adaptability, would find a flaw in the immortal demonic body.

"His demonic body fused with the Luo Han's Golden Buddhist Bone. If we can't destroy his bones, we can't harm his origin. Our only options: either use the Dao Heart Seed Demon method, transform into a Tian Mo, bypass his flesh entirely, and fight him on the spiritual plane…"

"Or find the flaw where his Buddhist bone and demonic body fuse—cause the Buddhist bone's power to repel the demonic body!"

"The last option: if we can't destroy him, seal him. Use the hidden mechanisms I planted in the Chang'an Array to summon the Hell Transformation Map and imprison him beneath the Tian Shi Seal, using the Divine Capital Array and the Tian Shi Seal to bind him."

The first method required Brother Qian Chen to become demonic.

The second required profound Buddhist cultivation…

The third method, seemingly the most promising, was the one Brother Qian Chen feared most. If not absolutely necessary, he'd never use it—the Divine Capital Array was too vital. An Lushan planned to open the Nine Heavens Seal, using Nine Heavens demonic energy to ascend to the Primordial Spirit. If we sealed him beneath the Nine Heavens Seal, wouldn't that give him exactly the opportunity he wanted?

If he used the Nine Heavens rift to attain Primordial Spirit and shatter the seal, what was the point of all Brother Qian Chen's planning? What was the point of the painstaking effort to stabilize the Divine Capital Array again?

Brother Qian Chen pondered desperately. An Lushan was terrifying. Brother Qian Chen had already devised multiple backup plans to erase his immortal demonic body.

Including using the Crimson Lotus of Karma, setting up the Heaven and Earth Furnace Array with the Tai Shang Ba Jing Furnace to incinerate him alive.

Or using the power of the Chang'an Array to activate Si Si Qingguo's Pingyang Merit Seal and Brother Qian Chen's own Tian Shi Seal left by Master Sima Master Sima Chengzhen, drawing upon the infinite devotional energy stored beneath Chang'an to summon a distant strike from the Ling Bao Tian Shi Seal—equivalent to a Primordial Spirit True Immortal's attack.

Including the ambush within the Hell Transformation Map.

Including using the Tang Dynasty's national fortune to unleash a single sword strike: "A Thousand Lotus Flowers Fill Chang'an."

Under any of these methods, ten demonic beings with immortal demonic bodies would be dead. But no one had anticipated that An Lushan had refined a Primordial Spirit-level indestructible Golden Buddhist Bone through the Yan Demon Path.

Brother Qian Chen nearly spat blood. He'd just wondered if the next world would require him to fight a Primordial Spirit while still at Core Formation—yet he hadn't even formed his Core yet, and An Lushan arrived wearing a Primordial Spirit-level Golden Buddhist Bone!

Brother Qian Chen had already deduced where An Lushan's Golden Buddhist Bone came from…

The legend they'd always treated as myth—the tale of Li Li Linfu's birthday banquet, when he gifted a nail-like Buddhist bone, sold by the Puti Temple monks for a thousand gold pieces. Brother Qian Chen had assumed it was the relic of some great monk. Li Li Linfu wasn't ignorant—he wouldn't casually give away true Buddhist relics. But the most absurd, impossible part of the story… was true.

That Buddhist bone was real.

An Lushan's magic power was suppressed below Core Formation by the Purple Cloud Array, yet even with mere physical strength, each strike carried the power of a Yang Spirit. Every time Brother Qian Chen parried, even after channeling eight-tenths of the force away with his swordlight, his hands still trembled numb.

He'd always relied on his understanding of demonic arts, the Dao Dust Pearl's protection of his soul, and a few powerful divine arts to slay Core Formation cultivators like dogs and hold his own against Yin Spirits. But he was still only at Qi Refining, hadn't even formed his Core. His body, compared to demonic cultivators who specialized in divine-demonic bodies, was pitifully weak.

Brother Qian Chen's tiger mounds had split open!

Even if sword technique could deflect a thousand catties, one must still possess at least three hundred catties of strength to do so!

"I've drunk freely at Xinling's gate, laid my sword across my knees!"

Brother Qian Chen swung his sword, singing loudly. The seven strings of Lei Lei Haiqing's Great Saint Dasheng Dasheng Leiyin Qin trembled—not from Brother Qian Chen's own power, but from the inexplicable bond forged between the Sword of Emotion and the Sword of Self-Attachment, vibrating the blade and causing the hidden knife within the Qin's body to resonate. The knife's hum, transmitted through the Great Saint Dasheng Dasheng Leiyin Qin, plucked the seven strings.

Emitting a resounding, murderous melody.

This melody stirred the power of the Robe of Rainbow Feathers Array, harmonizing with Brother Qian Chen's sword. With one strike, the swordlight merged the combined magic power of thirty thousand Pear Garden disciples and slashed forth.

"I feasted with Zhu Hai, raised my cup to Hou Ying."

An Lushan finally changed expression. The swordlight descended—vast, invincible, unstoppable. It severed floating clouds, cleaved the very fabric of earth's chronicles. There was no escape. The blade struck him, and An Lushan's bloated body burst open like a ripe, juicy orange—his flesh exploded into fragments.

An Lushan roared. His flesh was completely stripped away by the sword qi, revealing his dark-gold skeleton. All banquet guests saw a milky-white, ivory-like Buddhist relic, shaped like a rotten nail, embedded in his spine.

Brother Qian Chen's swordlight even severed two of his ribs.

But simultaneously, Brother Qian Chen's sword hand was shattered—forced to switch to his other hand, gripping the Sword of Emotion and pointing it at An Lushan.

Watching Brother Qian Chen wield the sword with his left hand, An Lushan sneered: "Good, good… the Daoist true transmission is indeed remarkable. But you've lost one hand—yet only broke two of my bones. Li Taibai… I'm beginning to appreciate your talent! After today, I'll refine you into a divine demon to accompany me in battle!"

"You dare!" Brother Qian Chen laughed wildly.

"Three cups, vows made; five peaks, light as feathers!"

"Kill!" Dozens of senior Daoists, their cultivation profound, swung their dust whisks and dharma swords, roaring as one, charging toward An Lushan. Countless divine arts and swordlights surged, radiating brilliance that illuminated the entire Huae Xianghui Tower like daylight.

Ning Ning Qingchen's Ice Soul Cold Light, Daoist divine lights—all slammed into An Lushan's dark-gold bones…

BOOM!

The dozens of senior Daoists spat blood and flew backward, overturning tables, crashing into walls, collapsing on the floor. An Lushan sneered: "These mere ants—no matter how many come, they're useless!"

"Demonic fiend…"

The high monks from Qinglong Temple and Jianfu Temple, who'd come to the Thousand Autumns Banquet, joined forces. Their bodies erupted with intense Buddhist light, powerful devotional energy radiating as brilliant " Wan " symbols, imprinting across An Lushan's golden demonic bones, forcibly splitting the fused dark-gold radiance into pure light and profound darkness.

At that moment, Brother Qian Chen's swordlight struck again—another thunderous, sky-splitting resonance from the Great Saint Dasheng Dasheng Leiyin Qin. One sword cleaved through the entangled light and darkness. An Lushan roared as half his upper body was severed—half his golden bones shattered.

But Brother Qian Chen's left hand also shattered—his Sword of Emotion slipped from his grasp, clattering to the ground with a clang.

Brother Qian Chen slowly knelt, bit down on the hilt of the Sword of Emotion, and rose again.

Seeing Yan Shu, unable to bear it, said: "Brother, let me take over!"

Brother Qian Chen slowly shook his head, his expression solemn. An Lushan's Buddhist bones were half-destroyed, but the senior monks lay on the ground, limbs twisted, life or death unknown.

Hui Guo, the abbot of Qinglong Temple, had the lightest injuries—but could only lean against a broken table, supported by disciples, sighing: "If our abbot were here, perhaps we could still grant Master Li one more chance. This demon has fused deeply with the Buddhist bones—we've exerted our utmost, yet can only stir the Buddha's power within the bones once!"

"Master Li, today there is no further chance to exterminate this demon. Please withdraw for now. Tomorrow, we Daoists and Buddhists shall unite and slay this demon!"

"Tomorrow… there is no tomorrow!" Seeing Yan Shu said bitterly. "Brother…"

An Lushan sneered: "Even if you stir the Buddha's power again—do you have a third hand?" He stared at Brother Qian Chen, sword clenched in his teeth, and laughed wildly: "Next time, I'll shatter your neck!"

"I'm a skinny bastard!" Brother Qian Chen mumbled through the sword hilt.

Seeing Yan Shu translated beside him: "My brother has eight hands—he could kill you with two left unused!"

What troubled Brother Qian Chen most now wasn't his two shattered hands—but…

'With my teeth gripping the sword, how do I recite poetry? My 'Knight-Errant's Ballad' isn't finished!'

And with his teeth gripping the hilt, he couldn't apply fine control—he couldn't vibrate the blade to awaken the Sword of Self-Attachment within the Qin.

"Taibai…" He He Zhizhang shouted: "I'll aid you!"