Chapter 477

"The late master hides in mystery; why cling to worldly nets? Better to preserve true emptiness, in harmony with Mount Jishan's slopes."

At the mouth of Wuyi Alley, the setting sun slanted low; a clear, reciting voice drifted from deep within the side alley.

The Wang family mansion gates stood wide open; on the vermilion door, two white tiger bronze rings each bore the corpse of a demonic cultivator, crouched atop the gatehouse. Their tiger eyes glowed crimson, radiating a fearsome aura utterly unlike the plump, docile cat Brother Qian Chen had once seen when he broke into the Wang household.

Beyond the central gate, by the courtyard where Wang Yan once hosted guests three years prior, the dragon pond where the four-gilled bass were kept rippled faintly.

A deep black ink mark surfaced in the pond's waters.

As the recitation rose in pitch, a white-robed scholar pushed open the courtyard gate, gestured with a wave, and a massive ink dragon's head burst from the water, leaping skyward, bearing the scholar aloft as it surged out of the Wang mansion.

The ink dragon circled midair, a stroke of ink slowly unfurling across the heavens.

As the ink curved and twisted, it formed the character "Han Xian"; then the ink dragon dove toward the streets below, the second character "Shi" written in wild cursive.

The ink traces were lean and vigorous: when the first character was penned, it was still steady and heavy, tinged with hesitation; by the second character, it had become utterly free and fluid, swept out in one bold stroke.

As each character leapt and danced into life, the ink dragon moved through the alleyways, weaving its strokes according to the layout of streets and buildings, spreading across Jiankang.

Wang Wang Ningzhi rode the dragon, wielding his brush; with each clash of brushpower, he sealed the celestial qi in the path of his ink, unleashing the Lanting poem he had composed—two short lines that stirred an immensely powerful force.

This force remained restrained, as if responding to something.

With this force bolstering him, Wang Wang Ningzhi's brushstrokes flowed like clouds spilling to earth, erasing every demonic entity and evil spirit caught within the ink.

A tangible ink stroke swept past, reducing a demonic cultivator who had formed a Golden Core into a pulp of sludge!

"Amitabha!"

A Buddhist monk in a black kasaya stepped forward into the brush's sharp edge.

His ears hung past his shoulders; as he shifted, the two earlobes, each as large as a baby's fist, struck together before his chest like clasped palms.

The mysterious monk smiled, his body glowing with dark gold; he crossed his arms, chanted a Buddhist mantra, yet his palms were caked in blood, radiating a ferocious aura like a sea of crimson.

"Wang Wang Ningzhi… had your brother come, I might still fear him a little!"

"But among this generation of the Wangs, you are the most worthless—your fame rests entirely on your wife's aid. How dare you stand in my way?"

As he spoke, he formed a hand seal, exquisitely precise: his left hand clenched into a fist, single-handedly completing the esoteric Buddhist seal—Outer Lion Seal.

The lion, majestic as a deity, seemed to roar from within the fist, terrifying all demons and evils.

Yet his right hand seal resembled a human sacrifice kneeling in submission—a demonic ritual seal.

Thus, with left and right, Buddhist and demonic, fused into the dual image of a lion devouring a human sacrifice, he formed the Outer Binding Lion Devouring Human Seal and struck Wang Wang Ningzhi!

As the seal manifested, a blood-headed lion roared, shaking Wang Wang Ningzhi's ink dragon, then lunged to devour him.

Unexpectedly, Wang Wang Ningzhi made no move to dodge; the demonic monk's seal struck him, and a black Go stone fell, dissolving the attack.

The ink characters he had just written curled toward the monk, transforming into blades, shields, spears, halberds, swords, and pikes—striking, blocking, thrusting, piercing, hooking—assaulting the demonic monk.

The demonic monk chanted a fused Buddhist-demonic mantra; his tongue split into a fork, simultaneously uttering both Zen chants and demonic curses. A towering, immense Dharma body of the Long-Eared Great Buddha appeared behind him, arms outstretched, blocking every blade and spear.

The demonic monk changed his seal again, clasping both hands together—Buddhist and demonic fused, the lion devouring the human sacrifice becoming the Lion Demon Seal.

But Wang Wang Xianzhi's ink had already coalesced into a single mass, forming a freehand ink figure. The shadow wore a Daoist robe, flowing beard fluttering; with a casual flick of a twig, it pierced through the long-eared Buddha's Dharma body and emerged from his back.

The demonic monk hung from the twig, drawn with a mere flick of ink, gasping painfully: "I knew you two—your wife in the open, you in the shadows."

"But how did you break through the ancestral blessing on my Dharma body?"

"Legend says the heretical monks of the Heart Buddha Temple can summon a fragment of ancestral transmission, embedded within their Dharma body," said Xiao Xie Xiao Xie Daoyun, stepping out from behind Wang Wang Ningzhi, holding a Go board, nodding slightly: "Today, I see it is true."

"Logically, even our combined strength should not have shattered the spell left by the Soul Transformation Demon within your Dharma body. But you underestimated Wang Lang!"

Wang Wang Ningzhi smiled faintly: "This poem is indeed from the Lanting Collection—but it was written for my master."

"Your master!" The demonic monk froze, then terror surged across his face—Wang Wang Ningzhi's master could only be Sun En, the Celestial Master!

Most poems in the Lanting Collection are crude in sentiment, merely capturing a moment's spirit, lacking profound Daoic depth.

But the Lanting Collection has one immortal masterpiece: its preface, elevated by Wang Wang Xizhi into a great divine art. Thus, every poem within the Lanting Collection can invoke the power of the Lanting Preface—and this particular poem happens to depict the bearing of a Celestial Master.

Thus, it almost inevitably awakens the Celestial Master's awareness.

Should the Celestial Master so much as respond, he could instantly summon a manifestation!

Especially now, with Sun En himself entangled on the nearby Zhu Que Bridge with the Supreme Elder of the Nine Yōu Dao, the Heavenly Demon Tian Mo—once this poem was written, the opponent was doomed!

The demonic monk knew that Wang Wang Ningzhi, under Sun En's tutelage, had diligently cultivated the art of "scattering beans to become soldiers"—a summoning technique.

This man was mediocre on the Dao path, far inferior to his brother; only this summoning art was somewhat respectable.

But he never imagined that even this "minor" summoning art had been refined to such a height—this mere summoning technique had reached such a level.

Through a confluence of chance and circumstance, he had even summoned a Celestial Master's manifestation!

Wang Wang Ningzhi shook the ink branch in the ink figure's hand, twisting the demonic monk into sludge. He and Xiao Xie Xiao Xie Daoyun bowed respectfully as the ink figure slowly dissolved.

"My husband, today you've truly impressed me!"

Xiao Xie Xiao Xie Daoyun smiled faintly.

Wang Wang Ningzhi's expression held no ease; he chuckled bitterly: "Had my master not granted permission, and had Father not opened the Divine Art of the Lanting Preface, I could not have stirred even a fraction of its divine essence—let alone summoned it!"

Xiao Xie Xiao Xie Daoyun plucked a white Go stone from the board before her: "The city's protective array has not activated for some reason. Now the demons hold the entire populace hostage, forcing us to move cautiously. The Three Celestial Masters must devote all their strength to battling the Heavenly Demons!"

"I've laid out an array here, extending from Wuyi Alley to both sides, gradually shielding the southern city; Wang Wang Zhiyuan's bells ring ceaselessly, guarding the eastern city; the Daoist Academy's Chaotian Palace comes from the great river north of the city, protecting the northern quarter!"

"Only the western city remains unguarded!"

"That is where the Tai Chu Palace lies. The Master Sima clan has done nothing—why? I'll go see!"

Wang Wang Ningzhi called to his wife and prepared to depart.

But as he took his first step, a roaring tide surged from the northern city wall near the great river.

The river water surged wildly, flooding over the wall, forming a hanging curtain of water; within it, countless dragons, giant serpents, and venomous snakes writhed together. A venomous dragon coiled atop the wall, its massive body twisting—without the protective array, the wall shattered into a gaping breach.

The venomous dragon spat a crimson mist; wherever it touched, all life collapsed; even plants and stones turned to frothy white rot.

Dozens of dragons, insects, and snakes, each having condensed a Poison Core, rode torrents of poison into the city; thick, vivid miasmas surged toward the Daoist Academy's priests.

The foremost Daoist priest transformed into a giant flame deity, exhaling a blue-green true fire that burned away the spreading miasma and poison mist.

Among the serpents, a tiny, only ten-foot-long, emerald-green venomous snake twisted violently.

Suddenly, like an arrow, it shot forward, piercing straight through the flame giant's chest.

The flame giant's chest fire slowly dimmed.

Then the entire fiery form scattered, revealing the white bones of the Daoist priest within.

Xiao Xie Xiao Xie Daoyun placed several Go stones in rapid succession; the black and white stones glowed with spiritual light, instantly raising a luminous barrier to seal the breach in the wall. Wang Wang Ningzhi, riding the ink dragon, was about to head north when someone called out: "Shuiping, wait!"

Wang Wang Ningzhi turned; Xiao Xie Xiao Xie Xuan stood behind him, sword in hand. His expression was not calm, but far from panicked.

"Today's demonic calamity stems from the Master Sima clan's perverse actions, allowing the demonic sects free rein. The Imperial Astronomical Bureau can no longer activate the Four Symbols Celestial Array. The east, south, and north are now guarded. Come with me to the Astronomical Bureau—reignite the Four Symbols Celestial Array, and only then can we end this demonic calamity!"

"But the north!" Wang Wang Ningzhi hesitated.

"The north has your brother!"

"Wang Xianzhi…" Wang Wang Ningzhi fell silent.

"Besides Wang Xianzhi, another has arrived," said Xiao Xie Xiao Xie Xuan, a stiff, fleeting smile crossing his face: "The Three Celestial Masters long anticipated the Master Sima clan's collusion with the demonic sects. Though Master Sima Shi may not dare defy the world, we prepared a countermeasure just in case…"

"Though I've barely attained the Daoist Yangshen realm, I am vastly inferior to this one. In truth, compared to my father, this man is truly the First Daoist Yangshen of the Central Lands!"

Wang Wang Ningzhi's face shifted—shocked, then delighted: "Father has come too!"

Xiao Xie Xiao Xie Xuan's expression was grave: "We never imagined the demonic sects could cast a supreme evil curse, paralyzing the divine forces of Great Jin—causing the second line of defense, beyond Jiankang's array, to collapse. Though our side holds a slight advantage and has preliminarily stabilized the city, the demons are masters of infiltration. Amid this chaos, who knows how many key figures they've assassinated?"

"Moreover, though the Three Celestial Masters strive to suppress the Three Heavenly Demons, if any demon chooses to sacrifice itself to destroy Jiankang, we are helpless."

"Thus, the key to this battle lies in when we restore Jiankang's protective array!"

"Every moment delayed brings another measure of peril!"

Wang Wang Ningzhi solemnly said: "Then the Tai Chu Palace is the most dangerous place!"

"The demons' strength is surely concentrated there. The Master Sima clan, wavering and untrustworthy, cannot be relied upon."

Xiao Xie Xiao Xie Xuan said: "The chaos within the city is likely merely a diversion, meant to distract us. Their true scheme lies in the Tai Chu Palace!"

………

Inside the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, a young man in white robes, eyes brimming with demonic aura, holding a folding fan, stepped over the corpses of bureau officials to stand before the central artifact of the Four Symbols Celestial Array—the "Huntian Yi."

Around him, the corpses of Yin-Yang scholars lay scattered.

As the bronze Huntian Yi slowly rotated, propelled by the dragon vein, unseen figures of demonic disciples had already appeared around it.

And three demonic entities, their aura as deep and boundless as oceans, stood poised in three directions…