Chapter 244

In a corner of the temple ruins, within a ruined main hall.

A young monk and a tall, thin monk were slowly advancing toward the hall's entrance, as if facing a dire threat.

The ground inside the hall was littered with pits of various sizes and broken stones, as if it had endured multiple great battles.

Suddenly, a dark figure lunged into the hall's entrance; both monks shouted in unison—one's skin turned pale gold, his cassock shimmering with golden phantom Sanskrit characters, while the other's body swelled to over ten feet tall, silver patterns emerging across his skin, silver lion heads appearing at each limb as they charged forward together.

In an instant, the three figures clashed.

All three were clearly tough-skinned and immensely powerful; where their fists and kicks struck, gales swept through, the air roared, and even the hall's floor was scraped clean in patches.

Their collisions emitted piercing sounds like metal grinding against metal.

With a thunderous boom.

Both monks were blasted backward, while the dark figure flickered once before shooting back out of the hall like a falling star; soon, the hall fell silent again.

"What is this thing? Neither demon nor human—why does it keep blocking the door and refuse to let us leave?" The young monk stepped back two paces, steadied himself, his face filled with fury.

"Whether it's human or demon, its body cultivation is stronger than ours." The tall, thin monk slowly raised one arm.

On his wrist, covered in silver patterns, a deep gash now appeared—white bone faintly visible beneath, yet not a single drop of blood flowed; the surrounding muscles contracted visibly, shrinking into a faint red scar within moments.

"If it's truly stronger than us, why doesn't it just kill us?" Yuan Tong asked, puzzled.

"Stronger body cultivation doesn't mean it's stronger in all other aspects. In a life-or-death battle, who kills whom is still uncertain," said the tall, thin monk, glancing at the hall's entrance with a blank expression.

"That's true—if my brother is willing to activate his secret technique, he could briefly restore his Foundation Establishment realm power and deal with this monster easily, but afterward he'd fall into weakness for a long time. We're not at that point of desperation yet."

"But this monster won't let us leave, so it clearly has ill intent. The second-grade talismans bestowed by our Ancestor are mostly for survival—the 'Great Wind Blade' we used earlier couldn't even harm it." The young monk hesitated, then spoke.

"We came here for the Dharmic body of the Kalana Elder. If we're trapped here, it won't do."

"But this monster is indeed stubborn—if all else fails, use the 'Golden Illusion Ring' talisman artifact."

"If we can trap this fiend here for a while, we can slip away." The tall, thin monk Yuan Ming considered briefly, then decided firmly.

"Only this way. But this talisman artifact is hard to forge—it'll likely work only once, then be useless." Yuan Tong, upon hearing this, could only nod reluctantly.

He reached into his sleeve with one hand and pulled out a pale golden bone fragment, faintly inscribed with a golden circular pattern, blurred and indistinct.

This time, the two walked again toward the hall's entrance—but something unexpected happened.

They walked all the way out of the hall, yet nothing occurred.

Standing outside the hall, the two monks exchanged bewildered glances.

At that moment, the void above suddenly rippled—a massive, crystal-clear silk net, over ten feet wide, descended directly, leaving them no room to evade.

Both monks were startled—one flipped his hand, revealing a bright, sword-like Dharma knife; with a single shake, he slashed upward, sending forth sharp blades of light.

The other hurled the golden bone fragment from his hand; it instantly shattered, releasing a pale golden ring-shaped phantom.

The sharp blades struck the net as if cutting against a wall of bronze and iron, spraying dazzling sparks, yet the seemingly weightless net didn't budge an inch.

But the pale golden ring phantom vanished instantly, ignoring the net entirely.

The next instant, ten feet away from them, golden light flashed—a golden ring materialized into a massive object over ten feet in diameter, then dropped downward, encircling a giant spider phantom.

The giant spider phantom was over ten feet long, entirely black and covered in sharp spines; where its head should have been, there was nothing—this was a headless spider.

As the golden ring encircled the demonic phantom, golden aura rippled across its surface, desperately contracting and tightening.

The headless spider phantom, seeing itself exposed, moved its lower limbs outward, using six sharp legs to brace against the inner walls of the ring, holding it firmly in place.

This sight shocked the two monks nearby, who were frantically swinging their Dharma knives and had just summoned a golden alms bowl.

The true body of this golden ring talisman artifact was a genuine third-grade Dharma artifact—a spiritual weapon currently being nurtured by a Jin Dan elder of the Golden Vajra Temple.

Even though transformed into a talisman, it retained only a portion of the original's power, yet any Foundation Establishment cultivator caught within would struggle to break free in a short time.

This headless spider phantom was resisting the talisman's power—both monks could hardly believe their eyes.

Meanwhile, the massive silk net above them continued slowly pressing downward, seemingly unaffected by the attacks and resistance from the two Dharma artifacts below.

Seeing this, the tall, thin monk Yuan Tong's expressionless face finally showed a trace of resolve; he whispered something to Yuan Ming beside him, then tore open his cassock, revealing his muscular upper body.

On his chest and abdomen, a silver lion with bared fangs and raised claws was vividly tattooed.

Yuan Tong drew a deep breath, placed one palm directly over the lion's head on his chest, and prepared to exert all five fingers at once.

The young monk beside him watched, tense, lips slightly parted—but he said nothing to stop him.

But at almost the same moment, the distant headless spider phantom emitted a piercing shriek from its abdomen—then, with a loud bang, its body exploded into green smoke and vanished.

Simultaneously, the massive crystal net above, which had been descending like a mountain, flickered and disappeared.

The tall monk's five fingers, still pressed against his chest, froze in place, his face filled with shock.

The young monk beside him was equally stunned.

…

In a side chamber, a hazy black figure sat motionless on the bed.

Suddenly, the black figure opened a pair of blood-red eyes, brimming with furious rage.

"Still no luck? I knew it—you still can't kill him, even after trying several times, just like when you tried to kill me back then."

As long as the master-servant pact remains, you can never truly rebel—even his reincarnation is no exception."

When he reincarnated his Nascent Soul back then, that was your only chance. But you failed completely—and you dragged me into the same fate as yours."

Let's stick to the old arrangement."

"I'll handle his reincarnation. You deal with everyone else who interferes." From the corner of the chamber, another aged voice spoke.

Then a bald head emerged from the darkness; a smiling old monk stepped forward—it was the monk who claimed to be a fragment of Kalana Elder's divine awareness.