Chapter 296

Fahui stood up, looked down at Li Li Xuanling, and cracked a smile, his white teeth sharp and clean. The intestines and blood hanging from his body dripped down bit by bit. He sneered:

"Evil beast, I have chased you all the way, and as my memories of my past life gradually awakened, I knew you would come to this small Daoist temple, so I have been waiting here for a long time..."

"Evil beast..."

Li Li Xuanling had been forced to the north by the Early Zifu, and he had been holding back his frustration. Now, startled and scolded by this monk, his unwillingness and regrets surged into his heart, all turning into a raging fire that burned between his heart and lungs. He said fiercely:

"You damn monk, calling me an evil beast at every turn, calling everything a sin! Look at the bones beneath your feet, wipe the flesh and blood off your body, open your dog eyes and look carefully—who is the real evil beast!"

"Hahahaha!"

Fahui laughed in extreme anger. Complex golden patterns appeared on his body, and as he clasped his hands together, the flesh and blood on the ground melted like red wax, turning into strands of pale golden mist that permeated the courtyard.

"You are the black snake that I, the Wrathful Maha, held in my left hand. If you are not an evil beast, who is? I never expected you to escape to the south for decades and act so arrogantly... Now that I am about to return to the position of Maha, you should also contribute to my success."

Before his voice had even faded, his figure flew out like a cannonball, punching toward Li Li Xuanling's face. Li Li Xuanling's left hand pressed against his sword; the Yueque Sword arc had been accumulating for a long time, and he drew his sword, bringing forth a pure white sword light that illuminated the hall.

"Clang!"

Fahui was unarmed, his palms covered in golden light. He forcibly caught the long-accumulated sword light, closed his five fingers, and crushed it to pieces. The golden light flashed in his inhuman eyes. He let Li Li Xuanling distance himself and laughed:

"As for these Daoists in the temple... the fact that they can be killed by me shows that these people are guilty of heinous crimes."

"You!"

Li Li Xuanling was stunned by his words for a moment, then gave a contemptuous smile, completely ignoring him. Fahui raised an eyebrow and said angrily:

"You don't believe me?"

His sturdy arms slowly lifted, and the golden mist on the ground, guided by him, rose like snakes and dragons, condensing into a golden light in his palm, within which various scenes appeared:

A Foundation Establishment wolf demon riding the wind, black mist permeating, demonic energy soaring to the sky... The wolf demon ate the temple master and forced the old Daoist to collect infants for food... Various scenes—infants crying, Daoists weeping—all appeared together.

Li Li Xuanling knew these Daoists were not clean, but he knew the situation and was not easily intimidated. He sneered:

"Offering infants was a last resort. If they did not do this, the wolf demon would have immediately swallowed all the commoners at the foot of the mountain. Weighing the pros and cons, who is to say which is more important!"

"To say which is more important?"

"Evil is evil. If you do evil, you should be killed. Why talk about extenuating circumstances? Who in this world doesn't have extenuating circumstances? Extenuating circumstances are no excuse for evil. Killing this group of things is not excessive!"

"Once I kill all those who do evil, the world will naturally be clear."

Having said this, he flew forward, golden light flashing between his palms. Li Li Xuanling was momentarily speechless, while the golden light in the temple grew thicker. He felt dizzy, and a sense of resentment surged in his heart, stirring up extreme frustration. He exchanged several blows with Fahui, his palms aching, caught in a dilemma.

"Halt!"

Fahui's fist wind was powerful and heavy, each punch fiercer than the last. How could he still look like a monk without magic? Li Li Xuanling felt increasingly desperate, thinking to himself:

"I suppose he wants me to die at his hands to fulfill his path. Whatever 'Maha reincarnation' this is, my death is of no great consequence, but the Li family still needs my father to stand firm..."

At this moment, the Xuanzhu Talisman Seed in Li Li Xuanling's Shengyang Mansion suddenly moved, surging with strands of cool energy that circled in his mind.

He felt as if he had eaten a large piece of ice in the dog days of summer; his mind became clear, and his defensive stance, which had been retreating step by step, stabilized. Li Li Xuanling was greatly moved, and he heard a gentle, calm voice in his ear.

"Calm your mind and spirit, and hold on for the time it takes to burn a stick of incense."

Li Li Xuanling now knew that the various visions just now were all Fahui's magic, which was impossible to guard against and truly bizarre. Someone had intervened to dispel Fahui's magic. He was both happy and suspicious, secretly thinking:

"Who is it... Xiao Xiao Chuting?! But it doesn't quite seem like it..."

————

Under the dim and low mist, the mountains were desolate. Moon-white buildings were scattered among them, and on the highest platform, fallen leaves drifted onto the white jade-like table.

"Fate..."

Lu Lu Jiangxian leaned against the white jade desk, holding a thin, pure white silk thread in his hand that extended into the boundless void, swaying. His other hand held a silver halo that floated up and down as if it had a life of its own, quite miraculous.

"So, ever since I bestowed the 'Chonghai Changjing Lu,' this Maha has locked onto Li Li Tongya from thousands of miles away and began his layout... The Wrathful Maha has cultivated for nine lives, gathering all kinds of fates; this life, he intends to kill Li Li Tongya to prove his Dao..."

"The various Purple Mansions and even Jin Dan in the south are plotting against each other, using supernatural means to protect Li Li Tongya, using him as bait to kill this Maha..."

Lu Lu Jiangxian slowly frowned, somewhat puzzled:

"What is the connection between Lu Qi and fate? Is it because everyone receives different Lu, so the Lu Qi manifests fate, or does it bestow a certain fate?"

Thinking of this, Lu Lu Jiangxian suddenly had some realization.

"Li Li Tongya is bait, not a sacrifice. If operated properly, he is not necessarily doomed... As long as he can hold on until the Wrathful Maha fully awakens in Fahui, and the various Purple Mansions take action, he can survive..."

Lu Lu Jiangxian's strength had not yet recovered to the point where he could compete with the Early Zifu Maha or even Jin Dan Dharma forms, but sitting in the mirror waiting for Li Li Tongya to be used as a bargaining chip was truly frustrating. He remained cautious, but he was no longer the clueless, powerless novice he once was.

"Although I cannot take action, I will not let others manipulate me..."

He pondered carefully:

"Back then, Monk Minghui and even Jinlian Maha had no power to fight back before the Dharma Mirror's true form, which shows the high status of the Dharma Mirror; it should be at the level of an Immortal. As long as this matter does not involve an Immortal, I can make some moves without being detected."

Lu Lu Jiangxian activated the power of deduction he had obtained from Liu Changdie years ago. The silver light flashed and shrank by one-third. After waiting for a moment, it condensed into a single character:

"Fortune."

"Not bad."

It was a plot by a group of Early Zifu Mahas, but Lu Lu Jiangxian always felt more at ease calculating it himself. The silk thread in his hand flicked lightly, becoming bright white. He secretly set a bottom line for himself:

"Only take action through the Xuanzhu Talisman Seed as a medium. In this way, even if those Purple Mansions suddenly go mad and take down Li Li Xuanling or Li Li Tongya, they won't be able to detect anything—they couldn't figure it out even if they racked their brains!"

The Xuanzhu Talisman Seed was one of the foundations of the Dharma Mirror; even an Immortal in person probably wouldn't notice it. If it weren't for this, Li Li Chijing and Li Li Tongya would have been taken down long ago while wandering in front of the Purple Mansions day after day.

Having considered every link, Lu Lu Jiangxian was certain there was no room for error. Only then did a smile curl at the corner of his mouth, and he whispered:

"I shall accompany these people to play; consider it accumulating experience! I eat your family's incense and remains every year, so I should contribute some effort!"