Chapter 484: Subjugation

That howl began like wind and waves crashing against shore, vast and boundless, layer upon layer reaching to the heavens; after a few breaths, it turned into continuous roars, as if heaven itself cracked with spring thunder, echoing across all four directions!

The entire sky and earth trembled uncontrollably, making it hard to stand firm on one’s feet—as if any momentary lapse would send one tumbling to the ground.

At this moment, the magical energy shadow left by Donggaozi had grown even fainter and blurrier, as if severely depleted, its features now indistinct and hazy.

But following this, the stone lamp behind him rose higher and higher.

In just a few blinks, the All-Knowing Lamp of All Wisdom had ascended ten thousand zhang into the clouds, continuing to drift upward; though its spirit struggled fiercely, a blue lotus, like wisps of smoke, wrapped it tightly—no matter how it dashed left or right, it could not break free.

At this moment, Fu Lao clapped his hand, and countless shards of clear light fluttered out like feathers, converging into a waterfall flowing upward, churning snow and silver, dazzling and terrifying.

That reverse torrent surged instantly into the sky, brushing once over the lamp’s flame, forcing the All-Knowing Lamp’s spirit out.

Chen Hang saw that the spirit was an aged monk, draped in a brocade kasaya, wearing a Vairocana hat, holding a string of a thousand bodhi beads, each round, plump, and luminously translucent.

Above the old monk’s head, five-colored auspicious clouds hung like curtains, covering a hundred li of land in solemn radiance—truly as if a bodhisattva had descended to reveal himself, teaching all sentient beings the true path of enlightenment.

As Chen Hang focused intently, he seemed to glimpse a vast blue lotus faintly borne on the monk’s back, as if the monk were being suppressed beneath it.

But when he stared again, the lotus vanished instantly—earlier vision had merely been an illusion.

Sensing Chen Hang’s gaze, the old monk glanced coldly downward from the clouds, then turned his attention back to Fu Lao, his expression displeased.

“He’s already fallen to this state, yet still refuses to submit—still trying for one final gambit. Let me wear down his last strength; you just watch.”

Fu Lao raised his hand and flung out a brilliant ring of light, like a bell or tripod, descending to encase Chen Hang completely.

He had barely finished uttering this warning when the old monk roared furiously from the heavens, fingers curling into claws, lashing down violently toward the clouds!

In an instant, thunder and wind erupted; ten thousand zhang of light and flame blazed forth, blinding the eyes until tears streamed down.

Yet facing this fierce strike, Fu Lao merely formed a hand seal and exhaled a wisp of mist like pure snow, shielding his head at the very last possible moment.

The mist struck the colossal hand once—the old monk’s fingers instantly melted as if touched by some corrupt, flesh-eating poison mist, his power immediately diminished.

The mist then climbed upward along the hand, as if winding around the monk’s head, engulfing half his body.

“Is this the Secret Heavenly Opening Mist from the Eight Merits and Nine Scriptures?”

Chen Hang’s eyes flickered—he recognized the origin of that mist, thinking inwardly.

The Secret Heavenly Opening Mist was conceived by an ancient immortal named Feng Zong of Yuchen, inspired while observing the primordial formation and fusion of the Five Qi.

He first secluded himself for ten thousand years, then spent countless days and nights studying with fellow disciples, exhausting boundless effort, before the Secret Heavenly Opening Mist finally came into full being.

Once released, this mist could dissolve magical arts, melt flesh and blood, leaving emptiness shattered and spiritual energy utterly drained wherever it passed!

If this killing technique so much as touched one’s body, unless one possessed a powerful treasure or art capable of anchoring one’s essence, one would have to sever the affected limb outright—cut it off cleanly to end it all.

If one hesitated, allowing the Secret Heavenly Opening Mist to fully consume the body, even then abandoning the flesh would be useless.

For the primordial spirit would already be irrevocably bound, tainted by the mist—inevitably ending in death and soul annihilation!

The old monk reacted faster than Chen Hang—he too knew the mist’s danger, and immediately murmured a mantra.

With a flash of pure light, his right arm, touched by the Secret Heavenly Opening Mist, instantly transformed into a hundred-zhang stone dragon, fangs bared and claws extended, detaching from his body in an instant and fleeing far away.

But the stone dragon flew no more than a few dozen li before freezing midair, its body cracking inch by inch, then plummeting straight down, kicking up a vast cloud of murky dust.

“Fu Changru, still using this old trick? The old thief is truly out of tricks!”

The old monk chuckled, speaking Fu Lao’s true name.

From the Vairocana hat on the old monk’s head burst a stream of white hairs; instantly, a howling roar came as ten thousand zhang of blazing fire swept across, from afar to near, as if ready to plow through the entire valley.

Behind the fire came a curtain of water, murky waves crashing into the sky, surging silver and spraying snow!

The water curtain and fire flared front and back, forming some mysterious array, their might overwhelming!

Yet facing this combined water-and-fire assault, Fu Lao merely formed a hand seal and activated the Secret Heavenly Opening Mist once more.

This time, he condensed the mist into a solid pellet, first darting through and scattering half the bodhi beads, then pointing forward—the Secret Heavenly Opening Mist suddenly exploded into the air, forming a giant screen that nullified the onrushing water curtain.

“The key to countering an enemy lies in precision, not quantity. Against you, the Secret Heavenly Opening Mist is more than sufficient.” Fu Lao shook his shoulders, and two magic treasures leapt from his back—one a serpent-shaped golden shuttle, the other a vermilion phoenix feather fan.

“You’re using magic treasures to control other magic treasures? The world has truly lost all sense of justice!”

The old monk cursed, and as he dodged the shuttle’s attack, he felt a pang of helplessness.

The Pure Crystal Jade Spirit-Refining Elixir—

This elixir, coveted by every spirit in the world, was now in the possession of this thunder tablet, which had somehow swallowed one whole.

What kind of master-servant bond did Donggaozi and he share? The Lord of the Heavenly Thunder Bureau of the Dao Court—

He had willingly exchanged his hard-won Great Heavenly Merit for a pill utterly useless to himself.

What logic could explain such a bizarre thing?

Thanks to the Pure Crystal Jade Spirit-Refining Elixir breaking the spirit’s innate limits, Fu Lao’s abilities had become truly unfathomable.

Though the old monk could still draw on the Buddha-land’s terrain, first, since Jingcang Bianji Buddha had been slain by Donggaozi, the Buddha-land’s power had greatly declined; second, Jingcang Bianji Buddha regarded the old monk merely as a spirit attendant, and had never revealed the true secrets of his Buddha-land during his lifetime.

Thus, the old monk could only extract the Buddha-land’s power like a man killing the goose that lays golden eggs, barely holding his own against Fu Lao.

And the reason this pure Buddha-land had fallen into its current decay was likely mostly due to the old monk himself.

Under such shifting tides, it was no surprise the old monk could not match Fu Lao.

In the blink of an eye, half an hour passed; Fu Lao and the old monk were locked in a fierce, evenly matched battle, both unleashing heavy blows.

Suddenly, the old monk revealed his true form as the lamp, enduring Fu Lao’s thunderous strike head-on, then transformed back into human form and tore off the bodhi beads from his wrist, hurling them straight at Chen Hang far away!

As soon as the bodhi beads left his hand, they scattered through the air, thousands of beads instantly swelling to enormous size, blotting out the entire sky.

Like a thousand giant stars crashing down, they roared toward the earth, as if ready to topple Mount Hua and shatter the crust in one blow!

Almost as the bodhi beads were thrown, Fu Lao—who had been watching the old monk closely—acted instantly: he summoned the vermilion phoenix feather fan, blocking half the beads, then sent countless threads exploding from the golden shuttle, like a net woven through empty space, deflecting the remaining beads.

“To win this way is dishonorable—do you still have the face to stand here?”

The old monk flew into a rage:

“Is this honorable?”

Fu Lao, though technically a spirit, could breathe and cultivate on his own—effectively indistinguishable from a living being, capable of refining magic treasures and maximizing their power.

But spirits, bound by their innate limits, could never fully refine another spirit.

Just as the old monk had thrown the bodhi beads—those were merely the beads’ own power—so naturally, he was again outmatched by Fu Lao.

After fighting further, Fu Lao noticed the old monk’s energy flow had grown sluggish—he realized the old monk, under Donggaozi’s magical pressure, was now visibly strained, no longer as formidable as before.

Fu Lao seized the moment, unleashing a barrage of heavy attacks, finally knocking the old monk from the clouds.

Then Fu Lao bowed respectfully toward the shadow left by Donggaozi.

As he formed his hand seal, a thunderous boom echoed through heaven and earth—like mountains collapsing and rocks splitting, as if lightning struck the crown of one’s head!

The old monk, who had been rising to fight again, suddenly collapsed face-first to the ground, struggling desperately but unable to rise.

Chen Hang saw a faint blue glow slowly rising from behind the old monk; soon, a lustrous, pure blue lotus floated out, pinning him firmly in place, unable to escape.

“You started it—don’t blame me for finishing it. I know that for a spirit like you, absorbing half your true consciousness won’t kill you—you’ll recover fully in tens of thousands of years.”

Fu Lao smiled as he stepped forward, removed the old monk’s Vairocana hat, and slapped it hard against his bald head, then suddenly roared:

“You’ve broken your oaths repeatedly—I see you’re asking for death! Today, I’ll give you a proper lesson!”

As he spoke, a column of pitch-black light surged from behind Fu Lao, within which shadowy figures loomed.

The moment the old monk brushed against the light, a soft silver glow flew from his body, swiftly sinking into Fu Lao’s form.

This scene held no gruesome horror—but it froze every magic treasure within Chen Hang’s purple palace, each one stunned into silence.

The Five Qi Cosmos Ring felt its scalp tingle, a chill racing from its soles straight to its crown, leaving it utterly speechless.

Without a word, Chen Hang shrank back behind the Moon Mirror; after being glared at, he quietly retreated behind the Dimensional Shuttle, only then calming slightly.

“This is the first time I’ve used this technique—this feeling… is truly unpleasant…”

Fu Lao frowned, then pressed his hand down; the magical energy lifted, and the old monk beneath the lotus stiffened. After a long pause, a stone lamp slowly floated upward, and Fu Lao caught it in his hand.

“What is this?”

Chen Hang, seeing this, felt puzzled.

The All-Knowing Lamp was clearly in Fu Lao’s grasp—yet the old monk’s figure had not vanished.

He rose to his feet, face cold; though his expression was somewhat worn, he seemed otherwise unharmed.

“That old thief has seized my true form—I can no longer resist. Now I am merely a thread of energy, barely holding shape; I’m as vulnerable as a mortal—any dog could kill me.

To be honest, he defeated me only because of a combination of factors, sheer luck—if not for Donggaozi’s magical aid, if—”

The old monk glanced at Chen Hang, displeased.

But as he spoke with his head raised, he failed to notice the small dirt pit beneath his feet, tripped, and fell flat on his face, swallowing a mouthful of dust—his words cut off abruptly.

Fu Lao burst into laughter; Chen Hang watched, thoughtful.

Before losing half his true consciousness, the old monk had been furious, still attempting one final desperate strike.

Now that all was settled, though still displeased, he seemed resigned—his fighting spirit had faded.

Fu Lao’s demeanor suggested he expected this—he had foreseen it all along.

Chen Hang now quietly gathered his thoughts,

letting his mind drift.

As Fu Lao said, Jingcang Bianji Buddha had died at Donggaozi’s hands, but these two had merely clashed over the Dao—no prior enmity.

Fu Lao also said he had once joined forces with this old monk spirit when facing great enemies, helping each other through hardship.

Yet if they had truly turned swords into plowshares, their bond seemed not poor.

But the old monk had repeatedly attacked Fu Lao, trapping him within the Buddha-land—and now Fu Lao had stolen half the old monk’s true consciousness to restore his own vitality.

This made little sense…

“As I understand, true consciousness is the foundation of a spirit—if damaged, the spirit’s rank should drop, its seals incomplete?”

Chen Hang suddenly asked the many magic treasures within his purple palace.

Before the Dimensional Shuttle could speak, the Five Qi Cosmos Ring blurted out:

“By common logic, yes—but even Dao Treasures have their own mysterious subtleties, called rare treasures of the world, let alone higher-tier Immortal Weapons and Buddha Treasures—perhaps this lamp has some method to mend its deficiency.”

Cultivating for ten thousand years is no great matter to them, but I’ve just remembered something sorrowful…

Having said this, the Five Qi Cosmos Ring sighed again deliberately, sighing deeply:

“Master, to be frank, though I still count as your ally, once you one day attain the Great Dao, I fear I shall not be able to remain by your side for long!”

Chen Hang smiled faintly: “What do you mean?”

“The Dongqingyubaolingaodan —such a transcendent elixir, I dare not even hope for it…” The Five Qi Cosmos Ring rubbed his hands, smiling awkwardly:

“Master, when you attain the Dao, what of my advancement into a Dao Artifact?”

Before Chen Hang could answer, a chorus of Sanskrit chants suddenly rose through the air, clear and far-reaching, filling listeners with unending delight and stirring their hearts with joy, as if a Buddha were expounding the True Dharma in the void, guiding all beings to liberation.

“Go.”

Fu Lao, who had just raised the stone lamp, nodded slightly and said to Chen Hang:

“I’ll handle this place—you may go cultivate without worry!”

The old monk snorted coldly beside him and interjected:

“Since gaining self-awareness, this is the first time I’ve had to assist a Xuanmen cultivator in contemplating the Great Dao—it’s a great humiliation!”

Chen Hang bowed solemnly to Fu Lao, then sat cross-legged beside the All-Knowing Wisdom Lamp.

He stabilized his entire qi, closed his eyes, and began meditating, pouring all his spirit into the Taiyi Divine Thunder.

Seeing Chen Hang slip into meditation in an instant, Fu Lao nodded approvingly, then eagerly grabbed the old monk’s sleeve and said:

“After all this struggle, we’ve finally reached a resolution. Monk, I humbly invite you to share a few cups of wine—don’t refuse!”

“You’ve taken half my true awareness, and now you force me to bless your disciple with great wisdom—this resolution, I never wanted.”

The old monk sneered repeatedly, waving dismissively:

“No cause, no gift—either deceit or theft. Just speak your scheme plainly; no need for roundabout tricks!”

"No reason to offer kindness—either a rogue or a thief. Spit out your scheme plainly; no need for roundabout tricks!"