Chapter 403: The Struggle of the Trapped Beast

The bronze bell rang, as if it had awakened the entire monastery and the whole mountain forest.

The bronze bell's sound reverberated without cease, endless.

It seemed as if nothing had happened, yet everyone present understood that the situation of this match had quietly shifted at this moment.

The first to react was the little novice monk.

He quickly distanced himself from Empty Silence Abbott, pulling a black cord from his neck, at the end of which hung… a Nine‑Eyed Heavenly Pearl?

For such a treasure, the more precious it is, the more reluctant one is to carve it artificially, lest its mana and value be damaged.

But this one of the little novice monk's was actually hollowed out.

According to the pearl's natural patterns, an intricate design was carved.

He held the pearl in his mouth; I looked down from above and clearly saw that the carved lines on the pearl were exactly the same as the totem on the back of that Buddha pendant.

The pearl was blown, producing a sound.

I never expected this tiny trinket to emit such an ethereal sound.

As the little novice monk blew, the secret door of the Sutra Library swung open on its own, and a beast's howl came from ahead.

The little novice monk's face lit up with joy, his eyes fixed on the direction of the secret door.

I clenched both hands tightly, my palms slick with sweat.

I didn't move, because I saw Empty Silence Abbott standing still, showing no panic and making no attempt to stop the little novice monk.

Even at the moment the little novice monk produced the Nine‑Eyed Heavenly Pearl, Empty Silence Abbott lowered his head, turned his prayer beads, and began chanting sutras again.

It seems he still has a trick up his sleeve.

Obviously the little novice monk's mood shifted from initial tension to the opening of the secret door and the beast's howl, then suddenly relaxed; he had no energy to ponder the series of changes in Empty Silence Abbott's actions.

He stared at the secret‑door entrance, full of anticipation.

From within the secret door came steady footsteps.

The anticipation in the little novice monk's eyes froze the moment he heard those footsteps.

He instinctively stepped back.

The footsteps drew nearer and nearer…

When that figure I knew so well appeared at the secret‑door exit, I was so excited I wanted to shout!

It was Liu Junyan!

He stood there, his tall silhouette cast from the doorway onto the ground, three shadows overlapping.

One was his own.

One was the Copper Coin Person's.

And another… belonged to that huge beast that was neither lion nor Tibetan Mastiff.

That creature was truly massive—its head almost blocked the secret door, its body huge, its long fur, kept sleek and glossy, still stained with blood.

Liu Junyan grabbed its hind neck with one hand, lifting its head straight up; its whole hindquarters slumped to the ground—clearly it had been dragged over by force.

It kept howling, even when Liu Junyan stood motionless, it continued to cry.

Only then did I notice that white scale plates were embedded under its chin and on all four paw pads!

As for other parts, does it have any?

Surely it does, just hidden beneath the black fur, because blood seeps out from the hair and drips drop by drop onto the ground.

Turns out it has been howling from pain.

Earlier, when Liu Junyan was trapped in the meditation room, the giant beast was invincible under heaven.

But after he burst out, a mere beast—even one blessed by Buddhist teachings—how could it stand against a flood dragon?

The little novice monk's face turned green; unwilling to yield, he blew the heavenly eye again.

Upon hearing that ethereal sound, the giant beast's body began to struggle uncontrollably.

This is a muscle memory, cultivated through training since its youth.

The pearl's resonance is a signal.

Once the signal is sent, it instinctively wants to fight.

But as soon as it struggles, fresh blood pours from its body in a steady stream.

Only then did we discover that beneath the beast's long fur, red threads were wound tight, biting into its flesh.

The more it struggles, the deeper the red threads cut, and the greater its pain.

The desperate howl of the beast echoed throughout the temple.

Liu Junyan let go with a bang; the massive beast crashed to the ground, sending up a spray of blood.

It lay there, twitching incessantly, its bell‑like crimson eyes gradually losing their former luster.

The little novice monk staggered on his feet; this giant beast must have been with him for many years.

From Zàng Qū to Mount Song, a journey of thousands of li spanning two or three centuries, the effort he poured into this beast is immeasurable.

It was like his right and left hand.

But in our view, raising such a ferocious giant beast surely cost countless lives behind the scenes.

This is a killing weapon built upon human lives!

At that very moment, the little novice monk again stuffed the pearl into his mouth and blew it.

This time the pitch obviously changed, becoming quite eerie.

The pitch swung up and down, carrying a tremolo.

Accompanying that sound, a Dharma net condensed above the temple and descended.

This Dharma net is the very one I saw outside the temple earlier, the one that suppresses the flood dragon's tail.

I have already witnessed its mighty mana; this must also be the most powerful formation array that the little novice monk has devised during his long concealment in the Great Dharma King Temple.

This is his assassin's truncheon.

Just as this heavenly net appeared, Empty Silence Abbott sat cross-legged on the ground.

He slightly lowered his head, the prayer beads in his hand constantly turning, as he chanted sutras.

Almost as soon as he moved, there was movement in the upper level of the Sutra Pavilion.

A deeper, more powerful chanting of sutras joined in.

At the moment those chanting voices rang out, the entire Sutra Pavilion burst with blinding golden light, with a bang, the world spun.

In less than a minute, that heavenly net was broken!

Xiao Shami muttered in disbelief: "Eighteen Diamond Arhat Formation! Old bald donkey, you actually managed to cultivate the Eighteen Diamond Arhat Formation right under my nose! You… you, why didn't you reveal it at the start, hiding so deeply with your head tucked in… you are so deceitful..."

This feeling of thinking everything was under one's control, only to find in the end that nothing was controlled, almost drove Xiao Shami mad.

In contrast, Empty Silence Abbott was truly an old monk entering meditation, steady to the point of being shocking.

He remained sitting cross-legged, sighed, and said: "The Eighteen Diamond Arhat Formation is the temple-guarding formation of the Great Dharma King Temple; if you were just a bit sincere, studying scriptures more in the Sutra Pavilion, how could you not have discovered it? All this is merely your own doing."

"Ha… ha ha ha…"

Xiao Shami burst into mad laughter again.

"If I remember correctly, activating the Eighteen Diamond Arhat Formation once injures tendons and bones, making a second activation impossible in a short time; do you think that using it to break my Heavenly Net guarantees victory?"

Empty Silence Abbott did not answer.

Xiao Shami, however, was especially excited.

"No! You're wrong! Old bald donkey, you can never beat me! You deserve only to be firmly stepped on by me!"

He said, and once again sounded the Heavenly Pearl.

This time, the tone was urgent and sharp, like a demonic sound piercing the ears.

In the mountains and forests, a wind suddenly rose, as if something underground was stirring, a sign of an impending mountain rain…