Shi Ning chanted Buddhist mantras and formed mudras with his hands. Three golden relics could be vaguely seen spinning endlessly between his eyebrows. He suddenly released his staff, which transformed into a golden dragon about ten feet long amidst the clanging of copper rings. The golden dragon roared and swiftly rushed towards Li Molin, who was at the forefront of the dozen or so black-clad men who were dodging and weaving.
Since ancient times, human lifespan has been short, only around a hundred years. After much experimentation, our ancestors discovered methods to draw spiritual energy into the body, initially simply to prolong life. Later, people gradually discovered the various wonders of spiritual energy, evolving into various supernatural abilities. Human cultivators also began to diverge, dividing into three paths: Taoism, Buddhism, and Demonism. These three paths of cultivation differ, yet ultimately converge on the same goal: to transcend the mortal world and attain immortality, becoming a celestial being, a Buddha, or a demon.
Human cultivators face arduous cultivation, but each step forward brings greater benefits. Besides gaining supernatural abilities, the most useful benefits include fasting, extending lifespan, and preserving youth.
Looking at the three relics between Shi Ning's eyebrows, one can tell that he has already reached the mid-stage of the relic realm. Looking at his face, he looks to be only about thirty years old, but one does not know his true age.
The battle raged fiercely. Li Molin wielded a short, dark black staff, about a foot long, with a skull carved into the thickened part of the head. The skull's eyes gleamed with two points of scarlet light, and its wide-open mouth was particularly ferocious. He brandished the staff, and as black energy surged, countless half-human-sized black ghost faces appeared out of thin air, roaring and attacking the monks.
The black ghost face exuded a menacing demonic aura, carrying a monstrous, flesh-devouring, bloodthirsty demonic energy. The monks' Buddhist treasures were tainted by the demonic energy with just a slight touch, and they hurriedly channeled their Buddhist power into the treasures to dispel the demonic energy, resulting in a chaotic situation.
The short staff in Li Molin's hand is the "Skull Staff," a top-tier demonic artifact in the Demon Realm. Because Li Molin is still young and only at the mid-stage of the Demonic Thought realm, he can only unleash 30% of the Skull Staff's power. If a demon with profound cultivation wields the Skull Staff, the ghostly face he casts will be almost tangible. The demonic energy emitted by the ghostly face will contaminate the weapons of righteous cultivators, rendering even slightly lower-grade weapons unusable, and even high-grade weapons will be affected by the demonic energy, greatly reducing their power.
Liuli sat hidden atop a tall tree trunk, watching the fierce battle in the forest with a broad smile on her face. She watched as the golden Buddhist light and black aura surged, quickly turning a large area of the forest into a chaotic mess of fallen trees, their trunks sprawling across the ground, their branches and leaves forming a thick carpet. Liuli had to repeatedly move to a tree trunk further out to sit on, her legs dangling precariously, almost humming a tune.
Amidst the fierce battle, she noticed the young monk named Shi Chan. Although he appeared young, his cultivation was considerable, already reaching the late Foundation Establishment stage, and seemingly only one step away from reaching the Relic stage. He held a string of sandalwood prayer beads, which emitted a dazzling golden light as he chanted Buddhist mantras. Each bead revealed a small swastika symbol, which spun incessantly, sometimes appearing on the beads under Shi Chan's hand seals, transforming into various small Buddhist artifacts that attacked the demons.
The prayer beads in Shi Chan's hand are called "Zen Pure Beads," which are considered top-grade Buddhist treasures in Bodhi Temple. If a monk with profound cultivation holds these prayer beads, the swastika symbol will appear and transform into various Buddhist treasures that appear to be real, used to attack enemies. Although these treasures are formed from Buddhist light, they are no different from real Buddhist treasures. In fact, if a high-ranking monk who has reached the late stage of Nirvana uses the Zen Pure Beads, he can summon various ancient Buddhist treasures that have been lost. Although he can only exert one percent of the power of the ancient Buddhist treasures, it is still quite amazing.
Shi Chan moved nimbly among the many demons, but he was still bitten by one of Li Molin's ghost faces. Even though he dodged quickly, he was still bitten on the right shoulder by the ghost face.
He grunted and turned to retreat hastily.
Liuli saw this from above and couldn't help but frown.
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