The embrace of the monk was warm, and there was a faint, pleasant sandalwood scent at the tip of my nose.
So when Liuli's feet touched the ground and Shichan released her, she was somewhat reluctant to back away.
However, Shi Chan took several steps back, put his hands together, bowed his head and said, "Miss Liuli, what are you doing here?"
Liuli stomped her foot and said angrily, "Little monk, I kept calling you not to come over, I shouted until my voice was hoarse, didn't you hear me at all?"
Shi Chan paused for a moment, then shook his head and said with a wry smile, "This humble monk did not hear it."
Liuli was extremely annoyed. She turned her head and looked around, only to find that she and Shichan were in a black passage about two zhang wide. On both sides of the passage were two black walls of light. The walls of light were vaguely transparent, but the scene behind them could not be seen. The light flowing within the walls of light was extremely dazzling.
The light walls were emitted from stone pillars, which were evenly distributed. There was a stone pillar every two zhang on both sides of the passage. The light walls emitted from the stone pillars extended forward, backward, left, and right, and connected with each other to form either a passable road or a dead end blocked at the end.
Just as Liuli was taking in the scenery around her, a black blade shadow about ten feet long suddenly appeared from the top of a stone pillar next to them and swiftly slashed down.
Shi Chan grabbed Liu Li's hand and hurriedly retreated more than ten feet away. The blade shadow then slammed down in front of the man and the demon, stirring up the black mist spreading on the ground. Strangely, it did not leave any mark on the ground, but crashed into the ground and shattered into pieces.
The sudden slash of the blade created a gust of wind that caused Liuli and Shichan's robes to flutter. After the blade disappeared, they looked up at the same time, only to see black demonic energy spreading from a height of more than ten feet. The demonic energy became more and more concentrated as it went up. It was the middle of the night, so they could not see anything in the sky.
Shi Chan's expression was solemn. He pulled Liuli forward and said in a deep voice, "This place is dangerous and we should leave quickly."
"Oh," Liuli responded, glancing around as she walked forward. She casually remarked, "I heard those demons say this formation is called... the Man-Eating Demon Palace, do you know it, little monk?"
Upon hearing the words "Man-Eating Demon Palace," Shi Chan abruptly stopped, slowing his pace considerably. He replied gently, "This humble monk has heard Master mention this formation. It is said that this formation was created by Chi You, and it is fraught with danger, making it the most perilous formation in the world."
Liuli nodded, then frowned and said, "This formation was activated by that clone of Chi You. Humph, that annoying Chi You!"
At this moment, Shi Chan led Liuli to the end of the road. They could not go any further and could only turn left or right.
Shi Chan stopped at the crossroads and looked to the left and right for a while before turning to the road and saying gently, "Young lady, choosing the right path in this demonic formation is extremely important, because some paths are passable, some are dead ends, and some are dangerous. Young lady, you choose, shall we go to the left or the right?"
Liuli looked up at Shichan's face. His expression was as gentle as ever, and his eyes were warm and peaceful, as clear as a lake.
The faint smile on Shi Chan's lips gradually calmed Liu Li's heart. She smiled, stepped forward, looked around, and pondered, "Hmm... the right side, I guess."
The smile on Shi Chan's lips deepened, and he nodded gently, replying, "Okay."
Looking at the two, one human and one demon, they didn't seem to be in a dangerous and treacherous magic array at all. Instead, it was as if they had accidentally gotten lost while playing in the wild, but since they weren't in a hurry to go home, they jokingly chose a path.
Throughout this process, Shi Chan held Liuli's small hand, completely disregarding the rules and regulations of Buddhism.
The soft, warm little hand in his grasp felt so smooth, as if it might slip away at any moment, and if he wanted to hold it again, he didn't know if he would ever have the chance. So even though Shi Chan knew that what he was doing was wrong, that it was breaking the precepts, he simply tightened his grip on the hand.
The human and the demon turned a corner and walked to the right. They walked cautiously and carefully, and were safe and sound for more than ten steps.
When they reached a stone pillar, Shi Chan, who was walking in front, took a step without realizing it. As his foot landed, the demonic energy beneath his feet rippled like a puddle of water, followed by a sudden burst of dense, whistling sounds.
Shi Chan was startled. He quickly retreated, pulling Liuli behind him as he did so. He looked up and saw hundreds of black feathered arrows suddenly emerge from the demonic energy filling the sky. The arrows seemed to be composed of demonic energy, but their arrowheads shimmered with light, appearing extremely sharp.
Shi Chan quickly recited a Buddhist mantra. A swastika symbol flashed on one of the prayer beads in his hand, then flew out and transformed into a spinning golden wheel. The golden wheel spun to meet the swarm of arrows coming from the sky, crashing into them several times and shattering most of them. Only a dozen or so arrows managed to escape and shoot down, but Shi Chan and Liuli simply took a few steps back to avoid them. The dozen or so arrows then struck the ground, stirring up a layer of demonic energy.
Having deflected over a hundred arrows, Shi Chan and Liu Li both breathed a sigh of relief. But at this moment, when their vigilance was at its lowest, the layer of black mist beneath their feet suddenly gathered and transformed into more than a dozen giant black flowers, each over two feet tall. The flower stems were slender, the few leaves were the size of palm-leaf fans, and the giant flower at the top was the size of a washbasin. Between the opening and closing of the petals, the stamens were revealed, and the stamens at the center were actually two rows of sharp teeth.
A sudden gust of wind swept through the passage, causing the giant flowers to sway violently. As they swayed, the two rows of sharp teeth in the middle of these flowers suddenly opened, like huge mouths, and viciously bit at Shi Chan and Liu Li's bodies.
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