"Yao Kaishan, prepare to die."
A soft shout rang out, and Su Huan, who had been waiting in ambush, attacked with her long whip.
Yao Kaishan sneered, and a long black banner appeared in his hand, with black energy hanging down to protect him.
Then, with a flick of his finger, six black ropes flew out, emitting strange, hoarse sounds, like broken strings on a musical instrument, carrying a putrid, stench, as they coiled around Su Huan.
These six black threads were forged from the foul energy collected underground over millions of years. Originally, they were just a mass of grayish-white filth, unbearably foul-smelling. They had to be painstakingly refined using the secret techniques of the Heshan Dao. Only when they became so fine as to be imperceptible, colorless, and odorless, merely black lines like spider silk, were they considered to have reached their full potential.
Once the six black ropes strike someone, the Yin Sha poison will immediately seep into their bones. Even a true cultivator of the Xuanmen sect, who hasn't reached the fourth level of Qi Refining and the stage of Qi Condensation, will have their life's cultivation shattered in an instant. Even if they don't die, it's as if they have to start all over again.
Among the sixty-seven spells of Heshan Dao, these six black ropes rank third, and are extremely insidious.
How could Su Huan, a mere minor demon at the second level of Qi Refining, possibly withstand it?
Yao Kaishan revealed a ferocious smile; the fruits of victory were already beckoning to him.
Just then, starlight suddenly shimmered on Su Huan's body, and the radiance condensed, becoming as if it were solid, transforming into a robe shaped like a crane's cloak, with celestial star patterns and intertwined runes.
This robe, woven from light, is as still as gauze and as swift as smoke; with the slightest tremor, it scatters starlight.
Within the robe, the seven stars are aligned, forming the central axis of evolution, encompassing Yin and Yang, including the five elements, forming a unified primordial energy, and encompassing all things.
Six black ropes fell, but were firmly blocked by the Seven Star Robe. A spark ignited, and in an instant, it became a raging wildfire.
Yao Kaishan's six black ropes, which he had painstakingly mastered, were instantly reduced to ashes by the Starry Night True Fire. Only a thick, lingering stench remained, permeating the Great Peng Mingwang Pagoda.
Yao Kaishan was shocked, but Su Huan was overjoyed. She brandished her long whip, which seemed to burn everything in its path, and charged towards her enemy.
In a corner of the tower, Lin Yi closed a copy in his hand, which was naturally contributed by Wang Daoyuan, whom he had killed with a single sword strike.
This manuscript records only five kinds of magic of the Heshan Sect: Hun Tian Banner, Five Yin Bag, Five Horses Floating Pagoda Lock, Fierce Ghost Probing Hand, and Mysterious Yin Ghost Slaying Talisman. Among them, Hun Tian Banner and Five Yin Bag are the most powerful.
After putting away the copy in his hand, Lin Yi shook his head slightly. The Heshan Dao only passed down spells for fighting and ruthlessness, but had no fundamental Daoist principles. It was nothing but a castle in the air.
Only with deep roots can a tree flourish.
A tree with only branches and leaves but no roots can hardly last long, let alone live a long and prosperous life.
Lin Yi's gaze fell on Yao Kaishan, and he suddenly smiled. In this world, some people are willing to be shooting stars, shining brightly for a moment and illuminating the sky; some people want to become stars, traversing the cosmos and remaining ever new; and some people want to transcend the birth and death of the three thousand great worlds and be eternally immortal.
Confucius once said, "Aim high, and you'll achieve something; aim for the middle, and you'll achieve less; aim low, and you'll achieve nothing!"
Lin Yi sighed slightly and said, "Alas, if you aim too low, you'll gain nothing..."
"Who goes there?" Yao Kaishan shouted.
Relying on his numerous and uniquely useful Heshan Dao spells, he finally managed to block Su Huan's attack. Just as he was about to counterattack when his opponent's aura weakened, he suddenly heard the voice of a third person.
In the images transmitted back by the Heart-Connecting Gu planted in Wang Daoyuan's body, Yao Kaishan only saw a sword light. Therefore, he always thought that Su Huan had secretly plotted to kill his disciple. He never expected that there would be other people in the tower.
Lin Yi appeared in the tower, draped in holy water waves, his sword burning with the starlight of humanity. With a single slash, the black banner protecting Yao Kaishan was broken in two.
Yao Kaishan turned to flee, but it was too late.
With a single sword stroke, Elder Heshan, who had committed numerous atrocities in Miao territory and was infamous, became a thing of the past.
Just then, the large, red-scaled snake that had been obediently coiled around Yao Kaishan's waist suddenly became extremely alert, its eyes filled with vicious resentment. It opened its mouth and spewed a stream of pale red venomous gas towards Lin Yi. Then, without caring about the outcome, it turned and ran away.
Lin Yi chuckled, pointed his finger, and endless starlight flowed, transforming into a star chain that firmly bound the Crimson Scale Serpent. Then, with a wave of his sleeve, a gentle breeze swept away the poisonous mist and stench within the tower.
"Sister." Su Huan took a few steps forward and walked to the side of the crimson-scaled serpent, but seeing the resentment in the serpent's eyes, she dared not approach any further. The sister she remembered could never have such eyes.
Somewhat at a loss, Su Huan suddenly turned around and knelt down in front of Lin Yi, kowtowing vigorously. Although she didn't say a word, her pleading was very obvious.
After a few more kowtows, Su Huan's delicate forehead was bleeding, but the girl seemed oblivious to the pain and continued to kowtow desperately.
Lin Yi shook his head and said, "Help them to the end. Your sister's house has obviously been occupied by Yao Kaishan. Go and look for him. If he extracted your sister's soul and used it to create some kind of magic weapon, then there is still a chance of survival. If he casually scattered it, then there is no chance."
Su Huan had been in despair, but seeing a glimmer of hope, she immediately got up and found many magical artifacts on Yao Kaishan's corpse, carefully examining each one.
Yao Kaishan has been diligently cultivating for forty or fifty years, and of the sixty-seven types of spells in the Heshan Sect, he has mastered fifty-one. The variety is so vast that it dazzles the eye.
Su Huan rummaged through the paper for a while and suddenly saw a snow-white silk handkerchief with a picture of a woman in red on it. She was extremely beautiful and looked exactly like her sister.
Lin Yi took the handkerchief from Su Huan and walked to the giant red-scaled serpent. He extended his right hand, joined his index and middle fingers, and touched the serpent's head.
The two types of innate true fire he possessed simultaneously entered the giant snake's body.
The Starry Sky True Fire is an illusory fire, seemingly present yet absent, and difficult to grasp;
The Samadhi Fire is the fire of the mind, capable of changing at will and in countless ways.
The true fire ignited the demonic energy within the Crimson Scale Serpent, causing it to circulate continuously through the more than two hundred acupoints it had cultivated within its body.
One acupoint after another was refined by the true fire. Yao Kaishan's divine soul, which had been residing within the giant snake, hid everywhere. Lin Yi proceeded slowly and steadily. In the process, he also opened up the eighty-one missing acupoints within the Crimson Scale Giant Snake's body.
True fire burned fiercely, starting from the dantian, rising along the Du meridian opened up by the spine of the red-scaled serpent, and surging into the sea of consciousness.
With a scream of agony, the battle finally came to an end.
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Chapter Forty-Three: Sister's Charm and Sister's Beauty, Yesterday's Fantasy
In the blink of an eye, several days have passed.
The Chang'an Assembly is becoming increasingly lively, with monks, Taoists, and other extraordinary individuals from all over the country engaging in magical duels in the reed pavilion. From civil and military officials to ordinary people, everyone is having their eyes opened.