Before, Li Yan had been quite confident that the "Gu" Character Talisman could withstand the opponent's attack. But now, facing a physical attack from a Spirit Transformation-level cultivator, Li Yan's hand seals momentarily stopped, and his mind went blank for a brief instant. The opponent possessed true absolute speed; he had no time to react at all.
"BOOM!"
"Hong Yin, you wench!"
But what followed was a loud bang and a heaven-shaking roar from below.
Just ten zhang below Li Yan, the head of the suddenly appearing lizard-like Wind Beast slammed into an invisible barrier, erupting in a dazzling golden light. At the same time, a three-faced, eight-armed Bodhisattva Dharma Manifestation appeared there. The Dharma Manifestation's faces were angry, its hands either forming seals or holding a sorrowless tree, a bowstring, a vajra pestle, an arrow, and a vajra axe. One of its Buddha heads spat out a Buddhist Sound Lotus, which fell toward the head of the lizard-like Wind Beast. Just as the beast tried to dodge, a golden light suddenly lit up from its Dantian.
This caused the lizard-like Wind Beast's body to freeze, and its small eyes revealed extreme pain. The dark red light on its body suddenly turned blood-red, and the lotus landed on its forehead without any resistance.
"BOOM!"
With a loud bang, the golden Buddhist Sound Lotus exploded with terrifying power, like a heavy hammer crashing down. The lizard-like Wind Beast was like a meteorite, its body's red light dissipating as it was smashed downwards. At the same time, it let out another unwilling roar, still cursing the nun Hong Yin.
With his current recovered cultivation, he could have barely withstood that golden Buddhist Sound Lotus. But this time, he had been awakened by his clone detonating the only thread of Divine Sense connected to his Sea of Consciousness, at any cost. This had damaged his divine soul, and it was only under the stimulation of the intense pain that he had woken up. As soon as he woke up, he saw a young man in a green robe above him, actually controlling several Dharma Manifestations, and those Dharma Manifestations were the Buddhist Bodhisattvas he despised the most.
Having been forcibly awakened, not only was his Sea of Consciousness in excruciating pain, but his whole body's magical power had suffered a backlash from the forced interruption, injuring his meridians and internal organs. But he still reacted immediately, calmly questioning Li Yan in an attempt to buy time to recover. It was just that the green-robed kid didn't play by the rules. The lizard-like Wind Beast would have been better off staying silent. The moment it spoke, the human kid's spellcasting speed actually increased. The other party's desperate actions had immediately enraged the lizard-like Wind Beast... being struck down by the Buddhist Sound Lotus, the lizard-like Wind Beast was filled with a mix of shock and anger.
He knew that even if he had blocked that blow, the other weapons in the Dharma Manifestation's eight arms—the bowstring, vajra pestle, arrow, and vajra axe—would have all struck down in unison. He still would have been no match. But this was not what he wanted to see. While he was dormant, his clone would wield a portion of his power, slowly chipping away at the seal with a grinding effort. That way, it wouldn't trigger the full suppression of the Bodhisattva Marici Sarira, and he could also use the extreme yin-cold power of the "Heaven's Eye Wind" to recover.
Watching everything unfold, Li Yan's expression had returned to normal. As his thoughts raced, a large expanse of green light spread out from beneath his feet like advancing layers, expanding into the distance... in an instant, it had enveloped a range of several thousand zhang below. The "Primal Qi Grand Clarity Formation" was now formed.
As the "Primal Qi Grand Clarity Formation" took shape, streams of invisible power appeared and flew toward the four and a half Dharma Manifestations hovering in mid-air. Seeing the grand formation was complete, Li Yan's hands danced before his chest like a butterfly. Ancient golden talismans flew from his hands, instantly penetrating the green light and landing on the four and a half Dharma Manifestations.
The four and a half Dharma Manifestations, which had been quietly hovering, immediately sprang into motion. They either formed seals with their fingers, or pointed one finger to the sky and one to the ground; or held a vajra pestle high with both hands, their eyes wide with anger; or took a stance like an Arhat subduing a tiger; or emitted rays of Buddhist light from behind their heads, with the faint sound of chanting scriptures.
In an instant, waves of Buddhist chants echoed through the green space, transforming the originally gloomy atmosphere into one of solemnity. As the Buddhist light shone and the chants resounded, the four and a half Dharma Manifestations seemed to be faintly echoing the three-faced, eight-armed Bodhisattva Dharma Manifestation below.
Li Yan seemed oblivious, his hands moving ceaselessly, constantly pushing his techniques. At this point, he even saw the three-faced, eight-armed Bodhisattva Dharma Manifestation slightly raise its head to look at the Vajra-Hand Bodhisattva Dharma Manifestations above. However, just as Li Yan was in a bit of a daze, that Dharma Manifestation suddenly moved its eight arms, pointing them all downwards. Several streams of golden light, as thick as an arm, shot straight down!
At the same time, the boundless Buddhist light emitted by the four and a half Dharma Manifestations suddenly converged into a golden curtain, falling vertically like a waterfall towards the three-faced, eight-armed Bodhisattva Dharma Manifestation below. A sheet of green light and a sky full of golden light instantly filled this corner of the world, making the "Heaven's Eye Wind" here seem dim in comparison.
"Ahhh... detestable brat, I... I... I'm going to tear you... tear you to pieces! Ah!"
"Hong Yin, you wench... none of you will have a good death, a good death... ahhh..."
As the eight arms pointed, the golden light from above, mixed with vast scriptures, descended like an overwhelming avalanche of giant rocks. Although the Dharma Manifestations were only making gestures and did not strike out, streams of invisible power were emitted from their various poses, falling downwards to suppress!
The lizard-like Wind Beast struggled to stabilize its massive body. It tried to raise its head, as if to see Li Yan clearly through the sky full of golden light. It wanted to firmly remember the face of this person who had suddenly appeared today. When the golden light first fell on it, large clouds of red smoke rose up. It trembled in pain, howling and cursing continuously, a ruthless look in its eyes.
Gathering its aura, its body charged upwards again. Although its speed could only be described as running, having long since lost its divine ability of moving a thousand li in an instant, it still charged up. The eight golden pillars of light suddenly burst with even stronger light. The lizard-like Wind Beast's advancing body froze, stopping in place, unable to move an inch. The ferocity in its eyes grew even more crazed.
But in just a few breaths, the red smoke stopped rising from the lizard-like Wind Beast's body. The golden light formed layer after layer of wrapping, like a sturdy golden armor, tightly encasing it. Even its raised head was fixed in an upward-looking position, unable to move at all. In its wide-open mouth, the fine, sharp teeth had become a mouthful of "golden teeth," and its eyes had become two dazzling "golden beans." But the golden light, scriptures, and invisible force from the sky continued to rain down.
Above, Li Yan's face was expressionless, his hand seals still moving without any sign of stopping. At the same time, he stared intently downwards, his Divine Sense also sweeping in from the formation's Gate of Life. Under the cover of the "Primal Qi Grand Clarity Formation," the "Heaven's Eye Wind" within could no longer restrict his Divine Sense. And at this moment, the ferocious aura from the lizard-like Wind Beast's body finally vanished completely...
'Just how strong was Hong Yin back then? Most of the sealing power just now still came from the three-faced, eight-armed Dharma Manifestation, and it instantly knocked the "Yin Mountain Beast" down...' Li Yan thought, continuously observing the Wind Beast's condition below. Another ten breaths later, his hand seals finally stopped. This was because just now, the three-faced, eight-armed Bodhisattva Dharma Manifestation had stopped shooting out the golden pillars of light. It blurred and then vanished. This Dharma Manifestation was a restriction set by Hong Yin, only appearing to suppress when it sensed the Fifth-rank "Yin Wind Beast" attempting to break the seal. As soon as the beast's aura disappeared, the three-faced, eight-armed Bodhisattva Dharma Manifestation would vanish again.
Li Yan looked at the colossal beast below, which now shone with a brilliant golden light. It had now once again become like a puppet. The Fifth-rank Wind Beast was finally sealed again. But Li Yan's brows furrowed. This was an endless darkness. A giant beast like this here was like a blazing sun; it was too conspicuous. If some powerful creature were to sneak in here in the future and discover this from a great distance, and then, out of curiosity, forcibly destroy the seal from the outside, that would be disastrous.
Under these circumstances, he had to use the "Primal Qi Grand Clarity Formation" to conceal it. But that was for later. Even now, the sealing was not over. Li Yan's heart was still in his throat; he still had much to do.
Li Yan looked up again at the "Gu" Character Talisman above him. The talisman's light was now significantly dimmer than before. If it was a bright lamp before, it was now a dull yellow. 'The "Heaven's Eye Wind" here is too fierce. I must hurry. I wonder if the technique Hong Yin gave me will work?'
Thinking of this, Li Yan pointed again. Five more techniques struck the four and a half Vajra-Hand Bodhisattvas. The next moment, the four and a half Vajra-Hand Bodhisattvas all stood up straight. Then, with a flicker, the four and a half Dharma Manifestations flew quickly downwards. As Li Yan watched, they soon passed through the barrier set by Hong Yin. A sharp glint flashed in Li Yan's eyes.
'It really works!'
Before he came, he had asked Hong Yin several crucial questions about the Fifth-rank "Yin Mountain Beast," and she had answered them all. The first question was: did Hong Yin's seal seal a region of space, or the Fifth-rank "Yin Mountain Beast's" main body? Hong Yin replied that it was the latter. After a fierce battle with the beast, both sides were heavily injured. She no longer had the strength to seal a region of space, so she directly transformed into a Sarira and sealed the opponent's main body.
With the first answer, Li Yan asked the second question: could he approach the sealed Fifth-rank "Yin Mountain Beast's" main body without destroying Hong Yin's seal? After this question, Hong Yin did not answer Li Yan. At that time, she just stared at Li Yan, saying nothing. Li Yan knew this had touched Hong Yin's bottom line. For anyone to be able to touch the Fifth-rank "Yin Mountain Beast's" main body meant they could ignore Hong Yin's seal. So what exactly did Li Yan want to do?
Faced with Hong Yin's direct gaze, Li Yan immediately gave his answer. "After sealing it, I want to move its main body away from the eye of the 'Heaven's Eye Wind.' But with your seal in place, I might not be able to do that. Either I can touch its main body without destroying the seal, or I can move the seal along with it. Obviously, your first answer makes me think it's possible to move it, since you didn't seal a region of space!"
Hong Yin finally understood Li Yan's ultimate goal. He not only wanted to seal the beast, but also to prevent the Fifth-rank "Yin Mountain Beast" from ever being able to use the wind's eye to recover. This would further ensure the success of the seal. Back then, because she had lost consciousness when she transformed into a Sarira, she didn't know that the "Yin Mountain Beast," despite being heavily injured, had managed to move itself to the eye of the "Heaven's Eye Wind." It was only after she woke up that she sensed the Sarira and found the Fifth-rank "Yin Mountain Beast's" exact location.
In fact, after being enveloped by the "Primal Qi Grand Clarity Formation," this was no longer just a seal. This formation could isolate the power of the "Heaven's Eye Wind." However, this isolation, being at the eye of the "Heaven's Eye Wind," would consume a huge amount of High-grade Spirit Stones every breath. After some thought, Li Yan of course decided it was better to move the whole thing away from the "Heaven's Eye Wind." This would make the "Primal Qi Grand Clarity Formation" more stable. Otherwise, it would be like being under constant full-force attack from a Spirit Transformation cultivator. The terrifying consumption was something that even the Tianli Clan plus the three Wind Beast clans might not be able to bear.
In addition, there was another reason Li Yan had to do this. He of course did not know how effective this sealing would be. Therefore, in the initial period, he might come down to investigate once every month, or even shorter, possibly every ten days to half a month, until he was sure there were no problems. After that, the observation interval would become longer and longer. And here, even he would not be able to come in the future, unless he could advance to the Spirit Transformation realm. If Li Yan really reached that realm, and was still in the lower realm, he believed he could kill this Fifth-rank "Yin Mountain Beast," so why would he need repeated investigations?
Therefore, he had to move this Fifth-rank "Yin Mountain Beast" as far away from its original position as possible, at least away from the wind's eye.
In the end, whether it was because Hong Yin was still wary of others, or because she didn't feel comfortable with others touching her seal, she told Li Yan that her seal would be triggered to attack if touched by magical power or Divine Sense, whether from the inside or outside. But then, her tone changed. "I can teach you another technique. After you use this art on the Vajra-Hand Bodhisattva Dharma Manifestations, with the help of the power of the same lineage, the Dharma Manifestations in the prayer beads can enter my seal."
Then, she inscribed a set of techniques for Li Yan.
Seeing the four and a half Dharma Manifestations had flown to the side of the Fifth-rank "Yin Mountain Beast's" body, Li Yan once again activated the technique given by Hong Yin. The four and a half Dharma Manifestations' bodies flashed with golden light, and they all extended their palms, pressing them against the side of the Fifth-rank "Yin Mountain Beast's" body. The "Yin Mountain Beast's" body trembled slightly.
'The power of these Dharma Manifestations seems different now. The power they emit is blocked by the golden light on the Yin Mountain Beast's body, rather than entering or merging with the golden light, nor can it enter its body. But this resistance can be used to push it. However, doing anything to its main body is absolutely impossible. These Spirit Transformation old monsters, each one looks harmless, but their methods are unbelievably high. However... this kind of absolute seal can ensure the seal maintains its maximum power!'
Li Yan sensed that after the four and a half Dharma Manifestations entered Hong Yin's seal, he could no longer command them at will; they were under great suppression. The only thing that could control them was the technique given by Hong Yin. This showed that Hong Yin would not let anyone destroy her seal, not even people she trusted now.
Li Yan no longer hesitated. He activated a hand seal, and the bodies of the four and a half Dharma Manifestations flashed with golden light. In an instant, they actually pushed the magnificent golden Fifth-rank "Yin Mountain Beast" and flew towards a nearby spot...