https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-651-The-Labyrinth-s-Killing-Array/12542843/
Chapter 652: Stealing the Upper Hand
Chapter 652: Stealing the Upper Hand
Malicious flames ravaged Fire Buddha's body.
Just as Gu Chang Huai was about to warn everyone to be careful, Xiao Tianquan sneered, "An evil demon like you is nothing more than a lone tree that cannot withstand the wind, no matter how powerful you are."
"Everyone, attack together and kill this demon!"
"Whoever slays Fire Buddha will earn great merit!"
Gu Chang Huai frowned.
Some of the greedy Zhi Si, upon hearing the word "merit," had a gleam in their eyes. They immediately channeled their spiritual power and rushed towards Fire Buddha with full force.
Fire Buddha was only at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage, after all.
Most of them were at the latter stages of Foundation Establishment, and their cultivation levels weren't too far apart. Even if they couldn't win, they could still hold their ground for a while and wouldn't be defeated immediately.
If they were lucky enough to directly slay Fire Buddha, the position of Dian Si was within their grasp.
Several bold Zhi Si took the lead, charging towards Fire Buddha.
Fire Buddha stood still like a mountain, his body engulfed in flames.
Suddenly, his expression turned cold, and a killing intent appeared in his eyes. At the same time, his aura changed drastically.
Gu Chang Huai's expression changed as well. "Not good!"
Before he could finish his sentence, he brandished his folding fan, creating blades of wind that slashed towards Fire Buddha in an attempt to disrupt his killing move.
A cold smile appeared on Fire Buddha's lips, and his red kasaya fluttered, forming a wall of fire.
The wind blades slashed onto the wall of fire.
The wall shattered, and the wind blades dissipated without a trace.
Gu Chang Huai, who couldn't utilize his Golden Core's power, had a cultivation level slightly higher than Fire Buddha's peak Foundation Establishment stage, but not by much.
In the initial exchange, the two seemed evenly matched.
After blocking the wind blades with his wall of fire, Fire Buddha's eyes turned scarlet, and his killing intent soared.
He resembled a ferocious demonic beast baring its bloodthirsty fangs.
His body was engulfed in raging flames, but in the blink of an eye, the flames turned grayish-black and impure. His aura also began to distort.
In the void, whispers of pain and terrified wails echoed.
It was as if everyone who had perished under his spells had turned into "killing sins."
The heavy killing sins transformed into bizarre demonic energy.
The demonic energy merged with his spells, rising with the flames and gradually permeating the entire hall.
A layer of darkness fell over everyone's hearts, causing their Daoist hearts to fluctuate and giving rise to an involuntary sense of fear.
At that moment, Fire Buddha resembled a demon lord in the abyss, enveloped by endless karmic fires and burdened with innumerable killing sins.
Especially for the few Dao Ting Si cultivators who were closer to Fire Buddha.
In their eyes, Fire Buddha abruptly transformed from a kind and benevolent "Buddha" into a man-eating "demon," his aura becoming sinister and terrifying.
The demonic energy in the flames invaded their minds.
A bone-chilling fear gripped their hearts.
Their limbs turned soft, and despite gritting their teeth, they couldn't stop their bodies from trembling.
Their bodies and spiritual power were beyond their control due to the fear brought on by the demonic energy.
The fear of death led them to their demise.
Fire Buddha let out a cold laugh. He clenched his hand, forming a fire knife, and with a forceful swing, he unleashed a scarlet trail of fire that slashed through the Zhi Si who were afflicted by the demonic energy, consumed by fear, and unable to resist. They were all killed instantly!
Gu Chang Huai was furious, but a chill also ran down his spine.
"Demonic energy?!"
Gu Chang Huai's eyes turned icy as he said, "You vile creature, how did you come to possess the 'Infusing Demonic Energy into Spells' technique of the Demon Subduing Sect?"
Fire Buddha pressed his palms together and replied, "The Buddha is merciful. It has allowed me to cultivate this technique and use the karmic fires to 'deliver all beings.'"
Gu Chang Huai cursed, "You bald thief, stop spouting bullshit!"
Fire Buddha remained calm and emotionless, showing no anger. He looked directly at Gu Chang Huai.
His eyes, illuminated by the firelight, revealed a mix of excitement and hatred.
"Back then, my heart meridian was severely injured by you, and my life hung by a thread..."
"The terror and pain of being between life and death left an indelible mark on me..."
"Now that I've mastered the Falling Fire Technique and used killing to refine demonic energy, spells to temper demonic energy, and the Buddha to suppress demonic energy, sins, heart, and spells have become one. The forbidden technique is complete!"
"How will you kill me?"
Fire Buddha whispered coldly, "In the future, when I break through to the Golden Core stage, I will stop at nothing to slaughter everyone close to you, Gu Chang Huai. With your blood, flesh, and vengeful spirit, I will forge a true... Golden Core Fire Demon!"
Gu Chang Huai's anger turned into bone-chilling killing intent.
"Then today, I will flay you alive and tear your body into ten thousand pieces!"
Gu Chang Huai's spiritual power surged, stirring up a terrifying gale. Above the gale, blades were layered like feathers, dense and sharp.
Fire Buddha's expression changed slightly, and a hint of wariness flashed in his eyes.
"The superior technique of the Gu family, the Wind-Riding Feather Transformation!"
This was the technique that had shredded his heart meridian years ago, leaving him with a flickering life force.
After so many years, this superior technique had become even more formidable.
Fire Buddha was not only unafraid, but his eyes also shone with an even stronger battle intent.
Today, he would use his perfected Falling Fire forbidden technique, infused with demonic energy and spells, to face the Wind-Riding Feather Transformation—the superior technique of the Gu family, which had been the lackeys of the Dao Ting Si for generations! He would sever his grudge and conquer his inner demons!
Fire Buddha's eyes were cloudy and evil, and the demonic energy around him surged to its peak.
Within a radius of several meters, all the Dao Ting Si cultivators were intimidated by the demonic energy, their hearts filled with terror, rendering them immobile.
Then, Fire Buddha spread his arms, and his kasaya ignited with fierce flames, condensing into hundreds of fiery droplets.
These fiery droplets contained formidable demonic power, and in the blink of an eye, they scattered like a torrential downpour of fire, rushing towards the Dao Ting Si cultivators who were paralyzed with fear.
Gu Chang Huai's eyebrows furrowed.
He was also affected by the demonic energy, but his cultivation was profound, and his determination to kill Fire Buddha was unwavering, so he remained unaffected.
Seeing Fire Buddha unleash the fiery rain with the intent to massacre the Dao Ting Si cultivators, Gu Chang Huai's expression turned cold. He swept his fan, and the wind blades resembling feathers swept towards the fiery droplets.
In an instant, the wind blades and fiery droplets collided, flashing and fading.
Spiritual power surged in all directions.
Most of the fiery droplets were neutralized by Gu Chang Huai's wind blades.
A few droplets overflowed and landed on the cultivators, like sparks igniting a fire. The flames erupted violently, and the compressed demonic power was released, engulfing the cultivators in flames laced with demonic energy.
Just then, the Demon Cultivators within the Bronze Palace also arrived.
They had killed quite a few Dao Ting Si executives, but at the same time, Gu Chang Huai had killed many of them as well. Now, only less than a hundred remained.
Mo Hua recognized the three leaders.
They were the ones who had pursued him before—Blood Woodcutter, Yin Leizi, and Guimian Sha.
"Big Brother! We're here to help you!"
"Slaughter these dogs of the Dao Ting Si!"
A group of Demon Cultivators grinned maliciously as they joined the battle.
Gu Chang Huai instructed the executives, "Leave Fire Buddha to me. All of you, stay back and be wary of the evil aura!"
After giving his orders, Gu Chang Huai charged forward alone to face Fire Buddha.
The other executives scattered fearfully from Fire Buddha's side and engaged in a desperate struggle with the group of Demon Cultivators led by Blood Woodcutter.
The scene became even more bloody and chaotic.
Magic techniques clashed, and brutal hand-to-hand combat ensued.
Spiritual artifacts and demonic weapons collided, and spiritual power intertwined with demonic energy.
The Demon Cultivators bore wounds, their eyes gleaming with bloodlust, while the Dao Ting Si cultivators fought with equal ferocity.
At this moment, none of them dared to flee.
They fought for their lives, knowing that their only chance of survival was to stand and fight. Turning their backs would only result in their deaths at the hands of the Demon Cultivators...
Mo Hua could only watch from the sidelines, unable to join the battle.
His cultivation was only at the early Qi Refining stage, and his spiritual power was limited.
The Dao Ting Si cultivators and Demon Cultivators, on the other hand, were all at the middle stages of Qi Refining, with many at the late stages.
His Fireball Technique posed little threat to them.
Moreover, some of the Demon Cultivators wore armor or had cast evil protective techniques like "Blood Armor" and "Poison Armor."
His fireballs would only tickle them.
As for control...
In this chaotic melee of close-quarters combat, his limited control abilities weren't particularly useful.
Mo Hua was realistic about his abilities and kept a low profile, wisely staying out of the way to avoid attracting unwanted attention.
If he acted rashly and drew Fire Buddha's attention or was caught by the Demon Cultivators, he would only cause more trouble for Uncle Gu and the others...
Moreover...
Mo Hua stole another glance at Fire Buddha, who was engaged in a magical battle with Uncle Gu in the center of the grand hall, his body enveloped in raging meteor flames, resembling an infernal "Flame Demon."
This Fire Buddha... he was incredibly strong...
Stronger than Mo Hua had initially thought.
The evil aura, the fiery kasaya, and the Meteor Flame technique...
The evil aura could intimidate and control enemies.
Once affected by the evil aura, those with unsteady Dao hearts and weak willpower would instantly lose their resistance and become like fish on a chopping block, at the mercy of Fire Buddha.
In that case, the group assault would be meaningless.
With a release of the evil aura, their enemies would all be paralyzed by fear, leaving Fire Buddha free to unleash his forbidden technique and slaughter them at will.
It was outrageous...
Unless one had a firm Dao heart, a strong sense of righteousness, or was equipped with a spirit-taming artifact to ward off the evil aura, an average cultivator of the same stage wouldn't stand a chance against Fire Buddha.
However, spirit-taming artifacts were likely rare and expensive.
It was unrealistic for the Dao Ting Si to provide one for each of their cultivators...
That kasaya was probably not an ordinary spiritual artifact either.
Then there was the Meteor Flame technique...
As Fire Buddha fought against Uncle Gu, their battle was intense and unrestrained, each giving their all without holding back.
This gave Mo Hua the opportunity to study the technique.
After quietly observing for a while, Mo Hua realized that this Meteor Flame technique differed greatly from what he had initially guessed.
First of all, while it was a forbidden technique and its power might even surpass that of superior techniques, it was still a "technique transformation" magic technique rather than a "spirit transformation" one.
The Meteor Flame technique was structured as a positive magic technique, where spiritual power was channeled through the technique formula to form the spell.
It was not a reverse technique where the spell caused the technique formula to collapse and the spiritual power structure to change.
However, the amount of spiritual power condensed in this technique was enormous, resulting in overwhelming power and a tendency to spiral out of control. It also seemed to have a corrupting influence on one's mental state, leading to indiscriminate slaughter, which was why it was classified as a forbidden technique.
Mo Hua sighed.
He knew that he most likely wouldn't be able to learn the original Meteor Flame technique.
The amount of spiritual power required to cast it was indeed too vast.
In front of him, Fire Buddha's demonic power surged like an ocean, his entire being resembling a fire-type magical beast. The power within his spirit ocean seemed limitless.
In comparison, Mo Hua's spiritual power was like a small stream...
While it wasn't that exaggerated, it wasn't far off either.
Without a high-grade spirit root and without cultivating a high-grade cultivation technique, one's spirit ocean wouldn't contain enough spiritual power to master such a devastating forbidden technique...
And that wasn't all.
Based on his observations of the flow of spiritual power within Fire Buddha's body, Mo Hua discovered that Fire Buddha possessed something akin to two spirit oceans.
They were the two "Flaming Hearts."
The two Flaming Hearts burned with fierce flames, both storing spiritual power and empowering his fire-type techniques.
With their mutual reinforcement, Fire Buddha's fire-type techniques became even more terrifying...
However, Mo Hua couldn't quite grasp the underlying principles.
He couldn't understand how this technique was structured, no matter how keen his eyesight was. Some things were simply too complex to decipher with just a visual inspection...
"Meteor Flame technique..."
Mo Hua couldn't help but feel envious.
He wished he had such excellent spirit roots, profound spiritual power, and the ability to learn such a powerful superior technique or forbidden technique that consumed vast amounts of spiritual power.
Then he wouldn't have to rely on his small fireballs all the time...
Nevertheless, Mo Hua didn't lose heart.
While he might not be able to learn the original Meteor Flame technique, he could still study its technique formula and underlying principles.
That had been his original plan.
As this thought crossed his mind, Mo Hua paused, and then his heart skipped a beat as he realized something crucial.
He had almost forgotten a key issue.
If Fire Buddha was captured or killed now, his Meteor Flame technique would fall into the hands of the Dao Ting Si, and he would never be able to obtain it in this lifetime...
What should he do?
Mo Hua's gaze shifted to Fire Buddha, his body enveloped in raging flames as he fiercely battled Gu Chang Huai. A frown creased Mo Hua's brow.
"Would Fire Buddha be carrying the manual for the Meteor Flame technique on him?"
If he did, Mo Hua knew he wouldn't be able to get his hands on it.
And if he didn't have it on him, where would he hide it?
Mo Hua averted his eyes, discreetly scanning the grand hall.
The hall was majestic and ancient, with a touch of gloom. It seemed like a place where demon cultivators would gather for ceremonies.
Based on Mo Hua's experience and intuition, he suspected that there should be something akin to an "altar" within the hall.
Many of the corpse cultivators, evil cultivators, and demon cultivators he knew liked to set up altars.
Fire Buddha was probably no exception.
And given Fire Buddha's secretive nature, by intercepting everyone in the hall and engaging in battle, he was indicating that this hall was not the true inner sanctum. There had to be something more hidden within.
There had to be a deeper secret beyond this hall...
"What should I do? Should I go look for it?"
Mo Hua knew he couldn't be of much help in the current fight.
Using his stealth technique, Mo Hua moved unnoticed, slipping past Fire Buddha and the other demon cultivators, heading deeper into the grand hall...
"Let them fight their battle. I'm going to do some sneaking around."
The hall was expansive, and the lighting grew dimmer towards the back. However, after walking to the very end, Mo Hua only found a large mural, and nothing else suspicious. The mural depicted countless rugged and wild mountains, filled with thorns and dangerous terrain, and inhabited by demons and monsters.
"Is this... a painting of the Wild Mountains?"
"What does it mean...?"
Mo Hua furrowed his brow, perplexed by the meaning of the mural.
He looked around and noticed that apart from this mural, all other statues, structures, and furnishings had been either removed or destroyed, leaving no clues behind.
The only potential clue seemed to be this grand mural.
"A mural, huh..."
Mo Hua then recalled the mural in the stone hall of the Landian Clan's ancestral hall in Nan Yue City, Lizhou. That mural had depicted the head of a zombie, which served as the entrance to the Landian Clan's ancestor's altar.
Generally, these corpse cultivators, evil cultivators, and demon cultivators tended to leave traces of their activities.
"So, does this mural also conceal an entrance?"
Indeed, having a wide range of experiences proved beneficial...
Mo Hua unleashed his spiritual sense to check for any arrays within the mural.
He examined every detail of the mural, taking in the twisted and grotesque demons and monsters, the treacherous terrain, and the quiet and deep forests...
But after searching for a while, he couldn't detect even the slightest trace of an array.
Mo Hua was taken aback. "No array?"
It seemed that way...
The best way to avoid being detected by a powerful array master was to not set up an array in the first place. Without an array, there would be no traces or loopholes for a skilled array master to exploit.
However, while there was no array, there seemed to be another type of energy present.
Mo Hua closed his eyes to sense it better, and indeed, he perceived a faint and somewhat familiar energy.
Following this energy, Mo Hua arrived at a corner of the hall.
The mural here was simple, depicting only a few bushes, trees, and a narrow mountain path.
The path wound its way through the mountains and forests, seemingly connecting the entire range of wild mountains.
And the spot in front of him appeared to be the starting point of the path, as well as the entrance to the mural.
Mo Hua thought for a moment, then reached out and pushed against the mural.
As he did so, his surroundings seemed to flip upside down, and a wild aura washed over him, as if the scene depicted in the mural had come to life.
When he opened his eyes again, Mo Hua found himself standing in a mountain.
A chill ran down his spine as he looked around. He soon realized that this mountain was artificial.
It seemed to have been purposely excavated, and its scale was impressive.
The entire demon hall was built on top of this artificial mountain.
The mountain was intricate, and its terrain and style resembled the Wild Mountains depicted in the mural outside.
It seemed to have been modeled after the "Wild Mountains."
Mo Hua surveyed the mountain's layout and noticed that it also corresponded to the "Mysterious Heaven Array."
The inner mountain terrain resonated with the outer maze, creating a layered effect of "mystery within mystery, array within array."
"There are so many strange things in this demon hall..."
Mo Hua was perplexed.
Could Fire Buddha have really been the one behind all these strange things? What was the purpose of building this demon hall?
Was it for sacrificial rituals? If so, how were the rituals performed?
What role did Fire Buddha play in all of this, and what exactly had he done?
Mo Hua couldn't figure it out, so he shook his head and continued along the artificial mountain path.
Since it corresponded to the "Mysterious Heaven Array," the complex layout of the mountain path couldn't stop him.
Everything within the artificial mountain, from the rocks to the trees, exuded an odd aura.
But to Mo Hua's eyes, they were all just superficial illusions.
Using his stealth, Mo Hua made his way deeper into the mountain.
After about an hour, he reached the center of the artificial mountain, where he found, as he had expected, an altar.
(End of Chapter)
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