Chapter 769: The Sky Appears

Soon after the child retrieved the papers from Ji Yuan, the sky became filled with frequent lightning and increasingly loud thunder.

The sky quickly darkened, yet there was only thunder, no rain. Ji Yuan remained in the small inn, helping the innkeeper, his son, and a waiter tidy up the chaotic hall, showing no intention of pursuing the woman.

Meanwhile, throughout the city, government officials, uncharacteristically efficient, posted wanted posters and announcements of the culprit. Besides the ones Ji Yuan provided for key locations, yamen artists copied more for wider distribution. Local martial artists also spontaneously mobilized to investigate this "scum of the martial arts world."

“CRACK… BOOM!”

The lightning seemed to strike directly on someone's roof or in their courtyard, eliciting faint screams that reached Ji Yuan's ears from afar. Ji Yuan, who was sitting in the now-clean small inn, drinking tea, rose upon hearing the commotion.

Ji Yuan looked out of the small inn, watching bright streaks of lightning descend from the sky, striking various points across the city.

At the same moment, in a courtyard in the southeast corner of the city, a plainly dressed old man was struck squarely by a lightning bolt and fell face down on the ground.

“Ah… Father!” “Old man!”

“Father, are you alright?”

His family members gathered around in a panic, only to see another lightning bolt strike squarely, hitting the old man who was just trying to stand up, blackening him completely.

Throughout the entire process, the old man neither screamed nor gasped. He just stared blankly up at the dense dark clouds and darting lightning in the sky.

“How is this possible? Why am I being struck? Ji Yuan shouldn't be able to control lightning here, should he?”

Amidst the old man’s astonishment, more lightning reflected in his eyes. He immediately rose and sprinted away almost in the same instant.

“CRACK… BOOM!” “CRACK… BOOM!” “CRACK… BOOM!”…

The old man moved with incredible speed, seamlessly dashing through houses and leaping over walls. Lightning bolts almost chased him, some striking him directly, others hitting eaves or large trees which were then quickly pierced or split open.

‘How can Ji Yuan control lightning? Why?’

Seeing the lightning almost tracking and striking him, the true demon, disguised as the old man, was convinced Ji Yuan was controlling it. This situation was incredibly difficult for him to accept. Why could he only try his best to change his appearance, and even then not perfectly, while Ji Yuan could already summon divine power? Furthermore, due to the limitations of this place, these seemingly ordinary lightning bolts were causing the true demon considerable pain.

In his current state, even as a true demon, and despite the seemingly ordinary nature of the lightning bolts, they caused him intense, almost unbearable pain when they struck him.

Under these circumstances, he couldn't stay in the city. Convinced it was not safe, the true demon dared not linger. Enduring the pain of being struck several times along the way, he bolted towards the city outskirts, planning to leave temporarily and then devise a new strategy before returning.

Wanted posters for the "vicious woman" Zhen Mo were plastered throughout the city. This topic was widely discussed in every neighborhood, making the true demon even more uneasy, as he couldn't discern Ji Yuan's true intentions.

But as the saying goes, retreat is the best policy. As long as he could avoid being subdued by Ji Yuan, the true demon had the patience to endure in this world. Ji Yuan, however, might not. Even though this was merely within Monk Moyun's inner world, time, while passing extremely quickly compared to the outside, was still being consumed.

The city's defenses were meaningless to the true demon. He didn't use the city gates; instead, he climbed over the city wall, sprinting towards the distant outskirts, crossing rivers, traversing forests, passing through villages, entering mountains, and scaling peaks…

A day later, the true demon, still in the form of the old man, stood blankly on a mountain ridge, gazing into the distance. Beyond the mountains lay only a hazy expanse with indistinct, distant scenery that felt impossibly far and unreal.

The thunder overhead startled the true demon. He looked up to see that the dark clouds had extended to this place, with lightning streaking across the cloud layers.

At the same time, faint whispers, scoldings, and curses began to reach the true demon's ears. What he found even more unbearable was a strange chanting, as if many monks, large and small, were surrounding him, reciting various scriptures.

“To be born knowing good is a blessing. Blessings upon the Great Bright King Buddha…”

“Those who delight in evil shall suffer three calamities and nine misfortunes. Blessings upon the Great Bright King Buddha…”

“Demons corrupting hearts must be slain; demonic scourges on the world must be eradicated. Blessings upon the Great Bright King Buddha!”

“If I don't enter hell, who will?… If I don't enter hell, who will?…”

“Blessings upon the Great Bright King Buddha…”

Lightning bolts struck down again, hitting the true demon and causing him immense pain. But more unbearable than the physical pain was the irritation caused by the voices. Black energy even began to emanate from his body, though it was unclear whether this was due to the lightning or some other cause.

“Ah… stop chanting, stop chanting! You bald monks, stop chanting, ahhh—!”

The true demon knelt on the mountaintop, clutching his head. As lightning bolts descended from the sky, they seemed no longer to be mere flashes of electricity but waves of chanting burrowing into his mind. The scenery around him began to tear and twist.

In the distant city, Ji Yuan stood at the inn's doorway, looking up at the sky in the direction of the true demon. Then he turned to look at the child who was sprawled on the counter inside, reading a book.

“Moyun, I must take my leave now.”

“Sir, are you leaving? But your two swords haven't been pawned yet.”

The child's name was not Moyun, but Master Ji had always called him that, and he didn't seem to mind.

Hearing that the child was still concerned about compensation for the damaged inn facilities, Ji Yuan gave an embarrassed smile.

“I have something urgent to attend to. Please pawn these swords for me.”

“Oh…”

Ji Yuan nodded, then stepped out of the small inn and walked towards the distant street. Amidst the roaring thunder, small tears began to appear in the surroundings. He looked back to see golden Buddhist light emanating from the increasingly dim inn.

This world faded into nothingness, and Ji Yuan returned to the darkness. This time, however, he was not alone. A blurry, swaying figure, wreathed in demonic energy, stood not far from him. Around its waist, fine streams of sword intent continuously tore at the demonic energy.

“Hgh… hgh… hgh…”

The true demon appeared to be severely wounded and in a very bad state.

“Ji Yuan, what spell did you cast?”

Ji Yuan looked at the true demon with interest. At first, he didn't understand why the demon seemed to have suffered more than he anticipated, but he quickly realized something.

“Buddhism emphasizes subduing demons, both external and internal. Moyun just wounded you in his mind using a demon-subduing technique.”

Although Ji Yuan had intervened, what he said was still true.

The true demon's face was extremely blurry at this moment, as if his form was constantly twisting. Hearing Ji Yuan's words, he suddenly looked up, his eyes glowing purplish-red.

“Not you? It was that little bald monk? I'll kill him!”

Knowing his situation was dire, the true demon no longer cared about Moyun acting as a vessel to shield him from the Immortal Binding Rope's restraint. Since things were so bad, he might as well kill Moyun out of spite.

“Heheheh… too late…”

A hoarse, low chuckle, accompanied by a strange voice, echoed behind the true demon. He turned slightly to look back and saw a monstrous creature, as vast as a mountain, standing in the immense darkness behind him. Its eyes, like springs of the Nine Nether, glowed with a cold light as they watched him.

“What is that?”

The true demon almost instinctively tried to flee within this spaceless mental void. But at the same moment, Ji Yuan waved his hand, and the sword intent on the true demon's body vibrated and converged, forming a sword shadow resembling a green vine sword, which then, with a flash of light, sliced through the demon's body.

“Pffft…”

Large amounts of demonic energy were torn apart by the sword intent, continuously spilling from the true demon's body. Before the true demon could even cry out in pain, the gigantic beast behind him, whose appearance was indiscernible in the darkness, stretched out its neck and opened its colossal, abyss-like maw.

“ROAR!”

Having been wounded deep within Moyun's mind, and further struck by the sword Ji Yuan unleashed from within his body, the heavily injured true demon was unable to recover using demonic body techniques before being swallowed by the giant mouth of the Xiezhi.

“Thump…”

The Xiezhi's colossal mouth closed with a dull thud, followed by a crunching sound, more like the grinding of sharp teeth. Twisted demonic energy continuously seeped from between its lips and teeth, but with a fierce inhale, the Xiezhi would suck it all back into its mouth.

“Is that it?”

Ji Yuan asked curiously. The Xiezhi, uncharacteristically, rolled its eyes.

“How could it be? It's a true demon, after all. It'll take quite a while to chew. Unfortunately, true demons have many avatars, so I don't know if this meal will be enough to destroy it completely.”

Ji Yuan grimaced, looking at the Xiezhi.

“So, is it nourishing or not?”

“Heheheh… nourishing!”

Shortly after, Ji Yuan, standing beside the old Monk Moyun, opened his eyes. Just a moment later, Monk Moyun also regained consciousness, only to find himself tied up with a golden rope.

“Uh, Master Ji, what is this?”

“Oh, it's nothing. Everything is fine now.”

Ji Yuan retrieved the Immortal Binding Rope. After freeing himself, Moyun pressed his palms together and uttered a Buddhist invocation. He had little memory of what had transpired deep within his mind, yet a vague sensation lingered.

“Blessings upon the Great Bright King Buddha. Master Ji, what about this Young Master Li?”

Setting the trap for the true demon had taken two days in Moyun's inner world, but only a moment in the outside world. The Li family members remained unconscious on the ground, but the infant on the bed was babbling and flailing its limbs.

“This infant's background seems far from simple; otherwise, it wouldn't have drawn the true demon out immediately. Regarding this matter, I…”

Before Ji Yuan could finish speaking, a peculiar feeling suddenly arose within him—a feeling both familiar and strange—which unsettled him. He almost instinctively diverted his attention inward to observe the world within himself.

Above the firmament of his inner landscape, numerous stars shone. Some, emitting special light, represented the fated individuals who were like chess pieces, whether fully formed or still developing.

However, in a distant part of the sky, a previously unseen star had appeared, emanating a hazy, gray light.

“A chess piece!”

Ji Yuan's Dharma Body, within the boundless mountains and rivers of his inner world, involuntarily let out a voice of shock. The immense sound reverberated continuously between heaven and earth, like rolling thunder.

The Dharma Body, manifesting its true form, instantly approached that part of the sky, staring intently at the star on the horizon.

Ji Yuan's inner landscape subtly interacted with the outer world. This star seemed to be only a blurry projection within his inner realm, yet Ji Yuan was certain it was a chess piece—and it was not his.