Chapter 300: Treasure

“Drip.”

The vibrant light of Zifu ascended amidst the rain. True Masters, each wielding their respective magical artifacts, gazed at him with varied expressions: some serene, some pitiful, others complex. Yet, their divine powers were seamlessly interwoven, leaving no discernible gap.

“Nine True Masters...”

Furious Maha's golden eyes widened. He secretly activated his innate golden power, only to discover that the greater void was interconnected, and a grand formation had already been laid out, designed to prevent his escape into its depths. A surge of surprise and fury welled within him.

“You... you... plotted against me?”

Furious Maha's handsome face contorted. His body sizzled with heat, and steamy mist rose from him, highlighting the distinct lines of his waist and back. His deep golden eyes fixed on the assembled Zifu cultivators. Overwhelmed by rage, he let out a furious laugh, then snarled:

“Well... well, what a brilliant ambush! You must have been plotting this for a long time... No wonder... no wonder!”

The nine streams of colorful light swirled, each taking a different form, yet all were resolute, sealing off the space between heaven and earth completely, without yielding an inch.

“Azure Pool Sect... Golden Feather Sect... Longxiao Gate... Purple Mist Gate... Tangjin Gate... Good! Good! You've all come!” Furious Maha roared like a madman. Beneath his feet, trees in the mountain forest toppled, and wild beasts prostrated themselves. A heavy, suffocating pressure permeated the air as his aura continued to surge.

As Furious Maha confronted the Zifu cultivators, Li Tongya remained on his knees, unable to straighten his back under the immense pressure from above. He could only crawl cautiously along the ground, blood continuously gushing from his abdominal wound, dripping steadily into the rain.

“Hiss...” Li Tongya inhaled sharply. Using his last reserves of spiritual power, he conjured a water membrane to seal the large wound in his abdomen. He then laboriously knelt, propping himself up with the Azure Ruler Sword, and shuffled a few steps across the ground towards Li Xuanling's remains.

“Ling'er.” The recent fierce battle had left Li Xuanling's body dismembered, with only his head remaining in place, eyes wide open. Li Tongya curled his body and gently lifted his eldest son's head.

His blood-soaked hand reached for his waist, but Li Tongya discovered that his storage bag had vanished during the recent struggle. Throughout his life, he had been frugal, and even now, he used only the most common type of storage bag, offering no defensive properties. Without the protection of Li Tongya's spiritual power, it had been instantly shredded by the high-level magic.

Fortunately, the storage bag had contained little of value. Li Tongya struggled twice on the ground, taking a few gasps to recover his spiritual power. He then removed his long gown, carefully wrapped Li Xuanling's head within it, and tied it securely to his waist.

Once removed from Li Tongya's body, the long gown lost the influence of the Vast Sea, and quickly became stained reddish-brown by blood and rain. Li Tongya glanced at the few colorful lights above him, and a persistent spiritual warning echoed in his mind:

“Remain here any longer, and you will die!” He gritted his teeth. His entire body ached as if it were being torn apart, but fortunately, the Mysterious Pearl Talisman Seed in his Qi Sea acupoint continuously provided a cooling airflow, keeping him conscious. Li Tongya performed a hand seal, then shakily rose on the wind. However, after flying merely half a mile, he plummeted into the jungle like a shooting star.

The situation in the sky grew increasingly tense, with divine powers glowing brilliantly. Furious Maha roared, and his body swelled like an inflated balloon. His face became as vast as a house, and his eyes, like two lanterns, emitted a golden radiance across the sky.

“Zhang Tianyuan! So it *is* you. I knew you were leading this. We haven't met in nearly a century; I'm eager to see what divine power you've mastered!”

The central stream of colorful light revealed a figure: a handsome young man of extraordinary demeanor, clad in an Eight Trigrams Taoist robe. This was True Master Tianyuan, who had previously taken the lead. He merely cast a sidelong glance at the furious-eyed golden effigy above and calmly stated:

“The Wrathful Four Demon Deva-Raja Form... Monk, you have been consumed by the Wrathful Form and lost your true self.”

“Hmph!” Furious Maha's two patterned short staves also expanded with his transformation, becoming like two colossal copper pillars. He swung them, knocking away two probing magical artifacts that had flown towards him, and sneered:

“If one can subjugate demons and eradicate evil, what does it matter if one embodies the Wrathful Form? You, colluding with the rebels of my sect to harm me, are simply overestimating yourselves... A Nine-Lifetime Maha... is beyond your comprehension!”

Golden patterns flickered on the copper staves, their intricate lines covering them as they descended with overwhelming force. True Master Tianyuan, however, merely raised his hand. From his sleeve flew a small, dark tortoise shell which, upon meeting the wind, rapidly expanded to the size of a house, emanating brilliant magical light, and surged towards the copper staves.

“Thud—” True Master Tianyuan deployed his divine artifact to block Furious Maha's assault, and spoke softly:

“Monk, you are but a step away from achieving the Dharma Form. Ordinarily, we would naturally be no match for you, but now, reincarnated into a new body and having lost your destiny, you are a shadow of your former self!”

“A shadow of my former self...” Furious Maha's eyes gleamed with golden light. He gazed fearlessly at the surrounding Zifu cultivators, and from his lips issued Sanskrit sounds, reverberating through the air like thunder.

“Ridiculous! Do you even know what the Wrathful Four Demon Deva-Raja Form truly is?!” Furious Maha stomped his foot violently, his chest heaving as if inhaling deeply. The teeth between his lips were stark white and sharp, each as large as a human head. From his throat, countless golden lights erupted, scattering down through the torrential rain. These golden lights ceaselessly danced in the air, transforming into various shapes upon touching the ground.

They transformed into various forms: monks wielding short staves, Arhats with serpent-dragons coiled around them, youthful boys and girls, or even tigers, wolves, foxes, and snakes. All rode the wind, weaving through the air and forming battle arrays. In an instant, the entire space between heaven and earth was filled with countless figures, all glaring with furious eyes.

“So you've already mastered the Wrathful Form's Demon-Subduing Heaven and Earth technique. You are likely the closest Buddhist cultivator to achieving the Dharma Form in this entire world! No wonder you're so confident.” True Master Tianyuan exclaimed with admiration, yet his expression remained fearless as he chuckled:

“In these past few centuries, I have not encountered a more gifted Buddhist cultivator than you. It's merely a pity that your mind is consumed by the heretical notion that worldly defilement must be purified by wrathful fire. You've descended into madness day by day, completely squandering your talent.”

“If only you had been more rational, and treated the Seven Northern Buddhist Paths with courtesy, why would you have fallen to such a plight today...”

Seeing Tianyuan's relaxed demeanor, a growing unease stirred within Furious Maha, and a vague suspicion began to form. He then watched as True Master Tianyuan laughed heartily, clapped his hands softly, performed a hand seal, and cast a spell, saying with a smile:

“I respectfully summon the divine artifact!”

“Clink...” As True Master Tianyuan's words faded, several crisp sounds of metal dragging echoed between heaven and earth. From the void, dark chains emerged, stretching across the sky and earth, descending upon Furious Maha. They interconnected and branched, forming hundreds, then thousands, of bifurcations, and for a moment, the very sky grew dim.

Furious Maha finally reacted, his face paling with alarm. The golden patterns on his body lit up one by one as he attempted to evade the chains.

Yet, the divine artifact was like a shadow, inescapably coiling around Furious Maha's body in layer after layer. Furious Maha screamed wildly, then snarled fiercely:

“A divine artifact... it's a divine artifact... Which True Monarch is this?!”