Chapter 673: Empty Balance Story

Li Ximing's doubts were not unfounded. He had initially been unaware of Fu Xia's power, and had used the Glorious Pass to suppress him. Now that Fu Xia had escaped and Li Ximing knew he possessed a Dharma Body of Compassion, his suspicions only deepened.

"While my Glorious Pass is formidable in suppression, every strength has a weakness. Since he possesses a Dharma Body of Compassion, wouldn't he delight in shattering my Bright Pass with a single punch?"

A Dharma Body of Compassion was incomparably superior to anything a Foundation Establishment cultivator could achieve. If such a punch landed squarely on Li Ximing's immortal foundation, even if he didn't die instantly, he would at least vomit blood, lose seventy percent of his strength, and be unable to fight again.

"He expressed immense hatred towards me, and my ancestors killed the Four Fiend Demigods of Wrath that he held dear. Given the ferocity of this demon-subduing path, how could he harbor any goodwill?"

"Even if he harbored no murderous intent, constrained by the Purple Mansion of Jiangnan and daring not to kill, knocking me aside with one punch would still put him in complete control. Fleeing back and forth like that is not what a compassionate being would do!"

The preceding skirmishes had been swift and sudden; few possessed Li Xijun's sharp intellect. But with a moment to breathe, Li Ximing's thoughts led him to a firm conviction in his suspicions.

When Li Ximing finished, Kong Heng nodded in agreement:

"No matter, I'll test him again."

He clasped his hands before his chest, chanting ceaselessly. Five-colored radiance surged from his palms, and once again, colored rain drifted down from the sky. Lotuses bloomed across the lake, their fragrance permeating the air.

"He's still stubbornly resisting!"

Fu Xia watched, chiding loudly, yet secretly pleased. He transformed the tiger back into clothing, allowing the falling colored rain to land on him, creating ripples of five-colored light on his golden-lacquered skin.

The Eastern Separation Sect artifact—the Yang-Departure Crimson Sparrow Banner!

This artifact unleashed its power for the first time. Five palm-sized, reddish glows flew from it, swirling around the ornate base of the Glorious Pass's gate, simultaneously pulsating and spewing five kinds of flames.

Almost simultaneously, the Bright Pass materialized from white bricks, its corner towers shining brightly, and the Heavenly Gate radiating dazzling light. It descended with a boom, its blinding brilliance forcing surrounding cultivators to close their eyes and shield their faces with their sleeves.

And he himself possessed a Dharma Body of Compassion!

"Heavenly Array Transverses, Yang-Departure Punitive Flames!"

Indeed, although the gray mist rolled in, it had no effect whatsoever. The water *hui* within it were utterly exposed under the radiance emanating from him, and before they could even approach his side, they were blown into wisps of white vapor by the shimmering light created on his golden lacquer.

He pressed two fingers together. As this magical formula was cast, a white radiance spread beneath his feet. Kong Heng and Li Ximing were unaffected, but Fu Xia paused slightly, narrowing his eyes with a serious expression.

The small banner was only palm-sized, appearing reddish-yellow with glittering golden patterns. A lifelike crimson sparrow was depicted on it, surrounded by overlapping red lights, its beak wide open as if spewing flames.

"Go!"

"Five Waters Control Qian!"

"No Buoyancy!"

As this command fell, the great formation of Qingdu Mountain immediately activated. Countless gray mists surged from the water, obscuring the sky and sun. From within them, numerous agile and cunning water *hui* leapt out, holding various artifacts condensed from lake water, fearlessly lunging at the monk.

This formation was Liu Changdie's proud creation. The Morning Mist and *Hui* Stream techniques were originally designed to target Qi Refining cultivators, and naturally had no effect whatsoever on his Dharma Body of Compassion. Li Ximing showed no discouragement, watching with cold eyes as his hand seals abruptly changed.

Fu Xia only paused for that brief moment. Li Ximing did not hesitate for an instant; seeing this, he immediately activated the Glorious Pass with full power. Heavenly light reappeared in his eyes, and from his sleeve, a small banner flew out.

Seeing Fu Xia allow himself to be bound by the colorful light, yet still look at him, Kong Heng's golden ropes flew around. The Six-Armed Vajra released its grip, then brought all six arms together in front of its chest, supporting him. The five-colored radiance from his hands continued, maintaining a solemn and dignified appearance.

These five types of flames appeared in brownish-yellow, light yellow, goose yellow, bright red, and vermilion. They pressed down aggressively, firelight soaring into the sky, immediately forming various colored fire clouds above the lake.

It was precisely the Five Waters Control Qian Formation from Qingdu Mountain!

Once activated, this Foundation Establishment level formation was quite intimidating, yet Fu Xia barely spared it a glance, raising an eyebrow and saying:

"Mosquito-like tricks!"

The binding force was strong, but Fu Xia neither dodged nor evaded. After all, Fu Xia came from a renowned sect; his commanding sound had little effect on Kong Heng, and similarly, Kong Heng's magic had limited impact on him.

A myriad of colorful lights shimmered over the lake. Li Ximing didn't look at Kong Heng, instead fixating on Fu Xia. The old monk remained unmoving amidst the colorful rain. Heavenly light condensed in Li Ximing's hand as he mused:

"That old bald donkey seems to have barely used any spells! He's just relying on this Dharma Body."

'Another authentic binding spell, his background is truly impressive!'

"Master Kong Heng!"

Seeing Fu Xia still not moving, he formed hand seals and shouted:

The clouds were red or yellow, glowing brilliantly, gathering elemental energy. The iridescent light from Kong Heng's hands continued, binding the individual. The Six-Armed Vajra behind him simultaneously reached out, but did not release the previous golden ropes.

"The Eastern Separation Sect's artifact is here; the Departure Fire burns fiercely. I fear my golden ropes would melt if they penetrated deep and remained there for long!"

His thoughts were quick. All six arms descended, pressing down together on the Bright Pass.

"Boom!"

Despite the raging flames, Li Ximing could sense that Fu Xia's expression beneath the Bright Pass was growing increasingly grim. The young man sneered and gritted his teeth:

"Indeed! I knew something was wrong with you!"

Since making his move before Qingdu Mountain, Fu Xia had not only avoided using any spells, but even transforming into the horned tiger relied on an artifact to escape. He clearly had the power to subdue both of them with two punches, yet he procrastinated, refusing to move unless absolutely necessary.

Although Li Ximing was not skilled in Buddhist magic, he had sought the Path of the Purple Mansion for many years and had considerable accomplishments in spells and cultivation methods, so he had been suspicious for a while.

And the most precious and unique aspect of his Five Waters Control Qian Formation lay in its "No Buoyancy" feature, which Yang Xiao'er had constructed using rare Weak Water materials, making it extremely valuable.

"And this 'No Buoyancy' is precisely what makes it valuable; it's best at draining others' spiritual power and affecting their ability to fly!"

"The problem is with his spiritual power!"

Combining this with Fu Xia's previous actions, Li Ximing immediately realized:

"This person's cultivation has fallen to that of a Dharma Master. Although he possesses an empty Dharma Body of Compassion, all its divine subtleties are gone! This type of communal practice, without any personal insights, means his spiritual power is likely severely impacted, and he has no divine abilities. How difficult it must be to control this Dharma Body of Compassion!"

Such existences were not unfamiliar. Back then, Li Xuanfeng, when assuming the Golden Position using Shenyou Gold, had to exhaust the two immortal foundations within his body as fuel just to gain the power to fight! How much better could Fu Xia be?!

As soon as Li Ximing said this, Kong Heng immediately understood:

"I underestimated the impact of the Four Fiend Demigods of Wrath's demise on them!"

"This is still a Dharma Body cultivated by Fu Xia himself! And he fell from the position of Compassion, so he's experienced and deeply cultivated. If not for that, he probably wouldn't have been able to move at all by now!"

Kong Heng was not foolish; he was simply bound by rules that prevented him from idly speculating about others. Now that he understood, he immediately had an epiphany:

"When he previously used a withered log as a boat, was it merely for asceticism? Probably not! How heavy is a Dharma Body of Compassion? He must have been afraid of insufficient spiritual power, refusing to fly, and instead came by stepping on a withered log. At least that provided some support and saved a lot of spiritual power!"

Kong Heng, being fundamentally pure-hearted, still refused at this point to suspect Fu Xia had been deceiving him the whole time, merely attributing his actions to "not solely for asceticism."

With this realization, both immediately understood that Fu Xia's procrastination, his evasion techniques, and his transformation of his robes into a tiger likely contained a significant element of bluster, and they felt greatly relieved.

"Boom!"

Fu Xia exerted himself, struggling to stretch, letting out a violent roar. The Bright Pass instantly swayed. Li Ximing, showing no mercy, seized the weakness. He fully activated one end of the Five Waters Control Qian Formation, and from his embrace, took out a small bottle.

"Profound Rune Bottle!"

Heavenly light surged from the Profound Rune Bottle, layering onto the Glorious Pass. If Guiyang weren't a defensive artifact, Li Ximing would have been tempted to throw that white disc onto it too.

"It's a pity the Chongming Cavern Profound Screen is with Zhou Wei, otherwise I'd have a few more assurances."

Currently, the Glorious Pass pressed down like a mountain, gradually stabilizing. The five types of Departure Fire burned, Li Ximing's spiritual power rapidly declining. Fu Xia was gradually unable to move, understanding in his heart that his weakness—insufficient spiritual power and difficulty in controlling his Dharma Body—had been exposed.

The old monk sighed, shaking his head:

"When it comes to schemes, this old monk is not a tenth as cunning as you people from the Purple Gold Demonic Path. I had intended to keep it hidden, but I'm not accustomed to pretense, and indeed, you've seen through me."

Li Ximing ignored the old bald donkey, simply took a pill, and exerted his full strength, transforming all his spiritual power into heavenly light and injecting it into the Bright Pass.

Fu Xia, enduring the raging Departure Fire, resorted to his old trick: he formed a lotus gesture with his five fingers, puffed out his cheeks, and expelled a puff of pink mist.

Kong Heng had been watching him closely; how could he let him escape again? He suddenly roared, "Ha!", letting out several golden lights with a scolding sound. Like shooting stars, they drilled towards the base of the Glorious Pass. He tightened his hands, dispersing the sky full of brilliant lights, and fiercely adopted a capturing stance.

With two crisp "ding-dong" sounds, two points of golden light struck before Fu Xia, scattering the puff of pink mist completely, like wind sweeping away scattered clouds.

Fu Xia formed hand seals, his expression unchanged, but he no longer chanted.

Had the Four Fiend Demigods of Wrath not fallen, not to mention divine abilities, but purely in terms of spellcasting, a hundred Kong Hengs bound together wouldn't be enough to withstand a single one of his magical formulas. Now, however, Fu Xia had to admit he was powerless.

With the demise of the Four Fiend Demigods of Wrath, the Path of Wrath suffered heavy losses. Small sects and temples were not orthodox and had many spell dependencies. For a grand temple like his, powerful spells had always been connected to the Mahas, and thus, all became void.

It wasn't that Fu Xia couldn't cast any spells; he could even command his Dharma Body to shatter the Bright Pass with one punch. However, his internal spiritual power was already difficult to circulate, and if he cast spells too readily, it might not be enough for him and Kong Heng to return north...

"Moreover, the abbot had calculated that Li Ximing must not be killed... and ideally not even harmed!"

This situation seemed difficult, yet the old monk was unfazed. He sat cross-legged amidst the surging Departure Fire, his hands forming a seal at his dantian, without uttering a word.

"But why should I cast spells to get out?"

He sat quietly amidst the Departure Fire and the Bright Pass, allowing the five-colored Departure Fire to scorch him and the heavenly light to temper him. All his spiritual power and radiance were retracted. He sat motionless in the fire, like a golden statue.

As he made this move, Li Ximing paused, then instantly understood:

"What a cunning old bald donkey!"

Both saw through Fu Xia's bluff, knowing that he not only struggled to cast spells but also lacked the spiritual power to overturn the Bright Pass. His actions were mere bluster, so they felt relieved and confidently continued to suppress him.

Fu Xia, however, turned the tables and simply sat down calmly.

Nothing more: Fu Xia was a Dharma Body of Compassion. Whether it was Departure Fire or heavenly light, no matter how powerful or divine these things were, they were utterly insignificant before the Dharma Body's true form. Fu Xia didn't need to overthrow them; he simply needed to reveal his true body.

And Li Ximing's spiritual power was not inexhaustible. Continuing to expend it like this would simply be a waste of Li Ximing's spiritual power, and there would always be a moment when he ran out of energy.

The lake immediately quieted. Li Ximing's brow furrowed. He gradually reduced the firepower of the Yang-Departure Crimson Sparrow Banner, only stopping when the Bright Pass swayed slightly, silently maintaining the suppression.

Li Ximing whispered:

"Master... do you have a solution?"

Kong Heng also understood the situation clearly, sighed softly, and replied:

"At least now I can converse with him on equal terms. Let me try to persuade him."

He moved across the lake, passing through the steaming white mist and the intense Departure Fire and heavenly light, arriving before the Glorious Pass.

Li Ximing was instantly alarmed and quickly called out to him, saying gravely:

"Master, be careful! The Departure Fire and bright light are indiscriminate! Your precious physical body cannot be in the same place as that fellow!"

The area beneath the Glorious Pass was already terrifying. Fu Xia, being a Dharma Body of Compassion, naturally had no fear, but an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator entering it wouldn't last even for a moment!

Kong Heng glanced at him from a distance, chuckled softly twice, and replied with a bow:

"It's alright, Ximing. This is my tribulation. I traveled thousands of miles, all the way south, precisely to overcome this tribulation."

Li Ximing watched, stunned, as Kong Heng stepped into the flames, also enduring the scorching Departure Fire and dazzling heavenly light, gradually approaching the area beneath the Glorious Pass.

Fu Xia closed his eyes, concentrating, and remained silent.

Kong Heng said softly:

"Elder, you weren't entirely clear earlier."

Fu Xia knew he was referring to the withered log incident, and felt somewhat accused, so he said gravely:

"I am a protector, not a fool. There's no reason to explain everything!"

"I understand."

Kong Heng sat cross-legged before him, his voice gentle:

"All Seven Paths have selfish motives. In today's Way, one cannot survive without self-interest. Kong Heng knew this long ago; even the Mahas, when interacting with my master back then, had their own selfish intentions."

This statement, which slandered the Mahas, caused Fu Xia's eyes to widen in anger.

A smile appeared on Kong Heng's face:

"When the Mahas visited my master back then, the Liao River was filled with five-colored radiance that night. I followed behind my master. The Mahas all tried to entice me with flowery words, miraculous pronouncements, and profound golden lotus teachings, speaking of chaotic heavens and earth, tears flowing from stubborn stones, and entering boundless heavenly stairs to behold supreme essence. Yet, they did not succeed."

"However, my five senior brothers from before were all lured away."

Kong Heng's words touched upon hidden secrets and mentioned the various Mahas, causing colorful clouds to gather in the sky and golden lotuses to bloom on the lake. This finally made Fu Xia serious, and he whispered:

"What of it?"

"Abbot Fuyan is my third senior brother, Kong Yan."

Kong Heng's tone was calm, and he wore a smile.