75: Encountering the Vajra Yihuang Man Again

Lin Luo's lips curled slightly, his smile carrying a hint of chilling playfulness.

"Do you want to see her?"

Before the words had even faded, a book with an ancient style, emanating an aura even more terrifying than Mary's—the cicada song collection—quietly appeared in his hands.

"You killed her! Damn it!" Mary immediately sensed extreme danger from Lin Luo's attitude and the book, instantly understanding Hanako's fate. Although she considered herself stronger than Hanako, she absolutely did not believe she could be a match for this unfathomable person before her!

Without the slightest hesitation, black Qi erupted from her body, instantly transforming her into a mass of thick black fog. Like an arrow released from a bow, she slammed violently into the glass door to the side, attempting to break through the window and escape!

Unexpectedly, just as the black fog was about to touch the glass, several Talismans flowing with golden light suddenly appeared on the door, their profound runes flashing—!

"Bang!"

A dull thud echoed as the black fog, as if having slammed into an invisible wall of iron, shrieked and was violently bounced back, its form dissipating slightly.

At the same time, Lin Luo's cold voice, like a final judgment, slowly fell:

"Since you are reluctant to part with your good sister, then go inside and reunite with her. I think... she has always been thinking of you."

The floating cicada song collection turned its pages without wind, rustling until it reached a blank page. The page seemed to transform into an invisible vortex, generating an irresistible, terrifying suction force that firmly locked onto Mary below.

She let out a shrill, unwilling shriek, her surrounding black fog struggling frantically, but it was suppressed tightly by the power of the book page, unable to even move an inch.

Escape? There was already nowhere to escape!

Finally, amidst that desperate shriek, the blank page, like the mouth of a Vicious Beast, swallowed her whole along with the churning black fog. On the page, a new, imprisoned, exquisite yet twisted doll pattern slowly emerged.

The book closed and drifted lightly back into Lin Luo's hand. After resolving Mary, the teeth-aching chill and churning black fog that had filled the surroundings completely dissipated. The room returned to the tranquility that a night should have, with only the faint halo of streetlights outside filtering through the curtains.

Only then did Lin Luo lower his head to look at the girl in his arms.

The extreme fear from just moments ago, the sudden sense of relief, and the immense exhaustion after her mind finally relaxed all flooded over Shiina Mahiru like a tide. She had unknowingly grabbed his lapels tightly, burying her head deep in his chest like a young beast seeking a source of warmth, and had fallen into a deep sleep while still standing.

Her breathing was soft and even, and undried tear droplets still hung on her long eyelashes, shimmering slightly in the faint light. However, her tightly furrowed brows had finally smoothed out, and a bit of color had returned to her face.

Watching her defenseless appearance, the cold sharpness in Lin Luo's eyes gradually softened. He sighed softly and, with extremely careful movements, adjusted his posture to cradle her steadily in his arms, fearing he might wake her from this hard-won slumber.

He looked around the room, which still held traces of chaos and coldness but was no longer dangerous, and his gaze finally settled outside the window.

The night was deep.

Just as he had settled Mahiru down, carefully tucked the corners of her blanket, and turned to leave the bedroom—a gaze, unmasked and mixed with madness and Buddhist malevolence, locked onto him like a solid searchlight.

It was not peeking; it was a blatant, almost provocative declaration!

Lin Luo did not stop, walking calmly through the living room to the balcony. He looked down—

Under the cold halo of the streetlights, an unusually burly figure stood like a mountain. The man was dressed as a monk, but his kasaya was casually half-open, revealing a chest with knotted muscles. Hanging around his neck was a string of massive black prayer beads, each one appearing to contain heavy power.

He looked up with a wild and evil smile on his face, a complete opposite to Buddhist purity, his gaze meeting Lin Luo's precisely.

The moment their eyes met, the air seemed to freeze.

Kongō Masarao!

Lin Luo leaped lightly from the high building, his figure landing silently on the sidewalk not far from Kongō Masarao in a few bounds, like a falling leaf. The night wind blew, fluttering the corners of both their clothes.

"Did you lead Mary here?" Lin Luo asked straightforwardly, his voice calm but carrying a hint of coldness.

Hearing this, Kongō Masarao let out a low, cold laugh, the smile full of wildness and a near-blasphemous playfulness.

"That girl who looks like an angel, with her exquisite features, is like a fragile porcelain doll... Wouldn't it be perfect to let her serve as Mary's vessel?" He licked his lips, his eyes flashing with an uncomfortable light. "As long as she is successfully possessed, I can use my ability to 'perfectly' remove Mary."

He deliberately emphasized the word "perfectly," as if admiring a cruel artistic plan. Immediately after, his face darkened, and he let out a cold snort, his tone carrying obvious dissatisfaction and greed:

"I already yielded Hanako to you, but I didn't expect you to take Mary away as well. You are quite good at picking up ready-made bargains, Lin Luo."

Obviously, Kongō Masarao had secretly investigated Lin Luo. The mocking smile on his face grew, carrying a sense of superiority from knowing his background.

"Just an extra-organizational member who just joined, essentially... what's the big difference between you and a rogue cultivator like me?"

Before he finished speaking, his Qi surged violently, and ripples of wild energy spread outward from him as the center, causing the ground beneath his feet to tremble slightly. The string of massive black prayer beads hanging around his neck seemed to be injected with life in an instant, humming as they rose into the air, like a Vicious Beast breaking free from its shackles!

The next second, those prayer beads turned into black afterimages tearing through the air, carrying the force of ten thousand jun, and smashed down onto the ground in front of Lin Luo like heavy artillery fire!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Deafening explosions rang out one after another. The asphalt road shattered and curled up like fragile crackers, being forcibly blasted into a series of shocking, deep craters! Gravel and dust splashed out radially in a violent spray.

Lin Luo's figure flickered lightly like a ghost amidst the dust and gravel, evading all the impacts. But when his gaze swept over those fresh craters, his brows could not help but furrow tightly.

"This guy's power... has become stronger! And by quite a margin." He felt a sense of dread in his heart. "How long has it been since our last encounter? What on earth is going on with this unreasonable growth speed..."

Last time, although Masarao's prayer beads were powerful and fierce, they absolutely did not have the terrifying performance of being so effortless and having such drastically increased destructive power. This abnormal rate of strengthening concerned Lin Luo far more than the bombardment before his eyes.

"Hahaha—!"

Kongō Masarao watched the figure constantly dodging in the dust and smoke, letting out a hearty and mocking laugh, his voice rolling:

"What's wrong? Where is that composed demeanor of yours? Why are you now like a disheveled mouse, only able to hide in such a wretched way?!"

He shook his arms violently, and the dozen or so black prayer beads circling in the air suddenly changed their trajectory. No longer bombarding the ground, they became like living tracking barrages, strangling Lin Luo from every direction he dodged toward! The sound of them tearing through the air was shrill and piercing, blocking all paths of retreat.

"Let me see how long you can keep hiding!"

Facing the prayer beads strangling him from all sides, Lin Luo's eyes narrowed, and golden light suddenly erupted around him! A solid, ancient golden bell phantom instantly appeared, firmly protecting his entire body.

Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong!

The prayer beads struck the golden bell one after another, emitting a dull, massive sound like the tolling of an ancient temple bell. The golden light rippled, but it remained immovable.

At the same time, Lin Luo pressed his fingers together like a sword, and a condensed, incomparably sharp golden sword Qi tore through the air, piercing straight toward Kongō Masarao's chest as if it had teleported!

"Insignificant tricks! Disperse!"

Kongō Masarao roared, not dodging, but instead slamming the monk's staff in his hand into the ground and quickly pressing his hands together! Amidst a humming sound, a dark purple light filled with an ominous aura covered his entire body like a living thing, forming a solid defense.

Immediately following this, he stamped his right foot forward violently, and the ground cracked instantly! Using this recoil force, he shot forward like a cannonball, or perhaps an out-of-control heavy truck, slamming into Lin Luo in the most brutal manner!

"Bang—!"

The golden bell shield let out a miserable groan under the impact of such pure power, and Lin Luo was sent flying by the immense force, his body uncontrollably rising into the air.

"Luo!"

Kongō Masarao did not let up, pointing his fingers rapidly. The black prayer beads in the air moved in response, like soldiers obeying orders, instantly changing direction. Carrying the gravitational acceleration of their descent, they smashed down toward Lin Luo—who had no leverage in the air—like a dense meteor shower!

Rumble—!

The last prayer bead smashed down with destructive power, dust rising into the sky and completely swallowing Lin Luo's figure.

Kongō Masarao stood in the ruins, his chest heaving slightly, a grin of certain victory on his face as he waited for the result. Such a dense, saturated strike, even if it couldn't completely shatter the golden bell, would be enough to shake the person inside into severe injury!

However, when the pervasive dust slowly dissipated in the night wind, the smile on his face instantly froze.

Lin Luo stood quietly in place, not having moved even half a step. The ancient golden bell phantom around him remained solid, shimmering with light, and on the bell itself, there was... not a single scratch!

The bombardment of prayer beads that had been enough to turn the street into ruins hadn't even left a single crack on the golden bell.

Lin Luo slowly raised his head, looking calmly at the terrified Kongō Masarao, and said indifferently:

"You made the first move..."

The moment the words fell, a sudden change occurred!

In the night sky, without any warning, a blindingly white flash of lightning struck, and then—

Crackle!!!

A violent bolt of lightning, like a spear of punishment thrown by a judge from the Nine Heavens, struck down with precise accuracy from above Kongō Masarao's head!

The speed was so fast that it was far beyond reaction!

That layer of dark purple protective energy that had previously been able to withstand the sword Qi was, in the face of this majestic heavenly might, as fragile as an eggshell, shattering instantly and turning into scattered points of light filling the sky.

"Urgh—!"

Kongō Masarao let out a painful grunt, his whole body trembling violently from the lightning strike. He stumbled backward, his kasaya scorched black in pieces, clear electrical burn marks left on his exposed skin, his hair standing on end, emitting wisps of smoke, looking utterly wretched.

However, this intense pain and wretchedness instead stirred up the ferocity in his bones. He looked up sharply, bloodshot eyes spreading, and the previous apprehension was replaced by an even more insane determination.

"Haa—!"

He roared and reached out to violently pull up the monk's staff stuck in the ground. As the staff entered his hand, the ancient scriptures engraved on the staff body seemed to be activated by his blood and fury, lighting up one by one, emitting a dark red light like blood, yet carrying an eerie, chanting Zen sound!