358: Old Hedgehog

As soon as Sha Monk finished speaking, eight streaks of purple light instantly surrounded him, then transformed back into that purple ball of light.

"Hmm, although this thing can't stop me for long, it has blocked the Aura I was sensing!"

Smack!

With a forceful swing of his zen staff, Sha Wujing reappeared, but he frowned slightly, because the Aura he had been sensing had completely vanished again.

"If he doesn't attack, I can't sense that power... Hmm, this old man is quite interesting!"

Sha Wujing chuckled, then suddenly planted his zen staff firmly into the ground. He sat cross-legged, a divine light flashing in his eyes. A glimmer of spiritual light passed through his brow, and hundreds of Flying Swords suddenly shot out from his forehead, circling in the air.

"Go, act as my Protector!"

Whoosh!

The tips of the hundreds of Flying Swords suddenly hit the ground and sank into the earth, forming a circle of sword Formation around Sha Wujing. This Formation was arranged exactly according to the Fuxi Bagua, with a Taiji Diagram in the very center, balancing yin and yang, and Sha Wujing sat right in the middle.

Since acquiring these Flying Swords, he had studied them day and night. Although he couldn't control them perfectly yet, he had mastered the arts of using them for attacks or vibrating them to release Sword Qi.

Sha Wujing had a foundation as a Daoist Disciple, so he was intimately familiar with things like the Five Elements and Bagua; setting up such a Formation was completely trivial to him.

It was just that he had rarely used them in the past; after all, when going on the pilgrimage, he didn't have so many Magic Treasures or Flying Swords at his disposal!

However, things were different now. With these Flying Swords from the Heavenly Court, he could do far more than in the past!

Sword Qi gradually released from the slightly vibrating blades, slowly extending beneath the ground, surprisingly forming a Formation made of Sword Qi underground!

The entire sword Formation spread out, covering over five hundred square meters. A magnificent Aura rose up, vaguely forming a pincer position with the nearby Chang'an City, or rather, it resonated with the defensive array covering Chang'an City, emitting a constant, faint humming sound.

The old man underground watched the Sword Qi before him, which blocked him like a cage, and couldn't help but click his tongue in surprise: "This fellow looks like a rough brute, yet he can actually use such a delicate and supreme Formation? Hmm, let me test him!"

Thinking this, he made his move. Likewise, hundreds of Flying Swords aimed at the sitting Sha Wujing from different angles underground.

"If I stay outside this sword Formation, I lose the element of surprise... He can easily see my attacks from above ground... Perfect, I'll test the merits of your sword Formation!"

Bai Siji formed hand seals, and hundreds of Flying Swords suddenly rushed into the sword Formation. He controlled them very carefully, fearing he might trigger the Sword Qi even slightly. However, one must know that his Earth-Walking Technique already consumed a great deal of Mental Energy, and now, having to control so many life-bound Flying Swords, he was bound to feel overwhelmed. Flying Swords were mostly controlled by Mental Energy, and the slightest lapse in concentration would cause major problems.

Hum!

A Flying Sword instantly grazed one of the strands of Sword Qi. Bai Siji immediately thought, "Oh no," and hurriedly controlled all the Flying Swords to force their way forward, stabbing toward the direction of Sha Wujing on the ground.

Sha Wujing, sitting cross-legged, suddenly opened his eyes. Seeing countless gray-white Flying Swords suddenly appear, he couldn't help but smile slightly. With a wave of his hand, those Heavenly Court Flying Swords suddenly burst forth with countless rays of light again. Dozens of Flying Swords leaped into the air, spinning violently like a meat grinder; every gray-white Flying Sword that appeared was instantly torn to shreds.

Underground, Bai Siji suddenly felt a tightness in his chest, and a mouthful of old blood sprayed out.

"Oh no, this kid... has been holding back all along!"

Only then did Bai Siji realize that the gap between him and his opponent was not small at all.

His true form was actually a large hedgehog that had been cultivating on Mount Longhu for many years, with a thousand years of cultivation, making him a formidable force in the Monster Realm. Those gray-white Flying Swords were actually refined from the quills on his body, which could be said to represent his strongest attack power.

His Earth-Walking Technique was originally an innate Divine Ability of a hedgehog. This technique had been passed down by a previous Heavenly Master of Mount Longhu. At that time, the Heavenly Master said that given his own Aptitude, he would not be able to Cultivate the Earth-Walking Technique, but with the hedgehog's innate Divine Ability, it was worth a try. Sure enough, relying on his ruthlessness and strong will, he had actually succeeded in cultivating it!

Generally speaking, the Earth-Walking Technique combined with his life-bound Flying Swords became his invincible weapon on the battlefield!

However, how could he have imagined that he would encounter an expert from the Heavenly Court today who was also skilled in wielding Flying Swords?

Compared to his own life-bound Flying Swords, the quality of the opponent's Flying Swords was far superior to his toys! After all, these Flying Swords were products of the Heavenly Court, and generally speaking, most Magic Treasures from the Heavenly Court were related to a Saint. Coincidentally, these Flying Swords, which had once caused Sha Wujing so much suffering, were exactly from the hands of the Spiritual Treasure Heavenly Lord!

Bai Siji was after all just a Yao immortal, not even worthy of being called a Great Yao!

No matter how strong his life-bound Flying Swords were, how could they compare to Magic Treasures produced by a Saint in the Heavenly Court?

Sha Wujing originally had no intention to kill, but when he discovered that the opponent's technique actually had some merit, he knew that if he didn't use his full strength, the match would not end.

Therefore, he had set up the sword Formation, and as soon as the opponent showed signs of attacking, he exerted his full strength to crush his spirit.

Sure enough, in an instant, Bai Siji was seriously injured. And just as he realized that the opponent's strength far exceeded his imagination, an even more powerful attack had already arrived before him.

The light of those Flying Swords had locked onto his direction in that instant and shot toward his location.

Bai Siji was instantly terrified. At this moment, he could not care about anything else. He flew up and drilled directly out of the ground. However, the moment he appeared, a huge figure had already arrived before him. Sha Wujing's image had also undergone a huge change; his figure had become taller and more imposing, but he had lost some of his Evil Qi, replaced instead by a body full of golden radiance.

Bang!

Grabbing Bai Siji, Sha Wujing pressed firmly on his shoulders, making him stand steadily on the ground, looking at him with a half-smile.

"This... this is Buddha light... You... are you a Direct Perception Arhat from the Western Heaven?!"

Bai Siji had already recognized the opponent's identity, and could not help but be horrified.

"Hahaha, the old gentleman has recognized me..."

Sha Wujing chuckled, "At a time like this, are you still going to continue risking your life for that Ghost King?"

Bai Siji suddenly smiled bitterly, sighed, and said: "Forget it, forget it. It was my lack of vision; I couldn't see that a True God was right before my eyes... I... I admit defeat!"