242: Chapter 242 Buddhism

On a low slope outside the city.

Wu Li's gaze remained fixed on the figure of that youth.

There was some shock in his mind.

"Is it such a coincidence?"

Wu Li touched his chest, where it felt slightly warm.

"This feeling..."

Wu Li murmured, his Blood Pupil narrowing slightly.

He stared at the youth's back, as if trying to superimpose a blurry outline from his memory onto the shadow before him, attempting to find the overlapping layer.

A moment later, he shook his head.

Impossible. If it really were that child, his age should not be like this.

Wu Li did not continue, putting that thought aside for now and making no judgment, though his gaze still did not move from Lin Fan.

Inside the city.

Lin Fan had already stood up.

He stood before Teacher Zhou Yan, his gray-blue short jacket stained with dust and blood picked up from the ground. The half-broken wooden stick in his hand had not been put down; he held it between his fingers.

He looked up at the Gray-Backed Wolf Demon, his voice carrying a lingering childishness that had not yet fully faded, but his articulation was very clear.

"Are you the ones who hurt my teacher?"

The Gray-Backed Wolf Demon retracted the step he had taken back and stood firm again, looking down at the youth before him as if seeing something rather unusual.

His claws hung at his sides, his fingertips twitching slightly.

"Interesting, truly interesting!"

"Lin Fan, be careful, they are all Tier 2 Great Demons."

Zhao Qinghe's voice came from the side, as if he had just caught his breath, barely managing to stand straight by leaning on his sword hilt.

Lin Fan did not turn back: "Rest assured."

As he spoke, golden light surged within his body. A layer of golden light spread from his chest, flowing along his Meridians to his limbs, pushing his aura directly from the Late Stage of Qi Refining to the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment.

"Hmm?"

The Gray-Backed Wolf Demon's vertical pupils contracted slightly.

The Black Panther Demon spoke first, his mouth splitting into a thin slit: "This kid has secrets."

The Iron-Bristled Wild Boar snorted, grinding his hoof against the bluestone slab and crushing a piece of gravel into powder: "Heh, that's perfect. Let's attack together; I want to see what kind of secrets he has!"

Before the words had faded.

The three demons moved simultaneously.

The Gray-Backed Wolf Demon pressed forward first, his four claws pushing off the ground, drawing an arc along the shadows on the right side of the street as if to seal off Lin Fan's flank.

The Iron-Bristled Wild Boar charged from the front, his hooves crushing two stone slabs, his Demon Power condensing into a dull luster between the bristles on his back.

The Black Panther Demon did not move in a straight line; his figure moved rapidly between the eaves and the battlements, like a taut string released at its end, sealing off Lin Fan's retreat from above.

Seeing this, Lin Fan did not retreat, nor did he turn to the side.

He pressed his palms together, the half-broken wooden stick held between his palms, and closed his eyes, his lips moving slightly.

"The Buddha's light shines upon all, the Vajra guards the body, evil spirits cannot invade, and no Dharma can break it."

"Om!"

Golden light spilled from his pressed palms, spreading upward along his arms, condensing into a translucent golden light screen around him, like a layer of gauze stretched open, enveloping both him and Teacher Zhou Yan.

Fine Sanskrit characters floated on the surface of the light screen, each stroke like a compressed syllable, slowly circulating on the surface of the screen, intersecting and separating, as if operating according to some law.

The Gray-Backed Wolf Demon's claws landed on the light screen first, emitting a dull collision sound, like iron striking thick cloth; it did not break through but was instead bounced back.

The Iron-Bristled Wild Boar then rammed into it, a low, muffled sound erupting the moment his Demon Power collided with the light screen.

"Bang~"

In just an instant.

The Iron-Bristled Wild Boar's hooves slipped on the surface of the light screen, losing their initial momentum. It was as if he had hit a barrier that was continuously thickening, unable to continue breaking through, and was blocked by that layer of golden gauze at a position one step away from Lin Fan.

The Black Panther Demon dropped from above, but when his claws touched the top of the light screen, it was as if he were supported by a soft force field; he could not continue to press down, his figure pausing in mid-air before springing back onto the eaves.

Lin Fan's palms remained together, not letting go.

After repelling the three demons, Lin Fan opened his eyes sharply, golden light shooting out from his pupils as if it were a physical substance.

He pressed his palms together, his lips moving slightly. His voice was not loud, but every word carried a force as if it had been compressed and then released.

"Om, Mani, Padme, Hum."

The moment the six-character mantra fell from his lips, his pressed palms flipped outward, and the golden light in his palms suddenly exploded. Like a shattered golden mirror, the fragments, accompanied by the chanting of scriptures, spread in three directions simultaneously, striking the three demons respectively.

"Vajra Shock: All Evils Disperse!"

The Gray-Backed Wolf Demon was hit head-on by the golden light, his body flying backward as if struck by an invisible giant hand, crashing into the door panel on the side of the street, shattering the wooden door.

His entire body was embedded in the door frame, a golden burn mark left on his gray-white fur. The burn mark was still slowly spreading outward, like a mesh pattern being stretched from the inside by something.

"So strong!!"

The Iron-Bristled Wild Boar was pushed back several steps by the golden light, his hooves plowing four shallow grooves into the bluestone slabs. The dull luster of Demon Power on his back dimmed by more than half, and his whole body was forced to slide backward three steps before he could barely stabilize his center of gravity.

The Black Panther Demon dodged faster.

The golden light grazed his shoulder, exploding a corner on the eaves. Tiles shattered and fell. He landed on the roof across the street, stabilizing his figure. The fur on his right shoulder was scorched, and a few tiny golden electric arcs remained where he had been grazed, flickering slightly on the surface of his fur.

Lin Fan did not stop.

He separated his hands, and the half-broken wooden stick slid from his palms, landing on the bluestone slab at his feet with a crisp sound.

At this moment, Lin Fan, his right hand clenched into a fist, golden light condensed on his fist into a thick seal, like a layer of compressed runes stuck between his knuckles, every stroke looking like handwriting that had been traced repeatedly. His lips moved slightly, his voice not loud but clearly audible.

"All phenomena are illusory."

Taking a step, Lin Fan, bathed in golden light, dashed toward the Iron-Bristled Wild Boar. The golden light exploded into a wave of air beneath his feet, pushing him forward.

"Truth-Breaking Fist: Vajra Bone-Crusher!"

The Iron-Bristled Wild Boar had just stabilized his figure and had not yet had time to adjust his center of gravity when Lin Fan arrived before him.

The golden seal on his fist suddenly lit up the moment it touched the side of the Iron-Bristled Wild Boar's neck, emitting a dull bone-cracking sound. It was as if something had been stretched open from the inside and then closed, leaving a brief crack at the point of contact before quickly retracting inward.

The Iron-Bristled Wild Boar's head jerked to one side, his hooves sliding several feet on the ground. His body tilted to the side, and when he fell to the ground, he emitted a dull thud, like a pushed-over earthen wall, kicking up a layer of dust as he landed, and he did not stand up again.