266: Chapter 266 Where Did the Dharma Protectors Go?

"Something is wrong."

Bai Chi stood there, and the Blood Seal Pagoda that Wu Li had implanted into her body occasionally trembled, pulling her thoughts back.

Even if Bai Chi were any more foolish, she would know something was wrong by now.

Therefore, without hesitation, she glanced at Lin Fan and turned to leave.

"Hmm?"

Lin Fan and Chief Clerk Gu Qing looked up at the same time, seeing Bai Chi instantly wear a puzzled expression as well.

Over here.

Bai Chi was still filled with doubt in her heart.

As she flew roughly several hundred zhang away from the Buddhist Hall,

suddenly, a wave of oppressive force descended.

"Not good."

Bai Chi immediately spread her wings, her Demon Power violently churning within her body.

"Hum—"

Golden ripples appeared, making her feel as if she had stepped into a quagmire.

At this moment,

just a few zhang ahead of Bai Chi, a streak of golden light condensed into a figure.

Its build was similar to the monk earlier in the Buddhist Hall, with a stone-like face, an off-white kasaya, and one hand held vertically in front of its chest, maintaining a Buddhist greeting posture.

Two fixed pools of golden light within its eye sockets locked directly onto her direction.

"How could this be..."

Bai Chi's footsteps came to a halt.

Her gaze fell upon the monk, confirming that it was the same type of entity as the living corpse Wu Li had killed earlier.

However, the one in front of her—

its aura was somewhat stronger. She instinctively wanted to leave, but she heard a wave of Buddhist chanting.

"Amitabha."

The voice wasn't loud, yet it formed a distinct echo all around.

"Protector, where are you going?"

The monk released its right hand from the Buddhist greeting, its palm facing outward. A pillar of golden light shot out from its palm, pushing along the passage toward Bai Chi's position.

The beam of light wasn't wide, but its edges carried a slight arc, perfectly covering the path ahead of her.

Bai Chi did not take it head-on.

She sidestepped to the left, the golden light brushing past her shoulder and striking the stone wall behind her, leaving a slender scorch mark on the surface.

"You damned monk, why must you keep hounding me relentlessly!"

Bai Chi asked angrily.

The monk withdrew its palm, rejoining them in front of its chest, maintaining the posture of a single-handed Buddhist greeting.

"Benefactor carries an aura outside of Buddhism, yet you are also fated with our Buddhist Sect."

"Fated your grandmother's leg!"

Bai Chi struck out in fury. The moment her bone saber cleared its sheath, dark red blood light erupted from the blade, and a thick dark red blade-light slashed directly toward the monk's face.

"Blood Fiend Slash!"

The blade-light swept close to the ground, leaving a slender charred mark on the surface of the stone slabs wherever it passed.

"Amitabha."

Chanting a Buddhist mantra, the monk released its right hand from the Buddhist greeting with its palm facing outward and fingers slightly spread. The dark red blade-light came to a halt the instant it touched the monk's palm, as if supported from the front by something, unable to push forward any further.

The edges of the blade-light continuously flickered in front of the monk's palm, emitting a faint tearing sound, but it could not pierce through the layer of golden Buddhist light covering the palm.

Bai Chi's pupils constricted. Though shocked by the monk's strength, she did not stop.

She took a step forward, pulling back her bone saber. Dark red blood light re-condensed on the blade, and a second slash followed closely behind: "Blood Blade!"

"Boom!"

The blade-light flew over.

The monk's left hand still maintained the posture of the Buddhist greeting, while its right hand withdrew from the blade-light, rejoining in front of its chest.

The dark red blade-light shattered into several pieces in front of its palm, scattering across the passage floor and rapidly dimming.

"Before making a move, Benefactor should consider clearly how much longer you can hold out."

When the monk spoke, its voice wasn't loud, and it still maintained the posture of the single-handed Buddhist greeting, as if those two slashes just now had caused it no impact whatsoever.

Bai Chi did not reply.

She lowered her center of gravity, holding the bone saber horizontally in front of her. Dark red blood light re-condensed around her body, pushing along the blade toward the tip.

"Blood Seal Pagoda, condense!"

"Hum—"

Her aura once again leaped from Early Stage Tier 3 to Middle Stage Tier 3. The blood light formed a continuously churning film of light around her body, pushing the surrounding golden Buddhist light back by half an inch.

With a single step forward, she slashed down with her bone saber: "Blood Fiend Seal Slash!"

A dark red blade-light, wider and thicker than before, exploded from the blade, wrapping around the Demon Power of the Blood Seal Pagoda as it bore down directly onto the monk's face.

The monk's hands finally released at the same time, its palms clapping together in front of its chest with fingertips aligned. The golden Buddhist light between its palms compressed rapidly.

"Vajra Palm."

"Boom!"

A giant golden palm pushed out from its palms, meeting the dark red blade-light head-on.

"Rumble!"

The instant the two collided, a continuous low-frequency roar rang out. The surface of the dark red blade-light began to shatter from the center, with cracks extending to both sides as if something was propping it open from the inside.

Bai Chi's bone saber had already been retracted the very instant the blade-light shattered.

"Damn it."

"Swish!"

Seeing that she was no match, Bai Chi turned and dashed toward the fork in the path, her speed faster than any previous attempt.

In the Void Realm.

After flying out, her peripheral vision swept behind her, confirming that the monk hadn't given chase. However, that oppressive feeling hadn't vanished; it had simply shifted from the front to the side.

"Hum—"

Yet,

before Bai Chi could fly far, a streak of golden light shot out, forming a golden line traversing the passage right in front of her feet.

"What?!"

"Clatter—"

Light coiled along her shoulders and waist, tightening to bind the roots of her wings and both arms.

"You..."

"Damn it!"

Bai Chi's body froze mid-air; her wings could not spread, her arms could not retract, and her legs were also entangled by a streak of golden light rising from the ground.

She gritted her teeth, attempting to mobilize the power of the Blood Seal Pagoda, but those golden lights were continuously tightening, each strand precisely jamming into the critical points of her exertion, preventing her from adjusting her center of gravity.

"Amitabha."

The monk walked over from the middle section of the passage. Its steps weren't fast, and golden Buddhist light continuously shone around its body. As it drew closer, those chains began to pull inward toward its direction.

"Damn bald donkey, let me go!"

"Boom hum—"

Bai Chi's body was dragged by the chains to move toward the monk. Her wings could not spread, her arms were pinned to her sides, and only her fingers could twitch slightly.

Her gaze fell upon the monk, confirming that it hadn't quickened its pace nor slowed down, maintaining a constant stepping frequency.

The tightening force of the chains continued to increase. Bai Chi's breathing was squeezed even tighter, as if something was continuously compressing her chest cavity from the outside, preventing her from taking a complete breath.

The monk stopped in front of her, holding a single-handed Buddhist greeting.

"Benefactor is fated with Buddhism, and this poor monk will naturally take Benefactor to where you ought to go."

The chains continued to tighten.

Completely immobilizing Bai Chi's body, in an instant, golden light burst forth, surging into Bai Chi's mind.

Very quickly,

Bai Chi's vision began to blur, and golden Buddhist light continuously seeped from the chains into her Meridians, gradually invading her body.

"You..."

"Damn... caw caw..."

After a series of fluctuations, Bai Chi's demon body dissipated, subsequently transforming back into her true form as a crow.

"Amitabha."

"The Protector has returned to their position, and our Buddha shall surely flourish!!"