“Hey? How did you know we are Sun Bu-San and Sun Bu-Si?” The giant copper bowl floating in midair suddenly spoke, its voice sharp like scraping metal: “Since you know that we, the great masters, have arrived, why don’t you surrender quickly? Save us the trouble of taking action ourselves and damaging our lofty image.”
Sun Bu-Si, standing in the middle, replied with a frown: “What a shame, brother, you are wrong again. The master mentioned ‘not three and not four’ probably refers to your inappropriate behavior, not that he knows your reputation.”
Sun Bu-San immediately retorted angrily: “How do you know he’s not praising us? If you speak again, I’ll discipline you on behalf of the eldest sister and give your backside a good kick!” His words, filled with rage, sent sharp vibrations that made the copper bowl hum loudly, the sound lingering for a long time.
Sun Bu-Si’s face twisted into a bitter expression, clearly dissatisfied, but he dared not speak again.
The brothers were entangled in their usual squabbles, and it seemed impossible to untangle their logic anytime soon. Mei Qing tilted her head slightly toward Zhao Da-You, who immediately stepped forward, puffed out his belly, held the teapot in hand, and with a flourish of his mustache, shouted loudly: “You little thieves up ahead! Your crimes have already been committed. Since we are here, you have no chance to escape. Why not surrender immediately?”
“What a bold statement!” A cold voice came from inside the room: “Who exactly are you, you fool?”
“Dare to ask!” Zhao Da-You roared: “I am an official of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, here to arrest you by order. At a time like this, you still dare to resist?”
“Embroidered Uniform Guard?” The voice from the room suddenly turned icy cold, quivering with fury as it hissed: “Good! It’s exactly you I’ve been looking for. Watch me strike!”
A loud crashing sound filled the air as the wooden door of the room was suddenly shattered. A black shadow burst through the broken door, moving like lightning straight toward Zhao Da-You.
Zhao Da-You screamed, “Mother!” and tried to run, but his legs had turned to jelly and would not move. Just then, Sun Bu-San’s sharp voice rang out: “Lin!”
As the shadow rushed forward, the giant copper bowl had already blocked its path. With a metallic clang, the shadow struck the bowl, producing a resounding echo. The copper bowl halted the shadow’s advance, saving Zhao Da-You’s life.
Only now could everyone see the tall, dark figure that had burst through the door. A large felt hat covered its face, concealing its features. It wore black clothes, and its hands, feet, and waist were bound with coarse rope—exactly the strange creature that the group had been following earlier.
From inside the room came a furious, piercing scream: “Well done! You’ve actually dared to come to my doorstep. Heaven and earth, gods and ghosts, myriad powers, I command you, obey at once!”
With these words, the black figure instantly split into two, then into four, then into eight. In an instant, the courtyard was filled with black shadows, all rushing toward the group from every direction with murderous intent.
“Oh no!” Sun Bu-San was greatly alarmed. Although the copper bowl was large, it struggled to hold off eight shadows at once, swaying precariously. Several times it nearly failed to block, and the shadows almost broke through the defensive circle. Desperately, Sun Bu-San shouted: “Old Three, what are you standing there for? Hurry and help!”
Sun Bu-Si grimaced and said: “Brother, you know well enough that my Daoist techniques aren’t fully mastered. These ghosts are merely sustained by yin energy, not belonging to the five elements. I can’t suppress them.”
Standing in the middle, Mei Qing watched the copper bowl spinning rapidly, blocking attacks from all sides. She overheard Sun Bu-Si’s words about the ghosts not being bound by the five elements, and a thought struck her.
Most Daoist forbidden techniques are based on the five elements, utilizing their mutual generation and restraint to achieve suppression or control. For example, to subdue a wood-type entity, one would employ metal energy; to control a water-type being, one would use earth energy. However, the puppet before them was clearly a forcibly controlled yin essence, not bound by the five elements, so conventional elemental techniques were naturally ineffective against it.
Therefore, most cultivators disliked facing puppeteers who specialized in yin techniques. When such opponents were encountered, the only way to deal with them was to counterattack with brute force or use overwhelming power to destroy them directly, as there were few specific countermeasures.
However, there are always exceptions among the myriad techniques of the world. The Divine Thunder Daoist Arts practiced by Mei Qing happened to be one such exception. Although the Thunder Restriction Technique also involved the five elements, its foundation lay in the division of yin and yang, giving it a distinct advantage.
The Thunder禁术 consisted of four stages: Observing the Qi, Knowing the Vital Points, Fixing the Radiance, and Restraining. Mei Qing had already mastered the first two stages—Observing the Qi and Knowing the Vital Points—long ago, when her golden core was still sealed. After the seal was lifted, she began to learn the latter two stages and had now achieved a basic level of Fixing the Radiance.
Realizing this, Mei Qing acted immediately. Her mind extended outward, allowing her to sense the chilling yin winds all around, the yang energy cut off, and the five elements stagnant. She quickly activated the Thunder Prohibition Technique, circulating her inner energy and invoking the interplay of sun and moon. A purple beam shot forth from her dantian, instantly filling the air with purple qi. Using her spiritual awareness, she locked onto the puppet’s true form.
Although the creature had divided into eight, its true body was still only one. Although the countless puppets were animated by ghostly energy, the core still required a point of yang energy to control the yin and manifest supernatural power. This yang point was the essence of the puppet’s existence. However, this true yang point constantly shifted among the eight forms, never staying still, making it impossible for ordinary methods to lock onto it.
Merging her spiritual awareness with her knowledge of the vital points, Mei Qing ignored the shifting and simply locked onto the yang point. Then, with both hands forming mudras, she extended her left hand forward as yang and pointed her right hand downward as yin. Crossing her hands, she recited the incantation: “Yin and Yang divide, Thunder arises, Restriction activates—Fix!”
A flash of purple light illuminated the scene. The eight puppet forms froze mid-air, completely motionless, creating a bizarre and eerie sight.
Sun Bu-Si was astonished and muttered: “What a shame indeed! So the young master actually has a way…”
But Mei Qing was suffering internally. Her Thunder Restriction Technique was something she had learned through trial and error, and she had only practiced it for a short time. Having only reached the third stage, Fixing the Radiance, she could only suppress the puppet temporarily but lacked the power to fully restrain it. Therefore, she poured all her inner energy into suppressing the puppet’s struggle, leaving her no room to respond to anything else.
Inside the room, seeing the puppet immobilized, the figure was nearly driven mad. With an inhuman scream, a figure leaped out through the broken door again, followed closely by another.
The first figure was very young, dressed in white robes, his face deathly pale with no trace of blood. Though his features were delicate and handsome, his expression was now twisted with rage. Under the pale moonlight, he looked like a vengeful ghost. As he flew out, he raised his hands and without hesitation drove a long, blood-red nail into each of his shoulders. Then he bit his tongue, spat a mouthful of blood onto the puppet, and shouted: “Break!”
Suddenly, the white ropes binding the hands of the eight puppets turned as red as blood. The puppets let out a chorus of piercing wails and began to wave their arms wildly.
Mei Qing felt her inner energy spinning wildly, as if struck by lightning. Even her golden core trembled violently. She knew her cultivation was still shallow, and her Thunder Restriction Technique was not yet fully mastered. Faced with such a desperate counterattack, she could no longer maintain control. If she persisted, she would likely be injured herself. Therefore, she made a swift decision, reversing her hand mudras and instantly cutting off her spiritual connection, stopping the Thunder Restriction Technique.
Even so, the brief shockwave from that moment sent ripples through her inner energy and slightly destabilized her golden core, indicating that she had already suffered some internal damage.
As soon as the Thunder Restriction Technique ceased, the eight puppets regained their vitality and resumed their attack, claws bared.
But during the brief moment Mei Qing had acted, Sun Bu-San had managed to free himself. With a furious roar, the copper bowl spun upward, and beneath it appeared a tall monk.
Sun Bu-San was now clad in a bright red kasaya, his head bearing nine clearly visible precept marks. His tall, imposing figure stood firm like a mountain, exuding an unshakable aura. His voice roared like a lion: “Om… ma… ni…”
As he chanted, the characters engraved on the copper bowl began to glow one by one. Mei Qing now noticed that the characters were not talismanic symbols, but the six-syllable mantra of Tibetan Buddhism. The copper bowl radiated light, illuminating Sun Bu-San’s kasaya, making it shimmer as if a Bodhisattva had descended into the human world.
“A monk? You’re from the Shingon Sect!” The white-robed figure was astonished to suddenly see a monk appear and display such power.
Originally, although his ghost-summoning techniques were difficult for Daoists to handle, they were like snow melting in fire when faced with a Buddhist master—an enemy they could not overcome.
Buddhist cultivation usually excels in self-defense rather than offense. Their demon-subduing methods are far fewer in variety compared to Daoist techniques. When it comes to breaking through defenses or overwhelming force, they are even less effective. However, when it comes to maintaining an unbreakable defense impervious to external evil forces, they far surpass Daoist practitioners.
Especially when dealing with ghost-summoning and other yin techniques, they are essentially invincible. Moreover, the Shingon Sect specializes in using sound to defeat enemies, making it a natural counter to mass attacks by puppets. Judging from Sun Bu-San’s display, a single mantra from him would likely reduce the eight puppets to nothingness.
Therefore, upon seeing Sun Bu-San appear in his monk’s robes, the white-robed figure was terrified. His countless puppets were treasures bestowed by his predecessors, connected to his very life force. How could he bear to witness their destruction here?
With a grit of his teeth, he formed another mudra with both hands and shouted: “Withdraw!”
As the incantation echoed, the two long nails embedded in his shoulders vibrated and fell off. In the air, the eight puppets began to merge—eight became four, four became two, and finally the two merged into one, transforming back into the White-Robed Man.
The man in white chanted the incantation to recall the puppets, but the backlash was clearly severe. Although he tried to maintain a calm expression, a thin line of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
At that moment, Sun Bu-San, who had been demonstrating such power, suddenly ceased chanting. Even the glow emanating from the copper bowl disappeared. However, Sun Bu-Si, who had remained inactive until now, suddenly raised both hands and, in a deep voice, shouted: “敕!”
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