Chapter 8

After waiting for a while, he didn't feel any pain in his neck, and the pressure on his back suddenly lifted, as if the demon had retracted its foot. Tang Xiaojiu, summoning his courage, opened one eye slightly and saw that the demon had retracted its tongue and now had the appearance of an ordinary monk, but the light in its eyes was not the eerie red from before, but a faint green glow, which was now staring at him intently.

When Tang Xiaojiu's eyes met the demon's, he quickly closed his eyes and turned his head, burying his face in the ground. He was also puzzled; why did the demon's eyes have such a strange feeling, as if it were looking at an old acquaintance?

Startled, he quickly changed his mind. How could Tang Xiaojiu let such an opportunity slip away? It wasn't every day that a demon went into a daze. He used his hands and feet to crawl away as quickly as possible. The demon didn't chase him, just stood there, watching Tang Xiaojiu crawl on the ground. When Tang Xiaojiu was about to reach the pile of artificial rocks, the demon suddenly moved, taking a step forward and blocking his path, continuing to stare at him, as if looking for something.

Tang Xiaojiu, crawling on the ground, suddenly saw a pair of feet in front of him. Realizing it was the demon, he immediately cried out, "Oh no!" and quickly changed direction to crawl away. After turning and crawling a few steps, another pair of feet appeared in front of him. Tang Xiaojiu lifted his head, and the demon squatted down, its green eyes filled with intense curiosity, meeting Tang Xiaojiu's gaze. Tang Xiaojiu screamed and tried to run away, but was caught by a powerful force on his arms and lifted up by the demon.

In pain, Tang Xiaojiu cried out, "You stinking demon, if I shout, I'm not a man!" Before he could finish, he started screaming. He tightly closed his eyes, his heart pounding like a drum, and he panted heavily, his mind racing: "This is bad, this is bad. I'm going to die here. What should I say to make it sound good? If I don't think of something soon, it'll be too late. I should have thought about it more often. Now, in a panic, how can I think of anything?"

Tang Xiaojiu was usually very clever, having grown up on the streets, struggling to survive. He remained calm in any dangerous situation. But now, facing a demon that ate people, he had lost all his courage, his mind in chaos, and he couldn't think of any way to escape.

After a flurry of random thoughts, he had a fierce line ready, but when he opened his eyes, he saw the demon still staring at him, its green eyes even more intense. Tang Xiaojiu's heart sank: "Is this demon a female, thinking I'm too handsome?" As he thought this, the curiosity in the demon's eyes disappeared, replaced by a burning gaze. Suddenly, a tongue shot out from its mouth, heading straight for him. Tang Xiaojiu remembered how Puguang's throat had been pierced by this tongue and forgot the line he had just thought of. He screamed hoarsely, "Xiaozheng, Brother Jiu is here to keep you company!"

"Amitabha!" At the critical moment, a deep, resonant voice rang out, followed by a beam of golden light that struck the demon's blood-red tongue, making a loud "buzz" sound. The golden light then aimed at the demon's head.

The demon, hit by the golden light, eyes suddenly glowing red, dropped Tang Xiaojiu and retreated to the side. Tang Xiaojiu was thrown to the ground, but realizing the situation had changed, he ignored the intense pain and quickly crawled behind a rock, peeking out.

He saw a tall, sturdy figure approaching, a middle-aged monk with a solemn face and kind eyes. His robe was patched, unlike any monk Tang Xiaojiu had seen before. He thought, "I've never seen this vegetable-eating monk at Qinglong Temple before. Could he be the ascetic monk Mingkong mentioned, who said there was a demon at Qinglong Temple?" Hope for survival rose in his heart, and he shouted, "Help! Help! Master, he's a demon, he really is a demon!" For the first time, he found the sight of a monk's bald head to be so familiar and endearing.

The patched monk raised his hand, and the golden light turned into a string of prayer beads. The demon had been struck by this string of beads, and Tang Xiaojiu, who had never seen a string of beads that emitted golden light, gaped in amazement.

The demon, caught off guard, touched its forehead, finding it covered in green blood. It was both shocked and angry, its eyes turning even redder. It growled, "Dead baldy, it's you again!" Its voice was hoarse and unpleasant.

The patched monk approached, glanced at Tang Xiaojiu, then at Lu Zheng lying by the wall, and through the broken window, he saw Puguang lying on the ground. He frowned, clasped his hands, and recited, "Amitabha! I have come too late." He was the ascetic monk who had intruded into Qinglong Temple earlier.

The demon seemed to fear this monk, its eyes showing terror. It covered its forehead, took a few steps back, and bent its upper body, swaying from side to side, its tongue flicking in and out, making a hissing sound. Its red eyes fixed on the ascetic monk, it shouted, "Damn monk, we don't interfere with each other, why do you always pick on me!"

The ascetic monk clasped his hands and said, "Since you have crossed the boundary, how dare you wreak havoc in the human world and harm lives! Have you forgotten the teachings of the Holy Sect? I tried to guide you, but you refused to listen. I let you go last time, but I cannot forgive you this time." His voice was stern but without a hint of anger, only deep compassion.

The demon hissed, "Holy Sect? That was ages ago. You can't scare me with that name. Since I can cross the boundary, the Holy Sect can't control me! I just sucked a little blood, which is nothing compared to you monks who build temples in the human world, deceive the people, and exploit their hard-earned money, even making them worship and thank you. Your methods are far more ruthless than mine!"

Tang Xiaojiu didn't understand what "Holy Sect" or "boundary" meant, but he was annoyed that the ascetic monk had caught the demon before and let it go. He thought, "These monks are so foolish. They catch a demon and then let it go. What kind of brains do they have?"

The demon's voice was strange, always ending with a slight hiss. Hearing it use the term "monks," Tang Xiaojiu thought, "We have the same idea!" He agreed with the demon's assessment of the monks, remembering how Puguang had bullied people. However, the demon had almost sucked his blood, which made him feel a bit strange. He wanted to hear what the ascetic monk would say.

Despite his near-death experience, he still had the nerve to think about these things, truly a reckless fool!

The ascetic monk didn't argue, just said, "I eat vegetables, but I'm not weak!" He threw the prayer beads, which turned into a golden light and swiftly attacked the demon.

Tang Xiaojiu was surprised that the monk didn't hesitate to attack. The demon, enraged, shouted, "Cunning monk!" Despite its anger, it didn't dare to be careless. It reached for a black whip at its waist, swung it, and the whip left a trail in the air, hitting the golden light with a loud explosion, causing the whip to fly out of its hand.

Tang Xiaojiu, lying on the ground, was shaken by the explosion, his broken ribs causing intense pain. He struggled to see that Lu Zheng was still lying motionless, which worried him. Strangely, no one came to investigate the noise, making him think, "Strange things happen every year, but tonight is particularly strange. Are the monks at Qinglong Temple deaf? How can they sleep through such a commotion?"

The demon's whip was knocked out of its hand, and the golden light, though scattered, quickly reformed and attacked the demon again. The demon emitted red light, clashing with the golden light, creating a series of explosions.

The ascetic monk finally moved, taking a step forward, causing the entire Qinglong Temple to shake. He took another step, and the ground shook again. He walked slowly but steadily toward the demon, leaving no footprints despite the ground shaking.

By the third step, he was halfway to the demon, and by the fourth, he punched the demon's nose. The demon, unable to dodge, was thrown back, rolling on the ground before standing up.

The ascetic monk stood still, not chasing the demon, creating a tense atmosphere. Both were bald monks, but the scene was incredibly intense.

Tang Xiaojiu was shocked and realized the monk was far more powerful than the demon. He felt safe and crawled out from behind the rock. He wanted to check on Lu Zheng but was suddenly overwhelmed by pain, his hands losing strength, and he fell to the ground. He had been so focused on fear that he hadn't felt the pain, but now, with the danger over, the pain flooded back. He lay on the ground, drawing in cool air.

The demon, with a broken nose, panted heavily, its eyes filled with rage. The ascetic monk, calm and composed, gave it an indescribable sense of pressure. The demon, enraged, charged at the monk, moving like a snake, swaying from side to side.

The demon, charging at the monk, punched with red light, the wind from the punch tearing the air. The monk, standing still, didn't move or even blink.

As the demon's punch was about to hit the monk's nose, the monk's sleeve flared, and he punched back. The demon's bones cracked, and green blood flowed from its seven orifices.

The demon's punch had almost hit the monk's nose, but the monk had somehow moved back and punched at the same time. The punch, though seemingly light, had the demon standing still, bleeding from its orifices.

The monk said, "Your mystic core is cracked. Will you admit defeat?"

The demon took a step back, spitting out a mouthful of dark golden blood, which turned into white smoke. The monk knew this was not ordinary blood but the essence that nourished the demon's mystic core. The demon's mystic core had been shattered by the monk's punch.

The demon, with a look of intense hatred, fell to one knee, its voice weak but filled with malice, "Adamantine power? Mind-stabilizing Adamantine Fist! You are a monk from Baihu Temple!"