Records of Mysterious Things in the Southern Dynasties

Chapter 555 Purple Gold Mountain Collapse

Purple Mountain.

Wu Yang flashed back to Tongtai Temple, his disheveled appearance startling Zhen Di and Zhen Guan.

"My lord, your arm..." Zhen Di looked at Wu Yang's severed arm in astonishment.

"It's alright." Wu Yang's face was ashen. After regaining his composure, he ordered in a deep voice, "Activate the mountain-protecting formation to its limit!"

"Yes!" Zhen Di knew they had encountered an unimaginably formidable opponent. How could he dare to be negligent? He immediately turned to the chanting monks in the square and loudly gave the order:
“Recite the Shurangama Mantra!”

“…Sarva Sattva. Namo Bhava Sattva. Namo Bhaga. Maha Bhadra…” Ten thousand monks chanted in unison.

Amidst the grand, deep, and awe-inspiring chanting, beams of white light shot from the bald heads of the chanting monks toward the golden protective shield of Zijin Mountain.

The originally faint golden light, after being fully blessed by ten thousand chanting monks, transformed into a blinding and scorching wall of bronze and iron, charring all living beings that approached it into charcoal...

This shield is powerful enough to withstand the invasion of the gods. Zhen Di breathed a sigh of relief and turned back respectfully, saying, "Please rest assured, my lord, we swear to protect you with our lives!"

Wu Yang's face showed no sign of relaxation. He ordered in a deep voice, "I'm abandoning the mortal realm. Immediately gather the core disciples, bring your important belongings, and transfer back to Dreamland with me."

"Huh?" Zhen Di Zhen Guan was shocked to hear this. Just a moment ago, the victory was already secured and everything was under control. How could they suddenly want to run away?
"My lord, is it really that bad?" Zhen Guan asked in a trembling voice.

Zhen Di also said with heartache, "My lord, please reconsider. We have painstakingly built up this situation over the past hundred years, expending so much effort to achieve what we have today..."

"If you hadn't acted recklessly, things wouldn't be like this today!" Wu Yang slapped him hard, sending him flying to the ground.

"Don't question me, and you are absolutely forbidden to disobey me, do you hear me?!"

"Yes!" Zhen Di Zhen Guan looked at Wu Yang, who was about to devour people, and hurriedly obeyed the order in fear.

Tongtai Temple was suddenly thrown into chaos.

~~
Meanwhile, the white-robed army followed the light bridge and soon arrived at the foot of Zijin Mountain, where they were blocked by the mountain-protecting formation.

Chen Baxian, who was leading the charge, swung his Panlong Yanhuo Cudgel in a wide arc, carrying the divine fire of the nine heavens, and struck the golden shield heavily!
Amidst the sparks flying, the coiled dragon staff was violently bounced back, but the protective shield remained intact.

Chen Baxian, unable to save face, roared again and switched to a thrusting style, concentrating his divine power on a single point to attack the shield.

However, the shield only emitted a stronger golden light, while the shield itself remained completely unharmed.

"I'll do it." Time was of the essence, and Ren Yuan disregarded his pride, drew his sword, and stepped forward, unleashing a jet-black blade of destruction.

A ghostly black flame erupted from the blade, cracking the space in its wake. The flame, as if alive, climbed up the protective barrier, and with a deafening explosion, the seemingly indestructible barrier shattered like glass!

At Tongtai Temple, ten thousand monks who were chanting sutras suffered a backlash, all falling backward to the ground, vomiting blood incessantly.

"Kill!" Hu Longya roared, the bugle call to charge tore through the sky, and the white-robed army swept across the foot of Zijin Mountain like a silver-armored torrent!

However, Tongtai Temple has not been idle these past few years. Zhendi, deeply saddened by the humiliation of the Imperial Guards breaching the eight hundred Arhat stone statues, petitioned Wuyang to replace them with eight hundred golden Arhat statues! Each golden statue was crafted from the best of the Imperial Guards and tempered using the secret methods of the Buddhist sect, increasing its combat power by more than tenfold.
As soon as the white-robed army entered the warning area, the eight hundred golden arhats suddenly opened their eyes wide in anger, and their bodies were filled with dazzling golden light!
They instantly formed the Vajra Arhat Formation to block any uninvited guests who dared to trespass into the mountain!
"Kill!" The white-robed soldiers roared in unison, their bodies bursting with silver light as they formed a cone-shaped formation and charged straight into the enemy ranks! The golden light and silver light collided with a deafening roar, causing the entire Purple Gold Mountain to shake violently and rocks to shatter.

A Yao was enveloped in crimson flames, even her long black hair seemed to be ablaze. Beneath her white dress, a pair of delicate, bare feet were revealed, and beneath them lay rolling lava!

The Heavenly Maiden was the daughter of the Heavenly Emperor, named 'Ba'. When the Yellow Emperor fought against Chiyou, the Heavenly Emperor sent her down to earth to assist in the battle and present the Yellow Emperor with the Emperor's sword.

The Yellow Emperor ordered Yinglong to attack Jizhou. Yinglong stored water, and Chiyou summoned the Wind God and Rain Master, unleashing a great storm. The Yellow Emperor then ordered the celestial maiden Ba to assist in the battle. The rain stopped, and Chiyou was killed. However, Ba, due to her secret love affair with Yinglong, could not return to the Heavenly Court. She could only remain in the north. Wherever she went, the land was scorched for thousands of miles, hence she was also known as—the Drought Demon!
Ayao, now in her true form as a celestial maiden, wields the Emperor's Sword in her left hand and the Nanming Lihuo Sword in her right, charging into the enemy ranks at the forefront.

"Break!" A Yao shouted, slashing her Emperor Sword into the formation! The eight Arhats guarding the formation's core simultaneously wielded their magical weapons to resist, but their golden bodies shattered like glass the instant they touched the purple sword light!
"Flame!" A Yao shouted again, and the Nanming Fire Sword unleashed a raging inferno, instantly burning all the vegetation on the mountain to ashes!

Even the Arhats could not withstand the deadly high temperature, and their golden bodies showed signs of melting.

"Big sister, I'm here to help you!" Chen Baxian followed closely behind, wielding the Panlong Yanhuo Cudgel, adding fuel to the fire and melting a large number of Arhats into molten gold.

The white-robed soldiers followed closely behind, seizing the opportunity to charge in. Their spears formed a forest, unstoppable in their advance! The crossbowmen in the rear drew their bows and fired in unison. The magic arrows, carrying a sharp momentum, pierced through the Buddha's light, pinning the remaining golden Arhats to the mountainside.

Under this thunderous onslaught, the Eight Hundred Arhats Formation was instantly wiped out, like boiling water poured on snow or a flickering candle in the wind, leaving only molten gold and shattered golden bodies scattered on the ground...

Without stopping for a moment, the white-robed army immediately charged towards the lofty Tongtai Temple!
~~
Inside Tongtai Temple.

"The Arhat Formation is broken." Wu Yang had grown a new arm, but his face was still grim.

"So fast?" Zhen Di's face was equally grim. He hadn't expected that the defense he had painstakingly set up would be so easily defeated.

"We don't need the stuff anymore, let's get out of here immediately," Wu Yang said decisively.

"Yes!" Having learned his lesson, Zhen Di dared not utter another word. He hurriedly shouted to the disciples who were moving the scriptures and treasures, "Put down the things and leave immediately!"

Upon hearing the order, the bald men, both big and small, hurriedly dropped their heavy crates and leaped towards the palm of the Buddha high above. Zhen Di and Zhen Guan were no exception…

In the Buddha's palm was a halo that seemed like a dream; when the monks plunged into it, they disappeared from this world.

Seeing that Ren Yuan had already stormed into Tongtai Temple, and disregarding the fact that many disciples had not yet retreated back to their dreams, Wu Yang flashed to the Buddha's palm and raised his hand to retract the light ring—that was His divine artifact, the Dream Catcher Ring.

It is through this object that He connects the dream world with the human world, continuously drawing upon the nightmare energy of the people of Daliang.

This item is also the only passage from the outside world into the dreamland. Once it is put away, even the ancient gods will not be able to find their divine realm.

In this way, He can remain invincible, observe coldly from the sidelines in His dreams, and then act according to the opportune moment.

Ren Yuan had already heard the witch's explanation, and as soon as he saw Wu Yang fly to the Buddha's hand, he knew what He was going to do. He quickly leaped towards the Buddha's hand to try and stop Him!
However, the four powerful warriors simultaneously appeared, blocking his path...

"Get out of my way!" Ren Yuan roared, smashing the head of the Heavenly King Dhritarashtra with a punch, cleaving the Heavenly King Virupaksha in two with a slash, and kicking the Heavenly King Virudhaka into the Yangtze River. His eyes then shot out beams of destructive light, turning the Heavenly King Vaishravana and his umbrella into ashes...

But with the Four Heavenly Kings blocking the way, there was no way to stop Wu Yang from taking back the 'Dream Catcher Ring'.

(End of this chapter)