Chapter 85: Nine Syllable Mantra Great Array
Ma Ling's hand seals were incredibly swift, her hands shifting so rapidly they left trails of afterimages.
The speed at which everyone rushed towards the two was equally fast; in the blink of an eye, they were right upon them.
Yang Haoran recognized that Ma Ling was about to unleash a powerful move. As her teammate, he had to buy her some time, even if it was only a few seconds.
However, he seemed to have underestimated Ma Ling. Just as he was preparing to desperately buy her some time, Ma Ling’s hand seal movements abruptly halted.
Streaks of spiritual light burst forth beneath her, forming a complex and strange formation.
It was described as strange because this formation resembled the Bagua, yet it was not the Bagua.
The Bagua has eight openings and eight directions, corresponding to Qian, Kan, Gen, Zhen, Xun, Li, Kun, and Dui, respectively. However, the formation beneath Ma Ling now had nine openings and nine independent areas, corresponding to the nine characters: Rin, Pyō, Tō, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen.
Only these nine characters were dim and devoid of light, forming a stark contrast with the bursting spiritual light of the formation.
Although this formation was not the Bagua, it was just as complex and profound, and its core was also a Yin-Yang Taiji pattern. An untrained eye, if not observing carefully, could easily mistake it for the Bagua.
At this moment, he sensed a powerful fluctuation of power emanating from this unknown formation.
"Rin!"
The formation instantly took shape. Ma Ling stood atop the Taiji pattern, and a low shout escaped her lips. Within the formation, the area corresponding to the character "Rin" lit up, its former dimness banished.
Ma Ling's voice wasn't loud, yet Yang Haoran felt as though a thunderclap had exploded in his mind, leaving his entire head buzzing.
Guan Hai and the others, who were trapped in the illusion and controlled by the Red-dressed Evil Spirit, suddenly trembled at Ma Ling's low shout. Their bodies remained rooted to the spot, their faces no longer contorted with negative emotions, but instead filled with a bewildered blankness.
Those still clutching weapons, in particular, stared at the implements in their hands, then looked around, utterly clueless as to who they were or what they were doing.
The Red-dressed Evil Spirit's illusion was too real, making it impossible for them to distinguish between illusion and reality, which was why their faces were now a picture of confusion.
Yang Haoran's heart swelled with joy. Looking at the bewildered group, he knew Ma Ling had succeeded. She had not only broken free from the illusion herself but had also freed everyone present who had fallen into the illusion, releasing them from the Red-dressed Evil Spirit's control.
Ma Ling hadn't lied; she truly was capable. Setting aside her other methods, this single move, the way she shattered the Red-dressed Evil Spirit's illusion, left Yang Haoran far behind.
However, Ma Ling's condition wasn't good after unleashing that move. Her face was pale, clearly indicating an immense expenditure of energy.
But compared to before, the power fluctuations emanating from Ma Ling at this moment were strangely much stronger than they had been previously.
"Chiwen!"
Ma Ling's expression was solemn. Another low shout escaped her lips. This shout wasn't as earth-shattering as the previous "Rin," but as the words "Chiwen" left her mouth, spiritual light suddenly condensed in the area of the formation where the character "Rin" had been, as if something was about to be birthed.
A dragon's roar echoed, the spiritual light dispersed, and a massive creature appeared in everyone's line of sight.
This monster was enormous and bizarre in appearance: a dragon's head with a fish's body, neither quite dragon nor quite fish.
Chiwen!
Yang Haoran's expression was one of shock. During his time as a con artist, although he didn't possess any real abilities, he had done a lot of research to better deceive his clients, delving into numerous supernatural and mythical accounts.
Therefore, he had some understanding of what Chiwen was. Legend had it that the dragon had nine sons, and Chiwen was one of them, ranking as the ninth.
Just as Yang Haoran was still marveling at Chiwen's identity, the creature had already swayed its fish-like body, leaped up, and lunged towards the Red-dressed Evil Spirit.
The Red-dressed Evil Spirit seemed to be startled as well. Without hesitation, it immediately dodged to the side, but its speed was still too slow compared to Chiwen. Just as its Spirit Body moved, Chiwen bit firmly onto its body.
A terrified and pained shriek erupted from the Red-dressed Evil Spirit's mouth. Hearing this scream, everyone present revealed expressions of confusion or oddness.
The scream, unbelievably, was a man's voice!
The Red-dressed Ghost was a man?
The next scene confirmed everyone's suspicions. With its Spirit Body held in Chiwen's jaws, the Red-dressed Evil Spirit struggled violently. As it thrashed, the hair covering its face fell away, revealing a man's countenance.
This sight caused an indescribable, peculiar emotion to suddenly well up in everyone's hearts. They had all assumed this Red-dressed Evil Spirit was a female ghost, never expecting such a revelation.
Two individuals differed from the others. While they initially felt an undeniable sense of disbelief, once they clearly saw the Evil Spirit's face, they froze on the spot, their expressions stiff.
These two were none other than Wu Junior and the woman who appeared to be his girlfriend.
"Ning Longyang!"
Both exclaimed simultaneously. Wu Junior's voice was filled with disbelief and terror, while the woman's cry was laced with guilt and unease.
The two clearly knew this Evil Spirit, and seemed to have an intricate connection to him.
However, no one paid attention to Wu Junior and the woman in this situation. Everyone else's gaze was fixed on Chiwen and the Red-dressed Evil Spirit.
The Red-dressed Evil Spirit's shriek was extremely piercing. He struggled desperately, trying to escape from Chiwen's mouth, but no matter how he struggled, it was to no avail. His Spirit Body couldn't dissipate, so he could only endure Chiwen's tearing bites.
In the blink of an eye, the Red-dressed Evil Spirit's Spirit Body began to become illusory, and the Yin Qi entwined around him was no longer as dense as before.
This situation filled Yang Haoran and the others with great joy. If things continued like this, in just a moment, the Red-dressed Evil Spirit, who had almost wiped them all out, would be swallowed by Chiwen!
Not only Yang Haoran saw this, but even Old Master Wu and the others, who understood nothing, also realized it.
The few individuals who had been shrouded in darkness now seemed to see the light of victory, causing them to involuntarily show expressions of excitement.
However, at that very moment, Ma Ling, who was controlling the formation, suddenly ran into trouble. Her body swayed slightly, and then a mouthful of fresh blood spurted from her lips. The powerful fluctuations of power emanating from her rapidly diminished as she coughed up blood.
As the power fluctuations from Ma Ling weakened, the formation beneath her became unstable. The lit character "Rin" flickered erratically, as if it could extinguish at any moment.
Chiwen, who had been frantically tearing at the Red-dressed Evil Spirit, also began to turn illusory, appearing extremely unstable like a candle flame in the wind.
"The Nine Syllable Mantra Great Array is powerful, but it consumes a lot from me. I can't hold on much longer. If you have any other methods, use them quickly, or we'll all die tonight!"
Ma Ling's voice became weak, laced with urgency. Her words, naturally, were directed at Yang Haoran and Wang Yiming.
Yang Haoran's expression changed. He had thought the Red-dressed Evil Spirit was about to meet its end at Ma Ling's hands, but he didn't expect Ma Ling to collapse before the Evil Spirit was dealt with.
He didn't have time to think. Covering his wound with his right hand, he fiercely waved his left. The Soul-Gathering Bead, which had long fallen to the ground, responded to his summons, soaring up from the ground and streaking towards the Red-dressed Evil Spirit.
He didn't know how much longer Ma Ling could hold on, but he had to get the Red-dressed Evil Spirit into the Soul-Gathering Bead before she fell. Only then could they save their lives tonight!
To Yang Haoran's utter helplessness, just as the Soul-Gathering Bead approached the Red-dressed Evil Spirit, Chiwen, who had been biting the Evil Spirit, finally couldn't hold on any longer. Its body shattered, dissolving into specks of spiritual light.
At the same time, Ma Ling knelt on the ground, gasping for breath. Her face was pale, and blood constantly trickled from the corner of her mouth. Although she hadn't completely fainted, she was close to it.
Beneath Ma Ling, the formation she called the Nine Syllable Mantra Great Array had vanished, as if it had never existed.
The Red-dressed Evil Spirit regained its freedom. The moment Chiwen disappeared, its first thought wasn't to escape, but to counterattack. It wanted to seize this opportunity to plunge everyone back into an illusion, then eliminate Yang Haoran, Ma Ling, and Wang Yiming.
Ma Ling, in particular, was his primary target to eradicate. Having almost been defeated by Ma Ling, he feared and hated her. He worried that allowing Ma Ling to recover would pose a threat, so he decided to kill her first.
But before he could set up his illusion, the Soul-Gathering Bead was already upon him.
A tremendous suction force erupted from the Soul-Gathering Bead. The Red-dressed Evil Spirit's Spirit Body began to twist and deform, being drawn little by little into the Soul-Gathering Bead.
The Red-dressed Evil Spirit was startled and immediately resisted. The part of his Spirit Body that was being drawn into the Soul-Gathering Bead was actually being forcibly pulled back out, little by little.
If this had been earlier, with Yang Haoran's Spirit Power more than half depleted, it would have been impossible to restrain him, even with the Soul-Gathering Bead in hand.
But the situation was different now. Although Chiwen's recent tearing had not successfully swallowed the Red-dressed Evil Spirit, it had inflicted significant damage. His strength was far below his peak, which was why he was now temporarily controlled by the Soul-Gathering Bead.
Seeing the Red-dressed Evil Spirit gradually pulling his Spirit Body out of the Soul-Gathering Bead, Yang Haoran's forehead began to sweat with urgency. Faced with this predicament, he had no choice but to inject all his remaining Spirit Power into the Soul-Gathering Bead.
With all of Yang Haoran's Spirit Power infused, the Soul-Gathering Bead glowed with a powerful black Yin Qi. Rolling black smoke visibly billowed out, and several black chains, formed from Spirit Power, shot out like black vipers from within the Soul-Gathering Bead. With a clanking sound, they tightly bound the Red-dressed Evil Spirit's Spirit Body.
The chains pulled taut, attempting to drag the Red-dressed Evil Spirit's Spirit Body into the Soul-Gathering Bead, but their strength seemed insufficient. They couldn't pull the Evil Spirit's body in, only barely managing to temporarily trap him.
"Wang Yiming!"
Seeing the dire situation, Yang Haoran abruptly turned to Wang Yiming and roared.
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