"Mr. Li, is this the Buddha Mantra you were looking for?"
Li Chengfeng took the Buddha Mantra with both hands and opened the scroll, which bore nine words: "Prajnaparamita Buddha Country, Xunbo Great King."
"This is what the Young Master wants."
Li Chengfeng was overwhelmed with joy. After thanking Shang Wenjun, he rolled up the Buddha Mantra again, intending to lock it into the Forbidden Artifact.
The Buddha Mantra of the mortal realm seemed to come alive at this moment. The scroll soared skyward, unfurling above everyone’s heads, filling the air with resonating Buddhist chants,
The entrancing Buddhist chants induced hallucinations in the crowd; they all perceived a Floating Buddha Temple.
Inside the temple, Buddhist chants cascaded.
Qing Feng cast the City God Ink Line, a single line multiplied into nine, forming a coil of inked lines.
The coil encircled Qing Feng’s head repeatedly, transforming into ink-black cloth strips that sealed his ears and eyes.
Shang Wenjun, on the other hand, wrapped herself into a cocoon with countless strands of red silk from the Witch, shielding herself from the beguiling Buddhist chants.
The Music Master chanted a Divine Spell, causing the ribs in his chest to swiftly grow outward, piercing through his skin to become a Bone Zither.
He strummed the Bone Zither. Its flowing melody counteracted the Buddhist chants.
The Painter tore open the fabric of space, utilizing Space Law to instantly appear behind the Buddha Mantra.
His right hand turned claw-like, grasping the corner of the Buddha Mantra. Just as he was about to take it, the scroll resisted, its corners twitching wildly. Exerting all its strength, it let out three resonant Buddhist chants.
"The Great King appears; Prajnaparamita Buddha Country’s Buddhas come to guide."
Each Buddhist chant was a distress signal from the Buddha Mantra.
The chants transformed into flowing clouds that fled in three different directions across the night sky.
The Painter, hearing the content of the chants, his face darkened. Without hesitation, he took the sealing Forbidden Artifact from Qing Feng, first imprisoning the Buddha’s Seal, then tore through space in pursuit of the three Buddhist chants.
The first chant didn’t escape far.
The Painter emerged from a ripped-open space and summoned two orbs of Taoist Divine Fire, reducing the chant to ashes.
The second chant suffered the same fate; again, using Space Law, the Painter caught up to it and incinerated it with Dao Yan Fire.
Having wielded Space Law twice in a row, the Painter became somewhat exhausted. He stood still to catch his breath, closing his eyes and resting for a moment before tearing through space again to pursue the third chant.
"Difficult to say whether the third chant will be caught."
The Painter, uncertain, raced through the shattered space while simultaneously sensing the fluctuations of the Buddhist chant in real-world space.
"The Great King appears; Prajnaparamita Buddha Country’s Buddhas come to guide."
Upon hearing the chant, the Painter felt a sense of unease. The first two chants had resonated like powerful bell tolls. However, this third chant sounded notably weaker.
The Painter tore open space, emerged back into reality, and saw the chant transformed into flowing clouds, suspended mid-air. The "clouds" seemed to be devoured repeatedly by some invisible entity.
The Painter didn’t dare to move forward recklessly. He recited the "Cui Ji Divine Spell," then bit the tip of his tongue, spraying blood onto his hand.
"Light the lamp, Cui Ji."
A Cui Ji Lamp ignited brightly in the Painter’s palm. This flame could penetrate illusions.
Peering through the Cui Ji fire at the cloud-like Buddhist chant, the Painter saw an enormous, indistinct figure grabbing the chant with two massive hands, viciously tearing it apart.
The Painter lacked the skill of Divine Travel, but he had read ancient texts describing Night Travel that perfectly matched the scene before him.
"Heavenly Dome God and nine sticks of incense from the human world are required for Divine Travel."
Recalling this, the Painter hurriedly bowed his head, clasping his fists together. He said, "May I ask, which God has come to Mingjiang Prefecture to lend a hand?"
He eagerly awaited a response.
But the figure wasn’t in a rush to answer. After devouring the clouds, a voice dripping with mockery replied, "Old Hua, Mingjiang Prefecture is already in such dire straits. What God would bother helping you?"
The Painter found the voice startlingly familiar.
"Could it be the Young Master’s voice?!"
The Painter’s confidence wavered completely. The Perception skill required for Divine Travel wasn’t something achievable with mere seven or eight sticks of incense.
"The Young Master could actually Night Travel?"
In a daze, the Painter’s bewilderment mirrored that of Yun Ziliang.
"Old Hua, I can Night Travel. Don’t spread tales, or I’ll eat you." Zhou Xuan’s teasing voice drifted again into the Painter’s ears.
This time, the Painter had no doubts. It was unmistakably Zhou Xuan’s voice and tone.
Yet, he still couldn’t fathom how someone with just two burning incense sticks could manage Night Travel.
"Stop dawdling, Old Hua. The Buddha’s Seal is extremely important. From now until tomorrow, you must personally guard it. It concerns the fate of Jing Country and Mingjiang Prefecture."
"Thank you for the reminder, Young Master."
After the Painter finished speaking, Zhou Xuan gave no further response.
His Divine Soul returned to his body, back at the shop, where he fell into a deep sleep.
With the Buddha Mantra successfully recovered and its distress signals extinguished, no threats remained. Zhou Xuan could finally sleep soundly.
After sleeping until daylight broke, Zhou Xuan grabbed paper and pen, entered a tear in time and space using the Wash Away Injustice Talisman,
and began writing a letter to Sister Cui.
The letter read as follows: "Sister Cui, malicious people are hiding on East Market Street. Borrowing the Fengshui Array Key of East Market Street, I intend to shut down the array and flush out the culprits."
Zhou Xuan folded the letter and placed it in his pocket, then shattered the time-space tear and went downstairs to Sister Cui’s breakfast shop.
Inside the shop, Mu Hua wasn’t helping, leaving Sister Cui alone to manage the business at the entrance. Zhou Xuan entered the shop and placed the letter under a porcelain bowl of chopped scallions.
"Brother Zhou, what would you like to eat?"
"A bowl of beef noodles, a sugar cake, and a cup of soy milk."
Sister Cui reentered the shop to prepare the beef noodles for Zhou Xuan. As she grabbed the noodles, her eyes fell upon the letter.
She set the noodles aside, unfolded the letter, and after reading its contents, turned toward the door to look at Zhou Xuan outside.