Sailing the Four Seas - Chapter 149: No Way Out

Lin Taixuan received a message from his master, Taoist Songhe.
Because a great demon had appeared in Weilan City, a large number of personnel were temporarily mobilized to besiege the fiend before it could fully condense its consciousness.
There were no more forces available to reinforce Douniu City.
The sudden turn of events filled the several shallowly cultivated disciples with a sense of dejection.
The divine light in their eyes dimmed, and their confidence drained away along with their sighs.

Lin Taixuan said with a stern expression:
"The Red Glow Demon is merely at the Miaozhen realm of cultivation, comparable to my own. As long as we do not fall into its traps, I am confident I can slay it."
"Senior Brother, with just the seven of us, can we truly handle the Red Glow Demon?" Chen Mufan's restless thoughts lingered; being arrogant and proud, he was easily swayed by external influences.
Having cultivated for over a century, his cultivation still failed to reach the Qingfeng realm.
He remained stagnant in the Yuhua realm, which was characterized as "having a jade-like exterior, yet lacking genuine substance."
"Senior Chen, isn't there still me?" Su Ye could not help reminding him.
"Adding another burden will only make it harder to fight," Chen Muduan's disdain for Su Ye came from the bottom of his heart and could not be easily altered.

Ignoring Chen Mu's remarks, Lin Taixuan looked at Su Ye and said:
"Fellow Daoist Su, the Red Glow Demon's entire body is imbued with extremely potent poison. Unless absolutely necessary, do not touch its demonic form under any circumstances."
The female Taoist cultivator said:
"Senior Brother Lin, there is no need to waste words on him. When danger strikes, he will surely slip away first."
Lin Taixuan looked at the female cultivator in astonishment.
Within the faint mental ripples he could sense from her, there was no trace of retreat whatsoever.
Not only that, she seemed even more eager to encounter the Red Glow Demon than he was.
Su Ye felt like a moon obscured by dense fog—hard to perceive, impossible to fully understand.
"Many thanks for Senior Lin's warning," Su Ye cupped his fists and said, "This poor Daoist has his own ways of dealing with it."
"Of the thirty-six stratagems, running away is the best," Chen Mu muttered under his breath. "This is the only good thing about small sects; when you shirk responsibility, no one lectures you on your faults.
If a disciple of the Yuntian Sect were to flee from battle, not only would the sect's reputation be tarnished, but that person would never be able to hold their head high for the rest of their life."

The female Taoist cultivator could no longer endure Chen Mu's complaining and said sharply:
"Senior Brother Chen, if you are dissatisfied with the sect, you are entirely free to return your sword, renounce your vows, and leave."
Chen Mu had not expected the female cultivator to rebuke him so sharply. His face filled with astonishment, and in the end, he did not dare to answer back.
He cast a covert, vicious, and irritable glance at Su Ye.
Su Ye possessed a meticulous mind and never let slip even the most inconspicuous details.
Both Chen Mu's complaining and the female cultivator's reprimand were far more intense than usual.

Sensing the abnormality as well, Lin Taixuan raised his voice in a stern command:
"Junior Brothers, Junior Sister, form the Heavenly Dipper Big Dipper Formation and channel your Qi to protect your minds!"
Seven crisp snaps merged into one as the seven Taoists formed the formation with their bodies.
Lin Taixuan, acting as the core of the formation, looked at Su Ye with eyes full of apology:
"Fellow Daoist Su, the Heavenly Dipper Big Dipper Formation requires seven people to form. I have no strength left to spare..."
Su Ye summoned the Buddhist bone prayer beads returned by the female cultivator and hung them around his neck:
"As an alchemist, this poor Daoist has no money to buy wine, so my wealth was spent elsewhere. Two Buddhist secret treasures consumed the better part of my savings."

***

Seeing that Su Ye was protected by Buddhist treasures, Lin Taixuan's suspended heart settled somewhat, and he asked:
"Fellow Daoist Su, do you possess any other magic treasures to help us out of this perilous plight?"
His cultivation was quite profound, allowing him to use Taoist arts to dispel the inner demons brewed by the demonic aura.
His junior brothers and sister, however, lacked such capability.
Thus, he had no choice but to seek help from Su Ye, who had remained full of confidence throughout.

Unable to bear seeing Lin Taixuan's noble demeanor marred, Chen Mu impatiently said:
"Senior Brother Lin, this brat only knows how to refine a couple of pills; what is so remarkable about that?
The righteous Qi of the Qian and Gang from the Heavenly Dipper Big Dipper Formation is more than enough to banish inner demons."
Lin Taixuan rebuked him sharply:
"Junior Brother Chen, without my permission, you are not allowed to say another word!"
Though filled with discontent, Chen Mu did not dare to defy the senior brother who seemed like a deity in his eyes.
Intent on forcefully suppressing his anger, he only felt the fury grow even more intense.
Realizing how formidable the inner demons were, he couldn't help but feel inwardly alarmed.

————

The Heavenly Dipper Big Dipper Formation corresponded to the seven stars of the Big Dipper in the firmament: Tianshu, Tianxuan, Tianji, Tianquan, Yuheng, Kaiyang, and Yaoguang.
It divided the four seasons and established the order of heaven and earth.
Whether it was the mystical arts of the wondrous gates, the Fuxi Eight Trigrams, or the Heavenly Dipper Big Dipper,
all were derived from the supreme principles of heaven and earth, creating supreme divine might through the natural flow of the Dao.
Yet inner demons arose from one's own thoughts, breeding and taking shape within the sea of consciousness.
Even once the Heavenly Dipper Big Dipper Formation was completed, it could not lift them out of peril.

Having dispelled the inner demons that had entered his own body, Lin Taixuan saw that his junior brothers and sister had grown even more irritable and malevolent. He saluted with his sword held horizontally in his arms and said:
"Fellow Daoist Su, if you have an effective method, I beg you to save my foolish junior brothers and sister."
Not daring to disobey the order, Chen Mu glared at Su Ye.
"Senior Chen seems quite exhilarated and does not wish this poor Daoist to intervene," Su Ye said, speaking in reverse.
Lin Taixuan said:
"In that case, save him last, and rescue the others first."
Chen Mu had not expected Lin Taixuan to utter such words.
Stunned for a moment, he lowered his head in silence.
Had the situation not been critical, given his Senior Brother Lin's disposition, he would never have resorted to such a drastic measure.
Suddenly jolted into the realization that they were in the utterly perilous Douniu City,
he was overwhelmed by shame and did not dare to look at his fellow apprentices.

Su Ye's spiritual power and willpower were extraordinary; such demonic arts could not harm him in the slightest. He removed the prayer beads and placed them around Chen Mu's neck.
Pressing his right hand gently upon Chen Mu's broad shoulder, he quietly executed the Compassionate Soul-Guiding Crossing, channeling the evil thoughts invading Chen Mu's mind into the Buddhist bone prayer beads.
In an instant, like blazing fire melting ice, they were dissipated into nothingness.
"My master often said: those who practice the Dao should remain modest and open-minded," Su Ye removed the prayer beads from Chen Mu's neck and smiled faintly. "Senior Chen's mindset has still not transcended the mundane world.
Even if you cultivate for a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand years, if you do not change this heart, seeking seclusion in deep mountains to avoid the world will merely be adding wasted years to your life."

These words caused the arrogant Taoist to flush crimson from ears to neck.
After all, they were partners in the same camp, so Su Ye left the point hinted at rather than pushed too far.
He then performed the Compassionate Soul-Guiding Crossing five more times to dissolve the inner demonic evil thoughts arising in the other five people.
The moment they stepped into Douniu City, which was shrouded in evil arts, their spiritual Qi was eroded by the demonic mist, and inner demons began to tax their seas of consciousness.
The Taoists had no choice but to sit cross-legged in place to regulate their breathing.

Su Ye stood with his hands clasped behind his back.
An arrow wreathed in black Qi tore through the void, heading straight for his face.
Clang.
A starlight-blue long sword intercepted the path in front of Su Ye, blocking the evil arrow shot from the distant sky.
Su Ye had anticipated Lin Taixuan's intention and deliberately refrained from acting, allowing him an opportunity to repay the favor.
Lifting his gaze to the firmament, he saw a red-faced fiend clad in embroidered tight martial attire, with two lower tusks protruding vertically beside its lips.
Its expression was ferocious, and its red eyes were terrifying.
The bone wings upon its back were stained a scarlet, bloody hue.
Its cultivation was barely higher than that of the mist demon, and it was certainly no match for Lin Taixuan.
"What kind of feathered freak are you, daring to ambush this Daoist?" Su Ye's tone held no trace of fear.

Lin Taixuan's figure flickered like mist, instantly materializing in mid-air.
Wielding the Seven-Star Sword, he slashed through the winged fiend's body.
No blood sprayed forth.
The severed body of the winged fiend rippled like water patterns, its form gradually fading away.
"Oh no, it's an illusion!" Lin Taixuan hurriedly restrained his spiritual Qi to prevent the demonic arts from tracking them.
Executing the Ten Directions Dream Realm, Su Ye realized that his sea of consciousness had been afflicted by an illusion the moment the arrow approached him.
The ancient seal scripts on the Yin-Yang Mirror lit up, dissolving the demonic art cast upon his spiritual perception.
"Fellow Daoist Su, are you unharmed?" Lin Taixuan returned to Su Ye's side, asking with concern.
Su Ye cupped his fists and said:
"Thanks to Senior's timely intervention and the protection of the prayer beads, this poor Daoist avoided falling prey to their poison."

Believing it to be true, Lin Taixuan furrowed his brow and said:
"The Red Glow Demon is even more formidable than anticipated... Barging into the city blindly is truly not a wise course of action."
Su Ye said calmly:
"Regardless of whether it brings fortune or misfortune, we must bite the bullet and push forward..."
Lin Taixuan looked back at the path they had taken.
The city walls and gates had already vanished.
Unless they defeated the Red Glow Demon, this city would become the burial ground for them all.