These minor injuries were negligible to Chen Tang, not affecting him much.

The important thing was that he had already won the gamble with the Esoteric Sect Leader.

The Esoteric Sect Leader’s face looked grim.

He had already realized that this young man had intentionally held back earlier, deliberately luring him in!

Whether it was three moves or five, even ten moves, this man could handle them!

The Esoteric Sect Leader’s lips moved, yet no sound came out.

“Zhaba, go all out and cripple him for me!”

The voice of the Esoteric Sect Leader suddenly echoed in Zhaba’s mind.

“This…”

Zhaba looked at the Esoteric Sect Leader, appearing hesitant.

After all, they were all from the Buddhist Sect, and they had come from far away. If they were to go all out, it would harm the spirit of goodwill.

“This child is insidious and deceitful, we were all fooled by him just now!”

The Esoteric Sect Leader said in a deep voice, “He can have the ‘Bone Marrow Cleansing Scripture’, but you must cripple him so he can’t cultivate for the rest of his life!”

“Damn it!”

Zhaba glared fiercely at Chen Tang, gritted his teeth, and said, “People from Qian Country are truly cunning!”

“Right back at you.”

Chen Tang shrugged slightly, smiling mockingly, “Everything has cause and effect. If you hadn’t been greedy for advantage, you wouldn’t have been deceived. It is said that with greed comes temptation, leading to demonic barriers, and with anger, one is lost in the cycle of rebirth.”

No one knew how it happened, but ever since merging with the Vajra Relic, such peculiar words seemed to pop into his mind at any time.

Zhaba was rendered speechless by Chen Tang, his mind in chaos, not knowing how to refute.

Though he had excellent aptitude in martial arts, he seemed somewhat slow in other areas.

“Zhaba, no need to waste words with him. He’s stalling for time to rest, show your true skills with fists and kicks!”

The Esoteric Sect Leader commanded softly.

This soft shout was infused with the True Words and Secret Mantra technique, like a hammer blow that immediately brought Zhaba to his senses!

“Truly cunning!”

Zhaba suddenly realized, clasped his hands together, and once again formed a strange hand seal, striding toward Chen Tang.

Chen Tang was fearless, also charging toward Zhaba, raising a hand to make a Bowl-Raising Form.

“Mā!”

Zhaba once again uttered the True Words.

Chen Tang seemed unphased, as if he was unaffected.

Bam!

Their fists and palms collided, creating a crisp, melodious sound in the square.

This sound was unlike the collision of flesh and bone, resembling the clash of two Buddhist Dharma Artifacts.

The Treasure Vase Seal of the Esoteric Great Hand Seal!

Crack!

The sound of shattering echoed.

The vase broke and the bowl shattered!

Zhaba involuntarily stepped back half a step, his qi and blood surging, the red spots on his face deepening in color.

The augmentation from the Inner Lion Seal had dissipated.

Without this augmentation, his absolute strength was inferior to Chen Tang’s.

Moreover, with the combination of the Great Strength Vajra Hand and the Arhat Demon-Subduing Fist, Chen Tang’s power was no weaker than his Esoteric Great Hand Seal!

In their clash, it was Zhaba who was at a disadvantage.

My Six-Character True Mantra seems to have no effect on him.

How could this be?

Zhaba was perplexed.

Even the Esoteric Sect Leader was puzzled, frowning deeply.

The Sound Rhythm Martial Arts of Celestial Sound Valley only required stuffing one’s ears with paper or cloth to minimize the effect.

Differing from the relatively gentle melody of Celestial Sound Valley,

the Six-Character True Mantra relied on instant explosive force, shocking the ears, directly reaching into one’s heart.

Even with paper stuffed in, there would be gaps, causing some influence.

Unless one had cultivated to the Fourth Grade Awakening, opening the Ear Aperture, ready to gather True Qi in the ears anytime to block the impact.

The Esoteric Sect Leader had seen clearly just now that Chen Tang could communicate with them normally, with nothing blocking his ears; why wasn’t he affected by the Six-Character True Mantra?

In reality, at the moment Zhaba uttered the True Words, Chen Tang indeed felt a massive impact, like a thunderbolt exploding in his mind, making his ears ring, and causing dizziness.

But after all, he had opened the Mud Ball Palace and the Life Illuminating Divine Sense.

Even with a buzzing head, his consciousness remained!

Relying on the divine sense in the Mud Ball Palace, he controlled his body to withstand Zhaba’s Two-Handed Seal earlier.

While Chen Tang appeared calm, he was secretly stunned.

The Sound Strike Technique was indeed formidable.

In a critical moment of battle, if suddenly employed, it would cause the opponent to suffer ear ringing and dizziness, allowing one to immediately seize the initiative.

In a contest between masters, victory or defeat could be decided in an instant.

Ming Yuan, seeing this scene, felt relieved and relaxed considerably.

“Actually, this method is quite good.”

Ming Yuan said to Du Clan, “In the future, we could find an opportunity to hold a fair selection like this to recruit talents from across the world. I’ve heard that Nanxia has the Wind and Cloud Ranking for the younger generation, yet Qian Country has nothing.”

“Brother, you speak grandly, recruiting talents from across the world; who do you think you are?”

Someone nearby heard Ming Yuan speak and couldn’t help but sneer.

“Do you know how much manpower, materials, and money is needed to hold such an arena battle? Do you have enough money to squander?”

Seeing Ming Yuan dressed in simple cloth, someone assumed he was speaking carelessly and couldn’t help but mock him.

Another added, “That’s the lesser issue. Gathering talents from a nation requires great prestige; money alone isn’t enough. Who would care? The Nanxia Wind and Cloud Ranking was originally hosted by the Nanxia Sword Sect, which is how it has continued to this day.”

Ming Yuan smiled faintly, ignoring the two, and continued to watch the battle.

On the plaza, seeing the Six-Character True Mantra ineffective against Chen Tang, Zhaba ceased his release.

After all, using the True Words and Secret Mantra consumed him greatly.

Just releasing two True Words made his throat feel tight, as if tearing, and even caused bouts of shortness of breath and chest tightness!

While Chen Tang seemed unaffected, Zhaba was soaked in sweat just from shouting the True Words.

Zhaba’s left hand formed the Great Vajra Wheel Seal, and his right hand made the Outer Lion Seal, launching a fierce offensive at Chen Tang.

Chen Tang’s eyes lit up, letting out a long howl, his hands clasped as if holding a treasure artifact, engaging fiercely with Zhaba.

Vajra Form!

This form in the Arhat Demon-Subduing Fist was not a fist technique but a pestle technique!

The Demon-Subduing Pestle is one of the most renowned treasure artifacts of the Buddhist Sect, tremendously powerful, capable of vanquishing evil.

In the Vajra Lineage’s tradition of the Esoteric Sect, the Vajra Pestle is their sect’s supreme treasure artifact!

Bam! Bam! Bam!

They swung fists in front of them without a single feint, everything being brutally real and direct!

Zhaba, having cultivated the Outer Lion Seal and Great Vajra Wheel Seal to the Divine Realm, acquired a Divine Charm, accompanied by a series of lion roars, the Vajra Wheel dimly appearing, majestic and unstoppable.

Yet Chen Tang, with hands clasped, could engage and contended with Zhaba without falling behind!

Those present even felt a brief illusion.

Chen Tang’s clasped hands, clearly empty.

Yet vaguely, the crowd perceived Chen Tang was wielding a treasure pestle, combating Zhaba.

The treasure pestle resembled a short stick, slender in the middle, each end resembling a lantern with pointed heads.

Under the activation of Chen Tang’s Great Strength Vajra Hand, this Demon-Subduing Pestle seemed gilded in a layer of gold leaf, increasing its regal aura.

Even causing the valiant lion to whimper non-stop, making the Vajra Wheel vibrate continuously, becoming vaguely illusory as if it could shatter at any moment!

“Vajra Pestle?”

Zhaba widened his eyes, gazing at Chen Tang’s clasped hands, a look of disbelief flooding his face.

The Vajra Pestle is the supreme treasure artifact of the Esoteric Sect.

It symbolizes invincibility, indestructible wisdom, and true Buddhist nature, capable of eliminating all worries, crushing various obstacles causing heart demons hindering cultivation.

With the Vajra Pestle in hand, one can dispel the heart demons of foolish delusions and outside demonic obstructions.

Anyone recognized by the Vajra Pestle would be considered the reincarnation of a Buddhist Vajra!

Yet in this era, no one has yet been recognized by the Vajra Pestle.

Chen Tang stood tall, his eyes blazing, hands clasped as if holding a golden treasure pestle, majestic and dominating, like the true Vajra’s Wrathful Gaze, descending upon the world!

Zhaba’s heart and mind were shaken, completely losing the will to resist, almost kneeling in homage, performing the Esoteric Sect’s highest form of worship!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep