Outside the deserted county town, Fo Yulu began chanting Buddhist scriptures.
As Fo Yulu kept intoning, echoes gradually emerged within the previously silent county town.
Beside him, the abbot of Zhengde Temple pulled out a wooden fish, and with two other monks, beat and chanted in tandem—soon, other strange undertones muddled the sound of sutras.
As the chanting persisted, Li Huowang sensed every morsel of his flesh twitching, as though about to leap away from his body at any moment.
Fo Yulu's robes squirmed and wriggled; all sorts of miniature Buddhas tumbled out, crossing their legs and joining in the chanting.
Just as the sutras reached their zenith, the earth abruptly split open—a towering figure wearing a hood marked with the character "Witch" leapt up, both hands raised, clutching two obsidian daggers, launching a sneak attack at the chanting Fo Yulu.
But Hong Da, already prepared nearby, sprang from horseback, blocking the attacker's path.
