Chapter 298: Ferocious Beast from the Classic of Mountains and Seas, the Chang You Primordial Spirit Manifestation, the Radiant Gem Ruler!

Alas, Li Yanchu’s Jiaoslayer was incomparably sharp, and his swordmanship was fierce and domineering, so much so that it was forcing Shangguan Jin into a frantic defense.

What a vulgar martial brute!

So Shangguan Jin judged Li Yanchu in his heart, certain he had seen through the man’s roots.

With a wave of his hand, the surrounding scene shifted. The rear mountain’s Merit Grove transformed into the grand front gates of Jinguang Temple, which was bustling with devotees and flourishing incense.

In an instant, the place was filled with clamor and bustle. His figure vanished, blending seamlessly into the throng of devotees, so much so that he was impossible to detect.

Shangguan Jin sneered inwardly,

Martial cultivators may be fierce in killing, but their methods are too simple. It’s like child’s play to toy with them. Only thing is, I’ve now alerted those old bald donkeys of Jinguang Temple, my plan’s in shambles!

He was livid. Success had been within reach and just a hair’s breadth away! And now he was overwhelmed with rage[1].

Moments ago, he had assumed that this Daoist only dared to sabotage him in secret, and that he was a cautious, timid cultivator surely lacking in true strength. One decisive strike, and he would have been slain! Or at the very least, driven off. That would’ve left Shangguan Jin time to complete the unsealing ritual.

Even without the Earthbreaker Pearl, even without control of

that,

he could have released it and let it butcher every last soul in Jinguang Temple. But who would have thought that after charging over so eagerly, he’d find the man wasn’t some cowardly hermit... but a reckless brute who’d draw his saber and hack away without hesitation.

And the worst of it, this brute’s relentless ferocity had actually pinned down Shangguan Jin’s divine techniques, leaving him no chance to employ them. This crude, reckless, and utterly unreasonable style drew nothing but contempt from Shangguan Jin, the meticulous and calculating head of the Thousand Illusions Sect!

Then, a clear, resonant voice rang out, “The Supreme Tai Star, responding without ceasing. Expel evil and bind demons, preserve life and protect the body. May wisdom shine clear, the spirit be at peace; three souls eternal, seven spirits unbroken. Swiftly, in accordance with the command!”

It was one of Daoism’s Eight Great Divine Mantras, the Pure Heart Mantra.

As soon as Li Yanchu finished chanting, the distorted scene around him suddenly warped back into reality. Seeing this, Shangguan Jin was utterly speechless.

“Caught you!” With a cold sneer, he released the seals on all his talismanic armor.

At once, his qi and blood surged upward like beacon fires[2] shooting into the sky.

When he stepped forward, the ground trembled and shook, as though some primordial beast from the savage wilderness had descended.

Terror flashed across Shangguan Jin’s eyes, and he hastily formed hand seals. Six Jia Secret Blessing!

“Fight!”

A massive sword, condensed from pure light, appeared before him, and its icy gleam was utterly menacing.

Whoosh!

The giant sword tore through the air, hurtling straight toward Li Yanchu.

But Li Yanchu did not dodge, and an invisible barrier surged into existence before him.

It was the Primordial Chaos Technique! Qi Shield!

His gang qi now was purest rigidity, blazing with supreme yang. This unorthodox Daoist art, laced with demonic taint, was perfectly restrained by it. Immediately, the sword strike was stopped dead!

Clang!

Li Yanchu swung his saber in a clean, decisive arc. The saber flashed, and Shangguan Jin was cleaved cleanly from crown to waist and split into two halves.

At the same time, a dazzling figure burst forth from his body. It was a four-eared macaque[3], which was red-eyed and long-tailed. It was larger than an ordinary monkey, and its gaze brimmed with ferocity. This was Shangguan Jin’s primordial spirit manifestation!

In that final instant, it had slipped free of his flesh, narrowly avoiding that tyrannical saber strike. By now, several other primordial spirit manifestations had arrived.

There appeared a wrathful Buddhist Vajra, a celestial maiden bearing a treasure vase, a Daoist shrouded in flame, and a colossal golden seal.

The Buddhist Vajra shouted sternly, “Audacious fiend, how dare you desecrate the sacred grounds of Jinguang Temple!”

The four-eared macaque swept its gaze around. Everywhere, masters with manifested primordial spirits encircled him. Its hatred toward Li Yanchu grew ever more venomous.

“Bald donkeys, today I lost a single move and failed in my designs. But your Jinguang Temple will be destroyed sooner or later! We shall see who laughs last!” The four-eared macaque manifestation sneered coldly.

This was not the younger brother of the Six-Eared Macaque from

Journey to the West

. Rather, it was the ferocious beast from the

Classic of Mountains and Seas

, Chang You!

Ancient texts differed in their accounts.

Classic of Mountains and Seas, Southern Second Classic

records, “When Chang You appears, prefectures and counties are drowned in great floods.”

Some texts, however, describe Chang You as an auspicious beast. “Chang You has four ears, and it appears like a monkey. It is a sign of water; when it appears, the currents overflow.”

But the primordial spirit manifestation conjured by Shangguan Jin was nothing but sheer murderous ferocity. It looked nothing like an auspicious omen!

At this time, the beast let out a low roar. In an instant, a deluge of floodwaters surged around him.

Waves raged and thundered, shaping themselves into countless colossal hands that struck directly at the gathered primordial spirit manifestations. That fiend actually dared to face many with one!?

Li Yanchu arched his brows.

Soon enough, he realized that it was a fake. This creature was clearly shrewd, skilled in scheming and concealment. There was no way he would, when cornered, choose to fight to the death as his first move.

Realizing this, Li Yanchu slashed his saber straight through the raging waves. Then he stretched out his hand and made an attack, thereafter a surge of mighty qi instantly appeared.

The Chang You manifestation faltered for a moment, then quickly recovered before baring its teeth at Li Yanchu with a vicious roar. It hurled down two titanic waves, each crashing with the weight of ten thousand jun!

Chang You had the power to command water, and Shangguan Jin was a master of illusion. Now, unleashing his sorcery, he blurred truth and falsehood alike, making it impossible to tell whether these were mere illusions or real torrents.

Li Yanchu had no patience for such tricks. He had accepted Duanmu Xuan’s Body-Tempering Pill, so he had to do his best now. Moreover, this fiend excelled in the Dao of transformations, and if left alive, it would surely become a lingering menace.

Just then, a radiant brilliance lit up the night sky. At a single thought, Li Yanchu summoned forth the Heaven-Illuminating Seal.

Off in the distance, concealed on one side, Lady Yun’s watery eyes widened. She had used her arts to trace the demonic aura within Jinguang Temple, and had watched as Li Yanchu snatched away the Earthbreaker Pearl with a mere flick of Daoist arts and slyly lured the temple’s high monks into the fray.

From beginning to end, she had witnessed it all. And she found herself deeply admiring Li Yanchu’s way of doing things. He was truly domineering, unrestrained, and utterly unconventional.

And yet, at this moment, Lady Yun merely caressed the swell of her chest and sighed, “I told you to send me back into the Dragon-Tiger Scepter, but you wouldn’t listen. I’m just a weak woman, after all...”

When the Heaven-Illuminating Seal appeared, Lady Yun instinctively stepped back. Her heart was filled with deep dread at the sight of it.

In truth, it wasn’t only her. Several primordial spirit manifestations, as well as the martial monks of Jinguang Temple and the guests who had rushed over, all had wary fear flashing in their eyes.

Li Yanchu did not hold back. His qi locked firmly onto the Chang You manifestation, leaving it in terrible discomfort, thus it was unable to perform an escape technique in time.

Suddenly, divine flames surged from the Heaven-Illuminating Seal. Blazing Inferno[4]!

That overbearing divine fire instantly vaporized the surrounding seawater and engulfed the Chang You manifestation, and every nerve within it screamed warning.

At that moment, a dazzling treasure light flared across its body. Since he dared to break into Jinguang Temple alone, Shangguan Jin had naturally come prepared.

Earlier, the talisman he used had been able to simulate the aura of the third realm, shifting heaven and earth itself. It was enough to fool both the temple’s high monks and Duanmu Xuan’s innate Spirit Eyes. It was a precious talisman!

Now, this five-colored halo too came from a magic treasure he carried, the Radiant Gem Ruler. It could emit five-colored rings of light and was capable of seizing all manner of magical treasures. One such halo struck down Li Yanchu’s Heaven-Illuminating Seal, and the blazing divine fire vanished at once.

Since obtaining the Heaven-Illuminating Seal, Li Yanchu’s flames had always been unstoppable and could burn down everything before him. This was the first time these flames had been knocked aside so easily.

“Hahahaha! Ignorant junior, daring to pit your arms against a chariot! Taste for yourself the might of my Radiant Gem Ruler!” The Chang You manifestation let out unrestrained, wild laughter.

Li Yanchu’s gaze was icy cold as he heard Chang You's words. Once again, he summoned the Dragon-Tiger Scepter.

With the force of wind and thunder, it slammed directly toward the head of the Chang You manifestation. Though it looked small, when thrown it weighed over a thousand jun.

Another five-colored halo swept out, and the Dragon-Tiger Scepter too was struck down!

1. The Chinese text writes 并且心中如今淤塞憋气 which translated literally to “And moreover, his heart is now congested and stifled.” While the text may not explicitly say “rage,” the context, combined with the intensity of physical or mental reaction in the surrounding narrative, strongly implies an overwhelming, uncontrollable anger. Translating it as “he was overwhelmed with rage” captures both the force of the emotion and the immediacy of the response, conveying to English readers the same sense of sudden, intense fury that the original Chinese evokes.

I didn’t choose to translate it literally because it sounds awkward and unnatural in English. Phrases like “heart is congested” or “stifled” are not commonly used to describe emotions in English, so a literal rendering can feel mechanical or overly medical rather than conveying the emotional weight of the scene. Instead, I often choose idiomatic English that captures the feeling rather than the exact words, which communicate the same sense of emotional blockage in a way that flows naturally for an English reader. ☜

2. The term “狼烟” (lángyān) has two main historical meanings: one as an ancient military warning signal and the other as a metaphor for war and chaos. In its military sense, it referred to beacon fires lit by border troops upon detecting enemy activity, with the dense smoke carrying the warning over long distances. As a metaphor, it symbolizes frequent outbreaks of war, as in the idiom “狼烟四起” (“beacon fires rising everywhere”). The name “狼烟” may have originated from the northern nomadic peoples’ worship of the wolf totem.

Thus, though 狼烟 literally means “wolf smoke”, I chose to translate it as “beacon fire” instead. ☜

3. The macaques constitute a genus of gregarious Old World monkeys of the subfamily Cercopithecinae. The 23 species of macaques inhabit ranges throughout Asia, North Africa, and Europe. Macaques are principally frugivorous, although their diet also includes seeds, leaves, flowers, and tree bark. Here is a reference

image

. ☜

4. Literally, 大日焚天 means “Great Sun Scorches the Heavens”. However, directly translating it would sound awkward or overly verbose in English, especially as a martial arts move or magical technique.

Instead I chose “Blazing Inferno”, as it captures the intense, overwhelming, and destructive energy implied by the original phrase in a concise, punchy way. ☜