Seeking Truth with a Sword-Chapter 557 - 500 Subdue

Chapter 557: Chapter 500 Subdue
He didn’t have time to think or hesitate. Li Ang raised his arms, crossing them in front of his body and releasing Telekinesis to form a barrier.
BANG!
The giant python bit down hard with its mouth wide open.
The telekinetic barrier twisted and deformed, emitting a dense series of creaking sounds, making the air shimmer like shattered glass.
In less than half a second, the telekinetic barrier completely collapsed.
Li Ang felt like he had been hit head-on by a speeding train, his body uncontrollably thrown backward.
He desperately twisted his body, firing several Wind Talismans from the talisman plate in his right hand to generate a roaring wind. Simultaneously, he released telekinetic tendrils, grabbing onto the door frame.
Even so, he still flew out of the door, across the corridor, and heavily crashed into the wall opposite.
"Cough, cough—"
Li Ang coughed, steadying himself with his hands on his knees as he stood up, then twisted his neck.
He flicked his arm, and the Radiant Crossbow dropped from his sleeve into his palm.
The python raised its head, its brown vertical pupils coldly focusing on Li Ang. It twisted its massive body. Its thick, firm scales slid across the ground, producing a series of metallic friction sounds as its body accelerated again, slamming directly toward the wooden door.
Just as its head was about to strike the door, the luminous chains in the room regenerated and firmly ensnared its body like a net.
The python roared towards the heavens, the surging waves of sound violently flapping the Mountain Master’s robe.
The snake’s body struggled violently, thrashing and striking against the room’s walls and floor, stirring wave after wave of ripples in the Prohibition Array.
Yet it could never break through the chain net.
Thus, it turned its serpent eyes toward the Mountain Master.
WHOOSH—
With a speed completely belying its massive size, the snake’s tail instantly crossed most of the room. The scales at the end of its long tail rotated rapidly, stabbing toward Lian Xuanyao.
Just as it was about to hit, Mountain Master Lian flashed in front of the python. Pinching two fingers together, he casually waved forward, touching the scales on the snake’s head.
BOOM!
The python was smashed as if hit by an invisible giant sword; beginning from its head, its body collapsed, exploded, and flattened.
The congealed blood, shattered flesh, and ghastly pale bone fragments splashed everywhere, smearing all over the room and covering the patterns of the Prohibition Array.
After a long time, all the broken flesh slowly melted and transformed back into its original brown mud form.
All the mud converged into a mass, slowly writhing and crawling back to its original position.
Li Ang, holding the Radiant Crossbow, approached with a grave expression.
He could feel that this mass of brown mud was extremely similar to Mo Si.
During the recent collision, the Mo Si inside his body had developed a strong desire to devour.
Yet, despite the similarities, there were significant differences.
It was as if... the other was more primal.
"Here’s the key."
Mountain Master Lian turned around and casually tossed the brass key to Li Ang. "Find a way to deal with it within a month," he said calmly.
"Whether by extermination, suppression, or absorption, any method will do."
Li Ang caught the key, his eyebrows unconsciously furrowing.
Considering the force of the collision just now, his Telekinesis had no effect on the brown mud.
Even if he used his most powerful talisman, it was doubtful whether he could penetrate its bodily defenses.
Moreover, according to Mountain Master Lian, the brown mud could transform into the shape of other Exotic Beasts from the Ten Thousand Desolate Mountains. This meant it would be difficult for him to devise a reliable strategy.
Li Ang pondered for a moment and asked, "Why one month?"
"Yu Country doesn’t have much time left."
The Mountain Master said calmly, "The solution to the rat plague merely bought a few more months before the impending war.
Conflict will come sooner or later, involving everyone.
You and your companions will also become targets of relentless assassination attempts by the enemy.
Having only reached the Rain Listening Realm in Cultivation is far from sufficient."
Li Ang fell silent for a moment. If he included Mo Si, his strength was already at the Cloud Patrol Realm. However, once Mo Si was exposed to the public, it would be equated with demons. It could even lend credence to the accusations from countries worldwide that the Academic Palace harbored evils. By then, even within Yu Country, the way people saw him would change. Mo Si had to remain concealed, and Li Ang had to enhance his apparent strength.
Previously in Taiyuan Prefecture, he had barely subdued Mo Si using a mutually destructive tactic. This had also loosened some of the obstacles that had long hindered his advancement to the Cloud Patrol Realm. Li Ang felt that, given another six months or more, he could maintain a balance between his Qi Sea and Mo Si and advance to the Cloud Patrol Realm without side effects.
Li Ang frowned and asked, "What if it exceeds a month’s time limit..."
"Then I will have to destroy it."
The Mountain Master pointed to the Prohibition Array on the floor. "Have you noticed?"
Li Ang glanced at the Prohibition Array on the floor, unsure. "The engravings... have they faded?"
What was once a clear pattern now seemed as though covered by a sheer veil, becoming somewhat blurred.
"That’s right."
The Mountain Master continued placidly, "Not only does it devour metal to enhance itself.
It also devours living beings, including the flesh and blood of demons and Cultivators, acquiring new abilities.
Even Sealing Demon Talismans, Abyss Rock, and other binding measures, as well as the energy from this room’s Prohibition Array, will be slowly absorbed by it."
Li Ang instantly recalled the scene of Mo Si losing control in Taiyuan Prefecture, where it had frantically expanded, seeking anything it could devour.
If he had died then, would Mo Si have ended up like this?
"Keeping it here is just a temporary solution,"
The Mountain Master continued, "This thing is too dangerous. If it cannot be pacified within a month, then for the sake of the other Mutated Objects in Dongjun Tower, I will have no choice but to destroy it."
It was unclear whether it understood Lian Xuanyao’s words, but on the surface of the brown mud mass, several crimson eyes formed, staring directly at them.
Li Ang asked in astonishment, "Mountain Master Lian, even you can’t suppress it..."
"I am not omnipotent, and besides,"
Lian Xuanyao shook his head, "I am very old now."
He did indeed look older than before, with more wrinkles on his face and at the corners of his eyes, and more white hair at his temples. At this moment, he no longer seemed like the Mountain Master standing at the pinnacle of Cultivation, sheltering the millions of common people in Yu Country, but just a weary, tired old man.
Li Ang remained silent for a long while, then nodded, "Disciple understands."
If this brown mud and Mo Si were of the same origin and kind, then he truly was the most likely person in the world capable of resolving it.
The Mountain Master nodded and pointed to a barely noticeable line on the floor. "This line marks the trigger range for the Prohibition Array. The entity inside you must remain concealed. I will have people seal off the fifth floor of Dongjun Tower for the next month.
I leave this place to you."
Li Ang asked, "Mountain Master, are you leaving?"
"There are other matters that require my attention."
The Mountain Master stepped out of the room and walked to the end of the corridor.
The window was open, and the evening breeze wafted in. The Academic Palace, a veritable paradise, was reflected in his eyes, alongside the peaceful and tranquil Chang’an City.