Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 154 Not a speck of dust remained

"Facing the fierce wind—"

"Lightning is at my command—"

"At this moment—the moment of annihilation—"

"Miscellaneous cultivators—"

"Tsukuyomi—"

"Praise the foolish—Thunder!"

Zhang Chengdao finally breathed a sigh of relief after nearly blurting out "praise the fool."

The gray fog in the courtyard was also dispersed by the continuous falling lightning.

Just as mages in magical worlds chant incantations when casting spells, cultivators in classic Xianxia worlds also need to recite incantations when using continuous spells.

Of course, this incantation is not fixed. Otherwise, if you encounter a cultivator who speaks a dialect, you can't just use the spell because of the pronunciation.

The incantation is merely a medium for connecting the world. As long as the cultivator can clearly point to the purpose when using it, even reciting "Open Sesame" will not affect the power of the spell.

Moreover, it has many names, such as mantra, incantation, etc., but they are generally the same thing.

However, not all spells require incantations. Generally, incantations are used when the spell is more specific and more difficult to use, such as the Monkey King's somersault cloud (from the original Journey to the West) and Nezha's three heads and eight arms (from the original Investiture of the Gods).

This incantation is not only applied to magical arts and supernatural powers, but also often used on magical artifacts. The most famous example is related to the Monkey King, namely the "tightening headband" used to control the golden headband.

The higher the cultivation level of a cultivator or immortal, the less bound they are to specific incantations when using magic and supernatural powers. They can change them at any time and at will. As long as their thoughts are connected, the incantation they recite can be anything. For example, when Nezha and Monkey King fought, the incantation for their three heads and eight arms supernatural powers was even simplified to a single word: "Change" (from the original text of "Journey to the West").

Zhang Chengdao's cultivation level was certainly not that high. He could do whatever he wanted, and a single word could replace all the incantations. However, this "Divine Thunder Technique" did not have any fixed incantations. Zhang Chengdao had to make them all up himself. So he simply said whatever came to mind, emphasizing that one should do whatever one wanted when cultivating immortality!
When blasting the mountain rocks, there was no need to use incantations because it was just dealing with inanimate objects. But when facing the gray mist controlling the Mirror Master, one had to deliberately control the divine thunder to envelop all the gray mist.

In order to prevent the divine lightning from being blocked by the barrier inherent in the bamboo fence, Zhang Chengdao specially made a small opening in the bamboo fence. This way, not only could the gray mist trapped in the courtyard only force its way through that small opening, but it would also not create a barrier to block the divine lightning, which was very convenient!

Soon, dozens of divine lightning bolts struck one after another. Only when the dark clouds in the sky dispersed and the sunlight shone through could one see that the gray fog in the entire Daxing Temple had completely dissipated.

Instead, a dark "shadow" huddled beneath the palanquin.

Do you think I'd let this go?

Zhang Chengdao quickly squeezed out the last of his spiritual energy and shouted, "Sir—"

Several more bolts of divine lightning struck from the dissipating clouds, but surprisingly, their power was inexplicably reduced when they hit the palanquin.

Could this chariot be some kind of magical artifact?
Zhang Chengdao had only doubted it for a moment before immediately dismissing the possibility.

This palanquin is at most a bit luxurious, embroidered with golden dragons, but otherwise it's nothing special and doesn't look like a magical artifact at all!
But why is it that when the divine lightning struck the palanquin, it couldn't even break through this ordinary wooden palanquin?

and……

Zhang Chengdao looked closely and found that although the dark figure was hidden in the palanquin, it was visibly "melting" as if it were being roasted by something!
That is, it is gradually getting smaller!
Knowing that they had reached a dead end, the dark figure roared angrily, "You and I are nothing but pitiful imprisoned worms! Why must you be so ruthless as to exterminate us!"

Imprisoned? Pitiful?
Zhang Chengdao thought about his soft, fragrant bed and the delicious food he had packed in his backpack, and found it utterly incomprehensible. He didn't feel like he was being imprisoned at all!

As the thick fog dissipated and Chang Ping'an could see his surroundings clearly, he hurriedly rode the wind to Zhang Chengdao's side. His sleeves were stained with suspicious black smudges, his hair was a little curly, and even his voice was somewhat unnaturally hoarse, but he still stared intently at the dark figure and asked, "Master! What is that?"

Zhang Chengdao thought for a moment and replied, "It's a thing that's not a thing!"

He didn't know what it was either, so he could only give his apprentice a quick, casual answer first!
Then, he landed in front of the palanquin and reached out to grab it—

Bring it to you!

Zhang Chengdao immediately put the carriage into his backpack and glanced at it casually.

The green quality of the palanquin seems to have some tricks up its sleeve, but it's certainly not a magic bullet.

Upon seeing its hiding place disappear, the shadowy figure leaped up and rushed towards the only opening. Zhang Chengdao quickly placed the bamboo fence, causing the shadowy figure to crash into the barrier and tumble to the ground.

"All Swords Return to Their Origin—"

The twelve flying swords that had been hovering behind Zhang Chengdao finally pierced the black shadow simultaneously. This time, the black shadow had no way to avoid it and was pierced through and pinned to the ground. It could be vaguely seen that it was human-shaped.

Curious, Zhang Chengdao squatted down and reached out to touch the dark figure.

It was somewhat like fog; you could pass through it with your hand, but there was noticeable resistance, like being in water. It was also cool and filled with a gloomy atmosphere.

"Who are you anyway?"

Zhang Chengdao asked.

The shadowy figure sneered: "Hmph, aren't you called a true immortal? What, you haven't studied the arts of divination and can't perform fortune-telling?"

"It seems you don't want to talk about it."

Zhang Chengdao nodded, then took out the fire seed of the Six Jia Yang Fire from his backpack.

Since it's about saving my disciple, how could I not be fully prepared?
He brought everything from the sect that could be used as a means of attack, even the small iron hammer on the [workbench], which he casually put into his backpack!
The moment the shadowy figure saw the Six Jia Yang Fire Seed, it cried out in terror, "No! You can't! Don't you want to know who I am?! Stop! Ah—"

"I'm not that curious."

As Zhang Chengdao spoke, he manipulated the fire to burn the shadowy figure completely, leaving not a trace of ash.

True fire is something that can burn away filth and evil spirits. The Six Jia Yang Fire is not a very high-level true fire, but it is more than enough to burn something that even Zhang Chengdao, who is in the Golden Core stage, cannot defeat. Its half-brother, the Six Ding Divine Fire, is a true fire in the Journey to the West world that can refine Monkey King into a pair of fiery eyes.

Chang Ping'an squatted on the ground, watching the dark figure wail mournfully until it was engulfed by the flames and completely disappeared. Only then did he stammer, "Master, so, does that mean you killed the Mirror Mirror National Preceptor?"

Zhang Chengdao nodded: "They should have been killed."

If even the Six Jia Yang Fire can't burn it all away, then other methods will be even less effective in eliminating it!
"Then..." Chang Ping'an scratched his head and continued to ask, "Shall we go back to Baishi Mountain now?"

(End of this chapter)