As a cold blade flashed under the moonlight and a fierce murderous intent closed in on his neck, Huiguang judged from the spiritual pressure erupting from this person's body that he was merely in the Cultivator Realm.
This was simply because the spiritual pressure erupting from this man was vastly inferior to the spiritual pressure that Shangguan Youran could unleash.
At the same time, Huiguang recalled another thing Shangguan Youran had said: "I feel that even at my absolute peak, I would not be your match."
If an expert of the Minor Dao Realm openly admitted she was no match for him, what did Huiguang have to fear? He firmly believed that Shangguan Youran had spoken the truth.
Thus, bolstered by such confidence, Huiguang naturally did not take the attack of his assailant seriously.
Seeing the short blade approach his neck, Huiguang did not move his body, but his gaze suddenly turned cold. With this change in his eyes, his entire body transformed into bronze in the blink of an eye.
This was the result of Huiguang's practice in the forest; he had discovered that as long as his fighting spirit was aroused, all the cultivation techniques he knew would respond instantly to his thoughts.
"Clang!" Accompanied by a harsh screech of metal scraping against metal, a cascade of sparks erupted on Huiguang's neck.
"Huh?" Seeing that Huiguang remained completely motionless, the assailant frowned, a flash of disbelief crossing his eyes.
Refusing to believe it, the assailant spun around and delivered a backhanded slash at Huiguang.
This strike swept across Huiguang's abdomen, but once again, the assailant's ears were met with a harsh metallic screech, and brilliant sparks flashed once more in the moonlit night.
The bizarre sparks and metallic sound had already bewildered the other two onlookers, and now, seeing Huiguang still standing firmly in place with his hands occupied by things, the leader among the big men spoke up.
"Second brother, what's going on?" the leader asked.
"Eldest brother, this brat is freakish; his entire body has somehow turned into metal, and my blade can't harm him at all." The attacker's voice was filled with shock.
"There's such a strange thing?" Consequently, the other two big men also walked toward Huiguang with an aura of murderous intent.
Taking advantage of the moonlight, the two cast their gazes on Huiguang's neck and abdomen. At this sight, their expressions shifted slightly, for they truly saw that Huiguang's exposed skin had turned bronze.
"What kind of monster are you, anyway?" the lead man roared at Huiguang.
"Amitabha. Three benefactors, this little monk is human, not a monster."
"This little monk already gave three benefactors a warning, yet you refused to turn back from your заблуждения [delusions], and even attempted to take this little monk's life."
"As the Buddha says: When encountering evildoers who treat human lives like grass, if persuasion yields no results, one may also administer a stern wake-up call!"
Having said this, Huiguang gently placed the food and wine in his hands down on the ground. To the three big men, however, this action signaled that he was preparing to fight them to the death.
Therefore, the three big men quickly retreated two steps, and the other two drew their weapons from their persons—a sword and a club.
"Stop wasting time talking with him, let's attack together! I don't believe this fellow is truly impervious to blades and spears." The leader roared fiercely.
"Understood!" The next moment, three bursts of spiritual power rose from their bodies.
"So the other two are also in the Cultivator Realm. According to Shangguan Youran's words, dealing with these three should pose no problem for me, right?" Huiguang thought like a flash of lightning.
Once they had finished gathering their momentum, the three men immediately wore ferocious expressions and rushed toward Huiguang with murderous intent hanging over their heads.
One intended to attack Huiguang's legs with a short blade, another wanted to smash Huiguang's forehead with a club, and the third wanted to pierce Huiguang's heart with a sword.
Faced with the three men whose division of labor was clear, Huiguang remained entirely motionless. He slowly raised both hands and brought them together in front of his chin.
"Namo Amitabha!"
The Six-Syllable Mantra of the Buddhist Sect combined with the Lion's Roar of the Buddhist Sect.
As Huiguang chanted word by word, six large golden characters—"Namo Amitabha"—flew out from his mouth, merging instantly in mid-air to transform into a golden lion three meters long and two meters tall.
Once the golden lion took shape, it immediately opened its bloody maw and emitted a roar toward the three men.
"Roar!" This bizarre transformation happened in the blink of an eye—so fast that the three men, despite not being far from Huiguang, had yet to close in.
The giant sound wave surged toward the three men in ripples. As the sound wave entered their ears, their heads felt as though they had been struck by heavy hammers, causing unbearable pain. All three dropped their weapons, clutched their ears tightly, and wailed and rolled on the ground.
They attempted to use their full spiritual power to resist this wave of sound, but given the disparity in strength, coupled with the special nature of Buddhist cultivation techniques, their efforts were doomed to be in vain.
"Spare my life, Senior, spare my life!" The leader managed to force out this plea for mercy with great difficulty.
"You harbored the intent to kill this little monk, and when my persuasion failed, you now beg for mercy because you realize you are no match for me... It's too late!" Having said this coldly, Huiguang continued his chant, and the six characters of "Namo Amitabha" kept issuing from his mouth.
As long as the Six-Syllable Mantra continued, the golden lion would not disperse, and the roar of the lion would ceaselessly echo.
Under the continuous assault of the golden waves, the three men's rolling movements on the ground grew weaker and weaker. In the end, their brains were shaken to pulp, and their internal organs were reduced to a messy paste.
Huiguang stopped speaking and slowly walked toward the three men. Looking closely, he saw that all seven orifices of the three men were bleeding and they had already stopped breathing.
Huiguang chanted a Buddhist name once more, then sat cross-legged right in the middle of the three bodies.
"You three died at this little monk's hand because of your evil deeds; with your death, your sins are wiped away. This little monk will now chant scriptures for the salvation of your souls. Should you still have another lifetime, I hope you become people who cherish kindness in your hearts."
Immediately, Huiguang began to chant in a low voice.
Although this battle lacked heaven-shaking momentum, it was not entirely without onlookers.
For instance, at the back of the alley—close to the inn where Huiguang had eaten—a refined young gentleman of about thirty, dressed in luxurious attire, holding a folding fan, and with his hair casually draped over his back, was watching Huiguang with a smile on his face.
Beside this fan-wielding gentleman stood a stern-faced elderly man of about fifty with long eyebrows, whose body emanated a dense aura of murderous intent.
"Interesting, truly interesting."
"This young master has never seen such a bizarre and powerful fighting style before. However, since he dared to kill my men, this young master will certainly not let him go." Although the fan-wielding gentleman wore a smile, the ruthless and vicious look between his brows was unmistakable.
"Young Master, should I go kill him?" the long-browed old man asked.
"No rush! How can someone so interesting be allowed to die so easily? If I were to acquire his cultivation technique, what do you suppose the outcome would be?"
"Then the Young Master means...?"
"We have nothing better to do anyway; let's follow him and see. Once we find the other party's weakness, we can easily take control of him," the fan-wielding gentleman said sagely.
"Follow him? But Young Master, the master expressly forbade you from leaving Xuri City!" The old man's face showed some hesitation.
"Are you an idiot? Father manages this massive city; with so many trivial matters every day, how would he have the time to keep tabs on my whereabouts every single day?" The fan-wielding gentleman tapped the old man on the head with his folding fan and said.
"But the task the master gave me was to watch over you and prevent you from leaving the city!" The old man was as honest and stubborn as an ox, completely incapable of flexibility.
"You... you really are just an old man with brawn and no brains."
"Alright, enough talk; that fellow is leaving. Let's catch up." As soon as the fan-wielding gentleman finished speaking, he genuinely strode forward in pursuit of Huiguang.
"Do I have no brains?" The old man rubbed his head, looking completely bewildered.
"Young Master, wait for me!"