Chapter Twelve: The Demon-Subduing Sacred Staff

The two Buddha statues stared intently at Shi Qi and his companions, making their hearts uneasy. Shi Qi glanced at Bai Qiu; their eyes met and they both nodded slightly.

Shi Qi said, “Let’s take them down!”

At his words, the two shot forward like arrows loosed from a bow, charging straight at the statues. Wang Feng was a step behind, hurrying to catch up.

Shi Qi drew the Azure Cloud Umbrella, attacking from the left. Bai Qiu brandished his longsword, striking from the right. Before they could get close, the statues suddenly moved—one to the left, the other to the right—flexing their stony bodies before stepping down from the stone door.

A metallic clang echoed as Shi Qi’s umbrella and Bai Qiu’s sword struck the statues at the same time.

Shi Qi exclaimed, “Damn, it’s like fighting two Liao Hongdas again!”

The statues raised their palms, striking at the two. They each stepped back, dodging the attacks.

Wang Feng grumbled, “They’re like two tough-shelled turtles. How are we supposed to fight them?”

Bai Qiu replied, “Buddhist guardians are known for their immense strength. Best not to engage head-on. Let’s probe with spells first—look for a weakness.”

With that, Bai Qiu pulled out a charm, tossed it into the air, and slashed at it with his sword. “Wind and fire, come forth!”

As the blade touched the charm, twin fiery tornadoes surged towards the statues.

Shi Qi was not idle either. As Bai Qiu moved, he did too, forming a mystic seal with his hand. True energy surged, and twin streams of water shot from his palms, swirling in the air like spirited serpents and coiling tightly around the statues.

“Water Dragon Bind—Seal Formation!”

The two Buddha statues struggled, breaking free from the constraints, only to be engulfed by Bai Qiu’s flames.

Shi Qi called out, “Prepare for lots of smoke, but maybe not much damage.”

Seeing the seamless coordination between the two, Wang Feng realized he needed to act. “Shi Qi, support me! I’ll gather energy for an attack talisman array!”

He pulled out a handful of charms, tossing them into the air. Forming seals with his hands, true energy flowed; the charms began to dance in the air.

Shi Qi called back, “Got it!”

Bai Qiu added, “Little Qi, cover me. I’ll check the Buddhist scriptures to see if I can find a weakness.”

He retreated two steps, pulled a large chest from his storage bag, and began rummaging through it.

Shi Qi complained, “Come on, now’s not the time for last-minute cramming.”

Even as he spoke, the two statues charged forward. Gritting his teeth, Shi Qi rushed up, striking the right statue’s head with his umbrella, while the left statue swung a massive palm straight at his face.

Shi Qi bent backward, narrowly dodging the blow; the force of the swing set his hair flying. He barely had time to catch his breath when the other statue kicked at him. Still off-balance from his backbend, it looked impossible to dodge in time. But with lightning reflexes, Shi Qi twisted midair, spinning his body to evade the kick and landing face-down on the ground.

Knowing that a storm of attacks would follow, Shi Qi didn’t look back. Planting his hands on the ground, he pushed off hard, sliding himself backward just in time to pass between the statues’ legs. As he slid through, he gripped the statues’ ankles with his umbrella, channeling his true energy and yanking hard.

Both statues lost their balance and crashed to the ground.

“Well done, Little Qi… hold on, let me see… hmm… Eightfold Path… Celestial Beings… why are there so many? I don’t care how they attained Buddhahood—where’s the weakness?” Bai Qiu muttered as he frantically flipped through the book.

Seizing the opportunity as the statues struggled to rise, Shi Qi gathered true energy in both hands and struck at them.

“Seal Formation! Draw the prison!”

Two blue water orbs enveloped the statues, with Shi Qi’s demon core spinning rapidly, channeling energy into the spheres.

Thump, thump! The statues hammered from within, on the verge of breaking free.

“Not done yet! Return to Heaven!”

Shi Qi drove his energy, making the water spheres whirl at dizzying speed. The statues were momentarily trapped, pounding at the whirling prisons.

Shi Qi called out, “Are you done yet? I can’t hold them much longer!”

Bai Qiu, sweating as he flipped through the texts, replied, “Almost, almost!”

With a loud bang, the water spheres could no longer hold—they burst apart, and the two statues, drenched, broke free. Shi Qi retreated, umbrella at the ready for another attack.

Wang Feng shouted, “I’m ready! Spirit Talisman Array, go!”

Above his head, the yellow talismans multiplied—one became two, two became four, four became eight—endlessly streaming towards the statues. The charms linked together, radiating golden light, binding the statues like ropes.

Wang Feng formed seals, sweat pouring down his brow as he poured out his energy.

“I’ve got it!” Bai Qiu shouted.

Shi Qi replied, “Male or female?”

Bai Qiu snapped, “Shut up! The weak spot’s under the armpit! Attack the armpits!”

Shi Qi raised his hand, gathering energy for the Aqua Orb. Bai Qiu drew his sword, affixing golden charms to its blade.

Shi Qi muttered, “Left or right armpit?”

Bai Qiu, sweating, said, “The book doesn’t say—just hit either one!”

Shi Qi was speechless.

Bai Qiu called, “Senior Brother Wang, lift their arms!”

Wang Feng, exhausted, said, “I’ll try! Can’t hold them long!”

He raised his hands, and the talismans lifted the statues’ arms, exposing their armpits.

“Aqua Orb!”

“Golden Sword, Banish Evil!”

A blue and a yellow streak of light shot forth, striking the statues’ armpits.

Boom! Boom! Twin explosions resounded as both statues shattered instantly, crumbling into piles of rubble.

Bai Qiu cheered, “We did it!”

Wang Feng collapsed to the ground, utterly spent.

As the statues shattered, the surroundings transformed—no more platform, no stone door, no looming statues overhead—just a cramped mountain cave.

Shi Qi exclaimed, “Look!”

The three peered at the rubble; from the shattered stones, a red glow pulsed.

Bai Qiu deduced, “That must be the treasure. The illusion must have been its doing as well.”

They approached, and amid the fragments, two strange weapons lay.

Sweeping away the debris, they examined the items: each about half a foot long, one a jet-black rod with a crescent-shaped shovel at its end, the curve facing outward; the other a rod with an axe-blade shovel at its tip, sharpened at the end.

Shi Qi asked, “What kind of weapons are these?”

Bai Qiu replied, “If I’m not mistaken, these are Demon-Subduing Monk’s Staffs, also known as Crescent Shovels—Buddhist weapons.”

He added, “But for some reason, they’ve broken in two, and those two stone Buddhas must have been manifestations of this very staff.”

Wang Feng sighed, “A pity. Buddhist weapons.”

Bai Qiu said, “I suspected as much when we first saw the statues—most likely a Buddhist treasure.”

Wang Feng remarked, “Shame none of us are Buddhist disciples. Without their cultivation methods, we can’t fully use these treasures.”

Bai Qiu asked, “Shi Qi, how should we divide them?”

Shi Qi replied, “What’s there to divide? Senior Brother Wang found them first, so they should go to him.”

Wang Feng quickly waved his hands, “No, without you two, I couldn’t have broken the illusion alone. Since only Junior Brother Bai Qiu has a storage bag, let him keep them for now.”

Bai Qiu nodded, “That works. We’ll miss the cultivation market this year, but if we ever get a chance to trade for other treasures or magic items, the three of us can split things then.”