At Lin Jing’s request, Elder Mo observed that they could indeed easily resist the pressure, so he was moved to bring them to the Demon Suppression Tower.
The magical prowess of the Buddhist cultivator was vast, and the leftover Buddhist light had long been an important opportunity for disciples of the four sects to strengthen their minds.
If Lin Jing and the others could obtain it during the Qi Cultivation Stage, it would be extraordinarily beneficial for their future Foundation Establishment.
"Follow me. Our Beast Taming Sect, due to the uniqueness of our cultivation technique, along with the friendly relationship between our second-generation Sect Leader and that Buddhist cultivator, can allow Guardian Dao Cultivators and their contracted beasts to collectively resist the pressure and receive the enhancement from the Buddhist light within the Demon Suppression Tower."
"At that time, you can use illusions to resist the demon’s power and take care of it; you can all acquire opportunities!"
Elder Mo waved his hand and swept Lin Jing and the others towards Qingtang Peak of the Beast Taming Sect. During this, Lin Jing muttered in his heart, indeed everything relies on connections; disciples of other sects train alone, but Beast Taming Sect disciples can bring beasts along—this is... wonderful!
The Demon Suppression Tower is called a tower, but its entrance is a hidden clear pool.
This piece of history was not recorded, likely out of concern that someone might try to release the demons.
Within the clear pool, as Lin Jing anticipated, the Tower Guardian was also not a human, but a Demon King.
It emerged from the water, and Elder Mo had to perform a grand salute upon seeing it: "Greetings, Ancestor."
"Ancestor, I wish to send a disciple to train within the Demon Suppression Tower."
"Lin Jing, this is one of the sect’s guardians, Elder Wang Batian." The sect ancestor guarding the Buddhist tower turned out to be a colossal terrestrial tortoise.
Lin Jing quickly paid his respects.
"A mere Qi Cultivator?" This sect ancestor glanced at Lin Jing and the Pine Leaf Mouse, sending Elder Mo a discontented look: "Do you want to turn them into fools?"
"When they’re terrified, scared silly, soiling themselves, and their souls dispersed by the demon power, what will you do then?"
"Ancestor... You have been guarding this place without knowing, Lin Jing is the new generation prodigy of our Beast Taming Sect and was chosen by the Grotto Heaven before, so he naturally has enough confidence to train in the Demon Suppression Tower during the Qi Cultivation Stage," Elder Mo explained.
"Never mind, as long as you think it’s alright." The Ancestor closed his eyes, unwilling to worry further; as the pet beast of the second-generation Sect Leader, it had outlasted three sect leaders, and nearby the Buddhist tower, it had become quite Buddhist in nature.
Seeing the sect ancestor agree, Elder Mo looked at Lin Jing and the others, saying, "I forgot to tell you, you don’t enter the Demon Suppression Tower in physical form; all real objects can’t be taken inside, and cultivators of too high cultivation levels can’t enter either—this is to prevent any evil demons from entering to destroy the seal within the tower."
"You are about to enter a manifestation of mana, spirit, soul, and intent, similar to an out-of-body experience," Elder Mo said. "You can’t use any of your artifacts inside, but the magic you’ve mastered is still usable."
"I think that should be enough, shouldn’t it?"
Upon hearing that his red leaf and bombs couldn’t be brought in, Pine Leaf Mouse shuddered, but Lin Jing nodded, saying, "That’s enough."
As long as "A Thousand Transformations" can still be used, he can resist the demon’s pressure.
"Once you’re prepared, leave an imprint on this monument."
This sect ancestor followed the rules: "Leave a spiritual imprint here, firstly to keep track of your progress, and secondly, if the imprint flashes, it indicates you’re in a bad state, and I’ll immediately call your consciousness back to your body to prevent getting lost inside the Demon Suppression Tower."
Outside the entrance to the Demon Suppression Tower, there was an ancient stone monument divided into nine layers. Upon hearing this, Lin Jing stepped forward and pressed his palm onto the monument, which instantly left a blurred image of a little squirrel.
"The interior of the Demon Suppression Tower is connected to the four sects; if you encounter disciples from other sects there, avoid any conflicts."
The sect ancestor reminded them again, then helped open the Demon Suppression Tower’s entrance, located in the clear pool, with constant ripples, appearing as the reflection of a black Buddhist tower.
Before Lin Jing and the others could react, their consciousness shifted as if crossing the boundaries of life and death like drowning. When Lin Jing and the Pine Leaf Mouse opened their eyes again, they were already standing before a grand door, surrounded by black pool water.
On the massive door, intricate runes and patterns were carved, and in the dim light, these ancient symbols flickered with a faint blue glow, mysterious and profound.
"So this is the inside of the Demon Suppression Tower," Lin Jing thought as he tried to take out the mechanical bamboo spear from his storage bag, but found the bag had indeed become a regular bag, and he couldn’t communicate with the floating gourd either.
Seeing this, Pine Leaf Mouse sighed; in the demesne, not using it was forgivable, but even when at the Demon Suppression Tower, its storage bag was restricted—life was unbearable.
It nudged Lin Jing, urging him to transform again into the previous giant Buddha to enter, as it felt safer that way.
"The special effects needed to transform into Buddha consume too much True Qi," Lin Jing said, "turning into a more ordinary Buddhist cultivator will suffice."
Saying this, he slowly sketched out a familiar figure from memory using his Illusion Dao True Qi.
This Buddhist cultivator wore a sumptuous kasaya in shades of red and yellow, a bright yellow monk hat on his head, holding a golden staff in one hand and a violet-gold alms bowl in the other, with white eyebrows, white beard, solemn expression, and a face filled with gloom.
"Amitabha, this humble monk is Fa Hai," Lin Jing said to the Pine Leaf Mouse, leaving the mouse somewhat perplexed, not understanding how Lin Jing’s mind was filled with odd images.
"Let’s go." Lin Jing, holding the staff, bowl, and Buddha beads, pushed open the tower door.
Initially planning to transform into Tang Monk, but knowing that guy had the fate of always being captured by monsters, incapable of resisting demon power, Lin Jing himself lacked confidence.
The essence of Illusion Dao requires first convincing oneself.
Fa Hai, that old rascal, is proficient in demon expulsion—he’ll do!
As soon as the door was pushed open, a gust of demonic wind blew out, its force comparable to Foundation Establishment demons, nearly tangible, like a storm striking Lin Jing and the Pine Leaf Mouse.
But for this level of intimidation, let alone Lin Jing protected by Illusion Dao, even Pine Leaf Mouse, after so much training, could resist purely by willpower.
Stepping into the demonic wind one step at a time, around them, demon power seeped from the tower walls like ink, quickly forming a terrifying snake skull mid-air, revealing sharp fangs and hissing.
Accompanying the hissing, countless streams of water below transformed into venomous snakes, crawling upon Lin Jing’s body. The Pine Leaf Mouse on Lin Jing’s shoulder, despite its firm resolve knowing the horrific snakes were mere illusions caused by intimidation to shake its spirit, began to feel a tingling sensation as its scalp grew numb.
Crawling from the shoulder... to the top of the bald head.
"Such petty tricks," Lin Jing ignored the venomous snakes crawling on him, directly walking towards the innermost part—not because he wasn’t afraid of these snakes, but because these illusions were invisible to him. At this moment, he was the conservative-thinking monk with boundless mana in the Illusion Domain Lin Jing constructed, with demonic intimidation insufficient to affect his spirit or induce hallucinations, let alone cause mental harm.
Seeing the Pine Leaf Mouse affected, Lin Jing snorted "demonic monster," causing the surroundings to split like seas and mountains, dispersing the demon power with his magic aura, and only then did the snakes before Pine Leaf Mouse vanish.
Meanwhile, deep beneath the tower, a gigantic silhouette of a demon roared: "Damn Buddhist breath, there’s a bald donkey here! Damn it! Damn it! I really want to eat him! No, no! This person is from the Buddhist sect, with very profound mana—I must find a way to make him aid me in escaping!" Being sealed for so long, the demon had become muddled-headed, and was fooled by Lin Jing’s illusion.