Chapter 65: The Eight-Armed Rakshasa—Arrogance Concealed in Self-Assumed Dignity (Part Two)

Boom!

A violent wave of murderous aura swept through the courtyard. Struck by the sudden pressure, Mahila nearby let out a gasp and tumbled backward onto the ground, sheer shock mirrored in his eyes.

Never in his wildest dreams would he have expected Yi Beidou to resort to violence at the slightest disagreement, completely ignoring the drastic shift in the current situation!

A physical saint stood right before him, and the Siamese army surrounded the area—did this man care nothing for his own safety at all?!

Yet how could they possibly understand Yi Beidou's temperament? He was the classic type who responded well to soft approaches but would never yield to coercion. If Mahila and his companions had treated him with courtesy, Yi Beidou would naturally have returned it in kind.

After all, trespassing in a foreign country and causing a public disturbance, though driven by necessity, was still inappropriate, and he would have been willing to offer an explanation.

However, if they thought they could use force to beat him into submission, they were gravely mistaken.

With the Freedom Heavenly Demon standing proud between heaven and earth, how could his spine ever be bent?!

Boom!

Yi Beidou stomped his foot into the ground, shattering the paving stones, and his figure instantly closed the distance to Bakagu.

Not only Mahila, but even Bakagu himself and the Siamese soldiers surrounding the courtyard had not anticipated that Yi Beidou would launch such a fierce and sudden attack.

Before the soldiers could even react, Yi Beidou was already upon Bakagu. To open fire at this moment would inevitably mean catching Bakagu in the crossfire.

Utterly ferocious!

Bakagu's expression tightened. With a deep roar, the muscles across his body did not expand; instead, they seemed to contract.

His already lean frame now appeared reduced to a mere skeleton, the taut, sinewy muscle fibers stretching across his body clearly visible like strands of steel wire.

Yet this did not signify a decrease in his strength—rather, it made his threat even more terrifying.

The Dharani Nanda Physical Form!

The Ancient Siamese Eight-Armed Fist practiced by Bakagu did not focus on flesh and blood, but rather on the cultivation of tendons and bones. Through brutal methods of continuously bruising and punishing the physical body, he made his bones and fascia increasingly formidable, forging his own physique into a deadly weapon for slaughter.

And the Dharani Nanda Physical Form he displayed now was the ultimate manifestation of this martial art.

His compressed muscles clung tightly to his bones, acting like taut steel cables. Every movement he made could unleash a terrifying surge of power.

Boom!

Bakagu threw a punch, slamming straight into Yi Beidou's palm, which was as broad as a cattail-leaf fan. Though there appeared to be a vast disparity in their builds, Bakagu halted Yi Beidou's strike dead in its tracks.

A faint imprint of a fist was actually left pressed into Yi Beidou's palm.

Yi Beidou swung his palm once more, condensing his malevolent aura and murderous intent right at the center of his hand.

Tribulation of Exterminating Law!

At this moment, the state of his mind and spiritual will was vastly different from when he had first achieved sainthood.

Having mastered three distinct martial arts, the murderous aura within the Tribulation of Exterminating Law was far more formidable than it had been when he faced Yue Ming.

That terrifying wave of murderous intent caused Bakagu's pupils to contract sharply, but the very next instant, his gaze shifted.

Hazy, hollow, and instantly devoid of all spirit.

No-Self, Zen meditation, Emptiness!

This was the "Aspect of No-Self"!

The process of practicing the Eight-Armed Fist was excruciatingly painful. Through years of self-inflicted torment and tempering, Bakagu had comprehended the true meaning of Zen meditation amidst the agony.

Abandoning the ego of the self, rendering all things empty—naturally, the pain vanished, and all demonic illusions dissolved completely.

This was a method of extreme mental concentration. In this state, he could not attack his enemies with his spiritual will, but neither could his enemies easily use spiritual will to influence him.

All illusions and suffering, unseen and therefore nonexistent!

Coupled with the physical body forged by his Eight-Armed Fist, leaving the combat entirely to his thoroughly tempered physical instincts—this was Bakagu's ultimate combat state.

Swish, swish, swish!

Unfazed by Yi Beidou's spiritual will, his body and form moved without the slightest hesitation. Twisting his frame, he took the initiative and launched a counterattack against Yi Beidou.

Arms, elbows, shoulders, knees...

Every part of his body became a lethal weapon of assault, as though he had grown eight arms.

"I'd like to see just how many palms you can take!"

Yi Beidou's eyes blazed like lightning, his unkempt hair whipping through the air. The enemy before him had stirred his warrior's blood, making him truly resemble a descending demon lord.

He lashed out with both palms in rapid succession, his murderous aura surging and roaring like towering ocean waves, one cresting higher than the next.

Tribulations without end, each heavier than the last!

Aura stacking upon aura, rising higher than any mountain!

Boom, boom, boom!

The entire courtyard sounded as though hand grenades were detonating one after another. The collision of mortal flesh produced a soul-shaking shockwave. The people inside the tearoom shrieked in terror as they scrambled for cover, not daring to look out any longer, terrified that a flying stone might claim their lives.

Zhou Bailou crouched by the wall with her head in her hands, her face completely drained of color.

How could such a person exist?! How could a human being possibly grow to this terrifying degree?!

Mahila had already been pulled away by his bodyguards and dragged into a corner. Deprived of orders, the surrounding soldiers did not dare to open fire for fear of friendly fire.

Bakagu had believed his arrival would serve as leverage and deterrence, little knowing that he was simply delivering a fatal weakness straight into Yi Beidou's hands.

Though Bakagu possessed the Aspect of No-Self, the technique was not infallible. Under the relentless onslaught of Yi Beidou's increasingly powerful murderous tribulation, his inward-focused mind finally wavered.

Light returned to his pupils.

And the very moment his consciousness cleared was the moment terror descended.

A palm descended from the heavens, swelling in his vision until it blotted out everything else, shaking his very soul to its core.

Ah!!

Bakagu let out a low roar, thrusting his arms upward as if trying to prop up the falling sky.

Boom!

With a single palm strike downwards, the earth itself shuddered. The bluestone flags in the courtyard had completely pulverized, exposing the soil beneath. Yet as Bakagu braced against the blow, Yi Beidou drove him into the ground like a steel nail, burying him up to his knees.

His steel-like arms felt utterly numb, and the shock reverberated through his internal organs. A mouthful of blood welled up and spilled from his lips, his eyes filled with shock.

Before him, Yi Beidou loomed from above like an insurmountable mountain.

Snap!

Yi Beidou's broad hand clamped around Bakagu's throat and effortlessly yanked him out of the earth like pulling a radish. Then, condensing his murderous intent at his fingertips, he seized the moment while his opponent's vital energy and blood were in turmoil and rapidly struck several acupoints across his body.

This was the technique of the Subjugating Demon Seven-Star Needles. Now, using his murderous aura as needles to turn the intangible into the tangible, Yi Beidou employed a soul-capturing technique that could temporarily freeze even the qi and blood of a physical saint.

"You!"

Bakagu's eyes widened in horror, but he was completely unable to speak. Moments later, he abruptly closed his eyes and declared loudly, "I am outmatched, and I have nothing to say! Kill me or carve me up as you please!"

"Great Master! Everything can be discussed! Please spare Senior Bakagu's life!!"

Seeing this, Mahila turned pale with fright.

How rare was a physical saint? Siam was merely a small nation; having even a single person of this caliber to protect the country and its teachings was already a miracle. If Bakagu were to perish at Yi Beidou's hands, the loss would be utterly catastrophic.

"You and I are not mortal enemies. Consider this minor punishment a warning for your transgression. Given how hard you've worked to cultivate, I will spare your life."

"I am not a bloodthirsty man, nor do I wish to entangle myself with these ordinary mortals. You shall act as a hostage and accompany me for a journey. Once we reach the Donghua border, I will naturally set you free."

Yi Beidou said.