knife

Chapter 335 Master Master Master Master

(Misfortunes never come singly. Today, while researching, I bent down to move a box of files and misjudged its weight, which caused me to injure my back. I felt frustrated and lamented that time waits for no one and that sitting for too long is unbearable. I managed to write a chapter, then surrendered to my body. I applied some Huang Daoyi liniment and a herbal poultice, and I don't know if I'll feel better tomorrow.)
Shaking off the pine nut shells from his hands, Yiming said, "Li Dachui, Protector-General of the Beiting Protectorate!"

If Li Dachui was famous outside the Great Wall two years ago, very few people inside the Great Wall had actually heard of him. But in the past two years, his name has represented one miracle after another.

Especially last year, his fame spread far and wide.

Even though he was in Sichuan, lying high on Mount Qingcheng, Liao Ran still heard a lot about this person's deeds.

After all, his disciples and followers are still living in the world.

"Isn't this person not even thirty yet?" Liao Ran asked, looking completely bewildered.

Yi Ming nodded, but his face was full of melancholy: "A master of innate realm who is not even thirty years old, can you imagine? Seeing this person, I feel like I have wasted my whole life."

Liao Ran remained silent for a long time, then shook his head: "There are always geniuses. Every few years, one like this will emerge. Heaven is ruthless. Sometimes, the emergence of such a person means that the world is about to descend into chaos again."

Yi Ming scoffed at Liao Ran's exclamation: "More nonsense. If someone like him didn't appear, would the world be free from chaos? What does the chaos have to do with Li Dachui? If he hadn't dismantled the Northern Yuan outside the pass last year, plunging them into civil war, the area outside the pass would probably be in flames by now, right? If it weren't for him, once Linghu Ye entered the pass, the area outside the pass would have already fallen into the hands of foreign tribes, wouldn't it?"

Liao Ran slowly ate pine nuts and said, "It seems you've been persuaded by him and are willing to work for him?"

“Old Taoist priest, you don’t need to look at me like that. I’m not working as his henchman!” Yi Ming snorted and said, “Just for that reason, I think highly of this Li Dachui! Wei Zhengdao and the others only see me as a high-level henchman. Ha, speaking of which, aren’t you the same way in Li Shen’s eyes?”

"Why did Li Dachui invite you?"

“He told me to go and take a look around outside the Great Wall!” Yi Ming said, “According to him, he has established a large medical clinic and a medical college outside the Great Wall. The dean of that medical college is Fu Qingzhu. You must know this person, right?”

"Of course, how could I not know the person who developed Changchun Powder? This person is a true divine physician!" he said knowingly.

“Li Dachui said he read my alchemy notes and studied the pills I made.” At this point, Yiming burst into laughter: “Then he gave me a good scolding, saying that I clearly have great means to help the world and save people, but I limit these means to a small area and do not know how to use them to benefit the world. To be honest, I was stunned by his scolding.”

"Using the tactic of first criticizing to elevate the opponent is just a common trick. Is that enough to confuse you?"

“No!” Yi Ming said, “This person is very skilled in alchemy, medicine, herbs, and alchemy, and many of his views are truly refreshing! So, I plan to go to the border to take a look. If it’s really as he says, then I’m going to make good use of my expertise there. It would be a joyful thing to be able to sit down and discuss the Dao with Master Fu Qing!”

"Go if you want, why are you arguing with me?" Liao Ran waved his hand.

Yi Ming shook his head and said, "That won't do! If I leave, there will be no one to keep you in check in Shu. You're easily swayed, and you'll be persuaded by Li Shen to become his henchman again in no time. After all, he has supported you for so many years. You have to come with me."

Liao Ran was furious, his white beard flying wildly, his halberd pointing even more clearly: "You want to trap me? Don't you know your own limitations?"

Yi Ming sneered, "If you don't want to go, then let's just keep this entanglement going. I can't beat you, but you can't get rid of me either. Anyway, you'll only be helping Li Shen a little bit while you're recuperating. Liao Ran, you know what Li Shen has done in Sichuan all these years, and you know exactly what he's planning. Now Li Da Chui has launched a surprise attack and is heading straight for Chengdu. Li Shen is finished. Do you really want to go against Li Da Chui? Let me tell you, even if Li Da Chui is magnanimous and doesn't hold it against you, do you think his men will let your followers and followers get away with it?"

"Having been entrusted with a task, one must be loyal to it!" Liao Ran stared at Yi Ming.

"Then let's fight for another ten days or half a month, and the situation in Sichuan will probably be settled!" Yiming jumped up.

"Do your best and leave the rest to fate!"

The two figures vanished from their spot in an instant. A moment later, a crisp sound came from the place, and countless pine needles drifted to the ground.

The two figures appeared and disappeared intermittently, but the direction they went seemed to be towards the area beyond the pass.

The thunderous sound of water descended from the sky, vividly illustrating the phrase "a waterfall plunging three thousand feet, as if the Milky Way were falling from the ninth heaven" amidst a misty fog.

The water flowed into the deep pool below, splashing up countless droplets that spread like rising mist, making the area look like a fairyland.

However, the presence of two old men separated by the pool significantly diminished the beauty of this dreamlike fairyland.

If it were an elderly man with white hair, wearing a wide robe and tall hat, holding a book or a wine cup, reciting or drinking heartily, or two people using a huge stone as a chessboard and black and white stones as chess pieces, then it would naturally add color to this world. If outsiders saw it, they would surely think that it was a god descending to earth.

However, the two old men looked extremely bad, even worse than Liaoran and Yiming.

Although Liaoran and Yiming were fighting each other, they were ultimately from the same Taoist lineage, so it didn't matter who was better or worse, and there was no need to fight to the death.

If a life-or-death struggle were to occur, the two major sects, the Zhengyi Sect and the Longmen Sect, would likely become mortal enemies. Liao Ran and Yi Ming were well aware of all this.

There's no need for that. You can suppress the opponent, but there's no need to eliminate them.

But Hong Zhan and Tang Yin thought differently.

Therefore, the duel between these two was much more brutal.

It's definitely heading towards a fight to the death.

However, once you reach the Innate level, defeating your opponent might be possible, but killing them would be difficult.

Li Dachui's scheming against Yang Jian and Kou Zhong in Luoyang was a combination of perfect timing, favorable circumstances, popular support, and foresight—all of which were indispensable.

“Hong Zhan, the Wei family killed the emperor and the crown prince, and has been abandoned by the people of the world. Do you still want to serve them? Aren’t you afraid that one day when the Wei family falls, your Hong family will also be implicated?” Tang Yin took a deep breath to calm the surging true energy in his body. Every strand of true energy felt like a sharp needle piercing his body.

Hong Zhan sneered: "Everyone outside says that I, Hong Zhan, was the one who killed the Crown Prince."

"Isn't it?"

"Of course not!" Hong Zhan said, "So what can some false rumors affect me? Besides, the existence of the Hong family is not because of the Wei family's protection, but because of me, Hong Zhan. As long as I am here, the Hong family will exist!"

"If that's the case, why are you so willing to die for the Wei family?" Tang Yin said, "What the Wei family can give you, can't my Tang family give you too?"

"You can't!" Hong Zhan laughed, "Because you're about to lose!"

"Jianmen Pass is a formidable fortress, impregnable by a single man!" Tang Yin laughed. "There are also two peak ninth-grade Xuan Yuan masters there, Xiao Feng and Xin Quan, as well as countless other martial arts experts. The soldiers are elite troops trained for many years. To think you can break through Jianmen Pass is wishful thinking. In a few days, I'll see whether you invade my Shu region or my Shu army storms into your Chang'an!"

Hong Zhan laughed loudly: "Old man Tang, it's ridiculous that you're still dreaming at a time like this. I might as well tell you, right now, Chengdu is probably in grave danger. Do you think that Jianmen Pass is the only way to invade Sichuan? What if we take the Yinping Trail, cross the Motian Ridge, pass through Jiangyou Pass, seize Mianzhu, and then head straight for Chengdu?"

Tang Yin stared intently at the other person.

"The army cannot possibly take that route!"

"As long as there's a road." Hong Zhan smiled.

Tang Yin's expression slowly changed.

"Don't even think about leaving!" Hong Zhan smiled. "My mission is to stall you until Chengdu falls into our hands, until your entire Tang family becomes our prisoner. Of course, if I have the chance to kill you, I will. Old man Tang, you're finished. Do you really think Prime Minister Wei and Grand Chancellor Kou don't know what you and Li Shen have been plotting all these years? You've been accumulating strength, and the Black Ice Guard has been making every effort to deploy in Shu. Zhang Songlin, whom you look down on, hasn't been idle for decades either, gathering countless small and medium-sized families that you've suppressed. When the external pressure is enough, the seemingly solid Shu will crumble in a flash. After the chaos comes order, after the disorder comes rebirth, but the rebirth of Shu requires enough sacrifices. Prince Ji, Li Shen, and the Tang family are just right!"

"Who will be the sacrifice is still uncertain. A small force crossing mountains and valleys thinks it can shake the Tang family's business that has been built up over countless generations in Sichuan?" Tang Yin sneered.

"Or it's because you've been here too long that you've incurred the wrath of heaven and the resentment of the people!" Hong Zhan laughed loudly. "It's like a piece of dry firewood that's been exposed to the sun and then doused with oil. Just throw a tiny spark on it, and with a whoosh, it will burst into a raging fire. Hahaha, hey, old man Tang, what are you doing?"

Amidst Hong Zhan's loud laughter, Tang Yin's originally thin figure gradually became plump, and his sunken face appeared fuller in a short time.

Hong Zhan's smile slowly froze on his face; he knew what Tang Yin was doing.

"Old man Tang, do you want to die?"

"I've lived long enough!" Tang Yin exhaled, and with a whoosh, a huge rock in front of him shattered into pieces. "So, I must do something more for the Tang family before I die!"

Tang Yin's body floated up, and the water in the entire pool flew up with him. At this moment, the waterfall that had been cascading down suddenly turned upside down.

From Hong Zhan's perspective, it looks as if Tang Yin is holding up this great waterfall with both hands.

Then, with Tang Yin's loud shout, a barrage of water arrows rained down on Hong Zhan.

"Tang Yin, you're a madman!"

Hong Zhan roared in anger.

A moment later, the water arrows dissipated, and Tang Yin had vanished. Hong Zhan stood there covered in blood, his hands still in the stance of throwing punches, before finally lowering them inch by inch after a long while.

Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Hong Zhan shook his head and said, "Old Tang, you don't even care about your life anymore!"

(End of this chapter)