Longzang

Chapter 279 Secret War
Wei Yuan felt a chill run down his spine instantly, realizing that he was being watched by something, and became instantly alert.

A gentle breeze seemed to blow past him, but Wei Yuan didn't feel it at all. Suddenly, a howl came from behind him, the howl of a cat with its fur standing on end.

Wei Yuan turned around and saw a huge white tiger appear out of thin air behind him, slapping its paw at empty space. Something flashed past under the tiger's paw, causing the lightning-fast paw to miss its target.

This white tiger is the spirit pet of the True Man of the Cultivation. It switches to a fighting stance in times of crisis, but now it has a gash on its shoulder, and it is unknown when it was injured.

Master Chuhe emerged from beneath the white tiger, covered in dust and his face deathly pale. The sneak attack had come without warning; had the white tiger not reacted so quickly, the old Taoist would likely be missing limbs by now.

Without any warning, the cultivators of Taichu Palace immediately dispersed, forming a defensive perimeter to monitor all directions.

Wei Yuan felt a sense of unease again. Before he could think it through, a three-sided curved cauldron appeared in his hand. When the three sides were put together, they formed a perfect circle, completely enveloping Wei Yuan.

More than ten streaks of black energy shot through the air and struck the cylindrical barrel, producing a clanging metallic sound! All the black energy was a step too slow and was deflected by Wei Yuan's protective cylindrical cauldron, scattering in all directions and causing chaos among the cultivators of Taichu Palace.

The old Taoist priest let out a scream as he was stabbed in the buttocks.

Wei Yuan had his defenses completely in place, and the shadow rapidly rose into the air, preparing to shoot in through the gap above.

But as soon as it flew to its position, it saw Wei Yuan take out another round cauldron and place it on top, covering the gap. Now there really wasn't even a tiny gap left.

The shadow seemed momentarily at a loss, then flew into a rage, unleashing a vast expanse of black energy as sharp as blades, engulfing all the cultivators below.

Amidst the clanging sounds, Wei Yuan's tortoise shell deflected all the incoming sword energy, proving its unparalleled strength.

The old Taoist priest let out another scream as he was stabbed twice more in the calf, one of which was deflected back by Wei Yuan.

Wei Yuan, hiding inside the tortoise shell, cast a spell, dragging several fiery meteors from the void and slamming them into the ground around him. With a deafening roar, waves of fire spread out, engulfing everything in their path.

The white tiger carried the old Taoist priest out of the raging fire, and half of the old Taoist priest's eyebrows were already singed.

As the meteor struck, the shadowy figure let out a sharp cry, seemingly in pain.

At this moment, the Demon-Suppressing Tower appeared out of thin air, freezing the shadow. Then, a thin beam of light swept across the sky, striking the shadow.

"Good!" Yu Zhizhuo shouted with a fist, happy to see the familiar sword light.

Zhang Sheng silently put away Zhanxu and took out Lishang.

The shadow was split in two and quickly fled, but the two shadows merged back together halfway through the journey, as if they had never been injured.

Two screams suddenly rang out from the outside; judging from the sound, they were from two Foundation Establishment cultivators who had followed them into the cave.

Wei Yuan no longer felt the lock on, so he opened the tortoise shell and rushed towards the source of the screams. There had been a group of three cultivators on guard, but now only one remained, standing there dumbfounded, completely terrified.

Two long trails of blood lay on the ground, winding their way into the palace complex. Clearly, the two monks had been attacked and dragged deep into the palace by the shadowy monster.

Wei Yuan shook the surviving cultivator vigorously and asked, "Did you see what that thing looked like?"

"No, no! It seems to be able to turn invisible, only showing its two claws, and it cleaved them in two in an instant..." The cultivator trembled like a leaf.

"Go and meet up with the others," Wei Yuan ordered, then followed the trail of blood. The trail stretched all the way to the gate of a palace, then turned inside.

Zhang Sheng and Ji Liuli were also there. They only stepped into the palace gate after seeing Wei Yuan follow them.

The shadowy monster was incredibly fast. From the moment the screams rang out until the cultivators arrived, it was only a breath's time. However, it had already dragged two people into the palace a hundred feet away, and Wei Yuan hadn't even seen a shadow of them.

Upon entering the palace gates, one finds a spacious courtyard, only slightly inferior to the palaces of princes and kings. Outside, this single main hall alone would be considered excessive.

Upon entering the courtyard, Wei Yuan felt the surroundings become cold and damp, and the sky seemed noticeably darker. The bloodstains split in two, leading to the left and right side halls respectively.

There are two monsters?

Wei Yuan did not act rashly, but used his divine sense to search and observe the square to see if there were any traps or mechanisms. Ji Liuli set up an array on the spot, while Zhang Sheng stood guard nearby.

In the blink of an eye, Ji Liuli's formation was completed, and a dazzling golden light rose from the formation, piercing the darkness that shrouded the palace and allowing the sunlight to shine on the palace once more.

"I have dispelled the yin energy here. However, I still need to be careful. The yin energy here is too heavy, yet there are no vengeful spirits. It's rather strange."

After discussing it, the three decided not to split up and to search in the order of left to right.

The side hall on the left was very dark. It seemed that something was originally enshrined here, but it had been violently destroyed and was now a mess.

Wei Yuan suddenly kicked a piece of wood, making a strange sound. He picked it up and saw that the broken piece of wood was covered with a lot of sticky liquid.

A drop of slime fell from above, landing precisely on the broken log. In an instant, a shadow fell from the roof, engulfing the three people below!
In an instant, the Demon Suppression Tower appeared, and the shadow's movements slowed down by a third. What was previously impossible to detect was now finally catching. With his two swords in hand, Zhang Sheng exchanged hundreds of blows with the shadow in an instant, taking a hit from the shadow and then returning three sword strikes.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Zhang Sheng staggered backward, blood dripping from his mouth, while several shadows were scattered in the air. The monster screamed and disappeared.

With a whooshing sound, a dozen flying swords swept past the spot where the monster had been, but they were a beat too slow and missed.

"What kind of monster is that?" Zhang Sheng and Ji Liuli asked at the same time, then realized that the other hadn't seen it clearly either.

Zhang Sheng held his sword, the blade covered in a sticky substance. He lightly touched it with his finger, and a wisp of smoke immediately rose from his fingertip, leaving a small, charred patch.

"Be careful, this monster's bodily fluids can corrode a magical body." Zhang Sheng's immortal sword flashed, annihilating all the slime.

Wei Yuan said, "We must not scatter."

The remaining cultivators of Taichu Palace were currently surrounding the palace, preparing to intercept Zhang Sheng and Ji Liuli once they forced the monster out. However, this monster was extremely powerful, and even more terrifying was its speed, which was among the best even among Dharma Aspects. If the group were to disperse again, it would be in grave danger.

Wei Yuan immediately gave orders to the cultivators who had been imbued with luck, and they were to relay his words to others.

Suddenly, the Demon-Suppressing Tower appeared on its own, and a shadow rushed into its base, its speed noticeably slowing. Zhang Sheng advanced instead of retreating, slashing with both swords in quick succession, while a fourth immortal sword slowly descended. Once he detected an opponent's aura, the immortal sword would automatically annihilate their primordial spirit.

At this moment, Wei Yuan raised his spear, stepped forward, and thrust out with a counter-attack, but missed.

Wei Yuan suppressed his surging Dao power and fired another shot. With a booming sound, a swarm of lead pellets shot out from the muzzle, only to miss again.

But this time Wei Yuan saw it clearly. Just as the gun muzzle shot out a flash of light, the monster was still in front of the gun muzzle. But when the flash of light was bright and the lead ball was fired, there was nothing in front of him. The monster had moved away.

This was still the result under the Demon-Suppressing Tower of Senior Sister. If it weren't for the Demon-Suppressing Tower, Wei Yuan probably wouldn't even have been able to see the monster's whereabouts.

Zhang Sheng let out a muffled groan, struck again, and this time he returned three sword blows. Blood trickled from his nose, clearly indicating a serious injury. As for the monster, no one could say for sure how badly it was injured.

Two screams suddenly rang out outside the palace; these were from lone cultivators who had not yet gathered together.

It had just finished fighting Zhang Sheng when, in the blink of an eye, it attacked and killed other cultivators hundreds of feet away.
Wei Yuan felt a chill run down his spine; he had never seen such speed before! Moreover, the monster's characteristics were strange, and without knowing its origins and traits, it was impossible to lock onto it with his divine sense.

Before Wei Yuan could come up with a solution, he suddenly felt a cold, sticky sensation on his body again, and he immediately knew that he was being watched again.

Wei Yuan's consciousness suddenly cleared, and under the influence of external forces, he rose higher and higher, leaping out of the surrounding mist. This time, from his vantage point, he could see clearly that nearly invisible threads were extending from the darkness, reaching down at him, trying to entangle him.

Wei Yuan suddenly realized that once he was entangled by these threads, he would be targeted by the monster, and what followed would be a barrage of attacks. Wei Yuan would have no chance against such attacks and could only hope that his physical body could withstand them.

However, at that moment, several pale red sword energies appeared around Wei Yuan, flashing like lightning and severing all the threads that were wrapping around him.

The monster seemed unwilling to give up, extending more threads that coiled around Wei Yuan from all directions. Several more pale red sword energies appeared, and finally, seven sword energies were unleashed simultaneously, severing all the threads. Wei Yuan was immediately surrounded as if black snow were falling, with threads constantly drifting down.

This was an attack at the primordial spirit level. Wei Yuan, not yet having achieved Dharma form, would normally be unable to see these things. However, for some unknown reason, it seemed that his primordial spirit's status had been greatly enhanced, allowing him to see all of this from a superior position.

This invisible attack was extremely fierce, but if it weren't for the improvement of his primordial spirit level, Wei Yuan would have only felt that the monster was trying to lock onto him, but failed.

It seems the laurel tree is still somewhat useful... Wei Yuan thought to himself with a sigh of praise.

Just as he finished praising her, Wei Yuan saw a strange thread, shimmering with light, emerge from the void and point towards him. Despite its obvious appearance, the Moon Laurel Tree seemed oblivious, continuing its battle with the ordinary threads around it.

Wei Yuan was extremely anxious, but his primordial spirit was in a special state and he couldn't move or do anything. He watched as the thread landed on his body and entered his sea of ​​consciousness.

At this moment, Wei Yuan suddenly remembered that this was the thread of cause and effect, which the teacher had shown during the initial intensive course.

However, this was a genuine method of a True Lord. When it was demonstrated, True Lord Yan Shi personally stepped in, waving his hand to turn the classroom into an endless void, where countless bright and dazzling lines of cause and effect crisscrossed, especially among the students, who were entangled in countless ways.

At that time, Wei Yuan was still young. Faced with such a spectacle, he could only exclaim in amazement and nothing else.

Seeing the thread of cause and effect fall upon him, Wei Yuan was both shocked and furious. Did this monster want to form some kind of karmic entanglement with him? Didn't it know that he might attract a karmic curse at any moment?

The thread of cause and effect entered the sea of ​​consciousness, then suddenly veered off course and became entangled in the newly grown Bodhi tree. The Bodhi tree's branches and leaves swayed, pulling the thread towards them and continuously absorbing it.

The thread of cause and effect tightened more and more, and the monster seemed unable to bear the burden, finally breaking and being completely absorbed by the Red Lotus Bodhi.

Wei Yuan finally understood that this was a covert struggle at the level of a True Monarch of the Imperial Realm, and that the Bodhi tree in front of the Buddha was the one that allowed him to glimpse all of this.

Seeing through the illusion, I now understand why.

(End of this chapter)