Day and night tour

Chapter 477 The Sword-Nourishing Gourd
The gourd-shaped Taoist priest seemed to have seen through the mystery. After all, he was a member of the Taoist sect, and he knew very well what kind of aura and level a dragon-seeking master with nine incense sticks of skill should have.

Although the gourd that he passed through the mountain was not at its last gasp, it had already lost most of its strength. If Yun Ziliang had already burned nine incense sticks, he could knock down his gourd without breaking a sweat.

But the scene before them was quite different; Yun Ziliang's defense appeared to be extremely difficult.

Therefore, he could conclude that the blood mist spreading from the stage did not allow this Dragon-Seeking Celestial Master to advance to the level of Nine Incense Sticks in combat strength.

If Yun Ziliang couldn't even burn nine incense sticks, then Zhou Xuan, needless to say, naturally couldn't either.

The gourd-shaped Taoist then loudly informed the Medicine Buddha.

"You discovered I didn't have nine incense sticks?"

Yun Ziliang used the Eight Trigrams Formation of Nine Dragons to violently shake the gourd, whose momentum had already weakened, and headed towards Zhou Xuanxing.

The Calabash Taoist looked relaxed at this moment.

If Zhou Xuan and Yun Ziliang have already advanced to the Nine Incense Sticks stage, then even if the Supreme Master of Escape Techniques and the Buddhist people join forces, relying on their superior numbers, they won't gain any advantage.
"However, you didn't enter the Nine Incense Sticks Realm... Heh... Well, that's another story."

The Supreme Master of the Gourd sneered inwardly.

In the sacred shrines of the Well Kingdom, the difference between nine and eight incense sticks is only one stick, but the gap between them is greater than the distance between heaven and earth.

Even if it were Yun Ziliang, who swept through the Daoist sects three hundred years ago, or Zhou Xuan, who was invincible in the same realm, eight incense sticks are still just eight incense sticks. No matter how powerful eight incense sticks are, they are still just eight incense sticks and cannot make any waves.

"Victory is assured, and the advantage lies with us."

As soon as the Calabash Taoist relaxed, his mischievous ideas started popping out.

His gaze toward Yun Ziliang carried a hint of disdain, and he thought to himself,
"I should kill Yun Ziliang quickly, then help the Medicine Master and the others, and then kill Zhou Xuan. After all, I've already failed in my mission for 'Di Zi' today. If I return to the capital, he'll probably cause me trouble."

But if... I've latched onto the coattails of the Buddhist Kingdom, then "Di Zi" won't dare to easily trample on my head.

The Five Masters of the Buddhist Kingdom are all realm lords of the Buddhist Kingdom, and are influential figures in the thirty-three heavens of the Buddhist Kingdom.

Although they were among the lower-ranking Realm Lords, they were still Realm Lords nonetheless.

Having pondered this, the gourd-shaped Taoist once again activated the yellow paper shoes beneath his feet. Facing the towering mountain that Yun Ziliang had stirred up, he walked as if on flat ground, blocking in front of Old Yun. With his toes, he traced the shape of the character "川" (river).

This is the "River Formation" of Dunjia, which contains high mountains and rapids, and has the function of encirclement.

Once the formation was set up, all the laws within it were revealed.

Countless mountains and rivers formed a protective formation, pressing towards Yun Ziliang.

Yun Ziliang separated the nine great dragons to disperse the power of the mountains and rivers, in order to break free from the encirclement and help Zhou Xuan.

When it comes to the art of manipulating mountains and waters, which sect in the world can compare to the art of finding dragons?

However, due to the disparity in the number of worshippers, Yun Ziliang was unable to break through the "river-shaped formation" in a short period of time.

The gourd-shaped Taoist priest was now like a cat toying with a mouse. He was confident that he could kill Yun Ziliang instantly the moment his murderous intent was revealed, but he didn't intend to kill him; he was just trying to gain some leverage.

He turned to the Medicine Buddha and said, "Medicine Buddha, today, our Dunjia Sect is besieged on all sides. Zhou Xuan of Mingjiang Prefecture has laid a trap, waiting for us, the Supreme Elders, to fall into it."
That cowardly butcher went to the capital again and tried to destroy my sect. Even if we win this battle, I'm afraid we won't have a place to stay in the Kingdom of Jing.
If the Medicine Buddha is willing to take us under his wing, then the four of us brothers will finally have a place to go. What do you think?

As soon as he said that, the audience on the stage cursed him out!

The fact that the Calabash Taoist betrayed his daughter-in-law and grandson is a matter of private morality; the audience simply feels disgust and aversion towards him.

His alliance with the Buddhist Kingdom on the stage was merely a tactical maneuver in the face of enemy attack.

But now, his open surrender to the Buddhists has enraged the audience to the extreme.

The Buddhist and Taoist sects were extremely prosperous in Jingguo, and many ordinary people were believers in these two faiths.

They could not accept that the Taoist sect of Jing Kingdom would surrender to the Buddhist people in front of everyone.

"You Taoist priest who uses the art of escape, have you no shame?!"

"Disgraceful, a disgrace to the people of Jing Kingdom. I'm just a shoemaker. If the people of Buddha Kingdom come to destroy my homeland and put a knife to my throat, I'd be a dog if I even flinched."

"For a bastard who has surrendered to the Buddhist kingdom to stand on the same stage as you, Master, is an utter insult to you."

"After tonight, I'm going to donate another cent of incense money to your Taoist sect. I just couldn't resist."

The audience's curses rose and fell, and the incense offerings for the gourd-wielding Taoist priest were constantly being drained away due to their indignation.

But the gourd-wielding Taoist priest didn't care. In his eyes, he had cultivated for countless years to reach this level, and if he were to die one day, all three hundred years of cultivation would have been in vain.

“Every day, from dawn till dusk, have I, the Calabash Taoist, ever slacked off or cheated?”
No, I worked harder and more diligently than any of my fellow disciples. I was the First Master of Dunjia, seemingly glamorous on the surface, but secretly I suffered a great deal.
If I were to retreat into darkness and abandon the pursuit of light because of a few words from you short-sighted ants, then I would be betraying myself.
This life is just this one life. All this talk of afterlife and reincarnation is illusory. As for merit and blessings, screw them all!

The gourd-shaped Taoist priest suddenly waved his hand, signaling his three junior brothers, Purple Ox, Red Pill, and Banana, to slow down their attacks.

Originally, Li Changxun was already struggling to breathe under the suppression of the three Dunjia Supremes, but now he has gained a little breathing space.

The reason the four masters of the Dunjia Sect did this was simply to force the Buddhist people to agree to surrender.

If you Buddhists take us in, we will fight with all our might. If you don't take us in, then we'll just slack off—we'll die together anyway.

This attempt to force Zhou Xuan's hand did not win the favor of the Medicine Buddha; the Buddhists simply dealt with Zhou Xuan silently.

"Let's just wait and see who can outlast whom."

While thinking to himself, the Calabash Taoist continuously added incense energy to the "Chuan" formation.

This incense offering was added in an extremely subtle way, ensuring that Yun Ziliang could not escape, but not so strong as to damage Yun Ziliang's combat power.

Preserving the opponent's fighting strength has now become a bargaining chip for the Calabash Taoist.

The audience was furious watching the situation in the arena. However, two people—the Crippled Monk and the Master of the Longevity Cult—did not watch the battle. Instead, they looked at the star chart above the arena.

Zhou Xuan's star chart was still absorbing the seven emotions and six desires that erupted from the audience.

These "seven emotions and six desires" are the most important materials for refining the elixir of immortality.

The Crippled Monk gazed sorrowfully at the star map and said to the Eternal Life Sect Leader, "Sect Leader, Zhou Xuan has schemed and plotted, but ultimately failed to reach the combat strength of the Nine Incense Sticks level. I fear he will be no match for him in this battle."

"If Tianqiong's future alchemist dies, we'll both be in deep trouble. Otherwise, should we join the fight?"

"Ignore it."

As the leader of the Longevity Cult gazed at the star chart, he shook the rattle drum in his hand. With each strike of the bead-like drumhead, a pool of blood appeared.

After playing for a long time, he stopped, pressed his left ear to the drum skin, listened for a while, and then leaned in and said, "Old Can, Yun Ziliang and Zhou Xuan have both burned nine incense sticks, which matches my guess."

"Oh?" The crippled monk was somewhat surprised.

The leader of the Longevity Cult continued, "When Yun Ziliang used his feng shui power just now, I was somewhat suspicious. His aura seemed to be at nine 'sticks' (a unit of energy), but also like eight. I guessed that he must have reached nine 'sticks,' but I don't know why he was trying to hide it."
I just used my "Mountain King Drum" to strike and calculate, and sure enough, Zhou Xuan and Yun Ziliang are both at the level of nine incense sticks in battle.
"Once Yun Ziliang and Zhou Xuan have been in the Nine Incense Sticks' Worth of Time, while it's hard to say they'll be invincible, at least in a battle against the Buddhists and the Supreme Master of Escape Technique, the outcome will be highly uncertain."

Upon hearing this, the Heavenly Crippled Monk was about to speak loudly when he was pulled back by the Eternal Life Sect Leader.

"If you loudly proclaim this secret, the gourd-wielding Taoist and the Medicine Buddha will overhear it, wouldn't that disrupt Zhou Xuan's plan?"

Even though the Longevity Cult Leader and the Crippled Monk disliked Zhou Xuan, they were now in the same boat—if Zhou Xuan couldn't refine good pills, their lives would probably be difficult once they returned to the Heavenly Vault.

"You believe that concealing our true strength is Zhou Xuan's scheme?"

The crippled monk asked a question.

“That Zhou Xuan is cunning. There’s always something fishy going on. He’s hiding something. Let’s just wait and see.”

After the leader of the Longevity Cult finished speaking, he looked at the star map again.

……

Yun Ziliang and Li Changxun were both entangled, while Zhou Xuan, who had "eight incense sticks," was besieged by three Buddhists.

For a moment, things really did become quite dangerous.

"Zhou Xuan, you're a fighter with the strength of an eight-stick incense stick, but you're really good at running."

The Vajra Guide, having finally managed to reach Zhou Xuan using its legs, immediately spun the moon wheel in its hand and hurled it at Zhou Xuan.

The moon, incredibly sharp, whipped up a whistling wind as it hurtled towards us.

Zhou Xuan neither dodged nor avoided the moon. Only when the edge of the moon was about to cut into his clothes did he suddenly activate the "Divine Speed ​​Armor Horse," pulling his body dozens of feet away from the moon.

Having escaped death, Zhou Xuan was not content to flee. He had only just created some distance when he immediately used "Divine Soul Day Travel" again.
His soul, invisible and formless, actually clung to the snow-white Medicine Buddha.
Then came the transformation, and his true form suddenly appeared behind the Medicine Buddha.

Immediately afterwards, the bone tooth was struck.

A beam of white light shot towards the vital point on the back of the Medicine Buddha.

"At a time like this, you dare to fight back. Should I admire your courage or despise your stupidity?"

The colossal statue of the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King pointed to a towering golden pagoda that blocked the path of the bone tooth.

A crisp clang was heard as the impact occurred.

The bone tooth was sent flying backwards by the impact, but the tower's body also developed fine, almost invisible cracks.

"That's not right, Pharmacist. This master isn't just aiming for ninety; he's a fake nine-stick incense stick."

The Heavenly King of Reception, who was capturing Zhou Xuan by foot, chimed in, "He was just sitting at eight and looking towards nine a moment ago, and now he's a fake nine? His incense offerings are still rising!"

This news thrilled the audience, rekindling their hope that as long as the Grand Master of Mingjiang Prefecture remained standing, Mingjiang Prefecture would still have one last, unextinguished flame.

“If I don’t put some pressure on you, you and that Master of Dunjia will not be able to truly unite.”

Zhou Xuan muttered to himself.

He, Yun Ziliang, and Li Changxun had already agreed that they would not seek victory, but defeat—and a crushing defeat at that.

Only when they are defeated or die will the audience feel a surge of emotion.

The audience would call out to a real deity to appear on the stage, and that deity would appear in response to the call. This is the supreme technique of the "Human God of Opera," the art of the opera master's shrine.

Zhou Xuan's sword was never aimed at "Supreme Master of Escape" or "Three Styles of the Buddhist Kingdom". His target today was already determined: the fake incense-offering Taoist priest on the stage.

Now that the plan was in place, Zhou Xuan set about carrying it out.

Just as the Eternal Life Sect Master had said, he had already reached the combat power of nine incense sticks, but he had concealed his strength and suppressed his incense stick combat power to "sitting at eight and aiming for nine". Just now, he secretly raised his combat power slightly and mentioned "pseudo-nine incense sticks" in order to put some pressure on the Medicine Master Bodhisattva and the others.

"Kill Zhou Xuan quickly."

The pharmacist was afraid that Zhou Xuan's combat power would continue to rise, but his master did not want to take in those four Dunjia Supremes.

The Buddhist Kingdom is not a dumping ground for trash, where all sorts of rubbish and petty people are welcome.

Fearing this and not wanting that, the only path left before the Medicine Buddha and the others was to kill Zhou Xuan before he reached the Nine Incense Sticks.

But kill Zhou Xuan?

How difficult is it?

After Zhou Xuan lost his bone tooth, he swayed for a moment and then disappeared into thin air.

This is the "Turtle Breathing for a Thousand Years" of Dunjia Incense, which can hide in the gaps of heaven and earth.

The stronger one's perception, the more perfectly one can hide, making it difficult for others to detect.

"Zhou Xuan is gone."

The golden body of the Vajra Guide resembled a demon. He looked around but saw no trace of Zhou Xuan.

The Medicine Buddha shouted, "This is a concealment technique. I will find Zhou Xuan."

With a clear whistle, her white hair began to grow wildly, reaching a length of three thousand feet. Then, she slashed at her own white hair.
Those white hairs broke into countless fluffy white strands, drifting haphazardly through the air.

These white hairs, once they come into contact with a living thing, will burrow into that living thing's body like insects.

“My countless white hairs can penetrate into every space inside the stage. Let’s see how Zhou Xuan hides.”

The Medicine Buddha clenched his fists, determined to capture Zhou Xuan.
At that moment, Zhou Xuan stopped hiding and suddenly emerged from above the head of the Heavenly King of Guidance.

On his face, a purple mask shimmered—the mask of the Dao Ancestor.

"Know the black, but keep to the white, and be a model for the world."

Taking advantage of the crowd, Zhou Xuan descended from the sky like a crane. His figure was like a crane, but his strength was comparable to that of a dragon and an elephant. With one stomp, he forced the Heavenly King of Guidance to his knees.

People in the Buddhist Kingdom cultivate golden bodies, but these five styles of the Buddhist Kingdom are golden bodies condensed from the soul. Their bodies are not much stronger than those of ordinary disciples of the Well Kingdom.

As Zhou Xuan's body suddenly plummeted, the sound of the Heavenly King's bones breaking echoed continuously.

"You were actually lying right next to Junior Brother Jieyin?"

The Medicine Buddha never expected that Zhou Xuan, despite his insufficient cultivation level and being outnumbered three to one, would dare to resort to such a desperate measure.

"Hiding and dodging? I, Zhou Xuan, disdain it. So what if your cultivation level is inferior? So what if you are outnumbered? I will show you Buddhists that what is more indestructible than your golden bodies is the unparalleled fighting spirit of my Jing Kingdom."

Zhou Xuan moved, his foot crushing most of the Heavenly King's head into pieces.

Fortunately, the white hairs of the Medicine Buddha surged towards Zhou Xuan, who then re-entered the state of "breathing for a thousand years" and concealed himself.

The Heavenly King of Guidance, whose head was half crushed, cried out in pain, "Nine incense sticks have passed! Nine incense sticks have passed! I just felt it. For a moment, Zhou Xuan had already reached the nine incense sticks level. If I don't kill him soon... he will truly advance to the nine incense sticks level of combat power."

The Medicine Buddha and the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King, who were arrogant just now, are now trembling with fear.

Zhou Xuan, who was about to reach the age of 9, relied on his unpredictable methods and extremely strong combat intuition to fight the three of them to a standstill.

The three of them, from the Nine Revolutions Buddhist Kingdom, didn't gain any advantage whatsoever. If Zhou Xuan had burned nine incense sticks—

"Then killing us would be as easy as cutting melons and vegetables."

The Medicine Buddha Bodhisattva had completely lost her confidence. She dared not face the increasingly powerful Zhou Xuan directly anymore. She said to the Calabash Supreme in the distance, "Escape Armor Supreme, if you are willing to assist us, after Zhou Xuan dies and the stage is destroyed, our Buddhist Kingdom will protect you from death."

The pressure from Zhou Xuan was so great that the Medicine Buddha compromised and agreed to take in the four villains, including the Dunjia Taishang.

The gourd-shaped Taoist priest easily surrounded Yun Ziliang and said with a smile, "Medicine Master Bodhisattva, words alone are not enough. We need some evidence, otherwise, how can we four fellow disciples believe your words?"

"Prove it to your grandmother."

The Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King cursed inwardly.

Medicine Buddha Bodhisattva had no time to waste with the Taoist master, so her white hairs transformed into thousands of long threads that penetrated her body and pulled out a small golden Buddha.

The golden Buddha was only the size of a palm, but its features were exquisite and lifelike.

“This little Buddha is my natal golden Buddha. I swear to it that if I break my oath, my golden Buddha will decay and fall into ruin, and all my cultivation will be wasted.”

After the Medicine Buddha finished speaking, he began to swear an oath: "I, the Medicine Buddha, hereby declare that if the Supreme Master of Dunjia helps me to kill Zhou Xuan, I will take them as generals of the Buddhist Kingdom."

Her words condensed into thin blood vessels that leaped into the eyes of the golden Buddha. The golden Buddha's eyes moved and suddenly looked at the gourd-wielding Taoist.

After glancing at the golden Buddha, the gourd-wielding Taoist felt a strange sensation arise within him; he seemed to have formed a peculiar connection with the Medicine Buddha.

He was a discerning man, and the moment this feeling arose, he knew that today's alliance was secure.

"Since the Medicine Buddha has taken us in, we four brothers should naturally do our utmost to serve him."

Grandmaster Hulu said, "Let's see if my fellow disciples and I can kill Yun Ziliang and Li Changxun first, and then we'll help you kill Zhou Xuan!"

After saying that, he shouted, "Red pill, purple ox, banana, set up the tic-tac-toe formation."

At this command, the three Supreme Beings who were besieging Li Changxun simultaneously stepped onto the constellation positions, preparing to form the most terrifying encirclement formation in the Well Kingdom—the Well.

This well, once dug, can trap a true dragon among men.

As his junior brothers began their formation, Grandmaster Hulu sneered at Yun Ziliang and said, "Mr. Yun, I, Grandmaster Hulu, have cultivated for five cycles of sixty years. Besides some talismans and formations, I have refined a Qi and a sword—the Qi being my righteous Qi, and the sword, naturally, my gourd flying sword."
"I wouldn't normally use these two magical weapons unless absolutely necessary, but now, to kill you quickly, I'll use them anyway."

With a wave of his right hand, the gourd-wielding Taoist priest sent his natal gourd flying over.

"In the Taoist school, there is a saying about nurturing swords with gourds. My gourd has nurtured the best swords."

He bit his tongue, spat blood onto his right hand, dipped his finger in the blood, and drew a blood talisman on the gourd while chanting incantations.
"The art of escape and exorcism, the supreme Xuan Tian, ​​the sword hidden within the qi, the righteous qi and pure energy."

After he finished chanting the incantation, he made a sword-finger gesture with his right hand and swept it forcefully towards the mouth of the gourd.

"Draw out the sword!"

The gourd's mouth suddenly opened, and a small cyan sword flew out from inside.

The sword may be small, but its sword energy is powerful.

"The spiritual energy of Dunjia Mountain for a thousand years has nurtured this sword. Mr. Yun, behold this sword of mine, which will decide your life or death."

The sword of energy swept through the air and shot into the "Chuan" formation, heading straight for Yun Ziliang.

Yun Ziliang summoned nine great dragons to block the sword's momentum, but unexpectedly, the dragons suddenly weakened as soon as they flew to the sword. The dragons' fierce aura was subdued by the sword's momentum, and they no longer faced the Dragon Seeking Grand Master.

Without the dragon, Yun Ziliang once again stirred up layers upon layers of mountains, wrapping himself up in layers.

"Using a mountain to block a sword? That's probably not going to work."

The sword of energy shot into the mountain, piercing through layer after layer of the mountain, and reaching the very heart of the mountain.

puff!
Blood splattered, the mountain collapsed, and a huge cloud of dust rose. When the dust settled, Yun Ziliang had disappeared without a trace, leaving only a pool of blood.

"Mr. Yun has lost?"

"Mr. Yun is dead."

"Ah! What a fine gentleman he is; he truly embodies the spirit of Taoism."

A groan rippled through the audience—their eyes were brimming with tears.

However, there was an extra audience member in the audience seats. This audience member squinted and kept weaving through the audience. Finally, he came to a person with "crescent-shaped eyes" and whispered, "Master Zhou Lingyi, don't be afraid. It's all just a play. I'm still alive."

Zhou Lingyi's heart was in her throat just now. She really thought Yun Ziliang had been killed by the Qi Sword, but now that she heard Yun Ziliang's voice, she felt relieved.

She asked Yun Ziliang in a low voice, "Mr. Yun, what is my brother plotting now?"

"I don't know either, let's just watch the show quietly," Yun Ziliang said frankly.

……

"Master!"

Li Changxun knew that Yun Ziliang wasn't really dead, but rather feigning defeat, but he was still very into his act.
Upon seeing his master's "murder," Li Changxun cried out in anguish, determined to find his master's body.
However, the well-shaped formation was already fully formed, and it wouldn't be so easy for Li Changxun to get out.

But now that he was emotional, he cursed on the spot: "A mere formation can stop a Celestial God like me?"

He looked up and saw that the wellhead was still open. He immediately controlled the airflow and rushed towards the top of the well.

Just then, the flying sword that had "slain" Yun Ziliang struck again, severing the wind beneath Li Changxun's feet with a single strike.

Without the support of the wind, Li Changxun felt as if he had stepped into a bottomless pit, his body sinking continuously until he reached the deepest part of the "well-shaped formation".

Inside the grid formation, it was like a giant grinding wheel of flesh, constantly grinding and crushing Li Changxun into a pulp.

"Tsk tsk, Li Shanzu... has fallen."

The gourd-shaped Taoist priest said with great pride that he had "killed" Li Changxun and Yun Ziliang, which he considered extremely brilliant. However, he seemed to have forgotten that Zhou Xuan, who was hiding in the spatial rift, never showed himself when the two men died...

(End of this chapter)