Day and night tour

Chapter 478 Changes in the Sky
"Li Shanzu is dead too?"

The clumsy monk, who was watching the spectacle, also widened his eyes and said to the leader of the Longevity Cult, "Master, did you mishear the drum?"

Not long ago, the leader of the Longevity Cult spoke eloquently, believing that Zhou Xuan was merely hiding his strength, possessing the combat power of nine incense sticks but refusing to use it, which must be for some kind of scheme.

Now, this doesn't seem like a scheme.

Schemes are meant to outmaneuver others; why would you send your own people to their deaths?
“Yun Ziliang is dead, and Li Shanzu has also perished. If we don’t enter the arena soon, I’m afraid Zhou Xuan will also die on this stage.”

The crippled monk spoke incessantly and plaintively, like a wronged woman.

The leader of the Longevity Cult was constantly beating the drum, the drumsticks clattering incessantly.

The drumhead vibrated incessantly, and the drumbeats continued to resonate. He listened intently, and the more he listened, the more foolish he felt he had been earlier.
“Strange, I can really hear the dying aura of Yun Ziliang and Li Changxun in my drum. They are really dead.”

"Could it be that Zhou Xuan and Yun Ziliang never even reached the nine-stick incense burner stage?"

"We have to step in and save Zhou Xuan."

The crippled monk said.

"How...how can we save him?"

The leader of the Longevity Cult pointed at the Grandmaster of Escape and the Buddhist figures in the theater and said, "Those people, each of them is above the level of nine incense sticks, are they even human? They're like dogs jumping over walls, they'll bite anyone who tries to stop them."
"If we both step onto the field, are we absolutely guaranteed to win?"

"No one in this Well Kingdom dares to offend the Heavenly Vault." The Heavenly Crippled Monk's meaning was simple: to reveal his identity.

"Old Can, Old Can, use your brain! Are those Dunjia Taishang still people of the Well Kingdom? They're already people of the Buddha Kingdom!"
We are indeed imperial envoys from the Heavenly Vault, but to use the swords of the Well Kingdom to slay the realm lord of the Buddha Kingdom? What were you thinking?

"We're all desperate criminals; if we end up like this, we'll be in deep trouble too."

The leader of the Longevity Cult constantly admonished the crippled monk.

In his view, when the crippled monk was practicing in the human world, he lived in Xueshan Prefecture for a long time. Xueshan Prefecture was a Buddhist city, and the "Crippled Robe" sect had a strong affinity with Buddhism. Its status in Xueshan Prefecture was second only to the "Rotation Zen Sect". Wherever it went, it was highly respected.

"Old Can, you've never seen true cruelty."

The leader of the Longevity Cult understands all too well how crazy some desperate people can become.

"If Zhou Xuan dies, we'll be in deep trouble."

"Oh dear, the punishments the heavens inflict on us are always limited. We'll just have to endure them for a while, but if we fight these desperados and perish, then we'll truly perish."

The leader of the Longevity Cult wasn't completely without options. He said, "The incense-offering Taoist priest was invited to keep order. Now that things are in chaos, I'll go and ask him if he can save Zhou Xuan."

“That’s fine too.” The crippled monk agreed with the suggestion.

The leader of the Longevity Cult immediately began to move around the stage. His cultivation was not as high as that of the "Incense Offering Taoist," so he did not move around as freely. After much trouble, he finally arrived in front of the Incense Offering Taoist.

"You incense-burning deity, can you still stand here?"

"Oh, Master, I'm not the one going to fight to the death, so why should I be unable to stand up?"

The Taoist priest, adopting a wait-and-see attitude, kept scanning the empty space on the stage.

He searched diligently for Zhou Xuan, who was hiding in the spatial rift. He finally found him, but as soon as Zhou Xuan moved quickly, he disappeared again, like a sailfish hiding in the deep sea.

He murmured, "Zhou Xuan's tortoise breathing technique is a level higher than when I last saw him use it. If this young man is kept around, he may become a real threat in the future."

The leader of the Longevity Cult didn't hear the incense-offering Taoist priest's murmurs. With an anxious expression, he said again, "Incense-offering Taoist priest, Zhou Xuan is a promising talent. Heaven is in dire need of capable people. It would be a real pity if he died in this arena..."

"It's a pity, but life and death are predestined; how can we force it?"

The Taoist priest stroked his white beard, looking completely unconcerned, and said, "I am a celestial being, and as such, I am not allowed to take action in the mortal realm."

As you know, every time a celestial being makes a move, it tears a narrow rift between the heavens and the mortal realm, allowing some members of the Heavenly Fire Clan to descend to earth.

“However, if it's to save Zhou Xuan, I think it's worth it…”

"No."

The incense-burning Taoist priest turned his head, glared at the leader of the Longevity Cult, and said, "If another member of the Heavenly Fire Clan like Young Master Linming were to descend to the mortal realm, would you go and hunt him down?"

"That's not my job."

"That's a god-level responsibility. I caused trouble while saving people, and instead of helping me clean up the mess, you're making me do it all by myself? Do you want to work me to death?"

The Taoist priest flicked his sleeves and said,

"Stop talking. The stage was set up by Zhou Xuan, and the fight to the death was also his idea. There's no one else interfering on this stage. It's a fair fight in the martial arts world, and no one can come to his rescue without a legitimate reason!"

These words completely blocked the "excuse for saving people" that the leader of the Longevity Cult wanted to find, and his refusal was very strong.

The leader of the Longevity Cult could find no reason to plead further, so he could only sigh and return to the side of the Crippled Monk.

"Master, have the Taoist priests who offer incense and prayers agreed to help?"

"No."

The leader of the Longevity Cult kept shaking his head, his expression shifting between light and dark, as if he were hiding something very deep.

The Heavenly Crippled Monk noticed the Longevity Cult Leader's frustration and said from the side, "Master, if you are afraid of being blamed by the Heavenly Void, let's charge in... With our strength, even if we can't save Zhou Xuan, we can still escape unscathed."

"I will not participate in saving Zhou Xuan. What makes us gods who have lived so long survive? It is because we are cautious and prudent, and we never do anything that seems too risky."

The Longevity Cult Leader continued, "My concern is not about saving Zhou Xuan, but rather—the behavior of the incense and Taoist deities just now seemed rather strange."

"What's weird?"

The crippled monk asked a question.

"Last time when we were in Huangyuan Prefecture, the incense and Taoist deities valued Zhou Xuan highly, and their relationship seemed to be extraordinary. However... today, the Taoist deities are acting out of character, completely ignoring Zhou Xuan's life or death."

"So what? We gods, after cultivating supernatural powers, also gradually lose our humanity."

They are at the level of gods; compared to us, their emotions only grow increasingly detached. What seems like deep feelings today will, in three to five days, be cast aside—this is perfectly normal for them.

"it's not true."

The leader of the Longevity Cult shook his head, pointed to the sky, and said, "The reason we gods are emotionally detached is because of the elixirs in the heavens... coupled with the loneliness and isolation of living in the celestial realm for so long, which has led to a significant change in our temperament."

However, those at the celestial level are often figures of intense emotion; they are the guardians of humanity. Without a magnanimous heart that embraces the world and a deep love for all living beings, they cannot attain the status of celestial beings.
The Taoist priest who burns incense is by no means a heartless or ungrateful person.

"Is there really such a saying?" the crippled monk exclaimed in surprise.

The Lord of Longevity nodded and said, "I also overheard the Four Great Divine Lords talking about it by chance a few years ago when I went to the Realm of Time."

"That's strange. The incense god and Zhou Xuan have such a good relationship, and he's a very enthusiastic person. How could he not care about Zhou Xuan's life or death?"

The leader of the Longevity Cult listened from the side. Suddenly, as if he had thought of something, he was about to speak, but before he could utter a single word, he stopped and beckoned to the crippled monk, "Come closer."

"Sounds strange and mysterious." The crippled monk complained, but his body language betrayed him as he moved closer.

The leader of the Longevity Cult whispered, "Old Can, I suspect that the incense-offering deity I invited is a fake."

"what?"

"When I went to invite the incense god, I used the hourglass of the heavens to go to the space-time realm, but I had only traveled less than half the distance when I encountered the incense god riding a donkey. He seemed to be waiting for me."

The more the leader of the Longevity Cult spoke, the more astonished the crippled monk became.

"I couldn't see through this fake incense god's tricks, which means he's far superior to me."

"Much stronger than you?" The Crippled Monk was even more surprised.

In the heavens, the Lord of Longevity is by no means the strongest god-level being, but he is certainly one of the more capable gods-level beings.

If we were to categorize the gods in the heavens based on their strength, then Wuwen Mountain's "Sixteen Forms," ​​the former "Bow Master," and "Bifang" would undoubtedly be considered top-tier gods.

The leader of the Longevity Cult belongs to the second tier.

The leader of the Longevity Cult said that the "fake incense-offering Taoist priest" was much stronger than himself, so the other party's strength must have reached the level of a first-tier god.

"No, even in Bifang's dream, it would be extremely difficult to not slip up in front of me. That fake incense burner is much stronger than Bifang... he may have already reached the level of a celestial being."

"hiss."

The crippled monk immediately exhaled a breath of stale air. A celestial being, impersonating a "cash-offering Taoist priest"—he thought for a moment, then asked again.

"What's he after? Is he just like the people from the Buddhist Kingdom, here to steal pills and blue-red fish?"

"Use your brain. If he were to steal the pill and the Azure-Red Fish, what should he do? He should save Zhou Xuan! If Zhou Xuan is dead, who will refine that Seven-Colored Golden Pill?" After saying this, the Longevity Sect Master cautiously looked at the incense-offering Taoist priest: "Old Can, let's not try to guess the thoughts of this god-level being. However, given his attitude of refusing to help Zhou Xuan in his time of need, even if we get involved, we still can't save Zhou Xuan."

"If a Celestial-level being wants Zhou Xuan dead, then no one can save him, unless... unless..."

"Unless what?"

The crippled monk asked a question.

"Unless the ancestor of the Zhou family troupe can wake up... Zhou Xuan will only have a chance to survive if the Nuo God awakens."

"The Nuo God is the strongest god in the Jing Kingdom. He is unparalleled in his fighting spirit. Even if the Heavenly Venerable were to descend, he might not be able to gain the upper hand."

As the leader of the Longevity Cult was speaking, he was suddenly enveloped by a piercing gaze.

That gaze seemed to have come from the heavens.

He looked up abruptly and saw a pair of gleaming eyes in the rolling black clouds.

"It's Mr. Yan."

The Longevity Cult Leader quickly closed his eyes to sense the presence of the eye in the sky. He sensed that behind that eye, there was a person sitting... The person had a fat head and big ears, and a fleshy growth on his throat. It was none other than the Palace Master of the Longevity Palace—Qing Yangyu.

"Mingjiang Prefecture is really interesting tonight. People from the Buddhist Kingdom have arrived, the masters of the esoteric arts have all appeared, and the colorful opera, which disappeared for more than two thousand years, has also seen the light of day again."

There was also a celestial being posing as a worshipper, the Palace Master of the Heavenly Vault, silently observing the unfolding events. A confluence of events was brewing.

Several thunderclaps resounded in the chest of the Eternal Life Cult Leader. To witness such a scene was something he rarely encountered even in his long life.

The Crippled Monk didn't understand the Celestial God level, but he did understand Qing Yangyu. He asked the Longevity Cult Leader, "Cult Leader, you said that Qing Yangyu is obsessed with the medicinal properties of pills every day and ignores worldly affairs. Today, has the sun risen in the west? He's actually sitting in the passage, looking down on the human world."

"Perhaps, the Sky Dome's plan has changed?" A bad thought popped into the mind of the Eternal Life Cult Leader.

……

The stone houses in the sky have always been used by the Skyfire Clan as surveillance windows to observe the "sick villages" on earth.

Qingyangyu slumped in a large chair, giving instructions to the maggot-like Mr. Yan.
"Xiao Yan, you'd better watch out. There can't be the slightest mistake when it comes to Zhou Xuan's matter. Your eyeballs aren't eyeballs; they're my head."

Qingyangyu threw a large, fat worm into his mouth, chewing it with gusto and juicy juices flowing freely.

On the table next to him, there was a large bucket piled up with these insects.

As Mr. Yan looked down at the human world, he said, "Palace Master, didn't Baiyujing send a message that as long as Zhou Xuan can refine a good pill, they will spare this magician?"

"The orders from above have changed. If Zhou Xuan is able to summon the 'God of Drama in the Mortal Realm,' kill him without mercy."

"A god of drama among men? He probably doesn't have that ability. Even the most skilled actors in the past couldn't do it."

Mr. Yan said with a forced smile.

"I know he doesn't have the ability... but keep a close eye on him, you can't go wrong."

After Qing Yangyu finished speaking, he threw another pill into his mouth. Under the effect of the pill, the wriggling insects appeared to him as a plate of delicious food, with excellent color, aroma and taste.

……

On the stage in Mingjiang Prefecture, all forces cast their burning gazes upon it.

Mr. Yan was observing the strange phenomenon on the stage, while the Taoist priest was intently searching for Zhou Xuan.

The audience was still grieving the deaths of "Li Changxun" and "Yun Ziliang".

Meanwhile, the Buddhists and the few others, including the Supreme Master of Escape Technique, were also searching for Zhou Xuan, in case he launched a counterattack after disappearing into hiding.
Their eyes and gazes were focused on different things, and they failed to notice that in the place where Li Changxun and Yun Ziliang died, amidst those shocking pools of blood, a large number of peach blossoms and willow catkins had appeared.

The flying sword of the Calabash Supreme first slew Yun Ziliang, then severed Li Changxun's wind, demonstrating its extreme sharpness.
He was even more pleased with himself at this moment, the flying sword hovering three feet above his shoulder, making a clanging sound.

“Zhou Xuan, all your helpers have been killed by our Dunjia Sect, especially that Li Changxun, who was crushed to death by the Well Formation. His death was truly tragic.”

"And you... can only be a coward?"

"You've managed to save your life and survive by clinging to life."

At this point, the Elder Calabash began to show a hint of dissatisfaction. He raised his hands high, waving them at the eyes of the audience, and sneered repeatedly: "Those self-righteous people from Mingjiang Prefecture, just you wait and see!"

This is your great master… this is the great master you regard as your faith and integrity, abandoning his companions to escape alone. How is he any different from us, the disciples of the Dunjia School?

“Every word you said to us just now was directed at Zhou Xuan.”

The audience was speechless.
But soon, a sound invigorated them.

“I, Zhou Xuan, have never walked this path before.”

“Pah.”

With the sound of a gavel striking the stage, Zhou Xuan's figure appeared out of nowhere.

At this moment, he no longer concealed his incense-burning combat power—he was the combat power of nine incense sticks.

"Oh, nine incense sticks have burned already?"

Zhou Xuan's aura was not concealed, and the gourd-shaped Supreme Being naturally sensed it.

Zhou Xuan knew that Li Changxun and Yun Ziliang had faked their deaths; their deaths were "pre-arranged deaths" in a script he had written.
But as if two old friends had truly died, his eyes reddened, and he spoke with great emotion.

“I was breaking through my cultivation level just now and couldn’t save Lao Yun and Li Shanzu. However, I, Zhou Xuan, have never lived a life of cowardice. Today, either I will kill all of you, or you will step over my corpse and leave this stage.”

"Tsk tsk, how arrogant."

Grandmaster Hulu coldly laughed: "I know you, Zhou Xuan, are invincible in the same realm, but you have no help. We have many people on our side. No matter how brave you are, what can you do?"

"Let us show you the spirit of our Jing Kingdom—even knowing we are no match, we will fight to the death."

Zhou Xuan stood in the cold wind, the mask at his waist flapping together in the wind.
He took out the "Taoist Ancestor Mask" and gently placed it on his face, saying, "Vajra, Heavenly King, and Bodhisattva of the Buddhist Kingdom, and the Supreme One of the Escape Technique, come and fight!"

Zhou Xuan faced the Supreme Being and the people of the Buddhist Kingdom alone, exuding an aura of authority without anger.

"Raise your sword."

With his right hand, the Calabash Supreme pointed at Zhou Xuan, and the flying sword that had performed many miraculous feats shot towards Zhou Xuan.

Before the sword even arrived, Zhou Xuan's figure was enveloped in waves of dark blue light, which was the "Star Transformation" technique of the Star Law.

He transformed himself into nothingness to evade attacks from those physical entities.
However, that incomparably sharp flying sword did not simply leave after piercing Zhou Xuan's body.
The sword was covered in Taoist talismans, and countless blood threads shot out, hooking into Zhou Xuan's body and binding his soul.

"Your laws of the stars can evade the strongest defenses in the mortal realm... but my flying sword, nurtured with righteous energy, can snatch souls and steal spirits. So what if you are nothingness?"

"How about it? I can cut off one of the dogs next to you."

The gourd master immediately saw that "Zhou Xuan" not far away was still connected by the red threads of the flying sword, but behind his junior brother, Daoist Ba Jiao, another Zhou Xuan appeared.

Zhou Xuan had a bone tooth swirling around him, moving with incredible speed as it struck the Banana Daoist's back with lightning speed.

The Banana Daoist reacted quickly, fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan and waving it back at Zhou Xuan and Gu Ya.

Zhou Xuan immediately activated his Swift Horse and stood in front of Bone Fang.
That banana leaf fan produced a fierce wind, as if many sharp blades were hidden within its force.

The Banana Taoist intended to use these wind blades to block the Bone Fang.

Zhou Xuan saw through his methods and used his own flesh and blood to block the sharp blades, so as not to be repelled by Gu Ya and lose the opportunity to kill Ba Jiao.

Using people to block the wind and teeth to kill enemies—this reckless fighting style immediately made the usually imposing Banana Taoist feel a chill.

"You...you're crazy...you're asking for it."

"It's insane, and it gets even crazier from here on out."

Zhou Xuan not only had to block the wind blades for Gu Ya, but he also activated the Divine Speed ​​Armor Horse again, like a stubborn fish, facing the wind blades and going against the current.

When he was only a foot away from the Banana Leaf Taoist, Zhou Xuan's hands, like iron clamps, gripped the Taoist's arms tightly and refused to let go.
He roared, "Bone Fang, divine weapon protection!"

Bone Fang received the summons and immediately sped past Zhou Xuan.

The wind blades were scraping and piercing Zhou Xuan's body, while the bone fangs were rapidly piercing through the body of the Banana Daoist.

"Let's see who's tougher!" Zhou Xuan said, almost frantically...

(End of this chapter)