Catching Monsters

Chapter 696 Where did they go!

Not long after giving instructions to his subordinates, a powerful expert at the Bodhisattva realm appeared on a lotus platform in the distance and quickly landed beside Xia Yuxin.

Seeing this, Xia Yuxin remained calm, slowly stepped forward, put his hands together, and said, "Amitabha, Master Faqing."

This Master Faqing was also a highly accomplished monk of considerable status, but he lacked interest in worldly power.

He and Xia Yuxin were both first-rank Bodhisattva level experts in Buddhism.

"What happened?" Master Faqing looked to be around forty years old, with skin as white as a baby's. He held a string of Buddhist prayer beads in his hand and his gaze was fixed on the direction of the palace.

Xia Yuxin said in a deep voice, "Yesterday, a delegation from the Zhou Kingdom came, claiming to be visiting the King. I led them here according to the King's instructions."

"Unexpectedly, this group suddenly attacked and killed the king."

"Furthermore, among the people here is a man named Jiang Yun, who is the thief who killed my master, Master Hongguang."

Upon hearing this, Fa Qing's expression turned serious, and he slowly said, "The person who killed Master Hongguang has also come here?"

Meanwhile, inside the palace, Jiang Yun's face was also gloomy, as the current situation was quite different from what he had expected.

Jiang Yun's original plan was to enter the palace, meet the king, and then reveal Xia Yuxin's conspiracy in its entirety, so that at the very least, the king could be won over to their side.

Xia Yuxin acted swiftly and decisively, killing the king before they arrived.

Bang bang bang.

At this moment, outside the main hall, many monks carrying knives and spears filed into the hall, seemingly poised to quickly subdue Jiang Yun and his companions in one fell swoop.

Seeing this, Da Cai, the cat being held in Ai Tangtang's arms, licked its paws and nimbly jumped off Ai Tangtang's arms, a powerful demonic aura bursting out from its body.

Outside the palace, Xia Yuxin was standing beside Master Faqing, watching as numerous monks rushed into the palace.

Suddenly, the ground trembled slightly.

There was a loud bang.

Sounds like the roars of wild beasts came from inside.

Then, one by one, the monks scrambled out of the room.

Several monks' corpses were also thrown out of there.

A gigantic monster, its face contorted with savage ferocity, carrying a corpse in its mouth, slowly walked out of the palace gate, then tossed the corpse aside.

"Roar!"

The enormous, ferocious beast roared menacingly in all directions, its demonic aura deterring the monks from approaching easily.

At the same time, Liu Boqing, Jiang Yun, and Monk Yunhai also followed behind and came out.

Outside the palace, monks, fully armed and ready to attack, stood in all directions.

"Amitabha." Monk Yunhai hurriedly stepped forward and said loudly, "King Suo Yunxiang did not die at our hands."

“When we entered the palace, King Suo Yunxiang was already dead. The blood from his wounds had dried, which proves that he had been dead for at least an hour.”

"Our group has only just entered the palace."

Xia Yuxin quickly interrupted them, saying, "Since you say you are innocent, then why resist?"

"Surrender now. Once we have investigated the cause of the king's death, if you are truly innocent and are distinguished guests from Zhou, we will naturally let you go."

Jiang Yun said, "Xia Yuxin, you killed the king and are trying to frame us."

The monks present ignored Jiang Yun's words as if they hadn't heard them at all.

Only Master Faqing glanced at Xia Yuxin with a suspicious look.

Xia Yuxin then said, "Master Faqing, the person speaking now is Jiang Yun, who killed my master, Master Hongguang."

Seeing this, Master Faqing slowly said, "Master Hongguang is a highly respected Buddhist monk who cares deeply for the people, yet he was harmed by treacherous people. Today, I will personally take action to avenge him!"

Master Hongguang held a lofty position in the Buddhist kingdom, and whoever avenged him would enjoy immense prestige within the Buddhist community.

Although Master Faqing was not interested in worldly power, as long as he had not yet become a Buddha, he always had desires in his heart.

For a master like Faqing, reputation is an extremely important thing.

Jiang Yun's heart sank. Soon, Master Faqing suddenly threw out a string of Buddhist beads.

The prayer beads transformed instantly in mid-air, turning into more than a dozen beams of shimmering light that shot towards Jiang Yun.

Knowing that Liu Boqing had no magical cultivation, Jiang Yun quickly dodged to the side to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

The Three Pure Ones Flying Staff instantly appeared in his hand, and Jiang Yun soared into the air, leaping onto the glazed tiles of the palace.

He stepped into the Seven Stars Stance, and more than a dozen beams of glazed Buddhist light approached. These beams of light were incredibly fast, and in an instant, they transformed into more than a dozen golden ropes, attempting to bind Jiang Yun.

Jiang Yun swiftly spewed out Samadhi True Fire from his mouth.

Jiang Yun's cultivation has now reached the first-grade Dao Immortal realm, and the power of the Samadhi True Fire he unleashes is now incomparable to what it used to be.

The raging flames instantly engulfed and burned the dozen or so beams of Buddhist light.

"A Taoist?" Master Faqing chuckled upon seeing this, and with a wave of his hand, the dozen or so rays of Buddhist light instantly retracted, transforming back into Buddhist beads and landing in Master Faqing's hand.

Immediately afterwards, Master Faqing gently lifted his foot, and a lotus platform instantly appeared beneath his feet. He flew into the air and began chanting Buddhist scriptures.

Jiang Yun sensed something was wrong. A lotus platform had appeared beneath his feet. Jiang Yun knew something was wrong and tried to get away, but unexpectedly, his feet seemed to be permanently attached to the lotus platform.

The lotus leaves beneath the lotus platform instantly transformed into sharp daggers, stabbing towards Jiang Yun. "May all evil spirits and demons not approach, I beseech the ten earthly spirits to be destroyed, Namo Earth-Shaking Vajra, Namo Mountain-Leaving-and-Water-Approaching Vajra, Namo Heaven-Descending-from-the-Seas Vajra."

"Vajra Protection Mantra!"

Instantly, a golden light flashed across Jiang Yun's body, and his skin became as hard as metal.

The sharp knife that the lotus platform had transformed into pierced his body, but it could not harm him in the slightest.

Immediately afterwards, Jiang Yun pointed his right hand towards the sky and shouted: "True King's Thunder Mantra!"

Dozens of yellow talismans flew out instantly from the pouch he was carrying.

"The True King of the Realm, whose majesty reigns over the Nine Heavens. He holds the Three Pure Ones in his hand and treads upon the Nine Mysteries. The Golden Tiger protects the sun, and the Flying Dragon encircles the heavens. The Yellow God wields the Axe, and the Green-Toothed One holds the Whip."

"According to the Five Counts, I regulate the Seven Elements. I serve the Supreme God, who granted me longevity. Since the beginning of the Great Ultimate, I have lived for many years. I hereby command you to hold the talisman and wield authority."

"Urgent as a law."

In an instant, a massive thundercloud appeared above the palace; the dark, gloomy thundercloud roared.

With a deafening roar, lightning struck Jiang Yun first.

The lotus platform beneath his feet was instantly shattered.

Seeing the scene before him, Master Faqing's eyes showed a hint of appreciation, and he slowly said, "The legendary Taoist magic? This is the first time I've seen such a powerful spell."

The Taoist sect was extremely desolate in the Zhou state, let alone in the Western Regions.

Master Faqing's eyes also became more serious. He put his hands together and muttered ancient and complex Buddhist scriptures in a low voice.

An ancient Buddha in blue slowly emerged from behind him.

This ancient Buddha statue was ten zhang tall, and with its large hands outstretched, it reached out to grab Jiang Yun, who was on the roof.

"Edict!"

Jiang Yun pointed with both hands, and a massive bolt of lightning crashed down from the sky, striking Master Faqing.

Unexpectedly, before the lightning even got close, it was easily blocked by this enormous ancient Buddha incarnation!
Jiang Yun's expression hardened. He stepped on lightning and soared into the sky. The ancient Buddha's enormous arm slammed down on the rooftop where he had just been standing.

In an instant, half of the palace collapsed.

The next moment, suddenly, countless chants of Buddhist hymns rang in Jiang Yun's ears.

Jiang Yun's heart sank; the strength of this Master Faqing was somewhat beyond his imagination.

Or rather, anyone who reaches the top level of the First Grade Realm, regardless of who they are, is already a dragon among men in this world.

This level is not something that can be reached simply by being lucky.

Effort, sweat, and talent are all indispensable.

Jiang Yun took a deep breath, looked at the scene before him, and slowly recited:
"With divine power and divine transformation, all things prosper. Wearing a canopy on the head, treading on the Big Dipper. The Six Jia return to the left, and the Six Ding guard the right."

"Azure Dragon Mengzhang, White Tiger on the left. Supervising the soldiers on the right, Vermilion Bird Lingguang. Black Tortoise in front, holding the light behind."

"Urgent as a law."

"The Four Symbols Divine Incantation!"

In an instant, four red talismans flew out of Jiang Yun's backpack, transforming into four colors of light: blue, white, red, and green.

The power of the four symbols—Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise—instantly surrounded the ancient Buddha.

The power of the four elements converged and eventually merged, blasting towards Master Faqing, who was incarnation of the ancient Buddha.

A deafening roar erupted.

The many monks below were nearly knocked to the ground by the powerful force.

"Cough cough." The ancient Buddha avatar behind Master Faqing had disappeared, shattered by the power of the Four Symbols.

However, Master Faqing's expression remained relatively calm. Jiang Yun's strength was indeed remarkable, but to say that he was truly capable of defeating Master Faqing was still somewhat lacking.

Taking advantage of the chaos, Master Yunhai also tried to escape with Liu Boqing.

However, Xia Yuxin's attention was always on the two of them, after seeing that Jiang Yun was probably no match for Master Faqing.

Xia Yuxin's gaze quickly settled on Liu Boqing and the others.

He flew over and quickly landed in front of Liu Boqing.

Seeing this, Yunhai raised his hand and struck out with a palm, but Xia Yuxin easily blocked it. With a twist of his hand, the sound of bones breaking came from Yunhai's arm.

"Hiss." A sharp pain struck, making Yunhai grit his teeth in agony.

Then Xia Yuxin kicked Yunhai aside, and immediately grabbed Liu Boqing by the neck.

The immense power was something Liu Boqing simply couldn't withstand.

He is just an ordinary person.

"Lord Gao, why are you making such a fuss? Just be honest and confess, and you'll save yourself a lot of trouble," Xia Yuxin said coldly.

After saying that, Xia Yuxin sensed something was wrong. He glanced at everyone present and frowned, "Wait, where's the woman who was with you? Where did she go!"

(End of this chapter)