Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 145 The Past Reappears
The main peak of Mount Tai, Jade Emperor Peak, was formerly known as Taiping Peak, the place where emperors of successive dynasties performed the Fengshan ceremony since the Qin Dynasty. Due to the rise of Taoism and Jade Emperor worship in this dynasty, a Jade Emperor Hall was built on the mountain, hence the name Jade Emperor Peak.

Following the winding mountain path, they climbed to the majestic peak. Zhu Wen and Tian Jun gazed at the churning sea of ​​clouds below, the distant peaks seeming to bow in reverence. Looking up, the sky was a clear blue, bathed in the glow of the setting sun, filling their eyes with brightness.

While climbing the mountain, the clouds and mist obscured the view. But upon reaching the summit, the clouds and mist that stretched across the mountainside were now at your feet.

The Four Great Generals of the Tang Dynasty were renowned throughout the land and considered invincible. However, after Zhu Wen surrendered to Huang Chao, he and his comrades fought valiantly and defeated two of them, General Xue and General Yan.

"The seemingly invincible Four Generals are nothing more than clouds and mist on the mountainside, which can be surpassed by those who come after them." Zhu Wen sighed at the top of Mount Tai.

The Ming Cult's Flower Queen, Baihua Xiu, whom they had just defeated, was a formidable foe, but how could she compare to the Four Marshals?
Confucius climbed Mount Dongshan and found Lu to be small; he climbed Mount Tai and found the world to be small.

Zhu Wen, at this moment, truly felt the same way Confucius had felt when he ascended the mountain.

I will climb to the very top and look down on all the mountains below!

He raised his head to look up at the sky, opened his eyes wide, and met the blazing sun with his gaze.

The scorching sunlight stung his eyes, yet his ambition burned fiercely within him.

Tears slowly streamed down his face.

This felt good, because Zhu Wen hadn't shed a tear in a long time.

These tears truly reflect the turmoil in his heart!
Tian Jun didn't know why Zhu Wen was looking directly into the sun.

This is something even a fool wouldn't do.

But Zhu Wen's cheerful expression suddenly resonated with her emotionally.

This is the true nature of Zhu Wen beneath his carefree exterior: ambitious, driven, and even daring to confront the sun head-on.

This kind of arrogance may seem presumptuous and foolish.

But which of those who have achieved immortal feats in history did not have this fighting spirit in their early years?

Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, was nothing more than an arrogant and unruly youth when he raised an army in Taiyuan.

"Should we get intimate here?" Tian Jun leaned closer and put her arm around Zhu Wen's arm. "I still have my first kiss. This is a good place to taste the pleasure of kissing."

His unrestrained and bold words captivated Zhu Wen.

"Not to mention that emperors throughout history have performed the Fengshan ceremony here. Back then, Alliance Leader Wang defeated and killed the Demon Lord Qiao Beiming on the Jade Emperor Peak. If we were to be all lovey-dovey here, it would be disrespectful to the spirit of our Alliance Leader."

Tian Jun pouted: "Alliance Leader Wang didn't die here, it was that Demon Lord who died. If we're being affectionate here, it's like dancing and singing on the Demon Lord's grave. If the Demon Lord knew this in the afterlife, he'd be so angry his beard would be crooked."

Zhu Wen laughed loudly: "Jun-mei, what you said makes sense."

Just then, the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Treasure Blade carried on his back emitted a high-pitched, sharp sound.

Zhu Wen suddenly sensed something and turned his gaze to a huge rock by the roadside.

There was a dark bloodstain on the boulder, which had seeped into the stone. Despite years of wind and rain, the bloodstain remained as vivid as ever.

"Don't speak." Zhu Wen squeezed Tian Jun's hand, then closed his eyes.

The bloodstains on the boulder became increasingly clear before his eyes, turning into a deep crimson stain.

Images emerged from the darkness in an instant.

A young man of about twenty years old stood tall, but his body was covered in wounds, and his sleeves were torn to shreds.

The demon lord opposite him was over sixty years old, with white hair and beard, and a fierce look in his eyes. There was a faint black demonic aura swirling behind him.

The Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Blade radiated a sky-piercing crimson light in the Demon Lord's palm.

"Boy, do you still insist on fighting me with only your bare hands?" Demon Lord Qiao Beiming's sleeves billowed, his eyes flashing with a sharp light that seemed to materialize.

"Spilled water cannot be gathered up again, and a discarded sword is like a lost treasure. I abandoned my sword two years ago, so there is no reason for me to pick it up again." The young Wang Xianzhi was covered in wounds, but he already possessed the arrogance of a peerless master.

Zhu Wen originally thought that Wang Xianzhi had the upper hand in the battle between the Demon Lord Qiao Beiming forty years ago.

However, judging from the images gleaned from the bloodstains, Wang Xianzhi was being constantly suppressed and beaten by the Demon Lord.

It makes sense. Even though Wang Xianzhi is a once-in-a-century martial arts genius, the Demon Lord of yesteryear had more than forty years of more cultivation than him.

How exactly was this formidable barrier filled in?
How did Wang Xianzhi, who was only twenty years old at the time, create a miracle in a desperate situation?
Zhu Wen watched quietly, awaiting the answer.

Qiao Beiming's movements were incredibly strange, leaving behind countless afterimages, which Zhu Wen suddenly felt a sense of familiarity with.

Wang Xianzhi's strategy remained intact; her calm eyes were always able to discern Qiao Beiming's true origin from the illusory world and counter it accordingly.

Only then did Zhu Wen realize that the great battle that year had actually lasted for three days and two nights.

This doesn't mean the two didn't rest. Rather, Wang Xianzhi and Qiao Beiming had both reached the level of "the cicada senses the autumn wind before it blows," and agreed to sit down together to recover their strength. If either of them suddenly attacked, the other would immediately sense the energy and detect the danger.

At their level, in a one-on-one duel, there is no possibility of a sneak attack.

Zhu Wen naturally saw the scene from the third day. Wang Xianzhi was undoubtedly at his limit.

His composure couldn't hide the weariness in his eyes, and countless blood vessels could be clearly seen in the back of his eyes.

The Demon Lord, however, appeared to be full of energy and exuded a fierce aura.

When Qiao Beiming let out a roar, unleashing his power to its peak, the mountaintop seemed to tremble.

Even knowing the outcome of this great battle, Zhu Wen couldn't help but feel anxious for Wang Xianzhi.

Qiao Beiming's sleeves billowed in the wind, his demonic blade gleaming with blood. With a single slash, he displayed boundless power, his blade intent seemingly reaching the endless horizon.

Wang Xianzhi seemed to have nowhere to hide.

Before the knife even arrived, Wang Xianzhi's seven orifices were already bleeding.

Zhu Wen felt his heart leap into his throat.

But then Wang Xianzhi pointed a finger into the air, aiming at Qiao Beiming's dantian and dantian.

The fingers, of course, did not make direct contact.

Although the Immortal Finger is a peerless martial art, its energy is clearly insufficient to cause much damage to Qiao Beiming.

The Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Treasure Blade instantly lost all its power and fell to the ground.

Qiao Beiming's expression suddenly turned ashen, and he coughed up blood, which turned into a cloud of blood mist in the air.

"The way of Heaven is to take from those who have more than enough and give to those who have less than enough; the way of man is to take from those who have less than enough and give to those who have more than enough." Blood flowed from Wang Xianzhi's seven orifices, but his tone remained calm and composed: "Human nature is like this, but you people of the Demonic Sect are too selfish and self-serving. The cultivation techniques you use are detrimental to Heaven and Earth, so of course they will leave flaws that will backfire. It is precisely for this reason that you were driven out of the Central Plains two hundred years ago."

"The senior wanted the Demonic Sect to return to the Central Plains, but instead of discussing it politely, he used the pretext of challenging them to kill the leaders of the five major sects one after another, putting pressure on the martial arts world of the Central Plains. With such behavior, retribution is only a matter of time."

After three days of fierce fighting, Wang Xianzhi persevered with his unparalleled resilience and had figured out the advantages and weaknesses of the Demon Lord's techniques.

The moment Qiao Beiming unleashed his full power was also the moment when the demonic sect's techniques had their greatest weakness.

Wang Xianzhi's "Amazing Finger" directly locked Qiao Beiming's vital point in his dantian, triggering a backlash of demonic energy that caused the demon lord to suffer severe damage in an instant.

He gave the Demon Lord no chance to catch his breath.

People say that Wang Xianzhi used his large sleeves to cut off the Demon Lord's head, but Zhu Wen now knows that this is not true.

Because Wang Xianzhi's sleeves were already torn to shreds.

He clearly used a pair of cleavers, closing them like a pair of dragon and snake scissors.

Filled with despair and resentment, the Demon Lord's neck snapped, and his head was severed.

With his hands stained with blood, Wang Xianzhi lifted the Demon Lord's hair bun, let out a long, sharp howl, and strode down the mountain.

It was this battle that convinced the world that Wang Xianzhi, at the tender age of twenty, was already invincible.

This reputation lasted for a full forty years.

Even though he died in Qizhou, Wang Xianzhi was still the most powerful man in the world at that time!

The evidence is that, even after half a year, no one dares to claim the title of the world's number one martial artist.

Zhu Wen opened his eyes, his heart filled with emotion.

He told Tian Jun what he had seen.

"The Flower King's movement technique is extremely similar to that of the Demon Lord Qiao Beiming."

Zhu Wen said with certainty, "She is not only the Flower Queen of the Ming Cult, but also the successor of the Demonic Sect. The Demonic Sect has returned."

While Tian Jun was still in shock, a clear, cold voice suddenly rang out.

“No wonder. I have known her for many years, and I also know that almost all the members of the Ming Cult are heroic and magnanimous. Even the Ghost King Ming Shiyin, who became a traitor, can be called a hero.”

"But her way of doing things is completely different from that of the rest of the Ming Cult."

Zhu Wen glanced over and saw a figure in black robes approaching like the wind.

"Brother Yang, it's been a long time." Zhu Wen smiled.

Actually, we had just met the day before.

But atop the summit of Mount Tai, through the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow Blade, he sensed the spiritual imprint left by Qiao Beiming and returned to forty years ago to witness that life-or-death battle.

Reuniting with Yang Xingmi made Zhu Wen feel as if he had lived through another world.

(End of this chapter)