The God of Heavens

Chapter 256 Beating Hong Xuanji

Outside Yujing City.

Yujing Temple.

Yujing Temple is the premier Taoist temple in the Great Qian Kingdom, located at the foot of Yulong Mountain, more than ten miles outside Yujing City.

Looking up, one sees pavilions and towers layered upon each other, and red-walled halls scattered about, creating a magnificent and breathtaking scene.

Jade Dragon Mountain resembles a winding jade dragon, embracing half of the capital city. This place, with its harmonious blend of mountains and water, is a place of outstanding natural beauty and auspicious feng shui.

In the depths of winter, the cold wind whips up snow, blanketing the world in white. Even on ordinary days, this place remains bustling with visitors, making it a top-notch spot for appreciating the snow and composing poetry.

However, in recent days, Fangxiandao was suddenly attacked by villains and had to close its gates and begin to take precautions, with a tense atmosphere permeating the air.

Just then, a middle-aged man came up the stone steps of Yujing Temple.

He was dressed in brocade robes, his temples were streaked with gray, and he exuded the refined air of a scholar. His skin was smooth and radiant, and his eyes were deep and profound, like a vast starry sky. Every gesture he made revealed an extraordinary and otherworldly demeanor.

This man was none other than Hong Xuanji, a pillar of the Great Qian Dynasty, a cabinet minister, the crown prince's tutor, and the Marquis of Wuwen. He was originally supposed to be handling state affairs in the cabinet, but Fang Xiandao was attacked, so he had no choice but to come.

In the Fangxian Dao, there was a ghost immortal named Xiao Changfeng who had survived the tribulation of lightning. He was killed by the four Heavenly Kings of Dachan Temple during the siege of Dachan Temple.

However, his thoughts were gathered by Yang Pan and Hong Xuanji and hidden in Yang Pan's Imperial Seal, where he refined pills and crafted weapons for Emperor Qian every day.

The Taoist priest Xiao Shaonan, who was killed by Lin Yu's roar, was this man's grand-disciple. As for the current leader of Fangxian Dao, his name is Xiao Anran.

Therefore, even though only a few Taoist priests died, Hong Xuanji still had to make a trip so that Xiao Changfeng could focus on refining his weapon.

Hong Xuanji slowly climbed the steps and arrived at the Great Dan Hall of Yujing Temple.

This place is where the Taoist priests in the temple practiced alchemy and cultivated themselves. The air is filled with the smell of medicine, as well as the gunpowder smell of sulfur and saltpeter.

At this moment, on the mountain path leading to the main hall, two young Taoist boys, holding whisks and dressed in black silk Taoist robes, were already waiting by the roadside to greet us.

"Hmph." Hong Xuanji snorted coldly, ignoring the two young Taoist disciples, and walked straight up.

Above the main hall, there is a huge statue of the Dao Ancestor, wearing a robe of starlight and holding a jade ruyi. Green mist rises from his head, which manifests as the sun, moon, and thunder, and is lifelike. It is the Yuanyang Dao Venerable of Fangxian Dao.

"Xiao Anran, what are you trying to pull?"

Hong Xuanji walked into the courtyard of the main hall of the Great Pill Hall and saw the Taoist priest under the snow pine tree. He asked, "Why are you so alarmed by the mere trouble of a demon, causing such a commotion in the court and the country? What are your intentions?"

Fangxiandao was famous in the Great Qian Dynasty for its alchemy and elixir-making, and was favored by princes and nobles, including Hong Xuanji.

However, this person has always had his own set of beliefs. Although he collects various Taoist techniques and those around him use them as well, he still criticizes Taoist techniques in public, denouncing them as evil and harmful to the country and the people.

This has a strong sense of double standards.

"Hmph, Brother Xuanji, I didn't invite you here today to listen to your nonsense. That man has attacked my sect's Taoists time and time again, and now the progress of alchemy has been greatly affected. If the matter of refining elixirs, gold, and medicines for the royal family is delayed, you won't be in a good place either."

Xiao Anran responded with a cold laugh.

"Insolence!" Hong Xuanji roared, his eyes flashing with cold light. "Since ancient times, the decline of the imperial court has often been due to those outside the court who pretend to be gods and ghosts and bewitch the emperor!"
"You Taoist priests are attempting to interfere in state affairs with your unorthodox methods! I will speak frankly to the Emperor and have you all expelled from the court!"

“Hong Xuanji!” Upon hearing Hong Xuanji’s words, Xiao Anran’s pale golden face changed, and his hand twitched slightly. “You, a great scholar of Neo-Confucianism, who considers yourself a scholar, want to expel us Taoists. You may be able to scare others, but you are not good enough to scare me!”
"You'd better be careful this time. This person comes and goes without a trace, killing without leaving a single mark. He's very likely a Taoist master who has broken through the barrier between life and death. If you mess up this job, it won't look good."

"Xiao Anran, don't try to show off your cleverness in front of me. I have fought for many years and have never seen anyone who can achieve great things through the ways of ghosts and gods. Even ghost immortals will be annihilated by the fierce blood energy of millions of people. To establish a stable world, one must rely on the righteous path, masculinity, and martial force."

Hong Xuanji stood with his hands behind his back, his expression cold and frosty. "Since I have accepted the Emperor's decree, I will naturally do my best. As long as this person appears, killing him will be as easy as turning my hand."

"Oh, really? How come I didn't know that Lord Hong had such extraordinary abilities?"

A clear yet chilling voice pierced the air, each word clearly reaching the Fangxian Dao Hall.

"Who dares to cause trouble at Yujing Temple!"

"Zheng——"

With a dragon's roar, a three-foot-long divine sword suddenly appeared before the statue of Yuan Yang Dao Zun on the offering table.

The sword's blade is covered in blood-red patterns, resembling the veins of the human body. It is the legendary Taoist immortal steel, blood-patterned steel.

Xiao Anran's Taoist robe billowed as he pointed his sword. The Blood-Patterned Sword instantly transformed into a stream of light, weaving an impenetrable sword net within a three-zhang radius around him.

"Pretend to be a ghost!"

Hong Xuanji let out a cold shout, his blood and qi boiling, the temperature inside the hall soared, the snow instantly vaporized, and the air distorted and deformed. This peak Martial Saint was like a burning furnace at this moment.

The snow curtain at the palace gate suddenly parted to the sides. A figure in a green robe walked through the snow, seemingly strolling leisurely, but in an instant he was already in the palace. It was Lin Yu.

"So you're the fiend who stirred up trouble in the Immortal Path?"

Hong Xuanji's gaze was sharp as he stared intently at the newcomer, seemingly pondering who this person was and how dare he openly oppose the imperial court.

Lin Yu chuckled upon hearing this, "I dare not presume to have caused chaos in the capital; I merely killed a few charlatan Taoist priests who were merely pretending to be gods and ghosts. In fact, isn't this exactly in line with Lord Hong's advocacy of 'expelling the Taoist sects'?"

"presumptuous!"

Hong Xuanji roared and moved suddenly, his figure as fast as a wisp of smoke, so fast that it was almost impossible to see his movements.

He took a step forward, his robes billowing like battle flags, and the air around him exploded with a roar, creating a fierce wind that shook the ground, causing the blue bricks to crumble inch by inch. More than ten thick stone slabs were lifted up by the force, rolling up like waves! The Great Pill Hall trembled violently, and the statue of the Dao Ancestor enshrined inside made a "crackling" sound as it could not bear the weight, and several cracks appeared.

Lin Yu remained calm and met Hong Xuanji's palm strike with a punch of his own.

This punch, like the rising sun, was magnificent and imposing, its intent vast and powerful, giving people a sense of unstoppable force!
"boom--!"

The two powerful forces collided, creating a shockwave that shook the entire hall violently.

Deng Deng Deng!
Hong Xuanji retreated several steps, each step leaving a deep footprint in the ground. His chest heaved violently, and he took a deep breath to barely suppress the turmoil within him.

Lin Yu, however, remained standing in place, his clothes fluttering, without yielding even half a step.

The Great Pill Hall of Yujing Temple was completely silent. Xiao Anran remained silent, his blood-patterned steel flying sword swirling around him.

"Who exactly are you?" Hong Xuanji's eyes were cold, his blood and qi surged like a dragon, and his voice was deep and rumbling like thunder.

Lin Yu smiled slightly and flicked his sleeve: "Let's fight first."

"it is good!"

A cold glint flashed in Hong Xuanji's eyes, and his figure suddenly changed. His arms moved like wheels, one to the left and one to the right, slowly slicing open.

"The Wheel of Life... The Wheel of Death... The Great and Small Heavens!"

He swung his hand as if wielding the wheel of life and death, his footsteps unpredictable, tracing mysterious arcs. As he moved, the air in the entire hall suddenly froze, as if even the wind had been sucked away, leaving only a chilling silence.

Lin Yu's gaze narrowed slightly, and he felt his blood and qi being subtly drawn away, as if an invisible force was stripping away his life force.

Hong Xuanji's other hand, however, quietly disappeared in the deathly silence, as if it had vanished into the void.

The next moment——

"Buzz!"

The vanished hand suddenly reappeared, a finger as swift as lightning, aimed directly at Lin Yu's brow! Before the finger even arrived, the air in front of Lin Yu's forehead seemed to break apart inch by inch.

Lin Yu remained still, raised his right hand slightly, and a flash of silver light appeared in his palm. Holy light power instantly condensed, transforming into a radiant barrier.

"boom!"

As the finger force collided with the holy light, Hong Xuanji's arm trembled, and he used the momentum to spin around, his five fingers suddenly opening wide, like spring thunder awakening the insects, bursting with vitality!
"Whoa-!"

His palm strike changed, dispelling the deathly silence and replacing it with a vast vitality, like spring returning to the earth and all things reviving. With this strike, the snow inside the hall melted, and tender buds even broke through the bricks!

"The Wheel of Life, the Wheel of Death, the Wheel of All Heavens?" Lin Yu chuckled, his left hand forming a hand seal. "Then let me show you my newly created Innate Qi Great Capture Technique!"

Before he finished speaking, he raised his right hand, and in an instant, the primordial energy in the hall surged. A chaotic hand, about ten feet in diameter, appeared out of thin air, with yin and yang energies flowing in its palm, and the power of the five elements constantly regenerating between its five fingers.

The moment this giant hand, formed from primordial energy, appeared, the entire space of the hall began to distort and tremble.

Hong Xuanji's pupils shrank suddenly, and as he retreated rapidly, he clapped his hands repeatedly, causing the Wheel of Life and Death to rotate and transform into countless palm shadows.

However, these palm strikes, powerful enough to split mountains and shatter rocks, struck the Chaos Hand like mud oxen sinking into the sea, failing to even stir a ripple.

"break!"

Lin Yu clenched his five fingers together, and the chaotic hand crashed down. Hong Xuanji's protective aura shattered instantly, and he was struck as if by lightning, flying backward and crashing heavily into the base of the Dao Ancestor statue.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood, and the brocade robe that symbolized an important official of the court was now tattered.

The Innate Qi Great Capture technique, which governs Yin and Yang and the Five Elements, commands vital energy, and is impervious to all magic, has now been used in a small test to capture Hong Xuanji, the Grand Secretary of the Imperial Court, the Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince, and the Marquis of Wuwen.

It was worth all my hard work in deducing the truth. After all, if it's always about hand-to-hand combat, wouldn't it lack a bit of the ethereal quality of immortals?
Xiao stood frozen in place, his prized flying sword unable to even get close to the battle, trembling in the aftershocks of the chaotic hand.

Faced with the sudden and devastating blow, Hong Xuanji endured the excruciating pain and barely managed to keep his expression calm. He made a slight movement, intending to escape from this place.

"Leave me alone!"

Lin Yu sneered and made a grabbing motion in the air with his right hand. The chaotic giant hand reappeared and grabbed Hong Xuanji's body. With a slight exertion, the sound of bones cracking rang out.

"boom!"

Hong Xuanji was slammed heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. Lin Yu's fingertips flashed with azure light, and dozens of restrictions instantly entered Hong Xuanji's meridians, completely sealing off the blood and qi of this Marquis of Wuwen.

At this moment, Hong Xuanji was no longer the dignified official he once was. His brocade robe was tattered, his hair ornament was askew, and he looked disheveled.

Without any hesitation, Lin Yu dismissed Xiao Anran and then pointed a finger at Hong Xuanji's brow, channeling his divine sense into the latter's dantian to begin searching for his soul.

Hong Xuanji, as the son of the Great Thousand Worlds, possessed knowledge of many secret scriptures. He not only inherited the "Book of Creation," but also joined forces with Meng Shenji to break into the Great Zen Temple and seize the "Future Unborn Scripture."

The methods for condensing the Immortal Primordial Spirit and the Lord of the Future are vividly described, far more detailed than those of the cult leader, the Eternal Mother.

More importantly, he also obtained the "Taishang Danjing" from Meng Bingyun, the former holy maiden of the Taishangdao sect and his concubine.

This soul-searching trip yielded astonishing results.

(End of this chapter)