This humble Taoist priest, Qianhe, begins his quest for immortality by slaying demons and monsters.

Chapter 101 A Thousand Riders Sweep Across the Plains, Swords Draw and the Eight Banners Perish

With the neighing of hooves and the arrival of the Eight Banners soldiers, the crowd of onlookers scattered in an instant, leaving only a few Green Standard Army soldiers standing at the city gate, looking at Zhong Bai with a helpless sigh.

Zhong Bai could tell at a glance that the Qing Dynasty was beyond saving from the group of Eight Banner soldiers in front of him.

These Eight Banner soldiers may have arrived in too much of a hurry, even though they brought their armor and weapons.

Besides armor and weapons, many Manchu soldiers also carried opium pipes at their waists.

Clearly, these Manchu soldiers in front of me probably spend their days smoking opium and exploiting the common people; as for the rest, well…

"Taoist priest, you've really eaten the heart of a bear and the gall of a leopard! How dare you kill my soldiers at the gate of the county town? Isn't this plotting a rebellion?!"

The one who rode in on a tall horse was clearly the general of the Eight Banners soldiers stationed in Yangwu County.

However, Zhong Bai only glanced at him and saw that the karma on this person was even deeper than that of the Eight Banner soldiers he had just killed.

"I don't have the guts of a bear or the courage of a leopard, but it's true that I can kill you all like slaughtering dogs. You say I'm plotting a rebellion, then I'll take it as such. Now that you've come here, do you also want to follow in the footsteps of this beast..."

Zhong Bai pointed to the already cold corpses of the Eight Banners soldiers. How could these once high and mighty Eight Banners soldiers tolerate such provocation?
Since they arrived in Yangwu County, not only the county magistrate and assistant magistrate, but even the prefect has been unable to do anything about them!

How could Han officials judge them when they had the blood of the Eight Banners flowing through their veins?

Now, faced with Zhong Bai's provocation, these Eight Banner soldiers, who had always looked down on Han people, were burning with rage and wished they could tear Zhong Bai to pieces right now.

"General, let me slay this scoundrel!"

Among the Eight Banner soldiers surrounding Zhong Bai, a cavalryman spurred his horse forward as soon as he finished speaking. He thought that as a cavalryman, clad in armor and armed with weapons, how could a mere wild Taoist priest be his match? He could kill him with a single spear thrust in a single encounter.

Unfortunately... Zhong Bai could not grant his wish. The moment he rode his horse over, Zhong Bai didn't even bother to use his Thunder Magic and Samadhi Fire. These magics consumed a lot of his true essence. For an ordinary person, Zhong Bai's physical strength and qi would be enough to keep him invincible!

With his spirit sword Blue Cat drawn from its sheath, the sword was three feet three inches and three inches long. Just as the rider charged close, Zhong Bai slashed out with his sword. After all, it was a spirit sword, which was full of spiritual energy. The sword energy shot out like a rainbow. In an instant, both men and horses were shattered. Not to mention the armor, even the cavalryman's spear was cut in half.

How quickly this happened?
The Eight Banner soldiers, who had initially looked down on Zhong Bai, suddenly became serious.

The first word that came to their minds was "demon Taoist," not "fake Taoist priests who only know how to pretend to be gods and ghosts."

Seeing the blood staining the ground, the Green Standard Army soldiers who were still worried about Zhong Bai suddenly widened their eyes. They seemed to understand why this Daoist Qianhe was so calm and composed without leaving. It turned out that he was so terrifying.

They were even thinking they could go easy on Zhong Bai so he could leave smoothly, but now it seems they were short-sighted.

"You heretic! You're courting death!"

Seeing his soldier cut in two by a single sword strike, the leading Eight Banners general was furious and drew his sword, pointing it directly at Zhong Bai.

"Charge into the enemy lines and tear this evil Taoist to pieces!"

As the general drew his sword and gave the order, the Eight Banners soldiers, who had been waiting for a long time, rushed forward. The cavalry charged towards Zhong Bai first. In response, Zhong Bai's terrifying blood energy surged out, forming an insurmountable chasm in front of him. Zhong Bai himself drew and sheathed his sword, continuously reaping the lives of these Eight Banners soldiers.

In about half an incense stick's time, nearly a hundred of the Eight Banner soldiers who had surrounded and killed Zhong Bai had died.

They didn't even touch the hem of Zhong Bai's clothes. But even if they did, what difference would it make? Zhong Bai was wearing the Yin-Yang Water and Fire Robe. Even if he stood there and let these soldiers slash at him, it would be futile.

The blood was so deep that it could be said to have flowed into a river. A hundred people had perished, and the Eight Banners general, who had been able to remain calm, was now sweating profusely. He had lost control of the situation.

The lives of a hundred soldiers!
Even though he could see that Zhong Bai showed no signs of exhaustion, he could not stop the soldiers from charging.

Once he orders a retreat, first and foremost, the Manchu bannermen will lose all face. But that's not the worst part. A hundred men have died or been wounded trying to capture a Taoist priest, and not only have they failed to capture him, but the casualties have been so severe. The higher-ups will not let him off the hook, even if he is a Manchu bannerman. If the dead soldiers were Green Standard Army soldiers, it wouldn't matter, but now... there is no way out.

"Damn it, prepare the muskets!"

The Eight Banners general, his eyes already bloodshot, ignored the other soldiers still fighting Zhong Bai. After he shouted "Ready to fire the muskets!", the dozens of soldiers around him carrying muskets immediately took out their gunpowder and began loading bullets.

While filling the gunpowder and bullets, Zhong Bai drew his sword and killed seven or eight more soldiers.

"put!"

Ignoring all else, the Eight Banners general gave the order, and bang bang bang...

The bullets came with the force of a broken army. Zhong Bai's protective qi and blood were not enough, so he silently recited the Golden Light Divine Mantra. With the golden light protecting his body, the so-called muskets were as ridiculous as a three-year-old child throwing stones.

Zhong Bai was unharmed, but the soldiers who had surrounded him were not so lucky. Their armor was already worn out, and the indiscriminate firing of the muskets instantly pierced through them, killing them instantly. Seeing that even using muskets couldn't harm Zhong Bai, the Eight Banners general regretted provoking this killing god.

But now that things have come to this, regret is pointless.

"Attack him all at once! I refuse to believe he can remain invulnerable forever!"

Since muskets are useless, we'll just use sheer numbers. This time, however, we'll send in infantry, who are more agile and more numerous.

As the spear thrust forward, Zhong Bai drew his sword and slashed, instantly drawing a beautiful arc of blood through the air. Then, the head fell to the ground, and a large amount of blood gushed out.

This is just a microcosm. A soldier finally found an opportunity to stab Zhong Bai from behind, but in an instant, Zhong Bai turned around and threw a punch. With a force of 30,000 jin, the soldier's entire body was pierced by Zhong Bai's punch, his armor shattered into pieces, and he flew hundreds of meters away!
This imposing figure, seemingly invincible, was like an insurmountable mountain at this moment. The Eight Banner soldiers were not stupid either. Seeing that there was no possibility of harming the enemy and that people around them were dying one after another, they were afraid. All the glory of the Eight Banners was nonsense.

Once one soldier starts abandoning his armor and weapons, it's enough to trigger a chain reaction. Other soldiers follow suit, dropping their weapons and armor and fleeing in all directions.

When the Eight Banners general saw that things had developed to this point, his face turned ashen. But since the soldiers had all fled, it was impossible for him to stay. He mounted his horse and tried to gallop away.

Zhong Bai wouldn't let him have his way. He spotted the direction the Eight Banners general was fleeing and suddenly unleashed his spirit sword, Blue Cat.

In an instant, the longsword pierced through the back of the Eight Banners general, went straight into his heart, and went through his chest. With a thud, the Eight Banners general fell off his horse.

With the general dead, the soldiers who were initially reluctant to flee lost all will to stay and vanished without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Zhong Bai did not choose to chase after them and kill them all. The reason was simple: he could not kill all the Eight Banner soldiers in the world by himself.

Leaving hundreds of Eight Banner soldiers in Yangwu County this time is basically a break with the Qing Dynasty.

As long as Zhong Bai continues northward, there will be no shortage of Eight Banner soldiers. As for now, let's find a place to wipe the blood off the Spirit Sword Blue Cat first.

Behind Zhong Bai, several Green Standard Army soldiers were still stunned and unable to recover for a long time. What they had just seen and heard was an experience they had never had in their lives. One person, dealing with thousands of Eight Banner soldiers alone, and still being able to kill hundreds of them and remain frighteningly calm. This was the fear of the Maoshan Taoist.
The group watched as Zhong Bai walked towards them, stammering, "Daoist Master, you...you have truly broadened our horizons!"

One of the Green Standard Army soldiers couldn't help but praise him. They were used as slaves by the Eight Banners soldiers and already hated them to the core.

However, due to his status, he was unable to retaliate. Now, he doesn't need to retaliate anymore, as almost half of the other side's people are dead here.

Hearing their praise, Zhong Bai remained unmoved. He looked at them and said in a deep voice, "Killing hundreds of these Eight Banner soldiers is no problem for me. However, you may be in danger after I leave. You probably won't be able to stay in Yangwu County."

"Oh, Daoist Master, what are you saying? We brothers are not originally from Yangwu County. We are all from the South. We've had enough of the Green Standard Army. Since you've killed these Eight Banner soldiers, we might as well just go back to the South."

Anyway, the current imperial court is barely able to protect itself, so it won't have the time to target us guys.

Zhong Bai nodded, realizing that what they said was true.

"This is for your journey. Please accept it. To this humble Taoist, it is nothing more than material possessions."

Zhong Bai took out thirty taels of silver, ten taels for each of the three Green Standard Army soldiers. Before the three could refuse, Zhong Bai placed the silver in one of their hands, then turned into a bolt of lightning and disappeared from the spot.

The three of them were a little stunned when they saw the silver in their hands, but since Zhong Bai was no longer there, they had no choice but to accept it.

"Taoist Master Maoshan, Master Qianhe, rest assured, if we brothers return to the South in the future, we will definitely spread the word about your divine power and tell everyone about your great deeds today!"

After dividing the silver among themselves, the group headed straight south, not believing they could stay in Yangwu County any longer.

Meanwhile, in the Eight Banners soldiers' camp in Yangwu County, the Eight Banners soldiers who had barely escaped with their lives were filled with fear and unease.

They dared not linger in Yangwu County either. After returning to the military camp to collect their pay, they rode their horses at full speed towards Wuchang Prefecture to escape for their lives.

Zhong Bai didn't care about this. He planned to wait in Yangwu County for a while to see how the Qing court would react to his actions.

The most suitable place for Zhong Bai to rest in Yangwu County was the county government office.

When Zhong Bai arrived at the county government office, all the gates were tightly shut, as if they were afraid of being confronted by the people.

Logically, news of Zhong Bai killing the Eight Banner soldiers shouldn't have reached the county government so quickly.

Therefore, there is only one possibility: the magistrate of Yangwu County is probably not a good person either.

Kill! Kill! Kill them all!

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(End of this chapter)