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

As Zhong Bai no longer concealed his cultivation level, the aura of the peak of the Nascent Soul realm surged against the Buddha's light in waves.

In an instant, with a loud bang, all the bald monks in front of him, including the old monks, turned pale and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Zhong Bai's gaze was exceptionally cold.

"No wonder the Fourth Patriarch warned me to be careful; it turns out that your Buddhist sect really dares to oppose the underworld."

During his time in Xizhou, Zhong Bai only engaged in minor activities, mainly to test the Buddhist sect. Before arriving in Xizhou, the Fourth Patriarch of the Underworld sent him bad news.

Ksitigarbha, the Bodhisattva of the Underworld, has also descended upon this world...

The identity of Ksitigarbha is somewhat special. Or rather, with Ksitigarbha's support, the Buddhist sect may not be willing to hand over those subjugated souls. After all, with Ksitigarbha interfering, the underworld cannot openly cause trouble for the Buddhist sect.

Matters of the mortal realm should be left to the mortal realm; Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva naturally has no way to interfere with Zhong Bai and the others.

This turned into a battle between Buddhism and Taoism. At first, Zhong Bai didn't believe it, thinking that Buddhism wasn't that foolish, but now it seems otherwise.

.........................................................

Seeing Zhong Bai's furious rage, the black-robed man, who had originally wanted to take the opportunity to snatch some souls, immediately felt alarmed. However, relying on his own peak Nascent Soul stage, he managed to suppress his desire to escape.

"Humph!

What are you pretending for? Do you think that wearing a black robe will make it impossible to recognize you?
The old bald monk is in the open, while an even older bald monk is in the shadows. Since Buddhism doesn't want to maintain its dignity, then this humble monk will make it for you!

"Yin soldiers and generals, heed my command!"
Enter the realm!

But as Zhong Bai finished speaking, the passage to the underworld opened in the void, and the Yin soldiers and generals immediately entered in an orderly fashion.

Once all his men had left, Zhong Bai's ruthless side was unleashed once more!
In his hand, the Kui Niu Drum appeared!

The black-robed man, who had initially tried to flee after Zhong Bai recognized his identity, was stunned.

He had a bad feeling...

Zhong Bai did not disappoint this person. He unleashed his full power and struck the Kui Niu Drum. A sea of ​​lightning spread rapidly outwards from Zhong Bai, covering the surrounding world, including all the monks who wanted to stop him.

"No!"

The man in black robes tried to stop it, but it was too late. The sea of ​​lightning covered an area of ​​dozens of miles, destroying everything in its path. Countless monks' bodies were burned and turned to ashes bit by bit.

Even the old monk who tried to stop Zhong Bai collapsed in an instant.

The man in black robes was, after all, at the peak of the Nascent Soul realm. Even when facing Zhong Bai's Kui Niu Drum, he could only kneel weakly in the void, his body riddled with holes. The black robe he used to conceal his identity had completely disappeared, revealing his conspicuous bald head.

His aged face, his pupils devoid of color, witnessed the entire city turn to ashes and all his disciples perish instantly. The old monk's pain reached its peak at this moment.

"Amitabha Buddha, Abbot, I have done my best..."

After saying this, the old monk closed his eyes and awaited his death.

However, Zhong Bai wouldn't let him get away with it so easily. He put away the Kui Niu Drum and walked step by step to the old monk. Without saying a word, he suddenly grabbed the old monk's head and began to search his soul!
A moment later, when Zhong Bai released his grip, the old monk collapsed to the ground.

"Jiuhua Mountain, it seems Jiuhua Mountain wants to be the chicken that is killed to scare the monkeys!"

Taking a deep breath, Zhong Bai relayed the message back to Maoshan. Originally, the Taoist sect wanted to give the Buddhist sect some face, so they did not send the Yuan Shen Ancestor to oversee the journey to Xizhou, as long as the Buddhist sect was willing to cooperate in capturing the dead soul.

But now that Jiuhua Mountain has emerged, we have no choice but to suppress it and intimidate Xizhou!

.........................................................

Maoshan.

Jiuxiao Wanshou Palace.

The news from Zhong Bai quickly reached the ears of the patriarchs. Patriarch Jinghong and Patriarch Changhong sat at the head of the table and were not surprised by the news. There were only three sects of Buddhism in Xizhou, and Mount Wutai only had Master Zunsheng. How could they dare to challenge the Taoist sect? Only Mount Putuo and Mount Jiuhua were somewhat worthy of consideration.

Master Jinghong rubbed his fingers together, his gaze sweeping over the group of Maoshan Yuanshen Ancestors below.

"What do you think?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a Primordial Spirit Ancestor immediately responded.

“Jeongjo, is there even a need to say that?”

"We're going straight to Mount Jiuhua! This is outrageous! Do they really think that just because there's a Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva in the underworld, the Buddhist sect can act with impunity?"

"That's right, we can't let them get away with it. As long as we firmly suppress Jiuhua Mountain, who in Xizhou will dare to cause trouble!"

Master Jinghong smiled faintly, not finding anything amiss.

"good!

Who is willing to accompany this ancestor on a journey to Mount Jiuhua?

Seeing Master Jinghong stand up, the group of primordial spirit masters instantly became excited.

"I'm waiting to go!"

Upon hearing this, Patriarch Jinghong did not waste any words. With a wave of his hand, the spatial passage to Xizhou opened, and Patriarch Jinghong took the lead, followed closely by a dozen or so Primordial Spirit Patriarchs.

As for Master Changhong, he stayed behind at Maoshan.

Jiuhua Mountain is one of the top sects in the entire Buddhist community. After all, their abbot, Master Lianhua, is a peak-level Nascent Soul cultivator. In terms of sect foundation, Jiuhua Mountain is number one, Putuo Mountain is number two, and Wutai Mountain barely squeezes into third place.

Mahavira Hall.

Master Lianhua looked at the golden Buddha statue before him, and his worries deepened.

His previously silent eyes snapped open instantly!

"Are you still here?"

Master Lianhua stood up, and at the same time, a spatial tunnel opened in front of the mountain gate of Jiuhua Mountain. The moment Ancestor Jinghong walked out of it, the pressure of the Loose Immortal Realm instantly permeated the entire Jiuhua Mountain. The arrival of the Primordial Spirit Ancestors behind him brought an oppressive feeling like a tsunami to Jiuhua Mountain.

"Amitabha Buddha, what do you mean, senior?"

With a whoosh, eight figures shot out from Mount Jiuhua and confronted Ancestor Jinghong directly. All eight figures were at the Nascent Soul Realm, which was the source of Mount Jiuhua's confidence.

However, Jiuhua Mountain ultimately underestimated Maoshan. The moment Master Jinghong appeared, Master Lianhua of Jiuhua Mountain knew that the tide had turned against them. Maoshan took it so seriously that they even mobilized a wandering immortal patriarch.

Master Jinghong pretended not to hear and ignored what Master Lianhua was saying. He gently drew a Taiji diagram in the air with his palms. Then, Master Jinghong pushed his palms forward. The Taiji diagram, which was originally only a few feet long, suddenly became boundless and connected to the sky. It then fell heavily towards Mount Jiuhua!
Master Lianhua's pupils dilated. He truly hadn't expected that Maoshan wouldn't even bother to speak, and instead directly wanted to wipe out the entire Jiuhua Mountain...

Before they could even think, eight masters at the Nascent Soul Realm, including Master Lianhua, radiated Buddhist light, their eight Dharma forms attempting to block the Taiji Diagram.

The Dharma image, tens of thousands of feet tall, stood upright in the sky. To ordinary people, it seemed like a creation of heaven and earth. But even so, when they saw the boundless Taiji diagram, Master Lianhua and the others still lacked confidence.

boom!
As the Tai Chi diagram fell and crashed heavily onto the eight Dharma images, cracks instantly appeared on all eight images, including Master Lianhua's.

However, before they could catch their breath, the group of Maoshan Yuan Shen Ancestors behind Ancestor Jinghong also unleashed their best skills. Holding spiritual treasures, a dozen or so spiritual treasures fell from the void and crashed into the eight Dharma images. The eight Dharma images, which were originally able to withstand the pressure of the Taiji Diagram, crumbled instantly...

puff!
The eight figures vanished, blood dripping from their mouths, golden Buddha blood constantly falling. In just one exchange, Mount Jiuhua could not withstand the onslaught.

Upon seeing this, Master Jinghong smiled faintly.

“The Buddhists don’t follow the rules. I remember that the invitation to capture the dead was sent to Jiuhua Mountain. This matter was decided jointly by the underworld and the Taoist sect. Since Jiuhua Mountain doesn’t follow the rules, it is only right for us to come here.”

The invitation clearly stated that you could choose not to help capture the departed soul, but you could not obstruct it. However, your Jiuhua Mountain sect is still not very clever. With just one word from Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, you lost half your lives. Do you really think everyone is afraid of your Buddhist sect?

Master Jinghong's words were sarcastic, implying that Jiuhua Mountain was overestimating its own abilities.

While others would try to be courteous first and then resort to force, Master Jinghong's arrival this time was a ruthless move, followed by reasoning.

If the other party doesn't listen, then you can only be more ruthless.

However, it was clear that one should stand at attention when being hit, and Master Lianhua of Jiuhua Mountain immediately regained his composure.

Despite his injuries, Master Lianhua clasped his hands together and said, trembling all over, "Senior, please have mercy! We were all instigated by others. We beg you to spare Jiuhua Mountain!"

That's a pretty good attitude...

All the Maoshan Yuan Shen Ancestors laughed. It was clear that Jiuhua Mountain was sensible. However, being too sensible was not good either. Originally, they came to completely annihilate Jiuhua Mountain, but since the other party was so pragmatic, some things could not be done.

Master Jinghong didn't care. After all, he was about to enter the realm of earth immortals, and these little Buddhist monks in front of him were no match for him at all.

"You want my mercy?"
It's very simple. The matter of Jiuhua Mountain obstructing the capture of the dead soul can be left behind. It will be difficult for Maoshan to swallow this insult. Do you know who you are obstructing?

That's not just me, a disciple of Maoshan, but also a third-rank inspector of the Underworld. If you're going to obstruct the Underworld, then you'll have to finish everything the Underworld has to do.

Within three months, no matter what Jiuhua Mountain does, capture all the dead souls in Xizhou and send them to Maoshan. If you can do it, all grudges will be wiped clean. If you can't, the time for Jiuhua Mountain to perish will come after three months!
Do you understand?

Originally, capturing the dead is a tedious and boring task. Even if Zhong Bai has the authority to command 50,000 Yin soldiers and generals, it would still take some effort to capture all the dead in the vast Western Continent, even without anyone interfering. Since Jiuhua Mountain has run into this trouble, let's just shift the blame to Jiuhua Mountain.

Master Lianhua frowned as he listened. This was not very harmful, but extremely insulting. They had originally wanted to stop Maoshan, but now they were turning the tables, and they didn't even have the courage to refuse.

The eight Nascent Soul Realm experts from Mount Jiuhua looked at each other, and finally all eight sighed at the same time.

"Senior, Jiuhua Mountain is willing to obey the decree!"

Seeing that Jiuhua Mountain was willing to yield, Master Jinghong did not linger any longer. After a slight smile, he turned around and returned to the passage.

They came and went in a hurry, and everything seemed unchanged, except for the bleeding wounds of the eight Yuan Shen Realm Ancestors of Jiuhua Mountain, which spoke of the truth of the matter.

A day passed in the blink of an eye.

Maoshan.

Zhong Bai returned after receiving the notification. Xizhou no longer needed him, and Jiuhua Mountain would handle the matter. Once something like this happened, it would happen again. Xizhou was willing to cooperate, and the demons of Beizhou also received the message of the Buddhist sect's compromise, as well as a joint request from Maoshan and Longhu Mountain.

Unlike the resistance of Buddhism, the demons of the Northern Continent were very pragmatic, after all, they didn't have a Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva as their backer in the underworld...

Even Buddhism has compromised, so why is the demon race still resisting?

It's just capturing some lost souls; it's not worth offending the Taoist sect...

Mount Wutai.

Master Zunsheng looked at the letter of request in his hand, and the smile on his lips became more obvious. Before stopping the Taoist sect from capturing the dead souls, Master Zunsheng had been invited by Jiuhua Mountain to act together, but he refused.

Although they received a hint from Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, they were still aware of their own limitations. Now it seems that this is indeed the case. A mere wandering immortal from Maoshan has suppressed Jiuhua Mountain to the point of being unable to raise its head. This time, Maoshan and Longhu Mountain have jointly issued an invitation to the world. Who has the stronger head? Jiuhua Mountain is the example!

The meaning of the envelope in his hand was quite clear: it would be difficult for the Jiuhua Mountain sect alone to capture all the wandering souls of Xizhou within three months; the cooperation of the entire Buddhist sect was required. There was no other way but to write to Wutai Mountain and Putuo Mountain for help.

Wutai Mountain did not refuse, but Master Zunsheng did manage to acquire some resources at Jiuhua Mountain.

After all, who would do a business that doesn't make money?

Anyway, the trouble was caused by Jiuhua Mountain, so we can only swallow our pride and accept it...

Inside Zhongbai Cave in Maoshan.

These days, Zhong Bai has had a rare moment of peace. The capture of the dead has been underway throughout the land, and now all he needs to do is wait for the results.

Sitting at the stone table, he filled the three teacups in front of him, pushing one towards Mo Ling and the other towards Zhao Ling'er, while taking a small sip himself.

"My husband has been having a very pleasant time these days."

Mo Ling watched her husband enjoying himself and teased him while taking a sip of tea herself.

The three of them enjoyed tea, while Zhong Ling sat quietly on the steps in the courtyard.

Two chubby hands cradled her little head as she looked at her parents with helpless expressions.

"The allure of love and hate in this mortal world is truly intriguing, but it certainly seems quite interesting."

Zhong Bai naturally couldn't hear his daughter's inner complaints. He was happy to spend some rare time with Zhao Ling'er and the others.

Although Zhong Bai's time in Xizhou was short, he spent every day in the midst of killing. The number of stubborn souls was not small, but in the end, they could only be turned into exorcism points.

As Zhong Ling was pondering, she was suddenly picked up and carried by Zhong Bai.

To be honest, Zhong Bai thought it looked quite natural.

At first, Zhong Bai had some reservations about his daughter being the reincarnation of the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden, but as time went by, those reservations disappeared. Regardless of who his daughter would be in the future, at least for now, her name was Zhong Ling! (End of Chapter)