The True Lord has arrived

Chapter 117 Killing Pei Xuanbao
Pei Xuanbao is a nobleman, and at least for now, he has not been completely expelled from the Pei family of Hedong. The imperial government and the Pei family have completed a secret deal, and the Pei family has paid a huge price to protect their reputation.

Therefore, both the abbot and the guest monk treated him with utmost respect.

Therefore, he could step forward amidst the envious gazes of the people, enjoying their admiration and respect. Thus, although he arrived later, he walked to the very front of the Dharma assembly, standing behind the abbot, and was able to offer the first incense.

He made this decision without any hesitation; it was completely spontaneous.

I even thought that Wat Pho was a temple with some fame and history, so how could it be so ignorant of hospitality?
He still needs to proactively reveal his identity.

He walked calmly at the front.

Therefore, they witnessed the abbot being beheaded.

The abbot's head fell to the ground, and the old corpse stiffened for a moment before collapsing forward with a loud crash. Blood gushed out, and a stench spread, scattering the incense. The intense killing aura dispelled the originally intoxicating fragrance of the incense.

It's like a desolate battlefield has descended upon this place.

Pei Xuanbao's thoughts froze.

The sword energy dissipated, and the wind howled. The young Taoist killed someone with a single strike. His eyebrows were raised, and his eyes seemed to reflect a red blood light. Time seemed to slow down, and his clear black and white eyes overlapped with those in Qingming Market.

'I don't like his eyes...'

Zhou Yan!

Pei Xuanbao's expression changed drastically.

A gust of wind swept across my face!
The hatred he originally felt for Zhou Yan, and the brutal desire to crush every bone in Zhou Yan's body, were instantly dispelled by his battle instincts and vigilance. After all, he was a scion of a great family, and his skills were well-founded.

Regardless of his character or temperament, his mastery of both literary and martial arts was already superior to his peers, making him a seventh-rank Xuan official. He subconsciously gripped the knife at his waist.

While retreating, draw your sword and hold it diagonally for defense.

His reaction was correct.

Almost simultaneously, the young man who had just killed one person descended from the sky and unleashed a second, incredibly heavy strike, which slammed into Pei Xuanbao's horizontal blade.

An eighth-rank official can defeat a seventh-rank official.

Yet the shock caused Pei Xuanbao's arm to tremble and his wrist to ache terribly.

It was like swinging a broadsword and slashing fiercely at a mountain made of black iron!

In an instant, that murderous intent dissipated.

Turning into astonishment.

The two were practically locked in a standoff with the knife.

Flames simultaneously ignited on the blade.

Beacon towers!

Pei Xuanbao recognized Zhou Yan, who had descended from the sky, as the white-clad figure from Qingming Market. However, he was different from two months ago. He carried an aura of battle, his hair had grown considerably longer, and he was wearing a Taoist robe with cloud patterns.

Those eyes, still clear in black and white, were no longer as innocent and naive as before. Instead, they carried a fierce killing intent, like a quenched knife that had cut through flesh and blood, knowing the cruelty of the world, yet still remaining clear in black and white!
He holds a knife in his hand and kills with it.

With a heavy, sweeping strike, the sword cleaved repeatedly, its resounding sound like a dragon's roar.

"Kill! Murder!"

Run, run!!!

A moment of deathly silence followed, as the surrounding people realized that the abbot had been killed, and the fighting continued. The chaos dissipated, and the martial monks rushed over, iron rods in hand. Amidst the utter uproar, Pei Xuanbao felt a murderous aura locking onto him.

Yu Guang also noticed the problem with the abbot's corpse.

The flowing blood was found to be teeming with worms.

There are 108,000 insects inside the human body.

It's a monster!
There's something wrong with Wat Pho!

Pei Xuanbao wanted to retreat, but the sound of the blade was shrill, and the heavy blade pressed down firmly, preventing him from leaving. When Pei Xuanbao saw those clear black and white eyes, it was like a nightmare.

Zhou Yan said, "I've found you."

"Son of a bitch!"

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

Li Longji watched as Zhou Yan killed the abbot and first shouted "Good!"

Then, the young Taoist priest showed no mercy, leaping over the offering table and aiming at the Pei family member. He drew his sword and began to slash, engaging in a fierce battle. The blade's killing intent was extremely strong, and the Pei family member, who was at the seventh rank, was being suppressed and beaten!
Li Longji watched with great interest: "It seems they have a grudge against the Pei family."

Chen Xuanli looked at the unique murderous aura emanating from Zhou Yan's sword when he drew it.

"It's [Zhen Rong], he's advanced."

After a moment of silence, the famous general who had followed the young Li Sanlang in suppressing the rebellion, had also killed Yang Guozhong, and forced the old emperor to kill Yang Guifei, said, "It is a unique variant of the advanced form of Governor Wang Zhongsi."

Li Sanlang's smile froze for a moment.

His heart was stabbed hard.

Wang Zhongsi was raised by him as his own Huo Qubing.

He was almost like a son to him, yet he was also distrusted by him and died young.

Li Sanlang glanced at the abbot's corpse and saw the spot where the two had fought. Blood was gushing out, and countless insects were writhing inside, making it nauseating. He calmed down and said, "There's something wrong here. Let's go."

The surrounding crowd was in a state of panic and anxiety. Zhou Yan glanced around at the panicked people, took a deep breath, and the young hero, wielding a heavy sword, pinned Pei Xuanbao down, his Taoist robe stained with blood, and shouted:

"This humble Taoist priest is here to commit murder!"

"You don't want to die!"

After a pause, Zhou Yan angrily said:

"roll!"

A gust of wind swept through, making him appear like a reaper. The surrounding people retreated in panic. Zhou Yan could sense that the Longevity Sutra ceremony had been interrupted, but only the plan to use the people as fuel for a longevity ritual had been broken.

The other party wanted this Longevity Sutra ceremony

Within this Reclining Buddha Temple, conspiracies and sinister schemes lurk, casting deep shadows.

Pure white lotus, Xuanzang's relic, Buddhist experiment, the great demon weaver.

There must still be a lot of demons here, and something hidden in this interrupted ceremony. He is a Xuan Guan, and he has a relic from Xuanzang transmitting his power. He can still hold them off, but ordinary people here are just waiting to die.

Zhou Yan knew that there was no way to have a proper conversation at this moment.

He decided to be more direct and pretended to be a mad killer to intimidate the people. His choice worked very well. This time, the people were genuinely frightened and retreated in unison, scattering in panic.

Zhou Yan used the wind to force the people to leave the temple.

Then he stared at Pei Xuanbao.

Your death will scatter the people!
The God of Agriculture's ears of grain could restore his magical power, but his physical strength and fatigue remained. However, now, his killing intent had surpassed his fatigue. He unleashed a series of attacks with overwhelming momentum!
Qin Shi Huang collected the lineages of the world and later cast seven stone tablets. These tablets were later scattered throughout the world and were continuously studied. From them, the theory of the Xuan Guan lineage was integrated. Thousands of years later, the battlefield, the academy, the Taoist school, and the Zen Buddhist school regarded it as the orthodox lineage.

There were also three stone tablets that were broken and scattered throughout the world.

It became the Three Scattered Gates.

Pei Xuanbao is a seventh-rank Xuan official [Tongxuan]. He is a ninth-rank military officer, an eighth-rank Taoist, and a seventh-rank official who returns to the academy lineage. This is different from Zhou Yan's lineage of [Fengsui] and [Zhenrong].

The ninth rank belongs to the military [Beacon Tower], while the eighth rank belongs to the Taoist [Flowing Clouds].

The lineage of the Seventh Rank Return to the Academy originates from the "Tongxuan" (通玄) theory of metaphysics discussed during the Jin Dynasty.

Beacon fires ignite the flames, and drifting clouds soar into the sky.

Both of these styles of promotion for the Xuan official have their own advantages and disadvantages.

Zhou Yan's lineage belongs to the orthodox military school, and with each advancement, his abilities are comprehensively improved; Pei Xuanbao, on the other hand, follows the path that aristocratic families have explored over a long period of time, allowing his Xuan Guan abilities at each level to complement each other, making him more comprehensive.

The seventh-rank Xuan official [Tongxuan] originated from the metaphysical discussions of the Jin Dynasty. Rather than combat, they excel at high-altitude, ethereal, and unpredictable spiritual arts, making it the most favored path for many noble and aristocratic scions.

As for advancing from the seventh rank to the sixth rank.

In Taoism, a sixth-rank official is already considered a high-ranking position.

To reach the sixth rank in Taoism, one must possess both Taoist cultivation and a Taoist heart; in Buddhism, one needs a Buddhist heart and merit; in academies, one needs to integrate various schools of thought to find a path; as for military strategists, it's even simpler: go to the battlefield, spend ten years on the battlefield, and come back alive, and you'll be a sixth-rank official.

With enough resources and rare materials, one can cultivate from the seventh to the ninth rank.

Seven to six.

That's enough to stop 99% of people.

Power is not something that can be easily obtained.

The powerful families' combined strength was enough to give their own children the most comprehensive suppression power at the seventh rank. Pei Xuanbao also thought so. However, when he actually faced the killing, he found that some things were not so simple.

Just from that clash of blades, Pei Xuanbao realized that the person in front of him was most likely a ninth-rank cultivator, at most a mere eighth-rank cultivator, whose pure physical strength was subtly superior to his own.

Blood turned into mud beneath their feet, and the Buddhist temples on all sides resembled demonic caves.

Yet I am here.

Zhou Yan stepped forward, slashing repeatedly with his heavy sword.

His swordsmanship was comparable to that of the elite border troops who had fought countless battles.

What's valued isn't the sophistication of techniques, but instinct—things like how to draw the sword more efficiently, how to retract it quickly (by a breath), what movements won't hurt oneself, and what movements can maximize the use of muscles and tendons.

These are things that can only be understood through constant battles.

When combined, this is the level of swordsmanship.

Coordinated, concise, straightforward, and decisive.

And, fatal.

Pei Xuanbao's swordsmanship, taught by a renowned master, was completely suppressed. Pei Xuanbao said urgently, "The abbot is a demon. Aren't you afraid that you'll die here too if you fight me?"

"Aren't you going to evacuate the people?"

"If we fight here, the demons will attack us first when they appear. I admit you are very skilled, an eighth-rank Xuan Guan Zhen Rong, and you can fight me to a standstill. Zhou Yan, right? You have a bright future ahead of you!"

"Let's let bygones be bygones, for heroes cherish heroes!"

"In the name of the Pei family of Hedong, I guarantee you a bright future!"

Zhou Yan asked, "Evacuate the people?"

With a heavy, mournful slash, Zhou Yan announced, "I'm evacuating!"

"It's almost time..."

Pei Xuanbao was suddenly stunned: "What?!"

At this moment, Pei Xuanbao realized that, because they were afraid that the boy was a murderer, the people had been frightened away, and in front of the pagoda and among the Buddha statues, there were only the two of them fighting.

The prayer flags fluttered and swayed in the wind, and the copper bells rang with a clear and melodious sound.

Zhou Yan gripped the knife.

Beacon towers!

Above the tilted earth and sky, the drought demon's fire rises.

The ancient calamity representing the drought on the land was so severe that even Pei Xuanbao's decent weapon could not withstand it for a moment. Pei Xuanbao used the beacon fire to protect his weapon, and then pointed his fingers together.

"Summon the wind!"

A convergence of influences.

This is a unique ability possessed by someone of his rank, a seventh-grade Xuan official.

Back in Qingming Market, he used this same supernatural power to soar into the air and quickly leave. This time, the young Taoist made a hand seal, and golden ripples spread from his pupils.

In this world, there are countless beings that are compatible with the wind, but if there is any being to which the wind actively follows, there is only one—

The roar of a tiger echoed in Zhou Yan's ears.

[Yinwei commands the mountains, pacifying the vast wilderness]

[The wind blows across the tiger's soul, and all sounds fill the land.]

As Pei Xuanbao summoned the wind, Zhou Yan's eyes gathered light, and he thought to himself.

"Wind Control!"

Pei Xuanbao summoned the wind, intending to take to the air as he had done before, but all the thousand streams of wind dissipated and instead gathered around Zhou Yan. His magic power and supernatural abilities were insufficient to summon so many winds, but he could control them.

Pei Xuanbao swayed, his spell failing to be countered.

This caused his movements to sluggish and shift to one side. His swordsmanship was beautiful, but it did not reach Zhou Yan's level, resulting in a huge flaw. Zhou Yan raised his sword high, and his magical power surged.

And they would retaliate with a single blow.

"A single strike at Qingming Market that day."

"Today, I return it to you."

Above the Earthly Soul and Heavenly Inclined Blade, layers of dark red drought demon fire, golden humanistic fire, and semi-transparent Buddhist fire lit up one after another. Finally, the Broken Army Fierce Qi Talisman was fully unleashed, and above the Earthly Soul and Heavenly Inclined Blade, the flames gathered into a three-foot-high blade flame that rose above the blade itself.

Three hundred years of cultivation forced three different forces to merge into one.

The three fires combine into one.

Heavy cuts with heavy swords!

(End of this chapter)