The True Lord has arrived

Chapter 359 The Three Majestic Mountains, A Blissful Land of Leisure
Do you want to take Li Zhiwei away?
Zhou Yan's eyes darkened slightly, but he also sensed something was wrong. When Li Zhiwei was young, she grew up within the palace walls and then experienced the chaos of the An Lushan Rebellion. She had been traveling all the way, so how could she possibly know such a person?

These people arrived riding on auspicious clouds, and the leader was also at the fifth rank.

Looking across the vast world, fifth-rank Xuan officials are not as common as cabbages, but those eight people did not seem to have any intention of giving Zhou Yan time to speak. The chains coiled around him like serpents, instantly sealing off the space around Zhou Yan, and even the five elements of energy seemed to be imprisoned.

"Whoever you are, come with us."

Zhou Yan looked up at the crowd around him and at the chains. He had a rough idea of ​​what was going on, but he had no interest in explaining at the moment. He held Li Zhiwei in one arm and stretched out his right hand, where strands of golden light gathered.

Clench your five fingers together.

A long-handled weapon appeared, its ink-black surface intertwined with ripples of gold and blue.

With a flick of his wrist, the three-pointed double-edged sword pointed diagonally at the ground. The leader said coldly, "Still dare to resist? Take him down, pierce his collarbone and dantian, cripple his martial arts and supernatural powers, and then we'll talk!"

Zhou Yan raised the three-pointed double-edged sword in his hand, but didn't really gather his strength.

He held it like that and slashed down at an angle.

Eight chains intertwined with the five elements of primordial energy, faintly capable of condensing into a sphere. Since it can stabilize the primordial energy, it is undoubtedly a magical artifact with considerable power.

The woman in the lead was extremely confident in this treasure.

But the next moment, the seal maintained by the eight people working together and holding magical treasures was actually cut open by a black light and shadow. The seal, which was also a first-class treasure, was cut open silently.

The chains broke apart, one side of the broken chain was charred black, while the other side emitted icy cold.

boom! ! !
The sealed Five Elements Qi exploded, roaring and surging in all directions, howling like dragons, stirring up the surrounding primordial energy like a raging sea, a terrifying sight. The woman's expression changed, stunned by this spectacle, and she hurriedly said:

"I was unaware that you were here, senior. My name is Chang Ningxue, a disciple of the Three Mountains Overseas."

"I am unaware of your seniority and have offended you greatly."

"However, this woman is a traitor to our sect. Please hand her over to us, senior, so that we can return to our sect and report back."

Zhou Yan just felt that Chang Ningxue was too arrogant. She swept her three-pointed double-edged sword without using any supernatural powers or special skills. The sweeping motion alone brought up a wave of madness.

The eight women, including Chang Ningxue, all changed their expressions and began to use magic to resist.

Accompanied by a crisp breaking sound.

Their defensive techniques and supernatural abilities couldn't withstand even a single breath before being directly shattered. Pure primordial energy swept outwards in all directions from this point, causing Chang Ningxue and the others to turn deathly pale and cough up blood as they were sent flying backwards.

Chang Ningxue's vision blurred.

Before her eyes, the layers of clouds had shattered completely under this single move. Only one person stood calmly, staring at the blue-robed Taoist priest who stood atop auspicious clouds, one arm around the woman, wielding a three-pointed, double-edged sword. Fear and disbelief filled her heart—

Before coming to the Central Plains, my masters told me that there were people in the Central Plains whom we should not offend.

There is clearly no such thing as it.

who is he? !

His eyes swept over and saw that the other disciples were all seriously injured. His fear grew even greater. He secretly swallowed a precious medicine to unleash his potential and was about to fly away regardless of everything. Zhou Yan raised his right hand and the Demon-Binding Rope flew out.

This treasure hovered in the air like a dragon or snake, growing enormous in the blink of an eye, and directly binding all the women, including Chang Ningxue.

A demonic power that made her tremble was transmitted through the Demon-Binding Rope.

In a daze, Chang Ningxue almost saw a phantom, as if a demon god as huge as a river was hovering in front of her with his eyes lowered, staring at her with cold malice, making all the magic power in her body freeze and tremble, unable to move an inch.

With a flick of his wrist, Zhou Yan tightened the Demon-Binding Rope as if it were alive, binding Chang Ningxue and the others tightly, completely imprisoning their cultivation. He did not retract his three-pointed double-edged sword; the golden and blue light flowing along its blade reflected on Chang Ningxue's pale and terrified face.

"Senior, please forgive me! This junior..." Chang Ningxue wanted to beg for mercy.

"Three mountains overseas?"

Zhou Yan interrupted him directly, his voice calm yet carrying a chilling pressure. He deliberately steered the conversation, "I have no connection with the Three Mountains. You have mobilized a large force to intercept me within the Central Plains. What do you seek? What is your relationship with this woman?"

Chang Ningxue was terrified and could only stammer, "We came here to hunt down Yang Taizhen, the traitor who betrayed the sect years ago. However, the magic weapon revealed that Yang Taizhen was on this woman next to you, senior."

Zhou Yan's heart sank as he thought of Yang Taizhen and the Three Mountains overseas mentioned by Sanyang Jiemie. Speaking of which, the Yaksha in the Jialing River who wanted to take a wife, and the so-called Jialing River God, both claimed to be righteous gods who had received the decree from the Three Mountains overseas.

Based on the intelligence we have so far, the stance of these three overseas mountains is unclear.

However, this has already confirmed that the "imperial decree" was conferred upon the water god of Shu, thus eroding the water god system of the Central Plains; and that outstanding disciples from the sect were sent to bewitch the emperors of the mortal world. In this light, the opposing side's position is at least different from Zhou Yan's own.

We should try to trick her!
“Oh? The Three Mountains Overseas…” Zhou Yan pointed his three-pointed double-edged sword at the ground and said indifferently, “Yang Taizhen is related to Li Longji. Now that she is old, how could she be someone next to me?”

"As for you, since you are from the Three Mountains overseas, why have you come to this Central Plains? Have you reported this to the Daoist sect?"

Chang Ningxue was at a loss for words. She remained silent for a moment before replying with difficulty, "...This, this matter concerns the survival of our Three Mountains Overseas. Without the orders of our seniors, I dare not speak of it lightly."

"As for reporting to the Daoist sect in the Central Plains, after this matter is over, we juniors will definitely go to the Supreme Pavilion to observe the Dao and pay our respects to the contemporary master to express our remorse and apology."

"Oh? Everything is already done, and you're only now going to apologize? Isn't that a bit too late?"

Zhou Yan slightly raised his three-pointed double-edged sword, made a hand seal, and a jade talisman appeared between his fingers. Wisps of golden flames instantly expanded and rose behind him, transforming into a terrifying, towering Dharma image with eyes like the blazing sun, calmly gazing down.

The overwhelming pressure almost made Chang Ningxue faint.

The true form of the Dharma!?
Is he a fourth-rank True Lord?!

Zhou Yan activated his Military Master Divine Power, and terrifying baleful energy swirled around Chang Ningxue, filling her vision with almost entirely black and blood-red hues. It felt as if the heavens and earth were pressing down on her layer by layer, as if the only person in the world was the Taoist in the blue robe, calmly and indifferently looking down at her.

The beating of my heart was like thunderous war drums, each beat resounding throughout the room.

My blood almost flowed backwards.

Overwhelmed by boundless fear, Chang Ningxue's mind was severely shaken. Finally unable to withstand the terror, she cried out, "Yes, it's a treasure!!!"

"Yang Taizhen, that traitor! Not only did she fail to complete the sect leader's mission, but she also stole my Three Mountains' secret treasure, the 'Jade Purity Profound Primordial Qi,' and fled!"

"We have been ordered by the Mountain Lord to capture this fiend and retrieve the secret treasure!"

She knew she shouldn't say these things, but the overwhelming fear overwhelmed everything else, and she blurted them all out in one breath. After she finished, she felt both fear and relief, and she gasped for breath.

Zhou Yan muttered to himself, "Jade Purity Mysterious Primordial Qi..."

Chang Ningxue said, "Every word I have said comes from the bottom of my heart, and there is not a single falsehood in it. However, there is much more that I really cannot say. If I continue, not only will I die, but my elders will also be implicated..."

Zhou Yan said, "Are you threatening me?" Chang Ningxue's face turned pale: "No, no, I wouldn't dare."

But then the Taoist priest raised his hand, and the terrifying three-pointed double-edged sword immediately scattered. At the same time, the Taoist priest's right arm trembled, and his sleeve suddenly became huge, like a curtain of the sky covering them!

[Devouring Heaven and Earth]!!!
Chang Ningxue felt a sudden darkness before her eyes, her body uncontrollably swept into the sleeve of his robe. She cried out in alarm, but was powerless to stop it. Zhou Yan maintained the operation of his supernatural powers to prevent the sleeve from tearing again. A sudden gust of wind arose, and in an instant, all eight people vanished without a trace.

Zhou Yan's sleeves fell back down, and peace returned to the world.

With just this one shake and one cover, the wondrous power of a peak third-grade divine ability was unmistakably revealed.

Zhou Yan said leisurely, "Yang Taizhen, why don't you come out and have a proper talk..."

Accompanied by a soft sigh.

A jade pendant at Li Zhiwei's waist shimmered with light, emitting a layer of misty, cloud-like energy that transformed into a woman with sorrowful and grief-stricken eyes, seemingly utterly helpless, sighing for a long time.

Yang Taizhen had just been attached to Li Zhiwei's jade pendant and had absorbed all the events that had just occurred into her divine sense. Her heart was filled with mixed feelings, and she asked, "...What does True Lord want to ask?"

She had already witnessed Zhou Yan's methods.

To confront Gonggong head-on and slay the ancient dragon-turtle—such methods cannot be described as those of a "real person," but can only be called those of a "True Lord."

Zhou Yan said, "The Three Overseas Mountains are Penglai, Fangzhang, and Yingzhou. There are also the three immortals of Fu, Lu, and Shou. They are very famous in the entire mythology. Emperors have always sent people to search for the immortals. As Di Zhizhen said, quite a few disciples of these Three Overseas Mountains have entered the Central Plains."

"But why are they so concerned about you?"

"Given that history clearly records your death, why are they still coming to the Central Plains to hunt you down? Is it really just that Yuqing Xuanyuan Qi? If so, then what's so special about this Yuqing Xuanyuan Qi?"

The questions asked were very pointed.

Yang Taizhen remained silent for a long time, then sighed and said, "The True Lord's insight is truly getting better every day. I originally planned to keep this a secret for a while longer, but it seems that it can't be kept secret any longer."

"They are hunting me down not because of mere Yang Yuhuan, nor even entirely for that [Jade Purity Profound Primordial Qi]."

"What they really want to cover up is the plan of the Three Mountains Overseas to steal the dragon vein fortune of the Central Plains."

Zhou Yan lowered his eyes slightly, and Yang Taizhen said, "Why send disciples from past generations into the palace to bewitch these emperors? It's all just because of the word 'luck'."

"Although the Three Mountains Overseas are said to be a blessed land for carefree immortals, they are far from the core of the human world and lack the support of major earth veins. They can still do well in the short term, but gradually, the spiritual veins of the Three Mountains Overseas will wither away, and they will lose their original elegance and glory."

"And so a method gradually emerged, which could use the nation's fortune as a sacrifice to set up a grand array called 'Stealing the Heavens and Changing the Sun,' guiding the dragon veins of the Central Plains little by little to the three overseas mountains to nourish their increasingly depleted immortal islands..."

"The last time it was completely successful was during the Sui Dynasty."

"Back then, some senior members of the sect went to pay their respects to the Qin Emperor, but ultimately they failed, and the Qin Emperor never established an empress."

“I once had the same thought, to complete the sect’s mission, but later…” Yang Taizhen sighed with a complicated expression, “Later, I was not a truly heartless person after all, and I could not overcome the bond of love. I was gradually moved by the saint’s sincerity.”

“The sect has sent messages several times, asking me to guide the human destiny out to complete the great formation, but I just pretend I don’t know them, or I tell them that the time is not right, in short, I continue to delay.”

“Until the An Lushan Rebellion, I realized that it was probably the elders of the Three Mountains who abandoned me because I had been reluctant to agree to their plans, and chose other methods to disrupt the world’s fortunes.”

"The Tang Dynasty was on the verge of collapse, and hundreds of millions of people were about to be plunged into catastrophe. So I quickly found them and pretended to agree to this trick, but secretly stole the most crucial core of the formation - the wisp of [Jade Purity Profound Primordial Qi] that served as the array's guide."

"The Mawei Slope Mutiny..." Yang Yuhuan's voice was complicated, "It was due to the general trend of the world, and he had only himself to blame. However, among the various schemes involved, it is possible that the people of the Three Mountains, seeing that the matter had been exposed, took advantage of the situation to push things along and wanted to silence me."

"Unfortunately, I had already prepared a backup plan."

"Finally, His Majesty granted me death, using the method of human destiny to swallow that Qi, allowing this [Jade Pure Profound Origin Qi] to completely merge with my soul..."

"The reason they are pursuing us so urgently is probably because the [Heaven-Stealing and Sun-Changing] formation has reached a critical stage and urgently needs the Jade Purity Profound Primordial Qi as the 'formation guide' to return to its proper position..."

"This also means..."

Yang Yuhuan did not continue.

Zhou Yan, however, already knew everything and asked, "Are there disciples of the Three Overseas Mountains lineage in Chang'an now? Are they from Li Heng's side or Li Chu's side...?"

Although unwilling to admit it, Zhou Yan, having grown into one of the world's top figures, partially felt the same sense of exhaustion and constant running around that Fuxi experienced.

His gaze shifted towards Mount Li, and then seemed to pierce through the void, seeing the turbulent Chang'an and Luzhou. Luzhou was An Lushan, one of the Six Paths, while Chang'an was the Three Mountains beyond the seas, Li Heng and Li Longji.

The peace of the world is about to crumble again. The ancient gods and demons use the Tang Dynasty as their chessboard, and the pieces they have placed are now beginning to be revealed and gradually emerge, stirring up the winds and clouds.

"It seems that after Lishan and before Luzhou, I will have to go to Chang'an to meet the 'immortal masters' of the three overseas mountains and take a look at the so-called monarch."

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

Inside a small courtyard at the foot of Mount Li.

An elderly woman with a full head of silver hair was attentively tending to the plants in the yard. The sun was warm, and no matter how the outside world changed, this small yard always maintained the most comfortable state.

Looking at the thriving seeds, the old woman suddenly thought of the young Taoist priest and sighed, "He hasn't been heard from since, and my brother hasn't come out either. I wonder what happened to him..."

"Oh dear, it's just me, an old lady, living all by myself."

Just as I was about to go back and make some snacks, I suddenly paused slightly, turned my head to look, and saw a five-colored auspicious cloud rolling and swirling in the sky. It wasn't very fast, but it wasn't too slow either. Soon it flew over and landed in this small courtyard.

A young Taoist priest appeared and said, "Grandma, I'm back."

The Old Mother of Lishan was surprised and welcomed Zhou Yan as he landed. Zhou Yan placed all the snacks he had brought on the table, which were all specialties from the Langzhong area. The Old Mother of Lishan smiled warmly and said, "You've come all this way, why did you bring so much?"

Then, the old lady's attention turned to Li Zhiwei.

"This child is..."

Zhou Yan's expression turned slightly solemn as he recounted what had happened.

The Old Mother of Lishan said, "So that's how it is. She's a pitiful child. You brought her here so that I could help you. To be honest, I can't cure this kind of injury. After all, I've already used up all the soil on you."

"But, fortunately, it was a stroke of luck."

"I do have a way to save her."

"Not only that, it will also be of great benefit to you."

(End of this chapter)