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Chapter 434 Statue of Gods
Strange, the outside is heavily guarded, but the inside is completely undefended?

The three exchanged glances, each sensing a degree of suspicion in the other's eyes.

However, at that moment, a firework suddenly lit up the distant horizon.

Then, immediately, came the second one.

Although it was still broad daylight, the fireworks were still extremely conspicuous under the blessing of magic, and could be seen clearly even from a great distance.

Zhou You was stunned for a moment.

This was agreed upon beforehand; if either side succeeds, a warning fire will be used immediately.

But why so fast?
Even if the main force of the Qing army were on their side, it would be impossible for Old Man Li and Yuan Chengwen to finish the task in such a short time.

Unless, of course, they didn't encounter any resistance at all!

Zhou You glanced at Han Lu, who nodded with a similarly furrowed brow.

So he drew his longsword—this time it wasn't Wanren he drew, but the long-awaited Duanxie. Then he suddenly dropped down, skimming through the forest like a sparrow, and ran towards the Taoist temple!
Hanlu followed closely behind, while Wei Wunian of the Hundao Sect remained stunned for several seconds before hurriedly shouting.

"What happened? Why is it suddenly not like this? Wait for me, I haven't caught up yet!"

In a moment, the gate of the Taoist temple was within reach.

They still encountered no obstacles.

however.

The moment I stepped into the Taoist temple, everything changed.

In the blink of an eye, it's lush and green.

It felt like stepping from a snowy wasteland into a tropical jungle; in an instant, one's vision was filled with lush vegetation—yet the environment remained unchanged, the frigid air still seeping into the body, and...
The appearance of these plants is really too ugly.

No, it should be said
weird.

A dark purple fungal carpet covered the ground, and every inch of soil seemed to scream, spraying out yellowish-green slime. Vines climbed the walls, but they were crowded with translucent cysts. All the plants were covered with layers of scabies, and they would spray out foul-smelling liquid from time to time.

Flowers and fungi flourish together on the ground, making it difficult to find a place to stand. However, the petals are pieced together from rotten human character, and the flower centers are teeth that keep multiplying. The mushrooms are colorful, but the colors are so distorted that they make people dizzy at first glance.

Wei Wunian was a little slow on his feet and had only just arrived. However, he was also stunned by the sight before him.

"Something's not right here. How can there be so many plants in the middle of winter? But wait, what the heck are these things??"

Zhou You ignored him and instead muttered to himself in a low voice.

“I’ve seen this before.”

Hanlu spoke with an equally cold expression.

"That big pot."

"That's right. I always thought it was a coincidence that caused the disturbance, but now it seems... it should also be a hidden move by that old empress dowager?"

Wei Wunian was completely baffled.

"No, you two, what the hell are you talking about?"

Zhou You didn't offer much explanation, but simply stated his position.

"Old Wei."

"Um, could you please not call me that? It gives me the creeps."

"Aren't your Hun Dao Sect's blades sharp enough?"

"Well, how should I put it? It's still profitable, after all, it's something I've supported with my own hard work."

"Is it alright to cut these branches and leaves?"

Wei Wunian immediately understood what Zhou You meant.

—They're planning to use me as a road clearer!

His family made their living by forging swords, and their lives depended on swords, so he instinctively retorted on the spot.

"Sir, your two swords are just as sharp as mine, why don't you use yours?"

"—Wanren is ultimately an ancient artifact. Although its blade is sharp, it cannot cut heavy objects. Duanxie is currently going crazy intermittently. I'm afraid that if I pull it out, it will cut you down first. So I can only trouble you, Brother Wei, to take action."

"And this young lady too."

"—I said, okay?"

Wei Wunian wanted to argue further, but Zhou You's words silenced him. So he could only mutter as he drew his knife and swung it at the lush flower bushes.

It must be said that the Hun Dao Sect is truly skilled. When they don't use their swords, they are just unshaven, decadent men. But once they do use their swords, the blade's aura becomes almost tangible—strangely shaped plants are basically shattered at the slightest touch. Even if they occasionally try to resist, as long as the blade curls upwards, everything is immediately obliterated.

Zhou You looked on with envy and said something.

"Brother Wei?"

"What's wrong?"

"Teach me a few tricks?"

Wei Wunian's answer was straightforward.

"I have no problem with that, as long as Li Zhangfan agrees to your withdrawal from the White Gate and your joining us."

Zhou You immediately shut his mouth.

Wei Wunian was very efficient; he cleared a path in less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, and the main hall of the Taoist temple came into view.

Compared to the side courtyard, the situation here is even more serious. You can't even see any gaps between the bricks and stones. All you can see are countless plants growing meanderingly, eventually enveloping the entire building.

When they got here, Wei Wunian was also at a loss. No matter how many times he slashed with the knife, more plants would fill the gap the next second. In the end, Zhou You had no choice but to use the "Small Liberation" skill again, which barely managed to blast open the main gate.

Once inside, the scenery becomes increasingly bizarre.

From the traces around, it can be seen that the deity enshrined here is Lingbao Tianzun—one of the Three Pure Ones, along with Daode Tianzun and Yuanshi Tianzun. However, the clay statue has long been covered by various plants, and the area from the chest upwards has disappeared, replaced by a giant blooming flower.

What's even stranger is that the normal Lingbao Tianzun should be wearing a robe of sun, moon, mountains and rivers, holding a jade ruyi, with the Taishang Dongxuan Scripture on his knees, and sitting on a nine-colored lotus platform. But now, due to the distortion of the vegetation, the jade ruyi and the scripture have disappeared. Instead, his hand has been forcibly distorted into the wish-granting mudra, making him look like a monk preaching the Dharma at first glance.

"Goodness gracious." Wei Wunian, being knowledgeable, couldn't help but sigh upon seeing this. "Forcibly changing it to resemble the Yi Sect, if those Taoist priests find out, wouldn't they fight to the death with those bald monks?"

No wonder your Hun Dao Sect has fallen to this state; you managed to insult two people in just a few words. That's something else. However, Wei Wunian completely failed to notice Zhou You's gaze. Relying on the sharpness of his longsword, he actually tried to get closer to take a look.

"Wait a minute."

Zhou You subconsciously wanted to be alert—but just then…

A sudden change occurred!

The giant flower opened its petals, and a bald human body slowly emerged from it—at first glance, it looked like a man, with severely missing body hair, nearly half of his skull gone, and the grooves of his brain exposed nakedly to the air.

Moreover, it had no hands or feet; instead, it had dozens of waving tentacles, each covered in a dark yellow slime.

However, Wei Wunian did not react to this.

At that moment, he stared at the statue, as if he had gone mad. A blank smile suddenly appeared on his lips, and he reached out as if to embrace the human body.

"Master Sister."

Who would have thought? You, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, are actually a mother-obsessed person!

Zhou You kicked Wei Wunian aside, then suddenly drew his sword, Duan Xie, and was about to pierce through the human body!
however.

But it couldn't be pushed down.

The sword blade was only halfway through the air when it seemed to encounter some invisible resistance. No matter how hard it tried, it could not advance even an inch.

Then, one of the tentacles gently moved forward a little.

Zhou You felt as if he had been hit head-on by a truck traveling at 70 miles per hour. His vision went black, and he was thrown backward. Fortunately, the vegetation here was relatively soft, and after several falls on the ground, he finally managed to stop his movements.

He wiped his face and felt a warm sensation—it was blood spurting from his nose—but he didn't care about his injuries and hurriedly shouted.

"Hanlu, come back!"

The girl who was rushing forward abruptly stopped in her tracks, then tapped her toes several times and retreated to Zhou You's side.

The next moment, right in the path she had just taken, the ground suddenly collapsed, as if something had pressed down on her out of thin air—if Hanlu had been still in the same spot, she would have inevitably turned into a meat pie!
Zhou You, disregarding words, forcefully pulled Wei Wunian back from a short distance away, and then hid behind an incense altar with Han Lu.

The bare human body didn't give chase—or rather, it didn't even have the slightest thought of doing so. Its sewn-on eyes seemed to have no vision, and only its tentacles trembled constantly, as if trying to find something.

However, Wei Wunian still stared blankly, reaching out his hand repeatedly, trying to get closer to the monster.

Zhou You sighed, and was about to use his usual method of waking Wei Wunian up when Han Lu suddenly struck, slapping him several times and forcibly waking him up.

When did this girl become so violent?

However, Zhou You didn't think about it too much. Instead, he pried open Wei Wunian's eyelids and fiddled with them for a while to make sure that the guy was completely awake before letting go.

Wei Wunian was also completely bewildered. He glanced to the side a couple of times and then said blankly.

"How did I get here? I remember I was with..."

He stopped mid-sentence and then nervously asked Zhou You.

"Mr. Zhou, did I say anything rude just now?"

"It's nothing, it just revealed how much you revered your master's aunt." Ignoring Wei Wunian's suddenly flushed face, Zhou You continued, "But now is not the time to talk about your affair—I'm asking if you know that thing?"

However, before Wei Wunian could speak, Hanlu spoke first.

"It seems to be a combination of the incense and prayers from the statue, and the abbot who was tortured to death in this temple. The power of this contraption isn't particularly strong, but its attacks seem to originate from divine thought and target living beings, making it quite troublesome."

But just as Hanlu was explaining, the thing seemed unable to find its target. Its tentacles twitched slightly, and then, just like the nematodes they had seen before, it began to chant scriptures.

"At that time, the elder Subhuti, in the midst of the assembly, rose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, knelt on his right knee, joined his palms in reverence, and said to the Buddha, 'How wondrous is this, World Honored One!'"

Is this the Vajrasekhara Sutra?

As the tendrils chanted, the range of their divine thoughts began to expand outwards, and the invisible fluctuations instantly extended to three or four feet away.

"Alright, we can't delay this, Brother Wei."

Wei Wunian was, after all, a seasoned veteran of the martial world, and immediately replied upon hearing Zhou You's words.

"Yes, what can I do for you?"

"You go forward and hold that thing back for a bit, Hanlu will provide support from the side, and I'll look for an opportunity to deliver the fatal blow, okay?"

This clearly indicated that they intended to use him as the vanguard, but Wei Wunian didn't say a word more, only lightly flicking the blade.

A stream of light flowed from the hilt, like water, towards the tip of the blade—Wei Wunian turned and gripped it, his entire demeanor seemingly transformed—

Then, he leaped up and slammed forward!
The bare shell finally found a target. The tentacles curled outwards, and a wave swept across, grinding everything in its path, whether vegetation or bricks, into dust in the blink of an eye.

Otherwise.

Wei Wunian neither dodged nor evaded; no matter what kind of magic his opponent possessed, he simply slashed down with his sword.

And so, the invincible wave was abruptly stopped before his eyes and then split in two!
Its body paused for a moment, seemingly not expecting this outcome. But quickly, its three tentacles bent simultaneously, preparing to spring out again.

But at that moment, Hanlu had already waved her folding fan.

This time, instead of using a throwing method, he tapped the air several times, and peach blossom patterns were suddenly drawn on his body, from which pink mist seeped out. Although it had no actual killing power, it did slow him down a bit.

Wei Wunian gained less than five or six breaths, and the effect of the Cold Dew spell lasted for less than five or six breaths as well.

But in the span of ten breaths, it was enough time for him to wander and lurk in the shadows, then, using the pillars as cover, quickly approach the body.

Under the influence of divine sense, the body immediately became aware of this uninvited guest. Four or five tentacles suddenly turned, and under the pull of an invisible force, the body was torn to shreds like rags in the blink of an eye.

however.

What broke off was not flesh and blood, but white scraps of paper.

—That was clearly a paper figure used as a substitute!
The body reacted immediately, its tentacles waving as it locked onto Zhou You's true form—

But just as he was about to make a move, Wei Wunian's longsword had already struck first despite being behind!
Troublesome stuff!
Even without intelligence, the body instantly developed this emotion. It could only wave its tentacles to block the attack, while at the same time its divine sense suddenly erupted, forcefully smashing Wei Wunian away and embedding him into the vegetation behind it!
This move certainly helped it get rid of one of the guys, but it also revealed some weaknesses.

Although it wasn't large, at most two or three breaths,
Zhou You's greatest skill lies in exploiting loopholes.

The malevolent energy instantly condensed, turning the sword of the Demon Slayer into a thin mist. The barrier formed by the body's body could only hold it back slightly before being easily breached.

If a warrior skilled in swift swords gets inside a mage, there's basically only one outcome.

With a swift stroke, the evil spirit severed the object in two in an instant!
(End of this chapter)