One person: Senior brother Zhang Zhiwei, the Celestial Master begged me to descend the mountain.

"Hahaha! Burn it! Burn it for me!"

"What kind of damned thousand-year-old temple is this! Tonight, we'll turn it into ruins!"

A group of strangely dressed demons, wielding all sorts of weapons, rampaged through the mountain path like a pack of wild beasts unleashed.

They killed anyone they saw and burned any house they encountered.

The usually quiet and solemn Taoist temple is now shrouded in thick smoke and blood.

"Quick! There's another road over there!"

A burly man with a face full of scars, wiping the blood from his face and pointing to a quiet path to the side, roared:

"We've killed all the Taoist priests here! Go check over there and see if any escaped!"

"Hehe, big brother, I heard that a bunch of old guys with high seniority live in this back mountain. If we can take down one of them, we brothers will be famous in the circle!"

A skinny guy next to him, who looked like a monkey and was playing with two poisoned daggers, grinned sinisterly.

"Walk!"

This group of Quanxing demons, numbering about a dozen, each carrying the weight of a murderer's life, charged menacingly into the path leading deep into the bamboo forest.

Compared to the hustle and bustle outside, this bamboo forest is exceptionally quiet.

The night wind rustled through the bamboo leaves, creating a natural barrier that kept the flames of war outside at bay.

"It's fucking quiet."

The burly man in the lead spat and warily looked around:

"Keep your eyes peeled! The more dangerous the place, the more likely it is to hide a master."

The group slowed their pace, like a pack of predatory wolves, silently making their way into the depths of the bamboo forest.

We walked through a dense bamboo forest.

A dilapidated woodshed and courtyard came into view.

By the light of the distant fire, they could vaguely see a person lying on a bamboo recliner in the courtyard.

A Taoist priest.

The Taoist priest lay on his side, his face covered by a tattered palm-leaf fan, wearing an old, faded Taoist robe, with one leg dangling off the chair.

You can even hear their even, long breaths.

"Huff... huff..."

Upon seeing this scene, the Quanxing demons, who were initially somewhat nervous, were immediately stunned.

Followed by.

A burst of uncontrollable, maniacal laughter erupted.

"Hahaha! This is hilarious!"

Skinny Monkey pointed at Zhang Taichu on the recliner, laughing so hard he couldn't stand up straight:

"There's chaos outside, and there's still some idiot sleeping here?"

"Is this the master of Longhu Mountain? Is this what they mean by remaining calm even when Mount Tai collapses before you?"

The burly man leading the group also had a sinister grin on his face. He carried a large, ghost-headed broadsword and strode over.

"I think he's been scared out of his wits."

"Fine, since you're courting death, I'll grant your wish!"

"I'll take this head!"

The burly man walked to a spot three meters away from the recliner and raised his large, ghost-headed sword high in the air.

The blade gleamed with a chilling light in the firelight.

"Go to hell! Remember not to be a Taoist priest in your next life!"

With a roar, the burly man's arm muscles bulged like a coiled dragon as he used all his strength to chop down hard on Zhang Taichu's neck.

This strike was powerful and heavy.

Even a granite slab can be split in two.

The group of henchmen behind him stared wide-eyed, their faces filled with bloodthirsty excitement, waiting for the wonderful moment when blood would splatter.

however.

next second.

when--!!!

A sharp, piercing clang of metal suddenly rang out in the quiet courtyard.

It was like a heavy bronze bell being struck loudly.

The sound was so loud that it caused the surrounding bamboo leaves to fall.

The smiles on everyone's faces froze instantly.

The large, ghost-headed sword hovered three feet in front of Zhang Taichu. No matter how hard the burly man exerted himself, even as his face turned a deep purplish-red, the blade could not advance an inch further.

It was as if an invisible wall stretched across the seemingly empty air.

"This...how is this possible?!"

The burly man stared wide-eyed, his face filled with disbelief.

He felt as if his knife had struck a mountain; the force of the impact split his hand open, and blood flowed down the hilt.

"Big brother! What's wrong?"

The henchmen behind them noticed something was wrong and quickly gathered around.

"This kid's got a strange vibe!"

The burly man gritted his teeth, staring intently at the still-sleeping Zhang Taichu:

"It has a protective magic artifact! Or some kind of barrier!"

"I refuse to believe it! With so many of us, we can't even break the spell of a sleeping Taoist priest?"

"Let's go! Chop him up!"

"good!"

At the burly man's command, the dozen or so Quanxing demons behind him instantly turned red-eyed.

If one blow won't kill him, then hack him to death with a flurry of blows!

"kill!"

The skinny monkey flashed, and the poisoned dagger in his hand transformed into two green beams, piercing straight into Zhang Taichu's eyes.

Another woman wielding a long whip flicked her wrist, and the whip, like a venomous snake emerging from its hole, coiled towards Zhang Taichu's neck.

Some people threw hidden weapons, some sprayed poisonous mist, and some threw fire talismans.

In a short time.

The colorful Qi energy illuminated the dilapidated courtyard.

All the attacks, carrying deadly intent, were aimed at the unsuspecting figure on the recliner.

Clang, clang, clang—!

The dense thuds of impact sounded like raindrops pattering on banana leaves.

Sparks flew everywhere.

however.

A scene that sent chills down everyone's spines unfolded.

No matter what kind of attack it is.

Whether it's a sharp sword, a venomous hidden weapon, or a highly corrosive poisonous fog.

As soon as anyone got close to Zhang Taichu's body within a three-foot radius, they were all blocked.

That invisible barrier, like a natural chasm, clearly demarcates the boundary between life and death.

Zhang Taichu was at the center of the storm.

Even the palm-leaf fan didn't fall off.

"What the hell is this thing?!"

The skinny monkey stared at his dagger, its blade already broken from the impact, his voice trembling:

"The Golden Light Mantra? This doesn't look like the Golden Light Mantra! There's not even any light!"

"Even the Celestial Master's Golden Light Mantra couldn't automatically protect you while you're sleeping, could it?!"

The burly man leading the group was now covered in sweat, and his hand gripping the knife was trembling uncontrollably.

He looked at the figure still fast asleep, and a chill ran from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

Not right.

Something's really wrong.

"B-Big Brother, should we... retreat?"

Some people are starting to back out.

This fear of facing an unknown force is far more devastating than facing an army of thousands.

"Retreat? Where to retreat to?"

The burly man gritted his teeth, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes:

"You've already taken action. Do you think we'll have a chance of survival if he wakes up?"

"Use that while he's still asleep!"

The burly man pulled a dark, black bead from his pocket, which emitted a nauseating, fishy stench.

This is a Five Poison Thunder he obtained from Miao territory. Once it explodes, nothing will grow within a ten-meter radius, and even stones will turn into pus.

"Get out of the way!"

The burly man roared and hurled the Five Poison Thunder in his hand at Zhang Taichu.

"Go to hell!"

The black bead sliced ​​through the air with a deathly howl, heading straight for Zhang Taichu's face.

It looked like it was about to crash into that invisible barrier.

Just then.

On a recliner.

The figure that had been sleeping in the same position suddenly moved.

He slowly turned over.

The tattered palm-leaf fan covering his face had slipped halfway off, revealing a tightly closed eye and a slightly furrowed brow.

An indescribable sense of oppression instantly enveloped the entire bamboo forest.

The night wind, which had been howling, suddenly stopped.

The whole world.

In that instant, there was an eerie silence.

Only the Five Poison Thunderbolt, which was flying in mid-air, was suddenly gripped by an invisible hand before it could explode.

Click.

A crisp sound.

That thunder pearl, powerful enough to kill dozens of people, was actually crushed into powder in the air.

Not even a spark appeared.

"..."

The burly man remained in the throwing posture, frozen in place as if he had been frozen in place by a spell.

His pupils contracted sharply as he stared at the black powder drifting in the wind, his mind going completely blank.

That's the Five Poisons Thunder...

The Five Poison Thunder, capable of blasting a crater even into steel...

That's it...gone?

next second.

Zhang Taichu rubbed his dangling foot on the floor in frustration.

His brows furrowed even more, and his lips moved slightly.

"roll!"

boom--!!!

A terrifying sound wave, visible to the naked eye, spread wildly outwards in a ring shape from Zhang Taichu's center.

The bamboo forest was trembling.

The earth is groaning.

The air was compressed to its limit, and then it exploded with a bang.

"puff--!!!"

The dozen or so Quanxing demons standing in the courtyard didn't even have a chance to react.

It's like being hit head-on by a high-speed train.

Their protective qi energy crumbled instantly, as if made of paper.

His clothes ripped into strips.

The weapon in his hand twisted and deformed.

Blood gushed from their seven orifices, leaving trails of blood in the air.

The burly man leading the group had eyes that looked like they were about to pop out of their sockets.

He opened his mouth wide, wanting to scream, but found that his vocal cords had been shattered by the terrifying sound wave.

It can only make broken, gurgling sounds.

next second.

Whoosh!Whoosh!Whoosh!

A dozen or so figures flew backwards like trash bags that had been carelessly tossed aside.

Finally, like a cannonball, it flew more than a hundred meters away and crashed heavily into the steep cliff opposite.

*Splat*

*Splat*

They were like stickers, hanging on the rock face, and then softly sliding down.

Life and death do not know.

Only the broken fragments of the weapon fell to the ground with a clattering sound.

After doing all this.

Zhang Taichu rolled over and smacked his lips.

He reached out and groped around on the ground for a moment, then picked up the broken palm-leaf fan that had fallen to the ground and covered his face with it again.

"A swarm of mosquitoes..."

"So annoying."

His breathing became steady and long again.

The bamboo forest was once again deathly silent.

Only the collapsed courtyard wall and the piled-up corpses at the foot of the distant cliff testify to what had just happened here.

A moment later.

rustling...

A soft, cautious footstep came from outside the bamboo grove.

It was another group of Quanxing masters who arrived later.

Among them were even several notorious criminals in the world of supernatural beings.

They originally heard the commotion and wanted to come and get a share of the profits.

But now.

They stood at the edge of the bamboo forest, looking at the mess on the ground and their comrades lying lifeless on the cliff below in the distance. Their faces were as pale as paper.

No one dared to take another step forward.

That dilapidated woodshed and that ordinary bamboo recliner seemed like an insurmountable forbidden zone to them at that moment.

A masked master of the Quanxing sect swallowed hard, his voice trembling like a leaf in the wind:

"This...this is someone we can afford to mess with?"

The companion next to him shook his head frantically, the sound of his teeth chattering clearly audible.

"Go...go quickly..."

"Don't speak...don't wake him..."

"Get lost and die... Didn't you hear me? That guy said... Get lost and die..."

These ruthless killers, who usually kill without blinking an eye, were now like frightened quails.

They didn't even dare to breathe loudly, tiptoeing and retreating step by step.

Only after retreating several hundred meters and confirming that it was safe did they dare to turn around and run wildly, as if a demon was chasing them from behind, as they fled this terrifying bamboo forest.