A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Prelude to Chapter 156

Ding ding ding, ding ding ding.

Inside the temple on Laojun Mountain, three copper coins swayed inside a tortoise shell, making a crisp sound as they collided. After being shaken up and down three times, they fell to the ground.

The methods of divination and fortune telling have been widely practiced since the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties. From kings and ministers to ordinary people, whether they say they believe it or not, they are sometimes willing to seek a good omen.

There are many methods of divination, such as burning tortoise shells, interpreting characters, using yarrow stalks, and physiognomy, but the most mainstream method is to use the Book of Changes (I Ching) for divination.

The method used by Bu Suanzi is the coin divination method in the Book of Changes. He takes three identical square-holed coins, shakes them, and throws them. The heads and tails of the coins are used to symbolize the yin and yang lines.

After throwing the toss six times, arranging the yin and yang lines in sequence will yield a hexagram.

Qiu Ruzui leaned against the wall, holding a piece of fruit from the offering table in her hand. She took a bite and asked, "What kind of divination is this time?"

"The trigram Xun (巽) is above, and Zhen (震) is below. It is advantageous to have a destination, and it is advantageous to cross great rivers!"

The fortune teller smiled, twirling the end of his beard with one hand, and said with a swaying head, "The hexagram says, 'When the time comes, good fortune arrives; a withered tree blooms again after many years; its branches and leaves grow lush and new; many who see it praise it.' This hexagram is good; it's finally a lucky one."

Qiu Ruzui snorted and laughed, "You cast the divination three times, and the first two were inauspicious, so they don't count. Only now that you've cast an auspicious divination do they count, right?"

Bu Suanzi coughed lightly: "Things shouldn't happen more than three times. Only the third time is it safe."

Qiu Ruzui took another bite of fruit: "Do you do this when you tell fortunes for others?"

"It doesn't matter if I'm doing the calculations for someone else."

Bu Suanzi shook his head, put away his divination tools, and said, "To be honest, it's because the sect's actions this time are too big that I can't help but feel uneasy, so I have to use divination to calm my mind."

They mobilized all the high-level combat forces in the sect to directly attack Lao Jun Mountain and Shaolin Temple. Even Bu Suanzi vaguely sensed that Ye Motian had been constantly drawing elite forces from various branch altars, as if this was just the prelude and that a larger operation was about to unfold.

The only thing that could be more serious than the current situation is that the spearhead is aimed directly at the imperial court.

The problem is that the attack on Lao Jun Mountain and the night raid on Shaolin Temple could be explained as a struggle for martial arts manuals. In addition, the evil masters in Huo Luo Dao had some grudges against these two righteous sects, so no one had any objections.

However, if Huoluodao were to confront the imperial court head-on, it would mean an unknown period of confrontation, raids, and annihilation. Even the Demonic Sect, which once possessed the army of the Six Zhao, ended in destruction. Could Huoluodao, a Jianghu sect, really accomplish anything?

Qiu Ruzui chewed on the fruit and mumbled, "It doesn't matter. No matter who our enemies are, whether it's a thousand or ten thousand, we're all living a life of killing each other anyway. I only have one life. No matter how many enemies I have, they can't kill me a second time."

Bu Suanzi said, "The imperial court and sects are ultimately different..."

Qiu Ruzui didn't take it to heart: "So what if it's the imperial court? The majority of people in this world are ordinary people. They are sometimes a little hateful, and sometimes a little kind, but to us, they are no match at all... Sigh, speaking of which, I thought a shop made pretty good flatbread the other day, so I learned from them for half a month. The everyday life in the city is quite interesting..."

As she spoke, she veered off-topic, mentioning that a lecherous man had harassed her in the shop and tried to touch her waist. Before leaving, she went to the shop and poisoned the entire family.

If he were still in the Lushan Sect, he would probably be living in fear and trembling, worrying about this and that, and would only receive a minor punishment as a warning rather than a capital offense.

Bu Suanzi opened his mouth, but then thought it was best not to continue what he had said before. He got up and walked out of the hall.

It was almost noon, and the sun was scorching. Bu Suanzi walked to the mountain corridor, felt the mountain breeze, and heard laughter coming from the woods halfway up the mountain.

Several protectors of the Fire Luo Path were gathered over there, among them a burly man with a rough voice, who was "Heavenly Killing Star" Xu Renqing.

Beside him, tall and slender with a silver python whip wrapped around his waist, is Zhao Yuan, known as "Hundred Beast Whip," and there is also Sheng Yiquan, known as "Master Craftsman of Thunder Chariot," carrying a square iron mace.

These three men were notorious in the martial arts world. Not only had they killed countless people, but they also enjoyed torturing their opponents. Some of the things they did were even looked down upon by bandits.

They are hoisting several disciples of Laojun Mountain onto the treetops.

Instead of using ropes, the three men removed the Taoist priests' hair ornaments, jumped onto the tree branches, tied the priests' long hair around the branches, and used their hair to hang themselves from the trees.

When the three people jumped down from the tree, the branches trembled slightly, and several figures swayed in the air, their eyes wide with rage, but their bodies were stiff, and they couldn't even let out a scream or cry of pain.

Bu Suanzi shook his head and was about to walk away to find some peace and quiet when suddenly an idea struck him.

The third hexagram he just divined has another interpretation: "Wind and Thunder Increase, the superior man, seeing good, will follow it; having faults, he will correct them."

Since we said we wouldn't use the first two hexagrams, if we want to add some authenticity to the third hexagram, we might as well use the third hexagram and do some good deeds.

"These people have had their pressure points controlled by extremely skillful techniques, making them as still as wood. What pleasure could there be in torturing them?"

Bu Suanzi walked over and said, "You all fought a fierce battle at Shaolin last night and then rushed here overnight. Instead of wasting time on these people, you should go and rest."

"Your Excellency."

Xu Renqing clasped his hands in a fist salute and laughed, "You don't know how these people feel when their acupoints are pressed for a long time. They think they are stiff and numb all over and are not afraid of torture. But after being shaken like this, the numbness all over their bodies turns into pain and itching. That feeling is indescribable. Just watching the change in their eyes is enough to make you laugh."

Zhao Yuan clapped his hands from the side: "Exactly. Playing with these disciples of Lao Jun Mountain is a rare opportunity. Later, we'll ask Brother Sheng to start a fire and roast them. That will definitely be even more fun."

Bu Suanzi's face darkened, and he said, "I think it won't be long before another great battle breaks out. Why are you unwilling to recuperate like the other protectors? Are you perhaps not prepared to fight in peace?"

"Besides, these people's lives were spared by the vice-leader and his men; how dare you touch them?"

When the three men saw his expression change, their smiles began to falter.

Xu Renqing snorted coldly: "That's true, then let them down."

He raised his hand and grabbed the ankle of a disciple from Laojun Mountain, making a gesture as if to pull him down.

This Heavenly Killer Star was an expert in boxing. His internal energy and strength were perfectly coordinated. With this pull, he wouldn't break the tree branch, but would only apply the force to the roots of his hair.

When the time comes, all the hair in one's head will be pulled out, still tangled in the tree branch, but the person will fall down.

As soon as Bu Suanzi saw his movements, he knew his intention and could almost see the bloody scene.

Xu Renqing's hand stopped moving the moment it touched the Taoist's ankle.

Everyone turned to look down the mountain, almost without thinking.

The lush summer trees, with their intertwined branches and trunks, blocked their view, but behind those branches and trunks dappled with sunlight, an unstoppable presence emanated from them.

That feeling swept up from the foot of the mountain, swallowing the entire forest, as if it had already brought sharp teeth hanging from the sky to Xu Renqing and his companions.

Before Xu Renqing could even process what had happened, his body's instincts had already made him sweat profusely. His dry eyes blinked as large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.

In the instant I opened my eyes again.

The dozen or so large trees around them simultaneously dehydrated and withered, and all their leaves, like thousands of withered, yellowed, and grayish moths, scattered and flew away from the bare branches and treetops.

Withered leaves drifted and swirled across the sky, and one withered leaf fell from in front of Xu Renqing's face.

On his face, following the path of the drifting leaves, there was a slanted bloodstain.

Zhao Yuan and Sheng Yi let out a terrified roar. These ruthless and murderous figures of the martial world never knew that when death was so close, they could scream like pigs being slaughtered.

The silver whip shot up, swirling wildly, crisscrossing with a few withered leaves in the air.

After a brief pause, the silver whip broke into more than a dozen pieces, each cut a point where it had collided with a withered leaf.

The square-headed iron hammer in Sheng Yiquan's hand weighed eighty-seven jin. When he swung it with all his might, it was like a war chariot loaded with wind and thunder, roaring through the air.

Several withered leaves seemed to be propelled by the strong wind, deviating from their original trajectory, bypassing the hammerhead, and colliding with it.

Sheng Yiquan never dreamed that one day he would see two ordinary, withered leaves, even with their edges curled up and gray, approach his eyes with such a strange speed, bringing permanent darkness to everything before him.

"ah!!!!!"

The screams of a top-tier expert were so loud that they echoed across several surrounding hilltops, alarming everyone on Lao Jun Mountain.

Fallen leaves scattered halfway up the mountain.

Bu Suanzi watched helplessly as the three people collapsed to the ground covered in blood, while the Taoist priests hanging from the tree let their hair float down to the ground.

Amidst the withered trees and fallen leaves, sparsely scattered, a Taoist in a white robe with gold patterns appeared in a flash.

He was just a young Taoist priest with a cold and indifferent appearance.

Bu Suanzi broke out in a cold sweat. In a daze, he saw a figure, twisted and swirling with clouds, appear behind the man. It was enormous and sacred, and its full form was difficult to see, but he could feel the majestic and angry aura emanating from it.

His inner energy involuntarily dissipated between the meridians of his feet, turning what should have been a swift and graceful leap into a slightly staggering backward step.

"Wait!!! I...I just..."

The man raised his sleeves, and the fortune teller's pupils contracted. He scattered all the black and white chess pieces that he had been holding in his hands, but they suddenly stopped in mid-air and shattered into powder.

The powder swirled back, carrying an unparalleled force that struck Bu Suanzi.

thump—

Bu Suanzi was suddenly drenched in sweat, flew dozens of meters away, passed through the high branches and leaves, snapped a branch, and fell down.

When the blow landed on the soil, rocks, and fallen leaves, Bu Suanzi couldn't tell whether the pain was worse inside or outside his body. Blood seeped from the pores of several corresponding acupoints. All the true energy in his body was scattered by that single wave of his sleeve, rendering his martial arts completely useless.

The Heavenly Immortal's sleeve strike not only crippled the Diviner, but also shattered many fallen leaves, sending them hurtling towards the nearby mountain corridor.

These fallen leaves struck the immobilized disciples of Laojun Mountain without leaving any marks, only creating tiny ripples at the point of impact.

One after another, the Taoist priests on duty in the long corridor slumped down, their sore eyes bursting with tears with the slightest blink.

For nearly ten hours, their muscles, bones, and tongue were completely immobile, and even the blinking of their eyelids became slow and dry. The unchanging torment of death made their sense of time distorted, as if they had experienced a long and terrifying period of weakness and floating.

Thanks to the fact that the disciples of Lao Jun Mountain have experience fighting sleep demons and practicing fasting and meditation, most people who have experienced such torment would probably go crazy and scream as soon as they are freed, until they collapse and faint.

"Sect Leader!"

A disciple spoke in a hoarse voice, leaning on the railing and bowing his head in that direction.

The Taoist priests among the bushes in the corridor all struggled and prostrated themselves toward that place.

The pain in their eyes caused uncontrollable tears to blur their vision, but the figure in the white robe stood out even more amidst all the blurred scenery.

"You've all worked hard."

Tianfang Zhenren looked up at the mountaintop, where the numerous palaces were already visible, with half of their eaves tiles peeking out under the blazing sun.

"Go to sleep now. When you wake up, you will return to the mountain and live in your own homes."

In the jungle, Guan Luoyang and his men, along with the armored warriors of Xiushuo City, arrived and transported away the Laojun Mountain disciples who were temporarily unable to move, protecting them.

Tianfang Zhenren took a step forward, his robes fluttering like flags, a long wind blowing, and flew to the center of the mountaintop plaza before landing.

The dust kicked up by his feet caused the fallen masters of Laojun Mountain to slowly lie down and close their eyes.

Those Taoists who still had a breath left felt a thick, pure warm current rising from the ground, flowing into their meridians and relieving their extreme weakness and pain.

The many protectors of the Fire Luo Path were faintly visible among the beams and pillars of the surrounding palaces.

Ye Motian, with his hands tucked into his sleeves and looking unkempt, walked out from the library. A glint of light flashed in his eyes as he realized that Master Tianfang was actually using the ground to transfer his power and heal the Taoists.

"What an arrogant Taoist priest."

He slowly pulled his hands out of his sleeves, and the dark, dusty air rolled along the long bridge in front of Xiaoyou Cave and blew to the square of Laojun Mountain.

The Demonic Sect spans the four seas and the eight winds of the Fire Luo Sect. Back then, it gathered the four seas and eight winds to become a Grandmaster.

Just as Ye Motian's momentum was slowly rising to its peak and he was about to unleash his palm strike, the swirling, dark energy in front of him was suddenly struck as if by a beam of heavenly light, and abruptly dispersed.

The gaze of the Taoist priest Tianfang entered his eyes, and then everything went black.

Shao Lingxiao's black robe rippled slightly as he arrived in front of Ye Motian, blocking that line of sight. The flying light, still attached to its sheath, was pressed down by his right hand, touching the ground at an angle.

"Yu Tu's disciple?"

He laughed. "What a surprise!"

The two were on separate mountains, their eyes meeting.

All the Taoist figures around Master Tianfang, whether dead or alive, were slowly floating and retreating, with heat rising from beneath their feet like light, mist, and silk threads, gradually transforming into five colors and rising into the air.

Shao Lingxiao's voice came from behind: "Motian, go and inform them that the plan has been moved up. Also, none of you are allowed to interfere from now on."

The blazing sun seemed to sense something and dimmed. A layer of gray clouds rolled in on the horizon. There was no wind, no rain, and no thunder, but the clouds seemed to have thickened, and the light became dimmer.

With a twist of his hand, Shao Lingxiao gripped the hilt of the sword with his five fingers, raising the world-renowned Flying Light sword along with its sheath.

The sword pointed to the sky, and a cold, invisible aura instantly filled the air and roamed the surrounding fields.

Xu Hongmei, Helian Yaohua, and the others standing by the library felt a very subtle, cool breeze flowing from between their eyebrows and eyes.

The sky was filled with sword energy, like water light that seeps into every crevice, converging into a faintly bright wind that swept across the mountain in a single strike.

"Come!"

(End of this chapter)