A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Chapter 160 Eastern Capital Smoke

This sword pierced through from the top of the head, containing the combined power of essence, energy, and spirit. Whether human, ghost, or half-demon, anyone struck by such an attack would die a swift and complete death.

But after Xu Hongmei's figure exploded under the sword, not a trace of blood remained; all that remained on the ground was a wooden doll covered in cracks.

The higher the strength of a reincarnator in the mystical realm, the more diverse their methods become. Among this type, many people place great emphasis on the use of magical artifacts and props.

In particular, Xu Hongmei knew that she was not good at direct confrontation and that as a healer, she was the easiest target. So she equipped herself with more than a dozen life-saving gadgets with fixed connections.

Several of these items, cheap goods collected from previous mission worlds, were blasted to dust by Guan Luoyang's sword strike, leaving not even a trace.

However, it also allowed her to escape the deadly sword strike almost unharmed, appearing thirty meters away. Then, the color on her body distorted and faded, and she disappeared completely.

Guan Luoyang's eyes shone with the light of the flames, his gaze following the figure. But as soon as he landed, he turned all his power and energy into the hilt of the cyan-gold sword in his hand and smashed it backward.

The sword hilt blocked Shao Lingxiao's palm strike that was coming at him.

Shao Lingxiao staggered backward.

Guan Luoyang swayed slightly, but a strange and uncomfortable feeling rose in his heart. When he slammed down, he clearly made contact with the opponent's palm force, but he didn't make a sound at all.

One's own power seems to be categorized and then deliberately rearranged and fed back into one's muscles and meridians. The true energy that was originally in the Ren meridian returns to the Du meridian. The low-frequency vibrational force that was originally emitted by the bones is fed back to the muscles. The elastic force obtained from skin training is fed back to the bones.

"scold!"

He let out a low shout, gathered his breath, and swung his hand. Cracks came from the joints between his cervical spine and hand bones, dispelling the strange sensation. He turned to look.

"I had some doubts before. Even with Yu Tu's guidance and assistance, you shouldn't be so alive and kicking after taking one of my scattered attacks, and you even managed to kill Xu Miyuan. Now I think I understand."

Shao Lingxiao clutched his chest with his left hand, his gaze fixed on the Flying Light Sword.

The sword was stuck in the ground, and now the distance between him and the sword had increased to more than ten paces. He couldn't help but show regret in his eyes. "I never thought that I would die at the hands of someone younger than me, even though I didn't die ten years ago and I didn't die in that surprising duel today."

"It's all about timing and fate!"

Shao Lingxiao chuckled, raised his right hand, and beckoned, "Come on."

Guan Luoyang's eyes flickered with fire. He raised the azure-gold divine weapon in his hand and solemnly said, "Your strength is indeed above mine. Even if you are seriously injured and on the verge of death now, I don't think my chances will be many. So, let's use this one move as an opportunity to decide whether you live or die."

As soon as he finished speaking, his breathing became long and endless, his body seemed to rise slightly, and his true energy in his dantian and the gate of his mind violently surged with power.

These two cores were originally invisible and intangible, imperceptible to the naked eye. But at this moment, the intense surge made almost anyone who saw Guan Luoyang feel that there were two dazzling swirling lights within him.

Shao Lingxiao's face grew even weaker. Although he was still standing, he seemed to have already seen his fate of death. He was just maintaining his last bit of dignity, smiling as he waited for death.

Guan Luoyang raised the divine weapon in his hand. This so-called divine weapon, which was exclusively for the assistant envoy, had shown some wonderful changes. In his hand, it became wider and thicker. Originally dull and without edge, it now resembled a heavy lapis lazuli mace.

"die!!"

Shao Lingxiao frowned and suddenly opened his eyes.

When the word "death" was uttered, Guan Luoyang didn't even make a move at him. Instead, he shifted his figure to the side, like a powerful warrior pushing mountains, exuding a sense of speed and power that could shake the mortal world, and moved a hundred meters away.

This sword strike and this mace shattered the air, breaking through a layer of illusory light and shadow, revealing Xu Hongmei's figure.

The sorcery spell in her hand blocked the trajectory of the attack, and then the sorcery was annihilated. Her arm and body were deformed by the enormous force, exceeding human form, and looked like a writhing, changing green leech.

Her innate ability to transform as a demon led her to revert to her original form to maximize her survival chances. Moreover, in this state, the spells and items she had prepared were still effective.

In Guan Luoyang's eyes, the sword energy of the Li Huo sword was raging outwards. The Azure Gold Heavy Mace, which had already reached its maximum speed, seemed to suddenly spew out many tiny streams of fire from its surface under his gaze. The flames were all pointing in the same direction, and the weapon accelerated again.

All the protective auras shattered, and her last trump card, a spatial displacement crystal, instantly teleported her several miles away, right at the foot of the mountain.

The large green leech was very conspicuous. After teleporting to the foot of the mountain, the momentum from being hit had not yet dissipated, and it flew sideways a long way, rolling around on the ground.

Guh!!

The half-demon amidst the smoke and dust, after ceasing its churning, vomited pools of green liquid that began to writhe.

There were other people nearby, including the rescued disciples of Laojun Mountain and the soldiers who stayed behind to take care of them, as well as Bu Suanzi, who was captured after his cultivation was crippled. They all stared in astonishment at the strange beast that had suddenly appeared.

A chill ran through them.

The demon, who originally liked to disguise herself as an innocent and charming young girl, had long since revealed her true nature—a nature that was neither human nor empathetic.

Filled with a voracious appetite, it activated its supernatural powers, and green halos, like tentacles, extended from the giant leech and were flung towards those people, but suddenly dissipated just before they hit them.

The leech's wriggling body stiffened there, a part in the middle of its body suddenly swelled up, its head began to swell up as well, and then its tail.

The expansion varied in size from place to place, but what they had in common was the firelight shining through the cracked green.

The true energy of the Wuwei True Scripture could even directly mimic the Golden Eye Fire, the eye technique and swordsmanship for slaying demons and breaking through evil, and with the power of that strike, it penetrated deep into the body of the half-demon.

The irresistible explosion and burning extinguished the strange creature's life force.

At the mountaintop, the clear, melodious sound of swords echoed from the square that had become a battlefield, passing through the palace, drifting through the corridors, and resonating in one's heart.

Throughout Laojun Mountain, the fierce battles between the Fire Luo Dao protectors and righteous masters left behind various unusual temperatures and light pollution in the air due to the intense depletion of their true energy.

As the sword's cry rang out, the strange light and heat were suddenly drawn away and went to Shao Lingxiao's side.

The body of Fei Guang and Shao Lingxiao was more than ten steps apart, but without the profound restraint of the Wuwei Divine Sword, no matter how far apart they were, the leader of the Demonic Sect and Fei Guang were as one.

The transferred and drawn-in power all transformed into sword shadows, a hundred colors and a thousand lights, with echoes filling the sky.

This move was enough to temporarily repel anyone on or below the mountain who wanted to attack him, and all his interactions with Guan Luoyang were intentional or unintentional traps.

If Xu Hongmei hadn't died, the time bought by this move would have allowed Shao Lingxiao's injuries to recover significantly.

But... by the time she unleashed that attack, she was already dead!

The sword shadows scattered, the largest of which rushed towards Guan Luoyang.

A dozen other sword shadows danced gracefully, using extremely ingenious cutting angles to force the stalemate between Ye Motian and General Feng to retreat.

All the remaining sword shadows exploded wildly, stirring up thick dust. Even the thunderous raptor under the feet of the lightning-fast flying shadow was hit by a sword.

The flying centipede shrank in size, but the magical artifacts around it released an even denser black mist and foul wind, mingling with the smoke and dust.

"You've certainly surprised me quite a bit today. The people of the Tang Dynasty are not just those I met ten years ago!"

Shao Lingxiao's voice was ethereal and unpredictable.

"Gentlemen, you have earned your right to continue living today."

"I plan to kill your emperor later. You can prepare in advance. I hope you won't bore me too much at that time."

He calmly and leisurely uttered his outrageous words about killing the emperor to the people in the mountains.

Although not particularly loud, it resonated through the high walls and thickets, echoing in people's ears.

"presumptuous!!!"

General Feng shattered more than ten sword shadows, swept his spear across the dust, but the man had already vanished.

He chased after the people of Huoluo Road, and apart from a few who died on the spot, the rest escaped in the chaos when the bloody wind and black mist swept across the mountaintop.

After Guan Luoyang dispersed the sword shadows that were attacking him, the cyan-gold divine weapon picked up the last sword shadow.

The illusory image of sword energy, which he had placed on the divine weapon, remained there for several breaths before shattering like real glass and finally dissipating as it fell.

As the sound of shattering filled his ears, Guan Luoyang gazed into the distance, his eyes gleaming with the light of fire. Looking down at the surrounding landscape, he couldn't discern where those people had fled to, but he did see a wisp of smoke slowly rising from the direction of Luoyang, the eastern capital.

General Feng raised his voice from halfway up the mountain: "The Imperial Guard, Shaolin, and the rest of the forces are on their way. These people who escaped may be caught by others. We should search carefully, and if there is any unusual activity from any side, we should go immediately..."

One of the armored soldiers exclaimed in surprise, pointing upwards: "General, look over there!"

The smoke from the direction of Dongdu is getting thicker and darker. If it can be seen from this position, it is probably a fire.

General Feng carefully examined the objects, a flash of inspiration struck him, and his expression changed drastically.

"Luoyang Granary!!!!"

………………

Abbot Wangsheng, who was rushing to Laojun Mountain, suddenly sensed something and turned to look to his side and back. He saw thick smoke billowing from Luoyang City and a column of smoke rising into the sky.

"That direction..."

Abbot Wangsheng's heart sank, his face turning deathly pale. "Oh no, disaster has struck!"

With a flick of his robe, the old monk mustered all his strength and rushed into the city.

That was the direction of Hanjiacang.

During the Sui Dynasty, there was a granary called Huiluo Granary outside Luoyang City, which could supply the daily needs of the city's residents, officials, and the imperial family.

Later, at the end of the Sui Dynasty, the world was in chaos. Under Li Mi's Wagang Army, Qin Shubao, who was known for his "maces striking three prefectures and six counties, and horses trampling both banks of the Yellow River," led a group of generals who fought fiercely outside Luoyang for more than half a month. They won one battle after another, seized the granaries outside the city, opened the granaries to relieve the people, and cut off the Sui emperor's route back north.

The city ran out of food and soon fell into dire straits, while the Wagang Army gained great momentum.

If Li Mi hadn't later suffered injuries in battle, his power diminished, his suspicions grew, and he hadn't strayed onto the evil path, attempting to recuperate through the practice of "sexual cultivation."

However, Qin Shubao and others were unwilling to compromise their principles, and their reputation and martial prowess were already difficult to suppress, leading to suspicion between superiors and subordinates and the dispersal of talent. Perhaps Wagang could truly establish its hegemony from this point on.

After Li Shimin pacified the country, in order to avoid repeating the mistakes of the Sui emperor, he built the Hanjia Granary in Luoyang. It was about 200 zhang long in each direction and contained more than 400 circular cellars. The large cellars could store more than 10,000 shi of grain, and the small cellars could store several thousand shi.

Following the reign of Zhenguan, the Tang Dynasty entered a golden age with its grandeur. Treasury reserves accumulated over the years, and the Huaihai Canal transported grain day and night, filling the Hanjia Granary with grain from Suzhou, Xuzhou, Chuzhou, Runzhou, Jizhou, Dezhou, Weizhou and other places.

Today, Hanjia Granary not only supplies Luoyang with its usual needs and prepares grain in case of disasters, but also collects rent rice from various prefectures and counties east of Luoyang before transporting it to Shanzhou by land.

It is no exaggeration to say that this granary has become the most important gateway for the transshipment of grain between Northeast China and Central China.

The imperial court stationed a large number of troops here, and there were also skilled soldiers, Ironclad Hall, and Pai Gang who came and went to escort them. Su Xing also had a villa here and often lived here. All parties looked out for each other and supervised each other, and there was never any mishap.

Furthermore, throughout history, even in times of chaos, few people would actually burn down such a large granary. As for martial arts practitioners, regardless of whether they are righteous or evil, they would never even consider such a thing.

When the abbot arrived at Cangcheng and saw the armored corpses and the soldiers shouting to put out the fire, he had to abandon any lingering hope. This was not an accidental fire, but a deliberate disaster.

Huo Luo, Huo Luo, it's really no longer the Huo Luo Dao. These people are nothing but remnants of a demonic cult. It's only because they once held the position and vision of a self-contained country in the southwest that they dared to defy the world and plot such an incident.

Abbot Wangsheng smelled a rich floral fragrance mixed with the smell of burning from the fire. His mind raced, and from this obvious feature, he thought of something he had seen in ancient books.

After they broke through the cellar with their internal force, they must have also poured a kind of clear, water-like fire wine, a secret recipe from the Western Regions, into it to start a fire.

That wine was originally used by a small country south of the Kingdom of Kucha to worship the gods. The whole country was poor, but this secret brewing method made it famous. It is said that during the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui, the emperor used this wine as lamp oil. When the dragon boat went on tour and arrived in Jiangdu, he often used this wine. A lamp filled with this wine could last for half a month.

The flames ignited by this liquor are far more difficult to extinguish than the firelight of ordinary firewood.

Abbot Wangsheng could have directly unleashed the unparalleled power of the Diamond Sutra, striking the burning warehouses one after another, likely extinguishing most of the flames with his palm strikes.

But what if, by some unforeseen event, the wind fanned the flames, and the fire spread, consuming even more grain? The resulting disaster would be immeasurable.

The old monk stood leaning on his cane, his beard, face, and eyes trembling slightly. His gaze darted back and forth, anxiously watching the smoke. He dared not take the risk and had to try another method to extinguish the fire.

"drink!!!!"

After taking a deep breath and letting out a loud shout, the abbot of the Wangsheng Temple unleashed several palm strikes at a large cellar.

At first, between the first two or three palm strikes, there was no wind or light, and everything was calm and peaceful, as if no force was used when striking. But in the next few palm strikes, for some reason, there was a kind of texture that seemed to have been accumulated over the years, so thick and rich, that was attached to each palm strike and pushed it out smoothly.

The thick smoke and flames above the large cellar suddenly surged, then the smoke became turbulent, and the flames quickly shrank, leaving only a few sparks. In just two or three breaths, even the sparks disappeared.

This is the final move of the Prajna Palm technique, "Emptiness to the End," which Abbot Wangsheng used.

This palm technique, hailed as the foremost in Zen among Shaolin arts, a skill that can be perfected throughout one's life with endless practice, was used by a Buddhist master to instantly drain all the air from the entire area surrounding the grain cellar, comparable to the surrounding area of ​​an entire house.

Without fresh air and oxygen, the flames went out instantly, much faster than any method of extinguishing fire with water or dust. However, this method also meant that Abbot Wangsheng could only save the fires one by one.

The armored soldiers who were originally guarding the granary and the soldiers guarding Luoyang City rushed to the scene, their cries of alarm filling the air as they ran to put out the fire.

With each fire extinguished from a grain cellar, the abbot's anxiety grew.

Once inside the city, he had no way of knowing the extent of the fire. He could only feel that no matter how hard he tried to put it out, the thick smoke around him was acrid, and the flames, sometimes near and sometimes far, swirled in the black smoke. It seemed that the signs of disaster had not diminished at all.

"A stunning sunset over towering waves!!!!"

A resounding, majestic roar echoed from outside the city. The water surged and turned white, the rapids like dragons rising from the direction of the river outside the city, soaring into the air and rushing straight towards this side.

The flying dragon on the water didn't look particularly impressive from a distance, but when you got closer, you realized how enormous its body was; it must have been at least a dozen feet long.

Thick smoke billowed below, and the figures of numerous soldiers in black armor and amidst the black smoke appeared as small as ants against the backdrop of this turbulent white dragon.

Abbot Wangsheng was overjoyed. He had already seen that the one hiding among those turbulent white waves, guiding this heavy river water flying through the air, was an unkempt, lean old man, who also had a Spring and Autumn period broadsword with a six-foot handle and a three-foot blade in his hand.

Water-controlling supernatural power, Chang'an divine weapon, the slash of the setting sun amidst surging waves!

In terms of controlling water currents, even a grandmaster cannot compare to Cao Jisheng, who wields the Surging Wave Sunset Slash.

Amidst the flowing water, besides Cao Jisheng, there was also a handsome musician whose figure was light and agile, seemingly riding the wind by merely touching the tail of the water dragon with the tip of his toes.

There's no need to hold a pipa in one's arms, flick one's wrist and pluck the strings; a buzzing sound reverberates from all directions.

None of the people present had ever heard the pipa's tone so deep and husky, so heavy, that it hardly sounded like a pipa at all, but rather like the lingering echo of a divine general drawing his bow and the trembling of the bowstring.

The water jet collapsed first, turning into a column-like, knife-like arc of rain mist that sprayed at high speed toward a grain cellar.

Some soldiers near the grain cellar felt the firelight around them suddenly shorten, and a chill swept over them. They heard a sound like a torrential downpour, and saw countless tiny water droplets bouncing off the firelight bricks and floating in the air.

Ta-da! Ta-da! Ta-da! Ta-da! Ta-da!

With each note of the pipa, the water dragon began to collapse from its top, breaking into water mist that surged downwards at high speed and pressure in different directions.

If the water were to wash directly down, the area covered would be limited. But this half-water, half-mist, combined with the stimulation of sound waves, creates a rapid impact, spreading a refreshing coolness that weakens the fires on more than a dozen large and small cellars in an instant.

Another person, draped in a purple cloak, leaped between granaries with agility. The Yan family's iron pen in his hand traced smoke and cut through the wind. Often, with a flick of his wrist, he would leave words written in one go on the bricks and stones of the burning granaries.

Because they wrote so fast, the marks left by the tip of the iron pen on the bricks and stones were slightly red and hot. Some soldiers and officers looked at them and thought they looked like talismans.

Only some civil officials in charge of registering accounts at Hanjia Granary could see that the characters were swift and unrestrained, yet still within the scope of running script. Each granary only had two characters left on it, and all of them began with the character "禁" (prohibited).

No wind, no fire, no heat, no recurrence, no delays!!

Yan Miaoqing, known as "Chang'an Duhe," possesses an iron pen that is said to have been passed down from Wang Xizhi. Its unique power lies in the single character "禁" (forbidden).

The fires in those granaries had already weakened considerably, and after he wrote on them, they weakened even more and continued to escalate.

Only then did Master Wangsheng put down his burden and unleash the Thousand-Hand Tathagata Palm. The palm technique changed, and more and more palm shadows appeared in front of and around him, flying out in different directions at a speed that was not too fast.

Previously, the fire was too intense, so he dared not act rashly. Now, not only has the fire weakened, but a lot of water mist has also spread in the air. His set of palm techniques, which stirs up the wind and mist, is now being used to its fullest potential.

When Gu Lanxiang, the Shaolin monks, and Li Gong, who had been left behind by the three great masters of Chang'an, arrived, this catastrophic disaster was finally brought under control.

When Guan Luoyang and General Feng arrived, the black smoke had mostly dissipated, but the pungent smell and embers still reminded them of what had happened.

All the soldiers and officers were enveloped in this heavy atmosphere, their foreheads dripping with sweat as they inspected the damage.

………………

A dozen miles away, in the valley below, Ye Motian looked back at the gradually dissipating black smoke from Dongdu, then turned to look at Shao Lingxiao.

"Senior brother..."

"It's okay, take your time."

Shao Lingxiao closed his eyes and regulated his breathing. "After this experience, they should have understood by now."

"What exactly is the extent to which we should seek revenge for the hatred of the destruction of our religion and our country back then?"

Ding! !

There was no need to avoid the usurper Wuwei anymore. After a decade of separation, the flying light resonated and flowed into his body.

When I came back today, the roads nearby were closed, which was a mixed blessing. I don't know if I'll finally have more time to spend on writing.

I hope everyone is doing well.

Also, I recommend a book, a very straightforward otherworldly adventure story.

(End of this chapter)