A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Chapter 161 Bu Tianluo

Guan Luoyang, An Feiyu, and Gu Lanxiang gathered together and exchanged secrets.

An Feiyu asked with concern, "Did you achieve your goal at Shaolin Temple?"

"Not bad. The Tanzong monk of this world is a truly mysterious person. He insists on the principle of not killing, yet he also takes the initiative to lead a group of monks to participate in the battlefield. As a result, the martial arts he left behind are full of contradictions and restraint."

Gu Lanxiang's words seemed somewhat disrespectful, but the expression on her face was full of admiration.

Although she could not follow the rules left by Tanzong, it did not prevent her from admiring Tanzong's will and benevolence.

Of course, a large part of the reason for this is that Tan Zong was strong enough. He was indeed able to influence the course of the war while participating in the battlefield without killing, and he was also able to ensure that all thirteen disciples he took with him returned to Shaolin alive.

If those around him were to die because of his principles, and he still insisted on adhering to them, then future generations would likely have very different opinions.

In conclusion, after reading the Diamond Sutra, Gu Lanxiang gained a clear understanding of how to restrain and resolve extreme will, and even how to use such extreme will to practice Zen.

"Within a month at most, I will be able to completely seize control of the Wrathful Demonic Energy, refine the Mind Light, and reach the fourth level."

"A month?" An Feiyu nodded. "But Guan Luoyang is definitely faster than you. He was just one step away from four stars before, and he even killed a Grandmaster."

Gu Lanxiang readily chimed in, "I know, Xu Miyuan, right? Sigh, I thought this Fire Luo Cult Master would be our final boss, but I didn't expect him to die so early."

She turned her head to look at him. Guan Luoyang was stroking the lapis lazuli mace in his hand, looking somewhat absent-minded. Noticing her gaze, he looked up and asked, "What's wrong?"

Gu Lanxiang's gaze gradually turned strange: "You...aren't you a four-star yet? Why do you seem like..."

Guan Luoyang said, "Oh, I'm already a four-star."

An Feiyu asked in surprise, "When did this happen? Didn't you say before that after you lost your cultivation, it would take at least several days to fully recover and attempt to break through to four stars?"

"Before I made my move on Mount Laojun today, or more precisely, during the last few moves between Tianfang and Shao Lingxiao, I finally understood."

Guan Luoyang's eyes were calm and slightly bright, and his face showed a hint of joy that was neither arrogant nor concealed.

Just like the direction that Master Yu Tu made him think about, how have he been interacting with the world all this time?

The answer is to first listen to the story of the "thing".

Language should be the most important means of communication for humankind, but Guan Luoyang, upon reflecting on his past, discovered that what truly moved him and inspired him to seek change was often the stories he "heard" from outside of language.

Because of his athletic talent, which he showed from a young age, he heard many stories about athletes from his elders when he was a child, but he just listened and let it go, never seriously thinking about whether he wanted to become like them.

It wasn't until later, at my neighbor's house, that I saw so many rackets damaged from prolonged practice. The hardship and passion that even the sports equipment itself couldn't withstand were passed from the worn rackets to the next. All the marks were similar, yet each one represented something different.

It was then that he decided to embark on this path.

There's no need to elaborate on the experiences after time travel. In the internet age, no story could compare to the narratives one actually "hears" from bones, blood, and steel after time travel.

Guan Luoyang's inner light comes from these silent commentaries and wordless records, which constantly fuel his motivation to move forward. Perhaps this inner light can also be called "silently listening to the world."

First, listen to the myriad hearts in silence, and then, holding this heart, enter the mortal world.

"Listen first, then act—almost everyone in the world does that, right? And yet, one can actually extract the light of the soul from this very habit?"

After listening to Guan Luoyang briefly share his insights, An Feiyu opened his mouth slightly. "I've researched a lot about the spiritual light of this race. Apart from the spiritual light that comes with one's race, the motivations of others in refining their spiritual light are all quite strange. At the very least, they must have had lofty ambitions and aspirations for dominance since childhood. Someone as ordinary as you is truly a first for me."

Their teamwork has deepened over time, so there's no need for them to deliberately avoid saying such things.

An Feiyu's words were not meant to be disrespectful, and Guan Luoyang understood this as well.

He didn't take it seriously, but instead said to An Feiyu with a hint of advice: "You should have some confidence in yourself. Any common thing, as long as I am willing to regard it as my nature and take it as my standard, is better than ten thousand pieces of gold and silver, or a thousand miles of mountains and seas. It can be called the greatest thing in life."

Gu Lanxiang snapped her fingers and laughed, "That's right. I'm going to treat fighting as my spiritual light. Once I subdue the Wrathful Demon Energy and win this battle with it, it will have to obediently be burned to ashes by me."

An Feiyu stroked her chin, her eyes glazed over, gradually sinking into her own thoughts. She sighed, "Perhaps I'm overthinking things. I'm unwilling to give up that self-proclaimed romantic foolishness, yet I also feel that reality isn't suitable for someone like me to step onto the stage of success..."

Just as he was speaking, the report on the damage to the granary began, and he seemed to come to his senses, realizing that the two people in front of him were much younger than him.

What is this all about? Is an old veteran dissecting his regrets about his past before a major battle? It's practically a death knell!!!

An Feiyu inwardly cursed, regretting how he had carelessly stepped into such a trap. On the surface, he only coughed lightly, then stopped talking and walked over there.

The soldiers dug down from the tops of the burned grain cellars, brushed away the ashes, and measured how deep the fire had gone. Then the clerks in charge of the storage calculated and estimated the losses.

"At present, we can only estimate that between 15,000 and 15,500 koku were burned."

In other words, that's one-four-hundredth of the reserves in Luoyang's granary!

Of all those present, Li Gong had the most unpleasant expression.

Others only had a general idea of ​​the importance of the Luoyang granary, but only he was able to immediately connect the dots after hearing the amount of the loss to the chain reaction that this loss would have in many areas.

The thick smoke and flames from the granary could be seen throughout the entire vicinity of Dongdu. The news could not be blocked. Just the damage to public morale alone would require countless officials to be mobilized and a considerable amount of time to appease the people.

It can be said that the various troubles that followed caused even more distress and anxiety to the court than the simple loss of more than 10,000 shi of grain.

Fortunately, the fire did not continue to burn.

Li Gong was seething with hatred, but he had no choice but to prioritize and instruct the officials of the Eastern Capital to immediately post notices and spread the word, minimizing the extent of the disaster at the granary.

"Shao dares to speak of assassinating His Majesty, which concerns the very foundation of the nation and must be guarded against."

Lu Pingdong was discussing things with the others over there.

Among the crowd that followed General Feng and his men, only the second master of the Lu family stood out with his brightly dressed robes.

His own healing ability is far beyond that of ordinary people, but when he fought with the Fire Luo Dao protectors on Lao Jun Mountain, he mainly defended himself when he used his sword. After a great battle, not even the hem of his silk robe was torn.

At this moment, he spoke up without hesitation: "In my opinion, we should all set off immediately, summon the experts gathered here, and head to Chang'an to wait for them to come to us. That would be the best strategy."

Guan Luoyang had just approached when he heard this and immediately said, "I think this is the worst possible strategy."

Lu Pingdong glared at him, but upon seeing that it was Guan Luoyang, he reluctantly suppressed his threatening words.

After killing Xu Miyuan and the battle on Lao Jun Mountain today, no one dares to underestimate Guan Luoyang's opinions.

Lu Pingdong could be arrogant towards the Sword Forging Manor and disregard the opinions of the guests, but he didn't want to provoke a Grandmaster who was already a foregone conclusion.

"What do you mean by that, Young Master Guan? Our Lu family is loyal to the emperor and loves our country. We always put protecting His Majesty first. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"Young hero, do you think that with the manpower we've gathered here, plus the Imperial Guards and powerful families of Chang'an, we shouldn't be afraid of Shao Lingxiao?"

Guan Luoyang thought to himself: With these few people, if they were to face a fully healthy Shao Lingxiao, I really don't think you could withstand it.

"Since Mr. Lu Er knows that there are still Imperial Guards and experts from aristocratic families protecting Chang'an, he should have realized that Shao Lingxiao is so badly injured today that it is impossible for him to drag his seriously injured body directly to break into Chang'an City."

Guan Luoyang patiently explained, "If we ignore everything and only think about gathering in Chang'an, wouldn't that give them the opportunity to cause trouble outside the city?"

"Even with Shao Lingxiao and his gang severely injured, once we're no longer there to restrain them, no one in the martial arts world can stop them, right?"

An Feiyu pointed to the ashes on the ground and said, "Putting everything else aside, just look at this Luoyang granary. If we leave rashly, they might turn around and burn it to the ground. I'm afraid His Majesty the Emperor would be the first to kill Mr. Lu to atone for his sins to the world."

Abbot Wangsheng and others all agreed.

Lu Pingdong was speechless for a moment, unsure how to refute the statement, and unwilling to continue expressing a contrary opinion in front of so many people. He could only stammer, "It seems that I, Lu, have not considered this carefully..."

Still somewhat unwilling, he forced himself to ask, "But are we just going to hold out in Luoyang forever?"

Guan Luoyang looked at Li Gong: "I have heard that the Tang Dynasty's Imperial Guards are well-informed about all the roads and information in the country, and that their secret agents and channels in various places are like a net, so wide that nothing escapes them."

"Commander Li, if we add all the manpower here and have them follow your orders, are you confident you can create an inescapable pursuit network?"

Li Gong asked worriedly, "Dividing our strength weakens us. Although you say Shao Lingxiao is seriously injured, what exactly is the extent of his injury?"

Guan Luoyang said, "At present, he can still easily escape from a Grandmaster, but he can no longer kill any Grandmaster. Besides him, there are two other Grandmaster-level combatants in their team. There is also a strange Hu woman who may be hiding in the shadows, and she should also be considered as a Grandmaster."

"There are even grandmasters?!"

Li Gong paused, not questioning where Guan Luoyang had obtained this information, and glanced at everyone, undecided.

With these personnel and the inner guards, it was still somewhat insufficient to pursue such a large group of people.

Guan Luoyang then slowly said, "Commander, hesitation will only lead to missed opportunities. Since we have come here, we are not afraid to take some risks. If we continue to delay and Shao Lingxiao's injuries continue to improve, then the situation will become even more dangerous."

Cao Jisheng slammed his Spring and Autumn Blade on the ground, the blade trembling as he said, "The Demonic Sect Leader's reputation is legendary. Ten years ago, when we were guarding Chang'an, we didn't personally go out to defend the city, and I often felt a pang of regret in my dreams. This time, since you had the audacity to have His Majesty mobilize all of us, and yet you act like this at the last minute, I have truly underestimated you."

"Amitabha."

Abbot Wangsheng said, "These evil heretics are shameless and their actions are truly outrageous to both gods and men. Even if something happens to me, it will not be the fault of Commander Li, as I led the Shaolin disciples to participate in this battle."

Having said all that, none of these people showed any sign of backing down.

Without further hesitation, Li Gong stretched out his hand to the side and shouted to his subordinates, "Bring me the map."

………………

Heading west from Luoyang, amidst the mountains and forests, suddenly a flock of birds took flight in fright.

Zhu Linlang and the others had just joined Shao Lingxiao and the others. Those who set fire to the granary suffered the least losses and were now serving as guards, allowing the protectors who had just experienced a major battle to recuperate.

The sound of flapping wings could be heard from the woods.

Zhu Linlang listened intently, grabbed a handful of leaves from the side, and flicked them away.

Each green leaf, like a blade, pierced through the wind, cutting through branches. A hundred meters away, it thudded into the tree trunk with a series of sharp, thudding sounds.

"what?"

She plucked leaves and scattered blossoms, listened to the wind to locate them, and tried to swat a few noisy birds, but she missed. Zhu Linlang's face fell, and she was about to take a step forward to investigate when a delicate and melodious laugh came from behind her.

"How could you be so violent, attacking me on our first meeting?"

Zhu Linlang turned and threw a punch, roaring like a tiger, the force of which was extremely fierce.

Many bats flew close to the wind and collided somewhere in the air.

The blood-red fog spread out, and the guards nearby retreated on guard, covering their mouths and noses to guard against the poison.

Amidst the blood mist, a black cloak was pulled open, revealing a pale face with bright red lips and a cold, beautiful expression.

"This is also a guest of the church; one must not be rude to him."

In the dark cave, two pale blue lights shone, floating in mid-air. Only when you got closer did you realize that they were the eyes of the Night Demon.

His injuries were minor and he was fine. He cupped his hands and said, "Miss Fu, it's been a long time."

The alluring vampire beauty touched her lips with her fingertip, and with a flick of her cloak, a mountain of pill boxes appeared in front of the cave.

"Mr. Motian, this is a generous gift that Grandma Jinghong and I are offering together to celebrate the return of the cult leader."

"Hmm, but it's not for the cult leader..."

Road closures are such a hassle, but we still have to keep working this afternoon. Ugh, ugh, ugh!

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(End of this chapter)