A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Chapter 246 The Moon Shines Without a Shadow, an Inevitable Trend

As night fell, Liu Hunkang had already gone to bed early in his room.

Liu Guang's mansion was so large that even though it had been partially destroyed and many usable items had been taken away by the Liangshan soldiers, the remaining portion was still enough to house the Taoist officials.

Suddenly, a slight breeze stirred, and the moonlight outside the window flickered.

Liu Hunkang sat up and looked closely. He saw a young man dressed in a white robe with pine and crane motifs sitting at the round table in the room. Although he was dressed in Taoist robes, he did not look like a Taoist at all.

This person's demeanor gives one a strong sense of ease and freedom, as if they were not meeting in a small bedroom, but rather on a vast, desolate wilderness where the sky is high, the grass is thick, and ten thousand horses are galloping.

"The leader of Liangshan?"

Liu Hunkang said softly, "I have long heard of your reputation, but this is our first meeting. I am honored to meet you."

According to Gou Ying and the others, Guan Luoyang was besieged and forced to retreat in a sorry state, fleeing back to the Liangshan army camp.

However, after only seeing him once today, Liu Hunkang already knew that Gou Ying and his comrades were spreading many untrue claims in the military.

"I've heard of Master Liu of the Shangqing Sect of Maoshan many times."

Guan Luoyang picked up the teapot, and as he poured out the icy tea, it already brought steaming hot air. A wisp of green, like jade, flowed into the blue-green porcelain cup after the rain.

"There was a female general in our army who had been practicing the Taiqing Tianxin Theory in the past. Thanks to Liu Zhenren's guidance, she was able to guard against the hidden dangers. She talked to me about Liu Zhenren many times, so that I felt that I had some understanding of Liu Zhenren before I met him."

Liu Hunkang laughed and said, "So that little killer has come to Liangshan. However, she may not be very familiar with me. You've risked your life to come here so rashly. Aren't you afraid of being too hasty?"

Guan Luoyang put down the teapot: "What the master said is true. Listening to both sides leads to enlightenment, while believing only one side leads to darkness. So, besides chatting with her, I also sent someone to the Shangqing Sect on Maoshan Mountain."

He paused, looking at Liu Hunkang's expression, and said, "Oh, I should say 'invite,' after all, the old Taoist priest I invited is very proud and decisive in his actions."

Upon hearing this, Liu Hunkang lowered his head slightly, his features hidden in the shadows of the gauze curtain, and sighed after a long while.

"If you send Lin Lingsu to Maoshan, the imperial soldiers responsible for guarding the Maoshan disciples will naturally not be able to find out. But Lin Lingsu will be able to find out that the people on Maoshan are only paper puppets and some fake bodies transformed from copper beans."

After shaking his head, Liu Hunkang looked up and asked, "Where are the disciples of Maoshan now?"

Guan Luoyang smiled: "Lin Lingsu followed the clues and, although she didn't find them all, she invited about 50-60% of them to Liangshan as guests. Don't worry, Master Liu, they are highly respected among the people of Liangshan, and they are all living happily together."

Guan Luoyang's words were all true. Although the people from Maoshan were all unconscious and smoking when Lin Lingsu brought them back, Guan Luoyang did not mistreat them.

These Taoist priests were very knowledgeable, and they were perfect for continuing to run literacy classes for the people in the mountains, expanding the scale of teaching people to read.

However, as the leader of Liangshan, he went to Liu Hunkang in the middle of the night and said such things.

It's hard to say what Liu Hunkang will think after hearing this.

"Alas! It took them eight years to slowly escape the supervision of the imperial court, because I knew that my time for corpse liberation was approaching, and the people of Maoshan should no longer be involved in the affairs of the imperial court."

Liu Hunkang's expression suddenly relaxed. "However, the Heavenly Emperor has bound me for many years. It wouldn't hurt to cause him some trouble before escaping the mortal world. You can speak frankly about your thoughts."

Guan Luoyang smiled and steadily flicked the cup of hot tea toward Liu Hunkang: "I only wish to ask Master Liu to help the imperial army exorcise evil spirits and cure diseases..."

A moment later, only Liu Hunkang remained in the room.

"He appears and disappears like a ghost; the younger generation is truly formidable. If he were younger, I could at least hold my own against him before we can talk about anything else."

Liu Hunkang was holding a teacup, and had only drunk a little more than half of the hot tea inside when he heard someone shouting outside the door, inviting him to a meeting.

The messenger led Liu Hunkang out of the mansion and headed straight for the troop reviewing ground in the city.

The compacted loess formed a wide and flat field, where several thousand soldiers had already gathered. Many of them were not fully dressed in their armor, as if they had just crawled out of their tents and rushed here. Each of them had an uneasy look on their face.

Upon arriving at the reviewing stand, Chen Xizhen was immediately greeted with unprecedented enthusiasm.

"Master Huayang, the Liangshan people have used some unknown means to make many soldiers in the camp lose their shadows. You are a master of Maoshan, with profound knowledge of Taoist arts. Do you know how to break this?"

Liu Hunkang turned his head and saw that, sure enough, there were no shadows under the soldiers' feet. The moonlight shone on them, on their whispering and looking around in alarm, and on the ground beneath their feet, making it shine like silver sand.

The whole scene had an eerie sense of incompleteness.

Chen Xizhen practiced the true Taoist methods of Longhu Mountain, but he focused on swordsmanship and the art of Qi circulation. He also dabbled in the Five Elements manipulation and wind and thunder techniques, but he didn't have any profound insights into anything else.

Wang Laozhi devoted himself solely to the Dao of alchemy.

Gou Ying and the others also came to see it, but they had no clue and could not solve it.

"If Mr. Huayang can't figure out a solution either, we'll have to send these people out of the city and find a place to temporarily stay."

Chen Xizhen remained calm and composed, but a sinister glint was hidden in his eyes. "But no matter what, we must find out how the people of Liangshan cast their spells and curses as soon as possible, otherwise more and more people will fall victim to these curses."

Liu Hunkang waved his hand and said, "Don't rush, let me take a closer look."

He randomly summoned a few soldiers and questioned them about whether they had noticed anything unusual about themselves recently, and when they realized they had lost their shadow that night.

Then they asked Chen Xizhen and others what the difference was between these soldiers and the other soldiers who did not show any abnormalities.

Feng Hui said, "These people seem to be some of the weaker soldiers among the officers and soldiers, and some of them are even private soldiers who were recently incorporated into the army. Recently, they have been frequently attacking the Liangshan army camp."

"That's right."

Liu Hunkang said, "When Chen Daozi bombarded Quancheng Prefecture with cannon fire, all the paper figures and horses guarding the city were shattered and scattered throughout the city. These were the first layer of mediums for casting the spell, but they were still too weak. During this period, when they went to war, they were fighting against the colorful flag paper figures, and they were also tainted by the aura of the other party. This is the second layer of mediums."

"With these two mediums, Zhang Wanxian can perform the 'Three Forbidden Techniques of Heavenly Spirit Light,' which is a secret technique not passed down in the unorthodox books of the Three Mountains and Nine Marquises. I also saw it in a fragmented manual."

"If a person who has been afflicted by this spell cannot find their own shadow before the third crow of the rooster tomorrow, their soul will be lost and they will fall into eternal sleep on the spot."

Feng Hui asked curiously, "Where are there any chickens left in Jinan now? Is it alright if we can't hear any roosters crowing?"

Liu Hunkang coughed lightly.

Gou Ying explained: "The so-called 'the lamp burns at midnight and the rooster crows at dawn' refers to the time of rooster crowing mentioned in Taoist practices, which actually refers to the fifth watch of the night."

A messenger rushed in, urgently reporting that several more people in the camp had discovered they had disappeared.

After Chen Xizhen had his men count the victims, he discovered that over ten thousand people had been affected by this spell. He was both shocked and furious: "Zhang Wanxian actually possesses such abilities, capable of simultaneously cursing and killing tens of thousands of elite demonic soldiers?!"

Liu Hunkang said, "This is almost a life-or-death gamble for him. Even if he succeeds, he will be severely weakened. If his magic is broken, he will probably die on the spot."

Chen Xizhen's eyes lit up, and he quickly cupped his hands in greeting: "It sounds like Mr. Huayang already has a solution?"

Liu Hunkang said, "Please gather all these people who have been cursed together, count their numbers, and then go to the military camp to find an equal number of people who have not been cursed."

Chen Xizhen complied in accordance with the law.

Liu Hunkang then had the more than 10,000 people who had not been cursed take off their shirts and wrap red strips of cloth around their arms and heads, dressing them up as spirit mediums.

Orthodox Taoism does not recognize the identity of "spirit mediums" as communicators between humans and spirits. However, Liu Hunkang is now trying to break the forbidden techniques of unorthodox Taoism, which is precisely the way to counter unorthodox practices.

This approach, ironically, made Chen Xizhen and others feel that it was the right thing to do.

"My time for disintegration is approaching. This should be my last act. I will use this military platform as a ritual altar."

Liu Hunkang said, "You must protect me. No matter what you see, you must not rashly intervene or let anyone disturb me."

Chen Xizhen nodded repeatedly and immediately summoned many military generals to arrange internal and external defenses. Even at this time, he did not relax his vigilance around the city and still had many generals carefully guard it. He also sent a large number of sorcerers to take good care of the gunpowder and supplies.

Meanwhile, on the command platform, he, Wang Laozhi, Gou Ying, Wang Tianba, Feng Hui, Ha Lansheng, and others personally guarded it.

Liu Hunkang looked up at the sky; it was already past midnight. He removed his hair ornament and boots, letting his hair down and going barefoot. Holding a jade ruler, he walked to the center of the reviewing stand.

With a gentle tap of the jade ruler, the center of the command platform immediately caved in, and countless water droplets gathered in the air, falling into the depression and quickly forming a small pool.

The more than 20,000 soldiers in front of the reviewing stand recited in unison the short incantation that Liu Hunkang had just taught them. It was less than ten syllables. They recited it over and over again, over and over again.

The monotonous sounds gradually coalesced into a grand hum. When Liu Hunkang and others felt this sound wave reach a certain limit, he drew a circle in the air with the jade ruler and pointed it into the pool.

The misty water surface suddenly seemed to be blown away by a strong wind, becoming smooth as a mirror and revealing a clear human figure.

It was Zhang Wanxian, standing on a high platform, performing a ritual with a wooden staff.

The two Taoist priests' gazes met across the water, their jade ruler and wooden staff each tracing mysterious paths, creating a strange sense of synergy.

The wind swelled and the clouds drifted across the sky, creating a desolate and empty atmosphere that descended upon the parade ground from the ever-changing moonlight and clouds. The soldiers felt as if the people around them had suddenly become much farther away.

The sounds of the incantations became increasingly indistinct, echoing in every corner around them. Everyone's eyelids began to droop, and they gradually became drowsy.

A wave suddenly erupted in the pool.

Liu Hunkang's expression turned serious, filled with magical power, and he shouted, "He cannot defeat me in a magical duel, so someone must be coming to disrupt the altar."

As soon as he finished speaking, a blue streak of light rose slowly into the night sky.

The azure light, trailing a slender tail, pierced the night sky, penetrated the wind and clouds, and rapidly approached Jinan.

"Great timing!"

Chen Xizhen roared to the sky, "You're finally going to really fight me!!"

With a long howl, he raised his left hand in a sword-finger gesture, and the female sword of the two swords on his back flew out of its sheath.

The sword's sharp, heaven-shattering blade rang out, its resounding cry echoing throughout the entire reviewing ground.

The sword was the color of black jade or crystal, exquisitely carved, with a rounded hilt, but the four-foot-nine-inch blade was sharply angular.

If an ordinary person dared to look at this sword at this moment, they would probably feel completely lost, with sword energy emanating from every limb and every pore, and their body and mind would be shattered!

It shattered within that vast sword intent, becoming a mere drop in the ocean of this flying sword's sword intent!

The three or five male and female swords of Longhu Mountain are evil-slaying treasures: one is a magic sword, and the other is a flying sword.

Legend has it that when the Celestial Master Zhang Daoling received the Supreme True Teachings, he used the art of flying swords to subdue the Six Heavenly Ghosts and the Eight Demon Kings. His killing intent was too strong and his dangerous aura was fully revealed. Later, he suppressed this female flying sword in the Ghost-Dispelling Well of Crane Cry Mountain.

Later, Zhang Daoling used the Xiongjian Fajian (雄剑法剑) to establish the Twenty-Four Rules of Governance for the Dao Kingdom. This sword became the authoritative symbol of the Celestial Master of Longhu Mountain and was passed down from generation to generation.

Back then, Chen Xizhen, taking advantage of the Emperor's power, besieged Longhu Mountain. He not only seized the Celestial Master's Sword, but also forced open the Ghost-Dispelling Well, took out the flying swords, and made a pair to carry with him.

For many years, he would examine these two precious swords every day before he felt truly satisfied.

Tonight, the flying sword was drawn from its sheath, piercing through the sky and forming a dark, crystalline trail amidst the moonlight, ethereal and hazy, pure and beautiful.

Beneath the sky, the unrestrained, exploding azure meteors collided with the dark crystal trails that shot obliquely across the sky from the ground.

A long, whistling sound rang out.

The extremely dense azure energy was torn apart piece by piece, making a hissing sound, and vanished into thin air under the sword intent of the Celestial Master's Flying Sword.

However, the Celestial Master's Flying Sword was also smashed and trembled wildly. Its flexible blade danced wildly in all directions, like a giant black crystal lotus flower in full bloom, blocking Guan Luoyang's path.

Every petal, every edge, is a sword aura sharp enough to easily slice through a body of steel and annihilate the spirits of demons.

Guan Luoyang leaned down, his right hand spread wide, and a vortex of devouring energy formed by twisting gravity appeared with a hum, swallowing all the chaotic sword energy. Despite the many deep, bone-revealing cuts made between his fingers, no blood was shed.

In an instant, all the chaotic sword energy in front of him was reduced to the original sword body.

Guan Luoyang changed his hand gesture, flicking his five fingers wildly and striking the spine of the sword heavily. The sword energy that had just seeped into the wound on his palm was forcibly forced out by him, wrapped in blue lightning, and blasted back into the sword body.

As the flying sword trembled, Guan Luoyang scooped it up with his left hand, gripped the hilt, and used the sword as a dagger to leap into the city, slashing at the reviewing stand with his sword.

Chen Xizhen drew his sword from its sheath in his right hand and met the attack head-on.

This magic sword is like an ordinary iron weapon, with a silver-white blade engraved with celestial inscriptions. The hilt is made of ebony, with one side depicting a blazing sun and the other a crescent moon. At the end of the hilt hangs an apricot-yellow tassel.

Just as the magic sword and the flying sword were about to collide, the Celestial Master Flying Sword in Guan Luoyang's left hand suddenly dissipated.

The flying sword forged by the Celestial Master is not so easily captured by others.

This flying sword has been refined from something tangible and substantial to something intangible and insubstantial. It has been refined from the essence of metals and minerals to become nothing more than a single, unchanging, and indestructible Daoist primordial energy. When gathered, it takes form; when dispersed, it becomes energy. It can pass through metals and stones without hindrance and travel through water and fire without leaving a trace.

No matter how skillful Guan Luoyang's left hand was in capturing it, no matter how much wind, thunder, and gravity changed, he could not restrain the flying sword's escape momentum.

The flying sword suddenly disappeared, and Chen Xizhen's magic sword, now unobstructed, charged straight in.

Guan Luoyang moved with lightning speed, managing to dodge Chen Xizhen's magic sword by a mere inch.

Instead, five afterimages remained around Chen Xizhen, shaped like plum blossom marks.

Five-step plum blossom, Zhou Tian Dao Chang, Great Stele-Smashing Hand!

Five streams of violent energy combined above Chen Xizhen's head to form an unavoidable giant hand that pressed down. He raised the tip of his sword and thrust it straight upwards with a sound like tearing silk.

The vital energy tore apart, the five figures scattered, and Chen Xizhen's feet sank half a foot.

Guan Luoyang has already marched towards the military review platform.

The Evil-Binding Immortal Gou Ying mastered the Six Gods Binding Spirit Rope. With a thought, it could appear out of thin air and grab the target's wrists, ankles, neck, and waist from six directions.

Having previously fought Guan Luoyang, he was already poised to strike. With a thought, six golden chains bound six parts of Guan Luoyang's body.

The other end of the chains was completely hidden in the air, yet they exerted a tremendous pulling force. Even a five-hundred-year-old dragon monster would be rendered powerless and at the mercy of these chains if it were entangled in them.

However, Guan Luoyang moved with almost no resistance, pulling against the six chains and continuing his charge toward the training platform.

The spells of the other Taoist priests, when they collided with Guan Luoyang's full-force attack, were like ants trying to shake a tree, only adding a little more colorful light to his body before being instantly dispersed by the boundless and powerful primordial energy and lightning.

Feng Hui slashed at his shoulder, but the blade wouldn't penetrate. Harlansheng, whose injuries had just healed, picked up the one-legged bronze figure and smashed it onto the back of Feng Hui's blade, causing Guan Luoyang to slow down slightly.

The other generals unleashed their weapons all at once.

Wang Laozhi walked between Feng Hui and Ha Lansheng, extending his hands and gently pushing them toward Guan Luoyang.

Guan Luoyang freed his hands specifically to guard against him, raising both palms to clash with him.

Boom! ! ! !

The sound produced by the four hands clasped together was not particularly loud; only a layer of spherical hot air spread out, yet it caused several powerful winds around them to feel a needle-like pain all over their bodies, their skin to become dry and white, flaky, and their lips to crack and bleed.

In an instant, the group was scattered by the shock.

Guan Luoyang was also forced to retreat.

Old Wang swayed, a lump forming in his throat, his voice becoming hoarse: "Such a heavy hand, even more ruthless than last time. It seems they're truly determined to kill the one who broke the curse!"

Holding his magic sword, Chen Xizhen once again charged to Guan Luoyang's side. The flying sword changed freely between tangible and intangible forms, circling and shuttling around.

Guan Luoyang had just exchanged blows with Wang Laozhi and was so busy that he got a bloody gash on the side of his neck.

He used his right hand, fingers pointing like a knife, to parry the flying sword. With his left hand, he caught the magic sword head-on. The back of his hand was pierced by the sword tip, but the damaged palm force, accompanied by blood, still slammed into Chen Xizhen's arm.

Chen Xizhen felt his forearm muscles throbbing and his bones feeling weak, but seeing the other person bleeding, the excitement in his heart overcame the soreness, and he pressed his other hand on the hilt of the magic sword and pushed forward with all his might.

"Guan Luoyang, your Liangshan has been driven to its wits' end. Today, with your magic broken again, your fate is sealed!"

"You?"

Guan Luoyang spoke coldly, his anger barely concealed. He threw off his magic sword, switching between fists and palms to fight the sword with his bare hands. They attacked each other at close range, their shadows flashing wildly as he repeatedly suppressed the sword's moves.

However, Chen Xizhen wielded his two swords flawlessly; whenever the magic sword was lacking, the flying sword could make up for it.

The two fought fiercely, sending sand and stones flying as they battled from the ground into the air, getting closer and closer to the reviewing stand.

Wang Laozhi struck again from a distance, unleashing a colorless fire dragon with overwhelming power, forcing Guan Luoyang to retaliate and move away from the command platform once more.

On the platform, when Liu Hunkang's magic reached a critical point, he threw out a jade ruler, which shot into the pool, and a scream came from the pool.

The more than 10,000 spirit mediums around the platform suddenly trembled, and a shadow floated out from above their heads.

"The one without a shadow, quickly seize the shadow and swallow it!"

Liu Hunkang looked much older, and after shouting this, he slumped down on the stage.

The soldiers, whose shadows had vanished, didn't have time to think. They reached out and grabbed at the shadows, and surprisingly, they could actually grasp them, feeling as soft as cotton.

They pulled the swaying black shadows from the heads of the spirit mediums, quickly stuffed them into their mouths, swallowed them, and looked down to see that thick black shadows were spreading out from under their feet, forming their own shadows.

With a sorrowful roar, Guan Luoyang ceased fighting, slammed his palm into the ground, and the parade ground shook violently, the ground shattered, and dust billowed up. He took this opportunity to leave Quancheng.

"Don't be so smug. Liangshan won't admit defeat so easily!"

Chen Xizhen didn't chase after him. He just stared at the blood on his sword for a while before finally smiling.

The shadow in his heart had been swept away. He sheathed his two swords, settled Liu Hunkang and the others, and ordered the soldiers to return to camp.

"The defeat of the Liangshan bandits is just around the corner."

Chen Xi sighed with satisfaction and said to his trusted general, "Guan Luoyang is indeed respectable, but these bandits still don't understand. Since the resurgence of the demonic path, the common people no longer have any foundation to confront the imperial court."

Liangshan was indeed strong, but they lacked the troops and supplies to truly support them. In a war of attrition that pitted them against each other's resources, they were destined to lose.

Even if the foundation laid by the future emperor is to collapse, it will only be the result of power struggles among the upper echelons and miscalculations by later generations. The victors will still be the born nobles and powerful ministers.

I am but a commoner, a mere nobody. For the next ten generations and a hundred generations to come, I will only ever be grass.

"tomorrow!"

Chen Xizhen clenched his fist and said, "Tomorrow is the day of the final assault."

………………

In the mountains and fields, Guan Luoyang walked and stopped, gazing at the moonlight over the forest, feeling a sense of ease in his heart.

"it is good."

He chuckled softly, snapped his fingers, and said, "Second round, done."

(End of this chapter)