vncnus Chapter 176 The Battle of the Capital: Grandmasters Gather
Chapter 176 The Battle of the Capital: Grandmasters Gather
Chapter 176 The Battle of the Capital: Grandmasters Gather
In the capital city, a Taoist priest carrying a gourd of wine was strolling aimlessly down the street, a stark contrast to the hurried passersby beside him.
"Damn, it's been a while since I've been here, and it's still the same... wait, it feels even less crowded and more deserted."
The Taoist took a swig of wine and casually wiped the spilled wine with his sleeve, completely ignoring the prying eyes all around him.
He just muttered, "Sigh, it's all because I'm so handsome that I attract attention wherever I go."
He deliberately flicked his sleeves, held his head high, and walked confidently.
Behind him, the Zhenwuwei and Xichang secret police officers monitoring him twitched at the corners of their eyes.
No matter what, they couldn't see any connection between the Taoist priest and the term "repayment of favors."
"Feed?"
As the Taoist priest walked, he suddenly stopped, squinted, and looked at a noisy monk not far ahead.
The monk wore simple robes, held an alms bowl in his hand, and wore a string of prayer beads around his neck. He had an ordinary appearance.
The Taoist priest stared at the monk for two seconds, then suddenly realized and exclaimed, "Oh, isn't this Master Huigen? What's gotten into you today, coming here to argue with someone?"
Upon hearing this voice, Monk Huigen was startled, stopped his argument with Old Wu, and turned his head away.
"The Drunken Taoist Priest?"
"Yes, it's me. I knew you'd come. By the way, what are you doing here...?"
The drunken Taoist turned his head, his gaze immediately becoming fixed on the plaque above, which read "Qichun Pavilion," and standing at the entrance was a heavily made-up old woman. This was none other than...
"You monk, how dare you break the Buddhist precepts? You went to a place like this without me?" The drunken Taoist glared and scolded. Monk Huigen shook his head. "You are mistaken, benefactor. I came here only to have a meal and to temper my mind. Who would have thought that I would be kicked out after ordering some vegetarian food, with people saying that I was interfering with their business?"
"This is outrageous! I have no followers, how could I possibly be hindering them?"
"...You, you come here to eat vegetarian food?" The drunken Taoist covered his face, it was the first time he had ever heard of such a thing.
"What else?" Monk Huigen sighed. "It's a pity that he hasn't been down the mountain for too long and has forgotten all his cursing skills. Otherwise, I could have cursed that old man to death and then brought him back to life."
The Drunken Taoist twitched the corner of his mouth, about to speak, when he suddenly sensed intense fluctuations of true energy not far away.
Looking up, the two saw a sharp sword aura, a cloud of seven colors, and a cauldron as big as half the capital city.
"They made their move."
The drunken Taoist's expression changed, and the monk Huigen also became serious.
"Walk."
Without even glancing at the imperial guards surrounding them, the Taoist priest rode a fire dragon, and the monk drove his alms bowl, rushing towards the palace.
"Fellow Daoist, don't panic, I'm here to help you!"
On the fire dragon, the drunken Taoist patted the gourd at his waist, and suddenly, the gourd spat out an even larger and more intensely burning fire dragon.
The fire dragon bared its fangs and roared as it pounced on the palace.
"Hmph, such a trivial skill! How dare you act so presumptuously in the capital?!"
A cold light tore through the sky, intersecting with the fire dragon's form.
"—"
The fire dragon, filled with sorrow, split in two and gradually burned out.
A man dressed in a flying fish robe stood on the roof ridge beast, his face as cold and stern as if carved by a knife, holding an embroidered spring knife, coldly watching the various strange phenomena in the sky.
The monk Huigen leaped out of his alms bowl and walked through the air. The alms bowl beneath his feet was overturned and covered the palace.
Unexpectedly, a eunuch dressed in brocade robes with a delicate appearance suddenly appeared on the way.
He struck Bo Meng with his palm, and his extremely yang and powerful true energy instantly left a palm print on it, sending Bo Meng flying backward.
"Wang Zhi, the supervisor of the Western Depot, and Song Zhong, the commander of the Zhenwu Division?"
The Drunken Taoist stood in mid-air, side by side with the other four.
Beside him, besides the monk Huigen, there were three others, from left to right:
A young swordsman dressed in the standard white robe of Cangjian Peak, Wan Jinghan.
Han Qiuyan, a beautiful woman with a fierce expression, serves as the head of Qingmu Valley and holds one leg of a large cauldron.
And the Cloth Bag Master of the Zixia Sect.
With the addition of the Drunken Taoist of the Burning Flame Hall and the Monk Huigen of Zhenchan Mountain, the five masters of the sect gathered in the palace.
"Fellow Daoists, it's been a long time!"
The Drunken Taoist cupped his hands in greeting, while the first two nodded indifferently. Only the Cloth Bag Master responded with a cupped-hand greeting.
He wasn't embarrassed; he simply took out his wine gourd and took a sip of wine.
He knew Wan Jinghan and Han Qiuyan's personalities all too well; they were both extremely cold-hearted, and, importantly, they were also very good fighters.
"Why do you five clans dare to trespass into the palace? Are you plotting a rebellion?"
Standing atop another roof beast, Wang Zhi, the supervisor of the Western Depot, shouted, startling the clouds in the sky.
The five grandmasters exchanged glances, and finally the Cloth Bag Grandmaster stepped forward and said indifferently, "We have come here to demand an explanation from the imperial court for our five sects."
Wang Zhi, feigning ignorance, instead questioned:
"What explanation? If there's a miscarriage of justice, why not report it to the local government instead of coming to the palace?"
Monk Huigen sighed, stepped forward, and clasped his hands together, saying, "We have come for the people of Tianyong City, and also for our disciples."
The drunken Taoist took a swig of wine, wiped his mouth, and agreed:
"In the battle of Tianyong City, countless civilians died from Huangfu Chong's arrow. Disciples and members of our five sects also perished in the battle. The imperial court must provide an explanation."
"Hmph, I think you're just spouting nonsense!"
Commander Song Zhong of the Zhenwu Division pointed his knife at him, his tone icy.
"It was clearly your five sects who fought each other in Tianyong City, resulting in countless deaths and injuries. General Huangfu was on his way north to quell the rebellion and happened to be passing by, intending to intervene and quell the conflict. Who would have thought that you, along with Daoist Minghe, would join forces to ambush and kill him!"
Song Zhong's slanderous remarks enraged everyone present.
The monk Huigen put his hands together and whispered a Buddhist chant.
The Cloth Bag Master remained silent, his face as cold as ice.
The drunken Taoist was originally a master of fire, and his temper was fiery. When he was scolded, he immediately flew into a rage, and flames blazed on his head.
Han Qiuyan's murderous aura intensified, and she nearly swung down the massive cauldron that covered half of the capital city.
Wan Jinghan remained expressionless, his gaze fixed on the longsword in his hand; there was nothing else on his mind.
"Since you don't acknowledge it, then we'll have to make it a show of things." Han Qiuyan spoke for the first time, and then without warning, she smashed the cauldron down.
This cauldron is almost half the size of the capital city. If it were to fall, it would surely cause widespread devastation and heavy casualties among the people.
The monk Huigen and the drunken Taoist's expressions changed simultaneously, and they were about to join forces to stop the cauldron from falling.
In the palace, a ghostly figure appeared in the air and smashed the cauldron with a simple, unadorned straight punch.
Boom!
After a dull thud, the cauldron was pushed back, leaving a huge fist mark on its surface.
Han Qiuyan raised an eyebrow, stretched out her slender hand, and steadily supported one leg of the cauldron.
Using the counter-propulsion, the ghostly figure flipped over and came to a steady stop in mid-air.
Everyone could see that it was a eunuch wearing chainmail and with an old appearance.
Just as the Drunken Taoist and the Monk Huigen were catching their breath, they heard the eunuch shout:
Where are the Golden Scale Guards?
In an instant, a large number of soldiers clad in golden scale armor and wielding jade dragon swords poured out from all parts of the palace and formed a military formation under the leadership of Duan Yong, the commander of the Golden Scale Guards who was also a Grandmaster.
Their murderous aura was overwhelming, and even without sunlight, the Golden Scale Guards still shone with a brilliant golden light.
The auras of all the Golden Scale Guards within the military formation were interconnected, causing Duan Yong's imposing aura to overwhelm the other Grandmasters.
"This is the military formation technique you mentioned?"
Wan Jinghan's eyes lit up, and he asked the Cloth Bag Master with interest.
The latter nodded heavily, "It's exactly the same as what I saw in Tianyong City. It must have been the evil magic of the Feast Cult."
"Evil techniques? No, it's just a perfectly normal method of controlling Qi, so why are you all prejudiced against it?"
Before you see him, you hear his voice.
After the languid female voice faded away, everyone saw a woman dressed in bright red walking slowly through the air.
The woman's hair was styled in a cloud-like bun, and her face, though without makeup, was still stunning. Every gesture she made exuded a charming and alluring aura.
The Drunken Taoist and the Cloth Bag Master looked at her for a while, then said in unison, "Zeng Yao, Vice Leader of the Feast Sect."
"It is indeed I, esteemed masters. It has been a long time since we last met. Your demeanor and bearing are as impressive as ever."
Zeng Yao smiled faintly, her bright red lips, as red as blood, captivating the heart. With each smile, the world seemed to lose its color.
But everyone present was a master with a firm will, and it was impossible for her charm to affect them.
Han Qiuyan looked at her coldly, as if she were looking at a dead person, "As expected, you have sided with the imperial court. All these things were caused by you remnants."
Zeng Yao smiled and shook her head, gently shaking her slender, white fingers.
"No, you mustn't say that. We, the Feast Cult, have always been good citizens of the Great Qian Dynasty, loyal to His Majesty and serving the court. Isn't that what we should do? On the contrary, you, sister, don't contribute to the court, but instead..."
"Enough. That's enough. Let's see who's the real deal."
Han Qiuyan had reached her limit. As the second strongest Grandmaster among the Five Sects, she had always had a bad temper.
The cauldron tilted and crashed down again, and this time, it was the old eunuch who faced it head-on once more.
This strike sounded the battle horn, and the other grandmasters all sprang into action.
The Golden Scale Guards rallied their forces and charged fiercely towards Fang Jinghan.
The commander of the Zhenwu Division and the supervisor of the West Depot then attacked the Drunken Taoist and the monk Huigen, respectively.
Zeng Yao, who was left behind, met the gaze of the Cloth Bag Master, and their fighting spirit ignited instantly.
Above the palace, a murderous aura filled the air, and clouds and smoke billowed everywhere.
Divine fire blazed fiercely, the pure Yang essence stirred restlessly, and the sword energy cleaved through the clouds.
Arhat glared angrily, his meditative state shattered instantly, unleashing boundless killing intent.
The fist imprint collided with the cauldron, and each impact caused the entire capital city to tremble slightly.
The battle between the grandmasters present has completely altered the celestial phenomena over the capital and even a large area nearby.
Even though they deliberately avoided attacking the capital, and even though the capital was protected by the Four Qi Reversal Formation, it was still severely affected, with large numbers of houses collapsing and streets overturned with a lot of soil and rocks.
Inside the palace, Emperor Qian sat firmly on his dragon throne, calmly observing the battle between the two sides.
The turmoil in the capital caused unease in the nation's fate, and a series of warnings were sent back, but he turned a deaf ear to them.
Far away in the Great Ze Mountain, beyond the sight of people, a sea of blood surged. The Taoist priest, seated cross-legged atop the crimson lotus of karmic fire, opened his eyes and murmured:
"It's time."
In his palm hung a blood-red crystal, its surface covered with faint, intricate runes.