Chapter 718: Chapter 701: The Long-Lost Hongling

These two brief sentences truly terrified everyone present, Yuan Cheng and Yuan Xing were stunned, and the likes of Liuzi were nearly ready to kneel down.

What are God Demons, what are Buddhas? This was it!

The man was tens of thousands of miles away, just now embroiled in a significant battle in the Capital’s Langya, yet he knew exactly what had happened to his little brother here and sent his mount to relieve the siege. How was this any different from the legendary Bodhisattvas and Buddhas? It was said that Bodhisattvas did just that, dispatching their lions and so on…

Even if the reality didn’t match his note, it was already terrifying. If it did…

Yuan Cheng and Yuan Xing looked at each other uneasily and cautiously crouched down to examine the corpse.

The monk killed by Liuzi had an evil Qi inside him that should not belong to a Buddhist disciple. This Qi was extremely faint and would have dissipated in a moment, but to someone like Yuan Cheng, a strong player of the Earth List, it was utterly obvious, present or not.

“There really is…” Yuan Cheng gasped in shock, murmuring to himself.

Upon hearing their abbot’s verdict, the surrounding monks sucked in the cold so hard they seemed to chill the globe.

Previously during the debate in the hall, some had suggested that the incident where their own followers killed someone might have been the Blood God Sect followers causing trouble behind the scenes, maliciously stirring up their believers’ Evil Qi. This time too there was a strong suspicion of this, which was the second force behind the scenes. Even if you examined the body, you would only suspect the Blood God Sect followers, but nothing was clear.

As a result, Zhao Changhe had preemptively written the second sentence: They haven’t learned the Blood Evil Skill.

Fuck, was this prescience or what… Every monk in the cold weather was sweating bullets, Zhao Changhe was just too outrageous.

Yuan Cheng’s voice trembled as he asked Liuzi, “Have you really not learned the Blood Evil Skill?”

Liuzi was extremely proud, hands on hips, “I’m a novice, by the rules, I’m not qualified to learn! When we were at Wushan, the instructor wanted to give us a backdoor lesson, but we failed even the basic test, which pissed him off so much he smacked us on the ear.”

“…” Who knows what you’re so proud of.

If what they were proud of was their own boss being so terrifying, the monks present also had a shared sentiment, feeling eerily at the truth. Still cautious, Yuan Cheng said, “Could you allow this old monk to verify it myself?”

Liuzi puffed out his chest and said, “Since you claim to have ties with our Boss Zhao, we’ll grant you this favor. Go ahead and verify.”

Yuan Cheng placed his hand on Liuzi’s pulse, his lips pursed tightly.

Forget the Blood Evil Skill, this man had not practiced any foundational cultivation technique, neither External Skill nor anything else, merely picking up some Saber Technique moves. His strength level had reached the First Layer of the Mystical Gate due to long-term saber practice that inadvertently resembled Body Refining. Such men are a dime a dozen in the Worldly Society; to say that he didn’t belong to the Blood God Sect wouldn’t be a stretch at all.

Motivated by a sudden thought, Yuan Cheng shook his robe and a splendid golden light enveloped Liuzi.

A needle as fine as a cow’s hair aimed at Liuzi’s heart was solidly blocked by the Golden Bell Shield, emitting a light “ding” sound.

As one of the most powerful representatives of Buddhism today, Yuan Cheng was obviously not a vegetarian. As soon as he found out there was no issue with Liuzi, he immediately suspected a third party was causing trouble and protected Liuzi in time, managing to intercept the stealth attack.

Liuzi broke out in a cold sweat, and by his side Yuan Xing had already reacted, belting out a loud shout, “Stop the thief!”

Racing like the wind towards the shadows, a dark figure darted into the distance, vanishing into the night.

“No need to chase.” Yuan Cheng watched the retreating shadow of the assassin and spoke quietly, “The opponent has plotted painstakingly, seeking to incite conflict between us and the Blood God Sect, which is also a conflict with the Four Symbols Sect or King Zhao. Either they want to stir up the unrest in Jingxiang, or they intend to use this as a means to bring down Buddhism in the new dynasty. This is a scheme by a power, not just an issue of one or two assassins.”

Yuan Xing said, “Elder brother, about this matter…”

Yuan Cheng bowed to Liuzi, “We have been used in this matter, I apologize to the General.”

Liuzi felt like he was floating, the leader of a sect, a strong player of the Earth List, bowing and apologizing to him, even addressing him as General!

Being backed by the right people is really something!

But Yuan Cheng didn’t have the time to talk more with him, immediately leading his people back after the apology, “Leave a few to take care of the bodies, the rest return quickly, I suspect there are those targeting Buddha.”

The hearts of the monks sank, and they hurried out; there were truly not many strong protectors in the temple. If someone invaded the Secret Realm…

Amidst the chaos of the secret realm at that moment, a group of old monks were beaten to shambles by the berserk Vajra King, unable to withstand the revival of the Buddha even with their formations. One by one, they lay on the ground spewing blood, looking up in terror as their own Buddha stepped forward and raised his fists.

Just as the fist was about to strike down upon an old monk’s head, the conflict outside dissipated, and the inflowing Power of Faith became much more peaceful and pure once again. The Vajra’s furious punch suddenly stopped, looking at the bald heads before him that bore a strong resemblance to his own, his expression one of confusion and conflict.

Then he clutched his head, roaring in agony, and violently stomped on the blue stone floor, fleeing madly into the forests beyond.

With a loud “boom,” as he stomped, the ground’s stone shattered into rubble, and the area in front of the great hall was left in a mess as if bombarded. The old monks who had narrowly escaped death rolled disoriented to the side, looking in horror at the direction in which their own mad Buddha had fled, clueless as to what had just occurred.

“This…”

“Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!” Yuan Cheng and others promptly appeared on the scene, anxiously asking, “What has happened?”

An old monk struggled to reply, “The Buddha has gone mad…”

Yuan Cheng stamped his foot, “Search the mountains! If you see the Buddha, do not startle him. Convey a signal to us in secret!”

“Yes!”

The group of monks transformed into streaks of light, chasing into the mountains.

And earlier than this, Zhao Changhe had already quietly followed the Buddha into the depths of the mountains, trailing at a safe distance without causing any disturbance.

If he had revealed himself at this location, he would have already fallen into the sight of certain individuals, a different story altogether; if others hadn’t paid attention to this entrance amidst the comings and goings, then it was still possible to observe the unfolding events and perhaps identify the puppeteer behind the scenes.

Sure enough, not long into the pursuit, he saw a dark shadow swiftly strike at the Buddha’s neck, and the body of the Vajra, which had withstood an entire epoch without decay, was now being corrupted and penetrated by the shadow’s touch.

The Buddha cried out in pain, bellowing furiously, as his arm, tough as steel, swept back in a wild arc.

A terrifying gust swept through, breaking trees and shattering rocks within a span of ten yards, revealing the immense power of his cultivation… And this wasn’t even his fully restored state; this was merely a mad Vajra, yet already so formidable – what might the peak of his power have been like?

Regrettably, his state of madness seemed ineffectual against the clandestine assassin; the shadow twisted slightly, and the violent Qi force that swept across it was as ineffective as wind against willows, merely grazing by without inflicting damage. Then, the shadow went on to climb up his arm and tightly enshroud half of the Buddha’s body.

The Buddha howled in agony again, a pitiful sound.

Zhao Changhe slowly reached for his Dragon Sparrow saber, almost visualizing the process of the Buddha’s power being siphoned along with the previously absorbed “Power of Faith” into the body of the other, much like blood being drawn.

Zhao Changhe knew who the other was.

Destruction, chased off by Vermilion Bird… He hadn’t expected to find him here.

If it was Destruction, some things started to make sense. He is someone who wished for the world to be in chaos, the more chaotic, the better it suited his cultivation environment. Even potentially absorbing the very concept of “chaos” for his benefit. Provoking conflict between the Buddhist sect and the Four Symbols Sect killed multiple birds with one stone – firstly, he bore a grudge against the Four Symbols Sect, having been brutally beaten by Vermilion Bird just now; secondly, his attribute was inherently at odds with Buddhism, and he wouldn’t want to see their rise; third, if he could incite chaos in Jingxiang, it would become a source of turmoil for the world at large.

All aspects were favorable to him.

Yet, as Zhao Changhe observed the scene before him, he still felt hesitant and did not move forward to save the Buddha directly. Although everything seemed to fit, he couldn’t shake the feeling that Destruction might not be the final boss; there seemed to be something else hidden behind him… Was it perhaps because Destruction had been so soundly defeated by Vermilion Bird that Zhao felt he was too weak to be the boss?

But the man was indeed a Demon God of the Imperial Realm…

As he pondered this, a sense of alarm surged within him, sending shivers down his scalp.

Zhao Changhe swiftly twisted his body, from a shadow to his side a sword light burst forth, swift as the legendary archer Yi shooting suns, and as desolate as the setting sun.

Zhao Changhe’s hand, which was just about to strike with his saber, almost dropped the weapon in shock, and his opponent’s eyes widened too. The terrifying sword that had been shot with the might to pursue the sun was abruptly retracted and turned, but the figure couldn’t stop his own momentum, careening into Zhao Changhe’s embrace with a “thump.”

Then, rubbing his head and lifting his gaze, the figure looked up at Zhao Changhe’s face in stunned silence, words failing him.

Zhao Changhe, with a delicate beauty in his arms, stood equally dumbfounded and speechless.

It was the long-missed Yue Hongling!

Both individuals, clearly, had not expected to encounter each other so unexpectedly and bizarrely in such a place.