Chapter 232 About to Strike(1/2)
When Li Ye went west to Fengxiang, he ordered the Black Office experts to follow suit to act as reinforcements for Shangguan Qingcheng. They would head directly to Chencang to link up with Li Yan. Li Ye was moving at a greater speed then Song Jiao and the Black Office experts, and they were not using the same route.
After many years of progress, the Black Office had gathered a huge amount of experts and created its own lethal formation. If Song Jiao directed their attack, they could even deal with experts of the Spiritual Master Realm. It was not much use for them to follow Li Ye, as he was facing opponents of Guardian Deity Realm. They would be of greater use if they linked up with Li Yan instead.
Li Ye had expected his path to be fraught with obstacles. If this was true, the Black Office experts would have to protect Li Yan sufficiently until he reached Chencang. This would prevent the Buddhists from realizing any other sinister plots, for example assassinating Li Yan.
Even though the chances of something like that happening was minute, Li Ye could not allow anything to go wrong. If Li Yan died suddenly on his journey, the world would be thrown into chaos, and Li Ye and the Pinglu army would not be able to catch their breath and re-organize themselves.
It was Mo Dongli who led the first batch of Black Office cultivators westward.
There used to be four great experts in the Black Office, but Liu Dazheng and Zhao Polu had joined the army, leaving only Song Jiao and Mo Dongli behind. There had been other new additions to the Black Office, however. The chief of them was the 12 Great Guardians, who were high-level Qi refining experts.
Mo Dongli had attained Level 8 Qi-refining cultivation skills and was close to achieving Level 9 status. He could most likely gain another rank and become a peerless Level 9 Qi-refining expert. In terms of rank and skills, Mo Dongli was only second to Song Jiao in the Black Office.
As the vanguard, Mo Dongli led his companions at a great speed. After entering Hu County, it began to drizzle, and Mo Dongli, who was in front of everyone else, opened the incredibly large black umbrella he was carrying upon sensing the first drop of rain.
It was no big deal for Mo Dongli to carry an opened umbrella and ride a horse at the same time.
The machete men behind Mo Dongli twitched their eyes upon seeing the thin and short old man carry the black umbrella, which looked completely different from him. They had seen this many times before, but it looked strange every time they saw it.
In a flash, Mo Dongli reigned his horse in. The horse whinnied and lifted its front hooves up, but Mo himself and the incredibly large black umbrella were as steady as rocks.
A monk dressed in white stood on the official path in front of them. He placed his palms together devoutly and bowed at them.
Mo Dongli’s eyes, which were usually cloudy, glinted as he looked at the monk. He made a signal to the other machete men, telling them not to act rashly. He got down from his horse unhurriedly and walked toward the monk in white.
The thin old man was still supporting the huge black umbrella with his right hand, leaving a huge space beside his right shoulder. If one observed carefully, one would realize that he only took up half of the space under the umbrella.
There was a rumor in the Black Office that the old man, who did not like to speak and was fond of muttering to himself, left the space because there was always someone beside him.
Also, he was not muttering to himself, but this person.
The rumor once caused the Black Office to make wild, terrifying guesses. Everyone who heard about the rumor would feel the chills.
The old man was aged and extremely skinny as if he was already one step in the grave. Furthermore, he was extremely short, and the only person who would stand beside him could only be a... ghost.
Mo Dongli stopped about 10 steps away from the monk. He continued to hold the umbrella steadily but bowed. “Master Huiming.”
“Mr. Mo, how have you been?” the monk replied with an extremely sincere looking smile. It was indeed Huiming who was standing alone in the center of the official path.
Mo Dongli’s smile was equally sincere, and his voice contained a tone that was weary about meetings and departures, something unavoidable for someone his age. “I’m already one foot in the grave, and I’m fine if I’m still breathing.”
Mo Dongli and Zhao Polu used to work for Li Keyong, and it was natural they were acquainted with Huiming. Compared to the inarticulate Zhao, who was a career soldier, Mo Dongli had a better relationship with Huiming. When they were both in Li Keyong’s camp, they used to chat together during teatime.
After the incident at Huangli County, they served different masters and did not meet up since.
Huiming cast his gaze to the right of Mo Dongli, at the space Mo purposely left underneath the huge black umbrella. The monk seemed to have seen someone beneath it, as his gaze was filled with emotion when he spoke. “Has it been 30 years?”
Mo Dongli’s smile was dazzling. It was hard to imagine that the old man could produce such a radiant and pure-looking smile. It was so innocent that it seemed childlike. “I didn’t expect that you would still remember my wife, Master Huiming. It’s been 30 years, two months, and eight days.”
Huiming looked emotional and sighed heavily, and his gaze filled with admiration. “It’s been more than 30 years, but I can still remember Mrs. Mo’s looks vividly. Her beauty was peerless then.”
Mo Dongli was still giving his toothy grin as if he had once accomplished a great feat in his life that still gave him immense pride when he thought about it. “Even though I’m useless, my wife is the greatest in the world.”
“Greatest,” Huiming repeated. It was as if no better word could describe the woman. Her looks were ordinary, but her poise outshone that of countless other beauties, and her manners caused many heroes to praise her as an intelligent woman. “A true beauty never needed looks that would drive entire nations nuts over her.”
Mo Dongli smiled, and he looked very relaxed, at ease and happy at the moment. He felt that everything in this world should be cheerful. “You’re a monk, master. Do you know about such worldly affairs too?”
“How could I achieve enlightenment if I did not understand worldly affairs?” Huiming replied seriously.
“Great words of wisdom, Master,” Mo Dongli nodded.
They quieted down, and the atmosphere seemed to have frozen.
It was still drizzling, and rain pattered softly against the huge black umbrella in the night.
The Black Office machete men, who were dozens of steps away, shivered and placed their right hands on the hilts of their sabers. In an instant, they could sense a chilling killing intent. It was incredibly intense and engulfed the entire surrounding upon appearing. The source of this murderous aura was the two old friends who stood opposite one another on the official path.
“I’ve already tried to persuade you, Sir,” Huiming said as he looked at Mo Dongli.
He did. He tried to convince the old man that he should treasure every moment when he still could remember his wife if he missed her so much. If he threw his life away needlessly, everything would be gone, including his memories.
Mo Dongli’s arm that was holding on to the umbrella stood motionless, and his voice was unwavering. “For the last 30 years, my wife has stood beside me. I would describe any sound I heard, be it the wind, rain, or that of other people reading, to her. I would discuss any matter, be it of my home, country, or global affairs with her. When it rained, I would open this umbrella to prevent her from getting wet. When I slept, I would leave half the bed to her to prevent myself from crushing her. I would walk at one side so as not to bump into her... she has been beside me all these years and never left me. We’re bound to one another in life and death, and we live together and die as one.”
Huiming was slightly moved and shut his eyes.
He opened them slowly after a while. “Make your move,” he said.
At this instant, a high-level Qi-refining Black Office machete man, who was in the group of riders dozens of step away from Mo and Huiming, suddenly drew out his long saber from its sheath. He leaped up into the air and traced a deadly arc in the night sky with his blade, slashing at Huiming’s forehead directly!
Huiming did not even blink even as the energy from the saber was about to pierce through his skull.
historical
He placed one arm before his chest and reached out with his other.
The machete man flew backward and landed on the ground. His body twitched for a few times before turning lifeless.
In Huiming’s hand was a warm, still beating heart.
Blood flowed from the heart, and the thick fluid ran down the cracks between Huiming’s fingers.
The hairs on Mo Dongli’s head and face stood up.
Huiming was emotionless as if he had done nothing. He lowered his brows and said indifferently in the direction of the machete man, “What’s the point of having a heart if it’s damaged?”
The incredibly large black umbrella twirled and flew into the air, fine drops of rain water flying in all directions.
The thin old man beneath the umbrella took a step forward and punched at Huiming.
Huiming swept the sleeves of his robe backward.
He did not move, however.
Even if Mo Dongli’s fist crashed into his chest.
His palm struck Mo Dongli’s left chest. There was a crackling sound as his shriveled looking chest caved in.
Blood spewed out from Mo Dongli’s mouth. His pupils, which had been fixed at Huiming, gradually became blank and his body fell onto the ground lifelessly.
Dozens of Black Office machete men leaped forward, the glinting of their weapons illuminating the night sky, as if comets were streaking down from the heavens.
All of them fell in an instant.
The beating heart was still in Huiming’s hands.
A few more bloody ones were scattered around his feet.
It was at this moment that the huge, black twirling umbrella landed.
It landed slowly on Mo Dongli, covering his corpse.
Huiming discarded the heart in his hand and swept his gaze across his surroundings. He felt no emotion as he surveyed the corpses scattered around him.
His look changed only as his gaze fell back onto Mo Dongli’s body.
Huiming placed his palms together devoutly and bowed at Mo Dongli, who was lying underneath the black umbrella. “A person without a heart will be unable to be reincarnated even if he or she went through Hell. You’ve been missing your wife for 30 years, and even though you didn’t receive any reply from her, I’m still willing to leave you your heart, so that you can be reunited with her in your next life.”
“Amitabha,” he finally said. The spotless monk then continued along the moonlit official path.
The chest of the thin, old man beneath the black umbrella behind him was still intact.
...
Huiming walked unhurriedly as he did not want to leave at all. His task tonight was to stop the Black Office from heading west to Fengxiang. He did not have any problems with killing Mo Dongli. They served different masters and could only be going after each other in battle. Their lives would depend upon fate.
Not only did Huiming have to slay Mo Dongli, but he also had to slay anyone who dared travel westward, including Song Jiao, the chief of Black Office.
He had fought Song Jiao to a standstill at the Battle of Huangli County, and now he felt a need to settle the matter once and for all.
He saw Song Jiao arrive at the quiet and isolated official path.
He knew he would meet up with her; it was their fate. It was their destiny, as the leader of Jianghu factions supporting Li Keyong and Li Ye respectively.
If they were fated to meet, they were fated to fight as well just as Li Ye and Li Keyong were.
Huiming stood on the official path alone, his palms placed together.
Song Jiao rode slowly toward him from about 100 steps away. There were also dozens of Black Office cultivators behind her, and there was no lack of high-level Qi-refining experts among them.
As the chief of Black Office, the experts that followed Song Jiao were core figures, and their prowess in battle was much greater than Mo Dongli’s retinue. Huiming was completely unafraid, however. His expression remained calm, as he had not arrived alone. He had people around him, but he felt that it was unnecessary for them to appear now.
To the monk, killing Song Jiao would be as easy as killing his old friend, even though she was at Level 9 Qi-refining strength.
Huiming stood silently as he observed Song Jiao stop the others and ride toward him alone.
The monk smiled gently. This scene was so alike that earlier one.
“Are you intent on stopping me?” Song Jiao asked calmly on her horse.
“Yes,” the monk replied truthfully.
“We’re both at Level 9 Qi-refining strength. What makes you think you can stop me?” Song Jiao sneered.
“Even though that’s true, our battle prowess is at completely different levels,” Huiming replied seriously.
“Do you think I’m not suited to one-on-one battles?” Song Jiao asked, her brows sinking.
“That’s the weakness of ‘Coldness of Yi River’,” the monk said honestly.
Song Jiao did not reply.
“Please,” Huiming said, extending an arm.
Song Jiao did not move.
This was because someone else had moved before her.
Two figures were hurtling at great speed toward them on the official path. Two white streaks of Qi could be seen on the tree branches lining the official road, and they started from behind the Black Office experts.
They looked to be headed toward Fengxiang.
Huiming was stunned. He was unaware that any of his people were headed there. Since these two were not one of his, they had to be one of Song Jiao’s. If that was true, Huiming had to stop them.
Both of them were traveling at both of Huiming’s sides at such a great speed that he had no time to think at all. Even though they were moving incredibly quickly, the streaks of Spiritual Qi they produced looked like a rainbow. With a glance, Huiming was extremely sure that they were experts of Level 9 Qi-refining strength.
If that was so, Huiming could definitely deal with them. In the blink of an eye, he had leaped up, and punched toward the woman at his left, who was dressed in green Taoist robes and carrying a long sword in her hand.
“Stop!”
Huiming shouted. Golden rays of light appeared behind him as he punched, and a statue of Buddha looked as though it was about to appear. His punch stirred up a gale, and there was a faint crackling in the air as his Spiritual Qi surged like a wave, as if it was about to rip the air into shred. It was a punch that any expert below Spiritual Master Realm would be unable to withstand.
The woman, who looked extremely pretty and even more beautiful than a tree peony flower, had exquisite looking eyes and seemed as gentle as a girl next door, causing anyone to look at her feel moved. Huiming was a monk, however, and he would not be charmed by her looks.
He was not moved, but his heart was beating wildly.
This was because she was trying to slap him. Her red lips parted slightly, and an extremely irritated sounding word came out of her mouth. “Scram.”
The slap looked extremely ordinary, as if she was trying to swat a fly weakly. As it reached Huiming, however, it caused him to open his eyes wide.
This was because the power of his punch had completely vanished upon coming into contact with the slap! Huiming could instantly sense that he was in extreme danger, as if his heart had been ripped out of his chest. He turned fearful.
With a resounding smack, the palm struck Huiming on his head.
The monk could feel everything turn black, and he blanked out momentarily. When he finally regained his consciousness, he could see himself hurtling toward the ground. What followed was a sharp pain radiating from his cheek, as he crashed headfirst into the ground, instantly creating a huge crater about one and a half meters deep on the official road. Dust swirled into the air.
Huiming could sense that all of his bones were dislocated, and his Ocean of Qi was in turmoil. His Spiritual Qi was completely gone, and he tried to move but felt sharp, unbearable pain coming from all of his meridians. He wanted to shout loudly, but he could not even produce enough strength to do that. It was as if he had fallen into a pool of mud.
Huiming raised his head with much difficulty and realized that Song Jiao was looking down at him by the side of the huge crater. “Why... she’s obviously at Level 9 Qi-refining strength, how could...” he could not help but ask.
“You said it yourself. Two people at the same Qi-refining level could have totally different skills in battle,” Song Jiao said through curled lips, her disdain in full view.
Just as the monk was about to lose all consciousness, he saw a round face appear at the edge of the crater. It was a fat man, and he stuck his head down the crater to observe the monk curiously. “Senior has struck too heavily. She’s truly the Guanghan Fairy, and no one can afford to offend her,” he said as he shook his head and sighed.
Huiming was indignant. He struggled and asked in a low, angry tone, “Why...why are there still people like this in Jianghu? So tough... the entire Jianghu, Jianghu...”
Huiming’s voice gradually grew weaker as he no longer had any strength left. Eventually, he saw the fat man leap across the crater in one bound. “Jianghu? There’s no longer one left,” he said, before chasing after the woman. “wait for me, Senior?”
There was no Jianghu left.
“Why?”
“What’s left, if there’s no Jianghu anymore?”
Huiming was puzzled.
...
Naturally, it was Su E’mei who had knocked Huiming unconscious with a single slap.
At this moment, she was hurtling over the tree branches at great speed.
It took a while for Wei Xiaozhuang to catch up with her, and he was panting heavily. Anyone who was not a cultivator would find it hard to believe that a fat person such as him could be so agile.
“Slow down, Senior. Wait for me,” shouted Wei Xiaozhuang as he pumped his legs furiously.
“He’ll be dead if we slow down!” Su E’mei replied without even turning her head.
Wei Xiaozhuang pumped his hands, forcing them to move back and forth his rotund body like levers. He was tired beyond words. He did not look like he was leaping over branches. Instead, he seemed to be jogging on the ground. Even so, he did not forget to speak, “I don’t think we’ll be able to help much at our current level of cultivation, even if we reached him in time, right?”
Su E’mei gritted her teeth. “We’ll see when we arrive there.”
“Why is the master not coming? If he did, he could hold one or two Spiritual Masters back,” Wei Xiaozhuang continued, panting.
“Master has left the sea to visit the Immortals,” Su E’mei replied.
Wei Xiaozhuang opened his eyes wide. “How could he still have the mood to visit the Immortals at such a time? How could he be so tactless?”
“Humph, when has he ever been tactful?” Su E’mei replied.
“You’re right,” Wei Xiaozhuang replied, suddenly unable to continue as the image of the shabby Taoist priest clad in brown digging his nose and scratching his toes appeared in his mind. He realized that Su E’mei’s statement was incredibly accurate and irrefutable.
Su’mei stopped all of a sudden.
So did Wei Xiaozhuang.
Su E’mei did not speak.
Surprisingly, so did Wei Xiaozhuang.
A person stood suspended in mid-air right in front of them, his Spiritual Master Realm powers in complete display. He grinned as he looked as Su Emei and Wei Xiaozhuang, as if he had just noticed two small mice who had run into a mousetrap on their own accord. “My two young friends, why aren’t you in Pinglu, and why have you come to this dangerous place?”
He sounded extremely pleased and happy to have a chance to get revenge.
He was Zhang Jiuling, the leader of Penglai.
After the battle of Qingshui Villa, the Penglai Taoist Sect was forced to retreat to Penglai Island. To reorganize the Taoist Sects of Pinglu, Li Ye allowed Su E’mei and Wei Xiaozhuang to set up the Quanzhen Temple.
It was also because of the rise of Quanzhen Temple in Pinglu that caused all Taoist temples under Penglai to fall under its control. Without the worship from these temples, the state of Penglai was understandably weakened.
To break out of this bad state, Zhang Jiuling had once thought about making peace with Li Ye and to help him achieve hegemony. However, Zhang was unable to accept the attitude, or rather the methods, Li Ye used against the Taoist sects.
Eventually, he sent his Senior Priestess to act as Li Ye’s bodyguard, along with the Junior Priestess. He had no choice, as he did not want to go all out against Li Ye, and if there were any movement against his sect, he would have been able to retreat in one piece, with the aid of the Priestesses’ skills.
Zhang Jiuling still hated Li Ye, as did he hated Chu Nanhuai, Su E’mei, and Wei Xiaozhuang. If Chu Nanhuai had not helped Li Ye, and if Su Emei and Wei Xiaozhuang had not set up the accursed Quanzhen Temple in Pinglu, would the Penglai Taoist Sect have fallen to such lows?
Now, it was time for the Taoist sects to go all out against Li Ye, and it was understandable why he was talking in such a manner to Su E’mei and Wei Xiaozhuang. At this moment, he was intent on killing them.
Wouldn’t it be so easy for him, with his Spiritual Master Realm of cultivation, to slay Su E’mei and Wei Xiaozhuang?
“Are you really trying to stop us?” Su E’mei asked, a flash of murderous aura appearing in her eyes.
Zhang Jiuling replied calmly, “Taoists are cultivators, and cultivators possess power. We should be above civilians. The purpose of Taoist sects is to fight over the world and to help the Immortal Court control all life, to ensure that the people will continue to worship in our shrines and that the Immortal Court will continue to enjoy their offerings. It is only by doing so that the Immortals can recognize Taoists. After a few lifetimes, we’ll have the chance to attain immortality.”
“As opposed to you people, who treat the civilians who are sick, and rid them of all disasters, while mixing with them and acting no differently from farmers. What’s the point of having a strong level of cultivation? What’s the point of that if you’ll die in 100 years’ time? You people have gone against the rules of all Taoist sects and disrupted our order. It’s blasphemy!”
Wei Xiaozhuang was not angry at all upon hearing Zhang’s words. Instead, he looked eager and tilted his head to seek Su E’mei’s approval. “Senior, he’s trying to engage me in the debate!”
His favorite past time was to debate. To put it bluntly, he loved to argue. It was where he derived pleasure from.
Wei Xiaozhuang had done a lot over the past few years to ensure that Quanzhen Temple continued to expand in Pinglu. He would frequently walk into a Taoist temple and engage the Taoist priests in the debate, eventually convincing temples that used to worship Penglai and view of Quanzhen Temple as the enemy over a few days, to follow him.
Now, however, was obviously not the time for reasoning. Su E’mei glared at him, and he understood, eventually stopping himself begrudgingly from debating with Zhang Jiuling.
“The Buddhists have emerged, and if the Taoist sects are far-sighted, they shouldn’t be trying to kill Li Ye like them,” Su E’mei replied slowly.
Zhang Jiuling shook his sleeves and replied disdainfully, “What do you kids know!”
Su E’mei drew her long sword from its scabbard suddenly.
At the same time, Wei Xiaozhuang struck.
...
Li Ye took in a deep breath and slowly absorbed the pill into his stomach. Spiritual Qi surged in his body, and he gazed in front of him to see the 36 arhats, who were scattered across the night sky like 36 constellations.
The deaths of the 18 Guardian Deities were a lesson from the arhats. They waited patiently and did not attack rashly, only unleashing their powers of cultivation to suppress their opponent.
The 18 Guardian Deities were indeed powerful. After all, they were the strongest among all Buddhists in the Tang Empire, and they have been lying in wait for the past eight centuries. Their formation was also profound, and Li Ye had not been severely injured after destroying it quickly because of his immense experience in battle and also due to the kasaya left behind by Fa Yi.
The only problem was that Li Ye had no time to infuse more Spiritual Qi into the kasaya. It could not be done with just a thought, and the 36 arhats would definitely now allow him such time.
Li Ye advanced slowly with the Luke Sword in hand. The combined might of 36 Spiritual Masters was definitely not as simple as double that of the 18 Guardian Deities.
He had never seen their formation in action before, but it was not hard to imagine how powerful a formation made by the 36 Guardian Deity Realm experts could be. Li Ye being a Spiritual Pool Master aside, even a Divine Yin God would not possibly dare to charge directly into their formation and allow them to unleash their skills on him, in the hopes that he could patiently wait to break them.
That was akin to courting death.
Li Ye looked westward.
He did not know how far Shangguan Qingcheng was still from Li Yan. Was the Fengxiang army planning to move tonight, or was it preparing to strike tomorrow morning?
The only thing Li Ye was sure was that Li Yan was still not taken hostage by Li Changyan. If that had happened, the Black Office would have sent a message to him. Even though he did not have any of their experts with him, he was not traveling secretly. The Black Office would have informed him about such important news.
“Chencang...” Li Ye sighed gently.
At this moment, Li Ye suddenly felt his situation to be comedic.
After transmigrating to this world, his sole goal was to accomplish the work of a True Dragon. He did not wish to contribute much to the Tang Empire, and was even waiting for it to crumble, so that he would have a chance to accomplish his goals. As things progressed, however, everyone came to think of him as the backbone of the Tang Empire, and that he was a loyal and gutsy servant of the empire.
Tian Lingzi, who wanted to wield the most influence in the empire, and the feudal princes, Taoist sects and Buddhists, who wanted to destroy it, viewed of him as a villainous public enemy. The cause of this was because they thought that there was still a chance of the Tang Empire surviving, as long as Li Ye did. They believed that he could suppress the vassal states and quell the rebellions, preventing the Taoists and Buddhists from rising.
Who told him to break through Tongguan, kill Huang Chao and restore Chang’an? Who wouldn’t view of him as an enemy after he did all that?
Was this not very similar to Li Xian’s situation?
Li Ye had not expected all of this to happen. Even if he did, what could he do? Do nothing? It was akin to dying a slow death.
Li Ye suddenly realized that Li Xian used to be honored as a loy-->>