“Foreign aid? What do you mean?”
Ji Fu and San Gu both raised their eyebrows.
“Don’t tell me you don’t know about those murders that happened earlier…”
Xin Jue smiled confidently. “It’s no secret to those of us who’ve read the original story that the Fan Sect and the barbarians wanted to force Zhang Tianxiang into rebellion, causing a major catastrophe in the Central Plains… After Zhang Tianxiang fiercely counterattacked, how could he possibly forgive the mastermind behind it all?”
“Those barbarians have their headquarters in the Western Regions, which we can’t do much about for now, but isn’t the Dragon-Tamer Sage the leader of the monks in Xijing?”
“That would indeed be an excellent ally!”
After a moment of contemplation, San Gu and Ji Fu both nodded. “But how should we approach this?”
Xin Jue’s lips curled slightly. “How about we just tell him directly?”
…
When Zhang Tianxiang returned, he immediately saw the long-awaiting San Gu and Xin Jue. Only then did a faint smile appear on his stiff face: “So it’s you two!”
“Big Brother Zhang, long time no see!”
Xin Jue led Zhang Tianxiang into the secret room first, then quickly got to the point.
“What? You want to kill the Dragon-Tamer Sage? Why?”
Zhang Tianxiang’s expression changed visibly. “Although I’ve only been here for a short time, I’ve heard of the reputation of the Dragon-Tamer Master of the Arhat Monastery. How dare you act so recklessly? Don’t you want to live anymore?”
“Actually, this person has a major grudge with us. Moreover, do you know the background of the monk you recently killed?”
San Gu smiled faintly. “That monk was named Fayin, directly under the Dragon-Tamer Master. You could say there’s no lack of enmity between you and him.”
Upon hearing this, Zhang Tianxiang’s face suddenly darkened.
The emperor had exiled him to the Western Regions. Although he was reluctant to go, he had a family business to protect. If he didn’t want disaster to befall the Zhang family in Qingzhu Commandery or immediately rise in rebellion, he naturally had to obey the imperial decree.
Without being pushed to the brink, he had never considered taking such a drastic step.
However, after agreeing to the exile, the court forced him to depart immediately, not even giving him time to return home, which left him feeling deeply resentful.
At this moment, the Dragon-Tamer Sage had simply walked right into the line of fire.
“There’s still one key issue!”
He wasn’t an impulsive fool. Looking at the three of them, his voice grew heavy: “Who exactly are you? Why are you helping me?”
He paused, then continued: “You don’t have to hide it from me. I have connections and have already checked the documents at the Ministry of Justice. In recent years, many unusual people have appeared across the land, acting recklessly and without restraint. Could you be referring to them?”
Xin Jue and the others exchanged glances, somewhat taken aback.
They naturally knew these “unusual people” referred to the Revenants, but they hadn’t expected them to be so active. Not only were there Revenants on Zhang Tianxiang’s route; judging from his tone, in the past three years, Revenants had appeared all over the country.
Hearing this, Zhang Tianxiang recalled the content of the documents, his heart filled with unease.
This group of Revenants appeared too mysteriously. Even cultivators couldn’t trace their origins. In fact, when captured, even if subjected to severe torture or mind-control techniques that would force them to reveal secrets, they often committed suicide in bizarre ways, leaving no clues at all.
Such a terrifying force naturally caused him great fear.
“Actually…”
Xin Jue hesitated slightly before speaking. “Have you ever felt that the world you live in is an illusion?”
“Illusion?”
Zhang Tianxiang wanted to laugh, but couldn’t muster even a hint of a smile.
In contrast, Ji Fu and San Gu, listening to Xin Jue’s words, were almost scared to death.
“Wait, no!”
Ji Fu was the first to react. “Revenants are strictly forbidden from revealing information about the Core Temple and the real world to scenario characters, or they will be erased! But there’s no rule against revealing secrets of their own world to plot characters!”
“I can only say so much. If Brother Zhang can accept this, we can continue…”
Xin Jue smiled slightly, speaking with a sense of resolve.
Zhang Tianxiang originally thought this was nonsense, but for some reason, a sudden, overwhelming terror gripped his heart, causing the hairs on his back to stand on end.
“If this world is an illusion, then who are they?”
Throughout history, brilliant minds often pondered philosophical questions like “Who am I?” and “Where do I come from?” and were deeply troubled by them.
Zhang Tianxiang was the protagonist of “The Records of the Western Regions of the Great Zhou Dynasty,” so his intelligence was beyond question. Thinking along these lines, he felt an intense sense of dread, and cold sweat poured down.
“Everyone… I need to calm myself. I’ll take my leave first!”
He bowed, stepped outside, and looked at the warm sunlight, the flowers and grass in the courtyard, the fish, insects, birds, and beasts, suddenly feeling disoriented: “How could this world, so real and tangible, possibly be false? I suppose I should read more of the sages’ books, solidify my thoughts, and not be frightened by a single word from those unusual people…”
“What are you doing, Xin Jue?”
As soon as Zhang Tianxiang left, Ji Fu and San Gu, along with several Revenants, immediately confronted him. “Do you want to get us all killed?”
“Don’t worry, I value my own life very much…”
Xin Jue nonchalantly dug into his ear. “I’ll only tell Zhang Tianxiang what can be said. As for our identities and origins, he’ll have to figure those out for himself!”
“Isn’t that great? With me taking the lead, you can also test the limits of the Core Temple…”
He sneered, that kind of extreme rationality mixed with madness making Ji Fu shudder inwardly. Suddenly, a thunderclap of realization struck his mind: “Could it be that he wants to…”
…
Outside Xijing, at the Arhat Monastery.
“This is the place!”
Zhang Tianxiang and Ji Fu, in dark clothing, took advantage of the cover of night to sneak here.
Although the big question Xin Jue posed had unsettled his mind, Zhang Tianxiang was still a heroic figure of his generation. He immediately pushed those thoughts aside and readily agreed to the plan to team up and kill the Dragon-Tamer Sage.
Of course, he wasn’t a fool. He had already investigated the relationship between Fayin and the Dragon-Tamer Sage beforehand.
Unfortunately, these Revenants weren’t lying at all. Instead, they had openly laid everything out, revealing that the Fan Sect was plotting against him. Even the imperial examination had been manipulated by them, causing him to face danger multiple times. This ignited Zhang Tianxiang’s murderous intent uncontrollably.
“After taking down the four gates of Xijing, they won’t open again until tomorrow. We have all night!”
Zhang Tianxiang’s eyes were deep and dark.
His martial arts skills had progressed rapidly, and now he was almost at the level of a half-step martial sage. As long as he wasn’t surrounded by a large army, in such a forested area, he could fully utilize his abilities.
“We’ve already inquired. This Dragon-Tamer Sage is in the Arhat Monastery, presiding over the Arhat Hall, commanding eighteen martial monks known as the Eighteen Arhats. Fayin was the leader of the Eighteen Arhats!”
Ji Fu whispered softly. “With our strength, eliminating everyone below the Dragon-Tamer Sage won’t be a problem at all. However, Brother Zhang still needs to be cautious of those monks’ evil techniques! I have several talismans here to calm your mind. Brother Zhang, please take them with you!”
Upon hearing this, Zhang Tianxiang solemnly nodded.
Back in Qingzhu Commandery, whether it was Daoist magic, sorcery, or the Chan techniques of the Fan Sect, none of them had much effect on him, so he originally had no concerns.
But that day, when Fayin cast his spell, he became somewhat vigilant.
In fact, Zhang Tianxiang was overthinking. With his half-step martial sage status, very few ordinary sorceries or magical techniques could affect him. Not to mention that he now carried the Dragon’s Blessing, which was the bane of all magical arts and techniques!
Previously, Fayin’s successful strike was due to the perfect timing and the secret interference of the Fan God, which was further complicated by Wu Ming’s prior arrangements.
Now that fate has been decided, the Fan God can no longer interfere. Ordinary magical techniques are truly nothing to worry about.
“Go!”
These Revenants were all quite cunning. At this moment, in order to complete their mission, they didn’t care about the means. Two of them with excellent lightness kung fu first sneaked into the monastery, found the side rooms, and lit the incense.
Creak!
As the group arrived at the back gate of the monastery, they heard a sound. The gate was opened from the inside. San Gu waved her hand: “Hurry up!”
Ji Fu and Xin Jue took the lead without hesitation. After plugging their noses with pills, they quietly opened the side room and saw a row of monks sleeping soundly. The air was filled with the scent of sandalwood.
Their eyes flashed with a ruthless light as they directly drew their long knives.
Plop!
Blood splattered!
Although the Arhat Monastery had martial monks, how could they have imagined someone would dare to commit such a brazen massacre right under the emperor’s nose? Using incense, a despicable method, caught them completely off guard, resulting in heavy casualties.
However, the Revenants had no qualms and continued to check each room one by one.
Bang!
Suddenly, a roar came from the main hall, and two Revenants flew out, their brains splattering, clearly dead.
“Amitabha Buddha!”
An old monk with white eyebrows and beard walked out from the main hall, roaring like a lion: “Who dares to commit such a crime against our ancestral temple?”
His voice was deep and resonant, like a large bell, spreading far and wide, as if he could awaken all the monks in the temple to raise their defenses. However, he saw black-clothed figures emerging from the shadows, even from the side rooms, their faces twisted with cruel smiles, their hands still holding blood-stained long knives. Seeing this, he couldn’t help but be furious: “Bandits!”
“Hmph!”
Zhang Tianxiang didn’t respond. He snorted coldly, directly stepping forward with his sword, creating a dazzling halo of sharp light.
“Arhat True Dharma!”
The Dragon-Tamer Sage joined his palms, emitting a halo of Buddhist light from his body, his muscles as solid as steel, gleaming with a bronze luster.
He formed a mudra with his hands, and a dense golden bell-like light suddenly appeared, descending from above. However, it was instantly shattered by the sword qi, causing the Dragon-Tamer Sage to exclaim in shock: “Dragon Qi!”
This sudden change caught him off guard. Despite the Dragon-Tamer Sage’s quick reaction, his shoulder was still struck by the sword, blood gushing like a spring.
Dragon Qi suppresses the five elements and prohibits all magical arts. This is especially true since Zhang Tianxiang is the protagonist of the calamity, possessing immense fortune that even surpasses that of ordinary immortals.
To confuse him with Buddhist techniques, unless it’s the will of heaven or the Fan God personally intervenes, it’s impossible.
The Dragon-Tamer Sage quickly retreated, shooting out iron Bodhi seeds from his hands to fight with secular martial arts.
“Attack together and kill this bald donkey!”
Beside him, Ji Fu and Xin Jue roared, watching other Revenants charge forward with bloodshot eyes, their expressions heavy with seriousness.
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