“You are Zhang Tianxiang!”
The Dragon-Subduing Patriarch radiated golden light; his Arhat True Form had clearly reached a stage of great accomplishment.
Upon witnessing Zhang Tianxiang’s martial arts skills and character, especially that aura of dragon energy surrounding him, the Patriarch immediately recalled something and cried out in shock.
“You damned monk! You plotted against me, but I won’t let you survive tonight!”
Zhang Tianxiang sneered, his long sword emitting faint glimmers of light. In an instant, he thrust thirteen times, each strike more precise and treacherous than the last, like a venomous snake.
Since he already knew the monk’s abilities were mostly suppressed by his own, what did he have to fear?
Halt! Guardian Vajra! Arhat Divine Strike!
Though the Dragon-Subduing Patriarch appeared venerable and aged, he now roared fiercely, his golden body surging with vitality, rivaling any youth.
As he shouted, he somehow activated a secret technique, his hands forming lotus-like seals, striking out at an inconceivable speed, shattering the sky filled with sword shadows.
“Bravo!”
The ferocity of the scene caused Ji Fu and the others at the periphery to secretly stick out their tongues in awe.
This Dragon-Subduing Patriarch alone had martial skills nearly reaching the level of a martial sage! If not for his inability to use Buddhist divine abilities, they wouldn’t have stood a chance even with several lives.
“Inviting Zhang Tianxiang here to suppress this monk’s divine powers with his fortune was indeed an extremely wise decision!”
Just as San Gu and the other reincarnators were feeling relieved, the situation on the battlefield suddenly changed again!
“Dragon and Elephant Divine Art!”
The Dragon-Subduing Patriarch’s eyes flickered with a vitreous hue, and a golden Buddhist light appeared on his body, with illusory images of a dragon and an elephant roaring behind him before disappearing into his body.
Boom!
A powerful gust of air exploded outward; his muscles swelled, and his stature grew several feet taller, as if he had transformed into a small giant.
Zhang Tianxiang, protected by dragon energy, was immune to all other techniques, but divine arts could still affect him directly!
This Dragon and Elephant Divine Art could grant the recipient the strength of one dragon and one elephant, requiring extremely profound Buddhist cultivation.
Despite this, Zhang Tianxiang’s shout still hindered the Patriarch’s divine power, significantly reducing its effectiveness, prompting a silent sigh from the latter.
Nevertheless, even diminished, the divine art was still sufficient!
With a punch to the sword, a loud noise erupted, Zhang Tianxiang’s sword was knocked aside, and he swiftly retreated, his face flushed with an unnatural redness.
“External demon, know that even the Buddha has wrathful manifestations!”
The Dragon-Subduing Patriarch seized a fleeing reincarnator, tore him in half with his bare hands, splattering blood and entrails all over himself. Drenched in gore, he resembled a blood-soaked demon more than a venerable monk.
Bang! Bang!
Fueled by bloodlust, he grabbed a pillar as thick as a waist, and with a mighty roar, uprooted it, swung it around like a heavy weapon.
Peng!
Another reincarnator didn’t even have time to scream before being crushed into a pulp.
“Damn! What a fierce monk!”
Xin Jue bit his thumb, his face showing deep pain, as he pulled out three black pill-like objects from his pocket and threw them to the ground.
Bang!
From the white smoke emerged several golden-armored puppets rushing toward the Dragon-Subduing Patriarch.
“What are you waiting for? Use all your hidden cards!”
Xin Jue’s face twisted with fury: “If you miss tonight, do you think you’ll have another chance?”
Hearing this, Ji Fu gritted his teeth, took out a flying sword, bit his tongue, and spat a mouthful of essence blood onto it.
This was an unconventional method he had learned from Chi Jing’er’s sword techniques, otherwise, as an ordinary martial artist, how could he wield a flying sword as naturally as his own limbs?
Xiu xiu!
The flying sword, soaked in essence blood, suddenly flew up into the air, transforming into a red line piercing toward the Dragon-Subduing Patriarch.
Pu pu!
Shards of stone flew as the sword, a true artifact, struck the Patriarch, who was entangled by the puppets and attacked by the flying sword, forcing him to rely on the pillar for defense, which was now marked with several deep cuts, dust flying everywhere.
“Die, you damned monk!”
At this moment, Zhang Tianxiang had already regulated his inner energy and charged forward with his sword.
Although the reincarnators were suffering heavy casualties, the situation seemed to finally tilt in their favor.
“Everyone, push harder! This old monk won’t last much longer!”
Seeing this, San Gu was overjoyed, took out a brocade handkerchief, muttered incantations, and a pink mist emerged, enveloping the Dragon-Subduing Patriarch.
“Daoist magic? No… it’s similar but different!”
Ji Fu and Xin Jue narrowed their eyes: “Time flies; we never expected San Gu to have another hidden trick…”
“Witch!”
Once surrounded by the pink mist, the Dragon-Subduing Patriarch’s steps faltered slightly. Unable to dodge, he was grabbed around the waist by two puppets and struck on the shoulder by the flying sword, leaving him bleeding profusely.
“Hehe… baldy, having succumbed to my ‘Erosive Bone Fragrance Cloud,’ do you still think you can hold on? Fall down for me… ah!”
As San Gu laughed and moved forward, whip in hand, intending to finish off the Dragon-Subduing Patriarch, a streak of black light suddenly shot toward her, taking the form of a black dragon, causing her to scream and fly backward.
“Hmm?”
Ji Fu’s hair stood on end. Looking ahead, he saw San Gu already dead, an iron claw embedded in her forehead, piercing through her skull, clearly the weapon that had killed her.
“What a deadly hidden weapon!”
Zhang Tianxiang also took several steps back, clearly aware that if that black streak had been aimed at him instead, he wouldn’t have much confidence in dodging it.
“Cough… cough…”
The Dragon-Subduing Patriarch had thrown the claw but was struck by another sword blow. Suddenly, he discarded the stone pillar, leaned against the wall, coughing blood: “If not for the protection of the dragon fortune, my Dragon-Subduing Claw artifact alone would have taken all your lives!”
“Now, monk, it’s your turn to die!”
Xin Jue suddenly shouted: “Explode!”
Bang! Bang! The meticulously crafted puppets exploded into flames.
Amidst the rolling black flames and flying debris, he charged forward, his body seemingly turning into a line, a short sword appearing in his hand, directly piercing into the Dragon-Subduing Patriarch’s throat.
“Gurgle… gurgle…”
The Dragon-Subduing Patriarch’s face showed terror as he barely pushed Xin Jue away with one palm, yet blood gushed from his vital spot.
Moreover, with the loss of his essence blood, his body seemed to deflate like a deflated balloon, reverting to the emaciated old monk, gasping for breath, his claw-like hand reaching out, suddenly tilting his head and dying.
“Hahaha… you finally died by my hand!”
Xin Jue’s mouth was bleeding, yet he laughed heartily, unceremoniously rushing toward San Gu’s body, pulling out the Dragon-Subduing Claw from her forehead and placing it into his pocket.
[Ding! Main mission completed, all Reincarnators will return within twelve hours!]
The temple’s announcement appeared, prompting Ji Fu to let out a long sigh of relief, watching Xin Jue’s actions with regret: “Once again, I was too slow!”
Despite this, he deeply admired the young man, who treated his own life lightly yet possessed both madness and calm wisdom, thriving in the temple like a fish in water.
“Just…”
He looked around and smiled bitterly.
The large group of reincarnators he had brought in were now half dead or injured, with many missing limbs, groaning on the ground after the Dragon-Subduing Patriarch’s massacre.
“I’m going to burn this temple down!”
Zhang Tianxiang sheathed his sword, the most composed among everyone: “Do you have anything you need to take care of?”
The temple was prosperous, especially with the eighteen bronze Arhats statues, which were a great fortune, but they were too heavy to move.
Rather, there should be some hidden treasures in the storehouse, but they were beneath Zhang Jinshi’s dignity.
“No need!”
Ji Fu gathered the injured reincarnators together, barely paying attention to the corpses of his companions, an attitude that sent a chill down Zhang Tianxiang’s spine.
“Indeed, these are strange people! Not even bothering to bury their companions, unless it’s their custom? Or perhaps they’re not familiar with each other…”
He silently pondered, more guesses arising.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Since Ji Fu and Xin Jue had taken such stances, Zhang Tianxiang naturally had nothing more to say. Soon, a flame ignited on the roof of the Arhat Meditation Courtyard, growing larger and larger until the entire temple was engulfed.
A commotion arose from the city gate of Xijing, with noises spreading, but Zhang Tianxiang and others were not worried at all.
After all, with such a massive fire, it would be like a dreamer’s fantasy to try to extinguish it alone.
Moreover, until the gates opened the next morning, even if there were many soldiers in Xijing, they could only watch helplessly at the fire.
“Quickly, leave!”
Of course, there was still the possibility of some highly skilled individuals climbing over the walls, so Zhang Tianxiang immediately chose to retreat without hesitation.
Once they escaped the scene, nothing more could be said unless caught on the spot.
As for the subsequent city lockdown and searches, for a newly appointed Jinshi, it was nothing more than a joke.
Furthermore, he was soon to be a deputy envoy to the Western Regions, and with this identity, even if he were a notorious bandit, he could hide in plain sight, passing through checkpoints without hindrance.
However, somewhat to his surprise, the group of strange individuals did not intend to continue relying on him, instead proposing to take their leave.
…
[Reincarnation number Bingzi 13, your main mission is complete, beginning the settlement!]
In a blank reincarnation space, light flashed, and Ji Fu’s figure appeared. The surrounding screens flickered, displaying scenes from his adventure in the Great Zhou Western Regions Chronicle world, followed by another screen descending:
[Main Mission: Eliminate! – Completed! Earned one thousand major merits!]
[Sub-Mission… Completed! Earned five hundred and thirty-seven minor merits!]
…
[Ding, detected resentment attached to the reincarnator. Would you like to activate the treatment system? This exorcism will cost three hundred major merits!]
“Resentment?”
Ji Fu had been delighted to have completed the mission unscathed, but upon seeing this prompt, he was greatly startled.
After a careful check, he jumped in shock: “The resentment from a dying Buddhist high monk’s last thoughts, a curse technique? Being attached by this is quite troublesome… Remove it! Must remove it!”
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage