Chapter 235: The Plum Blossom Sage

The white-haired Taoist was greatly startled. He never expected that the “T” which was about to reach his hand would suddenly explode. Uttering the word “Lin!” he saw a round golden light disk appear abruptly before him. At the same time, his body transformed into a wisp of blue smoke, rapidly retreating backward.

The elderly man in black robes exploded into a cloud of blood mist. Those nearby, unsure of what had happened, reacted just like the Taoist, quickly activating their protective artifacts and scattering in all directions.

Within the blood mist, a halo flickered several times before suddenly taking human form—none other than Tao Zhongwen. His figure transformed into a streak of bright light, directly aiming for the people behind, with his target clearly being Mei Qing.

Although Mei Qing had regained his senses by then, his body remained quite weak. No one else was nearby except Lu Zeyou, who was supporting him.

Mei Qing sighed softly. With no choice but to summon his remaining courage for another attempt, he suddenly felt a hand gently pat the crown of his head from behind. He heard the word “Jin!” and immediately felt his entire body tighten. In an instant, all his inner energy was sealed, unable to move even a bit.

Startled, Mei Qing saw Lu Zeyou shaking his head with a sigh, saying, “Unexpectedly, even such a small matter requires me to personally intervene.”

With that, the previously seemingly frail scholar, who had shown no signs of any inner energy, suddenly extended his hand toward the approaching Tao Zhongwen and shouted, “Chi!”

Tao Zhongwen, who had been nearing Mei Qing and had a look of triumph on his face, suddenly wore a very strange expression. His body, unable to stop itself, continued straight ahead and was instantly grabbed by Lu Zeyou around the neck, suspended in midair. His eyes wide open, he stammered, “You… you… how could you…”

Lu Zeyou snorted, saying, “Useless fellow!”

Then, with a wave of his robe sleeve, he suddenly enveloped both Mei Qing and Tao Zhongwen into it. With the other hand, he formed a mystical seal and shouted, “Feng Xing!”

Instantly, the several nightmare spirits that had previously been struggling within the entanglements of Zhang Yuchong and Master Ku suddenly became extremely violent. They instantly broke free from the two men’s constraints and charged in all directions.

Everyone was greatly alarmed. Taken by surprise, they had no time to react and were sent flying backward by the nightmare spirits. Seeing Mei Qing captured, they were both anxious and furious, quickly forming formations with those nearby to try to stop the enemy.

“Amituofo!” Seeing the worsening situation, several high-ranking Buddhist monks simultaneously called out the holy name and joined forces to form a formation, forcefully trapping two of the nightmare spirits within it.

Everyone was in a flurry. Fortunately, although the nightmare spirits had become much more powerful after their sudden frenzy, they lacked guidance from a mastermind behind the scenes and attacked without any pattern. After being trapped for a while, they gradually lost strength and were finally subdued and sealed by the group.

“Where is Mei Qing?” Lu Bing’s Taoist robe was torn in several places, his expression quite grim, clearly having suffered significant impact. As soon as the situation stabilized, he hurriedly asked Zhang Yuchong.

Zhang Yuchong’s expression was no better. He shook his head, saying, “I can’t find him, and I can’t sense which way he went. Both Tao and Duan are gone as well. Who was that guy? His skills are so high!”

Lu Bing knew he was referring to Lu Zeyou. He sighed bitterly, saying, “Lu is one of my officers in the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but he’s a civilian official with no known cultivation background. His family history is clean, and we’ve never seen anything suspicious about him before. We only brought him along to handle local government affairs. How could he… unless there’s some kind of unexpected transformation. We’ll need to investigate this later.”

Zhang Yuchong also shook his head, then looked around at the others and said, “This time we’ve really embarrassed ourselves. So many of us let the enemy escape without a trace while we lost several of our own.”

Lu Bing’s face was like iron. After a moment of silence, he turned to the large man with copper-colored skin beside him and asked, “How is Zhang the Taoist from Longmen?”

The big man replied, “Zhang the Taoist exchanged a direct blow with Tao Zhongwen and was seriously injured, but fortunately his golden core wasn’t severely damaged. However… Lord Liu didn’t make it.”

Zhang Yuchong looked somber and said, “None of us expected the Heaven Net Formation to suddenly appear, and that Tao Zhongwen would strike Lord Liu first… Although that female practitioner named Sun Bu’er suddenly showed up and took the blow for him, she couldn’t withstand Tao Zhongwen’s full power attack. Besides… it seems Lord Liu wasn’t particularly attached to the mortal world to begin with. Even if there were ways… he might not have wanted to stay.”

Lu Bing’s hatred deepened. He then heard the distant wailing of Bi Zhen rushing toward them, which only caused his frown to deepen further.

After being sealed, Mei Qing didn’t lose consciousness. Instead, he felt his spirit was very strange, as if somewhat detached from his physical body. He didn’t feel confined, but couldn’t control his body either, like a third party quietly watching Lu Zeyou first wrap himself and Tao Zhongwen into his large sleeve, then use magic to incite the nightmare spirits’ madness. While everyone was busy dealing with the chaos, Lu Zeyou then picked up Duan Chaoyong, threw out a cloud-like magical artifact, and disappeared into the wind and fog, escaping danger and hiding his presence as he flew eastward.

Mei Qing felt the wind rushing past him from outside the sleeve, clearly indicating extremely fast flight. He saw Tao Zhongwen and Duan Chaoyong beside him, obviously unconscious, completely motionless under Lu Zeyou’s control.

Mei Qing thought for a moment and tried to activate his golden core. However, as soon as his spiritual awareness entered his consciousness sea, a tremendous force came rushing in. Countless thoughts and memories suddenly flooded in like a tidal wave. A massive influx of text, sounds, images, and various pieces of information simultaneously surged like a raging sea, filling his consciousness. Instantly, his head was overwhelmed with unbearable pressure, as if thousands of blades were wildly slashing and chopping inside his skull, nearly causing him to faint.

The worst part was that he couldn’t control his body at all. Even wanting to faint was impossible. He felt his very essence was like a small boat in a violent sea, tossed up and down on the waves, constantly at risk of being shattered; or like a flickering candle in howling northern winds, unstable and wavering. Mei Qing knew that one wrong thought at this moment would result in his spirit being completely shattered. He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to concentrate all his spiritual awareness, enduring the excruciating pain, barely maintaining that tiny glimmer of consciousness.

However, the tide of information was like a waterfall of raging torrents, endless and unrelenting. As time passed, Mei Qing’s spiritual awareness gradually became blurred. Realizing the danger, he gave himself a mental jolt, scolding himself for being so foolish. In this situation, how could he possibly rely solely on his own strength to stabilize his mind and suppress these intrusive thoughts? The image of Master Ku’s wise eyes flashed in his mind, and then he heard a verse echoing like a great bell in his ears:

I see the Yellow River’s waters, how many times have they run clear?

The current flows like an arrow, and human life is like drifting reeds.

Ignorance is the root of all delusion, and love is the pit of suffering.

How many cycles of rebirth must pass before one escapes the darkness?

With the continuous chanting of the verse, Mei Qing’s turbulent spiritual awareness gradually calmed. A sense of realization emerged in his heart. Although the small boat of his mind still floated up and down in the violent waves, it no longer faced the danger of capsizing. It drifted with the waves, enduring the wind and rain, gradually returning to calm.

When Mei Qing finally regained full control of his mind and restored calm, he noticed that his body had also returned to normal. The restriction placed upon him had loosened considerably. However, as soon as he tried to think about the massive amount of information from earlier, his head began to throb painfully again. This time, he almost cried out in pain, but he quickly caught himself, closed his mouth tightly, stabilized his mind, temporarily suppressed his thoughts, and stopped considering anything else. As he quietly recovered his cultivation, he began to observe his surroundings and noticed that Lu Zeyou had somehow flown into a mountain range.

Knowing he was in a dangerous place, Mei Qing dared not act recklessly and simply observed quietly. He felt as if they had passed through a barrier. Mei Qing could sense the unique energy fluctuations of the restriction briefly flash past him before he found himself inside a cave dwelling.

Although it was called a cave dwelling, this place somewhat resembled the location where he had previously encountered Bi Zhen’s grandmother—it was more like a mountain villa. However, compared to the villa belonging to Bi Zhen’s grandmother, this place was clearly much simpler, with only a few stone rooms and a few mountain springs. The spiritual energy here was very dense, making it an excellent place for cultivation.

Soon after, he felt his body lighten and then felt something hard beneath him, realizing that Lu Zeyou had already released them from his sleeve. Mei Qing remained motionless, carefully extending his spiritual awareness outward. After a brief scan, he understood that although they were no longer inside the sleeve, this place was clearly under another rather complex formation.

Mei Qing was momentarily stunned. This formation was very peculiar, and he should have never seen it before. Yet, for some unknown reason, as soon as his spiritual awareness touched it, he immediately recognized the formation’s core and its pattern of transformation. Without dwelling on why, Mei Qing quickly seized the opportunity to observe the formation’s strengths and weaknesses.

The white-haired Taoist was utterly shocked, never expecting that T, which was almost within his grasp, would suddenly explode. With a shout of “Lin!”, a circular golden disk abruptly appeared before him, and his form transformed into a wisp of green smoke as he swiftly retreated.

The black-robed elder erupted into a cloud of blood mist, and those around, unaware of what had transpired, followed the Taoist’s lead, summoning protective artifacts and retreating in all directions.

Within the blood mist, a halo of light flickered several times before suddenly taking human form—it was Tao Zhongwen, his body transforming into a streak of bright light, heading straight towards the crowd, his target unmistakably Mei Qing.

At this moment, although Mei Qing had regained his senses, his body was still quite weak, with no one else by his side except Lu Zeyou, who was supporting him.

Mei Qing sighed softly, summoning his last reserves of courage, ready to make another stand when he suddenly felt a hand gently pat the top of his head, accompanied by the word “Jin!”. Instantly, he felt his entire body tighten, his true essence completely immobilized.

Mei Qing was astonished, but saw Lu Zeyou beside him shaking his head and sighing, “I never thought such a trivial matter would require my intervention.”

With that, Lu Zeyou, who had seemed like a frail scholar without a trace of true essence, suddenly extended his hand and shouted at the oncoming Tao Zhongwen, “Chi!”

Tao Zhongwen, who had been smiling triumphantly at the proximity of Mei Qing, suddenly wore an extremely strange expression. Unable to stop his momentum, he crashed straight into Lu Zeyou, who grabbed him by the neck, suspending him in mid-air. Tao Zhongwen, still wide-eyed, stammered, “You… you… how could… this…”

Lu Zeyou snorted, “Useless fool!”

With that, his robe sleeves unfurled, suddenly enveloping both Mei Qing and Tao Zhongwen. With a gesture of his other hand, he shouted, “Execute!”

The nightmare spirits, which had been struggling under the combined efforts of Zhang Yuchong and the Master of Suffering, suddenly became extremely violent, breaking free from their restraints and charging in all directions.

Zhang Yuchong and the others were shocked, but the sudden turn of events left them no time to react. They were each sent flying back by the nightmare spirits. Seeing Mei Qing captured, they were both anxious and furious, quickly forming defensive formations with those around them.

“Amitabha!” Seeing the dire situation, several Buddhist monks simultaneously chanted the Buddha’s name, joining forces to form a powerful array, trapping two of the nightmare spirits within.

After much chaos, the nightmare spirits, though greatly enhanced in power after their sudden frenzy, lacked any guiding force behind their attacks, which were disorganized. After some time, they gradually weakened and were finally subdued and sealed by the group.

“Where is Mei Qing?” Lu Bing, his Taoist robe torn in several places and his face grim, likely having suffered significant shock, asked Zhang Yuchong as soon as the situation stabilized.

Zhang Yuchong, equally disheveled, shook his head, “I can’t find him, nor can I sense where he went. Both Tao and Duan are also missing. Who is that guy? His methods are incredibly advanced!”

Lu Bing knew he was referring to Lu Zeyou and said with a bitter smile, “Master Lu was originally a civil official in our Jinyiwei, with no cultivation at all. Moreover, his background is clean, and we’ve never seen any issues with him. We brought him along this time only to deal with local officials. How could he… unless… there’s been some mutation. This matter needs to be investigated later.”

Zhang Yuchong also shook his head, looking around at the group, “This time, we’ve truly been humiliated. With so many of us, we let the enemy escape without a trace, and we’ve even lost a few of our own.”

Lu Bing’s face was ashen, silent for a moment before turning to the bronze-skinned man beside him, “How is Master Zhang of Longmen?”

The man replied, “Master Zhang clashed head-on with Tao Zhongwen and was seriously injured, but fortunately, his golden core remains intact. However… Master Liu of the manor is beyond help.”

Zhang Yuchong said gloomily, “None of us expected the Heavenly Net Array to appear suddenly, and that Tao Zhongwen would target Master Liu first… Although a woman named Sun Bu’er suddenly appeared and took the blow for him, it was still hard to withstand Tao Zhongwen’s full force. Moreover… Master Liu seemed not to have much attachment to the mortal world, so even with his skills… it’s likely hard to keep him.”

Lu Bing’s expression grew even more hateful, and hearing Bi Zhen’s mournful cries approaching from afar, his brow furrowed even tighter.

After being immobilized, Mei Qing did not lose consciousness but found his spiritual sense strangely detached from his body, feeling unconstrained yet unable to control his body, as if he were a third party quietly observing Lu Zeyou first enveloping him and Tao Zhongwen in his sleeves, then inciting the nightmare spirits’ frenzy. Taking advantage of the chaos, Lu Zeyou also captured Duan Chaoyong, then threw out a cloud-like artifact, riding the wind and mist, swiftly escaping the danger zone, disappearing into the east.

Mei Qing felt the wind whistling outside the sleeves, indicating their rapid flight. He also saw Tao Zhongwen and Duan Chaoyong beside him, clearly unconscious, motionless within Lu Zeyou’s sleeves.

Mei Qing thought for a moment, then tried to activate his golden core. As soon as his spiritual sense entered his sea of consciousness, he felt an immense force, with various thoughts and memories suddenly flooding in like a tidal wave. A vast amount of text, sounds, images, and all sorts of information simultaneously filled his sea of consciousness, instantly causing excruciating pain, as if tens of thousands of swords were hacking at his head, nearly causing him to faint.

The worst part was that Mei Qing couldn’t control his body; he couldn’t even faint if he wanted to. His essential self felt like a small boat in a violent sea, tossed between peaks and troughs, constantly at risk of being shattered; or like a candle flame in a howling north wind, flickering precariously. Mei Qing knew that a single misstep at this moment could lead to the dissipation of his spirit, so he clenched his teeth, mustering all his spiritual sense, enduring the unbearable pain, just to maintain this faint glimmer of clarity.

However, the tide of information was endless, like a waterfall or a raging torrent. Eventually, Mei Qing’s spiritual sense began to blur, and he realized the danger. A thought struck him, and he scolded himself for being foolish—how could he possibly stabilize his mind and suppress the chaotic thoughts with his own strength? In his mind, he saw the Master of Suffering’s wise eyes and heard a verse, like a great bell, suddenly ringing in his ears:

“I see the Yellow River’s water, how many times has it been clear?

The water flows like an arrow, life is like a floating weed.

Delusion is the root of karma, desire is the pit of affliction.

Through countless cycles of rebirth, the nature of ignorance remains unresolved.”

Accompanied by the continuous chanting of the verse, Mei Qing’s frantic spiritual sense gradually calmed down, and he seemed to gain some insight. The small boat of his mind, though still tossed in the violent waves, was no longer at risk of capsizing, riding the waves up and down, enduring the wind and rain, gradually returning to calm.

When Mei Qing finally regained full control of his mind and returned to calm, he noticed that his body had also returned to normal, and the immobilizing spell had loosened significantly. However, as soon as he tried to recall the vast amount of information, he felt another wave of excruciating pain. This time, he nearly cried out, but he quickly suppressed it, stabilizing his mind, temporarily setting aside other thoughts, quietly recovering his cultivation while observing his surroundings. He then noticed that Lu Zeyou had flown into a large mountain range.

Knowing he was in a dangerous place, Mei Qing dared not act rashly and quietly observed. He felt as if he had passed through a barrier, sensing the unique fluctuations of true essence from the barrier as it flashed by, and then found himself in a cave dwelling.

Although it was called a cave dwelling, the place resembled more of a manor, similar to where he had met Bi Zhen’s grandmother, but much simpler, with only a few stone chambers and several mountain springs. However, the spiritual energy was quite dense, making it an excellent place for cultivation.

Then he felt a lightness in his body and a hardness beneath him, realizing that Lu Zeyou had released him and the others from his sleeves. Mei Qing remained motionless, cautiously extending his spiritual sense, quickly realizing that although they were out of the sleeves, the place was clearly set up with another complex array.

Mei Qing was puzzled; this array was quite peculiar, and he was sure he had never seen it before. Yet, for some reason, as soon as his spiritual sense touched it, he immediately knew the location of its core and how it operated. Without time to ponder why, he focused on observing the array’s intricacies.

The array was laid out in a very unique manner, completely different from the Heavenly Master’s arrays taught by Zhang Yuchong, not based on the five elements, eight trigrams, four symbols, or three talents, but rather flexible and dynamic, constantly changing, with a remarkable fluidity, quite in line with the Shenxiao Thunder Method that Mei Qing had studied.

Thinking of the Shenxiao Thunder Method, Mei Qing suddenly understood, and the array became even clearer to him. With a few glances, he grasped its essence and understood its transformations. He then turned his attention to Lu Zeyou.

Lu Zeyou stood still, his eyes scanning the manor, seemingly deep in thought, his expression shifting between joy and sorrow.

As Mei Qing observed Lu Zeyou, the latter, with his keen senses, immediately noticed something amiss with Mei Qing, showing a hint of surprise but taking no action, merely saying indifferently, “Since you’re already awake, why continue lying on the ground pretending to be immobilized?”

Mei Qing, knowing he had been discovered, stopped pretending, gently shaking himself and standing up. He glanced at Lu Zeyou and said with a smile, “How should I address you? Master Lu Zeyou? Or… the Plum Blossom Master Fan Wentai?”

Lu Zeyou coldly looked at Mei Qing and countered, “And how should I address you? Mei Qing, the Thousand Household? Or… Zhang Liusun, the leader of the Profound Sect?”

As soon as he thought of the Xiao lightning techniques, Mei Qing suddenly understood. Looking at the formation again, he could now see it much more clearly. After scanning it a few times, he had already grasped its general structure and the patterns of its transformations. Only then did he turn his attention to Lu Zeyou.

He saw Lu Zeyou standing there motionless, his gaze constantly shifting between the inside and outside of the mountain villa, as if lost in thought. His expression kept changing between joy and sorrow.

As Mei Qing probed Lu Zeyou’s presence, Lu detected the anomaly with great sensitivity. His face showed a trace of surprise, but he made no move, merely speaking indifferently, “Since you’ve already awakened, why bother pretending to be still under restraint by lying on the ground?”

Knowing he had been discovered, Mei Qing no longer feigned ignorance. With a slight shake, his figure stood upright on the spot. Tilting his head, he looked at Lu Zeyou a few times and smiled, saying, “How should I address you? Officer Lu Zeyou? Or… Master Mei Hua, Fan Wentai?”

Lu Zeyou cast a cold glance at Mei Qing but did not answer directly. Instead, he asked, “And how should I address you? Officer Mei Qing? Or… Zhang Liusun, the leader of the Taoist sect?”