Chapter 1763: Purging Dissenters (I)

The hand fled wildly through the air, pursued by two layers of hazy gray light. Changyun needed only a single glance to understand what was happening.

His background was extraordinary, and he had cultivated his eyes with special spirit items. Combined with the exceedingly high-grade art he practiced, even a Grand Daoist Master using transformation techniques would not be able to deceive him.

Thus, he recognized Minghui immediately. Only then did he flick his sleeve, sending a white parasol sliding out and opening in midair.

The instant the parasol opened, twelve-colored light burst from its ribs and slammed into the hazy gray light, which had appeared almost harmless. A tremendous boom rang out, and three autumn leaves as large as human heads came rustling down through the air, drifting gently on the wind.

Three winds emerged from the leaves, one blue-gray, one pitch-black, and one ashen-white. They swept down from above, making the earth tremble as black soil surged into the sky and enormous hurricanes sprang up from the ground.

These spirit winds were tremendously powerful, causing the parasol to begin creaking under the strain. Changyun's expression turned grave as he drew out a talisman between two fingers to ward off the layers of sinister mist.

Raising his other hand, he called softly, "Minghui!"

Minghui had indeed lost his entire dharma body, leaving only a single arm behind. A pair of eyes and a mouth had formed in the center of his palm, and the terror on his face was still plain to see as he cried out miserably.

"Daoist Master, save my senior brother!"

Changyun's expression suddenly grew suspicious. He asked softly, "Who is attacking you?"

Still badly shaken, Minghui replied, "You're asking me?! Who am I supposed to ask?! With [Untraceable Presence] concealing him, if you say it isn't Yang Ruiyi, then who else could it be?"

Changyun relaxed slightly. He hadn’t heard anything amiss in the other’s tone. Only after carefully examining him once more did he grip the white parasol firmly, press two fingers together, cast an incantation, and touch them to the center of his eyebrows.

He gazed into the distance with a divine ability, and found the entire area shrouded in murky gray, as though it had fallen into a ghostly realm of the Underworld. Countless skeletal wraiths crawled across the ground, tangling and piling atop one another until they formed a mountain that towered into the sky. Countless owls of every kind, black crows, and sinister birds of prey circled overhead through the gloom. Only a pale-white temple stood atop the mountain, looking as though it might collapse at any moment.

Changyun's wariness immediately intensified. He abruptly shifted his gaze in another direction, and sure enough, saw a dark Underworld bronze carriage standing at the highest point. A long bronze staircase extended downward from it, lined on both sides with green lanterns burning with pale-blue flames.

Yang Ruiyi...

Changyun frowned deeply. Holding the white parasol aloft, he steadied himself within this ghostly realm of the Underworld, yet the strangeness he felt had already reached its peak.

He had originally believed that Yang Ruiyi had thrown the full strength of Great Song northward and used Moongaze Lake to tie down Guangchan so that he could drive deep into enemy territory alone and split the east from the west. Yet even now, Yang Ruiyi himself was still here!

When Minghui and Changyun had reached their agreement, both had assumed that Yang Ruiyi would personally lead men to attack, that Minghui and his senior brother would suffer a crushing defeat, and that Changyun would receive them and save their lives. They had never expected the brothers to hold out until reinforcements arrived!

That meant the all-out efforts of Li Ximing, Tinglan, and the others had failed to buy Yang Ruiyi an opportunity to advance deep into the north. He had not even made it halfway through Jiangbei.

Once the many Daoist Masters of the north gathered, Yang Ruiyi, whose side was already at a severe disadvantage in strength, would inevitably be forced to return empty-handed. The south might even suffer a devastating loss of vital strength as a result!

Could Yang Ruiyi have tried to gain an advantage, only to suffer an even greater loss instead...

Changyun observed the mountaintop. There was hardly a living soul to be seen within the temple gleaming with radiance. The ground was strewn with the corpses of monks and scattered golden robes. Atop the mountain of bodies sat a single monk, upright and motionless. His face was deathly pale, yet he continued stubbornly chanting sutras.

It's Mingxiang.

Changyun was on good terms with Lotus Temple, so naturally he knew of this rising talent who had emerged there in recent years. Mingxiang had not gone all out during the great battle on the lake, but by Changyun's estimation, his strength was surpassed only by Guangchan and Zhelu!

Yet no matter how highly Changyun rated his strength, what he saw now still filled him with doubt. A chill ran through him as a realization struck.

There must be some trick here! The one inside isn't Yang Ruiyi!

The [Banished Essence] in Yang Ruiyi's possession was one of the Dao lineages most effective at suppressing Buddhist cultivators. Once this [Banished Essence] spirit treasure descended to suppress them, any Buddhist cultivator who was not a Maha Liangli would be completely severed from their Buddhist land and unable to borrow even the slightest bit of its power. However, Mingxiang was no Jinlian. There was no conceivable way he could have held out until now without suffering so much as a scratch!

The pitch-black Baleful Qi in the sky grew increasingly dense. Changyun abruptly looked back and saw the path by which he had come slowly vanishing, yet he did not immediately make a move to leave. Instead, a thoughtful look appeared on his face.

"Fellow Daoist Changyun!"

The alarm and suspicion had already vanished from Changyun's face. He lowered his head thoughtfully, only to see the expression on the hand inside his sleeve suddenly freeze. Crimson light flared within its two eerie eyes and shone fiercely straight into his own!

"You!"

The Daoist Master's body instantly stiffened. After a fleeting moment of hesitation, the hand gripping a talisman inside his sleeve ultimately loosened. Gritting his teeth and drawing his brows together, Changyun tightly shut his eyes and activated his divine ability!

Hiss!

Even though Changyun was a mid-stage Purple Mansion Realm cultivator with an exceptionally powerful dharma body, he could not withstand such a direct attack while completely unguarded. His gleaming silver eyes burst apart, and two trails of golden blood ran down from their corners. His eyes had been completely destroyed!

He cried out in pain, then immediately raised his hand high and struck the severed hand with his sleeve. Golden light shattered and black radiance dispersed as miserable screams echoed from every direction. In that same moment, Changyun's chance to leave this place vanished completely.

He cursed without the slightest restraint, "You actually dared deceive me with a transformation art!"

Heavy Yin Qi hung over the sky as six talismans flew one after another from behind the tightly shut bronze doors. Countless ghosts and specters spilled forth across the heavens and descended together to suppress Changyun.

The white light around the temple grew dimmer still, but with Changyun now sharing part of the pressure, it finally gained a little breathing room. Mingxiang sat cross-legged before the temple with his palms pressed together, his face filled with devotion.

Chang Yun had shattered Minghui's severed limb with a single strike, but Mingxiang showed not the slightest distress. His expression remained calm as he sneered inwardly, Junior brother, looks like he's caught on too!

As he sneered, a small piece of golden nasal bone finally became visible beneath the clothing at his chest. It hummed and trembled, transmitting Minghui's thoughts through the mystics' mana.

Changyun is no fool. He already knows the one here isn't Yang Ruiyi. We're not the only ones who hate Ch'i Lanyan. He had forcibly summoned Changyun here, so how could he possibly feel any goodwill toward the man? And he is even less willing to offend the south. So he promptly sacrificed his dharma eyes, giving himself the perfect excuse to withdraw from the front lines. Now he even has a reason for being unable to recognize Yang Ruiyi!

Changyun's dharma eyes were formidable. Sure enough, what had fallen into his arms earlier had not been some transformation art at all, but a genuine technique of Minghui himself. The two had simply been colluding in secret, all to give Changyun plausible deniability!

Now that my dharma body has been destroyed while resisting the south, master has every reason to protect us. Once [Banished Essence] seals this place off, no one will know what happened inside. How could they pin the blame on us?

Minghui’s voice turned colder as he laughed viciously. Let Dayang Mountain and Ch'i Lanyan come away empty-handed! Let Yang Ruiyi teach them a painful lesson!

Do you people of Dayang Mountain really think my senior brother and I are made of clay, to be pushed around however you please? If the two of us truly let you command us like dogs and horses, then our Virtuous Dao would have no right to stand among the Seven Dharma Forms!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.