Chapter 364

Chapter 364: Xizhou Lingshan, sneaking in, suddenly killing people

“This Xizhou has truly changed a lot. This Hanging Mountain has a grand agenda,” Lu Qing exclaimed.

He was standing outside a small city in Xizhou, before a low mountain.

Halfway up the mountain, massive construction was underway: a Buddhist temple and statues were being carved. At

the foot of the mountain, civilians were bowing their heads with every step, their faces filled with reverence as they made their way up the mountain.

Lu Qing had witnessed many such scenes on his journey.

Although he had never been to Xizhou before, he had a general understanding of it.

He knew that while there was a Buddhist faith here, it was likely not as devout as he had just witnessed.

“At this rate, it won’t be long before Hanging Mountain truly has complete control over Xizhou.”

Lu Qing knew the power of faith.

Given the methods employed by Hanging Mountain, if they were given more time, it wouldn’t be long before they completely controlled the entire Xizhou, making it impregnable.

By then, once they had freed up their forces, they would likely seek to deal with him.

“These bald asses, after tens of thousands of years, are still using the same tactics.”

“Yan,” observing the scene before him, echoed, “In the ancient era of immortal cultivation, this Western Province was the headquarters of many Buddhist sects.

Unexpectedly, this time, Xuankong Mountain has become the sole dominant force.”

“That’s not necessarily true,” Lu Qing said calmly. “If Xuankong Mountain wants to regain control of Western Province, it depends on whether it has the ability to do so.”

With that, he left with Xiao Li and continued onward.

The craftsmen building the temple and Buddha statues here were merely ordinary craftsmen, so Lu Qing naturally wouldn’t make things difficult for them.

His goal was different.

After leaving the small town, Lu Qing once again cast his spiritual talisman, moving through the mountains and forests like a wisp of gentle wind.

This time, he headed straight for the western edge of Western Province.

Now that he knew Xuankong Mountain’s intentions in Western Province, there was no need for unnecessary efforts; he could simply strike directly at the heart of the matter.

Empowered by the spiritual talisman, Lu Qing’s speed surpassed that of a Xiantian Realm cultivator.

Half a day later, he arrived at the western edge of Western Province.

Lu Qing looked forward and saw endless mountains coming into view.

The most conspicuous one was a majestic mountain that towered into the clouds, sitting right above the vast land.

The clouds and mist could only linger on the mountainside, blocking the scenery above the peak.

“Lingshan Mountain Range, I should have thought that this is the entrance to the secret realm of Xuankong Mountain.”

Lu Qing looked at the magnificent scene in front of him and thought to himself.

Although the Lingshan Mountain Range is not as vast and majestic as the Holy Mountain in Zhongzhou,

and it is also the only vast mountain range he has seen besides the Holy Mountain.

The Hundred Thousand Mountains behind Jiuli Village are much inferior to it.

“I came to this Lingshan Mountain Range once in the past.”

The figure of “Yan” also appeared beside Lu Qing, looking at the misty mountains in front of him, with an inexplicable look in his eyes.

“During the ancient era of immortal cultivation, this place was the ancestral home of Buddhism. Back then, the Lingshan Mountains were far more majestic and imposing than they are today.

Any cultivator passing through here was prohibited from flying over the area.

Failure to do so would be considered a provocation to Buddhism.”

“So these bald assholes have been this overbearing since ancient times,” Lu Qing chuckled. “As expected, if the top beam is crooked, the bottom beam will be crooked. The root is like this, how can it ever be straightened?”

“Xiao Li, let’s go.”

The soul talisman in Lu Qing’s eyebrow acupoint rippled, and then his aura began to rapidly converge, becoming almost undetectable.

Simultaneously, his figure gradually faded, eventually vanishing completely.

As for Xiao Li, it was even simpler.

With a single leap, he had already slipped into the interlayer of space, concealing himself even more thoroughly than Lu Qing.

The soul-suppressing breath technique and the invisibility talisman.

Watching Lu Qing completely conceal himself using these two techniques, Yan was filled with amazement.

Lu Qing knew so much.

The combined legacy of the Divine Talisman Sect and the Lihuo Sect had given him a command of the rune arts that rivaled his achievements in physical cultivation.

Furthermore, Lu Qing was far more cautious than it had imagined.

He had used the Transformation Technique to alter his aura, body, and appearance, donning a mask.

Now, he was employing the Breath Suppression Technique and the Invisibility Talisman to completely conceal his presence.

He was incredibly cautious.

Inexplicably, Yan felt a pity for Xuankong Mountain.

To have provoked such a powerful and cautious foe, and most importantly, their cultivation talent was incredibly powerful.

Add to that the equally elusive Night Spirit Raccoon possessing spatial talents…

Just thinking about it made Yan cringe.

It could even foresee the tragedy that would befall Xuankong Mountain.

After concealing themselves, Lu Qing led Xiao Li towards the Lingshan Mountains ahead in secret.

It wasn’t long before they reached the most majestic and towering peak.

The journey was smooth sailing.

Xuankong Mountain, after all, had only recently emerged, and the sects had recently been busy taming the numerous sects in Western Province for their own use.

They hadn’t yet begun serious construction on the Lingshan Mountain Range, not even the protective formation had been deployed, making it impossible to detect Lu Qing’s whereabouts.

As they approached the majestic mountain, the sound of a bustling crowd reached Lu Qing’s ears.

Massive construction was also underway on the mountain, with temples being built and Buddha statues carved. The scale

of the work was even greater than anything Lu Qing had witnessed elsewhere in Xizhou.

For example, from afar, he could see, atop a cliff nearly a hundred feet high, numerous artisans with martial arts skills, carving a massive, new Buddha statue.

The head alone was over ten feet tall, a truly majestic sight.

Seeing the massive, almost fully formed statue, Lu Qing felt a pang of inspiration, and quietly approached it with Xiao Li.

Before long, they reached the foot of the cliff and spotted several bald monks, dressed in red robes and with portly faces and large ears, standing before it.

Sensing their auras, Lu Qing felt a chill.

The bald monks all exuded powerful energy, the weakest of whom were at the early stage of the Xiantian realm.

The leading monk, dressed in red, exuded a harmonious aura, seemingly merging with the surroundings. He was a powerful figure at the peak of the Xiantian realm.   This was Lu Qing’s first encounter with

a peak Xiantian realm cultivator.   The Third Saint Lord encountered in Zhongzhou Holy City didn’t count.   He was using a puppet Dharmakaya, and while powerful, it was still a far cry from the true perfection of the Xiantian Realm.   Furthermore, Lu Qing had a faint sense that the red-robed monk, in addition to his powerful Qi and blood, possessed another unique aura.   This indicated that, in addition to his Xiantian perfection, he also cultivated other techniques.   Lu Qing immediately activated his supernatural powers and looked towards him.   After a few breaths, a rich golden supernatural light emerged from the red-robed monk. Simultaneously   , several notes floated out.   [Mysterious Meaning: The Great Elder of Xuankong Mountain.]   [Cultivation: Dual cultivation of physical and magical powers, achieving perfection in the Xiantian Realm.]   [Possessing rare Buddhist treasures, he possesses both offensive and defensive capabilities, and possesses formidable strength.]

Lu

Qing turned his gaze to the other bald monks. As expected, they were also elders of Xuankong Mountain.

This didn’t surprise him.

According to Yan, the four secret land forces, though hidden within the secret realms and passed down for tens of thousands of years, were

ultimately only lingering.

Even within the secret realms, they were dependent on the main world and could not completely block the infiltration of the main world’s rules.

Therefore, no overly powerful beings could be born within them.

At best, they could only reach the perfection of the Foundation Establishment stage.

Reaching the Golden Core realm was impossible.

To condense the Golden Core, those in the Foundation Establishment stage must undergo the baptism of heavenly tribulations and survive the forty-nine heavenly tribulations.

This was a law of cultivation that no cultivator could defy.

Since heavenly tribulations could not be condensed within the secret realms, no Golden Core realm beings could emerge.

It was precisely because of this understanding of cultivation secrets that Lu Qing had the audacity to come alone to Xizhou to challenge Xuankong Mountain.

Possessing a spiritual weapon, he was confident he could escape unscathed even if he was defeated by a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

“Great Elder, Chanxin has sent word that the Iron Sword Sect to the south has also agreed to submit and serve us as the master of Xuankong Mountain.”

Just as Lu Qing had finished using his supernatural powers to gather information, a bald monk in front of him spoke.

“Very good, the Iron Sword Sect has surrendered. Xizhou is now completely under the control of Xuankong Mountain,”

Xuanyi nodded with satisfaction.

“Hmph! If it weren’t for the spiritual energy being exhausted, the cost of opening a secret realm would be too high, making it inconvenient for us to enter and exit.

How could Xizhou be left in such a mess by these filthy creatures!

It’s their blessing to have them convert to Buddhism now!”

Another red-robed monk snorted.

“Don’t be angry, Junior Brother. It’s precisely because the world is so stubborn that we need the Buddha’s guidance. This is also a form of spiritual practice for us,”

Xuanyi consoled.

“Brother Xuanyi, now that Xizhou has been reintegrated into our Buddhist sect, what should we do about the other matter the abbot mentioned?”

“Junior Brother, you mean the demon that killed Junior Brother Xuanming and the others?”

Lu Qing’s heart suddenly moved when he heard them mention him.

“Indeed, Brother Xuanyi, do you think the information Wujian Tower reconnaissance brought back a few days ago is trustworthy?” a red-robed monk asked.

“Wujian Tower wouldn’t dare deceive us. If they want to continue their clan, they still have to rely on the mercy of Xuankong Mountain. Even

if they had a hundred guts, they wouldn’t dare to have any evil intentions.

Moreover, when the Wujian Tower master came to report that day, my ‘wisdom’ didn’t detect that he was lying,”

Xuanyi said after a moment’s hesitation.

“So, what Wujian Tower said about discovering the evil demon’s retreat is true?”

“It’s probably close.”

“I didn’t expect that evil demon to originate from a remote state like Cangzhou. As expected, remote places often produce evil demons!

Senior Brother Xuanyi, the abbot and the Supreme Elder have ordered us to capture that evil demon and convert him for our own use. When should we set out?”

“There’s no rush. That evil demon is a person of great fortune and has survived a heavenly tribulation.

His strength is not inferior to ours.

Capturing him alive requires careful planning and careful planning.

Once Lingshan is built and the protective formation is in place, we can proceed slowly.”

Xuanyi said slowly.

Lu Qing, in the dark, suddenly understood what he was saying.

The Wujian Tower assassin who had escaped Master’s flying sword at the Wei Mansion that day had finally returned safely to the secret realm of Xuankong Mountain.

He had also reported the information he had uncovered to Xuankong Mountain.

He felt somewhat fortunate to have come early this time.

Otherwise, once Xuankong Mountain truly stabilized the situation in Xizhou and established its protective formation, his plan to sneak in quietly would be impossible.

By then, he’d be left to passively accept defeat.

After all, he could leave at any time, but the villagers of Jiuli Village and the Wei family would be in trouble.

Thinking of this, Lu Qing’s murderous intent suddenly intensified.

He could tell from the conversation just now that

Xuankong Mountain still had experts hidden within its secret realm.

The so-called abbot and the Grand Elders were undoubtedly powerful cultivators above the Foundation Establishment stage.

However, right now, the most powerful within the Lingshan Mountains were likely the red-robed monks before him.

Especially Xuanyi, the leader. Since he was called the Grand Elder, he must be the leader of Xuankong Mountain’s current outburst.

Killing him would surely cause chaos in Xuankong Mountain for a while.

Despite the murderous intent in his heart, Lu Qing’s gaze grew calmer.

He first transmitted a few instructions to Xiao Li through telepathy.

Then he quietly took out his sword from the Qiankun Qi bag.

Silently, he moved closer to the red-robed monks.

When Lu Qing was about ten feet away from them, he saw Xuanyi’s face suddenly changed, and he looked towards him in surprise and doubt.

Lu Qing’s mind moved, and he immediately understood that his whereabouts had been exposed.

His mind raced, and without thinking, suddenly, an unparalleled aura burst out from his body, and a bright sword light shone from his body, sweeping across and slashing at the people in front!

“Who is it!”

Several red-robed monks, all innate-level powerhouses,

sensed Lu Qing’s aura as soon as it erupted. They

were instantly horrified. They

had never imagined someone could approach them unnoticed!

Even more terrifying was the flash of sword light Lu Qing unleashed. Its

condensed force was unparalleled. The mere sensation of it sent hair standing on end, their scalps tingling, and a bone-chilling chill washed over them.

“Get out of the way!”

In a split second, each monk responded.

Some attempted to evade the blade’s flash with their agility.

Some, luminous energy emanating from their bodies, attempted to harness their painstakingly cultivated protective energy to withstand the blow head-on.

Others, carrying short staffs, instantly materialized in their hands and charged towards the blade’s flash.

Only the most advanced Xuanyi, sensing the flash, saw their expressions change drastically, shouting at everyone to get out of the way.

However, it was too late.

Lu Qing’s sword flashed with such swiftness that

in the blink of an eye, it reached the monks. It

then swept past them and flew towards the cliff behind them.

Finally, it cut a deep, bottomless scar on the cliff before stopping.

Boom!

Along with the roar of the sword’s energy slashing against the cliff, several streams of blood splattered.

(End of this chapter)