Chapter 163: Bampung Tso
The Imperial Preceptor of Yankang trembled slightly.
"The task you wish to undertake is too great, and the road ahead is strewn with thorns. My lifespan is nearly exhausted; I can no longer assist you. You must rely on yourself now."
The young founder smiled faintly. "Return now."
The Imperial Preceptor of Yankang bowed deeply to the ground. "Thank you, fellow Daoist, for your support over these past decades!"
The young founder returned the bow. "Since we walk the same path, it is only natural that we support one another."
The Imperial Preceptor of Yankang turned and departed, his robes rustling in the wind as he vanished into the vast sea of humanity within the capital.
The young founder rose and summoned the Law Enforcement Elder. "Let us go. The young sect leader is about to ascend the throne."
At the border fortress, Basha the Sacrificial Priest wore a grim expression as he led Qin Mu and Ling Yuxiu into the barbarian border camp, his mood sour. The barbarian garrison commander saw them return, his face shifting slightly as he stepped forward and said, "War Khan, the Holy Land has decreed that if you are encountered, you are not to be allowed through the pass!"
Basha the Sacrificial Priest's gaze turned icy. "Do you wish to die?"
The barbarian commander shuddered, glancing around. Basha the Sacrificial Priest swept his eyes over the surrounding officers and said coldly, "Do you all wish to die?"
The barbarian commander steeled himself and barked, "Open the pass!"
The gate swung open, and Basha the Sacrificial Priest rode his ox out through the pass.
Qin Mu looked back and noticed a young barbarian boy practicing boxing on the city wall, his movements vigorous and powerful. Qin Mu let out a soft exclamation of surprise. The barbarian youth, sensing he was being watched, quickly stopped his practice and looked down.
"This youth is very strong, with an exceptionally solid foundation," Qin Mu praised.
The boy's gaze met his, eyes gleaming with sharp light as he called out loudly, "War Khan! My name is Bampung Tso, the youngest son of the Prairie King. One day, I will surely defeat the War Khan and become the overlord of the grasslands!"
Basha the Sacrificial Priest turned back, sizing up the young barbarian, and nodded approvingly. "Ambitious. Keep training. He's a seedling with a good foundation. Perform another set of punches for me to see!"
Bampung Tso executed another boxing routine. Basha the Sacrificial Priest said to Qin Mu, "This boy's boxing style is broad and forceful, his strikes much stronger than others. His physical constitution is quite special; he will surely achieve great things in the future."
Qin Mu nodded. With the same techniques and cultivation level, some people simply struck harder than others—this was innate talent, something others could not envy.
"Remarkable. As long as he doesn't die, he will become a formidable figure on the grasslands."
They headed toward Qingmen Pass, while Bampung Tso, invigorated by Basha the Sacrificial Priest's praise, trained even more diligently. Not long after, a flash of golden light streaked through the sky, and a Witch King descended, his face dark. He summoned the garrison commander and said, "You let the War Khan go?"
The commander braced himself and replied, "The War Khan's divine might is immeasurable; how could we dare to stop him? If we had forcibly blocked him, the border troops would have suffered heavy casualties, making it impossible to hold back Yankang's army."
The Witch King snorted coldly, about to lose his temper, when he suddenly noticed Bampung Tso practicing boxing on the city wall. Surprise and delight flickered in his eyes. He pointed at Bampung Tso and asked, "Whose child is that?"
"He is the youngest son of our Mandi Kingdom's Great Khan, Prince Bampung Tso."
The Witch King broke into a smile, reaching out with a distant grab. Bampung Tso was pulled involuntarily through the air, landing before him.
"Excellent constitution! This is the special physique the Witch Venerable has been seeking!"
The Witch King examined him closely, nodding in approval. "The Witch Venerable ordered me to find the reincarnated holy child, and I have finally succeeded! Bampung Tso, come with me!"
The garrison commander was startled and tried to intervene, but the Witch King had already transformed into a beam of golden light, carrying Bampung Tso away into the distance.
When he brought the young prince to the Golden Palace of Loulan and presented him to the Witch Venerable, the latter was also overjoyed. He hurriedly led Bampung Tso to the Holy Hall, bowed, and said, "Great Venerable, the reincarnated holy child has been found. He shares the same constitution as the Great Venerable—a once-in-a-century prodigy of the grasslands. The Great Venerable may now undergo reincarnation."
From the shrine came a piercing, mournful laugh. Suddenly, a gaunt, withered figure flew out, upside down, pressing his head against Bampung Tso's.
A thunderous roar erupted in Bampung Tso's mind, and then his soul scattered.
Torrents of vital energy surged from the strange figure into Bampung Tso's body, while the Great Venerable's soul also transferred, planting itself within the boy. "Disciple, during my reincarnation, the dead shall not die, and the living shall not live. I will defy fate, so the emissaries of death will come to seize my soul. Set up the formation to block them."
The Witch Venerable immediately stepped forward, moving out shrine after shrine, arranging them in a circle around Bampung Tso. The golden bones within these shrines were the remains of the Great Venerable's previous seventeen lives, refined into magical artifacts.
Suddenly, space trembled, and a chilling wind blew in from another dimension, dimming the torches in the Holy Hall. A small boat drifted slowly from that other world.
It was a dark realm, the only light being a green lantern hanging from the boat's prow. The lantern's glow was faint and murky, and beneath it sat an old man, hunched over, folding paper boats and paper figures.
The small boat drifted gently toward the Holy Hall.
The Witch Venerable grew tense, channeling all his magical power into the shrines. Within them, the seventeen golden skeletons seemed to come alive, blocking the passage between the other world and reality.
The old man seated on the boat was immersed in boundless darkness. From his perspective, the only lights in the world were his lantern and the entrance to the other world, which was now blocked by the seventeen skeletons.
He raised his hand, and paper figures and paper horses sprang to life. The figures mounted the horses, which galloped joyfully toward the entrance blocked by the golden skeletons. The paper riders brandished paper swords and paper sabers, mouths open in silent battle cries, their killing intent palpable.
The seventeen golden skeletons moved in unison, forming a formation of immense power that elevated its might to the level of a deity. But the force from the other world was terrifying. The paper swords and sabers slashed and stabbed, easily cutting through the golden bones of the Great Venerable's previous lives—a single blow could sever a bone, a thrust could pierce a skull!
The Witch Venerable controlled the seventeen golden skeletons, struggling desperately to resist the onslaught of paper figures and horses. The Great Venerable hastened his reincarnation, but the small boat in the other world drew closer, and the old man on board had already stood up, lantern in hand.
Cold sweat beaded on the Witch Venerable's forehead. The small boat had drifted near, about to cross from the other world into reality. The old man with the lantern reached out a hand, as if to grab the reincarnating Great Venerable and drag him into that other world!
Suddenly, the Great Venerable's body stiffened, falling from the air, lifeless. Meanwhile, Bampung Tso opened his dark, gleaming eyes.
The moment his eyes opened, the connection between the two worlds began to collapse. The paper figures and horses burst into flames spontaneously, burning to ash in an instant. The hand that had reached out from the other world slowly withdrew, vanishing without a trace.
The torches in the Holy Hall flared back to life, and the oppressive gloom of moments ago dissipated.
Bampung Tso let out a sigh of relief and smiled faintly. "It succeeded at last."
"Congratulations, Great Venerable!" The Witch Venerable bowed.
Bampung Tso waved his hand, and the Witch Venerable bowed as he retreated, closing the hall doors. He exhaled deeply. "If the Great Venerable hadn't been old and frail, the Heavenly Blade would never have dared to attack. Now that the Great Venerable has reincarnated, he can live another life. Yankang is no longer a concern, and neither is the Heavenly Blade."
Back at Qingmen Pass, Qin Mu tossed two jade bottles to Basha the Sacrificial Priest and then went to buy some medicinal herbs to refine pills.
He had used a great deal of dragon saliva to reattach the Butcher's body, leaving five bottles remaining. Basha the Sacrificial Priest had fought fiercely against the experts of the Golden Palace of Loulan and sustained significant injuries. Beyond external wounds, he needed elixirs to heal internal injuries and purge hidden ailments.
"Young master, the founder is looking for you."
Qin Mu had just gathered his herbs when the pharmacy assistant said, "Please leave the pass as soon as possible and head to Yong Province."
Qin Mu paused, then nodded.
He returned to the inn at the pass, refined a batch of healing elixirs for Basha the Sacrificial Priest, called for Fox Ling'er, and silently left the pass, heading toward Yong Province.
Ling Yuxiu was bathing at the time. When she finished and found Qin Mu gone, she was startled and quickly went to ask Basha the Sacrificial Priest. He also had no idea when Qin Mu had left. After a moment's thought, he said, "Princess, don't worry. The fox is also gone, which means the young master wasn't abducted but left with her."
Ling Yuxiu felt a pang of disappointment. Qin Mu had left again without telling her, slipping away in silence.
Did it have to be so secretive?
What couldn't he tell her?
Basha the Sacrificial Priest took the elixir, stood up, and said, "Princess, let's return to the Imperial Academy. By my reckoning, the Grand Sacrificial Priest is about to resign, and the new one will soon take office. Let's head back early. The Grand Sacrificial Priest has always been kind to me; I must see him off."
Ling Yuxiu agreed.
Meanwhile, Qin Mu traveled with Fox Ling'er, drawing closer to Yong Province. Along the way, chaos reigned everywhere. Sects declared the emperor unworthy, accusing him of employing treacherous ministers as Imperial Preceptors to plunge the realm into disorder. They rose in rebellion, claiming to purge the court and restore justice.
He arrived at Luodu, near Yong Province, where war raged and the people suffered. Armies from various regions tried to suppress the uprisings, but it was like pouring a ladle of water on a cartload of firewood—ineffective at best.
The Imperial Preceptor of Yankang's fire had burned too fiercely. Many of the officials composing Yankang's government were experts from various sects. Now that these sects had rebelled, the officials followed suit, shaking the empire's foundation to its core. It would be difficult to quell.
"What methods does the Imperial Preceptor have to pacify this chaos?"
Qin Mu wondered. "If this continues, every sect in the realm will rebel. Even if Yankang suppresses the rebellion, it will be severely weakened."
That was something the Imperial Preceptor of Yankang absolutely did not want.
If Yankang was crippled, how could he subdue the surrounding nations, occupy the Great Ruins, and build an unparalleled legacy?
Within Luodu, Qin Mu was merely a passerby, yet he encountered over a dozen bandit attacks. Some bandits were restless cultivators, while others were Luodu officials who had turned to banditry, occupying mountains and declaring themselves kings.
Relying on his speed, he used the Cripple's Heaven-Stealing Step technique to escape when outmatched, managing to travel safely.
"If the Imperial Preceptor of Yankang can suppress this rebellion, eliminating or subduing all hostile forces in the empire, then Yankang will be united as one—and that would be terrifying!"
Since going on the shelves, I haven't asked for monthly votes yet!
Since going on the shelves, I haven't asked for monthly votes yet. Let me open a single chapter to ask for monthly votes!
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Classmate Xu Xiaoxiao is drawing a backpack diagram for Fox Ling'er. Everyone, look forward to it—maybe it can actually be made. If readers are satisfied, I'll find a factory to try producing it and give it away as an event prize to readers.