Chapter 919: Li Xian Wang
"It seems this war against the Undying Blood Clan has caused the Ministry of War to mobilize all available manpower and resources. Even in this desolate mountain temple, we can encounter their people," Zhang Ruochen said.
The large concentration of Undying Blood Clan members in Yuan Prefecture had naturally prompted the Ministry of War to urgently deploy troops. Some idle soldiers had all been dispatched to patrol the thirty-six commanderies.
Some of these soldiers were gathering intelligence and information.
Others were establishing outposts in the outer regions of the Zhenyu Ancient Clan, so that once traces of the Undying Blood Clan appeared, they could immediately relay the news back to the Ministry of War's main camp in Yuan Prefecture.
The four soldiers staying in the room next to Zhang Ruochen had come to establish an outpost in the surrounding area and had accidentally discovered Sikong Temple.
Sikong Temple was filled with strangeness everywhere, naturally arousing their vigilance. Moreover, the temple actually housed a stone statue of the Buddha Emperor.
The Buddha Emperor was an enemy of the Empress.
Worshipping the Buddha Emperor was surely a great disrespect to the Empress, was it not?
Even if such a temple had no connection to the Undying Blood Clan, it had to be eradicated. Of course, discovering this evil temple was also no small merit.
Zhang Ruochen was also a major criminal being pursued by the Ministry of War, so he naturally did not wish to interact with them, lest he invite unnecessary trouble.
"Let's go. This place is indeed somewhat eerie and not a suitable hiding spot."
Zhang Ruochen pushed open the door of his room. The moment he stepped out, with a creak, the door of the adjacent room also opened.
From within the door walked two middle-aged men, clad in armor, with black iron tokens hanging from their waists—clearly from the Ministry of War.
Zhao Yue and Pu Yuelin glanced at Zhang Ruochen but didn't pay him much mind, assuming he was just an ordinary worshipper.
Zhang Ruochen, with his hands clasped behind his back, walked with a leisurely air, heading straight out of the temple.
Pu Yuelin, the younger of the two, looked up again at Zhang Ruochen's retreating figure, a puzzled expression on his face. "Second Brother, doesn't that man look somewhat familiar? He bears a resemblance to Zhang Ruochen, the major criminal the Ministry of War is currently hunting."
"Does he?"
Zhao Yue lifted the token hanging at his waist and tapped it with his finger. Instantly, a patch of black light emerged from the token.
"Whoosh—"
From within the black light flew images of various figures, one of which was Zhang Ruochen.
Seeing Zhang Ruochen's image, Zhao Yue and Pu Yuelin exchanged a glance, both showing expressions of surprise.
Could it really be Zhang Ruochen?
In such a small, deep-mountain ancient temple, so many powerful figures were hiding.
First, a white-haired woman who could kill with a wave of her hand had appeared, and now a court major criminal with a fearsome reputation had shown up.
That was right.
For the soldiers of the Ministry of War, Zhang Ruochen was indeed now infamous, as several Ministry of War kings had already died by his sword.
Moreover, this fierce man had once slashed through Zi Yong Pass with a single sword stroke and then calmly retreated, causing the Ministry of War soldiers in Yuan Prefecture to lose all face.
"If he really is Zhang Ruochen, we are certainly no match for him. However, we absolutely cannot let him leave. The merit of discovering Zhang Ruochen's whereabouts is far greater than that of finding an evil temple," Zhao Yue said.
"Let's pretend we didn't recognize him and quietly follow him. I wonder what his purpose is in coming to Sikong Temple," Pu Yuelin said.
"Right. The Ministry of War's experts should arrive soon. When they do, Zhang Ruochen won't be able to escape."
Even though they had discovered Zhang Ruochen, Zhao Yue and Pu Yuelin dared not attempt to capture him. With their level of cultivation, they probably wouldn't even be enough to fill this fierce man's teeth.
The two of them kept following Zhang Ruochen until he left Sikong Temple.
"Fourth Brother, Zhang Ruochen has probably already spotted us. He seems to be preparing to leave Sikong Temple."
Zhao Yue grew anxious. Having finally found Zhang Ruochen's trail, they were about to watch him slip away.
Could such a huge merit really slip through their fingers?
Just as Zhao Yue and Pu Yuelin were hesitating whether to block Zhang Ruochen, a massive black beast shadow flew over from afar and appeared above Sikong Temple.
The enormous black shadow, like a dark cloud, slowly descended until it stopped about several dozen zhang above the ground.
Looking up, the black shadow turned out to be a Yi Lin Beast, its body over eighty meters long, covered in scales, with a lion-like massive head.
This beast was a sixth-rank lower-level barbarian beast, capable of fighting low-level Half-Saints. It could spew Nether Fire and easily turn an entire city into a sea of flames.
Standing on the back of the Yi Lin Beast was a tall, straight man, clad in nine layers of red armor, holding a long halberd, looking majestic and imposing.
Seeing the man on the Yi Lin Beast's back, Zhao Yue and Pu Yuelin both showed expressions of great joy and immediately bowed in salute. "Li Xian Wang, we have a major discovery."
Li Xian Wang snorted coldly. "Discovering just one evil temple—what kind of major discovery is that?"
Just as Zhao Yue and Pu Yuelin were about to speak, Li Xian Wang continued, "I came here to inform you that not long ago, the Undying Blood Clan attacked the Underworld King Sword Grave, causing a massive slaughter."
"The battle situation is urgent. The Little Saint Heavenly King and the Prefecture Master have already sent messages to Tiantai Prefecture and the Central Imperial City to reorganize the army and launch a full-scale counterattack on the Underworld King Sword Grave."
"The soldiers stationed in Xianlin Commandery and Xincang Commandery have already received the message and should arrive at Guandu by noon tomorrow. You two, hurry over and lead them to the northwest side of the Underworld King Sword Grave, near the Yunjin Canyon, and await further orders."
After delivering the command, Li Xian Wang grabbed the chains on the Yi Lin Beast, preparing to leave immediately.
Zhao Yue and Pu Yuelin were shocked by the news Li Xian Wang had brought. Even with the combined forces of the Zhenyu Ancient Clan, the Ministry of War, and the Martial Market Bank, the Undying Blood Clan had still managed to break into the Underworld King Sword Grave.
Just how terrifying was the Undying Blood Clan's power?
Of course, no matter how fearsome the Undying Blood Clan was, Zhang Ruochen was still a major court criminal who could not be allowed to escape.
"Your Highness, there is another matter... Zhang Ruochen, the major court criminal, is also in this evil temple." Zhao Yue secretly glanced in Zhang Ruochen's direction and spoke with some caution.
Hearing this, Li Xian Wang, who had been about to leave, immediately stopped.
From his eye sockets surged two pillars of fire, three zhang long, sweeping across Sikong Temple. Finally, his gaze fixed on the open space outside the temple, landing on Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head with a smile and glanced back at Zhao Yue and Pu Yuelin behind him.
The two of them were greatly startled and immediately retreated, stumbling back into Sikong Temple, clearly quite afraid of Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen did not trouble them. For them, it was merely their duty. Moreover, at Zhang Ruochen's current level, there was no need to deal with two Fish-Dragon Realm cultivators.
Then, Zhang Ruochen turned his gaze back to Li Xian Wang, revealing his white teeth and smiling. "I advise you to hurry and deploy your troops to deal with the Undying Blood Clan. Don't waste your time on me."
"Heh, is that so? What if I insist on capturing you first?" Li Xian Wang's aura grew stronger and stronger.
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth within a thousand li radius converged toward him endlessly. Behind him, a black saintly shadow, a hundred zhang tall, manifested.
Faintly, electric patterns could be seen weaving within the black saintly shadow, and the entire mountain trembled slightly.
This Li Xian Wang had already reached the Seventh-Step Half-Saint realm, no wonder he was so confident in capturing Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen, however, frowned. He knew that the Second Prince of the Undying Blood Clan was hunting him down.
If Li Xian Wang caused such a commotion and attracted the Second Prince of the Undying Blood Clan, wouldn't that be an even bigger problem?
"What are you doing, what are you doing? This is a pure Buddhist land—how can you be fighting and killing here?"
Grand Minister of Works' fat body, like a white ball, rolled out of Sikong Temple.
"Fat monk, this has nothing to do with you. Get lost."
Li Xian Wang waved his hand, and a very strong surge of saintly qi erupted from his palm, turning into a gale that struck Grand Minister of Works.
Since this was an evil temple, Li Xian Wang showed no mercy. The force from his palm was enough to half-kill a First-Step Half-Saint.
"Do you have to strike so heavily against an ordinary person?"
Zhang Ruochen's gaze darkened. He also struck out with a hand seal, his palm emitting a dazzling golden light. Immediately, a massive golden dragon shadow flew out, shattering Li Xian Wang's palm force.
Li Xian Wang took out a Po Sha Token and swung it forward, piercing through the golden dragon shadow, which dissipated into specks of golden mist.
"Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm."
Grand Minister of Works muttered softly under his breath, looking at Zhang Ruochen with great surprise.
However, his voice was so faint that only he himself could hear it.
Then, Grand Minister of Works let out a shriek like a pig being slaughtered: "Murder! Master, someone wants to kill me! So scary... Amitabha..."
Shouting, Grand Minister of Works dashed back into Sikong Temple and slammed the temple door shut with a bang.
Just as Grand Minister of Works rushed into the temple, deep within Sikong Temple, on the second floor, a slightly yellowed window opened, propped up by a bamboo stick.
In the window sat an elegant white-haired woman, her temperament light and pure, forming an incredibly beautiful painting with the surrounding windows, pavilions, and pagodas.
Her eyes were like two black gems, her skin snow-white and crystalline, and her red lips were exceptionally vivid. She looked like a celestial goddess from the Nine Heavens, not meant to appear in the mortal world.
"Cousin, is it really you?"
Kong Lanyou's gaze fixed on Zhang Ruochen outside the temple, filled with doubt, remembrance, hope, and even a hint of other emotions.
Zhang Ruochen, of course, did not know that Kong Lanyou was watching him from within Sikong Temple.
At this moment, he was locked in a standoff with Li Xian Wang. A great battle was clearly unavoidable.
(One more chapter to come.)