Chapter 323: The Emperor's Demise

Seeing Zhang Jian block that sword light, Liu Xin was about to speak, but the Golden Light Holy Mother stopped her.

The Golden Light Holy Mother landed on Zhang Jian, then suddenly smiled and said.

"Are you Zhang Daosheng, the Minister of Agriculture?"

Facing the Golden Light Holy Mother's scrutinizing gaze, Zhang Jian remained calm, merely bowing slightly.

"Junior Zhang Jian pays respects to Senior!"

"My current official position is Shao Fu Ling, concurrently serving as Minister of Agriculture!"

The Golden Light Holy Mother glanced at Zhang Jian, then suddenly smiled and said.

"Do you know why my disciple and I have come this time?"

Zhang Jian pondered briefly, then smiled and said.

"I guess Senior must just be passing by, a chance encounter, so you greeted us; now that the greeting is over, you must be leaving, so I won't keep you!"

Zhang Jian said, stepping aside half a pace, and with the Pure Bright Daoist, prepared to depart.

But seeing the Golden Light Holy Mother wave her hand, a divine light fell to the ground; in an instant, countless golden light runes flowed from the depths of the void, forming a magnificent barrier, golden runes enveloping this area.

Seeing this, Zhang Jian's brow did not move, but a hint of something unusual appeared in his eyes.

"Holy Mother Senior, what do you mean by this?"

The Golden Light Holy Mother's face remained calm, but Liu Xin coldly snorted.

"What do you mean? Very simple! You and these four people beside you must leave your lives behind!"

Zhang Jian glanced at this Liu Xin, whom he naturally was not unfamiliar with.

Not long ago, he himself had prompted the Pure Bright Daoist, sending him to the heavenly prison; yet now he had appeared again.

His expression thoughtful, he looked toward the Golden Light Holy Mother and said.

"Holy Mother Senior, is this also your intention?"

The Golden Light Holy Mother glanced lightly at Zhang Jian; his unrestrained demeanor displeased her somewhat, and the smile on her face faded.

"Junior, you are interesting, but today you and these few people beside you cannot escape!"

At the same time, her staff paused slightly in her hand, and instantly an invisible spiritual pressure swept toward Zhang Jian from the void.

The magnificent spiritual pressure descended; Zhang Jian's expression did not change, and strands of pure yang mana flowed around his body.

Pure yang mana—this is a characteristic of a Primordial Spirit True Person.

It had already prematurely manifested on Zhang Jian at this time.

His mana had become perfectly integrated, his Dao heart complete, his Yin Spirit already transformed into Yang Spirit ahead of time; if he were not insisting on further solidifying the foundation of the Mountains Rivers and State Diagram, seeking to condense a time imprint, he could already assault the Reincarnation Life-Death Tribulation and erase his death record.

Seeing Zhang Jian radiate pure yang light, the Golden Light Holy Mother's eyes showed a hint of something unusual.

In her spiritual vision, Zhang Jian's mana was hidden extremely well; his aura, mana fluctuations, soul fluctuations, destiny fluctuations—all the characteristics a cultivator should have—were completely concealed.

Thus she could not discern Zhang Jian's cultivation level; only by previously using arts could she sense that the 'Zhang Xueshi' before her had extraordinary cultivation.

Now seeing him use arts, she was certain he was a 'Primordial Spirit True Person,' and prepared to hold nothing back.

At this moment, Zhang Jian laughed where he stood, then suddenly shouted toward the void.

"Master, do you see this? Someone wants to bully the weak with strength, attacking our Tongshan Dao Tong's 'promising youth'!"

In the void, the Slaying Demon True Lord had already arrived, merely silently observing, hoping to see some of Zhang Jian's details through this.

Seeing Zhang Jian directly expose her hiding place, she felt somewhat helpless.

Her true form manifested in the void; under the Golden Light Holy Mother's slightly solemn gaze, her figure instantly appeared before Zhang Jian.

She wore a tight black robe, her long black hair bound with a simple ink jade hairpin, resembling a peerlessly handsome young man, were it not for the absence of an Adam's apple, one might easily mistake her.

On her handsome jade-like face lay a cold frost; she first glanced at Zhang Jian, then rebuked.

"You slippery fellow, clearly you could handle this yourself, yet you drag your master into it!"

Hearing this, Zhang Jian immediately protested: "Master, the Golden Daughter Sect is so renowned—how could a disciple possibly resolve this?"

The Slaying Demon True Lord glanced at Zhang Jian, then turned his gaze to the Golden Light Holy Mother.

"Slaying Demon True Lord?"

At this moment, the Golden Light Holy Mother had already recognized the Slaying Demon True Lord's origin.

Hearing Zhang Jian's words, the Golden Light Holy Mother immediately knew today would be troublesome, and immediately spoke: "I never expected the famed 'Grand Scholar of the Literary Academy' of Great Qian to actually be the disciple of the Slaying Demon True Lord—I have offended!"

Hearing this, the Slaying Demon True Lord coldly snorted.

"Hmph, Golden Light Daoist, you just displayed great might—my disciple somehow offended you, and now you target him so? Or perhaps it is I who have offended you, Golden Light Daoist?"

A hint of danger flickered in the Slaying Demon True Lord's eyes.

Being threatened thus, the Golden Light Holy Mother's eyes flashed with displeasure, but she quickly suppressed it, slightly clasping her hands and said.

"Slaying Demon Daoist, this is merely a misunderstanding; I truly did not know that Zhang Xueshi was actually a disciple of the Tongshan Dao Tong, your disciple!"

After thinking, she glanced at Zhang Jian and said.

"Since I have disturbed your esteemed disciple, I will naturally make compensation; this piece of divine jade contains part of the Earth's Dao rhythm—perhaps it will benefit your disciple's mana; let it serve as compensation, how about that?"

Saying this, she waved her hand, and a stream of light flew toward Zhang Jian, landing in his hand.

It was a goose-yellow jade pendant, its entire body flowing with a layer of intense innate spiritual energy—actually formed from the essence of Hou Tu contaminating a spiritual jade vein, qualifying as a earth-attribute divine object.

Seeing Zhang Jian display the Blessed Land Marvelous Method, the Golden Light Holy Mother assumed he cultivated earth-attribute Dao methods primarily, and thus used this earth-attribute heavenly treasure as compensation.

Having spoken, she grabbed Liu Xin beside her, and instantly they turned into a stream of light, vanishing from the spot.

Seeing her flee, Zhang Jian raised his brow, looked toward the Slaying Demon True Lord, and immediately complained.

"Master, you just let her go—she earlier wanted your disciple's life!"

Hearing this, the Slaying Demon True Lord coldly snorted.

"Otherwise, what do you want? Want me and this old geezer to fight it out, with you, this unfilial disciple, watching the fun on the side?"

Hearing this, Zhang Jian was somewhat at a loss for words.

Zhanmo Zhenjun saw the situation and sneered: "Cultivation isn't just about fighting and killing; that Golden Light Holy Mother isn't easy to deal with. That old fellow has cultivated for thousands of years and still has a few tricks up his sleeve. I might not necessarily be able to slay her. If she doesn't die, it will be a great disaster for you and your fellow disciples!"

"Now that she has yielded, I naturally have no need to act again!"

Hearing this, Zhang Jian curled his lips: "Disciple thought you hated evil like an enemy and were ready to display your feminine might!"

Zhanmo Zhenjun, upon hearing this, laughed in anger.

"Without this wicked disciple, I wouldn't have said anything to you. I don't even know where you learned that profound breath-controlling technique. Who told you to gather all your cultivation energy inward?"

"If you had revealed even a hint of the 'Baolu' power just now, the Golden Light Holy Mother wouldn't have been so rude to you."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jian froze.

Zhanmo Zhenjun waved his hand slightly: "Next time, be smarter. It's good that you restrain your power, but we are an orthodox sect, not some demon spawn. Next time, reveal the Baolu power, and the exalted cultivators of the immortal realm will know you are a cultivator of the Tongshan Dao lineage and will give you some face; they won't attack you rashly."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jian nodded, indicating he had been taught.

He wasn't intentionally provoking a fight.

Slightly apologizing, he then surrounded Zhengming Daoist and his group with a flowing light, sending them ahead to Fenyang Commandery.

Zhanmo Zhenjun watched Zhang Jian's retreating back, then glanced once more toward the direction the Golden Light Holy Mother had departed.

In fact, if Zhang Jian and the others hadn't still been present, and if there weren't other Harmony Dao True Lords lurking nearby, she would have already drawn her sword by now, given her temperament.

But for the sake of this closed-door disciple's cultivation, she had endured some hardship.

Now that Zhang Jian and the others have been sent away, she has no more reservations; a hint of coldness appears in her eyes.

The disciples of the Tongshan Dao lineage are not so easily bullied!

At this very moment, Zhanmo Zhenjun's expression changed, and her gaze suddenly shot toward the heavens.

Not only her, but Zhang Jian, who was in the midst of departing, also changed expression, gazing upward toward the midheaven.

A purple great star suddenly dyed itself in intense blood-red; within the radiance, the purple star instantly blinked out in the midheaven.

The Jingwu Emperor has passed away!