Chapter 81

A young Daoist in a hurry came flying over.

"Senior Brother, the golden statue of the Patriarch is almost finished casting—please perform the consecration ritual!"

This was a young Daoist, with a gaunt face, looking extremely delighted.

But upon seeing the middle-aged Daoist's grim expression, he quickly realized something and couldn't help but ask.

"Senior Brother, what's wrong?"

"Damn it, someone schemed against us and stole our feng shui!"

At this moment, the middle-aged Daoist, furious and flustered, couldn't help but curse and shout angrily.

"What?"

Upon hearing this, not only the young Daoist, but also the several Daoists in front of the temple who had rolled up their sleeves and were supervising work gathered around, each Daoist's face filled with rage.

To build this temple, they had expended tremendous effort.

Whether raising funds or obtaining land deeds from the government, they had put their entire fortunes into it.

"Senior Brother, who ruined our feng shui?"

Another rather mature Daoist couldn't help but ask, his eyes flashing with a fierce light.

A faint killing aura surrounded him, clearly indicating he had taken many lives.

"I don't know either!"

Facing the gazes of the crowd, the middle-aged Daoist wore a sullen expression—this was precisely what vexed him.

If he knew who it was, he would have already gone to kill them.

Beside him, a group of Daoists exchanged bewildered glances.

Actually, these six sworn brothers were not from the same sect, but merely a gang that had come together.

However, after unexpectedly obtaining a volume of heterodox left-path arts, they had sworn to become brothers, jointly build a temple, and share wealth and honor.

In feng shui and geomancy, the middle-aged Daoist was only a half-baked practitioner; with the feng shui compromised, he could do nothing but consult with his five sworn brothers to see if they could remedy it—or simply relocate and rebuild the temple elsewhere.

……

The next morning, at the foot of Yùpíng Mountain.

Zhāng Jiān rode a tall, powerful horse—the blue roan beneath him bursting with energy, steady and sure—while behind him followed five hundred elite soldiers borrowed from the county office, each equipped with iron-toothed shields and holding nine-connected crossbows.

A fierce killing aura surrounded him.

This was like trading a birdgun for a cannon.

After the Zhāng family suppressed the magistrate of Fèngxī County, Yáng Qīng, Zhāng Kuí gradually took control of the situation.

Unrestrained, the Zhāng family followed suit, just like other powerful clans, gradually transforming the interior and exterior of Fèngxī County into a stronghold for digesting their power.

Not only was their overt power expanding, but their secret guard corps had also been armed.

This was not only something the Zhāng family did—great clans and aristocratic families throughout the Dàqiān realm were doing the same.

This was also why Zhāng Jiān repeatedly felt deep foreboding that chaotic times were approaching.

The Dàqiān court was gradually losing control over the major commanderies and counties—a most dangerous omen.

At this moment, a slender, frail figure approached Zhāng Jiān to introduce himself.

"Sir Candidate, according to our knowledge, recently in and around Fèngxī County, the only outsiders are this group of Daoists from the Fire Spirit Temple who came from nowhere, and they match the traits you described—those who know magic—but after entering Fèngxī County, they haven't deceived anyone; instead, they've been extremely kind to the poor, even offering free medical treatment!"

Zhāng Jiān heard this with a calm expression, but those behind him—Zhāng Lǔ, Hú Shān, and others—exchanged glances, and Zhāng Lǔ said.

"My lord, it looks like it's them—those who are outsiders and know magic are only this group of Daoists in the temple!"

Zhāng Jiān nodded.

Actually, there is a third trait.

These Daoists had been raising funds all along—that is, they were short of money.

Much of their wealth comes from unknown sources!

If you say there's no cat urine, nobody would believe it!

Even without other evidence, having this much is already enough to take action.

At this moment, Zhāng Jiān's expression shifted, and his long procession behind him also quieted down; the crowd's gazes suddenly turned toward the mountains, only to see countless birds in the mountain valleys suddenly take flight in unison.

All flying in the same direction.

A vast, dark mass.

"Is an earthquake coming?"

Seeing this, Zhāng Jiān's expression changed, but his vast spiritual sense detected no disturbance in the heavenly and earthly spiritual fields in the void.

In an instant, his gaze shifted again—he looked upward and saw two enormous azure eagles soaring through the sky.

At this moment, the Myriad Worlds Spirit Awareness Pearl within his body heard two utterly different voices.

"The gods have come—we must hurry to greet them!"

"We must be faster!"

These were two little sprites.

Zhāng Jiān recognized these two little sprites—he had seen them during his bandit-suppression campaign on Fèngwěi Mountain.

But hearing the words of these two azure eagles, Zhāng Jiān's expression showed some surprise.

"What kind of existence is the 'god' spoken of by these eagles, that it could draw so many birds to come greet it?"

Zhāng Jiān's gaze flickered, but in an instant he recalled the terrifying phoenix cry from Fèngcháo Mountain.

Are there really phoenixes in the Shuāngfèng Mountain Range?

Zhāng Jiān's pupils violently fluctuated in an instant—seeing the omen of hundreds of birds soaring to greet, this was clearly the sign of a hundred birds facing the phoenix!

At this moment, the soldiers also stared in shock at this wondrous sight.

"How strange—what has happened? Why are these birds like this? They've all left their nests, flying southward—don't you see? They're all flying in one direction, without exception..."

At this moment, the guide Wu Jiu's face was full of shock!

Not only him, many soldiers were also somewhat panicked.

However, looking at Zhang Jian before them, many soldiers immediately felt reassured, as most of them had seen Zhang Jian, the young master of the Zhang family, suppress bandits at Fengwei Mountain with their own eyes, and thus had extraordinary confidence in him.

Seeing this, Hu Shan beside him nodded silently; the army's morale could be relied upon.

Yet, gazing at the sudden change in the mountains, his heart also skipped a beat.

They were not afraid of plain flesh-and-blood slaughter, but feared that what they fought was not human, but some other monster.

At this moment, Zhang Jian recalled the peculiar pearl in his hand.

Thinking of that phoenix cry, his expression changed slightly.

He did not know whether the existence in Fengchao Mountain had passed by here by accident, or come for something, or perhaps simply come for the treasure on his body?

This made Zhang Jian's expression somewhat unpleasant.

"Young master?"

Beside him, Zhang Lu saw this and could not help but glance over.

Zhang Jian merely waved his hand and said:

"Speed up the march; before nightfall, we must completely clear the Huoling Guan on Yuping Mountain!"

The party quickened their pace and soon arrived at the foot of Yuping Mountain, where several mountain paths began. Zhang Jian waved his hand, signaling Hu Shan and a few veteran soldiers to lead the teams, respectively blocking the several small paths that were essential for ascending and descending the mountain.

At the same time, Zhang Lu waved his hand, and immediately several strong men brought several baskets, the baskets covered with red silk, tightly sealed; now all opened, revealing one black talisman after another.

Soul-Purifying Talismans.

Thunder-Invoking Talismans!

Seeing this, Zhang Lu shouted:

"Each person receives three talismans, to be tied separately onto arrow shafts and blade edges; everyone must pay attention, obey orders, and when the time comes, unleash a volley of arrows—do not act early or late; if you miss the crucial moment, you will be severely punished without mercy!"

He himself was already extremely tall; now with a fierce expression on his face, the soldiers immediately straightened their faces and pricked up their ears.

Seeing this, Zhang Jian smiled faintly.

Zhang Lu had followed him since childhood, having been specially cultivated by the Zhang family, and now also studying martial arts under Zhang Yi; properly trained, he could certainly become one of his chief generals.

Then Zhang Jian stepped forward slowly, his magic pure and moist, his voice like a great bell, piercing straight to the mountain ridges: "Listeners of the wild Daoists of Huoling Guan, we are the bandit-suppressing force of Fengxi County's prefecture; your crimes are proven—come down at once and surrender bound, or else do not blame us for being merciless; do not say we did not warn you beforehand!"

Inside Huoling Guan, several Daoists hung their heads in dismay, discussing how to raise funds anew.

At this moment, they heard the sound coming from below the mountain.

In an instant, they heard the sound coming from below the mountain.

"Fengxi County Prefecture, when did we provoke the officials?"

Hearing this, several Daoists' expressions turned shocked, and their faces grew somewhat tense.

Officials in uniform have always been difficult to deal with, let alone the one shouting, whose breath was full and strong—clearly not someone easy to get along with.

The leading middle-aged Daoist, Deng Qian, his face turned cold, and he shouted angrily.

"Damn it, the Daoist Master is already displeased; these court lackeys dare to run to the foot of my Huoling Dao's sacred ground and bark like dogs; wait for the Daoist Master to first dispatch these lackeys, then we shall talk of other matters!"

His face was grim, yet his robe was filled with countless threads of yin-cold qi swirling about; moreover, he directly pasted several talismans onto himself, faintly revealing golden light shimmering beneath his skin, as if a god or demon had possessed him.

In an instant, he transformed into a stream of bitter-cold qi, rushing furiously down toward the mountain base.

But just as he reached the mountain foot, his face changed—what greeted him was a sky full of arrows.

The arrows still glowed with a dark light; one glance told they contained some special spell-breaking power.

The words originally on the verge of his lips instantly turned into a great shout.

"Friends, if you have something to say, speak properly!"