Chapter 931

It's snowing.

The mountain-guarding grand formation of Red Lotus Temple suddenly split open a gap a hundred zhang high and several hundred zhang wide near the mountain gate.

The goose-feather heavy snow that had been blocked outside by the mountain-guarding formation drifted down.

Led by the Faceless Buddha, hundreds of Red Lotus Temple's senior members donned scarlet-red kasaya, stepped on pure clouds, hovering about a zhang above the ground, and, surrounded by tens of thousands of elite Red Lotus Temple disciples, arrived at the mountain gate amid rolling fragrant winds.

Xia Rumeng then came face to face with the Faceless Buddha.

"Buddha!" Xia Rumeng nodded at the Faceless Buddha, showing no expression on his face.

"Imperial son-in-law!" the Faceless Buddha narrowed his eyes.

Princess Yinghe's imperial son-in-law, the Faceless Buddha knew him. Although Xia Rumeng had sent his eldest and second sons to the Azure Lotus Observatory instead of Red Lotus Temple, the couple frequently gave Red Lotus Temple huge offerings and alms.

Thus Xia Rumeng had a good relationship with Red Lotus Temple, so the Faceless Buddha naturally recognized him.

Especially, the Faceless Buddha and Xia Rumeng were not just acquainted; they were… very close friends.

Xia Rumeng held a jade tablet, standing alone at the mouth of Red Lotus Temple's mountain gate; behind him, a hundred li away, the void was densely packed with Wuguo's new-style warships.

Behind the shark-like warships, huge transport ships shaped like giant whales were lined up neatly.

On the decks of the transport ships stood countless giant divine warriors with scarlet eyes and flickering dark light; it's easy to imagine what was being carried in their huge bellies.

Each transport ship could densely carry five hundred thousand giant divine warriors.

Here there were exactly four hundred transport ships.

Two hundred million giant divine warriors…… to Da Tie, that was nothing more than a minor mining operation on a medium-sized vein—smelting, molding, assembly, activation, an assembly-line project. Compared to bearing children, cultivating techniques, and making incremental improvements, this was far too easy.

With the resources Da Tie currently controls, two hundred million giant divine warriors are merely the output of a few of his large factories over half a month.

(PS: Our 2019 crude steel output was 9.28 billion tons… even if each giant divine warrior weighs one ton, if the technology meets standards, our annual raw materials could produce 900 million giant divine warriors! So here, I'm just playing with the numbers.)

The pure clouds beneath the Faceless Buddha's feet dissipated, and he landed before Xia Rumeng.

He unreservedly released a vast soul power, enveloping the massive fleet a hundred li away.

The fleet had not activated any defensive formation; the Faceless Buddha's scorching, blazing soul power, like molten steel, invaded each warship, quickly ascertaining their conditions.

Aside from the four hundred transport ships, among the ten thousand brand-new warships, not a single flesh-and-blood soldier existed; all were giant divine warriors with scarlet dark light flickering in their eyes, guarding every post.

Oh, a few of the large flagships carried several Sui Chao noble scions familiar to the Faceless Buddha, each surrounded by some close guards. These flesh-and-blood guards numbered at most around ten thousand.

"Imperial son-in-law, what is the purpose of your visit?" the Faceless Buddha looked at the jade tablet in Xia Rumeng's hand: "Where did this jade tablet come from?"

Xia Rumeng exhaled, nodded at the Faceless Buddha, and said, "May we speak privately?"

The Faceless Buddha nodded without hesitation: "Good!"

Outside the mountain gate, snow had already accumulated half an inch deep; the Faceless Buddha, for the first time since his severe injury and reforging of his golden body, stepped out of Red Lotus Temple's mountain gate.

These past few months, he had continually tried to walk out of this gate, but an extremely strong force had kept him tightly sealed within Red Lotus Temple. Thus, the Faceless Buddha's steps were somewhat cautious; as he stepped out of the gate, his figure even froze for a moment.

Without hindrance, he truly walked out of the mountain gate.

The Faceless Buddha slowly nodded, exhaled, and said, "Sealing my Red Lotus Temple's mountain gate— the methods of those behind you, imperial son-in-law, are truly terrifying."

The Faceless Buddha deeply understood Xia Rumeng; he knew that sealing the entire Red Lotus Temple was certainly not something Xia Rumeng could accomplish.

"Hehe." Xia Rumeng merely gave a hehe laugh; a stream of cloud rose beneath his feet, lifting him to fly toward a small hill outside Red Lotus Temple's mountain gate. The Faceless Buddha said nothing more, stepped on the void, and followed him step by step.

Inside Red Lotus Temple, the assembly of elderly monks, senior monks, and junior monks were like clay-and-wood sculptures, each expression unchanging.

They silently gazed at the opened mountain gate, at the massive fleet outside.

Their qi cultivation was excellent; no one knew what they were thinking.

Xia Rumeng landed on a small hill, turned around, looked at the Faceless Buddha who had caught up, and let out a low sigh: "Your wife and children—I have had them taken away; rest assured, they will be safe… if you obey."

The Faceless Buddha stared, then threw a punch that slammed into Xia Rumeng's face.

With a dull thud, Xia Rumeng was struck until his nasal bridge caved in and his mouthful of teeth shattered. His body flew backward, smashing through dozens of large trees and several boulders before barely stabilizing.

The giant timber collapsed and splintered flew about; whether the monks inside Red Lotus Temple or the people Xia Rumeng had brought, all heard the commotion here, yet no one reacted, nor did anyone peek to see what had happened.

"My wife and children?" the Faceless Buddha hoarsely roared.

But his roar was suppressed to an extremely low volume; even a little farther away, his voice could not be heard.

"Well, your seven wives, twenty-three children, all their grandsons and granddaughters… plus their wives, children, and elders… in short, I know where all the descendants of Red Lotus Temple's abbot are, so I have taken them all away."

Xia Rumeng shook his head and slowly rose to his feet.

Vital essence and blood surged; his collapsed nasal bone straightened again, and his shattered teeth regrew.

He smiled at the Faceless Buddha and said softly, "My familiarity with you matches yours with me… right, my brother… Wu 3957738."

"As the esteemed abbot of Red Lotus Temple, you secretly married and had children outside, and even with the temple's support, in just a few thousand years you built a powerful aristocratic clan, holding fiefdoms over several prefectures." Xia Rumeng laughed and shook his head: "I must say, you are more formidable than I. Look at me—my tenth and eleventh sons have only just learned to walk."

The Faceless Buddha's gaze was icy as he stared at Xia Rumeng: "What do you want to do? Or, who stands behind you?"

Xia Rumeng narrowed his eyes, gave the Faceless Buddha a once‑over, and asked: "Are you willing to give up your current status, power, position, and enjoyment?"

Xia Rumeng sneered at the Faceless Buddha: "I still remember that winter, you secretly ate a chunk of feral beast meat fed to the lord's war pet, then barely escaped being beaten to death; afterward you were sent to the bloody arena, slew ten mighty fighters, and earned the lord a large sum of divine crystals, which spared your life."

"Do you still remember the taste of the lord's barbed whip lashing your back?"

"My dear brother, my revered…… abbot of Red Lotus Temple? Or should I say, the venerable Faceless Buddha, one of the present three Buddhas of Red Lotus Temple?"

The Faceless Buddha remained silent for a long time, then said softly: "Whatever I have now, whoever dares to take it—I will let him…… die!"

Xia Rumeng clapped his hands suddenly: "Then that's fantastic! We are comrades on the same path!"