Chapter 346: Trespassing the Gate

"Hum— hum—"

The morning bell echoed across the mountains and fields, awakening all things that had slept through the night.

Luoxia Mountain in the early morning was like a sleeping young girl just waking up; the air was filled with a faint mist, winding through the mountains like light gauze, adding a sense of mystery and tranquility to this mountain. As the first rays of the morning sun pierced the night, the mist began to dissipate slowly, revealing the mountain's true appearance.

The building complex of the Taiyi Sect appeared exceptionally solemn in the morning light. The main structures of the temple were built against the mountain, layered and arranged in an orderly fashion.

The most conspicuous was the main hall, which sat at the highest point on the mountainside, as if it were the heart of the entire complex.

The roof of the main hall was covered with golden glazed tiles, reflecting a dazzling light under the morning sun, like the radiance of a Buddha.

On both sides of the main hall were two rows of long side chambers, which were the places where the Disciples lived and practiced.

The architectural style of the side chambers was simple yet exquisite; the wooden window lattices were carved with delicate patterns, possessing both a sense of religious sanctity and artistic beauty.

The morning bell rang melodiously, and the Disciples walked out of the side chambers one after another to begin their day's cultivation.

Behind the side chambers were patches of vegetable gardens and medicinal herb gardens, where the Disciples grew vegetables and herbs, self-sufficient, embodying the Taiyi Sect's reclusive attitude toward life.

Further back was a small waterfall; the sound of the waterfall was exceptionally crisp in the early morning, and the spray splashed onto the rocks, forming strings of crystalline water droplets. Below the waterfall was a clear pool, the water emerald green, reflecting the surrounding mountain scenery and the silhouette of the temple, like a vivid landscape painting.

In front of the main hall was a wide plaza, with an incense burner standing in the center; the incense smoke rose in spirals, interweaving with the morning mist, giving one a feeling of being otherworldly.

Around the plaza were planted several ancient pine trees, their branches vigorous and powerful, as if they were guards protecting this sacred ground.

The outer perimeter of the Taiyi Sect was a winding stone wall, covered with green vines, blending into the surrounding mountain forest.

The entrance to the stone wall was a stone archway, with the three characters "Taiyi Sect" carved on it, the brushwork vigorous, revealing an inviolable majesty.

A Disciple wearing a neat robe walked out of the archway and began to sweep up the fallen leaves from last night.

"Swish, swish!"

A commotion came from the bushes in front of the archway; the young Disciple sweeping thought it was a rabbit or some other small beast, and feeling playful, he grabbed his broom and crept over lightly.

He stood cautiously in front of the bushes, raised the broom high, and waited quietly.

"Rustle, rustle!"

Another commotion, and the young Disciple excitedly swung down hard.

However, a hand reached out from the bushes and gripped the broom.

Immediately after, two figures darted out, but they were not rabbits; they were people.

To be precise, two people.

Chen Che and Xie Wanning darted out of the bushes one after the other; the young Disciple was completely dumbfounded, frozen in place, not knowing what to do for a moment.

Chen Che smiled and handed the broom back to the Disciple; the Disciple suddenly snapped back to reality, turned, and ran toward the temple: "It's bad! It's bad! Someone has come in! Someone has come in!"

The young Disciple shouted as he ran, and the Disciples inside the gate were all alarmed, gathering at the entrance in a rush.

Chen Che and Xie Wanning crossed the archway, looked at the group of Disciples blocking the path, and greeted them: "Hello there!"

"Who are you? How dare you trespass into the Taiyi Sect! Leave at once! Otherwise, don't blame us for being impolite!"

A burly Disciple shouted angrily.

Chen Che glanced at Xie Wanning and remarked, "Don't say, these people are all wearing ancient robes; I really do feel a bit like I've time-traveled."

"It seems they still don't recognize you as the Sect Master. What do you plan to do?"

Xie Wanning asked.

Chen Che scanned the Disciples in front of him; they all looked like lions whose territory had been violated, their eyes murderous as they looked at Chen Che.

"I'm not leaving anyway, and they won't move aside, so let's just fight first and talk later."

Crack!

Chen Che snapped the broom handle, twirled the wooden stick in his hand, pointed it at the Disciples, and said, "Let's get this straight: I'm not here to cause trouble, so don't hold a grudge after the fight."

"Arrogant!"

"Defending the sect is our duty as Disciples of the Taiyi Sect! Fellow brothers, drive the outsiders out of our home!"

"Attack together!"

The Taiyi Sect Disciples roared at the top of their lungs and charged toward Chen Che.

………

"Ouch!"

"That hurts!"

"My finger is bent!"

A few minutes later, the aggressive Taiyi Sect Disciples had all been knocked down, each one clutching their arms, legs, waists, buttocks, heads, and so on, wailing and screaming one after another.

Chen Che scratched his back with the broomstick and walked toward the main hall, but he stopped after only a few steps.

He saw Adili running out behind two male and two female young Disciples.

Seeing the scene in the plaza, all five were dumbfounded.

"Who exactly is he? He actually knocked down all our people with just a broomstick!"

The one speaking was a round-faced female Disciple named Ji Rong.

She was the head Disciple under the Fourth Elder.

Another female Disciple, Tang Yue, also exclaimed, staring at Chen Che, who looked nonchalant in the plaza:

"And it looks like he held back; otherwise, our people wouldn't just be injured like this."

Adili had experienced Chen Che's strength, but he still couldn't help but be shocked to see this scene; he looked at the two senior brothers beside him and said, "Senior Brother, Senior Brother Yuan, that person is at least at the Pre-Heaven Earth Master realm; we had better be careful."

Chai Jing said disdainfully, "The four of us are all at the Earth Master realm, and Senior Brother Yuan is even a Post-Heaven Earth Master. Even if he is also an Earth Master, it's four against one; how could we not have a chance of winning?!"

"Don't be careless; that woman hasn't made a move yet."

Yuan Ming squinted as he sized up Chen Che. "Attack together and capture them! The Taiyi Sect has been reclusive for a long time; we will not allow anyone to come and go as they please!"

The four of them leaped into the air and landed around Chen Che.

………

"Great Elder! Great Elder!"

A Disciple burst through the door and lunged into the main hall.

The four Elders, who were in the middle of meditating, opened their eyes and looked at the rash Disciple in unison.

"Panicking and flustered, what kind of decorum is this!" the Fourth Elder scolded with dissatisfaction.

The Disciple immediately stood up, performed a salute, and said, "Four Elders, outsiders have broken in, and Senior Brother Yuan and the others are already fighting in the plaza!"

"What kind of person could actually break in here?!"

The Third Elder was suddenly stunned, "Could it be those two people!"

"Aside from those two, I fear there is no one else, but how did they get in?"

The Second Elder asked in confusion.

The Fourth Elder's expression was one of astonishment: "With the Mountain Protection Array in place, it is absolutely impossible for outsiders to force their way in, unless... unless they broke the Array!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the four people present all trembled.

"This is impossible! That Mountain Protection Array was realized by the Sect Master from the Heavenly Book back then and personally taught to us; the four of us set it up together using the power of the Heavenly Master Realm, it is impossible for anyone to be able to undo it!"

"That's right, and furthermore, those two are young; let alone undoing the Array, it is impossible for them to have even reached the Heavenly Master Realm!"

"But then how is this to be explained?!"

The Great Elder spoke up at this moment: "Three junior brothers, you are all wrong."

"What do you mean, Senior Brother?"

"Setting aside how the Array was broken, age cannot be used as a standard to measure a person's potential in the Martial Dao.

Among the Disciples under your tutelage, are there few who have broken through to the Grandmaster Realm, or even the Earth Master Realm, at a young age?"

The Great Elder looked at the three and said.

"But... that is the Heavenly Master Realm after all, and that is an Array the Sect Master realized from the Heavenly Book!"

The three were shocked in their hearts, yet they still could not accept it.

The Great Elder sighed: "To tell the truth, I am also very shocked. But you all know the potential that person displayed back then."

The three were startled once more.

"Senior Brother, do you mean to say that person has returned?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the three could not help but shiver; the events of that year, merely recalling them, made these three old men who had cultivated for a hundred years feel a chill down their spines.

"The Taiyi Sect has avoided the world for a long time and has never had any incidents; this time, we were careless."

The Great Elder stood up, "That person has the Sect Master Token and possesses such monstrous ability; regardless of who they actually are or what they want to do, we must find out."

The other three Elders also stood up, and the four of them swept toward the plaza together.