Chapter 193: Great Sage Equal to Heaven, the Town and the Ruined Temple

The rain grew heavier and heavier, a vast desolation spreading between heaven and earth.

Heng Xian had already left Willow Tree Town seventy or eighty li behind; flying on his sword against the rain was too tiring, so he simply walked normally.

The ground was very muddy; every few steps he shook off mud.

But his attention was all focused on the direction of Willow Tree Town behind him.

"Dogegg" also occasionally looked back, not knowing what he was looking at.

Just then, Dogegg chirped a few times, pointing his paw back.

Heng Xian looked again toward Willow Tree Town, and saw above the town, black clouds and rainwater swirling rapidly, quickly forming a huge, terrifying raincloud tornado, inside which lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, when suddenly a spear-like shadow that blotted out the sky protruded,

The spear's shaft was wrapped in lightning, its tip like a coiling dragon roaring, and it thrust straight down toward the town.

"The third-generation senior brother of the Tianyuan Sect has arrived!" Heng Xian said.

He felt somewhat moved; cultivators cultivate the law of controlling heaven and earth, this terrifying natural phenomenon like an American blockbuster— a Nascent Soul expert could simply reach out and summon it!

No wonder cultivation must be gradual, one's state of mind must keep up; without mentioning those mystical insights, just speaking of this terrifying phenomenon, if an ordinary person tried to manifest it, they'd surely scare themselves half to death!

"Ding——"

At that moment, a huge sword phantom suddenly flew out from the town, soaring straight toward the firmament, its mighty aura shaking heaven and earth.

The sword and spear collided, erupting violently with a turbulent surge of spiritual energy; even tens of li away, one still felt a violent shaking.

Dogegg chirped a few times, his face full of "panic".

Heng Xian stretched lazily, turned and left: "What's there to fear? Sooner or later we'll reach that realm!"

Dogegg rolled his eyes, caught up to Heng Xian, shrieking while making a vertical downward gesture, then pointing at himself, as if saying: "Can I someday do that— summon a spear from the heavens?"

"You've really become a spirit!" Heng Xian laughed: "In another world you might be able to show off, but this world has demons; you can cultivate the demonic path, and once you attain high mastery, it's no problem. By then, you won't be Dogegg anymore!"

"Dogegg" widened his eyes at him, waiting for his next words.

"Well..." Heng Xian pondered, narrowed his eyes, "You are the terrifying Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun... invincible!"

"Chirp..." Dogegg excitedly did two backflips, got himself covered in mud, then swiftly caught up to Heng Xian, tugged at his pant leg, and urged him to keep talking.

Heng Xian coughed: "Don't you understand? The Great Sage Equal to Heaven, you know..."

Pointing at the sky, "He's a flamboyant figure who stands on equal footing with Heaven itself, surnamed Sun, sharing the same surname as the great god Sun Wukong from our world; as for invincibility, nobody under heaven can beat you, isn't that enough to make you arrogant?"

"Chirp..." Dogegg again excitedly jumped around wildly.

But in front of me, you're nothing; I am destined to be the invincible crackling god immortal holy king who ravages everyone under heaven. Seeing how loyal you are, I'll reluctantly appoint you as my dharma-protector monkey!

Dogegg straightened his back: "Chirp......"

The rain grew heavier; the man and monkey soon looked miserable, turned into soaked chickens, far from the Great Sage Equal to Heaven and the god immortal holy king.

Heng Xian glanced back; the battle at Willow Tree Town was no longer visible, he didn't know who had won, casually picking up "Dogegg", he leapt into the air and flew on his sword toward the northwest.

He also didn't know where to go, but he couldn't keep getting entangled with the Fourteen Sects; he needed to find a way to stay far away.

From noon until nightfall, Heng Xian didn't know how far he had run, estimating at least several hundred li.

Even with Qi Hai Realm cultivation, he was now exhausted and weary.

At this moment the rain had lessened a little; ahead lay a small town glowing with a faint light.

Heng Xian brought Dogegg down to the ground and walked over on foot.

At the town's head, an old man leaning on a cane stood under a big tree, gazing this way; seeing a man and a monkey approach, he waved and said: "Young man, where are you headed?"

Heng Xian laughed: "Just passing through; the rain is pouring, I wanted to find a place to stay in the town."

The old man shook his head: "Our old emperor has passed away; the emperor's sons are fighting for the throne, war is raging; in these tumultuous times, the town suffers military disasters, and those shops are all black markets, killing people without blinking."

"If you have plenty of money, you can go in and hire some guards to be safe; if you're broke, you'd better leave."

Heng Xian looked around, smiled, and said: "It's too late; if you have no money and don't want to leave, what can you do?"

The old man thought: "Then you can only spend the night at Lanxiang Temple on Fragrant Incense Mountain south of the town," but...

"Thanks!" Heng Xian nodded and headed straight into the town.

"Sigh!" The old man opened his mouth to say more, but Heng Xian had already walked away; he could only shake his head and sigh.

The town was crowded, bustling with all kinds of people, and even more were ragged soldiers in tattered armor.

Quarrels, robberies, fights, and killings were underway; various dialects, wailing and clamor tangled together—utter chaos.

Indeed, just as the old man said, it's a scene of military turmoil.

Heng Xian glanced around; he couldn't be bothered to stay in the town—it was too noisy for quiet cultivation. A glance southward revealed a large mountain, sure enough.

So he began climbing up the mountain slope; after just a few steps, a shout suddenly came from behind: "Hey, little brother!"

Heng Xian turned to look; it was a frail-looking scholar, and he exclaimed in surprise: "What's up?"

The scholar clenched his scroll, somewhat nervously said: "You're from out of town, aren't you? Not used to inns—just crash at my place for the night; whatever you do, don't go up the mountain!"

"Oh?" Heng Xian exclaimed in surprise: "Why?"

The scholar swallowed his saliva: "The people down at the mountain's base may be fierce, but they won't harm you for no reason; those up on the mountain, however, will eat you without blinking—Especially Lanxiang Temple; those who go there at night hardly ever come out alive, and even if they do, they end up foolish."

Heng Xian chuckled: "I prefer quiet; the town is too noisy."

He lifted his foot and continued upward.

"Oh no!" the scholar exclaimed urgently, "How do I make you understand? Up there are demons, female demons, tree demons!"

Demons?

I've seen all sorts of ancient demons and great demons; spending a night in a demon's lair wouldn't be bad either.

Heng Xian shook his head: "Nonsense, there are no demons in the world!"

"You don't know a good heart, you rotten person!" the scholar shouted in anger.

"Get lost, you calf!" Heng Xian shouted, taking Dogegg and quickening his pace.

Soon the scholar below and the town disappeared from sight.

The mountain path was hard to walk; the original trail had fallen into disrepair, everywhere withered grass and rotten leaves.

Fortunately, Heng Xian is not a mortal; holding a dog egg, he exercises the Vertical Ladder Leap skill, and in a leap he covers ten-odd meters.

Soon he entered the big mountain, following the faint heavenly light, he searched for a little over half an hour, and finally found a ruined temple in a mountain hollow.

The temple is neither big nor small, about ten or so meditation rooms in appearance, but it's already deserted and dilapidated, all around are towering trees, making it somewhat gloomy.

Faintly, there was also a strange aura lingering around.

Heng Xian walked to the temple gate, only to see the gate closed, and on the plaque, covered in spiderwebs, the three characters 'Orchid Fragrance Temple' were faintly visible.

Orchid Fragrance Temple? Orchid Hermitage Temple?

No way!

Heng Xian rubbed his nose and peered inside.

He saw the interior pitch black; in the wind and rain, a wailing howl sounded, adding a touch of gloom to the quiet mountain forest's ruined temple.

Late at night, in such a setting, an ordinary person would surely be scared stiff and run away.

But Heng Xian gave a light laugh and pushed open the door,

"Creak—"

"Hehe…"

(End of chapter)