Chapter 388: The Power of Attaining the Truth

A huge yellow moon rose from the mountain peak, illuminating the outline of the great mountain, the shadows of the pavilions and plank roads on the mountain, and also illuminating the prosperous capital like a dream behind it. The streets and alleys, and every courtyard were covered with a layer of frost.

The clouds in the moonlight were clearly visible, and the cumulus clouds were outlined with colorful edges.

Looking back, one could see the lights of ten thousand homes.

If a catastrophe is imminent and the world changes, I don't know how many lamps can remain.

"Whoosh..." 【388-

The sound of the wind had become piercing.

Lin Jue knew that the Southern Emperor Yu Jian and the Zhen Zhen Jian Gong would certainly enter the northeast of Qin Zhou.

The status of the Zhen Zhen Jian Gong in the hearts of the people of the capital had already caught up to the Guan Xing Palace. And the capital was secondary; in the current northwest region of Qin Zhou, the Zhen Zhen Jian Gong had long since become famous, and eight or nine out of ten people had begun to worship the Southern Emperor Yu Jian. If they could replicate the previous affair of the Leopard King in the northeast of Qin Zhou, this place would also become a site of incense for Emperor Yu Jian.

In this way, they would occupy half of Qin Zhou.

And Qin Zhou was the center of the world; faith and culture all spread outward from here. This was a tremendous benefit.

They would certainly intervene in the affairs of the mortal world.

The Southern divine lineage was very adept at management.

However, this was also beyond reproach. The growth of incense was something they had gambled their lives to obtain. They had indeed gained benefits, but they had also truly and tangibly saved the lives of the people.

The connection between the incense-based divine path and the mortal world was inherently tight, far surpassing that of the idle and carefree immortals. The connection between the Fulu Sect Daoists and the mortal world was also very tight, far surpassing that of the free-spirited Lingfa Sect.

However, Lin Jue was also human; it was difficult for him to see his own kind slaughtered and devoured by yaoguai without being moved.

Daoist Jiang was right—

No matter how rampant the yaoguai were, the imperial court could not allow the local people to flee at will.

Divine beings needed the people to remain here, praying in times of distress to ensure their divine power. If the believers left, the divine beings' power in this place would also weaken. The imperial court needed people to guard the land. If there were no people, even if this piece of land remained within the territory of the Great Jiang, its significance would diminish. Moreover, this was Qin Zhou, the heartland of the Great Jiang and the location of the capital. The imperial court could neither accept this place having no one to guard it, nor could it accept such a large yaoguai kingdom appearing right beside it.

The main battlefield would definitely be between the True Lords and the yaoguai kings.

He did not know if Lady Wang Mu could hold off the two True Lords on the ground, in her own territory. Regardless of who won or lost, she would certainly encroach upon the surrounding cities.

Either by sending out avatars or by sending out soldiers and generals.

Firstly, the death of believers could weaken the divine beings; secondly, it could distract the divine beings and the imperial court; thirdly, it could provide her with nourishment—waging war to sustain war. There were many benefits.

Lin Jue was not going to stop the people, but to find his senior brother and also to prevent the yaoguai king from eating more people.

If the people left, he would naturally not dissuade them. If the people stayed, he would sit in command here to protect the peace of the region, even if the people were all gone. At the same time, having found his senior brother, he would also stay here to prevent the yaoguai king from escaping, and could also seek an opportunity to obtain a Spirit-Returning Pill.

This was actually the same as it had been back in Huizhou.

It was just that back then he was weak and performed only small tasks; now that his Daoist practice was higher, he had to stand alone.

And this was no longer a struggle of divine beings, nor a matter of the imperial court, but a matter between humans and yaoguai.

The capital was in panic, the imperial court was shaken.

Generals were awakened from their dreams, military officials were invited out of brothels, and civil officials hurriedly put on their clothes.

The people of the capital did not yet know what had happened, still singing their soft and delicate tunes. They could only see the Daoists of the Zhen Zhen Jian Gong looking solemn, hurrying in from outside the city, and then hurrying away again with solemn expressions.

The strange people and talented scholars of the Ju Xian Fu gathered once again.

Only this time, it was different.

The strange people and talented scholars gathered together, looking around, but the first thing they did was to search and ask:

"Where is Daoist Lin?"

"Where is Daoist Lin?"

"..."

Daoist Lin could no longer see the capital when he looked back.

The huge white fox climbed along the steep path to the peak of Mount Yushan, but its figure did not go down; instead, light as a feather, it stepped on clouds and climbed upward, straight into the sky.

The clouds supported it, and it did not sink even when stepping on them.

In a trance, it seemed to be traveling with the moon.

The night wind combed the fox's soft, long fur backward, blowing it into a constant flutter. The Daoist sat cross-legged upon it, withdrawing his gaze; his figure was outlined by the bright moon, and his junior sister could also be seen below.

And there were two stone horses galloping behind her.

Sometimes the fox would also leap down.

Passing through desolate mountains, it would inquire of the beasts, birds, and spirits.

Traveling through the mountains, it would exchange salutes with the road gods.

Arriving at a ruined temple, it would again ask the fox spirits in the temple.

Before he knew it, Ziyun County was already near.

The bright moon was like a small sun; under the moonlight, the earth was covered in frost, and a city could be seen.

"After I bluntly exposed her, she was shamed into anger, cut off the world to fight me, and tried to trap me there to force me to submit.

There was little vegetation around the city, mostly desolate mountains and farmland. This was normal; generally, unless the local government specifically ordered the protection of a certain mountain, the woodcutters would strip the mountains near the city bare. In the mountains further away from the city, one could see plenty of vegetation. However, what was strange was that in the mountains on one side of the city below, there was vegetation, while another part was bare, looking like a Gobi desert.

That was further north of the city.

What was even stranger was that today was clear, and it had been a sunny day all the way here, except for that one area which was covered in dark clouds, through which even the moonlight could not penetrate.

Below it was also pitch black; one could only see what was near, not what was far.

"Boom!"

A huge and blinding bolt of lightning descended from the clouds. When it first emerged from the clouds, one could not tell how wide it was, branching downward layer by layer. By the time it neared the ground, it had already split into thousands of branches, touching the earth directly.

It was like a tree growing upside down.

The earth was also illuminated by it, appearing ink-gray.

But Lin Jue saw that there was actually a huge tree on the ground, growing from the earth, branching upward layer by layer. By the time it neared the sky, it had already split into thousands of branches, touching the clouds directly.

The roots of the lightning connected with the branches of the tree.

The two sides seemed to be touching, yet also clashing.

Such power did not belong to mortals.

Even heaven and earth rarely condensed such terrifying power.

The fox's figure, which had been heading straight that way, hurriedly made a turn, instead widening its eyes and staring ahead, seemingly also stunned by this terrifying power.

And what of it?

Lin Jue was likewise staring blankly ahead.

Was this the power after achieving the Dao?

Taking advantage of the fact that the lightning had not yet dissipated, he saw a Husheng Husheng Zhenjun holding a large halberd, splitting a massive mountain with force.

The lightning vanished, and that area turned dark again. There was mist in the mountains and clouds under the moon.

Coming back to his senses, the fox had already lowered its altitude, changing from stepping on clouds to treading on mist, wandering through the mountains, turning its head to stare at him.

"Don't be afraid."

Lin Jue comforted it.

Just at this moment, the fox suddenly accelerated and leaped forward.

From one patch of mountain mist, it jumped onto another.

"Swish!"

It seemed as if an arrow had pierced through the air, shooting dozens of zhang high and flying past them.

Immediately following was a series of sounds of things piercing the air.

"Swish, swish, swish..."

Some arrows had great force, not only shooting dozens of zhang into the air but also passing by them, and even retaining great force as they passed, flying to even higher places.

Read every line carefully, without missing a single word!

Some arrows lacked sufficient force; before they even reached them, they had already turned and fallen downward.

Others had force that had just reached here; by the time they reached the fox and the Daoist, their speed had completely stalled, as if there were truly a moment of stagnation, to the point where one could seemingly reach out and grab them.

Lin Jue sat on the fox's back and turned to look.

The moonlight was truly bright.

But what kind of arrows were those?

They were clearly segments of cogon grass leaves.

The middle, hardest, and straightest segment had been taken, with the front sharpened, just like the things children in ordinary villages used for fun in the fields and by the rivers.

Lin Jue had played with these before.

It was just that the "cogon grass arrows" shot by ordinary children could fly ten or so zhang at most, and they could often win in competitions with friends, but this "arrow" had flown dozens of zhang.

Lin Jue did not doubt its lethality.

The fox brushed past it, and the arrow turned and headed downward.

Lin Jue then withdrew his gaze.

The wind around them suddenly became clamorous.

Under the moon, the fox was light as a feather, leaping between patches of mist, avoiding these cogon grass arrows coming from below.

"Go back and find Xiao Xiao Shimei."

"Ying!"

The fox let out a cry.

Looking down, a Daoist was gracefully approaching.

Behind her, the stone horses made a rumbling sound.

However, Xiao Xiao Shimei was walking on the ground; without the bright moon to betray her, she was not as conspicuous as in the sky and had not yet been discovered by these yaoguai.

The fox suddenly plunged into a patch of mountain mist.

Using the mountain mist as cover, it turned and headed downward.

At this moment, its four feet were tucked in, and its tail was hidden behind, no longer waving at will. Coupled with its pointed mouth, it seemed to have transformed into a sharp arrow, just like when it usually plunged into the ground, helping it dive downward at an extremely fast speed.

Lin Jue only felt the wind blowing its fur and his own hair into a chaotic dance, stinging his face.

The ground was exactly where the forest was dense and weeds were overgrown.

"Use fire!"

Lin Jue shouted.

The fox instantly grew larger, spreading its four feet, its tail changing from one to five, unfolding all at once like a fan or an umbrella. Its entire figure instantly transformed from a sharp arrow into a fierce beast, opening its mouth to spit toward the ground.

"Whoosh..."

Golden light illuminated the earth, and the fierce flames descended from above, striking the ground and then rapidly surging outward along the surface, like a flower blooming.

"Ah, ah!"

Painful cries faintly came from the grass and trees, the sound as small as mosquitoes.

The solar spirit fire rapidly cleared a patch of open ground, and after everything was burned away, the flames also mostly extinguished.

The fox landed, its toes lightly touching the ground.

Xiao Xiao Shimei arrived here almost at the same time.

"Are there yaoguai?"

Xiao Xiao Shimei pulled out her horsetail whisk with one hand and drew her long sword with the other.

"Careful!"

The words had just left her mouth when there was a sound of something piercing the air.

It seemed as if arrows were being shot from the grass and forest.

Lin Jue waved his sleeve, and a wall appeared in front of him.

Wall-Partitioning Technique.

Several "cogon grass arrows" were instantly frozen in mid-air.

Xiao Xiao Shimei, meanwhile, was rapidly wielding her long sword and horsetail whisk.

"Ding, ding, ding..."

The sound was actually quite crisp.

Several cogon grass arrows shot at her were easily blocked, and when one remaining arrow shot toward her, she did not block it, but instead reached out and grabbed it.

Her left hand held the horsetail whisk, while she gripped a cogon grass stalk.

It was truly a withered, yellow cogon grass stalk.

"This..."

Xiao Xiao Shimei clearly recognized it as well.

Unless cogon grass did not grow locally, there was no child in the village who hadn't played with it.

And looking around, the surroundings were all cogon grass forests.

A cluster of cogon grass seemed to have movement.

"Rumble..."

Before the cogon grass arrows could be shot, two tall stone horses came galloping over, crashing directly out of the cogon grass cluster and trampling it to pieces.

(End of chapter)