As night fell, thousands of lights were lit up in the city. On the patrolling city walls, the soldiers saw the empty official roads and fields outside the city. Suddenly, figures broke through the darkness and fell from the air with swords in hand, forming a semicircle with the old Taoist priest at the center.
"This way!" "We caught up!"
"Why haven't they started fighting yet?!"
"I sense the demonic energy of the Purple Star Demon Dao. Hurry up and follow me. It's over here!"
The night wind blew, and the rustling sound of footsteps, accompanied by noisy voices, rushed out from the swaying woods on all sides. These people were dressed differently, both men and women, holding swords or knives, or some strange-shaped weapons, most of which had traces of Dharma light. They were all from nearby small sects, and there were also various independent cultivators, totaling hundreds of people.
"We caught up. That toad over there is the Purple Star Demon Daoist!! I saw him last time!"
Someone shouted, and someone else bowed to the people in the Chengyun Gate and said:
"Fellow Daoists from Chengyun Sect, we are here to help you and slay the demons together!"
Outside the shadowy crowd, a bearded man carrying a wooden box climbed up to the top of a tree. Looking up at the road, he saw a scholar in a white robe, holding a sword and slightly bending his body.
His thick brows were furrowed, and his fists pressed against the tree trunk, making a series of light "crackling" sounds.
"It's really Fellow Daoist Lu... What should I do..."
Yan Chixia gritted his teeth and just as he moved, a voice suddenly rang out from above the forest behind him.
"To kill the Purple Star evildoer, I will have to leave the Fire Sect behind!"
The tree cage was shaking violently. More than ten figures were seen, with the tips of their shoes touching the leaves, all flying down. The man in the lead had a protruding forehead and a full beard. His beard was dark red when you looked closely.
"And my Soul Gathering Mansion!"
As the dozen people over there landed, they surrounded them. Another twenty-something people wearing green single clothes with cloud pattern robes underneath, holding long weapons and magical instruments appeared. Among them was a man with a half-foot long beard on his chin, wearing green clothes and robes, with an elegant temperament. He bowed to Chengyun and Lihuo, and then turned to the various cultivators who came to slay demons and eliminate monsters.
Only then did he look at the donkey and the scholar in front of him, and his eyes then fell on the short figure in front of the scholar.
"Purple Star Demon Dao, I didn't expect it to be you. The revenge of the fifteen disciples in the sect that day should be settled today."
"Wait a minute!"
Taoist Chengyun suddenly spoke, raised his hand to stop the three cultivators who were about to move, and looked at the scholar opposite who was hit by his sword. He was only in his twenties, and it was rare for him to go from a casual cultivator to the Nascent Soul stage.
"My fellow Daoist Lu, you are extremely talented. We are all from the same path. It is a pity for us to fight for a monster. As you can see, fellow Daoists from all sides have already arrived to fight monsters. We have no chance of winning. I hope my fellow Daoist will remember that cultivation is not easy and not sacrifice his life in vain."
Over there, the Toad Taoist clenched his flippers and tried to rush to the other side. With a bang, the cold sword pierced in front of him. Turning back, he saw the scholar holding the hilt of the sword and slowly straightening up.
"Liangsheng, don't worry about it. This is my teacher's business..."
"Master... please step back."
With traces of blood hanging on the corners of his mouth, Lu Liangsheng's handsome face tilted slightly, he squeezed out a little sound, stood up straight with the sword in his hand, but his eyes swept over the surrounding monks who were holding magical weapons.
He walked past his master, raised his hand holding the hilt of his sword and bowed to them, then said slowly and softly, "Lu Liangsheng from Qixia Mountain, nice to meet you all."
"Lu Liangsheng?"
"This name sounds familiar." "...The one who smashed the throne room in Nan Chen?"
"It might really be this person. He was previously conferred the title of Immortal by the Emperor of the Great Sui Dynasty. I thought he was pretty good, but I didn't expect that he would be hanging out with a monster like the Purple Star Demon Dao who eats countless people."
"It's just the arrogance of a scholar!"
Many people around had heard of Lu Liangsheng's name, but they were not in a hurry to take action.
"Looking at this man's face, he has a sense of righteousness. He should not be a treacherous person. Is there another reason? You may as well listen to what I have to say first."
"Yes, but don't let your guard down or else the Purple Star Demon Dao will escape."
Even though some of them were not convinced, we were all cultivators who valued cultivating our minds and tempers, so when someone said this, we would naturally stop our actions for the time being.
"Okay, let's listen to what this scholar has to say."
For a moment, the voices around gradually quieted down.
Lu Liangsheng took a deep breath, used his magic power to dispel the discomfort in his body, calmed himself, and thanked them.
"… Compared to you, I have only been practicing Taoism for a short time and do not understand the various rules of Taoism, but I also know that I should repay kindness with kindness and revenge with revenge. I just heard what the Taoist priest said, my master…"
The words were on the tip of his tongue, but before he could finish the rest, a strong wind blew, and Buddhist chants that shook the heavens and the earth surged in.
"Buddha has mercy on me—"
The foothills and city walls, near and far, were echoing. The soldiers on the city listened to the footsteps and leaned out from the parapets, looking at the darkness below and the distant foothills with confusion in their eyes. They could not see any human figures at all.
Below the city wall.
Crowds of people gathered, and the monks who heard the Buddhist chant were immediately excited.
"Old Monk Zhenhai is here too. Isn't he in seclusion practicing Zen?"
"He must have come out of seclusion because he sensed the evil aura of the Purple Star Demon Dao."
As he spoke, Lu Liangsheng looked in one direction and saw a few branches and leaves suddenly rushing out from the forest and flying into the air. A figure flew out and his hemp shoes landed on the ground, stirring up dust.
"Evil creature, do you recognize me?!"
A skinny figure dragged a wide monk's robe and came straight towards him with loud strides, one step at a time. He had a white beard and a furious look, like the angry Vajra in the temple. The monk's sleeves flicked and spread out, and his skinny palm raised up and pushed out fiercely.
—Mingzun’s seal for subduing demons, the mighty heavenly dragon!
The palm seal of Buddha Dharma rushed straight towards Toad Taoist and arrived in an instant.
"Master, please step back!" Lu Liangsheng's feet sank, facing the overwhelming peaceful Buddhist Dharma. He turned his hands out from his sleeves, and the word "Chi" (imperial) suddenly lit up in his palms, and he also went forward to meet it.
—The righteous path of heaven and earth!
In an instant, the two palms touched each other.
The next moment, there was a loud bang of golden light and light of light of light of light of light, and the light directly broke through the barrier that blocked the mortal eyes. The soldiers on the city wall raised their hands to cover their eyes. Even the ascetics below were hastily blown by the blast of air caused by the counteracting magic power of the two people, their robes rustled and their hair and beards flew backwards.
After a while, the conflicting Dharma lights receded slightly. In their sight, the old monk Zhenhai, who was dressed in a monk's robe, kept his palm out and stomped on the ground to slide back half a foot. The scholar opposite him also kept his palm out and retreated one foot, but his body was full of golden light, forming a circle. Behind him, there was also a flash of blue-white lightning. It was the scholar's donkey that was holding up the back with its head, and a fat pig demon was pushing the donkey's butt...
There was a dense layer of sweat beads among the dense black hair. It seemed that being restrained by Buddhism must be quite uncomfortable.
"If you consider me a friend, I will help you. It's a pity that the weapons have not been retrieved yet. Otherwise, if there is another group of these ascetics, I will help you deal with them."
Hum hum hum~~
The old donkey followed suit and brayed as well.
Lu Liangsheng turned his head, swallowed the sweet taste in his throat, and forced a smile: "Thank you."
“Arrogant!”
On the opposite side, the old monk Zhenhai stretched out his arm, let his sleeves spread out, and flipped his palm. Suddenly, a golden bowl appeared. He stroked the mouth of the bowl with his palm and golden light of Buddhism burst out.
"I will take you in first, you pig demon."
At this moment, a bang sound was heard from the woods on one side. In the dark night, a flame tore through the blackness and flew towards the old monk rapidly.
The old monk Zhenhai stood still, stroking his gray beard. He raised his hand lightly, and with a bang, the flame was deflected with his sleeve and flew back.
"What does it mean when a group of people bully one person?!"
A black shadow stepped over the treetops and leaped into the air, grabbed the flame that flew back in his hand, and landed beside Lu Liangsheng. The ground beneath his feet shattered like a spider web.
Lu Liangsheng glanced over and saw the man in a black robe and a bamboo hat, with a few dried monster heads hanging around his waist. He held a long knife in one hand, and the other long sleeve was floating at his side.
The scholar smiled and nodded at the other party.
"Qianwei."
He lifted his bamboo hat slightly, revealing his stubble-covered face. "We have known each other for a long time, so there is no need for us to be polite. When we are done here, remember to treat me to a drink in the city."
"How can we drink without Yan-"
Another voice was heard, and a big man with a scruffy beard carrying a wooden box on his back also came out of the forest. He flew to the side of the scholar, standing on the left and right of Zuo Zhengyang.
He slapped the bottom of the box with his palm, and a jade sword flew out and hung in the air.
“Everyone, Yan is clear about gratitude and resentment. This scholar knows how to make friends, so I have to help him. Sorry!”
The old monk Zhenhai bared his teeth as he looked at the two monks who suddenly appeared. One of them had a shallow cultivation base and was not a concern, while the other one, who was carrying a wooden box, had a high level of cultivation. Suddenly, his hair and beard stood up in anger and he glared at the two of them.
"We cultivators slay demons and monsters in accordance with the will of heaven. You..."
“Master!!”
A figure in an apricot-yellow monk's robe fell to the ground in mid-air with a bang, splashing countless dust. He was fat and not much different from the pig monster over there. He looked at Lu Liangsheng over there, and then at the skinny old monk with a gray beard.
"Master, can you please not be in a hurry? Fellow Daoist Lu is not a bad person."
The old monk turned around with his eyes wide open: "Do you also know this person?"
Fa Jing lowered his head but still nodded.
"Disciple, I know you."
At the same time, on the city wall, the soldiers guarding the city saw the prominent Dharma light and a group of people of unknown origin that suddenly appeared. They were surprised at first, and after they reacted, they hurriedly ordered people to beat drums to send a message. However, soon, an order came, asking them to open the city gates. In the streets of the city, they saw soldiers riding horses and holding guns rushing over.
"What's going on?"
"It seems to be the guards around His Majesty."
"Watch out overhead!"
Someone shouted to remind them, and a gust of wind passed by from above. It was impossible to see clearly with the naked eye. The figure mixed in the wind floated down to the city and landed on the top of a nearby tree. The sound gathered magic power and roared.
"Why are you cultivators gathering in Chang'an? Why don't you disperse immediately?"
Um
The man suddenly saw a flash of white on the messy road ahead. He immediately understood what had happened and bowed to the treetop.
"Master Lu!"
"Greetings, Duke Yue." Lu Liangsheng also bowed.
Xilulu-
At the city gate, Yang Jian, wearing a golden armor and a golden helmet, led his troops out of the city gate. Naturally, he heard his cousin's words, and his majestic eyes swept over the surrounding monks.
"You cultivators, why don't you stay in the mountains to comprehend the mysteries of heaven and cultivate the Dao? Instead, you come here to bully the minority with your numbers?"
The emperor of the world has his own majesty. He waves his hand and speaks in a majestic voice.
“Surround them!”
Teams of strong soldiers from the imperial city rushed forward, their armor and weapons colliding with a clanging sound that spread to both sides. The forests of spears and swords were tilted, and then there was a bang, and a loud shout of "Ha!" was heard, all pointing at the two or three hundred people. On the city wall, archers also drew their bows and aimed at them.
The atmosphere froze, and suddenly there was a war-like atmosphere.
The night sky was filled with stars and the moon. From the distant forest, there were eyes watching all this. A woman in a red dress and gauze sat on a branch, chuckling softly as she turned her gaze away from the scholar in a white robe.
"Look, a little trick will do the trick. If both sides get angry, your husband's hands will inevitably be stained with blood. Once a good person is stained with blood, he will be worse than a bad person."
The red fox demon and spider spirit who were listening under the tree lowered their heads.
…
The wind blew through the forest, making a rustling sound. Lu Liangsheng suppressed his injuries and heard that there were more soldiers rushing towards him in the distance. He looked at Zuo Zhengyang, Yan Chixia, and Fa Jing who was sandwiched in between.
His gaze finally landed on his dejected Master standing at his feet.
"Master... Actually, there's no need to fight."
The Toad Taoist raised his head, and the disciple above him just smiled and walked forward as usual.
"Everyone..."
The words slowed down in his throat, and Lu Liangsheng spoke softly, bowing to the monks around him.
"... Lu Liangsheng will pay for my master's sins."