Under one person: I, Zhang Zhiwei, the arrogant Zhang.

“…” Zhang Zhiwei said, “My master has been so kind to me!”

Zhang Jingqing glared at him irritably, then stood up, her expression turning solemn:
"The Japanese pirates' plan is urgent. To avoid any unforeseen complications, I'll take you to the Wanfa Sect Altar now to retrieve the treasure. Once we have it, we'll descend the mountain immediately!"

Zhang Jingqing led Zhang Zhiwei through numerous restrictions and arrived at the ancient and solemn altar.

Above the altar, the energies of dragon and tiger rose up, forming a curtain of light.

Inside the light screen were two treasures exuding an ancient aura.

One piece is a square jade seal, its surface warm and smooth, with intricate cloud and thunder patterns carved on it, faintly exuding the aura of dragons and tigers.

This is the Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal of the Zhengyi Mengwei Dao! Once this seal is issued, it can command ghosts and gods and govern all laws. It is the symbol of the Celestial Master's authority.

The other item was a long sword with an ancient design. The blade was engraved with the sun, moon, stars, mountains, rivers, and plants. Although it was not yet drawn, it already exuded a sharp sword intent that could cut down all evil spirits in the world.

This is the Three-Five Male and Female Demon-Slaying Sword, the divine weapon used by the Celestial Master to slay demons and establish the Taoist lineage!
With a solemn expression, Zhang Jingqing first lit three sticks of incense and respectfully placed them in the incense burner. Then, she led Zhang Zhiwei to kneel on the prayer mat and performed the three kneelings and nine kowtows before the ancestral tablet, silently reciting complex incantations for invoking the treasure.

As the incantation was chanted, a faint golden light flickered on the altar. The two treasures, which had been dormant for countless years, seemed to sense the call and emitted a soft hum. Then, the light curtain surrounding the two treasures slowly dissipated.

After the ceremony, Zhang Jingqing carefully picked up the two treasures.

"The Three-Five Male and Female Demon-Slaying Swords, these swords were forged by our ancestor Zhang Daoling at Crane Cry Mountain. They correspond to the celestial stars above and suppress demons below. They are two swords, male and female, this is the male sword!"

"Yangping Zhidu Gong Seal! This seal is the foremost of the seals of our Zhengyi Sect. It connects the Dharma lineage to the Heavenly Court above and subdues ghosts and spirits below. Only when talismans and documents are stamped with this seal do they possess divine power, enabling them to command ghosts and spirits of the Three Realms and order all methods to return to their origin!"

Zhang Jingqing solemnly handed the two treasures to Zhang Zhiwei, and said earnestly, "Today, I entrust these treasures of the Celestial Master's Mansion to you. I hope you will use them wisely to slay demons, protect the common people, and uphold the prestige of our nation!"

"Disciple, please remember this!"

Zhang Zhiwei accepted the treasure with both hands, only to feel a sudden weight in his hands, as if he were receiving not two inanimate objects, but two heavy mountains.

Holding the Yangping Zhidu Merit Seal in his hand, Zhang Zhiwei only felt its weight, without any other unusual signs.

But as soon as the three or five male and female demon-slaying swords were in hand, they began to tremble violently, with such a great commotion that it was as if one were holding a constantly writhing dragon.

"Zheng!!"

A clear and melodious sword cry instantly resounded throughout the hall, and a cold light shot into the sky, as if it would pierce the heavens!

Fearing that the divine sword's power would damage the altar, Zhang Zhiwei quickly wiped the sword's blade to suppress the overflowing sword energy.

Zhang Jingqing glanced at it and said, "An ancestral artifact should not be trifled with, and should not be used lightly unless in an emergency!"

Zhang Zhiwei nodded, not bothering to examine them further, and put the two treasures into his spatial equipment.

Afterwards, he followed his master through a series of elaborate rituals before finally leaving the Wanfa Sect Altar.

As soon as they stepped out, they bumped into their senior uncles, Guo Yiqian, Zhang Yi, Zhang Shoucheng, and Zhang Yushan, who were rushing over in a flurry.

Upon seeing Zhang Zhiwei, these seasoned veterans, who had just emerged from the inner battlefield of the Guiyuan Formation, were all taken aback.

However, they did not show any unusual behavior.

The reason for this is not that their state of mind is so high that they can ignore the illusion of the inner world.

When they emerged from the inner vision, they were equally disoriented, experiencing the same intense emotional fluctuations.

It's just that these older generations are concerned about saving face, so they forcibly suppressed those emotions.

To avoid losing their composure, they even sat quietly in the hall for a while to calm themselves down before standing up.

Then they discovered that one of the formations that had been placed there was now empty.

Only after asking the disciples guarding the area did they learn that Zhang Huaiyi and Tian Jinzhong's group of juniors had actually passed the test several days ago!
Is this okay?

Senior figures like Yi Qian and Zhang Yi immediately became restless.

These seasoned veterans, after racking their brains and fighting tooth and nail for so long, are actually slower than a bunch of greenhorns?!
If word gets out, what will become of their reputations?!

More importantly, these guys didn't even catch their breath before heading straight down the mountain to the battlefield, and they might already be fighting the Japanese pirates.

So, these old guys couldn't sit still any longer and immediately went to ask Celestial Master Zhang Jingqing to let them go down the mountain to fight.

They ran into each other halfway there.

"Senior brother, what are you all doing in such a rush?"

"Junior brother, what are you all doing in such a rush?"

Zhang Jingqing and Yi Qian spoke almost simultaneously.

"You speak first."

"You speak first."

The two spoke at the same time, their perfect understanding making people want to laugh.

Zhang Zhiwei couldn't help but laugh and said, "Master and Uncle-Master really have great chemistry."

Zhang Jingqing glared at him, then gestured for Yi Qian to be quiet.

Yi Qian thought his senior brother was going to offer some words of comfort, after all, they had suffered so much inside. But to his surprise, Zhang Jingqing immediately launched into a tirade:
"You're still the same old hand who went into the boxing ring, participated in the Boxer Rebellion, went to the battlefield, and fought against the Japanese invaders. How come you're getting worse and worse as you get older, even worse than a bunch of kids?"

"The younger generation has all gone to the battlefield to fight the enemy. Why are you old folks still swaggering around here instead of hurrying after them?"

Upon hearing this, Yi Qian blushed. He opened his mouth to refute, but didn't know what to say.

The facts are clear: they were indeed a step behind the younger generation.

He said in a low voice, "We came to find you because we want to get down the mountain as soon as possible. Although those younger generation members have gained some experience in the inner realm, how can they compare to us in terms of experience?"

Zhang Shoucheng also said, "That's right. As elders, we really can't let the younger generation take risks. Where are they? Let's hurry and follow them."

Zhang Zhiwei quickly explained, "Don't worry, fellow martial uncles, I've already made proper arrangements for them in a team in Longcheng. If you want to go, I'll arrange it immediately."

The group of senior martial arts brothers exchanged glances; as seasoned veterans, they each had their own thoughts.

In particular, Yi Qian participated in the Boxer Rebellion, fought against the previous dynasty, fought against the Japanese invaders alongside the previous dynasty, and was eventually fought against by both the previous dynasty and the Japanese invaders.

His rich experience made him unwilling to rely on any power; he wanted to work alone.

His initial plan was for him to lead a group of fellow disciples and juniors to fight a guerrilla war against the Japanese pirates, outwitting and outmaneuvering them – that would be much more exciting.

Zhang Jingqing naturally understood the temperaments of her fellow disciples.

Although he also believed in Zhang Zhiwei's arrangements.

But he knew even better that a person's worldview, which they had held for decades, would not change easily.

Forcing these old guys into the regular army might backfire and cause trouble.

He thought for a moment and said, "You guys shouldn't go to Longcheng to join the fun. The situation in Shanghai is quite complicated and dangerous right now. You guys should go to Shanghai with Zhiwei!" Upon hearing that the situation was serious for Zhang Zhiwei, the group of senior disciples immediately perked up and expressed their willingness to follow Zhang Zhiwei and support their junior disciple!

"Great! I heard the fighting is fiercest over there, perfect for us old bones to get some exercise!" Yi Qian's eyes flashed, and he rubbed his fists together, eager to get started.

“Although Zhiwei is very capable, he is still young. We, as his senior brothers, should help him out and not let him carry the burden alone,” Zhang Yi nodded in agreement.

Looking at these passionate senior disciples, Zhang Zhiwei felt a surge of emotion.

He originally didn't want to drag his fellow disciples into the vortex of Shanghai.

After all, that place is now the eye of the storm, and it's fraught with danger.

But then I thought, since my uncles want to go, it's not impossible.

This situation is indeed quite serious, mainly because it involves the ritual of setting up an altar.

Moreover, it was a grand altar.

There are many precautions and complex rituals involved in this type of ritual, and it requires the cooperation of hundreds of people.

Although he has made arrangements in advance, it's hard to say exactly what will happen, or if there will be any unexpected situations along the way.

But if the senior disciples join in, things will be different!

In terms of various talisman techniques, life cultivation, and magical abilities, Zhang Zhiwei was confident that he was better than his senior uncles.

But in terms of understanding of the rituals, the precision of the procedures, and the experience of improvising on the spot.

Zhang Zhiwei felt that he was definitely not as good as his senior brothers who had been deeply involved in this field for decades.

He nodded and said, "Since you uncles want to go, I would be more than happy to oblige! But let me make this clear beforehand: once you're there, you must follow my instructions and not act on your own!"

Yi Qian waved his hand and said generously, "Of course! We're going to help, not to cause trouble. If you say go east, we'll never go west!"

Zhang Yi laughed and said, "Don't worry, you're the Heavenly Master, who would dare disobey your orders?"

“If your Uncle Yi Qian dares to disobey or act like a senior, we uncles will beat him up without you even having to say a word.”

Yi Qian rolled his eyes at Zhang Yi, clearly annoyed.
"Go away! Mind your own business! Everyone knows you old rascal love to cheat and shirk responsibility!"

As a senior Taoist master, Yi Qian had a fiery temper, but he never acted impulsively; otherwise, he would not have been able to become the abbot of Zhengyi Temple.

"In that case, I won't keep you for dinner. You can go with Zhiwei." Zhang Jingqing waved her hand and said.

In fact, if he weren't limited by his position as Celestial Master, he would have liked to go down the mountain and wreak havoc, and meet that Grand Master of the Shinto sect.

But he can't do that.

His disciples can be any kind of people, but he is the Celestial Master.

The nearly two-thousand-year-old heritage of the Celestial Master's Mansion rests on his shoulders.

He couldn't take the risk.

"Senior brother!" Zhang Yi suddenly said with grief and indignation, "This time we're going down the mountain to fight the Japanese pirates to the death. This might be the last time we meet. Is this your attitude? You're not even going to show your fellow disciples anything?"

"Stop jinxing me!" Zhang Jingqing scolded. "With Zhiwei around, it'll be hard for you, old man, to get into trouble!"

Yi Qian chimed in, "That's right! You old bastard, you can't say anything nice. If you dare to spout nonsense again, we brothers will teach you a lesson today!"

“That’s right!” Zhang Shoucheng, who had been silent all along, added quietly.

"Tie our martial uncle to the flying sword and send him out!" Zhang Zhiwei whispered, trying to provoke him.

Zhang Yi glared at him and said, "Look at you guys, you think everything's foolproof before the fight even starts?!"

"I'm just being cautious. The Japanese pirates are not weak, and who knows what tricks that Shinto Grand Master has up his sleeve. We should all be prepared to die when we go down the mountain."

"Also, senior brother, you're all alone on the mountain, you should at least provide some support to your fellow disciples and nephews who are coming down the mountain, right?"

“Support…” Zhang Jingqing sneered and rattled off a long string of words, revealing that this was what they had been waiting for.

What kind of support do you want?

“It’s not about what kind of support I want, it’s about what kind of support you want to give!” Zhang Yi said matter-of-factly. “For example, give me more high-level talismans, or give me some more powerful support... like, bring out the ‘Three-Five Male and Female Evil-Slaying Sword’!”

"You old rascal, this is your real plan, isn't it?" Zhang Jingqing said with a laugh and a scolding.

Zhang Yi smiled without saying a word. This was indeed his purpose.

He naturally trusted Zhang Zhiwei's abilities.

But when it comes to strength, it's like Han Xin commanding his troops—the more the better!
With strong physical strength and powerful magical artifacts, wouldn't that be like adding wings to a tiger?
If he didn't provoke his "stingy" senior brother, how could his senior brother be willing to take out his most treasured possession?

Unexpectedly, Zhang Jingqing did not answer him at all, but just looked at him with a half-smile.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Zhang Yi felt a little uneasy under that gaze.

Zhang Jingqing didn't speak, but simply pointed to Zhang Zhiwei beside her.

Zhang Zhiwei said timidly from the side, "Uncle-Master, um... Master asked me to take Sanbao down the mountain!"

"what?!"

Zhang Yi was stunned, as were Yi Qian and the others, who could hardly believe their ears.

The Three Treasures of the Celestial Masters are sacred artifacts that are part of the lineage and are the lifeblood of the Celestial Master's Mansion. They are never used unless there is a life-or-death situation.

I never expected that my senior brother would use it this time, and he even handed it directly to Zhang Zhiwei to take down the mountain!

"Is that a magic seal or a magic sword?" Zhang Yi asked anxiously, snapping out of his daze.

"I brought them all!" Zhang Zhiwei answered honestly.

"You brought them all? What does that mean?" Zhang Yi already had a vague idea in his mind, but he still found it hard to believe.

"The Yangping Zhidu Merit Seal and the Three-Five Male and Female Evil-Slaying Swords are both on my person," Zhang Zhiwei said, enunciating each word clearly.

Upon receiving confirmation from Zhang Zhiwei himself, all the senior disciples gasped in astonishment.

With the two treasures descending the mountain, the sect has really pulled out all the stops this time!

If it fails...

They dared not imagine that outcome.

Of course, they didn't think they would fail.

With Zhang Zhiwei's unfathomable strength, coupled with the protection of these two incredibly powerful treasures, who in the world could possibly stand against him?!
They simply couldn't imagine how they could lose. (End of Chapter)