Witch Wind

Chapter 405 The Fierce Taoist Priest (Part 2)

Xing Tianli quietly admired the crimson flames that exploded across the sky.

Pity.

Even with the technology, he couldn't make a living without ingredients for such a powerful warship. Every inch of the warship's hull required forging with innate spiritual metal of the spirit treasure grade.

With Xing Tianli's current cultivation level, he cannot create these innate spiritual metals out of thin air.

He only had a total of 3,600 warships of this kind. This was only after he had forged and refined them in hundreds of small and medium-sized worlds and collected countless good materials along the way.

Even so, apart from a few hundred warships that were all cast using the highest-grade, fully compliant innate spiritual metal, the other two thousand-plus warships used materials with similar properties to barely make do for many less important parts.

There are more than two thousand warships that can unleash attacks at the level of the Great Luo, but their defensive capabilities are only at the peak level of the Taiyi!
Even so, it's terrifying enough.

Three thousand six hundred warships, each a hundred miles long, fired simultaneously. Each warship could unleash thousands of equally powerful attacks at the same time, resulting in millions of torrents of Great Luo level energy engulfing the void.

Such power would make even a weaker Quasi-Saint feel dizzy.

If they were arranged into an array, wow, that's some serious destructive power.

A giant ship hovered silently beside Xing Tianli. Xing Tianli gently patted the ship's smooth, hard hull and said softly, "General Zhang Bao, uh, I'd like to trouble you to write a few dozen large characters for this humble Taoist? I've heard that Third Master Zhang comes from a scholarly family and is proficient in meticulous brushwork paintings of ladies. I wonder if the rumors are true or false, and I also wonder how much of Third Master Zhang Bao's true teachings General Zhang Bao has received!"

Xing Tianli smiled brightly.

Zhang Bao's face was stiff. Thirty thousand swords of the Great Li Holy Dynasty were destroyed by Xing Tianli right before his eyes.

Even if Lu Guan is afraid to fight and refuses to participate?

Even if Lu Guan is suspected of abandoning his territory and people and fleeing without a fight?
Even if Lu Guan, and those behind him, are highly suspected of wanting to use someone else to do their dirty work, to use the Sima clan's knife to kill the heads of their Shu Han soldiers...

Even with all sorts of problems, there were still over 30,000 warships.

Each warship was equipped with tens of thousands of tiny soldiers, totaling over 300 million elite troops, all of whom were slaughtered by Xing Tianli in a single blow.

If this victory were to reach the Dali Holy Dynasty, it would cause another uproar in the court!
However, when Xing Tianli suddenly mentioned that Master Zhang was skilled in meticulous brushwork paintings of ladies... Zhang Bao's face turned slightly red. He widened his eyes and said with a slightly reserved 'shock': "Huh? People from later generations actually know that my father came from a scholarly family and was not a butcher who slaughtered pigs and dogs? Sigh, sigh!"

Rubbing his hands vigorously, Zhang Bao laughed loudly, "I do have some knowledge of calligraphy and painting. Haha, a general can't just be about fighting and killing!"

Zhang Bao glared fiercely in Bai Luanxing's direction, then rubbed his hands together so hard that sparks flew from his palms.

"Pah, forget it, these little puppies from Dali." Zhang Bao cursed.

On the deck of the warship, a large desk was laid out, and Xing Tianli took out the top-quality writing implements he had collected over the years. Zhang Bao enthusiastically began to write, his half-step quasi-saint level cultivation making his writing extremely efficient.

Soon, Xing Tianli acquired more than a dozen exquisitely detailed paintings of beauties, flowers, birds, and insects, along with dozens of large, imposing calligraphy works of battlefield poetry.

The brothers Ma Su and Ma Liang, along with a group of their generals, also came up.

Their expressions twisted slightly at the fact that Xing Tianli had ruthlessly annihilated 30,000 warships of the Dali Holy Dynasty—but it was only a slight twist before they completely forgot about it.

Xing Tianli chatted with Ma Su and Ma Liang.

He asked without any politeness about the cause and effect of the Jieting incident back then—Ma Su laughed heartily and said seriously, "When the broadsword fell on his neck, his soul, wrapped in a wisp of his life essence, was guided by the immortal to the outer void immortal realm, where he rebuilt his immortal body and embarked on the path of cultivation. Suddenly, he had an enlightenment."

Ma Su smiled and said, "When the sword fell, I deeply regretted it. If I had known it would be like this, I'm afraid I wouldn't have done it this way..."

Xing Tianli stared at Ma Su in horror.

Ma Su nodded slowly: "Therefore, three days ago, I 'knew' that today's battle would be subject to great changes, with a powerful enemy causing trouble, but also with a very powerful friend descending from the sky to break the stalemate."

Xing Tianli muttered, "The power of precognition?"

He shook his head. Ma Su was beheaded because of the Battle of Jieting. When he was beheaded, he was filled with regret and resentment for not knowing the outcome of the battle earlier. How many people in the world only look up to the sky and sigh "if only I had known" after things have happened?

Those people will never have the chance to come back.

Ma Su, however, was guided by an ancient immortal left behind by a sage, who helped him rebuild his immortal body and embark on the path of cultivation, giving him a second chance.

The phrase "if only I had known" was actually transformed into a unique innate divine power by him.

In matters related to war, according to their importance and urgency, he could, days or even months in advance, grasp certain 'predictions' with a high probability and clear understanding of the causes and consequences, the various aspects of the situation, and the evolution of events.

This ability is terrifying.

Even the Sima clan, Cao Wei, and Sun Wu were never able to figure out that Ma Su possessed such a terrifying 'innate supernatural power'.

However, in the years they fought against Shu Han, many famous generals and ministers suffered repeated losses at Ma Su's hands—including the leaders of the three forces, who all lamented that 'Ma Su is not what he used to be,' but little did they know that Ma Su possessed such terrifying abilities!

But today, Ma Su did not hesitate to tell Xing Tianli about his supernatural powers.

Ma Su and Ma Liang were from a prestigious family and were highly accomplished in calligraphy and painting. Xing Tianli was overjoyed and invited the two, along with the younger generation of the Ma family behind them, to inscribe words and paint pictures for him.

He complimented the Ma family members on their literary talent and extraordinary demeanor, and the Ma family members praised Xing Tianli's unfathomable cultivation and miraculous creation... Xing Tianli then took out thousands of jars of century-old Daughter Red wine with a Jiangnan flavor from Nanxun. For a time, Shu Han generals such as Zhang Bao, Zhang Zhu, Zhang Lan, Ma Su, and Ma Liang drank heartily with Xing Tianli, chatting about everything under the sun, having a great time.

When the calligraphy and paintings collected by Xing Tianli had piled up to more than three feet high, Xing Tianli bowed to Zhang Bao and his group to say goodbye.

Ma Su and the others didn't ask Xing Tianli where he was going or what he was going to do. Ma Su simply gave him the star map of this world, which the Shu Han forces had discovered over the years, showing the various forces of Shu Han, Cao Wei, Sun Wu, and the Sima clan.

This is a jade sphere the size of a human head, crystal clear, engraved with all sorts of intricate star patterns. With just a wisp of magical power inputted into it, a beam of light thousands of feet in diameter will burst forth, marking the entire galaxy map and its exact location.

The 'Beidou Navigation System' of the cultivation world is truly mysterious and infinitely profound.

Xing Tianli put away the warship, waved his sleeve, and handed the prisoners, including Sima Ping, to Zhang Bao and the others to deal with. Then, stepping on the Tower of Creation, he leisurely left Bai Luan Star.

Zhang Zhu, Zhang Lan, and the other younger members were still quite bewildered: "We're just letting Daoist Xing Tian leave like this? The direction he's going might cause trouble... Also, this time, the entire army stationed at Bai Luan Star, including Governor Lu Guan's army, was wiped out. How are we going to explain this to Dali?"

Zhang Bao, Ma Su, and Ma Liang, with their hands tucked into their sleeves, quietly watched the direction Xing Tianli had gone.

After a long, long time, Ma Su finally smiled slightly: "My lord is benevolent, which is a good thing... But my lord, by practicing benevolence, you have been restricting the mighty army of Shu Han. The Great Li Dynasty is immoral, hehe, it should have been taught a lesson long ago."

"Master Xingtian is a good Taoist priest. There are some things we cannot do, things our lord forbids us to do... Master Xingtian will do them for us... That's good enough!"

Zhang Lan understood Ma Su's words, and he exclaimed in horror, "But, that's the vast Dali Holy Dynasty!"

Zhang Bao nodded slightly: "So what if it's the Dali Holy Dynasty? If it weren't for us helping them all these years, they would have been destroyed long ago. It's one thing if they fall into Cao Mengde's hands, but Cao Mengde is still willing to give them the status of 'commoners'... But if they fall into the hands of the Sima clan and those Jiangdong rats, heh... they are savages even lower than slaves!"

The Tower of Creation, maintaining a radius of a hundred miles, proceeds grandly along the official road from Bailuan Star to the heart of the Dali Holy Dynasty. On both sides are chaotic stardust and asteroid belts, with a large amount of chaotic magnetic fields surging; even a Golden Immortal would have a very high probability of encountering trouble if they entered.

Among the stardust and asteroid belts stretching for nearly half a light-year, there is only one "pipe" tens of thousands of miles wide. Thanks to the dredging and maintenance by the Shu Han army over hundreds of years, it is calm and passable.

As Xing Tianli traveled along the long tunnel, he didn't encounter a single ghost.

According to the star map, this official road connects dozens of frontier planets, led by Bailuan Star, to a large strategic support area behind them, serving as the most important supply route for Bailuan Star and other border planets. Normally, at least tens of thousands of large transport ships travel back and forth along this route every day and night.

The battle at Bailuan Star, Sima Shi's surprise attack, and the interference of Cao Wei and Sun Wu were clearly sudden events, with absolutely no prior information leaked. Logically, even if news of the war had already spread, there should have been at least some fleets on this official road urgently seeking refuge.

But along the way, there wasn't a single ghost in sight.

Clearly, one or more forces had 'foreseen' something would happen on Bailuan Star, and they had restrained all transport fleets destined for Bailuan Star.

"They're being so blatant!" Xing Tianli exclaimed. "They don't even try to hide it. It's clear that the little devils of the Dali Holy Dynasty have water in their heads... Tsk tsk, I still don't understand. I really don't understand how Lu Guan dares to boss General Zhang Bao around just because his aunt is a so-called imperial concubine?"

"Alas, do they really think that without the support of Shu Han, they can withstand the invasion of the armies of Cao Wei, Sun Wu, and Sima Jin?"

Just thinking about the famous generals and ministers possessed by those three forces... made Xing Tianli's scalp tingle.

How could these tiny little people, with such low natural endowments, dare to do such a thing?

The Tower of Creation continued forward, and soon the chaotic stardust belt less than half a light-year away was left behind. A pale purple light shone ahead, and at the exit of this official road was a spacious star field with a diameter of more than ten light-years. Two pale purple suns formed a binary star system here, with dozens of habitable planets orbiting the two suns.

These dozens of habitable planets are known as 'Ziyang Pass' on the map of the Dali Holy Dynasty's territory.

'Ziyang', as the name suggests, refers to these two purple suns.

The reason for the 'pass' is that these dozens of planets also have large-scale armies stationed there year-round. If the Bailuan Star line is breached, Ziyang Pass will become the first line of defense against foreign invasion.

However, the situation in the Dali Holy Dynasty is quite—interesting!
Bai Luan Star is guarded by Zhang Lan and Zhang Zhu, who command the elite troops of Shu Han. As for Zi Yang Pass, according to the star map, it is a second-line border pass composed of dozens of habitable planets. All the officials, soldiers, and civilians are natives of the Dali Holy Dynasty.

There wasn't a single person from Shu Han.

There wasn't a single cultivator from the Nine Provinces.

Even the Dali Holy Dynasty army stationed at Ziyang Pass was superior to the army of Bai Luanxing in terms of the number of warships, the technical standards of the warships, the number of cultivators, and the cultivation level of the cultivators!
"This is clearly a case of using the Shu Han army as a shield while they themselves forge a razor-sharp blade and hold it to the back of Shu Han's forces." Xing Tianli shook his head: "These despicable people would actually do something like this?"

The Tower of Creation, without any concealment, rushed directly out of the official road.

In the void, dozens of strange ripples swept across simultaneously, including the most common electromagnetic waves, as well as other chaotic methods such as quantum ripples and particle torrents. Amidst the subtle hissing and rumbling sounds, many probing ripples swept across the Tower of Creation, activating its own defensive restrictions. The massive tower body erupted with dazzling light, illuminating an area of ​​a thousand miles in radius.

In an instant, it was as if a small sun with a diameter of a hundred miles had appeared out of thin air.

Not far away, on two man-made metal fortresses with diameters of thousands of miles, two fleets of warships from the Dali Holy Dynasty sped over. On the planet closest to Ziyang Pass, even more warships took to the air.

A large number of three-foot-tall cultivators clad in armor soared into the air, flying directly towards Xing Tianli.

Surprisingly, many of the three-foot-tall cultivators were wearing Taoist robes with patterns such as Tai Chi and Bagua, and some even had shaved their heads and put on monk robes. Their bodies were surrounded by surging Buddhist light and floating auspicious clouds, truly a scene of Buddhist grandeur.

Xing Tianli nodded slowly.

It seems that the arrival of Shu Han ultimately brought the cultivation civilization of the Nine Provinces to this place.

Regardless of the official thoughts of the Dali Holy Dynasty, Buddhism, Taoism, and other cultivation systems and religions quietly spread among the high-ranking officials of the Dali Holy Dynasty.

According to Zhang Bao, the Dali Holy Dynasty strictly controls the spread of cultivation methods. Only members of the royal family and high-ranking members of prestigious families can practice various cultivation methods. However, someone actually shaved his head and put on monk's robes...tsk tsk!
It is astonishing that members of royalty or prominent families could abandon wealth and honor to dedicate themselves to the practice of Buddhism.

Xing Tianli sensed the pure Buddhist Zen power emanating from these little bald heads and couldn't help but sigh, "Indeed, all things in the world possess Buddha-nature... cough, cough cough, this humble Taoist... with the Three Pure Ones above, these three-foot-tall bald monks are nothing!"

A golden light rapidly approached.

Auspicious clouds drifted by, and fragrant breezes wafted through the air. A bald Buddhist monk, about three feet five inches tall—a burly man by the standards of the Great Li Holy Dynasty—carried a convenient shovel and stood proudly blocking the way.

The little people of the Dali Holy Dynasty were no more than three feet tall, so they had delicate features and handsome faces. Although Lu Guan and others whom Xing Tianli had seen before were of bad character, their appearances were quite remarkable.

And this guy in front of me... is indeed a 'wicked monk'.

Standing three feet five inches tall, his body was a mass of bulging muscles, with a bushy beard, a lion-like nose, a square mouth, triangular eyes, and thick eyebrows, making him look incredibly fierce and menacing. He wore an apricot-yellow monk's robe, exposing his chest and revealing a tuft of chest hair the size of a chestnut. He pointed at Xing Tianli with his head held high and shouted sharply, "You Daoist, who are you from? What business do you have at my Ziyang Pass?"

Before Xing Tianli could speak, the evil monk shouted again, "Look at your height, so bulky and bloated, you're just a waste of food... Bah! You people of Shu Han should be grateful for the food in your mouths and the clothes on your bodies, all of which are the hard-earned money of the people of our Great Li Dynasty. You must be careful in your conduct and never do anything wrong or violate the laws of our Holy Dynasty!"

Before Xing Tianli could even speak, this fellow launched into a long, rambling lecture.

Then, he spread out his right hand and shouted impatiently, "Hey, Taoist, what's the meaning of your practice? Quickly take it out... Hmm, and also, what's the origin of your magic weapon for traveling? This old monk sees that your four-pointed pagoda has a very strange shape and looks bizarre. I'm afraid it's a demonic treasure?"

The evil monk stared at the Tower of Creation, looking it up and down.

He didn't even bother looking at it. At first, he just thought that the Tower of Creation was so huge and magnificent that it was obviously a treasure. He was just a little envious.

But upon closer inspection, the evil monk's expression changed.

This tower of creation exudes an ancient and profound aura, containing endless mysteries. Its thick, dark gold body is almost translucent and glassy, ​​with countless Dao patterns inside that meander like dragons, mysterious and indescribable.

That aura, ancient and powerful, far surpassed any treasure this evil monk had ever seen in his life!
Even the supreme commander stationed at Ziyang Pass, whose natal immortal artifact was like his lifeblood, was completely overshadowed by the Tower of Creation, which was like a piece of sheep dung placed in front of a peerless pearl.

The evil monk's gaze changed.

Behind him, streaks of light rushed forward, and many Taoists and monks arrived behind the evil monk. They all stared intently at the Tower of Creation, drool practically dripping from their mouths.

"You Daoist Wuna, hand over this demonic creature at once, or we will capture you alive, tear your soul out, and imprison you in the deepest abyss of the earth, so that you may howl day and night and never be reborn!"

Unable to suppress his greed, the evil monk roared fiercely at Xing Tianli.

He even jumped right in front of Xing Tianli and reached out to grab Xing Tianli's collar...

This is laughable.

The bald thief was only three feet five inches tall, while Xing Tianli, having compressed his body to the extreme, was now over sixteen feet tall. This fellow was practically like a little teddy bear trying to assault a Tibetan Mastiff!
Xing Tianli laughed angrily and slapped him across the face.

With a muffled thud, it turned out that the evil monk's Buddhist golden body was actually quite strong after being tempered.
This evil monk was actually a Buddhist body cultivator at the early stage of the Great Luo realm—Xing Tianli's casual slap only shattered half of his body, but didn't destroy his entire body!
The evil monk coughed up blood and was sent flying hundreds of miles away.

He shouted at the top of his lungs, "The Taoist priest is vicious! Brothers, attack together!"

(End of this chapter)