Hidden moth

Chapter 217: Dragon Plows the Mountain and Destroys the Jade Pillar

The man stood among the trees.

The branches and leaves of trees, fully exposed to the surrounding air, are much more flammable than asphalt pressed between gravel. High-level sorcerers of the Ruwei Sect practiced weapon refinement, often specializing in fire magic, with Zou Tianjin being a leader among them.

Using the same technique as before, Zou Tianjin only needed to snap his fingers to instantly drain the oxygen around the man, causing the trees to explode with a power almost equivalent to that of a small thermobaric bomb.

By then, not to mention taking his life, even his ashes will be scattered on the spot!

Zou Tianjin did not act rashly. If he really turned the other party into ashes and scattered them, many things would be unclear.

Moreover, that person had just seen Zou Tianjin perform the fire magic with his own eyes, yet he still dared to stand in the bushes. He was either a fool or he had something to rely on.

"Are you the Mr. Fabre?" Zou Tianjin asked.

Although it was dark, Zou Tianjin could still make out the other person's appearance. He had a typical Oriental face, about 30 or 40 years old. He looked quite handsome and had a pretty good figure.

The man replied, "You can call me that. My name is just a nickname. It doesn't matter if you call me Zhang San or Li Si."

He was very brave and stood directly in front of the deacon of the magic sect. According to Zou Tianjin's judgment, he was not wearing a mask and his true face was revealed.

Zou Tianjin: "Ruwei Sect doesn't have a disciple like you. Which sect are you from?"

Fabre shrugged his shoulders and said, "Magic isn't exclusive to the current magic sect. With so many magicians in the world, do they all have to be disciples of your Fengwei Township magic sect?"

Zou Tianjin: "A wandering man from the Jianghu?"

Fabre: "For you, this should be the name, and we call ourselves Xiaoyaoke."

Zou Tianjin shook his head and said, "You are not a free and easy guest. Nowadays, the free and easy guest is only referred to as a lone traveler in the art sect."

The so-called Xiaoyaoke is also called Duxingke. Now it is used to describe those sorcerers who don’t have much contact with their fellow disciples on weekdays and seem to be floating alone outside, such as Qian Guran who used to work in a design institute.

Of course, Lao Qian can no longer be considered a free man now.

Fabre was agitated upon hearing this and snorted coldly, "Deacon Zou, you've forgotten your roots! Since ancient times, free and easy travelers have been those who have mastered the art but have never joined your sect."

Since ancient times, there has been a situation that is inevitable, that is, someone has mastered the magic, but for various reasons has not been able to join the magic sect and be officially included in the sect's disciple list, and even the sect is unaware of the existence of this disciple.

For example, Gu Chun in his youth, and Wu Yanjun in the detention center. Before these people officially returned to the martial arts world, they had a specific name in ancient times called Xiaoyaoke.

However, with the development of the times, the meanings of many nouns have gradually changed. In modern times, "Xiaoyaoke" has been used to refer to lone travelers within the martial arts school.

Sorcerers who are not included in the genealogy of the magic sect are now usually called Jianghu wanderers or casual cultivators, including disciples who have been expelled from the magic sect but whose cultivation has not been abolished.

So Fabre's words weren't wrong, but they weren't entirely correct either. Even in ancient times, "xiaoyaoke" mostly referred to disciples who hadn't officially joined a sect for some reason, and judging by his tone, it probably referred to sorcerers who were unwilling to join.

Just from this sentence, we can judge Fabre's identity and position.

Zou Tianjin did not engage in verbal argument with him, and asked, "Which technique do you practice?"

Fabre: "I've practiced a little bit of everything."

Zou Tianjin: "Why do you do this?"

Fabre: "May I ask what I did? If this is about your nephew, then you went to Shi Haotu yourself and wanted to hold the 30% stake in Lu Shutang's name, but the deal just didn't go through.

Deacon Zou is capable of doing this, but I just have the intention and haven't done it yet. Is that a sin?"

Zou Tianjin: "Why do you want to unlock Shi Yunlu's seal?"

Fabre: "What is Shi Yunlu's crime?"

Zou Tianjin: "He attempted to assassinate Shi Haotu and his wife and has been caught red-handed."

Fabre shook his head and said, "That was later. I was asking what Shi Yunlu had done wrong. Why was he going to ban the cultivation he had painstakingly cultivated over the years?"

Zou Tianjin frowned and said, "You don't even know what happened to the Huimingshi family, do you?"

Fabre: "Whoever is at fault will be held accountable. Hasn't your clan law hall already investigated this? Shi Yunlu has lived overseas for a long time. He wasn't involved in the Shi family's illegal activities at all. At least the clan law hall doesn't have any evidence, right?"

Zou Tianjin: "So he wasn't expelled from the clan, but simply received a warning and was banned for a year to prevent further unrest during that time."

Fabre: "Are you admitting that he did nothing wrong? Why should he be punished innocently?"

Zou Tianjin: "He is not innocent, he is just being dealt with according to the sect's rules! The magic he practiced was obtained from the sect, so he must abide by the sect's rules. If he were just an ordinary person, there would be no restrictions. He received a favor from the Shi family, this is the law of fate, how can he not be implicated?"

Fabre opened his arms and said, "I'm not a disciple of the Ruwei Sect, nor have I eaten your rice. So there's no need for me to listen to you, right? I'm a good sorcerer who has done nothing wrong. Just because something happened at home, you've been unjustly banned from cultivation.

He asked me to help him get rid of the ban, and I sympathized with his situation. What was wrong with that? As for what he did after the ban was lifted, that was his business. I didn't ask him to kill Shi Haotu.

Excuse me, Deacon Zou, what have I done wrong?"

Zou Tianjin: "You sent those two cars of assassins, didn't you? Did you just watch them die?"

Fabre did not comment, but asked in return: "Do you have any evidence? Can't I just be a spectator?"

Zou Tianjin: "You are not a disciple of Ruwei Sect, so I really can't control you, but the Zongfa Hall was established for this purpose. You have learned magic, and as long as you behave yourself, no one will pay attention to you. But if you act recklessly, the Zongfa Hall will punish you."

Fabre actually laughed: "Tell me properly - how did I mess around?"

Zou Tianjin: "Shi Yunlu is a disciple of the Shu Sect and was punished according to the sect's rules, yet you secretly lifted the ban on him. You, yourselves, claim to be free and unresigned, unwilling to return to the sect, yet secretly interfere in and disrupt the affairs of the Shu Sect.

I just want to ask – why would you do that?”

Fabre asked in return, "Excuse me, Deacon Zou, what is the purpose of your practice of magic?"

The question was a bit strange, but he obviously didn't want Zou Tianjin to answer. He stretched his arms as if to stretch, and then said: "Transcend the mundane world and gain great freedom. In short, it is to escape from the cage."

After saying this, he looked at Zou Tianjin with a questioning look. Zou Tianjin said expressionlessly, "Go on, I'm listening."

There is no need to act rashly at this time. First, you have to find out where Fabre came from. The more he says, the more information you can get.

Fabre continued, "The senses are a cage, illness is a cage, desire is a cage, the inner demon is a cage, and the heaven and earth are also a cage. For sorcerers like me, the magic schools that rely on the major caves are cages, and the clan law hall is even more of a cage."

Zou Tianjin frowned and said, "Your Excellency, you mean that the Zongfa Hall is getting in your way. If there were no Zongfa Hall, would a wanderer like you be able to rely on magic to do whatever you want? You are a high-level sorcerer after all, so how can you be so naive!"

Fabre waved his hand and said, "You misunderstood. That's not what I meant. In fact, in my eyes, you, all of you, are just dogs on a chain. You may not have cared about it in the past, but now someone is planning to tighten the chain..."

These words were very unpleasant to hear. Zou Tianjin was already angry, but his anger suddenly turned into shock, because as the words came out, Fabre sent a divine thought, which was about the secret of the internal strife in the magic sect a thousand years ago, and also involved the rumor about the hidden moth.

Zou Tianjin didn't have time to think about what he was saying, because the divine consciousness itself was shocking enough, which meant that the other party had at least the sixth level of cultivation, which was equivalent to an elder in the current sect.

There is actually a wandering warrior with such a high level of cultivation?
As soon as he received the divine thought, Zou Tianjin took action without any warning, without even snapping his fingers. He silently used his spiritual energy to perform the fire magic that had been prepared for a long time, attempting to create a small thermobaric bomb.

Zou Tianjin was not sure whether he could defeat Fabre, but he knew that his cultivation was not as good as the other party's. If he started a normal fight, he would probably not be his opponent, so he immediately launched a sneak attack, and his reaction was extremely decisive and straightforward.

However, the expected explosion did not occur. Fabre annihilated Zou Tianjin's magic with a wave of his hand, and only a deep scorch mark inexplicably appeared on the tree trunk next to him.

But this at least shows one thing, that when Zou Tianjin used all his strength, Fabre could not perfectly dissolve all the power of the magic, and a little bit of it overflowed.

At this moment, one can conclude that although Zou Tianjin's cultivation is not as good as his, he is not completely hopeless.

Zou Tianjin was not surprised that the fire magic failed to work. He did not expect that this move could hurt Fabre. After casting the magic, he jumped towards Fabre without hesitation.

His body turned into that of a dragon, like a dragon but without horns, and his scales were sparkling with golden light - this was the magical effect of the magic weapon.

Zou Tianjin's personal magic weapon usually looks like a gold bracelet. The craftsmanship is extremely exquisite and complicated. It seems to be woven with fine gold wire, like a small golden dragon wrapped around the wrist. Its name is Locking Jade Pillar.

"Golden Dragon Locking Jade Pillar" is a state of mind, known as the pinnacle of external martial arts, much more advanced than the iron shirt and golden bell cover in martial arts novels.

But it was too difficult to cultivate the furnace to this level, so someone came up with a trick and refined a rare magic weapon. Its magical function was to simulate the power of the Golden Dragon Locking Jade Pillar, and it was named Locking Jade Pillar.

The Golden Dragon is a manifestation of the magical instrument's magical power. The Jade Pillar is the cultivator's cauldron. Activating this magical weapon will transform into a golden dragon to lock and protect the body. The higher the cultivation level and the stronger the magic power, the closer the protective range is to the body, and the better the effect of the defense.

Although the Locking Jade Pillar is not a divine weapon, it is also considered a top-grade magical weapon for self-defense. Even the current elder of the Shu Sect, Kang Rulin, cannot create such a magical weapon. It is a legacy left by the founder of the Shu Sect and is not privately owned by Zou Tianjin.

As a deacon of Ruweimen, Zou Tianjin took this thing out of the treasury specifically for self-defense.

The magic of the Locking Jade Pillar is to protect oneself. It seems that it can only passively withstand attacks and has no offensive capabilities. However, when the weapon is used by a person, even the simplest magic can be used in a variety of ways in the hands of an expert.

Zou Tianjin held the protective range of the magic weapon close to his body, and it looked as if he had turned into a golden dragon, rushing towards Fabre at the fastest speed.

The fire magic Zou Tianjin had previously used was merely to contain the opponent. No matter how high Fabre's cultivation level was, he was still mortal. If he collided with him, he would probably be swept up with a large broom.

Fabre obviously didn't expect that Zou Tianjin didn't want to talk anymore but didn't run away either. He used his magic weapon to protect himself and used himself as a weapon, flying towards him in the blink of an eye.

Fabre just resolved Zou Tianjin's fire attack with a seemingly casual wave of his hand, and his posture was very cool, but in fact he was intentionally showing off his skills, which made him look like he was pretending, and this delayed his reaction time.

Fabre couldn't hit it, he really couldn't hit it. He dodged, but he didn't get away completely.

Fabre jumped up and hid in the sky. This wandering man in the martial arts world actually had a flying artifact. He was taking advantage of Zou Tianjin who couldn't fly, but his reaction was slow, or Zou Tianjin came too fast.

The flying dragon's claws were already in front of Fabre, and it looked like it was going to tear him apart. Fabre flew up and swung his hand to strike the dragon's claws, but instead of hitting them directly, he used his magic power to strike them from a distance.

There was only a dull explosion in the air, and Fabre flew diagonally into the sky. The blow did not completely hit him, and Fabre used the momentum of soaring to absorb the force, but his right arm had already drooped limply.

Then, looking at the golden dragon transformed by Zou Tianjin, it was knocked down by this blow and crashed into the top of the hill, actually forcibly opening a gully. The top of the hill was originally round, but now it has become saddle-shaped.

Zou Tianjin secretly thought it was a pity, but he had no intention of fighting. He continued to rush forward without slowing down. He had regained his shape in the darkness, but his body seemed to be covered with a layer of matte scales.

Deacon Zou ran away, running away as fast as he could!

When masters clash, the stakes are so high, life and death are at stake. You can't assume the one with the higher cultivation level will win. Otherwise, what's the point of fighting? If Fabre had reacted even a fraction slower, he would have been dead.

Zou Tianjin, who rushed over the hill, also felt dizzy. Although he was not injured at all, he felt like he was sick. Most of his strength had been drained away, and he looked very weak.

This was a sign of vitality loss, stemming from Fabre's downward palm strike. Fabre was no match for his opponent in a head-on collision, but he also employed a more sophisticated technique.

Zou Tianjin had already figured out that Fabre was a sixth-rank physician practicing the art of body observation. No wonder he was able to unblock Shi Yunlu's seal, as his cultivation was even higher than that of a fifth-rank incantation practitioner.

The so-called doctors in the art of magic can not only cure diseases, but also take lives. The palm strike just now was depriving Zou Tianjin of his vitality.

Under different circumstances, Zou Tianjin should have taken the elixir and practiced cultivation to dispel the magic that had invaded the furnace and slowly recover. But at this moment, he had no time for that and could only grit his teeth and continue to fly.

If he did this, he would suffer severe internal injuries afterwards, but he couldn't care less and just tried to escape first. If he had turned and run from the beginning, he would have been unable to escape. It was precisely because he took the initiative that he had won this opportunity.

Zou Tianjin was thinking this when he suddenly received another divine thought, so he stopped. He didn't have any healing pills on him, so he sat on the ground and began to practice qigong to recuperate.

Fabre was injured. One of his arms was broken by the impact and he rolled into the sky like a hunter being thrown into the air by a mad wild boar, but he managed to steady himself just before falling.

In the darkness, invisible wind blades seemed to form a pair of wings. He was about to chase Zou Tianjin, but suddenly turned around and flew away, escaping even faster than Zou Tianjin.

As he flew, he flapped his invisible wings, sending out wind blades that swirled and slashed backwards.

It was a clear day, with clouds scattered among the starry sky. Even at night, you couldn't tell whether they were dark clouds or white clouds. One cloud floated so low that it seemed to have fallen from the sky, like a huge fist.

If Fabre had run slower, he would have been hit by that fist. Fortunately, he used his spiritual awareness to stay alert at all times during the fight and escaped in time.

The cloud drifted towards him, seemingly at a slow pace, but Fabre was unable to shake it off. The wind blades he sent out seemed to pierce into cotton candy, not having much of an effect.

It was at this moment that Zou Tianjin received the divine thought, and he had already run quite a distance.

**
(End of this chapter)