This humble Taoist priest, Qianhe, begins his quest for immortality by slaying demons and monsters.

Chapter 104 News Spreads Throughout the Land, Maoshan's Strong Support

A memorial from Tan Jixun, the Governor-General of Huguang in Wuchang Prefecture, was delivered to the capital day and night.

When the capital received the news, it was also greatly shocked. The loss of about 2,500 Eight Banner soldiers was a significant blow to the already crumbling Qing Dynasty.

Especially since the one who caused all of this was Maoshan Daoist Qianhe, once this incident came to light, all the Daoist sects in the world quickly learned the details.

Maoshan.

Inside the main hall of the sect leader.

Xuanmingzi looked at Qian Yuan Zhenren, whose face was somewhat bitter, and couldn't help but chuckle.

"Junior Brother Qian Yuan, what are you doing?"

Upon hearing this, Master Qian Yuan sighed softly, “Senior Brother, Zhong Bai, that brat, was just appointed as a Maoshan Daoist. He has only been down the mountain for a little over ten days, yet he has already killed two thousand Qing soldiers. This is my fault as his master. I beg Senior Brother to punish Junior Brother!”

This kind of thing can be big or small. If Zhong Bai didn't have the identity of a Maoshan Daoist, Master Qian Yuan would think it was just a trivial matter.

However, Zhong Bai, who was a Maoshan Taoist priest, had killed so many Eight Banner soldiers. If others were to say that he was too bloodthirsty and had too much karma, it would definitely affect his ability to continue being a Maoshan Taoist priest.

Therefore, upon learning the news, Master Qian Yuan immediately went to Sect Leader Xuan Mingzi to resolve the matter privately.

Xuanmingzi smiled brightly.

"I didn't realize that you cared so much about your junior brother Zhong Bai."

However, junior brother, there's no need for that!

We all know the situation. Everyone knows what kind of people those Eight Banner soldiers are. Although Zhong Bai killed more than 2,000 Eight Banner soldiers, he did rid the people of a scourge.

Besides... those who are not of our kind are bound to have different hearts. They are just some Manchus. We Maoshan would never punish Zhong Bai for such a trivial matter.

Not only will I not punish him, but in my opinion, I should also show all the Taoist sects in the world that I support Zhong Bai!

The Qing Dynasty is already in its twilight years; let the Taoist sect see it off on its final journey…

Xuanmingzi's words left Qian Yuan Zhenren somewhat bewildered. No, how could things have developed like this?

However, Master Qian Yuan wasn't bothered by it; as long as Zhong Bai wasn't punished, that was fine.

"By the way, Junior Brother Qian Yuan, although Maoshan will not blame Junior Nephew Zhong Bai for this matter, there is something that Junior Brother Qian Yuan needs to remind Junior Nephew Zhong Bai of.

There is no chance of ascension for us Maoshan people in the future. As the world is, we can only continue to cultivate in the underworld, accumulating karma, which will be somewhat detrimental to our souls entering the underworld in the future.

It seems that Junior Brother Qian Yuan also understands its importance, and he advises Junior Nephew Zhong Bai to avoid taking action as much as possible, or to choose those burdened with karma to kill when necessary.

Besides, sometimes you don't even need to do it yourself. For example, you can let the demons and evil spirits do it, and then kill them. Not only will you not incur any karma, but you can also gain merit..."

Pfft, Master Qian Yuan couldn't help but roll his eyes, so in the end not only did it fizzle out, but he also had to teach Zhong Bai how to kill.

Looking at Xuanmingzi, who was still giving advice on his own, Qian Yuan Zhenren felt like a stranger.

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A decree from Maoshan spread throughout the land, recounting Zhong Bai's heroic deeds.

His words were full of praise, showing no regard for the dignity of the Qing Dynasty.

Similarly, when the Maoshan decree was issued, Longhushan also issued a decree, which was exactly the same as Maoshan's, both praising Zhong Bai.

The three mountains, being of the same spirit and connected by blood, quickly responded to the call from Gezao Mountain.

Seeing that the Three Mountains Talismans were not afraid of the Qing court, other Taoist sects were also eager to make their move. Qingcheng Mountain was far away in Sichuan and was not bound by the Qing court. When the decree was issued, the language was exaggerated and sharp.

Gradually, various sects of Taoism began to criticize the Eight Banners soldiers of the Qing government, and in no time, the name Zhong Bai became known throughout the land!
Capital.

In the Qianqing Palace, the person in power at this moment was the so-called Empress Dowager. Originally, she did not think that the death of two thousand Eight Banner soldiers was a big deal, so she didn't even bother to read the memorial submitted by Tan Jixun.

After all, she knew which was more important, offending the Taoist sect or losing face with the imperial court.

But... things seemed to develop in a way that was beyond her expectations. The Taoist sect actually took the lead in criticizing the Qing court, showing no respect for the imperial court at all. The Empress Dowager was furious!

What's the use of being angry? Will it completely ruin things with the Taoist sect? Heh, she doesn't have much time left, and she doesn't want to waste her energy on such a trivial matter.

Despite their anger, the Qing court remained completely silent, as if the incident had never happened.

After leaving Wuchang Prefecture, Zhong Bai didn't take the matter to heart either. He would deal with whatever came his way. Rather than worrying about the Qing court's reaction, he was more pleased to see the increase in the numbers on his demon-slaying panel.

[Slay 7 mid-game Oni soldiers to obtain 2800 Demon Extermination Points]

[Slay one late-game Oni Shikigami to obtain 800 Demon Extermination Points]

Current Demon Extermination Points: 6600

In a dense forest, Zhong Bai sat cross-legged on a boulder, taking out the demon general's essence blood from his Qiankun Ring. Now that he had the Demon Extermination Points and the demon general's essence blood, Zhong Bai gradually realized the importance of Qi Blood Qi and Samadhi True Fire!
As for the Divine Firmament Five Thunder Technique, well... it has gradually transformed into a gluttonous maw. Anyway, Zhong Bai thinks that if he throws all six thousand demon-slaying points into it, he can probably only reach the mid-stage of the ninth level of Qi Refining.

Compared to the improvement in cultivation level, the combined combat ability of powerful qi, blood, and physical strength is actually more terrifying.

[Consume 4000 Demon Extermination Points to exchange for 4000 days of cultivation time for the Shangqing Dragon Elephant Technique]

On the 400th day, with the aid of the demon general's essence blood, your physical body is rapidly improving; in just 400 days, you have gained an immense strength of two thousand jin.

[On the 1400th day, the demon general's essence blood was consumed at an extremely rapid rate, and your physical body had basically exhausted it, causing your internal strength to surge again by a full three thousand.] [On the 3580th day, due to the absence of the demon general's essence blood, your cultivation progress slowed down considerably, and your physical strength increased by only two thousand jin.]

[We've exhausted our demon-slaying points]

At this moment, Zhong Bai's body was crackling and popping like beans that had ripened, his bones and muscles were writhing, his veins were bulging, and his blood and qi were also rapidly increasing.

Finally, when it was all over, Zhong Bai was covered in sweat. The feeling of physical enhancement made him extremely excited.

Opening his eyes, Zhong Bai exhaled a heavy breath. This time, the four thousand demon-slaying points, plus the essence blood of the demon general, boosted his strength by a full seven thousand jin, bringing his physical strength to around thirty-seven thousand jin.

It has to be said that the higher one goes, the more difficult it becomes to cultivate. Zhong Bai finally understood why Maoshan only had one Nascent Soul Ancestor who could reach the fifth level. This was simply a height that ordinary people could not reach.

As he stood up, the Yin-Yang Water and Fire Robe on Zhong Bai's body was swept away by the gentle breeze, and all the sweat on his body disappeared.

"Continue north, and you'll reach Henan province."

Zhong Bai muttered to himself, "Henan is the Central Plains, and it's no exaggeration to say that it's the center of the nine provinces of China."

Walking on the official road, Zhong Bai passed a guard post. Generally speaking, wanted criminals and the like would be posted in various places.

Zhong Bai thought he could find himself on it, but to his embarrassment, there was no information about him at all.

We came to a teahouse, which was set up to quench the thirst of travelers on the official road.

The tea stall was doing fairly well; at least from a distance, Zhong Bai could see that there were seven or eight pedestrians sitting inside.

When Zhong Bai arrived at the tea stall, an old man greeted him with a smile.

"Master, would you like a pot of tea?"

Zhong Bai nodded, "Just bring me any pot of tea from your tea stall."

"Yes! I understand!"

As he spoke, the old man went to make tea for Zhong Bai. As soon as Zhong Bai sat down, his expression became strange. The reason was simple: the tea drinkers here seemed to be talking about something related to him.

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"Brother Zhang, I heard that Maoshan and a group of Taoist sects recently issued a decree to support Taoist Master Qianhe of Maoshan. This matter is truly astonishing!"

"Haha, Brother Liu, speaking of this matter, I do know a little about it. I have a relative from Wuchang Prefecture. According to him, there was a lot of thunder and heavy rain in Wuchang Prefecture that night."

When I woke up the next day, the streets were covered in blood!
More than two thousand Eight Banner soldiers, all of whom were the elite of the imperial court, were killed just like that.

"A single person! Wow, it's unimaginable how terrifying this Maoshan Taoist priest must be!"

Upon hearing this, the man surnamed Liu was taken aback.

"It seems that what was said is true. The key is that the court seems to have not sent out any information, which means they are willing but unable to do so."

Brother Zhang, in my opinion, the Qing Dynasty is doomed!

Brother Liu, be careful what you say!

Zhong Bai heard the conversation between the two clearly, so when he killed two thousand elite Qing soldiers, the other side really didn't react at all.
Aside from that, Zhong Bai wasn't surprised by Maoshan's attitude. Two days ago, Master Qianyuan had written to him, informing him of Maoshan's stance on the matter.

Speaking of this, Zhong Bai was speechless. In the letter, his master actually told him that if he did such things in the future, it would be best to let demons and evil spirits take the blame.

Okay, that's a good idea.

Zhong Bai will keep this in mind for now and try it out when he has the chance.

"Master, your tea!"

Just then, the old man also placed the teapot on the table in front of Zhong Bai.

Just as Zhong Bai poured himself a cup of hot tea, the two people who had been chatting earlier turned around and looked at him.

"Hey, Daoist Master, as a member of the Daoist sect, you must know some inside information about Daoist Master Qianhe of Maoshan, right?"
Could you tell us about Master Qianhe's personality and appearance, so we can brag about it to our friends?

Upon hearing this, Zhong Bai was immediately delighted. He wanted him to introduce himself?

After putting a cup of tea into his mouth, Zhong Bai did not refuse.

"Speaking of Master Qianhe, I have some authority to speak on this matter. I am from Maoshan!"

Upon hearing the words "Maoshan," the two were immediately startled, and the other tea drinkers who were listening quietly also widened their eyes.

"Oh my! Daoist Master, you are actually from Maoshan, then you must have really met Daoist Master Qianhe!"

"Quickly, quickly, Taoist Master, please tell me!"

Zhong Bai chuckled, "Speaking of Daoist Qianhe, we must mention Daoist Qianhe's master, the Qian Yuan Zhenren of the Maoshan Law Enforcement Hall!"
It is said that discerning eyes can recognize heroes. When Master Qianhe first became a disciple of Maoshan, he was quite ordinary. It was only thanks to Master Qianyuan's discerning eye that he was accepted as a disciple..."

Zhong Bai found it amusing, so he chatted with the group of tea drinkers to pass the time. Gradually, more and more customers came to the tea stall, and the old man at the tea stall never stopped smiling.

Taking time off is so tiring!

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(End of this chapter)