In the beginning, he was ranked alongside An Shigeng as a spoiled brat.

"Uncle-Master Wenjue, are you alright? You were in charge of them..."

"The abbot is fine, but the thousand-year-old foundation of Qingliang Temple was almost destroyed!"

Wenjue looked at everyone, and also bowed his head and wailed.

He knew that he didn't blame the Zhang family for what happened, and that the Golden-Faced Buddha hadn't killed anyone. It could only be said that compared to them, the Golden-Faced Buddha's understanding of Buddhism was superior.

Upon hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

But then he saw the 'corpse' in front of the main hall and was immediately horrified.

"The abbot? Uncle Wenming? Uncle Wenyuan..."

He has no breath and doesn't react at all even when shaken violently. Is that what you call being alright?

Everyone suspected that Wenjue had lost his mind due to excessive grief.

“Amitabha, the abbot and his fellow disciples are only in a state of suspended animation. Wenjue has only just woken up from suspended animation.”

"suspended animation?"

Upon hearing this, everyone stared in disbelief at the group of high monks who had supposedly died.

"Uncle-Master Wenjue, are the abbots really alright?"

"Waking up from a fake death is not a problem, but I'm afraid I'll lose all my martial arts skills after waking up."

However, his martial arts skills weren't crippled; rather, his true qi was sealed by the Zen Finger technique, rendering him unable to use it in the slightest unless he comprehends the true meaning of the Buddhist concept of formlessness and selflessness!

"Uncle-Master Wenjue, what does this mean?"

Upon hearing this, the monks were momentarily confused, not understanding what was going on.

"You will know when the host wakes up."

Everyone was puzzled by Wenjue's words, but they knew that something must have happened.

The one who woke up the fastest was the person on the sacred mountain, around dusk.

But the abbot of Shenshan, upon waking, had lost all his martial arts skills, just as Wenjue had said.

At first, the Venerable Shenshan thought there was something wrong with his meridians.

But soon, Shenshan discovered that all his power seemed to have vanished into thin air. It wasn't until Wenjue explained that he understood how terrifying and mysterious the Golden-Faced Buddha's methods were.

As for the remaining monks?

They woke up one after another, all of them having lost all their martial arts skills, but their bodies were perfectly fine.

In particular, Wenjue also told the Venerable Shenshan about the Golden-Faced Buddha's warning, and in an instant, the Venerable Shenshan aged several decades.

Murder and kill!

Qingliang Temple is determined to suffer this loss.

Otherwise, it wouldn't be too easy for the Zhang family to tarnish their reputation.

Meanwhile, the news of Hell Gate's siege of Qingliang Temple spread throughout the country the following day.

Furthermore, there are reports of a golden-faced Buddha appearing at Qingliang Temple.

For the major powers, this was by no means a coincidence, but rather an agreement made by the two parties.

Compared to the news of the two fighting, they were more concerned about why the successors of the Tathagata Palm and the Heavenly Cripple Divine Skill appeared at Qingliang Temple at the same time.

Is it an alliance? Or a coincidence? Or something else entirely...?

Moreover, this was the first clash between the Tathagata Palm and the Heavenly Crippled Divine Skill.

The group, especially after climbing the mountain, were deeply moved upon seeing the ruins of Qingliang Temple.

That was truly a destructive force capable of 'destroying the heavens and the earth'; most of the ancient temples within a radius of hundreds of feet suffered devastating blows.

It's hard to imagine that this scene was caused by a duel between two people.

However, the news that spread through the martial arts world was not about the Golden-Faced Buddha taking action against the Divine Mountain Master.

Instead, when Hell Gate was about to destroy Qingliang Temple, the Golden-Faced Buddha arrived in time as a savior and fought a fierce battle with the Hell Gate Master, Gu Jianhun, for three hundred rounds.

Finally, the Heavenly Crippled Divine Skill restrained the Tathagata Palm, and the Golden-Faced Buddha defeated the Fire Cloud Evil God Ancient Sword Soul in one fell swoop, saving Qingliang Temple from the crisis of annihilation with his supreme divine skill.

When this news came out, Qingliang Temple, Hell Gate, and Zhang Xiaoshan were all stunned.

Clearly, there is a powerful force manipulating public opinion.

Moreover, although the final results were similar, there was a suspicion of provocation.

But for Zhang Xiaoshan and Gu Jianhun, it was something they had already anticipated, and they could only laugh it off.

It seems the news of Hell's Gate hasn't reached them yet; otherwise, they wouldn't have made such a foolish provocation.

At the same time, news also spread that Zhang Xiaoshan had revealed a treasure in Yangzhou's Ghost Street.

One in the south, one in the north, nearly ten thousand miles apart.

With this alibi, no one doubted that Zhang Xiaoshan was the 'Golden-Faced Buddha'.

However, Zhang Xiaoshan seemed to be trying to cover up the truth. Even if someone had doubts, Zhang Xiaoshan had multiple alibis and the two of them appeared in two different places at the same time, so any suspicions were immediately dismissed.

In no time, Hell's Gate, Golden-Faced Buddha, and the Zhang Family became the top trending topics in Kyushu.

As a result, some people wanted to become apprentices, some wanted to steal treasures, and some wanted to join Ghost Street...

Chapter 343 Zhu Wushi's Ambition and Conspiracy

"Do you all wish to purchase ancient tortoise shells?"

Unfortunately, you've all arrived too late; the Zhang family has already decided to present it as tribute to the imperial family!

On the fishing boat, Zhang Xiaoshan looked at the messengers coming from all directions.

There were imperial guards from the Ming Dynasty, high-ranking officials, and chivalrous heroes...

These people were all trying to buy the hermit turtle shell, but unfortunately, they received an answer they absolutely did not want.

Since the Zhang family of Lin'an Prefecture was offering the highest tribute, it couldn't possibly be the Ming Dynasty or the Tang Dynasty, but rather the Song Dynasty.

Looking at the extremely calm boy in front of them, they looked puzzled.

"why?"

"Ten years of tax exemption!"

Hiss...

Upon hearing this, the entire hall fell silent. They naturally knew the price the Song Dynasty had paid.

Tax exemption for ten years?

Given the Zhang family's current business, their annual tax revenue is astronomical, probably no less than 100,000 gold coins.

This is still an underestimate.

In the Song Dynasty, the tax on commerce was one-thirtieth of the social hierarchy: scholars, farmers, artisans, and

Therefore, what appears to be a bloodless acquisition will, for the Zhang family, amount to far more than a million gold in taxes over ten years.

If the Zhang family's annual revenue exceeds three million gold, they will have to pay 100,000 gold in taxes.

　133 is just one example of the high-end industries such as red wine, pastries, beauty products, and snow salt. The total business is much more than that.

And the prices they could offer were 100,000 gold, 200,000 gold...

But it's definitely not worth a million gold coins, so this offer is not comparable at all.

"I see, congratulations, young master!"

A powerful gun?

Everyone was still clear-headed.

Faced with the Zhang family's overwhelming strength, and even the bronze-armored warriors that Zhang Xiaoshan had deliberately deployed, they were naturally aware of the difference in strength.

Since the Zhang family has decided to pay tribute, it would be more practical for them to rob the imperial palace than to rob the Zhang family.

Therefore, everyone could only offer their congratulations on the success of this deal.

After seeing off a group of high-ranking officials,江湖豪客 (jianghu heroes), and wealthy merchants, a hint of disdain flashed across Zhang Xiaoshan's face.

Even if they don't offer tribute, how could these insignificant people be allowed to lay a finger on the Zhang family's treasures?

They all overestimated their own status.

He felt that the Zhang family was being too low-key; so many people wanted to get their hands on a single treasure.

However, Zhang Xiaoshan quickly calmed down; it was perfectly normal for treasures to move people.

As long as it's not outright robbery, what has he to complain about?

"Is this tortoise shell really going to be offered as tribute?" (bjca)

"Useless things are naturally used to obtain the greatest benefits."

Well, this water-repelling turtle shell may look unusual, but it's actually not very useful, at least not for now.

The underwater world is no secret to Zhang Xiaoshan now.

As for avoiding water?

At most, you can just look at the underwater scenery, and that's only under absolutely safe conditions!

"Pity!"

Although Huang Rong was somewhat reluctant, she understood the importance of the ten years' worth of taxes to the Zhang family.

Besides, as Zhang Xiaoshan said, this thing is only novel to look at; it's not as practical as the Flying Fish Dragon Wing.

Moreover, they have now accumulated one large and three small flying fish dragon wings.

A large excrement refers to the enormous wings of a dragon that can soar through the sky;

The three small ones are three pairs of small dragon wings that can only be used for gliding, but they are absolutely treasures!

···

"Buddha's Palm? Heavenly Crippled Divine Skill?"

Hulong Villa!

At this moment, Zhu Wushi's eyes were filled with greed.

The simultaneous appearance of two extraordinary martial arts techniques that had once made a fleeting appearance in the martial arts world is certainly not a good thing for any of the major powers.

Especially the Ancient Sword Soul, Hell Gate is a group of evil spirits from hell, clearly there for revenge.

Back then, Gu Jianhun had too many enemies.

To obtain the Tathagata Palm technique, various powerful forces were involved in plotting against the Ancient Sword Soul.

It can be said that few well-known forces in the Ming Dynasty were innocent.

Of course, back then he was a down-on-his-luck prince and wasn't qualified to participate.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for others to obtain the Tathagata Palm.

However, he possesses the Absorption Technique, so as long as he absorbs the inner strength of the Ancient Sword Soul, he will naturally be able to master the Tathagata Palm, a peerless martial art.

Now, his main focus is on figuring out how to severely injure the Ancient Sword Soul so that he can seize an opportunity.

Otherwise, he would definitely not be able to withstand a single palm strike from Gu Jianhun if he went head-to-head with him.

As for the Golden-Faced Buddha?

The Golden-Faced Buddha rarely appears, so his sudden appearance at Qingliang Temple this time is no coincidence.

But the golden-faced Buddha is too mysterious!

Although he appears to be alone, he has the backing of two palace masters from Yihua Palace and is also allied with the Zhang family, so he is definitely not someone to be trifled with.

The strength displayed by the Golden-Faced Buddha was so formidable that even Zhu Wushi, after seeing the intelligence, was wary of it.

Both are unparalleled martial arts techniques, yet the Golden-Faced Buddha defeated the Ancient Sword Soul in a single move, demonstrating his extraordinary strength.

Even if he obtains the Tathagata Palm manual, he might not be a match for the Golden-Faced Buddha.

If possible, Zhu Wushi wanted to provoke a life-or-death battle between the two masters, so he could reap the benefits in the end.