The Villain's Counterattack

The Jingnian Temple was attacked, the imperial seal and the Heshi Bi were stolen, Master Liaokong was seriously injured, more than half of the Four Vajras were killed or wounded, and less than eleven of the hundreds of monks were unharmed. The city of Luoyang was set on fire in an instant.

Jingnian Zen Temple is so powerful that everyone knows about the forces and masters who secretly coveted the Heshi Bi. Even if Zen Master Liaokong did not take action, the four great Vajras, each of whom is a half-step master, would be forced to retreat if they joined forces, otherwise they would be killed in vain.

But such an existence was beaten to death and injured countless times, and the Heshi Bi was stolen. How could those forces who were eyeing the treasure accept this? They sent people to investigate, but when they saw the wanderer Ning Daoqi who was in charge of Jingnian Zen Temple, their minds instantly changed.

Could it be that this grandmaster was also there when the incident happened last night?

If he was there, how could they succeed? Could it be that the ones who did it were Martial Master Bi Xuan and Sword Master Fu Cailin? If the two grandmasters had not joined forces, how could they have been almost wiped out by the enemy at their doorstep?

It has to be said that although their guess was not right, it was not far off. It was indeed two grandmasters who attacked Cihang Jingzhai yesterday. One of them held back the wanderer Ning Daoqi, and the other one went on a killing spree in Cihang Jingzhai. However, these two grandmasters were not the Martial Master Bi Xuan and the Sword Master Fu Cailin, but the Evil King Shi Zhixuan and the newly promoted grandmaster Yang Xuangan.

The appearance of Yang Xuangan put Jingnian Zen Temple in a dilemma. They hastily launched an uprising after receiving hints from Buddhism. The reason why they did not choose Zhuo County to block Yang Guang's retreat or their own base Chang'an, but instead went straight to Luoyang in the east, was because they received instigation and promises from Buddhism.

But when Yang Xuangan led his army to Luoyang, he found that the eastern capital Luoyang had been built like an iron barrel by the Sui army, and the Jingnian Zen Temple even announced the closure of its mountain gates at this time, giving Yang Xuangan a cold reception.

The Four Vajras replaced Master Kong to entertain Yang Xuangan, and the answer they gave was that monks should not care about worldly affairs, let alone wield guns and kill innocent people, so they did not abide by the agreement to help him open the gate of Luoyang City, and they hindered Yang Xuangan either openly or secretly.

Even after Yang Xuangan was defeated, many monks were sent to hunt him down and kill him to silence him. Unfortunately, the last monk sent never returned, and Duke of Chu Yang Xuangan also disappeared without a trace.

Some people say that he died in battle, and seven or eight graves have been found. Some people say that he went into exile overseas after his defeat. Some people say that he took his confidants to the border areas hoping to make a comeback with the help of foreign tribes. Even more outrageous rumors say that he became a monk.

When these rumors started circulating, Fan Qinghui and Master Liaokong were completely bewildered, wondering who in the entire Buddhist community of Central China would dare to accept him? Had they gotten the OK from Cihang Jingzhai and Jingnian Zen Monastery?

Now Yang Xuangan suddenly appeared, and with his great master's fighting power, he almost destroyed the entire Jingnian Zen Temple. What shocked them even more was that there were thousands of elite cavalrymen at the foot of the mountain that night. It was because of their intimidation that Yang Xuangan was able to escape unscathed after being almost exhausted.

Although there are no grand masters in Jingnian Zen Temple, it is not a place where ordinary masters can come and go as they please. Even Yang Xuangan, who was a new grand master, was almost kept by them.

Jingnian Zen Temple hurriedly notified Shi Feixuan, who sent an urgent letter to Cihang Jingzhai and discussed solutions with Zen Master Lekong. They also guessed from the appearance of Yang Xuangan and thousands of elite cavalry that Master Li Fan, who had caused a lot of controversy some time ago, was the instigator of the large-scale attack and looting of the temple.

Duke of Chu Yang Xuangan!

He has the ability and the motivation, especially since he recently directed the war towards the aristocratic families, which further confirmed their ideas. After all, when Yang Xuangan was defeated, the roles played by the Buddhist sect and the aristocratic families were not very good.

During the discussion, they suddenly remembered the rumor that whoever got the Heshi Bi or Yang Gong's treasure could rule the world. In this rumor, the Heshi Bi was released by them, but who released the Yang Gong's treasure?

Goguryeo female swordsman Fu Junchao?

Now that Yang Xuangan has appeared, many doubts have been resolved. They originally thought that the reason why Fu Junchuo knew the information about Yang Gong's treasure came from Hu Sizheng, who was Yang Su's confidant and later became friends with Yang Xuangan. After his defeat, he fled to Goguryeo and was eventually betrayed by the King of Goguryeo to Yang Guang and was eventually executed.

Now it seems that this was all a scam. Fu Junchuo either didn't know where Yang Gong's treasure was and only got some treasure from Yang Xuangan to fish, or she got information about the treasure from Yang Xuangan, but most of the treasure had been emptied by Yang Xuangan, and the remaining leftovers were used by her to spread cholera in the Central Plains.

All of a sudden, the Heshi Bi was lost in Cihang Jingzhai, which indirectly proved that Yang Gong's treasure might have been emptied, and almost shocked the three masters Shi Feixuan, Master Liaokong, and Ning Daoqi.

After a brief discussion, they decided to find a scapegoat to quickly end this farce.

You mean to directly expose the existence of Yang Xuangan and join forces with the wealthy and powerful families to eliminate him?

Haha, do you think a Grandmaster is so easy to deal with? Exposing Yang Xuangan has few advantages, but the disadvantages are significant. Cihang Jingzhai does not want the world to focus on the wealth of Buddhism, and Yang Gong's treasure is definitely coveted by most martial artists and rebel forces.

Another thing is, if Yang Xuangan’s actions were exposed, how would they explain Yang Xuangan’s disgust and hatred towards Buddhism?

If Yang Xuangan exposed the private agreement they had made with him before, I am afraid that the image of Buddhism would be severely damaged.

Shi Feixuan asked the wanderer Ning Daoqi about the strength of the Evil King. Ning Daoqi said helplessly that there was no difference in the level of the Evil King's martial arts and his own. If they really had to compare, the Evil King might be slightly better. This was the benefit of having inheritance. Even if only a part of the inheritance of the Heavenly Demon Strategy was passed down, he was much stronger than the wanderer of the Taoist sect.

This slight difference wasn't enough to pose a fatal threat. He couldn't defeat the Evil King, and the Evil King couldn't possibly harm him. He could barely offset the power of the Demon Sect's newly promoted Grandmaster. Furthermore, the Yin Gui Sect's leader, Zhu Yuyan, and the Evil King, Shi Zhixuan, held a deep-seated grudge. The moment they met, they would face a life-or-death battle. This was actually a significant advantage; if they joined forces, he would be invincible.

Ning Daoqi said again that Zhu Yuyan's martial arts had improved significantly for some reason and she had already reached the level of a half-step grandmaster, one level higher than Fan Qinghui. There might be something fishy about the Yingui Sect, so Shi Feixuan had to be more careful. It seemed that the Holy Maiden of the Yingui Sect had also come to Luoyang City with Zhu Yuyan.

The duel between the Holy Maiden of Cihang Jingzhai and the Demon Maiden of Yingui Sect is an old tradition. There has always been no winner. Even Zhu Yuyan and Fan Qinghui have been fighting for decades, and there is still no winner until now.

But for some reason, Zhu Yuyan's strength suddenly increased dramatically, and she seemed to have gradually left Fan Qinghui behind, which made Ning Daoqi very puzzled.

Ultimately, Shi Feixuan decided to choose Shuanglong as a scapegoat. After all, they had indeed visited Jingnian Monastery last night and were frightened off by Master Liaokong; this was an irrefutable fact. As for their subsequent appearance at Manqing Monastery, that was completely out of their consideration. They only needed a scapegoat; did it really matter who the real culprit was?

It is true that the Heshi Bi is a supreme treasure, but once this treasure is exposed, it will no longer be under the control of their Cihang Jingzhai. The supreme treasure of the Human Emperor can only be possessed by the Nine Five Supreme Being. Their Cihang Jingzhai can choose the emperor on behalf of heaven, but cannot directly control the supreme treasure of the Human Emperor, otherwise it will cause heroes all over the world to rise up and attack them.

"If my perception is correct, there was still a Grand Master hiding in plain sight that day." Ning Daoqi's words left Master Feixuan and Zen Master Liaokong speechless. When had Grand Masters become so common? Four of them appeared in one night. Fortunately, they weren't part of the same group, otherwise Jingnian Zen Temple would be in danger, and Buddhism would be in danger.

"Is this Grand Master from my Buddhist sect?"

"That person's aura is peaceful, yet filled with natural, ethereal rhythms. He must be an authentic Taoist Grandmaster."

"..."