BOOM!
Yun Chuan held his long spear, the aura of a Golden Core cultivator on full display.
The spear struck like a dragon, transforming in the blink of an eye into a hundred spiritual energy spears that pierced through every charging demonic beast.
Li Junzi held the former Vice Sage's Poluo Brush in hand.
Ever since she had won the debate, the brush had been temporarily entrusted to her use. It had not formally acknowledged a master; it seemed the brush merely wanted to observe what Li Junzi said and did.
With a lift of the brush, righteous qi surged forth as she wrote the two characters "Armor Break" in midair.
Righteous qi and literary qi merged to form a long arrow, which soared through the air at her pointing.
It was hard to say whether these nearly mindless beasts still harbored some primal fear of death.
The beast tide did not linger to tangle with their group, instead circling around them and fleeing past.
It seemed as though something utterly terrifying was pursuing them.
Li Junzi's expression was grave.
"When things are this abnormal, there must be something sinister afoot. The situation ahead may be worse than we imagined."
Yun Chuan retracted his spear.
"For better or worse, we must press on."
Li Junzi gave a gentle nod, then laid out their worst-case plan.
"Please be extremely careful, everyone. We are still quite far from Zhengyin Dharma Temple."
"If the temple has also fallen to the beast tide, we will divert to the Pudu River instead."
Everyone voiced their agreement.
Yun Chuan glanced at Li Junzi, whose exhaustion was difficult to hide.
As a Confucian cultivator, her stamina could not compare to that of a martial cultivator.
But the situation along this path was highly unusual, and lingering was not an option.
Yun Chuan pondered for a moment before speaking.
"I will scout ahead first. If anything happens, I will come back and notify you all."
"No." Li Junzi shook her head gently. "The situation ahead is unknown. Going alone would leave you isolated and without backup..."
Li Junzi's words halted mid-sentence.
From the direction of Zhengyin Dharma Temple, two streaks of rainbow light were hurtling toward them at extreme speed.
Making no effort to conceal themselves, their terrifying auras were palpable even from a great distance.
Yun Chuan's eyes widened as his divine sense spread warily across his entire body, his grip tightening on his spear.
Whether they were friend or foe was truly uncertain.
Then again, with cultivation of that level, they might not even bother to acknowledge their existence.
Perhaps they were just passing through...
But the moment that thought arose, Yun Chuan wanted to slap himself.
The two streaks of light veered straight toward them without any deviation, even descending in altitude.
They were clearly coming right for them.
Yun Chuan's expression hardened as he prepared for the worst.
"None of you have reached Golden Core yet. You would be useless if you stayed. Take Li Junzi and retreat first."
Li Junzi hesitated slightly, her gaze settling on the lesser of the two streaks of light.
That aura felt faintly familiar to her.
"There is no need for alarm, fellow cultivators."
A clear female voice transmitted through spiritual power.
Li Junzi's face instantly lit up with a smile. She recognized the voice.
"There is no need to panic, everyone. One of them is a fellow disciple of my student."
Yun Chuan looked stunned... Your student's fellow disciple is this formidable?
The two streaks of light descended.
One was a young man in Daoist robes.
The other was a woman in white, with exquisitely refined features.
Li Junzi naturally remembered Yuyang Daozi, who had visited Junzi Mountain together with Chu Xingchen.
As for the woman in white, her voice had not changed much and was still recognizable.
But compared to the image of the little Baiqing she remembered, the change was enormous.
Li Junzi asked.
"Is that you, Baiqing?"
Chen Baiqing hurried forward to greet her.
"It is Baiqing! Weren't you supposed to be at Junzi Mountain? What brings you to the Western Ox Continent?"
The tension in Li Junzi's heart melted away entirely, and a smile spread across her face.
"I heard about the demonic beast rampage in the Western Ox Continent. I could not bear to ignore it, so I came to see the situation for myself."
"Even if you wanted to see for yourself, you should not have come alone. You should have found us first. Do you not feel close to us?"
Chen Baiqing's brows furrowed slightly, her expression carrying a hint of displeasure.
Yet her hand still warmly grasped Li Junzi's arm as her divine sense flowed covertly, checking Li Junzi's condition.
"Of course not." Li Junzi hurriedly denied it.
Chen Baiqing withdrew her divine sense.
Li Junzi had no serious injuries, only showing signs of fatigue and energy depletion.
Yuyang Daozi also stepped forward with a quick bow, nodding lightly at Li Junzi before introducing himself.
"I am Yuyang, Baiqing's martial uncle, so to speak."
Yun Chuan watched Li Junzi chatting familiarly with the profoundly powerful Chen Baiqing, feeling only mild surprise.
But when he heard this young Daoist call himself Yuyang...
The shock in his heart was thoroughly ignited.
Yun Chuan's eyes went wide, his lips moving slightly but unable to produce words.
He did not dare to actually ask whether this top-tier cultivator was truly the Yuyang Daozi of Zhongzhou's Tai Dao Sect.
Li Junzi promptly returned the courtesy. "I remember you. We met at Junzi Mountain."
Yuyang Daozi smiled at those words.
"It is good that you remember. It has been a long time since we last met."
Chen Baiqing supported Li Junzi by the arm.
"This is not the place for reminiscing. We are temporarily staying at Zhengyin Dharma Temple, and you need to rest and recover as well."
"Why don't you come rest there for a while?"
Li Junzi had been heading to Zhengyin Dharma Temple anyway.
Moreover, with Chen Baiqing here, Chu Xingchen was most likely here as well.
Their reason for coming was probably also the demonic beast chaos in the Western Ox Continent.
Truly, in this world, good people were always in abundance.
Li Junzi did not decline, nodding in agreement.
She also mentioned that the cultivators traveling with her needed to rest as well.
Yuyang Daozi readily agreed. It was no great matter.
He pulled several jade hairpins from his spatial ring and, with a flick of spiritual power, transformed them into flying platforms that people could sit upon.
Several people per platform, he waved his hand, and they transformed into streaks of emerald light heading toward Zhengyin Dharma Temple.
As the group departed, several figures that Chen Baiqing had dispatched also headed in the direction of the temple.
The journey was uneventful, all the way to Zhengyin Dharma Temple.
Yun Chuan felt as though he were dreaming, the scene before him seeming almost surreal.
He saw hundreds of cultivators, each at minimum Golden Core realm, manning formations.
Multiple layers of golden light encircled the area, shielding all the civilians who had fled to the temple's vicinity.
There were even Spirit Transformation cultivators riding the open sky, their divine sense sweeping the surroundings.
It was not just him. His traveling companions were mostly at Foundation Establishment realm.
None of them had ever witnessed a scene where Golden Core elders were everywhere.
Yun Chuan's confirmation of Yuyang Daozi's identity came swiftly.
He had broken through to the Golden Core realm by seeking opportunities in Zhongzhou, so he had naturally learned to recognize the attire of the Eighteen Immortal Sects' disciples.
Along the way, many disciples wearing Tai Dao Sect robes clasped their hands in salute, and Yuyang Daozi simply nodded in return.
As for cultivators of other sects, he basically did not even acknowledge them.
Most of the Tai Dao Sect cultivators who saluted were at the Nascent Soul realm, each bearing an aura so profound it was frightening.
Even if they were putting on a show, it would be impossible to find this many Nascent Soul cultivants in the entire Western Ox Continent.
This Yuyang Daozi... was truly a core disciple of the current generation of the Eighteen Immortal Sects' Tai Dao Sect.
Yun Chuan silently swallowed hard. This time, he was truly beholding the visage of immortals.
Yuyang Daozi led the way, passing through layers of ceremonial formations with ease, arriving directly before the only remaining Mahavira Hall of Zhengyin Dharma Temple.
Li Junzi was also quite moved, but as a Confucian cultivator from the Southern Continent, her knowledge of the Eighteen Immortal Sects was limited.
She could not even name all eighteen sects, much less understand what they represented in the cultivation world.
She casually praised them: "With such fervent devotion, Yuyang Daozi's sect must be a great and righteous one."
At those words, Yun Chuan could only lower his head.
A great and righteous sect... Whether it was truly righteous and good, he did not know.
But it was certainly big enough.
Big enough to be terrifying.
Still... why would Tai Dao Sect come straight here? This was Buddhist territory.
And how could Zhengyin Dharma Temple be under Tai Dao Sect's jurisdiction?
Yuyang Daozi gave a light sigh.
"It was Chu Xingchen who took the lead. Quite a few of these fervent righteous sects came. Xuanqing Heavenly Sect and Tianyan Sect are both here in full force as well."
At those words, Yun Chuan's brain simply went blank.
How could the mere Western Ox Continent command such an enormous display?
Was this... a war against Buddha?
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