The downpour was heavy, and the wind was howling.
At that time, the sky was darkened, and within a hundred miles radius, the only source of light was a bonfire that had been lit within a dilapidated ancient temple.
"Master, the meat is cooked." Pang Hong handed the roasted meat to Pei Xuanjing.
Pei Xuanjing shook his head, "You eat first, don't worry about me."
Pang Hong nodded and started eating eagerly. Clearly, the journey had left him famished.
Pei Xuanjing handed him the water pouch beside him, "Eat slowly, there's no rush."
"Thank you, Master." Pang Hong swallowed his bite of meat and took the water pouch.
Bang!
The temple door was pushed open, and a young man and woman entered.
The two soaked individuals, upon seeing the two men in the temple, hesitated before the young man bowed his fist and said, "My sister and I were caught in the rain and would like to shelter here temporarily. I hope you don't mind."
Pei Xuanjing waved his hand, "No problem, we are not the owners of this place. It's deserted and in ruins. We just arrived a little earlier than you."
"Thank you." The young man thanked him and pulled the young girl to another part of the main hall.
The ancient temple was small, with only one main hall. In the center was a statue of an unknown deity covered in cobwebs, suggesting it had been in ruins a long time.
They sat down, also found some wood, and lit a bonfire to stave off the cold.
The girl occasionally glanced at the gluttonous Pang Hong and then at the dry food in her own hand, struggling to swallow.
"Master?" Even though Pang Hong was young, he was quite observant.
Pei Xuanjing laughed, "If you want to give, just give. The decision is yours."
Pang Hong nodded, sliced a portion of the roasted deer meat with his dagger, and walked over to them.
"Brother and sister, if you don't mind, you can have some of this. "
The young man's face revealed an embarrassed expression, but after seeing his sister salivating over the meat, he accepted graciously, "Thank you, little brother."
"No problem, we can't finish it all anyway. As long as you don't mind." Pang Hong smiled.
As Pang Hong returned to his seat, Pei Xuanjing watched the siblings who were dividing the deer meat without any doubt, shaking his head internally, confirming his thoughts.
He had thought earlier that the pair seemed somewhat naive. Now that he had seen them eat the deer meat without any doubt, it was clear to him that they were greenhorns just embarking on their journey.
In general, when travelling, one must have some guard against others. Especially in the wilderness, one cannot casually accept food from others.
Pei Xuanjing closed his eyes again to meditate, immersing himself in the realm of martial arts.
But, not long after, he heard the hurried approaching footsteps.
The faces of the young man and woman changed instantly. The young man quickly gulped down his food, did not even bother to wipe his hands, and straightened up his body, his hand gripping the hilt of his sword.
"Hurry, go hide."
The girl's face was anxious. She swiftly drew her sword and carefully hid behind a thick pillar, nervously watching the temple gate.
"Master?" Pang Hong whispered.
Pei Xuanjing opened his eyes, shook his head to Pang Hong, then closed his eyes again, seeming indifferent to the situation.
Seeing Pei Xuanjing as calm as a mountain, Pang Hong's tension evaporated.
In his eyes, as long as Pei Xuanjing was not worried, he would not be worried either.
The young man looked at the calm master and disciple with surprise. However, hearing the footsteps coming closer, he had no time to say anything.
Clang!
The temple door was brutally pushed open, and a gust of hill wind poured in.
Five burly men walked in, each armed and steady, and with well-balanced bodies. From their looks, they were clearly accomplished martial arts masters.
"Big brother, there are people inside," the leading man said to the last one.
The man walked to the front, glanced at the unmoved Pei Xuanjing and his disciple, and then at the slightly nervous young man. He understood.
"Folks, we've been caught in the night rain and wanted to shelter here. We ask for your understanding."
Seeing Pei Xuanjing unmoved, the young man forced himself to say, "No problem, we are not the owners here, either. This place has long been deserted, it's just that we arrived a little earlier." He actually repeated Pei Xuanjing's words earlier.
"Thank you." The one referred to as the Big Brother thanked him and moved with the remaining three to occupy an empty space.
The girl also cautiously came out from behind the deity statue and snuggled up to her brother.
The silence in the main hall was broken only by the sound of the burning firewood and the pounding rain outside the temple.
The five big men gathered together, whispering something.
While talking, they kept glancing at the other five people in the temple.
Suddenly, the first man who had entered stood up and walked directly towards Pei Xuanjing and his disciple.
"Little brother, my brothers and I have been running all day. Could you spare some of your meat for us?" He asked Pang Hong.
"No, we only have this much left, my master hasn't eaten yet." Pang Hong refused his request. The big man looked at him, then turned his gaze to Pei Xuanjing, "How about you, brother?"
"No!" Pei Xuanjing didn't even open his eyes and uttered two words.
"Huh!" The man, who was used to being domineering, was taken aback by Pei Xuanjing's refusal. For a moment, he didn't know how to react, his face turning angry.
As if feeling the hostility, Pei Xuanjing opened his eyes and just calmly looked at him.
The big man felt like he was being watched by a fierce beast. His body was tense and a chill rose from his back.
"Fourth brother, come back!" The man called "Big Brother" scolded. He stood up and saluted Pei Xuanjing, "My apologies, brother."
After speaking, he pulled his brother away.
"Don't provoke him. He'S powerful and unpredictable," he whispered into his brother's ear.
Pei Xuanjing watched the two men and did not say anything further, closing his eyes again.
Even though the situation had calmed down, the atmosphere inside the hall was even eerier.
Squeak!
The temple door was pushed open again, and a man and woman slowly walked in.
Pei Xuanjing's face darkened, apparently the arrival of this pair was beyond his expectation because, with his perception, he should have been able to predict the arrival of anyone within the vicinity of the temple.
But now, he only noticed these two when they had almost reached the door.
Obviously, these two were far more powerful than he had expected.
The man looked about forty, dressed in white, elegant and indifferent. He seemed more like a scholar than a martial artist.
The woman appeared to be in her twenties, was dressed in a palace gown, wearing white embroidered shoes, giving off a pure air.
Take note, it was pouring outside, but these two walked in impeccably clean, as if unaffected by the rain.
Seeing the man and woman enter, the five burly men turned pale, clenching their weapons and looking at them vigilantly.
"Hand over the thing, and I may spare you." The woman in the palace dress ignored the men's vigilance and spoke casually..
"Dream on!"
The five naturally refused to comply.
The woman chuckled placidly, "So be it, then you may all die."
As her words fell, the ribbons wrapped around her arms shot out like silver snakes, trapping all five men within.
Naturally, the five did not wish to show weakness and each made for their opponent.
Boom!
The six of them crossed hands, their powers clashing violently. The woman was shockingly a third-grade grandmaster, and also one of the most powerful among third-grade grandmasters. Despite being outnumbered five to one, the woman in the palace skirt was far from losing ground.
"Brother!"
The young girl off in the distance pressed closer to her older brother, her face showing a terrified expression.
The young man could feel the mighty collision of the six warriors even more vividly, his teeth clenched in pain, fiercely pulling his sister back and retreating.
The martial arts true intentions of several people continued to diffuse in succession, the air current swept across, dust was flying and smoke was billowing throughout the great hall.
Swoosh!
Pei Xuanjing frowned slightly, lightly waved his sleeves, blocked the fluctuation of several people's hands, and the original flickering brazier also settled down again.
Seeing Pei Xuanjing's casual gesture, the youth's eyes lit up, thinking of Pei Xuanjing's kindness just now, hesitated for a moment, and headed straight towards Pei Xuanjing.
As for the two of them getting closer, Pei Xuanjing glanced at them, but didn't say much.
At this moment, his attention was not all on the fighting six people, but mostly on the scholarly and elegant man who looked like a scholar.
The fighting among several people was getting more and more intense, nearly overturning the great
"Gentlemen, if you overturn this great hall, we will all have to spend the night in the heavy rain." Pei Xuanjing's voice gently rang.
Yet, to the six people fighting, the voice was as startling as thunder.
"A grandmaster! "
The faces of several people changed drastically, but their movements did not stop.
The palace skirt woman seemed to have some reliance, even if she was surprised by Pei Xuanjing expressing his opinion, but she was fearless with the middle-aged man by her side.
And the five burly men, when faced with the continuous attacks of the woman in the palace skirt, naturally cannot give up.
Watching the six continued their fighting, Pei Xuanjing frowned slightly.
Suddenly, the scholarly man in white spoke, "Yiyao, since Brother Pei has spoken, let's stop for now!"
"Hmm?" Pei Xuanjing looked at the man in white, a name emerged in his mind, and said, "You're Zhao Baiyang."
"Brother Pei indeed has keen eyesight." The scholarly man in white, or rather Zhao Baiyang, laughed.
Upon hearing this, Pei Xuanjing's face grew cold, and he slowly stood up, his aura beginning to change.
The only reason Pei Xuanjing was affected so much was due to the identity of Zhao Baiyang, the current leader of the Maitreya Sect.
Zhao Baiyang, his original name already unknown to most, made his name in the martial arts world under the name Baiyang.
The teachings of the Mire Sect spoke of three eras: the initial era, the middle era, and the final era, corresponding to the Green Sun Burning Lamp Ancient Buddha, the Red Sun Sakyamuni, and the White Sun Maitreya Buddha.
If he took the name Baiyang, it showed his ambition and confidence.
Since Zhao Baiyang became the leader of the Maitreya Sect, the sect's power has grown day by day. He can be viewed as an eminent leader and a major concern for the imperial court of the Great Ming. Pei Xuanjing was surprised that he would appear here just for a few third-grade martial artists. So, when he revealed his own identity, he realized that Zhao Baiyang was here for him.
"Master, is this Pei Xuanjing?" The woman in the palace skirt looked curious.
As the Holy Maiden of the Maitreya Sect, Yu Yiyao, was groomed by sect leader Zhao Baiyang from a young age. She stepped into the realm of third-grade grandmaster when she was just twenty-three years old, and she is considered a genius by many within the sect.
But when the name Pei Xuanjing came into view, all she had became dim and insignificant compared to him.
At first, she had thought about proving to her master that she was not inferior to him.
But in just two short years, news about Pei Xuanjing came out one after another. Especially when he, as a second-grade martial artist, killed a first-grade martial artist who was a deputy sect leader, it was simply mind-blowing for Yu Yiyao.
She never expected that there would be such a genius, or rather, a monster, a freak, in this world.
Now, when she heard the master say that the seemingly ordinary young Taoist in front of her was the famous Pei Xuanjing in the martial arts world, she could hardly believe it.
Except for being somewhat handsome, there doesn't seem to be anything special about him.
When the name Pei Xuanjing was called out, it wasn't just Yu Yiyao who was slightly surprised.
The five burly men who had just crossed hands with Yu Yiyao were also shocked. They never thought they would meet the now famous Pei Xuanjing in this broken temple in the middle of nowhere.
Especially the fourth brother, thinking about how he almost had a conflict with Pei Xuanjing, who was rumored to be extremely brutal, his heart tightened and his back was covered in cold sweat.
The leader of the men exhaled a long breath. He had felt earlier that Pei Xuanjing was not someone to be trifled with. Thinking that his group was already in trouble, it wouldn't be wise to stir more, and that was why he stopped the fourth brother.
He was fortunate, since if they had offended this man, they would undoubtedly die.
However, realizing that Mire Sect's leader Zhao Baiyang had personally hunted them down this time, his face unconsciously grew darker.
He watched the two on edge, his eyes flickering uncertainly, as if planning something.
The young man and the girl had obviously heard of Pei Xuanjing too, and even let out a gasp when they learned of his identity. But they were quickly silenced by the brother.
The two were the weakest among the four groups in the great hall, like trembling lambs, hiding and waiting for the lions and tigers to determine the winner.
"This gentleman, is the now famous Pei Xuanjing from the martial arts world." Zhao Baiyang said with a smile.
His tone was very calm, like introducing an old friend, and he didn't care that many top-notch Mire Sect's high-ranking fighters had died at the hands of Pei Xuanjing.
Pei Xuanjing didn't care about the thoughts of others and didn't know what trick Zhao Baiyang was trying to pull. He motioned for Pang Hong to stand behind him, with his hand slowly falling on the hilt of his sword.
The rain is still pouring down, the wind is howling.
The large open hall door occasionally let in the rain and wind.
But at this moment, the attention of everyone was not on that, they were all watching the two closely.
Even before these two made any moves, they dared not make any further actions.
In the not-so-large hall, the atmosphere has reached its peak at this moment.
"Are you here to kill me?" Pei Xuanjing looked at Zhao Baiyang, his tone cold.
As his words fell, the true intention of his martial arts gradually diffused, and the Qi inside his body circulated, pouring into the Shenxiao Sword.
The faint sound of a sword humming seemed to ring in everyone's ears.
A great battle, is about to begin!