Morning of September 25.

Without any disturbance, Zhang Rongfang, with several carts of supplies, divided into two teams, one in the open and one in the shadows, set off once more on the journey to Ze Province.

The main team was led by a stand-in disguised as him, taking the official road openly.

The secondary team, however, was him along with a master dispatched by another elder, both disguised in identity and appearance, advancing via a different route.

Due to the need for secrecy, the only ones seeing him off were Master Yue Dewen and Senior Brother Zhang Qingzhi.

This time, with a hurried departure, Yue Dewen did not linger but instead quickly and hastily arranged everything for him before sending him out of the Great Capital.

Aside from asking Zhang Rongfang to give regards to the elder granduncle, nothing more was said.

But neither the Celestial Treasure Palace nor Zhang Rongfang expected that the matters of Citong were far from over.

So many people vanished into thin air, among them even grandmaster-level deity worshippers; no force could simply ignore it.

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Western Sect Ancestral Court, True Buddha Temple.

Resplendent in gold, the Golden Buddha Hall, completely crafted from gold, is the most luxurious, supreme main hall within the True Buddha Temple.

The entire Golden Buddha Hall stands over fifty meters high and more than thirty meters wide.

Inside, the walls are engraved with countless depictions of various Buddha images.

These are all the Arhats, Buddhas, Bodhisattvas beneath the Great Joy Tathagata.

On the golden floor, in front of a giant Buddha statue, sat a somewhat emaciated, blackened elderly monk in meditation.

The monk, draped in a gold-threaded red kasaya, sat quietly with his head bowed in thought.

“Seat of Honor.” At this moment, a tall red-faced monk hurriedly stepped into the main hall.

“It has been confirmed, the leader of the Golden Wing Pavilion, Cheng Hui, is now completely missing.

The former Sea Dragon King, Kongwu, has vanished, presumed dead.

Jin Yuan and Kongding have both returned, but they brought back little intelligence to find useful clues from.”

“Adding in the previous two from Wanghai Temple, four experts… two with ‘Kong’ in their names, one with ‘Hui,’ although the leader of the Golden Wing Pavilion was not much, managing the pavilion was quite useful, yet now that’s gone too…”

The emaciated old monk slowly turned his face, revealing a wrinkled visage like tree bark.

“Such a place as Citong, nothing happened before, but the moment that little one arrived, incidents occurred consecutively…”

“Seat, even if this doesn’t have outward connections with the Great Dao Teaching, they must be behind this design. Previously thought they were neutral, didn’t expect them to be so sinister and cunning in secret,” the tall monk spoke indignantly.

“Yue Dewen, aggressive as ever, a year ago, the affairs of Qingchuan Prefecture in Ze Province, now it seems, most probably have his hand in it too,” the emaciated old monk said softly.

“Then Seat, how should we respond?” the tall monk asked with difficulty.

“No need to worry, no one is foolish; couldn’t see clearly before, couldn’t notice at the time, but with so much time, anyone can discern who ultimately benefits.” The old monk smiled, “Yue Dewen won’t be smug for long.”

After a moment’s thought, he whispered instructions.

“Kongming has always wanted to meet the Daoist of the Great Dao Teaching; as the third Buddha Son of our True Buddha Temple, he should stretch his limbs a bit. Buddha Son against Daoist, win or lose, it’s fitting.”

“Your meaning is?”

“Just a normal exchange is fine. Between peers, other ranks shouldn’t interfere rashly. Invite back that Zhang Ying, we should also inquire how things transpired in Citong. Besides, coming to the Great Capital, we should extend our hospitality. Leaving so quickly, what is that?”

“Understood.”

The tall monk saluted, turned, and quickly walked out.

The third Buddha Son, Kongming, has long been stuck at the perfect state of Three Emptiness, accumulating strength for a breakthrough to Grandmaster, without worshiping gods all this time.

Buddha Son against Daoist, such a friendly exchange, even if Great Dao Teaching knows, they can’t say anything.

Only among them do they know that the third Buddha Son, Kongming, is no longer a young man…

By now, he’s over fifty…. having never broken through, although referred to as Buddha Son, he’s essentially been doing elder work for a long time.

With him leading, accompanied by two deputies collaborating in the Three Emptiness Gods worship, capturing a Zhang Ying should be a piece of cake.

*

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*

Two hundred miles outside the Great Capital.

Yuanjiang River, Ningshan Town.

The river water flows ceaselessly, gushing with a powerful current, the river surface remarkably wide.

This is the indispensable route to Ze Province.

To cross the river, one must wait for a boat.

The river water is turbulent now, ordinary boats can’t cross directly, requiring the stream to calm somewhat first.

At this moment in Ningshan Town, following a passing merchant caravan, arrived two robust martial artists.

One stood at two meters two, the other at two meters five. Even among many martial artists, they were exceptionally towering.

The two disguised as ordinary travelers, donned in long sleeves and pants, cloaks, and hoods.

One carried a large backpack, presumably all their belongings.

“Daoist, ahead is the Yuanjiang River. From here, we can take a boat, go downstream to the river mouth, disembark, then walk a bit more to reach the destination.” The shorter one softly pointed to the Yuanjiang River in front, introducing it.

“Can’t we just cross the river and take the land route?” The other man, who was an imposing two and a half meters tall, was clearly Zhang Rongfang, currently traveling to Great Spirit Province.

“We can, but it’ll be much slower, and the ship has everything you need, so it won’t be tiring. Of course, if you really don’t like traveling by ship, we can go by land.” The other man answered earnestly.

This man was Ding Chong, who was arranged by Yue Dewen as Zhang Rongfang’s guide and escort before their departure.

“Alright then, let’s do as you say.” Zhang Rongfang nodded.

His convoy was now split into two groups, even though it was a procession from the Celestial Treasure Palace, they still exercised such caution.

It seems… that his master hasn’t been idle these past two years.

Otherwise, who would dare openly defy the heavens and directly attack the procession of the Great Dao Teaching? Are they tired of living?

Unless the conflict had escalated to the point that it couldn’t be covered up, Yue Dewen would not have arranged it this way.

At this moment, the two inquired at the dock, and the boatman said a chartered boat to leave in the early morning was necessary, as there would definitely be boats heading to the Yuanjiang River by then.

Of course, if no direct ship was available, they would have to transfer from another location.

The two found an inn in town and stayed for the night, planning to leave the next day.

In the afternoon.

The inn’s hall was nearly filled with tables laden with dishes, wine, and rice.

The aroma of the dishes mixed with the rich fragrance of rice, slowly drifting through the inn, enticing appetites.

Zhang Rongfang and Ding Chong found an inconspicuous spot in the corner and ordered a table full of food and drinks.

“Senior Brother Ding, I feel something strange about this trip back. At first, I wanted to stay for a few days until my Citong subordinates arrived before setting off. Why is Master so impatient to push me to leave quickly?”

Zhang Rongfang finally couldn’t hold back and asked the question that had been puzzling him.

Indeed, ever since returning to Great Capital.

After entering the palace and meeting his master, they left immediately to prepare supplies and routes for the journey to Great Spirit Province, without even visiting the surroundings.

Although he himself wanted to leave, now it seemed that Yue Dewen was even more anxious than he was.

“Well… the Sect Leader might have his own considerations.” Ding Chong wore a genial expression, constantly wiping the sweat from his face with a towel.

“What considerations?” Zhang Rongfang was skeptical; based on what he knew about Old Yue… no, he barely knew anything about Yue Dewen!

Suddenly, he recalled.

Apart from knowing that his master was remarkable, with deep accomplishments in both literature and martial arts, he truly knew nothing else.

Whenever he asked related questions, Yue Dewen would brush them off with humor and misdirection, never giving a straight answer.

Now it seemed….

He truly didn’t know this Sect Leader of Celestial Treasure Palace at all.

“Actually…” Ding Chong said helplessly, “The Daoist just needs to follow me on the journey without worries, and nothing will happen.”

“Did Master do something earth-shattering?” Seeing Ding Chong’s demeanor, Zhang Rongfang felt a jolt in his heart, sensing something amiss….

Initially, it was just a guess, but now Ding Chong’s reaction confirmed his suspicion.

“Nothing much….” Clearly, Ding Chong was an insider, arranged to secretly escort the closed-door disciple away, naturally trustworthy.

Such a skilled person, behaving like this.

Zhang Rongfang felt a chill in his heart, realizing he might have underestimated Old Yue’s ability to cause trouble.

“What’s going on, Senior Brother, stop keeping me in suspense, or else I’ll be uneasy throughout the journey. If we do face trouble, I won’t know how to handle it.” Zhang Rongfang spoke seriously.

Ding Chong sighed, realizing the truth of the matter. He no longer concealed anything.

“Actually, it’s not that big of a deal…. Just that both the Zhenyi Sect and the Western Sect each lost a prominent figure. When experts clash, things are bound to happen, and deaths are to be expected.”

“A prominent figure?? How prominent?” Zhang Rongfang felt an even deeper chill.

“Well…. the Zhenyi Sect lost one of the Five Sons of Ming Mountain, and the Western Sect lost a senior monk of the Yuan generation. So now they’re fighting in Great Spirit Province. At first, they each thought the other was responsible, but after a year of fighting, they’ve figured it out.” Ding Chong no longer concealed it, as there was no need to keep such matters hidden now.

Regardless of whether it was Zhenyi or the Western Sect, they were both weakened as per the Sect Leader’s plan.

After fighting for over a year, both sides expended significant resources, and many skilled talents were lost.

Meanwhile, as the Great Dao Teaching gained strength, they were in a position to intervene, acting as mediators as per His Majesty’s intentions….

Upon hearing this, Zhang Rongfang felt a numbing sensation.

The Five Sons of Ming Mountain were the top leadership in the Zhenyi Sect!

The Yuan-generation monk was at the pinnacle of the True Buddha Temple!

Good heavens, from the sounds of it, Old Yue orchestrated the downfall of a Grandmaster from each side!!

“Actually, as soon as we reach Great Spirit Province, we’ll be safest.” Ding Chong suddenly added.

“Why?” Zhang Rongfang exhaled deeply, suppressing his panic.

“Because…. in reality, we’ve already taken action in Great Spirit Province. On the surface, the two sides are still fighting, but in secret, the injured are injured, and the fallen have fallen, leaving only disabled survivors.

So, the Jade Void Palace plans to eliminate them all in one sweep…..”

Ding Chong paused suddenly here.

“Oh, I forgot, you probably don’t know about Jade Void Palace, right? It’s another branch of our Great Dao Teaching, separated before, but under the Sect Leader’s persuasion, they have reunited.

In truth, all of our Great Dao Teaching’s elite martial power is concentrated in Jade Void Palace.”

“Eliminate them all in one sweep?!!!” Zhang Rongfang’s hand trembled. What were they plotting?? Was this even human??

Old Yue planned to vanquish two sects at once and then dominate the Great Spirit, establishing the first state religion??!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep