Chapter 1502 Storming the Mountain

After everything was arranged, Priest Rihu sat calmly and looked quietly beyond the courtyard, towards the distant Rice Leaf Castle.

The art of the Japanese garden ultimately originates from the Western continent.

Although there has been some local decorative modification to the style, the concept of ’landscape creation’ has still been thoroughly inherited.

’Landscape creation’ emphasizes that in the construction of courtyards or gardens, one should appreciate from a particular angle so that the distant mountains, rivers, and lakes can visually blend with the courtyard itself.

Just like Priest Rihu at this moment, he can frame a corner of Rice Leaf Mountain and Changliang River within the doorway, as if it were a living painting.

Back then, he was a minor figure who got noticed by the Nagai Family through connections, just like Saito Dosan, and together they admired this landscape creation.

At that time, Saito Dosan said: It’s a waste for Rice Leaf Mountain to be simply used for landscaping and not for building a city. You dignitaries have fallen into such extravagant decadence.

Back then, their relationship was good, and he regarded Saito Dosan as a talent that could be brought into the family as a capable retainer.

So hearing this opinion at the time did not offend or anger him; in fact, it made him admire Saito Dosan even more.

But now, reflecting on it, Priest Rihu felt indignant within, realizing that it was blatant ambition!

The longstanding resentment in his heart made the plump and sturdy body of the Dream-eating Mopan beside him shudder.

It seemed to find joy in this resentment.

Yet, while Priest Rihu was immersed in the hatred of over a decade ago, a faint commotion arose from the foot of the mountain where Changzai Temple stood, gradually growing louder.

It became increasingly annoying.

In the past, even during festivals, when believers flocked up the mountain to worship and pray, it was never this noisy.

How are the people below managing things? It’s not a holiday, and yet it’s this chaotic—a bunch of useless people!

Just as Priest Rihu was about to summon someone to ask what was going on, he didn’t have to call, as a small novice monk was already anxiously shouting from outside the paper door.

"Chief! Chief, it’s bad!"

"Why panic? Have your regular chanting and meditation been in vain?"

"There are thieves attacking the mountain!"

The shadow of the small novice monk outside the paper door stomped anxiously, but didn’t dare to knock on the door.

Priest Rihu suddenly stood up, but was even more surprised to turn and look at his guardian spirit beside him.

Almost simultaneously with Priest Rihu, the Dream-eating Mopan, which had been effortlessly absorbing and circulating resentment and filth while calmly crouching, now appeared as if it were facing a great enemy!

Priest Rihu hadn’t even made a move, but it was already standing completely upright, its tusks and long nose probing towards the direction of the mountain courtyard.

Its eyes, also emitting a dreamy golden light, were filled with hostility so intense it couldn’t be dissolved.

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"Charge straight into the temple?" Wuming’s hands wielded the Glaive Scythe tirelessly, yet his face was still in a daze, "Why would I do something so outrageously rebellious with you?"

"Weren’t you quite decisive before?"

Lann asked curiously.

At the same time... "Szzz!"

Aron Dite pulled diagonally from a monk soldier’s neck, the blood spurting from the wound sprayed as far as five meters away!

When the bald head in his hand stopped moving completely within a second, Lann finally released his large hand from the opponent’s head.

The subdued corpse crashed to the ground with a heavy clanging sound.

The iron armor on this monk soldier was solid enough to make proper warriors under the banner of a daimyo envious.

But against the Lady of the Lake’s Sword, such a divine weapon, ordinary armor was as good as non-existent.

The long blade fitting Lann’s size sliced vertically into the opponent’s neck, with the blade tip protruding from the thigh on the other side of the body.

"I thought we were just going for a surprise raid! Destroy that evil technique and retreat!"

Wuming coldly criticized.

"Understand surprise attack? Don’t let anyone notice, don’t let anyone see, fast and sudden! Complete the task and retreat! We’re directly crashing into the mountain gate now!"

"We’re doomed..."

Having slashed a monk to death with the Great Scythe, Wuming sighed helplessly while consoling himself.

"After today, the entire Nichiren Sect in Japan will chase us down, right? Become enemies of Buddha, enemies of Buddha!"

"What enemy of Buddha," Lann seemed indifferent, "It’s just the Nichiren Sect, the Pure Land Sect and the Shingon Sect aren’t on the same path as it."

"Besides, wasn’t this surprise raid discovered? There’s an array set up on the mountain."

"Close your eyes! Watch my Dancing Star meow!"

Just as Lann finished mocking, the shout from Rong Buqiu, understood by Wuming through the guardian spirit connection, had already reached them.

The Demon Hunter immediately turned his back, while Wuming flipped his scythe, casually pulling up a corner of the fur cloak on his shoulder and burying his head into it.

After the explosion and strong light, muffled groans and screams arose from places where no one seemed to be before all around.

Near Rice Leaf Mountain, Changzai Temple’s mountain didn’t seem particularly high.

But the terrain was equally fierce and rugged.

Severe geological movements endowed this place, like Rice Leaf Mountain, with cliffs sharp as if cut with blades and axes, along with numerous ravines and protrusions.

Between dense vegetation, it’s hard to notice traces of burly men crouching in these places.

Lann didn’t particularly care because his exceptional senses, coupled with Mentos, ensured that he wouldn’t miss any battlefield information until the battle reached a certain level of intensity.

But Wuming and Rong Buqiu might not be the same.

However, the monk soldiers waiting for a sneak attack and ambush were blinded by Rong Buqiu’s alchemy bomb and all revealed themselves.

"Inhale~ Exhale~"

A long, rhythmical, and skillful breathing sound echoed beneath the demon mask.

Wuming’s seemingly ordinary physique, wielding the heavy weapon Glaive Scythe, suddenly gained an abundant vitality out of thin air.

She made a ’click’ sound, immediately shrinking the glaive scythe in her hand from a large scythe form into a large closed folding knife style.

Now, the state of the glaive scythe was truly about eighty percent similar to Yan’an’s folding meat saw.

Relying on the weapon’s center of gravity, which was easier to change direction and control after being reduced, Wuming quickly sprinted forward while slashing!

The glaive scythe was described by Wuming as the exclusive weapon of their Chuye Shizong Group.

In its most powerful state, where the center of gravity turned the slowest as a large scythe, the weapon technique was collectively called "Cut".

When Wuming previously ambushed Lann, if the first strike connected, the subsequent moves would be called "Cut of All Beings".

And in the state of the long-handled glaive, the weapon technique was called "Edge".

After Lann pinned Wuming’s blade, the technique used when changing the weapon’s form was the "Three Thousand Fences".

And in this state resembling a closed folding knife, although the center of gravity was the easiest to control, it had the least power, and the weapon technique was called "Blade".

Just like now!

"Glaive Scythe: Raging Wave Blade"!

After a flash of the black beast-hide cloak, three monk soldiers hiding in the roadside trench nearest to the Qilin immediately had several lines of blood spray from their bodies, falling down with screams.

The New Continent Ancient Dragon, which had been so enthusiastic about setting out, now seemed somewhat sluggish and weak, even in just attempting to step back a couple of paces.

It exhaled a hot breath viciously onto the rune-inscribed magic horse harness.

"Huff~"

"Oh dear." Bai Ze, still with hands folded behind and crouching slightly, looked like an old scholar as he observed the Qilin beside him. "The barrier from Changzai Temple is really formidable."

"It seems to be a defensive type barrier. Qilin, you rushed us up the mountainside in one go and took the full brunt of the barrier’s counterattack all at once. It must be quite uncomfortable now, right?"

Originally, Lann indeed had the same plan as Wuming, to swiftly destroy the sinister magic, rendering those "corrupted stains" harmless, after which they could set their next steps easily.

But when they attempted to rely on the Qilin’s high maneuverability to directly storm into the temple hall on the mountain, the Qilin’s Ancient Dragon-level stamina was already exhausted after less than half the trek.

What once felt so abundant that it was hardly noticeable, quickly vanished like a flood unleashed.

According to the Qilin itself, it usually had no concept of stamina during movement.

With a body naturally suited to an Ancient Dragon, it never really understood the feeling of ’tired’ except in special circumstances.

But after charging straight at Changzai Temple, it felt as though the recovery and consumption of energy were completely disproportionate.

Recovery slowed, while energy drained rapidly.

Ultimately, the Qilin was left stopping in place, breathing heavily while viscous saliva dripped from the corners of its mouth.

It seemed as if it had just emerged from a great battle.

"Neigh!"

The Qilin shook its head in displeasure, seemingly wanting to butt Bai Ze.

’Aren’t you supposed to know everything? Why didn’t you notice there was a barrier thing on the mountain just now?!.... Damn, I’m so tired!’

"I am well-versed in the knowledge of demons and ghosts, even a bit about the Underworld, but..."

Bai Ze dodged lightly from the Qilin’s headbutt and stroked his beard while speaking.

"Humans’ magic and spiritual techniques change every decade or so, and I’ve only possessed Habu for a few years. For so long, I hadn’t come to the human world. Their newly developed magic, even I struggle to recognize."

"But it appears that..."

Bai Ze adjusted his small round glasses and observed the Qilin closely.

"The entities on your body seem to incorporate Yin Yang Technique? Suppressing your body’s yang energy, no, not just suppressing, but also using Buddhist Techniques to directly dispel it! No wonder!"

"I mean, Qilin! In your condition, anyone would collapse to death hundreds of times over due to exhaustion!"

"Oh dear, using Buddhist Techniques combined with Yin Yang Technique to cast a curse that depletes one’s energy, that’s really wicked."

Though Bai Ze couldn’t see anything from the barrier alone, by combining it with the aftereffects on the Qilin caused by the barrier’s counterattack, he could deduce some signs.

"Our Jiulin Mountain [Changzai Buddhist Light] suppresses only intruders with malice! How dare you slander us!"

A monk soldier with a monk cap and towel covering his head, showing only his eyes, reprimanded as he used a giant axe to chop down from a large rock beside the mountain path!

His eyes were still tearing from the glaring light a moment ago.

The axe in his hand had a blade size like a fan, both heavy and sturdy.

This world’s martial arts are greatly developed, and martial artists can even circulate their physical strength with breathing to purify supernatural energy.

Thus, even an axe seemingly weighing dozens of pounds appears manageable.

But in mid-air during his drop, he suddenly felt a strong wind pushing against him!

"Whoosh! Bang!"

"Ugh!"

Lann’s large hand, accompanied by a gust of wind, seized the upper edge of the iron chestplate of the monk soldier’s armor.

The monk soldier, robust and strong, seemed almost like an adolescent in Lann’s grasp.

This moment involved not just the force of Lann’s hand, but also the weight of the monk soldier’s jump, all concentrated on the area of a single palm.

It immediately made him nearly faint, with his collarbone cracking under pressure.

If Lann had pulled his neck directly, his head might have been torn from his body.

"There’s no smell of blood on you, but the bloody scent on your weapon predates your use... Tsk, if you’re innocent, stay away!"

Although the monks and temples during the Sengoku Era in Japan had generally poor reputations, Lann didn’t assume there weren’t any decent people among them.

Immediately, Lann gently sent the monk soldier, who despite a broken collarbone kept cursing him for ’insulting Buddhism’, rolling down the mountain path.

He ignored the scent of blood along the mountain path, as well as the increasingly distant reprimands from below.

Lann’s deep eyes briefly scanned the seemingly empty sky, then turned his gaze to a certain direction within the mountain.

"Don’t worry, I’ve got a lead on the barrier situation."