Chapter 576 - 376: Dongchang Has Only One Sun! Mingfo Temple!

Chapter 576: Chapter 376: Dongchang Has Only One Sun! Mingfo Temple!

The most embarrassed were the accompanying eunuchs, each staring at their own shoes, wishing they could bury their heads in their chests.

The less they knew about Grandmaster and Mr. Lu’s disputes, the longer they lived...

Cao Yi made an absolute fool of himself.

He actually ran with a flattering smile to catch up with Mr. Yi, forgetting even the basic courtesy of taking leave.

It wasn’t until he crossed the threshold that he suddenly remembered something and turned back, meeting Lu Xuan’s seemingly mocking gaze—

Cao Yi felt a chill down his spine from that gaze, scrambling to catch up with Mr. Yi’s entourage, looking like a pitiful, tail-wagging stray dog.

Inside the hall, the remaining eleven envoys slowly rose, their expressions complicated as they watched Cao Yi’s retreating figure.

As the saying goes, the observer sees clearly what the participant cannot!

Everyone knew full well—it in this Dongchang, the sky can be dark, the ground can be red, but there could only ever be one sun.

Even if you are favored by His Majesty, you must remember your place.

Cao Yi, as one of the thirteen envoys of the Dongchang, could only ever be the loyal dog of his godfather for life.

Half a day later, Mingfo Temple, ten miles outside the capital!

Outside Mingfo Temple, the green hills were like a dream, and the bell chimes were melodious.

A dozen hosts monks clasped their hands in greeting, smiling as they welcomed the endless stream of pilgrims.

The stone steps before the temple gate were soaked with morning dew, gleaming with a gentle luster under the sun.

Suddenly—there was commotion uphill.

Dozens of pilgrims appeared with pale faces, as if they had seen ghosts, frantically running up the mountain.

Some didn’t even care if they lost their shoes, while others crawled on hands and feet on the stone steps.

Even more astonishing was that several martial monks, who should have been on guard at the foot of the mountain, were mingled in the crowd.

They scrambled to use their Lightweight Technique, leaping to the temple gate in just a few moments.

"Senior brother, something’s wrong! A large group suddenly arrived from downhill!" The foremost martial monk rushed to the gate in a fluster.

His body was still trembling uncontrollably.

"Oh?"

Master Huibao, who was in charge of receiving guests, paused slightly as he played with the Buddha Beads, "So many have come? Is it not a grand occasion for our Buddhist community?"

He smiled as he looked toward the mountain path, as if already seeing the flourishing incense at Mingfo Temple, heralded as the national religion in glorious splendor.

"Senior brother, it’s the hounds of the Dongchang!"

Another martial monk was so anxious that his voice changed pitch, gripping his brother’s robe tightly, "You can’t see the end of them, and they’re all armed!"

The smile on Master Huibao’s face instantly froze.

Only then did he notice that those "pilgrims" were all pallid, and a few women’s babies’ swaddles were cut by thorns.

"Quick...ring the alarm!" Master Cibao forcefully pushed the mountain gate open, his voice booming like thunder, "You are responsible for getting all the pilgrims inside the temple immediately! Hurry!"

As soon as he spoke, a flock of birds was startled from the trees below the mountain.

Soon after, a unit of armored cavalry in dark clothes pressed forward like a black cloud, the cold gleam of Brocade Spring Sabers dazzling to the eyes.

The so-called grand vision of a national sect was now a joke. These Dongchang demons had come clearly to annihilate!

At the end of the mountain path, dust billowed in the wind.

A dark official sedan chair with serpentine patterns, escorted by sixteen strongmen, slowly advanced.

The Dongchang emblem inlaid on the top of the sedan shimmered with a chilling metallic gleam under the sunlight.

The curtains of the sedan hung low, faintly revealing the silhouette of someone sitting upright inside.

Though the individual remained hidden, their presence already silenced the birds in the entire mountain forest.

On each side of the sedan, the twelve envoys of Dongchang were lined up, Cao Yee naturally absent from the line.

These notorious stars, who made everyone in the world shudder at their mention, were all gathered today.

Uniformly dressed in white factory uniforms, the gilded tokens on their waists swayed with their stride, and the morning dew on their Brocade Spring Saber scabbards had yet to dry.

Even more chilling was the dark mass of array behind the sedan.

The three Black Tortoise Governors of the Jinyi Guard, personally leading the elite of the Jinyi Guard in full force.

The Vermilion Bird Governor’s red robe was like fire, carrying twin maces, with flame patterns on the maces’ shafts vividly alive under the sunlight.

The Cyan Dragon Governor gazed sharply, with a soft sword at his waist winding like a serpent.

The White Tiger Governor’s steed neighed beneath him, and the cold gleam of an eight-foot spear in his hand was biting.

Except for Commander Envoy Shen Wanbao, claiming illness at home, and the Black Tortoise Governor resolved by Lu Xuan, the entire high-level combat power of the Jinyi Guard was present!

Before the mountain gate, a group of welcoming monks dropped their wooden fish with a "dong."

Such an array, is this for incense? Clearly, it means to bloodbath the mountain gate!

"Impudent! Bold! See the Supervisor’s carriage visiting, and you dare to shut the mountain gate?"

The twelve guardians of Dongchang saw Mingfo Temple’s gate tightly closed, and shouted angrily in unison.

The rumbling sound was like thunder from the Nine Heavens, blasting on the bluestone path outside Mingfo Temple.

At the forefront, Cao Er’s Brocade Spring Saber drew half an inch from its sheath, the cold light staining the eyes of the stone lions in front of the temple.

The words had just fallen, and twelve black shadows shot into the sky like arrows from a bowstring.

Cao Er and the others wore silver-white tight suits, with flying fish patterns embroidered in gold thread surging in the air, like twelve dormant venomous snakes suddenly awoken.

The twelve lightly touched the treetops, breaking branches where they passed, their mighty Inner Strength’s swirling air currents lifting the temple’s copper bells.

In the next breath, twelve strands of Gang Qi belonging to Grandmasters collided in mid-air, as if twelve mountain ranges were simultaneously being overturned.

Invisible forces twisted into a vortex in the void, sweeping all surrounding leaves and dust, forming a chaotic air mass three zhang in diameter.

With a thunderous rumble that shattered the clouds, the massive sandalwood doors exploded.

Splintered wood, mixed with fierce energy, drilled dense bowl-sized holes on the temple’s facing wall.

The Martial Monks blocking the door were struck as if by divine punishment.

The leading grey-robed Martial Monk wielded a staff, but before he could make a move, was hit head-on by the air wave.

His chest caved like a broken drum, blood mist spraying from his throat traced a scarlet arc in mid-air.

Further, three Martial Monks were torn to shreds by Qi Force, their organs and flesh pieces rained down, painting the mottled stone steps like an Asura Hell.

The rest of the Martial Monks were not spared, some were flung yards away, crashing heavily into corridor pillars, bones cracking continuously.

Others spat fresh blood, collapsing and convulsing on the ground, eyes full of despair and fear.

The bloody scent mixed with sandalwood fragrance spread out, the murderous aura in front of Mingfo Temple was even more terrifying than the Eighteen Levels of Hell.

"Sinful, sinful!"

At the last critical moment, the main force of Mingfo Temple finally arrived.

"Amitabha Buddha, anger rises, karmic fire sprouts, this is a great calamity..." A deep Buddhist chant trembled like a grand bell, rippling amid the remains and blood mist.

The grey-robed monks of Mingfo Temple surged like a tide, their robes flapping as they arrived outside the mountain gate.

Leading them was a white-haired old monk, the abbot of Mingfo Temple, Mr. Beifeng.

Leaning on a Nine-Ring Scepter, he stepped out slowly, the golden swastika pattern embroidered on his deep red robe glimmering with each step.

Mr. Beifeng looked at the devastation around him, his kind eyebrows slightly furrowed, and seemed to hold centuries of compassion within the crow’s feet by his eyes.

The old monk suddenly clasped his hands together, sitting cross-legged to chant in the blood, amidst the cold gazes of Dongchang’s troops.

His bony fingers gently touched each bead of prayer, and every turn sent ripples of Sanskrit into the air, seemingly truly guiding the departed souls across the sea of suffering.

"Is this person the abbot of Mingfo Temple?"

Someone among the Twelve Guardians sneered quietly, yet couldn’t help but grip their Brocade Spring Saber tighter.

Rumors in the martial world suggested this frail old monk might be the strongest man in the world.

At this moment, Mr. Beifeng’s aura was introverted like an abyss, making the neck hairs of the Twelve Guardians stand on end.

The seemingly tranquil Buddha light around him felt like it harbored world-purifying power.

"Old bald donkey, do you regret showing mercy that day?"

Cao Shi dragged his not yet healed right arm and walked proudly to the front line.

His twisted face was filled with ferocity, his lone eye sparkling with morbid excitement.

With his foster father overseeing today, even if the King of Heaven himself came, he feared nothing!

"Today, I shall let your Mingfo Temple...."

Cao Shi suddenly tore open his collar, revealing the hideous Buddhist Palm Seal scar on his chest, "pay blood for blood!"