Chương 177: The Witch Lord

Upon hearing Zhao Rui's words, all the Qingcheng True Persons lowered their eyes and remained silent.

"But it's inconvenient to tell us?"

Zhao Rui asked, "Understandingly."

Master Weichen closed his eyes slightly and then spoke, "Now that the two factions have joined forces, there is naturally no need to hide it. However, to be honest, it is somewhat shameful to talk about this matter."

"What does this mean?"

Zhao Rui and the other man asked, puzzled.

"We, the people of all these factions, and even the people of Guixu in Central Asia, are in reality nothing more than stray dogs, people who have fled far away."

Master Weichen sighed deeply, his tone filled with desolation and helplessness.

"How is this possible?"

Yu Zhengnan exclaimed in surprise, thinking that he must have misheard.

The sects are full of experts. Not to mention anything else, a single expert at the Dharma Aspect Realm can reach the pinnacle of the world.

Not to mention the countless experts among the Guixu people.

"But what's the reason?"

"Fellow Daoist should know about the events of our ancestors entering the Ruins of Return five hundred years ago. At that time, the Ruins of Return were nothing but a desolate wasteland. After several hundred years of development, they gradually began to improve."

"Unfortunately, over a hundred years ago, internal strife broke out in Guixu, and some of Guixu's powerful warriors were defeated and fled south. The enemy swept in, and we fought back desperately for a long time."

"Fortunately, a hundred years ago, Heaven left a sliver of hope, and a crack reappeared at the junction of the Ruins and the Blue Star—"

"The enemy's forces are fierce, and we and the defeated army of Guixu have no choice but to each seek opportunities to communicate with Blue Star and make preparations in advance."

After hearing what Master Weichen said, Zhao Rui was at a loss for words.

No wonder that although these sects made some noise after their return, it was ultimately too bland.

Moreover, the court's return and acceptance of them was too smooth and low-key; the two sides had already had deep contact long ago.

Now, the curtain is gradually being drawn back, exposing the formidable strength of the Guixu Martial Arts to the public eye.

Perhaps, both openly and secretly, their struggle against Cangwuzi has become a move in their game.

"How should Qingcheng Mountain be positioned now?"

Zhao Rui doesn't want to get too involved in complicated matters; improving his strength is always his first priority, giving him more say.

All he wants to know now is how Qingcheng Mountain should develop next, or to put it more bluntly, whether the crisis has affected Qingcheng Mountain.

"The Void is vast, so it's unlikely to have much interest in a tiny blue planet. With the defeated army of the Void holding the line, there should be some peaceful days ahead."

"It's dust," Wei Chen said leisurely.

Zhao Rui nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

The following day, Zhao Rui and Yu Zhengnan drew a new plot of land on the right side of the Qingcheng Sect's side hall and set up the location of the Qingcheng Sword Sect's Taoist temple according to the old model.

After that, we just need to wait for the construction to be completed before we can move in.

Things are always changing; only stability can lead to long-term development.

After discussing the matter of merging factions, Zhao Rui bid farewell to Yu Zhengnan and drifted away.

His target is the heartland of Central China!

As the sun rises in the early morning chill, clouds and mist swirl around Mount Song, where trees grow lush and green. Occasionally, a devout person can be seen prostrating on the ground, bowing to the Buddha, either to make a wish or to fulfill a vow.

It was quite lively.

As the most renowned sect, its popularity and prosperity are the envy of all other sects combined.

"Look! A highly virtuous monk is manifesting the Dharma! Quickly, kowtow!"

Suddenly, someone in the crowd heading up the mountain pointed towards the summit and exclaimed excitedly.

The pilgrims and tourists all looked up at the direction he was pointing.

In the distance, above the Shaolin Temple, a faint phantom of Buddha appeared. This phantom was majestic and radiant, with a faint golden light emanating from it.

"Amitabha!"

The worshippers and believers knelt down and kowtowed, pleading for Buddha's intervention and protection.

An unusual wave of people kowtowing appeared along the entire mountain road.

There were hundreds of people in a large group, and it was a magnificent sight to look down from above.

"How pathetic that you people would mistake a mere manifestation of the Dharma for a miracle!"

At this moment, a clear, melodious female voice spoke with disdain.

The sound was clear, crisp, and pleasant, as if it were resonating in everyone's ears.

It reached everyone's ears clearly.

This also includes the monks on the mountain.

The monk guarding the incense burner at the mountain gate gave a wink to the disciple behind him.

The disciple then quickly darted into the temple.

"How can you talk such nonsense? If Buddha knew, he would be angry with you."

A devout pilgrim looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the speaker was a graceful woman dressed in simple and elegant clothes, who looked quite beautiful and refined.

The newfound goodwill of the worshipper prompted him to quickly offer her some words of advice.

"Oh, I don't believe in Buddhism, I believe in totem demons!"

The woman chuckled, and with a swift movement, appeared beside a man.

Why aren't you kneeling?

The woman raised a slight brow with her beautiful eyes.

"I'm free!"

What does "." mean?

"It's nothing. We're just passing acquaintances. You go about your business, I'll go about mine. Goodbye!"

After finishing his sentence, the man walked straight up the mountain.

"You don't want to talk to me?"

The woman narrowed her eyes slightly, but instead of looking for the man again, she also started walking up the mountain.

The two of them then headed towards the Shaolin Temple gate, one in front of the other.

The monk on the mountain, seeing the two people so abruptly appearing on the mountain path, knew that "unwelcome guests" had arrived.

He hurried over to meet her.

He put his palms together and said, "It is an honor for our humble temple that you two have come from afar. May I ask whether you have come to worship Buddha or to see someone?"

"I'm here for tourism! No need to be so polite, venerable monk."

After speaking, the man avoided the monk who was in charge of receiving guests, smiled faintly, and walked into the temple.

This is clearly to show that they are not there to cause trouble.

The monk in charge of receiving guests wasn't stupid; seeing this, he looked at the woman again.

"I'm here as a tourist too."

"May the Buddha, in his compassion, open the door of convenience. If you two are thirsty or tired, there are places to rest in the temple—" The guest monk had a warm smile on his plump face.

Thanks!

The man thanked him and stepped into the temple.

The Shaolin Temple, with its thousand-year history, was a first-class ancient temple. However, it was lost to the annals of history after years of war.

The temples we see today are all built by later generations in imitation of ancient sites.

The entire temple is quite large and solemn, with the main hall and other buildings standing tall and majestic, fully displaying the grandeur of Buddhism.

The courtyard was filled with the smoke of incense, the sound of chanting sutras rose and fell, and crowds thronged, creating a lively atmosphere.

The man strolled leisurely through the temple, occasionally glancing at the statues and reading the scriptures.

"It's quite different from the Shaolin I remember from my past life. It seems much more commercialized."

The man shook his head slightly and muttered to himself.

Judging from what he said, this person must be Zhao Rui.

He originally thought that after the return of Guixu Shaolin, Shaolin Temple should, like Qingcheng and Emei, reduce the disturbance from ordinary pilgrims.

Unexpectedly, Shaolin not only did not "restrain" itself, but instead used martial arts masters to create the appearance of Buddha, increasing the solemn atmosphere.

This is used to attract devout worshippers.

This was truly unexpected for Zhao Rui.

But that's none of his business; he'll just take a look around Shaolin Temple first.

Treat it as a trip.

Just as he was leisurely becoming a tourist, wandering around with the crowd, the woman who had appeared earlier was stopped by several monks.

"Female benefactor, why have you frozen my junior brother in place!"

The monk said with a cold expression.

"Who told him to spy on me!"

The woman casually remarked, not even glancing at the monks, but instead touching the statues on the wall with great interest.

His posture was very relaxed.

"Female benefactor, this is our Shaolin Temple. You possess extraordinary skills, so we cannot allow you to wander around at will."

"Oh, then how come he can just wander around like that?"

The woman casually pointed to another courtyard, where Zhao Rui had just peeked out.

The monk looked in the direction of the voice, then quickly turned and said, "He's a tourist!"

......

The woman rolled her eyes and said, "I'm a tourist too."

"He didn't make a move."

"So noisy!"

The woman grew impatient, and her eyes suddenly sharpened. She saw that the monks' bodies froze, and they were instantly immobilized by pressure points.

How could someone who was called in to spy on a woman be an incompetent person?

As a result, these people were frozen in place with just a glance, whether it was because she was too fast or because she used some kind of evil magic.

The tourists walking around were completely unaware of these strange phenomena and continued to enjoy the scenery of Shaolin Temple.

"How boring."

The woman was in a bad mood. She glanced at Zhao Rui and saw that he was still leisurely strolling around. In a flash, she was in front of him. With a gentle wave of her hand, an invisible stream of true energy slashed towards his body.

"Holy crap, are you out of your mind?!"

Zhao Rui quickly used his stepping technique to dodge far away, then leaped seven or eight meters away, looking warily at the woman and speaking.

"?"

The woman exclaimed in surprise, clearly not expecting Zhao Rui to dodge her attack.

"I underestimated you; you've got some skills after all."

What did I do to offend you?

"Who told you to ruin my mood!"

"Damn it, you're seriously ill. This is Shaolin territory, why don't you go and cause them trouble!"

"I'm just here to cause trouble for the monk. I don't like the look of you, so I'll beat you up."

The woman raised her head slightly, her face full of arrogance and self-confidence.

I can't be bothered with you!

Just as Zhao Rui was about to leave, a suffocating sense of oppression suddenly came from above the corridor.

Then, a robe instantly transformed into a giant cloth bag, directly covering the area.

"Amitabha. My apologies, esteemed benefactors!"

Just then, the surroundings cleared up, and the sound of chanting filled the air. All the tourists instantly seemed to have lost their souls and left the area far away.

Only the three people under the robe remained.

Zhao Rui looked closely and saw that the person who came was an old monk with a wrinkled face and huge ears. He was not the same one he had met once before on Mount Emei.

"Are you from the Hui generation of Shaolin?"

The girl asked a question.

"Old Ne Huikong greets the female benefactor. Your martial arts are superb. May I ask what brings you to Shaolin? If Shaolin can help, we will certainly do so."

"I just came to take a look. I heard that your Shaolin Temple is the most powerful in this area."

The woman said calmly.

"Martial arts have no limits. Who dares to claim invincibility? My Shaolin is merely a martial arts sect with shallow skills, far inferior to the powerful and powerful Guixu Witch Lord."

"Oh? As expected of the leader of the Central Plains martial arts world, your insight is truly remarkable."

"Wouldn't it be a bit presumptuous for the Witch Lord to have come all this way?"

"It's not reckless, I can come and go as I please. Do you intend to start a war?"

"Since that's the case, then may I ask why the Witch Master has come?"

The old monk lowered his eyebrows slightly and raised them, his imposing aura gathering but not dissipating, clearly not as relaxed and at ease as he appeared when speaking.

"Just wandering around! If you monks weren't so blind, I wouldn't bother showing myself."

"In that case, Shaolin has been presumptuous. We hope the Witch Master will have a pleasant journey!"

The old monk Huikong put his palms together and said, clearly hoping that the woman would leave as soon as possible.

"Hmm, I didn't expect Shaolin to be so easy to talk to. My brother even warned me to be careful of you bald monks."

"Alright, since you've been so obedient, I'll take this man with me. You're not allowed to interfere."

After the woman finished speaking, she pointed at Zhao Rui and a mocking smile appeared on her lips.

That means, look, who said I wouldn't dare mess with the Shaolin Temple?

The Shaolin Temple is afraid of me.

Zhao Rui's expression stiffened upon hearing this; he really has a knack for attracting negativity.

This woman is truly insane; you can't understand her thoughts using common sense.

He couldn't be bothered to expect the Shaolin monks to uphold justice, so he darted away in a flash.

Huikong quickly removed his kasaya and Dharma image, which was a way of indirectly helping Zhao Rui. Of course, he also hoped that Zhao Rui would take this woman and leave Shaolin as far away as possible.

"Trying to run away!"

The woman snorted coldly and quickly chased after him.

Although Zhao Rui didn't know how skilled this woman was, he knew she was not someone to be trifled with because the old monk addressed her as the "Return to the Void Witch Lord".

Only someone with nothing better to do would fight with a woman like that.

Zhao Rui opened all the acupoints in his body, unleashing his full power. After leaving the temple, he leaped off the cliff, using the terrain to his advantage to quickly evade danger.

The woman chased after him relentlessly, her speed no less than his.

Moreover, judging from her composed demeanor, it seems she still has energy to spare.

Is a dog catching a mouse just for fun?

Zhao Rui was furious. Since he got the system, he had never been played like this before.

He's getting faster and faster.

Later on, he was basically flying through the air, and his lightness skill had reached its peak.

But the woman remained calm and unhurried, teasing Zhao Rui from behind, and even commented on his light-footed skills.

"Your skills are quite impressive, but how come your ability to fly is so poor?"

"Oh my, you're just using your inner energy to levitate? What a waste of your abundant inner energy."

"It's faster to run on the ground, is it because you're afraid of trampling the flowers and grass with too much force! Hehe!"

The woman laughed so hard she almost fell over, but it didn't affect her speed at all; she rushed towards Zhao Rui like lightning.

Zhao Rui felt a chill run down his spine. Although he didn't like what the woman said, the question she raised was worth pondering.

Zhao Rui's current martial arts skills, apart from the Stepping Step, which is incredibly powerful and can be combined with the power of the Dharma World, are all lightness skills that are below the Grandmaster level.

The main method involves using internal energy to reduce body mass, while simultaneously utilizing the power of footwork to increase speed, thus enabling the user to leap through the air.

Later, although he learned the Female Worldless Heavenly Demon Technique and was able to create clones at lightning speed, that was only when he was circulating the technique.

When it comes to actually traveling, we still follow the same old route.

A thought suddenly occurred to Zhao Rui, and his past martial arts techniques flashed through his mind like a slideshow.

I bow my head and return to the beginning of time. Ugly and nameless, the marrow of the Nine Abyss is shattered by wind. The three lights are burned away, the infant of the Purple Heaven is covered with jade dust. The star remains are condensed into the God of War, weeping and rolling with rust. The Great Dao is empty and resounding!

Zhao Rui pointed a finger into the air, and a sword light streaked across the sky. His figure flashed, and he vanished from the woman's sight in an instant.

In the blink of an eye, he had already moved like a long sword, soaring through the air.

"this-" The woman's pretty face froze for a moment, then she lightly shuffled her feet and exclaimed, "What a quick-witted little thief!"

After saying that, he transformed into a streak of light and chased after them at lightning speed.