Please call me Huanxian

Chapter 400: Killing, Sweeping
He could feel the heavy and dense footsteps coming from dozens of feet away. The stagnant and murderous aura made his hair stand on end.

Xu Yuanchang judged that there were at least ten powerful statues activated from the jade pillars by the illusionist in the dark. He was about to face a brutal siege from a group of huge monsters. The thought of it was terrifying.

Sculptures like this are recorded in ancient books and are called "barrier guardian puppets."

His eyesight is not very convenient at the moment, so he cannot analyze whether these dead objects are Shinto golden armors, Taoist talismans, or Mohist mechanisms. Different guardian puppets have completely different ways of dealing with and cracking them.

Relying on his almost instinctive body movements, Xu Yuanchang dodged back and forth, leaving a trail of afterimages, avoiding the mace, spear and knife attacks from several nearby statues. He struggled to survive in the cracks, with strong winds blowing in his face and his life hanging by a thread.

The divine light of creation was released again, the golden light was dazzling, piercing through the statue that seemed to be nothingness.

However, there was no way to stop the statue's violent attack, not even a moment's worth of effort was spared.

The invisible giant eye looking down from the darkness above hid for a moment, as if it didn't dare to look directly at the light that could penetrate ghosts.

Xu Yuanchang knew nothing about this. He desperately used his magic power to cleanse his eyes, and found the time to release the demon ape soul puppet and quickly injected a soul-replenishing talisman.

He dodged a spear attack in a hurry with an unbalanced move of half-bending at the waist.

The whole person spun like a top, leaving several afterimages. He avoided the continuous attacks in a thrilling way with a mysterious arc-shaped trajectory, leaving behind him a dense stream of knife and mace shadows like chopping melons and vegetables, and the ears were filled with "bang bang clang clang" sounds.

"Roar!"

The demon ape puppet grew to a height of about ten feet, and smashed hard at the head of the statue holding double maces from behind.

It was not the target of the statues' attack and was ignored by all the statues that were chasing Xu Yuanchang and trying to kill him, as if it did not exist.

A fierce punch pierced through and hit the empty space, emitting a faint yellow light, but it also successfully attracted the hatred of several statues. For a moment, maces, spears, swords and other weapons were thrown at the demon ape puppet.

"Bang, bang, bang", it couldn't hit the lifelike statue face to face, and every attack from the statue caused real damage. After only three or two rounds, the sixth-level puppet was howling and scattered in the air.

Xu Yuanchang got a precious moment to catch his breath, and he immediately used up the energy of the soul-replenishing talisman that he had injected into his body.

The cultivation level that could be mobilized instantly reached nearly 50%, temporarily breaking through the rules of this place. The magic power and the energy of the Yin-Yang Fantasy Fire washed away the discomfort caused by the eye injury. He released his spiritual consciousness in an instant and saw a total of sixteen statues of different shapes rushing towards him.

He "saw" in a corner two hundred feet away that Cen Kan was squatting on the ground, covered in blood, with scars all over his body and serious injuries. His eyes were alert and a little confused.

Qiu Min, who was involved in this incident with Cen Lao Er, was not found.

This state lasted for a very short time. Before it ended, he sensed a giant rotating eye high above him.

It was just a fleeting glimpse, and he couldn't see it clearly. When the giant eye disappeared, Xu Yuanchang knew where his real opponent was hiding, so he wouldn't be in the dark and passively take the beating.

Xu Yuanchang, whose eyes have returned to normal, is like a tiger with wings, thanks to the shining magic armor and precious clothes on his body. He quickly shuttles through the siege of numerous huge statues, as if he is walking through a field of flowers without getting a single leaf on him.

He fought back with his flying sword and fire magic, but all of them passed through the statue, as if they were hitting empty air.

"It's a 'Shinto Illusory Puppet'. You can only defeat it with force, not with intelligence."

Xu Yuanchang had read many ancient books and identified the type of statue. He immediately used the tortoise shell as a shield, dodged the gap in the statue's attack, and took advantage of the situation to gather his strength and hit it hard from the side and back. "Bang", the shield shone brightly.

The blow hit a solid object, causing the statue, which was swinging the knife with its backhand, to stagger two steps.

Xu Yuanchang was pushed back three steps by the recoil of the force. He was prepared and turned his tortoise shell shield to block the spear that was stabbing from the side. "Dang", a huge force came, and his body was like light smoke. With the help of the attack force, he turned into a trail of afterimages and drilled out from the gap blocked by the statue.

He felt helpless in his heart, as he had already found the weakness of these guardian puppets that they could only fight with force. However, due to the limitations of his own fifth-level physical cultivation and forbidden techniques, he had no way to use brute force to destroy the statues that could transform between reality and illusion and had the strength of the sixth level.

All the statues are controlled by the giant rotating eye in the sky. The longer the delay, the more disadvantageous it will be for him.

He could only take advantage of the statue's hugeness and clumsiness to temporarily deal with it and avoid being surrounded.

Xu Yuanchang suddenly turned and rushed towards the corner where Cen Kan was.

……

Yan Hanlin sent a flying sword message.

As night fell, he and Guo Jiayi hovered hundreds of feet above the sea, and they were helpless.

Having seen the horror of the sea eye, how could they dare to go into the sea to look for Uncle Xu?
All we can do is wait here for Uncle Cao to come.

……

In the Dongyou territory, Mingshanzhou, there is a small town on the bank of the Dachuan River.

Taoist Priest Yanshan was setting up a shabby fortune-telling stall on the street. He dozed off on a low stool with his eyes half closed, enjoying the early winter sunshine.

The pedestrians on the road breathed out white air, put their hands in their sleeves, glanced at the sign that said "Guardian fortune-telling, three cents a time", and no one stopped to talk to the Taoist priest. No one had much money these days, so how could they have the spare money to have their fortune told?

Would it be bad luck to go to a casino and gamble with three cents?

Or buy a bowl of loose wine and drink it to feel warm and comfortable?
Apart from the bustling dock, the town has only one main street running from east to west, and few outsiders stay there.

The fortune teller stayed in the inn in the town for nearly half a month, and business at his fortune-telling stall was very slow.

A handsome young man in gorgeous brocade robe got off the boat from the pier, waved away several groups of men soliciting customers, walked onto the ancient granite street, and went straight to the lonely fortune-telling stall at the end of the street.

The young man smiled brightly and happily, and called out loudly from a distance: "Old Immortal, I finally found you. Your divination is so accurate. Ye specially gave you a reward."

He ran closer and bowed to the old Taoist who was sitting upright.

He sat down on the small stool opposite the old Taoist priest, with a half-worn cloth spread on the ground between them.

The pedestrians passing by on the street didn't seem to notice the boy.

The old Taoist smiled and looked at the young man, saying, "Why did you come all the way to Jinhe Palace to seek blessings instead of visiting me? Do you want me to tell your fortune? It's only three coins apiece, very cheap."

The young man actually took out three copper coins from his sleeve and handed them to the old Taoist opposite him.

Taoist Master Yanshan accepted the divination fee.

The young man leaned his head closer, smiled flatteringly, and asked, "Could you please help me calculate where the opportunity will be for me to break through the nine in the future? It's better to be more specific, and I will definitely believe what you say."

Taoist Master Yanshan tossed the three copper coins in his hand, pointed upward, and said in a low voice: "Beyond the nine heavens, there is a chance to attain enlightenment."

The young man stretched out his hand to snatch back the divination fee he had just given him, but his hand was empty. He shouted indignantly, "Old man, I have been running around Mingshanzhou looking for you for ten years. Are you still an old friend? Are you just going to tease me like this?" "The secret cannot be revealed. Believe it or not, I have found the money for today's face."

Taoist Master Yanshan had a look of contempt on his face. If he didn't want others to find him, even if the powerful people from the Nine-Story Tower came face to face with him, they wouldn't be able to see him.

The young man scratched his head, frowned and thought, repeating "outside the clouds, the opportunity to attain enlightenment" several times. A look of sudden enlightenment appeared on his face. He understood where the opportunity was. He laughed and said, "Old man, you deceived me twice before. Now we are even. We will be friends from now on."

"I never tell lies, don't try to slander my innocence."

Taoist Master Yanshan said righteously, "Don't try to make connections. I am a layman, how can I have any friends in this world?"

The young man did not want to argue with the old Taoist priest about the unclear reason. He stood up and invited him, "Come on. I feel happy today. I want to buy you a drink. Will you give me some face?"

Hearing that someone invited him to drink, Taoist Master Yanshan had to give him some face. He quickly put away the things and said, "I know an old shop that has good wine and drinks, authentic tofu and brine. I'll braise a Dachuan River carp. We can sit in the second floor attic facing the river, drink wine, eat fish and enjoy the river view. It's beautiful."

The young man took a stool and carried a bag as he followed the Taoist priest. What they said went in one ear and out the other to ordinary people.

"Old man, I have been with you for decades. How about we drink and chat?"

"It's enough to have a drink together. I'm not a greedy person, how can I have the nerve to eat for free every day?"

Taoist Master Yanshan politely declined, saying that getting involved with him was not a good thing.

He gave the young man a "secret of heaven", which was a favor owed by the lower world and should be repaid.

Entering the shop, the old Taoist priest ordered wine, dried tofu, braised pork and braised Dachuan River carp. The two went up to the second floor, chose a spacious room, opened the window facing the river, and watched the river flow eastward with white sails dotted around.

The young man poured tea attentively and said, "More than ten years ago, a big event happened in Liuyun Territory. An eighth-level Shinto illusionist with no background suddenly appeared. He committed crimes for three years and quietly killed the seventh-level masters of fifteen sects. He plundered all the accumulation of thousands of years of their sects. His methods were cruel and unscrupulous, and he wanted to make the world his enemy."

"Old Monster Zhong from Liuyun Sect has issued a 'Liuyun Hunting Order' with a generous reward. I'm tempted by what I heard. Old man, do you know who that person is?"

The old Taoist drank coarse tea, felt the winter breeze, squinted his old eyes and watched the river view, saying: "It's none of my business, so I don't know."

The young man kept asking, "How do I know what you mean? As the saying goes, a man who eats people's food should be grateful. You have nothing to do anyway, so tell me. I'm really curious about where that guy jumped out of. He's so vicious. Xu is a newcomer, so don't run into that kind of villain who doesn't know right from wrong. I'm also planning to go to Liuyun Territory."

He knew in his heart that with his experience, nothing in the nine realms of the upper realm could be hidden from him as long as he wanted to know the truth.

The wine, dried tofu and braised meat were delivered.

The young man was busy pouring wine and toasting each other with great enthusiasm, as if he had never cursed the old monster Yanshan behind his back.

The old Taoist drank a glass of wine, and his brows relaxed in comfort. He said, "Every few years, there will always be some disasters in the world of cultivation. The eighth-level illusionist you mentioned is a 'killing disaster' that occurs once every three thousand years, also known as 'doing justice for the heavens'. This 'law' is not the way that most cultivators think of it, but the balance... the way of heaven. Do you understand?"

He omitted several key words.

Ye Changmeng understood. In this chaotic time of "killing catastrophe", countless sects would suffer.

The old Taoist picked up the braised meat and tasted it carefully. After a while, he sighed and said, "That 'Sha Jie' is familiar to you and me. We haven't seen each other for thousands of years. I didn't expect that he would become... Alas, a single thought can turn you into a demon."

"Huh? Who is it?"

Ye Changmeng was a little dumbfounded. It was a mutual acquaintance of theirs.

The old Taoist refused to say anything more, because it was useless to say anything, he was no longer from this world.

There are some things he really can't interfere with.

Everyone is responsible for the path he or she chooses. No matter how hard or difficult it is, he or she must finish it even if he or she has to kneel.

……

Dark underground palace.

Xu Yuanchang ran out from the pursuit and blockade, and rushed to the corner in one breath. Except for the undried bloodstains on the ground, there was no trace of Cen Kan, who had disappeared long ago.

He then ran towards the middle of the pillars, not wanting to be trapped in a narrow corner by those big guys and suffer the consequences.

The giant eye rotating in the air overlooked the overall situation. His intention to use Cen Kan's power to jointly deal with the statue was discovered, so he had to think of another way.

With a special spirit-replenishing talisman slapped on his body, Xu Yuanchang played hide-and-seek with the statues that were scattered and chasing him.

He also tried to attack the jade pillar, but the result was as he expected. The jade pillar was also uncertain and integrated with the statue. Unless the statue was destroyed, he could not face the pillar.

After running around the underground palace for an unknown number of times, Xu Yuanchang suddenly remembered that there was a treasure in the space that had been idle for over a hundred years and had never been used. He decided to give it a try, so he took out the "Bronze Tablet of the Heavenly Book" and smashed it at a single statue that was chasing after him.

"Boom", dust and gravel flew up.

The statue, which was so hard and hateful that Xu Yuanchang had no way to deal with it, was smashed into pieces by the meter-high bronze monument.

Watching the debris on the ground turn into nothingness, Xu Yuanchang picked up an invisible and colorless bead. It seemed to be the "Illusion Bead" recorded in the classics. It was a high-level treasure from heaven and earth and was an extremely rare treasure even in the upper realm.

It can be used to assist in refining magic weapons and increase the illusory properties of the treasures.

He was overjoyed, finally finding a way to deal with the troublesome statue. The bronze tablet of the Heavenly Book was as heavy as a mountain and harder than sixth-grade materials. He had used the Altar of Creation to refine it before, but it had no effect, so he gave up later.

"Haha, let's go head-to-head. Who's afraid of who?"

Xu Yuanchang relied on the fact that he had refined the bronze tablet of the Heavenly Book to the point that he could easily lift and use it. He held the thick bronze tablet and swept it towards the chasing statue without any reason. It was such a pleasure.

"Bang bang bang", a few statues were smashed into pieces with a few hits, and a few illusory beads were picked up.

Xu Yuanchang put the huge bronze tablet into the space, and using his flexibility to his advantage, he caught up with the fleeing statue and smashed it from behind, almost hitting it accurately every time. The statue was huge and relatively inflexible, especially during the escape process.

He smashed ten statues with great pleasure and collected ten beads.

The remaining six statues found their respective jade pillars and turned back into ferocious dead creatures on the pillars.

Xu Yuanchang held up the bronze tablet and shouted into the air: "Hey, come down and let's fight!"

……

(End of this chapter)