Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 27: Inviting Datang to Die

Suddenly, a man stood out from the rebel army.

He is wearing a crane cloak and a silk scarf, with wide sleeves and a long beard, and his clothes flutter in the wind, making him as elegant as a god. Who else could it be but Wang Xianzhi, the commander-in-chief of the Grass Army, the leader of the Zhenyi Alliance, the world's number one master - the "General Tianbu Pingjun"?

He walked with a seemingly leisurely and slow pace, his every movement visible to everyone. Yet, his movements seemed to shrink the distance to an inch, and in just a few moments, he had already approached the Five-Directional Formation.

In Wang Xianzhi's left palm, he held a medium-sized square earthenware jar with dragon-shaped earrings on all four sides. Aside from its crude shape, the jar looked ordinary, but upon closer inspection, it possessed a mysterious charm that could draw one's attention completely.

At this moment, Wang Xianzhi was already far away from his troops, and there was a vast open space around him.

He stood there with only one can, facing the huge army.

However, the vast army seemed to serve as a foil to him alone.

Even the sea of ​​clouds, the vast sky and earth, and the vast world seemed to be just a foil for him!

Wang Xianzhi slapped the earthenware pot with his right palm, making a clear and resonant sound, and sang in response to the rhythm.

"The world will collapse, and the furnace will burn."

"Who is singing a long song when flying to the peak?"

"The wild dragons and snakes are scattered across the human world."

"A hundred years of solitude, fighting to cross like me, like me!"

"I have seen thousands of flourishing flowers wither and fall, but even drinking wine cannot bring back the old mountains and rivers."

"I have seen the heavenly soldiers kill people as easily as cutting grass. Who can pity the lives of the living who shed so much blood and tears?"

"In times of chaos and war, the fields and roads gradually turn into deserts."

"Life is cold and hard, I ask the heavens who can hold up the stars."

"The boat capsized in the water, and all the people wept."

"In times of chaos, it's nothing but a drunken song!"

The singing was so sad, vast and passionate that it shook the ten directions. Between heaven and earth, there was a gloomy and sad atmosphere that rushed straight to the thirty-three heavens!

After singing a piece of music, Wang Xianzhi exerted force on his palm and landed on the earthenware pot. There seemed to be no collision, but the pot broke into pieces with a bang. The flying fragments emitted a colorful light, which showed that it was obviously not an ordinary object.

After smashing the clay pot, Wang Xianzhi showed no regret, but instead clapped his hands and laughed.

"Wang calls himself the Great General of Heaven's Restoration. Today's Tang Dynasty is in a state of profound decline, barely surviving. Although Xianzhi is a mere commoner, he also has the ambition to mend the sky!"

"ridiculous!"

A sinister voice rang out from the Tang army.

"You ignorant thief, how dare you comment on the achievements of the royal family? How dare you, a disloyal and unrighteous pariah, claim to be mending the heavens for the people?"

The speaker was Song Wei's nephew, Song Xiangling's younger brother, Song Xiangyu, also a general in the Pinglu Army. He spoke clearly and sharply, and was not at all intimidated by Wang Xianzhi's imposing manner, which showed that he had some skills.

"Hey! Who are you, you rat, to dare to bark here?"

Wang Xianzhi turned to the man, and suddenly glared at him and shouted like a tiger or leopard, shaking the grass on the ground into flying pieces.

Song Xiangyu's body suddenly trembled and staggered, and suddenly blood spurted out of his mouth. He fell off his horse, and a green and sticky juice escaped from his lips. It was obvious that his liver and gallbladder were broken!
Wang Xianzhi's roar, announcing the death of Song Xiangyu, terrified the entire army into silence. Even Song Xiangyu's brother, Song Xiangling, wept bitterly at the sight of his young brother's death, but he was so frightened by Wang Xianzhi's aura that he remained speechless.

Wang Xianzhi let out a long roar, his anger reaching the sky. He straightened his clothes and turned to the northwest.

There is the capital of the Tang Dynasty, the city of the royal family - Chang'an!
Looking northwest towards Chang'an, Wang Xianzhi straightened his clothes, looked solemn, and bowed from afar.

The pressure from the peerless master radiated outward, and when he prostrated himself, the heaven and earth seemed to tremble.

"If Heaven's Way is incomplete, ordinary people can repair it."

Wang Xianzhi paused, his eyes flashing like lightning, and said loudly -

"I, Wang Xianzhi, invite the Tang Dynasty to die!"

Before he finished speaking, his figure had turned into a flash of lightning and charged into the five-sided formation.

Only this earth-shattering sentence still lingered in the minds of everyone on both sides, like the echo of a valley, echoing endlessly.

"I, Wang Xianzhi, invite the Tang Dynasty to die!"

As he spoke, iron leaves flew everywhere, like black bamboo leaves dancing in the wind.

That was the armor worn by a group of Qin warriors.

With the sound of spears and halberds breaking, Wang Xianzhi's sleeves fluttered like falling flowers, hitting the sharp soldiers of the government army. However, the heavy iron armor could not withstand the blow of the sleeves!
The Qin warriors were hit by the big sleeves, and some of them even had their entire bodies bounced up and flew in the air. When they fell to the ground with a bang, they immediately turned into a blurred mass of flesh and blood.

However, in reality, the sharp warrior who was knocked flying had already suffered broken bones and tendons from the powerful impact before landing!
Just now, Chai Najun bravely attacked the Five Square Formation, but after only one or two rounds, he was killed off his horse.

At this moment, Wang Xianzhi, the world's number one master, turned into a gust of wind, charging forward, and was also unable to match his opponent.

"The universe is in your sleeves, and the sun and moon are in your palms."

Wang Xianzhi was unstoppable, conquering all enemies. While attacking, he was still chanting leisurely, his clothes were not stained with blood, and he had the demeanor of a hermit.

But in the eyes of the government troops, this old man who floated over was an evil god from the Asura world.

If the evil spirit had not descended upon the world, how could he have dared to utter such outrageous words as to invite the Tang Dynasty, which had lasted for more than two hundred years, to its death?

These government soldiers had no idea whether the Tang Dynasty would perish.

However, when Wang Xianzhi arrived, their death was imminent!

Although Song Wei's five-sided formation was well-organized and as solid as a rock, it was difficult to match the enemy's attack.

But there are always forces in this world that flesh and blood cannot resist.

Number one in the world, leader of the martial arts world, chief of the righteous, immortal on earth, undefeated in forty years... countless glorious titles demonstrate Wang Xianzhi's unprecedented power.

And Wang Xianzhi's great victory over the Five-Directional Formation today showed all these halos, which were as pure as pure gold, without any falsehood!
"The Universe in His Sleeves! Today, I can witness the world-shaking Universe in the Sleeves of Zhenyi Alliance Leader. Why should I fear death?"

Among the Five-sided Formation, there are also those who are extremely brave and ready to die.

The battle formation was like waves splitting and breaking. Facing the vigorous and invincible Wang Xianzhi, this "Wei Wuzu" stood with his spear across his face, and thrust the long spear straight into Wang Xianzhi's chest.

This person is obviously also an avid admirer of Wang Xianzhi, the number one martial arts master.

However, facing the sweeping large sleeves, his fate was no different from the others. After the long spear was bent and broken, it struck his chest directly, causing his armor to cave in along with his ribs. He staggered back several steps, spitting blood and collapsing to the ground.

"This... is the limit that countless warriors dream of..."

When this man was dying, he was still wiping the blood from his lips, gasping softly, and uttering the last words of his life.

Wang Xianzhi only paused for a moment to look at him, then flew up again, like a falcon soaring through the sky, with his sleeves fluttering, and landed in a formation of Wei Wu soldiers.

The soldiers were about to draw their crossbows and launch a powerful volley of arrows at Wang Xianzhi, but Wang Xianzhi sensed their murderous intent and plunged into the crowd, killing everyone on horseback.

"Man and horse fell to the ground" is not an exaggeration, because one of the "Zhao Bianqi" who came galloping was also slapped by Wang Xianzhi's palm from his sleeve. The powerful palm force hit the horse's head horizontally. In an instant, the warhorse screamed in pain and spurted blood, then fell backward and died. The knight who was thrown upside down also fell to the ground with his saddle!

When the palm power burst out, the yin and yang energies circulated, and the light flickered, like the alternation of the sun and the moon.

"The sun and moon in the palm of your hand." Zheng Hanzhang, the head of the Funiu Sect, murmured, "It's Alliance Leader Wang's sun and moon in the palm of his hand."

Shang Junchang took over the conversation, "The universe is vast within his sleeves, the sun and moon are long within his palms. Master hasn't used his bare hands in ten years, defeating his enemies solely with his large sleeves. But today, after such a fierce battle, he finally used the 'Sun and Moon in the Palm' technique."

Shang Junchang's younger brother, Shang Rang, said: "Now our army's morale is high while the enemy's is weak. This is exactly the 'Taoist rises while the devil falls'. As one rises while the other falls, Master, take advantage of this momentum and drive straight into the enemy's formation. Who can stop us?"

Inspired by Wang Xianzhi's bold words, Shang Rang even dared to denounce the Tang Dynasty court as "devil".

But the heroes were not concerned about this. Instead, they were curious about what Wang Xianzhi's secret Confucian skills were.

This skill seems to be more powerful than the universe in the sleeve and the sun and moon in the palm. Once used, it will be earth-shattering.

However, Shang Rang just kept it a secret and smiled without answering.

Wang Xianzhi had already rushed back and forth in the Five-sided Formation, leaving several bloody alleys. The originally awe-inspiring formation had been shattered into pieces in the blink of an eye.

Several famous masters in the formation stood with their backs facing each other, barely forming a formation to resist Wang Xianzhi. They raised their spears, halberds, and swords and cooperated to fight the enemy. They finally withstood four or five of Wang Xianzhi's moves, but with a loud shout from Wang Xianzhi, these people were swept into the sky in an instant, like falling autumn leaves.

"My skills stop here!"

Wang Xianzhi uttered these four words again.

But this time, with incomparable certainty, the words were as heavy as a thousand pounds—

The Five-sided Formation is nothing special!

How could he not be sure?
The Five-square Formation no longer existed. All that remained were the elite soldiers of the Pinglu Army who were fleeing in panic, as frightened as dogs that had lost their homes, and the corpses of men and horses piled on the ground like small hills.

The blood turned into a stream, flowing on the ground. In contrast, Wang Xianzhi remained calm and composed, without a drop of sweat on his face. He still had the demeanor of an immortal.

With his own strength, breaking through the Five-Directional Formation is as easy as taking something from a bag.

"Please let Datang die!"

Wang Xianzhi stared indifferently at the formation of the government army, looked at the Tang Dynasty soldiers who were trembling like autumn cicadas, and uttered these shocking words again.

Five words, each one weighing as much as a mountain. "Please, Datang, die!"

Among the grass army formation behind him, I don't know who was the first to repeat this bold statement that would go against the will of the world, but his followers followed one after another, and in an instant it turned into a tidal wave, and in the wave was the proud will of all people to resist the heaven.

"Please let Datang die!"

There was fearlessness in everyone's eyes, and their roars, which were unanimous from thousands of camps, made the earth rumble and tremble.

Everyone thought of the pain and humiliation inflicted upon them by the Tang Dynasty court, which claimed to have given birth to and raised them.

If there is still a way to survive, who would be willing to go to the battlefield and fight with the government troops who are as fierce as wolves and tigers, and let the enemy kill them, the farmers who have no military experience, like mowing grass?

If there was still a way to survive, how could these originally honest and hardworking farmers dare to accuse the heaven of injustice and cruelty, and even dare to shout in unison, "Please die, Tang Dynasty"?
The anger of the people is like a spark that has spread across the prairie and is rising into the sky.

Faced with the anger of the people, many Song Wei army soldiers turned pale.

They believed that they were ruled by the Son of Heaven, who was suppressing this mob on behalf of Heaven.

However, what if the people have the courage and determination to go against the will of heaven and break through the sky?
"Hahahahahaha, the leader is invincible. These court lackeys are nothing but a bunch of chickens and dogs in front of the leader!"

Wang Xianzhi's favorite general, Taishan Sect's top master Cao Shixiong, shouted, "Let's all attack together, and follow our leader to slaughter these defeated soldiers and avenge our brothers who have died at the hands of the imperial court's lackeys over the years!"

Cao Shixiong issued a call, and all the heroes were ready to fight, their blood boiling. They checked their soldiers one by one, gave orders and beat drums, and formed up into neat formations, ready to lead their troops to charge towards the center of Gai.

After all, the five-sided formation directly in front of them had collapsed, with nearly half of them killed or wounded. The government troops on the opposite side were already terrified and could not withstand a single blow.

If we don't attack now, when will we wait?
But at this moment, a man suddenly emerged from the densely packed barracks of the government troops. He was tall, and the steed he rode was also exceptionally strong. But both man and horse were enshrouded in a silvery iron curtain.

Only the cold and shining heavenly sword in the visitor's hand can reveal his identity.

Song Wei's younger brother, a peerless master of his generation, known as the "Heavenly Sword Song Jue" who "is as sharp as a sword and shines across the world"!

Because Song Jue's horse was not wearing armor before and his warhorse was killed by Zhu Wen, this time he went into battle with both the man and the horse fully armed. The tall and strong horse was covered with armor all over the body, and his momentum was mighty, like a prehistoric beast from the Classic of Mountains and Seas.

Song Jue himself was also covered in sharp armor, with only his nostrils and a pair of eye sockets exposed.

"This villain relied on his bravery to break through the Five-Sided Formation, but his bravery was only momentary. He is now at the end of his strength. Our losses are only a few hundred men from the Five-Sided Formation! Soldiers of the three armies, what are you afraid of?"

The appearance of Song Jue instantly made the eyes of many government troops light up.

Although Wang Xianzhi is the best in the world, we also have peerless masters on our side!
Wang Xianzhi had never fought Song Jue before, so no one knew how much stronger he was. However, many in the imperial army believed that Song Jue's martial arts skills were not inferior to Wang Xianzhi's, and might even surpass his.

At this moment, they really needed such thoughts to cheer themselves up.

Song Jue angrily retorted, "This beast is already at the end of its strength and can't even pierce the silk of Lu. What's there to be afraid of?"

"What is the end of a powerful crossbow? The arrows from my crossbow burst out like the sword energy of an immortal, enough to travel a hundred thousand miles!"

Wang Xianzhi glanced at Song Jue standing still on his horse, waved his hand to stop Cao Shixiong and others from charging forward, and said proudly.

Song Jue's expression suddenly changed. His face was covered with armor, and although it was not clear, one could hear his breathing become heavy.

"Wang Xianzhi! You're still so arrogant. When your brother hunted you down to the point where you had nowhere to go but up to heaven and down to earth, you were never seen so arrogant!"

"The people are unarmed, and the righteous army is untrained. I'm merely using you as a whetstone. Furthermore, you possess the brilliant strategy of young General Wang Jian, but you fail to implement it. You've become close to villains and distant from the wise and capable, setting yourself up for defeat! It's ridiculous that you, the Song brothers, are still so shameless, actually claiming all the credit for the previous ambush in Rift Valley!"

Song Jue was immediately speechless with anger. After a while, he gritted his teeth and said, "Wang Xianzhi, if you want to fight, then fight!"

After saying that, Song Jue said no more. He spurred his horse and raised his sword, rushing towards Wang Xianzhi. The horse neighed like thunder, and the sword rolled like the wind, like a huge mountain of steel, crushing towards Wang Xianzhi!

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Song Jue was not only fighting on horseback, but both the man and the horse were wearing iron armor, which was quite disadvantageous to Wang Xianzhi who was fighting on foot. It was definitely not a fair duel.

What's more, Song Jue's Eight Bloody Battle Methods were honed through years of fighting on the battlefield, and are beneficial for cavalry combat. Now that Song Jue has selected the most majestic horse and the most sturdy equipment, and then used this set of swordsmanship, it is undoubtedly even more powerful!
However, Wang Xianzhi, as the world's number one martial artist, with a reputation that had stood unchallenged for forty years, possessed a certain arrogance that could not be defied. Even such an unfair challenge was impossible for him to refuse!

But Wang Xianzhi had no intention of dodging quickly by relying on his light body skills. Instead, he rushed forward, sweeping his sleeves. Invigorated by his internal energy, they instantly became harder than steel, and swept towards the shining and ringing Heavenly Sword in Song Jue's palm!

The whistling wind and the blazing sword light merged into a cascade of light, instantly transforming into a stream of splattering light. Those watching from both sides could only perceive a blurry, indistinct movement, unable to grasp the key points. The two men exchanged blows so quickly that almost no one could discern the details of their movements.

Wang Xianzhi, the leader of the martial arts world, rolled up his sleeves in the wind, and his shadow was transformed into dancing flying flowers, blocking the sight of everyone watching the fight.

But the Heavenly Sword in Song Jue's palm was no less powerful. Under the stimulation of internal strength, it emitted a light like the sun and made a long, clear sound, like a crane crying in the sky. The power of the sword was loud enough to be heard in the sky and was connected with the will of Haotian.

How could Song Jue, a long-established master and one of the most powerful generals in the Tang army, be able to only speak nonsense?

Tian Dao and Wang Xianzhi's sleeves were entangled with each other, attacking each other back and forth, and in the blink of an eye, they had fought for dozens of rounds.

Song Jue was a strong swordsman and a fast horse. Facing Wang Xianzhi who was fighting on foot, he single-handedly resisted Wang Xianzhi's invincible power that had previously massacred the Five-Directional Formation.

But those with sharp eyes had long discovered that Wang Xianzhi did not just stand on the ground and fight, but from time to time he would jump up, his feet not touching the ground, and hang in the air to fight with Song Jue. In other words, Wang Xianzhi often had no way to unload the force of Song Jue's sword that came charging at him with his horse, and could only rely on his profound internal strength to absorb it himself.

Furthermore, most of the time, Wang Xianzhi was hovering in mid-air, unwilling to let Song Jue on horseback outstrip him. His light-weight skills had practically reached the legendary level of "riding the wind and flying."

However, Wang Xianzhi could often float up and fight with Song Jue in mid-air. With such skills, he was truly the best hero in the world and lived up to the title of "Land Immortal".

As Wang Xianzhi was repelled by Song Jue, the morale of the government army gradually recovered.

After all, they had only seen Wang Xianzhi's invincibility before. With a pair of his huge sleeves, he could create a sea of ​​blood and corpses, as if there was really no one in the world who could match him.

Now that Song Jue was able to fight with Wang Xianzhi for dozens of rounds, how could they not restore their morale, which had already fallen to the extreme?

"Haha, this Wang Xianzhi is nothing special. Besides, how can human power compete with armored cavalry? Today, our army will not only turn defeat into victory, but also make the two thieves Wang and Huang surrender on the spot and hang their heads on the Northern Palace!"

The one who spoke was Lei Yinfu, the military supervisory judge of the Zhaoyi Army of the Tang Dynasty. He was born into the Lei family of the Thunderbolt Hall. He was a rare figure who came from the underworld but enjoyed a high position and generous honors in the court.

Previously, Wang Xianzhi attempted to attack Zhengzhou. Lei Yinfu led his troops to station in Zhongmu, and then joined Song Wei's army, which was leading a large army to pursue Wang Xianzhi. With the advice of Wang Jian, he and Song Wei defeated Cao's army together, killing and wounding countless people.

Lei Yinfu, this dark-faced man, has considerable experience in deploying troops, marching and setting up camps, and seizing opportunities in battle. He has won many battles in the past and can be regarded as a good general in the current Tang Dynasty.

The morale of the three military governors' coalition forces had long been shaken and their confidence had been lost. After hearing Lei Yinfu's words, many of them regained their confidence and became more intently focused on the life-and-death battle between Wang Xianzhi and Song Jue.

"when!"

A deafening roar of collision spread across the field, and Song Jue, along with his horse, was knocked back several steps.

When the Cao army was about to cheer, they saw Wang Xianzhi's body slowly falling to the ground, with thin drops of blood dripping from his palms.

Since everyone's eyes were on Wang Xianzhi and Song Jue, such details were naturally observed clearly.

Wang Xianzhi was injured! Wang Xianzhi, who had always been pure and graceful, had taken Song Jue's Heavenly Sword with his bare hands, but his palms were injured and bleeding!

At the age of eighteen, Wang Xianzhi had already regarded magical weapons as external objects, discarded his sword, and relied only on a pair of large sleeves and two bare hands to fight the enemy. However, this did not prevent him from killing the peerless demon lord Qiao Beiming at the top of the Jade Emperor Peak. In the following forty years, he put the entire martial arts world under his pressure.

Wang Xianzhi, who was so powerful that he was beyond the imagination of many people, actually had a day when he was injured and bleeding!
"Uncle, try your best! Quickly raise your sword and kill that old man surnamed Wang to avenge your brother!"

Song Wei's nephew Song Xiangling shouted loudly. Previously, Wang Xianzhi had killed his brother Song Xiangyu with a roar, which made him heartbroken.

"How can the two hundred years of the Tang Dynasty be shaken by a bunch of ants!" Lei Yinfu said in a long voice: "Second Marshal Song, work hard! The victory will be announced in this move!"

Song Jue's eyes also showed a smug look.

Relying on his "Eight Bloody Battle Methods", he fought for dozens of rounds with the leader of the Zhenyi Alliance, who had held the top position in martial arts for forty years, and the fight was evenly matched. He even injured Wang Xianzhi with the sharpness of his sword.

Song Jue naturally wanted to maintain his composure, "Hahahahaha! A land immortal is only this good? My Heavenly Sword is still whistling. It seems it wants to drink your hot blood to fill its stomach!"

However, Wang Xianzhi's expression became unusually serious.

"I have been looked down upon by you, a brat." Wang Xianzhi said this, but his tone was still quite calm, but his eyes became sharp.

"Are you angry? Hehehe..."

As Song Jue said this, he found that Wang Xianzhi was not looking at him at all, but was looking at Lei Yinfu in the military formation behind him.

"Boy, you said one move, right?"

To others, these words were as light as a breeze, but to Lei Yinfu, they were like thunder, making his eyes go dark and his eardrums feel like they were about to burst in an instant.

"That's a good move."

Wang Xianzhi suddenly disappeared from the spot, as if he had used invisibility, and no one could see how he disappeared.

But when his figure appeared again, everyone saw that he stretched out his arms lightly, spread out his five fingers, and the bone joints of his palms made a popping sound like frying beans as he stretched them. In an instant, his palms grew visibly larger; the tiger's mouth, which was also enlarged, was like a crocodile's mouth, and directly clamped the mouth of the giant horse under Song Jue's seat. Then, with a single hand, he lifted Song Jue, who was wrapped in fine iron and weighed more than a thousand pounds, into the sky like a king carrying a tripod!

The horse was lifted upside down, but Song Jue didn't fall off. Instead, he was held to the horse by a mysterious force. At this moment, even through the two black eyeholes of his visor, one could see the uncontrollable fear on his face.

Is there anyone in this world who can control time?
Of course not.

But at this moment, time seemed to have stopped in everyone's eyes.

It was as if there was a kind of magic that slowed down and disassembled the originally swift movements, leaving them deeply imprinted in everyone's eyes and minds, leaving them unforgettable.

Song Jue, fully equipped with armor and riding a horse weighing over a thousand pounds, was held by Wang Xianzhi by the horse's rim and lifted up into the sky.

Then, Song Jue and his armored warhorse, who were lifted to the highest point, were thrown downwards by Wang Xianzhi, swinging his five-stringed instrument like a stringed instrument!
He clearly possessed the power to hold up Mount Tai and surpass the North Sea, yet he acted so nonchalantly when he attacked.

It was just like a huge iron box, colliding with the solidified air. The moment it came into contact with the ground, it was visibly deformed like flattened tofu - the horse's armor and the rider's armor slowly merged together as if they had been re-forged in a furnace, forming a ball of iron with a strange shape.

Then, the stagnant time began to flow again, and from the holes and cracks of the huge iron lump, clumps of sticky crimson flesh and blood, accompanied by internal organs flowing like insects, spurted out like a boiling mountain spring!

Next to this strange mass of things, there was only the Heavenly Sword made of forged iron through thousands of hammerings. Although it was bent, it still retained the shape of a sword.

(End of this chapter)