The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 98 is truly a case of bringing shame upon oneself!
Many people thought that King Anqing would suffer in silence and watch helplessly as the virtuous Taoist priest left.

Unexpectedly, another extraordinary person emerged from the carriage behind King Anqing.

After all, where else can someone leap so high and far?

As soon as Master Gufeng landed, he quickly stepped forward, changed his palm into a claw, and hooked towards Du Yuan's left shoulder.

He wanted to crush this guy's shoulder and show the surrounding people who the real enlightened master was.

Although he didn't manage to get close like the surrounding armored soldiers, the moment he made a move and exerted his strength, he saw the protective golden light.

Amidst screams, Master Gufeng was sent flying farther and in a more miserable state than the previous soldiers—falling right under the hooves of the horse that King Anqing was driving! The hand that had been about to crush his shoulder bone was now shattered, hanging limply from his wrist, like a useless limb.

"what--?!"

Exclamations arose again, but the people couldn't help but laugh: they thought he was a real deity, but he exposed himself as soon as he tried to do it!

This scene made Anqing Wang's eyelids twitch and also filled Gufeng Zhenren with fear.

Looking up, the wild path seemed very familiar.

Seeing this, Du Yuan asked a question:
Do you still remember me?

Master Gufeng trembled violently and cried out in alarm:
"It's you!"

I didn't recognize him before because he had hair.

Now I can see it clearly. This is the same person who called me a fellow Daoist in front of the Qingzhou city gate that day—neither monk nor Daoist!
At the same time, the words he had said that day came back to mind, making him blush with embarrassment.

'You and I are kindred spirits? Isn't this like the bright moon in the sky compared to the light of a firefly? It's truly self-humiliating!'

The one who brought shame upon himself was actually himself!

In his shame and indignation, Master Gufeng disregarded everything else.

After leaping up, he sternly rebuked Du Yuan:
"Although your skills surpass mine, how can a mere unorthodox Taoist like you possibly surpass my lineage?"

As he spoke, he even revealed his Fengdu Binding Basin, which he claimed was bestowed by the True Lord!

Because his other hand was useless, he could only hold the water tray up to Du Yuan and say:
"This is the Fengdu Binding Basin, a magical treasure bestowed upon me by the True Lord of the Cave Heaven. You wild Taoist, do you dare to fight me?!"

With the magical artifact in hand, radiating a dazzling light, Master Gufeng's courage was instantly rekindled.

This is a magical treasure bestowed by the True Lord. How could something belonging to a celestial being be compared to that of a cultivator in the mortal realm?

He has boundless confidence in this.

However, the man opposite him only stared intently at the water basin for a moment before shaking his head repeatedly, his tone tinged with absurd pity:
"King Anqing is merely a stubborn fool. You? Not only are you an accomplice to evil, but you are even more foolish and ignorant than him!"

Previously, Du Yuan was not certain that this Taoist priest and the fox spirit were the same kind of people.

Upon seeing the so-called magic weapon, he realized that it was nothing more than a fool who was being used as a scout and was unaware of his own innocence.

When Du Yuan saw the water basin, apart from a wisp of indistinct spiritual light, it was clearly a crude contraption made of gnarled rocks, rotten grass, and withered wood, haphazardly pieced together, revealing a careless and perfunctory attitude in every aspect.

Upon closer inspection, Du Yuan also noticed a golden pill made from a clay ball hidden at An Qingwang's waist.
How dare such filthy things be called "magic weapons"?
And needless to say, those who possess such things and use them as treasures to flaunt their power and prestige are even worse.

These two are beyond saving!
For no apparent reason, these words made Master Gufeng feel uneasy.

He quickly suppressed the turmoil in his heart, forcing himself to remain calm, and rebuked:

"Stop talking nonsense! You wild Taoist, I only ask you, do you dare to fight me?!"

Du Yuan sighed softly, hands behind her back:

"Another 'nonsense.' You people always like to point at me and say I'm talking nonsense. But don't you know that the one who is truly talking nonsense and spouting idioms is yourself?"

These words were like a sharp awl, piercing the face of the Lone Peak Master and causing him to freeze again.

Yes! When did the True Lord ever say that King Anqing was a man of destiny? All the True Lord wanted was for him to push King Anqing to raise an army.

All those grandiose pronouncements about family lineage and destiny that he made up in front of King Anqing were just empty words he made up based on his past swindling and deception skills!
Although he was backed by the True Lord, he was not a disciple of the True Lord. He was even confused about the True Lord's lineage.

Seeing this, Du Yuan's eyes showed even more pity:

"Look at you, you're speechless now, aren't you? Sigh, I really don't know what gives you people the audacity to jump out and make a scene!"

These words caused Master Gufeng's face to turn pale, then red, then pale again.

Ultimately, it all boils down to one sentence:
"Just tell me, do you dare to fight me?!"

He was incredibly angry, but his underlying fear and despair were also obvious to everyone.

Du Yuan chuckled softly and then said to him:
"Of course you can. I'm telling you, if you dare to use this so-called magic weapon, it will explode on its own. Do you believe me?"

These words filled Master Gufeng with wild joy. How could the treasure given by the True Lord be so worthless? This fellow must be trying to trick me! But then he saw that the other party had seen through his thoughts and said mockingly:

"Don't believe me? Haven't you ever wondered where this thing came from? The Fengdu Binding Basin? The name sounds imposing, but unfortunately, it's just a name that's good for intimidating people!"

Where did this thing come from?

This thing was bestowed by the True Lord, but, but, but
But this thing was also made by the True Lord when he manifested his power and transmitted the Dharma, casually grabbing some yellow clay and rotten wood and shaping it.
Could it really be true?

Master Gufeng's heart sank suddenly, and fear surged up like a tide. He believed it!
Behind him, Prince Anqing remained silent, but the gaze he received weighed heavily on his spine. The deep-seated sense of servility he had felt when facing powerful figures in the past seemed to return instantly, pressing down on him so much that he instinctively wanted to bow down.

agonizingly anxious, on the verge of disaster!
Master Gufeng steeled his resolve, his eyes blazing with fury, and with a desperate, resolute voice, urged the attack forward:

"Magic weapon, magic weapon, listen to me!"

The words "imperial edict" had not yet been uttered.

boom! ! !
A deafening explosion suddenly erupted!

Just as Du Yuan had predicted, the so-called water basin in his hand exploded with a bang!
Countless fragments shot out, blasting his face into a bloody mess, with shards of water from the basin even embedding themselves into his face.

Even more terrifying, accompanied by thick smoke, more than thirty hideous ghostly phantoms, shrouded in all sorts of cold and malevolent energy, manifested here!
The surrounding crowd immediately erupted in chaos, screaming and pushing, and it looked like they were about to scatter and flee.

At the critical moment, a sharp shout pierced through the chaos:
"Guard your minds and do not succumb to demonic influence. Only then can I, this humble Taoist, save you!"

The thirty-odd illusory figures all trembled.

He immediately froze, and the terrifying chill slowly dissipated.

This made Du Yuan nod with satisfaction:

"It can be saved! It can be saved!"

After saying that, Du Yuan looked past Gu Feng Zhenren, who was covering his face and wailing, and looked at An Qing Wang, who was still in the carriage.

He didn't speak, but the unspoken pressure made King Anqing retreat involuntarily.

He had no one left to rely on and was powerless to stop the dead Taoist priest from committing his evil deeds.

He desperately wanted to kneel down and beg for mercy, but he was unwilling to lose everything so easily.

Amidst his inner turmoil, his pupils suddenly contracted, for he saw the Taoist priest move!
'Oh no, he's going to kill me!'

Just as they were at a loss, they heard a life-saving voice coming from behind them.

"Please, senior, go easy on me!"

Turning around in surprise, he saw an old monk leap out and land steadily in front of King Anqing's carriage.

When Du Yuan's gaze swept over, the old monk's heart trembled.

He believed his cultivation was slightly higher than that of Master Gufeng, but it was still limited.

This wild Taoist priest could easily take down Master Gufeng, so dealing with him wouldn't take much effort either.

But he dared not stand up—if he ruined Your Excellency's important matter, that would truly be a situation where he could neither live nor die!
He had no choice but to speak hastily:
"This old monk is willing to tell you the truth! Only Your Highness can resolve the crisis at Mishui! Even if you disregard the Buddha's mercy, please consider the lives of the countless people on both sides of Mishui and show leniency! Allow Your Highness to make amends!"

Du Yuan raised an eyebrow slightly.

So the root of the disaster at Mishui was with you!
He looked up and saw that the scarlet aura above Qingzhou had gradually abandoned the living beings below, and was tightly coiling around Anqing King's nascent dragon-transformation destiny like a venomous python.

With this in mind, Du Yuan still asked the old monk a question:
"If I were to say that you are heading down the path of evil, would you still insist on going down that path to the bitter end?"

The old monk resolutely clasped his hands together, his voice rising in pitch:
"Amitabha! The old monk is not protecting the Prince of Anqing, who has made a mistake, but the only hope of all the people of Qingzhou!"

obsessed
Du Yuan sighed inwardly and shook her head, saying:

"We have met twice, and since neither meeting has been fruitless, I shall take my leave."

Have you met twice?

The old monk was puzzled. How could he say that they had met twice?

Du Yuan ignored them and turned to the thirty-odd ghosts, saying:
"Come, this humble Taoist priest will see you off!"

Seeing Du Yuan turn and leave, King Anqing relaxed his tense shoulders and back and let out a long sigh of relief.

The old monk subconsciously tried to move the prayer beads, but when he reached empty hands, he remembered that his prayer beads had already broken in the Falan Temple.

It was at this moment that he suddenly realized:
'Ah, it's him!'

(End of this chapter)