A Scroll of Infinite Glory

In the desolate wilderness, ancient trees stand gnarled and bare, their leaves all fallen, their strangely shaped branches casting shadows on the ground like raised claws.

A large, stout figure wrapped in a brown robe sat leaning against a tree.

On the opposite branch of a tree, perched a strange bird with green feathers, yellow claws, and a plump, fleshy beak.

This bird could speak human language, its voice hoarse: "Master Miaosong, are you really not going?"

Master Miaosong wore loose brown robes and a hat made of multiple layers of brown cotton. His skin was almost the same color as his clothes. When he smiled, he revealed fine, white teeth. He said, "Snakes have their way, and rats have their way. We who practice magic cannot bear to see others do well. If we interact with others, we will inevitably make enemies. Of course, it is best not to interact with them."

The strange bird shook its wings: "Those Taoist priests and monks denouncing us as heretics, yet we are powerless to refute them, precisely because they understand the importance of unity, and nominally belong to the same group."

"And what about us? Over the years, we have gradually declined, no longer being honored guests served by the wealthy and powerful. We even have to make our own materials for practicing our techniques. Don't you feel resentful?"

Master Miaosong simply smiled and remained silent.

"Alright, I've given you three chances. If you still can't come after three invitations, I hope you won't regret it later."

The green-feathered bird cackled twice and then flapped its wings and flew away.

After it flew far away, Master Miaosong tilted his head and spat out a mouthful of phlegm: "Pah! If someone else had invited me, I might have gone to take a look, but since that crazy woman is hosting, she's bound to make a scene of carnage. How could I dare to go?"

"While the aftereffects of this earthquake are still lingering, I should collect as much essence and blood as possible from the mother and child's connection. That will be enough for me to push the Lesser Precepts and Meditation Technique to a higher level. Then... hehehe!"

He sat quietly under the tree waiting, occasionally scratching his thighs and lower back in impatience.

A leaping sound came from the forest. A zombie dressed in hemp clothing, whose hair and beard had all melted away, approached, opened its mouth, and exhaled a puff of red smoke.

Miaosong opened the small cloth bag at his waist, raised it upwards, and collected all the red smoke into the bag. The bag bulged slightly, then deflated again.

Miaosong pressed his large eyes to the opening of the bag and glanced inside. The inner wall of the bag was as smooth and delicate as snake scales. The smoke condensed into red droplets on the inner wall and flowed into the pool of blood at the bottom.

"Great, Ah Liu, you've found a good one. She's close to giving birth. Ah Wu's last three women he found were all just pregnant. You're much better than him."

Miaosong tightened the cloth bag, opened a pocket on his right waist, took out two black pills, and put them into the nostrils of the hemp-clothed zombie, pondering to himself.

"We've already explored several villages and towns nearby. This place is only a few dozen miles from the Black Heavenly Venerable Temple. Let's not be greedy and change locations tomorrow morning, lest we end up like the previous ones, being subdued and killed, wasting all the dozens of secret medicines I fed them."

Another sound came from the forest. Miaosong looked up and saw a ragged zombie rushing back.

As the zombie leaped about, its face and nose melted and became crooked, catching Miaosong's attention.

"not good."

Miaosong took out a few pills, crushed them, and threw them forward with his fat hand. The powder flew like arrows and hit the tattered zombie.

His chubby fingers made two hand seals, and the tattered-clothed zombie jumped on the spot, turned around, and the hemp-clothed zombie also pounced in that direction, while he ran into the deep forest without looking back.

The zombie turned and pounced, Qiu Di brandished his sword to meet it, but the person beside him was much faster than him. Like a tiger leaping across a stream, he took a big leap, rushed into the center, grabbed the tattered zombie by the neck, and pushed it into the body of the next zombie.

The two zombies, piled on top of each other, were knocked down.

Guan Luoyang stomped his foot heavily and leaped away, chasing after the brown-robed mage.

Qiu Di arrived quickly, took out a cinnabar pill from his pocket with his left hand, smeared it on his sword, and pierced the necks of two zombies with one stroke, pinning them to the ground. Looking up again, he saw that the fight had already begun.

The brown-robed monk was large but extremely agile. Sensing the sound of the wind, he tiptoed and scurried behind a tree.

Guan Luoyang swung his hand and smashed the tree trunk, hitting the brown-robed man. A cloud of smoke billowed out from under the brown robe, and no one could be seen.

Qiu Di shouted, "Illusion! Look at the ground!"

Before he could even remind him, Guan Luoyang had already heard the sound of the other person stomping on the soil. He kicked the small tree that had just been broken away in that direction.

The air trembled, and the fat man, wearing only an undershirt, appeared. He bent over to dodge the small tree and turned around to throw a punch straight at him.

The fist, as big as a vinegar jar, clashed with Guan Luoyang's fist with a whooshing sound. What should have been a fierce collision felt like Guan Luoyang had struck a ball of water-filled cotton.

It was damp and heavy, as if a thick fog had suddenly descended, threatening to envelop the face and skin.

Guan Luoyang raised his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders, subconsciously closing his pores. His skin tightened and he exerted force, his energy reaching his very core. The force emanating from his skin caused his clothes to vibrate with a loud crack.

A visible ring of mist emanated from his body, carrying a slightly fishy smell.

Miao Song stumbled back three steps, the large gold rings hanging from his earlobes swaying, and exclaimed in surprise, "This is the achievement of the Water and Fire Immortal Robe? It's just a jumping zombie harming people, and you actually sent such an expert?!"

He must have misunderstood something, because he gritted his teeth and snorted coldly, "It seems that someone has guessed my identity. Very well, then I will not hide anymore. Let's see if you can keep me here."

As soon as he finished speaking, he clapped his hands together in front of his chest and made a deep, muffled sound with his lips closed.

"I uphold the precepts!"

Three-character phrases with rhythmic pauses.

Miaosong's face was full of flesh, which arched from his cheeks, his eyebrows were raised, and his skin and flesh were taut and hard, forming an exaggerated and majestic appearance like a statue of a heavenly king in a temple.

With each droop and flip of his eyelids, a faint golden light emanated from his seven orifices.

A cold wind blew from him in all directions, and his imposing presence weighed heavily on his heart.

Upon seeing his current appearance, Qiu Di had a sudden realization and exclaimed, "It's that villain Miao Song!"

Master Miaosong was quite famous many years ago. He claimed to practice the orthodox Buddhist teachings and distributed medicine to save people in the Jiaozhou area. He was highly respected by the local gentry and natives.

Even eminent monks from famous temples such as Nalanda and Padmasambhava associated with him, and he was always accompanied by servants and surrounded by believers.

Later, however, Master Yanglian of Motian Temple lost face because his disciple had a few words with him, so he actually went to his door in person, forcing a magical duel.

Everyone knew that Yang Lian's anger had not been eradicated and that he was still domineering. They guessed that he was at fault in many ways, and everyone rallied to support Miao Song.

Unexpectedly, Yang Lian's palm strike shattered Master Miaosong's disguise, revealing the true nature of his evil magic.

That is the Lesser Precepts and Concentration Method originating from the Buddhist practitioner's practice, which emphasizes upholding precepts and disciplining oneself. The stricter the precepts, the more sincere one's heart, and the deeper one's spiritual power.

For ordinary people, it is extremely difficult to simply observe the precepts against killing and lust without indulging in these two desires. If one wants to achieve success in the minor precepts and meditation, in addition to the most basic precepts, the precepts that one sets for oneself are often so strict as to be incomprehensible.

Those who can master this magic are mostly eminent monks, which is the main reason why so many eminent monks have praised Miaosong.

However, Miao Song's true method of cultivation combines the evil arts of ancient Annam. He uses the blood essence of a pregnant woman as a guide and takes the pure thoughts of the unborn child as a cover. This allows him to obtain the power of the Lesser Precepts and Meditations without actually following the precepts.

Such heinous acts will inevitably breed resentment in him over time. Once the magic power is broken, everyone will be able to see the stench emanating from his very bones.

Master Yanglian struck him down from the intermediate level to the lower level with a single palm strike, revealing the truth. However, he triggered the spell he had previously placed on the sons of powerful families, causing a riot, and he escaped in the chaos.

Over the years, many eminent monks from famous temples have felt ashamed of what happened back then and have been secretly and tirelessly searching for his whereabouts.

Judging from his current momentum, he has clearly returned to his former peak. How many people will he kill in the meantime?

Qiu Di was filled with shock and anger, while Guan Luoyang merely glanced at her coldly, fidgeting with his fingers as he asked, "Did you order these zombies to harm people all by yourself? Do you have any accomplices?"

"Accomplices? Young man, do you take me for one of you Taoist priests, afraid to travel alone?"

Miao Song straightened his shoulders and assumed a fighting stance, his hands poised like a fierce bear about to pounce, aiming at Guan Luoyang's weakness. "I didn't want to reveal my identity, and it would have been fine if I had just thrown two jumping zombies at you to do the work. But since you're experts who came for me, then let's see who lives the best..."

"You're the only one!"

Guan Luoyang swept his right hand downwards, the bronze pattern flashing, and forcefully cleaved a large tree nearly a foot thick next to him in half. Then, he turned his left hand and reached up to grab it.

At a height of more than four feet from the break, he dug his left hand deep into the tree trunk, gripping the entire tree, and smashed it down on Miaosong with the broken end.

Caught off guard, Miaosong could only cross his arms to block the impact of the large tree.

The broken parts of the tree trunk were jagged, and when it hit Miaosong's magically protective arms, the wood chips flew everywhere, and several cracks appeared.

But the force with which it controlled the tree must have been several thousand kilograms, enough to knock Miaosong to the ground in one go.

In the close combat just now, it seemed like he was almost poisoned by some kind of poison. This time, Guan Luoyang grabbed a tree and smashed it down, his waist, hips, and knees moving in unison, rising and falling.

The tree trunk was lifted a foot or so and slammed down again, one blow after another, giving Miaosong no chance to catch her breath.

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

When the moonlight is just right, you can see from miles away that the top of a tree here is shaking violently.

When the tree trunk crashed down again, the feedback was no longer the reaction force of hitting a hard object, but a series of cracking sounds. Only then did Guan Luoyang stop and push the tree aside.

The protective power of the Lesser Precepts and Meditation was shattered by pure violence. Miaosong's entire torso was smashed deep into the mud, his limbs were bent upwards, his face was contorted, and blood was flowing from his seven orifices.

Qiu Di slowly walked over, glanced at the corpse, and said, "Brother Guan..."

Guan Luoyang turned around and saw Qiu Di's shocked expression. He paused for a moment, then said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I was in a bad mood. But for someone like this, dying like this isn't too much to ask, is it?"

Qiu Di shook his head repeatedly: "No, no, no, this villain has a notorious reputation. Brother Guan did a good job killing him. I was just trying to say..."

He raised his sword. "Could I also poke around a couple of times?"