A Scroll of Infinite Glory

Now that Guan Luoyang has won a complete victory, there is no need to question the ownership of the Jade Register Grand Master's Talisman.

Originally, after this battle, the winner was determined. Regardless of the feelings of the other defeated sects, they should have attended a banquet to celebrate Guan Luoyang's victory.

However, since the seventh day after Master Jiuhe's death had just passed, it was really not appropriate to create a celebratory atmosphere at the Zhenwu Temple. Therefore, they simply asked people from various sects not to go down the mountain for the time being, but to stay behind and have a quiet meal together in the evening.

After Guan Luoyang had accompanied them for a round of drinks, he went to the courtyard behind the mountain, finally having some time alone.

He drew a bucket of water from the well, placed it on the stone table in the courtyard, rolled up his sleeves all the way up to his elbows, and then immersed both forearms in the icy well water.

The arms, which looked long, strong, and had a healthy complexion, quickly turned red and swollen after entering the water, and a needle-like pain came from the pores of the forearms.

When Qiu Shi came to the courtyard to find Guan Luoyang, he heard the sound of breathing before he even entered the door. The inhalation was very long and the exhalation was intense.

As the eldest disciple of Zhenwu Temple, Qiu Shi was knowledgeable. Although he majored in magic, he had read at least twenty martial arts manuals. He knew that people who were good at martial arts might breathe louder during battles, but when they were alone, their breathing was always soft, gentle and low.

Not to mention that Guan Luoyang had mastered the "Zhou Tian Tu Na" technique, so even when he was very tired, his breathing would not have such obvious intervals, unless he was injured and needed to use breathing techniques to mobilize his internal organs, exercise his qi and blood, and treat his injuries.

Are you injured?

With a hint of concern on his face, Qiu Shi walked into the courtyard and stood silently for a while, waiting for Guan Luoyang's breathing to calm down before saying, "You shouldn't have drunk alcohol just now. If you had mentioned it earlier, I would have tried to help you avoid it."

Guan Luoyang shook his head and said, "It's just a superficial injury. Drinking a little wine won't hurt me. In fact, it will help me loosen up my muscles."

He lifted his arms out of the water; they were still a little red, but much better than before. At most, they were a bit swollen and itchy, but not enough to develop into bruises.

"That old man with the wild hair has incredibly powerful magic!!"

Guan Luoyang still couldn't help but feel a bit emotional when he recalled the duel that happened more than two hours ago.

The invisible force that pressed down from the sky seemed to cover the entire arena in an instant, and the area just inches in front of Huangtou Taigong was the strongest point of its power.

At that time, Guan Luoyang was already very close to Huangtou Taigong, but he dared not confront the strongest line head-on. He could only move his body as fast as possible and, while retreating, unleashed twenty-three punches in succession to deal with the power surging from the air above like an impenetrable wall.

It took the force of twenty-three cannon punches to scatter those invisible forces and save himself, but it also made his arms ache and his teeth feel numb. He could taste the blood seeping from his gums.

Seeing that his injuries were indeed not serious, Qiu Shi explained, "The reputation of Huangtou Taigong has been known for almost fifty years. He is known as the number one unorthodox master in the fifteen prefectures of Jiaozhi. The disciples under his tutelage have learned extremely diverse methods, making it difficult to discern the most fundamental method. However, with the master's notes and today's slash, I have been able to see some clues."

"If I'm not mistaken, the most fundamental magic of their lineage should be similar to the 'Lu Ban Book' of the Central Plains, or even evolved from the teachings of Lu Ban's disciples after they were brought to Jiaozhi."

Lu Ban is revered as the patriarch of carpenters. People in later generations who build houses, make furniture, and do carpentry all worship and respect him. In legends, Lu Ban could make wooden kites that could fly for three days before landing, he could make siege weapons, he could discuss Taoism with Mozi, he could build floating palaces on the great marshland that were not disturbed by water monsters, and he was also a grandmaster of magic.

The Lu Ban Book is said to record thirty-six major techniques, forty-eight minor incantations, and fifty-four kinds of tool-making tricks, ranging from making beds and cabinets make strange noises and disturb their owners at night, to building palaces and tombs and influencing the fate of a country's royal family and civil and military officials through architecture.

The way Huangtou Taigong struck today was by using the shape of the building to intimidate people, and by leveraging the presence of the Fengzhao Zhenwu Temple over the years, he transformed the illusion into reality, generating corresponding power to injure and kill people.

This is already a superior and wonderful method in the Lu Ban book. Among the Lu Ban successors in China, there may not be many who can reach his level.

"Because the Zhenwu Temple enshrines the sword-wielding statue of the Nine Heavens Demon-Subduing Ancestor, the Zhenwu Emperor, the marks left when the arena was destroyed resembled slash marks. If the marks were from civilian houses, they would be even more rustic; if from military camps, they would be even more desolate; and if from warships, they would be covered in water stains."

As Qiu Shi explained, his gaze toward Guan Luoyang became increasingly admiring. He said, "If you were to fight him on the desolate plains, you might actually be able to defeat this senior master of the unorthodox sects without suffering any harm."

"You truly deserve this Jade Register Grand Master Talisman."

Qiu Shi took off a small package from his back and placed it on the stone table. Inside the package was a brocade box, and inside the brocade box was a token that was cast together with the base.

This thing looks like gold and jade, but it's hard to say what material it is. The base color is dark, almost like ink blue.

The front features four gilded characters, “Jade Register Grand Ritual,” while the back has several lines of small, vertical gold characters: “In the forty-first year of Jianwu, the Emperor bestowed upon the Grand Master a talisman, ordering all Taoist priests, monks, and lay practitioners in the fifteen prefectures of Jiaozhi to hold this talisman without bowing to the Three Ministers, and to be of the same rank as an earl.”

Guan Luoyang looked at the token but didn't reach out to touch it. After shaking the water off his hands, he lowered his sleeves and pondered, "I've fought so many sorcerers today, and I have firsthand experience of what magical power is. But what exactly do they mean by the Ghost Festival ritual they mentioned earlier?"

Qiu Shi said, "Whether it is Taoism or Buddhism, in general large-scale sacrificial rites, the magical power possessed by each master must be circulated outside the body for a long time. The trajectory of this magical power circulation is called the magical power ritual. The characteristics of the magical power ritual are also different for ceremonies held for different purposes."

"The nature of rituals and ceremonies, such as the Ghost Festival, is mainly to appease the spirits and pray for blessings from the underworld. Therefore, the person in charge needs to endure a lot of yin energy and distribute it through rituals and ceremonies. Then, the faith of the crowd praying for blessings at the ceremony is sent into the medium of yin energy. This process is very mentally taxing."

Guan Luoyang frowned as he listened. There were only about fifteen days left until the Ghost Festival Dharma Assembly. Even if he possessed the Azure Bird Yuan Qi, which was similar to magical power, would he be able to learn these complicated procedures in the meantime?

Not to mention the Azure Bird's primordial energy, which seems rather restless now. After its previous conflict and entanglement with the Yang energy, it broke through its original limitations and spread down the spine. Now, some acupoints on both sides of Guan Luoyang's spine feel throbbing from time to time, as if this primordial energy is urging him to devour something.

Qiu Shi's voice continued: "However, given the fate of Master and Uncle, coupled with this imminent battle to seize the order, the timing is so coincidental and urgent. It is conceivable that there must be some secret connection. This Ghost Festival Dharma Assembly will probably not be peaceful. Brother Guan's strength is so high that he will be an important assistant to our side. However, he should not be hindered by the ritual."

Guan Luoyang was taken aback: "Huh?"

Outsiders only know that Wudang has the Seven Star Illusion Lamp Spell, but they don't know that we also have the Seven Segment Method.

Qiu Shi's calm demeanor revealed a hint of determination. "At the Ghost Festival Dharma Assembly, we can divide the responsibility of the presiding officer into seven parts, which will be undertaken by the seven junior brothers. At that time, you can bring the talisman of Grand Master Yu Lu and have Qiu Liang, Qiu Xuan, Qiu Ye, and the other three stand beside you."

He had a hunch that Guan Luoyang didn't know how to preside over the Ghost Festival ceremony, so he had prepared a plan in advance.

Guan Luoyang breathed a sigh of relief, and only now did he truly understand why Qiu Shi, a person who was not particularly outstanding in martial arts, could gain the unanimous recognition of all the fellow disciples of Zhenwu Temple.

"As expected of the senior brother."

Guan Luoyang reached out and picked up the Jade Register Grand Master's Talisman, saying, "Now that this worry has been resolved, we should consider some more immediate matters."

"With this talisman in hand, one can command experts from various sects to do things. So, Qiu Shi, among the people on the mountain, who are absolutely impossible for them to be colluding with that group in the shadows?"

Qiu Shi pondered, "They are all reputable and upright sects from various prefectures and regions..."

"I said absolutely not!"

Guan Luoyang emphasized the word "Luoyang" again.

"I need them to do something that's a matter of life and death!"