"What happened here today?" Wu Tao wondered to himself.
Distracted, his foot accidentally stepped on a nearby branch.
...
Upon hearing the sound, the grandmaster-level expert's face filled with shock. "Who goes there?" he boomed. "How dare you trail me! Are you tired of living?"
Seeing that he had been exposed, Wu Tao no longer concealed himself.
He leaped from the tall tree, landing lightly. "I am Qingyunzi of the Qingyun Temple!"
"My sword does not kill the unknown. Young man, state your name."
The shadowy grandmaster expert trembled all over at these words.
His left hand drew out an iron judge's brush, which gleamed under the moonlight.
A memory surged into Wu Tao's mind, and he instantly understood the man's identity.
Then, holding the Zhenwu Sword, Wu Tao sneered, "So it's a remnant of the Demonic God Cult, one of the Ten Elders, Judge Yan Wenming..."
"Truly, you walk the path to hell and arrive at its gates!"
Yan Wenming was about to flee, but suddenly remembered something and calmed down.
Clutching his judge's brush, he smiled and said, "So it's the True Master Qingyunzi. If I were alone today, I might indeed fall by your sword..."
"However, I have over a hundred brothers with me today. Who lives and who dies is not yet decided..."
Wu Tao wasted no more words. With a "ming" sound, a sword light, flashing with cold brilliance, shot towards Yan Wenming's throat.
Had this strike landed, Yan Wenming would have been decapitated.
The smile on Yan Wenming's face vanished. "True Master, you are over a hundred years old, yet your skill and swordsmanship remain so agile..." he exclaimed.
Dodging the killing blow, Yan Wenming counterattacked with his judge's brush.
With a cold snort, Wu Tao flipped his sword. The Zhenwu Sword vibrated, its cold light flashing, and then changed direction.
Yan Wenming's heart leaped, he was utterly terrified.
He had intended to bully the original Qingyunzi, believing that his age would lead to a decline in vigor and adaptability, making him slower than a younger man in changing tactics and following up attacks. He thought that after one failed move, the sword would have to be withdrawn to prepare the next, giving him an opening.
However, this body had clearly changed owners. Though his physical strength might not be perfectly aligned with his spirit and energy, as long as it wasn't a prolonged battle, it was manageable.
Wu Tao, wielding the Zhenwu Sword, unleashed a barrage of continuous attacks, sword light flashing in all directions. One strike missed, and the next followed immediately.
Even Yan Wenming, a seasoned warrior in his prime, with his body and energy at their peak, felt a surge of panic.
Fortunately, his quick thinking saved him. At the moment of life and death, he resorted to a series of rolls and tumbles, like a dog or cat, escaping several meters along the ground.
Seeing Yan Wenming's defensive posture, Wu Tao knew that killing him would not be easy.
He promptly withdrew his sword and stood still, sneering, "So, you wanted to bully an old man? With your clumsy moves, you're still too green..."
Though he spoke thus, Wu Tao inwardly sighed repeatedly...
Due to his age, this body was not even at twenty or thirty percent of its peak strength.
The prime years for a martial artist were between forty and fifty, when their vitality had not yet waned, and their internal energy cultivation had reached its zenith.
After fifty, one was like the setting sun, declining year by year.
Brushing the dust off himself, Yan Wenming felt a mix of shame and resentment. His momentary lapse in judgment had nearly cost him his life.
Yan Wenming was originally the eldest son of the Yan family, a prominent martial arts lineage. Later, for reasons unknown, he turned his back on his family.
After joining the Demonic God Cult, he fused their demonic arts with his family's original techniques, greatly increasing his cultivation and becoming one of the foremost experts in the martial world.
Seeing that he was no match for Wu Tao, Yan Wenming let out a long cry and summoned his subordinates from Lanluo Temple to attack Wu Tao together.
With a series of whistling sounds, Yan Wenming employed his "Misty Wind Shadow Steps," wielding his judge's brush and unleashing his signature technique, "Star-Dot Brushwork."
His judge's brush moved rapidly, transforming into points of starlight and cold glints, all aimed at Wu Tao.
With a slash of his sword, a beam of light like a white rainbow, Wu Tao effortlessly crushed Yan Wenming with his Grandmaster-level internal energy.
However, before Wu Tao could deliver a killing blow, the demon cult elites, who had been slaughtering frenziedly in the temple, charged towards him.
Without hesitation, Wu Tao spun around. His Grandmaster-level internal energy surged, and he unleashed a palm strike, his potent energy radiating outwards.
A deafening roar erupted.
The blast wave generated by this palm strike expanded from Wu Tao, kicking up countless fallen leaves and sand, causing the ground to tremble several times.
This single palm strike killed over a dozen elite demon cult members at the forefront, who were in the Innate realm.
Those further behind were not much better off, all being sent flying.
While their martial arts were formidable, how could they possibly contend with Grandmaster Wu Tao?
Furthermore, his reputation preceded him!
Facing Wu Tao, known as the National Master and Heavenly Master, these individuals were terrified. How could they possibly throw their lives away like eggs against a rock?
Knowing that he would be at a disadvantage in a prolonged battle, Wu Tao paid no heed to anything else. He moved like a butcher cleaving through meat, and wherever he landed, heads rolled.
Suddenly, outside Lanluo Temple, another bloodbath ensued.
Wu Tao, caught up in the heat of battle, failed to notice that Yan Wenming had long since fled.
Only after he had dealt with all the demon cult members present did he realize Yan Wenming was nowhere to be seen.
However, Wu Tao's focus was not on minor characters like Yan Wenming.
He had initially believed Lanluo Temple to be one of the sacred Buddhist sites, and while Abbot Liaokong might not have been widely renowned, he was clearly a master of hidden power.
Lanluo Temple had always kept to itself, and their three hundred martial monks, forming their formation, were said to be invincible, a force even the Demonic God Cult could not breach.
But now, Wu Tao truly felt fear!
He then witnessed a scene ten times more horrific than anything outside – a bloody purgatory!
The ancient temple, with its centuries of history, was now a dilapidated ruin.
The solemn sanctuary where devotees offered prayers and wishes was now littered with the corpses of monks and demon cult members.
Lanluo Temple, a sacred Buddhist site second only to Shaolin Temple, had been utterly annihilated!
"Such ruthless methods! Truly worthy of the Demonic God Cult's scoundrels, resorting to poison, such despicable and shameless tactics!"
Wu Tao looked at the martial monks lying on the ground, their faces contorted with poison but their expressions still resolute, and closed his eyes, sighing softly.
"The Demonic God Cult must have annihilated Lanluo Temple for the Sanskrit version of the 'Mahakaya Divine Skill,' this ultimate divine technique, rumored to be the world's number one internal energy art..."
"The monks of Lanluo Temple died unjustly, truly a case of the jade being innocent, but its possession being its crime..."
At this point, Wu Tao had passed through the courtyard and headed deeper into Lanluo Temple.
Lanluo Temple, a centuries-old monastery, covered a vast area. Bloodstains and corpses were found everywhere, indicating a brutal struggle.
In the end, the martial monks had fought to their deaths, their bodies bearing the marks of swords and blades, as well as traces of poison and hidden weapons.
"It seems the Demonic God Cult also suffered considerable losses, otherwise, there wouldn't have only been twenty or thirty people attacking me..."
But these were not what Wu Tao was looking for.
After circling a few times, he arrived near the Abbot's meditation chamber.
Outside the chamber, a white-browed eminent monk, his kasaya stained red with blood, had a deathly pale face. The poison had clearly seeped deep into his bones, rendering him beyond help.
However, Abbot Liaokong, relying on his profound internal energy, still clung to life.
"Abbot Liaokong, long time no see. I never imagined your temple would suffer such a sudden disaster..." Wu Tao said upon seeing him.
Abbot Liaokong, seeing an old acquaintance, managed a few more words as his life flickered.
Then, struggling, he pulled something from his robes and threw it to Wu Tao.
Seeing this, Wu Tao's wrist flicked, and the tip of the Zhenwu Sword hooked onto a thick ancient book, which fluttered in the night breeze.
Abbot Liaokong spoke a few final words to Wu Tao before he could no longer hold on, his oil spent and lamp extinguished. He passed away, sitting in meditation.
Under the moonlight, Wu Tao saw the four Sanskrit characters on the cover: "Mahakaya Divine Skill." He was greatly astonished.
Unfortunately, the original Qingyunzi only had a partial understanding of Sanskrit, and Wu Tao, needless to say, was completely illiterate in it.
However, this divine skill, being a relic of Patriarch Bodhidharma, was something Wu Tao could not bear to abandon.
Moreover, he had already promised Abbot Liaokong that he would re-establish Lanluo Temple.
He thought that this task was far beyond his individual capability. He would have to return to Qingyun Temple and enlist the help of his disciples and grand-disciples to accomplish it.
Finally, Wu Tao clasped his hands in prayer and silently recited the "Du Ren Jing" (Scripture for Delivering Beings) of Taoism, bidding farewell to the hundreds of eminent monks of Lanluo Temple.
As dawn broke, Wu Tao retraced his steps, returning to the inn. He lay on his bed, rested briefly, packed his belongings, and prepared to depart...
Just then, someone blocked his way. Wu Tao was greatly surprised to find that the person was Master Xuanbin, the head of the Arhat Hall of Shaolin Temple.
Wu Tao pondered, Master Xuanbin had always been stationed at Songshan Shaolin Temple, holding the third highest position. How could he have suddenly appeared here?
Could it be that Shaolin Temple had some major undertaking here, requiring such a prominent figure to oversee it?