Chapter 133: Red Lotus True Skill, Nine Tribulations Zen Monastery
The Red Lotus Holy Lord is dead.
The heart and kidney areas had already been burned through by a scorching, magma-like strange force, creating large cavities. This renowned top master of the evil path died a gruesome death.
Although the deathbed counterattack left scorch marks on the Hong Yuan Fist, the moment that blazing, violent strange force invaded Hong Yuan’s body, it was immediately differentiated, devoured, and dissolved by the Six Void Force, causing him almost no trouble.
Whoosh!
The Illuminating Envoy was still gathering qi energy to cooperate with the Red Lotus Holy Lord in the siege when, in the span of a breath, the Nirvana Envoy was captured and the Red Lotus Holy Lord was slain. It happened so fast that it made his mind tremble, and even that illusory figure like a flower in a mirror or moon in water showed slight stagnation.
In his shock, he lost all will to fight. His figure flickered, and he wanted to turn into a phantom and flee.
He had already escaped once before, and escaping again gave him no psychological burden.
But this time, the Illuminating Envoy had only darted out a few dozen feet when his shoulder suddenly sank, forcing his body downward. He looked intently and saw a slender, fair, evenly fleshed hand already resting on his shoulder.
Hong Yuan approached like an old friend, grinning as he said, “Last time I let Your Excellency go. This time, we must get much closer…”
The Illuminating Envoy exerted force underfoot to break free, while forming his hand into a blade and slashing diagonally with a ‘chi’ sound toward Hong Yuan’s chest as he closed in.
Hong Yuan didn’t even glance at it. The hand on the other’s shoulder suddenly clamped down.
The Illuminating Envoy immediately felt as if a great mountain had settled on his shoulder, abruptly toppling over, making his qi and blood boil throughout his body, his force explode outward, and the hand blade he struck involuntarily go limp.
Bang!
The street under the Illuminating Envoy’s feet shook violently, the stone slabs cracking and shattering, sand and soil churning up. His feet plunged in like piles, half his body already sunk into the ground.
The Illuminating Envoy grunted dully, blood flowing from his mouth, nose, eyes, and ears. His entire body’s qi circulation was like a deflated ball, his feet completely numb, his upper body limp and weak, only his throat wheezing ‘gege’.
“Sect Master!”
“The Sect Master is dead!”
Only now did the remaining Red Lotus Sect black-armored warriors roar out. Some were so shocked they were dizzy and pale-faced, while others shouted once and turned to flee.
Many black-armored soldiers had bloodshot eyes and mad expressions, as if their faith had collapsed. They let out incoherent yells and charged forward without any order.
Swoosh!
Hong Yuan’s figure flashed forward, shooting out like an arrow from a bow, charging straight at the group of attacking black-armored soldiers. In an instant, they closed in. Hong Yuan spread his arms wide, his sleeves fluttering.
Without making any attacking moves, shouts of killing and horse neighs immediately rose, accompanied by waves of weapons as beams of cold light fell down.
Then the horses neighed long and hard, crashing heavily to the ground.
The long sleeves rolled like clouds, surging like tidal waves. The long sabers chopping down and steel spears thrusting were all swept up by the sleeve robes, immediately erupting in clanging sounds of metal clashing.
The many sabers and spears collided fiercely, shattering in an instant into hundreds and thousands of fragments that shot through the air.
It was like a rain of arrows. Amid sharp, piercing whooshes, screams rang out one after another. Black-armored soldiers were pierced through the body by the fragments; even their armor was useless, penetrated cleanly by the shards.
Howls and thuds of bodies hitting the ground rose and fell continuously.
In less than a breath, the dozens of black-armored soldiers at the front were almost completely wiped out.
The survivors, seeing this, felt like a basin of ice water had been dumped on their heads, chilling them to the bone. Their madness faded, leaving only primal fear as they panicked and fled in all directions.
Cold wind swept the long street, thick blood scent drifting in the air.
The onlookers in the distance—whether Jianghu martial artists, noble family scions, or spies from various forces—all widened their pupils, faces filled with shock and fear, hearts turning cold.
Too terrifying!
Hundreds of fierce, brave Red Lotus Sect armored soldiers.
The Red Lotus Holy Lord, Illuminating Envoy, Nirvana Envoy—three top masters, each renowned throughout the world, major figures who could summon wind and rain in the Jianghu with a wave of the hand.
Such a lineup against that Daoist Ten Thousand Calamities alone—how much time had passed, and they were directly crushed?
Red Lotus Holy Lord dead, both envoys captured.
Gaze after gaze fell, some shocked, some reverent, some fearful—complex emotions. Many felt the shock of witnessing the birth of a legend.
Hong Yuan ignored them, turning leisurely and walking slowly to the Illuminating Envoy’s side. The other’s aura was weak but not unconscious.
Hong Yuan didn’t look at him but instead at the Red Lotus Holy Lord’s corpse. After staring for a moment, he suddenly said, “This one is really your Red Lotus Sect’s… Sect Master?!”
Under the Illuminating Envoy’s lowered head, his pupils suddenly contracted.
Hong Yuan couldn’t see his expression, a smile already on his face.
Before the battle started, he had asked if it was the Red Lotus Holy Lord. At the time, there was no answer, only a slight ripple in the qi.
That faint ripple was keenly sensed by Hong Yuan, giving him some suspicion then. Now he was just confirming.
His gaze fell on that corpse with heart and kidneys burned through.
This person’s martial arts were the strongest he had encountered, except spirit secret techniques didn’t work on him. Otherwise, Hong Yuan wouldn’t have won so easily.
If this person wasn’t the Red Lotus Holy Lord, then…
Hong Yuan didn’t think long. The sounds of weapons from another place had gradually stopped. The group of Red Lotus Sect high-level members clashing with Nan Guyun had the advantage in numbers.
Nan Guyun had been forced into peril several times, only able to fight evasively with swift movement. When he saw the Red Lotus Holy Lord dead, that Red Lotus Sect Microscopic Level expert retreated first.
Nan Guyun took advantage to kill three, and the rest fled in panic.
Nan Guyun sheathed his sword and hurried to Hong Yuan’s side, breathing rapidly, qi and blood surging, several wounds on his body. He still bowed: “Senior.”
His gaze swept around, seeing the dead ‘Red Lotus Holy Lord’, the two heavily injured and immobilized envoys, and the corpses littering the ground. His face showed shock.
In fierce battle with the Red Lotus Sect high-level members, he had been fully focused and couldn’t spare attention elsewhere. Now his heart surged with shockwaves.
‘Red Lotus Sect… encountering Senior Ten Thousand Calamities is truly their ‘calamity’. This time, even if they don’t perish, they won’t recover their vitality for at least decades.’
Hong Yuan nodded: “Go call in the Vajra Temple monks. They can’t attack the city, but they can clean up!”
Lotus County had suffered an undeserved disaster this time; the Vajra Temple would have to foot the bill for the aftermath.
Nan Guyun acknowledged and left.
Hong Yuan turned toward the prefectural city direction. He wondered if anyone had taken advantage of the chaos?
Not long after Hong Yuan left Songyang Prefecture, an old monk in a grayish-blue monk robe, about sixty years old, slowly strolled to the outside of Vajra Temple.
The old monk had a broad frame, straight shoulders and back, showing no sign of age. Most striking were his two snow-white long eyebrows, about an inch long, hanging from his brow bones, swaying like ice silkworm silk in the cold wind.
The white-browed old monk arrived at the temple gate, lowered his brows and eyes, slightly bowed, and intoned a Buddha’s name—not loud, not soft—shaking the thick gate with a hum as it slowly opened.
The old monk walked unhurriedly through the outer courtyard. Being a monk himself, no one stopped him until he entered the inner courtyard.
Vajra Temple’s inner courtyard followed an elite path with few disciples. Huiming and Huizhi had already taken away a large group of martial monks, leaving even fewer. The white-browed old monk immediately drew attention.
A honest-looking young monk came forward, saluted, and said: “May I ask who this Great Master is?”
The white-browed monk was amiable, smiling slightly and countering: “Little Master, do you know where Baosheng is?”
The young monk paused, then realized: “Baosheng? Does Great Master mean that Dharma King Baosheng? What business do you have with him?”
His words carried a hint of vigilance.
The white-browed monk’s smile unchanged, hands clasped: “That Baosheng was raised on my temple’s rice, ran off playfully, and picked up stubborn evil thoughts outside. This old monk came specially to redeem him. Little Master, if you know, please lead the way.”
His voice was gentle, spoken slowly, like a clear mountain breeze entering every monk’s heart there. Not just the honest young monk felt the white-browed monk kind and approachable; the other gathered monks also felt drawn to him.
Immediately, a temple monk said: “We don’t know where Baosheng is held, but Great Master Hui Chi does. Please follow me, Elder Master.”
“Many thanks.”
Soon, the white-browed monk arrived outside a serene meditation room.
Hui Chi, still not fully recovered from being injured by Hong Yuan, looked somewhat listless. Seeing the led-in white-browed monk, he felt puzzled.
The white-browed monk spoke first: “Please lead the way, Great Master, to see Baosheng.”
Hui Chi paused, then nodded: “Oh? Alright!”
After turning and walking a few steps, he suddenly stopped, clarity appearing in his eyes: “Hm? No! Where did this demon monk come from, daring to use illusionary technique to confuse me?”
He shouted coldly, whirling back, clawing out with fingers forming a dragon-capturing grip toward the white-browed monk’s throat.
The white-browed monk stood still, smiled lightly, clasped hands. Faintly, Vedic chants sounded, a layer of golden light rippling out.
Hui Chi’s fingers touched the golden light and immediately sank like into quicksand, unable to move. The golden light rippled, bouncing him back.
Hui Chi was startled, face changing drastically: “This is… Nine Tribulations Zen Monastery’s ‘Mahasthamaprapta Divine Power’?”
Looking closely at the old monk’s snow-white long eyebrows and deep, serene eyes: “You’re the Divine Monk Yan Dao?!”
“This old monk doesn’t dare claim Divine Monk. Just an old monk.” Yan Dao spread one palm, smiling: “Great Master Hui Chi, please lead the way.”
Hui Chi’s face flickered, throat bobbing a few times, but he didn’t refute.
Moments later.
In the quiet stone chamber, Dharma King Baosheng heard the stone door open, a beam of light entering. He didn’t move, not even lifting his head.
Until a pair of feet stopped before him, staring fixedly, saying nothing.
Baosheng looked at the arhat shoes, rubbed his eyes, jerked his head up, meeting a pair of long eyebrows. His mouth gaped, voice trembling: “Master…”
Yan Dao shook his head, faintly: “Baosheng, have you repented?”
Baosheng ‘thudded’ to his knees, kowtowing heavily on the floor tiles with a dull thud, hoarsely: “Master, Junior Brother Qingjing… he’s dead, wuwu!”
By the time he spoke, he was already sobbing uncontrollably.
“I already know. Let’s go!”
Dharma King Baosheng said: “Master, that Daoist Ten Thousand Calamities planted something in me; I can’t use my power.”
Yan Dao smiled, extended a knobby-knuckled palm, patted Baosheng’s head, then probed his whole body, seeping force into him.
Yan Dao frowned, slowly withdrawing his hand: “This technique is indeed extremely complex and profound. This old monk can’t unravel it right now; I’ll take you back to the monastery to break it later. It shouldn’t be difficult.”
He flicked his monk robe, hand gripping Baosheng’s shoulder. His figure blurred, strolling casually, yet in a few flashes, he was far away, quickly leaving Vajra Temple.
“Again?”
Hong Yuan returned to Vajra Temple and immediately learned that Dharma King Baosheng had been rescued.
The rescuer was the Nine Tribulations Zen Monastery’s Divine Monk Yan Dao.
Though both were Buddhist temples, Vajra Temple was far inferior to Nine Tribulations Zen Monastery, the Great Yin Dynasty’s national temple. Leaving aside its historical influence on the court, its status in the martial world was like a holy land.
Hong Yuan didn’t care about Dharma King Baosheng’s fate.
Just like that private son of Huitong saved by Vajra Temple, Hongfa—Hong Yuan hadn’t followed up if he was still alive.
Baosheng had been nearly drained by him, even the method of his cultivated Gang Body【Mountain Suppressing Iron Foot Gang】 obtained, not to mention the Six Void Force planted in him.
But Nine Tribulations Zen Monastery’s act of taking someone without a word—Hong Yuan noted it.
The Nirvana Envoy and Illuminating Envoy were placed in a quiet room.
Hong Yuan didn’t want them dead yet. He had their wounds bandaged, then came to the quiet room, looking at them with a smile: “You two, does our earlier agreement still count? Is it too late for me to join the Red Lotus Sect now?”
The Illuminating Envoy’s voice was hoarse: “Of course. With the Sect Master dead, the Red Lotus Sect is led by us two envoys. We can decide everything.”
Hong Yuan didn’t question if the dead one was really the ‘Red Lotus Holy Lord’, smiling faintly: “Including the selection of a new Sect Master?”
The Illuminating Envoy’s face was pale, expression unreadable, only indifferently: “Naturally included.”
Hong Yuan clapped: “Then it’s simple. I join the sect now and nominate myself as the new Sect Master. What do you two think?”
The Nirvana Envoy said: “Your Excellency is heaven-blessed in talent, martial arts shockingly supreme—the likes I’ve never seen. Besides you, I really can’t think of anyone more suited to be Sect Master.”
“Well said.” Hong Yuan praised: “It’s just that the ‘Red Lotus Holy Lord’ died too late. Otherwise, I would’ve led your Red Lotus Sect to attack the Imperial Capital long ago.”
Then, turning: “Since I’ve become the new Sect Master, you two should naturally follow my lead and obey orders.”
The Nirvana Envoy said: “To become Sect Master, our nomination is the first step. You still need to perform the sacrifice to ‘Great Desire Heaven’ at the main altar and gain ‘Great Desire Heaven’s’ approval.”
“Skip those empty rituals; I don’t care for formalism.” Hong Yuan waved: “I’m quite interested in our Red Lotus Sect’s true skill. Can you two satisfy me?”
