Chapter 52

The group from Wufeng Temple was like ants on a hot pan, rushing madly towards Wufeng Mountain.

Chen Shidong was in a foul mood the whole way, so much so that Yuqing’s plan to quietly wait as a handsome Taoist until Yang Chen arrived was completely foiled.

The nearly seventy-kilometer journey was completed in less than forty minutes under the urging.

Seeing the backs of the Taoists rushing up the mountain as soon as they got out of the cars, the taxi drivers exchanged glances, speechless... Were these still the ascetic monks?！

The disciples of the Ten Thousand Immortals Hall, who had planned for the people of Wufeng Temple to delay as much as possible, had not even arranged for anyone to keep watch on the way. It wasn't until Yuqing and the others rushed anxiously to the gate of Wufeng Temple that a young Taoist, who had been dozing against the door, was startled awake, “Y-You... What do you want?”

Seeing the thick layer of dry wood laid both inside and outside the temple, Chen Shidong's face could have been scraped off with two pounds of frost!

Knowing he was at fault, Yuqing did not dare to hesitate. He stepped forward and loudly said, “Is the Master of the Ten Thousand Immortals Hall, Immortal Xuan Cheng, in the temple? We have returned!!”

The slightly ajar door was pushed open from the inside, and dozens of people rushed out with a whoosh!

Immortal Xuan Cheng, dressed in a white robe with golden edges, slowly walked out of Wufeng Temple, flanked by his disciples. His gaze fell on Yuqing, and he let out a light snort, full of disdain, “You are Yuqing?”

“It is I, this poor Taoist!” At this point, it was a matter of facing the inevitable. Yuqing responded with a full voice, quite bravely, “I presume this is the Master of the Ten Thousand Immortals Hall?”

“You have quite the nerve to repeatedly mock me, a mere Fourth Stage cultivator, arrogant and ignorant of the heavens and the earth. I am very curious, who gave you such audacity?!”

“Boom!”

With a flick of his sleeve, Immortal Xuan Cheng took a small step forward, and an overwhelming aura erupted from him, a faint golden light rushing straight at Yuqing!

Everyone from Wufeng Temple was forced to retreat several steps under this pressure, their faces finally looking a bit better.

Yuqing, who had been locked onto by Immortal Xuan Cheng's aura, was pressed to the point where his blood surged, and before he could react, he was hit by the golden light and sent flying backward!

A Fourth Stage cultivator, in front of a Fifth Stage cultivator, had no power to resist at all!

“Cough...” His back slamming into the trunk of a tree by the door, Yuqing spat out a mouthful of black blood as soon as he landed!

Immortal Xuan Cheng, like an emperor, scanned the disciples of Wufeng Temple with a disdainful expression, his voice not loud but carrying a hint of thunder, “And who is your Master?”

“It’s me...” Yuqing had been sent flying with just one move, and Chen Shidong was genuinely afraid, but this was clearly not the time to back down. He stepped forward and responded loudly.

But before he could finish his sentence, Immortal Xuan Cheng's face darkened, and he shouted fiercely, “What are you? How dare you elevate yourself to negotiate with me?!”

Taking another small step forward, a gust of wind rose, carrying the force of a mountain, and it slammed fiercely toward Chen Shidong.

Like a solitary boat encountering a storm in the raging waves, Chen Shidong, with his mere Second Stage cultivation, had no time to react and was slammed to the ground, his forehead hitting the ground, blood flowing instantly!

The remaining people, who had the heart to resist, found it difficult to even breathe under the overwhelming pressure of Immortal Xuan Cheng... The terror of a Fifth Stage cultivator was evident!

However, such a display of power could not last long, even for a Fifth Stage cultivator.

After showing his might, Immortal Xuan Cheng slowly reined in his aura, and under the fervent admiration of his disciples, he slowly descended the steps, “Wufeng Temple has quite the audacity to secretly plot against my disciples, destroying their dantian and cutting off their path to cultivation... Today, I will make you understand that while a Fourth Stage cultivator may be highly respected by others, to me, they are nothing but a dead dog! Remember, there are always people better than you and skies higher than you!”

On the way, Yuqing had frantically calculated the gap between himself and a Fifth Stage cultivator.

He had imagined countless possibilities, but he had never thought that he would not even have the资格 to act in front of Immortal Xuan Cheng!

This was an absolute power disparity, a huge gap in strength that created this situation.

The world only knew that the mystic realm had stages, but they did not know that even among Fourth Stage cultivators, there were differences in strength!

Wufeng Temple's lineage was withering, and the tradition passed down was incomplete. Yuqing, who grew up in Wufeng Temple, had very limited strength.

If it weren't for the techniques Yang Chen had passed on to him, helping him quickly adapt to his Fourth Stage cultivation, he would not even be a match for Wu Chuan of the Upper Immortal Palace, who could easily defeat him in a few moves!

Even with the same initial Fourth Stage cultivation, a cultivator from a super sect like Chongyang Palace would absolutely overwhelm a Fourth Stage cultivator from a small sect! This was the advantage of lineage and the result of accumulated depth, which could not be bridged by personal effort alone!

The Ten Thousand Immortals Hall had a lineage of over three hundred years, with a complete tradition and deep roots. The gap between Wufeng Temple and the Ten Thousand Immortals Hall was like the difference between a primary school student and a high school student. Even if the primary school student grew as tall as the high school student, they would not be a match in an exam!

This was a legacy of techniques and the unique understanding of energy application by each sect.

Moreover... Immortal Xuan Cheng himself was at the peak of the Fifth Stage, just one step away from the Sixth Stage, not a newly ascended Fifth Stage cultivator with unstable cultivation!

The only outcome for Yuqing facing Immortal Xuan Cheng was to be crushed, thoroughly and completely, with no chance of resistance!

Immortal Xuan Cheng was even unwilling to waste any more energy on Yuqing. Walking to the pitiful Chen Shidong, he squatted down in front of him and said coolly, “I am the Master of the Ten Thousand Immortals Hall, and you are just an old Taoist from a remote temple. Do you think all Masters are the same? What makes you think you have the资格 to negotiate with me?!”

“You...” Chen Shidong, feeling as if his internal organs were shifting, struggled helplessly on the ground.

Immortal Xuan Cheng's condescending tone and cutting words made Chen Shidong's heart bleed!

This scene reminded him of the countless humiliations he had suffered at the hands of the Master of the Upper Immortal Palace, Xiang Daoxian... so condescending, so arrogant!

But for the continuation of Wufeng Temple's incense, Chen Shidong could endure all this!

For the sake of his ancestors' memorial tablet, he was willing to lead the entire Wufeng Temple into a trap... This was Chen Shidong's character!

However, Immortal Xuan Cheng's arrogance had clearly exceeded Chen Shidong's original expectations... He had planned to lead his disciples up the mountain, hoping that even if they were not welcomed, they could at least say a few soft words and perhaps delay time until Yang Chen arrived.

Unfortunately, Immortal Xuan Cheng did not give him that chance, not even the opportunity to speak, and crushed him to the ground, making Yuqing spit blood!

There was no room for reason, especially when the strength gap was so vast!

Seeing Chen Shidong's unwillingness and anger, Immortal Xuan Cheng did not care, not at all! Who would care about the anger of an ant?

“Capture everyone and bring them back to the Ten Thousand Immortals Hall!” With such a weak opponent, Immortal Xuan Cheng had lost interest in further mockery. He stood up and said, “Issue a notice in the mystic realm, giving Yang Chen two days to come to the Ten Thousand Immortals Hall to settle this matter. Otherwise... after two days, I will personally destroy their dantian and cut off Wufeng Temple's lineage!”

His voice was stern and fierce by the end.

But the disciples of the Ten Thousand Immortals Hall looked at their Master with admiration, their hearts surging as they loudly agreed!

Soon, several ropes were found, and Yuqing and the others were bound tightly.

At this moment, Zhuang Sihuai, holding an unlit torch, walked to Immortal Xuan Cheng's side and asked, “Master... Since everyone has been captured, is there any need to burn down Wufeng Temple?”

Immortal Xuan Cheng narrowed his eyes and said coldly, “We, the Ten Thousand Immortals Hall, have been inactive for many years, and many people have started to look down on us... Since we are doing this, we must do it thoroughly and on a grand scale, making an example of Wufeng Temple to the entire mountain!”

Zhuang Sihuai was startled but said nothing, nodding in agreement.

Yuqing, Yuming, Chen Shidong, Wu Haozheng, Wu Yuanbing, and the others were all bound tightly by the ferocious disciples of the Ten Thousand Immortals Hall, their mouths taped shut, the process quite professional.

Hearing that Immortal Xuan Cheng intended to burn down the ancestral temple after capturing them, Yuqing's eyes blazed with anger, but before he could act, Immortal Xuan Cheng suddenly appeared beside him and struck his crown with a fierce palm!

Yuqing let out a muffled groan and fainted.

Seeing the lit torches, Chen Shidong's old eyes welled with tears, his heart filled with regret.

If he had listened to Yuqing's advice earlier, they would not have ended up in this complete defeat!

Several torches were lit and thrown into Wufeng Temple, and soon, a towering flame rose into the sky.

Just as everyone thought the matter was over, Immortal Xuan Cheng's face suddenly changed, and he looked up at the dark sky...

Water vapor from several miles around began to converge on Wufeng Mountain under the influence of a powerful force!

Yang Chen's cold voice then echoed throughout Wufeng Mountain!

“Hmph, the Ten Thousand Immortals Hall, what a great show of power!”

“Who? Who is playing tricks? Come out!!”

“Do you think you are worthy of me playing tricks?” As he spoke, a shocking aura surged from the mountain, and a fierce wind began to howl on the previously calm Wufeng Mountain!

This aura swept up the mountain in less than five seconds!