Chapter 56

Liu Quan saw Wei Kan and Situ Ping lying unconscious and severely injured, which made him so angry that his hair stood on end. Seeing that the opponent did not dare to show himself, he took out a magical treasure in the shape of an ancient lamp. This treasure, called the Cold Rhinoceros Light, was made by his master, Elder Kuti, from the horn of a prehistoric cold rhinoceros. It was specifically used to break through various invisibility spells. It had a handle, and with a gentle shake, it emitted a large area of cold flames and light, sweeping away the invisibility spell used by Huiming.

Seeing Huiming, who was full of disbelief, Liu Quan did not say a word but pointed his finger, and two flying swords crossed and cut through the air.

Huiming hastily transformed into a golden light and fled, with Liu Quan's two swords closely pursuing him, breaking trees as they went.

Liu Quan's sword technique was swift, and in an instant, he caught up to Huiming. Just as he was about to cut him into three pieces, a Buddhist chant suddenly sounded, and three beams of blue, red, and black light descended to block his swords. Liu Quan looked outside and saw a tall, thin monk with long eyebrows fighting him with a sword, and behind him stood three helpers. He was slightly startled: "The Wutai Sect hasn't even opened, and so many people are already attacking!"

Zhizhong was also greatly surprised, thinking, "Where did such a powerful expert come from?" Suddenly, he noticed that the flying swords Liu Quan used were the Fire and Wind Swords, one of the seven immortals of the Emei Sect, belonging to Daoist Wu Yuanzhi. He immediately became angry and said, "You, a lackey of the Emei Sect, dare to come to Wutai Mountain and act recklessly! Today, you will not escape justice!" After saying this, he used the Wutai Sect's orthodox Taiyi Sword Technique to launch a fierce attack.

Zhizhong was the eldest grandson of the Wutai Sect, while Liu Quan had studied under the old Buddha Chali and Elder Kuti. Chali was the founder of the Western Magic Sect and a peer of the Taiyi and Hunyuan Ancestors. The sword techniques Liu Quan learned from his two masters were already astonishing, and after three years of intensive study of the Wutai Sect's sword techniques at Maoshan, his skills had improved even further.

The two of them tangled their five swords together, fighting fiercely. Suddenly, Liu Quan saw Qin Lang and Mao Tai standing nearby and shouted, "Haven't you quickly gone to help your junior disciples and take them to the Seven Star Hall to find your master for treatment!"

Qin Lang loudly tried to mediate, "The two of you should stop fighting, you mustn't—"

Before he could finish, Mao Tai interrupted, "Let's deal with those two first!" He then forcibly dragged Qin Lang over to pick up Situ Ping and made Qin Lang carry Wei Kan on his back, and they quickly ran up the mountain.

At first, Qin Lang wanted to take the two to the Seven Star Hall and ask Master Fayuan to come down to mediate, but Mao Tai pulled him onto a side path. Qin Lang was puzzled, "Junior brother, what are you doing? Where are we going?"

Mao Tai said, "Liu Quan is an outsider who joined halfway, and he won't have a good outcome against Senior Brother Zhizhong. Let's hide these two first; it will be a useful move when we settle accounts later."

Qin Lang was both shocked and afraid, "Are you crazy! These are our real fellow disciples. Besides, Wei Kan is fine, but the child in your arms is Master Yue's direct disciple. It was already wrong for both sides to fight due to a misunderstanding. If you don't take him to the master to remove the fire poison quickly and instead try to kidnap him, what will you do if he ends up with a lifelong illness? Can you bear Master Yue's wrath? Do you still think this is like when you were a bandit in the southern provinces, kidnapping and killing people?"

As the two were arguing, a sword light suddenly flashed in the sky, and Yu De landed. "What are you doing? Do you know who is fighting below? Who injured these two junior brothers?"

Qin Lang was about to speak, but Mao Tai beat him to it, "These two were talking badly about our master, and Senior Brother Zhizhong, along with his four disciples, heard them and gave them a lesson. Liu Quan was unhappy and started fighting."

Yu De, upon hearing this, immediately urged, "Then you should quickly take the two junior brothers to the Seven Star Hall to report to the master!" He then stomped his foot and flew into the air, heading to the front of the Yellow Dragon Palace as fast as possible.

At the Yellow Dragon Palace, Liu Quan and Zhizhong were fighting fiercely. The Four Vajras saw that their master was at a disadvantage and came to help. Huiming waved the lotus lamp, releasing Buddhist fire that burned everywhere. Huineng struck the demon-subduing staff from the air, Huixing summoned the jade tower to try to suppress Liu Quan, and Huixing also released the golden wheel of the scripture, trying to overwhelm him with numbers.

Liu Quan, while fighting with Zhizhong, recognized the Wutai Sect's orthodox sword technique and guessed that Zhizhong was a fellow disciple. He had heard from Yue Qing that these fellow disciples might return to compete for the Taiyi Five Smoke Silk and the Hunyuan Dao Book, and he already disliked them. Seeing that they had injured Wei Kan and Situ Ping, while Qin Lang and Mao Tai were unharmed, he assumed they were deliberately targeting him. He wanted to show off his sword skills and not be underestimated, so he only wanted to decide the winner by sword.

When the Four Vajras joined the fight, Liu Quan no longer held back. He first released the Divine Thunder Golden Light Chisel, and a bolt of golden light struck Huiming. Huiming could not dodge in time and was shot through the thigh, his bones and muscles shattered, leaving only a bit of flesh connecting. He screamed in pain and fell to the ground. At almost the same time, Huineng was also cut off at the knees by Liu Quan's Golden Mandarin Duck Scissors.

Liu Quan's two swords combined and flew through the air. He then took out the Green Mirage Bottle, and a rainbow of light shot out, sweeping up the demon-subduing tower and the scripture wheel into the bottle.

Zhizhong roared in anger and was about to release the Green-Eyed Needle passed down by Master Tuo Tuo.

At this moment, Yu De arrived and shouted, "Both of you, stop! We are family!"

Liu Quan had already guessed that Zhizhong was a fellow disciple of the Wutai Sect, so he stopped his sword in mid-air and did not speak.

Zhizhong was surprised. He thought Liu Quan's sword technique was very mixed and assumed he was a wandering immortal who had learned the sect's techniques and was trying to take over the mountain. He did not expect Yu De to call him a fellow disciple. He retracted his three treasures and stood solemnly, looking at Liu Quan with a changing expression.

Yu De, seeing that both sides had stopped fighting, sighed with relief, "This is truly a case of family not recognizing family! Come, come, let me introduce you. This is Senior Brother Zhizhong, the only disciple of Master Tuo Tuo and the abbot of Chengdu's Ciyun Temple. This is Uncle Liu Quan, who was recently introduced to the mountain by Uncle Yue."

Liu Quan had heard of Zhizhong's name and nodded slightly, thinking he was a generation senior and should let the other speak first.

Zhizhong raised an eyebrow and looked at Liu Quan, "Introduced to the mountain by Uncle Yue?" He did not speak to Liu Quan but said to Yu De, "Let's talk to Uncle Yue in person. My two disciples are injured; send someone to treat them quickly. I will go up the mountain to see your master. Is he in the Seven Star Hall?"

Yu De replied, "My master and Sister Xu are repairing the array on the Seven Star Platform. Uncle Yue is inspecting the Heavenly Craft Furnace on the north mountain."

When Zhizhong heard "Heavenly Craft Furnace," a flash of light appeared in his eyes, and then he flew to the Seven Star Hall, not saying a word to Liu Quan.

Liu Quan was secretly annoyed and also flew up to find Wei Kan and the others. Fortunately, Qin Lang finally stood firm and did not follow Mao Tai's reckless actions, taking Wei Kan and Situ Ping back to the Seven Star Hall. Master Fayuan was shocked when he saw them, "What happened?"

Mao Tai took the initiative to explain, naturally shifting the blame to the two unconscious individuals.

Xu Feiniang remained silent, came over to examine their injuries, and said, "It's the Mingwang Fire, which has poisoned their internal organs. Fortunately, they have both completed the major and minor Five Elements techniques of our sect, and their internal energy is full, so their injuries are not severe." She gave them pills and applied ointment to their wounds. Before she finished, Zhizhong arrived.

Zhizhong still showed respect to Master Fayuan but looked at Xu Feiniang with disdain, "I remember when our ancestor was in trouble, you claimed to leave the Wutai Sect and 'reform,' no longer involving yourself in the disputes between the two sects. You often conspired with the bandit nun Cansha and the wicked woman Xun Lanyin. Now, why are you back at Wutai Mountain?"

Xu Feiniang sneered, "How I act is none of your business! Even your master wouldn't dare speak to me like that!"

"You!" Zhizhong was furious and wanted to release his flying sword to fight.

"Be respectful!" Master Fayuan quickly intervened, "Sister Xu is just feigning with the Emei Sect. Over the years, she has kept a low profile and done many things under the Emei Sect's nose, even gathering information on the Emei Sect and obtaining the Yuan Yuan Sword Scripture."

Zhizhong snorted and looked at Xu Feiniang, "Is that true?"

Xu Feiniang ignored him and continued to apply ointment to Situ Ping's wounds.

Outside the hall, sword light flickered, and Liu Quan rushed in.