In the banquet hall of the Wan Estate, the scene was still one of feasting and revelry, filled with laughter and cheerful conversation.
The end of the year was approaching, and the dicine Envoys from the thirteen great clans had all arrived: Li Xiaoguang from the Li Family, Xia Jie from the Xia Family, Yan Yi from the Yan Family, Zhang Shouyi from the Zhang Family, Yang Luohua from the Yang Family, Gao Jian from the Gao Family, Xu Fangzhi from the Xu Family, Jiang Tu from the Jiang Family, Fei Youying from the Fei Family, Zhai Baobao from the Zhai Family, Cui Zhi from the Cui Family, Ma Dingguo from the Ma Family, and Gu Xiaochuan from the Gu Family.
The crowd raised their glasses in toast after toast, their laughter and chatter unceasing, their faces beaming with smiles. But if one observed carefully, one could see they were slightly distracted, their peripheral glances constantly flickering to the side from ti to ti, as if waiting for sothing.
The dicine Envoys of the thirteen great clans were not famous figures within their respective great clans; they were all rather inconspicuous individuals.
Take Li Xiaoguang, for example. He ranked thirteenth among the Sect Leader lineage, with twelve older brothers and sisters ahead of him. All the opportunities to be in the lilight were snatched away by his elder siblings, leaving him no chance to make a na for himself.
He lived a secluded life, rarely venturing out. Apart from the disciples within the clan, who would recognize him?
Yet, he wielded real power within the clan and was highly valued by it, receiving focused cultivation!
He was by no ans weak. Young, only in his late thirties, he had already reached the peak of the Divine Descent realm, a level where he could be sent out to serve as a high-ranking official in a local region.
If he were an expert from a branch lineage, he would have been dispatched long ago. But he remained in the ancestral ho in Quanzhou precisely to handle so confidential matters for the family.
Collecting the dicine at year's end was one of them.
The others were mostly similar to Li Xiaoguang in cultivation, holding real power within their families, seldom venturing out, having few friends from other surnas, their whereabouts secretive, and thus rarely recognized by the outside world.
Their ages were not considered old, yet their cultivation was extrely formidable, and they possessed unique skills.
The thirteen dicine Envoys were also already aware of the Red Horse Bandit incident, the large-scale killing of so-called corrupt officials, and the robbing of the rich to aid the poor. They also knew there were two Red Horse Bandits, and tonight, they feared the bandits would co to kill.
"So-called knights errant who use martial arts to violate prohibitions are all acting recklessly."
Yan Yi toyed with his wine cup, smiling, "The state has its laws, the family has its rules. Even if Qingzhou has corrupt officials, they should be dealt with according to the law. If everyone who suffers a little injustice imdiately takes up a blade and storms the governnt offices, wouldn't the world fall into chaos? Therefore, the Red Horse Bandits deserve execution."
Gu Xiaochuan held a beauty in his arms, one hand exploring her bosom, his expression solemn as he said, "The Red Horse Bandits plunder the wealth of rich rchants and use these treasures to buy the people's hearts. This is great treachery! This person harbors rebellious intentions and must be eliminated!"
Yang Luohua drank wine and said, "Most country folk haven't attended school; they are foolish and stupid. Bought off by a few dozen taels of silver, they sing the Red Horse Bandits' praises. Truly ignorant commoners, all deserving beheading!"
She looked at Xu Fangzhi, "Would you be bought off by a few dozen taels of silver?"
Then she looked at Jiang Tu, "Or would you be bought off by a few dozen taels of silver?"
Then she looked at Ma Dingguo, "Or perhaps you would be bought off by a few dozen taels of silver?"
Everyone shook their heads with laughter, saying one after another, "A few dozen taels of silver? Even tens of thousands of taels couldn't buy ! We scholars know sha and integrity. Wealth and rank cannot corrupt us; poverty and lowly status cannot move us!"
At this point, Gu Xiaochuan hurriedly withdrew his hand from the beauty's bosom.
"Tonight, the birdsong outside is quite clamorous," he said, his face slightly flushed, changing the subject.
Everyone heard the crisp chirping of birds coming from outside, resembling the calls of orioles, and in considerable numbers.
"Strange, where are the orioles coming from in the middle of the night?"
They paid it no mind, chatting and drinking as they waited for midnight.
Wan Shide kept them company, busily running back and forth behind the guests. He was already over sixty years old, but his upkeep made him resemble a man in his forties. Holding a wine pot, whenever anyone's cup was empty, he would imdiately trot over with small steps to refill it for them.
Although in his sixties, his body was better than many young n's. Just last night, when the tenant farr San Zhu got married, he sent his bride to Wan Shide's room, asking him to take her virginity.
This was the custom in Qingzhou. When tenant families married, they had to send the bride to their master's bed for him to "consecrate" her.
This was the master bestowing blessings upon the tenant. The tenant would co to pick up his wife the next morning, full of gratitude. If one or two generations couldn't be tad, then five or six generations would do; there would always co a ti when they could be tad.
However, Wan Shide felt he was indeed showing signs of age. After last night's exertions, his lower back felt sore and achy.
After all, he wasn't a young man anymore.
He thought to himself. In the future, such matters should be left to his eldest son, that bastard Wan Gaode, to enjoy. He himself could only indulge occasionally.
He had not consud the spirit dicines he cultivated.
Wan Shide understood the rules.
These spirit dicines did not belong to the Wan family; the Wan family was rely helping to tend and plant them. Touching things that don't belong to you can easily cost you your life.
Back then, his grandfather, in his later years, lost his head and secretly tasted the dregs of a spirit dicine. Not long after, he lay in bed and lost his head. Later, he was buried without his head and could not enter the ancestral graves.
All these years, he had followed the rules ticulously, and the Wan family had prospered more and more.
He looked down on his grandfather. A dog should have the awareness of being a dog. What could a few extra years of life accomplish?
Better to enjoy the present properly.
The Wan family had no hope of becoming a great clan like the thirteen great clans. It was better to take advantage of the thirteen clans' protection to secure so benefits for himself and his descendants.
For example, opening porridge kitchens, distributing rice porridge and stead buns daily, saving countless lives. These people, filled with gratitude, would burn incense and kowtow to the Wan family's ancestors. Over ti, wouldn't the Wan family's ancestors be able to condense Divine Manifestations?
Having one Divine Manifestation after another protecting the Wan family—wasn't that stronger than toiling away at cultivation oneself?
Moreover, while Wan Shide was still alive, people built life shrines for him, worshiping him as a living Buddha, with daily incense offerings uninterrupted. By the ti he died, he would probably be able to condense a Divine Manifestation imdiately!
Wasn't this much better than the Red Horse Bandits' killing and fighting?
Wasn't it much better than going through all the hardship of cultivating spirit dicines to extend one's lifespan by two or three years?
And on top of that, he was doing good deeds, so he slept more soundly than anyone else.
Wan Shide saw Zhai Baobao's wine cup was empty and hurriedly trotted over, his face wreathed in smiles, bowing and scraping as he filled it for Zhai Baobao.
Such tasks could actually be left to servants, but Wan Shide felt that only by doing it himself could he show how happily he served as a dog for the thirteen great clans. If the masters were happy, he, the dog, would receive more rewards.
He had just straightened his back when suddenly, a dragon-like blade light ca from behind him.
Over the years, although Wan Shide's cultivation had been lazy, he couldn't help but have a good foundation—he had many tenant farrs under him, making it convenient to acquire Divine Embryos. His Divine Embryo was a First-grade Divine Embryo, with an excellent foundation, and he had still cultivated to the Spirit Transformation realm.
Sensing danger, his Primordial Spirit flew out, and his magic treasure was already summoned.
His magic treasure was called the Golden Banner. It had three layers. The first layer was called the Pure Land, drawn by a Return to Emptiness realm senior monk from the Water Moon Holy Land. The second layer was a sutra banner, inscribed with the Diamond Sutra, written by a disciple of that Return to Emptiness realm expert, chanted and refined for a thousand days.
The third layer hung various treasures the Wan family had collected over the years: glassy glaze lamps, jade marrow horses, precious swords, ancient skulls, etc. After refinent, their power was astonishing.
His Golden Banner had just been summoned when a dragon's roar sounded in his ears, and his Primordial Spirit was already cleaved in two by a single blade!
The azure blade light descended, and Wan Shide, both man and banner, were shattered!
No Spirit Transformation realm, no refinent by a senior monk from the Water Moon Holy Land, no rit of being the living Buddha of the Wan family could save him.
With one blade strike, flesh and blood flew everywhere!
"He's here!"
At the banquet, the group of experts from the thirteen great clans shouted in unison, activating their magic power as the force fields of their Primordial Spirits erupted.
The overlapping Primordial Spirit force fields of thirteen great experts—how could the beauties beside them withstand such imnse pressure? They exploded one by one, turning into bursts of blood mist, which was then imdiately vaporized!
Li Xiaoguang's Divine Descent realm Primordial Spirit force field already possessed a trace of the power of a Dao Field.
Only the Refining Void realm could cultivate a Dao Field, containing the power of the Great Dao.
But the cultivation technique Li Xiaoguang practiced was the Li Family Sect Leader lineage's secret, never-to-be-transmitted-outward "Inherit Heaven Azure Cloud Art," the top-tier supre art from the "Yi'an Hall Collection." This technique Li Xiaoguang could not pass on to the next generation; he could only cultivate it himself.
Only after determining who the next Sect Leader would be could the new Sect Leader's lineage cultivate it.
The Inherit Heaven Azure Cloud Art allowed him to cultivate the embryonic form of a Dao Field even at the Divine Descent realm, showing the extraordinary nature of this art.
He was facing sideways towards the doorway. Now, he turned his head and saw, coming straight at him, a Red Horse Bandit riding a steed treading on Hellish Demon Fire. The horse had a horse's head and body, dragon's feet, its four limbs thick and powerful, covered in azure-red scales, its body crimson like blood, ferocious beyond asure.
And on the horse's back was a young man with closed eyes, holding a Green Dragon Crescent Moon Blade, its blade light like a silk ribbon, chopping straight down at him!
"Tianqing!"
Li Xiaoguang was both shocked and furious. He thought the newcor must be the other Red Horse Bandit, but he never expected it to be Li Tianqing!
The blade light was too fast, a single blade strike that could topple a city. The azure light was like azure fire, splitting the banquet hall open, cleaving through the Primordial Spirit force fields of the thirteen great experts!
Those thirteen overlapping Primordial Spirit force fields could already rival, even surpass, the Dao Field of a Refining Void realm powerhouse. Any spell that entered would imdiately be crushed by the power of the Great Dao; any magic treasure would lt away!
Yet this blade strike, encountering the friction of thirteen layers of Primordial Spirit force fields, saw its power surge even higher, growing stronger when eting strength. It actually cleaved through the force fields with a single blade, arriving above Li Xiaoguang's head!
"Kill first?!"
Li Xiaoguang was furious beyond asure. He dodged sideways, his spell already ford. At that mont, the Green Dragon Crescent Moon Blade that had missed its target suddenly halted, its blade light turning half a circle, as effortless and casual as cleaning an ear.
Li Xiaoguang's head flew into the air.
The move was simple.
Extrely simple.
But effective.
Hacking out a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand slashes in one breath was not as effective as putting all one's power into a single slash.
This single slash directly cut Li Xiaoguang in two!
His head flew through the air, still sowhat bewildered, "Who killed ? Was it Li Tianqing, or the Red Horse Bandit?"
Li Tianqing, having slain Li Xiaoguang, urged his horse to charge into the Primordial Spirit force fields. Swinging the blade in a full circle, everyone flew backward in all directions, avoiding the blade light, forming an encircling pincer formation.
The horse didn't stop, galloping through the Wan Estate.
The others also ran through the air, still maintaining the encircling formation.
At this mont, Li Tianqing didn't know whether he was in a dream or awake.
He saw "himself" galloping wildly on horseback, blade cleaving Wan Shide, slashing his thirteenth uncle Li Xiaoguang. He saw the other twelve dicine Envoys leaping backward, their feet treading on empty air as they summoned their Primordial Spirits and treasures.
Their different reactions, the different cultivation techniques they activated, the different spells they mobilized, all were clearly reflected in his mind.
Within the Wan Estate, nurous birds acted as his eyes, observing the battle from every angle.
These birds were transford from leaves he had blown into the air yesterday, a transformation art from the Ten Thousand Mile Flying Sword Technique passed down by the Cold Mountain Freeholder.
At that ti, the Wanderer Gathering had already begun. He hadn't spent as much effort on this spell as Chen Shi had, hadn't refined it as exquisitely as Chen Shi, and didn't control as many birds, but these birds could serve as his field of vision.
Now, it was as if he were in a dreamland. Although his eyes were closed, he could see his surroundings clearly through these birds.
And it seed Lord Guan, the Sage Emperor was also sharing the vision of these birds.
Jiang Tu attacked from behind him, summoning a flying sword. The Jiang Family's sword techniques were famously known as Dao Swords. The sword light was swift, sword energy swept across powerfully. Wherever his force field reached, the sword light arrived, unstoppable!
He was attacking from behind; a cold gleam had already reached the back of Li Tianqing's head.
Lord Guan, the Sage Emperor dragged his blade, turned his horse, and Jiang Tu, along with his sword and Primordial Spirit force field, were cleaved in two, neat and precise, so exact that even asuring with a ruler wouldn't be more accurate!
Everyone felt a chill in their hearts.
But Fei Youying, Zhai Baobao, Xia Jie, Yan Yi, and others still took the opportunity to close in from all sides, aiming to blast him to death, man and horse together!
Lord Guan, the Sage Emperor turned his head and opened his eyes.
Fei Youying t this gaze and felt as if flas were rushing towards her face. All around her were mountains of blades and seas of fire. A divine figure standing amidst the sea of fire opened its eyes, and a blade light chopped down.
Fei Youying let out a great cry. She, who should have been dealing a fatal blow at this mont, suddenly froze in place.
Lord Guan, the Sage Emperor spurred his horse and leaped past her.
Fei Youying showed no external injuries; her Primordial Spirit and soul were still intact, her body could still breathe, yet her consciousness had been severed. She had been struck by the blade energy emitted when Lord Guan, the Sage Emperor opened his eyes, which shattered her consciousness.
The Red Horse was extrely fast, catching up to Zhang Shouyi. A flash of blade light, and Zhang Shouyi activated the Zhang Family's escape technique, transforming into a streak of fire just about to flee. The streak of fire was cut. Zhang Shouyi's upper body flew out for several hundred li, exiting Qingzhou City, erging from a mountain fire several hundred li away.
His lower half remained in the Wan Estate, still running amidst the flas, only stopping when it crashed into a rockery.
Lord Guan, the Sage Emperor held his blade aloft. The Red Horse trampled through Gu Xiaochuan's Primordial Spirit force field. Gu Xiaochuan activated the Gu Family Nine Harmonies True Body. This True Body was passed down by the Gu Family ancestor Gu Jiuhe, fusing Daoist True Body, Dao Body, Buddhist Golden Body, and Tai Chi true energy, slted together to form a Great Confucian True Body. Once activated, it beca indestructible!
The blade light descended. Lord Guan, the Sage Emperor flew past on his horse, dragging his blade.
Gu Xiaochuan thudded to his knees, his head rolling from his neck.
The Gu Family Nine Harmonies True Body could not withstand this single blade.
The Emperor cleaved Gao Jian in the Cai Xiu Garden of the Wan Estate, cut Zhai Baobao in half at the waist in the Hall of Ten Thousand Scrolls, trampled Yang Luohua to death on horseback at the Tired Pine Tower, slew Ma Dingguo in the Xiuchun Hall, caught up with Xu Fangzhi and Yan Yi at the Tethering Horse Hall, and with two swings of his blade, both n and their treasures were shattered.
Xia Jie had already seized the chance to rush out of the Wan Estate, soaring into the air and speeding towards the city outskirts. After flying several hundred li, he heard the clatter of horse hooves behind him. Looking back, he saw flas blazing in the air as a man and a horse swung their blade down.
A dragon-like blade light flew towards him. Xia Jie's Primordial Spirit and physical body were separated, head from body.
The Emperor reined in his horse, standing in the air.
Below was Qingzhou.
The air echoed with the horse's mournful whinny.
Countless gold, silver, and treasures from the Wan family's treasury rose into the air, following behind the Wealth God as the Red Hare Horse flew into the distance.
Midnight had passed; the end of the year was one day closer.
In the darkness of Qingzhou, every household lit their lamps because the Red Horse Bandits had co again to distribute money.
This night in Qingzhou, it wasn't just the Wan family who lit their lamps, but ten thousand households with their lights, like scattered stars.
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