Three blood shadows descended from the sky and landed heavily in front of the mountain cave entrance.
The ground shattered and cracked.
Everything around trembled.
The air, the soil, the trees, the rocks. All seemed to be trembling in fear.
The Great Spirit Yu Tian at the forefront trembled all over, standing in the pit beneath the axe, arms raised high, palms gathering an invisible, transparent force field to desperately hold off the giant axe’s downward strike.
At times like this, no flashy abilities have any meaning; only the purest violence reigns supreme.
It was only because the anchor point was applied to Zhang Rongfang, and the temporary Void had expanded significantly, that he could barely hold on for now.
But....
Crack...
The invisible force field above him began to show cracks, on the verge of breaking.
"What... what is this thing!!!?" he had seen many top-tier experts before.
But he had never seen a monster like Zhang Rongfang, who had grown to such an extent in just a few years!
The mortal world... shouldn’t be able to harbor such a powerful force!!
The mortal realm simply doesn’t have a strong enough body to bear such power!
It’s unreasonable!!?
"Oh?" Zhang Rongfang looked down, eyes ablaze with blood flames, and through layers of blood mist, he saw the Great Spirit Yu Tian below, along with more than a dozen other gods resisting with him.
All their combined might, one divine force field after another, gathered upon the Great Spirit Yu Tian, making his body swell and enlarge.
His arms pushed upwards, barely managing to hold up the giant axe.
"A futile struggle." Zhang Rongfang’s brow crystal glowed with gray light.
Suddenly, a patch of gray-black spread from his brow, instantly covering his entire body.
Then he lifted his foot and stomped.
Boom!!
A loud explosion.
The force field resisting with the combined efforts of the Great Spirit Yu Tian and the many gods shattered instantly.
The Great Spirit Yu Tian was the first to be crushed underfoot, turning into countless black spirit lines, scattering everywhere.
But quickly, the spirit lines were covered and enveloped by a large mass of blood clouds and water, turning into thick smoke in an instant.
The remaining gods fared even worse, as the force field shattered, they were engulfed and eroded by the blood water, struggling and screaming in agony within the Blood River, emitting thick smoke.
As if human figures were being burned by blood flames.
’Tsk tsk tsk.... truly pitiful....’ White Scale wrapped around Zhang Rongfang’s arm, gazing down at the many compatriots below.
"Thanks to your precise location information this time." Zhang Rongfang calmly said, "Forget about the Moon God, even these other riffraff dare to plot near me."
He walked forward a few steps, his body disintegrating, transforming into countless blood mist.
From the blood mist emerged the restored body, back to full height.
Standing at the chaotic cave entrance, with just a quick glance, he assessed the situation here.
"A few escaped, but it doesn’t matter. I guess they won’t dare to make any more moves lightly." He glanced up at the sky.
It was already afternoon by then.
"Since I’m here, I might as well visit my senior brother."
"There are still many remaining sect forces within Dan Province. In fact, Human Immortal Temple and the Time Reversal Society are indeed stronger than them in terms of high-end power.
But at the middle and low end, there’s still a clear gap. So if you don’t take action, the situation will be hard to resist." White Scale carefully analyzed.
"What do you suggest?" Zhang Rongfang raised an eyebrow.
"Why not recruit some gods willing to submit to you and stop consuming the brains of followers? Incorporate them into the Human Immortal Temple system?" White Scale suggested softly.
"Do you want to do this?" Zhang Rongfang saw through her thoughts.
"I have the idea. I know two gods who never consume human brains. They only protect small places, without looking to expand, just wanting to live peacefully and in seclusion.
Such gods can only be beneficial to people, can’t they?" White Scale persuaded.
"Alright, if you can do it, it’s your skill." Zhang Rongfang agreed.
Despite White Scale’s habitual nonchalance, because she anchors on him, the Void expanded very quickly.
Her current strength was no longer as frail as before.
"Alright, you promised, don’t back out!"
"I won’t." Zhang Rongfang reached out and grabbed.
Suddenly, colorful crystals shot from around the cave entrance, landing in his hand.
The crystals were all irregularly shaped, seemingly fragments of a broken whole.
But only Zhang Rongfang knew, these were the spirit core crystals he forcibly extracted from the gods just now.
The divine shepherd’s spirit core crystals had already been fully absorbed, and he felt much better.
Just like earlier, when he activated the final form, in a short time, he no longer faced issues of mental influence.
And this time, with so many spirit core crystals harvested, he would need time to slowly absorb and digest them next.
’Then I’m off.’ White Scale asked one last time.
’Go, don’t disappoint me.’ Zhang Rongfang said calmly.
’Don’t worry! When has Bailing ever made a mistake?’ Bailing’s voice gradually dimmed and soon fell completely silent.
Zhang Rongfang could feel the aura belonging to Bailing swiftly departing from a blood lotus behind him.
Since the Great Spirit Yutian was expelled, he had placed Bailing in the position of one of the three blood lotuses.
Now, having dealt with this group of gathered gods and buddhas, the biggest problem in Dan Province was resolved.
Next.....
*
*
*
In a forest somewhere in Dan Province.
A white waterfall cascaded straight down, plunging into a small lake.
In front of a two-story wooden house covered in a verdant green, a person gently pushed open the door and walked out with a wooden basin.
This person had delicate features, wore a Taoist robe, and had clear eyes.
He poured the water with a swoosh into an herb garden beside him, then turned around and suddenly stopped.
Behind him, in front of the wooden house door, a red figure had appeared at some point.
The figure was calm, with pale skin and unusually dark red eyes.
"Long time no see, Senior Brother, I hope you’re well." The visitor was none other than Zhang Rongfang, who had just dealt with a pile of gods and buddhas.
"Qiankun!?" Zhang Qingzhi was surprised and instantly showed great joy.
"It’s been years, have you finally found time to come back?"
He stepped forward and patted Zhang Rongfang’s arm.
"How are you now? You seem thinner than before. Is life outside very tough?"
He seemed unaware of anything, having heard nothing. He still lived an isolated life here.
"Thinner?" Zhang Rongfang was taken aback, then smiled. "Not too bad. Maybe just a bit tired recently."
"If you’re tired, take a good rest. Cultivation work is never-ending. If your body breaks down, everything else is in vain," Zhang Qingzhi advised.
"No choice. Some people just don’t understand, and leaving things unattended would be worse," Zhang Rongfang said with a wry smile. "Outsiders don’t care about your well-being. Besides yourself, only close friends and family do. Enough about that, you seem to be doing very well now?"
"Not really...." Zhang Qingzhi sighed, shaking his head, "But with someone by my side, everything is okay. Just, the previous child didn’t survive...."
Zhang Rongfang knew what child he was referring to, it was because of Lin Qianhe’s affairs outside that led to the pregnancy.
"As long as you’re okay," he didn’t know what else to say, seeing Zhang Qingzhi happy was enough.
"After Xiaohao left, Xin’Er and I have indeed gotten much better, though sometimes I still miss Master and you, Junior Brother," Zhang Qingzhi said softly.
"Xiaohao left?" Zhang Rongfang was suddenly stunned, "Where did she go?"
"She passed away last year." Zhang Qingzhi’s voice was low, "In the end, she was so sick she couldn’t speak, completely dependent on Xin’Er and me to care for her."
"Later, Xin’Er poured her heart out to me, and Xiaohao overheard. Xiaohao really was a wonderful person; even while lying on her bed, she wept tears of joy for me." Recalling past events, Zhang Qingzhi’s face showed a mix of happiness and regret.
Are you sure she wasn’t crying out of pain?
Zhang Rongfang suddenly felt, Senior Brother seemed, not purely infatuated. His infatuation seemed somewhat misplaced.
"Though Xiaohao is gone, I still have Xin’Er...." Zhang Qingzhi turned his face, watching a pretty girl slowly walk out the wooden house.
The girl smiled gently, clearly just ordinarily pretty with even a large birthmark on her face, yet under this happiness, she appeared exceptionally radiant.
"Come meet my Junior Brother, Xin’Er!" Zhang Qingzhi smiled, stepping forward to gently take the girl’s hand.
"Xin’Er greets..." the girl hesitated, unsure what to call him.
"Just call me Rongfang." Zhang Rongfang gave a warm smile.
He glanced at Zhang Qingzhi’s current gaze, feeling something was off with this guy.
The way he looked at Xin’Er was just like how he looked at Xiaohao before.
But how much time has passed? The deeper one’s feelings, the harder it is to extricate oneself.
Yet Zhang Qingzhi not only quickly moved on but also redirected his affection to another woman.
This seemed a bit off...
Zhang Rongfang didn’t bring up Master or his own current situation, only chatting briefly about life with the two. He also paid respects at Lin Qianhe’s grave.
Standing before the grave, he suddenly noticed Xin’Er’s gaze becoming unnatural.
Zhang Rongfang didn’t say much, after staying a while and experiencing Zhang Qingzhi and Xin’Er’s daily routines, he got up to bid farewell, ready to leave.
Zhang Qingzhi escorted him along the lake towards the mountain path.
As they approached the mountain path, Zhang Rongfang suddenly paused, speaking up.
"Although it’s not my place to meddle, I must warn you, your Xin’Er is not as simple as you think. Lin Qianhe’s death, and Xin’Er likely...."
"Enough," Zhang Qingzhi raised his hand, stopping him. "Let the past be past. I love Xin’Er, no matter what she did in the past, I love her! Everything is past."
"....." Zhang Rongfang looked at his Senior Brother, unsure of what to say.
The other clearly knew about Xin’Er potentially poisoning Lin Qianhe, but....
Everything is past....
This sentence, he remembered hearing from Zhang Qingzhi’s mouth years ago.
But back then, it was said to Lin Qianhe.
"Look at me now, I’m happy, doing well. So don’t worry about me. How is Master? How is he now?" Zhang Qingzhi began discussing other matters.