Chapter 358: Chapter 28: The First Emperor Is at Taishan; the Fengshan Ceremony Begins

「Current World」

In the Guangcheng Daoist Palace, Lu Xuan sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, his head bowed in a quiet slumber.

At the entrance to this meditation chamber, a Fish Basket rested peacefully on the ground. A Catfish poked its head out, looking this way and that.

Ben Bo’Erba stared at the sleeping youth for a long while. Seeing that there was still no news of the True Monarch Erlang who had been captured by the Heaven-Reaching light, his body flickered. He transformed into a wisp of green smoke and silently drifted toward the outside of the Daoist Palace.

"Where are you going?"

As the green smoke drifted out of the Guangcheng Daoist Palace, Qing Xuan Daoist blocked its path. The smoke then revealed its form, and Ben Bo’Erba lowered his voice, snarling:

"Daoist, get out of my way. Don’t force my hand. You have no idea who you’re standing before!"

Qing Xuan Daoist said nothing, merely blocking Ben Bo’Erba’s path in silence. His entire body was shrouded in wisps of Chaos Qi that flowed ceaselessly, making his form hazy and indistinct.

Ben Bo’Erba glanced again at Lu Xuan, who seemed to be dead to the world in the deepest part of the Daoist Palace. Growing a bit bolder, his gaze sharpened.

"Little Daoist, stand down!"

The moment his voice fell, he attacked decisively. Containing his aura and fluctuations, he restrained a power mighty enough to shatter a planet within his palm and swung it out gently. It stirred no ripples, nor did it trigger any gales or strange phenomena.

However, the palm, which held a Great Slaughter Technique, stopped the instant it touched the mist of Chaos before Qing Xuan Daoist. Even though Ben Bo’Erba used his full strength, he couldn’t advance it another inch!

His expression changed drastically. He retreated three steps, staring intently at the Daoist before him, who was wreathed in Chaos Qi.

"Who are you?"

The Daoist smiled faintly.

"I am Qing Xuan. Please return to the Fish Basket... And you don’t have to speak so quietly. Lu Ancestor is sleeping deeply here, dreaming of Ancient Times. He will not be woken."

"Is that so..."

Ben Bo’Erba’s expression was wary, then it hardened as if he had made a decision. He secretly activated a Decree, and a golden radiance escaped into the void, shooting out of the Great Heaven and Earth.

"What was that?" Qing Xuan Daoist asked curiously.

"You’ll find out, Daoist," Ben Bo’Erba sneered.

The next moment, the entire Celestial Vault above the Kongtong Mountain Range began to shake violently. Qing Xuan Daoist looked up and saw the sky collapsing. A voidal rift from beyond the world briefly materialized, pressing down from above!

Within the voidal rift, an Eight-Faced Evil Buddha and a White Dragon spanning a hundred thousand li were locked in battle. The two terrifying beings seemed to sense something. They both lowered their gazes simultaneously, their eyes piercing through the rift to look down upon the Great Heaven and Earth!

"Ben Bo’Erba."

The Eight-Faced Evil Buddha whispered the name. It paused its fight with the White Dragon and reached a hand down into the Great Heaven and Earth, causing the cosmos to crumble as it tried to snatch Ben Bo’Erba away.

"Bye-bye, Little Daoist!" Ben Bo’Erba chuckled slyly.

Qing Xuan Daoist ignored him, merely looking up at the giant palm of the Evil Buddha that was causing the world to collapse. He said calmly:

"That’s very impolite. Go back."

As he spoke, the Daoist exhaled a breath of turbid air. The breath tumbled and transformed into a perfectly ordinary-looking arrow of qi, which drifted erratically upward...

And then, it pierced straight through the giant palm that shimmered with Immortal light and seemed poised to crush the heavens—and blew it into dust!!

"ROAR!!"

The Eight-Faced Evil Buddha cried out in pain and retracted its shattered arm. Shrouded in Chaos, Qing Xuan Daoist calmly reached out a hand and gave a gentle stroke.

The collapsing Celestial Vault returned to normal, and the rift torn in the world mended itself. The sky was blue again, the clouds light.

"Back to the Fish Basket," Qing Xuan Daoist said faintly.

"Right away!!"

Moving even faster than when he had tried to escape, Ben Bo’Erba shot back into the Daoist Palace, dove into the Fish Basket, and sank to the very bottom, trembling uncontrollably.

’This is terrifying... The Human World is terrifying...’

.........

「Ancient Times. The first year of the Qin Dynasty, after the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.」

By this time, Wang Zhiyao’s injuries had mostly healed, and she could walk freely again. She walked shoulder-to-shoulder with Zhang Jifeng, half a step behind Liu Bang, as they approached a thatched hut.

As they drew near, the three of them looked up and saw a young man in a simple Bronze Mask tilling a field.

It was clearly approaching dusk, yet the sun was still blazing hot. Under the scorching sun, sweat seemed to be dripping from the part of the youth’s forehead not covered by the mask.

"Young brother!" Liu Bang waved. "We’re here to climb the mountain. Could we trouble you for a place to rest for a bit?"

The young man in the Bronze Mask put down his hoe, turning to look at them while panting. He seemed slightly taken aback.

But then, the young man smiled and said:

"Of course you can. The sun is strong out here. Please, come inside and cool off."

With that, he leaned his hoe against the wall, pushed open the door of the hut, and gestured for them to enter.

"Please, come in."

"Many thanks, young brother!" Liu Bang, whose Cultivation was low, wiped the sweat from his brow and walked nonchalantly toward the thatched hut.

Beside him, Wang Zhiyao and Zhang Jifeng exchanged a glance. Though they were curious why the young man wore a mask, they didn’t ask. They simply gave him a polite nod before following Liu Bang.

Just as they reached the entrance of the hut, the two of them heard a familiar voice from within:

"Xiaoxuan, have we got guests?"

The words had barely faded when the two people behind Liu Bang looked up, their eyes meeting those of a middle-aged man who was calmly sipping tea inside the hut.

???

The same question seemed to flash through all three of their minds at once.

"We have come from afar, having long heard of Taishan’s great fame. Today, we came to climb the mountain and were just passing by, hoping to borrow a place to rest."

Liu Bang, not yet sensing anything unusual, chuckled and stepped over the threshold. He then turned back, somewhat puzzled, to look at the two people standing frozen at the doorway.

"What’s with you two...?"

Wang Zhiyao and Zhang Jifeng were dumbfounded.

"Yan... Old Yan..."

"It’s you??" Inside the hut, Old Yan shot to his feet, stunned. "The little girl from the Wang Family, and the little fellow from Wudang Mountain... You’re here too??"