"This Western Region has indeed changed a lot. The Suspended Mountain has a grand scheme," Lu Qing exclaimed.
At this moment, he was outside a small town in Xizhou, in front of a low mountain peak.
At this time, halfway up the mountain, a large-scale construction project was underway, with Buddhist temples being built and Buddha statues being carved.
Down the mountain, ordinary people were making a pilgrimage, prostrating themselves with each step, their faces full of piety.
Lu Qing had seen many such scenes along the way.
Although he had never been to Xizhou before, he had a general understanding of it.
I know that although there is a tradition of Buddhism here, it should not be as devout as what I see here.
"If this continues, it won't be long before Xuan Kong Shan will be able to completely control west Zhou."
Lu Qing knew all too well the power of faith.
Given the methods employed by the Suspended Mountain, if given more time, it wouldn't be long before they completely control the entire Western Regions, making it impregnable.
When they have a free moment, they'll probably try to deal with me.
"These bald monks, even after tens of thousands of years, are still doing the same thing."
Looking at the scene before him, Yan also said, "In the ancient era of cultivation, this Western Continent was the stronghold of many Buddhist sects."
Unexpectedly, this time, the Suspended Mountain has come out on top.
"That's not necessarily true," Lu Qing said calmly. "Whether Xuankong Mountain can regain control of Xizhou depends on whether it has the ability."
After saying that, he took Xiao Li and left, continuing on his way.
The temples and Buddha statues here were built by ordinary craftsmen, so Lu Qing naturally wouldn't make things difficult for them.
His goal is not to repeat it.
After leaving that small town, Lu Qing once again used his spirit talisman, moving through the mountains and forests like a gentle breeze.
This time, he didn't go anywhere else, but headed straight for the western part of Xizhou.
Now that we know about Xuan Kong Shan's scheme in Xizhou, there's no need to do anything else pointless; we should just go straight for the heart of the enemy.
With the blessing of the spiritual talisman, Lu Qing's speed has already exceeded the range of the Innate Realm.
Half a day later, he arrived at the western part of Xizhou.
Looking ahead, Lu Qing saw an endless range of mountains in front of him.
Most striking is a majestic mountain that soars into the clouds, situated on the vast land.
The clouds and mist could only linger around the mountainside, obscuring the scenery above the peaks.
“The Lingshan Mountains, I should have realized it sooner, this is the entrance to the secret realm of the Suspended Mountain.”
Lu Qing looked at the magnificent scene before him and silently recited in his heart.
Although this Lingshan mountain range cannot compare to the vast and majestic, sacred and inviolable Central Plains Holy Mountain, it is still a formidable and inviolable sacred mountain range.
But it is also the only vast mountain range he has seen besides the sacred mountain.
The Ten Thousand Mountains behind Jiuli Village pale in comparison.
“I visited this Lingshan mountain range once before.”
Yan's figure also appeared beside Lu Qing, looking at the misty mountains in front of him with a strange expression in his eyes.
"In the ancient times of cultivating immortality, this place was the ancestral home of Buddhism. At that time, the Lingshan Mountain Range was much more majestic and awe-inspiring than it is now."
Any practitioner passing through this place must refrain from flying.
Otherwise, it would be seen as a provocation against Buddhism.
"So these bald monks have been this domineering since ancient times." Lu Qing chuckled. "As expected, if the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too. The root is like this, so how could it possibly be straightened?"
"Xiao Li, let's go."
The soul talisman in Lu Qing's brow tremor rippled, and then his aura began to rapidly recede, becoming almost imperceptible.
At the same time, his figure gradually disappeared, eventually vanishing completely.
As for Xiao Li, that's even simpler.
With a mere leap, it slipped into the spatial interlayer, hiding even more thoroughly than Lu Qing.
The technique of concealing one's soul and breath, the invisibility talisman.
Seeing Lu Qing use these two methods to completely conceal his figure, Yan was amazed.
Lu Qing knows far too much.
The combined legacy of the Divine Talisman Sect and the Li Huo Sect allowed him to comprehend the Dao of Runes in no way inferior to his achievements in body refinement.
Moreover, Lu Qing was much more cautious than it had imagined.
He used a transformation technique to change his spiritual aura and physical appearance, and put on a mask.
Now we must use the Concealing Breath Technique and the Invisibility Talisman to completely hide our forms.
They were extremely cautious.
For some reason, even Yan felt a little sorry for the suspended mountain.
To have provoked such a powerful and extremely cautious enemy, and most importantly, to have such an enemy whose cultivation talent is so strong it's almost heaven-defying.
Add to that a Night Spirit Fox, equally elusive and possessing spatial abilities...
Just putting yourself in Yan's shoes makes you feel uneasy.
It could even foresee the tragic fate of the suspended mountain.
After concealing themselves, Lu Qing began to lead Xiao Li to sneak towards the Lingshan Mountain Range ahead.
Before long, they arrived at the most majestic and towering mountain.
Everything went very smoothly along the way.
The Suspended Mountain Sect has only been around for a short time, and recently they have been busy subduing various sects in the Western Regions for their own use.
Before they could even begin the actual construction of the Lingshan Mountain Range, and before they could even set up the sect's protective formation, they naturally couldn't detect Lu Qing's whereabouts.
As he approached the majestic mountain, the clamor of voices drifted up from the mountain and reached Lu Qing's ears.
On the mountain, construction was also in full swing, with temples being built and Buddha statues being sculpted.
It was even larger than the projects Lu Qing had seen in other parts of Xizhou.
For example, he could see from afar that on a cliff nearly a hundred feet high, many craftsmen with martial arts skills were carving a brand new, huge Buddha statue.
The Buddha statue's head alone was over ten zhang tall, making it incredibly majestic.
Looking at the huge Buddha statue that was already mostly complete, Lu Qing had an idea and quietly approached it with Xiao Li.
Before long, he arrived at the foot of the hundred-foot cliff and saw several bald monks with fat heads and big ears, dressed in red robes, standing in front of the cliff.
Lu Qing felt a chill run down his spine upon sensing the aura emanating from the monks.
These bald monks all possessed extremely powerful qi and blood; even the weakest among them was at the Lesser Completion of the Innate Realm.
One of the leading monks, dressed in red, possessed a harmonious aura that seemed to blend seamlessly with his surroundings.
He was actually a powerful expert at the peak of the Innate Realm.
This was the first time Lu Qing had encountered someone at the peak of the Innate Realm.
The Third Holy Lord I encountered in the Holy City of Central Plains doesn't count.
That person used a puppet avatar at the time. Although it was powerful, it was still quite different from a true master of the Innate Realm.
Moreover, Lu Qing also vaguely sensed that the red-robed monk in the lead, in addition to his powerful blood and qi, also possessed another special aura.
This indicates that the red-robed monk at the head of the group, in addition to his innate perfect martial arts cultivation, also practiced other techniques.
Lu Qing immediately activated his supernatural ability and looked at it.
A few breaths later, a rich golden light of supernatural power emerged from the red-robed monk at the head of the group.
At the same time, several notes also floated out.
【Mysterious Meaning: The Grand Elder of Suspended Mountain.】
【Cultivation Level: Dual cultivation of body and technique, perfected innate realm.】
【Possessing a rare Buddhist treasure, combining offense and defense, possessing formidable strength.】
...
Lu Qing then looked at the other bald monks, who, unsurprisingly, were all elders of the Suspended Mountain.
He was not surprised by this.
According to "Yan", the four secret forces have been hiding in their secret realms for tens of thousands of years.
But in the end, it's nothing more than a prolongation of its existence.
Even secret realms are dependent on the main world and cannot completely prevent the penetration of the main world's rules.
Therefore, it is impossible for any too powerful being to be born in a secret realm.
That's the highest level, which means the Foundation Establishment stage is complete.
It is impossible to achieve the Golden Core realm.
Because in order to condense the Golden Core during the Foundation Establishment stage, one must undergo the baptism of Heavenly Tribulation and survive the Forty-Nine Heavenly Tribulation.
This is a law of cultivation, and no cultivator can violate it.
Within the secret realm, it is impossible to condense a heavenly tribulation, so it is impossible for someone to reach the Golden Core realm.
It was precisely because he understood the secrets of this cultivation that Lu Qing dared to come to Xizhou alone to cause trouble for the Suspended Mountain.
Possessing a spiritual artifact, even if he couldn't defeat a Foundation Establishment cultivator, he was confident he could escape unscathed.
"Elder, Zen Heart has sent word that the Iron Sword Sect in the south has also agreed to submit and acknowledge our Suspended Mountain as their master."
Just as Lu Qing finished using his supernatural abilities to gather information, a bald monk in front of him spoke.
"Very good. With the Iron Sword Sect's submission, Xizhou has once again completely returned to the control of our Suspended Mountain."
Xuan Yi nodded in satisfaction.
"Hmph! If it weren't for the fact that the cost of opening a secret realm is too high when spiritual energy is depleted, making it inconvenient for us to enter and exit.
How could Xizhou be made into such a mess by these filthy things!
It is their blessing that they can now convert to Buddhism!
Another monk in red snorted coldly.
“Junior brother, don’t be angry. It is precisely because people are stubborn that they need the guidance of the Buddha. This is also a kind of spiritual practice for us.”
Xuan Yi offered words of comfort.
"Senior Brother Xuanyi, now that Xizhou has returned to the Buddhist sect's fold, what should we do about the other matter the abbot mentioned?"
"Junior brother, are you referring to the demon that killed Junior Brother Xuanming and the others?"
When Lu Qing heard the others mention him, his heart stirred.
“Indeed, Senior Brother Xuanyi, do you think the information that Wujianlou gathered a few days ago is trustworthy?” a monk in red robes asked.
"The Wujianlou wouldn't dare to deceive us. If they want to continue their lineage, they'll have to see if my Xuankongshan will show them mercy."
Even if they had a hundred times the courage, they wouldn't dare to have any wicked thoughts.
Moreover, when the Lord of the Infernal Pavilion came to report that day, my 'Insightful Mind' did not detect that he was lying.
After pondering for a moment, Xuan Yi spoke.
"So, what Wujianlou said about having discovered the location of that demon's hidden cultivation place is true?"
"It shouldn't be too bad."
"I never expected that the demon would come from such a remote state as Cangzhou. It is indeed a remote place that produces demons!"
"Senior Brother Xuanyi, the abbot and the Supreme Elder have given orders to capture that demon and convert it to their own power. When shall we depart?"
"There's no rush. That demon is a person with great fortune and has even survived the Heavenly Tribulation."
Their strength is no less than yours or mine.
To capture him alive, we need to plan carefully and strategize thoroughly.
After the construction of Mount Ling is completed and the protective array is set up, we will proceed with our plans gradually.
Xuan Yi said slowly.
Lu Qing, who was hiding in the shadows, immediately understood what was going on when he heard this.
The assassin from Wujianlou who escaped from his master's flying sword at the Wei residence that day eventually returned safely to the Suspended Mountain Secret Realm.
The information they had gathered was also reported to the Hanging Mountain.
He was somewhat relieved that he had arrived ahead of schedule this time.
Otherwise, once the situation in Xizhou is truly stabilized at Xuankong Mountain and a protective formation is in place, it will be very difficult for him to sneak in quietly.
At that point, we'll be left with no choice but to passively take the beating.
After all, he could leave at any time, but the villagers of Jiuli Village and the Wei family would suffer.
Thinking of this, Lu Qing's killing intent suddenly surged.
He could tell from their conversation just now.
Sure enough, there are still experts hiding in the secret realm of Suspended Mountain.
Those so-called presiding officials and elders must be powerful cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage or above.
However, right now, the most powerful beings in this Lingshan Mountain Range should be these few red-robed monks.
Especially Xuan Yi, who is the leader. Since he is called the Grand Elder, he must be the leader of this emergence of Xuan Kong Mountain.
Once we kill it, it should be enough to keep the Suspended Mountain in chaos for a while.
Despite the murderous intent that filled his heart, Lu Qing's gaze grew increasingly calm.
He first used telepathy to give Xiao Li a few instructions.
Then, he quietly took out his battle sword from the Qiankun Qi Bag.
His figure moved silently and stealthily toward the red-robed monks.
Just as Lu Qing was about ten feet away from the group, he saw Xuan Yi's expression suddenly change, and he looked in his direction with surprise and uncertainty.
Lu Qing's mind raced, and he immediately realized that his presence had been exposed.
His mind raced, and without a second thought, an incomparably powerful aura erupted from his body. A bright, gleaming blade of light flashed from his body, sweeping across the group of people in front of him!
"Who goes there!"
The red-robed monks were all innate-level experts.
They sensed Lu Qing's aura as soon as it erupted.
Immediately, all the monks were greatly alarmed.
They never expected that someone could get so close to them without them noticing!
However, what shocked them even more was the blade of light that Lu Qing unleashed.
It was extremely refined and unparalleled in power. Just sensing it made all the monks' hair stand on end, their scalps tingle, and a bone-chilling coldness rise from the depths of their hearts.
"Get out of the way!"
In the blink of an eye, all the monks responded in their own way.
Some tried to use their agility to avoid the flashing blades.
Some of them had a glow appearing on their bodies, trying to withstand the sword light with their own protective qi, which they had painstakingly cultivated.
Others instantly produced short staffs they carried with them, and went to meet the flashing blades.
Only Xuan Yi, whose cultivation was the most profound, changed his expression drastically the moment he sensed the blade's light, and shouted loudly for everyone to get away.
However, it was too late.
The blade light that Lu Qing unleashed was incredibly swift.
In the blink of an eye, they had arrived in front of the group of monks.
Then it swept past them and flew toward the cliff behind them.
Finally, he cut a deep, bottomless gash into the cliff face before stopping.
Boom!
With a roar as the blade struck the cliff, several streams of blood splattered.
