Chapter Eighty-Four: The Grand Temple at Little West Mountain

The Windy Pine Bell and the Great Office Temple

Chapter Eleven: Hidden in the Western Woods of the Capital, Where Ambition Finds Its Place; The Seven Heroes Stir Up Chaos in Spring and Autumn, Part Fourteen

Ye Hua could not help but nod. After pondering for a long while, he said no more. Since today’s affair had already yielded some result, the group parted from Cai Shufeng and returned to the Zhang residence without further mention.

The next day, they rose early and went straight to the outer office of the Grand Temple Bureau. That office stood at the western edge of the capital, on Western Little Mountain, where temples of one size or another—Great Peace and Prosperity Temple, Great Mercy Temple, and others—numbered seven or eight in all. Yet it was the Grand Temple Bureau that was most renowned in the capital. The Zhang residence was not far from it, and after about half a quarter-hour’s travel they arrived.

Ahead of them rose a mountain peak, majestic and graceful, strange and exquisite, standing tall and lovely, without many equals in all the world. The phrase “solemn amid flowing beauty, vigorous while bearing softness” fit it perfectly.

Shi Lei said to Ye Hua, “This is Western Little Mountain. There are many cultivators here, so within a radius of several dozen li around it, protective formations have been laid down. Ordinary people can hardly approach.”

With that, the group proceeded slowly along the mountain path. From time to time, crowds passed by—some dozens strong, some only a few. Judging by the direction they were taking, they were all heading toward the Grand Temple Bureau.

Everyone hastened their steps. After walking for another half quarter-hour, they saw the number of people ahead gradually increasing. When they reached a platform, the view suddenly opened wide before them, and they saw a dense crowd of several thousand gathered before the mountain gate.

Ye Hua looked carefully and saw the three large characters of the Grand Temple Bureau written there.

At the very front stood several people. One of them seemed to be shouting something, though the words were hard to make out. Ye Hua searched carefully and saw that his cousin appeared to be among them as well. Before long, several burly men emerged from the mountain gate opposite and said something to them. No one knew what those men had said, but the crowd in front suddenly grew agitated and shouted in chorus, “How outrageous!”

Others cursed, “Those two vile wretches, Xia Hong and Zi Xian, come out and die!” “Dog-like priest Xia Hong! Hiding in your kennel!”

No matter how the burly men were shouted at, they remained unmoved at first. After a moment, they seemed to grow impatient. Their faces twisted fiercely, and they suddenly thrust their hands forward.

A strip of yellow light shot out like an earthen wall, pressing forward. The young man at the very front had not expected the burly man to strike so suddenly, and was knocked flying at once by the yellow light. The thousands of disciples behind him erupted in uproar. They shouted together, and many raised a hand, sending over a hundred streaks of light flying out at once.

When the burly men saw the streaks coming, they only laughed coldly and thrust their hands forward together. At once a hazy yellow mist formed. The hundred-odd streaks of light flew into it and immediately let out mournful cries. Their true forms were revealed—swords, awls, halberds, staffs, and forks—but whatever kind of weapon or magical treasure they were, a layer of black-yellow color spread over them. Lesser treasures even began to tremble and slowly melt, turning into a pool of yellow-green liquid.

“Profane Yin miasma!” cried several well-informed young disciples in alarm. Then their anger surged. They had not expected these burly men to be so vicious as to unleash such a poisonous thing at the very first move, destroying others’ magical treasures.

From within the crowd, many disciples flushed and spat out mouthfuls of blood; among those hundred-odd streaks of light, quite a few were in fact their life-bound treasures, linked to their minds and spirits!

Everyone was furious beyond measure and shouted together. Seeing that the burly men had used such underhanded methods, the people in front could not help but summon their own treasures and, with a collective cry, sent them smashing toward the men.

The burly men all changed countenance. Even the power of the profane Yin miasma could not withstand so many attacks. In an instant, hundreds upon hundreds of treasures of all colors—yellow, green, red, purple, even flashing white light or surging black aura—came flying down upon them.

The burly men cried out in shock. “Fellow Daoists, why do you not come out at once!”

As soon as the words left their mouths, the profane Yin miasma flashed with a rainbow sheen and shattered like foam. Before they could even withdraw it, the burly men staggered back, their faces full of terror. Then they looked up and saw several hundred beams of radiance shooting toward them together; their faces turned ashen, and they were just about to cry out in alarm—

When suddenly, from behind them came the shout of more than a hundred figures: “How dare these rabble be so rude!”

Over a hundred streaks of radiance also flew out in haste, blazing brilliantly as they met and held back the incoming magical treasures. Then another hundred-odd cultivators emerged from behind, each riding a sword and spreading out. In an instant they had surrounded the thousands before them!

At the same time, their auras burst forth. The faces of the crowd changed. No one had expected that of the one or two hundred people who had come out from the gate just now, most were actually at the level of the Three Truths Realm, while the weaker among them still seemed to stand at the pinnacle of the Seven Treasures Realm. One by one, they withdrew their treasures and watched the situation carefully.

Many of the young disciples inwardly cried out in misery. They had not expected the Grand Temple Bureau to have been prepared in advance, and to have mobilized such expert cultivators. I am afraid a great battle will be unavoidable today.

Ye Hua and the others stood at a distance. Seeing such a sudden development, they had expected some conflict on the way, but had never imagined it would become such a massive confrontation. Turning around, Ye Hua saw that behind him stood three old men, all of whom were looking at their group with cold, mocking smiles. Judging by their auras, all three had reached the first level of the Three Truths Realm.

Ye Hua and the others exchanged glances. Even though there were now several hundred Three Truths Realm cultivators among the opposing force, they would hardly dare to attack them recklessly. Their own side already numbered several thousand; if battle truly broke out, it would be earthshaking. Here in the imperial capital, such a thing would surely alarm the Sacred Emperor, and the blame that would follow was not something they could bear.

Sure enough, after those cultivators had taken their positions, they made no further move. From within the mountain gate, a thin, dark-faced old man said, “Sirs and juniors, have you heard this old man out?”

As soon as he spoke, the thousands of young disciples in the field fell quiet to listen. Then the old man said, “This old man is Zhao Tingyu, the affairs minister of the Grand Temple Bureau’s outer office. I know well why you have come today. Yet the affairs of the Divine Realm are for the Sacred Emperor and the Eight Kings to decide. You youngsters should not violate the ban, offend the sacred way, or disturb rites and order. If the Sacred Emperor learns of this, he will surely be enraged. It would be better for you to withdraw at once. This matter shall all be borne by this old man alone.”

“Heh heh, ha ha! Minister Zhao, if the Sacred Emperor truly handled state affairs himself, how could he allow despicable trash like you to disgrace the nation for profit and leave our Divine Realm’s mountains and rivers broken and ruined? Such a crime deserves nothing less than your soul scattered, never to enter the six paths! Those two dog thieves, Xia Hong and Zi Xian, have coveted glory and feared death in the Western Demon Domain, disgracing the dignity of our Divine Realm. Their offense is unforgivable! Hurry and make them come out, so they may take their own lives before all under heaven. Otherwise, we will not retreat even half a step!”

The speaker was a tall young man standing at the very front. The dark-faced old man laughed heartily and said, “Young friend, I do not know where you obtained such news. It is likely a false report. Xia Hong and Zi Xian have not yet returned from the Western Demon Domain. I do not know where you heard this from. Most likely there are those with ulterior motives stirring you against one another, hoping to profit as the fisherman does. I ask all of you to think twice before acting! Do not fall into the schemes of treacherous men!”

“Ha! Could that possibly be false? We have already received word that Xia Hong and Zi Xian are inside this Grand Temple Bureau right now. If you insist on speaking thus, then let us go in and search. Ha ha—judging by your tone, perhaps you are too frightened to let us?” said a young woman at the front with a cold laugh.

“Yes, let us go in and search! Ha ha, your words have already been exposed as nonsense!” the young men behind her shouted.

The dark-faced old man wore a troubled expression and said, “This… allowing you all to search would not be impossible, but a few days ago the outer office already issued orders: no unrelated persons are to enter this vital strategic site of the Divine Realm. This… this truly places this old man in a difficult position.”

“Heh heh, you old scholar are nothing but a mouth full of lies. If you do not hand over those two old thieves, Xia Hong and Zi Xian, then today we shall never withdraw!” “That’s right, we will never withdraw!” The hundred-odd young men behind him shouted in unison, their momentum rising sharply.