This Taoist Master is too Frivolous

Xu Yang did not notice anything unusual about the hotel staff member.

Neither did he realize that the “Buddha statue” was hiding a secret.

At this moment, he had already rushed out of the hotel.

He hailed a taxi, getting in with Yun Mengxi while Yue Yuluo transformed into a Yin wind and only manifested when she landed on the back seat.

The taxi driver was startled, thinking he had seen wrongly, and asked, “Sir, where to?”

“Out of town, to the south.”

Xu Yang said, “I’ll guide you, drive quickly!”

The mountain where the “Xuan Mountain Temple” was located did not have a name.

It was an unremarkable small mountain in the Qinling Mountains, not far from Li Mountain, about 1100 meters above sea level, full of unusual rocks. The mountain path was steep, rarely frequented by people.

Yet now,

A powerful pickup truck drove quickly to the foot of the mountain.

Four people stepped out of the vehicle.

The leader, a burly man, was holding a big jar.

The other three carried out three large boxes from the truck, all filled with gold and silver jewelry, weighing a thousand kgs… Ordinary people would struggle to even move it, let alone carry it.

But for these three, carrying the boxes was not a struggle.

“Boss!”

Suddenly, one of them looked towards a black off-road vehicle parked not too far away. The license plate number was red in the front and black in the back, with the two red letters at the front reading “LG”.

“It’s a vehicle from the Supernatural Affairs Bureau… What would they be doing here in the temple? Could they have already gone up the mountain?”

The three became somewhat worried.

The burly man holding the jar glanced at the off-road vehicle, a hint of dread flashing in his eyes.

As underworld figures who thrived on nefarious deeds, they greatly feared the Supernatural Affairs Bureau. Encountering such a situation, logically, they should avoid it at all costs, making haste without a second thought, the further, the better… But there was a gray mist in the burly man’s eyes.

Following that, all his fears dissipated.

Replaced by a cold, eerie look in his eyes, he sneered, “Having them here just makes things better. Adding a few more skilled fighters to the sacrifice means that the Great Master can confer upon us more benefits!”

“This…”

The other three still retained some rationality.

But the burly man turned back and glanced at the three, saying casually, “Don’t worry. Once we’re up that mountain, it’s the Great Master’s territory… He’ll make a move!”

The group of four began to climb the mountain.

The mountain path was rugged and steep, and given that they were carrying the boxes, they didn’t move very fast.

At this moment,

At the mountaintop.

The mountain path at the top was even more rugged, with places that had no path at all and required jumping off large rocks.

Yet, in such a place, there was a temple!

The temple was small and had been deserted for many years, but its structure and layout were not too bad. Entering the temple gate, one would see the “Three-Gate Hall,”

Also known as “Mountain Gate,” the “Three-Gate Hall” usually consists of three parallel doors. The middle one is a large gate, flanked by two smaller ones. In Buddhism, they symbolize the gate of emptiness, the gate of non- appearance, and the gate of non-action.

However, the “Three-Gate Hall,” due to long-term neglect, has suffered severe damage.

The collapsed bricks and stones had blocked the two smaller gates.

Past the “Gate of emptiness,” one could see several halls in front.

These “halls” were not as dilapidated as one might imagine; judging from the traces, they seemed to have been renovated recently.

Inside the temple, there was a large bronze incense burner.

The hall directly opposite the incense burner was open. Zhou Jie stood at the entrance with his hands behind his back, his attention focused on a sculpture inside the hall.

It was a clay sculpture.

It looked somewhat broken.

There were bones scattered around the clay sculpture.

These bones belonged to both humans and various animals.

At this time, the sun had just begun to set, and the rosy light of the setting sun streamed through the door, illuminating the clay sculpture and the eerie bones. Everything looked extremely eerie and grim.

However, Zhou Jie failed to notice anything unusual.

Being a peak martial grandmaster, he was extremely strong and his will of martial arts was incredibly powerful. Any common Yin spirits or malevolent beings could hardly escape his senses… There was clearly something odd about this place, but he was unable to sense it, which left him feeling a bit wary.

Just then,

Zhou Jie’s phone rang.

He picked it up and saw that it was Xu Yang calling. He answered immediately and heard Xu Yang say, “Chief Zhou, I have found a clue… The Xuan Mountain Temple is actually the Xuan Mountain Temple!”

Zhou Jie said, “I’m now inside the Xuan Mountain Temple, which indeed seems strange. Have you discovered anything else?”

“What we know for sure now is that the so-called Great Priest of the Xuan Mountain Temple is likely a Yin deity born from a Buddha statue enshrined in the temple. It has now transformed into a malevolent spirit, bewitching and controlling a group of believers, intending to rebuild its golden body!”

Xu Yang said: “Additionally, those tomb robbers are down to four people, and they should have reached the Xuan Mountain by now. I have a friend in their hands, so I hope you can stop them, Chief Zhou. I’m on my way and will be there soon!”

He had just hung up when one of the Supernatural Affairs Bureau staff flew over and said: “Chief, we have spotted four skilled fighters climbing up the mountain… The leader appears to be the infamous Northwestern bandit, also known as ‘Outlaw’ in the martial world.”

“Oh?”

Zhou Jie smirked, “Seems like Xu Yang was right… Let’s go and meet them.”

He led three Supernatural Affairs Bureau staff out of the temple and quietly waited on top of the mountain.

Approximately to minutes later, a figure stepped on top of the mountain.

This man was burly, holding a big jar. He was the leader of the tomb robbers, also the notorious “Northwestern bandit,” in the martial world famously known as “Outlaw” — Zhang San!

Upon reaching the top of the mountain, Zhang San immediately noticed Zhou Jie and the others. His eyes gleamed as he sneered, “I wondered who it was. Turns out it’s Rush Thunder Hand Zhou Jie… Grandmaster Zhou, why wade into these murky waters when you can be the Deputy Director of the Supernatural Affairs Bureau in Shanxi Province?”

Zhou Jie casually said: “You are worshipping a malevolent spirit, which is a grave sin, so naturally, I have to intervene!”

“Haha!”

Zhang San laughed out loud: “Grandmaster Zhou, the Supernatural Affairs Bureau sure does have high ambitions… Not satisfied with governing the human world, it even wants a hand in the affairs of the divine spirits?”

As he spoke, the other three behind him, also carrying boxes, ascended to the mountain top.

Without uttering a word, they put down the boxes, their energy surging, the mist churning.

Behind Zhou Jie, three staff members from the Spirits Management Bureau also took up battle stances.

They too were martial artists of no small ability, and they were armed with guns.

Zhou Jie looked at Zhang San and sneered, “What bullshit divine spirits? Just some neglected wild deities trying to wreak havoc in the human world?”

Even as he voiced these words.

He secretly transmitted some instructions to his three subordinates, ordering, “This place is strange. Who knows where that malevolent being is hiding? They have borrowed its powers, making them difficult to deal with. I will distract them, you seize the opportunity to snatch that urn. Maybe that can turn the tide of the battle!”

“Remember, don’t damage the bones in the urn!”

His subordinates were clueless about what was inside the “urn”.

But Zhou Jie knew!

Inside it was undoubtedly the “friend” Xu Yang mentioned!

According to the information he got from Wang Hou, there were three female ghosts and one zombie in Xu Yang’s house… and one of these ghosts was the Ghost King. But he didn’t sense the presence of this Ghost King at the guest house where Xu Yang was staying.

This means…

The Ghost King is inside the urn!

Boom!

While he was still talking, Zhou Jie’s energy exploded and he charged toward Zhang San, a fierce will of martial arts burst out from him. His robust vitality, moreover, was shooting up like a billowing smoke!

“Bring it on!”

Zhang San yelled.

He tossed the urn in his hand, which landed safely on a box holding the “treasure”.

In his view…

The Spirits Management Bureau personnel came here because they have discovered the anomaly in the Xuan Mountain Temple.

They attacked him because he has committed many major crimes in the past.

Were they here for the urn?

How could that be possible?

The urn contained the remains of the female Ghost King and her spirit, which he captured using the powers and secret techniques of the “Grand Master”. He then laid ambush around her grave and caught the spirit!

How could the Spirits Management Bureau be connected with a Ghost King?

The mist around him tumbled, his vitality and martial will significantly weaker than Zhou Jie’s, but with the enhancement of the “mist”, they were almost as powerful in combat as Zhou Jie.

In a flash, the two traded blows.

With every punch and palm strike, there was a burst of muffled “booms”.

The other three, too, were engulfed in a surging mist.

They were battling the other three from the Spirits Management Bureau!

The terrain was treacherously steep, so much so that even an ordinary person would have to tread carefully, let alone during a fierce battle like this!

Bang!

A massive rock suddenly shattered.

Zhou Jie’s hand energy struck it, his palms whirling, each carrying the power of ten thousand pounds, and from time to time, thunder rumbled from his palms. Seizing the opportunity, he struck Zhang San in the chest.

Sputter!

Zhang San spewed blood, staggered backward nine steps, the stones under his feet splattering!

“Rush Thunder Hand Zhou Jie is indeed extraordinary!”

He sneered, seemingly oblivious to the pain, and charged forward again!

“Damnit!”

“What the hell is this creature?”

Zhou Jie was secretly startled. Even if they were both peak martial grandmasters, if anyone took a full-force palm strike from him, they would be injured. Zhang San, with his pitiful martial will and reliance on external help from the malevolent beings, had raw power but was significantly inferior to him in combat experience and martial understanding.

By all accounts, he should be dominating the fight!

But this fellow seemed to grow stronger the more they fought!

Plus, as the battle continued, the grey mist around him became denser and his strength increasingly formidable!

The same was true of the situation elsewhere.

Initially, the three Spirits Management Bureau operatives had the upper hand against Zhang San’s three subordinates, but as the fight wore on, they started to struggle.

One of them glanced at the “urn” not far away, and his eyes flickered. He deliberately exposed a weakness. After taking a hit, he used the momentum to leap back over a distance of 60 feet and grabbed the urn!

“Chief Zhou, the urn is secured!”

He shouted.

“No good!”

Zhang San was shocked. He pivoted and attempted to lunge towards them, ignoring Zhou Jie…

Boom!

Just then, a streak of lightning furiously struck in front of him.

Xu Yang arrived in an instant like a bolt of lightning. With a flash, he snatched the urn from the hand of the Spirits Management Bureau operative. Holding the urn, he whispered, “Shishi, sorry, I’m late!”

He removed the peculiar talisman affixed on the urn and opened it.

A thick Yin energy billowed out from the urn, whirled in mid-air, and transformed into the shape of Liu Shishi!

She was wearing the same bloody long dress when Xu Yang first met her. The dress was now soaked in blood, her black hair flying wildly, and her murderous aura solidified, making the surrounding air grow cold!

“Xu Yang!”

“Protect my remains… Today, I will unleash a killing spree!”

PS: Thanks to data? for the 1000 points gift, thanks to the bystander who gifted 600 points, thanks to Crayon Shin-chan for gifting 500 points!