唏律律~

The steed gave a mournful cry, its headless body crashing into the yellow sands, sending up a cloud of dust.

Amidst the swirling sand, Zhao Tianfeng was stunned, feeling as if the air before him had turned into an invisible wall.

The galloping horse seemed frozen in the sky.

Not only the horse, but even the swirling sand in the sky seemed to be suspended in mid-air.

He looked up and saw a figure in green robes and a bamboo hat striding through the swirling sand. One moment he was miles away, the next he was standing before him.

Before the person arrived, a calm voice, like the clashing of gold and jade, echoed:

“Good aptitude, good foundation... To meet me in a situation of certain death, your luck and opportunity are also of the highest grade…”

It seemed the newcomer's speed was even faster than his voice.

The sudden shock left Zhao Tianfeng dumbfounded.

Looking at the child on the horse with tear-stained face, Pang Wan Yang's indifferent eyes flickered with a faint ripple:

“To encounter a child capable of inheriting my legacy before the challenge, how interesting, how very interesting…”

Having reached his level of martial arts, even without mastering the art of Qi Observation, his sensitivity to the meridians of heaven and earth was extremely profound.

An ordinary person might consider it a coincidence, but he would not.

Under the interaction of Qi, he could sense that this young boy's foundation, comprehension, and opportunities were all of the highest caliber, a perfect candidate to inherit his legacy.

This was indeed a very interesting matter.

Thump~

The frozen sand flowed again, and the child and the frightened horse tumbled into the sand.

Upon impact, the terrified horse had already lost its life.

Zhao Tianfeng struggled to his feet, looking at the figure standing with hands clasped behind his back, clad in green, radiating an aura heavier than a mountain.

In a moment of clarity, he kowtowed:

“Hero, hero, please, please save my grandfather!”

“Hero?”

Hearing this word, Pang Wan Yang couldn't help but smile coldly:

“Are you talking about the merchant caravan seven miles away? They are all dead.”

“Ah?”

Zhao Tianfeng's body trembled, his eyes instantly reddened, and tears flowed again:

“Grandfather, grandfather…”

Pang Wan Yang watched the boy crying indifferently, his heart without any waves. He had seen too many similar things.

The reason he stopped was merely out of curiosity upon seeing such a boy.

“Hero, please, please avenge my grandfather.”

Zhao Tianfeng kowtowed repeatedly:

“I will repay your kindness even as a beast of burden.”

His face was buried in the sand, but he waited in vain for a reply. He suddenly looked up.

In the swirling sand, the figure in green was already far away.

“Hero, hero!”

Hearing the fading cries behind him, Pang Wan Yang remained impassive, his expression calm.

Before a great battle, encountering such a talented youth, anyone else might have chosen to have him inherit their legacy, believing it was the will of heaven.

But he was no ordinary person. He was Pang Wan Yang.

If he wanted to pass on his legacy, what need did he have for talent or foundation? As long as one could inherit his martial way, even a waste could become a genius.

Moreover, he had a better choice.

Whoosh~

A lithe white shadow flashed, landing behind him, a fragrant breeze wafting – it was Bai Lian Furen (White Lotus Madam).

Bai Lian Furen asked with some surprise:

“That young boy has an excellent foundation, and even more rare is that his Qi seems to be attracted to yours. This concubine thought you would have taken him with you…”

Over the decades, Pang Wan Yang had descended from Liu Yu Sheng Shan (Six Prisons Sacred Mountain) more than once.

And each time he descended the mountain, he would impart a few martial arts techniques to young boys with excellent aptitude, perhaps to cultivate opponents, or perhaps simply out of amusement.

But this young boy was clearly the best choice, yet he…

“For decades, every time I see a young boy, I always impart some techniques, hoping for some surprises in the future…”

Pang Wan Yang's footsteps were light in the swirling sand, unhurried like his voice:

“Now, there is no need. Because…

There is an opponent in this world!”

.........

“Grandfather…”

Zhao Tianfeng's fingers dug deeply into the sand, but his tears had already dried.

He didn't resent the green-robed man for not avenging him, because that was the most normal thing. He only hated that even now, he couldn't avenge his grandfather, and even escape seemed impossible.

Looking at the approaching bandits on horseback, he gritted his teeth, grabbed the bald man's curved saber from the yellow sand, and tried to lift it.

Thump~

He staggered and fell into the dust, unable to lift it.

“Grandfather, your grandson is coming to find you…”

He gave a miserable laugh.

Just as he closed his eyes to await death, he suddenly heard the sound of Buddhist chanting, which could not be obscured even by the wind and sand.

He opened his eyes and saw in the distance, amidst the rolling yellow sand, a group of monks with bare shoulders and robes draped diagonally, slowly carrying a Buddhist palanquin.

The palanquin was extremely luxurious, adorned with agate, gold, silver, lapis lazuli, coral, clam shell, red pearl, carnelian, and other treasures, shimmering in the wind, sand, and sunlight.

Before and behind the palanquin were eight jeweled banners engraved with the eight auspicious symbols: vase, parasol, two golden fish, lotus, conch shell, endless knot, victory banner, and dharma wheel.

Within the palanquin's curtains was a figure whose face could not be seen clearly, resembling a Buddha statue in a temple.

The person seemed extremely heavy, and the eighteen monks carrying it were panting with exhaustion.

As the palanquin slowly approached, an astonishing scene unfolded.

Amidst the sand and wind, each of the approaching horse bandits knelt in the yellow sand like the most devout Buddhist believers, motionless as statues.

He watched as the sand and wind battered them, burying one of the bandits, but he did not move.

It seemed he had truly become a statue.

It was unspeakably eerie, inspiring fear.

“They, they…”

Zhao Tianfeng's hair stood on end.

Watching the palanquin approach, he couldn't help but run.

But to his horror, the palanquin, which was clearly very heavy and moving slowly from miles away, was about to catch up with him as soon as he turned his head while running.

He wanted to run further, but suddenly his mind went blank, and he knelt on the ground with a thud.

“What kind of sorcery is this…”

Watching himself kneel on the ground with his hands clasped together, chanting Buddhist scriptures, Zhao Tianfeng felt extremely terrified.

“Amitabha!”

At this moment, a Buddhist invocation like a resounding bell exploded in the vast sea, its sound immense and vast, instantly overwhelming the howling wind and sand that seemed to be everywhere.

And the sound of Buddhist chanting seemed to be coming from thousands of people.

Zhao Tianfeng's heart trembled, and he instantly woke up.

Without thinking, he rolled down the sand dune.

He tumbled for more than a hundred yards before getting up and spitting out the sand from his mouth and nose.

Then he continued to run, wanting to get as far away from the palanquin as possible. It was too strange, too terrifying. So many vicious bandits had died just like that.

Whoosh~

Suddenly, a hand reached out from behind the sand dune and pulled him behind it.

He was about to shout, but found that he couldn't move or make a sound.

“Don't make a sound…”

A low reprimand sounded.

Zhao Tianfeng then realized he could move again. He opened his eyes and saw that the one holding him was a handsome white-robed swordsman with long hair draped over his shoulders, a tall figure, and a sheathed long sword on his back.

This swordsman was handsome and had an outstanding temperament, but the only flaw was that he had only one arm. The other arm seemed to have been cleanly cut off at some point.

“The one-armed bandit, Wu Liu San?”

Zhao Tianfeng's eyes widened as he recognized who it was.

Legend had it that this Wu Liu San was a lone bandit who roamed the various states, often robbing the rich to help the poor, and had committed a major crime in the capital. He had been wanted for many years. Later, his arm was cut off by the famous constable Xue Chao Yang, and he fled outside the customs, mingling in Mo Zhou for two years.

His grandfather had introduced him to many of the great bandits of Mo Zhou, and he had remembered this one.

“Don't talk…”

Wu Liu San's expression was serious, looking at the distance through the sand as if facing a great enemy.

As a lone bandit, his eyesight was naturally excellent.

He recognized the old monk in the palanquin and walking through the sand from afar as none other than Zhuan Lun Wang (Wheel Turning King) and Master Yi Xiu, two supreme grandmasters!

“My luck is too good, to actually encounter two supreme grandmasters, Wheel Turning King and Master Yi Xiu!”

Wu Liu San took a deep breath, not daring to move rashly.

He knew very well what kind of existence Divine Meridian Grandmasters were. When encountering such beings, whether they were good or evil, the best response was to stay away.

He had no intention of watching the battle on the second day of the second month.

Seeing the two grandmasters at this moment, he couldn't help but feel the urge to leave.

“This child, your luck is also good.”

Turning his head and looking at Zhao Tianfeng with his sallow face, he frowned again:

“Under such great grief, you have already injured your body. Experiencing more wind and sand will only lead to death…”

“Hero Wu, please take me to see my grandfather…”

Zhao Tianfeng grabbed his hand.

Wu Liu San sighed and flung him over his shoulder, darting into the sand.

Although he knew that in this vast expanse of wind and sand, the corpses of merchant caravans and bandits would all be buried.

.......

Mo Zhou was thousands of miles of wind and sand, larger than any of the other Da Feng states, but sparsely populated, with people only gathering in a few small oases.

There was an extremely small oasis in Mo Zhou.

This oasis was so small that only a few hundred households lived there, and the reason these few hundred households lived here was because it was a necessary stop on the trade route from Da Feng to Da Yan.

They were all employees of Han Long Inn.

As a gathering place, the small oasis was very small, but as an inn, it was undoubtedly very large.

Passing merchant caravans, wandering bandits, and lone thieves would all come to this inn, either to fence stolen goods, enjoy themselves, or replenish supplies.

Thus, this small oasis had become one of the few safe places in the vast sea.

Han Long Inn was three stories high and covered a large area. Each floor was large enough to accommodate hundreds of people eating and drinking.

Because of its superior location, the inn was usually very crowded. Ordinary people could not even get to the second and third floors.

But today, Han Long Inn was unexpectedly empty.

Because today, Han Long Inn had two special guests, or rather, one.

On the third floor of Han Long Inn, the usually flirtatious proprietress was uncharacteristically solemn, her slender hands holding a wine pot, pouring wine for the guest.

“Ten thousand miles of smoke and dust, the name of this wine is good, and the wine is also good.”

An Qi Sheng sat by the window, looking at the charming proprietress, and said faintly:

“I heard that Han Long Inn has a delicacy, made from human flesh, which is quite delicious, is that so?”

The usually audacious proprietress trembled upon hearing this calm voice.

“Dao, Daozhang (Taoist Priest), you jest, this concubine only uses that to scare those bandits and thieves, how dare I sell human flesh?”

The proprietress was tearful and extremely aggrieved.

In fact, she was terrified.

She had never been so afraid of anyone. This white-robed Daoist was the only one.

In her life, she had never seen such a murderous master.

Logically speaking, supreme masters all had their grandmasterly demeanor and would not bother killing small thieves, but this one was different. In the past three days, almost all the bandits and thieves who came to Han Long Inn had been killed by him.

Moreover, his eyes seemed to be able to see through people's hearts. He had killed thousands of people without killing a single innocent person or missing one.

Such great murderous intent, such high martial arts.

As far as she knew, in all the world, only that grandmaster who was once called the Blood Demon and now known as the Wang Quan Daoren (Royal Authority Taoist) possessed such traits.

“It's not easy to run such a tavern alone.”

An Qi Sheng picked up his cup and drank it in one gulp.

Since coming to Jiu Fu Jie (Long Floating World), he rarely drank wine, because the wine of Jiu Fu Jie had no flavor.

But the wine of Han Long Inn had some unique characteristics and tasted quite good.

“Daozhang, when will the guest you invited arrive?”

The proprietress refilled An Qi Sheng's wine while asking cautiously.

With this Wang Quan Daoren here, she suffered not only mental fear, but also financial losses.

Although her Han Long Inn was large and prosperous, it also supported many people. In three days, there was only one man and one horse 'two' guests. Although An Qi Sheng had not paid a single coin less, she really couldn't take it anymore.

“Haven't they already arrived?”

An Qi Sheng raised his glass and gestured remotely:

“Since you have all arrived, why wait until the second day of the second month?”

His voice was calm and not very loud, but it penetrated the clouds and wind, covering an area of dozens of miles like a cloud hanging in the sky. The sound waves stirred the clouds and sand, creating a great momentum.

It could be heard even hundreds of miles away.

“What Dao Brother says makes sense. Since we're already here, what are we waiting for the second day of the second month? Pang the old man, the Wheel Turning baldy, Mu Qing Feng, and Bai Yue the old thief, since you're here,

Why not show yourselves?”

Amidst a roar like a dragon's cry and a tiger's howl.

A figure swooped down from hundreds of feet in the air, his clothes fluttering, like a golden-winged Garuda spreading its wings, roaring down.

Enveloping a surging airflow, he plunged into the third floor of Han Long Inn.

“Amitabha!”

“Excellent, excellent!”

“Since Daoist Wang Quan has spoken, how can we not come?”

As the clouds moved and the wind shook.

Figures appeared outside Han Long Inn, amidst the hundreds of miles of yellow sand.

As the voices floated, figures swept over, crossing hundreds of miles in an instant. In the proprietress's horrified gaze.

In that short moment, several figures had appeared on the third floor!