576: Chapter 107: The Wind Blows the Leaves Fall 576: Chapter 107: The Wind Blows the Leaves Fall “Great General Meng, we are approaching the ‘Yuan Guang Temple’ ahead.”
The Iron Cavalry galloped and halted in a desolate forest.
Meng Kejian raised his arm, signaling the Yuzi Camp to remain silent to avoid alerting the enemy.
From several miles away, he projected his Divine Thought.
This indeed seemed like an ordinary small village.
No traces of the temple were visible.
However…
After several sweeps of Divine Thought, Meng Kejian carefully inspected and noticed some irregularities—
Some “common folks” in this village seemed peculiar to him.
Although they didn’t don monk robes, their demeanor hardly resembled that of ordinary people, and their conversations were unusually “polite.”
He faintly heard terms like “Amitabha” and “benefactor.”
After listening carefully for a moment, Meng Kejian’s expression turned cold.
He was now certain.
This seemingly unremarkable desolate village was indeed the former site of ‘Yuan Guang Temple,’ known only because for some reason the temple had been demolished…
Now, many of the residents here were former monks!
“Great General, this desolate village is not large; slaughtering everyone won’t take much effort,”
A colonel at his side, sensing Meng Kejian’s change in mood, was already ready to draw his long blade.
“No rush.”
Meng Kejian placed his palm on the colonel’s shoulder.
He said emotionlessly: “First, have the Yuzi Camp encircle this small village, then gather the nearby Yuanzhou Iron Cavalry to completely seal off this area.
I want it impenetrable within ten miles.”
“Seal off ten miles, not a drop to leak through?”
The colonel was shocked upon hearing this.
This display of force was nearly on par with the battle at Qixia Mountain…
The colonel cautiously asked, “This isn’t a trivial matter; do we need to report to the Great General?”
“Of course.”
Meng Kejian let out a light chuckle: “You tell the Great General…
that my ‘Que Wu Blade’ is trembling.”
His palm slowly descended, caressing his beloved treasure blade.
The battle at Qixia Mountain.
He had severely wounded Xie Zhen with the Que Wu Blade…
Despite not having killed this proud talent of Chu Country, the full-force strike from the Yin God Dharma Form left a bone-deep impression.
In this world, it’s not only Sword Cultivators who have ‘Heart Lake Sensing.’
Originally, while studying maps and deducing locations through parchment rolls, Meng Kejian felt an intuitive foreboding that the old site of ‘Yuan Guang Temple’ was amiss.
Now, he distinctly sensed the anomaly.
“Bring the String Plate!”
Meng Kejian ordered sharply, and he raised his hand, prompting another accompanying colonel to quickly retrieve the String Plate.
Meng Kejian aimed the String Plate at the small village.
“Shua shua shua!”
The String Plate trembled intensely!
Since entering Yuan Ning County, it had never reacted so distinctly.
Wisps of chaotic auras clashed within the String Plate, much like hooked fish.
Clearly.
Regardless of whether the person he was searching for was in this village or not…
the Karma Principle had been here before.
…
…
The cold wind swept through.
Taoyuan Village appeared desolate.
Probably due to Zheng Fengsheng’s death, a shade of mourning hung on every face.
At mealtime, when the Yuan Guang Temple monks distributed porridge, few came to collect it.
A little monk sat under a banyan tree, his face full of worry, clutching the divination bucket and trotting towards Abbott Fa Cheng.
“Abbott, today is indeed an awful day!”
“Just now, the masters and ancestors consecutively drew six hexagrams, all showing the worst possible signs!”
“Abbott…
Are you in a trance again?”
The little monk spoke a series, receiving no response, then realized something was wrong.
He lifted his small head, blinking.
He saw Fa Cheng standing alone under the banyan tree, his robe blown by the wind, his imposing figure immobile, fixedly looking in the direction of Taoyuan Village’s exit.
He had been standing there for a long time.
The surrounding monks, accustomed to such episodes.
This thin and frail monk always behaved like this, occasionally standing still like a stone statue.
In the Buddhist terms, this state is called “entranced.” For Zen Practitioners, “entering trance” is not a bad thing; it is said that the Yin God’s nocturnal journey thousands of years ago involved the physical body remaining motionless while the soul wandered.
“Entering trance” was similar, able to calm the Divine Soul and instinctively seek fortune and avoid misfortune.
At first glance, entering trance might seem like “spacing out,” which seems not difficult.
But actually, entering trance is challenging.
True “entering trance” allows the Divine Soul to roam in the void, seeing some unimaginable auspicious glows.
A gentle breeze passed.
The monk robes settled.
There was an additional flicker of golden light in Fa Cheng’s vacant eyes; he furrowed his brow, without a word, bent down, and picked up the child.
The divination cylinder fell, and the sorted bamboo sticks clattered and scattered on the ground.
The next moment.
A hugely thick crossbow bolt shot into the tranquil entrance of Taoyuan Village!
“Thud!”
The arrow, heavy and forceful, turned into a black long rainbow skimming the ground, shattering the void with a howling arrow wind enveloping fierce energy—
“Slash!”
The little monk, lifted by the waist, had his pupils shrink; he had no time to react, nor did he understand what happened, only feeling intense pain on his cheek!
Although he did not make contact with the crossbow bolt, the fierce wind still scraped several fine and dense cuts across his tender cheeks!
Fa Cheng, holding him, retreated several yards; a large banyan tree, thick enough to need several people to encircle, blasted apart by this arrow!
“Boom!”
As the banyan tree fell, screams and shouts immediately overwhelmed the small village.
Fa Cheng’s face was pale as he stumbled back tens of yards with the child.
The dust stirred by the horse hooves shattered the small formation brought from Fan Yin Temple; effective on ordinary days, it failed completely in this moment, ripped apart by the arrow.
The distant ground began to tremble.