An arrow pierced into Ning Que’s shoulder forcefully. The sharp arrowhead tore through his shirt, but did not wedge itself deeply into his flesh. It only left behind a shallow wound. Sangsang, who was carrying the black umbrella was slightly startled.
Several arrows rained down, and the big black umbrella that covered the two shook like a tiny black boat on a vast body of water. It felt as if their boat would sink into the bottom of the sea at any moment.
Leaving the White Tower Temple did not mean that they would be able to leave Chaoyang City. The Yuelun Kingdom had sent many troops from various counties who were in control of the entire capital. There were shooters in every street corner.
Ning Que’s body was sturdy, but he was still slightly injured by the rain of arrows. The big black umbrella blocked most of the arrows for Sangsang. However, the holes on the umbrella were terribly dangerous.
In order to avoid the densely gathered shooters, Ning Que did not choose to ambush them on the streets. Instead, he began to circle the alleys. The black crows flew above them, cawing unpleasantly. However, the truly brave Chaoyang City citizens were still in the White Tower Temple, so there were not many people who dared to stop them.
Taking the winding alleys took up some time and they were still a long distance from the city gates. What made Ning Que uneasy and nervous was that he finally heard the thundering sound of horse hooves in the distance.
The armored cavalry of the Yuelun Kingdom had finally arrived.
The armored cavalry was a country’s strongest defense against cultivators. Even though the armored cavalry of the Yuelun Kingdom was much weaker than the armored cavalry of the Tang Empire and the Papal Cavalrymen of West-Hill Divine Palace, they could still kill Ning Que and Sangsang as long as there were enough knights.
Then, a horse carriage with the Divine Hall’s logo appeared before the two at the entrance of the alley.
Ning Que stopped in his tracks.
The curtains lifted, revealing a wizened face and a red divine robe.
Sangsang clenched her fist subconsciously when she saw the priest in the horse carriage. There was a piece of red cloth in her hand, but she did not know which of the two priests in red who had previously self-destructed it belonged to.
Ning Que sped up and rushed into the horse carriage.
The horse carriage started moving slowly, and then sped up, rushing out of the alley.
The elderly priest in red asked, “Which direction?”
Ning Que answered, “North.”
Earlier, at the White Tower Temple, two of the West-Hill priests in red had self-destructed using their Divine Skills, opening a path for Sangsang and him. That was how he had had the chance to avoid Master Qi Mei and entered Chaoyang City successfully.
The Haotian Taoism’s Divine Skill was a compassionate one. It was deemed as the greatest gift Haotian had bestowed upon his believers. In the teachings of West-Hill, using the Divine Skills to self-destruct was considered a betrayal against Haotian and was prohibited. It was said that the people who died after doing this would never be able to enter Haotian’s Kingdom. Their spirits would linger in the Underworld forever.
An ordinary Haotian believer would not be able to accept not being able to enter Haotian’s Kingdom. It was the cruelest punishment for them, even more for the priests in red who could cultivate in Divine Skills. Their belief in Haotian must have been firm beyond comparison. Then what was the reason that had led the two priests in red to save Ning Que, regardless of their imminent descent into the Underworld?
Sangsang had caught some sense of it, but Ning Que did not have the time to think and had been confused until he saw the old priest in the horse carriage.
Both he and Sangsang had met this priest, in a Taoism Temple in the Kingdom of Qi.
The old priest was called Chen Cun. He was the resident red robed priest from the West-Hill Divine Palace in the Kingdom of Qi. He was highly respected in the Kingdom of Qi, and most importantly, he was from the Divine Hall of Light.
Sangsang leaned on Ning Que’s shoulders. Her lashes fluttered slightly as she said mournfully, “Why did all of you do this?”
Chen Cun said humbly, “This is our choice. We will not feel any regrets, even if we cannot enter Haotian’s Kingdom. Great Divine Priest, you need not feel sad about it.”
Ning Que was driving the horse carriage, but he heard the conversation clearly and sensed that the old priest didn’t address Sangsang as the Lady of Light like how they had done in the Kingdom of Qi. Instead, he had addressed her as the Great Divine Priest. He was now certain that he had not guessed wrongly, and asked, “The two other priests…”
Chen Cun looked solemn, and he said indifferently, “Hua Yin is the palace priest from the Kingdom of Song while Song Xixi was from the Great River Kingdom. They wouldn’t have come to Yuelun with me if they missed the luxuries of the world.”
The priests in red held an extremely high position in Haotian Taoism, but were only ordinary on the Peach Mountain of the West-Hill Divine Palace. However, those who were dispatched to other countries were mostly like Chen Cun in the Kingdom of Qi. They all held power and respect which were akin to an emperor’s. Ning Que grew even quieter after hearing where the two priests in red were from.
The West-Hill Divine Palace’s horse carriage rushed through Chaoyang City. The black crows flew over once again, circling the horse carriage. Ning Que was very familiar with the streets of Chaoyang City, and perhaps thanks to the Divine Hall seal on the carriage, the cavalry of the Yuelun Kingdom hesitated and he managed to barge through several barriers without much incident.
The dense clopping of horse hooves rang once again in Chaoyang City. Loud sounds of bamboo pipes could also be heard. The Yuelun Kingdom’s cavalry had finally come around and began chasing. The ascetic monks of the Buddhism Sect also gathered in the direction of the black crows.
Ning Que turned around to look at the White Pagoda in the distance to his right. He was very worried as he thought of how Eldest Brother was still in there and he wondered how the battle with the Chief Preaching Monk would end.
He suddenly saw that Sangsang’s pants had torn at an area on her calves. There was a deep wound that must have been caused by the shooters earlier which the big black umbrella had not managed to block. The arrowhead had torn away a piece of flesh, and it must have hurt terribly. However, she had not made a sound.
They were getting closer to the north city gates. However, the horse carriage ducked into some roads to avoid the shooters and cavalry. The ascetic monks from the Buddhism Sect had already arrived in the area and Ning Que could even sense Master Qi Mei’s aura.
Chen Cun looked in the direction of the north city gates, his wrinkles growing deeper, but his eyes remained calm. It was a true serenity that did not care even about death. It was a calmness that was resolute.
He looked at Sangsang and at the wound on her leg.
Perhaps because Sangsang had bled too much in recent days, the wound on her calves did not bleed much. However, on the outer edge, it could still be vaguely seen that the blood was black.
Chen Cun said hoarsely, “Great Divine Priest, please tell me that we were not wrong.”
Sangsang looked at the loyal subordinate and her heart twinged. She was prepared to speak the truth.
Ning Que waved the horse whip and whipped down loudly.
Sangsang felt as if the lashing had landed right on her heart.
Sangsang held the shred of red cloth in her palms tightly. Her nails dug deeply into her flesh. After a silent moment, she looked at the wrinkles on Chen Cun’s face and said calmly, “The light can never be wrong.”
After hearing her reply, the deep wrinkles on Chen Cun’s face flattened out, and he seemed to grow younger by decades. He knelt before her, full of vigor, and kissed her feet.
Outside the north city gates, there wasn’t anyone else waiting but dozens of ascetic monks from the Buddhism Sect.
Master Qi Mei stood in front of all these monks, pale but serene. He was still bleeding from the wounds on his body. He had been gravely injured when the two priests in red had self-ignited using their Divine Skills. There were still remnants of Divine Light in his wounds. These did not bring him any healing properties; instead they continued to cut deep into his flesh.
Logically speaking, these ascetic monks would be more likely to stop Ning Que within the city. However, he chose to battle outside the city because Ning Que had not taken his podao out of his scabbard against the little boy in White Tower Temple. Then, as the eminent monk of the Buddhism Sect, how could he not do the same and not harm the innocent?
A horse carriage rushed out from the seemingly useless gates of Chaoyang city, dust trailing behind it.
Master Qi Mei chanted the name of Buddha silently, and slowly lifted his right hand. He pointed his thumb and index finger at the carriage, using what was left of his hand to form the complete Emblematic Gesture of the Buddhism Sect.
The horse carriage did not stop. Instead it broke through the strong Buddhist aura and rushed toward Master Qi Mei and the dozens of ascetic monks. This was because the horse carriage had suddenly caught fire.
It wasn’t an ordinary fire; it was burning with Haotian Divine Light. The Haotian Divine Light that could cleanse everything on Earth burst out of the horse carriage, breaking the hold of the Emblematic Gesture.
Master Qi Mei was stunned.
After the two priests in red had self-ignited using their Divine Skills in the White Tower Temple, he knew that those from the West-Hill Divine Palace did not want the Daughter of Yama to die. Therefore, he had grown quite wary.
However, he had not anticipated that another priest willing to descend into the Underworld would appear again. Furthermore, judging by the Haotian Divine Light that was bursting out from the horse carriage, the priest in red was even more powerful!
The flaming horse carriage continued to move forward.
Master Qi Mei hurriedly ordered the monks to step back, and he grew more and more solemn.
What was up with the West-Hill Divine Palace and Haotian Taoism? There shouldn’t be more than ten priests in red who could cultivate the Divine Skills. However, three had come to Chaoyang City today. And these three priests in red had all betrayed the West-Hill Divine Palace, aiding the Daughter of Yama in escaping.
The glowing ball of light appeared in the wild outskirts of Chaoyang City.
The flaming horse carriage disintegrated into nothingness, turning into numerous rays of powerful Divine Light. They scattered in all directions as the wind blew wildly and pebbles madly rolled on the ground.
Several Buddhist cultivators were thrown into the air. Master Qi Mei, who was at the front of the party was severely injured once more!
When Chen Cun, the priest in red, began to burn up the last of his life force, Ning Que had already carried Sangsang on his back and leapt off the horse carriage. Then, using the light as his cover, he rushed forth.
The burning horse carriage was the most fearless vanguard and the most powerful way-clearer.
The old priest had exchanged his life for light, causing a shockwave through the wild outside the city. Through the mad wind and flying rocks, Ning Que carried Sangsang and passed by the Buddhist powerhouses who had fallen because of it.
Sangsang buried her head in his shoulders. She did not look at the remnants of Divine Light that scattered through the wild. Her fists were tightly clenched.
Ning Que ran, and when he saw that the green hill was not far away in the north, he whistled.
His whistling was not loud or shrill, and it sounded like a casual one.
The black crows in the sky heard it clearly though, and they cawed in reply.
In the distant green hill, a powerful neigh could be heard.