Chapter 151: Irreconcilable Enemies

"Mere wolf demon, how dare you try to stir up trouble!"

Daoist Weizi shouted in a booming voice as a silver dragon materialized in mid-air, tightly intercepting the three incoming wolf demons!

"Take this opportunity, boys! Smear dog blood on your eyes and follow the old man!"

Huang Wuchang feinted an attack against the purple dragon to help Lord Wei and his subordinates escape. Unfazed by the prospect of blind bullets, he waved his large hand and led them rushing straight into the Tomb of Eternal Life!

"Damn it, this old fox is truly cunning!"

Dong Ye felt both anxious and furious. He had assumed Daoist Weizi's cultivation surpassed Huang Wuchang's, making the capture of their enemies only a matter of time. He never expected Huang Wuchang to resort to trickery time and again!

"Brother Tian, why are you still standing there stunned?!"

Seeing Dong Ye frozen in place, Lixing grabbed him by the arm and pulled him along, running desperately toward Huang Wuchang's group!

"No choice now. I'll just have to ride the tiger!" Dong Ye cursed his bad luck internally, fleeing the position swiftly under Lixing's cover!

"Brother Wolf, that stinky old man possesses unfathomably profound cultivation. Don't waste time entangling with him, fall back quickly!"

Huang Wuchang shouted loudly, fiercely slapping the Diangcang Heart-Refining Gourd in his hand!

"Boss, that stinky dragon is too powerful. Shouldn't we run first?"

"Alright, we can't afford to fall here!"

Wolves were indeed cunning creatures. With a feint from one, the two dodged; then another joint feint from the two allowed one to evade. Within moments, they shook off the silver dragon's entanglement and plunged right back into Huang Wuchang's gourd!

"Hehe, stinky old man, I may not be able to beat you, but can't I outrun you?" Huang Wuchang laughed heartily, quickly disappearing into the fork in the path.

As soon as the people entered, the stone doors rumbled shut behind them. It appeared that Huang Wuchang had activated the stone chamber's door mechanism to block the pursuit of Daoist Weizi and the others.

The silver dragon and the purple dragon coiled together, stirring up a wind that scattered the smoke.

"This Huang Wuchang's knack for escaping is truly peerless under heaven."

Daoist Weizi was not as deeply disappointed as idiots might have expected; he merely looked somewhat melancholic.

Officer Li quickly took stock of their combat strength. Four of the enemy had been killed, including one of Lord Wei's assistants—this was likely the contribution of the purple dragon.

"Daoist Master Weizi, did you manage to extract any important intelligence from Huang Wuchang?"

Officer Li asked anxiously, while Xiao Wang nearby was hard at work trying to decode the note written by Dong Ye.

"Chief, Dong Ye's intelligence has been decoded."

"Speak."

"Sword: Maoshan sword division technique; Flute: demonic sound capable of summoning ghosts and spirits; Diangcang Heart-Refining Gourd: houses three wolf demons that feed on spirits; Objective: a certain artifact within the Tomb of Eternal Life. Guangqi's plan has not yet been activated. Huang Wuchang is striving to minimize the consumption of his vital energy and spirit, which coincides with Officer Li's hypothesis."

Officer Li and Daoist Weizi nodded repeatedly, each harboring their own plans.

Hearing Officer Li say, "Daoist Master Weizi has successfully forced Huang Wuchang to expend a considerable amount of true qi. Viewed this way, Guangqi's plan to drive Huang Wuchang to a desperate end is finally about to begin."

...

Seeing Lord Wei bleeding from a gash on his head, Dong Ye smiled inwardly, yet still put on a concerned expression and asked, "Lord Wei, are you alright?"

"I won't die," Lord Wei seemed extremely vexed. "Damn it, why is that bastard so strong? The six of us went at him together and still couldn't fight him to a draw!"

"Disciples, that fellow's background is no small matter."

Huang Wuchang's eyes flashed with chill as he said coldly, "That man's 'Dragon Flying Seal' is no ordinary technique. The Zhengyi Sect possesses three guardian divine dragons: the Golden Dragon Hunyuan Tianji Dragon, the Silver Dragon Taiyi Mingwang Dragon, and the Purple Dragon Ziye Cangyue Dragon. The one he wields is precisely the Ziye Cangyue Dragon. How could he not be formidable?"

Hearing Huang Wuchang's explanation, Dong Ye felt a slight jolt in his heart. "Good grief, Huang Wuchang is truly well-traveled and knowledgeable. It's as if there's nothing in the world he doesn't know."

"Truly formidable, even a bit more so than that bald donkey called Yuanpeng!"

Lecheng smiled bitterly and said, "The old man who fought master also seemed to have a massive background. He wielded a silver dragon—that must be the Taiyi Mingwang Dragon master mentioned, right?"

"Of course that old man is formidable. He is Daoist Weizi, a towering pillar of the Zhengyi Sect. Alongside his late senior brother, Daoist Wei'an, they are known as the 'Qiankun Twins' of the Zhengyi Sect, holding immensely lofty prestige in the martial world."

Lord Wei asked, "Is the master of that purple dragon a disciple of Daoist Weizi?"

"Not at all."

Huang Wuchang furrowed his brow deeply. "If I'm not mistaken, that person's master is Purple Dragon, the primary disciple of Daoist Rihui Chen Yao."

Hearing this, Dong Ye felt even more depressed. "As expected, none of these villains are fools. Every single one of them is shrewd to the bone!"

He deliberately asked, "Who is Daoist Master Rihui? Is he that awesome?"

"His Daoist title is Rihui, and there is someone in this world whose reputation stands shoulder-to-shoulder with his, known as 'Yue Lang'. Yue Lang is a figure who can blot out the sky with one hand in the demonic paths. Would you say Rihui is formidable or not?!"

"He's actually that powerful?"

Hearing Huang Wuchang speak so highly of Daoist Master Rihui, everyone present turned pale with shock.

"Then has this Rihui come in to stir up trouble as well?"

Dong Ye asked the question everyone was concerned about. After all, if both supreme masters of the Zhengyi Sect had entered to meddle, escaping would truly be harder than ascending to heaven!

"You needn't panic. The probability of Rihui entering is pitifully small!"

Everyone was perplexed. "His own martial uncle has entered, yet as a junior, he chooses to stay out?"

Huang Wuchang shook his head and sneered, "You juniors might not know this, but Yue Lang committed the unpardonable sins of murdering Rihui's wife and his master. The blood feud and bitter enmity between him and Rihui are utterly irreconcilable. Over the years, Rihui has exhausted every ounce of his energy hunting down Yue Lang; how could he possibly have the time to come here and mess around?"

At this mention, Huang Wuchang couldn't help feeling a surge of satisfaction and actually burst into loud laughter.

"What? Yue Lang killed master's wife and master?!"

Huang Wuchang's words struck like a bolt of lightning, nearly knocking Dong Ye to the ground!

"Yet every time master spoke of Yue Lang, he remained so calm and collected, only saying that the man had committed many evils and must be subdued to uphold the heavenly dao. Just... just how much pain and torture has master endured over all these years?!"

Thinking of this, Dong Ye felt as though his heart was being pierced by ten thousand knives, and he wished he could instantly slaughter Huang Wuchang for mocking Chen Yao.

"So that's why every time Niansue changed the subject whenever her mother was mentioned in casual conversation—it was because she didn't want master to grieve. All the suffering endured by this pair of father and daughter, who depended solely on each other, was bestowed upon them by that Yue Lang!"

The more Dong Ye thought about it, the angrier he grew, tightly clutching his chest to prevent himself from losing control. "I must stay calm, I must stay calm!!!"

Seeing Dong Ye's face turn flushed, Lixing asked in a low voice, "Brother Tian, are you injured?"

"Yeah, injured. Probably strained myself too much fighting that evil dragon earlier!" Dong Ye deliberately tried to distract himself, pressing hard against his chest.

"Brother Tian, if you can't hold on later, just let me carry you!" Lixing said with a confident expression. "I'll risk my life to keep you safe!"

The corner of Dong Ye's mouth curved upward into a playful smile. "Turns out this brat has some conscience after all."

He knew that although Lixing's demeanor was arrogant and unbridled, when it came to loyalty and brotherhood, aside from himself, no one here could compare to him.

"So they share such a history of enmity. Truly sigh-inducing!"

Lord Wei muttered to himself, "I thought the internal discords within our own faction were dramatic enough, but I never imagined Yue Lang could be cold-blooded to this extent—not only murdering his senior brother's wife, but even killing his own master with his own hands! Just the thought of such a person makes one shudder."

Hearing Huang Wuchang recount the story of Chen Yao and Yue Lang, Lord Wei nodded repeatedly and asked in a low voice, "Master, what do we do now?"

"There's nothing else to do. At this point, there is only one path forward, and that is to push straight ahead!"

Seeing the expressions on everyone's faces shift, Dong Ye naturally understood they had been intimidated by the second team. With pursuers behind them and an uncertain future ahead, anyone in this situation would undoubtedly feel unsettled and anxious.

Seeing this, Huang Wuchang spoke up to pacify the group, "As long as old man secures that item, I guarantee you won't just emerge unscathed—you are bound to achieve soaring wealth and glory!"

Seeing Huang Wuchang, who had just suffered a setback, making such boastful claims, Dong Ye felt ready to explode with rage. "Damn it, if you actually succeed in getting what you want, doesn't that mean my entire trip was for nothing? All this suffering I endured wasn't hardship—it was eating shit! Even if it costs me my life, I'm going to ruin your plans!"

The group charged forward without a moment's rest. Unlike before when the juniors led the charge, this time Huang Wuchang was taking the lead himself. Furthermore, he was intimately familiar with the route to the main hall of the Tomb of Eternal Life. Within no time, they bypassed three barriers, leading the group right up before a massive giant Buddha.

"Strange, why is there a giant Buddha here?!"

Dong Ye had previously witnessed the terrifying power of the "Empyrean Realm," crafted according to the Buddhist decrees of Akasagarbha, one of the Eight Great Bodhisattvas of Mahayana Buddhism. Facing this giant Buddha now, he couldn't help but feel a sense of awe and reverence, his feet completely unable to take another step forward.

"Juniors, step back."

After signaling the group to retreat, Huang Wuchang formed a series of hand seals, and a golden talisman soared into the air, flying at lightning speed toward the giant Buddha!

"Another golden talisman? This Huang Wuchang is really desperate!"

Seeing that Huang Wuchang seemed somewhat anxious, Dong Ye was astonished, but even more pleasantly surprised. "Use it! Consume more of your vital energy and spirit! When master arrives, you're dead meat!"

Tomb raiding was a technical trade, but it was also a war of attrition. Whoever could hold out until the end to claim the ultimate treasure would be the true winner.

Huang Wuchang naturally understood this principle, which was why he had deliberately avoided expending his vital energy and spirit before entering the main hall of the Tomb of Eternal Life—his sole purpose was to deal with these extremely tricky troubles!

Just as the golden talisman was about to strike the giant Buddha, it crashed into a transparent ripple of energy!

"It's the Diamond Subduing Magic Circle?!"

Huang Wuchang furrowed his brow deeply, cursing at the giant Buddha, "Who the hell is playing God here? Get your ass out here right now!"

"What? There are Buddhist practitioners here?"

Just as Dong Ye and the others expected someone to emerge from behind the giant Buddha, they waited for quite a while, yet no one appeared. As the golden talisman retreated, that ripple of energy quickly dissolved into thin air.

"Judging by Huang Wuchang's tone, someone here is trying to sabotage us!"

Dong Ye looked around in all directions, but apart from neatly stacked piles of Buddhist scriptures, he still didn't spot a single trace of a living person—or a ghost.

"Then let's do it again!"

Huang Wuchang shouted in a booming voice, "By decree and ordinance, commanded by the divine spirits, exterminating demons and ten thousand ghosts without exception, the supreme sacred power stretches boundlessly. Heed the Northern Emperor's decree immediately!!"

The golden talisman burst forth with brilliant golden light, crashing toward the giant Buddha like a bolt of golden divine lightning!

"This is the Maoshan Sect's Demonic Spirit Exorcism Curse?!"

Dong Ye's heart gave a violent jolt. "It looks like Huang Wuchang is truly desperate..."

Did you think Huang Wuchang wanted to push himself this hard? Of course not. But he had no choice, because he had no idea when Daoist Weizi and the others might find the correct path from the fork and catch up, nor did he know who was wreaking havoc right in front of him. His only option was to smash through every obstacle in his path using his magical power!

"Every time he uses true qi to drive the golden talisman, the backlash of the talisman upon him grows stronger. Let's see how long you can hold out!"

Just as everyone was hoping Huang Wuchang would shatter the obstacle blocking their path soon, a voice that shocked everyone and utterly thrilled Dong Ye rang out!

"Huang Wuchang, we meet at last."

Hearing that voice, Huang Wuchang instantly knew it came from a master among masters!

As the voice rose and fell, footsteps halted and a person arrived. A Daoist priest, leading his subordinates, strolled out leisurely from behind the giant Buddha.