All around was quiet, with only the whistling of the night wind and the distant, mournful calls of wild cats in heat.
Closer, closer, a flash of light entered within three zhang of Wang Jiande's body. It leaped, as if accelerating, and in a flash, it crashed straight into Wang Jiande's head.
"It's done!"
At the very center of the light was an irregularly shaped oval object, radiating a sense of desolation. It seemed to be sentient, and as it was about to enter Wang Jiande's mind, it felt a slight surge of joy.
"Who dares to be so presumptuous in our Great Xin?"
Just then, a furious shout rang out, causing the light to weaken. The consciousness was startled and tried to flee.
Then a giant hand, like a futon, appeared out of thin air, reached out and grabbed the light, holding it in its palm no matter how much it jumped around.
Then, Xiao Ning and Wang Mang suddenly appeared. Xiao Ning held the still-pulsating relic in his hand, sneered, and said, "They're simply courting death!"
He turned to Wang Mang and said, "Wait here, I'll go and capture her body and that little wooden monk!"
Having said that, without waiting for a reply, he took a step, broke through space, and disappeared.
…………
In the inner city of Chang'an, in the City God Temple in the east of the city, Mu Zha, dressed as a Taoist priest, was not resting. Instead, he was nervously looking around, carrying a thick iron rod as thick as a baby's arm.
Despite the dim lighting, he had excellent night vision and could see clearly.
Inside the temple, a silent figure sat cross-legged, appearing to be a Taoist priest with a thick beard, around fifty years old.
"Why haven't they come back yet? Could something have gone wrong?"
Muzha glanced at the sky outside the temple, then at the Taoist priest beside him, a look of anxiety on his face, muttering to himself.
Just then, something unexpected happened.
In the pitch-black night sky of the temple, a point of light suddenly appeared, illuminating an area of ten feet around it.
The first thing to appear was a giant hand that reached straight for Muzha.
Who is it?
Mu Zha roared angrily, swung his heavy cudgel, and unleashed a powerful strike, smashing it down on the giant hand from top to bottom.
The giant hand reacted quickly. Seeing the heavy iron rod coming down with tremendous force, it bent a finger and flicked it away.
"Clang!"
The crisp sound of metal clashing rang out, a powerful gust of wind blew up, and the windows in the City God Temple creaked and rattled.
To Muzha's astonishment, his superior-grade magic weapon, the Iron Rod, which was made primarily from the icy iron of the northern seabed and meticulously crafted by a Buddhist master craftsman over forty-nine days, seemed to crack open after being flicked by the giant finger.
Holy crap!
Mu Zha only had time to utter a curse before he could no longer care about the loss of his magical weapon, because after the giant hand had deflected the iron rod, it reached out to grab him again.
Mu Zha channeled all his magical power into the iron rod in his hand. Instantly, the iron rod shone with a dazzling light and emitted a chilling aura.
"Yaha!"
He mustered all his strength and swung the iron rod at the giant hand again.
"I'm not playing with you anymore!"
A deep, warm voice rang out, and the giant hand, as if it had activated a speed boost, pierced through the spatial limitations and effortlessly grabbed and pulled the staff from Mu Zha's hand.
Muzha felt as if an immeasurable force was coming from him, and he involuntarily let go, the staff instantly changing hands.
The giant hand didn't linger; it pointed out a finger and directly imprisoned Muzha, rendering him unable to move.
Then, Muzha saw a figure break through space and walk straight through the spatial passage.
Xiao Ning stepped into the City God Temple, no longer looking at the easily subdued Muzha, but walking straight towards Guanyin's physical body.
"You thief, stop right there! You...you mustn't come any closer!"
Seeing Xiao Ning's actions and realizing what had happened, the imprisoned Mu Zha's eyes widened in fury, and he roared, trembling as he spoke.
Unfortunately, he was saddened to find that Xiao Ning completely ignored him and didn't even glance at him.
"Tsk tsk tsk!"
Xiao Ning sized up the old Taoist priest sitting cross-legged and clicked his tongue in amazement. No one could tell that this unassuming old Taoist priest was actually Guanyin Bodhisattva, a famous Buddhist powerhouse in the Three Realms.
With a wave of his hand, a black hole about the height of an adult appeared, radiating a strong and dangerous devouring power. Then, the Guanyin, who was sitting cross-legged, was swallowed up, and the black hole disappeared again.
After trapping Guanyin within his own inner world, Xiao Ning looked at Muzha with a relaxed expression and said, "You must be the second son of Li Jing, the Pagoda-Bearing Heavenly King. I won't make things difficult for you!"
He paused, then continued, "Go back to Mount Ling and tell Buddha that Guanyin has trespassed into the territory of my Great Xin Empire and attempted to bewitch my Great Xin Emperor, but I caught her on the spot!"
"Caught red-handed, Guanyin, I will not let you go for now. You must have Buddha come and talk to me personally. Either compensate for the losses, or I will kill you!"
After saying that, Xiao Ning didn't give Mu Zha a chance to speak. With a wave of his sleeve, he unleashed a tremendous force, and Mu Zha flew to the horizon like a shooting star, disappearing from sight in no time.
Xiao Ning looked around and seemed to see the City God and his ghost generals hidden in another space.
He ignored these people, chuckled, and strode away from the City God Temple.
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