Xie Buwen's heart skipped a beat, and sure enough, he saw Han Tao's sharp gaze looking in their direction. He quickly said, "It's because City Lord Han came with such a fierce momentum that I was provoked."
Although he said this, he couldn't help but think about the message that Fengyou Zhenjun had suddenly sent him half an hour before Han Tao arrived.
[An enemy is about to attack. I have activated the mountain-protecting formation and am now concealed. Hold the line and do not panic.]
Could it be that the True Lord knew Han Tao would come?
Xie Buwen was startled by the sudden thought that popped into his head.
If that's true, could it be that the mortal was truly possessed by the True Lord...?
For some reason, he didn't dare to guess further.
Xie Buwen composed himself, his face remaining impassive, maintaining the dignity of a sect leader, and said, "This must be a false alarm. I will immediately dispatch the patrol teams of the market to search everywhere and find Lord Han's partner as soon as possible."
Han Tao clearly didn't believe him, but it seemed he had no better solution.
He was filled with deep worry and had no intention of leaving.
Qi Muyuan noticed that his feet seemed glued to the ground, and transmitted his voice to him: "Han Tao, you're not in a good state. The you I know isn't this easily angered and impulsive."
It's true that dragons are very possessive, but that shouldn't affect his emotions so much.
Han Tao was taken aback, and subconsciously replied, "What should I be like?"
Qi Muyuan pondered for a moment and said seriously, "When I first met you, you were reserved and extremely clear-headed."
"Oh, and of course, there's also detachment and coldness."
It seems that he didn't always look like a dragon who would have a mate.
Han Tao remained silent, realizing that what Qi Muyuan had described were indeed traits he possessed.
"You..." Qi Muyuan hesitated for a moment, "Were you affected by your injuries after being seriously wounded?"
Han Tao understood. He knew that his current irritability and impulsiveness were probably influenced by the demonic seed. Demonic energy would gradually erode his humanity, something he had experienced in his previous life.
"I understand." He withdrew the golden light, his fist clenched. "I acted impulsively before."
Qi Muyuan raised an eyebrow, knowing that he was admitting that he was impulsive and easily angered, but not admitting that he was indifferent and heartless.
He understands everything.
Si Yang realized that the two were communicating telepathically. Although he was curious, he didn't ask any questions. He glanced at the faces of the disciples behind Xie Buwen and couldn't help but frown.
Has he been away from the mountain for too long? Most of the disciples of the Tianxuan Sect have abnormal auras, which means their minds have unknowingly deviated.
He looked around openly and honestly. Although his disciples didn't know, Xie Buwen saw it clearly.
The sky was already turning a pale white, and a sliver of dawn pierced through the thick clouds.
Qi Muyuan didn't see Si Yang Xianjun's actions, but smiled at Xie Buwen and said, "Sect Master Xie, if you don't shut down this mountain-protecting formation soon, it will be quite a show if someone sees it."
Xie Buwen, not wanting to offend the three, voluntarily removed the protective mountain formation, his expression calm: "It's good that the misunderstanding has been cleared up. Please, all three of you..."
He had just breathed a sigh of relief and hadn't even finished speaking when he suddenly heard a commotion from his disciples behind him.
"Fire?"
Dao Heng's puzzled voice came from behind. Xie Buwen subconsciously turned around and saw flames shooting into the sky from the ground in Fengyou Mountain.
The flames were golden with a hint of red, and their extending aura dyed the clouds in the sky red.
Countless birds cried out from Phoenix Mountain, flapping their wings and scattering in all directions. The dawn was tinged with a golden-red light, and the entire earth seemed to be enveloped in a golden-red glow.
Immortal Lord Siyang exclaimed in surprise, "That's dragon flame?"
Xie Buwen turned around abruptly, almost breaking his neck, and saw the three people who were originally planning to leave turn around and look at him. Han Tao's expression was even more frightening.
How could dragon flames appear on Fengyou Mountain?
A chill ran through me, and terrifying suspicions flooded my mind.
Han Tao flew towards Fengyou Mountain without stopping. Without the mountain-protecting formation blocking his way, he arrived at Long Yan's location almost instantly.
Qi Muyuan patted Xie Buyuan on the shoulder, the pressure of the Mahayana stage immobilizing him.
“It’s too late for you to stop it now.” The smile on his face disappeared, and he squinted at the towering flames. “It seems that Lord Han’s mortal companion is smarter than we thought.”
That aura... I never expected it to be the Dragon Flame of Hantao.
Xie Buwen froze, unable to tell whether it was fear after his guess was confirmed or shock from being intimidated by the pressure of the Mahayana stage.
All he knew was that Han Tao's mortal companion was indeed on Fengyou Mountain!
The dragon's flames were difficult to extinguish; with the flowers, grasses, and trees of Fengyou Mountain present, the burning seemed to reach the sky.
The commotion over there was so great that the flames illuminated the entire sky. Not only the elders and disciples of our sect, but even people from the neighboring Sword Sect and Medicine Sect came.
When Xie Buwen saw the streaks of sword light flashing across the sky, the weight in his heart sank to the bottom.
If he had known, he shouldn't have removed the protective mountain formation.
The flames seemed to scorch his eyes, and also to burn through the paper covering the truth.
Many people ran towards Fengyou Mountain. After the pressure on his shoulders disappeared, Xie Buwen flew away with an unsteady breath.
Zhang Hengbo ran out of the cave with the mindset of certain death. Thanks to his profound knowledge of basic Taoist magic, he quickly found the array's core at the cave entrance and staggered out.
Once the guards noticed, he simply threw the spirit fire in his hand forward.
Then, as if it possessed sentience, the spirit fire leaped onto the most lush canopy and burst into flames with irresistible force.
A flower fell on him, but the burning sensation he had imagined did not come. Instead, he saw the guards scrambling to escape.
"Thank you." Gazing at the flames engulfing the mountain, Zhang Hengbo burst into tears.
He ran back into the cave, only to hear Fu Mingxu shouting at him, "Go quickly! Don't worry about me! Go find your junior sister and senior sister!"
Fu Mingxu didn't give him time to hesitate: "You can't save me. My rescuers have already arrived. If you don't go soon, they might really die!"
Zhang Hengbo's heart skipped a beat. After a moment of stunned silence, he suddenly knelt down and kowtowed to him. Then, he turned and ran outside.
At this time, Fengyou Mountain was in complete chaos. He did not go to the main hall, but instead went to the residence of the servant disciples.
When Fu Mingxu saw the trace of dragon flame on his body, he knew that the plan had succeeded. He couldn't break free from the red chains binding him, but he could sense the current state of the dragon flame.
Han Tao, he really came!
A mix of relief, emotion, and grievance washed over me, even dispelling much of the pain in my ankle.
A note from the author:
Han Tao: Honey, I'm here! Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2022-03-31 00:00:00 and 2022-04-01 00:00:00!
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 40
Although Fengyou Mountain is located within the Tianxuan Sect, it is the residence of the patriarch, True Lord Fengyou. Aside from menial tasks, only a few servants are present on ordinary days. Therefore, it is a place rarely visited and undisturbed by humans.
The clouds and mist that used to linger here were burned away by the towering flames, revealing the full view of Fengyou Mountain.
The moment Han Tao arrived, a defensive formation instantly transformed into a killing formation, its killing intent surging and crashing down upon him.
"Break!" A golden light flashed in his hand, and Han Tao moved swiftly to find the eye of the needle, then crushed it mercilessly.
A rumbling sound rang out, and half of the defensive formation of Fengyou Mountain was instantly destroyed.
Dragons are favored by heaven and earth and are naturally sensitive to formations that rely on the mysteries of heaven and earth.
The array formations of Fengyou Mountain were layered one on top of another, like a tortoise shell. Han Tao grew impatient trying to break through them, so he simply transformed his hands into dragon claws and summoned his true form, Dragon Flame.
"go!"
With a sharp shout, the dragon flames outside the formation and the dragon flames inside the formation sensed each other and transformed into two distinct fire dragons.
"Bang!"
The two fire dragons collided with the array, creating a tremendous sound. The splashing flames flew in all directions, landing on the array's key points as if divinely aided.
When Xie Buwen arrived, panting heavily, the formation of Fengyou Mountain had already been broken into pieces.
The oppressive aura belonging to the Mahayana stage poured out indiscriminately, followed by the furious roar of True Monarch Fengyou: "How dare you!"
Han Tao certainly dared to go. He met the attack without changing his expression, and the two, with their almost equal levels of pressure clashing, started fighting before they even met.
This caused great suffering to the disciples who had finally managed to follow. The pressure from the Mahayana stage was like Mount Tai pressing down on them. Even though Han Tao casually waved his hand and released the overflowing pressure with golden light, the pressure from True Monarch Fengyou was already sweeping in with murderous intent. Some of those with slightly lower cultivation levels at the foot of Fengyou Mountain vomited blood and fainted on the spot.
Looking at the disciples lying on the ground all around him, Xie Buwen almost shouted out, "Stop fighting!"
Thunder rumbled continuously in Fengyou Mountain, trees sprang up from the ground, and beasts fled in terror, as if the earth were about to collapse.
This is the impact of the battle between Mahayana cultivators. Those who went to the market a couple of days ago couldn't help but sigh that Immortal Lord Siyang and City Lord Han must have withdrawn their power before they made their move, otherwise why was only Yunshilou affected?
Moreover, the Cloud Food Pavilion was originally a property of the Dragon Clan.
"I didn't expect this fellow to disregard even the disciples of our sect." Immortal Lord Siyang watched the two fight fiercely with a deep gaze. True Lord Fengyou was well-versed in Daoist arts, while Hantao was powerful. In just a few breaths, the two had already exchanged over a hundred blows.
Boundless, soft starlight descended from the sky, shrouding the disciples standing at the foot of the mountain in a veil of starlight. The lingering oppressive aura instantly dissipated, and many disciples relaxed.
Upon seeing this, Xie Buwen cupped his hands in thanks to him, saying, "Thank you, Immortal Lord."
It's not that they don't know what's good for them.
Si Yang raised an eyebrow: "You're welcome."
"You should tell these disciples to leave, otherwise it wouldn't be good if they were caught in the crossfire and lost their lives."
Xie Buwen was a little embarrassed to face him. Hearing this, he could only nod, wave to his disciples, and say in a loud voice, "Go back, don't stay here."
Si Yang thought to himself, as the sect leader, Xie Buwen was indeed devoted to these disciples, but this concern turned into nothing in front of the sect's True Lords, as if anyone could become cannon fodder for the sect's interests.
"Master, please take care of yourself." Qi Muyuan smiled and drew his sword. "It's been a long time since I've fought. I'll go and meet this True Monarch Fengyou."
Xie Buwen was startled, but fortunately Si Yang held Qi Muyuan's hand and stopped him: "If you make a move, it will involve the two major sects."
"Moreover, it's unsportsmanlike for two against one."
Qi Muyuan felt a warmth on the back of his hand, and his gaze towards Si Yang changed slightly. He transmitted his voice without changing his expression, "Master, you still care about me after all..."
Si Yang felt a chill run down his spine from the affected voice and quickly let go of his hand: "What nonsense are you talking about? I'm serious."
Qi Muyuan said seriously, "I'm serious too, Master."