Chapter 223: A Clean Sweep
If it weren’t for the “emissaries” needing to perform elaborate “spell-casting” rituals to fully display their “magical powers,” Zhang Yingchen would have long been caught in their “magic formation.” A series of completely unnecessary, flashy “spell-casting” moves saved his life.
Seeing that the situation was not right, Ye Mengyan opened fire without waiting for the Daoist’s target command. He fired quickly and steadily, the hot shell casings tumbling from the chamber as he emptied the entire magazine in an instant.
He didn’t dare order the other teams to fire, even though they could also cover parts of the courtyard. In a crossfire situation, they might accidentally injure the Daoist.
Zhang Yingchen clearly saw the dust and fragments kicked up by the bullets hitting the brick ground. The two missed shots were not far from him, and a cold sweat broke out on his body. He prayed that every one of Ye Mengyan’s bullets would find its intended target. He maintained a profound and inscrutable spell-casting posture, but remained motionless to avoid interfering with the sniper’s trajectory.
Two more bodies fell to the ground. Due to the distance and the noise, no one noticed the gunshots. The three surviving protectors dropped their magical instruments and fled in panic.
“Get into position! Continue casting!” Xuan De roared with rage.
But this command was ignored. The secret of the five “mechanism bricks” was known only to the people from the main altar. Now, with some dead and others fled, Xuan De was left with only Luo Saichun and Hu Qi’er. Three people were not enough.
“Don’t waste time, trigger them one by one!” Luo Saichun suddenly stood up, drew her sword, her face pale. This young Daoist was indeed extraordinary, his magical powers seemed even greater than the old Sect Master’s! She leaped up and rushed towards the nearest brick.
At this moment, Zhang Yingchen was still unaware, maintaining his masterly posture while trying to calm his racing heart with deep breaths.
Ye Mengyan’s voice came through the earpiece: “Daoist, step back a bit, the place you’re standing is a bit suspicious!”
Before he finished speaking, Zhang Yingchen saw a woman in a lake-green dress rushing towards him, her sword gleaming. He forgot about his image and quickly stumbled back a few steps.
A bullet struck the ground in front of Luo Saichun, sending broken bricks and dust flying. A piece of brick grazed her cheek.
“Retreat at once!” Zhang Yingchen shouted. “This humble Daoist values life, does not kill the innocent, and is even more unwilling to harm women and children.”
Luo Saichun’s body went limp, and she dared not move forward. She touched her cheek and found her hand covered in blood. She was terrified; she hadn’t even seen how he had attacked. She took a few steps back, turned, and ran.
“You bitch!” Xuan De was already in a panic, seeing his men either dead or fled. He leaped up, blocked Luo Saichun, and roared, “Go and cast the spell!”
Luo Saichun took a step back. “It’s… useless… it can’t be activated…”
“Don’t worry! I’ll find people for you!” Xuan De waved his sword at Hu Qi’er, Ma Weisan, and a few Incense Masters. “You all go together!” He turned his head and hissed in a low voice, “They’ll be your shields. You go and activate the mechanisms one by one! Quickly!” He gave Luo Saichun a hard push.
Ma Weisan and the others were already scared out of their wits. They had been terrified of Zhang Yingchen from the start, and now, seeing him take several lives with just a gesture, they didn’t dare to go forward as “shields.” But they also didn’t dare to disobey Xuan De’s order. Ma Weisan fell to his knees with a thud, forgetting his “dignity” as an Altar Master, and kowtowed repeatedly.
“Please, Law Master, have mercy! I have an old mother and young children…”
His action prompted the remaining Incense Masters to kneel as well, kowtowing like pounding garlic and wailing.
Xuan De was furious. Seeing that the formation couldn’t be activated and the situation was about to spiral out of control, he wished he could kill Ma Weisan, this “useless traitor,” with a single pellet. However, his remaining sanity told him it would be useless. He gritted his teeth, and an iron pellet flew out, hitting an Incense Master next to Ma Weisan in the head. Blood splattered, and the unlucky man fell without a sound.
“Go! Or I will bring down the Heavenly Fire and burn you to ashes, body and soul!” he sneered, looking like a demon.
Ma Weisan and the Incense Masters scrambled to their feet, trembling. Though they held swords, their bodies were weak. It was death either way; there was no morale left to speak of.
“Don’t panic, he’s using hidden weapons!” Xuan De saw blood slowly seeping from under the fallen bodies and, combined with the smoke rising from the ground, he began to understand. But these hidden weapons were too terrifying. Not only were they silent, but they were also incredibly powerful!
Taking advantage of the chaos, Hu Qi’er drew her sword and lunged, aiming for the Daoist’s chest. Luo Saichun cried out in alarm, “Qi’er, be careful!”
Her movements were incredibly swift. Ye Mengyan fired twice but missed. Zhang Yingchen was shocked and stumbled back several steps, but still couldn’t evade the attack. He was struck hard in the abdomen, and his stomach churned. He barely managed to stay on his feet.
The tip of the sword pierced his Daoist robe but was stopped by the stab-proof vest. A cold sweat broke out on Zhang Yingchen’s body, and the summer heat vanished. The force of the thrust was not great; it might not have been fatal if it had connected, but in this remote place and in the hot weather, a stomach wound would be very difficult to survive. He heard Ye Mengyan’s roar in his earpiece and quickly retreated three more steps. The third bullet had already passed through Hu Qi’er’s body, entering from her left shoulder and exiting from her right chest. A flower of blood bloomed, and her body went limp as she fell to the ground, her life extinguished.
Seeing the Daoist display another feat of “invulnerability to blades and spears,” and with even the powerful Saintess protector killed, the crowd no longer cared about being burned to ashes. They scrambled and fled in all directions.
Luo Saichun let out a sharp scream, heartbroken. Although she and Hu Qi’er were not related by blood, their master-disciple relationship was like that of a mother and daughter. Seeing her killed in a single move, completely helpless, she was overwhelmed with grief and fear, and stood frozen on the spot.
Xuan De was both angry and afraid. His “formation” could not be activated, and the Incense Masters and Attendants who had been so pious just moments ago had scattered like birds and beasts. His grand plan to make a huge profit in Yizhou and replace the leadership with his own men was completely ruined. If he didn’t kill this demonic Daoist now, he would probably face the “Heavenly Fire” punishment when he returned to the main altar. At this thought, he rallied his spirits, roared, and charged at Zhang Yingchen. He held a long sword in his left hand and three iron pellets in his right, ready to strike the Daoist’s head as soon as he got close.
With a thud, Xuan De fell to the ground about ten steps from Zhang Yingchen. His hands opened, and the three iron pellets rolled from his palm, one after another, onto the brick ground, until they were submerged in his blood.
Zhang Yingchen stood in the center of the courtyard, looking at the bodies on the ground. The wind blew through his pierced Daoist robe. For a moment, it seemed as if the world was silent. He was the only one left.
He took a deep breath and slowly walked forward. Luo Saichun stood alone in the center, dazed, her sword having fallen from her hand, her eyes filled with tears. Seeing him approach, her knees gave way, and she knelt before him.
“I beg the True Man to show mercy and grant this humble woman death!”
“You have merely strayed from the path. As long as you return to the righteous way, you can still attain the Great Way,” Zhang Yingchen said with a smile. “Get up.”
Things were lively on Ye Mengyan’s end. His earpiece was constantly buzzing with kill reports from the various teams. People were continuously trying to escape from the Ma Family Village, whether through the main gate or over the walls, and all were being shot down without exception. The people remaining in the village began to run around in panic, looking around in confusion, not knowing where death was coming from. Fear gripped the entire village. Some knelt on the ground and closed their eyes, waiting for death. Others simply lay on the ground, pretending to be dead. Most ran around aimlessly, and many hid in their houses, closing the windows and trembling in fear.
Ma Weisan had originally planned to escape from the village and make plans later, but now, hearing that anyone who tried to leave would die mysteriously, he was completely desperate. His family and property were all in the village, and he was unwilling to abandon them. Besides, even if he escaped, he couldn’t explain himself to the main altar… He was, after all, a local tyrant by origin, and in an instant, he made the most appropriate decision.
A few minutes later, about a dozen people appeared in Ye Mengyan’s binoculars. They were all bowing respectfully, and they knelt down about twenty or thirty meters from Zhang Yingchen. The one in the lead was Ma Weisan himself.
“We respectfully welcome the Immortal’s arrival.”
Zhang Yingchen said in a deep voice, “Ma Weisan, do you know your crime?”
“I know my crime. I beg the Immortal to be lenient,” Ma Weisan said, sweat pouring down his face. “It was truly because I was blind and offended Your Holiness. I deserve ten thousand deaths…”
Ma Weisan wept and expressed his remorse, repeatedly claiming that he was “forced by the main altar” and that dealing with Zhang Yingchen was “not my intention.” Zhang Yingchen knew this was a complete distortion of the truth.
Not only that, but the Yizhou sub-altar, which seemed to be running well, was actually divided, with the lower and middle-level members alienated from the leadership. If it weren’t for the bond of religious mysticism holding it together, it would have probably collapsed long ago. Keeping such a person would be a disaster sooner or later.
But now was not the time to argue about right and wrong with him. Ma Weisan’s defection was crucial for him to take over all the incense halls in the Yizhou area.
And this was, after all, the Ma Family Village. If he killed him, under the watchful eyes of so many, the government would inevitably intervene, and he wouldn’t be able to stay in Yizhou.
So many people had died in the Ma Family Village today, and he really needed someone with local influence to “smooth things over.”
Of course, Ma Weisan was someone who had to be eliminated eventually—but only after he had been squeezed dry. Zhang Yingchen smiled. “It is not too late to abandon the darkness and turn to the light.”
“Thank you for your magnanimity, Immortal!” Ma Weisan was so grateful he was about to cry. He immediately prostrated on the ground and kowtowed repeatedly. The people behind him followed suit.
That day, Ma Weisan led all the Incense Masters and Attendants of the Yizhou sub-altar in the Ma Family Village to pledge their allegiance to Zhang Yingchen, all becoming followers of the New Daoism.