Xu Yunfan looked up and saw the flames hanging halfway up the mountain, like a few red lanterns hanging under the night sky.
As he approached, when Xu Yunfan saw the so-called mountain gate clearly, cold sweat oozed from his palms.
This made him depressed.
The three characters "Qixia Temple" on the crooked plaque had peeling paint, clearly a remodel from an older temple.
Dozens of people sat in the open space in front of the hall. In the middle of the group stood a thin, middle-aged Taoist priest, dressed in embroidered robes and sporting a goatee, preaching his teachings.
Several men with stern, sinister features stood around casually, their eyes darting about with piercing brilliance.
After a brief sermon, the Taoist declared, "The world is full of suffering; suffering is as deep as the abyss. Life is the beginning of suffering, death is not the end. Only by joining our teachings and sincerely worshipping can one escape the cycle of reincarnation. Recite the sutra a hundred times daily, turn your heart to the light, and donate gold and silver to achieve liberation. Those who refuse to listen and believe will be forever trapped in the sea of suffering, and their descendants will also suffer."
Everyone's expressions were filled with enthusiasm, and they all shouted in unison, "Thank you, Taoist Qixia, for clearing up our confusion!"
After that, they generously donated money, and the donation box in front of Taoist Qixia was quickly filled with silver.
Seeing this, Taoist Qixia nodded with satisfaction and said earnestly, "The world is in danger now, and we naturally need to stick together for warmth. With the current empress on the throne, we, the people, are suffering unspeakably..."
He suddenly raised his right hand.
"The evil world must be destroyed, and the good path must be reborn. Those who disobey will die, and the believers will live in peace."
Dozens of people, upon hearing this, excitedly raised their arms and shouted in unison. "The evil world must be destroyed, and the good path must be reborn. Those who disobey will die, and the believers will live in peace."
Damn, this is a pyramid scheme!
The corner of Xu Yunfan's eyes twitched. Although he felt something was wrong, he came here with some expectations. Now that he saw it, he finally dispelled the idea in his mind. He held Zhang Tiehu down with one hand.
"Give me back my money."
So quick!
Zhang Tiehu was horrified, realizing the young man before him was a far superior martial artist, perhaps even a master.
His gaze darted around, taking in the dozen or so men standing or sitting around Qixia Temple. His panicked expression suddenly shifted, a slightly grim expression on
his face. "Boy, Qixia Temple isn't a place where you can just come and go as you please. If you want to leave, that's fine. Leave your money and copy down a scroll of your martial arts practice, and we'll let you go."
This was truly a case of taking advantage of the situation!
Although this place wasn't far from the nearest town, it lay deep within a mass grave, a perfect location for bartering.
A chill crossed Xu Yunfan's face.
"Do you think I'm a three-year-old?"
With a single exertion of force, he lifted Zhang Tiehu into the air. Zhang Tiehu's expression suddenly changed, and he suddenly drew the long sword from his waist and slashed at Xu Yunfan, shouting loudly.
"Master, save me!"
Xu Yunfan flicked his other hand and deflected the falling long sword.
Zhang Tiehu felt a numbness in his palm, and a surge of force rushed over him, making it impossible for him to hold the long sword. It flew far away and hit the ground.
Clang!
A crisp sound immediately attracted the attention of everyone in Qixia Temple. The dozen or so men in black rushed over with lightning speed and surrounded him.
Among them was a man with a face full of flesh, holding a tiger-headed broadsword, and sneered repeatedly.
"Who are you? How dare you come here in Xiang..."
Before he could finish his words, he was prodded by the elbow of a thin middle-aged man next to him.
The man immediately changed his tone: "You dare to fight in Qixia Temple territory? I think you are tired of living."
Xu Yunfan took a look around and had a good idea of the strength of these people. He couldn't help but sigh, put his hand on Zhang Tiehu's head and twisted it.
Snap!
Zhang Tiehu's head was spun 180 degrees, completely motionless.
He casually dropped Zhang Tiehu's corpse, its muffled thud startling the night crows on the nearby branches.
Xu Yunfan stretched and clenched the five fingers of his right hand, his knuckles cracking seven times like snapping beans, and the cloth wrapped around the handle of the urn-gold hammer slid down three inches.
"You, what are you doing?"
"You're looking for death!"
The man with the tiger-headed sword leaped up first, his blade whistling as it sliced through the air.
The strike was a sharp one, the blade slashing diagonally towards Xu Yunfan's left rib, a vulnerable spot for ordinary warriors.
Xu Yunfan's back muscles suddenly surged like raging waves, his spine trembling like a dragon. He thrust the drum-shaped urn-gold hammer upwards, and before the hammer head even reached it, the powerful wind had already lifted the merit box three feet away. The fine steel tiger-headed sword sparked off the hammer's blade, as if it had struck rock.
Thirty-six cloak hammers, rolling back the sky.
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Xu Yunfan twisted his hips like a millstone, swinging his 200-pound hammer like a windmill.
The man with the tiger-head knife watched helplessly as his sword was swept away by the wind. A sudden, piercing pain shot through his right arm, the muscles of his entire arm ripped apart by the centrifugal force, leaving blood streaked through the bones as they protruded from his shoulder.
The lean man seized the opportunity to close in, slipping out two Emei spears from his sleeves. These insidious weapons were specifically designed to break horizontal training. Three flashes of cold light aimed directly at Xu Yunfan's eyes and throat, but the veins on Xu Yunfan's neck suddenly bulged like earthworms, and as his head tilted back, a trembling sound like a taut bowstring emanated.
Iron Chain Across the River.
The jarred golden hammer, taking advantage of its forward momentum, swung back, its handle yanking back and piercing the lean man's legs, trapping his feet.
Xu Yunfan's left leg muscles suddenly swelled three times, the sole of his boot crushing the bricks as he lifted the lean man and hurled him towards the crowd.
The three gray-robed men charging forward were crushed to their sternums by the humanoid weapon, and a bloody mist exploded three feet in the moonlight.
Taoist Priest Qixia, watching from afar, finally changed his expression. Unexpectedly, the newcomer possessed such formidable power. He swung his whisk rapidly, "Establish the Seven Killing Formation! Perform the Power Warrior Technique!"
The seven black-clad burly men surrounding Xu Yunfan crushed the pills in their mouths and swallowed them. Instantly, their muscles bulged strangely, their eyes bloodshot. Wielding long swords and spears, they pressed forward in formation, their steps moving in a strange rhythm that practically surrounded Xu Yunfan from all sides.
Their aura was much stronger than before.
Xu Yunfan suddenly smiled.
He swung the jar of golden hammer across his chest, his back arching like a full moon.
His clothes rustled in the strong wind, his shoulder blades bulging like two steel knives.
As the first poison spear struck his face, he stomped his heel on the ground, cracking the blue bricks in a spiderweb-like pattern. Instead of retreating, he advanced.
The jar of golden hammer in his hand vanished into a shadow.
The spear was as brittle as a wooden pole under the hammer, and the man holding the spear's right arm had broken bones mixed with iron pieces flying around, but he seemed to feel no pain, and was just staggered back by the gravity.
Xu Yunfan spun like a top, knocking three poisonous spears away with his heavy hammer. With exquisite force, he hurled them back intact. The spear shafts pierced the chests of two cultists, their remaining momentum undiminished, and they drove holes the size of bowls through the even shabby Panlong pillar in front of the temple.
Taoist Priest Qixia swept his whisk, sending twelve bone-piercing nails blasting out.
As if with a hidden vision, Xu Yunfan struck back with his left hammer handle, embedding all the nails into the hammer's face.
The urn-gold hammer spun once, and he, taking advantage of the momentum, suddenly flew forward with the hammer, emitting a shrill scream in the night sky.
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