Chapter 1727: Painstaking Effort

Everything in the field happened so quickly that Li Changsheng was dumbfounded.

He had initially hoped that these two would destroy Zhao Hao's physical body and play a decisive role in the battle, but he never expected them to be defeated so quickly.

Xuan Bajing's situation was somewhat understandable; after all, his move was quite impressive, but no one could have predicted that striking the opponent would result in self-injury. As for Guan Chouhai, he was simply comical. Xuan Bajing had already tested the opponent's special ability for him, yet Guan Chouhai ended up knocking himself unconscious? Li Changsheng used to think Guan Chouhai was quite clever. Had his brain turned to mush today?

At that moment, the two figures charged directly towards Li Changsheng, Xuan Bajing, and Guan Chouhai, intending to seize this opportunity to eliminate the threats completely. Xuan Bajing was already unconscious. Li Changsheng and Xuan Bajing were now filled with despair. Severely wounded, they were utterly defenseless and could only await death.

Just then, Elder Xuandu, the young monk Jie Se, and several Daoist masters, who had been observing the battle, rushed over to rescue their respective sect leaders. Unfortunately, despite their high cultivation, they were no match for Grandmasters who had cultivated Yin Spirits. Screams quickly filled the air as a large number of them were killed almost instantly.

Seeing Elder Xuandu, who had just been fighting alongside them, so easily killed, the young monk Jie Se turned pale with fright. These people were not from Wuyou Temple; better for others to die than for him to. So he turned and ran. The two figures naturally wouldn't let him go. They pursued him, their weapons still dripping with blood. The young monk Jie Se cried out in terror, "I'm going to die! I'm going to die! Master, save me!"

Just then, the ethereal Buddha figure in the sky suddenly raised its hand and slammed it down on "Guan Chouhai" and "Xuan Bajing," who were pursuing him. One moment, it was a palm in the clouds; the next, it descended with the crushing force of Mount Tai. Though powerful, the two were no match for an ethereal Buddha figure comparable to an Earth Immortal's primordial spirit. They quickly dodged backward.

At that moment, a cold snort was heard, and Zhao Hao's primordial spirit also made a move, sweeping aside the ethereal Buddha's hand. Seemingly discerning Grandmaster Jianhuang's weakness, Zhao Hao seized the opportunity to point a finger directly at the young monk Jie Se. It was a light, almost casual gesture, yet it felt like crushing an ant, an utterly disproportionate attack. The young monk Jie Se stood frozen, utterly unable to resist, watching helplessly as the finger pressed down on him.

Grandmaster Jianhuang naturally couldn't stand idly by, so the ethereal Buddha figure rushed to the rescue. Zhao Hao's primordial spirit revealed a strange smile, then seized the moment to attack the ethereal Buddha figure.

Initially, King Qi took the lead with Grandmaster Jianhuang providing support. Their cooperation was surprisingly seamless, forming a mutually supportive front that made it difficult for Zhao Hao to break through for a time. However, this time, by using the opponent's disciple as bait, Zhao Hao lured Grandmaster Jianhuang into taking the initiative, causing a momentary crack in his coordination with King Qi. For Zhao Hao, it was an opportunity he couldn't possibly miss.

He landed a punch, a palm strike, and a finger strike all on the ethereal Buddha figure. The Buddha figure flickered for a moment, then could no longer sustain itself and completely disintegrated. Grandmaster Jianhuang, seated cross-legged below, did not spit blood, but no one believed he was unharmed. His skin was visibly cracking all over his body, like shattered glass. As a cold wind swept across the golden summit, a piece of skin first peeled off his face, revealing darkness beneath. Then his entire body could no longer hold together and disintegrated into fragments. Finally, he was carried away by the wind, turning completely into ashes.

When King Qi saw him rushing to save the monk, he immediately knew disaster was imminent and hurried over to assist. Unfortunately, he was a step too late; the ethereal Buddha figure had already been shattered. Even with his firm resolve, witnessing Grandmaster Jianhuang turn to ash caused him a moment of panic. After all, without his assistance, King Qi alone was certainly no match for Zhao Hao.

Zhao Hao seemed to have anticipated this. Carrying the lingering might from defeating Grandmaster Jianhuang, he seized the opportunity and directly attacked King Qi. King Qi frantically tried to defend himself, but Zhao Hao, having been the strongest in the world for so many years, possessed immense experience and gave him no chance. Soon, King Qi's defenses collapsed layer by layer. Finally, his opponent's fist struck his chest, and his colossal figure crashed down, unable to maintain itself, returning to his physical body.

Zhao Hao breathed a sigh of relief. Severely wounding two powerful enemies consecutively in that brief moment had pushed even his cultivation to its limits. He had held nothing back, unleashing almost his entire cultivation in the shortest possible time. Grandmaster Jianhuang was one thing, but King Qi was an Earth Immortal, so severely wounding him had also caused Zhao Hao significant exertion. However, having overcome the combined force of the two, Zhao Hao's powerful Earth Immortal recovery ability meant he could return to peak condition in a few breaths. The remaining individuals were mere ants.

Unexpectedly, a sudden anomaly occurred. Buddhist chants resonated, and lotus flowers descended from the sky. The previously terrified young monk Jie Se now wore a serene expression, and halos of light appeared behind his shining bald head, transforming his entire being into something sacred and majestic. Zhao Hao's expression changed drastically. He quickly dodged backward, but having just defeated two major powerhouses, he was in a vulnerable state where his old strength was depleted and new strength had yet to emerge. Simultaneously, the young monk Jie Se's hands began intricate movements, almost instantly imprinting several seals onto Zhao Hao.

Zhao Hao's primordial spirit returned to his physical body, but his once towering and robust form swayed, then he collapsed onto the ground. He had always presented himself as invincible; never before had he appeared so disheveled in front of others. Guo Zhi and the other imperial guards were greatly alarmed by this sight and rushed over to help. The young monk Jie Se put his palms together, and a red light swept across the field. The remaining imperial guards and Embroidered Uniform Envoys immediately burst into flames, turning to ash in the blink of an eye.

At the Reception Hall halfway up the mountain, the expressions of the civil and military officials changed. How could there be yet another Earth Immortal aura? The successive appearance of Earth Immortals made even the calmest among them, Meng Yi and Bi Qi, uneasy. Although the Emperor was powerful, continuing like this would be dangerous. So they immediately ordered the army below the mountain to bring up the runic siege cannons. They decided to directly blast open the Zhengyang Sect's mountain-protecting formation.

At this moment, Zhao Hao's face was dark red, and his grim eyes fixated on Jie Se nearby. "You are not the young monk. Who exactly are you?"

Jie Se put his palms together. "This humble monk is naturally Jie Se. However, I once had another dharma name: Ru Hua. Your Majesty, I presume this is what you wish to know."

"It was you all along!" Zhao Hao's pupils contracted slightly.

King Qi was also panting at this point, but he was more shocked. He, too, knew that name. Ru Hua was the previous abbot of Wuyou Temple and also the current Grandmaster Jianhuang's master. Legend had it that he was Wuyou Temple's most outstanding genius in nearly a thousand years, the one most likely to break through to the Earth Immortal realm. Unfortunately, Zhao Hao's sudden rise later dominated an entire era. Knowing he could not surpass him and being advanced in age, Ru Hua had passed away with regret. Who could have imagined he hadn't died, and had even become Grandmaster Jianhuang's disciple?

"No, that's wrong. Your usual interactions with Grandmaster Jianhuang couldn't have been faked. If you were his master, how could you have acted so flawlessly?" Zhao Hao said in a deep voice. Clearly, he had his own informants on Purple Mountain, and he was well aware of the intelligence concerning such important figures.

"How else could I have kept it from Your Majesty?" Monk Ru Hua smiled faintly. "In truth, not even Jianhuang knew about this. To deceive everyone, I sealed my own consciousness, genuinely believing myself to be Jie Se in my daily life, until this very moment when I recalled everything and understood my plan."

Zhao Hao sneered, "Indeed, a clever scheme. Yet, your Buddhist sect constantly speaks of compassion, only to deceive even your own disciple and sacrifice his life to ambush me. What kind of Buddhism do you practice? What kind of path have you achieved?"

King Qi likewise felt a chill throughout his body. Hadn't he also been used? If Ru Hua had revealed his identity from the start, a combined effort of the two of them, along with Grandmaster Jianhuang and others, might not have been impossible to defeat Zhao Hao. Instead, Ru Hua had chosen this most sinister strategy. Now, some were dead and some crippled, and both King Qi and Zhao Hao were severely wounded, while only Ru Hua remained with his full combat strength.