Green Mountain

As Zhaolei crossed Vermilion Bird Street, the gusty wind made the wine banners hanging by the street sway violently.

Pedestrians stopped in their tracks, watching as Zhaolei and Chen Ji dashed towards the end of the long street, exiting Shangjing City through Mingde Gate.

Once outside the city, Zhaolei was particularly excited, exhaling heavy white breaths from its nostrils, circling several times with Chen Ji around the city gate before galloping southward.

Wu Yun emerged from Chen Ji’s embrace, so battered by the wind that it could barely keep its eyes open: "Where are we going now?"

"To find Aunt Ping," Chen Ji muttered to himself, "If I were Aunt Ping, how would I leave the Jing Dynasty in the shortest time possible... Aunt Ping wouldn’t head towards Changbai Mountain. She’s unfamiliar with it and has no lights to guide her, going there would be certain death. From Shangjing to Lushun, it would take four days on foot without relay stations to change horses, whereas we can reach Yingkou in two."

At this moment, Chen Ji resolutely declared, "Let’s head to Yingkou first, look for the Right Martial Guard’s supply wagons and horses, then find the Right Martial Guard. We should be able to find Aunt Ping and leave the Jing Dynasty together."

Wu Yun suddenly asked, "What about Jingzhe?"

Chen Ji sighed, "I can’t care about it at this moment."

He shook the reins and urged the horse westward, only riding for two hours before spotting a convoy of supply wagons moving slowly along the official road. He approached and saw the word ’Martial’ embroidered on the flag, immediately feeling relieved: they were heading in the right direction.

The Guerrilla General of the Right Martial Guard, seeing the intimidating manner of the approaching riders, immediately led his men forward and shouted, "This is the supply force of the Right Martial Guard, who goes there!"

As he spoke, he raised his right fist, "System!"

The Right Martial Guard troops behind him all drew their bows, ready but restrained, waiting for Chen Ji to approach.

But Chen Ji didn’t bother to engage with them, patting Zhaolei to veer off the official road, crossing the fields by the side to bypass the supply convoy and continue toward Yingkou.

The Guerrilla General immediately raised his right fist, "Shock!"

Over a hundred arrows were launched together, raining down on Chen Ji’s side, but Zhaolei just accelerated to dodge all the arrows, disappearing far ahead.

The Guerrilla General frowned and said, "Send a fast rider to report to the Great Commander..."

Before he finished speaking, Chen Ji’s figure had already pressed low on the horse’s back, quickly leaving them behind by several hundred paces, disappearing in a matter of seconds to a small dot on the horizon.

Unable to catch up.

Chen Ji continued pursuing along the official road, from dawn to noon, when Wu Yun suddenly meowed, "Just ahead!"

After Zhaolei ran a few more breaths, Chen Ji finally heard the sound of galloping hooves ahead, accompanied by thunderous cries of battle.

From Shangjing to Yingkou, it’s an open and flat land, allowing Chen Ji to already see the dark, pressing backs of the cavalry from afar. He took a deep breath, "Zhaolei, faster!"

He urged Zhaolei, getting closer and closer to the Right Martial Guard. The last of the Right Martial Guard, hearing the sound of hooves, turned to look back, only to see the towering and powerful Zhaolei steaming with white vapor as if enveloped in a cloud.

In a blink of an eye, Zhaolei already stepped within a hundred paces.

A member of the Right Martial Guard shouted, "Enemy attack!"

"Shock!"

The last row of the Right Martial Guard simultaneously drew their bows and shot, feathered arrows soared to overwhelm, but just as the arrows were about to reach Zhaolei, Zhaolei made a sharp turn to the flank, causing the dense barrage to fall into emptiness.

From Shangjing to Yingkou, it’s open and level terrain, with fields and villages lining either side of the official road. Zhaolei ran over the snow-covered fields, kicking up a flurry of snow, creating a grand spectacle.

Chen Ji reached the flank and galloped alongside the Right Martial Guard, only then seeing Aunt Ping ahead, ducked low on the horse’s back, desperately avoiding the arrows.

Just as he was about to catch up and join Aunt Ping, someone from the Right Martial Guard shouted loudly, "Fight!"

The Right Martial Guard responded by splitting into over a hundred soldiers and horses, like a torrent separating from the Central Army elite, swooping towards Chen Ji like a massive battle formation.

Yuan Xing turned to look from within the Central Army, watching as the dark overwhelming cavalry formation bore down on the solitary Chen Ji, a cold smile curling at his lips.

"System!"

More than a hundred skilled cavalrymen drew their bows from afar, swearing to engulf Chen Ji in a rain of arrows.

But in the next moment, six sword seeds flew from Chen Ji’s sleeve, reaching in an instant. The six sword seeds plunged into the military formation, recklessly crashing through, targeting the faces of the Right Martial Guard.

A Right Martial Guard soldier just drew his bow, but before he could release, a sword seed pierced his eye socket, causing his hand to slacken, sending the feathered arrow flying erratically to nowhere.

Another Right Martial Guard saw a sword seed flying towards him, hurriedly tilting his head back, even as his hand shot the feathered arrow into the sky.

Another Right Martial Guard simply released the bowstring, raising his arm to shield his face with his Arm Armor.

When the sword seeds were far from Chen Ji, they weren’t as effectively controlled; at times, driving a sword seed to aim for a Right Martial Guard’s eye socket, it veered to the chest instead, piercing only an inch into the Chest Armor.

Yet, even so, the six sword seeds darted back and forth through the cavalry battle formation, killing over ten Right Martial Guards in a single encounter, forcing the Right Martial Guards to hastily dodge.

In the battle formation, it was as if six deadly stinging golden-ringed killer bees had descended, causing the Right Martial Guards to brandish their weapons in all directions, desperately trying to fend them off.

A Right Martial Guard clashed directly with a sword seed using a Big Halberd, but even with the full force of an ordinary Right Martial Guard, he could not leave a mark on the sword seed. In the air, the sword seed merely changed direction and rejoined the battle formation.

By the time they heard the heavy sounds of horse hooves, they turned their heads to find Chen Ji already charging furiously to the front of the formation.

The Right Martial Guard at the forefront swung his Big Halberd, but before the swing was completed, Chen Ji caught the wooden shaft barehanded.

Chen Ji shouted explosively: "Rise!"

With a wave of his hands, he lifted the Right Martial Guard on horseback straight up with the Big Halberd and threw him off, causing another Right Martial Guard to fall from his horse.

On the other side, Yuan Xing turned around while chasing Mrs. Lu, seeing only the Right Martial Guard’s flank troops blocking Chen Ji’s path, halting him completely.

Just when he thought that the flank troops had brought Chen Ji down with arrows, he saw his own Right Martial Guards flailing around, unclear on what they were doing.

Yuan Xing squinted his eyes: "What is that silver light flashing back and forth in the battle formation?"

Before he could see clearly, a Right Martial Guard shouted angrily: "Sword seed!"

"Sword seed?" Yuan Xing was taken aback, then he saw Chen Ji wielding a Big Halberd, breaking through the encirclement, as if crashing through an iron curtain, leaving the obstructing Right Martial Guards behind, with the sword seeds returning to swirl around him.

Yuan Xing’s pupils shrank suddenly: "Sword seeds? One, two, three... six sword seeds?"

The Deputy General asked urgently: "Great Commander, what now?"

Yuan Xing sneered, pointing ahead with a large hand: "You go chase that woman. Xing Camp, follow me to capture that thief! As long as he hasn’t ascended to the Divine Realm, today we will surely cut him down!"

After speaking, he flicked the reins and turned his horse around, leading five hundred cavalry towards Chen Ji. But just as he turned, he saw Chen Ji reaching into his bosom to pull out a copper token necklace.

Chen Ji grasped the copper token and whispered: "Body like glass, inside and out bright and clear, dispel the ignorance and darkness."

The copper token radiated bright light, transforming into beams of light bursting from between his fingers. Once the copper token disappeared without a trace, the strands of light gathered in midair to form an illusory figure.

The nearly transparent figure looked around and finally asked Chen Ji in confusion: "Kid, where have you brought me?"

Chen Ji shouted aloud: "Uncle help me!"

Xu Shu looked all around, then smiled immediately upon seeing the Right Martial Guards pressing against Chen Ji from the front and back: "Alright."

He ascended step by step into the sky, up to more than ten yards, where he lifted his robe and sat down. At the moment he sat, a giant golden lotus shadow appeared in the sky, with each petal unfolding to form a lotus platform supporting him.

The lotus platform was enormous, making Xu Shu appear exceptionally small in the middle. He bowed his head and pointed towards Yuan Xing, his voice booming across heaven and earth: "If you see all appearances as non-appearances, then you see the Tathagata. Donor, come up to the Life Robbing Platform for a discussion, this monk will teach you the Supreme Buddhism."

Life Robbing Platform!

With a casual gesture from Xu Shu, a golden light shot out from Yuan Xing’s body, capturing his three souls and seven spirits onto the Life Robbing Platform, sitting opposite Xu Shu!

Xu Shu held a flower gently in his hands, his expression compassionate: "May I ask the donor, people coveting long life, clinging to life span length, what is the true nature of life?"

Yuan Xing still looked around in confusion, unaware of what had happened, wanting to rise on the Life Robbing Platform, but was pressed down by an inexplicable mighty force rendering him immobile.

He cursed Xu Shu loudly: "You damned thief..."

Xu Shu smiled slightly: "The monk answers, all appearances of longevity are illusions."

In the next moment, a petal of the lotus outside the Life Robbing Platform fell off, turning into a pale white light that drifted away, and Yuan Xing’s temples turned a bit gray, while Xu Shu appeared slightly younger.

Xu Shu softly asked again: "May I ask the donor, the physical body undergoes birth and death, aging in cycles; is there something that does not age with life and death? Where is this thing?"

Yuan Xing was still looking at his suddenly slightly slackened hand, cursing loudly: "Ask your mother!"

Xu Shu smiled slightly again: "The insight that perceives mountains and rivers, knowing cold and warmth, does not age with the physical body, is neither within the body nor outside, nor in between."

Another petal of the lotus outside the Life Robbing Platform fell off, and Yuan Xing aged another fraction.

Xu Shu asked again, this time with no compassion in his eyes, revealing a look of a wrathful vajra: "The reputation of heroes in Jianghu, a lifespan of a hundred years, are they truly real, or merely illusions?"

This time Yuan Xing no longer dared to be careless, contemplating deeply in focus, but before he could answer, a loud copper bell sounded in the sky.

Xu Shu then replied: "The monk answers, all conditioned phenomena are like a dream, a phantom, a bubble, even if gaining a thousand-year life, world-renowned feats, they dissolve into emptiness, without real existence."

Yuan Xing aged another year.

Yuan Xing knew that on this Life Robbing Platform, there was no way to argue against Xu Shu, and dragging on would soon cost him nine years of yang life. He immediately roared at the Right Martial Guards below: "What are you dawdling for, shoot him for me!"

...

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