Chapter 124: Vacuum Homeland

Chapter 124: The Pure Land of Vacuum

When the true assault on the White Lotus Temple commenced, Yue Hongling felt a profound sense of gratitude that she had been cautious enough during her initial surveillance not to strike prematurely.

This temple seemed to harbor few monks, perhaps barely a hundred, yet every single one of them was an elite warrior; Fayuan and Gong Chaoqun proved to be evenly matched. Caught entirely off guard and forced into a hasty defense, the monks still managed to trade blows evenly against the full-force offensive of the Demon Suppression Bureau, retreating toward the rear of the temple step by measured step.

Had the army not deployed several hundred archers for support, the Bureau alone would have been utterly incapable of cleansing this den of bandits, making it no wonder that Gong Chaoqun had previously found his duties virtually impossible to execute.

Yue Hongling found it difficult to comprehend how the congregation of the White Lotus Temple could possess such formidable strength.

The Maitreya Sect did not cultivate talent from childhood like the major sects and prominent clans, nor did it screen the realm's unblemished martial experts to offer them secure government positions like the Demon Suppression Bureau.

Their source of conscripts consisted almost entirely of the deluded and misled, ranging from bandits to innocent households; only a fraction possessed prior martial training, while the vast majority were simply impoverished farmers and fishermen who were already fully grown or even in their middle to old age. How exactly had they trained this chaotic assortment of people to breach the mysterious gates of cultivation in such a short span of time, with the lowest achieving the first or second tier, and the highest reaching the sixth or seventh? How was this practiced?

Was every single one of them a Zhao Changhe?

Furthermore, due to their doctrine of "attaining Buddhahood through slaughter," these monks fought with unparalleled ferocity; every last one of them had blood on their hands and had taken lives, far removed from honest farmers who had never known conflict.

The Maitreya Sect possessed countless forces of this caliber, scattered all across the Jiangnan region. Once they rose in rebellion, the world would be turned upside down.

To say nothing of the entire Jiangnan region, even within this single White Lotus Temple, Yue Hongling strongly suspected that if Fayuan were intent on fleeing, the arrows and crossbows outside might not be enough to stop him.

A flash of light gleamed as Yue Hongling's sword sliced through the throat of a Maitreya disciple, after which she clutched her shoulder, her brow furrowing slightly.

Though this injury was said not to hinder her movements significantly, it still proved to be somewhat of a drag in actual combat, turning out worse than she had anticipated.

Lifting her gaze, she saw Fayuan leading several core monks through the darkness of the night, fighting and retreating toward the back mountain under the relentless assault of Gong Chaoqun and his men.

It was the dead of night, and once they entered the mountain forests, it would be exceedingly easy for them to vanish—a matter on which Zhao Changhe possessed the most experience.

Such a leader could not be allowed to escape!

Gritting her teeth, Yue Hongling endured the dull ache in her shoulder, leaped into the air, and thrust her sword forward in a flying strike.

Fayuan was currently locked in a fierce struggle against Gong Chaoqun. He knew Gong Chaoqun was exceptionally difficult to deal with, and that he might not even win in single combat, to say nothing of the present situation where the enemy's morale was soaring like a rainbow while his own side was thrown into utter chaos; there was simply no way to fight. Yet Fayuan remained confident in his ability to escape; the night was dark, and as long as he found an opportunity to slip into the mountains...

He raised his Buddhist ring-pommel blade with all his might, and a dazzling aura of blade-light enveloped Gong Chaoqun's vital areas, precisely the opening stance of the Maitreya Sect's ultimate technique: the White Lotus Cleansing the World.

Gong Chaoqun shifted his center of gravity slightly backward, holding his sword as he stood on high alert.

He recognized the peril of this strike, where a thousand illusions and ten thousand transformations assaulted at once, and lotus petals turned to blades from heaven to earth; he had to stabilize his mind, perceive the illusory, and shatter the false to counter such a blow.

However, just as he took that half-step back, the blade-light abruptly vanished, and Fayuan had already flown backward in retreat—it was a feint!

"The Demon Suppression Bureau is nothing more than this! Hahaha... ugh..."

A streak of sword-light struck beneath the moon. Beneath the round lunar disk, Yue Hongling’s silhouette appeared like a deity descending from the moon palace, falling straight from the nine heavens.

With a resounding clang, Fayuan raised his blade and exerted every ounce of strength to parry the strike, his momentum of escape instantly halted. Furious, he burst into foul abuse: "Yue Hongling! Pray you never fall into my hands one day, or I'll make you kneel on the ground like a dog and beg me to f—"

Before his words could finish, an arrow pierced the sky like a rainbow piercing the sun, carrying a terrifying, sharp whistling sound through the air, heading straight for his throat!

Fayuan did not even have time to finish his cruel threat; he twisted his body in a desperate flash, and the arrow grazed his shoulder, tearing away a large piece of flesh.

A faint smile played at the corner of Yue Hongling's mouth as she relentlessly delivered another sword strike.

Behind him, Gong Chaoqun had long since thrust his sword straight toward the center of Fayuan's back.

Assailed from three sides, how could Fayuan possibly withstand it?

Blood sprayed simultaneously from his left shoulder and his back. In extreme dishevelment, Fayuan staggered and stumbled toward the side, roaring in fury: "Maitreya descends to the world, attain Buddhahood through slaughter!"

Following his words, the remaining high-ranking monks in the vicinity who were resisting the Demon Suppression Bureau began to chant in unison: "Maitreya descends to the world, attain Buddhahood through slaughter..."

"The Birthless Old Mother, the Pure Land of Vacuum..."

Just as Yue Hongling was about to deliver a finishing blow to Fayuan, she saw a monk with blood-red eyes rush toward her like a mad tiger.

Wishing to avoid entanglement and intending only to force him back, Yue Hongling thrust her sword toward his chest. To her surprise, the monk neither dodged nor parried, allowing the long sword to pierce through his chest while he fiercely gripped the blade with his hands.

He had gone mad...

Yue Hongling pulled at her sword, but unexpectedly could not retrieve it for the moment.

Turning her head to look around, she saw that all the monks had gone mad.

Every single person used their own flesh and blood to block the weapons of the Demon Suppression Bureau, holding on tightly and refusing to let go even unto death.

This could hardly be described as mere fanaticism; even fanatics possessed some concept of pain, yet they seemed to have lost even their sense of touch. This was a secret technique that had stripped away their reason, turning them entirely into beasts that sacrificed everything solely for their faith.

Was this their Pure Land of Vacuum? That was indeed ultimate bliss, for there was no pain.

By the time the men managed to draw their weapons back from these beasts, Fayuan had already utilized that fleeting moment of chaos to slip into the mountain forests, vanishing without a trace.

Gong Chaoqun's fury surged to its peak: "All personnel search the mountain! He is heavily wounded and cannot conceal the scent of his blood; he cannot have run far!"

Clutching her shoulder, Yue Hongling gasped for breath in a state of slight weakness. The counter-force from when Fayuan parried her strike to intercept him earlier had once again aggravated her injury. She had been suppressing it forcefully, but now she could contain it no longer; the wound began to tear open, and blood welled out copiously.

Recalling the timely support of that arrow just now, an indescribable emotion rose within Yue Hongling's heart. She lifted her head to look into the temple courtyard, searching for Zhao Changhe's figure.

Zhao Changhe had not joined the encirclement because he faced a multitude of opponents himself, his primary adversary being his old acquaintance, the Flower-Picking Heavenly Daughter.

At the moment he shot the arrow, he had already subdued the Flower-Picking Heavenly Daughter. He had only just provided that single arrow of support and had not yet managed to rush over before the situation abruptly changed and Fayuan departed.

Zhao Changhe pressed his dragon-and-sparrow blade against the Flower-Picking Heavenly Daughter’s shoulder, forcing her to kneel helplessly on the ground. She sighed and said, "Fayuan spoke such harsh words to Yue Hongling, yet you press me down to kneel... every debt has its debtor, why must it be so?"

Yue Hongling, who was just flying over with the intention of finding Zhao Changhe to consult with him, paused her steps slightly. She looked at him with a somewhat complex expression, remaining where she was.

In truth, Zhao Changhe did intend to exact immediate vengeance on Yue Hongling’s behalf, but that was not the sole reason.

Through their prior interactions, he sensed that this Flower-Picking Heavenly Daughter's faith was not entirely fanatical; she had previously employed clever deceptions for her own sake, lacking that singular stubbornness to sacrifice everything for the cult. This pressure was also a test; if she were like the other beasts who willingly threw away their lives, she would not kneel, but would instead throw herself upon the blade to commit suicide.

Yet she knelt, which proved she was by no means a brainwashed fanatic devoted to fanatical sacrifice, but was entirely someone who could be persuaded to surrender.

The Flower-Picking Heavenly Daughter continued to speak: "Our Holy Church has never treated you poorly and wished to recruit you into our ranks. Why must you act in this manner..."

Zhao Changhe finally spoke: "Recruit? Joining the cult? Is it to go and seek death like those beasts?"

The Flower-Picking Heavenly Daughter froze for a moment, then murmured softly: "You would not... As someone listed among the Hidden Dragons, your potential is boundless. The Church would only wish to nurture you; it is different."

"There is no difference. Sending you disguised as Miss Yue to 'proselytize' to me—did that not conceal thoughts of utilizing a secret technique to control me?"

The Flower-Picking Heavenly Daughter said, "The degree varies... forget it, if Young Master thinks this way, I have nothing left to argue."

Zhao Changhe said, "I have no desire to debate scriptures with you. Rather, I feel you are not quite the same as them; you haven't been brainwashed into a fool or a lunatic, and you can be reasoned with. I'll speak plainly: given the injuries Fayuan sustained, it is impossible for him to escape under Gong Chaoqun's encirclement. If everyone fails to find him, it means there must be a secret cavern or a hidden passage concealed within the mountains. I strongly suspect that while everyone is still searching the mountains, he is already miles away."

The Flower-Picking Heavenly Daughter's eyes shifted slightly, revealing a hint of astonishment.

Zhao Changhe continued, "So I haven't guessed wrongly, have I? It stands to reason that a demonic cult nest operated for so long could not possibly lack a secret cavern or something similar. As long as you reveal where this hidden passage is, I can take it upon myself to spare your life. You can alter your identity and live elsewhere in the future, never to involve yourself with the Maitreya Sect again... Looking at the fate of these people, do you truly harbor no hesitation? Serving as a mere vessel in ordinary times, and sent to throw away your life when something happens—just thinking about it makes me sigh for you."

The Flower-Picking Heavenly Daughter found it rather strange instead: "You... could completely subject me to severe torture under interrogation, or even... even truly treat me in the manner of Fayuan’s harsh words to Yue Hongling. Why instead do you wish to release me, and even urge me to reform?"

Zhao Changhe’s weathered face turned slightly red again, and his voice was lowered significantly: "You... once counted as an assistant in prompting me to hold her for a moment, and even taste a bit of her fragrance."

The Flower-Picking Heavenly Daughter's eyes widened, and the panic of being a captive nearly vanished entirely as she came close to bursting into laughter.

Zhao Changhe turned his shame into anger: "Speak quickly, or I truly will resort to severe torture under interrogation!"

"There is no need for that," the Flower-Picking Heavenly Daughter said with a smile. "Not only do I know where the hidden passage is, I can even lead you there right now."

Zhao Changhe asked in wonder, "So agreeable?"

"Because you are right; I do not wish to meet a fate like theirs in the future." The Flower-Picking Heavenly Daughter smiled, her voice regaining a hint of charm: "Furthermore... you are quite adorable. The bloodthirsty Asura in people's hearts turns out to be such a little brother... Besides, I am no one's vessel..."

"What does that have to do with me?" Feeling somewhat lose-faced, Zhao Changhe subconsciously glanced left and right, only to discover with astonishment Yue Hongling standing not far away, listening to the entire conversation.

Zhao Changhe: "...When did you arrive?"

"Just now." Expressionless, Yue Hongling walked over, and for reasons unknown, kicked the Flower-Picking Heavenly Daughter: "Where is the secret cavern? Speak quickly."

Is this truly your first time here?

Zhao Changhe tilted his head, feigning ignorance.

The Flower-Picking Celestial Maiden smiled and said: "Actually, there are underground secret chambers and tunnels within the temple, used both for secret rituals and as an escape route to the rear mountain. Your arrival was sudden; they had no time to enter the temple's secret passages and could only retreat to the rear mountain. Now it is the opposite: if he enters the secret passage from the rear mountain, he will emerge from within the temple. If you focus your search on the rear mountain, he might actually escape by coming out from here."

Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling exchanged a glance, and the slight embarrassment in their hearts was instantly cast to the winds.

The Flower-Picking Celestial Maiden added another remark: "By the way, there are many restorative items below; the Holy Sect's methods of recovery far exceed your imagination. I suggest you not give him the chance; if you want to act, do it quickly."