Zhu Hongwu - Five Smokes Luo

  In fact, Yue Qing had long been displeased with Ni Lanxin's behavior and had harbored the intention to kill her. However, he was too proud to personally take out his sword to kill such a lewd and depraved woman. So, he deliberately said that he would let her escape and opened the life gate. But in reality, this formation of his was a chaotic mess, with the front and back gates reversed, and the life gate had actually become a shock gate. On the other side, he also manipulated the five elements to open up a path, leading Zhu Hong to come here.

  Ni Lanxin flew to the door and fell into Zhu Hong's eyes, turning into Yue Qing. This time, San Yuan Sword struck with all its might, and she was caught off guard again. In an instant, Zhu Hong chopped her body into four pieces, and she died on the spot!

  When the body fell, Zhu Hong finally saw clearly that it was not Yue Qing who had been killed by him, but Ni Lanxin. He couldn't help feeling regretful and fearful, seeing the open gate in front of him, he hastily merged his sword with his body, transforming into a three-colored rainbow light, flying out from the array door opened by Yue Qing for Ni Lanxin. Seeing the night falling outside, with dense rain pouring down, knowing that he had escaped, he immediately flew southward at full speed.

  He had been flying for nearly two hours, and ahead of him was the vast ocean. He looked back to see that Yue Qing hadn't followed, and only then did he let out a sigh of relief. He landed his sword on a mountain peak, wiping away cold sweat with his hand, secretly feeling lucky. He thought to himself that he wouldn't be able to return to Simen Mountain again, and it was a pity that all the efforts he had put in over the years would benefit his enemy instead. What's more, he had spent twenty years searching far and wide across the land for materials to refine the Hunyuan Golden Elixir, only to have it all go down the drain now. But what was most important was that there was something crucial to his survival hidden in the cave, and he could only hope that the other party wouldn't be able to find it. He secretly prayed in his heart that Yue Qing would ransack his cave and then leave, so that he could return to retrieve his treasure.

  Just as he was worried and anxious, suddenly the mountain slope in front of him shone with a radiant glow, and thousands of auspicious clouds rose up, as if something auspicious was about to emerge. He focused his eyes and gazed intently, but was immediately frightened out of his wits. It turned out that on the mountain slope, a group of people had appeared at some unknown time. The one in front was tall and slender, wearing a Taiyi crown on his head, an eight-trigram robe, and a Huanyuan silk sash around his waist. His eyes were like phoenix eyes, his eyebrows like dragon stars, his face like jade with red lips, and three long whiskers floated under his chin. His long, white, and slender fingers held a white jade whisk, and it was none other than his own master, the founder of the Wudang sect, Taiyi Huanyuan Zushi! Standing on either side of him were Detu Dashi Chen Xuanzong, Jiaoshan Daoren Gu Xuanhui, Wanmiao Xiangu Xu Feiniang, Jinshen Luohan Fa Yuan, Qishou Yexie Longfei, Xuandu Yu Shi Lin Yuan, and Riyue Seng Qianxiao, among others. All of them were fellow disciples from the past, totaling over thirty people, and they all looked at him coldly.

  Zhu Hong's spirit was greatly shaken, and he fell to his knees: "Master! Master! Disciple... disciple is unfilial..." Before he could finish speaking, tears burst forth, and while kowtowing, he sobbed, "Master! You are still alive, that's great! Disciple thought I would never see you again!"

  Taiyi Hunyuan didn't say a word, but the Tuidao Master standing beside him spoke up: "Zhu Hong! You still have the face to call yourself 'Master'? If it wasn't for you stealing books and treasures back then, how could Master have suffered such a defeat at Huangshan? Even if you were to be torn limb from limb, it wouldn't make up for one ten-thousandth of your crimes!"

  He knocked his head to the ground, knocking out blood: "Master, senior brother, all brothers and sisters, please allow me to explain. At that time, just before the second sword fight, I went to western Yunnan to visit the Poison Dragon True Person. On my way back, I met Xu Yuantong of Emei School. He provoked me with words, saying many bad things about Master. I was angry and wanted to have a showdown with him. However, he said that he had just practiced a new magical treasure called Kanli Dart, which I couldn't match. He even demonstrated it on the spot, turning a huge stone into dust. He said that the Kanli Dart was guided by the Long Eyebrow True Person back then and took a hundred years of heart and soul to succeed in cultivating this supreme treasure of the Taoist school. Among our Five Tai School, only Master's Taichi Wuyan Luo can withstand it, and he said that if I didn't admit defeat, we could have another fight at the top of Mount Tai in a month."

  "Then you really stole Master Taizhen's Taiyi Wuyanluo and went to Mount Tai for the appointment?"

  Zhu Hong cried, "I was foolish! I thought that with so many treasures of Master's, having one more or less wouldn't make a difference. Besides, we agreed to compete in swordsmanship only, and Master's ten years of work on the Five Poisons Sword had already achieved great success." He hung his head and shed tears, "Moreover, Master has so many precious things, and it's common for us brothers to borrow them when needed, either by asking Master directly or taking them ourselves when Master is in seclusion. Master never blamed us, even if we accidentally damaged something, Master would first ask if anyone was hurt. I thought this time would be the same as before, so I took the Five Smoke Lure to compete with Xu Yuantong, and not knowing how to use it, I also snuck into the Taiyi Palace to take a copy of the Taoist scripture...

  "What nonsense!" Master Tuo rebuked loudly, "The Taiyi Five Smoke Lasso is the first treasure that our master uses to protect himself, how could you not know? Moreover, this treasure is connected to our master's own primordial spirit. As long as our master has a thought, no matter how far away it is, he can immediately summon it back. When we discovered that the treasure had been stolen, our master wanted to use his thoughts to summon it back, but unexpectedly, you used the method from the Daoist scripture's appendix to seal it off. We all wanted to go out and find you, capture and punish you, but our master said that you are not someone who doesn't know what is important or unimportant, taking the treasure away must have had a purpose, perhaps relying on it to escape danger. Therefore, he didn't force its return, and because he usually favors you, we harbored resentment in our hearts, fearing that we would take revenge under the pretext of retrieving our sect's treasure and kill you with one sword. He forbade us from going after you, which ultimately led to the defeat at Huangshan!"

  Zhu Hong burst into loud wailing: "Master, Master, I've wronged you, disciple has wronged you! After suppressing Wu Yan Luo Fei's escape, I was afraid of your punishment and thought to hide first, waiting for the sword-fighting period to pass before returning to apologize. Who knew that news of your misfortune would arrive? Disciple took a wrong step, every step wrong, can't turn back now..." As he cried here, suddenly his heart shook - clearly Master had already passed away, body and spirit extinguished, how could he possibly appear intact again? Could it be that Master's Taoist cultivation really reached the realm of imperishability?

  He stole books and treasures, leading to his master's tragic death. He had been feeling guilty and uneasy for a long time. Later, he was pursued by many fellow disciples, and for over thirty years, he lived in constant fear, unable to calm down even when meditating or sleeping. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw the image of Taiyi Huanyuan Zushi's smile and the accusing faces of his fellow disciples. Previously, he had been nearly killed by Yue Qing and had escaped here with a disturbed mind, losing his composure. So when he saw Taiyi Huanyuan Zushi and many fellow disciples, he panicked and knelt down to beg for forgiveness. After venting his emotions, he gradually came back to reality and realized that his master had been dead for many years, and the people in front of him were just illusions.

  He was vigilant in his heart, but still didn't dare to be certain. His master had studied the heavens and the earth, with boundless magical powers; who knew if he had the ability to die and come back to life? However, repeatedly confessing and asking for forgiveness, if the other party was truly an illusion, then he would have lost big time. Therefore, he decided to try it out, thinking that if it were really his master reborn, his little trick wouldn't be able to harm him. His master had always been most kind to his disciples, so as long as he sincerely apologized, his master definitely wouldn't punish him excessively.

  He made up his mind, still kowtowing and acknowledging his mistake on the surface, wailing and crying loudly. However, he secretly hid the soul-piercing awl in his sleeve, taking advantage of the opportunity to possess the land, he silently recited the incantation, and the awl immediately transformed into a black smoke about a foot long, piercing through his sleeve towards the mountain slope opposite, aiming straight for the heart of Taiyi Hunyuan Zushi.

  "Despicable Zhu Hong! Do you dare to kill your master!" Yue Qing shouted in anger, raising his hand and releasing two sword lights that entwined the Soul Shattering Spike in a hemp rope-like pattern. A series of crisp cracking sounds echoed out as a burst of silver starlight and purple flames exploded forth, shattering the Soul Shattering Spike into fragments that transformed into streams of purple flames falling downwards. The twin swords then suddenly accelerated, slashing towards Zhu Hong.

  Zhu Hong put away the Three Elemental Swords and looked up to see only Yue Qing standing on the mountain slope, all his fellow disciples and master having vanished into thin air. He realized that they were all just illusions created by magic spells. He was both shocked and enraged, using two flying swords to defend himself while sending the third flying sword straight at the mountain slope to behead the enemy from a distance!

  Yue Qing angrily said: "Zhu Hong, you actually intended to assassinate your master, this is a crime deserving of death!"

  Zhu Hong was also furious: "You borrowed the image of your master, desecrated the spirit of your master, and that's what you should die for!"

  Yue Qing sneered coldly: "When death is imminent, I won't engage in a war of words with you. Today, I will crush your bones to ashes and seize your soul!"

  His magical swordsmanship was far superior to Zhu Hong's, and his twin swords pressed down on Zhu Hong's three flying swords, forcing him to retreat repeatedly.

  Zhu Hong's true energy burst forth, causing the Three Primordial Sword to hum with energy. However, he was still being pressed by Yue Qing's dual swords, which continued to close in on him. The sword light illuminated his body, making his hair stand on end. His sleeves were cut off twice, and his hat was chopped off at the edge. If he hadn't dodged quickly, he would have been beheaded by a single sword strike long ago.

  Zhu Hong saw that he was no match for him, and hastily wanted to escape again. The three-colored sword light wrapped around his body and rapidly rose into the air. To prevent Yue Qing from chasing after him, he took out a Five Ghosts Soul-snatching Banner, about the size of a book, made of hemp cloth, with symbols drawn in fresh blood, and sealed with a xian family's blood stamp. With a light wave, twenty-five swirling black smokes surrounded Yue Qing, and five great ghost kings appeared inside, howling as they pounced on their prey.

  Zhu Hong waved the banner in mid-air, even above Yue Qing's head, and a stream of black smoke descended continuously. He was certain that this treasure could hold off Yue Qing for some time, and didn't dare to linger any longer. With a sneer, he said: "Brother Yue, the green hills will remain unchanged, the clear waters will flow forever, we'll meet again someday!" In his heart, he secretly vowed: Once I've refined the Six-Six True Yuan Gourd, if you don't come looking for me, I'll be the first to go find you!

  Three-colored sword light shoots straight up to the clouds, and with a burst of electricity, it flies southward.