A Night of Desperation

Chapter 306: Four

Puff puff puff!

The man in the ox-head mask has already gripped his axe tightly again, charging towards Yu Hong himself.

As the distance grew closer and closer.

In an instant, a pile of silver sand condensed into a giant humanoid figure five meters tall, standing in front of Yu Hong.

Its head reached the ceiling, with a body all black and only a single crimson eye on its face.

Its size completely blocked Yu Hong from view.

This tall??

The surrounding crowd burst into an uproar.

This figure was somewhat excessively exaggerated.

"Is this the power of the Inheritance Dao Artifact from Guang Han?" Yu Mo exclaimed in shock.

"Such a large size, it’s truly remarkable that Zheng Rou could condense it! The consumption must be huge," Yu Hen praised.

"It seems that this Inheritance Dao Artifact is indeed more effective than the ones Zheng Ming and his group have," Yu Mo nodded.

Seeing this scene, Zheng Ming and his group all took a slight breath, the oppressive feeling from the five-meter-tall humanoid was indeed too strong.

Even though they weren’t the main opponents in the duel, they could still feel the immense pressure in the arena. Not to mention the opposing Taoist Yuan Hua.

His expression turned extremely ugly.

But at this moment, there was no time to think further; he formed a handprint and controlled the ox-headed-masked man to swing his axe, striking at the five-meter giant first.

Bang.

Unfortunately, the great axe was caught in one hand by the opponent, gently snapped with a crack, breaking on the spot.

The ox-headed-masked man tried to throw a punch, but his fist was grasped, and he was slightly lifted into the air, suspended, and slammed down with a knee.

Bang!!!

The ox-headed-masked man immediately scattered, disappearing.

Leaving the Taoist Yuan Hua standing there stunned, his face pale, motionless for a long time.

"The competition ends, Qingchen Temple’s Zheng Rou wins!" a Taoist announced loudly.

Yu Hong smiled faintly, controlling the Black Giant to return, dispersing into silver sand, flying back into the Resentment Sand Bottle.

Everything became utterly quiet.

He bowed to the surrounding people, wearing a smile.

The terrifying shadow of that Black Giant was actually his Fifth Layer Fear Shadow, not the power of the Inheritance Dao Artifact Guang Han.

It was just that the power seemed a bit too great, and it appeared to the surrounding people to be from an Inheritance Dao Artifact.

He did not explain, merely smiling and responding to those who greeted him.

This competition probably also clarified the level of the top disciples of the Daoist Sects for him; the strengths of Taoist Yuan Hua and Brother Zheng Ming should be quite close.

Being able to burst forth with the power to confront a small Black Giant using an Inheritance Dao Artifact was indeed impressive.

Indeed, the Fifth Layer Fear Shadow he condensed just now was the small Black Giant he encountered earlier.

He was genuinely startled by it from behind at that time.

Unexpectedly, it had now condensed into the Fifth Layer Fear Shadow.

’A small Black Giant is probably around a Level Eight Black Disaster; the one I condensed might be stronger by a notch, possibly at Level Nine. With that in mind, the fighting power against Black Disasters here is indeed very good. Although it’s purely in the spiritual aspect.’

He roughly estimated, gaining a sense of the strength hierarchy of the Daoist Sects.

’A leading disciple from a small faction within a Daoist Sect has near-Level Nine Black Disaster targeting spiritual power; the stronger Nine Sects must definitely have War Level, or even stronger spiritual power entities... With this, the place indeed has the capability to withstand and suppress a Black Disaster...’

As the competition concluded, Taoist Yuan Hua’s expression turned cold, and he left with his master.

They exchanged a few perfunctory remarks before leaving, just for the sake of saving face, and then everything ended.

Elated, Yu Mo and Yu Hen invited everyone for a big meal.

A group of people spiritedly boarded the chartered bus, right as the vehicle started moving.

Everyone settled into their seats when suddenly Yu Hen’s phone rang.

"Bro, answer the phone, come on, fast~~~" a coquettish, almost whining female voice resonated through the bus.

The driver was startled, shivering as he turned his head to see whose voice it was.

"....." Zheng Ming, Zheng Xia, and others immediately focused their gaze on the Temple Master.

Yu Mo shook his head looking towards his brother Yu Hen, then coughed twice.

"What are you looking at? I am just immersing in desires to forge my will, gathering strength for breaking through a higher realm," Yu Hen said calmly, pinching his white beard.

He was not embarrassed, took out a latest model smartphone, flipped it open and put it to his ear.

"Hello."

He had just uttered a word when the content from the other end changed his expression drastically.

The initial relaxedness was swiftly replaced by seriousness.

"Take it easy, calm down, speak slowly."

The atmosphere inside the bus quickly turned tense.

A moment later, Yu Hen put down his phone and looked at everyone inside the bus.

"It looks like we can’t have our big meal; let’s quickly eat and take care of two cases."

"Troublesome?" Yu Mo squinted at him.

"Yes, two disciples from the Golden Jade class had accidents at their homes," Yu Hen said gravely.

Golden Jade class!

Everyone immediately understood what that meant.

The Golden Jade class represented the face of Qingchen Temple; its disciples, although seeming like regular students, actually paid protection fees to be on an exclusive list.

Normally, the families of these names on the list are given talismans by the temple, and Taoists specially monitor them to ensure safety.

"Both Golden Jade class disciples’ families had accidents, there were deaths, and the disciples we were responsible for observing and protecting have disappeared and can’t be contacted," Yu Hen spoke gravely.

This made everyone gulp; even their own temple’s disciples had disappeared, indicating this was not an ordinary case.

"With this, I have the addresses. Zheng Hong, Zheng Ming, you go handle them separately, cautiously gather information first, don’t act rashly. Use the Spirit Testing Talisman to assess the situation first," Taoist Yu Hen commanded.

"Yes!"

"Disciple obeys."

The two swiftly stood up and bowed.

"Get one team each from the security team to follow each of you; two cases happening simultaneously, I suspect there could be a problem. Having firearms for protection can also prevent a lot of trouble," Taoist Yu Mo interjected.

"Understood," Zheng Ming nodded.

"The rest, return to the Taoist Temple first; I need to contact the authorities and see if there’s any special situation," Yu Hen stated solemnly.

"Temple Master, what about us?" Zheng Xia asked quickly.

"Come back with us, we need to confirm if there is a problem first," Yu Hen replied. He looked at the distance between Zheng Xia and Yu Hong, shaking his head in disappointment.

"You must take good care of Zheng Rou. He lacks experience and often doesn’t know what to do. You’ll need to help him a lot."

"Uh...Yes!" Zheng Xia nodded.

Yu Hong, seeing everyone’s serious expressions, also understood that the situation was quite serious.

Since they were not letting him take action, he decided to obey the arrangements and honestly wait at the Taoist Temple for news.

Qingchen Temple had survived for so long because it had its own systems for dealing with issues. Since he was unfamiliar with them, it was better not to interfere, as he might just complicate matters.

On the bus, Zheng Ming and Zheng Hong quickly got off and entered separate cars to leave.

The rest of the people waited a few minutes before finally boarding the bus, which slowly started and headed back in the direction of Qingchen Temple.

Inside the car.

Zheng Hong sat in the backseat, holding a special mobile phone, typing quickly and silently.

His expression was calm as he occasionally glanced at the driver in the front seat.

Then he continued to type in the information about the recent competition.

"Zheng Rou’s strength should be comparable to Zheng Ming’s, and considering Qingchen Temple also has Yu Mo and Yu Hen, both who possess Inheritance Dao Artifacts, despite being old and frail, their Daoist Realm is higher. Considering other members of the Yu Generation, sending just two Primordial Embryos here won’t suffice to handle it all."

Tap.

The key was pressed, and the message was being sent.

Zheng Hong turned off the screen and looked out of the window.

Soon, his phone vibrated, the screen lit up, showing a message: Received, arriving the day after tomorrow.

*

*

*

The sudden major case put the entire Qingchen Temple on high alert.

Yu Hong, being highly valued, was brought to stay within the Taoist Temple, not allowed to go out.

He was just thinking about what to enhance next.

Inside the room of the Taoist Temple.

Yu Hong held the Guang Han Dao Artifact in his hand, half-leaning on the bed, observing it closely.

"I still can’t use the Dao Artifact; before I fully understand this so-called Divine Intent, it’s better to first focus on fortifying the safety of the camp on our side, to leave a way out."

He carefully reviewed the Cultivation Techniques he was currently practicing.

"It’s a bit messy; aside from the Guanwu Skill, it would be best to integrate the rest into one. Also, the problem with Taiyuan True Method needs to be addressed."

With that thought, Yu Hong recalled the Cultivation Techniques he had practiced item by item.

Guanwu Skill, Taiyuan True Method, Infinite River Technique.

His brow furrowed.

"So, how should I enhance the secret Technique I initially practiced?"

The initial enhancement of the Technique used a handwritten copy, but he didn’t have the original at hand now, and the rules for Black Mark enhancement required adding something new.

"Unless I can fully rewrite the original, it’s really not easy to handle here."

"So, without using the Black Mark, why not try by myself?"

He calmed down and began to carefully observe and feel the state of his Inner Strength.

After integrating the Cosmic Divine Light, his Inner Qi had turned into a blue glowing liquid orb, continuously circulating within his body.

And the Daoist Breath of the Guanwu Skill circulated back and forth between his temples.

The two only intersect slightly when the Inner Qi flowed upward through the brain.

Yu Hong observed carefully and suddenly noticed that the paths of the Guanwu Skill and Taiyuan True Method only overlapped a little; most parts were separate.

"The Guanwu Skill, once strengthened, greatly aids the progress of the Taiyuan True Method. Clearly, these two can be integrated."

He thought for a moment, then placed a hand on the external skin corresponding to his Inner Qi Group.

"Strengthen Guanwu Jade Spirit Skill, Taiyuan True Method. Direction: integration to reduce side effects."

He didn’t dare add any other requirements; the previous enhancement duration of the Taiyuan True Method was still vivid in his memory.

Now, when he practiced daily, spending too much time on individual enhancement wasn’t advisable.

Perhaps after mastering the Technique to its peak, he might still obtain the unique traits of the Technique, which would help greatly with Tao Breath Circulation.

Strengthening the energy of the Cultivation Technique inside his own body, or this conceptual framework, was something Yu Hong had never tried before.

But since it worked with the original booklets, it should also work on his body.

Especially since Black Mark enhancements seemed to focus on conceptual objects.

Hiss.

After a two-second pause.

Just when Yu Hong thought it had failed, suddenly there was a soft sound.

A black line flowed from the back of his hand into his abdomen.

"Do you want to strengthen the Guanwu Jade Spirit Skill and Taiyuan True Method?"

A countdown appeared outside his abdominal Daoist robe.

’17 days, 4 hours, 9 minutes.’

Seeing this, Yu Hong let out a sigh of relief.

"Good, it worked, and it’s not too long."

As his own Cultivation Technique level continuously rose, the time needed for Black Mark enhancement also corresponded.

This time, only a few days could resolve the issue with the chaotic Techniques, which was already very cost-effective.

"Then, this Dao Artifact..." Yu Hong clenched the crescent pendant, lost in thought.

He always felt there was something off about this object...

"Perhaps, I should try using it somewhere..."

*

*

*

At the same moment.

During the nighttime.

On the quiet street outside Qingchen Temple, a black sedan slowly approached, decelerating and stopping in front of the temple gate.

The car door opened.

Three figures in black trench coats and wearing black masks, tall and thin, stepped down from the car.

"This is the place..." The man in the front, with dark red eyes and dark purple short hair, wore purple floral earrings in his ears, his bright and clear eyes possessing a gender-neutral beauty.