The night was bitterly cold.
Inside the gambling house.
A Man with a coarse face was pushing his pai gow tiles, his eyes bloodshot, just about to push out the silver pieces in front of him.
"Pa."
A large hand pressed down on his wrist.
The Man was furious, about to curse, but when he looked back, it was a colleague from the Demon Suppression Division.
That person was already dressed in a complete black outfit, with his waist saber hung, and his expression was solemn.
"Don't push, something happened."
"What could happen? This hand of 'Heavenly Tiles' of mine..."
The person lowered his voice and only said one sentence: "That new Commander wants to kill people."
The Man's hand trembled.
The Heavenly Tiles fell to the ground.
Without another word, he snatched the silver from the table, stuffed it into his Huai, and turned to run.
Similar scenes occurred throughout the Region.
Those who hadn't even tied their belts pushed aside their courtesans and rushed out.
Those who were dead drunk were doused awake with a bucket of well water, then grabbed their sabers, cursing, and mounted their horses.
On the official road, the sound of horse hooves rumbled like thunder, making the earth tremble slightly.
If one were to look down from a high vantage point.
One would see several fiery Dragons winding their way across the vast land.
Torches blazed, illuminating stern faces.
The white mist exhaled by the Red-Eyed Colts solidified in the cold night.
Except for the necessary personnel left to guard the cities.
Everyone else, no matter where they were or what they were doing.
All headed in the same direction.
Prefecture... The next morning.
When the people of Prefecture City woke up, they immediately sensed that something was wrong.
They all retreated into their homes.
The once bustling long street was now empty.
Only the cavalry, galloping past in Team after Team, stirred up dust everywhere.
Behind old wooden doors.
Pairs of eyes peered through the cracks, looking with fear towards Qituo Mountain.
"What's... what's going on?"
The Man next to him sighed, his expression complex.
"Baosha Temple has been acting tyrannically in Prefecture for hundreds of years, even the government had to defer to them, but who would have thought that today..."
"Shh! Silence!"
His wife covered his mouth, her face pale white.
"When immortals fight, Mortals suffer. Are you tired of living?"
...Prefecture, Qituo Mountain.
Even before the main forces from Region arrived, the Demon Suppression Guards stationed near Prefecture had already been dispatched in full.
In just one day.
Qituo Mountain was completely surrounded.
Every few tens of steps, a Demon Suppression Guard in black clothes with red patterns stood with his saber at his side.
Strong bows and powerful crossbows were already strung.
Arrowheads gleaming with a faint cold light pointed directly at the mountain gate.
Inside the mountain gate.
The monks looked at the dense crowd outside, their legs trembling, cold sweat already soaking their monastic robes.
Normally, relying on the reputation of Baosha Temple, when they descended the mountain, who wouldn't respectfully call them Great Master?
Even government officials would give them some face.
When had they ever seen such a display?
A monk of slightly higher seniority walked to the mountain gate, clasped his hands together, and forced a smile.
"Amitabha, Official Sirs, what is this for?"
"My Baosha Temple is a pure land of Buddhism. Is there some misunderstanding for you all to surround the mountain with weapons?"
No one answered him.
His only response was those pairs of eyes, cold as iron.
And.
"Clang—"
The uniform sound of sabers being drawn.
A Cavalry Commander at the front, expressionless, merely said indifferently: "Step back."
The monk swallowed, looking at the blade so close, and ultimately dared not take another half-step forward.
He could only retreat dejectedly back inside the mountain gate.
Inside the temple.
Thousands of monks gathered, their hearts filled with panic.
"Where is the Head Monk? Why haven't the Head Monks appeared yet?"
"Has this Demon Suppression Division gone mad? Do they really want to destroy my Baosha Temple?"
Someone wanted to rush out and fight, but was held back tightly by an older monk.
"Don't be impulsive!"
"The Abbot is in seclusion in the back mountain; now is a critical moment!"
Everyone turned their heads, looking towards the direction of the Forbidden Land in the back mountain.
Although the Demonic Qi had dispersed, a powerful Aura was contained, not revealing itself.
"I heard the Abbot has already entered the Ink Dot Realm, his divine skill having reached Major Achievement!"
"These lackeys are arrogant now, but when the Abbot comes out of seclusion, he'll surely make them pay!"
"Exactly! Endure for a moment, and the storm will pass!"
"As long as the Abbot is here, my Baosha Temple won't fall!"
...This siege lasted two days.
At first, the monks in the temple still put on airs.
They just thought the Demon Suppression Division was acting up again.
Although the display was grander, who would dare to truly harm a single blade of grass or a tree at Baosha Temple?
But as time passed, that suffocating murderous Aura, carried by the mountain wind, seeped into their monastic robes.
Making these Great Masters, who usually lived in comfort, finally panic.
On the morning of the third day.
The thin fog had not yet dispersed.
The mountain gate opened wide.
Hundreds of warrior monks, holding staffs, surrounded several high-ranking figures and surged out aggressively.
"You curs, surrounding my mountain gate, cutting off my incense offerings, what exactly do you intend to do?!"
"This is Qituo Mountain! It's a pure land of Buddhism! It's not your Demon Suppression Division's backyard!"
"Call your Lord Wei over! this poor monk wants to ask, does the Great Tang still have any laws?!"
"…"
However.
The Demon Suppression Guards opposite completely ignored his clamor.
"Thwack—"
The sound of a bowstring vibrating.
A wolf-tooth feathered arrow grazed the monk's bald scalp and fiercely embedded itself in the vermilion mountain gate.
The arrow's fletching hummed ceaselessly.
"Anyone who takes another step forward will be killed without mercy."
A Brigade Commander slowly lowered the hard bow in his hand, his eyes indifferent.
The monks were in an uproar.
To retreat, they were unwilling.
To advance, they lacked the courage.
For a time, they were stuck in place, caught between a rock and a hard place.
Just then.
A commotion suddenly arose from the outer perimeter.
A wandering monk in a gray monastic robe, covered in dust and looking terrified, was trying to break through the blockade but was pressed to the ground by several Demon Suppression Guards.
"Don't! Don't! I'm a monk from the temple!"
The monk struggled and shouted towards the mountain gate.
"Something big has happened! Region... news came from Region... two days ago, a monk from our temple went to the Region Dusi."
Everyone was stunned.
Before they could react.
The monk continued: "That monk declared that he wanted the Region Dusi to give Baosha an explanation... the result..."
Immediately, a monk asked: "What was the result?"
"The result... the explanation was left there, and his head is still hanging on the Region city gate."
"…"
Went to Region?
And demanded an explanation from a Dusi of a Prefecture?
Even losing his head for it, hung on the city gate for public display?
How incredibly arrogant, and how suicidal.
They were arrogant in the Region, and indeed didn't take the Demon Suppression Division seriously.
But this didn't mean that Baosha Temple could openly ride on the imperial court's neck and defecate.
"Who?"
In the crowd, an unknown high monk asked tremblingly.
"Which hospital's Disciple is it? To be so ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth?!"
"Mad... absolutely mad!"
"This must be a misunderstanding! How could someone from my Baosha make such an outrageous move?! It must be other demonic monks impersonating people from my Baosha!"
"Amitabha."
Everyone subconsciously turned their heads.
They saw several figures slowly approaching from the direction of the back mountain.
The person leading them looked extremely young.
But behind him, the three Head Monks, Forgetting the Mundane, Forgetting Thought, and Wang Jue, followed subserviently, as if holding him in high esteem.
"Ab... Abbot?"
Someone gasped in disbelief.
More and more monks widened their eyes, their gazes lingering on the young face.
Although they had never heard of any connection between entering the Ink Dot Realm and regaining youth.
But the Aura on his body... the Baosha Abbot had entered the Ink Dot Realm!!!