One more catty, one more attribute point

"Master Ling Weizi, what are you secretly doing here?" Ning Xiaoyu approached with her ponytail swinging, her eyes sparkling brightly.

"No, nothing!" Ling Weizi looked around apprehensively, clearly lacking confidence.

"Next time you come, remember to knock!" Ling Weizi said, annoyed.

"Okay!" Ning Xiaoyu nodded in agreement, "I got it!" Her face was the picture of eagerness to learn, yet stubbornly unchanging.

Ling Weizi had always been gentle by nature, and truly had no solution for this lively young girl. She could only rub her temples and ask, "What are you here for?"

"When will Master Sister Qin Shunying come?" Ning Xiaoyu admired the older sister from the Fiery Sun Sect, who was about the same age as herself but far superior in strength.

"Qin Shunying..." Ling Weizi smiled, "She has left this time and probably won't come back anytime soon."

"Ah!" Ning Xiaoyu's face immediately turned into a sour expression, and her shoulders slumped listlessly.

"But don't lose heart." Ling Weizi patted Ning Xiaoyu on the shoulder, consoling with a smile, "Although Shunying is not here momentarily, it doesn't matter. I've already talked to her, and if all goes well, an unmatched hero will come."

"Unmatched hero, how fearsome that must be!" Ning Xiaoyu's eyes immediately widened.

"Able to run a horse on his arm, stand a man on his fist, and must eat ten Demon Lords in one meal!" Ling Weizi puffed out her chest, lifted her chin, and gave Ning Xiaoyu a big thumbs-up.

Seeing her expression, Ning Xiaoyu suddenly felt a bit awkward and touched her nose, "Ten Demon Lords in one meal, isn't that a bit exaggerated?"

"Not at all! Ten might not even be enough for him," Ling Weizi flicked her sleeve and said earnestly.

She was about to speak again, but just then—

Whoosh!

A dark shadow swept across out of nowhere.

Obscuring the moonlight, casting a shadow, carrying a strong wind, it blew Ling Weizi's hair around her head.

Ling Weizi looked startled, covered her head, and hurriedly turned around. Beside her, Ning Xiaoyu instinctively reached for her sword, drawing the blade and casting a cold light in the courtyard. Once Ling Weizi turned and saw who it was, she finally breathed a sigh of relief and pressed Ning Xiaoyu's arm down.

"One after the other, why are you all popping up like ghosts," Ling Weizi stuck out her tongue and then told Ning Xiaoyu beside her, "This person is the one I was just telling you about."

Ning Xiaoyu was petite, not much taller than Ling Weizi, who stood one meter fifty.

She looked up, and up, until her chin almost formed a straight line with her neck, only then could she see Su Heng's bronzed face. Long hair cascaded down, features rugged, and eyes deep-set. Not particularly handsome, but he possessed a distinct charm. Though his build was described ferociously by Ling Weizi, it wasn't as bloodthirsty as she had depicted.

Master Ling Weizi really likes to exaggerate... Ning Xiaoyu couldn't help but criticize inwardly.

"Long time no see." A smile crossed Su Heng's face as he nodded to Ling Weizi, greeting her. His realm hadn't yet stepped into Heavenly Deceit, but with his steadily increasing strength, his senses had become much sharper. Recalling the last encounter with Ling Weizi, her aura now seemed much fiercer and warmer.

"It seems your injuries have healed nicely, quite the efforts from Qin Shunying weren't wasted."

"Thanks to the True Blood you gave," Ling Weizi said gratefully, "Qin Shunying already explained everything that happened in the Golden Crow Secret Store."

"You're welcome." Su Heng nodded, "It was also part of the agreement I had with her."

"This is..." Su Heng's gaze fell on the young girl beside him. Dressed in white and with her hair tied back in a ponytail, she looked quite young, with a flat chest.

"Ning Xiaoyu, the true disciple of Wuji Sword Sect," Ning Xiaoyu straightened her robe and said respectfully, "Greetings, senior."

"Hmm, no need for such formalities," Su Heng nodded, his gaze pausing on her for a moment.

The Wuji Sword Sect was the strongest among the three great immortal sects in the region surrounding the Yangtze River, and the only one openly under the seat of a Heavenly Deceit or higher-ranked master. Of course, there are many levels beyond Heavenly Deceit, and an Empire's Heavenly King is among the best.

"Is Li Lingsu also here?" Ling Weizi noticed the Li family's direct daughter hidden in the shadows.

"Greetings to Master Ling Weizi," Li Lingsu gave a genteel greeting to Ling Weizi, then she nodded slightly to Ning Xiaoyu and remained silent.

"How are things on your end?" Su Heng inquired.

He looked up at the sky. The moon was nearly down, but the sun had not yet risen.

The sky was clear, stars dimmed, this time being the darkest and sleepiest of the day. A vague premonition of danger started to form in Su Heng's senses.

What exactly is buried in this Dharma King Temple, that even he could sense the danger?

Su Heng squinted his eyes slightly, amused. Far from feeling any threat, he was actually feeling excited about testing his skills. Enjoy more content from empire

"It's still fine," Ling Weizi, unaware of Su Heng's thoughts, responded earnestly, "The Dharma King Temple appeared right on the front lines. Recently, whether it's the immortal sects or Skull Plain's three major Buddhist schools, all have concentrated their focus on the excavation of the Dharma King Temple. Surprisingly, the intensity of the war has actually decreased."

"Of course, our progress has also been hindered," Ling Weizi paused, then added, "But there's also another matter..."

"What is it?" Su Heng shifted his gaze away from the sky.

Rumble!

Ling Weizi had not yet spoken.

The ground suddenly began to vibrate, plumes of grey-black smoke rose from the city.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Accompanied by a deep, booming horn, the quiet city suddenly awoke, as powerful forces surged skyward, with fierce fires blazing. Within the range of Su Heng's sight, more than a dozen streaks of light soared into the sky.

Each streak of light represented a Heavenly Deceit powerhouse.

The presence of so many powerful beings in a state of alarm clearly indicated they had encountered a troublesome threat.

"What's happened?" Su Heng raised his eyebrows, his gaze landing on Ling Weizi. At that moment, Ling Weizi's face was taut, looking unusually serious.

"Come with me, and you will know soon enough." Having said that, Ling Weizi did not pause.

With a light tap of her toes, her petite body transformed into a streak of firelight, rapidly sweeping toward the city's surrounding wall.

The sparks from her movement technique still lingered in the air. The breeze passed by as Su Heng and Li Lingsu, standing beside him, exchanged glances.

Without hesitation, they both followed suit.

Su Heng also wanted to see just what the legendary Fa Wang Temple was like.

When their party reached the city's surrounding wall, a large crowd had already gathered. Their faces were stern, muscles taut, ready for action.

Su Heng followed their gazes. Off in the distance, the horizon dipped slightly, with smoke rising up.

Amid the black smoke was the faint silhouette of an ancient temple.

Collapsed vermilion walls, thick smoke, piles of dark blue prayer wheels, and blood-stained Buddha statues were scattered about. Monk corpses lay on the ground, not decayed nor devoured by any creature, as if they were still frozen at the moment of their destruction thousands of years ago.

And the anomaly was emanating from within the temple.

Boom!

The courtyard walls collapsed, and swarms of black, spider-like creatures emerged from the smoke.

Each spider was the size of a young calf, their four black limbs were like long spears, gleaming coldly. They moved alternately across the ground, the swishing noise of their movements was rapid, they spread out like a black tide.

The cultivators stationed around the wall quickly responded.

Compressed air burst forth as they bombarded forward, dust exploding on the ground. They hurled these spider creatures into the air. Though the scene looked impressive, the effect was minimal. The bodies of these creatures were extremely tough; saying they had steel frames was no exaggeration.

Moreover, the black smoke emanating from them seemed to block the cultivators' force to some extent. Even powerful secret techniques, when landing on these peculiar creatures, could only produce about thirty to fourty percent of their intended effects.

In such an additive and subtractive scenario, though there were many powerful beings on the cultivators' side,

the scene appeared somewhat unsightly for the moment, with difficulty managing on both sides. Ling Weizi's expression became increasingly tense.

"What are these things?" asked Su Heng, seemingly in no hurry.

"These emerged alongside the reappearance of Fa Wang Temple. We call them Deceit Beasts," Ling Weizi issued a few commands and then found time to respond, "These are only the lowest-level Deceit Beasts found around the outskirts of Fa Wang Temple. There are many, but they aren't that dangerous."

"The real threat lies within Fa Wang Temple. Some of the stronger Deceit Beasts inside can even overpower elders from the cultivator sects."

Ling Weizi chuckled bitterly. "Not sure where these creatures came from, they are extremely troublesome."

Su Heng stroked his chin, then suddenly said, "I think I've seen something similar before."

"Impossible!" Ling Weizi's eyes widened; her immediate reaction was one of disbelief. Only then did she cover her mouth, realizing how hasty her reaction had been. Shaking her head, she lowered her hand and tiptoed to look at Su Heng, her bright eyes sparkling, "Really, where did you see them?"

"Inside the Golden Crow Mausoleum," Su Heng chuckled, his mouth twisting into a grin, "I just remembered something interesting."

"What's that...?"

"When was Fa Wang Temple destroyed?" asked Su Heng in return.

"Probably over two thousand five hundred years ago," Ling Weizi frowned in thought, then responded.

"That's just too coincidental." Su Heng pressed a hand against the protruding part of the city wall, "The fall of Yuan Xi, it seems, also occurred around the same time."

"You mean..." Ling Weizi, as Shunying's mentor, certainly knew quite a bit about the secrets of Yuan Xi. Heartless as she was, and with the recent emergence of Fa Wang Temple, she hadn't connected the two events.

Now, with a mere hint from Su Heng,

Ling Weizi's face instantly turned pale from fright. Stunned, she turned again to face Fa Wang Temple ahead.

Su Heng patted her shoulder, pulling Ling Weizi behind him. Another change came from the distant Fa Wang Temple, accompanied by severe trembling of the ground, cracks spreading. From the pitch-black chasms, two blind, dragon-like Deceit Beasts burst forth.

The aura they exuded was immensely filthy and powerful, faintly exceeding the limits of Heavenly Deceit. Everyone present was taken aback!

Just as everyone felt the horror, Su Heng had already stepped forward.

——Boom!

Moments later, accompanied by a thunderous explosion.

Golden flames soared into the sky, intensely hot, all Deceit Beasts utterly dispersed.

...

The sun rose as usual.

Looking over the battlefield, that majestic figure bathed in endless golden light.

In the distance, on Wulian Mountain, two monks, one fat and one thin, both showed expressions of surprise.

The fat monk, his small eyes flickering with soft golden light—obviously practicing some sort of Heavenly Vision technique—now retracted his gaze, speaking softly, "It seems that the broad Buddha's words were correct. With the reemergence of Fa Wang Temple, it ultimately drew that man here."