"How is this possible, how could the ancestor's Dharma Body be defeated!" Xuan Zhen looked at the scene before him in disbelief, muttering to himself.
This was a being of Ascension to Immortality, so why couldn't it defeat a monster? And there seemed to be something off with the state of the Dharma Body, leaving the young Daoist, who had only begun his practice of cultivation a few years ago, full of confusion.
Lin Fang was also full of doubts. The strength of the ancestor from Tianyi Teachings was too weak. Although his second senior brother was indeed formidable, he was, after all, a reincarnated soul with only a tenth of his former strength, yet he still managed to easily destroy his Dharma Body. This performance was truly unbelievable.
However, he noticed that the Old Daoist Priest beside him seemed to understand something, his face went deathly pale, and his body trembled violently.
Zhu Bajie had killed the Golden Armored Deity and looked down at Xuan Zhen with a cruel smile on his face. He was no kind-hearted believer; since Xuan Zhen dared to make a move against him, he naturally had to be prepared to die.
Xuan Zhen, facing the oncoming Nine-toothed Rake, felt utter despair. He still had many good years ahead of him; he didn't want to die here.
At that moment, the Old Daoist Priest made his move. With a flick of his sleeve, countless white paper figures flew out, transforming into Daoist Soldiers and charging towards Zhu Bajie's rake.
"Not a bad spell!" Zhu Bajie praised with a laugh. The art of paper figures and horses was widespread, but those of the Old Daoist Priest seemed particularly mystical.
The typical paper figures and horses were just Blinding Methods, lacking any real killing power, merely exploiting the enemy's psychology. Yet the Old Daoist Priest's paper figures possessed significant combat ability, clearly having been specially cultivated.
Countless paper figures turned to dust under the assault of the Nine-toothed Rake but successfully delayed Zhu Bajie's attack, allowing Xuan Zhen a chance to escape with his life.
"Interesting, since you chose to intervene, leave your life here as well!" Zhu Bajie roared fiercely, intending to also kill the Old Daoist Priest in one fell swoop.
The overwhelming Demon Qi enveloped the entire Gao Lao Village, leaving the faint-hearted with weak knees.
"Enough!" A cold voice emerged from the loft in the back yard, and a beautiful face peeked out from the window.
"If you dare to kill the innocent, I will die right here today!" The woman threatened with death as she spoke, holding a pair of scissors in her pale hand.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Bajie immediately showed a look of shock, "My lady, be careful! Those scissors are sharp; don't hurt yourself."
"Then let these people go. They only got involved in this mess because of me. If you kill them, I will never be able to clear my sins in this lifetime!" Gao Cui Lan said tearfully, her words full of vulnerability.
Hearing this, Zhu Bajie already deeply regretted his actions, thinking to himself that it would be regrettable if these ignorant people caused his beloved wife sorrow. He sheathed his weapon and shouted at Lin Fang and the others, "Since my wife has pleaded for you, get lost at once!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Fang was overjoyed. Truly, every creature has its bane. Although Zhu Bajie was strong, he was lascivious, and Gao Cui Lan, though he had only glimpsed her from afar, was indeed a beauty. More importantly, her delicate demeanor easily aroused a man's protective instinct, no wonder she had such a firm grasp on the once Marshal Tianpeng.
Lin Fang hurriedly pulled the Old Daoist Priest and they quickly left Gao Lao Village. Xuan Zhen resentfully watched Zhu Bajie head to the backyard to meet with his wife, only reluctantly leaving the place.
Zhu Bajie noticed the resentment in Xuan Zhen's eyes, but did not take it to heart. If it weren't for Gao Cuilan's plea, Zhu Bajie could easily crush such an insignificant creature with just a flick of his finger. However, the Young Daoist Priest, who had yet to make a move, did arouse his curiosity. He always felt that the fellow seemed to be hiding something, but he soon cast aside these doubts and joyfully ran upstairs to comfort his wife.
Lin Fang, with the Old Daoist Priest in tow, ran wildly until they were well out of Gao Lao Village before stopping to rest. The Old Daoist Priest, with low mana, was already gasping for breath from the exertion.
"Let's rest a bit, rest a bit. Are you trying to tire an old man to death?" the Old Daoist Priest said, panting heavily.
"Tired now, are you? When you made your move earlier, why weren't you afraid of losing your own life?" Lin Fang said teasingly.
He examined the Old Daoist Priest from head to toe before speaking, "Is this Xuan Zhen your illegitimate son or something? For a man as afraid of death as you to actually be willing to risk your life for him."
Upon hearing this, the Old Daoist Priest's face changed slightly, and he sighed softly, "Although he's not an illegitimate son, it's almost the same."
Immediately interested, Lin Fang eagerly tugged at the Old Daoist Priest's sleeve, wanting to hear the whole story. After all, he was famously nosy and would not miss such a good opportunity.
The Old Daoist Priest looked at the excited Lin Fang, shook his head, and then shared his connection with Xuan Zhen.
It turned out that Xuan Zhen was actually the Old Daoist Priest's disciple. He left because he felt that he couldn't achieve Ascension to Immortality with the Old Daoist Priest, which is why he joined the Tianyi Teachings—this was why he always acted so arrogantly towards the Old Daoist Priest.
"I understand his choice. From a young age, Xuan Zhen pursued Ascension to Immortality with all his heart. Yet our sect forbids the disciples from Ascension, so he became disheartened and eventually betrayed our teachings," the Old Daoist Priest said with a heavy sigh.
"That's strange. I've heard that mortals pursue Ascension to Immortality as their goal. Why does your sect not allow disciples to Ascend? That's quite peculiar and baffling!"
The Old Daoist Priest looked around and then lowered his voice, "Our founding master said on his deathbed that this Ascension is but a deception."
"A deception? Come on, Old Daoist Priest, don't be joking. How can the lifelong pursuit of so many cultivators turn out to be a deception?" Lin Fang said with a laugh. Such a statement was too radical—if it was a deception, where did all those who ascended go? Moreover, he had just seen the founder of the Tianyi Teachings descend in his Dharma Body.
"Wait, Dharma Body!" Lin Fang suddenly startled, with Zhu Bajie's disdainful words and the rigid demeanor of the Golden Armored Deity flashing through his mind.
At first, he thought it was just because it was a Dharma Body, so it lacked Spiritual Wisdom and seemed rigid, but if what the Old Daoist Priest said was true, then what it implied was too terrifying.
Seeing the look of fear on Lin Fang's face, the Old Daoist Priest knew Lin Fang must have realized something, and then he spoke slowly, "At first, none of us believed it either. However, after our founding master said that and died during the night, Black and White Impermanence came to perform the Soul Locking. In this world, only those with heinous sins deserve to be directly reaped by these two Soul-Reaping Emissaries. Our founding master entered Daoism at an early age, led a life of benevolence and virtue, and dedicated himself to cultivation—there was no reason for them to claim his soul, except for his rejection of Ascension and the words he left behind."