Chapter 764 It's simple, Rong Zhen just needs to marry me.
Inside the incense burner below the platform, two sticks of incense had already burned out.
The other incense sticks continued to burn quietly, but were tinged with the azure light streaming down from above.
It was like ten or so sticks of incense emitting bright blue sparks.
The same was true for the entire platform at that moment.
The azure light of the sword energy stained everyone's clothes.
Above, a [Craftsmanship] artifact hovered above the heads of everyone on the high platform.
It is very close to the lotus inscription that Rong Zhen gave to Ouyang Rong at the top of the grotto.
The azure sword light swept downwards.
It enveloped the entire venue.
This scene is very similar to the dreamlike effect in Ouyang Rong's previous life in the aquarium, where sunlight shines through the azure seawater and onto the underwater glass passageway.
Especially the figure of the girl in palace attire on the high platform.
Her purple dress was covered by a deep blue halo, making her look like a dream.
Similarly, it also made her little face, which was both laughing and crying, appear somewhat hazy and dreamlike, sometimes bright and sometimes dark.
"Ouyang Lianghan, Ouyang Lianghan, do you think I'm stupid?"
The young man in the scholar's robe shook his head.
Rong Zhen stared intently at his face, which was covered by a bronze mask, as if trying to see through the mask to make out his features.
She clenched her teeth, speaking each word clearly:
"You know, I hate this masked face so much. I dream of crushing it time and time again. Take it off, take it off!"
Ouyang Rong shook his head again.
"You opened it and looked at it, so you knew my surname was Wei? Were you pretending?"
Ouyang Rong shook his head again.
Rong Zhen stared at him with a deep, melancholic gaze for a moment, then suddenly shouted angrily:
"Why don't you open it and look? Aren't you a lecherous thief who stole clothes? What kind of gentleman are you pretending to be! What kind of gentleman are you pretending to be! You're not worthy of being called a gentleman!!"
As she spoke, Rong Zhen rushed toward Ouyang Rong, as if to punch him.
"Princess!"
Yi Qianqiu reached out to stop Rong Zhen.
"Let go!" Rong Zhen struggled angrily.
Yi Qianqiu lowered his head, still firmly blocking the way.
As if to stop people, Granny Song returned from the sky to the high platform and came to Rong Zhen's side, while also closing the distance between herself and Ouyang Rong.
After the old woman with the white eyes grabbed Rong Zhen's other arm, she glanced at the arc above her.
Yi Qianqiu looked at Ouyang Rong carefully and asked:
"You are the owner of the Butterfly Love Flower, and this cauldron sword is yours? So the matter of the Star Lake Buddha was done by you and the Xunyang Prince's Mansion? You also killed Lin Cheng, Young Master Wei, and Wang Lengran, and framed the Tiannan Jianghu?"
Upon hearing a certain name, the old woman with the white eyes trembled slightly, her hunched body turning ashen.
Wei Wu's facial muscles twitched slightly, and he said angrily:
"So that's how it is. You were once the magistrate of Longcheng County. This sword was originally forged by the Liu family of Longcheng for my Wei family. You plotted and murdered the Sixth Young Master and hijacked my Wei family's Ding Sword."
Upon hearing this, Ouyang Rong's eyes, visible beneath his mask, remained calm and still, though the spiritual energy within his dantian was rapidly being depleted.
He covered his hands with his sleeves, and began to form hand seals inside his sleeves.
In addition to verbal incantations, there are also hand gestures for invoking spirits, but the latter is more difficult.
Ouyang Rong looked at Wei Wu and asked in a somewhat strange tone:
"Isn't this your Wei family's favorite trick? Whether it's Wei Shaoxuan or Wei Shaoqi, they both do it. No wonder they're family, they all use the same methods to harm people."
"Whether it was when you disguised yourself as a bandit to ambush the Su family in Longcheng, or now you're disguising yourself as a river pirate to attack the Xunyang Prince's Mansion, since you enjoy committing crimes under the guise of bandit suppression so much, I'll just return it to you."
Wei Wu was furious: "You!"
Duan Quanwu also angrily cursed: "Ouyang Lianghan, you are despicable and shameless, and you are slandering others and defaming the Prince's Mansion. Did you plot against Mr. Qiu and then attack and harm him? Now you are deceiving the Princess's feelings and deceiving the Emperor. You will not leave today. I will settle old scores and new grudges together."
Ouyang Rong didn't look at him, but glanced at the golden aura around Yi Qianqiu, Granny Song, and Wei Wu.
Yi Qianqiu frowned and asked:
“Ouyang Lianghan, what do you mean by coming out now? Aren’t you afraid of dying? You’re cutting off your own escape route.”
Wei Wu said coldly:
"You can't be so confident that you can kill us all, can you? Or are you worried that something might happen at the Xunyang Prince's Mansion and want to escape to rescue them?"
Granny Song nodded: "Thanks to the music, and thanks to the princess for keeping you here, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to force you out."
Duan Quanwu said with a dark face:
"You are the swordsman, and your body is the most fragile. You are not a purple aura, so you can only strike once at most. I advise you to surrender immediately. Otherwise, you will die before you can kill us all with one strike. It's not too late to surrender now."
Ouyang Rong asked curiously:
"Shouldn't you be the ones surrendering? Why are you all shouting so loudly? Are you trying to outdo each other in volume?"
"presumptuous!"
Just as Duan Quanwu was angrily rebuking, Ouyang Rong had finished counting the fifteen breaths.
His hand, hidden in his sleeve, had also finished making a hand seal.
The divine decree shall be executed immediately!
However, after listening to Duan Quanwu and the others' angry curses for a while, Ouyang Rong's face slightly lost its focus.
Merit Purple Aura... shows no sign of being deducted!
Just then, as if sensing Ouyang Rong's momentary daze, the white-eyed old woman suddenly sprang up, appearing almost instantly in front of Ouyang Rong.
At the same time, Wei Wu, Yi Qianqiu, Duan Quanwu, and the others who were talking suddenly shut up and rushed forward. Duan Quanwu was originally the closest, but for some reason, he was a beat slower and ended up behind Wei Wu and Yi Qianqiu.
No one cared about the details. Everyone rushed towards Ouyang Rong. Some wanted to go straight for his dantian, some wanted to gouge out his eyes, and some wanted to strangle him. However, Granny Song was the fastest. With her purple qi cultivation, she used her withered claws to aim straight for the face of the young man in the scholar's robe.
In an instant, the [Craftsmanship] above seemed to sense something, and as if in response, its azure sword energy surged and plummeted straight down.
Suddenly, the Buddha's body erupted with golden light, blocking the falling [Craftsman's Work] above the platform—it was Emperor Wen's sword energy! [Craftsman's Work] seemed to slow as it entered water, but in the next instant, azure flames burst forth, enveloping [Craftsman's Work]. A resounding clang echoed from within the golden Buddha statue behind it, and simultaneously, the golden light melted away like ice and snow, even becoming fuel for [Craftsman's Work]! The sword's speed increased! Emperor Wen's power was ineffective against it!
[Craftsmanship] cleaved through the golden sword energy of [Emperor Wen] and arrived at the high platform. The trajectory changed from vertical to horizontal, and the sword energy swept across the entire field, passing through the space within a ten-zhang radius around Ouyang Rong. Wei Wu, Yi Qianqiu, and Duan Quanwu felt the sharp sword energy and all subconsciously abandoned the route of directly attacking Ouyang Rong. They tried to twist their bodies in the air and used various and frequent methods to dodge. Only Granny Song was an exception and still reached out her claws towards Ouyang Rong's face.
[Craftsmanship]'s speed was unmatched, his sword faster than his body. The moment the azure [Arc] touched the aura on everyone's bodies, the golden aura that originally covered them exploded and shone brightly. It was [Emperor Wen's] sword energy again. [Arc] once again ignited the cauldron fire, but this time, the burst of golden light no longer hindered [Craftsmanship], but instead tightly enveloped everyone's bodies.
Time seemed to slow down. Within a ten-zhang radius, it first passed through Song Mama's golden-glowing body, then through Wei Wu, Yi Qianqiu, and the others, passing through them one by one, just like stringing candied hawthorns, cutting them in half at the waist in front of everyone.
At the same time, three mysterious zither sounds rang out from within the golden Buddha statue behind them, one after another, "Zheng—! Zheng—! Zheng—!" The sounds were getting softer and softer, as if a zither was playing a melody in rhythm with the [Craftsmanship].
As the eerie zither music emanated from inside the Buddha statue, Song, Yi, Wei, and the others did not appear to be split in two.
The sharpest sword in the world, like passing through a phantom or sound wave, left them completely unharmed... except for one person.
Without the golden aura covering him, Duan Quanwu stood at the very back of the group. At that moment, he clutched his neck with both hands. A line of blood first appeared in his throat, and then blood gushed out. His head slid to the floor along the smooth cut.
Duan Quanwu's body was severed from his head and body fell to the ground. His head rolled several times before finally stopping on the stairs leading to the high platform. The eyes on his head looked up at the crowd on the field, his face showing disbelief. He stared at the golden light on his companions, his heart filled with deep regret. Damn it, why did he even show his face!
Yi Qianqiu and Wei Wu stopped in their tracks, both surprised and relieved. They looked down at the golden light on their bodies and then at Duan Quanwu's corpse. Granny Song paid no attention to any of this. Without stopping, she smiled grimly and reached out a claw towards Ouyang Rong, who was standing close by, and stabbed him in the face.
But in the next instant, a golden light burst forth from Ouyang Rong's body.
"Zheng—!" The kind-faced golden Buddha once again emitted a familiar zither melody, and Song Mama's withered claws passed through Ouyang Rong's body as if piercing through a phantom.
The attack missed its target immediately.
Ouyang Rong stood there, completely unharmed.
Everyone was stunned by what they saw.
Ouyang Rong frowned, glanced at the surprised and suspicious Song Mama, and then looked down at his palms that had made the hand seals perfectly.
The séance... failed.
Tao Yuanming did not come.
It wasn't that the red and black talisman paper was ineffective; the problem seemed to lie with... that genuine Tao Yuanming painting! What he swallowed while drinking the talisman water wasn't the genuine painting; the so-called genuine Tao Yuanming painting that the Prince Xiang's Mansion had helped him find was actually his mother's fake!
Ouyang Rong's right eyelid twitched violently, and he began to understand why his eyelid had been twitching since yesterday. Could there really be some kind of mystical explanation?
Almost simultaneously, a crack appeared in the prayer beads in the hands of Ouyang Rong, Wei Wu, Yi Qianqiu, Duan Quanwu, and others.
Everyone looked down at the prayer beads in the other person's hand, their faces showing astonishment.
Both sides were stalling for time, either setting up their swords or getting closer to their positions before launching a "charged-up attack".
As a result, no one got hurt, except for one unlucky guy.
Ouyang Rong looked down at the cracked prayer beads in his hand, then at Song Mama, who had previously reminded him to wear the prayer beads properly and now looked both angry and regretful.
Good heavens, can he really escape death once? Could this be considered Lin Cheng's blessing...? Ouyang Rong's expression was slightly strange.
Granny Song suddenly turned her head and shouted angrily towards the North Peak forest, her voice echoing through the mountains: "Why is the Heavenly Pivot Formation still protecting him? You surnamed Yu, how did you manage to preside over the formation! Did you hear me? Immediately release Ouyang Lianghan from his fake cauldron qualification!"
In a pavilion nestled in the distant mountains, an elderly man, engrossed in playing the zither, paused, scratched his head, and asked, "Huh?"
The music stopped, and the pillars of spiritual energy surrounding everyone on the platform vanished. Wei Wu, remembering something, shouted first:
"When the sage bestowed the pearl, he said it would grant him one reprieve from death! His counterfeit cauldron only has one chance to protect him, so kill him immediately! He doesn't have time to unleash his sword a second time!"
Ouyang Rong suddenly looked up, his tone calm:
"If you dare to move again, I'll blow up the Buddha statue."
Everyone suddenly stopped, their eyes filled with different expressions.
Ouyang Rong pointed to the sky above, indicating to everyone.
Everyone looked up and saw that [Craftsmanship] had returned to the position of the cloth sword below the lotus inscription, quietly floating... Everyone's faces became suspicious, but Granny Song sneered and didn't take it seriously: "Boy, I was prepared for this move. Your sword can't get close to the Donglin Buddha."
Ouyang Rong had exhausted most of his spiritual energy, and his divine summoning had failed, preventing him from purifying the entire area. However, he spoke calmly, "Perhaps we can't get close, but what about the lotus stone carvings on the lower dome? Aren't they within reach?"
Yi Qianqiu asked nervously, "Ouyang Lianghan, what do you mean?"
Ouyang Rong calmly put away the cracked prayer beads and explained, "Do you know about the Heavenly Dragon Oil? The Wei family should know, right? The Liu family of Longcheng used it before. I'm sorry, I had some stored up. When Wang Caozhi was building the Great Buddha, he hid some in the cave ceiling and the cliff of the North Peak. My cauldron sword doesn't need to kill you. As long as its cauldron fire touches the Heavenly Dragon Oil behind the rocks, the cave ceiling and the cliff will collapse together, and the Donglin Great Buddha will also be destroyed. This Great Buddha's formation can protect you, but are you sure it can withstand a landslide?"
They couldn't help but look again at the lotus stone carvings on the dome. The azure sword light was quietly shining on the inscriptions such as "Prefect Ouyang Lianghan" and "Lady Rongzhen". What was originally a dreamlike and beautiful scene now filled everyone with horror.
Rong Zhen suddenly looked up, her eyes reddening: "Ouyang Lianghan, are you going to destroy the inscription? Destroy the Buddha statue?"
Ouyang Rong's face was calm, and he said somewhat coldly, "Make way for me immediately. I'm going back to Xunyang City. You are not allowed to stop me, or you can forget about the Buddha statue. Well, at worst, we'll all be buried together when the Buddha collapses and the mountain collapses."
Yi Qianqiu, Wei Wu, and the others' expressions changed, and Granny Song shrieked, "Ouyang Lianghan, how dare you! Try blowing it up! At worst, we'll take your cauldron sword. I can control my qi and won't be threatened by you!"
Ouyang Rong nodded in agreement: "Then you give it a try and see if others agree. Besides, you don't have a real name, so the Dingjian is like a pearl covered in dust."
"Senior Song, please calm down!" Yi Qianqiu and Wei Wu immediately reached out and grabbed the old woman, whose eyes were turning purple with anger.
"Ouyang Lianghan, if you dare touch it, you're dead!" Rong Zhen's face was filled with anger. She shouted and pulled out the jade hairpin with mandarin ducks from her hair. She suddenly rushed towards Ouyang Rong. This time, because Yi Qianqiu and the others were pulling Song Mama away, they did not have time to stop her.
In everyone's eyes, the petite, loli-like figure of the girl in the purple palace dress rushed forward, her black hair flowing freely, and the hairpin in her hand aimed straight at Ouyang Rong's face.
Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes slightly, turned to the side to dodge Rong Zhen's hairpin, and placed his palm on her back, giving her a forceful push. During this time, the girl turned her head, and their eyes met.
The girl in palace attire stared intently into his eyes, her eyes red and brimming with tears.
The young man in the scholar's robe tilted his head slightly, a hint of evasion seemingly lurking deep in his eyes.
She saw it.
She missed her target and nearly fell, but Rong Zhen turned around to rush forward again to fight, only to be stopped by Yi Qianqiu and the others.
Wei Wu looked up at the cauldron sword on the dome, and his attitude suddenly softened: "Ouyang Lianghan, there's no need for a lose-lose situation. How about this, you put down the cauldron sword, and we guarantee we won't hurt you. The conditions the Prince gave you before are still there, and all grudges will be wiped clean. Moreover, the Prince's Mansion will offer you even more generous terms. We'll pretend we don't know anything about what happened today. How about that? As long as you join the Prince's Mansion, and you're a potential legendary swordsman, the Prince will definitely value you highly, and your status will be no less than that of Mr. Qiu back then!"
The square-faced man extended a sincere invitation.
Ouyang Rong smiled.
Granny Song squinted at the mysterious and dreamlike arc above her head and said in a low voice, "That's right, you have the Ding Sword and are a rare and legitimate swordsman. As long as you stop, I can recommend you to the Emperor and exempt you from punishment. In the future, you will have the same status as the Yu family in the palace."
Ouyang Rong glanced at the old woman.
Granny Song examined the sword until her mouth was dry, then asked in a low voice, "What is the name of this cauldron sword?"
Ouyang Rong politely asked, "Are you worthy?"
Granny Song could hardly contain her anger: "You... even if you escape now, you cannot escape the blame for insulting the princess, killing the young master of the Wei family, killing an official of the court, and destroying the Buddha statue in Xingzifang. All these crimes will fall on you and the Xunyang Prince's Mansion!"
Ouyang Rong's expression remained calm, with an indifferent look that suggested he was not threatened.
"Do you really think that my relationship with the Prince of Xunyang's mansion is a dead end? Don't try to gain credit by deceiving others. You are not qualified to know the true name, because only the Sage is qualified to know it. After I leave and rescue the Prince, we will return to the capital together and present the Ding Sword and the true name to the Sage."
Everyone was stunned: "What do you mean?"
"You pretended to be river pirates and attacked the Prince's mansion. Did you really think that the Emperor wouldn't suspect anything after you succeeded? Let me tell you, the Emperor doesn't care about the truth, but about the winner. Whoever wins and walks out of Xunyang City, she will protect and tacitly accept the credit. This is called the winner takes all."
"This is a principle that even Wei Jisi knows. Only you lackeys don't know it. Do you still think you're on the winning side? Believe it or not, as long as General Wei and I return to the capital with the Xunyang Prince's family, and with General Qin's testimony and intercession, as long as we present a cauldron sword, our merit will be greater than that of you great Buddhas, and even greater than that of the Great Zhou Songde Tianshu."
"The Sage won't care about the truth. She will only see that the Xunyang Prince's Mansion is not the loser. She may not punish you for your merit in protecting the Buddha, but she will also not harm the Xunyang Prince's Mansion for presenting the auspicious [Ding Sword]. Instead, she will directly promote the Xunyang Prince to the capital. At that time, your enemy will not be a local vassal king, but another Prime Minister's Mansion."
The crowd looked on in surprise and doubt, and no one dared to move. They struggled to digest his profound words for a long time, and the more they thought about them, the more sweaty they became.
Granny Song stared at the nonchalant Ouyang Rong and suddenly asked:
"Then what about your act of pretending to be the master of Butterfly Love Flower and molesting and angering the True Immortal Princess? The Sage dotes on the True Immortal Princess the most. If he knew about you... ha."
Ouyang Rong paused for a moment, seemingly stumped by the question. Suddenly, a slight twitch appeared at the corner of his mouth. He avoided looking at Rong Zhen and said calmly:
"It's very simple. Let the Prince of Xunyang ask the Sage to grant him a marriage, and let the True Immortal Princess marry me. If she committed indecent acts, then I will take responsibility. I am still the Sword Master. Do you think the Sage would be happy?"
Everyone was stunned and looked at Rong Zhen.
Rong Zhen's face turned completely red, her expression a mixture of anger and astonishment, as if she hadn't expected Ouyang Rong to say such a thing or offer such a solution.
Granny Song's expression changed several times, and she was speechless.
Ouyang Rong suddenly said, "Make way immediately, or I'll count to three and the Buddha will collapse." He started counting without pausing: "Three, two..."
Yi Qianqiu immediately shouted:
"Stop! Everyone move aside and let him pass. The Donglin Buddha cannot be harmed!"
Ouyang Rong walked off the stage with his hands behind his back, seemingly unperturbed.
Everyone stared intently at his dashing figure as a deep blue arc still hung below the lotus stone carving on the dome.
Rongzhen suddenly shouted:
"Ouyang Lianghan, I hate you! I hate you!"
Tears welled in her eyes. Ouyang Rong didn't answer, nor did he look back, and left alone.
The group waited on the platform for a moment.
Granny Song looked up and stared straight at the motionless "Craftsmanship" above.
They dared not move.
Not long after Ouyang Rong left, a female historian rushed in to report.
It is said that someone did not take a boat, but instead crossed the river using the iron chain on the river.
Just then, [Craftsmanship] moved!
Fearing it would rush toward the lotus inscription, everyone was terrified. Granny Song immediately rushed over, reaching out to grab the sword, but instead grabbed a bloody mess, letting out a scream of agony.
Nearly slashing half a palm at the white-eyed old woman, [Craftsmanship] didn't rush towards the dome stone carving. With a "whoosh," it transformed into a "long rainbow" and disappeared, following the sword master's retreat.
Wei Wu suddenly turned and shouted, "Men! Order the cavalry on the south bank to give chase..."
Just then, a middle-aged general rushed in to report: "Lady, Commander Yi, General Duan just arrived at the South Bank army and said that he ordered the two of you to have all the South Bank troops remove their armor, feed their horses, and rest in place, and not to move. Then General Duan also sent a carriage away, which seemed to be the governor's carriage... May I ask if this was your order?"
Rong Zhen, Yi Qianqiu, and the others all stared intently at the corpse of Duan Quanwu, who had died a violent and tragic death, lying on the ground beside them.
The middle-aged general also saw it, looking completely bewildered: "Huh?"
Yi Qianqiu frowned: "It's a mask disguise. He's very clever. He took advantage of the time difference. From the beginning... Duan Quanwu was already a dead man in his eyes."
The crowd's expressions were complicated, and some fell silent.
Just then, Granny Song immediately flew to the top of the cave, stretched out her blood-soaked palm, pressed it against the stone wall, and channeled spiritual energy to examine the interior.
The next instant, the old woman burst into a tirade of curses:
"You little liar! Where did you get this dragon oil?!"
Rongzhen looked somewhat dazed as she gazed up at the lotus inscription.
He did not intentionally bury the dragon oil beforehand.
Enraged, Granny Song was about to ride the wind to give chase when the palace maid, who had been lost in thought, suddenly shouted angrily:
"All of you, come back here! You bunch of useless trash, stop chasing us! From this moment on, no one is allowed to leave the Great Buddha! The rebels are coming soon! Get back here! Obey my orders!"
The crowd turned around, their faces showing either resentment or unwillingness.
Yi Qianqiu glanced at Rong Zhen, whose face was filled with resentment and hatred.
She suddenly thought of a detail: the princess had rushed at Ouyang Lianghan twice just now. Was it intentional, so that he would capture her as a hostage? But Ouyang Lianghan didn't seem to need it. Did Ouyang Lianghan know that at the time? He seemed to have pushed the princess away and didn't take the opportunity to kidnap her. Was it because he ignored her or was it intentional?
However, Yi Qianqiu dared not think too much about it. She immediately suppressed her thoughts and pretended that nothing had happened. She was the first among the crowd to turn around and return to the high platform.
(End of this chapter)
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