Chapter 490: Destruction of Shenlong Temple (5k)
From today onwards, there will no longer be a Shenlong Temple in the capital.
Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, his eyes flickered, he pursed his lips, and nodded: "I will do it."
Xu Zhenguan nodded slightly and said:
"Xuan Yin is no longer in the capital. Currently, of the three great Bodhisattvas in the temple, Prajna is achieving enlightenment, Nagarjuna is dead, and Dajing has fled to the Western Regions. The remaining powerful ones should no longer pose a threat to you."
She entrusted this matter to him after she was sure that there was no powerful enemy in Shenlong Temple who could harm Zhao Duan.
"I know." Zhao Duan nodded, and suddenly thought of his old acquaintance Bian Ji in his mind. He wondered if that guy was still there.
"By the way, I'll give you this sword. You've been lacking a weapon since you entered the world."
Xu Zhenguan suddenly called him and threw to him the sword that had been passed down from Li Yanfu's family. It had a simple and square shape, a scabbard inlaid with gems, and a noble origin.
Zhao Duan stretched out his right hand, grasped the scabbard in mid-air, and raised his eyebrows:
"Isn't this thing for warlocks? Can I use it too?"
Xu Zhenguan nodded and explained:
"I have seen this sword. It is quite interesting. It can be used by both magic and martial arts. If a magician wields the sword, using his magic power to drive it, he can strike out and simultaneously cut down multiple enemies. Even if the enemies are not in the same direction, he can still repel them.
If a warrior uses his Qi to activate it, it will also be indestructible. I was thinking of finding a sword for you from the armory, but I didn't expect this to be suitable for you."
So interesting? I can now summon Pei Niannu to possess me at any time. I'm a martial artist myself, and this sword also has two modes... It really matches...
Well, although the Golden Crow Flying Knife is useful, it is not enough for me now, and the Frost Sword has been eliminated... Zhao Duan's mind moved, he held the sheath with his left hand, grasped the hilt with his right hand and pulled it out!
With the sound of metal friction, the sharp blade came out of the sheath half an inch, revealing a concave seal script on the blade below the handle.
It was the word "Zhen".
It is both a talisman and a weapon. The name "Zhen Dao" is simple but vivid.
Zhao Duan sheathed his sword and smiled, "It's just right. I'm going to Shenlong Temple to test my sword."
…
…
After leaving the palace, Zhao Duan rode his horse straight to the imperial court.
Running on the familiar streets of the capital, he felt as if he was in another world.
It was already past noon, but Zhao Duan did not feel hungry. When he arrived at the familiar imperial court, he saw teams of soldiers in brocade uniforms returning, escorting a large number of captured rebels and putting them in the imperial prison.
"Zhao Duan!" A clear female voice sounded. Looking in the direction of the voice, the heroic Haitang was smiling and waving at him.
Zhao Duan raised the corner of his mouth, revealing a smile. He dismounted and turned his face to the female colleague who was walking towards him.
"In public, call him Zhao Shaobao."
"Tsk." Haitang rolled her eyes, not afraid at all.
As the great-granddaughter of Eunuch Hai, she is one of the few people in the capital who dares to call him by his name in public.
"I heard about what happened in the palace. It's really your style." Haitang suddenly asked seriously, "I... Do you know the whereabouts of Eunuch Hai and the others?"
Zhao Duan shook his head and briefly explained how the two sides were separated after the Fengshan ceremony.
Haitang nodded, but she wasn't anxious.
"Mo Zhaorong's team probably doesn't know about your return to the capital, but they should be on their way back as well."
She was not too worried about the safety of Eunuch Hai. Firstly, with the fighting power of Eunuch Hai and the entire Martial Arts Hall, it would be difficult for them to die unless they were killed by celestial beings or went crazy and charged into the battlefield.
Secondly, during this period of time, Eunuch Hai has been using the shadow guard channel to pass on information to the capital.
"By the way, are you back to look for the Governor?" Haitang asked curiously.
Zhao Duan nodded, then shook his head: "Your Majesty has assigned me an errand, I will come back to call for some help."
"Oh, so the governor is not in the yamen right now. He has gone to take people to deal with the remnants of Li's party. How many people do you need? We in Narcissus Hall have just freed up some staff." Haitang said.
Zhao Duan smiled and said, "With only the Narcissus Hall, I'm afraid the staff is not enough."
Haitang was stunned, her teardrop-adorned face filled with surprise:
"The unrest in the city has been basically quelled. What other errands are there that require so many people?"
Zhao Duan smiled and said, "Destroy Shenlong Temple."
Haitang was stunned.
…
A moment later, on the streets of the capital, a large group of imperial officials marched forward with murderous intent and their horses' hooves thundering as they headed straight for the Shenlong Temple.
Zhao Duan rode in the lead, followed by Haitang, Zhang Han, and another police officer from the gang.
This time when he went to Shenlong Temple, he brought people from three halls with him, which was an astonishing sight.
"Are you sure we have enough people? How about we wait for the governor to come back and gather all nine branches together?" Haitang was a little panicked on the horse.
Zhao Duan glanced at her with a smile:
"Why? The Maritime Police have never been timid people. Why are they so cowardly today?"
Haitang stared:
"That's Shenlong Temple! Even if, as you said, Abbot Xuanyin isn't here, and those Bodhisattvas aren't here either, it's still not something we can destroy with just a few people. At the very least, we'll need to bring one or two World Realms with us, right?"
At her level, she did not understand the ins and outs of Fengshan. She only knew that the empress failed because of the intervention of Shenlong Temple. Now that His Majesty had been promoted to a celestial being, he wanted to retaliate.
"Who said there is no world here?" Zhao Duan smiled.
Haitang was stunned, and so were the other two detectives. Their hearts were pounding. They had a vague guess, but they didn't dare to believe it.
During the coup in the palace, Zhao Du'an only drew his sword and killed Li Yinglong. Apart from that, he did not take any other action. At this moment, only a few people in the capital knew that Zhao Du'an had passed away.
However, just when the three of them wanted to ask, Zhao Duan reined in his horse, looked ahead, and said in a deep voice:
"From now on, follow my instructions."
We have arrived at Shenlong Temple!
In front of us, there is a magnificent and solemn temple building, covering a large area, with red walls and yellow tiles. At a glance, the glazed roof of the Buddhist temple shines brightly in the sun.
The Shenlong Temple used to be very popular, with countless pilgrims in the temple, and the smoke from incense and candles billowing in the sky almost never disappeared.
But since the imperial court banned Buddhism last year, Shenlong Temple has become deserted.
Now, the door is closed and there is no one around.
However, the sound of horse hooves from Zhao Duan's group still alarmed the temple. When they stopped their horses, a small door opened under the tall lintel of the temple, next to the tightly closed temple door, and several monks in monk robes walked out.
The first one is the "Master of the Reception Hall" who receives pilgrims in the temple.
"Amitabha, when will Zhao Shaobao return to Beijing? And why did he come to my Shenlong Temple?"
The middle-aged monk in charge of reception was very nervous. He was terrified when he saw the large group of cavalry. When he saw that the person leading the group was Zhao Yanwang who had disappeared for several months, he was even more shocked.
Zhao Duan did not dismount. He held the reins with one hand and the whip with the other, his eyes narrowed slightly and his voice was soft:
"Oh? You don't know why I'm here? Then you should know what Xuan Yin did."
The middle-aged monk in charge of reception looked bewildered:
"Abbot? The abbot has been meditating in the temple. Since the beginning of spring, he has ordered all monks in the temple to remain in seclusion. Can you explain this more clearly, Young Protector?"
Zhao Duan frowned:
"You don't know? Xuanyin is no longer in the temple? Then you should know that Longshu and others have left, right?"
The head of the reception hall became increasingly confused:
"The abbot isn't in the temple? This... I don't know. As for Nagarjuna Bodhisattva and some monks, they did leave the temple a while ago. They heard that there was unrest outside, so they left the city to protect some monks and small temples outside..."
Zhao Duan had a blank expression on his face. He could not see any signs that the hall master was lying, so he roughly guessed the reason:
Whether it was the Fengshan battle or the assassination of the emperor in Baihua Village, they were both extremely secretive and extremely fatal events.
Presumably, only Xuan Yin and a few high-ranking officials in the temple knew about and participated in it.
Although this monk is in charge of a hall, his status is not high enough. I am afraid that he still does not know what Shenlong Temple is involved in, let alone that a disaster is about to happen.
It's not just him. The entire Shenlong Temple, since it was abandoned by Xuan Yin, must be composed of a group of ignorant middle and low-level monks.
But...does it matter?
"Everyone obey," Zhao Duan no longer paid attention to this person and said loudly:
"Immediately seal off the entire Shenlong Temple and don't let even a fly escape!
Your Majesty has decreed that Shenlong Temple is guilty of treason and rebellion, an unforgivable crime. Effective immediately, Shenlong Temple will be destroyed, all Buddhist properties and lands confiscated, and all monks within the temple will be arrested and imprisoned pending trial. Anyone who dares to interfere will be killed immediately!
A large group of people in brocade clothes drew their swords and raised their arms high:
"Anyone who dares to stop me will be killed immediately!!"
As he spoke, the cavalry split into two teams, rushed out from behind Zhao Duan and surrounded the entire Shenlong Temple.
Zhao Duan led the rest of the group straight towards the gate.
"Break the door! Arrest them!"
What? Treason?
The monks including the receptionist were shocked and wanted to ask something, but when they saw Zhao Duan and others drawing their swords, they were already scared out of their wits and turned around to flee back into the temple.
Zhao Duan was not in a hurry to catch him and ordered Jinyi to tear down the door.
Seeing his subordinates struggling, he shook his head and missed Hou Renmeng, his close confidant from Lihua Hall, who was with the Fengshan team.
"If Lao Hou was here, why would we be so fussy about scoring the goal?"
As he was sighing, the main gate of Shenlong Temple was removed with a loud bang, and the middle gate was opened wide. Zhao Duan and his men swaggered into this ancient temple that was nearly a thousand years old.
At this time, the whole temple was in an uproar. Monks ran out one by one, and were then frightened away by the ferocious officers and soldiers.
Several monks were so angry that they tried to stop him, but were chopped down by the swords of the Zhaoya Jinyi.
"The soldiers are breaking in!"
“Murder!”
"Go and invite the abbot!"
The monks fled in terror, as if it were the end of the world, not knowing what was happening.
Zhao Duan led his men forward inch by inch without haste. When they passed through the front hall and entered the central courtyard, a large number of monks wearing dark yellow robes and holding sticks and long swords rushed out like a tide.
Stop the officers and soldiers.
"These are the monks from Luohan Hall. They all have strong cultivation skills. If they really fight, there will inevitably be casualties." Haitang frowned.
There are many halls in Shenlong Temple, and the Arhat Hall is responsible for the combat power.
"Zhao Duan!? What do you mean? Are you really taking advantage of the fact that there is no one in Shenlong Temple?!" Suddenly, there was a roar as thick as a bell.
Zhao Duan, standing in the crowd with his hands behind his back, caught a glimpse of a big monk with huge ears, a dark face, eyes like copper bells, a half-open chest, and a very heavy Zen staff with eighteen copper rings in his hand. He walked out from the center of a group of monks.
He was very tall, and his monk's shoes made a heavy thud as he stepped on the ground.
At this moment, his face was filled with anger, just like the legendary angry King Kong.
"Abbot!" The other monks seemed to have found their backbone.
Zhang Han, who was standing next to Zhao Duan, whispered:
"This is the head monk of the Arhat Hall, a martial monk of the worldly realm. Although he is not as powerful as a Bodhisattva, his martial arts skills are definitely not bad. If we join forces, it will be difficult to resist him. Unless the governor arrives..."
Zhao Duan was too lazy to listen anymore and said calmly:
"Where's Bian Ji? Let him speak. I don't want to waste my breath on a nameless wretch."
When the head monk of the Arhat Hall heard this, his face turned even darker, like the bottom of a pot. He practiced in the temple all year round and seldom went out, so he was not well-known.
But he was, after all, the head monk of a temple. How could any martial monk in the world tolerate this? He immediately pounded his heavy Zen staff into the ground. With a crack, the blue bricks collapsed, cracking into spider-web-like cracks. He shouted angrily:
"Zhao Du'an! Don't go too far! Da Jing has a grudge against you. If you have the guts, go find him. You're hiding behind soldiers and using your power to bully others. What kind of person are you? Shenlong Temple is a sacred place for Buddhism. Retreat immediately, or else don't blame the Buddha for not giving the court face!"
He was still calm and didn't dare to really take action.
Zhao Duan frowned, as if annoyed by the noise. He finally glanced at him, shook his head and sneered:
"You don't even know what happened, and you still say you're not a scumbag?"
He realized that even though this man had a strong cultivation base, he was mostly just a gatekeeper in the temple and had no access to the decisions of the Shenlong Temple's top management.
Far inferior to Bian Ji.
"But you've reminded me that unless I cripple this scumbag like you, I won't be able to intimidate all the monks in the temple into surrendering. So, I'll use you as a good test for my sword."
Zhao Duan changed the subject, smiled lightly, raised his right hand, and a man in brocade clothes immediately handed over the sword in his hands.
This weapon is extremely exquisitely crafted. The scabbard is square and simple, inlaid with precious gems, and it is a jewel-like artifact. When placed in the study, it is an exquisite artifact.
Who could have imagined that it was also a killing weapon with a profound history?
"What are you going to do?" The head of the Arhat Hall was stunned. He was surprised that Zhao Duan, who was just a god in the rumors, dared to draw his sword against him.
His expression changed and he said:
"Do you think that because of your power, we won't dare to fight back? Let you slaughter us? You must know that even clay Buddhas have tempers. If you piss me off, I can just hit you with my Zen stick..."
Zhao Duan held the hilt of the knife in his right hand, his eyebrows lowered, his eyes cold:
"Noisy!"
At this moment, the official robe on his body became more and more scarlet, and in a trance, the style seemed to have changed.
His bun was broken, and his black hair fell like a waterfall. One of his eyes was still clear, but the other had turned a strange silver color.
Deep in the silver eyeballs, the sorceress in wedding dress with a dark gold mask opened her eyes indifferently.
The Qi sea roared, and Qi and magic power poured into the hilt of the knife frantically at the same time.
A strong sense of danger enveloped everyone's heart!
The head monk of the Arhat Hall's face changed drastically. He felt the threat of death. Without time to think, he held the Zen staff weighing hundreds of pounds across his body with his strong hands, and the illusory golden bell began to condense around him.
Zhao Duan has already drawn his sword!
“clang!”
A flash of bright sword light illuminated the entire courtyard. At this moment, Zhao Duan simultaneously mobilized his own strength and Pei Niannu's strength into this sword.
Most of the internal force in his Qi Sea evaporated in an instant!
The blade of the Zhendao burst out with dazzling light, and an illusory word "Zhen" vaguely emerged. Then, the majestic sword light was like a gap in the sky, flowing down.
"Bang!"
The heavy Zen staff in the hands of the head monk of the Arhat Hall wailed as it could not bear the weight, and was cut into two pieces by the sword light. The golden bell cover that had not yet been fully formed also shattered!
There were crisp sounds of bones breaking, mixed with screams. This extremely huge Luohan monk was completely unable to fight back. He was hit head-on by a high-speed locomotive and flew backwards!
With a loud bang, he hit a clock in the pavilion, and blood spurted out. The man leaned against the clock, his head tilted, and he fell unconscious. A long vertical cut appeared between his eyebrows, and scarlet blood flowed out like tears!
"when--"
There was a moment of silence in the temple, with only the sound of the bell echoing.
Defeated?!
The head of the Arhat Hall in the middle realm of the world was seriously injured and defeated in just one round?!
This result shocked everyone.
Not only the Shenlong Temple side, but even the officials of the imperial court were stunned.
Haitang widened her bright eyes, slightly parted her lips, and stared blankly at Zhao Duan who suddenly drew his knife.
Zhang Han could hardly hold the seven-foot sword in his hand and nearly dropped it. This man who was once the strongest fighter in the Nine Halls of the Imperial Court now had a blank look in his eyes, as if he was dreaming.
One knife? Seriously injuring the head of the Arhat Hall?
Has Zhao Duan advanced to the worldly realm?
No!
Even in the ordinary worldly realm, it is absolutely impossible to do this. You must know that the head of the Arhat Hall is of the middle grade in the world!
Even if a high-quality item beats a medium-quality item, it wouldn't be so smooth, right?
So… could it be that after not seeing Zhao Duan for several months, he had already reached the perfection of the world? Becoming a master comparable to the level of Qingshan's senior brother Duan Shuiliu?
The group of Jinyi uniforms in the imperial court were buzzing with disbelief.
Of course, they didn't know that Zhao Duan's true cultivation level was only on par with the head of the Arhat Hall.
If we consider that his cultivation level was not achieved through real practice, but rather through a short period of dual cultivation, attacking the emperor, and forcing things to happen... in terms of cultivation level, Zhao Duan is not as good as the other party.
But what could be done? His sword strike was equivalent to two worldly realm masters attacking with all their strength at the same time, and only with the help of the extraordinary "Zhen Dao" treasured by Li Yanfu could he unleash such power.
As a price, Zhao Duan's Qi was mostly consumed, and he was no longer able to make such a slash.
"You are just a small fry, you can't even block a single blow from me, yet you still dare to speak so arrogantly."
Zhao Duan moved his wrist and calmly pushed the sword into the scabbard, which was held by the man in brocade clothes.
His expression was calm as he glanced at the monks in front of him:
"If you don't want to die, surrender."
The group of monks were silent for a moment. After a moment, it was unknown who took the lead, and the first iron rod was thrown to the ground.
Immediately, the monks dropped their weapons and gave up resistance.
They knew very well that even if the entire temple fought hard to fight against these officials, this was the capital and they would ultimately be defeated.
"If you don't accept the toast, you'll have to drink the penalty wine." Zhao Duan sneered and handed the arrest to his men. He then turned to look at the trembling monk in the corner.
"Where is Bian Ji?"
The monk in charge of reception turned pale and shook his head.
"I don't...I don't know...The Master hasn't appeared for several days. I only know that he was at Jizhao Temple last time, and his whereabouts since then are unknown."
What was Bian Ji doing in the nunnery? Zhao Duan suddenly had an idea and called a Jinyi:
"Go to Jizhao Temple across the street and find out what's going on."
He highly suspected that Bian Ji had run away with Xuan Yin.
Compared with the group of monks in front of him, although Bian Ji is not a Bodhisattva, he is undoubtedly one of the high-level officials of Shenlong Temple, or at least a close confidant of Xuan Yin.
There's no reason not to take it away.
"You will stay here and seal up the temple's property and training supplies. From today onwards, everything in this temple will belong to the imperial court."
After saying this, Zhao Duan stepped deeper into the Shenlong Temple and arrived at the deepest part, outside the Buddhist temple where Xuan Yin had been in seclusion for many years.
Without hesitation, he pushed the door open with force. With a creak, sunlight poured into the empty Buddhist temple from behind him.
The spacious and solemn Buddhist temple was empty, and even the incense and candles on the altar had been extinguished for many days.
"It's just as Zhenbao said. The old monk has been away for several days..."
Zhao Duan muttered, walked to the cushion in the hall, kicked the huge wooden fish on the ground with his foot, and it made a "dong" sound. It didn't look like a treasure at all.
He looked up and saw the huge gilded Buddha statue looking down at him.
That is the statue of the deity, the Buddha.
The Buddha looked down upon the world with compassionate eyes. Zhao Duan looked at the huge Buddha statue, whose head almost reached the ceiling of the hall, and felt that he himself was as small as a speck of dust.
The body and mind are at peace.
After an unknown amount of time, footsteps were heard outside the Buddhist temple, accompanied by Haitang's call:
"Zhao Duan, there's something going on here. I need you to come over and take a look."
(End of this chapter)
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