Dao Lord's Pure Light

"The Daoist priest truly has sharp eyes!"

Seeing this, the traveler from the martial arts world couldn't help but regret it deeply.

He thought the bronze short sword was a good item, but he didn't recognize its value and sold it too cheaply!

If it was a magic sword capable of subduing demons and pacifying ghosts, then he had lost a fortune!

However, haggling at a stall was all about individual judgment, and even if he suffered a loss, the traveler could grudgingly accept it.

Li Qingyun was in a great mood and, with some time left, continued "treasure hunting." At an old man's stall, he spotted some lacquered gourds and bought two. He filled them with clean water in preparation for the journey.

By the time Zhao Yifan brought the horses over, Li Qingyun had done some last-minute preparations.

He casually handed one of the water-filled gourds to his senior brother.

"Junior Brother Qingyun always thinks of everything. I was just getting a dry throat. It's a shame you didn't fill it with wine!"

Zhao Yifan laughed heartily and accepted the gourd without any pretense.

The two mounted their horses and rode along the main street towards the edge of town, with pedestrians quickly making way.

Just then, Yuanbao, the big black cat that had disappeared for half a day, suddenly darted out from a nearby alley and leaped onto the horse Li Qingyun was riding.

It was so full its belly was round, and it still had a piece of fragrant cooked meat in its mouth, signaling its owner to take it. The cat wouldn't hoard all the good stuff.

"Eat it yourself. We're leaving..."

Li Qingyun was a bit speechless. He gently squeezed the horse's flanks with his legs and skillfully urged it forward.

When he was at the Marquis's Estate, he had already mastered skills like riding, archery, and swordplay, doing his best to increase his chances of survival in chaotic times.

"This cat of yours is really something, Junior Brother. I thought it had gotten lost just now!"

Zhao Yifan rode up, following Li Qingyun, and looked at the cat lounging on the horse's back with great envy. Unfortunately, Yuanbao didn't even spare him a glance.

The autumn sun was already dimming. The two rode along the official road, heading west of town at a gallop.

As they left the town, the bustling prosperity disappeared, replaced by a vast, desolate wilderness that gave Li Qingyun a momentary feeling of suffocation.

Riding at a gallop, the mountains and forests on either side blurred past.

Tall trees lining the official road blocked the sunlight, casting dappled shadows on the road. Along the way, there were few travelers or carriages, making the scene appear rather desolate and lonely.

Unknowingly, the sky was nearing dusk.

The dark places along the sides of the road began to attract his attention. His intuition told him that in this vast, dim wilderness, many malevolent spirits and oddities were beginning to stir.

During the day, with the sun high in the sky, ghosts and spirits rarely appeared.

But at night, Yin energy would revive, demonic energy would roam, and danger would lurk everywhere.

Yuanbao, the big black cat sitting on the horse, also became a bit "serious," its eyes vigilantly scanning its surroundings.

As the sky darkened, the travelers on the road began to panic, quickening their pace. The calls of riders and coachmen became more frequent as they all tried to reach a village or town with people before nightfall.

Generally, experienced merchant caravans would calculate their travel time, knowing how long it would take to get from one village to the next safe resting place. They would never risk traveling at night.

However, reality often presented unexpected delays.

Billows of dust rose in the twilight. Li Qingyun saw one or two sizable merchant caravans on the official road, along with several small groups of travelers, all hurrying along with serious, even anxious, expressions.

"Qingyun, there's an abandoned temple about twenty miles ahead. Let's hurry and try to spend the night there!!"

Zhao Yifan was clearly a bit anxious and urged his horse to speed up.

Being at the third level of Qi Refining was considered a master among mortals, but to slightly more powerful demons and monsters, they were merely stronger food and sources of Yang energy.

Within a hundred-mile radius of Lingbao Temple, this area was considered relatively safe because the Daoist priests from the temple frequently patrolled to slay demons and ward off evil, meaning there were far fewer sprites and malevolent spirits within its domain.

As the Golden Crow just set, night began to fall.

The scattered merchants and travelers still on the road started greeting each other, tacitly gathering and traveling together.

"Light the torches!"

"Bring out the divine talismans!"

"Invoke the Dao Lord!"

Anxious shouts rose one after another. They lit oil torches, and the flames illuminated the surroundings, repelling some vaguely moving shadows that were trying to approach from the darkness.

The martial artists, caravan guards, and others all took out Evil Warding Talismans, sticking one on themselves and another on their defensive weapons and bows. While hurrying along, they cast serious glances towards the dim, blurry shadows.

Some, with devout expressions, brought out statues of Dao Lords, made of wood, stone, or even expensive gold and jade.

Some placed the Dao Lord statues on top of their carriages, while others held them close to their chests. The solemn-faced statues began to emit circles of pure light, exuding a calming, spirit- trấn an, and evil-repelling power.

The larger the statue and the better its material, the wider the range of the pure light it emitted.

"In my previous vision, the pure light from all the great Dao Lords' statues had the same hue, capable of repelling malevolent spirits and ghosts. Now that I have cultivated, I realize that the Dao Lords' pure lights are actually all different..."

Li Qingyun slowed his horse down, following Zhao Yifan, and secretly circulated his mana to his eyes.

In his "dharma eye" vision, the circles of pure light from the Dao Lord statues, with their varying coverage, differed in hue, brightness, and the sense of awe they inspired.

The pure light emitted by the statues was not the uniform, faint light patterns seen by ordinary people. Instead, some emitted yellow light, some bloomed with red light, and others shone with golden brilliance.

The luster also varied in strength, and the majesty they exuded differed in quality.

Li Qingyun noticed that among the Daoist effigies on the official road, the one with the widest coverage and strongest radiance was the golden jade Dao Lord statue placed on top of the merchant caravan's carriage ahead!

The Dao Lord statue was made of gold and jade, costly to produce, and exquisitely crafted. The female Dao Lord had her hair in a high bun, a majestic expression on her jade face, and her eyes held a faint indifference. Her light emerald-colored Dharma robe seemed to flutter in the wind.

Her stunningly beautiful face and the textures of her clothing were incredibly lifelike.

Despite her captivating beauty, the inherent majesty of the Dao Lord prevented anyone from harboring the slightest disrespectful thought!

Perhaps it was because this female Dao Lord naturally possessed immense Dharma power, or due to years of worship, or because she usually resided in temples and absorbed incense smoke, the graceful Dao Lord statue, in Li Qingyun's dharma eye's vision, emitted a brilliant red halo, as bright as fire, enveloping the entire caravan.

"This doesn't seem to be a Dao Lord Dharma image from Lingbao Temple..."

He found that it didn't match any of the Dao Lords recorded in the scripture pavilion's book, "Lingbao Dao Lord's Solutions." Lingbao Temple had no record of a female Dao Lord in its history.

Li Qingyun concentrated slightly and looked closer. The golden jade Daoist effigy suddenly flashed a red light, stinging his eyes. He had to lower his head slightly to avoid it, no longer daring to look directly at its face.

"This Dao Lord possesses such powerful majesty!"

He silently praised the stunning beauty of this female Dao Lord and felt her palpable, almost tangible, majesty, murmuring to himself.

"Junior Brother, that is Biluo Dao Lord! She achieved enlightenment and merged with the Dao 300 years ago, and is even the most profound and unfathomable existence in You Kingdom's history!!"

Zhao Yifan, who was warily riding his horse, had sharp ears. Hearing Li Qingyun's soft sigh, he took the initiative to explain.

"However, ordinary people cannot obtain the protection of this Nine Heavens Azure Dao Lord. To invite even a trace of this existence's Dharma intent to reside in a Daoist effigy requires fulfilling various stringent conditions! Looking at the caravan ahead, their flag features a Vermilion Phoenix, so they must be from the Four Seas Pavilion. It's no wonder they could invite Biluo Dao Lord's Dharma image..."

Mentioning this Biluo Dao Lord, Zhao Yifan's demeanor and tone were filled with unconcealed admiration and praise!