Heading to Ze Province, Part 2

Morning of September 25.

Without any further movement, Zhang Rongfang, carrying several cartloads of supplies, split into two teams, one open and one covert, and once again embarked on the journey to Ze Province.

The main team was led by a double impersonating him, who was acting as the Official Road Daozi in name only.

The deputy captain, along with another master's uncle, disguised themselves and traveled along a different route.

Because he needed to conceal his whereabouts, the only people who saw him off were his master Yue Dewen and his senior brother Zhang Qingzhi.

This time, he came and went in a hurry, and Yue Dewen didn't try to keep him. Instead, he hurriedly arranged everything for him and sent him off from Great Capital.

Aside from asking Zhang Rongfang to convey his greetings to his Grandmaster Uncle, he said nothing else.

However, neither Heavenly Treasure Palace nor Zhang Rongfang anticipated that the matter in Citong would not end there.

So many people have disappeared for no reason, including a master-level Worship God Expert. No matter what force it is, they cannot simply ignore it.

*** Western Sect Ancestral Court· True Buddha Temple.

The magnificent Golden Buddha Hall, entirely crafted from gold, is the most luxurious and supreme main hall within the True Buddha Temple.

The entire Golden Buddha Hall is over fifty meters high and over thirty meters wide.

Inside, the walls are carved with a vast number of Buddha faces.

These are all Arhats, Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and others under the Great Joy Tathagata.

On the golden ground, in front of the huge Buddha statue, sat a somewhat withered and dark-skinned old monk.

The monk, draped in a red robe embroidered with gold thread, lowered his head and closed his eyes, deep in thought.

"Chief Seat." At this moment, a tall, Red-Faced Monk strode into the main hall.

"It has been confirmed that Cheng Hui, the Golden Wing Tower Master, has now completely disappeared."

The former Sea Dragon King, Kong Wu, disappeared and died.

Jin Yuan and Kong Ding have returned, but they brought back little intelligence. It's difficult to find any useful clues from it.

"Adding the two from Sea Gazing Temple before, there were two Kong Generation of the Hui Generation. The Golden Wing Tower Master wasn't much, but the Golden Wing Tower he controlled was quite useful. Now, that's gone too."

The withered old monk slowly turned his face, revealing an aged face covered in wrinkles resembling tree bark.

"In a place like Citong, nothing happened before, but as soon as that little guy went there, one thing after another went wrong."

"Chief Seat, even if this matter has no apparent connection to the Great Dao Sect, it must have been their scheme. We thought they were neutral before, but we never expected them to be so treacherous and cunning in secret," the tall monk said indignantly.

"Yue Dewen is aggressive. It seems that the incident in Qingchuan Prefecture, Ze Province a year ago was also orchestrated by him," the withered old monk said softly.

"Then, Chief Seat, how should we respond?" the tall monk asked, perplexed.

"Don't worry, nobody's a fool. They might not have seen it before, or they might not have seen it then, but after all this time, anyone can see who the ultimate beneficiary is." The old monk smiled. "Yue Dewen won't be smug for long."

After thinking for a moment, he gave the instructions in a low voice.

"Has Kong Ming always wanted to have a good exchange with the Daoist Daozi of the Great Dao Sect? As the Third Buddha Son of my True Buddha Temple, it's time for him to go out and stretch his muscles. A Buddhist disciple versus Daozi, win or lose, is just right."

What do you mean?

"Normal communication is fine. It's not appropriate for those of the same generation to interfere rashly. Let's invite Zhang Ying back so we can properly inquire about what exactly happened in Citong. Besides, now that we've come to Great Capital, we should show them some hospitality. What kind of behavior is this, leaving so soon?"

"Yes."

The tall monk bowed, then turned and strode quickly outside.

The Third Buddha Son's Kong Ming, Kongming, has been stuck at the Three Voids Perfection stage for a long time. In order to break through to the Grandmaster level and accumulate power, he has not Worship God.

The friendly exchange between the Buddhist disciple and the Daozi was something that even the Great Dao Sect couldn't say anything about.

Only they themselves knew that the Third Buddha Son's Kong Ming, was no longer a young man. He was over fifty years old and had not made any breakthroughs. Although he was called a Buddha's Disciple, he had actually been retired for a long time.

With that person as the leader, and two deputies Three Voids Worship God, working together, capturing Zhang Ying should be a piece of cake.

***It is 200 miles away from Great Capital.

Yuan River, Ning Mountain Town.

The mighty river flows ceaselessly, its current surging, and its surface is quite wide.

This is the only way to get to Ze Province.

To cross the river, you must first wait for a boat.

The river is now turbulent, and ordinary boats cannot pass directly; they must wait for the current to calm down.

At this time, two strong and muscular martial arts practitioners arrived in Ning Mountain Town along with a passing caravan.

These two are 2.2 meters and 2.5 meters tall, respectively. Even compared to many martial arts practitioners, they are considered tall.

The two were dressed as ordinary Walker, in long sleeves and trousers, and wearing cloaks and hoods.

Each person was carrying a large backpack, which should have been all their luggage.

"Daozi, the Yuan River is just ahead. We can take a boat from here and go downstream to the estuary. From there, we can walk a little further to reach our destination," the shorter man whispered, pointing to the Yuan River ahead.

"Can't we just cross the river and travel by land?" Another burly man, two and a half meters tall, was none other than Zhang Rongfang, who was on his way to Ze Province.

"Yes, it's possible, but it will be much slower, and the ship has everything you need, so it won't be very tiring. Of course, if you don't like traveling by boat, you can also travel by land," the other person replied earnestly.

This man, named Ding Zhong, was Zhang Rongfang's guide and bodyguard, assigned by his master, Yue Dewen, before he left.

"Alright then, let's do it your way." Zhang Rongfang nodded.

His caravan is now divided into two groups. Although they are clearly the Daozi' teams from the Heavenly Treasure Palace, they are still being so cautious.

It seems that my master hasn't been idle these past two years.

Otherwise, in the past, who would have dared to defy public opinion and directly attack the Daozi of the Great Dao Sect? Would they be tired of living? Yue Dewen would not have made such an arrangement if the conflict had not escalated to the point where it could no longer be concealed.

At that moment, the two asked the boatman at the Dock that if they wanted to charter a boat, they would have to wait until early in the morning, when there would be many boatmen and they would definitely be able to find a boat to the Yuan River.

Of course, if there is no direct train, you will have to take a train to another place first and then transfer.

The two found an Inn in town and stayed there temporarily until the next day.

It was afternoon.

In the lobby of the Inn, almost every table was filled with food, wine, and rice.

The aroma of the dishes mingled with the rich fragrance of rice, slowly wafting through the Inn, tempting one's mouth.

Zhang Rongfang and Ding Zhong found an inconspicuous spot in a corner and ordered a table full of dishes to eat and drink.

"Senior Brother Ding, I feel something is off about this trip back. I originally intended to stay a while longer until my subordinates in Citong arrived. Why is Master in such a hurry to push me away so soon?"

Zhang Rongfang finally couldn't hold back and asked the question that had been lingering in his mind.

Yes, it started when we returned to Great Capital.

Upon entering the Imperial Palace and meeting their master, without even having a chance to explore the surrounding area, Yue Dewen immediately grabbed them, along with the supplies and route they were preparing to leave, and headed towards Ze Province.

Although he himself wanted to leave, it seemed that Yue Dewen was even more eager than him.

"Perhaps the Grand Master has his own considerations," Ding Zhong with a kind face, constantly wiping the sweat from his face with a towel.

"What considerations?" Zhang Rongfang didn't believe it, based on his understanding of Lao Yue. No, he had never understood Yue Dewen at all!

Suddenly he remembered.

Aside from knowing that his master was definitely not simple and possessed profound knowledge in both literature and martial arts, he really knew nothing else.

Whenever asked about this, Yue Dewen would laugh it off, make jokes, and try to dodge the question, but he would never give a direct answer.

Now it seems he really doesn't understand the Grand Master Heavenly Treasure Palace at all.

"Actually," Ding Zhong said helplessly, "As long as Daozi follows me on the journey, he will definitely be fine."

"Did Master do something earth-shattering?" Zhang Rongfang's heart skipped a beat when he saw the other party's posture. He felt something was wrong. Originally, he was just guessing, but now Ding Zhong's reaction completely confirmed his guess.

"It's nothing." Ding Zhong was clearly one of their own. The fact that he was assigned to escort the Final Disciple away secretly meant that he was definitely trustworthy.

Such a master, such a person, yet he acts like this.

Zhang Rongfang suddenly felt a chill in his heart; he thought he was capable of causing enough trouble.

Now it seems that this Lao Yue is going to cause even more trouble. "What exactly happened? Senior brother, you'd better not keep me in suspense. Otherwise, I'll be unsure of what to do if we encounter any trouble along the way." Zhang Rongfang said seriously.

Ding Zhong sighed, realizing that it was indeed the case. He immediately stopped hiding it.

"Actually, it's not a big deal. It's just that one of the top figures from both the True One Sect and the Western Sect died. But when you're locked in a fierce battle, something bad is bound to happen, and deaths are normal."

"The most important person? How important is that?" Zhang Rongfang felt even colder.

"Well... the True One Sect lost one of the One of Ming Mountain Five Sons, and the Western Sect lost a Yuan Generation Monk. So now they're fighting in Ze Province. At first, everyone thought the other side was behind it, but now that they've been fighting for over a year, they've come to their senses." Ding Zhong no longer concealed anything; in fact, there was no need to hide such things anymore.

Both True One and Western Sect were weakened according to the Grand Master's plan.

The fighting lasted for over a year, and both sides consumed a lot of resources, resulting in the deaths and injuries of many experts and geniuses.

With the rise and fall of the Great Dao Sect, it was now convenient for them to step in and clean up the mess in Ze Province, in accordance with His Majesty's will, and act as peacemakers. Upon hearing this, Zhang Rongfang felt a chill run down his spine.

The Ming Mountain Five Sons are the top leadership of the True One Sect!

The Yuan Generation Monk are also the highest-ranking monks in True Buddha Temple!

Good heavens, judging from his tone, Lao Yue has plotted to frame and kill a Great Grandmaster!

"Actually, once we get to Ze Province, it will be the safest place," Ding Zhong suddenly added.

"Why?" Zhang Rongfang let out a long breath, suppressing the panic in his heart.

"Because... in fact, we have already taken action in Ze Province. On the surface, the two sides are still fighting each other, but in reality, some are injured, some have died, and the Lower Capital crippled and wounded."

Therefore, the Jade Void Palace was preparing to take them all at once.

Ding Zhong paused suddenly at this point.

"Oh, I forgot, Daozi, you probably don't know about the Jade Void Palace, right? It's another branch of our Great Dao Sect. We were separated before, but later, under the guidance of the Grand Master, the two sects reunited."

In reality, the true essence and martial prowess of our Great Dao Sect is entirely concentrated in the Jade Void Palace.

"They've wiped them out in one fell swoop?!?" Zhang Rongfang's hand trembled. What was this all about?! Was this even human language?!

Is Lao Yue planning to take on two rivals from one, then dominate Great Ling and establish it as the number one state religion?!