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At this moment, Yuanhui could no longer keep calm.
Her expression shifted slightly. "Amitabha. Your Highness, please do not speak recklessly. The Dragon-Raising Temple will absolutely have no part in this matter. I shall act as though I never heard this conversation."
Xuanye, however, neither agreed nor disagreed. He did not respond to Yuanhui's words, instead asking, "Have you ever heard the saying, 'A man may have no intention of harming a tiger, but the tiger has a heart set on harming him'?"
Yuanhui froze for a moment, then her expression darkened. "What do you mean, Your Highness?"
Xuanye gazed out the window. He did not answer, but continued, "Emperor Xuan Jing is that dying tiger. For the sake of immortality, for the sake of obtaining the True Dragon's blood to prolong his life, he is capable of doing anything, no matter how insane."
"Did you know, Master, that before I came here, Emperor Xuan Jing sent a large number of palace attendants to sneak into the Dragon-Raising Temple and search for traces of the True Dragon?"
Without waiting for Yuanhui to reply, he continued, "You must have noticed. Given your magnanimous nature, I imagine you simply paid no mind to those wretches."
"But what you may not know is that after three months, those attendants still haven't found any trace of the True Dragon. This left Emperor Xuan Jing furious, and two days ago, he issued a series of orders."
"Do you know what those orders were?"
A hint of panic rose in Yuanhui's heart, along with a dreadful sense that disaster was at hand. She asked without thinking, "What orders?"
Xuanye pointed to himself. "First, I was ordered to find a way to keep the strongest person in the temple occupied today—in other words, you, Master Yuanhui."
What?
Yuanhui's heart jolted. Countless thoughts exploded in her mind. Her spiritual power surged through her body, and she was just about to leave.
But one sentence from Xuanye stopped her.
"If you leave now, there's a nine-in-ten chance I'll die here. Don't doubt my imperial brother's resolve. For the sake of immortality, he's capable of anything."
"If I die, he'll have ample excuse to threaten the Dragon-Raising Temple afterward."
A scheme in plain sight!
A thoroughly brazen scheme!
Now Yuanhui didn't dare leave, even if she wanted to. She also had to keep a constant eye on Xuanye, in case his life was in danger.
"Has Emperor Xuan Jing gone mad? For the sake of immortality, would he really abandon his only brother?"
Yuanhui was growing furious.
Whether or not Xuanye's words would come true, she didn't dare take the chance. She couldn't afford to.
Xuanye nodded and continued, "He really has gone mad. That's why he issued two more orders."
"Second, he ordered Fang Wenshan and the palace attendants to disguise themselves as demons, forcibly occupy the Dragon-Raising Temple, and search for traces of the True Dragon."
"Third: spread word to the demonic heretics that a True Dragon's treasure has appeared inside the Dragon-Raising Temple, and lure them here. As far as I know, the renowned Asura King has already reached the temple's outskirts."
Boom!
The turmoil in Yuanhui's heart sent her spiritual power spiraling out of control. Countless rays of Buddhist light gathered around her.
The second order aside, Yuanhui wasn't the only one in the Dragon-Raising Temple. There were plenty of accomplished monks who could deal with the invaders.
But the third...
The Great Asura Lord was the greatest master of the Asura path among the Six Paths of Demonic Heresy.
A great demon on par with the Lord of Mind Demons of the Heart Demon path.
He was said to have entered the Dao through killing, fused the demonic Qi of the Five Turbidities into himself, slaughtered millions of living beings, and forged the foundation of the Asura path.
He was a top-tier demon who stood on the very threshold of the upper third rank of Earthly Immortals.
On the day he attained the Dao, he had taken the path of slaughter as his foundation. For seven days and four nights, he fought his way ten thousand li from north to south, slaughtering thirteen small kingdoms and more than a million living beings, forging the fearsome name of the Great Asura Lord.
How could Yuanhui not be alarmed, with such a powerful demon drawing near the Dragon-Raising Temple?
Even as a member of the Buddhist faith, she couldn't help cursing aloud. "Has Emperor Xuan Jing gone mad? To find the True Dragon, he's actually allowing such a demon into Zhaoyang Country! Isn't he afraid the demon will devour all the people of Zhaoyang Country?"
"And by doing this, isn't he afraid of angering the True Dragon?"
Xuanye burst into laughter. "Afraid? He's only afraid of dying! He believes that once he's dead, he won't care if the floodwaters reach the heavens."
"Besides, if the True Dragon really gets angry, wouldn't that be just what he wants? He can use the chance to confirm the True Dragon's strength—and that it really is inside the Dragon-Raising Temple!"
Yuanhui's expression grew darker by the moment. By now, she no longer cared whether Xuanye would die or not. She could already sense a surging aura of demonic slaughter in the air, drawing closer to the Dragon-Raising Temple without restraint.
It made no attempt to hide itself.
Yuanhui took a deep breath and was about to step out of the room, but in the next instant, she abruptly froze.
Then she looked up at the empty sky. The vast Spiritual Light she had sensed vaguely over the past few days had appeared in her heart once more.
High above, it seemed that an exalted, supreme being, one closely connected to the Dragon-Raising Temple, was silently watching everything here through time and space.
There's no need to leave... Just watch and see what happens.
For some inexplicable reason, the thought surfaced in her mind, as if some being had planted it there.
It came suddenly, and vanished just as quickly.
Was it one of the temple's elders... or was it... truly that unknown True Dragon?
After thinking it over, Yuanhui really did remain where she was. Gazing out at the rain, she said coldly, "A demon who's nearly an upper-third-rank Earthly Immortal. What an extravagant test that Emperor has arranged."
"But the matter will not end here. Once the Dragon-Raising Temple survives this calamity, the court will have to answer to us!"
Having said that, she didn't even glance at Xuanye. Instead, she sat cross-legged beneath the eaves, letting the rain soak her clothes as she gazed silently at the sky.
Yuanhui's reaction left Xuanye completely baffled. He followed her gaze and looked up at the sky, but saw nothing except thick, heavy clouds.
"Master... aren't you worried about the Dragon-Raising Temple?" Xuanye asked tentatively.
Yuanhui's reaction was all wrong. Shouldn't she be frantic with worry? Shouldn't she be asking him to join forces? Shouldn't she...
Could it be that she really had something to rely on?
Did the True Dragon really exist?
"Life and death are left to fate. Today is the Dragon-Raising Temple's great calamity. If we fail to overcome it, then our Buddhist cultivation was lacking, and the Buddha summoned us away. If we survive, then today will be the Dragon-Raising Temple's rebirth from the ashes, and the day we reclaim the glory we enjoyed three hundred years ago."
Yuanhui replied calmly.
Three hundred years ago?
Xuanye was about to say something else, but the sky suddenly darkened.
A piercing shriek rang out, making their heads feel as if they were splitting apart. At the same time, a mass of Evil Qi the size of an entire acre, like a dark cloud, covered the sky above the Dragon-Raising Temple.
Boundless killing intent, mixed with the wails and despair of living beings facing death, filled the whole area.
"Heh heh. Baldies of the Dragon-Raising Temple, get out here and die!"
"I hear you've got dragon meat. Bring some out for your grandpa to taste!"
Rumble!
The entire cloud of demonic Qi transformed into a huge, hideous demonic face.
The Great Asura Lord had arrived!
Sluuurp~
Deep inside the Snake Abyss, Su Qingqiu gulped hard. Drool dripped onto the ground as his stomach growled with hunger.
Such a huge, sweet doughnut!
It had to taste delicious, right?
It smelled so good!
I recommend a good book by a friend.
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