Fire Dragon Temple

The ruined temple was overgrown with weeds and moss, and black crows occasionally screeched overhead.

By now, the sky had darkened, bleak and gloomy, carrying a bone-chilling cold.

"This is the former site of Fire Dragon Temple." Lu Peng looked at the boundless ruins before him and sighed. "Back then, Fire Dragon Temple's incense offerings were unbelievably prosperous. I heard that at its peak, worshippers lined up from the mountaintop all the way to the foot of the mountain. Sometimes, the queue stretched for hundreds of miles."

"Unfortunately, after it was destroyed by the Tan Family, this great Buddhist temple became a land of ghosts."

Lu Yiping nodded, and the War Chariot slowly moved forward.

As it rolled over the ground, it made the sound of crushing sand and gravel.

Before long, they entered the depths of the ruined temple's remains.

Along the way, broken stone pillars that required several people to wrap their arms around could be seen everywhere, along with Buddha statues that had toppled to the ground. The stone pillars were covered in all manner of scriptures and patterns.

The Buddha statues came in countless forms, their traces mottled with age, and many had already decayed.

More than ten thousand years had passed since Fire Dragon Temple's destruction, and much of the temple's architecture had long since turned into scattered sand and stones.

"Young Master, further ahead is Fire Dragon Temple's Buddhist Grottoes from back then, where Fire Dragon Temple stored its treasures. However, after the Tan Family destroyed Fire Dragon Temple, they carried away every Buddha Treasure within." Lu Peng said, "Now, the Buddhist Grottoes of Fire Dragon Temple have become a place where the Tan Family refines puppets."

"That place has already been designated a forbidden ground by the Tan Family. No one dares approach it."

"Not even within a hundred miles. Some experts who came close were captured by the Tan Family and refined into puppets."

Just as Lu Peng was explaining, Lu Yiping suddenly said, "The Tan Family has occupied this place because they are searching for the Fire Dragon Buddhist Scripture, aren't they?"

Back then, when the Tan Family destroyed Fire Dragon Temple, they plundered countless Buddhist scriptures, cultivation methods, and Profound Techniques from the temple. Yet they had never been able to find Fire Dragon Temple's foremost scripture, the Fire Dragon Buddhist Scripture.

There were many accounts regarding this Fire Dragon Buddhist Scripture.

Some said that it was a Buddhist cultivation art left behind by an Arhat of the Buddhist Realm. Once cultivated to great completion, it granted the power of a Dragon Buddha and could forge one's fleshly body into an indestructible golden body.

Others said that it had been created by an ancient Buddha of the Primordial Era. After cultivating it, one's lifespan could greatly increase, allowing one to break through the hundred-thousand-year limit.

Moreover, the Fire Dragon Buddhist Scripture itself possessed Buddhist power. Carrying it on one's body could repel all manner of evil demons and suppress every ghost, monster, and corpse.

That was why the Tan Family continued to search so desperately for the Fire Dragon Buddhist Scripture.

Hearing Lu Yiping mention the Fire Dragon Buddhist Scripture, Lu Peng smiled. "That Fire Dragon Buddhist Scripture probably isn't in Fire Dragon Temple. Otherwise, after all these years, the Tan Family could not possibly have failed to find it."

Over the years, the Tan Family had likely turned every corner of Fire Dragon Temple upside down more than ten times, yet there was still no trace of the Fire Dragon Buddhist Scripture.

Lu Yiping's eyes were profound as he looked toward a certain place deep within Fire Dragon Temple. "Not necessarily."

Lu Peng was startled and said, "Young Master, ten miles ahead is the Tan Family's forbidden zone."

"Tan Family experts frequently patrol there."

"A few years ago, several Grand Elders of our Asura Gate passed through there and were captured by Tan Family experts."

As for the fate of those Grand Elders of the Asura Gate, it went without saying.

Just then, the sound of something tearing through the air came from behind them. A large group of black-clothed figures flew through the air at incredible speed, arriving behind them in the blink of an eye.

All of these black-clothed figures had their faces covered, but judging from their attire, they were not members of the Tan Family.

This group of black-clothed figures also saw Lu Yiping's party.

The leader of the black-clothed figures paused briefly as his gaze fell upon Lu Yiping.

"My lord, should we take care of them as well?" One of his subordinates stepped forward and asked, meaning that they should eliminate Lu Yiping's group while they were at it. After all, tonight's operation was not something they wanted others to witness.

The leader of the black-clothed figures hesitated for a moment before finally shaking his head. "Forget it. Better to have one less matter than one more. The main business is more important." Then he led the group away through the air.

In the blink of an eye, they vanished into the vast night.

Watching the black-clothed figures depart, the Dragon Horn Golden Ox grinned wickedly and licked his lips. "I thought those black bastards were about to make a move just now."

"Still, judging from their direction, they should be heading for Fire Dragon Temple's Buddhist Grottoes."

Lu Yiping had the Dragon Horn Golden Ox follow them.

They had not gone far when they heard a thunderous explosion, followed by astonishing fluctuations of power.

It seemed that a fight had broken out.

When Lu Yiping's group arrived, they saw that the great halls ahead had all been blasted into powder. More than a dozen corpses lay scattered haphazardly across the distant ground.

"They're Tan Family experts." Lu Peng was shocked upon seeing those dozen or so corpses.

They had clearly been killed by that group of black-clothed figures.

On the Hengyuan Plane, everyone turned pale at the mention of the Tan Family. Yet someone actually dared to come and kill Tan Family disciples!

Furthermore, this stronghold was one of the Tan Family's more important bases.

However, the Tan Family had annihilated many sects and factions, so they naturally had no shortage of enemies.

Lu Yiping's group continued onward.

Tan Family experts' corpses lay all along the way.

The group of black-clothed figures who had come were extremely strong.

When Lu Yiping's group reached the depths of Fire Dragon Temple's Buddhist Grottoes,

they saw the group of black-clothed figures battling a group of Tan Family experts in an open area ahead. These Tan Family experts were not weak, and each had a powerful puppet at their side. The black-clothed figures had encountered considerable resistance.

Both the black-clothed figures and the Tan Family experts were surprised to see Lu Yiping's group arrive.

The black-clothed leader frowned.

Naturally, they did not want anyone else to witness what was happening tonight.

Just then, a Tan Family expert suddenly charged at Lu Yiping's group with a puppet.

However, just as that Tan Family expert and his puppet attacked in front of Lu Yiping, they abruptly froze. Then, like loose sand, they continuously crumbled apart and scattered away with the wind.

Seeing this bizarre scene, the black-clothed figures were greatly alarmed.

That Tan Family expert had been a first-level Great Emperor.

A first-level Great Emperor had just scattered into fragments of sand in such a bizarre manner!

The Tan Family experts were also shocked upon seeing this.

However, Lu Yiping's group did not continue attacking. Instead, they proceeded deeper into Fire Dragon Temple's Buddhist Grottoes.

As they traveled deeper into Fire Dragon Temple's Buddhist Grottoes, they continuously encountered attacks from Tan Family experts. However, with Zhang Jin and the other three clearing the way, neither Lu Yiping nor the Dragon Horn Golden Ox needed to act.

They advanced without obstruction.

At last, they arrived at the space at the very deepest part of the Buddhist Grottoes.

At the deepest part of the Buddhist Grottoes stood an enormous Buddhist city. Buddha statues could be seen everywhere, and the buildings here were well preserved, all left behind by Fire Dragon Temple in those days.

The Buddhist city was utterly empty.

Confusion filled Lu Peng's eyes. He did not understand why Lu Yiping had come to the deepest part of these Buddhist Grottoes.

There was nothing at all in the deepest part of these Buddhist Grottoes.

Suddenly, he saw Lu Yiping make a grasping motion toward the void ahead. Layers upon layers of light surged through the empty air, and then an Ancient Buddha Character appeared.

This Ancient Buddha Character gave Lu Peng and the others a very strange feeling.