Asking for Help

"Don't even mention how miserable we were. We were just helping your cousin find someone, but when we got to Shouchun City, that swordsman named Lei Bei jumped off the city wall, and then some old bastard swung his sword from ten zhang away. He was no good; he almost killed me, who was standing in the middle of the crowd. Then this big monk shouted and started fighting..."

The way Rong Tianding described it was one thing, and the way Li Shaojun described it was another.

However, the experience of Brother Rulai, the person involved, was completely different from what Zhang Xuezhou had imagined.

Although Zhang Xuezhou caused some trouble for his senior brother, Zhang Xuezhou, he believed that Tathagata could handle it, since even Lei Bei couldn't break Tathagata's body.

Zhang Xuezhou never expected that his senior brother, Tathagata, would be beaten to this extent.

"Was he beaten to death?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"There are quite a few people chasing us, and he's probably entered a state of mental closure and focus," Li Shaojun said. "Now that the pursuers are gone, he should be able to come to his senses in a while!"

"He's really something. Even when he was in a restrained state, he still managed to reach out and grab our horse's leg," Zhang Xuezhou exclaimed in amazement.

"Those snake heads with their bodies chopped off can still bite," Li Shaojun reminded him. "Is it possible that you stepped on some vital part of his body while riding your horse, causing him to react?"

"I didn't realize that!"

Zhang Xuezhou shook his head.

He awkwardly composed himself, and only after seeing Li Shaojun's surprised gaze did he find a way to start a conversation.

"What major dirt did he catch you on?" Zhang Xuezhou asked.

"This matter involves my ancestor," Li Shaojun said. "He knows some information about my ancestor and guesses that he may be living in seclusion in some secret place in West Ox Hezhou. If I can find my ancestor, I will definitely be able to obtain the supreme method!"

"Amazing!"

Zhang Xuezhou made a gesture, indicating that Li Shaojun's weakness was too "big" to pique his interest in asking any questions.

"This is an unparalleled fortuitous opportunity; I don't usually tell this to just anyone," Li Shaojun said sullenly.

"I wish you a speedy journey to West Ox Hezhou to find your ancestor," Zhang Xuezhou congratulated.

"Your sarcastic remark makes me feel like this matter isn't so important anymore!"

I was clearly congratulating you!

"I didn't recognize it!"

Establishing a relationship with Zhang Xuezhou might grant access to Immortal Court secrets, but finding one's own ancestor is a far more important matter.

The only problem is that their ancestor lives quite far away, at least tens of thousands of miles away.

Aside from the dangers of the remote mountains and treacherous waters along the way, finding it tens of thousands of miles away is also a major problem.

This also left Li Shaojun hanging on to his senior brother, hoping the other party would explain things more clearly.

But after Zhang Xuezhou offered his congratulations, Li Shaojun felt that this matter was a bit unreliable.

If this guy showed even a little more interest, or asked a few more questions, Li Shaojun felt that the matter was worth investigating, or even exploring together.

"Is this really so unreliable?" Li Shaojun asked in a low voice.

"Coincidentally, I also have something important to discuss," Zhang Xuezhou pondered. "I've heard that there's Sacred Land for Yin-Yang School in Mount Tai. Would you like to search for it together?"

"Yin-Yang Sacred Land... Where did you get this false information from?" Li Shaojun said, "Mount Tai connects to the Immortal Court above and the Yellow Springs below. One is a secret land of celestial immortals, and the other is a secret land of the underworld. Where did this Yin-Yang Sacred Land come from!"

"There really is no Yin-Yang Sacred Land?"

"No, there isn't!"

Li Shaojun provided a piece of information that Zhang Xuezhou found utterly uninteresting.

After Zhang Xuezhou gave him a message, Li Shaojun did not react at all.

This made both of them feel uneasy, realizing that their own affairs were extremely unreliable.

If you are hesitant about a matter, simply ask some people in the same situation for advice, and you will get the answer, thus overcoming your hesitation.

Clearly, Zhang Xuezhou had given up on the idea of visiting the Yin-Yang Sacred Land, and Li Shaojun had also abandoned his desire to go to West Ox Hezhou to find the ancestor.

Goodbye!

Where are you going?

"I'm going to Chang'an City to pursue an official career; the sooner I go, the sooner I can become an official!"

"Wait... wait a minute!"

Zhang Xuezhou had inquired about Li Shaojun, and he had no intention of lingering any longer.

Li Shaojun wanted Zhang Xuezhou and the others to give him a ride on horseback so he could escape the pursuing retainers in Huainan as soon as possible.

Both of them intended to leave, but when a soft cry came from the ground, they turned their attention to that sound.

On the wasteland, Brother Tathagata barely opened his eyes. He shook his head and then became more lucid.

"Please, you three, help me!" Brother Tathagata cried out. "My body has been injured, and I cannot deal with those people from Huainan for the time being!"

"Master, if you can't handle it, we certainly can't either," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"Just borrow your horse for a bit!"

Ordinary mounts would be unable to carry the Buddha's physical body, but Spirit Artifact artifacts would not be a problem.

At this moment, Brother Tathagata only hoped to escape the danger as soon as possible to avoid any unexpected trouble.

"Master, your physical body has cultivated 108,000 acupoints, making you incredibly powerful. How did you end up like this?"

When Brother Rulai managed to sit up, Zhang Xuezhou noticed that there were several bloodstains on his body.

Even though the bleeding has stopped, it means that Brother Tathagata's powerful physical body has been broken, and he will no longer have the invincible ability he once had.

"I fought a fierce battle with that water monkey, and my body was injured and hasn't recovered. My strength is at a low point. Who would have thought that this unexpected disaster would strike?" Senior Brother Tathagata said heavily. "The two people I was investigating earlier hired top-tier cultivators to assassinate me. I originally wanted to capture the leader to stop the fighting, but I didn't expect to stir up a hornet's nest. As a result, I was chased and beaten by hundreds of people. Alas!"

Brother Tathagata sighed heavily.

This made Zhang Xuezhou open his mouth, but ultimately he didn't know what to say.

Since the matter has been determined by Brother Tathagata, it should have nothing to do with him anymore.

"My junior brother was captured by government troops while fleeing for his life," sighed the Buddha. "This time, we've offended the imperial court; I truly don't know how we'll clean up this mess."

Brother Tathagata was deeply worried.

He had previously relied on the guidance of the Wu Chao to travel through the territory of the Great Han Dynasty, but if his senior brother, Buddha, were to search for him personally, he would be completely in the dark.

Unable to pinpoint the location of the Wu Chao using Incantation Technique, it meant he had lost Wu Chao and was even unsure whether Wu Chao was alive or dead.

If we were to ask Brother Buddha to search for the Wu Chao in every place, he wouldn't have the ability.

Moreover, unlike Rong Tianding and others who were released after being investigated, Wu Chao Wu Chao a monk and is likely to be suspected of being his accomplice. He may be suffering some kind of malicious treatment at this time.

He had always been very confident, but at this moment he couldn't help but feel powerless, feeling that the things he had come to the East to do were terrible.

Unfortunately, Brother Tathagata's physical condition was far from normal at the moment. He had not yet recovered from the previous blow and had suffered another severe injury. It would take him a long time to recover.

"Please accept my condolences, Master," Zhang Xuezhou said, offering his words of comfort.

My condolences!

Li Shaojun casually echoed, and Rong Tianding pursed his lips and nodded in agreement.

"If you two can help me, I will do my utmost to repay you!"

Rong Tianding didn't care, but Li Shaojun and Zhang Xuezhou were undoubtedly capable people. Seeing that neither of them had any pity or offered to help, Brother Rulai had no choice but to quickly ask for help.

"I'm not that interested in my ancestor anymore," Li Shaojun said dejectedly. "West Ox Hezhou is too far from here. Besides, even if we found him, whether he would acknowledge a descendant like me is another matter entirely!"

"You look about 80% like him, he'll definitely recognize you," said Brother Tathagata.

"Then where is he?"

"I've heard that his secret place of seclusion opens when the crescent moon shines on the three stars of Ketu, Rahu, and Ziqi," said Brother Tathagata. "My junior brother is knowledgeable in astrology. If you help me find him, he will surely be able to help you find that secret place!"

"This is too much trouble!"

Li Shaojun gave a weak reply, his eyes darting back and forth between Zhang Xuezhou, wanting to hear how Zhang Xuezhou planned to respond.

"Our leader once spoke of the existence of the Yin-Yang Secret Realm," said Brother Tathagata after a few seconds of contemplation. "Legend has it that between the Immortal Court and the Underworld lies a secret realm that traverses the realms of illusion and reality. This realm gathers the Yin and Yang energies of heaven and earth. If you are willing to help me, I will tell you how to find this secret realm!"

"Um?"

Zhang Xuezhou had previously ridiculed Li Shaojun's actions as absurd.

But when his senior brother Tathagata precisely targeted him, his heart skipped a beat.