Shi Feiyang had shattered the Golden Lamp Tree, the core of the entire Haideng Temple's array. When the tree was destroyed, the whole array was broken, and all the bronze, silver, and gold lamps participating in the array setup, in every corner of the temple, both above and below ground, went out!

Jiang Shu, originally trapped in the Northeast Gen Position and entangled by four Demon Gods, protected himself with the Circulation Hunyuan Umbrella. Dark clouds covered him from above, and mist surrounded him on all sides, blocking all the Demon Fire filling heaven and earth. Additionally, numerous Demon Souls in the form of Illusions were siphoning his Essence Energy through the mist, emitting interwoven cries and curses.

He knew the gravity of the situation and hurriedly sat cross-legged under the Hunyuan Umbrella, concentrating and resolving to withstand the demonic harassment.

The four Demon Gods lifted him, umbrella and all, into the air. He quickly released the Broken Jade Hook, an Ancient Treasure that transformed into two hook-shaped beams of light, dozens of yards long. With one hook and one swipe, he shredded one Demon God into a sky full of Demon Fire. After dispatching the other three in the same manner, he took shelter under the Hunyuan Umbrella to confront the remaining Demon Fire.

His past life's Daoist books contained many Demonic Suppression Methods, but he couldn't use the powerful ones, and the ones he could use were ineffective against the outside Magic. He tried several, all to no avail.

He then attempted to deduce the changes of the Demon Formation's Inverting Five Elements by following the order of the Lianshan Yi Gua Xiang. Although he caught some traces, the variables shifted too rapidly; by the time he figured them out, they had already changed, and he simply couldn't keep up with the speed of the Demon Formation's alterations.

Only then did he finally realize that he could not escape the Demon Formation by his own strength. He sat honestly under the umbrella, holding to his original state and not seeking to break the array any longer, hoping only to wait for a change.

When Shi Feiyang shattered the Golden Lamp Tree, the Demon Formation that had trapped Jiang Shu vanished as well, and the omnipresent Demon Fire dissipated. The many Demon Souls also disappeared without a trace.

The temple below reappeared, and it was now the dead of night, pitch black all around, quiet within the Haideng Temple.

He looked Southwest, trying to find Shi Feiyang, but there wasn't a soul in sight.

Jiang Shu steadied his mind. He didn't understand how the array had suddenly vanished. A quick deduction using the Gua Xiang suggested it was Shi Feiyang who had broken the array, and his tense heart suddenly relaxed. He descended into the temple on his controlled sword.

Eager to reconvene with Shi Feiyang, he quickly entered the main hall.

The hall was empty. In the center, there stood a large Buddha statue, cast in pure gold, wearing a Vihara Crown and performing the Three-Life Seal, exuding a majestic presence. On each side of the Buddha, there were two terrifying Demon King Statues that looked exactly like the ones he had seen inside the array. The most revolting among them was the one covered in eyes across its forehead, cheeks, exposed chest, and shoulders—a single glance at it caused a chilling numbness and a tingling on his scalp, as if he had been electrocuted.

He didn't understand the purpose of this arrangement. After searching in vain for others, he thought to destroy the Buddha and the four Demon Statues with the Broken Jade Hook.

As he started to make the Sword Technique hand gesture, the Golden Buddha abruptly opened its eyes, and a burst of golden light radiated from it.

A dazzling beam of golden light coated everything in the hall with a layer of gold, and two rays of light from the eyes of the Buddha shot out toward Jiang Shu as it spoke, "Who are you? Do you not know that shattering a Buddha statue draws 'Buddha Blood' and is a grievous sin of the 'Five Grave Offenses,' deserving of falling into Avici Hell?"

Jiang Shu opened his mouth to respond, not realizing this was a powerful magic technique. The moment he spoke, whether in praise or in reprimand, his Primordial Spirit would be bound. With his level of Dao, his Divine Soul could be seized from afar, making him a slave to the Divine Demon.

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, a thunderous roar from the sky interrupted, "Yideng, you old ghost, how dare you harm our Sect's junior!"

Following that, an earth-shattering "crack" reverberated as Taiyin Divine Thunder came crashing down from the sky. The golden lightning bolt pierced the roof of the hall and struck the Buddha statue with ferocity.

The Buddha statue erupted in bright golden light as it took the brunt of the Taiyin Divine Thunder. Though the lightning failed to shatter the central Golden Buddha, it diffused silkily, bursting into countless fine streaks of golden electricity that surged around like a tide, "crackling and popping" violently. The offerings, seats, incense burners, and palace lamps—all furniture and objects, along with the four Demon Statues—were obliterated into dust.

The opponent seemed to know that a single bolt of Divine Thunder wouldn't harm the Buddha statue, so right behind it came a tens of yards long, bright white Sword Light, striking down like a flash of lightning from the sky, circling the Buddha and making a cut. Instantly, the statue was slashed diagonally across the torso and shoulders, breaking it into two halves.

Jiang Shu was astounded by the power of the stranger's lightning bolt and sword strike, leaving him dazed and mesmerized.

Before he could recover from the shock, a voice from above said, "What are you dawdling for? Come out and talk first!"

Jiang Shu controlled his sword and flew through the large hole in the roof into the open sky. There, on the very cliff where he and Shi Feiyang had been before, was a figure gesturing urgently at him. He quickly flew over.

Reaching the cliff, he saw that the person was a middle-aged Taoist dressed in gray Taoist robes, with his hair knotted and secured with a wooden hairpin, and three strands of long beard fluttering over his chest. He appeared to have difficulty with his legs, standing in a rather awkward posture, hands clasped behind his back, silently scrutinizing Jiang Shu.

Jiang Shu felt uneasy under his gaze, "Elder, was it you who saved me just now?"

"Who else could it be? You, young man, even after two lifetimes, you are as reckless as ever."

Jiang Shu perked up upon hearing this. "Does senior know what happened in my past life? May I ask how to address you? With your profound Daoist knowledge, can you help me restore my memories?"

"Why do you want to restore your memories?"

"It's just that everyone seems to know about my past, yet I'm clueless! Whenever I hear someone mention how I was in a past life, a nameless rage rises from my heart, and I feel like drawing my sword to strike people down!" Jiang Shu said. "It's as if everyone is smart, knowing everything, while I'm the fool, knowing nothing."

The other party smiled slightly. "Your memories were sealed by yourself in your past life, precisely to prevent your current self from knowing about your past."

"Is that true? Even if it's true, I now regret it!"

Hearing the word "regret", the smile on the Taoist's face faded and he snorted coldly. "With such temperament, how could you possibly become the leader of a sect? No wonder your senior brother looks down on you!"

"Do I... still have a senior brother? What's his name? Where is he now?"

The Taoist did not reply, his gaze shifting to the distance, seemingly deep in thought. After a moment of contemplation, he changed the subject and asked, "Do you know that your sworn brother is a Black Dragon who attained the Dao?"

"I know!" Jiang Shu nodded. "I've asked him, and he is still the king of myriad demons of the Outer Heaven Divine Mountain."

"Hmph, not even an Earth Immortal, only capable of reigning supreme amongst a group of demons and oddities." The Taoist sneered and then grew serious again. "Are you planning to follow him down a dark path?"

Jiang Shu was somewhat displeased. "What does senior mean by this?"

The Taoist's brow furrowed slightly. "You've got quite the temper! Do you not know that, according to the plan you made for yourself in your past life, in this life you are to recultivate to temper your mind and solidify your Daoist heart? His presence has already caused you to deviate from your plan."

Jiang Shu's tone became firmer. "I don't know what plans I made in my previous life! If you can, then restore my memory so I know what those plans were, or you can tell me. Otherwise, please don't talk to me about these things. My sworn brother taught me a lot, explained the principles I didn't understand, and even guided me to cultivate spells that I couldn't master before."

"Once you recover your memories, you will naturally be able to grasp all those things. By teaching you prematurely, he is actually causing you to lose many opportunities to temper yourself in the mortal world."

Jiang Shu didn't want to continue arguing about this. "Senior, you've saved me, and I am very grateful. Let's not talk about anything else."

The Taoist was not angered by Jiang Shu's rebuff, but instead laughed. "You've still got that stubborn temper, just like your past self. I've achieved perfection in both my Inner Strength and Outer Skills and will ascend in a few years. For your sake, I went to Fujian to open a cave abode, spending years taking care of you, and this is how you talk back to me?

Never mind. It's still too early to tell whether your association with him is good or bad, or else I wouldn't have allowed him to stay by your side. But the variables of karma are too many, and if one isn't careful, one would stray and err. Not only would your hundreds of years of arduous cultivation be in vain, but the future grand undertaking of establishing the Qingcheng Sect could also turn into a mirage."

Suddenly, he reached forward with a grab, and the Iron Umbrella in Jiang Shu's left hand was sucked away by an invisible force and flew out of his grip.

Jiang Shu quickly tried to snatch it back, but the Taoist had already grabbed the umbrella. "This umbrella will be of some use to me; I'll borrow it for the time being. Go and tell your sworn brother not to be so petty—such an attitude cannot bear the Three Emperors Dao!"

After speaking, he stepped forward, dragging a lame leg and crossing out over the cliff. It looked like he was about to fall into the deep abyss, but with a sway in the wind, he vanished without a trace.

"Formless Immortal Escape!" Jiang Shu recognized it; the man had used the Formless Immortal Escape technique recorded in his own Daoist books.

Taiyin Divine Thunder, Formless Immortal Escape, in addition to the sword technique that descended from the sky to shatter the Buddha statue, were all evidently in the same vein as his own.

He rushed to the edge of the cliff, distressed and sighing. The Circulation Hunyuan Umbrella was only lent to him temporarily by Shi Feiyang. Now that it had been snatched away, how could he explain it to Shi Feiyang?

But explanations had to be made, regardless of the difficulty. Gritting his teeth, he too used the Formless Immortal Escape to fly down the cliff and enter the opposite Haideng Temple.

His Effort was insufficient, making his use of the Formless Immortal Escape very forced. Previously, the lamps in the temple had been lit, which could dispel Invisibility Techniques, but this time the central Array had been broken by Shi Feiyang, and all the lamps were extinguished. He sneaked into the temple quietly, and no one noticed.

Many young monks lived on the ground floor, responsible for chores such as washing clothes, chopping wood, making fires, cooking, and burning incense. Most had little Mana and were accustomed to seeing duels. They were hiding in their rooms according to the rules and did not come out.

The disciples who had learned Spells from Chuandeng Monk were currently below ground repelling the invaders, so the temple was quiet, without a soul moving about.

He wandered around, estimated the position, and found the entrance that led underground located inside a side hall in the back courtyard. Still using the Escape Skill to cloak his form, he snuck inside.

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