Chapter 171: The Supreme Treasure of the Saint of Calligraphy

The strange phenomenon atop the sacrificial altar caused the expressions of the representatives from various major sects to shift drastically. Although Lu Xin had never witnessed such a scene firsthand, he understood that the Eight Desolations Fire Dragon Cauldron was most likely undergoing a blood-recognition ritual with its master.

An ancient divine artifact would undoubtedly have birthed its own consciousness long ago. Furthermore, its true master, Chiyan Tian, had not entirely perished. Lu Xin harbored a very strong premonition that the Eight Desolations Fire Dragon Cauldron had been intentionally bestowed upon Cao Fu by Chiyan Tian. If this were indeed true, then Cao Fu had very likely fallen into a trap laid by the Ghost Clan.

Regrettably, Lu Xin had no surplus time to ponder this matter at present. The members of the major sects were charging toward the sacrificial altar simultaneously, showing clear signs of joining forces.

"Fellow Daoist, the Eight Desolations Fire Dragon Cauldron is merging with my physical body. This is a moment of life and death, and also my opportunity to soar to the heavens. Help me hold them off for a moment—just a moment—and I will be able to take you away."

Cao Fu's rushed words faded into complete silence before Lu Xin had a chance to reply. Even before he could respond, he saw dozens of Daoist techniques hurtling toward him. Left with no choice, he could only grit his teeth and rely on the Avatar Talisman to defend himself.

Boom!

The explosions on the stone steps shook the heavens and earth, and the aftermath of colliding magical power swept across a void spanning thousands of meters. Li Chunfeng's avatar pointed a finger directly at the forehead of the person charging at the very front, reducing him to ashes. Everyone was terrified, and for a moment, none of the major sects dared to step forward.

Li Chunfeng's avatar stood as a solitary guardian against ten thousand foes, impenetrable by any!

Not only that, but Lu Xin held his sword in both hands and slashed continuously toward the base of the sacrificial altar. The peerless, razor-sharp sword Qi was comparable to the full-strength strike of an eighth-layer Void-Viewing realm Onmyoji. The contingent from the Ghost Mother Sect, who had been charging at the forefront, was forced to retreat in disarray.

"I, Lu Xin! Unaffiliated with any sect, I have no intention of seizing the Ghost Clan's treasures, nor do I wish to take lives. I merely want to leave the Fengdu Ghost Domain, and I hope you all will not force my hand!"

The youth raised his voice and roared at everyone present. His voice pierced through everything, seeming to reach the nine heavens above and the nether springs below. Everyone present understood that the youth was not speaking falsely. Yet, with the Eight Desolations Fire Dragon Cauldron right before their eyes, how could they possibly show mercy?

The first to speak was Wang Qi. This expert from the Netherworld Dao Sect had previously been injured by Lu Xin, so he did not rashly take the lead. However, this did not prevent him from stirring up trouble among the major sects.

"Fellow Daoists, do not listen to his glib tongue. This man's master is Li Chunfeng, the imperial preceptor appointed by Emperor Li Shimin of the Great Tang. He is working for the Great Tang imperial court, so fellow Daoists must not be deceived. Moreover, the Eight Desolations Fire Dragon Cauldron is currently undergoing the master-recognition ritual. If we delay any longer, none of us will stand a chance."

Wang Qi's words immediately provoked an uproar. The imperial court had always been a subject deeply resented by the sects of the world. Although outwardly few sects dared to openly rebel against the Great Tang court, in secret, all of them harbored ambitions to contend for the Central Plains and become the ruler of the realm. Upon hearing that Lu Xin's master was Li Chunfeng, Ji Yu of the Nine Poisons Gate was the first to change his expression. The gaze he had previously cast toward Lu Xin, which was relatively calm, instantly turned ice-cold. On the night of the Chang'an massacre, it was precisely Li Chunfeng who had blocked his master, Ouyang Tianming, from attacking the imperial palace.

"Hahahaha, this fellow Daoist speaks well. This person is indeed a running dog of the court, and not long ago, outside the Chiyan Que, he even aided the Shadow Dragon Guards."

The Qilin Envoy of the Five Elephants Gate also jumped out. As he spoke, his gaze locked onto the Youxian Sword in Lu Xin's hand, making no effort to conceal the greed in his eyes.

The angry emotions of the crowd were instantly pushed to their absolute peak. Lu Xin could clearly sense that the magical power surging from all directions had increased manifold. This was an overwhelming momentum of shared hatred, sufficient to swallow him whole in an instant.

"Kid, step aside, or don't blame us for bullying the few with the many."

"An Onmyoji by trade, yet willing to act as a lackey for the court. For this reason alone, you deserve to die!"

"Hahahaha... You Han people are truly strange. You all wish to use the strength of a mere mortal to block everything. What a pity, though—the power of the Avatar Talisman will eventually fade. When that time comes, my Reincarnation Gate will only need to lift a single finger to send you into the cycle of reincarnation!"

Threats, insults, and mockery flooded in from all directions like a tidal wave. Lu Xin had never faced so many Onmyojis alone, nor had he ever confronted so many enemies by himself. Although the exit of the Fengdu Ghost Domain was just behind him not far away, he did not dare to act rashly. For he knew that the moment he turned around, countless Daoist techniques would devour him like a volley of wild arrows.

At this very moment, Lu Xin could neither retreat nor show fear!

"Wang Qi, in your sect's plot to seize the Central Plains, you did not hesitate to instigate conflict between the Great Tang and the Tujue, disregarding the lives of all under heaven! If the Eight Desolations Fire Dragon Cauldron falls into your hands, how many people will die across the realm? And you lot from the Five Elephants Gate—ungrateful and harboring wolfish ambitions. If you were to obtain the Eight Desolations Fire Dragon Cauldron, a landscape of corpses and a sea of blood would be inevitable! Which of you sects does not live solely for yourselves? You endlessly condemn the imperial court, yet what have you ever done for this world?"

Lu Xin roared once again, this time including everyone present in his condemnation. Although he knew this was not a wise course of action, he had run out of alternatives. The hot-blooded nature of his youth made it impossible for him to bow his head and beg for mercy.

"Hmph, what heinous crimes has my Five Elephants Gate ever committed that warrant such belittling from you? Boy, I originally had no desire to take action against you. What a pity that you care so little for your own life."

Accompanied by a cold snort, Zhou Sha suddenly leaped into the air and flew above the crowd. Beneath his feet trod an unfurled giant folding fan, surrounded by swirling black light that revealed a landscape painting of ten thousand miles of rivers and mountains. Upon seeing this scene, many experts among the major sects cried out in alarm.

"The Langya Mountains and Rivers Fan of the Sage of Calligraphy, Wang Xizhi? How is it in his hands?"

"This fan has been missing for nearly two hundred years, yet it has actually been acquired by someone from the Five Elephants Gate. Who is this youth? Why have I never seen him before?"

"He is Zhou Sha, the young master of the Five Elephants Gate and the only direct grandson of Old Monster Zhou. With the Langya Mountains and Rivers Fan in his possession, it is hardly surprising. Everyone, step back to avoid being drawn into the aura of his magical power."

Zhou Sha's sudden appearance startled the crowd into cries of astonishment, yet it instantly stabilized the previously chaotic scene. The reputation of the Langya Mountains and Rivers Fan was immense; even Lu Xin, who had transmigrated to the Tang Dynasty for less than three years, had heard of it.

Wang Xizhi, the eternal Sage of Calligraphy, stood peerless throughout the ages. The Lanting Xu, hailed as the "number one running script under heaven," remained an epoch-making masterpiece even in modern times. His mastery of calligraphy had nearly reached the absolute pinnacle of humanity. When Li Chunfeng learned that Lu Xin hailed from Shanyin County, the ancestral home of Wang Xizhi, he had frequently brought him up of his own accord, expressing boundless admiration and praise. The reason Wang Xizhi's calligraphy was able to reach such breathtaking heights, penetrating deep into the wood, was inextricably linked to his devout belief in Daoism.

In fact, Wang Xizhi's calligraphy had long since fused perfectly with his own Daoist cultivation—a fact supported by historical record. The Wang family into which he was born was the most representative cultural aristocratic clan of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, universally devoted to the teachings of Huang Lao. Wang Xizhi himself retired to the mountains and rivers in his later years, wholeheartedly pursuing the Dao. As for the Langya Mountains and Rivers Fan, it was a bamboo fan said to be crafted from primeval divine wood that would not decay for ten thousand years. Originally the personal item of Prince Ji Jin, the crown prince of King Ling of Zhou in the ancient Eastern Zhou, this Prince Jin was precisely the earliest practitioner of Daoism and the ancestral patriarch of Wang Xizhi's lineage.

The Langya Mountains and Rivers Fan had absorbed spiritual energy while accompanying Prince Jin in his cultivation, and having been passed down for a millennium, it eventually fell into Wang Xizhi's hands. Through his profound calligraphic mastery, Wang Xizhi had endowed the fan with even greater power. Legend had it that when Wang Xizhi traveled across the mountains and rivers of the world while contemplating the Dao, he carried only two things with him: a brush and a fan. No one knew what terrifying power this magical treasure truly contained.

"This person is indeed unfathomable. Wang Xizhi packed all the secrets of heaven and earth into this fan; born in Langya, yet he walked the mountains and rivers of the entire realm. What on earth did he comprehend? Is it the cycle of cause and effect? Perhaps... in the end, everyone must still return to where they began!"

Wang Qi looked up at the ink-colored landscape filling the sky, his expression complicated to the extreme. He had long been wary of Zhou Sha, and the appearance of the Langya Mountains and Rivers Fan undoubtedly added another three parts to his apprehension.

Just as the disciples of the various major sects were buzzing with discussion, Li Chunfeng's avatar suddenly raised its head. The azure light, which had been gradually fading, flared brilliantly once more, and everyone could feel an irresistible pressure blanketing the entire sacrificial altar.

"The Langya Mountains and Rivers Fan has finally emerged into the world. What a pity that you should use it to deal with my disciple."

After uttering these words, the figure beneath the azure light suddenly soared into the air, colliding directly with Zhou Sha. In an instant, the sky was filled with intertwined spells and runes. Then, amidst a blinding flash of azure light, Zhou Sha tumbled out of midair, and the Langya Mountains and Rivers Fan lost all its miraculous manifestations. Members of the Five Elephants Gate hurried forward to catch him, only to discover that their young master had lost consciousness. Furthermore, the Langya Mountains and Rivers Fan had folded shut, devoid of the slightest fluctuation of magical power.

"A seal?"

Wang Qi and Ji Yu not far away cried out in astonishment almost simultaneously. The power of the Avatar Talisman genuinely shocked them to their core. Looking up again now, the azure light in midair was growing increasingly hazy, and Li Chunfeng's figure could no longer be discerned as human. However, a string of words rang out clearly in the ears of everyone present:

"Today, if anyone here dares to harm my disciple by even a fraction, no matter the mountains or rivers, to the ends of the earth, I, Li Chunfeng, shall ensure their complete annihilation!"

The moment the voice faded, the azure light in the sky completely dissipated as well. Everyone from the major sects knew that the power of the Avatar Talisman had been exhausted. Yet at this moment, no one dared to make a move, nor did anyone dare to speak.

What was the Langya Mountains and Rivers Fan? A legendary treasure of the Sage of Calligraphy. Yet it had been effortlessly sealed by a mere avatar. With Zhou Sha's fate unknown, who would dare act recklessly? If the youth on the sacrificial altar were to unleash such power once more, none of them could bear the consequences.

"Everyone, I shall say this once more: I have no intention of setting myself against you."

"Hmph! Do you think a mere Avatar Talisman is enough to make us stop here? What an absolute joke!"