Chapter One Hundred Fifteen: One Against Two at Dragon Mountain

Although the golden Buddha was imposing, the fierce tiger radiated a momentum of equal magnitude. Their clashing auras collided, whipping up a whirlwind in the air. Lu Zhishen and the others hurriedly unleashed their internal energy to deflect the gust, shielding the surroundings; otherwise, not only would the foot soldiers have been caught in the crossfire, but the village behind them would not have been spared.

Fortunately, Monk Yuanjue and Li Zhong understood that this was no time for a full-scale duel, so they retracted their auras after only a moment.

"Haha, Master, what impressive skills! I, Li Zhong, am truly impressed!" Li Zhong then turned to Lu Zhishen and Shi Jin. "My second brother here has been kept on a tight leash by me, which is why he took advantage of my seclusion to go out and cause trouble." As he spoke, he grabbed Zhou Tong by the ear. "You brat, hurry up and apologize to the villagers! If you truly wish to marry that woman, focus on breaking through your current cultivation realm first. When you do, I won't stop you!"

A wry smile appeared on Zhou Tong’s face. How had he ended up following Li Zhong up the mountain in the first place? It was because he had been arrogant and ignorant, challenged Li Zhong to a fight, and got soundly beaten. If Li Zhong hadn't seen potential in his talent and character, he likely would have died that day. Though they were sworn brothers, Li Zhong was more like a master to him. As for breaking through, he was at a loss; after Li Zhong guided him to the early stage of the second rank, his progress had slowed to a crawl, and lately, he had made no progress at all, which left him with too much idle time.

However, thinking back to the sight of the woman splashing water in the sunlight, Zhou Tong gritted his teeth. "I have made up my mind to marry her; she is the only one for me! You can drill me as hard as you want when we get back, but I will break through as soon as possible!"

A flash of surprise crossed Li Zhong's eyes. He knew Zhou Tong’s nature and understood the current situation, which made the boy's declaration all the more startling. He hadn't expected the lad to be genuinely smitten rather than just looking for a way to vent his frustrations.

Li Zhong looked at Lu Zhishen and his companions. "It seems my brother has found the woman of his heart. In that case, I will arrange for my men to offer an apology and send over a formal betrothal gift. Would you be willing to act as witnesses?"

Monk Yuanjue replied, "If this union can be realized, it is naturally a good thing. Why would we have any objections?" Their previous opposition to Zhou Tong had only been because his impatience was frightening the villagers.

As expected, with Li Zhong coming forward and Lu Zhishen’s group acting as guarantors, the marriage was settled.

Hidden among the crowd, Mu Xingye clearly saw that once the match was finalized, aside from the old woman’s lingering reluctance, the rest of the villagers were overjoyed. This meant they were now one with Peach Blossom Mountain, their safety was guaranteed, and even the local officials would not dare to come and cause trouble easily.

"Latest intel: I have discovered one person whose Star of the General has already awakened, and another on the verge of awakening. However, I still have not found the key factor influencing the awakening," Mu Xingye messaged the others before quickening his pace to reach Peach Blossom Mountain first.

On the mountain, Lu Zhishen and the others recounted their journey to Li Zhong.

"That scoundrel Gao Qiu deserves to be killed! But since you all need a place to stay, why not settle here on Peach Blossom Mountain for the time being?" Li Zhong suggested.

Lu Zhishen replied, "We originally intended to settle at Erlong Mountain ahead. What is the situation there?" Having traveled all the way here, they had naturally observed the state of Peach Blossom Mountain. It was not a large mountain, the stronghold was simple, and the total number of bandits, including the foot soldiers, did not exceed five hundred. The camp was somewhat cramped. While there was room for the three of them, staying for too long would inevitably lead to friction. Most importantly, Li Zhong’s invitation sounded more like he was hosting guests rather than inviting them to join the gang.

A hint of embarrassment flashed across Li Zhong's face. "Don't take offense, brothers! Originally, there was no stronghold on Peach Blossom Mountain. Zhou Tong first brought a group of outlaws here to occupy it, and I only came up later. Resources in the stronghold are limited, and we often have to venture out to work to make ends meet, which is why our numbers have remained small. Another reason is that Erlong Mountain has long been established, and they have been constantly at odds with us."

"Master, are you hoping we can see if we can take down Erlong Mountain from the inside?" Shi Jin’s mind was quick, and he immediately grasped Li Zhong’s intent. As the saying goes, two tigers cannot share one mountain. If it had just been Zhou Tong, Erlong Mountain might have tolerated him for a while, but Li Zhong’s arrival had changed that.

First, in terms of high-end martial power, their combined strength matched that of Erlong Mountain’s elite fighters. Although Peach Blossom Mountain had fewer troops, under Li Zhong’s training, they were not the disorganized rabble one might expect; if transferred to Erlong Mountain, these five hundred men would form a core force.

In a direct confrontation, the leaders of Erlong Mountain feared a decapitation strike by Li Zhong, so they had been choking off Peach Blossom Mountain’s income and compressing their living space. They didn't seek to destroy them, but rather to force Li Zhong and Zhou Tong to leave.

Because Erlong Mountain had been occupied for a long time and the terrain was treacherous with heavily fortified checkpoints, it was easy to defend and hard to attack. Otherwise, the mountain would have changed hands long ago.

Li Zhong nodded. "Erlong Mountain is easy to defend and hard to attack. The checkpoints on the mountain road are not easy to break; if the defenders hold firm, it would take several times our number to seize it. Therefore, the best opportunity is a sneak attack by a small group, and the best strategy is to kill the original Erlong Mountain bandit leaders and their inner circle. The remaining minions are nothing but reeds bending with the wind."

Having stayed here for so long, Li Zhong understood the situation at Erlong Mountain well. It was precisely because he had been mulling over this plan for a long time that he spoke of it now.

"I have no doubt about the skills of you three brothers. For now, I will make a show of attacking the Erlong Mountain checkpoints a few times, and then you can pretend to be passersby looking to join the gang; you will surely be able to infiltrate Erlong Mountain. Furthermore, there is an inn at the foot of the mountain whose owner is on good terms with me. With a letter from me, he will cooperate with you," Li Zhong said.

"Since that is the case, we accept this task," said Monk Yuanjue. With that, he rose and returned to his room, from which the rhythmic chanting of Buddhist sutras soon emerged.

Lu Zhishen laughed. "My senior brother is sincerely devoted to the Buddha; he does this every day. But when it really comes time to strike, he will be reciting Buddhist mantras while sending people to meet the Buddha himself!" He truly admired Monk Yuanjue. Having spent so much time in two different temples, Lu Zhishen himself had only learned a few sutras and had no habit of chanting. If he hadn't grown accustomed to the monastic lifestyle, he would have wanted to grow his hair back out!

Lu Zhishen did not know it, but Mu Xingye clearly saw the state Monk Yuanjue was in at that moment. His face, which should have been solemn and serene, was twisted into a fierce and ferocious expression. On the phantom image of the golden Buddha behind him, Buddhist scriptures appeared, yet the words forced from his throat were:

"Kill, kill, kill..."

He was no enlightened monk, nor was that a solemn golden Buddha! He was clearly an evil monk who killed, a demon in a corrupt world.

At this moment, Mu Xingye learned through the system that Monk Yuanjue was using the Buddhist sutras to suppress the demonic impulses within himself. No wonder he had always acted like an enlightened master; judging solely by his behavior, one would easily mistake Lu Zhishen for the "Demon Star" and him for the "General Star."

"There’s actually such a method? But why exactly does he want to suppress it? Is it simply because he studied Buddhism first and doesn't want to engage in unnecessary slaughter?" He had been following them the whole way, and throughout their journey, encountering both wild beasts and bandits, Monk Yuanjue had almost never personally killed anything! Moreover, every time he chanted, his expression was exceptionally pious.

The chanting continued until the next morning. Yuanjue walked out of the house, and by then, Li Zhong had already mustered his men, ready to head down the mountain.

Meanwhile, Lu Zhishen and his two companions took a side path down the mountain, sticking to hidden routes until they had passed the border between Erlong Mountain and Peach Blossom Mountain. Only then did they return to the main road, pretending to be travelers arriving from another direction.

At this point, Mu Xingye temporarily abandoned his pursuit of Lu Zhishen’s group because he had discovered a "black inn" containing two unawakened Stars of the General!

It was a husband and wife who had lived there for a long time. Both were in an unawakened state—the first time Mu Xingye and his team had encountered such a situation. After observing them for a day, he found their lives to be very routine, and he did not encounter any other unawakened Stars of the General.

Leaving behind a surveillance drone, Mu Xingye followed the tracks of Lu Zhishen and his group toward the foot of Erlong Mountain.