"Did this Ban Gongcuo actually modify the Witch-Venerable Golden Palace Canon?"
State Duke Wei was somewhat puzzled and muttered, "I've sparred with experts from Loulan Golden Palace. Their techniques use the soul to cultivate; they may temper their bodies until they gleam like gold, but most of their attacks rely on the soul. Yet this young barbarian follows a physical route, and his technique is a bit different from the Witch-Venerable Golden Palace Canon—almost too ferocious..."
After all, he was a top-grade official—a Cult Master-level figure—and instantly saw Quinn Shepherd’s extraordinary qualities. Even with his vast experience, he could only tell that Quinn’s Witch-Venerable Golden Palace Canon was similar but not quite the same, unable to realize that Quinn was actually using the Creation Heavenly God Art.
Each of the Seven Creation Chapters of the Grand Fostering Heavenly Demon Sutra had its own unique strengths. The Creation Heavenly God Art excelled at mimicking other people’s techniques; Granny Si had once used it to perfectly imitate Lord Fu Yundi of Dragon-Inlaid City, passing fake for real.
With a single palm strike, Quinn killed Monk Yuanjing. Instantly, the monks of Nanda Side Palace were filled with righteous outrage. Another monk stepped forward and shouted, "You use our Nanda Temple’s sect-guardian treasure to kill our own—do you really think Nanda Temple has no one left? I, Monk Shane Yuen, will face you!"
Quinn reached out and grabbed—thunder cracked. Monk Shane Yuen’s words were cut off as he toppled over, his corpse lifelike and unmarked, heart still beating.
Several monks rushed forward, feeling for Monk Shane Yuen’s breath. He was still breathing, but his eyes had already closed.
"Stop checking—his soul’s been scattered."
Quinn said, "I snatched away his soul and destroyed it outright."
"Weren’t we supposed to be sparring?"
The monks, furious to the point of laughter, shouted, "Why do you keep killing without restraint?"
Quinn replied coolly, "That’s the rule Beyond-the-Frontier. Once you attack, life and death are no longer counted. I thought people of the Everpeace Empire still had some backbone, but it turns out you’ve grown so pampered you fear death. Looks like I came to the wrong place. This Thousand-Banner Pagoda should stay in my Loulan Golden Palace—none of you are its fated owner."
"Insolence!"
A monk roared and suddenly charged forward, swinging a staff adorned with nine rings and nine treasures. The staff rang out, its sound shaking the soul.
Quinn didn’t move, letting the staff smash onto his head. Only then did he reach out, grab the staff, and yank it free—leaving the monk’s palms torn and bleeding.
Thud.
Quinn hurled the staff, piercing the monk’s chest and pinning him to the ground—he stopped breathing.
State Duke Wei shook his head. "Nanda Temple’s monks are just wine-and-meat monks—after years of pampering, they’re no match for him. At equal realm, they can’t compete at all. Loulan Golden Palace’s witch arts are extremely sinister; destroying the opponent’s soul is possible, but something’s still off. I’ve never seen these moves before. Could the Witch-Venerable have created some new divine art?"
Wei Yong still hadn’t found Quinn, thinking to himself, "He told me to come watch the spectacle—where did he hide himself?"
Several middle-aged monks from Nanda Side Palace stepped out, faces grave. One spoke in a deep voice: "Someone, go report to the High Court of Justice—have the authorities arrest him! And send another to the Crown Prince’s residence to summon the abbot!"
The other monks’ eyes lit up and they hurried off.
The High Court of Justice handled investigations and trials. Nanda Side Palace didn’t have to fight Quinn to the death—they just needed the authorities to arrest him, throw him in prison, and the Thousand-Banner Pagoda would naturally return to Nanda Temple.
Quinn had killed people in the capital, so the High Court of Justice investigating was only natural. Besides, Nanda Temple had people inside the court, which made things even easier.
At the Crown Prince’s residence, a monk rushed in, shouting, "Abbot, something terrible has happened—someone is causing havoc at our Nanda Side Palace!"
Sun Nanda sat motionless like a great Buddha. Hearing this, he opened his eyes and looked at the Crown Prince—a middle-aged man, not much younger than Emperor Yan Feng—who stroked his beard and smiled, "Could it be that a brat from the Holy Cult has come to seek revenge?"
The monk shook his head. "It’s not the Holy Cult—it’s a disciple from Loulan Golden Palace, named Ban Gongcuo. He brought our Nanda Temple’s sect-guardian treasure, the Thousand-Banner Pagoda, which has been missing for centuries. He says he’ll gift it to whoever can defeat him at the same realm. We tried to challenge him, but he started killing without hesitation—he’s slain many of our brothers!"
Sun Nanda’s face darkened. "You’ve all been lost in wine and lust, neglecting Buddha’s teachings—you deserved this defeat. But the Thousand-Banner Pagoda is our temple’s sect-guardian treasure. It vanished Beyond-the-Frontier centuries ago; we must reclaim it."
The Crown Prince frowned slightly. "Grand Master, the Holy Cult has lost two Heavenly Kings in a row. Given the temperament of that demonic sect, they won’t let this go. Now a Loulan Golden Palace disciple suddenly appears—is this a trick? I’ve heard the Holy Cult finally has a new Cult Master after forty years, but no one knows his origin..."
Sun Nanda rose and said calmly, "Your Highness, your information is behind the times. The new Cult Master’s origin is already known. I heard from Great Thunderclap Temple—he is the Imperial Academy’s Great Academy Doctor, surname Qin, given name Mu, an abandoned one from the Great Ruins. Just recently, His Majesty promoted him to Mid-Palace Gentleman, fifth rank."
"So it’s him!"
The Crown Prince stood up in surprise. "The new Cult Master of the Holy Cult may be young, but the cult still has powerful and wise members—we can’t be careless. Grand Master, I didn’t expect you to have contacts at Great Thunderclap Temple. Could you introduce me?"
"That’s easily arranged."
Sun Nanda walked outside. "Old Tathagata would also like to meet Your Highness."
The Crown Prince followed, smiling, "Let me go see this Ban Gongcuo of Loulan Golden Palace—let’s find out if he’s really Loulan Golden Palace or Holy Cult."
Soon, several Court Examiners from the High Court of Justice arrived, spotted State Duke Wei, and hurriedly saluted.
State Duke Wei glimpsed Sun Nanda and the Crown Prince approaching, then raised his booming voice: "The emperor once decreed—court affairs belong to the court, jianghu grudges to the jianghu. This is a martial-world feud; the High Court of Justice need not intervene. Otherwise, if the martial world fought every day, your High Court would be overwhelmed. Wait until a court official dies, then you can step in. Lord Sun, Your Highness, come over and watch the show!"
Sun Nanda’s face darkened, but the Crown Prince laughed, "Grand Master, let’s go over—otherwise, Wei’s booming voice will echo across the whole capital. By the way, Father’s old rule really ought to be changed."
State Duke Wei was referring to the rule set by the previous emperor with the major sects: court matters belong to the court, martial-world matters to the martial world, neither interfering with the other. Though Nanda Temple’s monks were disciples of Grand Master Sun Nanda, most held no official rank—they were considered martial-world folk.
Sun Nanda and the Crown Prince joined State Duke Wei and the others. While they spoke, Quinn killed several more monks, stirring outrage throughout Nanda Side Palace as monks clamored to fight him to the death.
The middle-aged monks glanced at the growing crowd, worried about Nanda Temple’s reputation, and hurried to restrain their fellow monks.
"State Duke, Your Highness, Lord Sun!"
State Duke Wei looked over as an elderly official approached, smiling, "So it’s Lord Yan Zhigui. Lord Yan, you’re quite favored by the Emperor and Empress Dowager these days."
Lord Yan quickly smiled, "You flatter me, State Duke. Lord Sun, what’s going on here?"
"Nanda Temple’s in trouble—looks like someone’s here for revenge."
Several more high officials arrived. One said, "Nanda Temple’s reputation has suffered in recent years—too much sneaking into noblewomen’s chambers and ministers’ backyards. Many officials resent them, but won’t speak up for fear of embarrassment. This time, everyone’s just here to watch the spectacle. See? Not one wants to intervene. Oh, Lord Sun is here too."
These men were all top-ranked officials, deliberately ignoring Sun Nanda and giving him the cold shoulder.
Sun Nanda remained unmoved, watching Quinn, while the Crown Prince also studied him, trying to discern the origin of his techniques.
"Send in a divine arts practitioner—seal his Six Directions Divine Repository, then unseal it and strike hard! Kill him outright!"
A middle-aged monk whispered, "Yuan Kong, go. We’ve already lost face—what’s a little more? No matter what, we must win back the Thousand-Banner Pagoda!"
Yuan Kong acknowledged the order, sealed his Six Directions Divine Repository, and entered the arena to face Quinn. His cultivation far surpassed Monk Yuan Jing’s; standing firm, his arms moved like a thousand-armed Buddha, closely resembling the Thousand-Armed Buddha technique from Thunderclap Eight Forms.
Quinn charged forward. With a thunderous crash, he and Monk Yuan Kong struck palm to palm. The gale roared in all directions, whipping the crowd’s robes wildly.
Explosive cracks echoed from Yuan Kong’s body—he collapsed, every bone shattered, killed before he could unseal his Six Directions Divine Repository.
The monks of Nanda Temple, eyes blazing with rage, surged forward to hack Quinn to pieces, but were blocked by the middle-aged monks.
State Duke Wei applauded, booming, "The Witch-Venerable Louluo Sutra of Loulan Golden Palace is formidable! Another great monk has fallen!"
Sun Nanda frowned slightly and murmured, "Is this really the Witch-Venerable Louluo Sutra?"
He’d never met Loulan Golden Palace’s experts or seen this technique; State Duke Wei, however, had fought the Witch King of Loulan Golden Palace at the western border.
The Crown Prince mused, "I’ve heard the Loulan Golden Palace’s witches train with their souls, able to transform themselves—half-human, half-monster, endlessly variable..."
As he spoke, another monk stepped forward, immediately unsealing his Six Directions Divine Repository to unleash his divine arts. But Quinn closed in and struck his chest.
With his Six Directions Divine Repository opened, the monk’s aura surged—his divine arts exploded forth!
He was stronger than Yuan Kong, having refined over four hundred treasures from the Lingbao Immovable Zen technique. With hundreds of hand seals unleashed, Buddha light burst forth in dazzling rays—a Buddha roused to thunderous wrath, subduing monsters and demons, drawing cheers from the crowd!
"Master Yuan Yue’s cultivation is truly impressive!" praised a peach-cheeked lady from one of the noble families.
Even as she spoke, Quinn’s body shimmered—he took on a bull-headed, human-bodied, bull-hooved divine form, golden light blazing from head to toe, standing atop twin dragons. A bull’s eye appeared at his brow, firing a beam of flame that sliced across Master Yuan Yue’s neck.
Master Yuan Yue felt his head flying backward—he saw his own body, blood still spurting from his neck, now headless.
His head landed in the arms of the peach-cheeked lady, who screamed and fainted in terror.
Slap, slap.
Quinn’s bull tail whipped his own backside twice, leaving it red and swollen.
The Crown Prince’s eyes flashed. "It must be the Witch-Venerable Louluo Sutra of Loulan Golden Palace. But why is he whipping his own backside? Is this some bizarre Loulan Golden Palace spell?"