Chapter 234: Back to Province Z

Shabby Taoist Master looked shabbier than ever. His clothes were tattered and his face was charred.

He stuck half of his body out of the opening and was shocked when he saw the figure in the distance. He narrowed his eyes and looked closely, and breathed a sigh of relief when he discerned who the figure was.

Then, he beckoned at Tang Hao while looking worried.

“Fellow Cultivator Tang, come here quickly! Don’t stand out in the open. There’s danger!”

Tang Hao walked over curiously. “What danger?”

“Sigh! It’s a long story. Come in here quickly and I’ll tell you about it.” Shabby Taoist Master retreated within the statue as he spoke.

Tang Hao followed him inside.

The statue was immense, and the s.p.a.ce in the base was about the size of half a room. An oil lamp illuminated the interior.

Tang Hao could see a hole on the ground with a ladder leading down.

There was a wide-open s.p.a.ce at the bottom and it was decorated lavishly like a palace. Many people in Taoist robes were sitting there, and many of them were injured.

They turned to see the new visitor that Shabby Taoist Master brought.

Many of them were suspicious when they saw the teenager.

Someone stood up and quickly walked over. It was the scoundrel Trendy Taoist Master.

He did not look trendy though. Instead, he looked pathetic with his tattered clothes.

“You’re here, Fellow Cultivator Tang!” He came over and waved excitedly at Tang Hao.

“Taoist Master Xuan Yang!” Tang Hao greeted him with a smile.

“You’re safe here, Fellow Cultivator Tang! This subterranean palace was built by the founding teachers of Mao Mountain. It’s protected by defensive formations and will keep everyone inside safe from all harm.”

Shabby Taoist Master sat down and looked dejected.

“Back then, our founding teachers built this subterranean palace as a final measure to protect all Mao Mountain disciples. It has only been used a handful of times since then. I didn’t expect that we would be forced to use it again today.”

“Don’t you have any foundation cultivators on Mao Mountain?”

“There are, of course, but they’re meditating in seclusion and cannot leave their abodes! The whelps from the w.a.n.g family must have known about this, and that’s why they’re so brazen,” Shabby Taoist Master explained.

“Is that so!” Tang Hao replied, “Why is Mao Mountain so badly hit though? I thought I only saw dead bodies of w.a.n.g family descendants outside!”

“We thought we could hold it for longer, but we had a traitor in Mao Mountain who broke the seal and released that villain w.a.n.g Changsheng.”

Tang Hao was shocked when he heard that. “The villain is out of his seal?”

“Isn’t that so! That’s why I told you that it was dangerous. Let me tell you, that villain is incredibly cruel. You might have a strong cultivation base, Fellow Cultivator Tang, but you’ll be in grave peril when you meet him!”

Tang Hao did not doubt that. w.a.n.g Changsheng was an ancient evil from the Ming dynasty after all!

“How is the situation outside, Fellow Cultivator Tang?” Shabby Taoist Master asked.

“I didn’t see anyone except for some w.a.n.g family descendants on my way here. He was quite powerful, and I was nearly defeated.”

Shabby Taoist Master furrowed his brows. “Looks like that they’re still prowling around! We won’t be able to leave here anytime soon!”

“Oh, right! That guy was incredibly weird too,” Tang Hao continued.

“How so?” Shabby Taoist Master was curious.

“He didn’t wear any clothes, and he appeared to be castrated. His cultivation base was higher than mine and he had a weird appearance… We fought a while and I managed to drive him off!”

Shabby Taoist Master heard that and stared slack-jawed at Tang Hao. His eyes slowly opened wide.

The Taoist masters around them were also equally shocked.

They were dumbstruck when they heard the end of Tang Hao’s story.

Tang Hao was surprised to see them react like that.

“What’s going on, Taoist masters?”

Shabby Taoist Master’s mouth was still wide open. He could not close it.

“F… Fellow Cultivator, did you… actually… drive him away?” Shabby Taoist Master stammered.

“Yes! I was nearly defeated though. Fortunately, I had an ace up my sleeve,” Tang Hao said.

Shabby Taoist Master laughed bitterly. He still could not believe that was true.

However, he knew that Tang Hao had no reason to lie.

“Fellow Cultivator, that was w.a.n.g Changsheng!” Shabby Taoist Master said with a forced smile.

“Ah?” Tang Hao was shocked.

He had not considered that before. He thought that the freak was from the descendant branch.

“No wonder he’s so powerful!” Tang Hao muttered.

Then, he became suspicious.

An ancient evil like w.a.n.g Changsheng should be in the State of Foundation Establishment. However, he could sense that he was only in the late period of the State of Qi Channeling.

‘Right, his powers must have weakened from being sealed for so long,’ Tang Hao thought.

The Taoist masters came to their senses and exclaimed in surprise as they regarded Tang Hao.

“He fought off w.a.n.g Changsheng? Just who is he?”

“Look at him. He has a high cultivation base! No, he’s unfathomable!”

The Taoist masters exclaimed in surprise or doubt.

A few people walked urgently from one corner of the subterranean palace. One of them was Taoist Master Qing Yun whom he had seen before.

“Did you fight off w.a.n.g Changsheng, Fellow Cultivator Tang?” Taoist Master Qing Yun asked him incredulously.

Tang Hao nodded. “He ran away. I don’t have any reason to deceive you!”

“I believe you!” Taoist Master Qing Yun said and breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, he turned to look at the old Taoist masters next to him. “Fellow brothers, this young cultivator Tang Hao has about the same cultivation base as me, and he is more proficient in martial arts. The freak should be weakened by a lot after fighting with us, so it’s possible that he was driven off!”

The old Taoist masters examined Tang Hao and nodded.

They could sense Tang Hao’s level of cultivation.

At the same time, their eyes flashed with incredulity.

Fellow Cultivator Tang was too young!

“Heroes start young! We’re the old ones!” An old Taoist master shook his head and lamented.

“Yes, we are old!”

The old Taoist masters with snow-white hair felt emotional.

“Alright, let’s leave this place! The villain shouldn’t be coming back soon. We ought to tidy up the place and clean up the stragglers,” an old Taoist master said as he surveyed the subterranean palace.

The Taoist masters stood up and went toward the surface in a single file.

They cleaned up the debris and buried the dead bodies.

Tang Hao knew that w.a.n.g Changsheng would not return after being badly injured, though he stayed on Mao Mountain just in case there were other attacks. He said goodbye to the Taoist masters the next afternoon and left Mao Mountain.

He got into his car and started driving back to Province Z.