Chapter 225: Facing the Martial Saint Ma Mian, My Daughter Turns Five 【Seeking Monthly Votes】

Chapter 225: Facing the Martial Saint Ma Mian, My Daughter Turns Five 【Seeking Monthly Votes】

The spring rain fell steadily, pattering on the black roof tiles like the ticking of a clock.

Old Chen, who was brushing his teeth under the eaves, suddenly stood up.

From a distance, he looked over with a hint of worry on his aged face.

The Temple Guardian Office?

And it's the Dao City Temple Guardian Office!

It's well known that the Temple Guardian Offices established by the court in the major Dao Cities are not only tasked with suppressing Strange Temples but also have the purpose of countering the Divine Sects.

Therefore, the Dao City Temple Guardian Office is by no means an ordinary power.

It is far beyond what the Golden Light City Dao City can compare to.

It is a true behemoth, almost on par with the orthodoxy of the Heavenly Origin Sect, even though there is a gap in their heritage. However, the Temple Guardians dispatched by the court to the Dao Cities are all top-notch experts.

Inside the house, Zhang Ya also came out, her dark eyebrows furrowed, and she hurried over.

"Husband..."

Li Che raised his hand and gently patted her shoulder.

"It's nothing. Official Xie has something to discuss with me, so I'll go and see him."

Li Che said with a gentle smile.

His demeanor was calm, without a trace of anxiety or worry.

"As a second-rank guest minister of the Heaven Observation Bureau, I previously participated in an event organized by the Bureau to observe the Strange Temple's Divine Shrine. Perhaps it was just a coincidence that the Strange Temple disappeared afterward..."

Li Che spoke calmly, reassuring his wife.

Xie Jing looked at Li Che with admiration in his heart.

After all, most of the cultivators invited by the Temple Guardian Office would feel anxious and uneasy.

The Temple Guardian Office is a terrifying place for cultivators, as it specializes in dealing with Strange Temples and is filled with powerful experts. Although there aren't many Temple Guardians, each one is incredibly strong.

Once you enter the Temple Guardian Office and something happens, it's almost impossible to escape.

Li Che's calm and composed demeanor immediately dispelled Xie Jing's doubts about him.

Before coming, Xie Jing had indeed harbored suspicions about Li Che.

After all, there were some coincidences.

Could it be that Li Che encountered such coincidences?

The two Strange Temples that Li Che went to observe had mysteriously disappeared, vanishing from the mortal world. How could this not lead to speculation?

"Sir Xie, let's go."

"The innocent have nothing to fear," Li Che said with a gentle smile, his ink-colored robe fluttering in the wind.

Xie Jing sincerely admired him and said, "Please."

After patting Zhang Ya's shoulder to reassure her about his safety, Li Che and Xie Jing left Liuxiang Alley and boarded the Temple Guardian Office's carriage, breaking through the slanting spring rain and heading towards the Temple Guardian Office.

Inside the carriage, a charcoal stove boiled water, and a few tender early spring tea buds were added to the cup. As the boiling water curled around them, they unfurled like a lazy stretch.

The transparent tea gradually took on a verdant hue.

Xie Jing and Li Che discussed many things, mostly about the events in Golden Light City.

Since they both came from the same city, their relationship was closer.

"The court will dispatch a new governor to the Temple Guardian Office in Golden Light City. After this Divine Shrine Resonance, the Eight-Armed Hell Lotus Wrathful Third Prince Strange Temple will likely remain calm for an extended period. If it erupts again, the situation might become quite serious..."

"Perhaps I'll be reassigned back to Golden Light City then."

Xie Jing took a sip of tea and said with a smile.

"Oh? Your Temple Guardian Office believes that the Third Prince Strange Temple in Golden Light City will have a major riot?"

Li Che asked in confusion.

"That's for sure. Compared to the other Four Divine Strange Temples, the Third Prince Strange Temple is one of the more recent ones. Every Strange Temple will experience a major riot..."

"That kind of riot... is what the great supervisor of the Heaven Observation Bureau, known for his divine calculations, calls 'Divine Shrine Radiance.'"

"Every Four Divine Strange Temple has experienced this. Before the 'Divine Shrine Ascension,' the Four Divine Strange Temples are not too dangerous, even when the divine nature's contamination spreads."

"That's why neither the Divine Sects nor the court has sent powerful cultivators to the Third Prince Strange Temple. However, when the 'Divine Shrine Radiance' begins, the Divine Shrine revives from death, and Golden Light City may become the center of the vortex..."

"At that time, it's not just one Divine Embryo Great Deity or Martial Saint who will descend."

Xie Jing said softly.

He leaned back against the soft cushion of the carriage, and a hint of solemnity appeared in his eyes.

"Moreover..."

"I feel that the Third Prince Strange Temple in Golden Light City may be a bit different from the other Four Divine Strange Temples..."

"I've trained in the Wicked Pagodas of the two Four Divine Strange Temples in Heavenly Origin Dao City..."

"Whether it's the Marvelous Dao Manifestation Three-Eyed True Monarch Strange Shrine suppressed by the Heavenly Origin Sect, or the Nine Feet Demon Slaying Evil Heavenly Pig Strange Shrine suppressed by the four major families, Su, Zhou, Yun, and Zhong..."

"None of them gave me the same sense of fear as the Wicked Pagoda of the Third Prince Strange Temple."

Xie Jing held his sword, and a hint of confusion appeared in his eyes.

"It was a full moon night. I didn't even enter the Wicked Pagoda of the Third Prince Strange Temple. I only sensed it from outside the Wicked Mist, and I vaguely felt... the presence of countless terrifying beings, as if they were parading by."

"That slight revelation was so terrifying that it made my divine nature and qi and blood unable to flow..."

"It truly made me despair."

Xie Jing said softly.

"I don't know if it was an illusion, but I know... it wasn't fake."

Xie Jing spoke solemnly.

"But since then, I've never seen a situation like the 'Parade of Gods' again."

"The Dao City Temple Guardian Office also sent a Heaven and Man as One Great Master to investigate, but... they didn't find anything."

"They said I might have had a sword illusion, but I don't think I was mistaken."

Xie Jing's voice was a bit low.

He seemed to have forgotten about Li Che and just wanted someone to confide in.

Li Che fell silent.

He couldn't help but recall the scene he had witnessed in the Wicked Mist through the Star Snatching Eye.

Isn't this similar to what Xie Jing said about the "Parade of Gods"?

However...

The ones parading are not gods.

But...

Endless demons and monsters! Li Che didn't respond to Xie Jing, and his face even revealed a hint of horror and surprise.

"Sir Xie... Your words are truly terrifying."

Li Che said.

Xie Jing was taken aback and gave a wry smile.

"Master Li, just consider it as my babbling."

The carriage rumbled, and the spring rain crushed the accumulated water, which cracked like a mirror.

The carriage arrived at the vast Town Temple Administration Office in the Heavenly Origin Dao City.

Similar to the Town Temple Administration Office in Golden Light City, or perhaps all the Town Temple Administration Offices across the land, the buildings were arranged in a uniform and orderly manner.

Within each building, numerous Town Temple officials were busy processing documents and recording information gathered from various places.

Xie Jing led Li Che through the Town Temple Administration Office, which was paved with a wide path of green stones.

Soon, they reached a majestic and grand building deep within the compound.

"Master Li, please."

Li Che nodded and stepped into the building.

Xie Jing bowed respectfully towards the building before closing the vermillion doors.

As the doors closed, it seemed as if the light was also cut off.

The hall inside the building was spacious and wide, filled with bookshelves made of Spirit Wood, each filled with numerous books.

Li Che glanced around, and all the books were related to the Strange Temple.

"Are you here?"

Suddenly, a middle-aged man in a gray cloth shirt emerged from behind a bookshelf.

The cultured middle-aged man had his thick, lustrous black hair tied with a rope, exuding a sense of vitality.

He dusted off the books in his hands and blew away the dust.

He warmly waved at Li Che.

"You must be Master Li Che?"

"Please, sit."

The middle-aged man smiled faintly, and there was a unique air of serenity about him.

However, the Dragon Elephant Vajra Dao Fruit in Li Che's chest was throbbing violently! It was as if he was facing not a cultured and amiable middle-aged scholar, but a terrifying Qi and Blood monster! A terrifying Blood and Flesh Vajra!

Very strong, extremely powerful! Li Che's physical body's Great Dan in his Dantian trembled, but he controlled the Dragon Elephant Vajra Dao Fruit and maintained the blood flow without significant changes.

Martial Saint?!

Is he a Martial Saint?!

Li Che's heart was filled with shock.

Could the middle-aged scholar before him be a Martial Saint?!

Li Che didn't know, but for him to have such a strong reaction...

Even the pressure from You Li Qing, who had opened the Apex Three Flowers, wasn't as intense.

The middle-aged scholar was flipping through books, and he seemed to sense Li Che's tense attitude, and a strange color flashed in his eyes.

He smiled and said, "There's no need to be so nervous... I just wanted to chat with you. After all, you're a second-rank guest official in the Heaven Observation Bureau, and although you're not an officially appointed official, you're still considered my colleague in a strict sense."

"I, Yuwen Wenlong, am one of the two chief governors of the Heavenly Origin Dao City."

Li Che sat down on the wooden Grand Master's chair.

"Do you know that the two Strange Temples you visited have mysteriously disappeared?"

The middle-aged scholar asked while flipping through ancient books, his gaze never leaving Li Che.

Although his eyes didn't rest on Li Che, the invisible pressure was overwhelming.

Li Che shook his head.

His answer was concise and precise.

He believed that Yuwen Wenlong wouldn't find any clues, and as long as he didn't admit it, no one would know he was the one responsible.

Indeed, wasn't making the Strange Temples disappear from the world a great deed? Li Che always did good deeds without seeking recognition.

"Isn't the disappearance of the Strange Temples a good thing?"

Li Che looked innocent.

In reality, Yuwen Wenlong had been using his powerful divine sense to lock onto Li Che, but he didn't detect anything unusual.

After a moment, Yuwen Wenlong closed the ancient book, and his gaze finally landed on Li Che.

However, Yuwen Wenlong didn't answer Li Che's question.

"Alright, Master Li, you can go back... The disappearance of the Strange Temples, you were present both times, perhaps it's just a coincidence."

Yuwen Wenlong dismissed Li Che.

Li Che stood up and bowed.

"Then I wish Governor Yuwen success in solving the case and finding the culprit responsible for the disappearance of the Strange Temples."

Yuwen Wenlong smiled and nodded slightly.

Li Che left the building, and Xie Jing was already waiting outside.

They waited until the figure disappeared into the misty spring rain.

Only then did Yuwen Wenlong, dressed in a gray scholar's robe, slowly avert his gaze.

"Li Che..."

"It's not him."

"His Qi is too weak... His physical body is strong, and he has hidden his cultivation, but it's only at the later stage of the Grandmaster realm..."

"Moreover, his divine nature doesn't have the aura of those two Temple Gods..."

Yuwen Wenlong lightly tapped the table with his fingers.

As for whether Li Che could hide his cultivation from him...

Yuwen Wenlong smiled, considering such a thought an insult to his own cultivation.

He opened a book that recorded Li Che's life, starting from when he was a woodcarving worker in Thunder City.

"In just four short years... Rising from a small family's woodcarving shop in a small city to become a second-rank guest official in the Heaven Observation Bureau?"

"Skilled in creating mechanical devices, and giving birth to a divine child with a thousand feet of purple Qi, he entered the Divine Sect Orthodoxy, rising from a small city to the Dao City in just four years, all because of his daughter."

He picked up a wolf-hair brush and dipped it in thick ink.

His eyes became deep, filled with a wise gaze that seemed to see through everything.

Then, next to Li Che's name, he slowly wrote two words.

【Ma Mian】

...

...

Xie Jing sent Li Che back to the Fragrant Alley.

"Sir Xie, do you know what cultivation level Governor Yuwen has?"

Before parting, Li Che asked curiously.

Xie Jing laughed, "Did you feel a sense of oppression, as if everything was seen through?"

Li Che nodded, unable to deny it.

Yes, that divine sense was too strong, and Li Che had to use the Dragon Elephant Vajra Dao Fruit to release some Qi and Blood, exposing his cultivation from the initial stage to the later stage of the Grandmaster realm.

"The Martial Arts Governor's new cultivation is... not inferior to a Divine Embryo Great Deity."

Xie Jing spoke mysteriously, leaving it at that.

He then bid farewell and departed.

"Martial Arts can battle the Divine Embryo, which means it's the Martial Saint..." Li Che's eyes flashed with excitement.

This was his first encounter with a Martial Saint.

Indeed, it was terrifying, containing an overwhelming amount of energy, as if tens of thousands of Divine Essence True Person Divine Nature Chess Pieces, with the power of a massive avalanche, were exploding simultaneously.

More importantly, Yuwen Wenlong was able to suppress this energy completely within his body without any leakage and successfully control it.

It was truly terrifying and powerful!

This was Li Che's first time facing a Martial Saint directly. Even in a state of truce, with the Martial Saint's energy restrained, Li Che still felt a sense of awe.

"Can't win... absolutely can't win..."

Li Che exhaled a breath of turbid air.

"If a newly advanced Martial Saint like Yuwen Wenlong is this terrifying, how frightening would Ji Mo Li be, a vassal king who has reached the pinnacle of Martial Saint and is also a Divine Embryo Great Deity?"

A strong sense of crisis instantly enveloped Li Che.

Before encountering the Martial Saint, he had been like a frog at the bottom of a well, gazing at the moon.

Only after meeting the Martial Saint did he realize... he had underestimated the power of the Martial Saint.

Previously, in the Wicked Pagoda of the Third Prince's Strange Shrine, during the Divine Shrine Resonance, he had shattered Ji Hai's hidden Martial Saint will within the Ji Hai bloodline, giving Li Che the false impression that the Martial Saint was not that formidable.

Li Che patted his face.

"This life is dangerous. The previous observation from within the well is no longer stable enough; it needs to be changed."

"All enemies must be treated with grand courtesy."

Glancing at the hazy spring scenery, Li Che turned and entered the courtyard.

...

...

The spring rain falling on the black tiles sounded like drops of water continuously dripping from a leaking copper bell, creating a continuous pattering sound as the raindrops shattered and broke apart.

Time slowly passed as the spring rain dyed and shattered the surroundings.

Ever since the Temple Guardian Office took Li Che for investigation and found nothing, he had stopped going to observe the Divine Shrine as a guest official of the Heaven Observation Bureau.

However, Li Che did not give up on summoning the Divine Shrine's gods.

After all, according to Li Che's cultivation plan, he wanted his Seven Emotions Divine Foundation to transform into a Divine Form, and the best way to do so was through summoning the gods of the Divine Shrines.

Therefore, Li Che did not give up; instead, he found an alternative and extremely cautious method that no one could detect.

Although Li Che no longer observed the Divine Shrines, the Heaven Observation Bureau still organized guest officials to do so because only by observing the Divine Shrines could the woodcarving masters improve their skills.

Li Che could then hide the Thunderbolt Chess Pieces on the bodies of the Heaven Observation Bureau's guest officials who were about to enter the Strange Shrines.

Once inside the Strange Shrine, Li Che would remotely control the Thunderbolt Chess Pieces to fall and hide within the Shrine.

It was like planting a seed.

Additionally, Li Che was constantly placing the chess pieces.

He was like an experienced chess player, continuously making moves and setting up the board.

He chose only the Six Elements Strange Shrines, and he hid the Thunderbolt Chess Pieces in all five of them.

It took Li Che about half a month to enter one of the Strange Shrines late at night, discreetly performing the summoning ritual.

Days passed by in this manner, everything proceeding smoothly.

Li Che visited the Divine Eagle Peak once to inquire about the time for the elder's assessment.

On his first visit, a reception elder at the Divine Eagle Peak almost drove him away, despite Li Che's youth.

If not for Li Che presenting Jiao Shaoqiu's jade pendant, the elder might not have even given him a chance to speak.

This made Li Che realize the importance the Divine Eagle Peak placed on experience.

No wonder Jiao Shaoqiu said that it would be difficult for him to become an elder at the Divine Eagle Peak...

He would have to compete with numerous woodcarving masters from various places for the position, all of whom had decades, if not centuries, of experience.

How could Li Che, with only a few years of woodcarving experience, be favored?

Naturally, he was not highly regarded, but the elder still received him out of respect for Jiao Shaoqiu's token and informed Li Che that he would be notified in advance when the elder's assessment began.

Therefore, Li Che's chances of obtaining a short-term entry permit to the Divine Sect were slim.

Fortunately, Li Che could take Zhang Ya with him to visit Xixi during the quiet nights.

At first, the Heaven and Earth plaque at the mountain gate would sense Li Che's presence and react slightly.

Later, the plaque stopped reacting, allowing Li Che to enter and exit freely.

Zhang Ya could see her daughter every day, so her longing lessened, and she devoted more of her energy and focus to cultivating her martial arts and divine nature.

With Li Che's abundant resources, Zhang Ya's cultivation lacked nothing.

Time passed slowly, and Li Che immersed himself in cultivation, his life becoming more regulated.

He used the generous gifts from his previous enemies to purchase a Five Elders Spirit Wood named Blood Thunder Crystal Dragon Bone Wood and many Six Ministries-level Spirit Woods from the Heaven Observation Bureau.

Upon receiving the Spirit Woods, Li Che began crafting the mechanical beast Blood Sun Nine Gods Vajra Ape from the Tang Clan's Mechanical Beast Annals, a gift from the Tang Clan's leader at the Golden Light City.

A Sixth Rank Superior mechanical beast!

But this was an enormous project.

The entire mechanical beast had 139,872 mechanical parts all over its body, and each part required Li Che to manually grind and craft.

Precision was of utmost importance! Additionally, the mechanical beast required the Mechanical Nine Seals, with a total of 10,000 parts needing the seals, the order and the seal marks could not be wrong.

Fortunately, Li Che had his Immortal in the Painting clone.

He activated the clone and began studying the mechanical beast with great urgency! Besides researching the mechanical beast, Li Che was also obsessed with refining the Corpse God Seal.

The Corpse God Seal, after being punched by the Monkey God's Divine Form, remained surprisingly resilient, making it extremely challenging for Li Che to refine.

Mysteriously, an invisible force seemed to hinder his refinement.

Li Che persevered, using the Yin-Yang Extreme Collapse's power to bombard it daily.

Slowly, he managed to pry open the cold seal of the Corpse God Seal and began refining it.

Every day was filled with practicing martial arts, nurturing his divine nature, crafting mechanical beasts, and imprinting the Corpse God Seal...

Life was extremely fulfilling!

During this time, Li Cheng hadn't even gone to eradicate the Corpse God Sect's evil followers hiding within the Heavenly Origin Dao City.

There was no need; once he completed the refinement of the Corpse God Seal, all the evil followers of the Corpse God Sect...

Seeing him would be like seeing the Corpse God, an overwhelming pressure from the highest rank.

Li Cheng could easily suppress them.

When the time came to kill them, it would be effortless, and it wouldn't even cause much of a stir.

Life in the Dao City was peaceful, and the vast city seemed like a giant machine, constantly operating.

Days passed by smoothly, like silk.

Spring turned to summer, and when the summer cicadas had sung their last, autumn arrived.

The maple leaves dyed the clouds at the horizon red, and a biting cold breeze blew in from the north.

Large snowflakes began to fall from the sky.

The cold wind howled, chilling to the bone.

In the Heavenly Origin Dao City, there was a Seven Elements Strange Temple under the jurisdiction of the Su Family.

Li Cheng clenched his five fingers, accompanied by a flurry of falling snow.

He appeared in the Strange Temple, where the white candlelight flickered, and in an instant, the firelight turned into a faint green!

There was a female temple deity holding a flower basket, sitting upright on the altar, with a hint of evil in her dignified posture.

"Sorrowful Divine Nature Temple Deity..."

Li Cheng wore a conical hat, his face covered by a Bull Demon mask, and he lightly brushed off the falling snow from his black robe.

The next moment, his body suddenly swelled, and one after another, nine hideous and trembling dragon tendons rose from his back, their color resembling red-hot branding irons, and the exposed skin looked like refined iron tempered by a thousand hammers.

He snapped his fingers with a crisp sound.

A clear noise exploded, as if a thunder dragon roared and howled.

A staff interwoven with azure-blue lightning arcs spun in the air and finally landed in Li Cheng's hand.

With a 'pa' sound, it was grasped by Li Cheng.

Holding the Golden Treasure Eight Treasures Thunder Dragon Staff with his one arm, Li Cheng's body was tall and robust, and the dense black hair under his conical hat began to grow wildly.

"Ascend Tower!"

The temple deity's divine nature was squeezed out from its divine form and merged into Li Cheng's body.

The temple deity on the altar seemed to come to life, erupting with a murderous aura and fighting alongside Li Cheng.

The corners of Li Cheng's lips rose beneath the mask, and thirty Five Elements Divine Aura surged out wildly.

The shadow of the staff blossomed like a peacock spreading its tail!

Primordial Heaven Level Staff!

The qi stream was pierced and shattered, and the mystic gale raged!

The explosive qi and blood resembled a boulder thrown into a lake, and the expanding qi streams ravaged and intertwined!

After a moment, the temple deity was forcefully dispersed by Li Cheng.

Using the Summoning Gods divine ability, he pulled it into the Heaven and Earth Chessboard.

Boom!!!

The Strange Temple began to shake and rumble, the walls shattered, the debris exploded, and a huge green finger pierced through the Wicked Pagoda and Wicked Mist, slamming down fiercely!

Extreme anger, like rolling thunder, washed over the place.

However, Li Cheng had already disappeared without a trace.

Outside the Wicked Pagoda.

A figure moved with extreme speed, tearing through the air and landing on the edge of the tumultuous Wicked Pagoda.

Yuwen Wenlong, with the appearance of a scholar, had a solemn expression.

"Another one..."

"Another Strange Temple has vanished from the mortal realm."

"Who is it?!"

"The sixth one!"

Yuwen Wenlong exhaled.

Strong members of the Su Family also arrived, their faces grim.

"This is the fifth Seven Elements Strange Temple under our Su Family's jurisdiction... gone!"

"Who is it? Why are they targeting our Su Family?"

Yuwen Wenlong glanced at the Su Family's strong members indifferently.

"You from the Su Family, think carefully... Have you offended anyone?"

After speaking, Yuwen Wenlong tore through the Wicked Mist and entered, but the divine nature had already become a thing of the past, and the temple was long gone.

...

...

In the Heavenly Origin Dao City, there was a lane called Lingering Fragrance Alley.

In a small courtyard workshop.

Li Cheng returned with his five fingers clenched, the qi stream surging, blowing away all the white snow in the courtyard.

"The seventh temple deity... Summoning Gods succeeded."

Li Cheng didn't even remove his conical hat; he sat down on the ground in the courtyard.

"The seventh one, Sorrowful Divine Form, ready!"

Li Cheng's mind moved.

The next moment, he raised his hand and tapped his mud pillar between his eyebrows.

The powerful divine nature, like a storm, surged from between his eyebrows, spreading out!

The female temple deity holding the flower basket, restrained by the divine nature's shackles, was slowly pulled into the last round of the Seven Emotions Divine Foundation.

This female temple deity had initially wanted to resist.

But Li Cheng directly summoned the divine forms of the other six temple deities to stare at her.

The female temple deity gave up struggling and chose to enter Li Cheng's divine foundation with grace, not crudely.

The vast divine nature, like a boiling river, surged around Li Cheng, stirring up a dominant gale.

Li Cheng slowly opened his eyes, his black robe and ink-colored shirt fluttering in the wind.

His robust hair danced wildly.

Li Cheng raised his hand and forcefully pressed down with his five fingers.

In an instant, all the divine nature returned to his mud pillar between his eyebrows, like a stone sinking into the sea, causing no ripples.

The entire courtyard fell silent.

Everything became incredibly peaceful.

Only the white snowflakes falling on the roof remained, making a muffled 'puh' sound.

Li Cheng stretched out his hand, turning his palm upwards.

A piece of cold snow fell onto his palm.

It was melted into transparent water by his scorching qi and blood.

Li Cheng clenched his five fingers.

A smile appeared at the corners of his lips.

He raised his head...

Looking at the falling snowflakes in the sky.

He remembered the year when the snow was heavy.

He had brought a frozen fish, and news of his wife's childbirth arrived.

"It's that time of the year again, when the heavens and earth give birth to snowflakes."

"My Xixi..."

"Is five years old."

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(End of Chapter)

Chapter end