Chapter 124 Rain Prayer Interrupted

Jianzhen's expression was extremely unsightly; the man before him had a short beard and was clearly from the older generation.

He had seen him before at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet; he was the Junior Martial Uncle of Zhang Gaoxian from Mount Longhu. Instead of hunting down the evil spirits, he was actually here bullying a junior!

"Fellow Daoist Jiang is praying for rain for the people of Xu Prefecture, yet a Disciple of Mount Longhu is obstructing and attacking him for no reason. What is the logic in this?"

Zhang Huaiyi pretended not to understand. "Little monk, you must have seen wrongly. My martial nephew went to help young friend Jiang Chen."

"Just now, it was clearly young Jiang himself who was about to fail the prayer. The matter of praying for rain is too deep; he couldn't handle it."

"Besides, no matter who brings the heavenly rain down, it benefits the people of Xu Prefecture. Why distinguish between you and me?"

Zhang Huaiyi's words one after another turned Jianzhen's face ashen with anger.

As a monk who rarely showed anger, one could see just how furious Jianzhen was.

Yang Shu, who was watching from the periphery without intervening, also looked toward Zhang Huaiyi. His originally calm eyes now showed a slight realization.

This was the first time he had seen someone speak of bullying the young and taking advantage of others' peril in such a high-sounding manner; he had learned something new.

Yang Shu did not plan to intervene; he did not have the habit of taking advantage of others like Mount Longhu did.

At that moment, Jiang Chen, who was praying for rain, sensed the approaching crisis, and then Zhang Gaoxian's shout reached his ears.

"Fellow Daoist, please let me lend you a hand!"

Jiang Chen's face was cold as he continued the prayer, but his movements slowed down. He freed one hand and grabbed toward the direction of the sound.

A burnt-out Talisman was firmly caught in his palm.

However, Zhang Gaoxian would not let it go at that. Holding a sword in his hand, he suddenly slashed a wave of Sword Qi toward Jiang Chen.

Jiang Chen's prayer had reached a critical stage and could not be easily stopped. The Sword Qi slashed toward him.

Out of necessity, Jiang Chen reached out again. Golden light flickered in his hand as he forcibly caught the strike. Not a single bit of Sword Qi leaked out, as it was completely swallowed by Jiang Chen's palm.

However, Jiang Chen was not doing well either. He could not use too much True Qi, nor could he use his intent to summon the Dharma sword back. He had to take the Sword Qi with his bare palm.

In his palm, a bloody gash revealing pale bone gradually appeared.

Zhang Gaoxian was also extremely surprised. He had already recognized the person before him as Jiang Chen of the Maoshan Sect. To be honest, seeing him was both a surprise and somewhat expected.

After all, from the beginning, he believed Jiang Chen was cheating to pray for rain.

Furthermore, he was only at the Peak of Mystic Light, the same Realm as him. In terms of strength, Zhang Gaoxian was fully confident he could suppress Jiang Chen.

But reality slapped him hard. Jiang Chen had actually intercepted his full-strength strike with nothing but his bare palm.

Zhang Gaoxian's face twisted slightly as emotions of jealousy and anger continuously grew in his heart.

He decisively shouted in anger, "I kindly help you, yet you oppose my intervention! Even if you are a Disciple of a Maoshan Great Immortal Master, you cannot be so rude! Today, I shall punish you on behalf of your sect!"

Having said that, Zhang Gaoxian chanted an incantation: "Supreme Jade Purity Heaven, ruling the thirty-six heavens, within the Nine Heavens Universal Transformation, manifesting in the ten directions!"

In the dark clouds of the sky, the lightning snakes that had been flashing and roaming about seemed to sense a summons. They fell from the Nine Heavens one after another, rushing toward Zhang Gaoxian's position.

The lightning in the sky had been summoned by Jiang Chen using the Water Thunder Incantation, and he hadn't forcibly controlled it. Thus, Zhang Gaoxian successfully drew the lightning over without much resistance.

In fact, because the lightning in the sky was on the verge of striking, Zhang Gaoxian's thunder-summoning technique worked even more smoothly. Normally, he would have had to wait several more breaths to succeed.

Once this lightning was drawn away, it was equivalent to half of Jiang Chen's merit for this rainfall prayer being nullified.

Jiang Chen turned abruptly, his crimson eyes filled with immense fury as he looked at Zhang Gaoxian without concealment.

"Do you cultivators of Mount Longhu only cultivate Divine Abilities and not morality? How are you worthy of being called Daoists!"

Jiang Chen's voice was like rolling thunder, falling into the ears of Zhang Gaoxian and Zhang Huaiyi without missing a single word.

For a moment, Zhang Gaoxian looked astonished, while Zhang Huaiyi turned around in shock and anger.

If these words were recorded by the Saint's eyes and ears present here and sent back to Chang'an, the status of Mount Longhu in the Saint's heart would likely plummet.

This brat is truly arrogant, daring to criticize Mount Longhu so recklessly!

Within this thunderous voice, Zhang Gaoxian felt wave after wave of intense pressure falling upon him.

Every word felt like a great mountain pressing down on him.

When the last word reached his ears, he could no longer withstand the pressure, and his body fell toward the ground.

Zhang Gaoxian was horrified, but this was immediately followed by an even greater surge of anger.

He was actually forced into a disadvantage by a peer with just a single sentence!

"Ah!"

Zhang Gaoxian gripped the Five Thunders in his hand and suddenly threw them at Jiang Chen.

The thunderous light tore through the firmament in an instant, arriving before Jiang Chen in the blink of an eye.

But at this moment, Jiang Chen had completely given up on this rainfall prayer, and thus his immense power had returned to him.

He looked coldly at the lightning charging toward him without restraint, his lips parting slightly as he uttered a single word like a divine decree: "Command!"

The originally violent and fierce lightning instantly turned as soft as silk, swirling around Jiang Chen's body without causing him the slightest harm.

Combined with those eyes suffused with a reddish-gold hue and his fluttering Daoist robes, Jiang Chen truly looked like a Thunder God from the Heavenly Court descending to earth, magnificent and extraordinary.

"This is impossible!" Zhang Gaoxian's eyes widened, and his voice cracked as he shouted.

The thunder technique he had used now seemed to serve as a mere backdrop for Jiang Chen.

"You Daoists fish for fame and reputation. For your own selfish interests, you recklessly intervened and interfered with the rainfall prayer, ignoring the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in a prefecture. How are you worthy of being granted a Dharma Seal and listed in the Daoist records?!"

This voice was like a sobering bell, striking Zhang Gaoxian's chest again and again, making his chest feel tight and painful.

When the last syllable fell, Zhang Gaoxian could no longer bear it. He spat out a mouthful of hot blood and fell backward onto the ground.

Not far away, the Imperial Agents were all glowing with excitement, their spirits high. They wished they could move closer, preferably to record the expressions of everyone present.

At this moment, the person recording was still writing furiously.

"The twenty-first day of the eighth month in the fifth year of Kaiyuan. The Maoshan Sect Daoist Jiang Chen was praying for rain in Xu Prefecture. The Mount Longhu Daoist Zhang Gaoxian came to stop him, and the prayer was interrupted."

"Jiang Chen was incensed. His words were like gems, using speech as a sword to denounce Zhang Gaoxian. His voice was like rolling thunder, capturing souls. Zhang Gaoxian was no match and was suppressed in an instant. Thus far."

The Imperial Agent had just finished writing when he saw the situation change. He immediately crossed out the last two words and continued writing.

"The Mount Longhu Daoist Zhang Huaiyi blocked Jianzhen outside. Seeing Zhang Gaoxian in a perilous situation, his eyes nearly split with rage, and he struck out in anger!"

...

(Just a warm-up)