Chapter 047: Escape

Wang Bo brought Xiaobai to the woodshed, pushed open the door, and walked in. His expression froze.

Xiaobai looked at the woodshed piled high with firewood, then at Wang Bo with a puzzled face, though she understood what surprise he was referring to.

Wang Bo took two steps and couldn't help but laugh. "He's gone."

"What's gone?" Xiaobai grew even more confused.

"Taiyin Zhenren is gone." Wang Bo hadn't expected that in just a short while, such a large Taiyin Zhenren would simply vanish.

"Taiyin Zhenren?" Xiaobai was startled.

Wang Bo said, "When I went to find Monk Yixiu, I encountered Taiyin Zhenren. I wounded him and brought him back. I originally thought that after taking my Blazing Sun Blade, he was severely injured, his mana in chaos, and tied up, he would be hard pressed to escape. I never expected... I underestimated this National Preceptor."

Xiaobai suddenly understood and comforted him, "Don't take it too hard. Taiyin Zhenren is the National Preceptor, with unfathomable strength. The fact that you could defeat him is already impressive."

She never doubted that Wang Bo was boasting, which gave him some comfort.

Wang Bo opened his eyes and looked around. Within a radius of tens of thousands of meters, there was indeed no trace of Taiyin Zhenren. He must have escaped using some escape technique unknown to Wang Bo.

Catching him again would not be easy.

"Oh well, since he could escape, it's his fate. Let him get away this time."

After his fight with Taiyin Zhenren, Wang Bo knew that this guy was no match for him, so even though he escaped, Wang Bo wasn't too worried.

After all, this guy wasn't a major threat.

Since he escaped by his own skill, Wang Bo could do nothing. But if he dared to appear before Wang Bo again, Wang Bo would not go easy on him. However, Wang Bo believed that after this encounter, Taiyin Zhenren would not dare to swagger into his presence again.

Now, he had more important things to do.

...

On the other hand, in a wilderness tens of kilometers away from Wang Bo.

The ground suddenly burst open, and a disheveled figure shot into the sky, then fell from midair, crashing to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

If Wang Bo had been there, he would have recognized that disheveled figure as Taiyin Zhenren, who had just escaped from under his nose. But now, Taiyin Zhenren had lost all his former dignity and style.

He was now covered in mud, his face ashen, his breath faint, as if he might drop dead at any moment.

In fact, Taiyin Zhenren was indeed nearly spent.

After being defeated by Wang Bo, he was severely wounded, his mana in utter chaos, and he had lost the ability to resist. But when Wang Bo threw him into the woodshed, he realized his chance had come.

So he forced himself to endure the pain, used a secret technique to suppress his injuries, and regained control of his mana.

Then he undid Wang Bo's binding spell, used the Earth Escape Technique, and fled all the way underground, finally evading Wang Bo's detection and successfully escaping.

But now, the effect of his secret technique had worn off, his injuries worsened, and his mana backlashed. When he burst out of the ground, he was nearly spent, on the verge of death.

Yet at this critical moment, Taiyin Zhenren did not lose consciousness. Instead, he began to meditate, forcibly gathering his mana to alleviate the backlash and treat his injuries.

He sat like that for three days and three nights.

Fortunately, the surrounding wilderness was empty and uninhabited, so no humans or beasts disturbed Taiyin Zhenren.

After three days and three nights, Grandmaster Taiyin finally managed to initially restrain his magical power and suppress his injuries, having passed the most critical juncture. Next, he would need to go into long-term seclusion to fully heal himself.

But this was Wang Bo's stronghold; how could he dare to stay long?

So he mustered some magical power, and talismans flew out from his drooping sleeves, transforming into a crane.

Grandmaster Taiyin leaped onto the crane. The crane spread its wings, let out a long cry, and soared into the azure sky, slowly flying toward the direction of Chang'an.

Two days later, the crane arrived in Chang'an.

After Grandmaster Taiyin rode the crane back to the National Preceptor's residence, he announced that he was going into seclusion and would see no one.

Soon after, the emperor heard that the National Preceptor had returned and hastily sent someone to summon him, but the acolytes in the residence had already received orders to keep the doors closed and refuse entry.

The envoy who came to invite the National Preceptor was also turned away and, having no choice, had to return to the palace.

When the emperor heard that the National Preceptor was in seclusion, he became anxious and irritated.

These days, he had been keeping an eye on Wang Bo and discovered that Wang Bo was advancing steadily, crushing everything in his path. Countless warlords and regional governors had become stepping stones for him.

If this continued, he would lose both Chang'an and his Tang Dynasty.

At this moment, what he needed most was the National Preceptor, to help him think of a way to get through this crisis.

But upon hearing that the National Preceptor was in seclusion, the emperor was stunned.

"When I don't need you, you flaunt your power; when I need you, you become a turtle hiding in its shell."

"What use are you to me!"

The emperor now wished he could slap the National Preceptor across the face and shout, "Get lost!!!"

But the reality was that without relying on the National Preceptor, he truly didn't know how to defeat his opponent, mainly because the opponent was too powerful and too ruthless.

In such a short time, the enemy had already swept through half of Tang. If this continued, it was only a matter of time before they reached his Chang'an.

Having no choice, he could only shout at the civil and military officials, "Go again! This time, you must bring the National Preceptor to me, no matter what. If you fail this time, I will have your heads!"

In the great hall, the officials wore bitter expressions, looking at each other, none daring to speak.

The emperor was raging impotently, and none of them dared to provoke him.

The man kneeling in the hall looked as if his father had died. Hearing the emperor's command, he estimated that he might not be able to keep his head on his shoulders. Trembling, he crawled up but couldn't even stand.

He was terrified.

The emperor looked at him with disgust and was about to speak when, at that moment, a guard hurried in from outside and knelt before the emperor with a thud.

"Your Majesty, a monk has arrived outside, claiming he can solve the difficulties facing our Tang Dynasty and requests an audience."

The emperor was taken aback. "A monk?"

He knew very well that there were experts in this world. Could this monk be a man of great attainment like the National Preceptor?

His mind raced, and he quickly said, "Show him in!"

Now that the official National Preceptor had shut himself away, he could only place his hopes on this mysterious monk. If the man truly had ability, he wouldn't mind treating him as an honored guest.

He wouldn't even mind giving him the title of National Preceptor.

But if the man was just putting on an act, then he would have only himself to blame for the consequences.