"Hahaha..."
Upon hearing the words of the burly man with the bristly beard, several captains laughed heartily, quite pleased.
Ever since they were beaten and scattered outside of Changping City, they had been on the run for many days, truly having had enough of the displaced and fearful days.
Now, having destroyed the Qingping Palace and gained a foothold, they no longer had to wander around, which was naturally the best outcome.
"Big Brother."
A captain chuckled, leaned in, and said, "Don't forget, there are several villages and towns nearby."
"We won't do anything like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs, but we must squeeze them dry!"
"Exactly!"
Upon hearing this, the burly man with the bristly beard's eyes lit up and he said, "Don't worry, I won't forget them!"
"Now that we occupy Cuiping Mountain, they won't be able to escape..."
As they were talking, another soldier hurriedly reported, "Reporting to the Captain, a secret chamber has been found."
"A secret chamber?"
The burly man with the bristly beard's expression shifted slightly, and he immediately waved his hand, "Let's go, let's check it out."
Quickly, the group moved from the basement of the Zangzhen Pavilion to the deepest part of the Qingping Palace — the Shangqing Pavilion.
Inside the Shangqing Pavilion, a section of the wall had been smashed open, revealing a secret chamber roughly two zhang square, with several soldiers holding torches guarding the entrance.
"This is..."
The burly man with the bristly beard and a few captains walked into the secret chamber and took a look, their expressions changing.
Inside the secret chamber were not treasures of gold and silver, but armor, bows, crossbows, and weapons.
On the shelf on the left, dozens of swords and sabers were neatly arranged, all wrapped in cowhide paper, with a faint oily smell, clearly well-maintained.
In addition, there were more than a dozen crossbows, all unstrung, with a pile of crossbow arrows stacked next to them, filling two large boxes.
Lastly, there were several sets of the most striking armor, with a few sturdy leather armor and a set of bright silver Fine Iron Full Body Armor, adorned with a tiger's head as the opening, looking imposing and majestic.
"Damn, what kind of world is this, hiding crossbows and armor in a temple."
The burly man with the bristly beard cursed, unable to hide the fear in his eyes.
Looking at these armor and crossbows, it wasn't hard to imagine what kind of situation they would face if the Daoists in Qingping Palace were prepared.
Not to mention, if that old Daoist donned this set of Fine Iron Armor, even three of him wouldn't be enough for the Daoist to kill.
If he died on the spot, in the chaos of having no one to command and the troops' morale in disarray, with a few armored Daoists at the forefront and others wielding crossbows, they probably wouldn't even lose a few men before being easily defeated.
"Thank goodness, thank goodness..."
The eyes of several captains were also filled with relief.
The success of this surprise attack mainly lay in their secrecy; after sneaking to the vicinity, they had been lurking in the mountains without exposing their whereabouts.
After capturing a spy and torturing him to reveal the layout and number of people in the temple, they immediately launched a surprise attack at night, catching the Daoists in Qingping Palace off guard, securing a decisive victory in one strike.
If any surprise had occurred during this process, the outcome could have been very different.
"Heh heh..."
The burly man with the bristly beard, having calmed his mood, soon laughed out loud, "No matter how well these Daoists prepare, they're still dead, aren't they?"
"Now they're dead, and all of these things are a steal for us, brothers! Hahaha..."
The captains, upon hearing this, exchanged glances and burst into loud laughter.
......
Seven days later.
In the main hall of the Yunlai Inn in Changping City.
It was noon, and many people were sitting in the main hall of the Yunlai Inn, eating, drinking, and chatting.
"Did you hear? There's a new ruthless rebel army in the south."
"Yeah, I heard about it a couple of days ago too. They say that group of rebels killed all the Daoists in Qingping Palace and took over the mountain."
"You're behind the times; I heard they even extorted money, grains, and women from several villages and towns at the foot of the mountain."
"Ah, before I came to the city with my uncle, I visited Qingping Palace. Who would've thought this century-old legacy would just vanish like that."
"Exactly, I think I also heard about rebels attacking Qingping Palace a few years ago, but most got killed. Who would've thought this time they couldn't hold it..."
The diners discussed fervently, and the destruction of Qingping Palace had clearly become a hot topic.
As a renowned Great Daoist Temple within a ten-mile radius, Qingping Palace held significant influence, and many in Changping City knew of it, feeling regretful for its demise.
In the corner of the main hall on the first floor, Zhang Yao, dressed in a long gown, expressionlessly picked at his food, a shadow flitting through his deep-set eyes.
"I've waited for days, and there's still no news at all."
"It seems Lord Guanlu has indeed died in Qingping Palace..."
Thinking of this, his emotions became quite complicated.
Seven days ago, he set out for Changping, swiping clothes and shoes from a farmhouse along the way, taking two and a half days to reach Changping.
Upon arriving in Changping, he bought himself a clean set of clothes, secured a room at the Yunlai Inn, and began gathering any information he could about Qingping Palace throughout the city.
If any Daoists or Daoist children from Qingping Palace had escaped, even just four or five people, the news couldn't possibly remain hidden, and he could try to find out about Lord Guanlu.
But now—
Seven days had passed, and still not a trace of news in this regard.
"Either there wasn't a single survivor from Qingping Palace besides me."
"Or only one or two people escaped and, like me, deliberately concealed their identities."
Thinking of this, Zhang Yao could only sigh.
In such circumstances, he couldn't risk going back to search and could only accept that Lord Guanlu had died.
With Qingping Palace gone and his master dead, it was time for him to consider his path.
Zhang Yao quickened his pace, finishing his meal, then got up to pay before returning to his room on the second floor.
"Hmm..."
He sat on a round stool, silent and contemplative, as he touched the hard object at his waist.
Apart from buying a set of clean clothes, he had also bought needles and thread, sewing several hidden pockets in the lining of his waist to store the silver ingots.
The silver ingots amounted to a total of one hundred and twenty-five taels, his capital for establishing himself in Changping City.
"Better stick with the original plan and use it for martial arts training."
Zhang Yao quickly firmed up his resolve.
He had considered using the silver coins to conduct business or buy property, but none of these gave him the peace of mind that martial arts training did.
Having an immortal body, if he wanted to pursue wealth and power, there would be opportunities in the future; for now, it's better to acquire skills first.
"In Changping City, there are five major martial arts schools."
"These five schools all openly accept students and teach martial arts, each with its own signature skills..."
Zhang Yao's mind was busy calculating.
In these past few days in Changping City, he had not been idle, constantly mingling in taverns and teahouses, chatting with many people to gather valuable information.
"Which of the five martial arts schools should I choose?"