Chapter 87: Heaven-Defying Takes an Apprentice and Refines the Halberd
Xue Rengui, with the Great Revolution Seal, had broken through the pass between the two realms. Li Ji led his troops to kill into the pass and annihilated the remaining defending army. After that, he ordered his soldiers to smash all the temples, Buddha statues, and so on in the city, forcibly entering the homes of the common people to destroy the Buddha statues and replace them all with statues of the Revered Taoist of the Three Pure Ones.
If you want to keep a race obedient, the best way is to destroy their faith.
Li Ji had his soldiers search the city for scriptures, Buddha statues, Buddhist instruments, and so on, and gave orders that anyone hiding these items would implicate their entire family, up to nine degrees of kinship, to serve as a warning to others! With the strict decrees proclaimed, most of the city’s residents dared not hide anything; however, a few households were searched out and taken directly to the execution platform.
Without delving into Li Ji’s grand efforts in dealing with the pass between the realms, let’s turn to Xue Rengui who rode into Chang’an and entered the Imperial Palace to have an audience with the emperor.
"Your Majesty, your servant has, in gratitude for heavenly grace, captured the pass between the two realms!" Xue Rengui arrived sweating profusely and, seeing Li Zhi come out, knelt down and kowtowed, saying.
At this time, Li Zhi had already retired to bed, but upon hearing the news, he got up immediately.
Li Zhi, full of vigor, laughed heartily, "Oh! General Xue, start from the beginning and tell us all about it. You managed to capture the pass in less than a day."
Xue Rengui nodded, "Not even a day? It was more like two to three hours..."
He then recounted the events at the pass to Li Zhi, listening to which made Li Zhi’s heart bloom with joy, and he repeatedly exclaimed with delight.
After the report, Xue Rengui asked, "Where is the Heaven-Defying Taoist Master so that I may return the Magical Treasure to him?"
Li Zhi summoned a guard and instructed him to escort Xue Rengui to the shrine built for the Heaven-Defying Taoist.