Minglong

Chapter 156 The storm is rising
Before the official announcement and even the rewards bestowed upon Xie Jinhuan, Li Jing, and others were released after the He family's downfall, the capital was already undergoing a major purge.

Tens of thousands of Crimson Guards went door-to-door arresting people, detaining and interrogating everyone who had contact with the He family, and instantly escalating the search for evil spirits and heretics to the maximum intensity.

This caused great suffering to the scattered rats of the Gu Poison Sect!

Xiaoyao Cave, Flower and Bird Street.

The capital city was on high alert, and Xiaoyao Cave was much quieter. Most of the shops on the street were closed, and even during the day, there was hardly any noise.

Bu Hanying stood cautiously at the window, peering at the street, her voice kept to a minimum:
"Those bastards of the evil path have gone this far. Now, even going out for breakfast, we run into two groups of red-robed plague gods. We don't even dare to sell rat poison anymore. How are we, the Gu Poison Sect, supposed to survive?"

Lin Wanyi sat at the tea table, her beautiful face showing considerable worry. After all, compared to achieving great things, this wife hoped her husband would be safe and sound. Hearing this, she casually replied:
“The evil Taoist priest is indeed harmful to people. I came here today with extreme caution…”

Bu Hanying sat down at the tea table: "Being careful is a good thing. Look at that Thief Saint, he left tens of thousands of taels of silver here and didn't even come to collect it. I guess he was scared by this scene. Speaking of which, the medicinal herbs you ordered have arrived. Even between master and disciple, accounts should be settled clearly. As for the final payment..."

"Uh……"

Lin Wanyi didn't receive the final payment from Xie Jinhuan. She had already lent out the money and had no funds to cover the shortfall, so she could only awkwardly say:

"I'll settle the accounts with my sect once they return the money to me."

"My uncle isn't pressing for money; the accounts have to be processed this way, so he's just asking casually. I called you here today to talk about what happened last time."

Bu Hanying picked up her teacup and paused for a moment:

"You said you couldn't get the 'Immortal Slaughtering Formation' and 'Seven Star Nails,' so the Master of the Manor naturally won't force you. Hmm... if you can get a way to break through their moves, that would be fine too. Doesn't the Master of the Manor have an old grudge against Sect Leader Nangong? He wants to keep them just in case."

Lin Wanyi has already obtained the Jiazi Lotus and is preparing to refine the pill these past two days.

Things borrowed from the national treasury cannot be reneged on; therefore, Jia Zilian still had to help the man find it. After thinking for a moment, she replied:

"The Immortal Slaughtering Formation has no solution; it can only be broken through brute force by cultivating one's Dao. As for the Seven Star Nails, this is a secret technique for locking the Qi Meridians and Divine Soul; there must be a solution. If I find it, the Manor Lord will give me a Jiazi Lotus?"

Bu Hanying stroked his beard: "You can go and inquire first, see if you can succeed. Use the Seven Star Nails' counter-attack method to exchange for the Jiazi Lotus, and you might be able to make up some of the price difference."

"Okay, I'll go back and inquire about it..."

……
-
On the other side, Yunling County.

At dawn, a multi-story ship bearing the emblem of Zihui Mountain was sailing along the Huai River.

More than two hundred male and female disciples of Zihui Mountain, who had rushed there overnight, were dressed in white robes and carried magic swords. They stood in neat rows on the deck, their eyes filled with reverence and shame as they looked up at the top of the ship.

At the top of the ship's deck, Nangong Ye, dressed in a black and white Taoist robe, with a white jade crown on his head, stood with his hands behind his back, carrying a sword box on his back. His naturally sharp phoenix eyes made him look like a ruthless and desireless yet sharp sword. At this moment, he was instructing his disciples and grand-disciples in an ethereal tone:
"During the hundred years of peace in the Great Qian Dynasty, most of you have only heard about the cruel acts of demons and Taoists in books, thinking that those things are far removed from you, or even that your elders are exaggerating."

"You should have seen the terrible state of the mine now. More than a thousand people are piled up like a mountain of corpses, and the location is only two hundred miles away from my Ziwei Mountain. And this is just a first-grade demon cultivator who wants to ask for a breakthrough pill."

"During the chaos of the witchcraft cult, the Corpse Ancestor could sacrifice 200,000 people in a city with a single resurrection. Do you know how high that mountain of corpses could be piled up?"

Nangong Ye's words were always calm and measured, but his icy aura, coupled with his piercing gaze, always gave people a sense of being undermined. In Xie Jinhuan's words, it was like 'speaking with high heels on your chest'.

The male and female disciples of Zihui Mountain all admired and longed for this powerful, beautiful, and charismatic sect leader, who was also strong and cold-hearted. Many even regarded her as an unattainable and inviolable goddess. Even Linghu Qingmo would seriously correct her boyfriend when he used the martial arts nickname "Fairy Nangong".

As for the dream wife of countless teenagers, the number of cultivators who wanted to become her Daoist partners was as numerous as carp crossing a river. However, Sect Leader Nangong's heart was as firm as iron, and he never showed any kindness to those men who were obsessed with worldly desires. Even when facing his disciples, he rarely showed a smile, but only gave them stern admonitions:
"If Xie Jinhuan hadn't stumbled upon the clues and followed them to eliminate the He family, once the Crown Prince ascended the throne, the evil Taoist relatives would have dominated the court. There would have been two or three super-rank evil Taoists hiding in the capital. Even if the evil Taoists didn't slaughter the people, just their ability to control the emperor and command the princes would have been enough to plunge the entire world into an abyss of no return."

"Xie Jinhuan is only nineteen years old. In my eyes, he is just a child who has not yet left the mountain, but his achievements are unmatched by all of you combined. Now that you have entered the Daoist sect, you should take Xie Jinhuan as your role model and take it as your duty to eliminate demons and protect the righteous path."

"Now that the demon leader has been eliminated, the remaining remnants are fleeing in all directions. The reason I sent you here is to join the various sects in assisting the imperial court to search the entire Jingzhao Prefecture and not let any lesser demons or ghosts escape."

"Furthermore, Tiantai Temple is about to enter the capital. In the past, it has embarrassed itself in front of the academy and the imperial court. I, the sect leader, can give it a chance to reform. But if it makes a fool of itself in front of the Buddhist community, don't blame me for being ruthless. Do you understand?"

"understand!"

More than two hundred disciples responded in unison.

After scanning the crowd, Nangong Ye slightly raised his hand:
"Go. Keep my return to the sect a secret. Anyone who reveals this to outsiders will be sent to the Cliff of Repentance for three months."

Many of them bowed with their hands clasped in greeting.

"Disciple, obey."

After saying that, they dispersed into a small team and quickly left.

Nangong Ye stood on the deck of the ship with one hand behind his back, watching them go. Only after the disciples had dispersed did he turn his gaze to the side.

Several senior uncles and sisters who had come over also leaped onto the ship's deck. Zhang Guan's expression was somewhat wistful: "Xie Jinhuan truly lives up to his reputation. Compared to him, the lads in the sect are simply not worth a second glance. I heard from Li Jing that Xie Jinhuan is a disciple of the Hidden Immortal Sect's Fengling Valley, but the older generation of the Hidden Immortal Sect who appeared during the Witch Cult Rebellion all have styles quite different from this young man. With the sect leader acting as his protector, can he find out more about this young man's background?"

Nangong Ye had already figured out Xie Jinhuan's strengths and weaknesses, but as the head of a sect who was detached from worldly affairs, how could he tell his disciples about such trivial matters? He calmly responded:

"You have all witnessed this child's character, but due to the rules of the Hidden Immortal Sect, we cannot reveal the names of his teachers. You know my personality; if this child is evil, I will not tolerate it, much less repeat the mistakes of Sikong Shitang."

Nangong Ye has a strong and decisive personality and is a representative of the hawkish faction.

Ordinary wandering knights might admire those with such a reputation, but most would back down when they actually see those incredibly imposing eyes.

Many of the older generation of Zihui Mountain knew about Xie Jinhuan's enviable 'succubus' qualities, but it was obviously unlikely that his 'ice block' sect leader would tolerate or show him any favoritism.

Zhang Guan was even worried that the sect leader's personality was too domineering, intolerant of the slightest imperfection, and that he might scare away this promising young man over some minor flaw. He then interjected:

"Sect Leader, you flatter me. Xie Jinhuan has performed so many meritorious deeds in protecting the country and its people. If he were a demon, then we old men who do nothing are no better than demons. He is a young man, and a martial artist at that; he always has some unique talent. We should be understanding that the Sect Leader is personally guiding him..."

"I know what I'm doing, everyone go and get busy."

"Yes."

Zhang Guan and his team left.

Nangong Ye had secretly run away from Xie Jinhuan to hold the oath-taking ceremony. He maintained his ancestral posture until everyone had left before returning to the ship's deck to change his clothes and setting off towards the outskirts of the county...
-
At the foot of Yunling Mountain, on the official road through the forest.

Xie Jinhuan rode slowly in the carriage, holding a book in his hand and reading it carefully.

The books were delivered by Old Man Li in the early morning, along with the Heavenly Gang Mace. He also said something like, "Qingming Sword Manor and I are old friends... The younger generation is formidable..."

Perhaps eager to return to Danyang to show off to Old Man Mu and all the teachers and students, Old Man Li chatted for a few words and then left with Zhang Guan.

Mu Yunhong got angry yesterday and his condition was quite serious. He was also injured, so he packed his things and went back to Beijing together. Before leaving, Mu Yunhong said that he still had to say hello to some acquaintances, so he set off first and walked slowly.

At this moment, Xie Jinhuan was flipping through the book, his brows furrowed, thinking that Old Man Li must have gone mad.

Taking away his copy of "Yangchun Yan" and giving him a copy of "The Secret History of the Heartless Monk"—can these be considered collections of the same caliber?

However, considering that Old Man Li had been fighting yesterday and the book had been damaged, he forgave the old man. Now, after flipping through it briefly, he discovered that this unofficial history of a monk was indeed quite unofficial.

The book says that before becoming a monk, Wuxin made a living selling hooks in the Western Regions. Later, he met the Bodhisattva Yu Nian by chance, felt that he had great wisdom, and took him in as his disciple...

After the founding of the Great Qian Dynasty, the leaders of various religions assisted the founding emperor in Luoyang, and their respective disciples also studied in Luoyang. Among them, the four most outstanding were named Wuzhen, Wuxin, Wuyi, and Wuyuan, and were regarded as the successors appointed by the four religions of immortals, Buddhas, martial arts, and witches of the Great Qian Dynasty.

The four were classmates and had a very good relationship. According to unofficial historical records, Wei Wuyi borrowed ten taels of silver from the monk Wuxin to go to a brothel and never returned it; the monk Wuxin would release the snakes and scorpions of the old master Sikong whenever he had nothing to do; Sikong Tianyuan drugged Lu Wuzhen with aphrodisiacs during the assessment; and Lu Wuzhen mocked Wei Wuyi as a crude and vulgar martial artist...

However, the fundamental ties between Taoism and Buddhism are inherent. After the passing of Bodhisattva Yu Nian, Buddhism lacked a leading figure and was quickly squeezed out of its space for survival.

After mastering Buddhist teachings, the monk Wuxin initiated what is known in the martial arts world as the "Golden Scripture Transmission," launching a large-scale counterattack against the Taoist territory. Although the capital city appeared peaceful, there were frequent incidents of the Taoist and Buddhist factions disrupting each other's territory.

According to Li Jing, the monk Wuxin is coming to Luojing. These two old classmates who have been rivals for a lifetime are meeting again. Who knows what kind of trouble they will cause?

Just as he was lost in thought, he heard the sound of wind breaking behind him:

Call ~
Xie Jinhuan put away his book, turned around, and saw a black-clad female warrior carrying a sword walking briskly from the woods, asking:

"Why did it take so long?"

Nangong Ye's situation was like that of an ice-cold female CEO who had just finished reprimanding the middle and senior management at the company, and then hurriedly ran downstairs to meet her long-awaited blond son-in-law:

"I've been catching up with some friends. Sorry to keep you waiting, let's go."

He then leaped onto the carriage and bent down to crawl inside.

Xie Jinhuan watched the black Great Bigu (a type of internal alchemy) flash past him, and found it somewhat amusing:
"You, a female knight-errant of the martial world, don't even have a horse when you go out, you have to take a carriage. What will you do if you have to cross mountains and valleys outside?"

Nangong Ye has been flying around for the past two years and hasn't ridden a horse at all. His response at this point was:
"I need to meditate to suppress the yang poison, so I got a carriage. It will be hard for you to drive."

Xie Jinhuan didn't say much, and drove towards the capital, encountering government officials coming in the wrong direction along the way.

Because the big ice cube was a man of few words, and seemed to disappear once inside the carriage, he couldn't help but feel a little bored. On the way, he casually picked a leaf and continued to stir up trouble for the young woman's heart:
"Duwuwu~~..."

(End of this chapter)