Devouring Evil Martial Arts, Eliminating Demons from All Heavens

Chapter 158 You call yourselves martial arts practitioners?

When Chu Tianshu and his group arrived, fearing that a large number of people would attract too much attention, they split into ten groups, some by land and some by water, and they would meet up in Pingtan.

When they returned, Chu Tianshu and Miaokong were still leading the way.

However, they only took away fewer than twenty monks who had not performed well in this battle.

Although they are all martial monks, not everyone can adapt to this kind of killing.

The tasks assigned to this group in the future should mostly be of a defensive nature.

However, a few of them were rather special. They wanted to return to secular life, but they felt uncomfortable participating in these wars as monks.

When asked where he would go after leaving the monastic community, he expressed great enthusiasm for continuing to participate in the fight against Japanese pirates.

On the bow of the boat on the return journey, Miaokong thought about this matter and nodded slightly.

"It was our oversight that led to this. In the past, martial monks occasionally took on affairs of the martial world without affecting their Buddhist identity. However, in the future, they will become more like dedicated military personnel, which is too far from the teachings of Buddhism."

"Whenever we have time, we should give teachings to all monks and open the door to help them become lay disciples."

Chu Tianshu was also at the bow of the boat. Hearing this, he just smiled, took out a small dried fish from the oil paper package, and took a bite.

This is also one of the spoils of war.

Small fish, about the length of a finger, are marinated to remove the fishy smell, then baked into dried fish. They taste mainly salty and fresh, but with a hint of sweetness, and become more fragrant the more you chew them.

When Zhao Yannian led his men to comfort the abducted people, he appeared very experienced. He didn't just give empty speeches; instead, he first looked around for food and clothing and found these supplies.

The fear and sobbing of those who were abducted upon waking were quickly soothed by the fine food and complete sets of clothing they received.

Seeing how capable Zhao Yannian and the others were, Chu Tianshu finally felt more at ease.

As soon as I felt relieved, I felt hungry, so I grabbed a small bag of dried fish to try.

Anyway, the people on the same boat wouldn't fight him for the dried fish, and those who wanted to return to secular life hadn't completed the ceremony yet.

The reeds on both banks are lush and green, and the river water ripples gently.

After eating most of the dried fish, Chu Tianshu folded it up and put it away before returning to the cabin to practice his martial arts.

On the return journey, four small boats carrying dozens of people traveled entirely by water.

Traveling by day and resting by night, whenever they reached a waterway crossing, a ferryman would approach and deliver a message.

With the assistance of senior monks dispatched by the temple, the lay disciples of various coastal counties such as Zhao'an, Zhangpu, and Haicheng broke up the local gangs and factions.

The evidence of these gangs' collusion with Japanese pirates has been brought to the forefront and publicized.

More than 180 warrior monks armed with divine fire spears moved from Pingtan to Zhangpu, where they joined forces with local monks and lay followers and successfully annihilated the Japanese pirates operating near Dongshan County.

Chu Tianshu reviewed the battle report and was quite satisfied, feeling that he had achieved his initial goal.

Their first operation did not refer to just Pingtan County and Niushan Island.

Spreading the news from just one place is too slow and not sensational enough.

Therefore, the battles in Zhao'an, Zhangpu, Haicheng and other places were also included in this operation.

"And as you said, when the news gets out, the specific date will be deliberately obscured."

Zen Master Miaokong said, “Outsiders will find it hard to say whether we attacked Niushan first or Dongshan first.”

"We cannot accurately predict the direction of our main force or the total number of personnel deployed."

Chu Tianshu did not turn on any lights in the cabin, but with the help of the dim morning light, he could see the dust particles in the cabin clearly.

"In future operations, we should maintain this style. Internal battle reports should be clear, but since they are written in code and outsiders can't understand them anyway, external messages should be kept as vague as possible."

He put down the few slips of paper in his hand, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Many places outside are taking action, and we are on our return journey by boat. We also want to take this opportunity to test the effectiveness of the message transmission you have set up in various waterways."

"Now it seems that the effect is really good."

"However, there are still too few people. Once we leave Fujian, we will face a shortage of manpower."

“These ferrymen who are good at passing on information should be treated better and encouraged to teach their disciples as much as possible.”

Chu Tianshu had an exceptionally fulfilling time at the Southern Shaolin Temple.

Besides practicing martial arts and enjoying the famous vegetarian food of the Southern Shaolin Temple every day, he also instructed the monks in their martial arts training and reviewed the records of the Southern Shaolin Temple's secret development.

I must say, I really learned a lot.

Although it's not as fulfilling and exhilarating as progressing in martial arts, learning this knowledge is like suddenly noticing some long-dusted blind spots around you and wiping away the dust.

It was a refreshing feeling, a delightful surprise like solving a mystery.

However, in his own view, this organizational form also has many flaws.

Master Miaokong has heard many of his suggestions recently, and he felt that they all hit the nail on the head, but today's suggestion is a bit difficult.

"There's no problem with increasing the treatment of ferrymen, but when it comes to teaching disciples... the local customs and traditions vary greatly from place to place, and even the common languages ​​are different."

"The existing ferry monks can only train disciples in Fujian Province. Once they go out, they find it difficult to integrate into the local community and gather information easily."

Chu Tianshu smiled and said, "Then let's pass this suggestion on to the abbot. He should be able to handle it."

Upon hearing this, Miao Kong immediately understood Chu Tianshu's intention.

The four old monks each had their own focus.

Miao Kong is primarily responsible for overseeing the businesses of lay disciples, such as escort agencies and other related industries.

Abbot Miaofan was particularly skilled at receiving wealthy merchants and tycoons who came to the mountain to worship Buddha.

Since they are not one's own people, these wealthy merchants are not very trustworthy. However, in today's world, most merchants who have amassed their fortunes are shrewd and capable, and they naturally know to investigate the market conditions in places where they frequently travel for business.

It's not difficult to use them to gather some superficial information. The Southern Shaolin's own spies only need to liaise with them at first, and in the process, they can learn about the local customs and hone their communication skills.

Once they have mastered their skills, they can then allow their family members to leave their original caravans and act independently.

Beep beep beep! !
Seeing the tea boiling on the small stove, Chu Tianshu wasn't afraid of getting burned. He reached out, picked up the pot, and poured himself a cup of tea.

On the small table inside the cabin were pastries and cakes that the monks had bought, along with a bag of dried fish—enough for breakfast.

Since she got older, Miaokong has developed the habit of skipping breakfast and dinner. Instead, she follows the sect's custom of drinking some hot water to refresh herself and sitting opposite someone while silently reciting scriptures.

Chu Tianshu chewed slowly, his thoughts wandering freely, enjoying himself immensely.

The meal probably took two or three quarters of an hour, and before he knew it, he had finished all the snacks on the table. After finishing, he even felt so relaxed that his body felt a little lazy, and only then did he crawl out of the cabin.

Surrounded by green mountains and clear waters, bathed in a soft, luminous glow, he couldn't help but glance back at the rising sun behind him.

The long river flows far and wide, reaching the ends of mountains and rivers.

The rising sun hangs high in the sky, floating above the mountains and rivers.

As he looked further ahead, the glazed tiles of the grand halls atop the mountain gleamed with golden light.

The verdant mountains and forests are full of life, with birds singing and flowers blooming.

The entire mountain resembles a giant in a green robe and golden crown, leisurely playing with flowers and butterflies, gazing at the blue waves of the East China Sea, about to rise but not yet.

"Haha! I'm going up the mountain first, you guys take your time."

Chu Tianshu smiled casually and leaped off the bow of the boat.

As the small boat lurched and rose, his body had already swung more than three zhang (approximately 10 meters) across the water. He channeled his inner strength and stepped onto the surface of the water.

The green water, like a wide, thin carpet, swayed downwards as he stepped on it.

As he used the momentum to leap over, the surging waves created a column of white spray at the center.

The splash was about three feet high.

Wow! Wow! Wow!
After Chu Tianshu stepped onto the shore several times, he looked back and noticed that the water was not calm at all.

Each time he waded through the water, he could leap two or three zhang (approximately 6-9 meters). Judging from his speed and distance, his lightness skill was already quite good.

But the key to lightness skill lies in the word "lightness".

When Zen Master Miaokong stepped across the water, the surface of the water only rippled slightly.

Although Wu Zao Shen has a strong physique, if he runs at full speed, he will make a lot of noise. When he encounters large bodies of water or similar situations, his speed will decrease drastically, resulting in unnecessary energy consumption.

If one masters lightness skills, it will be of great benefit even to Chu Tianshu in his current state.

He treated practicing light-body skills like a morning run, running a few steps across the grass before leaping up and stepping on the treetops to climb the mountain.

The pine trees swayed wildly as he trampled them.

Looking up from the foot of the mountain, one sees a figure in a white robe adorned with ink-black plum blossoms, swaying upwards amidst the pine trees, until it flies into the temple.

"Hey! Drink! Ha!"

In the training ground of the Arhat Hall, the soil was trampled down to the hardness of a mountain rock.

Hundreds of monks practiced their martial arts here, their robes only covering half of their shoulders. Early in the morning, they were already sweating profusely and their bodies were steaming hot.

In the corner of the wall were vats of spring water, as well as stone tables and benches for people to rest.

But a closer look at the appearance of those stone benches reveals that they were sometimes used as stone weights to train one's strength.

Chu Tianshu swept over the wall and landed right between the stone table and the water vat.

The monks noticed him, stopped their stances, put their palms together in greeting, and said in unison, "Greetings, Layman!"

Chu Tianshu placed his left palm in front of his chest, gave a slight bow, and said with a smile, "I came to see you as soon as I got back."

"I've been away for a few days, I wonder how your progress is?"

These hundreds of monks were all the practitioners of external martial arts in the entire Southern Shaolin Temple.

Leading the group were two monks of the Miao generation, whose Dharma names were Miaogao and Miaoji.

Although the two were over fifty years old, they were still robust and muscular, with a temperament quite different from Miao Fan and the other three, appearing more strong.

Unfortunately, in terms of strength, these two are far inferior to Miao Fan and the other three.

Chu Tianshu first heard that the world regarded the practice of cultivating strength as a rudimentary form of external hard skill.

At the time, I didn't find it particularly strange, since different worlds always have different levels of civilization development.

Perhaps the reason why there aren't many people here is because the culture of internal martial arts is so developed, which leads to a lack of people specifically promoting the development of internal martial arts techniques.

But when he was selecting spearmen for the Shaolin monks at the Southern Shaolin Temple, he realized something was wrong.

Because in the past hundred years, no one in the Southern Shaolin Temple has ever been able to cultivate both internal martial arts techniques and external martial arts skills.

This is so strange.

Back in my hometown, it's a common understanding that once you reach a bottleneck in practicing martial arts, you should try to learn internal energy cultivation.

Of the ten people who have reached a bottleneck in their internal strength training, at least three or four will be able to develop internal energy.

Ultimately, the path to unlocking internal strength is the same as the path to unlocking internal power.

These two great monks, Miaogao and Miaoji, if you calculate it, their mastery of the Qi-training boxing technique is at least at the level of "Dragon Entangling Body" (a high level of skill).

Such a person should be able to grasp the basics of internal energy cultivation in ten days to half a month.

Chu Tianshu had also fought with Abbot Miaofan and felt that the internal energy cultivation techniques of the Southern Shaolin Temple were far inferior in quality and concept to the Hentian Gong, so it shouldn't be too difficult to practice.

For this reason, he borrowed the internal energy cultivation methods and hard skill manuals of the Southern Shaolin Temple.

Hard skills are indeed similar to training internal strength, that much is true.

However, there's a serious problem with his internal strength!
In the Southern Shaolin manual, when it comes to the initial stage of internal energy cultivation, it is mentioned that one should "sit in meditation and visualize, and connect the internal and external."

"Forget the five senses and the sixth sense appears," "Control your mind and energy and enter the dantian."

After analyzing these things, Chu Tianshu realized that this was not the way for a boxer to achieve enlightenment.

On the contrary, it is 90% similar to spiritual enlightenment.

He was still worried that the cultivation manual he had might be an isolated case, so he went to ask Abbot Miaofan and others for advice.

The response received was...

"The internal cultivation methods of all schools and sects in the world are all like this when they first begin to understand them."

That's crazy.

So, are all the people in this world who practice internal energy cultivation just a bunch of psychics disguised as martial artists?

(End of this chapter)