Devouring Evil Martial Arts, Eliminating Demons from All Heavens

Chapter 381 Ruyi, Prayer Beads, and the Dharma Inquiry Knife
The Southern Dynasties were known for their elegance and the famous capital city of Jiankang.

The imperial city is nestled between two mountains to the north, with golden tiles and red walls, majestic and magnificent.

The inner city is relatively flat and extremely prosperous, with houses, mansions, restaurants, palaces and temples standing side by side, and the lake scenery attracts literati and celebrities to linger there.

The outer city is more expansive, with the world-famous Qinhuai River flowing through it. The brothels on both banks are adorned with flowers, and the women are all dressed in their finest attire. Twenty-four bridges span the water, their lights burning brightly all night long.

Whenever chivalrous heroes from the martial world come seeking her out, they become embroiled in jealousy and rivalry, finding countless reasons to clash with each other.

Or they might arrange to compete, solely for fame, as a stepping stone to advancement, hoping to join a powerful family and secure a position as a retainer.

Today the scenery is fine, and at the narrowest point of the river, long ropes connect the flower houses on both banks.

Lanterns hung from long ropes, but even in broad daylight, they were not yet lit.

The lanterns are decorated with printed gold patterns, and their exquisite craftsmanship is enough to make people stop and admire them.

Song Zixian looked like a middle-aged scholar, wearing a square hat and white clothes. He had a long, black, glossy beard and held a brass ruyi in his hand. He stood on a wooden bridge, looking up at the lanterns.

Suddenly, two swordsmen leaped out of the brothel and began their duel on a long rope suspended in mid-air, drawing gasps of surprise.

The reflections of more than a hundred lanterns on the water's surface were swaying rapidly.

The water surged and washed away all the scenery.

Suddenly, a drop of bright red blood fell into the water.

One of the finalists, with blood gushing from his throat, fell into the water from the long rope.

The victor laughed heartily on the rope and bowed to all four sides.

Some rogues and scoundrels from both sides of the strait, regardless of whether they knew each other or not, all raised their voices to greet each other.

The victor, full of pride, returned to the brothel, but as he stepped onto the railing, his body stiffened, his clothes tore at the chest, a spurt of blood gushed out, and he collapsed.

Song Zixian stroked his beard with his left hand, a faint smile on his face.

It was as if the expressions of shock and despair on the faces of the two people who had fallen into the water were the kind of spectacle he wanted to see.

"I just love seeing people with that incredulous look on their faces."

"Then you really are sick!"

On the other side of the wooden bridge, a dignified-looking man with a thick beard walked towards them.

He was dressed in brocade robes and fine clothes, with red silk and brocade, but he had no hat or crown on his head, and his long hair was draped over his shoulders. He had a long string of prayer beads hanging on his chest and a small string of prayer beads hanging on his left hand.

This was clearly a devout Buddhist layman, and also the uncle of the head of the Xiao family, one of the three great families of the Southern Dynasties, Xiao Shexin.

"These two were quite capable wanderers, and they might be of some use in the future. You disrupted their energy with your gaze, causing them to unleash their best moves, but they both lost their lives. What a waste."

Xiao Shexin twirled the prayer beads, "You've been with the Marquis's family since you came from Lingling County, how come you still act like a bandit?"

"Although the Hou family practices demonic arts, they are still a noble family with a refined style. They would carefully select their members, how could they harm people indiscriminately in the street like this?"

Hou Tianyuan, the head of the Hou family, is now the Grand Marshal and General of the Southern Dynasty. However, in his youth, he served as the Governor of Xiangzhou and was granted the title of Duke of Lingling.

Song Zixian was the top martial arts master in Lingling County at the time. He had connections in both the legitimate and criminal worlds, colluded with various Jianghu forces, supported bandits to enhance his own power, and lined his own pockets. He seemed to be poised to carve out his own territory and become a king.

But the practice of raising bandits to enhance one's own prestige is a trick that the Hou family has already played before.

Within six months of Hou Tianyuan taking office, he had subdued Song Zixian.

Rumor has it that the two had a seven-time duel.

After three draws and four defeats, Song Zixian joined the Hou family.

Because of this defeat, he was excluded from the ranks of the Six Sects of the Southern Dynasty, but he was still a great master who had attained enlightenment for decades.

When the younger generation of the Hou family saw him, they all addressed him as "Grand Uncle" and treated him with great respect.

"Master Xiao's teachings are absolutely correct."

Song Zixian chuckled lightly, not bothering to argue with him, and went straight to the point, "The Xiao family should have heard about the news from Denglai Mountain Gathering by now."

"A young-looking enlightened being."

Xiao Shexin remained calm and composed, "Regardless of his actual age, he does indeed have some of the habits of a young man; he's too impetuous."

"Not only did they provoke the Xiao family and Qingsheng Temple, but they also allegedly killed Shen Minglai, a subordinate of the Hou family, and they even set up shop in a place like Denglaishan Village."

Song Zixian laughed and said, "So, Qingsheng Temple will also send a master to help?"

Xiao Shexin simply said, "Isn't it enough that the two of us are going together?"

Song Zixian stroked his beard: "Master Xiao, don't joke like that."

In recent decades, whenever an enlightened being has broken a certain tacit agreement.

Therefore, among those who maintain a tacit understanding, there will be at least three enlightened individuals who will simultaneously come to offer advice and persuasion.

The main reason is that there are precedents.

If a solitary enlightened person were to visit and offer advice, he might be plotted against and killed by a junior.

Two enlightened beings are not enough to guarantee success; there must be three.

Moreover, among these three enlightened beings, there would be none who had only recently broken through to the Dao and whose cultivation methods were incomplete.

They must all be seasoned veterans, having mingled in the mortal world for many years, capable of advancing, retreating, and pursuing at will, and masters whose cultivation has been honed to perfection.

"Qingsheng Temple meant that no master would actually intervene, but they did bring in a member of the Dai family."

Xiao Shexin slowly said, "Back then, the remnants of the Dai family fled to the Northern Dynasty, and it was thanks to the protection of Qingsheng Temple that they were able to grow stronger again."

"Now that Qingsheng Temple intends to deepen its alliance with our Southern Dynasty aristocratic families, the Dai family should also express their support to prevent them from harboring resentment and secretly causing trouble in the future."

Song Zixian nodded and said, "I see. So we need to put things out in the open first."

"But back then, Dai Faxing's ability to reach the Dao realm was largely due to luck. As for the Dao attained by the descendants of the Dai family, how strong are they? Can they compare with us?"

Xiao Shexin's expression turned somewhat grim, yet also showed a hint of admiration, as he mentioned this person. "Do you remember the person who was chased down by the Huangshan Patriarch back then?"

"The geese that perished in the Qiantang River, is the law questioned by the knife?"

Song Zixian guessed something, "This person had not yet attained enlightenment back then, but he managed to escape all the way to Denglai Mountain Village while being pursued by the Huangshan Sect, and his reputation soared. But in the end, it was rumored that he was still killed by the Huangshan Patriarch, wasn't he?"

"Are you suggesting that he's not dead, and therefore a member of the Dai family?!"

Xiao Shexin nodded slightly.

"The rumors about his death are just that of the martial arts world. You are also wrong about another point. When he was being hunted down by the Huangshan Sect, he had not yet attained enlightenment, but on the eve of being hunted down by the Huangshan Patriarch, he had actually crossed that line."

Xiao Shexin twirled the prayer beads, "That's why our Xiao family went to great lengths to help him cover his tracks and try to win him over."

If it weren't for the letter from Qingsheng Temple reminding us at the time...

Fa Wendao, this remnant of the Dai family, might even infiltrate the Xiao family.

Song Zixian wanted to laugh, but upon reflection, she also felt a chill.

If Fa Wendao hadn't accepted the Xiao family's offer of allegiance, but instead had tried to infiltrate the Hou family, the Hou family probably wouldn't have noticed.

The Dai family was also skilled with knives back then, but this person's knife skills showed no trace of the Dai family's techniques.

The intelligence report clearly stated that he was a traitor to the White Horse Temple and had studied swordsmanship and martial arts in places such as Wutai Mountain, Jiuhua Mountain, and Shaolin Temple.

By the time he became famous along the Qiantang River, his swordsmanship had become one with his demonic arts.

It's as if these Buddhist martial arts styles were originally demonic arts.

This incident severely damaged the reputation of several famous temples that had long been rivals to Qingsheng Temple among Buddhist believers.

"More than ten years have passed, and we still don't know what level his cultivation has reached."

Song Zixian was an experienced person and knew that the period immediately after one attains enlightenment is a good time for rapid progress.

With enough cultivation techniques and guidance from masters, the first few years after attaining enlightenment can be equivalent to decades of future life.

Fa Wendao comes from the Dai family, is familiar with the techniques of various Buddhist schools, was once hunted down by the Huangshan Patriarch, and is also an ally of Qingsheng Temple. His resources for cultivation are extremely abundant.

"Fortunately, this time he's going to join forces with us."

Xiao Shexin said solemnly, "But if he takes the initiative to show goodwill and successfully wins over that mysterious person, it may not be a good thing for us either."

Song Zixian was startled: "That's right, we shouldn't delay any longer."

A master who has attained enlightenment can tread water across the sea, ride the wind over cliffs, walk straight through deserts, and feel no cold when walking on snow-capped mountains, with their breath flowing endlessly.

At that time, there was no vehicle in the world that could compare with their two feet.

The two had just finished discussing their plan when they immediately stepped off the bridge.

Two figures appeared and disappeared in the dense crowd in Jiankang, but the crowd hardly noticed them.

Only a few experts had a vague feeling about it, and upon recalling the recent news they had received, they understood.

"We're heading to Denglaishan Market."

"After that mysterious expert is expelled, I wonder if he will stay in the Southern Dynasty. If there is an opportunity, please come to my home to worship him..."

"Give the order to use all means to keep a close watch and see when that expert will be persuaded to leave Denglaishan Village!"

Xiao and Song were already far outside Jiankang City.

From Jiankang to Denglaishanji, one sees mostly mountains, rivers, and cities, with few desolate places.

After walking for half a day, they arrived at the back mountain of Shen Minglai's manor.

It was still afternoon.

The weather is hottest and most intense during the day.

The leaves and grass on the mountain were sun-dried and turned a vibrant green, emitting a fresh scent.

"You guys are here?"

On the cliff, Fa Wendao stood with his hands behind his back, dressed in black robes with gold thread and a famous sword at his waist, looking back sideways.

Song Zixian was slightly surprised: "How did you know we would enter Denglaishan Village from here?"

“Shen Minglai died here in battle. I guess you’ll come here to take a look first.”

Seeing that the other person was about to ask another question, Fa Wendao raised a finger and placed it in front of his lips.

"Shh! Don't ask too many questions, just feel it carefully first."

Song and Xiao frowned, scrutinizing the situation intently.

Looking down at the town from the mountain, they quickly sensed it.

There was an aura invisible to ordinary people, like blue clouds and smoke, rolling and boiling, drifting towards the sky.

Song Zixian said, "This person..."

"He deliberately released his aura, waiting for us."

Fa Wendao said in a low voice, "I arrived quite early, and I originally wanted to see him first."

"But judging from his demeanor, I feel it wouldn't be good to meet him alone."

"Luckily you didn't arrive too late."

Fa Wen patted the scabbard and stepped onto the path.

“Let’s go down the mountain and try to persuade him together.”

(End of this chapter)