Devouring Evil Martial Arts, Eliminating Demons from All Heavens

Chapter 459 Hai Donglai is cunning and scheming; Du Fanchuan predicts the destruction of Buddhism.
Chang'an, Pei Residence.

The setting sun casts a beautiful glow outside the window, birds chirp and cicadas sing incessantly.

Pei Dongcheng sat behind his desk, holding the Nine Luminaries Heart-to-Heart Mirror in his hand, his face grim. Suddenly, he found the sound of cicadas outside the window jarring.

boom! !

He slammed his palm on the table, the sword intent flashing out and disappearing in an instant.

The chirping of cicadas in half of the Pei residence, covering an area of ​​dozens of acres, completely ceased, leaving only a deathly silence.

Many servants and maids in the mansion were unaware of what had happened, but they instinctively remained silent in fear.

"Ying'er, my Ying'er..."

Pei Dongcheng had just attended the meeting of the nine members of the Kunlun Society in the Mirror when he received heartbreaking news.

The Tibetan spies planted in Nanzhao have confirmed that the assassination attempt, carried out by Kunlun Society members posing as imperial guards in the royal garden of Nanzhao, ended in failure.

The leader of this assassination attempt was none other than Pei Dongcheng's daughter, Pei Ying.

This is the most outstanding of his children.

Pei Dongcheng intended to groom his daughter as his successor when she was young, but because she was a woman, she faced opposition from some old-fashioned family members.

Since they were all relatives and elders, Pei Dongcheng, despite being the most powerful, was unwilling to easily offend the elders' reputation, so he came up with a compromise.

First, let Pei Ying go into the shadows and gradually take control of the Pei family's hidden power.

Over the years, Pei Ying has made great contributions to the Pei family with his skills in disguise, poison, and swordsmanship.

In terms of both strength and prestige, she was already enough to subdue most of the tribe.

This time, Pei Dongcheng sent her to Nanzhao on business, intending to add icing to the cake. After retrieving the Divine Drum, it would be natural for him to have his family work together to put her on the table.

Although the merits are done in secret and cannot be publicized to outsiders, as long as the clan's higher-ups understand them, they will give their full support.

In the end, in the eyes of outsiders, she will be another proud daughter of a prestigious family, who, despite being a newcomer, already possesses extraordinary strength and is proficient in both literature and martial arts.

This perfectly reflects the profound cultural heritage of the Pei family of Hedong.

But how did it fail?
"You can't even escape..."

Pei Dongcheng's expression turned cold.

"It must be because the experts sent by the Tibetans and Turks were not up to par and dragged my child down."

"Ying'er, Ying'er, I shouldn't have trusted these barbarians and savages just because we've had a few successful collaborations!"

At this point, his anger had reached its peak, but he clenched his teeth, refusing to utter the last angry word.

He only roared in his heart.

I hate it so much!!
Just as he was filled with rage.

In the basement of an inconspicuous Taoist temple in the north of Chang'an City.

A golden alms bowl was placed on the prayer mat, gleaming brightly.

Above the alms bowl, a long sword was actually floating.

The handle is like black jade, and the blade is like silver.

The sword lay horizontally, its length reaching four feet.

There was also a two-foot-long apricot-yellow sword tassel, which had been hanging quietly, but now it was moving and fluttering without any wind.

The alms bowl trembled slightly, affected by the energy emanating from the sword.

Inside the Pei family study.

Pei Dongcheng's hair and beard were disheveled, and he was still furious. Suddenly, he felt a white jade pendant at his waist, which emitted a cool sensation.

He pulled off the jade pendant, placed it on the table, calmed himself down, suppressed his anger, and then used a drop of blood to dab at the tiger's eye on the jade pendant.

In today's world, it is extremely rare to find a means that allows people to freely transmit their voices across vast distances, disregarding geographical and climatic barriers, as if they were right in front of each other.

However, if it is only within a hundred miles, the leaders of all parties have more or less mastered some of the magical artifacts that secretly transmit messages.

Besides the mirror used for the nine members of the "Kunlun Society" to discuss matters together, Pei Dongcheng also possessed other valuable items.

There are also several treasures specifically for four people to discuss, three people to deliberate, and two people to discuss in secret.

This tiger-shaped jade pendant is a treasure used to contact Wu Chunlei, the top expert of the Wu family.

A man's refined voice emanated from the jade pendant.

"Brother Pei, please accept my condolences."

Wu Chunlei said, "Don't forget, our treasures are still gathered together for cultivation."

Your anger is so great that it has stirred even the sword's rage, making my alms bowl restless.

Pei Dongcheng controlled his heartbeat, suppressed his body temperature, and gradually calmed his anger. He said, "Brother Wu, what kind of impact do you think our various families' actions and subsequent setbacks, starting with the struggle for the Divine Drum, will have?"

Wu Chunlei remained silent for a moment.

"From here to Nanzhao, we have mobilized many of our hidden forces along the way to block Nie Hongxian and his group. Conversely, the original pattern has also been disrupted by Nie Hongxian and his group."

"Now, if they want to come to Chang'an again, we will not be able to make any more arrangements along the way."

Wu Chunlei said slowly, "So, if we still want to target the Divine Drum, the only time we can do so is when they arrive in Chang'an and Hai Donglai has not yet returned."

"But is it worth it?"

They sabotaged the Imperial Guards on the road and even sent assassins to Nanzhao.

These actions are entirely different in significance from taking direct action in Chang'an.

Chang'an is indeed the place with the most experts from aristocratic families, but it also has the most experts who do not belong to aristocratic families.

If someone dares to seize the divine drum here, start a fight, and provide this kind of ignition source, what will be the ultimate consequences?
No one could have predicted it.

“Brother Pei, don’t forget that although our four great families participated in the Kunlun Society, we didn’t really intend to use the competition for the Divine Drum to kill Hai Donglai.”

"It's just to add more depth to the aristocratic families and to create more constraints on Hai Donglai."

"He's 147 years old. Wouldn't it be better to just wait a few more years until he dies of old age?"

"As long as we can guarantee that he won't arbitrarily settle scores with us in the time before his death, that's fine."

Wu Chunlei's words truly represent the consensus of the four great families.

Don't be fooled by the fact that they seem to share the same opinion on killing Hai Donglai within the Kunlun Society.

However, if the Abbasid Caliphate or the Turks were to send troops to attack, the four great families would not easily send their main forces to participate in the war.

Pei Dongcheng's eyes flickered, and he let out a long sigh.

“Brother Wu, that was what I thought too, but the changes in Nanzhao made me realize something.”

Pei Dongcheng said, "That person from Nanzhao, Cheng Xin calls him his uncle, and he is of the same generation as Hai Donglai." "But according to the spies, that person looks to be only about twenty years old, full of vitality."

“People of our generation have known since childhood that Hai Donglai is an old man, a senior figure. But do you remember how many years it has been since he last looked alike?”

The jade pendant's light suddenly intensified.

This indicates that the person on the other side who controlled the jade pendant experienced a significant fluctuation in their mind.

Pei Dongcheng originally harbored hatred in his heart and was unwilling to give up so easily, which is why he casually brought up this topic.

But once the words were spoken, it was as if a century-old mystery had been shattered, making even him feel a chill run down his spine.

Yup!

Many years ago, the major families had harbored resentment towards Hai Donglai, but they were unwilling to break off relations. Therefore, when reprimanding their younger generations, they would often say, "Let him die of old age."

This is the arrogance of aristocratic families. They watch others build tall buildings, and then watch them collapse. They'll see who can endure longer.

Moreover, those who have entered the realm of the Uncrowned King in martial arts will feel that their lifespan is approximately one hundred and fifty years.

The power control of a peak-level Su King is on a completely different level from that of an ordinary Su King, but their premonition of lifespan is not much different.

Therefore, many people have accepted from childhood that Hai Donglai will die at the age of 150.

This is a habit formed in childhood, and no one would question it under normal circumstances.

But as the deadline approaches, it actually makes people feel uneasy.

"One hundred and fifty years is the lifespan of the Uncrowned King..."

Pei Dongcheng took a deep breath and said, "If he really survives this ordeal and doesn't die, could it actually give him an opportunity to advance further?"

Wu Chunlei remained silent for a long time: "In our families, there are also ancestors who are close to this age..."

Pei Dongcheng said decisively, "They are not even as good as you and me, how can they be compared to Hai Donglai?"

“In the past, the mountain king was said to have been defeated and died, but in fact no one saw his body. They all thought that he was torn to pieces by Hai Donglai.”

"Perhaps Hai Donglai deliberately hid his body to study something. Over the years, he has frequently left Chang'an, and no one knows where he went. They can only occasionally find out that he seems to be studying plants and insects."

"Ha, plants and insects, do they need him to study them personally? Thinking about it carefully, isn't this just a cover-up, a scheme in secret?"

Pei Dongcheng slammed his fist on the table and stood up.

"And that person from Nanzhao, who has remained unknown for so many years and never interfered in the affairs of the world, why has he suddenly appeared recently?"

"Was it because he was nearing the end of his life, and secretly learned of Hai Donglai's research findings, that he was persuaded to come out of seclusion?"

As long as you open your mind in this direction.

There is virtually no evidence to support this.

The jade pendant's light flickered, its brightness varying.

Wu Chunlei said in a low voice, "That's right, that's right, that's exactly it! No, this matter is too far-reaching. We must inform the Kunlun Society. You and I will immediately re-enter the Silver Mirror and gather everyone together."

"The Tang Dynasty already has such an old monster, which is already enough to make people bear it to the extreme. Yet they still managed to invite another old monster out of the mountains to try to prolong their lives. We must come up with a plan as soon as possible!"

The nine people who had just parted ways at the Kunlun Meeting quickly reunited in the mist.

When Pei and Wu voiced their guesses, everyone was moved.

Even though the fog blurred their faces, their unsettled state could still be seen from their silhouettes.

Especially the figure with the simplest clothing, whose voice was trembling slightly.

"The Red Emperor has researched a method to prolong life. How could I possibly know about this... Yes, yes, I also don't know about the existence of that person from Nanzhao."

"You old scoundrel, you're too cunning!"

Chu Tianshu was unaware that his emergence as an "old monster" had already sparked a series of intriguing speculations.

At this moment, he was sitting in a spacious carriage.

The carriage curtains were all rolled up, revealing the lush greenery outside. The setting sun's rays filtered through, making the room bright and airy.

Those assassins contributed a large number of fine horses, which, when paired with ordinary carriages, could travel a thousand miles a day, demonstrating their exceptional carrying capacity.

Moreover, the car Chu Tianshu was riding in was Su Xuan's motor vehicle.

The carriage was so large that Nie Hongxian, Su, Li, and others could still keep six or seven steps apart even though they were all in the same carriage.

A large number of copies of the case files were being gathered into their entourage, which did not appear crowded or messy, but were filled with the smell of paper being exposed to sunlight.

The murder case related to the son of the Dongchuan military governor is just one link in this chain of evidence.

Chu Tianshu casually flipped through some files and asked in surprise, "Why are there so many monks helping them?"

"Firstly, monks in large temples are usually on good terms with aristocratic families. Secondly, after the Tang Dynasty suppressed Buddhism decades ago, many monks were dissatisfied with the court."

Nie Hongxian casually offered a few explanations.

The so-called suppression of Buddhism was actually just tightening the issuance of ordination certificates, canceling some of the conveniences that ordination certificate holders could use to avoid punishment, and confiscating many illegal private properties obtained through collusion, such as buying and selling at high prices and selling at low prices.

Moreover, this crackdown is not only targeting monks, but also Taoist priests, Nestorian Christians, Zoroastrians, and others, all of whom are being thoroughly investigated.

After all, Taoism was highly valued in the early Tang Dynasty, and many Taoists owned large tracts of land. There were plenty of opportunities to make money, so how could they be allowed to go unchecked?
However, the monks were exceptionally loud-mouthed, shouting everywhere about the suppression of Buddhism, as if the imperial court had massacred them.

Su Xian smiled and said, "There is another rumor circulating among the people about the persecution of Buddhism."

"It is said that back then, Du Fanchuan, the old director of the Imperial Observatory, possessed the supernatural power of military spirit, which allowed him to foresee the future and predict the fate of the nation."

"The old supervisor had predicted many natural disasters such as droughts and floods, and earthquakes, which often enabled the court to relocate people and prepare disaster relief six months in advance. He was highly trusted by the court and loved by the people."

"And when the old eunuch knew his lifespan was nearing its end, he decided to predict the greatest calamity that would befall the Tang Dynasty in the future..."

Although Su Xian was telling a folk tale, his expression turned serious when he mentioned the old supervisor.

"But whether it was because he revealed too many secrets of heaven or something else, Old Master Du died of vomiting blood before he could leave a single word in his last divination."

"On his deathbed, he simply pointed to a yellow banner in the Imperial Observatory."

In addition to observing celestial phenomena and calculating the calendar, the Imperial Observatory also had the responsibility of praying to the heavens for blessings when natural disasters occurred.

The major Buddhist and Taoist temples in Chang'an would send banners to the Imperial Observatory and pray for blessings together.

That yellow banner was a Buddhist banner.

Rumors circulated that Du Fanchuan had predicted that Buddhism would bring disaster to the Tang Dynasty, which was why the court had taken steps to suppress Buddhism.

Nie Hongxian shook her head slightly: "No one has been able to solve the mystery of that prophecy yet. As for confiscating the property of monks, Taoists and temples, it is only for the sake of the people's livelihood and to rectify the social customs."

Chu Tianshu was very curious: "Although the supernatural powers of the military spirits are varied and strange, there are actually some that can make prophecies?"

"Have any of his disciples also cultivated this kind of military spirit?"

Nie Hongxian said, "No. But when Elder Du was alive, his blood and qi were extremely pure. After his death, his military spirit did not dissipate with him and was inherited by a disciple."

(End of this chapter)