Sword drawn from the constellations, poison as its edge.

Chapter 227 Finally, he retaliated.

Xuanbei and Xuanjue were thrown aside by him, and some of the bolder junior disciples stepped forward to help them up.

These two old monks were both renowned martial arts masters, but now they were like candles flickering in the wind, as if they would be extinguished at any moment.

Seeing this, Fang Sheng and Shen Yin suddenly felt fortunate: all we've lost is our internal energy, but we can still eat, defecate, run, and jump. We might as well settle down and meditate; maybe we can even live a few more days...

At this moment, Xuanji returned with Xuanshi, Xuanyin, and the disciples of the Discipline Hall. All of them were dressed in black and gray and had red eyes.

Xuanji gritted his teeth and said, "Abbot, Xiao Yuanshan was repelled by the three of us working together, and the fire has been extinguished, but many of the secret manuals in the pavilion were burned..."

Xiao Yuanshan retorted angrily, "Bullshit! You three think you can defeat me? Who are you hiding in the shadows? Hmph, at our level of martial arts, without a master secretly watching us, how could we feel such a thorn in our side?"

Xuanji looked around and said coldly, "More than thirty members of the Xuan generation from Shaolin are all here. Who else could be lying in ambush for you? Ah, I understand!"

He turned around and shouted, "Bring him up!"

The disciples of the monastic community parted to make way for them, dragging and pulling along four young monks, each with an ordinary appearance and a thin build.

Xuanji pointed and said, "These four are probably young novices under the tutelage of some fellow disciple. They were sneaking around in the Sutra Repository. If it weren't for that Xiao fellow setting the fire and forcing them out, who knows what they might have done. Could it be that the ambush that old thief Xiao mentioned refers to these four novices?"

Jiang Mingzhe stared intently and saw that the four novices were of varying heights. Although they had ordinary appearances, their eyes were extremely sharp. Their eyes were clear and bright, one pair showing shame and anger, another revealing malice, one pair flickering, and the last pair clearly showing panic. When they saw him looking over, they all turned their faces away and dared not meet his gaze. Jiang Mingzhe's mind went blank for a moment.

Xiao Yuanshan was furious. Xuanji's words clearly implied that he was too sensitive and couldn't even distinguish between a novice and a master. He immediately pointed at Xuanji and said, "You bald monk, do you look down on me? I could kill a hundred of these little monks with one palm!"

Jiang Mingzhe quickly advised, "Uncle, you mustn't. Heaven cherishes life. Let's leave the little monk alone and kill the old monk instead."

Xuanji coldly said, "It seems that Layman Xiao is quite unconvinced. How about exchanging a few more blows with this old monk?"

Xiao Yuanshan scoffed, “Tigers and leopards pounce and leap, while stupid oxen and sheep only know how to stupidly butt and ram their heads. If you want to imitate stupid oxen and sheep, go ahead and learn it yourself. I, Xiao, would never associate with you.”

Upon hearing this, Jiang Mingzhe knew that Xiao Yuanshan's palm strength was probably no match for Xuan Ji's. However, his words were quite polite. When the two faced each other with palms facing each other, it was no different from a goat's horns colliding.

His eyes darted around, and he immediately laughed, "What my Uncle Xiao said couldn't be better. Your Shaolin Temple is full of clumsy, stupid kung fu, you're really hopeless..."

He wanted to say that even if you're not good at this kind of rudimentary skill, I'm not afraid of you. If you want to have a palm strike, I'll have one.

But Xuan Ci had suffered losses several times and was already extremely wary of him. Before he could finish speaking, he immediately interrupted with a cold laugh: "It's true that you're clumsy and stupid, after all, our internal strength is something we've painstakingly cultivated ourselves, and it's indeed hard to compare with your thieving skills! Elder Xiao, this old monk has something to say to you." Jiang Mingzhe blinked, thinking that this monk, who could sit as the abbot, must have a sharp tongue. He had previously put on the airs of a martial arts master, but now that he had suffered a great loss, he was throwing a tantrum, and his words were quite sharp.

But Xiao Yuanshan wasn't going to back down either. He immediately retorted sarcastically, "What's there to talk about with you? In terms of our relationship, we're sworn enemies, like the sea between heaven and earth. As for our character, you're an old monk who has harmed young women and fathered illegitimate children, and you've done nothing about it for over twenty years. Hmph, Ye Erniang harms a child every day, do you even know that? Besides, she's from a peasant family, so who taught her such superb martial arts? You stupid, reckless, lecherous, immoral, hypocritical old bald monk, do you even deserve to speak to me, Xiao?"

Xiao Yuanshan and Jiang Mingzhe brought up the matter several times, but Xuan Ci never denied it directly. The Shaolin monks and the martial arts masters present couldn't help but exchange subtle glances.

Xuan Ci blushed with embarrassment and forced himself to say, "Elder Xiao, in the battle of Yanmen Pass thirty years ago, I was deceived and accidentally injured your wife. I will not shirk my responsibility for this matter. After today's matter is settled, you may take my life to avenge your wife. I will also tell you the identity of the culprit who sent the message. This person still has descendants. The sins of the father are to be repaid by the son. You and your son can go and seek revenge on him. As for your burning of the Sutra Pavilion, let's just let it go. What do you say?"

Jiang Mingzhe frowned, knowing that Xuan Ci was determined to deal with him first, even using his own life as a bargaining chip to exchange for the Xiao family's withdrawal. He feared that the next step would be to reveal Murong Bo's identity and then remove Murong Fu's wing.

Xiao Yuanshan looked at Xiao Feng expressionlessly: "Feng'er, what do you think of this old bald monk's explanation?"

Xiao Feng said calmly, "Elder Xu and the others from the Beggars' Sect deliberately framed me. It's one thing for others to fall for it, but Abbot Xuanci is a man of great stature. He should have seen through it easily, yet he still hid them in the temple. That means he was determined to deal with me. Now, seeing that my second brother is invincible, they deliberately disrupt my army's morale to cripple him. But they never thought that Father and I are both alive. Do we have to rely on others for charity when we can't avenge our own family?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yuanshan threw his head back and laughed loudly. His voice carried far and wide, echoing through the mountains. He pointed at Xuanci and said, "Bald monk, do you think that everyone in the world is immoral just because you are hypocritical? My nephew has come from afar for my son. He destroyed your mountain gate and killed your monks to avenge me. My son and I will naturally stand with him through thick and thin, and live and die together!"

After saying that, he suddenly smiled smugly, put his arm around Jiang Mingzhe's shoulder and said, "Besides, why does he kill like this? It's because I taught him the divine skill. Once he uses it, his killing intent boils like water. Hehe, didn't you see that at Yanmen Pass back then?"

These words made Xuan Ci's veins bulge, his fists clenched tightly, and he almost went berserk.

Seeing that Jiang Mingzhe and the Xiao family father and son had both made a name for themselves, Murong Fu was not willing to be outdone. He stepped forward, took a breath, and said, "With all the heroes of the world here, you should have heard the truth about right and wrong. Thirty years ago, Shaolin Temple harmed Mr. Xiao's family for no reason, killing his wife and taking his children. Their methods were ruthless!"

Pointing at the Beggars' Sect members, he continued, "The Beggars' Sect has become a lackey of the Western Xia's First-Class Hall. Brother Xiao originally only needed to find out his background. If he was indeed a Liao person, he would have sought a place to live in seclusion. But the Beggars' Sect, fearing nothing more than peace and quiet, invited many heroes to incite a conflict between the Song and Liao dynasties, hoping that the Western Xia would reap the benefits. Fortunately, Heaven took pity on him, and Elder Xiao survived a great calamity. He wants to avenge the blood feud of thirty years ago, which is a perfectly legitimate act. I, Murong Fu, advise everyone to stand aside and not fall into the Western Xia dogs' treacherous scheme!"

He spoke passionately, but many people looked on with suspicion. Elder Xu was furious and shouted, "How dare these Xianbei bastards slander our gang!"

Having said that, he swiftly thrust his sword at Murong Fu.

He had just seen Xuan Ku chasing after Murong Fu and had already concluded that this Southern Murong was all talk and no action. His sword strike was fast and deadly, a powerful killing move from the fifty-one Demon-Subduing Swords of Qingliang Temple.

Enraged, Murong Fu pulled and shoved, causing Elder Xu's longsword to suddenly bend and pierce through his own chest with a soft thud, the gleaming blade protruding from behind.

The assembled heroes were all shocked, and many cried out, "An eye for an eye! An eye for an eye!"

Murong Fu felt his pores open up, an indescribable joy, but his expression remained unchanged. He sneered, "I am only willing to harm the high monks of Shaolin because of my late father's good relationship with Shaolin. What are you, old beggar?"

(End of this chapter)