Arhats Subduing Demons: Starting with The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber

Yun Changkong was handsome and dashing, while Lan Fenghuang possessed a captivating charm in every gesture. The two chatted and laughed as if no one else was around, making them truly eye-catching.

However, Yue Lingshan was displeased when she heard Lan Fenghuang address her father by his given name. She said, "Young Master Yun, your martial arts skills are obvious to all. Don't you know that it is extremely impolite to address your parents by their given names in front of your children?"

Yun Changkong smiled calmly. He knew that Lan Fenghuang was different from Han women; she didn't have so many pretentious rules. A name is meant to be called, but in this era, calling someone by their name was considered rude and utterly presumptuous.

He was usually careful, but Lan Fenghuang was the leader of a sect, and that was her habit. Naturally, he wouldn't speak up, lest he overshadow his woman's prestige.

Lan Fenghuang looked Yue Lingshan up and down, smiled and said, "Is this young lady a beauty? Our Miao women can't compare. But you're so young, yet you look so old-fashioned. That's not very likable."

Her words were quite rude, but she was all smiles and had a friendly demeanor, so there was no intention to insult her.

Yue Lingshan spat and said, "I never intended to please anyone."

Blue Phoenix smiled and said, "That's ambitious."

Yun Changkong said, "Miss Yue, what do you think of my suggestion?"

When Yue Lingshan saw him smiling at her, her fair face inexplicably flushed, her heart skipped a beat, and she turned to the side, saying, "I've only been in Luoyang for a short time, and I don't know where to go for fun."

She knew that Yun Changkong was a "smiling tiger," appearing gentle but killing without batting an eye, and she felt a deep fear in her heart.

After all, Lu Bai of the Songshan Sect was crippled by him just because he called out his name. Yue Lingshan saw it clearly, and whenever she thought about it, she would have nightmares in the middle of the night.

She further discovered that Yun Changkong showed extreme disrespect to her father, because since his debut, he had always referred to himself as a "hypocrite," while Yue Buqun was known as the "Gentleman Sword." The entire Huashan Sect couldn't bear to hear the words "hypocrite," but Yun Changkong's martial arts were too high, so they dared not criticize him for it. Even though she didn't want to have much interaction with him, she didn't dare to say it outright.

Lin Pingzhi clasped his hands and said, "If Young Master Yun is interested, please allow me and my cousin to accompany you on a tour of Luoyang. My senior sister is indeed not familiar with Luoyang."

Then a young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes clasped his hands and said, "My name is Wang Jiajun, my father is Shang Zhong and my younger brother is Wang Jiaju. Young Master Yun has arrived in Luoyang City, and our Luoyang Golden Saber Sect will naturally give you a warm welcome. Please come to our residence for a chat."

Another tall and slender young man, Wang Jiaju, clasped his hands and said, "Young Master Yun is famous throughout the martial arts world, and his name is as loud as thunder in our ears. Now that we have arrived in Luoyang, if we do not visit your residence, my father, uncles, and my grandfather will all say that my Golden Saber Sect is ignorant of etiquette."

It turned out that the Huashan Sect was visiting the Golden Saber Sect, and Lin Pingzhi's cousins ​​were taking him and Yue Lingshan to various temples and monasteries in Luoyang. They happened to witness Linghu Chong being beaten black and blue by local thugs.

Lin Pingzhi and Yue Lingshan were fine, but the Wang family members couldn't help but think: "Their Huashan Sect is one of the Five Sacred Mountains Sword Sects. Grandpa always praises it highly. A few days ago, I sparred with their disciples, and they were indeed all very skilled."

Unexpectedly, Linghu Chong, the top disciple of the Huashan Sect, couldn't even defeat a few thugs!

Out of respect for Lin Pingzhi and Yue Lingshan, the group didn't dare to ask, but being young, they made no attempt to hide their disdain for Linghu Chong.

Lan Fenghuang frowned upon hearing this, and gently tugged at Yun Changkong's sleeve, saying, "Brother Changkong, what exactly is this Golden Saber Sect? We..."

Before she could finish speaking, Yun Changkong gently patted her hand, signaling her to remain calm and observe the situation.

Lan Fenghuang had assumed Yun Changkong had promised to let her see the Holy Maiden, but seeing a few idle people wasting their time there, she spoke up to remind him. After all, in the eyes of this "Five Immortals Sect Leader," neither the Huashan Sect nor the Golden Saber Sect meant anything.

Yun Changkong's gesture was understood by the leader of the sect, who knew that her lover must have a purpose, so she remained silent and did not understand.

However, Wang Yuanba of the Golden Saber Sect, known as "Invincible with the Golden Saber," and his two sons, Wang Bofen and Wang Zhongqiang, were also highly renowned in the martial arts world of Hubei and Henan. The Wang brothers were extremely angry to hear that a Miao girl was looking down on their family like that. But they couldn't afford to offend a woman in the street; that would be a disgrace to their family.

Wang Jiaju immediately snorted, "Brother, Father always says that there are many people in this world who have undeserved fame and are deceitful. After seeing this today, there is some truth to it. Let's go back now!" With that, he glanced at Linghu Chong and mounted his horse.

Yun Changkong knew perfectly well that his words were a double entendre, seemingly referring to Linghu Chong but also to himself. However, he couldn't be bothered to argue with such a lowly character. Yue Lingshan, seeing the disdain on the faces of Lin Pingzhi's cousins, thought to herself, "What's wrong with Senior Brother these days? He drank too much at the banquet the other day and vomited all over the table. Today, he was beaten up like this by some thugs because of drinking and gambling. He has truly disgraced our Huashan Sect."

With a renowned figure like Yun Changkong standing nearby, Yue Lingshan felt truly ashamed. Thinking of this, she wanted to save face for her senior brother and also to dispel the shame of the Huashan Sect. So she said, "Everyone, my senior brother is injured. Actually, his swordsmanship is superb. In our Huashan Sect, besides my father and mother, my senior brother is the best."

To be honest, on our way to Luoyang, at the Medicine King Temple in Shaanxi, my senior brother blinded fifteen top-tier martial arts masters with a single sword strike!

Upon hearing this, the group was greatly surprised. Wang Jiaju blurted out, "Really?" They all looked at Lin Pingzhi.

"Yes!" Lin Pingzhi nodded. "I saw it with my own eyes, my senior brother's swordsmanship is truly superb!"

Even Lan Fenghuang looked at Linghu Chong with a solemn expression: "Does this kid have such high swordsmanship?"

It turned out that Zuo Lengchan had dispatched the Sword Sect and underworld experts to carry out a two-pronged attack, one openly and one covertly, to destroy the Huashan Sect, but Linghu Chong thwarted their efforts.

However, Yue Buqun used the excuse of going to the Songshan Sect to seek justice from Zuo Lengchan, and then left Mount Hua.

As they strolled around, he said to Yue Lingshan, "You like traveling and sightseeing, so I'll just go along with it. Where do you think we should go?" As he said this, he glanced at Lin Pingzhi.

Yue Lingshan naturally said she was going to Fujian, and Lin Pingzhi said he would be passing through Henan and wanted to visit his maternal grandfather, so the group came to Luoyang.

On that day, Wang Yuanba held a grand banquet, inviting not only well-known figures from the martial arts world of Luoyang, but also many gentry, celebrities, and wealthy merchants.

Linghu Chong, however, did not change his dirty clothes. He got drunk in his tattered clothes and said, "Little Lin, go keep your junior sister company. What do you care about me?" He also yelled at Lao Denuo, saying things like, "Master sent you to monitor me." He made a complete fool of himself.

This made Yue Buqun and his wife feel that the child was not presentable, and they became even angrier at him.

Since Yue Lingshan fell in love with Lin Pingzhi, Linghu Chong had lost all interest in life, cared about nothing, and was extremely disgusted with the "Golden Saber Sect." So, he took the forty taels of silver given to him by the Wang family as a gift and went out to gamble with the local ruffians.

He lost all his money, even pawning his sword for three taels of silver, leaving him completely penniless. Linghu Chong then borrowed money from a rogue to gamble, but the rogue, disgusted by his shabby clothes, asked, "How will you pay me back after you lose? Sell your wife? Sell your girls?"

This remark about selling girls enraged Linghu Chong, who immediately attacked the thugs, also stealing their money. However, these gambling thugs were all in cahoots, and they quickly pinned Linghu Chong down and gave him a sound beating!
Linghu Chong was already drunk and had no strength left. His sword had been pawned, leaving him with no power to resist, which is why he was beaten so badly.

Linghu Chong's emotional pain far outweighed his physical pain, so he didn't take Lin Pingzhi, the Wang family, or Yun Changkong seriously.

Upon hearing his junior sister speak up for him, he felt a surge of excitement rush to his head, his spirits lifted, and he scrambled to his feet on horseback. With drunken eyes, he looked directly at Yue Lingshan and laughed, "Junior sister, am I really that important to you?"

Yue Lingshan avoided his gaze and said softly, "Senior Brother, you're drunk. Xiao Linzi, quickly take Senior Brother home!"

"Yes!" Lin Pingzhi replied and was about to take the horse from Linghu Chong.

"I don't need your help!" Linghu Chong shouted. "Do I, Linghu Chong, need your help, Lin Zi? What's so great about your Golden Saber Sect?"

The Wang siblings and Lin Pingzhi all had flushed faces.

Yue Lingshan raised her head and said, "Senior Brother, what kind of evil anger did you vent on Xiao Linzi?"

"What kind of evil fire is this!" Linghu Chong's lips trembled as he stared fixedly at his junior sister, his face pale. He coughed up a mouthful of blood, his eyes rolled back, and he fell off his horse.

"Senior Brother!" Yue Lingshan and Lin Pingzhi rushed forward, and seeing large beads of sweat on Linghu Chong's forehead and his weak breathing, they panicked.

Wang Jiaju said, "Take him into the shop first, I'll go find Master Yue!" He hurriedly leaped onto his horse.

Lin Pingzhi said, "Okay, hurry!"

He carried Linghu Chong into a roadside shop and placed him on the table.

"Quickly, bring hot water!" The two women from the Wang family chimed in, saying that the eldest disciple of the Huashan Sect had died right before their eyes, and they were about to face the consequences.

Lin Pingzhi wiped the sweat from Linghu Chong's forehead with his sleeve and said, "Senior Sister, in my opinion, to revive Senior Brother, we need to channel our inner energy into him, just like Master did..."

Yun Changkong watched the group busily working and sighed, "Phoenix, if this person loses his life because of me, wouldn't I be a terrible person?"

Lan Fenghuang's dark eyes swept over Lin Pingzhi and Yue Lingshan, then looked at Yun Changkong and said with a grin, "It's just that she's interested but not interested. What does it have to do with you? I don't believe you really like this woman."

Yun Changkong smiled slightly: "I can't say I like this woman, but she's quite pitiful. Should I save her or not?"

Lan Fenghuang said irritably, "I don't see her as pitiful. On the other hand, Linghu Chong is quite a figure in the martial arts world. I've heard people say he's a playboy, but now it seems he's a romantic. It's just a pity that the girl doesn't have feelings for him!"

Yun Changkong smiled wryly, "That's right. Linghu Chong may seem unrestrained, but he is actually the most devoted in love. You can hardly find another like him in the whole world!"

Lan Fenghuang rolled her eyes at him and said, "Since you know you're not as good as others, why don't you learn from them?"

Yun Changkong laughed and said, "Learn what? Learn how he started with a flutter of the heart and ended with heartache? Or learn how he thought he could be replaced, only to end up deceiving himself?"

He knew that Linghu Chong's infatuation with Yue Lingshan was no less than Duan Yu's with Wang Yuyan, or You Tanzhi's with Azi and others.

Many people were simply deceived by his playboy image.

That's why it's hard to find.

After all, this guy was with Ren Yingying, but he still couldn't forget Yue Lingshan, and he would be willing to die for her!

Unfortunately, both he and Yue Lingshan were used as pawns by the people closest to them.

If you can't see through the bonds of family, this relationship is just asking for trouble.

Yue Buqun was fully aware of Linghu Chong and Yue Lingshan's feelings for each other, and even knew about their self-created "Chongling Sword Technique." However, in order to seize the Evil-Slaying Sword Manual and avoid being caught out, while maintaining his "gentlemanly" demeanor, he had no choice but to make the Lin family's heir his son-in-law.

Therefore, he always created opportunities for Lin Pingzhi and Yue Lingshan to be alone, whether it was when Linghu Chong was punished to face the wall, or when he taught Yue Lingshan the "Jade Maiden Nineteen Swords" which required other schools of swordsmanship to practice, or when he intentionally listened to Yue Lingshan's request to go to Fujian.

As for Lin Pingzhi, after experiencing a major upheaval in his family, his desire for Yue Lingshan outweighed his love for her. He originally thought the family's Evil-Repelling Sword Manual was a joke, and he also wanted to use Yue Lingshan to learn the profound martial arts of the Huashan Sect in order to kill Yu Canghai and seek revenge.

So, it would be strange if Linghu Chong and Yue Lingshan, these two innocent childhood sweethearts, didn't have problems with their relationship when they met a pair of scheming gentlemen.

Seeing that her senior brother had fainted and remained unconscious for a long time, Yue Lingshan hurriedly cried out to Yun Changkong, "Hero Yun, please save my senior brother!"

Yun Changkong laughed and said, "How could I possibly save anyone? You think too highly of me."

Yue Lingshan said, "Your martial arts skills are so high, please help me."

Yun Changkong laughed and said, "Little girl, you have no knowledge at all. Don't you know that killing is easy but saving people is difficult?"
Moreover, this man's greatest tragedy is not that he cannot see or touch the woman he loves, but that he watches her flaunt her affection for another man every day.

Yue Lingshan's face flushed red.

Lan Fenghuang laughed and said, "Your senior brother is like this because of you. It would be a relief if he died, and no one would bother you anymore."

"Who hurt him?" Yue Lingshan was overwhelmed with grievance: "I...I..." At this point, tears suddenly streamed down her face: "You all bullied me!"

Upon seeing Yue Lingshan shed tears, Yun Changkong sighed, "Alright, I just can't stand seeing beautiful women cry. Let me see."

He was also curious about Linghu Chong's injuries, so he went inside to take his pulse.

But when he placed his hand on Linghu Chong's pulse, the moment his true energy entered, he felt a powerful surge of energy emanating from Linghu Chong's meridians, so strong that it almost shook his fingers off.

Yun Changkong applied a little more pressure and finally managed to take his pulse. After a brief examination, he was horrified and thought to himself, "This kid won't live much longer!"

He felt that Linghu Chong's internal energy was vigorous, with six streams of true energy as powerful as a raging torrent. However, these streams were chaotic and did not follow the usual pattern. Once true energy was added to his body, he would immediately launch a counterattack.

This injury should have been fatal, but two other streams of true energy acted like a heavy lock, firmly binding Linghu Chong's internal energy. However, locking the true energy also blocked the normal circulation of his blood and qi. It was only because Linghu Chong had cultivated the Huashan School's internal energy since childhood and had a strong foundation that he was able to hold on until today, but he only had a few months left to live.

Yue Lingshan asked, "How is it? Is there any hope?"

Yun Changkong remained silent for a long time before asking, "Was his injury inflicted by the Six Immortals of Peach Valley and the monk Bujie?"

"Yes, yes!" Yue Lingshan nodded repeatedly. "You can save him, right?" Seeing that Yun Changkong could tell Linghu Chong's condition just by taking his pulse, she felt a little more hopeful.

Yun Changkong shook his head: "This injury is beyond the help of others; he can only heal himself. He needs to cultivate superior internal energy to gradually dissolve this foreign true energy. It will be difficult for others to save him then!"

Yue Lingshan said, "Not even you?"

Yun Changkong chuckled, "I'm not a god, and besides, your senior brother's internal injuries are one thing." He then glanced at Yue Lingshan, "You have to understand that for someone whose heart is dead, life and death don't make much difference. Look at him, he's frustrated because he wants to break free from his pain but is powerless to do so. Medicine can't cure a dead person! This guy is determined to die right now. Unless there's something that can uplift his spirits and dispel his suicidal thoughts, I think it'll have to be a woman!"

Yue Lingshan saw that Linghu Chong's facial muscles were twitching violently, as if he was trying to break free from painful memories. But when he glanced at Lin Pingzhi's stern face, he felt less sympathy for Linghu Chong and slowly said, "There are some things you don't understand, and I can't help you with them."

Yun Changkong smiled, placed one palm on Linghu Chong's "Baihui" acupoint and the other on his "Mingmen" acupoint. Soon, Linghu Chong's face showed pain, and he was sweating profusely.

Yun Changkong said, "When I first met you, I was captivated by your beauty, but seeing your affection for Linghu Chong, I had no choice but to refrain from taking what belongs to another. It seems that you and he have run into trouble. I wonder if I have any chance to win your favor?"

"You are so rude!" Yue Lingshan said sharply, her face flushed. "With your reputation in the martial arts world, don't you feel ashamed to speak like that?"

"You have quite a temper, girl!" Lan Fenghuang was already impatient with Yun Changkong's meddling and said, "Isn't it just that Linghu Chong likes you, and you like this Lin Zi?"

What, you can like someone else, but if someone likes you, it's considered rude? You're putting on quite the airs!

Yue Lingshan looked at Lan Fenghuang: "Who are you? I wasn't talking to you."

Blue Phoenix sneered, "Want to know who I am? Simple!" With that, she waved her hand.

Yue Lingshan suddenly felt a gust of wind rushing towards her. Before she could take a closer look, she casually swept out with her palm.

Her hand touched something soft and slippery. Upon closer inspection, she realized it was a spotted snake wrapped around her wrist, its mouth wide open, hissing and flicking its tongue at her.

Yue Lingshan's heart nearly leaped out of her mouth, and she let out a startled cry. The others around her were also taken aback.
Blue Phoenix laughed, "Don't you dare move. Be careful my darling bites you; it's a fatal bite!"

Even though Yue Lingshan was a woman of the martial arts world, she was still so frightened that her face turned pale and her body went limp.

Seeing her so terrified, Lan Fenghuang became even more smug and laughed, "What? Scared?"

Lin Pingzhi mustered his courage and called out, "Who is this young lady? Let us know who we've fallen for."

Just as Lan Fenghuang was about to introduce herself, a clear voice came from outside the door: "She is from the Five Immortals Sect of Yunnan." (End of Chapter)