Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

Chapter 288 He really wanted to live to be nine thousand years old!
"How does he contact you?"

Xu Long was not surprised by the appearance of experts in the martial arts world, and such people were indeed unpredictable, making it difficult to tell whether they were friends or foes.

"It just happened suddenly, without any warning."

"Then how will you contact him?"

"That person gave me a sign: 'Three pebbles, arranged in a triangle in a conspicuous place.'"

"Only this one?"

"Yes, I dare not hide it from you, sir."

Xu Long pondered for a moment, "You're a smart man, what do you think this person's purpose is?"

Shen Tong answered without hesitation: "Buddha's relic!"

"Oh? This person is also interested in the Buddha's relics?"

"My lord, who in the martial arts world isn't interested in this these days?"

Xu Long asked the question knowing the answer, and Shen Tong had no choice but to go along with it.

"Then why would he help us? Guangyuan Temple is a gathering place for all the martial arts sects, both righteous and evil. With us added to the mix, the more chaotic it becomes, the better for him to fish in troubled waters. Wasn't it a wise move for him to kill King Zhuanlun in advance?" Xu Long laughed.

"Uh this"

Shen Tong had considered this question before. Chen Zhan really had no reason to kill King Zhuanlun. Even if there was a grudge, Chen Zhan could stay in the shadows and wait for King Zhuanlun to fight with someone until the battle reached a fever pitch before making his move. It would be almost effortless.

Shen Tong knew more than the others; the charred scabs on Chen Zhan's body clearly indicated that he had suffered serious injuries, otherwise, who would want to look like that?

However, Shen Tong kept recalling Chen Zhan's appearance, the terror of his attacks, and how he didn't care about being injured even though he had been hurt.

"Say whatever you want to say. It's a private conversation, and we won't tell anyone." Xu Long noticed that Shen Tong was hesitant to speak.

"What I'd like to say is that perhaps that person didn't have a strong purpose; they just wanted to try it out, or perhaps they were simply enjoying the thrill of hunting, just like His Majesty when he was young and loved to go hunting in the hunting grounds. When His Majesty shot deer and birds with a bow, did he have a purpose? Probably just out of interest, doing it casually, nothing more."

Upon hearing Shen Tong's words, Xu Long became restless.

It wasn't that Shen Tong was using the emperor as a metaphor—the Ming Dynasty wasn't that feudal—but rather that the metaphor made him feel it was too high an evaluation.

"What do you think of this person's strength?" Xu Long asked.

"My martial arts skills are too low, so it's hard to say." Shen Tong really couldn't say. He didn't even know much about the division of the Innate Realm, let alone anything above that.

"You already know the identity of the Wheel King?" Xu Long changed the subject.

"I know, it is Wang Jin, the Grand Eunuch of the Palace Administration Bureau," Shen Tong replied truthfully.

"This person is in charge of the correspondence between the various bureaus. No wonder he knows the court's movements and the deployment of the Embroidered Uniform Guard so well. Black Stone's development to such a scale is probably inseparable from his support in the palace."

"Hmph, eunuchs ruin the country!"

Xu Long snorted coldly, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.

Xu Long continued, "Wang Jin has been lurking in the palace for decades, secretly cultivating the Black Stone forces. I'm afraid he's not only after the Buddha Relic, but also has a bigger scheme behind him. Fortunately, you killed him in time, otherwise the consequences would have been endless."

Shen Tong nodded, showing no arrogance whatsoever. This time, he didn't hesitate, but his eyes flickered before he said, "My lord, there are probably more than just that in the palace."

Xu Long raised his hand, and there was no need for him to say anything more.

"Of course I know, but the twelve bureaus in the palace are not simple and are very complex. Even the emperor dares not make any moves against them."

"You have made great contributions and have served in the Embroidered Uniform Guard for many years. You are considered one of my confidants, so it's no harm to reveal more to you."

"Of the twelve directorates, yes, now it should be eleven. The other ten directorates are all fine, but the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs is the only one that is dominant. The three important positions of the Grand Eunuch, the Grand Secretary, and the Supervising Eunuch are all controlled by Wang An. Do you know how old this old eunuch is?"

Shen Tong shook his head: "This subordinate does not know."

"Ninety-nine years old!"

"The Eastern Depot secretly calls him 'Nine Thousand Years Old,' he really wants to live to be nine thousand years old."

Xu Long's voice grew deeper and softer in the secret room, so that only the two of them could hear it clearly.

this sentence.

Shen Tong shuddered, a hint of surprise appearing in his lowered gaze. He hadn't expected Xu Long to tell him so much.

The two talked for a long time in the secret room, and Xu Long even granted Shen Tong access to the data, allowing him to view it at will.

Shen Tong got his wish and read through the information about the "Buddha's Relic".

These items are collected by several major sects in the martial arts world, and the imperial court naturally has them as well. However, it is unexpected that they would actually appear in the world after a hundred years.

Shen Tong left Xu Long's residence late at night and headed straight for the outskirts of the city.

Upon returning to the Thousand Household Office, he immediately summoned Jin Yichuan, Shen Lian, and Lu Jianxing.

"My lord, you're back!" The three men bowed respectfully upon seeing Shen Tong dressed in the official robes of a garrison commander, their eyes filled with joy.

Shen Tong was already considered a prospective garrison commander, and the emperor instructed Xu Long to be promoted directly.

The promotion of a third-rank official to a sixth-rank official demonstrates Xu Long's immense authority within the Embroidered Uniform Guard; even without an imperial edict, no one objected.

Therefore, it didn't matter to Shen Tong wearing the official robes of the garrison commander.

"Get up."

Shen Tong smiled and said, "The three of you made great contributions to the destruction of Black Stone this time. I have already written to the Commander to request that you be commended."

"Jin Yichuan, Shen Lian, and Lu Jianxing are all promoted to centurions. From now on, we will serve His Majesty together."

The three of them looked on with delight.

Lu Jianxing, a captain, was promoted one rank to centurion, while Shen Lian and Jin Yichuan, both junior captains, were promoted two ranks directly. However, Lu Jianxing was not dissatisfied. On the one hand, the three of them had gotten along very well after several battles and found themselves to be kindred spirits.

On the other hand, Jin Yichuan actually deserves the most credit for discovering Lei Bin's whereabouts.

However, Lu Jianxing and Shen Lian's risky act of impersonating Black Stone's men was also a great achievement.

There wasn't much affectation.

"Thank you for your promotion, sir!" the three replied in unison, their hearts filled with excitement.

"There are two important matters that require your attention," Shen Tong said in a deep voice, his smile fading.

"First, continue interrogating Xiyu and make sure to find out the stronghold where the Black Stone remains, as well as more clues about the Buddha's relics."

"Second, strengthen the defenses around Guangyuan Temple and closely monitor the movements of all forces, especially the Eastern Depot and the major sects."

"I obey my orders!"

The three men accepted their orders and left, and the garrison was bustling with activity.

Shen Tong stood alone by the window, gazing in the direction of Yunqi Mountain, his mind filled with countless thoughts.

He hadn't slept for a day and a night, and was just about to rest for a while.

There was another person inside the room.

He took a deep breath and only felt relieved after seeing that it was Chen Zhan.

"You've arrived," Shen Tong said with a sigh of relief.

"You've been promoted?" Chen Zhan asked casually, still dressed the same way.

"Thanks to you, the position of garrison commander is now a sure thing."

What I need to know?

Shen Tong quickly got up, walked behind the desk, took out a piece of paper, and handed it to Chen Zhan.

Upon returning from Xu Long's residence, he immediately copied down everything he had seen.

Chen Zhan took it, glanced at it, and then read the contents.

The content was meticulously organized; Shen Tong almost perfectly replicated the contents of the case file.

In the eighth year of the Yuan You reign of Emperor Zhezong of the Northern Song Dynasty, the country was divided into three, and war broke out across the land.

Liao troops besieged Yanyun Pass, Western Xia cavalry trampled Hexi, the Northern Song court was embroiled in factional strife, and Dali and Tubo, though living in a corner of the country, were also rife with undercurrents.

In times of chaos, people are displaced and their homes are destroyed. Taking advantage of this situation, Buddhism rises up and spreads its teachings, which offer solace to people.

Dali was protected by the Tianlong Temple, the Chengtian Temple, a royal temple of the Western Xia Dynasty, was supported by the royal family, the Jokhang Temple, a Tibetan Buddhist temple, produced many masters, and the Lingyin and Xiangguo Temples of the Northern Song Dynasty were even more popular with believers. The prosperity of the Buddhist temples was unprecedented in history.

However, what goes up must come down.

That year, a mysterious demon suddenly appeared in the martial arts world, acting with extreme ruthlessness.

First, he broke into Chengtian Temple in Xixia at night and slaughtered seventy-two monks in the temple overnight. He extracted the power and essence of the abbot of Chengtian Temple at that time, the high monk "Master Faming" who had reached the Tongxuan realm. He used demonic power to refine it for seven days and actually transformed an ordinary Buddha bone relic into the first Buddha essence relic.

The scene of refining was utterly horrific.

Master Faming's profound inner strength surged like the Yangtze River, but was forcibly extracted from his meridians by the demonic art. It transformed into a golden stream of energy that flowed into the relic. His original essence vaporized like mist, merging with the inner strength. In the end, even his Buddhist wisdom was forcibly stripped away, transforming into a wisp of shimmering white Buddhist light that merged into the relic.

He also captured Buddhist monks in various places. Most masters of profound understanding could not last more than ten moves against him, and for a time, he imprisoned countless Buddhist experts.

This person was also given the title "Xuanyang Demon Lord"!
Such actions are tantamount to undermining the very foundation of Buddhism. When the news spread, Buddhist communities throughout the world were outraged.

Four eminent monks, namely Master Kurong of Tianlong Temple in Dali, Pandita, the reincarnation of Padmasambhava of the Tubo Tantric sect, Zen Master Liaochen, the abbot of Lingyin Temple in the Northern Song Dynasty, and Master Xuanjue of Huayan Temple in the Liao Dynasty, took the lead and gathered more than 300 eminent Buddhist monks.

Among them were more than fifty experts at the Innate Realm and countless others at the Acquired Realm. They set up the "Ten Thousand Buddhas Exterminate Demons Formation" at the summit of Kunlun, intending to reduce this person to ashes.

Even so, the demon still managed to break through the encirclement. He was seriously injured, but he took away the Buddha's relic.

Some say he succumbed to his injuries and died in the desert; others say he was blocked by a reclusive Taoist master and trapped in some secret realm; still others say he has refined the other profound monks and collected the five Buddha relics, and is simply in seclusion attempting to break through to a higher realm.

Anyway, this person never appeared in the world again after that.

Centuries have passed, dynasties have changed, and the grudges between the Song, Liao, and Western Xia dynasties have long been submerged in the river of history. Few people remember this part of history.

After reading it, Chen Zhan felt a sense of unease.

It wasn't that he was particularly surprised by this matter; in his view, there was no harm in taking action against Buddhism.

The more war-torn the place, the more the Buddhist community retreats into seclusion, absorbing new life and letting those who die remain.

But this case file, which records the demon's deeds in such detail, has one problem.

No names were mentioned at all!

"This person has no name or surname?" Chen Zhan asked.

Shen Tong had also noticed this problem long ago, and even asked Xu Long about it when he was looking up information.

"The commander said that no one dared to mention or remember this person's name back then, and it was kept a deep secret, because the reason why the Tongxuan realm is called Tongxuan is that it has incredible abilities."

"Any mention of this person will result in them coming to our door."

"Over time, they were only known as demons and their names were no longer known."

Chen Zhan nodded, shredded the paper, and got up to leave.

"My lord, there is one more thing. Guangyuan Temple cannot withstand the pressure and will open its doors to guests in three days to discuss the ownership of the Buddha's relics." Shen Tong quickly stopped Chen Zhan and told him about the situation at Guangyuan Temple.

(End of this chapter)