The deepest affection in Gu Long's world

Chapter 154 Mount Lu, a Place Full of Danger
The mountain winds of November, carrying the chill of a knife, swept across the surface of Lulin Lake, the sound of shattered ice colliding like dominoes falling.

At the turn of autumn and winter, Mount Lu presents two distinct scenes reflecting the changing seasons.

What's even more striking is that from the depths of this treacherous forest, screams of terror can be heard from time to time.

Fang Yunhua stepped forward to examine the first corpse they had discovered. The cause of death was a sword wound to the back of the head, and it was clear that the deceased had no time to resist before being killed in one blow. Therefore, it was speculated that it was likely that a companion had suddenly attacked.

Sun Baifa also considered this possibility, which led to his first question.

Why would they kill each other?

"Don't forget the Lady of the South Sea who is skilled in disguise. Most of the followers and disciples she recruits have this skill. If they secretly replaced those martial artists while they were preparing in Jiujiang Prefecture, then it's not surprising that someone like this suddenly died."

Upon hearing Fang Yunhua's conjecture, Sun Baifa nodded in agreement and added.

"It seems that the Great Joyful Bodhisattva must have foreseen that this battle on the summit of Mount Lu would not be an ordinary one, and that she would inevitably face an ambush. By having the South Sea Lady pull this stunt first, she also made those involved in the ambush suspicious of each other."

"That's right. Don't forget that only we know that Lady Nanhai and the Great Joyful Bodhisattva have a close personal relationship. Therefore, when they find that someone around them has suddenly turned against them, coupled with some hot-blooded young people who come to watch, they are the first to become suspicious and paranoid."

For the Bodhisattva of Great Joy, this encirclement and attack was half resolved.

At least the pressure she faces will be reduced by nearly 70%.

Sun Xiaohong, who was listening nearby and felt a little dizzy, also expressed her confusion.

"Why has it suddenly become so complicated? Shouldn't it just be a simple decisive battle, where the winner either keeps You Longsheng or rescues him?"

Fang Yunhua and Sun Baifa exchanged a glance and then smiled knowingly, but neither of them offered an explanation, especially since it wasn't something that could be explained in a single sentence.

An angry Sun Xiaohong went directly to her most trusted sister, Lin, and through Lin's explanation, she finally understood the significance of this battle for the Great Joyful Bodhisattva, the Seven Great Sects, and the entire martial arts world.

The seven major sects, which have always belonged to the righteous path, are the maintainers of the rules of the entire martial arts world. With their influence, they can gather countless followers at any time. Therefore, Fang Yunhua chose to start with Shaolin Temple in response to the Plum Blossom Thief incident, thereby leveraging the prestige of the seven major sects.

However, this time, the Great Joyful Bodhisattva directly kidnapped You Longsheng, who had close ties with three of the seven major sects, and this matter was spread widely by Lin Xian'er and Sun Xiaohong, forcing them to take action.

However, in full view of everyone, the Great Joyful Bodhisattva defeated more than fifty disciples led by three elders.

From this moment on, the scope of this matter was no longer limited to rescuing You Longsheng.

The righteous martial arts world represented by the three major sects must retaliate forcefully. The first step was to invite Tianshan Xueyingzi, the number one swordsman in the world, and the second step was to set up this ambush. If these two steps succeed, it will be equivalent to the three major sects maintaining the order of the martial arts world once again.

This further solidified its established prestige and position.

But if they fail, they still have backup plans, because every ten or twenty years a unique leader will emerge, and there is never a shortage of exceptionally talented people in this world.

These kinds of people are hard to suppress, let alone completely defeated. At least for the seven major factions, such a loss is unnecessary.

Therefore, the seven major factions, who were already experienced in this matter, would treat each other with respect and elevate them to a special status, that is, to enjoy a legendary reputation.

The previous being of this kind was named Shen Lang.

That period was also Shen Lang's era. The seven major sects took the initiative to keep a low profile and conceal their brilliance until he retired peacefully. Only then did they become active in the martial arts world again.

They wouldn't confront such a legend head-on, because the Seven Great Sects never sought a fleeting, legendary position. They were like powerful families that stood firm through dynastic changes, and for them, ensuring their continued existence was paramount.

Therefore, the Great Joyful Female Bodhisattva, who is currently ranked first in the Weapon Ranking, also stepped onto this opportunity to challenge for the legendary position due to these coincidences.

If she wins, the seven major sects will naturally avoid her again. At the same time, the Great Joyful Bodhisattva, who is gradually understanding the rules of the martial arts world, will definitely not deliberately provoke the other party again. The two sides will maintain a peaceful coexistence and help each other.

Thus, we enter the second legendary era.

"What if we don't follow this rule?" Sun Xiaohong asked after listening to Lin Xian'er's explanation.

"Then it will be the time when the legend falls, and the seven major sects will have to bear some major losses that could have been avoided in advance," Fang Yunhua said calmly.

It's important to understand that in Gu Long's world of martial arts, there are no individuals with such powerful martial arts that they can kill a thousand people. These days, if you want to assassinate a strong person, besides relying on the boundless power of nature, there is also the most powerful method.

poison!
At this moment, Fang Yunhua suddenly stopped. There was a thin layer of mist in the dense forest on the hillside ahead. With his ability to detect poison, he naturally sensed that something was wrong, while the shouts of killing inside were getting louder and louder.

“It’s the colorless miasma of Miao territory.” Lin Xian’er flicked her finger, and a silver needle turned into a beam of cold light and shot towards a tree trunk. The needle was tied with a tough silkworm thread. With a flick of her finger, the needle flew back, and a seven-colored spider was stuck on its tip.

The spider had been impaled by the long needle, and the blood it splattered onto the grass instantly caused the grass to wither.

"It really is colorless miasma." Sun Baifa stepped forward to examine it and exclaimed, "This is a method used by the Miao people to fight the enemy. They use five poisonous substances to distribute in various places, and the venom they spray is specially modified to form a strange phenomenon similar to mist."

Those who venture deep into it will unknowingly inhale the colorless miasma's poisonous gas, gradually falling into a state of chaos and madness.

"Let's go around them, the people inside are beyond saving."

Fang Yunhua nodded and led the way to the other side, not forgetting to speak to Sun Xiaohong.

"Now you understand, right? Just by taking advantage of the terrain, the Great Joyful Bodhisattva can easily poison so many martial arts practitioners. If the Seven Great Sects start targeting a certain powerful figure without any limits, it will be extremely difficult for that person to even have a decent meal in peace."

"But what if the other party also has a large and powerful force behind them?"

“There’s no difference.” Fang Yunhua shook his head. He was obviously thinking of Shangguan Jin Hong, who was originally expected to become the second legend according to the original plot. “Even if such a force can grow and expand under the noses of the seven major sects, the lack of time will expose many shortcomings.”

Furthermore, finding a qualified successor is an even bigger problem, which means that the group is likely to fall apart when the leader collapses.

The seven major sects, however, have no weaknesses here. After all, their continuation does not rely on any one person, but on the establishment of their prestige over many years, which has given them a deeply rooted position in the hearts of people in the martial arts world.

Take, for example, the Huashan Sect, which he belonged to in his previous life. It was practically deserted, yet it still managed to give him, the chosen one, the chance to turn the tide.

Even though in the original storyline, only the wicked senior sister and the junior sister were left to barely hold on, the Huashan Sect was not truly wiped out.

Ultimately, these seven major factions possess a certain degree of so-called luck. The Money Gang originally had the potential to unify the martial arts world, but a single flying dagger from Li Xunhuan shattered its grand ambition. The narration in "The Wandering Swordsman" further explains that Bai Tianyu's Divine Blade Hall also grew exceptionally rapidly after entering the pass, explicitly stating that it was already comparable to the Money Gang at its peak, and even had the potential to surpass it.

But Bai Tianyu's entire family of eleven fell into trouble again, all because of a woman, a crazy woman whom Bai Tianyu regarded as a plaything.

Meanwhile, more than twenty years later, Shangguan Xiaoxian, who was about to complete the great feat of integrating the Money Gang and the Demonic Sect, and who had already seen through the true nature of the Seven Great Sects and had begun to send spies to infiltrate them, was at the most critical moment, but was defeated by Ye Kai's flying knife.

These are typical examples of how losing one person can destroy everything.

After nodding as if she understood, Sun Xiaohong was still reeling from the shock of this new information.

"So what are your plans?" Sun Baifa suddenly asked.

"Anyone who messes with me will be killed," Fang Yunhua replied casually.

The nature of Tianji Tower is completely different from that of ordinary gangs and sects. His answer seemed somewhat joking, but it was also a sincere statement.

Because his deepest obsession is to protect himself and Lin Xian'er.

Or rather, having the power and strength to protect himself and Lin Xian'er is already a considerable goal.

"That Greatly Joyful Female Bodhisattva"

"These inherently contradictory and uncontrollable factors are the most troublesome."

Fang Yunhua didn't continue speaking, but his previous words had already made his meaning clear.

Clearly, he wouldn't give the Great Joyful Bodhisattva the chance to become a second legend.

Fang Yunhua suddenly realized that the reason why that old bald monk from Xinhu didn't pay a high price to hire him this time was because he guessed that with his face, he would inevitably clash with the Great Joyful Bodhisattva, who was a fan of Da Sai, in the future.

For Fang Yunhua, this kind of woman, whose mind had been clouded by the yellow waste, was indeed a threat that needed to be eliminated first.

Now is the best opportunity.

The group continued on their journey, witnessing firsthand the methods employed by the Miao people of Blissful Cave. Despite their advantageous geographical position, the various checkpoints leading to the summit of Mount Lu were adorned with traps and poisons.

Without the ability to distinguish poisons, coming to Mount Lu would be like being sent to the slaughter.

Even with some ability to detect poison, one must always be wary of sudden assassinations by disguised individuals.

"This is the first one."

Fang Yunhua examined the corpse again. This person was no nobody in life. He was Hao Buping, ranked thirtieth in the original weapon rankings and known as the Fierce Yaksha.

"Rumor has it that he has close ties with the Kunlun Sect in private." Sun Baifa winked at Fang Yunhua.

This person should be one of the weapon masters mentioned by Heart Lamp who was invited to ambush and kill the Great Joyful Female Bodhisattva.

The fatal wound was to the chest, caused by the insertion of a short knife that struck the heart directly. The attacker was swift and decisive. Even if it was a disguised sneak attack, to threaten a master who had entered the ranks of weapons, one would need to possess considerable strength.

Fang Yunhua deduced that the murderer was either the South Sea Lady herself, or Tie Gu, one of the four princesses of the Demonic Sect, who was actually a disciple of the South Sea Lady and was ready to act as a traitorous disciple who would kill her master at any time.

Tie Gu was loyal to the Demonic Sect, so in her view, taking the opportunity to continuously kill masters of the Central Plains martial arts world was in line with her basic interests.

The Demonic Sect is probably the only one of the Seven Great Sects that does not follow the so-called rules of the martial arts world. Once its tentacles are discovered, it will decisively strike to kill its mortal enemies.

As an outside organization, if it tries to insert its influence into the Central Plains, it will naturally be met with a backlash from all sides. Moreover, the Demonic Sect's aims and methods are contrary to the traditional morality of the Central Plains, and its development model actually overlaps with that of the Seven Great Sects in many ways.

Compared to those legendary individual heroes, the Demonic Cult is the real enemy that the Seven Great Sects need to take seriously.

If the Seven Great Sects were to learn that the Great Joyful Bodhisattva was one of the Demonic Sect's spies sent to the Central Plains, the intensity of the encirclement and suppression would likely increase several levels.

"What a pity, it was another valuable intelligence fee, we sold it too late."

As Fang Yunhua uttered a sigh, the other three looked at him with puzzled expressions.

Upon seeing this, he waved his hand and said.

"Let's hurry up, or we won't reach the top of the mountain before they start fighting."
-
The summit of Mount Lu.

The mountaintop platform chosen by the Great Joyful Bodhisattva as the location for the decisive battle is very spacious, and it wouldn't feel crowded even if thousands of people came to watch the battle.

Upon hearing the rumors of this decisive battle, there were probably thousands of martial arts experts from all over the world who were determined to come and join in the fun. However, at this moment, there were only small groups of three or five people on the mountaintop.

At this moment, not even two hundred people could be gathered, and the most conspicuous among them was the group of the Great Joyful Female Bodhisattva who was already waiting there.

The other party sat firmly in the center of the mountaintop like a mountain of flesh. Even though the soft blankets were gone and the fine wine and delicacies that had been served to her in the past few days were no longer available, her disciples who were attached to her still happily surrounded her in the middle.

Similarly, the male concubines who were abducted by the Bodhisattva of Great Joy were all obediently serving her.

Besides You Longsheng, who still looked utterly hopeless and whose entire being was shrouded in gray, there was also a male concubine whom the Great Joyful Bodhisattva had just taken in a few days ago, sitting silently on the ground, with a hint of gloom flashing in his eyes from time to time.

As for the other male concubines, they seem to have been thoroughly trained.

They dared not show even a hint of resentment on their faces.

At this moment, the Great Joyful Bodhisattva was talking to someone. The other person was short, wore a mask, and was covered in jingling Miao-style jewelry. Standing in front of the Great Joyful Bodhisattva, he looked like a little kid.

This little Biga, however, used his exquisite poison skills to intercept nearly 70% of the martial arts practitioners who were watching the mountain climb.

He is the master of the Miao region's Paradise Cave, and also the adopted son of the Great Joyful Bodhisattva, the Five Poisons Child.

(End of this chapter)