Master of the Xuanyin Sect of Mount Shu

Chapter 57 The Two Paths of Evil and Demon
The Kunlun Sect maintained neutrality throughout the conflict between the two factions. Zen Master Zhifei did not have much of a relationship with the Emei Sect, but he had a good relationship with Miechenzi, the third disciple of Changmei Zhenren.

After he began practicing Buddhism, Miechenzi, dissatisfied with Qi Shuming becoming the sect leader, rebelled against Emei, shaved his head and became a monk, becoming Zen Master Xiaoyue. The two studied Buddhism together and became even more compatible than before.

Now that Zen Master Xiaoyue is no longer with the Emei Sect, he has a good relationship with Patriarch Taiyi Hunyuan, so he came to attend the meeting.

He genuinely hoped for less conflict in the world and that the Taiyi Hunyuan Patriarch would set a good example in the future. So he earnestly advised him to rectify the teachings and discipline his disciples, and to reduce his association with evil spirits and heretics, and to do more good deeds.

The Grandmaster Taiyi Hunyuan listened to this, as it was something he had been thinking about all along.

His first sword duel was actually a crossroads in his life. If he had lost, he would have started to cultivate that evil sect's secret manual and refine the Five Poison Immortal Sword, which would have led him to another extreme.

But since he won, the situation has shifted back to the orthodox Xuanmen sect.

On the surface, this sword duel was a display of the Emei Sect's arrogance and domineering behavior, constantly clashing with the disciples of the Wutai Sect. In the end, he was dragged down and had to leave the stage, with the winner determined by strength.

In fact, he also calculated that this matter concerned the future rise and fall of the two factions' fortunes, and determined who would become the leader of the Central Plains Sword Immortals.

That's why he avoided seeing Guan Minghui beforehand and didn't want to talk to him afterward. He hadn't figured out how to deal with this demon corpse yet—whether to offer kind advice and persuade it to repent, or to just drive it away.

Seeing that he was lost in thought and remained silent, Li Qinsheng looked around and asked everyone, "Has everyone met Gu Chen before?"

Most of the people present had never seen him, and even the older generation of sword immortals had only heard of Gu Chen's legend.

Li Qinsheng then asked, "Would everyone like to meet this Master of the Xuan Yin Sect?"

An overseas swordsman, eager to curry favor with the Wudang Sect, chimed in, "I've been wanting to meet you!"

Li Qinsheng said to the Hunyuan Ancestor with a hint of resentment, "That Gu Chen was already famous throughout the world a thousand years ago, but he has had bad luck in recent years."
He suffered defeats at the hands of the Two Elders of the Great Wilderness and the Blissful Immortal, and was finally killed by the Long-Browed Immortal. It is said that he has now been resurrected and become a demon corpse?

But he is a senior after all, so we can't be too negligent. I originally thought he was at this table, but I didn't expect you, fellow Daoist, to have not invited him.

I've heard that the Xuan Yin Sect Master has a bad temper. If we anger him, we won't be able to have a peaceful meal.

"Why don't you send someone to invite him over, fellow Daoist? We can meet, and if we ever meet again in the future, we might even have developed some camaraderie, which would be good for mutual support."

His senior sister betrayed the sect and entered Buddhism. He later deduced that she would return soon, which would be a fatal calamity for him. Therefore, he was particularly eager to find outside help, and that was why he came to the Wutai Sect.

The Taiyi Hunyuan Ancestor finally spoke: "Fellow Daoist Gu Chen, once you enter Wutai Mountain, you need a secluded place to cultivate in seclusion. You have been staying at home for several months. At this time, you should be cultivating the Xuan Yin Great Law. It is not appropriate for outsiders to disturb you."

Li Qinsheng was about to say something more when his senior brother Hao Xingjian stopped him.

The matter should have ended there, but unfortunately, Shi Nanxi was sitting in the Huashan Sect's seats.

Shi Nanxi was originally the junior brother of the Poison Dragon Venerable, the leader of the Western Demonic Sect. He had an excellent relationship with the Fiery Ancestor, the head of the Huashan Sect. Three or four hundred years ago, he, the Fiery Ancestor, and Yang Shao, the Fire Star, were collectively known as the Three Fiends of Huashan.

In the original story, this guy led the Huashan Sect disciples and a group of unorthodox practitioners to burn Ningbi Cliff with the Dutian Blazing Fire Formation. He was extremely arrogant, domineering, and lawless.

Over the years, many of the older generation of Huashan Sect members have passed away. Master Liehuo has repeatedly urged Shi Nanxi to join Huashan Sect completely and become its vice leader.

However, the situation of the Western Demonic Sect is complicated, and Venerable Poison Dragon also needs Shi Nanxi as the vice leader to help him manage the internal affairs of the sect, which is why he has not let go.

This time, the Huashan Sect and the Wutai Sect went to Mount Emei to participate in a sword duel, and Shi Nanxi also went to help.

Afterwards, the Wutai Sect invited immortals from all over the world to hold a celebratory Dharma assembly, and Shi Nanxi wanted to get an invitation for his senior brother as well.

His original intention was to have the Taiyi Hunyuan Ancestor formally invite the Western Demonic Sect, and have his senior brother, the Poison Dragon Venerable, bring his disciples and grand-disciples to the gathering.

This would have two advantages: firstly, it would bolster the prestige of the Wutai Sect and create a more enthusiastic atmosphere; secondly, it would provide the Poison Dragon Venerable with external support, allowing him to use the Wutai Sect, an ally of the leader of the immortals, to counterattack other factions within the Western Sect. It was supposed to be a win-win situation, but the Taiyi Hunyuan Ancestor disagreed. On the surface, he made nice points, but in reality, he simply didn't want to be associated with the forces of the evil and demonic paths.

This infuriated Shi Nanxi: "What kind of good thing is your Wutai Sect? Some of your disciples have done things in private that are even more despicable than our Demonic Sect!"

Over the years, they've been slaughtered by the Emei Sect in the Sichuan-Yunnan region. Haven't we, the Western Sect, always offered them help? Instead of thanking us, you're showing us disdain!

If the Wutai Sect wants to follow the righteous path, it must sever ties with the Western demonic sects, which is something he absolutely cannot agree to.

These days he has been racking his brains trying to figure out how to get the Wutai faction back on the right track.

He asked the Fiery Ancestor and his favorite disciple from the Wutai Sect to help persuade him, but the Taiyi Hunyuan Ancestor was stubborn and wouldn't listen at all. Sikong Zhan was selfish and didn't care about these things, and Xu Feiniang also sided with the Taiyi Hunyuan Ancestor.

He was at his wit's end and had been seething with anger for a long time. But when he heard about the demon corpse Gu Chen, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration.

Shi Nanxi had close ties with both factions and was well aware of high-level news. He also knew the origins of the Three Yang One Qi Sword and the Azure Mirage Bottle. Knowing that the Taiyi Hunyuan Ancestor would never openly expel his benefactor from the mountain, he took a deep breath, slammed his hand on the table, and shouted:

"Senior Brother Hunyuan is going to be the leader of all immortals, so he can't afford to associate with the demons and monsters. What is that Demon Corpse Valley Chen? He stinks for miles around. If he comes here, he'll defile the ground!"

After he finished speaking, the twenty-odd rows of tables fell silent instantly.

Whether they were from the older or younger generation, everyone turned their attention to him, and then to the Taiyi Hunyuan Ancestor.

The Taiyi Hunyuan Ancestor had an extremely good relationship with the Liehuo Ancestor, even better than with his junior brother Sikong Zhan.

For a period of time, he stayed at Mount Hua, where he studied the Heavenly Fire Formation left by Ancestor Chen Tuan with Master Liehuo. He also had a very good relationship with Shi Nanxi.

Now that Shi Nanxi was complaining, he gestured to the Fiery Ancestor to appease him, and then invited the immortals to raise their cups in celebration.

Shi Nanxi continued shouting, "What kind of bullshit Xuan Yin Sect Master is he? He was killed by that old man with long eyebrows with seven swords that pierced his heart and was suppressed under the mountain. Now he's like a stray dog, running to Mount Wutai begging for a doghouse to shelter him from the wind and rain. He's not welcomed by anyone, yet he still shamelessly clings to this place..."

Sitting in the ninth seat, Guan Minghui was puzzled. He carefully searched his memories of Gu Chen.

Gu Chen had never met this guy before, let alone had any grudge against him.

After asking around and finding out it was Shi Nanxi, I was even more puzzled. You said you have grievances to vent to, so why are you cursing Gu Chen? Gu Chen didn't offend you.

However, he didn't respond. He was currently sitting here as Guan Minghui, a wandering cultivator from overseas, eating and drinking for free. He mainly wanted to see the attitude of the Taiyi Hunyuan Ancestor, rather than have a pointless fight with a guy who seemed to be drunk, especially since they were all in cahoots.

He continued eating and drinking, which amazed the Green Sheep Ancestor and others nearby. They wondered if this guy hadn't eaten in hundreds of years and all he knew was eating. Was he brought here by a starving ghost?
Guan Minghui couldn't hear his thoughts, otherwise he would definitely have laughed and replied, "You guessed right, I was indeed quite hungry when I died in my past life!"

On the other side, Shi Nanxi became even more emboldened when he saw that the Taiyi Hunyuan Ancestor ignored him, and his shouts grew louder and louder: "You drive that demon corpse down the mountain right now! Make a public statement that you are severing ties with the people of the evil and demonic paths from now on. From now on, you will be the leader of your Xuanmen sect, and those people will never set foot in your door again!"

Taiyi Hunyuan Ancestor suppressed his anger and ordered Liehuo Ancestor to suppress Shi Nanxi.

After the Fiery Ancestor offered a few words of advice, Shi Nanxi channeled his inner energy and shouted towards the west, "Demon Corpse Gu Chen! They're all trying to distance themselves from you and kick you out of the mountain, yet you still shamelessly act like a coward! You're not the Xuan Yin Sect Master, you're just a turtle sect master! Gu Chen! Go! You go first, then I'll go too! You're from the evil path, I'm from the demonic sect, they don't welcome us..."

"Enough!" The Taiyi Hunyuan Ancestor roared, his voice echoing through the mountains. He wanted to reprimand Shi Nanxi, but in the end, he held back and waved for the Liehuo Ancestor to take the person away.

Shi Nanxi tilted his head: "What? The leader of the Xuanmen is going to take up his sword and subdue demons, is he? He's going to kill me to rid the world of this scourge, is he? You go and kill that Gu Chen first, then come back and kill me, and I'll be convinced!"

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(End of this chapter)