The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun.

After listening for a while, Jiang Ning noticed that the two were discussing everything from ancient times to the present, debating the principles of all things. One person would put forward a viewpoint, and the other would refute it. After a long time, neither of them could convince the other. In particular, the two brought up the classic debate between Zhuangzi and Huizi, "How can you know the joy of fish if you are not a fish," to argue their point.

After listening for a while, Jiang Ning got up and left.

Recently, the monk led Jiang Ning to a spacious and bright guest room.

"Please feel free to give any instructions if you need anything."

After saying this to Jiang Ning, the monk left.

Jiang Ning sat at the table, pondering what he had seen that day.

Putting everything else aside, Jiang Ning has seen four top-tier masters today, one of whom is even on par with him, and there are quite a few second-tier masters as well. This doesn't even include the possibility that there are still some top-tier masters who haven't appeared yet, plus the sect leader, Jin Guang Shangren, who has profound martial arts skills.

This level of strength surpasses that of the Huashan Sect in the past, and even the current Huashan Sect may not be able to match it. Of course, this is in terms of the number of experts; in terms of the quality of experts, the Huashan Sect is still stronger.

Jiang Ning had just observed Jin Guang Shangren up close and found that he was very strong, but only about the same as Yue Buqun before he obtained the Innate Skill, and on the same level as Feng Buping.

There has always been an unspoken rule in the martial arts world: whoever is the strongest in a sect is the sect leader, otherwise they cannot command respect from the others.

If we exclude Feng Qingyang, who has not shown his face for decades, Yue Buqun is the strongest in the Huashan Sect, so he is the leader of the Huashan Sect. Fang Zheng is the strongest in the Shaolin Sect, so he is the leader of the Shaolin Sect. Similarly, Jin Guang Shangren is the strongest master in the Emei Sect.

Even so, the strength of the Emei Sect should not be underestimated.

Although the top combat strength of the Emei Sect is not as good as that of the Huashan Sect, the number of masters and disciples of the Emei Sect is greater than that of the Huashan Sect.

However, Jiang Ning believed that it was normal for the Emei Sect to have such strength.

After all, Emei is not like Huashan. Huashan once led the Five Mountains Sword Sect in fighting against the Demonic Sect, and then suffered internal turmoil, which led to its decline. Emei has not had any external conflicts over the years and has kept a low profile. Unlike Huashan, which lost its lineage, Emei's martial arts system is still intact. Even if there was some internal turmoil, it should not be worse than Huashan in the past.

Now that I see it, it's indeed true.

"Strange."

Jiang Ning muttered to himself.

He felt that the Emei Sect was acting strangely these days.

In the past, most of the Emei sect members were nuns. Even if there were male disciples, their status was not as high as that of the female disciples. But now, there isn't a single female disciple in the entire sect; it's all monks and Taoists.

Chapter 133: A Letter from Songfeng Temple

Seven days later.

"Why did you leave so suddenly, young hero? Was it because our sect failed to provide adequate hospitality?"

Lobby.

Master Jin Guang looked at Jiang Ning with surprise.

"I have already troubled your sect for several days. My master also told me to return as soon as possible before I left the mountain, so it is inconvenient for me to stay any longer. I hope you will not take offense."

Jiangning Road.

Upon hearing this, Venerable Jin Guang said with great regret, "Since it is Sect Leader Yue who wants young hero to return as soon as possible, then this old monk will not try to keep you any longer. Young hero, please take care on your journey. When you return to Mount Hua, please give my regards to Sect Leader Yue."

"That's how it should be."

Jiang Ning stood up.

"Master, farewell."

Master Jinguang smiled and nodded, and then, accompanied by Daoist Songwen and several Emei disciples, he personally escorted Jiang Ning out of the temple.

"Young hero, you are welcome to visit Mount Emei again if you have the time."

Songwen Daoist said to Jiang Ning with a smile.

Jiang Ning nodded and smiled, "Thank you for your hospitality, Daoist Master and Master. If you have time, you are welcome to come to Mount Hua in Shaanxi. Our Mount Hua Sect will certainly welcome you with open arms."

After exchanging a few polite words, Jiang Ning led Maodou down the mountain.

Songwen Daoist stood at the main gate watching Jiang Ning descend the mountain until his figure disappeared from sight, then turned back and headed towards the main hall.

"Master."

Songwen Daoren said to Jinguang Shangren.

Master Jinguang was meditating with his eyes closed when he heard this, so he opened his eyes and looked at Daoist Songwen.

"Has Benefactor Jiang descended the mountain?"

Pine-Patterned Taoist nodded: "Mm."

Upon hearing this, Venerable Jin Guang did not say anything more.

After a while.

Unable to conceal his doubts, Songwen Daoist asked, "Sect Leader, what is the purpose of this Huashan Sect disciple's sudden visit to my Emei Sect?"

Master Jinguang also shook his head: "This old monk doesn't know either."

He was also puzzled. Mount Hua and Mount Emei are thousands of miles apart. The disciples of the Mount Hua Sect came from afar, stayed for a few days, and left without saying anything, as if they really came to visit.

"Could it be..."

Songwen Daoist pondered for a moment and asked, "Is he representing the Huashan Sect to request an alliance between our Emei Sect and the Demonic Sect?"

Everything has its meaning. Jiang Ning, as a disciple of the Huashan Sect, held a very high position within the sect. Songwen Daoist did not believe that Jiang Ning had come to the Emei Sect just to play around.

If the Huashan Sect wanted to request external assistance to fight against the Demonic Sect, and therefore sent Jiang Ning to find them, then that would make sense.

After all, the Emei Sect and the Huashan Sect were once known as the six major sects a hundred years ago, so there must be some connection between them.

However, Jiang Ning didn't say a word about requesting the Emei Sect's assistance after arriving, which puzzled Jin Guang Shangren and Song Wen Daoren.

After thinking for a moment, Venerable Jin Guang shook his head and said, "Since he has already left, we don't need to worry about him."

Songwen Daoist nodded, then smiled and said, "Even if he wants our help to deal with the Demonic Sect, I'm afraid his Huashan Sect is not qualified."

The Huashan Sect is no longer what it used to be. Although the Emei Sect rarely travels the martial arts world, they look down on the current Huashan Sect.

Due to the time-sensitive nature of information dissemination, other factions are currently unaware that the Huashan Sect's sword and qi branches have merged, as well as the fact that Yue Buqun effortlessly defeated Feng Buping. They still believe that the Huashan Sect is as impoverished as before.

Upon hearing this, Venerable Jin Guang smiled but said nothing. Instead, he began discussing scriptures with Daoist Song Wen.

Two hours later.

"Master, Master."

A Taoist priest walked in hurriedly, calling out "Taoist Songwen".

Songwen Daoist, who was discussing scriptures with Jinguang Shangren, frowned and asked, "What is it?"

The Taoist priest said, "A letter has arrived from the Qingcheng Sect."

"Qingcheng Sect?"

Jin Guang Shangren and Song Wen Daoren were somewhat puzzled upon hearing this.

The Qingcheng and Emei sects are the two most famous sects in Sichuan. Although the masters of the Qingcheng sect are not as good as those of the Emei sect, its influence is no less than that of the Emei sect.

Previously, the two factions had no contact with each other and did not disturb each other. I don't know why they suddenly sent a letter to them.

Master Jin Guang took the letter from the Taoist's hand and opened it to read it.

When Jin Guang Shangren saw the first sentence of the letter, he was stunned. He continued reading and his expression became more and more shocked.

Seeing his behavior, Pine Pattern Taoist couldn't help but feel curious.

"Sect Leader, what did the letter say?"

Without saying a word, Master Jin Guang handed him the letter directly.

After taking the paper, Pine-Patterned Taoist also began to read it. Before long, the expression on his face was exactly the same as that of Golden Light Master.

The letter was delivered by those Taoist priests. In the letter, they claimed to be Yu Canghai's junior disciples. They briefly mentioned that Yu Canghai had killed his fellow disciples and ostracized his junior disciples, but they also mentioned that Jiang Ning had blocked the entrance of Songfeng Temple and killed Yu Canghai and all his disciples, including the fact that Jia Renda and Xu Dazui had openly insulted the Huashan Sect.

In their letter, they mentioned that after Yu Canghai became the leader of the Qingcheng Sect, he turned the sect into a mess, doing many things that angered both heaven and man, and turning a once great Taoist sect into a place of petty corruption.

Now they mention that the Qingcheng Sect and the Huashan Sect had no enmity to begin with. Decades ago, the two sects were on good terms. Now, it was only because of Yu Canghai's personal actions that they had developed a personal grudge against the Huashan Sect. Now that Yu Canghai is dead, the Qingcheng Sect has corrected its ways and its relationship with the Huashan Sect is as it was before.

Those Taoist priests have already delivered the letters to all the major orthodox sects, informing the world.

After reading the letter, Master Songwen remained silent.

After a while.

He looked up at the Golden Light Master opposite him and found that the other man was also looking at him.

Master Jin Guang asked him a question: "Junior brother, with your current strength, can you do what he did and kill Abbot Yu and his disciples all by yourself?"

"I can't do it."

Pine-Patterned Taoist shook his head.

Killing Yu Canghai was easy, but blocking the entrance to Songfeng Temple and killing Yu Canghai and his disciples was something he couldn't do.

Master Jinguang remained silent.

Songwen Daoist is the second best in the Emei Sect; the first is him.

After a while.

Master Jinguang sighed deeply.

"Sect Leader Yue has taken on a fine disciple."

Sure enough, a long-established sect like this wouldn't easily decline; every now and then, a prodigy would emerge.

Songwen Daoist also fell silent, recalling what he had just said.

Is the Huashan Sect not qualified now?

……

As Jiang Ning walked along the road, he pondered what he had seen and heard on his trip to Mount Emei.

He originally came to Mount Emei intending to win over the Emei Sect to fight against the Demonic Sect, but after observing for the past few days, he gave up.

The Emei Sect is indeed very powerful now, but Jiang Ning found that everyone in the Emei Sect seemed to treat Mount Hua with disdain. Although they showed enough respect for Jiang Ning, the underlying meaning was undeniable.

Jiang Ning knew that if he asked the Emei Sect to take action now, they would most likely refuse, so he remained silent.

It would take an average person several hours to walk from the summit to the foot of Mount Emei. Jiang Ning, however, descended the mountain at a leisurely pace, enjoying the scenery along the way.