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

Page 273

"I see."

Yue Buqun nodded; he was preparing to head over.

However, just before setting off, Yue Buqun looked at Tianmen Daoist again.

“Brother Dao, Zuo Lengchan has wronged you deeply, and I can understand your feelings. Our three sects also have a deep grudge against Zuo Lengchan. But no matter what, Brother Tianmen, you must not act impulsively, lest you destroy the foundation of our ancestors today.”

Yue Buqun said earnestly.

Last night, Yue Buqun kept persuading Tianmen Daoren, hoping he wouldn't act impulsively and insist on taking hundreds of Taishan Sect members and Songshan Sect members down with him. He said it wasn't worth it; if something happened, the four sects would stand together. Moreover, the Emei Sect was now willing to form an alliance with the four sects, and there would be plenty of opportunities to take revenge on Zuo Lengchan in the future. There was no need to fight to the death today and waste the lives of hundreds of disciples.

Although Yue Buqun didn't know if his persuasion would be effective, he had done all he could.

No matter what Tianmen Daoist does next, he is determined to stand together with Tianmen Daoist and the Taishan Sect and fight the Songshan Sect alone.

After hearing Yue Buqun's words, Tianmen Daoist remained silent, but the resolute look in his eyes had weakened considerably.

"Let's go."

Mr. Mo waved his hand, put his hands behind his back, and set off first.

Yue Buqun, Jiang Ning, and the others then proceeded to the location.

The building at the summit of Mount Song is a Zen temple. Originally a major Buddhist temple, it has become the residence of successive leaders of the Songshan School for the past century.

When Jiang Ning and his group arrived at the Zen temple, they found that although there were no Buddha statues or anything like that, it still retained the characteristics of a Zen temple.

The temple was not small, but it was packed with people at the moment, and you couldn't see the end of it. When Jiang Ning and the others arrived, they couldn't even get into the courtyard and could only stay outside.

"It's so crowded here, are we really going to hold the alliance leader's meeting right here?"

Many disciples of Huashan and Hengshan Temples were discussing it.

"Could it be that Zuo Lengchan plans to exclude us from the outside, hold a large meeting inside, and prevent us from getting in, so that he can automatically win and become the new leader of the Five Mountains Alliance?"

Linghu Chong then joked.

His words drew laughter from the disciples of the other factions.

Some of the Songshan disciples outside couldn't help but glare angrily at Linghu Chong when they heard his words.

Just then, Zuo Lengchan's words came from inside the Zen temple.

"Today is a great day for the Five Mountains Sword Sect to re-elect its leader. I am grateful for the kindness and presence of all my fellow practitioners and friends. The large number of attendees is beyond my expectations. This is due to my oversight, and I hope you will not take offense."

Chapter 363: Harboring Hidden Intentions

"It's so crowded, I can't even move."

The Zen temple was bustling with people talking amongst themselves.

However, even in this environment, Zuo Lengchan's voice still clearly resounded throughout the entire monastery, and this profound inner strength shocked many experts among the onlookers.

"I am deeply moved by your kind hospitality, but I feel bad if we continue the conference here. After much thought, I have come up with a better place."

Zuo Lengchan seemed to suddenly remember something and said, "Going up from here is the Fengchan Terrace on Mount Song. The terrain is very spacious and the scenery is superb. It can accommodate thousands of people. Why don't we all move to the Fengchan Terrace? What do you all think?"

As soon as Zuo Lengchan finished speaking, many people loudly echoed his words.

"it is good."

"We'll do as Leader Zuo says."

"We should have moved to another place a long time ago. It's so crowded here I can hardly breathe."

Besides those still talking, many others rushed out of the Zen temple and headed towards the top of Mount Song.

"Fengchan Terrace?"

Jiang Ning narrowed his eyes upon hearing this.

Although martial arts practitioners dislike the imperial court and do not like to have contact with it, they generally keep their distance from it. For example, some major sects do not want to get involved with anything related to the imperial court, let alone places like the Fengchan Terrace.

However, Zuo Lengchan showed no restraint in this regard, inviting everyone to the Fengchan Terrace for a grand meeting. Besides his contempt for the imperial court, it is likely that his ambition was not just to annex the Five Mountains Sword Sects.

"Let's go, let's go to the Fengchan Terrace too."

Yue Buqun spoke up.

The group of people then followed the martial arts practitioners toward the top of Mount Song, and soon arrived at an extremely spacious place.

This is the Fengchan Terrace on Mount Song.

The Fengshan ceremony was a major event for ancient emperors, who would often choose a specific location to perform it. When Jiang Ning went to Mount Tai before, there was a Fengshan platform there, and most emperors performed the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai.

However, there is also a Fengshan Terrace on Mount Song, but only one emperor performed the Fengshan ceremony there: Wu Zetian.

Apart from this emperor who performed the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Song, no other emperor has ever performed the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Song.

Jiang Ning looked around. The Fengchan Terrace here was built of hemp stone and was very flat. Although it looked magnificent, there were traces of repairs in some places, showing the marks of time. It was very different from the Fengchan Terrace on Mount Tai.

However, the terrain here is indeed very spacious, and even with thousands of people flocking here, it does not feel crowded at all.

Jiang Ning surveyed the area. The Fengchan Terrace on Mount Song was at its highest point, with other peaks below it. From here, one could see the Yellow River to the north, and even the gates of Luoyang City to the northwest.

"Great, this place is great."

Many of the martial arts figures who had arrived burst into laughter.

"The place that Leader Zuo found is quite good; it's both wide and high."

At this moment, Zuo Lengchan stood on the steps of the Fengchan Terrace, looking at the crowd of martial arts figures. From time to time, some people in the crowd also looked in his direction and nodded slightly to him.

These martial arts figures who were secretly nodding to Zuo Lengchan had bright, piercing eyes and a calm demeanor; they were clearly all experts.

Zuo Lengchan waited for a while, as if waiting for something, but nothing happened.

Zuo Lengchan sighed softly, and then prepared to speak.

At this moment, a disciple from the Songshan Sect ran towards them.

"Master Uncle, Master Fangzheng of Shaolin and Daoist Chongxu of Wudang are leading disciples from both sects up the mountain."

Upon hearing this, Zuo Lengchan smiled.

"The Abbot and Daoist Chongxu have also arrived? Please come with me to greet them."

After saying this, Zuo Lengchan addressed the crowd and then led a group of Songshan disciples down the mountain to greet them.

"There's nowhere to sit here."

Linghu Chong looked around.

At this time, many martial arts practitioners had already sat down on the ground.

Linghu Chong looked around, his eyes darting around, as if he had thought of something. He rolled up his sleeves and started wiping something on an open space, leaving Yue Buqun looking on blankly, wondering what he was doing.

"All right."

Linghu Chong wiped the open space clean, stood up, and said to Yue Buqun and Ning Zhongze.

"Master and Mistress, please have a seat."

"..."

Yue Buqun glanced at Linghu Chong, then at the open space, and after a moment said, "I'm not tired. Standing is fine too."

He simply couldn't bring himself to sit on the ground in public.

Ning Zhongze smiled and said, "Chong'er is so thoughtful."

Despite saying that, Ning Zhongze had no intention of sitting down.

Seeing that neither of them sat down, Linghu Chong felt a little down. Then he noticed Jiang Ning.

At this moment, Jiang Ning stood still, as if he were in a meditative state.

"Brother, what are you doing?"

Linghu Chong approached Jiang Ning and asked.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning glanced at Linghu Chong and shook his head.

"nothing."

"Ok?"

Linghu Chong looked at Jiang Ning again and couldn't help but scratch his head.

He sensed some changes in Jiang Ning, but couldn't quite put his finger on it. Now that he was closer, the changes became even more pronounced. Sometimes he felt Jiang Ning's aura was very strong, like a surging, turbulent wave, and other times it felt like a gentle, trickling stream.

Linghu Chong shook his head, completely baffled, and then left to talk to Yue Lingshan.

Seeing that Linghu Chong had stopped bothering him, Jiang Ning turned around.

Actually, he was adjusting his breathing and internal energy just now.

After breaking through to the fourth level of the Innate Skill, Jiang Ning felt changes within his body, the most noticeable of which was the speed at which the Innate Skill circulated within him.

In the past, when breaking through the Innate Skill, the speed of the Innate Skill's internal energy circulation would increase, and Jiang Ning would have to adapt to it first.

In addition, Jiang Ning also felt that something was changing in his body, and that it was slowly transforming.

He couldn't sense the specific changes; he probably wouldn't know until his body had fully undergone the transformation.

Jiang Ning closed her eyes and continued to adjust to the changes in her body.

Time passed by minute by minute.

"It's been a long time since I've seen Sect Leader Yue."

An aged voice came from over, causing Yue Buqun and Master Mo Da, who were waiting, to turn their heads to look.

The one speaking was Fang Zheng.

At this moment, Fang Zheng was heading this way, with Daoist Chongxu beside him, and disciples from both sects following behind him.

"Abbot, Daoist Chongxu, how have you both been lately?"

Yue Buqun went up to greet him with a smile.

"Thank you for your concern, Sect Leader Yue. Everything is fine."

Fang Zheng said with a smile.

At this moment, Fang Sheng, who was behind him, saw Jiang Ning in the crowd and smiled.

"How have you been, Benefactor Jiang? Do you still remember this humble monk?"

Jiang Ning opened his eyes, looked over, and smiled.

"Master Fang Sheng looks even more radiant than before, after not seeing him for many days."

"Ha ha ha ha."

Fang Sheng laughed heartily, as if he were having a conversation with an old friend.

"Young Master Linghu, how is your practice of the Wudang swordsmanship that I taught you last time?"

At this moment, Daoist Chongxu also smiled at Linghu Chong.

Yue Buqun narrowed his eyes as he watched the two men, one after the other, flirting with his disciple.

Chapter 364: Why Not Let My Master Sit Here?

"Thank you for teaching me swordsmanship, Daoist Master."

Linghu Chong was flattered and quickly bowed.

Master Chongxu stroked his beard and smiled.

"Sect Leader Yue, is Abbess Dingxian from the Hengshan Sect still missing?"

At this moment, Fang Zheng said to Yue Buqun.

Yue Buqun withdrew his gaze, looked at Fang Zheng and smiled, "Master Dingxian and the others will be delayed for a while, but they will arrive today."

"Amitabha."

Fang Zheng nodded, recited a Buddhist chant, and said nothing more.