dmims Page 504
Page 504
Chapter 687: Heaven is helping me!
Seeing that Dongfang Bubai did not continue, Yang Lianting quickly changed the subject.
"Tong Baixiong's words make sense. After dealing with Ren Woxing, those sects will also turn their attention to us."
Dongfang Bubai laughed.
"It's nothing more than starting another war."
In the early years of his leadership, he was ambitious and led his followers in countless battles against the righteous sects. Now, it's just another big battle.
Seeing Dongfang Bubai so calm, Yang Lianting's heart gradually calmed down, and he nodded.
“Our Divine Sect is invincible under heaven. As the leader, you rule the four seas, so you are naturally not afraid. However, I have never seen those righteous sects mobilize so much before. I am afraid that they have united as one and are determined to oppose our Divine Sect to the end. Even if our Divine Sect can win, it will inevitably suffer damage.”
Yang Lianting was still somewhat worried.
After all, although he was the Grand Steward of the sect, second only to the leader, he had only been in that position for a few years. Before that, he was just an insignificant servant. Moreover, the martial world had been quite quiet in recent years, and the righteous path had not prepared for such a large-scale war. This was the first time for him, so he inevitably felt somewhat uneasy.
Dongfang Bubai glanced at him and laughed.
"There's no need to worry too much; they may not be of one mind."
Yang Lianting was surprised.
"Oh? Why did you say that?"
Dongfang Bubai originally didn't want to talk about these things, but in order to comfort Yang Lianting, he had no choice but to patiently recount the past of the Five Mountains Sword Sect and Shaolin.
Yang Lianting was astonished.
The Huashan Sect was originally very powerful, but it was actually brought down by Shaolin using a Sunflower Manual?
Was the Songshan Sect also supported by Shaolin?
If Dongfang Bubai hadn't told him himself, Yang Lianting wouldn't have believed it at all.
Dongfang Bubai was still speaking at this moment.
"Shaolin has always used the Five Mountains Sword Sect to restrain my Divine Sect, or rather, my Divine Sect to restrain the Five Mountains Sword Sect. Now the Five Mountains Sword Sect has disintegrated and the Songshan Sect has been destroyed, but a more troublesome Weiyi Alliance has been born, which is uncontrollable for Shaolin."
Upon hearing this, Yang Lianting couldn't help but express his opinion.
"If that's the case, why doesn't Shaolin continue to sit back and watch the tigers fight? As long as Ren Woxing is alive, he can keep the Weiyi Alliance in check, and Shaolin can rest easy."
"Ah."
Dongfang Bubai laughed out loud.
"Who told him to court death?"
Ren Woxing's appearance was unexpected by everyone, but Fang Zheng was certainly happy at first because Ren Woxing was not like him. Ren Woxing was ambitious and would definitely cause chaos in the martial arts world. At the same time, he had a deep hatred for sects such as Huashan, and he could better restrain the Weiyi Alliance and weaken its strength.
But Ren Woxing insisted on attacking the Beggars' Sect, forcing Shaolin to intervene prematurely. He also angered the imperial court, which issued an imperial edict. Ren Woxing was courting death; if he didn't die, who would?
"Ren Woxing has now driven himself into a dead end. He may not realize it himself, but the old abbot of Shaolin must understand. So no matter what, Ren Woxing must die."
Ren Woxing is too good at stirring up trouble. The situation in the martial arts world is gradually slipping out of Fang Zheng's control, and Ren Woxing is the core of this problem. Fang Zheng probably wants Ren Woxing dead now.
Yang Lianting nodded, indicating that he understood.
"Ren Woxing has now become everyone's enemy. Everyone wants him dead. He has nowhere to go. But Ren Woxing can die, but what happens after he dies?"
Yang Lianting wasn't stupid; he quickly understood and asked in surprise, "You mean Shaolin wants us to restrain the Weiyi Alliance?"
Fang Zheng hopes that Ren Woxing will die, but he may not necessarily want the Divine Cult to be destroyed. If the Divine Cult is really destroyed, who will be able to restrain the Weiyi Alliance?
"Humph."
Despite understanding the situation, Yang Lianting couldn't help but sneer.
"Shaolin has a good plan. Do they think their mere few thousand Shaolin disciples are qualified to be pawns of my Divine Cult? I will send tens of thousands of my followers to storm Shaoshi Mountain and slaughter them all!"
"Shaolin is not just a few thousand Shaolin disciples."
Dongfang Bubai laughed and said, "As the saying goes, all martial arts under heaven originated from Shaolin. Although it is a bit of an exaggeration, it is not far off. More than half of the martial arts practitioners in the world learned their skills from Shaolin. As for the others, they all have some connection with Shaolin. Moreover, Shaolin's lay disciples are almost everywhere in the world. Shaolin's influence is far more than you think."
"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore."
Dongfang Bubai didn't want to bring up these matters anymore, so he handed over the handkerchief he had embroidered.
"Take a look, see if you like it."
Yang Lianting took it and examined it carefully, then nodded: "Your skills are still as good as ever."
As he spoke, Yang Lianting put it back in his arms, and Dongfang Bubai smiled happily.
……
"Name."
"A soldier guarding the city of De'an Prefecture said lazily."
However, the man simply handed over a name card, and the city guard glanced at it and cursed, "What is this? I asked you your name, what kind of junk are you giving your grandpa?"
"Are you blind?"
The man shouted angrily, "This is the name card of Master Yue, the leader of the Huashan Sect. What? Hasn't the imperial edict reached De'an Prefecture yet? Or is it that the officials of De'an Prefecture are disobeying the imperial court?"
His words immediately jolted the lazy soldiers guarding the city awake. They hurriedly opened their name cards to check, and then looked at the man with a big smile on their faces.
"Sir, I am truly sorry, I was blind and did not notice."
The soldier repeatedly apologized to the man from the martial arts world.
"Humph!"
The man snorted coldly, but did not continue his attack. He asked, "Where is the Demon Extermination Division set up by your government?"
"Turn left at the end of the road ahead."
The soldiers dared not be negligent and repeatedly expressed their gratitude.
This江湖人士 (jianghu figure) walked into the city with his head held high.
"Have a safe journey, chivalrous one. Have a safe journey, chivalrous one."
The soldiers breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the martial arts figures walk away.
Meanwhile, the other onlookers had already started discussing the matter.
"Who is that person? And what's this 'calling card' thing he mentioned? Why is this soldier so scared after hearing it?"
"Haven't you heard? Master Yue, the leader of the prestigious Huashan Sect, has issued a proclamation to eradicate the demonic cult. The imperial court has also issued an imperial edict to suppress the demons, ordering local officials to immediately release the seals and name cards of sect leaders, or else they will be punished for dereliction of duty. The person just now was carrying the name card of Master Yue of the Huashan Sect."
"I know about the Huashan Sect. It's a prestigious sect."
"It's more than just big! Not long ago, I heard that Jiang Ning, a disciple of the Huashan Sect's Sect Leader Yue, subdued a tortoise and a snake as guardian beasts for the mountain. I heard that those two beasts are over ten zhang long!"
The crowd was abuzz with discussion, including many ordinary people. Now, both the martial arts world and the common folk knew about this demon-slaying operation. Especially after Yue Buqun's publicity efforts, the influence of the Huashan Sect was spreading at an extremely rapid pace.
……
Beijing.
"Oh? The tortoise-snake beast has submitted to Jiangning? Is this true?"
Zhu Houzhao, who had been waiting for news since the imperial edict was issued, was very surprised when he heard the news brought by Liu Jin.
"It's true, Your Majesty."
Liu Jin nodded repeatedly: "I heard that the two strange beasts traveled with the Huashan Sect this time, and many people saw them along the way."
Zhu Houzhao's eyes lit up.
"This is truly a stroke of luck!"
Chapter 688: Building Momentum
what?
Liu Jin was puzzled. This was about Jiang Daxia, so how was it related to His Majesty?
Yes.
Jiang Daxia is helping His Majesty; what is beneficial to Jiang Daxia is also beneficial to His Majesty.
Liu Jin's mind raced, and he thought he understood Zhu Houzhao's meaning. He quickly smiled and said, "Yes, Master Jiang's martial arts are unparalleled, and now that a strange beast has surrendered, it naturally means that those demonic cultists have nowhere to escape. Master Jiang will surely help His Majesty destroy those demonic cult traitors!"
Zhu Houzhao smiled upon hearing this, but did not explain anything. Instead, he stood up and said, "Prepare the carriage, I am going to the Imperial Ancestral Temple."
Liu Jin was clearly taken aback. What was His Majesty doing at the Imperial Ancestral Temple at this time?
But Liu Jin didn't ask questions, he just did things, and quickly followed after them.
Zhu Houzhao's lips curled slightly.
He was going to see Emperor Taizong Wen.
……
Luzhou Prefecture.
The number of soldiers guarding the city has increased significantly in recent days, but all of them look worried.
"Alas, have you heard? Wuwei Prefecture has fallen."
There weren't many people entering or leaving the city gates today, and one of the soldiers guarding the city brought up the topic with his comrades.
As soon as the topic was brought up, the other soldiers also spoke up.
"I've heard about it before. Wuwei Prefecture is now under the control of those demons from the Demonic Sect, and even the prefect has been killed."
"Those sorcerers are truly arrogant! They actually dared to kill officials appointed by the imperial court. Aren't they afraid that the court will send troops to suppress them?"
"They dare to assassinate even His Majesty, so why wouldn't they dare to kill a mere prefect?"
"Now that Wuwei Prefecture is under the control of those demonic cultists, will they come to attack us?"
"What should we do if they attack?"
The soldiers guarding the city talked amongst themselves, their words revealing their anxiety about the future.
Now, not only are the soldiers and government officials guarding the city in Luzhou Prefecture in a state of panic, but the common people are also terrified. During this period, everyone rarely goes out, and the entire Luzhou Prefecture is much quieter.
At that moment, several ordinary people were sitting in a restaurant discussing this topic.
These people were dressed in different ways; some were scholars, some were peddlers, and others whose identities were unknown.
When will the imperial court send troops to suppress them?
One of the common people couldn't help but ask, looking very worried.
"Ugh."
Another person replied, "Didn't the imperial court issue an imperial edict some time ago? It didn't mention sending troops, so I don't think the court is planning to send troops this time."
The others, both shocked and frightened, asked, "Why isn't the imperial court sending troops for such a major incident? Are they just going to let those demonic cultists run rampant?"
A scholar sighed, "The imperial court has its own difficulties."
Another person retorted, "Even if the imperial court is facing difficulties, are we just going to stand by and watch these people rebel?"
"They've dared to assassinate the emperor and kill high-ranking officials. If we don't stop them, they'll rebel!"
The others didn't say anything, but they all shared the same thought.
Upon hearing this, the scholar said, "It's not that the imperial court is indifferent. Didn't they post a notice a while ago? Now, the righteous heroes of the martial world have begun to organize people to wipe out these demonic cult members. The imperial court has also ordered all prefectures to cooperate with the righteous sects to wipe out the demonic cult members, otherwise they will be punished for dereliction of duty."
"That's true, but I wonder when those heroes will arrive, and whether they can handle these demonic cultists."
These people were mostly from Luzhou Prefecture. People in other places might not know about the imperial proclamation, but almost everyone in Luzhou Prefecture knew about it. Very few people didn't.
Even though they knew this, they didn't have much confidence that the righteous people could deal with the demonic cult.
"Don't you all know? The leader this time is none other than Yue Buqun, the leader of the Weiyi Alliance. His disciple Jiang Ning is no ordinary person..."
The scholar began to recount Jiang Ning's life and deeds, describing each and every one of them in an extremely exaggerated manner, leaving the others dumbfounded.
"Is Jiang Ning really that powerful?"
One of the people stammered as he spoke.