Chapter 281
However, that day, when he was in Rongde County to eliminate the disaster, he was teased by Long Kongkong and White Snake, and even lost two disciples. He was filled with anger, which was really hard to dispel, so for several days, he hurried day and night, almost without rest.
However, the Qiannan area is full of rolling mountains and endless ravines. When the disaster-stopping monk chased him into the mountains, he got lost several times. His temper flared, so he simply climbed over mountains and waded through rivers, relying on his internal strength of lightness to forge a straight path through the towering mountains and precipitous peaks. He actually arrived at the same time as Long Kongkong and the others.
Ye Guhong had some old acquaintances in the Wuxian Sect, and although he was captured, he knew that there was a reason for it. He was reluctant to harm anyone, out of consideration for their old friendship. However, the Wuxian Sect had no such considerations. Their disciples had broken into her sect and abducted her disciples. They had long since forgotten their old friendship.
Therefore, when they arrived at the foot of Wuxian Ridge, they did not greet them, and they simply charged straight up. The followers of the Wuxian Sect have always acted arbitrarily in the Miao region, and they have long since cultivated a domineering temper. When they saw a beautiful nun recklessly charging straight up the mountain without distinguishing between right and wrong, who could bear it? They all whistled and charged up.
But how could these cultists be a match for the Demon Slayers? In just a few punches and kicks, they were all lying on the ground. This was still the Demon Slayers. Seeing that the other side was too weak, they respected their own status and did not kill lightly. Otherwise, the Wuxian Ridge would have been filled with blood.
The road up Wuxian Ridge was hewn from the rock on the south side, forming steps that wound around the mountain ridge. Halfway up, at a height of 50 to 60 zhang, there was a platform several mu in area. From there, one boarded a bamboo basket and was hoisted by a thick rope for 100 zhang to a wide platform of more than ten mu. Then one climbed hundreds of steps to reach the top of Wuxian Ridge, where the headquarters of the Wuxian Sect was located.
The two masters on guard on the first platform were alerted at the same time as they fought their way up the winding steps all the way to the top of the ridge.
When Ye Kuhong first went to the Wuxian Sect, the sect leader used him as a pawn, laughing as he watched the five masters with rebellious hearts make things difficult for him. Among them were the famous Black Wind and the Fierce God, who were defeated but not killed. They were demoted to the rank of incense master by the sect leader, fed slow-acting medicine, and told to kill the enemy and make a name for themselves before they could be reinstated.
These two men were also extraordinary in martial arts. Over the years, they had accumulated enough merit, and Long Kong Kong kept his word and indeed allowed the two to resume their positions as helm masters, but he refused to give them any more important duties and only let them guard the platform at the foot of the ridge.
At this moment, the two saw that the Demon Slayer was advancing menacingly, and they didn’t bother to ask about his origins. They each brandished their weapons and charged out.
The Helpfree Helmsman rushed forward, holding two tiger forks in his hands, and charged down the steps around the ridge, followed closely by the fierce god with a pair of iron arms and sharp claws.
In a moment, the two met. The Helpfree Helmsman let out a loud yell and slammed the tiger forks in his hands down and stabbed, using a ferocious technique.
Jie Mie Zhang, armed with a sword, did not dodge. He raised his sword, and with a swift movement, he snuck between the two forks of Black Wind and plunged it into Black Wind’s throat.
Black Wind’s body stiffened, and his two forks stopped halfway.
Jie Mie Zhang pulled out his sword, and Black Wind let out a 鈥渦h-uh鈥� sound, his body tilting, and he fell down the ridge.
Seeing that Heifeng was defeated in one move, the Evil God dared not fight again. He let out a low cry and turned to run.
Mie Jie tapped his left foot and, like the wind, swept past the five or six wooden steps. Hearing the sword’s sharp whistle behind him, the Evil God had no choice but to turn around and block the incoming sword with his horizontal arm.
The weapon he wielded was quite unique, but it looked like two iron hands. Both his left and right forearms were encased in fine iron, and iron claws a foot and a half long extended from his hands.
He knew that he could not escape, so he simply turned around and fought desperately. He twisted his left arm, and the iron claws firmly grasped the sword’s body. The right claw slammed down violently at Mie Jie’s heart.
With a surge of inner strength, he dragged the iron sword across with one arm, and the left arm of the fierce god could not help but pull out to block his own right claw. In a panic, he hurriedly tried to change his move, but then he saw the figure of the fierce god shorten, and he snuck up in front of him like a ghost. He used the 鈥淰ermilion Bird’s Alarm鈥� move from the Four Symbols Palm, and struck with his left arm in a circular motion, slamming it heavily onto the belly of the fierce god.
You have to know why the fierce god has always boasted that the Four Symbols Palm is 鈥渢he peerless knowledge of the world鈥�.
It is because its subtleties lie not only in footwork, but also in the unpredictable changes in strength.
The four elements are Shao Yang, Tai Yang, Shao Yin, and Tai Yin. Tai Yin gives birth to Shao Yang, and Tai Yang gives birth to Shao Yin, in an endless cycle.
Each also corresponds to birth, growth, old age, and death, as well as wood, fire, metal, and water, and even the directions east, south, west, and north, and the symbols of the Green Dragon, Vermillion Bird, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise.
It seemed that the palm of this destruction was sent out towards the south, with the agility of the Vermillion Bird and the ferocity of the Flaming Fire. The power of the palm was purely the power of the sun, and the masculine strength penetrated the body of the ferocious god, temporarily breaking several of its intestines.
But the ferocious god let out a scream and flew backwards, and before it hit the ground, it had already died.
When the other followers on the platform saw this, they all lost their wits. Fortunately, someone was quick-witted and, in a panic, lit the fuse of the firework on the arrow and shot it into the air.
When the arrow soared into the sky and the fireworks exploded, not only did Long Kongkong and the others wake up with a start, the group of people who were walking under the mountain also looked up together.
One of them was about 50 years old, with small eyes, a small mouth, a fat face and a big fat belly. A white beard fluttered in front of his chest. He was wearing a golden brocade robe and riding a magnificent white horse.
Hearing the noise, he looked up at the fireworks and said, 鈥淵ang Tongzhi, what does the release of these fireworks mean? Could it be that the leader of the Five Immortals Sect knows that I am here in person and has set off the fireworks to welcome me?鈥�
The Yang Tongzhi he mentioned was Yang Zhengheng, who had been appointed the prefect of Tanzhou and a Grand Officer of the Imperial Household.
Yang Zhengheng looked at the fireworks and frowned, saying, 鈥淵our Highness, it seems that these fireworks are the warning signal of the Wuxian Sect. They are only allowed to be set off in times of extreme danger. If there are followers of the Wuxian Sect nearby and they do not come to the rescue when they see the signal, they will be guilty of a serious crime once they are found out.鈥�
It turned out that the white-bearded man was the Wei Shun Wang, Bo’er Zhi Jin Kuan Che Pu Hua, who was stationed in Wuchang.
Hearing this, the Wang was displeased and said, 鈥淵ang Tongzhi, didn’t you say that the Dragon Chief of the Five Immortals Sect admires heroes the most in his life and longs to meet me in the morning and evening after hearing of my reputation? How can you treat me as an enemy at this moment?
Yang Zhengheng was terrified and cried out, 鈥淵our Highness, you are wrongfully accusing me…鈥�
Before he could finish, his son Yang Tongguan pointed to the cliff and said, 鈥淓veryone, look, isn’t that a nun up there? Where would there be a nun in the Wuxian Sect? It must be an enemy here to cause trouble.鈥�
Yang Zhengheng nodded repeatedly, 鈥淵es, yes, it must be this nun who is so capable that the followers of the Shushan Sect just sent out a signal for help.鈥�
鈥淭rouble?鈥� Hearing this, King Weishun Kuanche Puhua instantly perked up, patting his belly and laughing strangely, 鈥滻 came in a hurry this time, and I didn’t have time to prepare anything decent as a gift. Since this nun has a grudge against the Wuxian Sect, why don’t we capture her? First, let the Wuxian Sect owe me a favor, and let the Dragon Sect leader see for herself what a hero I am!鈥�
Yang Zhengheng had led the Miao army for many years, but he was not stupid. He quickly said, 鈥淎ccording to the rules of the Wuxian Sect, there must be at least a leader or messenger stationed at Lingxia. This nun was able to force them to ask for help, so she must be quite capable.鈥�
Kuanche Puhua laughed heartily and said, 鈥淵ang, you and your son are both outstanding generals in battle, but you are not very good at these underhand dealings. Let’s not talk about anything else, just the rebel Peng Yingyu. Over the years, he has colluded with his cronies, rampaging across Hunan and Hubei, Jianghu and the Jianghu region, causing chaos everywhere, but how is it that he is afraid to come to my territory? Even under my command, there are many famous heroes in the Jianghu world, not to be taken lightly. Today you will see what I am made of!”
After saying this, he turned around, blew his beard, and called out proudly, 鈥漌here are the three heroes of Yingshan, the two villains of Honghu, and the four swordsmen of the Han River?鈥�
From among the hundreds of men and horses behind him, several lithe and agile shadows suddenly sprang out, all bowing in unison before the wide and imposing Pu Hua: 鈥淵our Highness, we are here!鈥�
Pu Hua pointed to the ridge and shouted, 鈥淵ou are all famous heroes in the martial arts world. You have trained for a thousand days to fight for an hour. Today, you will get the head of that nun for me, and I will reward you handsomely!鈥�
He shouted, and the sound of the disaster stopped. He turned his head and looked down, and the people below were also looking up. Among the three heroes of Ying Mountain, the second one was born with eagle eyes. Suddenly, he exclaimed in surprise, 鈥淵our Majesty, this nun is extremely beautiful!鈥�
Kuanche Puhua was a womanizer and immediately rejoiced: 鈥淥h? In that case, don’t kill her. I have long heard that there are often attractive nuns, but I have never had the opportunity to experience it. If she is indeed beautiful, wouldn’t it be wonderful if the king and I could cultivate the happy Buddhist law together?鈥�
The nine men all answered in unison, jumped up with a whoosh, and all charged up the ridge.
Kuanche Puhua was quite bold, and he knew that these men were highly skilled in martial arts. With a loud laugh, he also galloped up after them.
The wooden steps on the cliff face jut into the air, and even people walking on them are afraid, let alone galloping horses.
But Kuanche Puhua’s steed is extraordinary. It was originally a wild horse that grew up in Hengshan Mountain. It is not known what kind of rare treasures it ate, but it grew extraordinarily tall, and its four legs are extremely long. It steps on rocks and climbs the ridge as if it were walking on flat land. It was discovered by a group of skilled hunters with extraordinary abilities discovered it, used fermented beans soaked in wine to lure it, and seized it while it was drunk. They were overjoyed and took it to sell, but it was just then passed by the foreign affairs butler of the Weishun Prince’s Mansion, who bought it for a high price and took it back to present to his own prince, specially naming it Zhuan Shan Fei.
With this Zhuan Shan Fei under his belt, Kuante Puhua galloped up the wooden steps quickly and steadily. At that moment, Mie Jie, having reached the first platform, was looking at the bamboo frame of the rope bridge, pondering how to get up there. Kuante Puhua’s nine top fighters had already caught up with him, forming a semicircle and surrounding Mie Jie.
Mie Jie frowned when he saw the complexion of the men, and said, 鈥淵ou are also from the Five Immortals Sect?鈥�
The nine men sneered, but did not reply. At this moment, Kuanche Puhua galloped up, fixed his eyes on Mie Jue’s face, and could not help laughing out loud. He said, 鈥淏eautiful nun, I am the Great Yuan Prince Weishun. Today, we meet on a desolate mountain, which is what you Buddhists call a karmic encounter. You and I are so destined to meet. My palace has a copy of the Sutra of Joy hidden away. I would like to invite you to share it with me. I wonder what you think?鈥�
Before he finished speaking, there was suddenly a long neigh from Zhuan Shanfei’s crotch. The neigh was full of joy, and he stood up on one leg, followed by a big jump. Kuante Puhua was caught off guard and fell on his stomach with a cry of 鈥渙uch!鈥� The nine top experts hurriedly came to help, but Zhuan Shanfei felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He neighed with joy and galloped away to escape disaster.
Destroying the disaster. Originally, when he heard this person announce his family name, he remembered what the boatman had said earlier: it was this person who promoted the headman of the Feishan barbarians, causing the Miao-Yi war to intensify, making it difficult for ships to travel, and setting his heart on fire 鈥�
if he had not been forced to travel overland, how would Ye Guhong have been taken?
Then, when he heard him speak rudely, with the audacity to even try to touch her, she became even more furious. Looking at the King of Weishun, she felt like she was looking at a dead person.
She was about to strike and kill him when suddenly he was thrown off his horse. The extraordinarily tall and magnificent horse charged straight over, which took Meijie by surprise and she dodged by twisting her body.
As she dodged, the horse whinnied twice in seeming grievance, then reared up, brought its huge head close, and stuck out its thick, long tongue, licking towards Mie Jie’s face.
Mie Jie dodged again, but seeing that the horse had no hostile intent, she couldn’t help but wonder what was going on. She shook off her owner and came to get close to me. Could it be that because the other party is a lecher, the horse has also become a lecherous horse?
But the horse’s big, grape-like eyes looked at him with innocence and joy, and the closer he looked, the more familiar they seemed. After a moment, he turned to Kuanche Puhua and shouted, 鈥淗ey, you dog-headed king, where did you get this horse?鈥�
Kuanche Puhua was helped up, still frowning and squinting from the pain. Hearing this, he subconsciously said, 鈥淢y horse, the best in the world, is a famous divine steed from Hengshan. It is only because divine things are born naturally and are owned by the blessed that it has become my mount.鈥�
Mie Jie sneered, 鈥淵ou idiot, if you were blessed, how could you almost fall to your death while eating it?鈥�
He said with a sneer, 鈥淐ome here! You beast have some sense of loyalty, after all these years, you still remember the poor nun?鈥�
The horse saw that Mie Jie was calling it, it let out a long neigh with joy, prancing about, putting its big head in Mie Jie’s palm, shaking its head non-stop and rubbing against her, looking extremely affectionate.
Mie Jie had been full of nameless anger these past few days, but now it had all been released, and she revealed a faint smile.
It turns out that this horse is actually an old acquaintance of hers. Back then, Ye Guhong told a huge lie and tricked the royal court into sending people to Yanmen Pass to search for the secret manual. The news spread, and the entire martial arts world in the north was shaken, but the master and apprentice took the opportunity to hide in a carriage and escape to Hengshan. Later, they discovered the zizhi (herbal) in Zizhi Valley, and the master and apprentice followed the canyon all the way to the search, until they reached a difficult place to walk, they abandoned the carriage and led the horse over the mountains and across the rivers.
By chance, they reached the foot of the Yanmen Pass cliff, where they found the image of the Divine Footprint carved into the cliff face by the Iron-headed Man, as well as the mysterious small tripod. The master and apprentice decided to return directly over the mountain to the south, so they immediately climbed up the cliff, and left the horse in the mountains.
At that time, the horse had not eaten for many days, and only ate weeds and leaves. It was already emaciated, and Mie Jie felt sorry for it. Before leaving, he took half a piece of the purple fungus and fed it to the horse’s mouth.
When Mie Jie recalled the past, he could still remember the horse’s incredulous expression of surprise when it sniffed the purple fungus, and also remembered the happy look on its face as it shook its head and wagged its tail when it took the ganoderma in its mouth and began to munch on it.
I can’t help but smile and say, 鈥淕ood horse, you are indeed fortunate. Could it be that since then you have come to know the purple fungus, and have been foraging for it in the mountains to eat? After eating a lot of it, you have become so strong?鈥�
The horse nodded repeatedly. Mie Jie was surprised and said, 鈥淚t’s okay, you beast, it seems that you have opened your spiritual wisdom and can understand what the poor nun is saying! Hengshan is thousands of miles away, and yet you and I have been able to meet in this life. This is a rare karmic connection. From now on, how about you follow the poor nun?鈥�
The horse raised its head and neighed, then nodded again.
Mie Jie was overjoyed and looked at the king of Weishun and said, 鈥淚 have regained this horse thanks to you. Originally, I could spare your life for the sake of the horse, but you spoke blasphemy against the poor nun, and this hatred is hard to overcome. I will let you die quickly as a way for me to repay you for giving me the horse.鈥�
Kuanchepuhua was furious and said, 鈥淒amn you, pretty nun, I’m in love with you, and what a blessing it is! Not only do you speak insolently, but you also dare to take my steed Zhuan Shan Fei? Once I get you, if I don’t play a hundred and eight tricks on you, I’ll consider myself incompetent!鈥�
After saying this, he waved his hand and said, 鈥淎rrest this nun for me!鈥�
His subordinates, the three heroes of Yingshan, the two villains of Honghu, and the four swordsmen of the Han River, heard this and all shouted at once. They drew their weapons and showed their murderous intent. Some leapt into the air, while others ran like mad, attacking Mie Jie from three sides.
Mie Jie slapped the horse on the head and shouted, 鈥淲ait for me here!鈥�
With a clear whistle, he charged straight towards the nine men.
I won’t be home in time. I’ll make up for today tomorrow!