Tao Te Ching Chapter 5

  He Xiaoshan's cultivation period was relatively short, and he didn't know Jiang Xuejun personally. He asked in his unique hoarse voice, "Big brother, what kind of immortal is this Jiang Xuejun? How could he scare you like that?"

  "Alas, you don't know that Jiang Xuejun was already a renowned celestial fairy over 100 years ago, before you and I brothers had even started our cultivation. That woman may look beautiful and elegant, but she's ruthless. Anyone who displeases her by even three parts will be beheaded by flying sword, or worse, have their body and soul annihilated! It's said that even our own master suffered at her hands back in the day."

  "What? She's actually that amazing?"

  "No way! I once heard Master Ni talk about her story, she used to dominate the world, and there were at least 800 sword immortals who died at her hands! Later on, she also suffered from the consequences of killing too much, her body turned into ashes, if it wasn't for her master intervening in time to save her primordial spirit, she would have ended up with a destroyed soul."

  Xiao Longzi said coldly from the side: "If such a person can ascend to heaven peacefully, that would be against the will of heaven!"

  Qizhen nodded: "This Jiang Xuejun is also a proud and arrogant person, and has not gone to reincarnate, but directly cultivates the earth immortal with the body of Yuanying..."

  "How is this possible!" He Xiao Shan exclaimed, interrupting Qi Deng's words. "Without a physical body, it won't take long for her essence and spirit to be completely depleted. She'll be inferior even to a scattered immortal, how can she still cultivate to become an earthly immortal?"

  "Of course, it's all because she has a good master! Her master is Yan Yingmu from the Miaozhen Temple on Dongting Mountain in Suzhou. Haven't you heard of her? Well, let me tell you, Yan Yingmu is someone who can rival the Long Eyebrowed Immortal of Mount Emei! Jiang Xuejun relies on her master's boundless magical powers to remake her body with thousands of kinds of immortal medicine, and that's how she regained her heavenly path. I heard that although her cultivation is arduous and painful, it's not slower than ours. Speaking of which, Jiang Xuejun hasn't appeared in many years because her primordial spirit body can't be damaged; otherwise, not only would her Daoist powers decline, but she'd also risk losing her soul. Her master Yan Yingmu has been keeping a tight rein on her, and that's why the world has been at peace for over a hundred years. No wonder you all don't know about it."

  "What a wonder! Even Brother Yue isn't her match, and this magic is indeed enough to look down on all the heroes in the world!" He turned to Yue Qinbin, "Fortunately, no matter what, Brother Yue has returned safely. As they say, 'as long as the green mountain remains, we don't have to worry about not having firewood'. We'll regroup and gather materials again, calculate the timing and geography, and try again another day! Could it be that Jiang Xuejun will descend from heaven with her divine sword every time? Unless next time when Brother Yue practices his sword, we ambush around him. If Jiang Xuejun dares to come, let's show her our prowess! Even if she's powerful, she won't be a match for the four of us!"

  Yue Qing put down his teacup and said solemnly, "I don't plan to practice the Shenying Sword again. When my master was alive, he once said that if one wants to practice this sword, they must have ten virtues by their side; otherwise, they will inevitably suffer heavenly punishment. I've tried three times to practice the sword, but each time I failed and almost lost my life. This is exactly what my master said in the past. I'm afraid that continuing to be obsessed with it would be a waste of time, and may even put my life at risk."

  "What's wrong, Brother? Don't be discouraged. Not long ago, Big Brother went south and met you at Mount Lu, where he ran into Dragon Flying, who had defected to the White Bone Demon Sect. He was refining the Nine Sons Mother Yin Soul Sword, which is ranked even higher than the Divine Infant Sword, with power second only to the Five Poison Immortal Sword refined by the Ancestor of Chaos in his heyday. It's almost complete, so as long as we..."

  "Let's stop talking about this," Yue Qing said, waving his hand. "We and the Emei Sect are like fire and water, we can't coexist anymore. Even if we don't go looking for them, they will definitely come after us to kill us off. I'm not cultivating my sword because I want to give up or surrender, but because I suddenly remembered that in order to defeat the Emei Sect and restore the great achievements of our master's time, just cultivating a single precious sword and a few magical artifacts is not enough. Even if I were to cultivate the Tianmo Zhanshen Sword and defeat Qi Shengming, the Wutai Sect would still be on the decline. The most important thing is to inherit our master's Dao lineage. Our master passed down the 'Hunyuan True Classic' which has three volumes: upper, middle, and lower, as well as a supplementary volume. Right now I only have the middle and lower volumes, so I need to find a way to get the upper volume and the supplementary volume."

  Xiao Longzi said, "The upper volume was only cultivated by the Hunyuan Patriarch, others have only heard of it but never actually seen it. At first, everyone suspected that it would be in Xu Fei's hands, but later proved that she didn't have it after all. As for the lower volume, it was stolen by the traitor Zhu Hong along with the Taiyi Five Smokes together back then, and now its whereabouts are unknown." Xiao Longzi's voice became even colder, "If he hadn't stolen the scriptures and treasures, the Hunyuan Patriarch wouldn't have failed miserably in the face of the three immortals and two old men's siege. In these few years, our two factions have joined forces to search for it but couldn't find it, so I'm afraid it won't be easy for Shixiong to find the complete Taoist scriptures."

  "Our mentor's great revenge is still unavenged, and our sect faces the danger of destruction. Even if it's difficult and perilous, as his disciples, we cannot shirk our responsibility." Yue Qing said resolutely, but in fact, he already knew where the traitor Zhu Hong was hiding, only he couldn't tell the three of them at this time, otherwise, once the news got out, the fellow disciples of Wutai Sect would probably all come out to seize him, and even Huashan Sect's Lihuo Zushi and Shifu Mohai Zunzhe Cikong Zhan, who was hiding in Yunmeng Mountain, would also jump out to demand him with their seniority. Therefore, although he had a deep relationship with the three of them, he didn't tell them.

  The next day, Yue Qing bid farewell to Qi Deng and the others, saying he wanted to go out and travel the world, pursuing the rebel Zhu Hong.

  He took Situ Ping out of Gansu and flew southwest with his sword, arriving near the Four Gate Mountain.

  Surrounding this place are towering mountains, with four steep cliffs standing like the gates of a fortress, guarding a small basin in the center. Not a blade of grass grows inside, only bare rocks and dead trees, not even mice dare to come here to forage. Due to its remote location in the southwest, few people have discovered it.

  Yue Qing stood on the northern mountain peak, pressing down the sword light, and found a shaded area. He started to operate the Five Elements True Energy, gathering it in his right hand's index finger. The tip of his finger shone with colorful light as he pressed it onto the rock surface, drawing out over a dozen spiritual symbols at incredible speed. The rock was usually blown by strong winds and pounded by heavy rains, making it extremely slippery and hard. However, under Yue Qing's finger, it seemed to be carved like tofu, crumbling into fragments that fell down, forming a series of symbol seals.

  He drew a circle around Situ Ping with his spiritual symbol, and instructed him: "Sit quietly inside this circle, no matter what happens, you can't leave this circle. I... Master will be back soon." Seeing Situ Ping nodding as if he understood, he gently patted the top of his head twice to encourage him.

  He was also well aware of Zhu Hong's background. At that time, Zhu Hong had been studying Taoism in Wutai for over 20 years. Due to his cleverness and ability to flatter, he gained the favor of Taiyi Hunyuan Zushi, who privately transmitted many Taoist methods to him and personally helped him refine the San Yuan Sword. He was even allowed to enter Taiyi's alchemy room and inner cave at will. It was precisely because of this that Zhu Hong stole the deputy book of Dao Shu and the treasure of Taiyi Wuyan Luo, indirectly leading to Taiyi Hunyuan Zushi being seriously injured in his second sword fight and eventually having to dissolve his physical body and ascend to heaven.

  If he really made a move, whether it was swordsmanship or Taoist techniques, Zhu Hong would not be his opponent at all. It's just that the Taiyi Wuyan Luo is the treasure used by the Hunyuan Patriarch to protect himself in those years, and its power is extraordinary, so some means are needed.

  Yue Qing took out eight small flags from his bag, all of which had golden rods and silver silk surfaces embroidered with strange symbols. He placed them in the surrounding areas where the dragon veins converged, inserting the golden rods into the rocks, which made a slight sound before sinking halfway in. Yue Qing then blew a mouthful of true energy onto them, causing the flag surfaces to flicker once before disappearing from sight. The eight small flags remotely sensed and responded, forming an array that enveloped the entire area within dozens of miles.

  Yue Qing arrived at the entrance of Zhu Hong's cave, his emotions surged uncontrollably. His master had saved him from the chaos of war, raised him as his own, and taught him the ways of Taoism. He was both a teacher and a father figure to Yue Qing. Yet, Zhu Hong had died a tragic death due to stealing books and treasures. For over thirty years, Yue Qing had been consumed by the desire to capture Zhu Hong, eat his flesh, and sleep on his skin.

  A surge of hatred burst forth from his heart, Yue Qing concentrated the true energy in his chest and merged it into a single strand of Five Elements Divine Thunder, which shot out from his palm. With a loud rumble, colorful lights flashed wildly, instantly shattering the entire stone door into fragments, causing half of the cave entrance to collapse. Rocks flew everywhere, smoke billowed, and Yue Qing raised his voice in a thunderous shout: "Zhu Hong! Old friend Yue Qing has come to visit you, why don't you hurry up and come out to meet an old friend!"

  After a moment, even the dust and smoke had dispersed, but inside the cave it was still quiet.