79 Tao Jun: Spirit of Smoke

  Yue Qing smiled and said, "I won't tell you now, you'll understand when the time comes. Shifu, I've been watching Ping'er and Shi Sheng play together these days, they're almost inseparable. This time, let him go to Beihai with you all, Rong Bo will go to Mangcang Mountain with Liu Shidi, and Wei Xian will bring that filial son and his mother back up the mountain."

  Liu Quan said: "We've all left, who's going to guard the mountain gate?"

  Yue Qingdao said, "The mountain defense formation has been fully restored. The five peaks are connected as one piece, and the maze killing array is all set up in ambush. If ordinary people come to make trouble, they will not get a good outcome. Even those with exceptional magical powers can't see anything valuable here. In any case, everyone's treasures are carried on their own bodies, so let them move the mountain away."

  The division was fixed, and everyone was divided into three teams. They walked out of the mountain gate, and Xu Fei released a piece of colorful cloud mist, taking Sito Ping and Shi Sheng to fly into the air. With a wave of her hand, they flew northeast like a shooting star. Liu Quan asked his senior brother Yue Qing to go first, and Yue Qing instructed him to hurry up and finish his business on Mangcang Mountain before rushing to Qingshui Gorge. With a wave of his hand, a golden light took Yang Li and shot southeast, breaking through the air and leaving.

  Yue Qing and Yang Li traveled south until they reached the border of Jiangxi Province, where they descended onto a radiant light. The person he was looking for was named Tao Jun, who originally only knew lived in Nanchang. His parents had passed away when he was young, and he was fond of martial arts, so he hired many teachers to teach him at home. Due to his generosity, he supported a large group of retainers, earning him the nickname "Little Meng Zong". Based on this information, Yue Qing calculated Tao Jun's age and life history using the Xiantian Shenjue method, and directly arrived at the Tao residence, letting Yang Li go forward to knock on the door.

  A little servant with a curious look on his face came out and asked: "What are you doing?"

  Yue Qingdao said: "I, Yue Qing, a Qi-refining master from the Taiyi Palace of Mount Wutai, have heard that there is a young Meng Cang who is infatuated with martial arts and spends his wealth generously to invite masters from all over the world to teach him. I've come specifically to see what kind of talent he has. If it's good, I'll take him as my disciple and pass on my skills to him. If not, I'll go somewhere else."

  That little fellow saw that Yue Qing and his companion were extraordinary in their demeanor, and he didn't dare to easily offend them. He let Yue Qing and the other wait here first while he went inside to report.

  Before long, the gate opened again. Apart from the young servant, there were two more people. The first one was a seventeen or eighteen-year-old youth with a face as white as jade, arms like an ape's and a slender waist. His every move was full of vigor and vitality. He came out and looked at Yue Qing and Yang Li for a while before bowing his hands together in greeting: "Junior Tao Zhun has seen the two immortal masters! The servant doesn't know etiquette, there must be much negligence, I hope the immortal masters won't blame me. I've already ordered someone to set up a banquet, please come in and rest."

  Yue Qing was also sizing him up, and Tao Jun indeed had an extraordinary talent, actually rivaling Yang Li. The Wutai Sect was renowned for its swordsmanship, which suited someone like him perfectly. He was secretly pleased in his heart, and followed Yang Li as they accompanied Tao Jun into the mansion.

  In the flower hall, Tao Jun introduced another young man to them: "This is my current martial arts teacher, surname Zhao, name Xinyuan, nicknamed 'Divine Bird in the Smoke'."

  Yue Qing nodded: "I know, he's a disciple of Xia Seng Zhan Fan."

  One sentence made Zhao Xin Yuan jump up directly, retreat three steps back, and release the flying sword in his hand: "You are indeed the evil spirits of Wutai Sect!" He then turned to Tao Jun and said, "Young Master, quickly hide away, these two people are the evil spirits of Wutai Sect, they burn, kill, loot, and do all sorts of evil deeds!"

  Tao Jun was also startled, and before he left the house, Zhao Xin Yuan had told him: "I heard from my master that the Wu Tai Sect is the most evil cult under heaven, and all its members are treacherous and lecherous monks and Taoists. If they come to our door, it's unlikely to be a good thing." Tao Jun had never seen what kind of people these evil cultivators were, but according to his usual temperament, even if the other party was a bad person, since they came to the door and waited so politely, he would still have to respond with courtesy. When he went out to see the two men, their elegant demeanor and divine aura made him doubt what Zhao Xin Yuan had said. Now, seeing Zhao Xin Yuan's reaction, he was also startled, and quickly turned his head to look at Yue Qing and the others, only to see that they hadn't moved at all.

  Yue Qingdao said: "Is that what your master says about us? Has he told you that the Wutai Sect has been divided into two factions since four years ago? Those lecherous and debauched monks and Taoists he mentioned have all been driven out of the mountain by me, and they've fled to Ci Yun Temple."

  "My master only said that the five-tai monks and Taoists are all lustful and depraved, and it's unbearable to meet them. If you can kill them, then kill them to eliminate the evil for the people; if you can't kill them, then hurry up and escape."

  Yue Qing slightly furrowed his brow: "Your master is also a monk, a disciple of the Three Treasures, and yet he speaks of us in such a way behind our backs, it's really not proper."

  "Evil demons and heretics, everyone sees them and executes them!"

  Yang Li was possessed by a demon on his left, and a demonic path said with great anger, slapping the table: "What kind of thing is your master? What right does he have to slander our Wutai Sect like this?"

  "Yue Qing waved his hand to stop Yang Li, and said to Zhao Xin Yuan: "Put away your flying sword. Your skills are not refined, and you're waving it around recklessly, hurting others again. If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't need to lift a finger. With just a thought, I could scatter your soul and spirit. Even if my disciple wanted to harm you, it would be as easy as turning their hand over. Whether you have a sword in your hand or not, it's all the same. If we were really like what your master said, how could you have lived until now? I originally had some respect for your master, but today, looking at your words and actions, I'm very disappointed. As a disciple of San Bao, he speaks ill of others behind their backs, which is two-tongued; he slanders us as evil demons and monsters, which is evil speech; he wants to kill us all, which is killing karma. Moreover, there's greed for fame, anger, ignorance, and great arrogance in his heart. He has already broken six of the ten good deeds, and it will be difficult for him to attain enlightenment. In the future, he may even fall into the three evil paths."

  "You scoundrel!" Zhao Xinyuan angrily said, "My master is a heroic and righteous person with a compassionate heart. As the saying goes, 'A Buddha's anger is like a Vajra, a Bodhisattva's humility is like a lowered brow', all for the sake of sentient beings. You slander the disciples of the Three Jewels, aren't you afraid of being sent to the Avici Hell where your tongue will be pulled out?"

  Yue Qing smiled and said, "I just pointed out some mistakes of your master, and you want to send me to the Tongue-Pulling Hell? Then what about your master who falsely accused us of being evil demons behind our backs? Shouldn't he be sent to a worse hell? The hells are not created by Buddha, but are formed by the karma of all living beings. He can neither send anyone to hell nor pull anyone out of hell directly. People must cultivate and attain enlightenment on their own. If your master wants Buddha or Bodhisattva to do him a favor, that's just wishful thinking. Not only is it delusional, but also he distinguishes right from wrong, good from evil..."

  "How can you tell right from wrong and distinguish good from evil? Are all people in the world supposed to be like you, unable to differentiate between good and evil?"

  "The Sixth Patriarch Hui Neng said: If a true practitioner does not see the worldly phenomena, the Sutra of Complete Enlightenment also says 'not respecting and holding precepts, not despising and destroying prohibitions'. A person who strictly observes the precepts and is virtuous and respected, if you show respect to him, it is not considered as merit. On the other hand, a lustful and evil monk or Taoist, if you still treat him with courtesy and politeness, without speaking ill of him, being arrogant, or giving rise to anger, this is truly the Bodhisattva state."

  "Pshaw!" Zhao Xinyuan said loudly, "The demonic path is deceitful and unreasonable, using strong words to seize the truth..."

  Yue Qing waved his hand: "Your swordsmanship is too poor, I don't want to take advantage of you. Since you are a disciple of Yi Fan, I'll discuss Buddhist teachings with you. Who knew that you didn't even understand the Five Precepts and Ten Virtues of Buddhism, let alone the Six Paths and Three Realms? You're truly a famous but useless scholar! Alright, sit down on the side and don't make any noise!" As he spoke, Zhao Xin Yuan had already been restricted by his magic, involuntarily putting down his sword and walking back to his original position to sit down. He sat up straight with his hands behind his back, looking solemn and silent, only his eyes rolling around helplessly.

  Tao Jun looked at Zhao Xinyuan with concern, and Yue Qing said: "It doesn't matter, he scolds me repeatedly, but I won't stoop to his level. His master, Shi Fan, is a fellow disciple of the Emei Sect's Suffering Head Buddha Gate, and the Emei Sect has been at odds with our Wutai Sect for hundreds of years. It's only natural that they would speak ill of us behind our backs. I've cultivated Taoism for 300 years, so I still have some magnanimity. This time, I came out of the mountains to head towards Sichuan and Yunnan, where a new demonic cave has emerged, and countless demons are gathering there. So, I need to go take a look. When I calculated the divination, it showed that this time I should recruit some destined disciples, so I came here first to guide you into our sect. Your foundation is good, and your character is pure and kind, so I've already agreed to accept you as my disciple. However, as the saying goes, 'a master chooses his disciple, and a disciple also chooses his master.' I'm willing to teach, but you must be willing to learn. This is a mutual agreement, so let's see how you feel about it."

  Tao Jun was thoroughly convinced by his demeanor, although Zhao Xin Yuan had said a lot of bad things about the Wu Tai Pai before, but no matter how he looked at it, Yue Qing was a great virtuous immortal, and not at all like the despicable and evil Taoist that Zhao Xin Yuan had described. He had also been fond of martial arts since childhood, admiring those who could fly over rooftops and walk on water, and later hearing about the existence of Xian Jia techniques, he was even more envious. After begging many times, Zhao Xin Yuan said that his swordsmanship was also newly learned and he didn't have the qualifications to take on a disciple. But today, a big opportunity had fallen from the sky, how could he let it go? As soon as Yue Qing finished speaking, he knelt down and kowtowed, saying with gratitude and joy: "Master is above! Please accept your disciple's bow!"