Chapter 473 The Masters Have Gathered!
After the two ushers from the Gezao Sect sized up the Sanhuang Sword Zhang Cunyi was carrying with him, they smiled at the same time, cupping their hands, then said, "It turns out to be the fellow disciples of the Qingcheng Sect. Please come in. Please come in!"
Zhang Cunyi also cupped his hands and smiled. He looked at Du Fei and the others. "Who is this?" he asked curiously.
Without waiting to be introduced, Du Fei smiled and saluted with one hand. "I"m Du Fei from the Quanzhen Dragon Sect!"
Wei Qing also smiled and saluted. "I am Wei Qing!"
Zhang Cunyi smiled and returned the salutes. Finally, his eyes fell on Yue Sheng. When their eyes met, his body immediately shook slightly. He subconsciously frowned, narrowed his eyes, and said, "Then this must be Three-eyed Zhen Ren, Yue Sheng!"
Yue Sheng snorted and clasped his hands behind his back, saying calmly, "Indeed!"
Zhang Cunyi saw that Yue Sheng was arrogant, a person filled with pride. How could he bear to see someone be even more arrogant than him? He snorted and said, "I heard that Zhenren Yue settled a score with Zhenren Li before and almost harmed mortals. I don"t know who won and who lost."
Yue Sheng frowned and glanced at Wei Qing unhappily as if he was annoyed that she had made this matter a hot topic and caused it to spread throughout the Cultivation World.
When Wei Qing saw Yue Sheng glaring at her, she guiltily stuck out her tongue. She was about to say something in his defense, but Zhang Cunyi laughed and said, "In fact, victory or defeat is not important. What"s important is that we don"t let ordinary people find out anything about our fighting, and we can"t hurt others. Otherwise, the Shentong of our cultivators" fights will be in vain."
With this, Zhang Cunyi smiled at Du Fei, "Zhenren Du, you are the big brother. You need to supervise your Shidees when they practice kung fu. Otherwise, they will harm others and themselves eventually!"
His words made all the people of the Quanzhen Dragon Sect so livid that they almost lost their tempers right then and there. Yue Sheng even widened his eyes, stared at Zhang Cunyi, and clenched his fists tightly.
As soon as the chunky usher from the Gezao Sect took in the scene, he immediately tried to smooth things over and said, "Oh, we are all friends here. Even if you have a grievance, let"s board the ship first. How can we be so angry now? Zhenren Du, Zhenren Zhang, Zhenren Yue, please come aboard!"
His skinny companion also tried to persuade them. "That"s right. Two thousand years ago, we all came from the same roots. Why should we quarrel with each other?"
Yue Sheng wanted to excel over others. He sneered and said, "Who says we"re the same? Is that appropriate?"
Zhang Cunyi sneered. "Yes, of course it"s not appropriate for you!"
Yue Sheng"s eyes widened and he was about to lose control of his temper. Wei Qing saw a few people wearing Daopaos walking over from a distance. She quickly changed the topic and said, "Hey, look, there are some other people over there. Hey, why are they wearing Daopaos?"
Du Fei couldn"t help but exclaim, "Yeah, it"s been many years since I"ve seen a fellow dressed in a Daopao attend the Taoist a.s.sembly."
The Taoist a.s.sembly had been held for more than 1,300 years, ever since Emperor Xuanzong had ruled in the Tang period. In the beginning, it had been a grand gathering of the world"s Taoist cultivators. Non-Taoist sects could not partic.i.p.ate. Naturally, all of the people who partic.i.p.ated were Taoists in Daopao.
However, with the pa.s.sing of the years, in order to adapt to the development of the new dynasty and re-enter the Taoist a.s.sembly, many cultivators had chosen to wear casual clothes so as to avoid being noticed by the mortal world and avoid taboos of the government. Gradually, this had become a tacit rule amongst the major sects of the Taoist a.s.sembly.
But today, more than a dozen Taoist cultivators dressed in Daopao had suddenly come all the way here. How could they not be surprised by the sight?
Even Zhang Cunyi and Yue Sheng, who had been glaring at each other since the beginning, couldn"t help but be stunned and marveled in their hearts.
But when these people approached and they got a closer look, they found that the leader of the group had a dignified appearance with a cinnabar mole between her brows. She was the leader of the Zhengyi Sect, Zhang Tianshi"s sister, Zhang Ling. They then knew that this group of people wearing Daopaos were actually fellow disciples from the Zhengyi Sect!
Although the Gezao Sect and the Zhengyi Sect were involved in many shady affairs behind closed doors, they were still very n.o.ble on the surface. The two Taoist ushers immediately went up to greet them. The fatter one saluted with one hand and said, "It turns out that the Zhengyi Sect"s fellow members have come. Please come inside, please come inside!"
A dozen people followed Zhang Ling, and the one who followed the most closely was her disciple, Zou Ping. Next to Zou Ping was the imposing w.a.n.g Lingfei and a well-behaved little girl who was also dressed in a Daopao. She was the one who had monitored Li Yundong"s younger sister with Zhang Ling before.
Zhang Ling didn"t even look at the two of them, nor did she glance at the other people from the Quanzhen Dragon Sect and the Qingcheng Sect, simply raising her head and walking inside. Since the leader was adopting such a manner, the others naturally followed. Only the younger sister looked at Du Fei, Yue Sheng, Zhang Cunyi and the others curiously. Then, she stuck out her tongue and quickly followed them.
The behavior of the Zhengyi Sect made them, who had originally wanted to patronize the people of the Zhengyi Sect, feel embarra.s.sed. The people of the Gezao Sect were angry in their hearts and grumbled, "Oh, I thought Yue Sheng was arrogant enough, but I hadn"t expected that Zhang Cunyi of the Sichuan Chengdu would be even more arrogant than Yue Sheng! Now it seems that the most arrogant person is yet to come! The Zhengyi Sect simply ignores everyone! Are they so arrogant just because they can rely on their own sect?"
Yue Sheng and Zhang Cunyi also stared at the Taoist priests of the Zhengyi Sect. Just as they were about to start sneering and mocking them, another Taoist priest in a Daopao suddenly followed up. Although the Taoist priest was in a hurry, he had a handsome face and his eyes were as bright as stars. At a glance, one could tell that he was a powerful young master.
They took a closer look and saw that his Daopao was inlaid with golden lines, and there was a black-and-white Eight Trigrams pattern on his chest.
Du Fei looked over and found that the man was none other than Zhang Tianhe, Yu Yang Zhenren, whom he had met once on Mount Tianlong!
"Hmm? Zhang Tianhe? Has he recovered from his injuries?" Du Fei was slightly stunned. He took the initiative to step forward and make a polite salute. "Zhenren Zhang, how have you been?"
Zhang Tianhe stopped with a smile and said, "It"s you, Zhenren Du. Nice to meet you!"
Du Fei said with a smile, "Why are you walking behind them?"
Zhang Cunyi, who was standing to one side, was very unhappy after being treated coldly by Zhang Ling and others. At this time, he decided to take out his anger on Zhang Tianhe. He sneered and said, "Is it because you haven"t recovered from your injury after the battle at Mount Tianlong?"
Zhang Tianhe regarded the battle at Mount Tianlong as a great blot on his honor. When he heard Zhang Cunyi mention it, his face changed slightly. He made a palm salute with one hand and asked, "May I ask who you are?"
Zhang Cunyi snorted and said, "Zhang Cunyi! I"m from Qingyang Palace, Cheng Du!"
Zhang Tianhe flashed a cold smile and said sarcastically, "It"s Zhang Cunyi who was sent down the mountain by Li Yundong. So sorry I didn"t recognize you!"
Zhang Cunyi had fought with Li Yundong in private and suffered a loss. He had always thought that this had been kept under wraps and no one knew about it. He hadn"t expected Zhang Tianhe to speak out like this.
Zhang Cunyi"s face changed, and he was shocked in his heart. "How does he know?! Could it be that Li Yundong has been running his mouth about it everywhere? Humph, it must be so! This despicable man, I must teach him a lesson today!"
As the saying goes, people fight throughout their lives, and Buddhas fight for the thirty minutes required to burn a stick of incense. Although cultivators needed to be ascetic and indifferent to fame and wealth, their reputation for victory and defeat was more important than anything else.
And this was the beginning of the Taoist a.s.sembly. If he admitted to it, wouldn"t that mean he was inferior to Li Yundong? How could Zhang Cunyi, who certainly thought highly of himself, do something like encourage others and ruin his own prestige?
Zhang Cunyi sneered. "You"re spouting nonsense! I really don"t know what you"re on about!"
Yue Sheng, who had been satirized by Zhang Cunyi before, took the opportunity to add insult to injury and sneered. "If you don"t want others to find out, don"t do it in the first place! Well, Zhang Cunyi, haven"t you read any books? Oh, I really don"t know how your father can even let you come out in good conscience. Isn"t he afraid that you will make a fool of yourself?"
Zhang Cunyi suddenly became furious and glared at Yue Sheng wide-eyed. Yue Sheng did not show weakness, and his eyes were as sharp as knives. Zhang Tianhe, who was beside them, saw them glaring at each other like tigers about to strike, and he laughed amusedly. "Please do as you wish, I"m leaving now!"
Zhang Cunyi and Yue Sheng immediately turned their heads and said in unison, "Don"t go!"
Zhang Tianhe turned his head and grinned grimly. "What, do you want me to stay?"
"I"m just trying to see how powerful you are, Yu Yang Zhenren!" Zhang Cunyi sneered.
The Taoists of Gezao Sect, Du Fei and the others were all dumbfounded. The fatter Taoist said in a low voice, "Shishiong, what should we do? It seems that the situation is getting out of control!"
The thinner Taoist whispered back, "Forget it, let"s see how this dogfight unfolds!"
Meanwhile, when Wei Qing of the Quanzhen Dragon Sect saw that they were about to fight, she persuaded them, "Well, zip it. All of you have suffered losses from Li Yundong. As the saying goes, there is no grievance without a perpetrator. When Li Yundong comes later, it won"t be too late for you to fight!"
Hearing this, Zhang Cunyi, Yue Sheng, and Zhang Tianhe were stunned at the same time. Suddenly, they all felt the same hatred. Zhang Cunyi said sneeringly, "Will this Li Yundong guy even dare to come?"
Yue Sheng also said coldly, "If he does, I will make him thoroughly convinced this time."
Zhang Tianhe was silent, but a sharp light flashed in his eyes. Since he had been defeated by Li Yundong"s Heavenly Thunder last time, he had gone back to cultivate in seclusion. His cultivation kung fu was not like it had once been. He had been waiting for the day when he could wash away his disgrace.
Kris, John, and Alba, who were watching all of this from a distance, also stared at the Taoists in different outfits. Alba couldn"t help but ask, "Kris, what"s going on? Who are these people wearing long robes? Are they monks?"
Kris didn"t know whether to laugh or cry. "Don"t joke around. They"re Taoists, cultivators of Taoism. Buddhism comes from India, while Taoism is one of the local religions of China."
Only now did Alba understand. "Oh, so that"s how it is! But why are some of them dressed like that, while others are dressed differently?"
John shrugged and said, "This is a free country... at least, you can wear whatever clothes you want, right?"
Alba rolled her eyes at him. "Thank you for your explanation. I"m so satisfied with it! Then, Mr. Liberalism, can you tell me how we can enter and watch this so-called Taoist a.s.sembly? Could it be that we"ll be watching it from the sh.o.r.e later?"
John said with a bitter smile, "I can"t see it from the sh.o.r.e. You know, this ship is going to move!"
Alba turned her head to look at Kris. "Kris, hurry up and come up with some good idea!"
Kris spread her hands helplessly. "What can I do? We"re not Taoists!"
Alba couldn"t help but shout, "We came all the way from the United States to be here. Could it be that we"re really going to get stuck now?"
The three foreigners were staring at each other, all at a loss. Suddenly, Kris heard a familiar voice say, "Yundong, is it that ship? Why is the Taoist a.s.sembly being held here? It"s so strange!"
Kris turned her head to look, only to see a beautiful and lovely girl pressing herself against a tall, imposing man. She was speaking with a charming smile. Even though they were far away, Kris could still recognize her at a glance. This beautiful girl was none other than Su Chan, and the man next to her was Li Yundong himself!
Even though Kris came from a large family and had undergone a strict education, she couldn"t resist tugging at John"s arm in excitement. "John, look, who it is!"
At first, John didn"t have the energy to take a look, but when he did, his eyes suddenly widened and he jumped with excitement. He laughed and said, "It"s my master. My master is here!"
Alba blinked. "Master? Who? Could it be the Li Yundong guy you"ve been talking about? Is that b*stard here? Where? I"m going to scold him to death!"
John shouted excitedly into the distance, causing many pa.s.sers-by to look at him. Du Fei and the others also looked at the foreigner, and then he had a wry smile. He couldn"t help but glare at his younger sister. "Speak of the devil. Here he comes! Wei Qing, Wei Qing, you really are a jinx!"
Wei Qing acted as if she didn"t see Du Fei. She also saw Li Yundong at a glance and excitedly shouted, "Look, Zhenren Li is here!"
Zhang Cunyi, Yue Sheng, and Zhang Tianhe immediately looked at Li Yundong at the same time. There was a strong blast of Zhen Qi which enveloped them, like Mars. .h.i.tting the earth. The wind was strong, the murderous aura was fierce, and the killing intent was raging. It seemed that they would break into a fight in the next second.