Linghu Chong, the Child of Destiny

To Shazo's great regret, he could not find the Nine Yang Manual in the gaps of the Surangama Sutra, nor could he find similar martial arts in other Buddhist scriptures.

So he turned his attention to the Yijin Jing and mastered it completely in just a few days.

The Yijin Jing truly lives up to its reputation as the Shaolin Temple Temple's signature martial art, surpassing even the Purple Haze Divine Skill. However, after memorizing and mastering the entire text, he immediately abandoned his cultivation and showed no intention of practicing this top-tier skill.

According to the knowledge of the Demon Xiazhuo, one should not mix Buddhist and Daoist cultivation methods before formally embarking on the path of cultivation.

In the following period, relying on his photographic memory, he memorized all the Buddhist scriptures in the Scripture Repository as part of his knowledge base.

A month later, Shazo finished reading all the books in the Scripture Repository and then bid farewell to Master Fangzheng Fang Zheng descending the mountain.

To send off the unwelcome guest, Fang Zheng not only offered him generous travel expenses, but also told Shazo a story about Linghu Chong, the Eldest Senior Brother of the Mount Hua Sect.

This news disrupted Shazo's thoughts, prompting him to rush to Mount Wudang as quickly as possible.

In just one day, Shazo arrived at the foot of Mount Wudang.

Mount Wudang is the foremost blessed land of Daoism, and there are many Daoism sects on the mountain, not just the Wudang Sect.

However, the founder of the Wudang Sect, True Master Sanfeng, was extremely powerful and had an astonishingly long lifespan, remaining healthy throughout the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties.

During the Hongwu era, Hongwu Emperor searched for Zhang Sanfeng several times without success. He then issued an edict to rebuild the Wudang Sect and officially designated it as Imperial Taoist Temple.

During the reign of the Yongle Emperor, Mount Wudang was even granted to the Wudang Sect, making them the leader of the Daoist community.

You have to admit it.

If the Wudang Sect becomes the landlord and starts charging rent, everyone will really be unable to bear it.

To Shazo's utter bewilderment, all the Daoism sects on Mount Wudang were called Wudang Sect, such as: Wudang Quanzhen Sect, Wudang Qingwei Sect, Wudang Shenxiao Sect, Wudang Maoshan Sect, Wudang Zhengyi Sect, Wudang Hunyuan Sect, and so on.

The more Shazo inquired, the more confused he became, unable to distinguish who was who at all.

Finally, he simply ignored everything and ran towards the highest peak. In front of the Golden Summit Taoist Temple, he finally saw an old Daoist priest with a dignified and otherworldly air.

Behind the old Daoist priest stood two burly men with simple, honest faces. Their auras were powerful, like two guardian deities. Xia Shazo said with a forced smile, "Daoist Chongxu, it's truly not easy to find your Wudang Sect. This junior, Shazo of the Mount Hua Sect, greets you."

The two burly men felt nothing, but Chongxu sensed a clear hostility from Shazo's aura, knowing that this young man had come to cause trouble.

He sighed and asked, "Young Master Xia, your inner energy is perfectly balanced, and you have no True Qi left. You have actually cultivated to the point of returning to simplicity. This old Daoist is truly ashamed."

"I just don't understand why you, young hero, choose to come to my Mount Wudang, and why you harbor such great hostility?"

Shazo chuckled and said, "Daoist Chongxu, do you take me for a child?"

"Last month I was studying scriptures at Shaolin Temple when I heard you went to see my Eldest Senior Brother and said some things you shouldn't have."

The passage particularly mentions a line: "Mr. Yue has a humble appearance, but his magnanimity is somewhat lacking—"

Daoist Chongxu bowed and said, "That's not what I meant—"

Shazo interrupted him with a laugh, "This is Master Fangzheng told me. Are you saying he's lying, or are you trying to deceive me?"

Daoist Chongxu:

Shazo chuckled for a while before continuing, "I think Master Fangzheng wouldn't dare lie, because he knows me very well, while you, Daoist, don't know me well enough."

Shazo reached out and a thorny branch flew up from the roadside bushes and landed in his hand. The thin branch was very straight and pleasing to the eye, making one want to whip something.

He flicked his hand, and all the green leaves on the brambles shot out. Some flew into the bushes, scattering large patches of broken branches and leaves, while others plunged into the ground, embedding themselves deeply into the stone steps.

Although he did not practice the Yijin Jing, Shazo read the scripture for a month and, through analogy, his inspiration surged, and he made a significant leap forward, his Internal Cultivation increasing dramatically.

"Flying Flowers and Plucking Leaves can all be used to make stones!"

The burly man behind Daoist Chongxu exclaimed in horror, and the Master himself also changed his expression drastically, drawing his long sword from his waist with a gloomy look.

Shazo continued laughing, "Daoist Chongxu, now that you know my power, you still dare to draw your sword—"

"You think I lack the resolve to use my power? Do you really want to experience it for yourself?"

"People will die."

Daoist Chongxu's breathing became heavy, and after a moment he finally asked, "How many people died at Shaolin Temple?"

"How many people died?" Shazo shook his head and said, "No one died at Shaolin Temple, only two Great Monk, about ten junior monks, and about a hundred martial monks were injured."

Daoist Chongxu smiled, "Young Hero Xia is kind-hearted, this humble Daoist—"

Don't praise me!

Shazo interrupted Daoist Chongxu, saying, "I held back at Shaolin Temple because I attacked Shaolin Temple for my own selfish reasons. If I had caused heavy casualties at Shaolin Temple, the situation would have been unmanageable."

"But why did I attack Mount Wudang today? Was it because you, Daoist Chongxu, offended my master, or because you tried to do something to my Eldest Senior Brother, threatening the safety of my Mount Hua Sect?"

"Therefore, I have a legitimate reason to attack this time. If Daoist Chongxu doesn't give me a satisfactory explanation, I won't let the Wudang Sect off easily."

Daoist Chongxu sighed, dejectedly sheathed his longsword, clasped his hands in a deep bow, and performed three deep bows.

"Young Master Xia, I broke my vow of silence and offended your master, Sect Leader Yue Buqun. Please accept my apology."

Shazo nodded slightly and said, "Since you are so sincere in your apology, I will accept your apology on behalf of my master, and let the matter of offending my master be forgotten."

"But what was your purpose in approaching my senior brother Linghu Chong and saying those things?"

"Daoist Chongxu, please consider carefully before you answer."

"When I heard about this, my first thought was that you wanted to seduce Senior Brother Linghu Chong and create another rift within our Mount Hua Sect, triggering an internal strife similar to the Sword Qi Dispute."

"If you cannot dispel my doubts, I—would not hesitate to massacre the Mount Wudang."

"Please don't try to threaten me with the name of the Imperial Taoist Academy. My current strength is enough to impersonate Immortal."

"A Imperial Taoist Academy established during the Yongle era, and a living, breathing Immortal, Daoist Chongxu —which do you think is more important to the current Jiajing Emperor?"

"You don't need to threaten me with the name of True Master Sanfeng."

"I will massacre the Wudang Sect, but I will not extinguish Wudang Sect traditions."

"If True Master Sanfeng is no longer here, then your deaths will have been in vain."

Even if True Master Sanfeng were still alive, he would only uphold the Wudang tradition, not protect each Wudang disciple, and he would certainly not protect Wudang's power.

Daoist Chongxu was completely speechless.