"Prince Shenwei Yang Tuo? He's guarding the frontier, yet somehow his news is still so timely?" Hong Xuanji said. "You're nothing but a minor Daoist. A little favor goes to your head, and you think you can meddle in court affairs and seize the imperial power? You want your household wiped out, every last one of you?" "I've fought on the battlefield for many years, and never once have I seen the way of ghosts and spirits achieve anything great. Even a Ghost Immortal would have his soul scattered if he went onto the battlefield and was struck by the fierce yang energy of millions of men. To establish order under heaven, you must follow the righteous path, rely on yang strength, and wield military might." Hong Xuanji seemed to speak offhandedly, yet every word revealed his unmatched confidence and power. Once Qian Daozi got going, he was unstoppable. When Hong Xuanji heard Xiao Anran mention Meng Shenji, the leader of Taishang Dao, his eyes shifted, and a long-distant memory flashed through his mind. "Brother Daozi, since you've come here, I assume you didn't come only to paint." Hong Xuanji asked. "Brother Daozi, what brings you to Yujing Temple?" Hong Xuanji asked, lowering his guard. Xiao Anran knew there would be no fight, either. With a thought, the Yuanyang Sword flew back beneath the statue of the Dao Ancestor. Hong Xuanji took a single step forward, his tremendous strength stamping into the ground. At the same time, his blood and vital energy surged, raising his body temperature. A tremendous wave of heat seemed to bear down on them. The sword circling and dancing through the air appeared unable to withstand the invisible pressure of his fierce yang energy; even its flight seemed to slow, as though caught in a sticky mire. At the same time, in the Osmanthus Chamber of the Marquis Mansion, Hong Yi slept until the sun was already high before finally getting up. After he spoke, a ringing clang like a dragon's cry rang out from the offering table before the enormous statue of the Dao Ancestor. A three-foot-long, two-finger-wide sword, its entire surface covered in veins of red like the blood vessels in a human body, rose into the air and began circling and dancing around Xiao Anran. Over the past two days, things had been unexpectedly peaceful for him in the Marquis Mansion. Nothing at all had happened. Hong Xuanji had been busy with state affairs, staying in the palace's inner cabinet day and night without returning home, which had eased more than half of Hong Yi's worries. Hong Xuanji watched the flying sword of Blood Patterned Steel dance through the air, entirely unconcerned. He simply took a light step forward. "Hong Xuanji!" "Taishang Dao has emerged, and the women are all in brothels. Why ask me about them, Brother Xuanji? She's now Yujing's foremost beauty, Su Mu, and she's at the Flower Scattering Pavilion." Xiao Anran sneered. This was the legendary immortal steel of the Daoist schools, a treasured sword forged from Blood Patterned Steel. Qian Daozi glanced at the statue of the Dao Ancestor in the center of the hall and sighed. "This statue captures the essence of the creation of heaven and earth, and the transformation of the sun, moon, and thunder. Yet it still seems to lack a certain spirit. It cannot contain the entirety of the Great Dao. If one visualizes it and keeps it in one's heart, I fear it won't have the power to suppress all things and restore the divine soul." "What? Brother Shenji succeeded in his third reincarnation through corpse-shedding and bodily transformation? He's preparing to emerge into the world again? It's been twenty years since we parted. He left in such a hurry back then to undergo corpse-shedding deep in the mountains... By my reckoning, he must be eighteen or nineteen now. I just wonder where he was reborn after shedding his corpse, and what appearance he'll take this time." After laughing heartily, Hong Xuanji's expression settled into calm. "Xiao Anran, is this what you came to see me about today? You're toying with court officials. Under Dagan Empire's laws, you deserve at least three thousand miles of exile! Hmph! You even sent a letter to the inner cabinet. Fangxian Dao has some tricks, managing to bribe a palace eunuch who serves tea." "Ah, scholars keep the sages in their hearts, cultivate themselves to govern the world, and open the way to peace beneath heaven with vast, righteous energy. Daoists keep the Dao Ancestor in their hearts, creating heaven and earth and transforming all things, boundless and immense. Buddhists keep the Buddha in their hearts, understanding true suchness and their original nature. Though the ten thousand worlds turn upside down in a fleeting instant, nothing can move their original mind. The three schools' teachings all spring from the same source. It's a pity the Buddhist temples have gifted people who can reveal the essence in a single painting." The man who came out of the hall was none other than the Painting Saint, Qian Daozi. His painting skills reached the heavens and plumbed the earth; he could make the false seem real. It was said that he once painted a screen depicting a tiger for a nobleman. When someone entered the room and caught sight of it, they mistook it for a real tiger and were frightened to death. "So it's Brother Qian Daozi." Seeing the man with the paintbrush, Hong Xuanji's expression softened somewhat. "I've come to paint a supreme image of the Dao Ancestor for the three schools. Among the Great Zen Temple's three scriptures, the Past Amitabha Sutra was hailed as the foremost scripture on cultivating the divine soul. By studying it, one could become a Yang God and attain the immortal path. In truth, I think that scripture may not be so miraculous. Its methods of cultivation may not even surpass the Daoist schools' various visualization and spirit-preservation methods. But the scroll contains an image of Amitabha, which gathers within it the entire temperament, spirit, and majesty of Buddhism. Visualizing that image and keeping it in one's heart can suppress all evil spirits, clarify the many things of the past, and reveal one's original nature. The reason our Daoist schools lack a supreme secret art is simply that we lack an image of the Dao Ancestor capable of containing the Great Dao." "Is that so!" Hong Xuanji clasped his hands behind his back and fixed his gaze on Xiao Anran. "Back when my Dagan Empire established order under heaven, the people supported us and their hearts were with us. Even ghosts and spirits had to submit. We gave your three schools a chance by ordering you to suppress the rebellion. If you hadn't obeyed, you wouldn't be opening temples and receiving incense here today. You'd have met the same fate as the Great Zen Temple long ago!" It was sharp enough to cut jade and sever gold, and it increased the power of the divine soul's sword control tenfold, making the flying sword as nimble as an arm. At Hong Xuanji's words, Xiao Anran's golden face changed, and his hand twitched slightly. "Don't keep calling yourself a court official and threatening to wipe out households! You can scare those officials if you like, but you're not frightening me. I'd say your threats still fall a little short! Back when we besieged the Great Zen Temple, if the experts from our three schools hadn't held the line, you would have died beneath Monk Yinyue's Tathagata Fist. You wouldn't be strutting around like this now!" But he quickly came back to himself and laughed heartily twice. "What does it matter if he's shed his corpse three times? Until he survives the tribulation of thunder and becomes a Yang God, he's still just a Ghost Immortal. At most, his divine soul will be a little stronger and his Daoist arts a little more profound. So what if he finds me? Do you think I, a dignified court official, would care about some wild Daoist from beyond the world?" "Of course. But he can't spare the time. He says the Wusheng Dao and Zhenkong Dao are no trifling matter. It's entirely possible that the Future Non-Birth Sutra, one of the Great Zen Temple's three scriptures, fell into the hands of certain people, who then founded the two Daoist schools to plunge the world into chaos. If these two mysterious heretical sects join forces with the Eight Great Demon Immortals of the World, the trouble they cause could be immense. Taishang Dao has also sent someone out, so for now we'll cooperate, find the right moment, and wipe out the demon immortals and heretical sects." Xiao Anran continued. "Taishang Dao sent someone out? Where?" Hong Xuanji's heart stirred. This step landed with a rumble. The ground shook, and more than a dozen square flagstones bulged upward together. Even the Dandan Hall behind them shuddered, and the statue of the Dao Ancestor creaked. "Who awakes first from the great dream? All my life, I've known myself." The two seemed ready to fight to the death. "Hah..." Xiao Anran let out a long breath. "In that case, I'd like to see how your 'Wheel of Heavens Life and Death' will wipe out my Fangxian Dao." "Xiao Anran, don't show off these little tricks in front of me. Killing you would be as easy as turning over my hand. We're only twenty paces apart. I guarantee I'll smash your body before you can even send out your flying sword. Besides, your divine soul couldn't get anywhere near my body." Just then, a man holding a paintbrush walked out of the hall. He wore pale yellow silk robes and had graying hair; he seemed to be around fifty years old. "Brother Xuanji is as merciless as ever." "I've come to paint a supreme image of the Dao Ancestor for the three schools. Back then, the Past Amitabha Sutra, one of the Great Zen Temple's three scriptures, was hailed as the foremost scripture for cultivating the divine soul. By studying it, one could become a Yang God and attain the immortal path. In truth, I think that scripture may not be so miraculous. Its methods of cultivation may not even surpass the Daoist schools' various visualization and spirit-preservation methods. But the scroll contains an image of Amitabha, which gathers within it the entire temperament, spirit, and majesty of Buddhism. Visualizing that image and keeping it in one's heart can suppress all evil spirits, clarify the many things of the past, and reveal one's original nature. The reason our Daoist schools lack a supreme secret art is simply that we lack an image of the Dao Ancestor capable of containing the Great Dao." "Of course not. Prince Shenwei invited me to mediate, Brother Xuanji. Do you know of the Eight Great Demon Immortals of the World? And the words 'Wusheng Father, Vacuum Homeland'? Demons and heretical sects are now stirring up trouble and throwing the court into chaos. You alone may not be able to withstand them, especially since the demons have set their sights on you. You know Consort Yuan's true origins, don't you?" ...Xiao Anran, leader of Fangxian Dao, was renowned throughout the world for his Yuanyang Sword.
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