The Three Great Illusions of Life (Seeking Recommendations and Collections!)

When mentioning the Ming Cult in the world of the Golden Book, the first impression is naturally The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber.

But in reality, the Ming Cult had existed long before that.

It originated in Persia, originally known as Manichaeism, and was introduced to the Central Plains during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty, around the year 700.

It is now 1062 in the Song Dynasty; Zhang Wuji became the leader of the Ming Cult at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, serving as the thirty-fourth leader in the year 1356.

This means the Ming Cult had been in the Central Plains for over six hundred and fifty years, spanning the Tang, Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties, with over thirty leaders in total.

Zhang Wuji passed the position to Yang Xiao, and it was likely wiped out by Zhu Yuanzhang later on; the claim of it lasting a thousand years is an exaggeration.

By this calculation, averaging it out, there was a new leader every twenty years.

Therefore, the Ming Cult has likely reached about its eighteenth generation by now.

The leader of this era is not famous, but in a few years, one of the most colorful figures in the history of the Ming Cult will make an appearance.

Fang La!

Mentioning him, most people think of the man suppressed by Liangshan in Water Margin.

In reality, there was indeed a person named Song Jiang in history who also rebelled, but the scale was very small.

How small?

He only had thirty-six men under his command.

They were also the prototypes for the later Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits.

Yet at that time, the military power of the Northern Song had rotted to the core; with only thirty-six men, Song Jiang actually ran rampant through Heishuo and Jingdong, and tens of thousands of government troops dared not resist him.

However, that was only temporary; the imperial court soon dispatched troops, and Song Jiang was defeated and surrendered.

But Song Jiang did not participate in the campaign against Fang La, because by the time he surrendered, Fang La was already nearing defeat.

Song Jiang's surrender was not his true intention; it was to preserve his strength. When the time was ripe, he raised the banner of justice again, but the second uprising failed quickly, and all thirty-six men were killed.

Compared to a roving bandit group like Song Jiang's, Fang La was the true heart-and-soul threat to the Great Song imperial court.

At the beginning of his uprising, it had the momentum of the Yellow Turban Rebellion at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. Using the religious form of the Ming Cult to bewitch the hearts of the people, Fang La proclaimed himself the Holy Duke and set his reign title as Yongle. He gained the support of the common people, captured prefecture after prefecture, and shook the southeast.

At the height of his power, his forces numbered three hundred thousand.

Although they were a motley crew, this number was still quite considerable.

But precisely because Fang La established a regime—even planning to divide the river to defend it and gradually plot to overthrow the Song Dynasty within ten years—Emperor Huizong of Song could no longer sit still. He dispatched his most elite Imperial Guards, a massive army of one hundred and fifty thousand, to crush the Fang La regime in one fell swoop.

That was history; in the world of the Golden Book, the Ming Cult became a powerful martial arts faction, which is why Huang Shang was introduced.

In The Legend of the Condor Heroes, Zhou Botong recalls that Huang Shang led troops to wipe out Fang La, displaying his peerless divine skills for the first time, killing most of the Ming Cult's Dharma Kings and envoys to quell that rebellion.

Therefore, Huang Shang and the Ming Cult were mortal enemies.

To be precise, the Great Song imperial court represented by Huang Shang and the rebellious class represented by the Ming Cult were mortal enemies.

One can imagine how delighted Wu Que was when he discovered that this Fairy He and her maid were members of the Ming Cult.

However, it was merely a flicker of emotion; his breathing grew slightly heavy, his expression shifted, and he suddenly tilted his head to dodge.

Snap!

In an instant, wood chips flew as a palm, hard as if cast from iron, pierced through the wooden board covering the secret passage entrance and struck toward Wu Que.

Wu Que dodged with a tilt of his head, his folding fan sweeping out to strike directly at the Taiyuan acupoint on the enemy's wrist.

But the hand retracted instantly, and the entire wooden board shattered as a figure lunged at him with immense, rigid force.

It was none other than Fairy He.

This "divine calculator" who had revealed her true colors was a rather plump woman.

It was evident that she was quite advanced in age, but with hair like silk and a dignified, benevolent air, she truly possessed the appearance of a fairy.

At this moment, He was filled with shock and rage.

As a member of the Ming Cult opposing the government, the secret passage beneath the Fairy Temple was undoubtedly her crucial escape route.

Thus, the entrance was located right beneath the meditation cushion where she sat.

Once an incident occurred, she would burn the temple, take the large sums of money and land deeds, and flee through the passage.

But tonight, someone had snuck into the secret passage without a sound to eavesdrop on their conversation.

What her disciple had just spoken of were matters that could not see the light of day; once exposed, years of effort would be rendered futile.

Harboring the intent to kill, He swept her gaze across the room and saw three people. Aside from the man she was fighting who possessed extraordinary internal energy, the other two showed no signs of martial arts training, which put her mind at ease. She immediately unleashed a storm-like offensive upon Wu Que.

This old woman, even if she isn't a Left or Right Protector, is at the level of the Four Great Dharma Kings!

A true expert reveals their skill with a single move; this old woman's strength was not to be underestimated.

But so what?

Wu Que unfolded his folding fan, his movements flowing like clouds and water. His wrist turned with incredible dexterity, leaving a phantom image of a peony before him, catching He's attacks without a single miss and dissolving them into nothingness.

This was the martial art of the Night Emperor from The Legend of the Great Flag Heroes, the Incense-Cutting Sword Art. The Night Emperor's successor, Tie Zhongtang, was Chu Liuxiang's master, who later passed this set of martial arts on to the Fragrant Commander.

Wu Que utilized the Bright Jade Art, a style that was as aesthetically pleasing as it was practical; with a series of parries and strikes, he seized the initiative in an instant.

Seeing the exquisite nature of his techniques, He gritted her teeth and channeled sixty years of internal energy into a single palm strike.

This was a move intended to overwhelm through sheer force; the secret chamber was cramped, and if Wu Que chose to dodge, he would inevitably expose his two ordinary companions. Only by forcing him to take the blow head-on could she hope for a swift victory.

Yet, Wu Que merely offered a cold smile. With a circular motion of his palm, that surging, violent gale was redirected, slamming back toward her instead.

Caught off guard, He was forced to meet the blow with her left palm. Her face paled as she flew backward, a sweet taste rising in her throat as she spat out a mouthful of blood.

What shocked her even more was the familiarity of the technique: "Great Shift of Heaven and Earth?"

Wu Que smiled and transmitted his voice: "It is not only your Ming Cult that possesses the art of borrowing force to strike back. However, I am quite fond of the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth, so I shall naturally go to Bright Peak to claim it!"

What he had just displayed was, naturally, the Moving Flower Grafting Jade, the technique that made the Moving Flower Palace a terror to the martial arts world in the Handsome Siblings.

His choice to enter the Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils world was, in fact, driven by his desire for the Murong Clan's Star-Shifting and the Ming Cult's Great Shift of Heaven and Earth.

These three were all signature martial arts centered on redirecting force, and Wu Que was preparing to fuse their strengths to create his own unique ultimate technique, aiming to advance to the two-star level.

Having succeeded with one move, Wu Que did not waste words with He. He unleashed the Incense-Cutting Sword Art, determined to end the battle as quickly as possible and capture her alive.

Though it takes time to recount, all of this occurred in a mere heartbeat. Amidst the swirling gusts of wind, the green-clad maidservant rushed into the secret chamber. Seeing He bleeding from the corner of her mouth and losing the upper hand, she was struck with terror. Her gaze swept the room, and she lunged toward Huang Shang and his companion.

"A decent sparring partner!"

Huang Shang's eyes brightened. He gripped the Zhuge Pen and took the initiative to meet her head-on.

Watching Huang Shang's tall back, Nightingale shielded herself behind him, her heart immediately filling with joy: See! He may be cold on the surface, but he must have feelings for me deep down!