Ruyi, Prayer Beads, Fa Wendao

The Southern Dynasty were known for their elegance and refinement, and Jiankang a famous capital city.

The imperial city is nestled between two mountains to the north, with golden tiles and red walls, majestic and magnificent.

The inner city is relatively flat and extremely prosperous, with houses, mansions, restaurants, palaces and temples standing side by side, and the lake scenery attracts literati and celebrities to linger there.

The outer city is more expansive, with the world-famous Qinhuai River flowing through it. The brothels on both banks are adorned with flowers, and the women are all beautiful. Twenty-four bridges span the water, and lanterns burn all night long.

Whenever chivalrous figures from the martial world arrive, drawn by her reputation, they inevitably find countless reasons to clash, driven by jealousy, courage, and a thirst for battle.

Or they might arrange to compete, solely for fame, as a stepping stone to advancement, hoping to join a powerful family and secure a position as a retainer.

The scenery is beautiful today, and at the narrowest point of the river, long ropes connect the flower houses on both banks.

Lanterns hung from long ropes, but even in broad daylight, they were not yet lit.

The lanterns are decorated with printed gold patterns, and their exquisite craftsmanship is enough to make people stop and admire them.

Song Zixian looked like a middle-aged scholar, wearing a square hat and white clothes. He had a long, black beard and held a brass ruyi in his hand. He stood on a wooden bridge, looking up at the lanterns.

Suddenly, two swordsmen leaped out of the brothel and began their duel on a long rope suspended in mid-air, drawing gasps of surprise.

The reflections of over a hundred lanterns on the water's surface swayed rapidly.

The water surged and washed away all the scenery.

Suddenly, a drop of bright red blood fell into the water.

One of the finalists, blood gushing from his throat, fell into the water from the long rope.

The victor laughed heartily on the rope and bowed to all four sides.

Some rogues and scoundrels from both sides of the strait, regardless of whether they knew each other or not, all raised their voices to greet each other.

The victor, full of pride, returned to the brothel, but as he stepped onto the railing, his body stiffened, his clothes tore at the chest, a spurt of blood gushed out, and he collapsed.

Song Zixian stroked his beard with his left hand, a faint smile on his face.

It was as if the expressions of shock and despair on the faces of the two people who had fallen into the water were the kind of spectacle he wanted to see.

"I just love seeing that incredulous look on other people's faces."

"Then you really are sick!"

On the other side of the wooden bridge, a dignified-looking man with a thick beard walked towards them.

He was dressed in brocade robes and fine red silk brocade, but he had no hat or crown on his head, and his long hair was draped over his shoulders. He had a long string of prayer beads hanging on his chest and a small string of prayer beads hanging on his left hand.

This was clearly a devout Buddhist layman, and also the uncle of the head of the Xiao Clan family, one of the three great families of the Southern Dynasty, Xiao Shexin.

"Two fine swordsmen, they might be useful in the future. You disrupted their energy with your gaze, causing them to unleash their most brilliant moves, only to lose their lives in the process. What a waste."

Xiao Shexin twirled the prayer beads, "You've been with the Hou Clan since you came from Lingling Commandery, how come you still act like a bandit?"

"Although the Hou Clan practices demonic Demonic Dao, they are still a noble family with a refined style. They carefully select their members; how could they possibly harm people so casually in the street?"

Hou Tianyuan, the head of the Hou Clan, is now the Grand Marshal and General of the Southern Dynasty, but in his youth, he served as the Governor of Xiang Province and was granted the title of Lingling Commandery.

Song Zixian was the top martial arts master in Lingling Commandery at the time. He had connections in both the legitimate and underworld circles, colluded with martial arts forces, supported bandits to enhance his own power, and lined his own pockets. He seemed to be poised to carve out his own territory and become a king.

But the practice of harboring bandits to enhance one's own prestige is a trick that the Hou Clan has already played before.

Within six months of Hou Tianyuan taking office, he had subdued Song Zixian.

Rumor has it that the two had a seven-time duel.

After three draws and four defeats, Song Zixian joined the Hou Clan.

Because of this defeat, he was excluded from the ranks of the Six Patriarchs of the Southern Dynasty, but he was still a great master who Attaining the Dao enlightenment for decades.

When the younger generation of the Hou Clan saw him, they all addressed him as "Grand Uncle" and treated him with great respect.

"Master Xiao's advice is absolutely correct."

Song Zixian chuckled lightly, not bothering to argue with him, and went straight to the point, "The Xiao Clan should have heard about the news from Denglai Mountain Market by now."

"A young-looking enlightened Attaining the Dao."

Xiao Shexin remained calm and composed, "Regardless of his actual age, he certainly has some of the habits of a young man; he's too impetuous."

"Not only did they provoke the Xiao Clan and Celebration of the Sage Temple, but they also allegedly killed Shen Minglai, a subordinate of the Hou Clan, and they even set up shop in a place like Denglai Mountain Market."

Song Zixian laughed and said, "So, Celebration of the Sage Temple will also send a master to help?"

Xiao Shexin simply said, "Isn't it enough for the two of us to go together?"

Song Zixian stroked his beard. "Master Xiao, don't joke like that."

In recent decades, whenever an Attaining the Dao being has broken a certain tacit agreement.

Therefore, among those who maintain this tacit understanding, there will be at least three Attaining the Dao individuals who will simultaneously come to offer advice and persuasion.

The main reason is that there are precedents.

If a solitary Attaining the Dao person were to visit and offer advice, they might be plotted against and killed by a junior.

Two Attaining the Dao beings are not enough to guarantee success; three are necessary.

Moreover, among these three Attaining the Dao beings, there would be none who had only recently broken through to the Dao and whose cultivation methods were incomplete.

They must all be seasoned veterans, seasoned in the mortal world, capable of advancing, retreating, and pursuing at will, with their cultivation honed to perfection.

"Celebration of the Sage Temple meant that no master would actually intervene, but they did bring in a Dai Clan."

Xiao Shexin slowly said, "Back then, the remnants of the Dai Clan fled to the Northern Dynasty, and it was thanks to the protection of Celebration of the Sage Temple that they were able to grow stronger again."

"Now that Celebration of the Sage Temple intends to deepen its alliance with the aristocratic families of our Southern Dynasty, the Dai Clan should naturally reciprocate, lest they harbor resentment and secretly sabotage us in the future."

Song Zixian nodded and said, "I see. So we need to put things out in the open first."

"But back then, Dai Faxing's attainment of the Attaining the Dao realm was largely due to luck. Attaining the Dao attained by the descendants of the Dai Clan, what is their strength? Can they compare to us?"

Xiao Shexin mentioned this person, his expression turned somewhat unpleasant, yet also showed a hint of admiration.

Do you remember the person who was chased and killed by the Yellow Mountain Ancestor back then?

"The Qiantang Calamity Goose, the Fa Wendao?"

Song Zixian guessed something, "This person hadn't yet attained Attaining the Dao back then, but he managed to escape all the way to Denglai Mountain Market while being pursued by the Yellow Mountain Sect, gaining great fame. But in the end, it's rumored that he was still killed by the Yellow Mountain Ancestor, wasn't he?"

"Are you suggesting he's not dead, and therefore a member of the Dai Clan?!"

Xiao Shexin nodded slightly.

"The rumors about his death are just that—rumors. And you're wrong about another point: when he was being hunted by the Yellow Mountain Sect, he hadn't yet attained Attaining the Dao, but on the eve of being pursued by the Yellow Mountain Ancestor, he had actually crossed that line."

Xiao Shexin twirled her prayer beads. "That's why our Xiao Clan went to great lengths to help him cover his tracks and try to win him over."

If it weren't for the letter from Celebration of the Sage Temple reminding us at the time...

Fa Wendao, this remnant of the Dai Clan, might even infiltrate the Xiao Clan.

Song Zixian wanted to laugh, but upon reflection, she also felt a chill.

If Fa Wendao hadn't accepted the Xiao Clan's offer of allegiance, but instead had tried to infiltrate the Hou Clan, the Hou Clan probably wouldn't have noticed.

The Dai Clan was also skilled with knives back then, but this person's knife skills showed no trace of the Dai Clan's techniques.

The intelligence report clearly stated that he was a traitor to the White Horse Temple and had studied swordsmanship in places such as Wutai, Jiuhua, and Shaolin.

By the time he gained fame along the Qiantang River, his swordsmanship had become inextricably linked with his demonic arts.

It's as if these Buddhist martial arts styles were originally demonic arts.

This incident severely damaged the reputation of several renowned temples that had long been rivals to Celebration of the Sage Temple among Buddhist believers.

"More than ten years have passed, and I wonder what level his cultivation has reached."

Song Zixian was an experienced person and knew that the period immediately after one attains Attaining the Dao is a golden opportunity for rapid progress.

With enough cultivation techniques and guidance from masters, the first few years after attaining Attaining the Dao can be equivalent to decades of future life.

Fa Wendao comes from the Dai Clan, is familiar with the techniques of various Buddhist schools, was once hunted down by the Yellow Mountain Ancestor, and is also an ally of Celebration of the Sage Temple. His resources for cultivation are extremely abundant.

"Fortunately, this time he's going to join forces with us."

Xiao Shexin said solemnly, "But if he preemptively extends goodwill and successfully wins over that mysterious person, it might not be a good thing for us either."

Song Zixian was startled. "That's right, we shouldn't have delayed any longer."

Attaining the Dao master who has attained enlightenment can tread water across the sea, ride the wind over cliffs, walk straight through deserts, and feel no cold when walking on snow-capped mountains, with their breath flowing endlessly.

At that time, there was no vehicle in the world that could compare with their two feet.

Once they had reached an agreement, the two immediately stepped off the bridge.

Two figures appeared and disappeared in the dense crowd in Jiankang, almost unnoticed by the general public.

Only a few experts, vaguely sensing this, understood upon recalling the recent news they had received.

"We're heading to Denglai Mountain Market."

"After that mysterious master is expelled, I wonder if he will remain in the Southern Dynasty. If there is an opportunity, please invite him to our home for worship..."

"Give the order: use every means at your disposal to keep a close watch and see when that expert will be persuaded to leave Denglai Mountain Market!"

Xiao and Song were already far outside Jiankang City.

From Jiankang to Denglai Mountain Market, one sees mostly mountains, rivers, and cities, with few desolate places.

After walking for half a day, they arrived at the back hill of Shen Minglai's manor.

It was still afternoon.

The weather is hottest and most intense during the day.

The leaves and grass on the mountain were sun-dried, turning a vibrant green and emitting a fresh scent.

"You've arrived?"

On the cliff, Fa Wendao stood with his hands behind his back, dressed in black robes with gold thread and a famous sword at his waist, looking sideways at his back.

Song Zixian was slightly surprised. "How did you know we would Denglai Mountain Market from here?"

"Shen Minglai died here in battle; I guessed you'd come here to take a look first."

Seeing that the other Fa Wendao raised a finger and placed it against his lips.

"Shh! Don't ask too many questions yet, just feel it for a moment."

Song and Xiao frowned, scrutinizing the situation intently.

Looking down at the town from the mountain, they quickly sensed it.

There was an aura invisible to ordinary people, like blue clouds and smoke, rolling and boiling, drifting into the sky.

Song Zixian, "This person..."

"He deliberately let out his aura, waiting for us."

Fa Wendao said in a low voice, "I arrived quite early; I originally wanted to see him first."

"But judging from his demeanor, I feel it wouldn't be good to meet him alone."

"Luckily you didn't arrive too late."

Fa Wendao patted the scabbard and stepped forward.

"Let's go down the mountain and try to persuade him together."

(End of this chapter)