"How credible is the information you heard?"
There are a few lonely buildings scattered around the corner of Sidtan Temple. Occasionally, pilgrims who stray into them will rest and chat beside them to relieve the soreness after walking all day up the mountain. They are also responsible for delivering firewood. Mountain people who want to buy goods often stop here, stopping for a while before continuing their journey.
Wandering around the trees at the foot of the mountain, their shadows looked like withered grass swaying in the wind. Several people with their hats lowered remained silent. Only one of them said firmly: "Don't worry, I got it from the monk. That Jiang Liu'er from Prince Jingnan's Palace The mysterious man has disappeared without a trace. He appeared in the Sidtan Temple a few days ago, and then suddenly disappeared in the past few days. Looking at the whole temple, he must have hidden himself in this wilderness!"
But the doubts have not stopped, but are about to lead to a storm of endless debate.
"It doesn't matter where Jiang Liu'er is, the key is how can we defeat each other!? Everyone knows how the mantis stalks the cicada and the oriole follows, but once it is broken, it will not work in the future."
The man dressed as a young woodcutter kept talking, until he met the cold and fierce gaze on the unshaven face, and the air was silent for a moment. Finally, the woodcutter lowered his head and turned his gaze away and stopped.
"Hmph, you guys, don't make a mistake. The prince asked you to disguise yourself and hide in the Sittan Temple. He meant it, but what did you do? Do you really think you are a big shot? You have been dawdling for so long and you haven't gotten over it yet. I found something out of Monk Shiliu Tiangang, do you still plan to do business when you get back?"
After being scolded by the middle-aged Orion, the other three people dressed as a woodcutter and a businessman remained silent, with a look of worry on their faces. However, they did not dare to retort in the end. Only the other young man behind the businessman still looked a little aggrieved. .
The people gathering quietly at this time were none other than the five people known as the four masters of Pingxi Palace, namely "Yan-wing Sword" King He Dao, "Eight Immortal Swordsman" Xu Chongzhen and his junior brother, "Zonghe Fist" Huang Liang, "Snake" Jian Fu, a cunning figure, has now assembled the most powerful force in the palace, and it is obvious that it will not be as simple as going out to enjoy the flowers.
While Jiang Wen was taking action, others were also idle. There was already an undercurrent under the stagnant water in Xitan Temple.
People in the world often have a strange intuition, just like the cold light shining in each other's eyes, they can't hide their true intentions at all. Once the martial arts masters of Pingxi Palace took action, their efficiency was naturally not slow. They locked Jiang Wen's location in half a day.
The masters of the Pingxi Palace, headed by King He Dao, decided to remove the apparent obstacles first and create a guarantee for the purpose of their trip.
For this reason, King He Dao even used the name of Pingxi Palace to forcefully gather three other masters who seemed to be in harmony with each other, including Huang Liang and Jian Fu who were obsessed with the opportunity of the two immortals, Turtle and Crane, and Brother Xu Chongzhen, the eight immortal swordsman, would not let go.
However, Huang Liang and Jian Fu were very dissatisfied with this matter, and because King He Dao was born in the military, there was a lot of estrangement between his actions and the people in their circles, and there were many disagreements on weekdays.
In their eyes, the Tiangang monks are mysterious and extraordinary. Their actions are earth-shattering, but their retreat is calm. After several days of contact, there is not even a trace of martial arts practice. Unless a few old monks can do it overnight. They have to use up all their martial arts in a short time, otherwise they can only prove their martial arts from a side perspective. It has reached such a high level that the sound of sound is invisible and the world is inconceivable——
In the face of such a great opportunity, who is still in the mood to fight for life and death over trivial matters?
It's a pity that they are the disciples of Prince Pingxi's palace after all. King He Dao used the royal order this time, and Princess Pingxi didn't show any specific instructions or objections, so they could only give them enough face.
"King He Dao, it's not that we brothers are dissatisfied with you, but you have to make it clear what you want to do. Otherwise, if you falsely convey the meaning of the prince and princess, how will we know the truth?"
"Snake Hand" Jian Fu said with a smile the doubts in the minds of several people. It is more than enough for the four of them to work together to deal with King He Dao. The only reason for them to obey the orders is the mountain of King Pingxi. No matter what, You have to prevent the other party from using the tiger's skin as a banner.
"Humph, these few people have been working hard to 'find out the military situation' recently. The prince's palace is naturally aware of the rights and wrongs involved. But there is no way to continue like this. More and more masters are gathering in Xitan Temple. If we don't do something, , if you miss a good opportunity, you will regret it too late.”
King He Dao lowered his voice, then raised his eyes to glance at a few people, and suddenly asked: "Today, He will ask a few of you, who is the most difficult person to deal with in Xitan Temple at this time?"
This question is a little bit acute, and people in the world would rather admit defeat than give in. But this question is before us, and we only need to consider it comprehensively, and the result will naturally not be too difficult to come up with.
The "Eight Immortals Swordsman" Xu Chongzhen was mature and prudent. He took the lead to put down his burden and analyzed: "There are powerful enemies in Xitan Temple. In my humble opinion, the most difficult ones to deal with are naturally the elusive Thirty-Six Tiangang Monks and the unfathomable magical treasure. The Dharma King."
At this time, the dispute between monks and Taoists was fully revealed. In the view of Taoist priest Xu Chongzhen, these puzzling monks are all natural enemies, and fear is naturally at the top of their hearts. "Zonghe Fist" Huang Liang followed closely behind. objection.
"No, in terms of the origin of martial arts in Kangzang, how can it be compared with that of the Central Plains? This wonderful treasure Dharma King is just a pretender. I think the most difficult person to deal with in Xitan Temple is the Thirty-Six Tiangang Monk, if I don’t fight, I will fight with them to seek death.”
"Zonghe Fist" Huang Liang and "Snake Hand" Jian Fu looked at each other and nodded. The two of them had directly beaten the old monk's sharp edge in Wei Tuo Hall that day, and also experienced the miraculous martial arts. In their hearts, they had a deep love for Tiangang Monk. The awe and astonishment are naturally greater than those of the Dharma King who has only seen it from afar.
"Are you scared out of your wits so easily?"
King He Dao sneered coldly, his eyes slightly narrowed to reveal his evil aura, "He is not afraid of being seriously injured, are you so afraid of death?"
"It's hard to say. Just because you're not afraid of death doesn't mean you can beat them."
"Eight Immortals Swordsman" Xu Chongzhen's junior brother stuck his head out unconvinced, "Just saying that the martial arts of Jiang Liu'er that my senior brother and I met at the foot of the mountain far surpassed your Excellency. At this time, he also has the banner of Jingnan Prince's Palace to protect his body. I don't think so. It’s easier to deal with than the Thirty-Six Tiangang Monks.”
Xu Chongzhen signaled his junior brother with his eyes not to talk nonsense, but the junior brother was still angry and ignored his hints. He was not stopped by his senior brother until he finished speaking.
"Yingfeng, since you are not with other masters, please don't talk nonsense!"
This face is not for King He Dao, but for Prince Pingxi's Palace, Xu Chongzhen said, but he also admitted in his heart that what his junior brother said was very reasonable. Everyone here made a judgment based on their own experience, with different emphases. , naturally you will have different views.
However, even if several people have different opinions, there is an undoubted common point in their opinions, which is the "Thirty-Six Tiangang Monks" who have been dormant in Xitan Temple for unknown years. Regardless of whether such a veteran master Wherever it is placed, its mere presence is enough to make them walk on eggshells.
"Everyone, it seems that there is no objection to the threat to Tiangang Monk."
King He Dao ignored the swordsman's younger brother's deliberate provocation and said calmly, "Those six old monks are numerous and have great martial arts skills. We really have to deal with the natural forces, but the strength of the art of war is to attack the weak with the strong. Six We may suffer a loss against five, but we may not be able to take advantage when it comes to five against one!"
As soon as these words came out, everyone fell into deep thought, and then showed thoughtful expressions, and gradually guessed what King He Dao was referring to.
"Five against one? You mean, we are gathering this time to focus on dealing with one person?"
"Zonghe Fist" Huang Liang frowned slightly, his expression a little cryptic, "But those old monks usually meditate in the Zen temple and never leave the monk's house. Once they are attacked, they can't hide it from other people - if they can't If we win suddenly, we will be besieged on all sides."
"What a joke, why should we hit an egg against a stone?"
King He Dao raised his thick eyebrows and stared at the Eight Immortal Swordsman Xu Chongzhen and his junior disciples with a hint of a winner's smile.
"It's thanks to these two people that I mentioned Jiang Liu'er, a master of the Jingnan Palace, in Lao He's ears every day, so I came up with this method. You see, now we are 80% sure that he is related to Tiangang Monk. On weekdays, I live in isolation and form my own faction. Wouldn’t it be best to target five enemies to one..."
After the words fell silent, these sneaky shadows dressed as mountain people involuntarily followed King He Dao and looked up towards the cliff, staring at the dilapidated mountain house halfway up the mountain like a treasure hunt.
"There is no need to look for it. The person we are looking for is on this cliff now. As long as we can control him, we can make several Tiangang monks obedient - they can never let go of such a talented and outstanding junior disciple, because Just let the little things get lost, right?"
As soon as King He Dao said these words, several others took a breath of air.
Although such an unscrupulous style is despicable, it is difficult to guard against and the odds of winning are indeed not low.
The five first-rate masters calculated calculated deliberately and unintentionally. Even if the masters of swordsmanship were excellent in martial arts, they would inevitably suffer losses when their own side suddenly attacked. Once the situation fell into the pre-arrangement, it was really certain that the situation would be broken. If you were bolder, you might even It is not impossible for Yu to take the opportunity to deceive the two immortals Guihe and get clues.
Their breathing gradually became heavier. Several people seemed to be a little resistant to such behavior, but some special emotions had begun to affect their judgment - perhaps the desire for martial arts secrets, or the temptation to become famous, or perhaps The possibility of a life-and-death battle with martial arts masters made them less opposed to this plan.
The mountain house stands quietly on the mountainside of Full Moon Peak, with bamboo trees swaying gently on both sides, and furtive figures lurking around it.
A few people took off the homespun clothes that they wore as a cover for hunters and mountain people, and the rest of them were hurriedly empty-handed. Only King He Dao took out a long sword weapon that was not easy to attract people's attention from the shoulder pole, and held it firmly in his hand.
King He Dao leaned against the stone wall to signal with his eyes. Several other people quickly found a hidden position and seemed to have surrounded the outside of the house. So he stretched out his fingers and pulled the door panel, making a dull winter sound. Voice.
"Master, we are here to bring you firewood."
Imitating the accent of the local mountain people, King He Dao narrowed his eyes slightly and listened carefully to the sound of footsteps approaching from far away. As the rough door panel slowly opened, a thin, dark old face and a bald forehead were revealed.
"Amitabha, the donor can just put the firewood at the door. The money and food can be collected from the monk in the warehouse."
Master Anren pushed the door open and thanked him. Suddenly he heard the sound of fierce breaking wind ringing in his ears. From the corner of his eye, he saw a gleaming weapon heading straight for his head. The whistling sound was endless, and he could almost feel it. Bone-cutting pain.
The knife was cut close to the door panel, and half of the old monk's head was exposed. If he was not careful, his liver and brain would be bruised, and there was no way to survive.
Master Anren faced the steel sword head-on. The monk's robe was suddenly flung out from his body, turning into a fluttering black shadow that obscured his sight. Then he bent down and rolled away, staying close to the ground to resolve the attack.
The sword failed to hit, but instead slashed into the wooden door of the mountain house. It was stuck for a moment. When Master Anren saw this, he did not hesitate and swung out a Buddhist demon-subduing fist. The fist was strong and fierce, and for a moment he was no longer a skinny and ugly old monk, but suddenly he was a Buddhist Vajra standing tall and upright.
The other people in Anshen frowned and stared, wondering why King He Dao wanted to attack the old monk, but then they heard his angry rebuke.
"Hurry up and take action! This monk Anren's martial arts is not weak. If we don't get rid of him first, we will definitely frighten him!"
Weapon masters often tend to be partial, and now he was a little embarrassed. King He Dao returned his sword and tried to save him, but the sword did not obey his command. He was hit in the chest by the Demon-Suppressing Fist, and took two steps back. Master Anren He pressed forward with the Great Arhat Fist again. His old body was as tight as a bow, and his fists and kicks were powerful and majestic.
"Hey! Where did the thief come from!"
Master Anren exhaled a breath of turbid air, revealing the appearance of a glaring Vajra. Several other masters also knew that they were being dragged into the water at this time. If they didn't capture this old monk quickly, they would even jump into the Yellow River later. The explanation was unclear, so they all used their martial arts to attack him, and finally rescued King He Dao who was at a disadvantage in the close combat.
When it comes to close combat with fists and kicks, it has to be said that each of them is good at it. Zonghe's fist is like lightning and it is gone as soon as it touches the body. The snake-shaped hand is entangled and confusing, and it is difficult to find traces. The Eight Immortal Swordsman brothers also use it at this time. The Wudang Drunken Fist, which comes from the same source, avoids the real and hits the weak. The crowd around Master Anren is like a hundred flowers blooming. The fists and kicks are getting faster and faster. In a blink of an eye, they are buried by the old monk's Demon Subduing Fist and Arhat Fist, blocking the left and right. The weapon was full of flaws, and all that was left was to resist on the spot.
The soldiers were so quick now that no one knew whether Jiang Liu'er had noticed him in the house, but it was already extremely dangerous to alert the old monk, and they could not be delayed any longer.
"King He Dao, you can go and seize the opportunity, we will deal with it here!"
The four men surrounded them for fear of accidental injury and it was difficult to use the sword, so King He Dao swept the formation with his sword and wanted to pass through Master Anren and go straight into the house. But a strange thing happened. Even though the four masters besieged Master Anren and gained the upper hand, the old monk There was almost no chance to fight back, but they blocked the door and refused to take a step back. The four of them were still unable to capture the old monk. Instead, they became more frustrated and courageous during the siege, and there was a faint tendency to escape.
"No, this old monk is weird!"
King He Dao squinted his eyes and realized that Master Anren's martial arts skills were very strange. Facing the extreme danger of being surrounded by everyone, he still opened and closed his attacks widely and did not dodge or evade. His thin and short body was hit by the fist. The slaps on the skin and flesh on the body and palms only made a muffled sound like a broken drum. There was no physical discomfort at all, but instead, some strength increased out of thin air.
King He Dao has also seen this kind of Kungfu on the battlefield. It is just that after practicing and beating, he can withstand injuries better than ordinary people. But the appearance of such people on the battlefield often means that the most tiring and arduous fighting is about to begin. It also means that in some invisible places, important people are evacuating or the backbone is about to enter the battlefield.
Master Anren ignored Zonghe's fist, and the Hanshan internal energy in his body suddenly burst out with a strong counterattack force. His chest withstood three punches and kicked him. He turned his hand and even pulled the snake-shaped hand away from his body, and then did not take a step back. He stood guard at the door of the mountain house and simply tore the damaged monk's robes to pieces, revealing his skin that was as polished as gold, but the inside was unscathed.
"Amitabha, put down the butcher knife quickly."
Master An Ren regained his composure, and still refused to give in, but he did not use heavy blows to fight against the enemy, and he always maintained a sense of proportion in his moves.
"Old monk, don't try to use tricks to delay time. The reinforcements you were waiting for don't have time to come up now."
King He Dao frowned and sneered, raised his sword and pointed it at the Xitan Temple down the mountain. Several people also looked curiously and found that at this time, thick smoke was already coming out of the warehouse on the southeast side of the Zen Temple, and the raging fire was faintly visible from the tile windows. , countless ant-like shadows are shuttled through it to transport water, and the important task of putting out the fire has already attracted most of the manpower.
"What?!!!"
Several masters were horrified, and Master Anren was even more stunned. He allowed several people to punch and kick him, but his head and neck were firmly maintained at the angle of looking down the mountain. It seemed that these fists and kicks had nothing to do with him. Instead, there was a fire in the palace at the foot of the mountain, burning fiercely on his body.
"Hey Master, please stop it. I have no choice but to do it."
Jian Fu usually looked slick, but now he was the first to feel sorry. He looked down on King He Dao for his unscrupulous behavior, setting fires and sneak attacks to achieve his goals, which was a total loss of face.
King He Dao smiled coldly: "Humph, this master is not stubbornly resisting at all, I'm afraid he just wants to deceive others!"
With a wave of the long knife in his hand, he suddenly shattered the window of the mountain house. With the wood and rocks flying and scattering, the interior of the simple mountain house was clearly visible. A figure in white clothes like snow was sitting quietly in the house. With the loud noise, Suddenly, he cast his cold eyes on the people outside the room.
Seeing that the situation had slowed down a bit, Master Anren took a few steps back, took a deep breath to suppress the anger in his heart, and said to several people.
"Old monk, I don't know what you are here for, but there is no one else in the room. These few are good at martial arts. You can't come here specifically to make enemies of an old monk or a weak woman on the mountain, right?"
"Is that woman from Jingnan Palace inside? King He Dao, your information is not accurate at all. The master we are looking for is not here."
The snake-shaped hand Jian Fu was cunning and vicious in martial arts, but his mind was still simple and simple. He took the lead to stop the siege, and turned to look at King He Dao with some embarrassment, "You came to us with such a big fight, but you ended up looking for the wrong way." !”
However, Jian Fu's doubts did not last long. The movements of the people around him were indeed faster and more ruthless, as if they were venting some emotions. Huang Liang's sneer and Xu Chongzhen's panic were clearly visible to him. Until the end, what he noticed was the face of King He Dao who had succeeded in his conspiracy.
"Brother Jian! When something goes wrong, there must be a monster. Don't you still understand what happened today?"
"Zonghe Fist" Huang Liang gritted his teeth slightly and said with a half-smile, "This Master He has inquired about everything clearly, but he couldn't find out that the real master is not at home. Is it really possible that such a ridiculous thing is possible? I think he is simply Did it on purpose!”
King He Dao smiled very strangely under his beard, pointed his long knife at the girl in the room, and showed a victor's smile.
"Yes, this matter can't be hidden from a few of you. In the final analysis, if you weren't too obsessed with mythical fairy tales, you wouldn't have been tricked by He with just a few words."
Compared with Huang Liang's pretense of calmness, Xu Chongzhen's panic was even more difficult to express.
"What a courage! What a courage! King He Dao, I didn't expect you to trick us into coming to work together, let alone that you dared to make your own decisions without telling the princess! All the threats to arrest Jiang Liu'er and threaten Tiangang Monk were all fake. Yes, you are clearly here for the noble papers from the Jingnan Palace in the room! You actually plotted against us!"
Xu Chongzhen looked at his junior brother. The fear made it difficult for him to breathe. He had already guessed eighty-nine points of King He Dao's plan. This person was deliberately dragging the four of them into the water and wanted to include the Jingnan Palace!
】
Previously, King He Dao said that if he wanted to deal with the Thirty-Six Tiangang Monks, he must first subdue the masters of swordsmanship, but he did not finish what he said. There is an unspoken sentence hidden behind it. If you want to deal with the master of swordsmanship, you can first seize the hostages of the Jingnan Palace!
The final result of such an interlocking plan is a chance to break the situation without any bloodshed. Based on the character of King He Dao, Xu Chongzhen guessed that he would never be stingy about killing a killer and framing Xitan Temple until this matter became a mystery. The chaos that is most conducive to the interests of Prince Pingxi!
Xu Chongzhen had to be afraid, and he had to be afraid!
Putting the blame on others and confusing the public are all clever tricks, but now that they are in it, if they are not careful, they will lose everything. I am afraid that they will have to endure the joint strangulation of the two major forces of Pingxi Palace and Jingnan Palace!
"How can you act like this! I...I can't do it..."
Jian Fu stared blankly into the room, a huge sense of absurdity surrounding him, but the even more absurd and bizarre scenes around him did not stop.
He saw the old monk at the door crumbling under the violent attack, his body as polished as gold like a broken Vajra Protector statue, while the orchid-like girl in the room seemed completely unaware of the danger, sitting quietly in front of the window. In white clothes, he looks like a white porcelain statue of Water Moon Guanyin, with his thoughts reflecting on the ripples of the pond.
The flickering eyes of several people were like dim candlelight, and the shining figures swayed between light and dark, and there seemed to be a hint of blood hidden under their feet.
The masters of Pingxi Palace fell into deep silence. They didn't know why the old monk was still resisting. There was no way out at Full Moon Peak. They were caught in such a dangerous situation and outnumbered, so there was no chance of survival. But if they really wanted to kill him, there would be no turning back. ——And where all this goes depends on a fleeting thought for a moment...
The boundary between silence and madness becomes more and more blurred. King He Dao once again slashed through the ruins of the mountain house with his sword. Dust was rising all over the ground but could not settle down. The remaining buildings were crumbling and might collapse at any time, completely burying the otherworldly girl in white. in it.
But suddenly, they saw the girl in white in the room break away from the silence at that moment, raising her hand to wave out a cloud, as if the floating heaven gate was opening in front of their eyes...
