The wind and rain were getting worse, and the bonfire in the center of the ruined temple illuminated the faces of a group of people.
Because the presence of Grandmaster Chen drew everyone's attention away, not many people noticed the brief glances between Ji Ping'an and Wei Huayang, as well as their small movements.
After both "astrology" and "Taomen hexagram" gave the answer "no", the two people who had disguised their own destiny at the same time stopped paying attention to each other.
"There are really many heroes."
The old master in white practice clothes finished ordering the last person, and emotion appeared on his slightly thin face.
There is hope and regret in the eyes:
"When I was young, I was probably like you. It's a pity that in this restricted era, it is no longer possible to make progress in this life. But now the situation in the world has undergone major changes that have not happened in hundreds of years. It is the right time to start a sect and enlightenment!"
Everyone was greatly encouraged. As for Du Liang, who was wearing a turban, he and the others were smiling slightly, obviously holding similar judgments in their hearts.
"Master Chen's sword never grows old. This alliance will definitely shine." One person boasted.
Another stunned young man also said excitedly:
"That's right. In today's martial arts world where old and new martial arts are competing, it's time for figures like the old master to come forward to bring order to the chaos and bring peace and stability to the world."
After hearing these words, many people's expressions changed slightly.
After all, a sensitive topic was brought up.
Someone cautiously tried:
"Master Chen, before I came here, I heard that the four major sects might be disadvantageous to you this time. I wanted to take this opportunity to suppress your old martial arts brand in front of the Central Plains martial arts community in order to promote the new martial arts."
Someone next to me echoed:
"Yeah, I've heard about it too. In order to promote the new martial arts, eight of the top ten martial arts veterans have been knocked down in the past ten years, and the remaining two are also injured and unable to support themselves. Looking at this huge martial arts world, the old school martial arts The only person who can carry the cauldron is Grandmaster Chen. This time the other party is coming fiercely, I'm afraid..."
The atmosphere around the campfire soured when the topic came up.
A group of warriors from the three states of the Central Plains also spoke up one after another. Some complained of injustice, while others sighed indignantly.
Ji Ping'an sat in the corner, took out dry food, lit a fire and boiled water. At the same time, he listened to everyone's discussion and quickly learned more about the inside story:
It turns out that in the past ten years, the world has gradually divided into three factions:
New martial sect, neutral sect, old martial sect.
The reason why the two sides fight is to try to draw the neutral faction into their own camp. As for the reason behind it, in the final analysis, it is still the word "interest".
For Jianghu, new weapons are like a "technical upgrade", which will inevitably lead to the rise of new upstarts and the reshuffle of Jianghu forces.
If you have to break it down and talk about it, you can't explain it clearly in a few words. In short, the sects advocating new martial arts have been attacking everywhere in the past ten years, using various means to challenge and suppress the traditional sects.
The "Ten Elders" are the ten old-school martial arts masters in the martial arts world, and they naturally become the targets of new martial arts attacks.
What is frustrating is that compared to the more "advanced" new martial arts that combine "techniques", the old-school martial arts are indeed inferior in the middle and low fields.
Therefore, the old faction is shrinking, and the neutral faction is gradually leaning towards the new military.
And Chen Qingsheng is now the only remaining master among the "old school" martial arts in the martial arts. If he can be pinned to death, the entire martial arts world will completely shift to the "new martial arts" line.
"Everyone," Chen Qingsheng raised his hand, and the temple suddenly became quiet. Under the gazes of many eyes, the old master's expression was firm and serious:
"You all have good intentions, but... I came out to the meeting this time just to carry the flag for the old military. Although the new military has merits, the old military is by no means as useless as they claim. I am not a corrupt and stubborn person. , also has expectations for Xinwu.
But according to the current situation, the new martial arts forces represented by the four major sects are not just trying to open a path, but they want to completely destroy the old martial arts and cut off the roots of the orthodox martial arts path!
This move is too extreme. Once Xinwu goes astray, it will be the end. Therefore...I must stand up. "
Hearing this, many warriors were moved, and some looked away, unwilling to make eye contact with the old master.
Obviously, among the group of warriors present, many people have their hearts set on Xinwu, and have even turned to Xinwu.
When Chen Qingsheng saw this, a trace of loneliness flashed in his eyes, and he smiled and waved:
"That's all. Let's not mention these things today. It's getting late. I'm going to teach you martial arts now."
The crowd became excited again. Regardless of new martial arts or old martial arts, the lifelong experience of a well-traveling martial arts master is extremely precious and no one ignores it.
Even Pei Qian stuck his butt out and moved forward. Yu Yu rolled his eyes at him, thinking that this idiot didn't know real people.
It was clear that her Taoist skills were far stronger than Lao Shizi's martial arts.
The saint snorted softly, turned around with her shoulders in her arms, and showed her disdain with her actions.
Ji Ping'an was also not interested in Chen Qingsheng's explanation.
After all, for him, the other party's understanding of martial arts was still too shallow.
Then he was surprised to notice that the short-haired girl who entered the temple last, wearing red clothes and carrying a rapier, also seemed absent-minded. She was just huddled in the shadow of the corner alone, munching cold pancakes intently.
Chen Qingsheng talked for almost two hours, and finally stopped because it was too late. Guarded by Lu Qing and other disciples, he went to the only single hut behind the Buddha statue to rest.
No one has any objection to this, thinking that this is what the old master should enjoy.
"Master, why do you need to talk so much to those people? Many of them obviously want Xinwu."
In the hut, Lu Qing, the great disciple of Longhu Mountain, couldn't help but say.
The other disciples were also quite unhappy and agreed with their senior brother.
Chen Qingsheng sighed softly, shook his head and said:
"As long as they are not completely on that side, they can be fought for. You have to remember this. The vast majority of people in the world are neutral. We can't win over them, but we must not show petty behavior. They push to the opposite side.”
A group of disciples understood it, but it was still difficult to accept it emotionally.
Chen Qingsheng had no choice but to let them rest separately.
Lu Qing came over and said:
"Master, what are the origins of the two companions around the Pei family?"
Chen Qingsheng thought for a while, shook his head and said:
"You can't see the way yet, but it's definitely not simple. Jianghu is small but also very big. Don't think that the masters on the Tianji Pavilion list are all Jianghu."
Lu Qing was greatly educated.
Chen Qingsheng hesitated for a moment and then said:
"Besides, the girl who came last is not simple either. Although she didn't take action, she has a very special temperament. Remember to tell the other brothers not to provoke her."
That heroine in red with a sword?
Lu Qing was stunned for a moment and nodded without knowing why - he didn't realize that the other party was very strong.
On the other side, after listening to a martial arts lecture, he felt that he had gained a lot. Pei Qian, who was enlightened, ran back with his butt stuck out, and saw that Ji Ping'an and the saint were already lying down, but they were obviously not asleep yet.
"Sir," Pei Qian lowered his voice:
"Who do you think will win this time, the new martial arts or the old martial arts?"
"I don't know." Ji Ping'an lay on the ground with his hands behind his head and did not open his eyes.
Pei Qian hit a soft nail and slipped aside to sort out the harvest.
Ji Ping'an really doesn't care about martial arts disputes. Such trivial matters are not worthy of his taking seriously.
However, in the past years, the founder of the Longhu Mountain sect also followed him. On many boring nights, everyone gathered in the mountains, rivers and wilderness to drink, eat meat, and talk.
And... the "Dragon Tiger Wine" that the guy brewed himself was indeed interesting. Ji Ping'an ate and drank his food a lot back then.
As the saying goes, cannibals are short-tongued, so if this is just a simple fight, that's all.
If it goes too far, I can help the little guy named Chen to repay the favor of Master Longhu and save me from being picked on by the other party if they meet one day.
Of course, these are just incidental, his main goals are still the "reborn ones" and the "Four Holy Religions".
It stands to reason that if the news spreads so widely in the alliance, some "reborn people" should come to join in the fun.
It's a pity that with his ability, he can't support the deduction and divination of everyone. Otherwise, he can use the exhaustive method to try one by one.
With random thoughts running through his mind, Ji Ping'an gradually fell asleep.
It wasn't until thunder rang in his ears that he opened his eyes and looked around.
It was already dark, everyone in the temple had gone to sleep, and the bonfire in the center was much smaller.
Suddenly, he noticed a figure of a woman in red sitting cross-legged at the door of the temple.
She was sitting alone closest to the door, as if out of tune with everyone else, just staring at the pouring rain outside.
Suddenly, spiderweb-like lightning cracked in the sky, penetrating the sky and the earth, and the snow-white light illuminated the entire world in an instant.
It illuminated thousands of raindrops, and also illuminated Wei Huayang's dark red dress, her slender waist tied with a black cloth belt, her messy hair, and her beautiful, snow-white face illuminated by lightning. .
At this moment, Ji Pingan suddenly remembered a well-used sentence:
She is lonelier than fireworks.
…
…
A night of silence.
At dawn the next day, when the warriors from the temple walked out together, they found that the gray clouds had dispersed, and a red sun shone on the earth, quickly evaporating the moist soil.
Everyone's mood also became brighter.
Each led their own horses, and the entire team, led by Chen Qingsheng, marched straight along the road. By noon, they finally arrived at the location of the alliance:
Qixia Town.
“What a beautiful place!”
Yu Yu was riding on the horse, with bright eyes and a smile spreading from the corner of his mouth. The bad mood of the past few days had been greatly improved.
Ji Ping'an also tightened his reins and looked at the clusters of flowers and trees on both sides of the road, with their colorful fallen flowers.
A low wall stretched across the ground in front of it. Inside was a meandering river, with buildings dotted on both sides.
"Qixia Town is different from ordinary towns," Lu Qing approached on horseback and said:
"Hundreds of years ago, there was a 'blessed place'. Oh, it was the so-called place where the spiritual essence of heaven and earth was extremely rich. It was occupied by a large sect at that time. Later, the two clans fought, and the demon clan came over and destroyed it. The layout of this blessed land.
Later, after the war stopped, some forces rebuilt the town. Unfortunately, only an empty structure was left, which was no longer subject to competition. Instead, it gradually evolved into a venue for some important meetings in the world. "
After a pause, he continued to introduce:
"As for now, it is the property of the Jiang family of the Wulin Alliance. Oh, the imperial government also wants to sell favors from the Wulin Alliance, so although it looks like a town, the government generally doesn't care about it and just treats it as a larger private estate. look.
By the way, Jiang Chunqiu, the great master of martial arts at that time, also lived here and left a former residence. There are also legends that there are other secrets in Qixia Town, but they are all rumors. If there are any secrets, they have been poached by successive owners for thousands of years. "
Third Young Master Pei Qian was very interested and found this kind of secret knowledge of the world very interesting.
Saint Yu Yu was dismissive, raised her white chin proudly, and just nodded reservedly:
“The view is not bad.”
No one noticed that Ji Pingan in the crowd had a flash of vicissitudes in his eyes when he looked at the town.
Things have changed and people have changed, but after all, some "old friends" are still there.
As it happens, there is one in this small town that is almost an estate.
"Let's go and get in before noon. I'm very hungry."
Chen Qingsheng laughed loudly, showed off his master's style, and led a group of people into the town.
And the moment Ji Ping'an stepped into Qixia Town.
Deep in the ancient town, at the end of the winding water.
In a courtyard that was as cold and quiet as an ancient temple, a stone-carved old turtle stood in a circular pool. The "eyes" that were originally just dead objects seemed to have... opened briefly.
No one noticed.
…
When everyone entered the town, they were greeted by a group of warriors wearing black short shirts waiting at the entrance of the town. They held fists for the first middle-aged man:
"Grandmaster Chen has been tired of traveling all the way. Please stay and rest quickly. I will report to the leader of the alliance soon."
Chen Qingsheng smiled and nodded, and he and the Longhu Mountain disciples were led to an independent courtyard alone.
Obviously, all the "named" sects have separate residences. As for "little people" like Ji Ping'an, they were welcomed and settled in an inn close to Longhu Mountain.
"If I give my name as Mrs. Pei, I'm sure I'll have a separate courtyard."
Pei Qian murmured in a low voice, feeling that he was being ignored.
Ji Ping'an glanced at him and said:
"You can try."
Pei Qian shrank his neck and said nothing. Obviously, this guy also knew that his status was not enough.
If the dead "elder master" comes, he will indeed be received with high standards. Even if a talented woman like Pei Qiuwei comes, he will be taken seriously, but his status is not high enough.
"It's okay to stay in an inn. At least it's convenient to eat."
Ji Ping'an smiled and noticed at the same time that the short-haired heroine in red, wearing a sword and a hat, was also placed in the same inn, not far from his room.
In Qixia Town, in addition to a large number of "servants" raised by the Jiang family and disciples of the Jiang family, a large number of warriors and Qimen monks have also gathered.
It seemed quite lively for a while.
When Ji Pingping entered the guest room, he opened the window along the street and could see the street in front of him, the green winding river in the distance, and even the clumps of flowers and trees.
There are no common vendors, tourists or beggars on the street. There are only rugged warriors carrying swords on their backs and swaggering through the streets, or white-clothed young men and heroines from martial arts families, and Qimen monks dressed as Taoists.
"Bang."
In a daze, Ji Ping'an heard the door open behind him, and Yu Yu walked in excitedly, raising his delicate pink and white chin, akimbo and saying:
"You're lazy again and don't do anything!"
Ji Ping'an smiled and turned around to look at the Taoist saint dressed as a heroine.
Her delicate nose was wrinkled, her little eyebrows were raised, she had a square bag slung around her waist, her soft boots were dirty, she had obviously walked around the town.
"Did you find anything?" he asked.
Yu Yu snorted, then raised the corners of his mouth and said proudly:
"I have figured out all the forces in the town."
"oh?"
Yu Yu picked up the teacup, took a sip, then wiped the corners of his smooth, crystal clear mouth and said:
"The biggest force in the town is the Jiang family to which the martial arts leader Jiang Huai belongs. The leader is also a late-stage martial artist. He also has a girl named Jiang Xiaotang, who seems to be in charge of an intelligence agency second only to Tianji Pavilion in the world. Wang, is also in the town, but it is said that the relationship between the brother and sister is not good."
Jiang Xiaotang?
Ji Ping'an was startled. He recalled the woman wearing the cheongsam she designed and smoking a mushroom pipe in his mind. He smiled at the corner of his mouth, thinking that he would meet again so soon.
Yu Yu continued:
"Furthermore, there is a famous martial arts master named Ding Huan, who is also the leader of a small sect. However, this sect has very few members. It is more because of his great personal fame. His biggest characteristic is that he lives long enough..."
Xiao Ding... Ji Pingan's eyes wandered and he dug this name out of the depths of his memory.
I remember, he was also a person he had taken care of back then, but he didn't put much effort into it.
Yu Yu said:
"The 'Yue Nv Sword Sect' from Yuezhou has also come, and the leader is a master. The old doctor of the Yaowang Sect is also very famous. He is a person with low cultivation level, but very wide connections, and extraordinary energy... "
Well, these juniors don’t know much about it.
However, the founder of the Yue Nu Sword Sect and the first head of the Yaowang Sect are both acquaintances. I wonder if they have been reborn...
Ji Ping'an's thoughts drifted away.
Yu Yu continued:
"The remaining major forces, such as Tingxue Tower, Duandaomen, Tiandihui, Tianzhan Sect, Hell Gate, etc., haven't arrived yet. I don't know whether it's because of the long distance or something, but I heard that the next four They all advocate 'new martial arts', so they may be planning to join together."
Oh, except for Tingxue Tower, I have never heard of others... Ji Ping'an didn't pay much attention.
However, after Yu Yu did some popular science, he also had a basic understanding of the conference in Qixia Town.
After breaking apart the small sects and individuals, these are the forces that deserve attention.
Seeing his lack of interest, Yu Yu couldn't help but feel bored, and ran out jumping by himself, making Ji Ping'an burst into laughter, feeling that she was a girl after all and couldn't keep her temper.
According to the agreed date, there are still several days before the general meeting will be held.
In the past few days, not only was it time to wait for the various sects and martial artists to arrive, it also left a window of time to resolve disputes between the "old and new" martial arts.
If the "annihilation of the Four Holy Religions" is the "main meal" of this conference, then the dispute between the old and new martial arts is the "appetizer."
In the blink of an eye, it was evening, and Yu Yu and Pei Qian had no idea where to go to have fun. Ji Ping'an shook his head, left the room, and walked to the first floor of the inn to eat.
He didn't know whether there were few people in the inn or because they were all wandering outside. There were very few people eating on the first floor. When Fang Fu walked downstairs, he saw a man in eye-catching red clothes sitting alone in the corner eating.
That short-haired heroine...
Ji Ping'an narrowed his eyes. Although according to astrological feedback, this person did not look like a "reborn person", based on experience and intuition, he always felt that this girl was not simple.
Do you want to test it out?
Ji Ping'an thought for a while and came up with an idea. He went to the counter and ordered a few dishes, then drank a bottle of wine. He walked straight to a table next to the girl and sat down calmly.
I drank a cup of poison for myself first, and then said calmly:
"It is rare for a woman to walk alone in the world."
When he finished speaking, Wei Huayang, who was immersed in eating, pinched the hand holding the chopsticks.
She was still wearing the bamboo hat, as if it was growing on her head, and there were only three side dishes in front of her, a bowl of rice, very simple, just like her.
"Is something wrong?"
After a brief silence, Wei Huayang raised his head slightly, revealing a handsome, heroic and alert face under the bamboo hat.
Because of her travels in the world, her skin is not as white and greasy as Xu Yuanyun, but it is as warm as jade, healthy and lustrous.
She is the kind of woman who doesn't notice anything at first glance, but the more she looks at her, the more she discovers the beauty of her facial features.
Especially a pair of bright, big eyes without any color. At this moment, he frowned at the familiar-looking man next to him and asked coldly.
Ji Ping'an smiled warmly:
"Meeting each other in the rivers and lakes means we are destined. Why should girls be so vigilant?"
Wei Huayang looked at the man dressed as a Taoist priest across from him, felt upset for some reason, and said:
"Speak directly if you have anything to say."
He is a person who likes to go straight... Ji Ping'an said "yes" and cupped his fists in his hands:
"I am the Qi Men Gua Master of Yuhang City, and I am a disciple of the Jianghu Loose Cultivator, a small sect, unknown."
This is the etiquette of the world, reporting each other's origins.
Wei Huayang was silent for a moment and said:
"Lanzhou martial arts family, swordsmanship, small family, not famous."
Ji Pingan said "Oh" and said:
"I wonder if the girl studied swordsmanship from the southern school or the northern school?"
Wei Huayang pursed his lips and said:
"Northern sect. Are you following the Taoist divination method, or is it physiognomy? A Feng Shui master?"
Ji Ping'an looked sincere:
"Majoring in hexagrams and physiognomy."
The two of them asked and answered questions like this, testing each other's origins, and soon established a misunderstanding of each other.
Wei Huayang believed that the person in front of him was a glib fortune teller who liked to seduce women. He could barely be regarded as a branch of the Taoist system in the world.
Ji Ping'an believed that the person in front of him was a swordsman from a small family who was extremely vigilant and had a strange hostility and resistance towards men. He studied under the swordsmanship of Da Zhou.
Seeing that the atmosphere was a little less stiff, Ji Ping'an pondered for a moment and tentatively said:
"When I first met the girl, I was deeply impressed and felt like an old friend."
He is indeed a libertine... Using such a bad excuse... Wei Huayang's mouth twitched, his eyes were disdainful, and he suddenly remembered the bad pick-up line that Li Yang once said, "You are like a friend of mine."
Her eyes became increasingly evil and she said:
"Is it."
Ji Pingan looked at the three or two side dishes on her table, and his eyes fell on a bowl of "Pearl White Jade Soup". He was silent for a moment and said:
"I have a friend who also likes to eat this because he thinks it can make him whiter."
Wei Huayang's heart skipped a beat.
…
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(End of chapter)
