There are not many people on the street. Xiaoyao Palace, located outside the Qinhuai River, is very majestic, and it is only on the side of the main road, with an extremely wide alley paved with bluestones.
This palace, built in the Yang Wu Dynasty, was originally a small-scale Taoist cultivation place. After several dynasties of blessings, the surrounding vast houses and land were expropriated, and finally expanded to its current size. The layout of the courtyards and palaces with five fronts and backs is no weaker than some palaces in the Jinling City Imperial Palace.
Just like the unknown Shengyuan Temple, because it was a Buddhist temple belonging to the Tiantai lineage, it became a rare Buddhist temple in the late Sui Dynasty. During the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, several generations of Zen monks were stationed in Xixi, and it has since become a Buddhist dojo. But Shengyuan Temple is now far from being comparable to Xiaoyao Palace, because its scale is less than one-fifth of its size!
The two vigorous and curved ancient cypresses at the entrance of Xiaoyao Palace and the relic branches soaked by the gentle drizzle make people look more profound with the years and a bit more fairy-like. Especially the occasional sound of cranes crowing and deer croaking makes people know that this is a fairyland.
Today, because Xiaoyao Palace opened an altar for preaching, you can see secular people coming and going. But on the bluestone road in front of the palace, people walking and talking softly are obviously afraid of disturbing the preaching immortals in the palace. and all the people who heard the sermon.
At this time, the disciples of the Xiaoyao Sect who were in front of the palace suddenly saw someone walking quickly, led by two dignified men. The red-faced old man on the left, with three long black and white beards under his chin, has a certain charm. There is also an old man next to him, with a white head and white teeth, but he is strong and powerful!
The welcoming disciple at the door was none other than Zou Fanzhi from Xiaoyao Palace. As a representative, he seemed to know the two of them. He took the initiative to go down the steps to greet them, while waiting for these people to come closer. He looked at the two men in front of him with a bright look. His eyes were full of fear and power, and he was looking at him with a kind face, but it made people feel a sense of awe.
However, Zou Fanzhi is not an ordinary person. There are many people of all kinds who come to Xiaoyao Palace on a regular basis, so he naturally does not suffer from stage fright. On the surface, he still greeted the two leaders calmly: "It turns out that General Yan and General Chen are here, and Xiaodao is here to greet the two leaders on behalf of the division!"
"You little Taoist priest, you are getting more and more slippery!" A clear voice came. In the drizzle, it was this man with a white head and white teeth who spoke slowly. However, he smiled a bit and obviously did not feel arrogant: "Long time no see, I have improved a lot in practice!"
Drizzle, bluestone, oil umbrella, casual clothes! This group of people standing at the entrance of Xiaoyao Palace makes people feel like a painting! A trace of surprise flashed in Zou Fanzhi's eyes. For this man whose name was not well-known in Jinling, the impression in his heart was naturally a bit respectful: "Master Chen, you are so complimentary, Xiaodao is ashamed!"
But he didn't stop. Looking at these people walking towards him, he didn't know why, but he felt a little more excited and had a strange feeling in his heart. Then the look in the eyes of this man with a long beard and a slight smile did not seem to make people feel arrogant, but made people feel a little more comfortable and peaceful: "Is it possible that the two adults are here to preach today?"
"Of course, it is rare to have the honor to listen to the high priest's promotion to the altar. It happened that a friend from your noble family invited me, so a certain shameless man came with Brother Chen!" What surprised Zou Fanzhi was that the bearded man next to Mr. Chen seemed to feel something vaguely. , seeing Zou Fanzhi looking at him with a smile, although he was surprised, he nodded slightly calmly.
Zou Fanzhi discovered that four people were following behind this man. It seems that there are ordinary people and practitioners, especially one of them who is tall and tall. Although he is dressed in casual clothes, his gaze is scary. Zou Fanzhi is also considered an outstanding figure of Xiaoyao Sect. Looking at this young man's appearance, he can't help but feel chilled.
Although he knew that these two people could not cause trouble, Zou Fanzhi's eyes suddenly widened and he glanced at this man. However, it only lasted for a moment, and then he converged his eyes and lowered his eyelids, not daring to look at this man again. . I secretly wondered that I didn't know such a person in Jinling, so I was naturally surprised.
Of course, Zou Fanzhi immediately acted as if nothing had happened and stood aside politely: "Could it be that General Chen and General Yan are the distinguished guests invited by the elders of our sect to listen to the sermon?"
"I don't want to be a distinguished guest, but I am really invited by fellow Daoist Xiao Chengxiao from the noble sect. I wonder if it will disturb him?" On the other hand, this General Yan is a bit low-key, looking ordinary like A, B, B and D. But he seemed to feel something. He glanced at the man behind General Chen and instinctively stood taller: "Maybe the sermon has already begun!"
"It turns out that they are indeed the distinguished guests of Master Xiao's uncle. Xiaodao is really neglecting him!" It seemed that he didn't feel anything. For the two guests who had just arrived, as well as the four people behind him, they were invited by Xiao Cheng to serve as the basic disciples of Xiaoyao Sect. Zou Fanzhi naturally wanted to be polite: "The sermon has already begun. Please invite all distinguished guests quickly!"
The two people Zou Fanzhi saw at this time were naturally Yan Jingquan, the general of the Tang Dynasty whom Xiao Cheng met at Yiqun Tower, and Chen Hui, who was known as the Iron General! Yan Jingquan, along with Bian Hao, Xu Wenzhen and Yang Shouzhong, were guarding the border and were captured and sent to Bianjing. In the tenth year of Bao Da, he was sent back to Jinling by Zhou Taizu Guo Wei. Since then, he has been idle in the mansion by Li, and he is extremely low-key.
And this iron general Chen Hui was naturally the number one general under Wang Yanzheng, the lord of Fujian. Later, when the Fujian Kingdom was destroyed, he surrendered to the Tang Kingdom. Apart from Bian Hao, the God of War, he was one of the strongest generals in the Tang Kingdom. The most powerful hundred-victorious army in the Tang Dynasty led by him is now in the hands of his son Chen Decheng.
Chen Hui was somewhat hesitant about Zou Fanzhi's politeness. Because of Xiao Cheng's initiative to invite him, Chen Hui and Yan Jingquan came over early today to attend the appointment. Although Zou Fanzhi didn't know what the deep meaning was, his skills were still at the ordinary innate stage, and Zou Fanzhi, who was still an ordinary disciple and senior brother, could only do what Xiao Cheng wanted.
Seeing the people around Chen Hui and Yan Jingquan, Zou Fanzhi was a little surprised, but he was not surprised at all, and naturally he did not dare to ask. After all, Xiao Cheng is the disciple of the Supreme Elder. During his time in Xiaoyao Palace, Zou Fanzhi was not less envious, so it can be said that he did not dare to be disrespectful to the people Xiao Cheng invited.
What's more, with the identities of Yan Jingquan and Chen Jie, even though Xiaoyao Sect was somewhat proud of their success in Jinling City, at this moment, Zou Fanzhi felt that he and the two men beside him were not at the same level at all. And seeing the burly man behind Chen Hui, how could he be an ordinary person?
Chen Hui didn't seem to care at all about Zou Fanzhi's politeness and stood half a step behind Yan Jingquan, side by side with the burly man behind him. However, he had no intention of asking anyone to compliment him because he was the proud figure in the court, or because he was the original leader of the Bai Sheng Army, and he had no intention of talking to Zou Fanzhi.
Yan Jingquan and Chen Hui had only known Xiao Cheng for a few days, and they had some inexplicable feelings about this wayward young man. In Yan Jingquan's opinion, he came to have an appointment with Xiao Cheng this time because he wanted this young man to get closer to his children. Chen Hui is obviously very interested in the rumors about Xiao Cheng and Bian Hao.
After all, Xiao Cheng had just come to the Xiaoyao Sect to practice, and he had only just seen the basic magic skills. In Chen Hui's opinion, his attainments in the art of cultivation were not worth mentioning. However, knowing that Xiao Cheng had received the inheritance from Bian Hao, as an innate master, Chen Hui was naturally full of expectations!
