A Tale of Encounters with Immortals: A Peach Blossom Temple in the Martial World

Commander Dong died, and the monk came out.

"Amitabha!"

He bowed to the remaining people.

"Monk, are you going to step in?"

Zhang Jingshan, the Heavenly Sword Master, had already removed his mask. He didn't care about exposing his face to the monk and Zhang Zhengdao, because these two men had to die.

“I only want the person in the prison cart; you may leave on your own.”

"Haha, what a boastful tone!"

Zhang Jingshan, the Heavenly Sword Master, tightened his grip on his sword.

"Heaven cherishes life."

The monk pulled two daggers from his wide robe, gripped the hilts in his hands, then assumed a horse stance and whispered, "Amitabha!"

Suddenly, his monk's robes tore apart with a "rip" sound, shattering into pieces as the force emanating from his body sent them flying into the air, revealing his well-built muscles.

When it comes to showing off, the monk definitely takes the lead today!

A master born with innate talent?

Zhang Jingshan, the Heavenly Sword Master, narrowed his eyes, his expression becoming solemn.

There are not many innate masters in the world, and even fewer grandmasters, no more than twenty. They are all treasured by their respective sects, and there are only four grandmasters in the open.

This monk was actually a master of innate martial arts.

"Monk, you are a master of innate level, you can't be some nobody, can you?"

The monk looked at Zhang Jingshan and shook his head: "For those who cultivate Buddhism, their names are no longer important. Your Dharma name is Yuanjue."

Zhang Jingshan frowned, realizing that none of his men were a match for the monk, given their injuries. After a moment's thought, he cupped his hands and said, "Alright, the prison cart and the men are yours. Let's go!"

Monk Yuanjue nodded: "Please!"

Zhang Jingshan then bowed respectfully to the monk and said to the remaining group, "Let's go!"

As he spoke, he turned around to retrieve the horse that had been left to roam freely.

After taking only a few steps, he turned around and suddenly slashed a sword aura at the monk.

The monk seemed to have been prepared. A bright white light flashed through the air as he drew his dagger horizontally. The sword energy struck the blade, producing a clang.

It broke in two.

The monk then threw the broken dagger at Zhang Jingshan.

The broken blade, infused with internal energy, even produced a sonic boom in the brief instant it was suspended in mid-air.

"Oh!"

As the sonic boom dissipated, the broken blade of a monk's knife was already embedded in Zhang Jingshan's chest, with only the hilt remaining. Zhang Jingshan was carried away by the force of the impact for more than ten steps before being stopped by a large tree.

He lay motionless on the ground.

The internal force emanating from the hilt of the knife had already shattered all the meridians in his body.

"kill!"

The remaining few knew that since their leader had perished here, going back would only mean certain death.

They all charged toward the monk without prior arrangement.

The monk, wielding a single sword, whipped up a gust of wind and instantly plunged into the midst of several people. Wherever the sword flashed, blood splattered in the air, and someone immediately fell to the ground.

In just a few moves, no one was left standing next to the monk.

The monk, carrying a dagger, bowed with his other hand, chanted "Amitabha" over the corpses scattered on the ground, and then walked towards the prison cart.

He didn't glance at Zhang Zhengdao once from beginning to end.

"Are you going to kill me, or save me?"

The old man with half-white hair, his hair disheveled, sat in the prison cart, raising his hazy eyes and looking at the monk with a half-smile.

"Of course I'm here to save you!"

The monk answered.

"Who sent you to save me?"

Monk: "My friend!"

The old man laughed loudly: "Being entrusted with a task and being loyal to it? Bullshit, all bullshit! Have you seen my fate? I was loyal to the emperor, and yet I was harmed by him! Ha ha—"

And they were laughing quite loudly.

“I am only loyal to my friend. She asked me to come, I agreed, and so I came.”

"Do you know who I am?"

The monk shook his head.

"Haha, that's absolutely hilarious. They don't even know me, but they came to save someone just because a friend said so. Really... how can there be such a person in the world?"

The monk said, "You are loyal to the ruler, and I am loyal to my friend."

"what is the difference?"

“You are loyal to the emperor, but the emperor is loyal to power, and your loyalty is still to your friend, so our fates are not the same.”

The old man was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, and as he laughed, tears streamed down his face.

"I've lived such a long life in vain, and not a single monk has seen through it all. How laughable, how laughable!"

"Senior, have you figured it out?"

The old man nodded: "I've thought it through. Take me with you! I think... your friend must be getting impatient."

The monk laughed, picked up his dagger, and slashed at the iron chains of the prison cart.

With a clang, the lock was cut and the chain slipped.

The old man crawled out of the prison van, but he had difficulty moving. He had been tortured and imprisoned in the van for a long time, which caused him to collapse as soon as he stood up.

"Let me help you go riding!"

There was also a horse by the roadside, which was left behind by Zhang Jingshan, the commander of the Qingfeng Guard.

They helped the old man move slowly, one step at a time, with a limp.

The horse was right next to a big tree by the roadside.

The monk supported the old man's waist and thighs with both hands and helped him onto the horse.

The old man mounted his horse.

Before the monk had even settled in and was still exerting force with his hands, a streak of light suddenly swept towards the old man. The monk had already sensed it the moment the light appeared.

He moved as well, and as he swung his dagger, he blocked the streak of light—a hidden sword in his sleeve.

The hidden sword was mistaken for a throwing knife and shot out.

be cheated!

This was the monk's first thought.

He suddenly looked towards the teahouse and felt his inner energy rapidly dissipate. After taking only two steps, his legs gave way, and he collapsed to his knees.

"Colorless and odorless, you've been poisoned and fought someone. Judging by the timing, it's just about to take effect."

At this moment, a person slowly walked out of the teahouse.

The monk saw the person and smiled bitterly.

He had foreseen the people of Qingmu Cliff, the interference of those martial arts figures, and the impending lose-lose situation, but he hadn't foreseen the teahouse owner. Now, look at this owner—he walks out with an upright posture.

Where is the old and decrepit look now?

The old man plopped down on the ground next to the horse, sighing, "Monk, can't you leave?"

The monk felt that even if he wasn't poisoned, he wouldn't be able to escape.

A master at the late stage of the Innate Realm, who would become a Grandmaster the next level, would still resort to such a despicable method of poisoning, which shows how prudent this person is.

The monk looked at the old man and smiled bitterly, "There's no way out."

The teahouse owner laughed, "Of course you can't leave."

"So... Daoist Master... I would like to trouble you to perform a ritual for me. Although I am a monk, after I die, whether it is the Buddhist Diamond Sutra or the Daoist Taiyi Salvation Sutra, both can guide my soul to the Western Paradise. Please!"

Zhang Zhengdao then asked, "Do you have any money?"

The monk said, "I have money. I still have five taels of loose silver in my purse."

Zhang Zhengdao nodded: "That's good. Five taels of silver isn't enough to buy a coffin after the ritual, so we'll just have to make do and bury him directly in the ground."

"Whether it's buried or not doesn't matter. A monk is just a body. As long as the soul can be helped to pass on, I'll be extremely grateful. Even if the body is left to rot in the wilderness and fed to wolves, it's still a meritorious deed."

The monk put his hands together in prayer position.

Look at their level of attainment, their level of spiritual cultivation.

Zhang Zhengdao suddenly felt ashamed. Despite being a Taoist priest, aside from memorizing Taoist scriptures, he had never truly grasped their underlying principles.

He has always believed that the Taoist scriptures are merely philosophical texts of the ancients. As a modern person, he has a deep understanding of philosophy, and a more comprehensive one at that. He would even be able to debate with the Taoist patriarch or the Buddha face to face, leaving them speechless on the spot.

But now that I think about it, it's not as simple as I thought!

Understanding the principles is one thing.

To understand the principles and act accordingly—that is true spiritual cultivation!

Zhang Zhengdao realized that being obsessed with money all the time wasn't a good thing. Once he had the money to repair the road and the Taoist temple, and had saved enough for the rest of his life, he would diligently study the Taoist scriptures and follow their requirements for practice. He wanted to become a good Taoist who practiced what he preached, and bring glory to Peach Blossom Temple.

So... in order to better cultivate the Daoist arts in the future and have no worries, I still have to work hard to make money.

Making money, you need to make money to cultivate the Tao.

Although the monk was highly enlightened, he still had five taels of silver in his pocket.

Lao Tzu... This humble Taoist priest's understanding is insufficient, so it's not unreasonable for him to first acquire more silver!

The teahouse owner was a little angry.

Since everyone here was going to die anyway, he decided to watch the three of them perform like a spectator.

Zhang Zhengdao turned to look at the teahouse owner.

"Are you saying everyone here is going to die today?"

The teahouse owner nodded: "What's the problem?" He had already secretly tested Zhang Zhengdao with his true energy and found that he had no fluctuations of true energy at all, and was just an ordinary person.

Zhang Zhengdao said in a serious tone, "I once swore that whoever tries to kill me, I will definitely kill him."

"You want to kill me?"

The teahouse owner burst into laughter, as if he had heard a joke.

"Ha ha--"

The moment his laughter left his mouth, his head shot skyward, spinning in the air with his mouth still open, emitting a "haha" sound...

A headless corpse stood on the ground, like a child who couldn't find its mother. It turned around twice, spitting out warm blood, and then collapsed to the ground, convulsing...