Sword comes

A group of visitors stopped under the vines to drink tea and listen to Taoist music, which was a feast for their ears. The melodious sound of the jade chimes stirred up ripples of spiritual energy from heaven and earth like flowing water, which seemed to wash the branches and leaves of the ancient trees near the Taoist temple, making them even greener.

Since Huayang Palace had not issued an order to expel them, they walked all the way to the Patriarch Hall, gradually ascending along the main sacred road. With a wide field of vision, they could see the ferry crossing of Difei Mountain from afar. In their field of vision, the Taoist officials were as small as ants, coming and going like shuttles. There was a huge inter-state dragon boat, which was the most eye-catching. It was a hundred feet long and more than ten feet wide. The head, tail, and scales were all carved with gold ornaments. The buildings on the boat were like jade buildings, and ancient pines and cypresses were planted, just like a complete Taoist temple. It was said that this famous ferry belonging to Cuiwei Palace had a secret hidden at the bottom of the cabin. Large iron coins were densely arranged like a tabletop, called "Victory Coins", which were used to prevent the tilt of the boat caused by clouds, waves, and wind and rain during the voyage.

A fierce-looking young man was the first to break the silence and asked, "The founder of the military strategist, Patriarch Jiang, has been silent for ten thousand years. This time he has come out again with his Taoist companion. It is a big move and he must have a big plan. If you were him, what would you do? Use the materials on the spot and make some deductions?"

On the top of the mountain, Mao Zui began to look at this group of young men from aristocratic families with a new respect. Although they were not very old or capable, they were very courageous and spoke in a very arrogant manner.

Yin Xian looked even more embarrassed. These ignorant troublemakers dared to talk about anything.

However, it can be seen from this that the Hongnong Yang family is indeed well-informed. Many officials of the dynasty have never even heard of the surname of the first ancestor of the military strategist.

A young man was holding a willow branch that he had stolen from somewhere, shaking his wrist, strolling leisurely, and said with a smile: "The first step is to take over the ancestral temple of the military strategists. Can I use the Central Plains Martial Temple as a private dojo? But will Jiang Taigong, Mr. Wei and the others be willing to give up their positions? This is a huge problem that is doomed to be unavoidable. If it were me, I would attack the ancestral temple in one go. Since I am a military strategist, I must... Hey, Patriarch Jiang and Jiang Taigong, what a coincidence, both have the surname Jiang, I wonder if there is any reason."

One dares to ask, the other dares to answer. They are indeed a pair of brothers who get along very well just after meeting.

There is nothing taboo about talking about these things.

It was just like the Qigong practitioners in Haoran Tianxia who drank a little wine and said they wanted to attack Baiyujing. But the problem was that they were in Difei Mountain at the moment, which was not appropriate.

"Secondly, even if the military strategists are of one mind and are willing to acknowledge him as their ancestor, we still have to see the attitude of the Confucian Temple in the Central Plains. After all, Haoran is a world of scholars, and whether the Sage of Etiquette nods is the key. Whether the Sub-Sage and the Sage of Literature agree to this or hold a negative opinion is also very important."

"Finally, even if we pass these two barriers, the fisherman who refused to dock to let the great saint master board his boat, whether he recognized the great military path of the surname Jiang, became the most important factor in determining whether it was orthodox or not."

"There are three invisible battlefields, with many passes. It all depends on how the ancestor of the military strategist arranges his troops, defeats the generals, and gradually attacks the city and captures the stronghold. If we are not careful, the Jiangs will fail to reach an agreement with the Confucian Temple and insist on breaking up. The peaceful world that we have finally achieved will return to a chaotic world, and become the same as the world we are in now."

An old man with an ancient appearance said with a smile: "Is it possible that Jiang Taigong fishes and those who are willing to take the bait will be caught?"

"how to say?"

"For example, the ancestral temple of the military family has long wanted to have another joint execution, to make the first ancestor suffer the consequences of his own actions, and to eliminate the roots of the trouble legitimately?"

"Could there be someone else hiding behind the scenes, ambitious and secretly plotting for a long time to take over the magpie's nest?"

"If the founder of the military strategist had already established contact with the fisherman, why didn't he just bypass the Confucian Temple and join forces with the wilderness? Was he determined to completely change the world? Rearrange Haoran?"

Once the topic started, everyone had their own opinions and discussed it, making it a mess.

On the top of the mountain, Yin Xian said, "The young man who started the conversation first, his name is Shang Jiao, and he is a casual cultivator. He seems to be from the Four Small States, and he has a strong watery smell unique to Lei Ze Lake."

Nanqiang had a different opinion. "He looks like a playboy with a watermelon rind under his feet. Why can't he be allowed to come back from admiring the flowers at Lei Ze Lake?"

Yin Xian shook his head. "I am just an ordinary Taoist who travels around. How can I get involved in water transport? Wang and Lei Yu, the two lake owners, one is aloof and the other is reckless. How can outsiders dare to show off?"

Mao Zhui said, "It's hard to say what his specific master's family teachings are, but we can be sure that he has a close relationship with the Taiyi lineage. He has at least dealt with the Wang who likes to raise geese more than once or twice. The book boy beside Shang Jiao has a good background and is not something that ordinary people can control."

The Shanyin feathered guest’s surname is Wang, his Taoist name is Taiyi, and he is the owner of the dry lake in the small four states. The old Taoist priest and Lei Yu who was born in the demon clan are both candidates.

Nanqiang was unable to figure out the lazy boy's background, so he asked curiously, "Is it weird or magical?"

Weird ones, or "old immortals" who have been practicing since ancient times or even in ancient times, or ancient objects that have become spirits, bred a little true spirit, transformed into human form, and embarked on the path of cultivation. The supernatural ones are mostly the reincarnation of gods or the "transformation" of a great cultivator.

Mao Zui said, "When you meet, ask yourself."

Nanqiang smiled and said, "Since we can't use magic to see through their tricks, let's just treat it as guessing lantern riddles, which is quite interesting."

Mao Zhui narrowed his eyes. For some reason, he suddenly changed his mind and said to Yin Xian beside him, "Yin Xian, pass the word and allow them to go up the mountain. Let's meet and have a chat."

It was really a mixed bag. This group of more than ten people who went hiking together had family and Taoist temple origins in at least four places.

He wanted to see whether he was just talking big, talking on paper, or making empty promises, or whether he had real knowledge and was on target.

Yin Xian looked embarrassed. There was no set rule for how to entertain guests here. Mao Zhui was promoted to Palace Master, but no one came to congratulate him. This was a unique case on the mountain.

Mao Zui said, "It's okay, just stay at my house."

Yin Xian breathed a sigh of relief. In this way, the etiquette of Huayang Palace was more than sufficient.

In this mountaineering team, which was truly a mixed bag, there was a pair of siblings from Yang's family in Hongnong, two accompanying maids, and a bodyguard.

The identities of the siblings who submitted their petitions to the mountain gate showed that they were not Dao officials now, but Yang Zheng and Yang Yan. The young man's name was unusually uncommon.

The woman wearing a veil has a graceful figure, though her face is covered. A maid is beside her, gently waving a folding fan, on which a magpie is painted, implying joy.

A handsome young man, wearing a three-mountain crown, a refreshing dark purple straight gown, and a belt around his waist. Yang Yu had an arrogant look, and liked to glance at people from the side, rarely looking at people straight in the eye.

At this moment, he was taking out a kind of oily and honey food nicknamed "Smile" and presenting it to his sister. The latter lifted a corner of the candy and chewed it gently.

There were two maids, one with a gentle face but a manly figure, wearing a narrow gown with colorful brocade and gold thread, and a short knife hanging from her waist, which was very eye-catching. She was given the surname Yang and the name Yupian.

The other maid was called Luzhu. She held a round fan in her hand and looked a few years older. She just had a pretty face. She wore a small hat, a yellow embroidered wide shirt on the outside, and a green narrow coat on the inside.

A little further away from them, there was a thin man with a dull look, who seemed to be separating the Yang siblings from the group of "strange people" who climbed the mountain together. In reality, he was a sword-carrying man wearing five-colored armor and a face armor to cover his face. He was burly, and his armor was wrapped with a gorgeous belt in the shape of an ancient brocade snake. He looked like an ancient general, and wore a pair of cloud-shaped shoes that looked like court boots.

Besides them, there were two other guests from the Yang family. The old men had strange faces, three long strands of beard, and narrow eyebrows and eyes, like the statues of gods and ghosts in temples, with a mysterious and ancient feel.

The middle-aged man beside him seemed to be a disciple. He looked reserved and couldn't help but glance at the maid holding the fan.

There were three siblings with different surnames. Among them, the man named Shang Jiao brought a schoolboy named "Xiao Bing" with him. Xu Duan and the sturdy, taciturn, red-faced man were long-time friends who had agreed to travel together. Originally, they had no intention of using any tricks or false credentials. They just followed the children of the Hongnong Yang family to climb the mountain.

The little book boy looked sick and listless, just like the coolness in the mountains, which made people drowsy.

The red-faced man said in his heart, "Third brother, on the way here, I met a hermit in an inconspicuous and barren mountain. He was a true hermit."

Shang Jiao didn't care, "Isn't he the kind of guy who seeks fame and reputation?"

The red-faced man said, "We had some tests. Anyway, his realm is higher than mine. Logically, I shouldn't be so reckless, but I couldn't help it. Fortunately, he has a good temper and didn't care. If it were in the outside world, I would probably have a fight. He doesn't seem to be very good at fighting, but his realm is there. If I can't kill him with one blow, I will definitely be exhausted to death by him."

Shang Jiao was shocked when he heard this and said, "Is his realm higher than yours?"

One of his sworn brothers is Luo Yi, whose Taoist name is "Fire Official". He and Wu Xi, Marquis of Zhayin, are both among the ten candidates for Qingming Tianxia.

Of course, "Shang Jiao" has access to many extraordinary people.

If we really talk about family background, friends, and relationships with elders, among the younger generation, even in the entire Qingming world, the guy who gave Miss Yang Zheng a pseudonym, Shang Jiao, can be ranked high.

It was precisely because of this that he dared to discuss these things in front of Bai Gu Zhenren, almost in front of the main deity road of Difei Mountain.

If he dared to act so rashly because of his status and background, he would be underestimating Shang Jiao, because he was too familiar with Difei Mountain. The two sisters also wanted to see the place where their brother practiced Taoism in the past. The small Taoist temple where he stopped to rest just now was where he practiced Taoism in his early years.

The red-faced man nodded and said, "Without a doubt, he must be one level higher than me."

Shang Jiao's eyes sparkled, and he immediately became interested. "You must help me with the introduction. It doesn't matter if I'm turned down."

The red-faced man smiled and said, "No problem."

Shang Jiao always had some wild ideas, and asked everyone curiously, "Why do some ancient books describe the Taoist ancestor as 'the Taoist law is like a dragon'? Isn't it the kind of Spring and Autumn style of writing that praises openly but criticizes secretly?"

It seemed as if everyone was stumped by the question, and there was silence for a while. After all, since it involved Daozu, no one could say anything.

Even Yang Xu couldn't help but look at Yang Zheng, "Sister, Brother Shang Jiao's questions are tricky. If you read a few more books, can you answer them?"

The woman shook her head.

Shang Jiao continued to inquire, "There is also a description of a person's strategy, which is far superior to that of his peers. Why is it that 'great wisdom is close to that of a demon'? Is this a compliment or an insult?"

Still looking at each other.

The old man with an ancient appearance who had been silent all this time smiled and said, "Friend Shang, both of your statements actually have their origins."

Shang Jiao's eyes were bright, and he asked sincerely, "What do you mean?"

The old man said slowly, "It is said that in ancient times, there was a team that formed naturally. It stretched very long on the road, like a long snake. During this time, Taoists kept hearing about the Tao and practicing Taoism, and they transformed into dragons and snakes on the land. When the Taoists said goodbye, they cried or laughed, but they never forgot to kneel down and bow to the Taoist who walked in front. Later, more Taoists joined in, and later, there was a relatively simple bowing ceremony."

"The one walking at the end of the team is Daozu."

"In addition, one of the Taoists walking at the front of the outer team not only listened to the teachings up close, but also served as a part-time Taoist guardian. He taught the teachings selflessly. Whenever he heard something and understood something, he would take the initiative to teach the teachings in the back without keeping anything to himself. Whenever there was a severe drought, he would not hesitate to expend his own energy, change his body shape, ride on the clouds, perform water magic, and bring down the rain. He did a great deal of good deeds for the human world. Unfortunately, his fellow tribesmen made a big mistake later, and their merits and demerits were divided equally. They were disliked by the heavens, and it was their fate. Only one in ten thousand could escape."