Chapter 120 The Past Grievances of Maoshan

"Well, I'll make it brief. In short, this Maoshan traitor stole my Maoshan's Qingping Sword, betrayed Shangqing, gathered the seventy-two sects of Lower Maoshan, and founded a sect in the South called Biyou Palace."

As soon as he said this, Feng Menglong snorted.

"Biyou Palace?! Has he watched too much *Investiture of the Gods* and gone crazy!"

"Even I know that's just a storybook! Does he want to be the Tongtian Jiaozhu?"

The surrounding sect leaders immediately glared at him.

The Eighth Sect Leader immediately snorted coldly, "Shut up, mortal! It's the Mountain Lord's grace that you're even allowed in here. Don't think that we cultivators are as easygoing with mortals as those outer disciples, do you?"

"The Shangqing Sect's affairs are for the Mountain Lord to speak on. How dare you interrupt? I'll have you thrown out in a moment!"

The Maoshan Mountain Lord pressed his hand down. "Eighth, you're just a primordial spirit now, say less. This scholar seems extraordinary. To be able to walk alongside a flying immortal, he must have something special about him."

Ji Xiang said, "Indeed, but whether his ability is good or bad for Shangqing is unknown. Since we've mentioned *Investiture of the Gods*, Maoshan Mountain Lord, please continue."

The Maoshan Mountain Lord said "Oh," looking at Feng Menglong, wanting to discern something. He did feel that this scholar was different from others. The power of his vows seemed a little strong.

But for now, let's continue the discussion.

"The name Biyou Palace does indeed come from the book *Investiture of the Gods*. This is a folk story. That author Xu, is truly ignorant, using the White Lotus as a prototype, fabricating the Tongtian Jiaozhu, and associating the Qingping Sword with him, and even the name Hongjun, is absurd! It's a corruption of the Mongolian god 'Hong Jun,' how can he be the teacher of the Heavenly Venerate!"

"Xu Zhonglin, a preposterous fellow! A mere book craftsman, what does he know! If he didn't do it on purpose, then he's just stupid!"

Hearing this, Feng Menglong lowered his head.

Ji Xiang, however, took note of the words "did it on purpose". It might be a side quest.

The Maoshan Mountain Lord continued, "The Qingping Sword was Guangwu's sword. During the Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu danced with his sword by the lotus pond, and this sword became the Qingping."

Ji Xiang nodded, "Qingping, Hao Cao, are the finest of the Yan blades. Its name originated in the Warring States period, and it is indeed a ferocious name. Not just anyone can wield it. The Taoist sages believed that using such a fierce weapon would easily harm oneself."

The Maoshan Mountain Lord said, "This Maoshan traitor was originally my Shangqing Daozi, the future Mountain Lord of Maoshan. We poured everything into cultivating him, but we never expected that he would abandon us..."

The Daoist boy suddenly spoke, "Because following you, the most I could achieve in my entire life would be the Pure Yang realm. But following others, there's hope of ascension in this life."

"You can't even ascend to the heavens, so how can you expect him to believe your teachings? Your paths are dead ends, impassable."

The Maoshan Mountain Lord was silent for a moment.

Ji Xiang was a little unhappy. "A teacher for a day is a father for life. It's not about following whoever is stronger. I remember the last person who did that was called Lü Bu. Lü Bu had no good end when he went around recognizing fathers everywhere."

"Who are you? From the moment we entered the mountain gate, you were the one announcing us. I didn't expect that you could speak so eloquently in the Shangqing Sect's Nine Heavens Palace, while the surrounding sect leaders don't dare to say a word to your words?"

"Squeak!"

The Eighth Sect Leader couldn't help but make a sound. He seemed to have some resentment towards this Daoist boy.

The surrounding sect leaders immediately laughed softly.

The Maoshan Mountain Lord said to Ji Xiang, "This child is the current Shangqing Daozi."

In Ji Xiang's impression, Daozi was not a good term. He remembered it appearing in the descriptions of the Jiajing Emperor's elixirs, where the mind and thoughts would gradually tend towards a certain "immortal" corresponding to the Daozi, eventually becoming the vessel of that immortal.

So Ji Xiang asked, "Which immortal does he correspond to?"

The Maoshan Mountain Lord immediately showed a look of astonishment, while the Daoist boy's eyes lit up.

"Heh!"

Ji Xiang exhaled, smiling meaningfully.

"You wouldn't happen to be a vessel for an immortal's descent, would you?"

The Daoist boy nodded. "If necessary, I am a vessel for an immortal's descent, but I'm not the only vessel. The Mountain Lord is too."

The Maoshan Mountain Lord was silent again, then nodded.

"The hidden and manifest realms are connected. The existence of the Daozi is a means made for the inheritance of the Dao, but the descent of an immortal will not happen until the sect is about to be destroyed, and it is not without conditions."

"Becoming a Daozi allows one to possess a large amount of resources within the sect. The Daozi is the appointed Mountain Lord and can possess much of the wisdom and knowledge of the corresponding immortal, making cultivation twice as effective."

Ji Xiang was speechless. "I thought it was Lü Bu's betrayal, but I didn't expect... Could it be that you, Maoshan, are Dong Zhuo?"

"Then this Daozi who betrayed Shangqing, actually has a reason, he doesn't want to become an immortal's vessel..."

The Mountain Lord was silent for a long time, and no one spoke in the Nine Heavens Palace.

Finally, with the Mountain Lord's breathing, his eyes drooped down:

"Maoshan, Shangqing, is this wrong?"

"Maoshan is the ancestral home of the Shangqing Sect. If we want to continue the inheritance in the manifest realm, without ascension, we must produce a Pure Yang in every generation. Without Pure Yang, it would be like the Quanzhen Sect."

The Maoshan Mountain Lord looked at Nanyang Zi and Luopo Xian. The two of them immediately felt uncomfortable.

"When a certain generation's aptitude is insufficient, they must accept the immortal's enlightenment."

The surrounding sect leaders all lowered their heads, silent.

"The Daozi, he can refuse to accept it, but he cannot betray Shangqing. Entering the sect means accepting responsibility. Doesn't the Upper Immortal understand? The Upper Immortal is from Wudang Mountain, so Wudang doesn't talk about responsibility?"

"With this betrayal, the sky is clear and the sea is wide. With this departure, Shangqing has lost one-third of its sky."

"Entering a sect to cultivate is not a child's play. You have to bear something very heavy, that is the Dao lineage. You can not be the Daozi, but you cannot destroy it. A teacher for a day is a father for life, even if not a father, at least, he has not done anything to betray him..."

"Betraying Shangqing, abandoning the righteous Dharma to cultivate evil Dharma, the bad influence on Maoshan is incalculable. At that time, three sect leaders were also bewitched by him, falling into the evil path, falling into Biyou Palace, and gathering the seventy-two Lower Maoshan to gather in the southeast, and regard him as their master. Now they are eyeing Maoshan."

"This, shouldn't we clean up the sect?"

The Maoshan Mountain Lord's old face was full of regret.

Ji Xiang didn't speak, just nodded slowly.

Indeed, there is nothing wrong with pursuing freedom.

But cultivation is not a game, nor is it going to work. It's not like you can quit and go destroy the original employer. This is apprenticeship. The Dao lineage is a very important thing... Although the Wudang's Dao lineage, if you have to say the earliest first orthodox, it should be the Five Dragons Shrine in the Tang Dynasty... Zhang Sanfeng's hermit sect was actually a latecomer.

So Wudang doesn't have a Dao lineage that has been passed down all the time. Each sect has its own. After all, it is a gathering place for rogue immortals, but it is different from the traditional sense of the rogue immortal alliance. The rogue immortals who can live in seclusion in Wudang are all famous figures in the world.

A gathering place for rogue immortals? That's not right.

It should be a retirement home for big shots.

Looking at the Daoist boy, the Daoist boy was now making a Heavenly Venerate hand seal.

Obviously, he accepted his fate, willing to be enlightened by the immortal, and became a Daozi, so he also possessed the wisdom of an immortal.

"Following the people in the Hidden Realm, one can achieve one's own ascension. Following Maoshan, one can only be trapped in the mountains as a Pure Yang."

"Actually, he is not very confident in himself."

Ji Xiang commented in this way, and said nothing more. Only a trace of regret appeared on the Daoist boy's face, as if he was reminiscing about the person who left Maoshan and betrayed Shangqing.

The Maoshan Mountain Lord sighed:

"Biyou Palace is killing people related to my Shangqing Maoshan everywhere, from the disciples of my Maoshan Mountain to the mortal pilgrims, to the rogue cultivators, all are killed without exception."

"They come and go without a trace, very ghostly, difficult to catch. Even if this old man has come forward several times, I have not been able to catch this kid, but just killed some fierce people from Lower Maoshan to vent my anger."

"This kid has already practiced the twenty-sixth chapter of my Maoshan's first scripture, the *Shangqing Great Cave True Scripture Thirty-Nine Chapters*, opening the immortal door above and blocking the dead door below. By driving the Qingping Sword, he can connect to the Shangqing Heavenly Dharma Realm, and my Maoshan has lost the Qingping Sword. This is to completely cut off the relationship between my Upper Maoshan and the Shangqing Heavenly Dharma Realm, and turn that Dharma Realm into his possession."

"From then on, he will be the orthodox Maoshan, and we will lose the Shangqing Dharma Realm and become inferior!"

"And he is indeed talented, this old Taoist has only learned twenty-six chapters, the talent is here, extremely ashamed."

"Lower Maoshan is greatly dissatisfied because of our actions, and is now gathered together, and may go to war with Upper Maoshan at any time, so entering my Maoshan at this time is very dangerous."

Ji Xiang is not stupid. The other party has already indicated it clearly, and there are still hidden words in these words. Ji Xiang does not intend to delve into it. As long as the other party is not a flying immortal, even a Pure Yang can be fought.

So he said, "So the threat you are talking about is that this Biyou Palace Master will take the Qingping Sword and kill me?"

"It's really strange, gathering the world's Dharma teachings to achieve a great cause of heaven and man, listening to the bewitchment of the Hidden Realm, or betraying Shangqing, the ultimate goal is to become an immortal ancestor, but why does he send people to kill people related to Maoshan?"

"No matter mortal cultivators? What good is this for him? He should know that if he wants to prove ascension, he should establish one thousand three hundred good deeds. If he does not establish good deeds and kills people indiscriminately, it will increase his karma and bad karma. When the heavenly tribulation moves, even if he avoids the demon king with the corpse disintegration method, maybe one day a thunder tribulation will strike and turn him into ashes."

"Wouldn't it be, borrowing your Maoshan's karma to get rid of it?"

Ji Xiang said his guess, the Maoshan Mountain Lord sighed, indicating that he also had this guess, but there was no evidence, and he did not understand the origin and fundamental usage of the other party's spells. It was useless to think wildly, and he could only close the mountain to avoid more killings, and draw a line on the ground and wait for the war.

Ji Xiang exhaled: "That's good, no matter what his difficulties were before, once he reaches the point of killing people indiscriminately, then there is nothing to talk about. Thousands of words of reasons are just disguises."

"You want me to help you destroy this rebellious disciple?"

The Maoshan Mountain Lord: "Although Maoshan's affairs can only be handled by ourselves, but it is very embarrassing, he stole the Qingping, his strength is not below me. I alone can't catch him. Although you are not a complete flying immortal, but the overall strength is still above me."

"Then, to regain control of the Shangqing Heavenly Dharma Realm, you also need your assistance from the side."

"As long as we can regain the Qingping Sword and the control of the Shangqing Heavenly Dharma Realm, Biyou Palace will inevitably collapse without being attacked. The rest is Maoshan's own business. It sounds simple, but the current Maoshan lacks decisive strength."

"That evil disciple has learned most of my Maoshan's inheritance, his strength is extremely high, the wisdom of the immortals also remains in his body, and it is even possible that he has been pointed out by another expert, completely turning the power of my Maoshan ancestor into his own..."

Ji Xiang's eyes suddenly radiated divine charm:

"Can reach Pure Yang?"

The Maoshan Mountain Lord: "Almost."

Ji Xiang: "That's not bad, one of the top figures in the human world."

"But I still have that request..."

The Maoshan Mountain Lord said: "No problem, as long as you agree, how many of Maoshan's magic circles you want to learn, I will personally teach you!"

"Good!"

Ji Xiang also agreed in one go.

After all, the affairs of the Song court are more important.

"By the way, the matter of Gusu, whether you believe it or not, has already happened. You can send someone to see it. The Pure Yang realm still cannot hear the Nine Heavens and see ten thousand miles, so I understand that you cannot understand some things outside in time."

"These two from Xuanmiao Temple are probably being targeted. Your Maoshan is Shangqing, I helped you this time, these two are practicing here to reshape their bodies. Quanzhen and my sect are all from the same Taoist family, and we help each other?"

The Maoshan Mountain Lord quickly said: "That's natural! Quanzhen has lost its physical body, if this is true, then I am afraid that the Quanzhen in the South will suffer."

"It's just that this Yin Spirit Song court is really puzzling. I have never heard of similar things. If I encounter it, I will definitely take action with all my strength. Since most of the other party is Yin Spirit ghosts, then as long as a Pure Yang realm sits in town, there will be no such thing as seizing the body under the refining of the sun."

Nanyang Zi and Luopo Xian immediately thanked Ji Xiang.

And Ji Xiang did this to give Quanzhen enough face. After all, there is still a misunderstanding with Zen Master Tiger Eye that needs to be resolved. Before being enemies with the world, it is better to fight less if you can. Although he doesn't take others seriously, they are all in the same camp after all.

"Eighth Sect Leader, your Treasure Lotus Lantern has good power. I will borrow it to watch for a few days, and I will not treat you badly. After all, these two still need your care. As the Great Ming Daolu Si Lord, the second ascension in the world, I can give you some small guidance on Thunder Dharma..."

The Eighth Sect Leader still had a bitter and hateful expression, but suddenly heard Ji Xiang's words, and was immediately stunned, then overjoyed, and readily said:

"Before, this junior was blind and offended Dao Lord, this junior would like to thank Dao Lord for his guidance."

Ji Xiang nodded: "It's okay, you are also a straightforward person, this style is very much to my liking, about you scolding me for being a soldier and a court lackey... I will not pursue it, after all, I am a court lackey."

The Eighth Sect Leader was stunned and didn't know what to say, he could only laugh dryly, and Ji Xiang also gave the tenth and fifteenth sect leaders the opportunity to guide them, and the two of them also thanked them.

Ji Xiang's tone was serious: "Enemies should be resolved rather than tied, and I hope that fellow Daoists will help each other in the future, and don't say two things in one family. We are all people of the Dao, today you are in trouble and I will help you, and tomorrow I am in trouble and I hope others will help."

The three of them trembled and bowed again: "Remember the teachings of Dao Lord! Dare not commit it again."

It's just that the Eighth Sect Leader still had doubts in his heart, that is, the Treasure Lotus Lantern could burn Ji Xiang before, but seeing that no one around mentioned this, although he was irritable, he was not a fool, so he closed his mouth and said nothing, as if this matter did not exist.

Of course, Ji Xiang would not let go of his small eyes, so he explained:

"The reason why the Treasure Lotus Lantern burned my body is because I have a finger of an Avici Hell evil ghost hidden on my body. This is a peak flying immortal evil ghost, and it is normal for the Treasure Lotus Lantern to react..."

After saying that, he showed the black finger, and suddenly a fierce force permeated out. Just appearing, it seemed that he was about to knock down other people's realms and damage other people's cultivation, making many sect leaders shudder.

Now, there is no more doubt, and Ji Xiang's identity is also clear.

The Maoshan Mountain Lord was about to ask Ji Xiang to go and inspect the magic circle with him.

But there is one more thing.

Ji Xiang pointed to his companion: "And this Lady Hou, she said before that someone found her and wanted to be her master, and taught her many spells, and this person is a member of Maoshan..."

When these words came out, everyone was stunned.

The Maoshan Mountain Lord was puzzled and asked Lady Hou: "What did the person who asked you to be a teacher look like before? What characteristics did he have? What spells could he use?"

He looked at all the sect leaders around: "Do you have any disciples or followers who are wandering outside?"

The sect leaders shook their heads.

Maoshan has been closed for some time, and the people outside have been recalled.

"I'm afraid it's someone from the seventy-two sects of Lower Maoshan, disguised as Shangqing. I, Maoshan, do not have one who uses the evil spirit's seventy-two techniques of expelling spirits, we all summon divine generals with talismans."

Lady Hou was shocked and quickly described the person's appearance. She worried and said, "Could it be the Biyou Palace Master you mentioned?"

The Maoshan Mountain Lord was silent for a while, did not admit it or deny it, but said:

"Please ask these benefactors to stay in Wanfu Palace for the time being, I will go with Dao Lord to practice the Maoshan magic circles."