69novels Page 135
Page 135
"In my opinion, the only way to save the people from their suffering is to overthrow the Great Xia Dynasty..."
"The various sects have their own people traveling the world to exterminate evil spirits, and as for other matters, they have already reached a consensus. Why do you need to do this?"
"The affairs of the world began with the Xia Emperor. Although there was a great prohibition against severing the connection between heaven and earth, I believe that we cannot rigidly adhere to the old rules at this time..."
"Enough! How the masters and elders should act is none of your business, a junior like you!" The old man rebuked him, and the man immediately shut his mouth, but he did not get up and just knelt on the ground.
After a long while, the man remained silent and did not get up. He just knelt there silently, touching the ground with his head, which gave off a stubborn feeling.
The old man suddenly sighed, his voice filled with helplessness:
"A cultivator must not interfere in worldly affairs... Do you really intend to make this choice?"
"This disciple... truly cannot bear to see the people in such a state."
"Do you know the consequences...?"
"Disciple understands, but... I beg Master to grant my request... Once this matter is settled, disciple will return to the mountain to accept punishment, willingly relinquishing my cultivation..."
After a long silence, the old man sighed again: "Fine, consider it my fault as your master, that my old eyes are failing and I failed to keep an eye on you. I will accept my punishment myself after we return to the mountain..."
"Master...Master..." Upon hearing this, the man kneeling on the ground suddenly raised his head and looked at the old man in disbelief.
"How could this be!"
"One should take responsibility for one's own actions, how can we let our master..."
"Shut up!"
“You have your stance, your teacher has my stance, and the sect has its stance…”
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"We were master and disciple, so I'll leave this 'Yellow Heaven's Scripture of Non-Action' and this nine-section staff to you... From now on, take good care of yourself..."
The man was taken aback. When he was about to speak again, he found that there was no one in front of him, only a nine-section bamboo staff stuck in the ground... and beside him, there was a book.
“Master…” Tears suddenly streamed down the man’s stunned face. He pounded his head on the ground and wept bitterly.
After a short while, he raised his head, wiped away the tears on his face, and only determination remained in his eyes:
"From this day forward, there will be no more Zhang Yiming in this world..."
"Only... Zhang Taiping!"
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“Zhang Taiping! The Yellow Heaven's Scripture of Non-Action…The Nine-Section Staff…This…Could this be?!” Li Jingxin’s heart was filled with the shock of a Category 7 hurricane… He suddenly recalled a scroll he had once read, which contained a scene like this:
"...Taiping leisurely strolled to Qiaoshan, where he met an old man... who left him a book and a staff, and then departed without saying another word, never to be seen again. The next day, upon examining the book, he found it to be the *Huangtian Wuwei Jing* (Yellow Heaven's Classic of Non-Action), and the staff had nine sections, which was quite remarkable..."
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At this moment, the perspective shifts again...
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The sky was overcast, with thick clouds gathering overhead, and a fierce wind howled across the barren yellow earth.
Two massive military formations were facing each other on the plain.
On one side, the army was filled with soldiers in black and red armor, the boundless formation exuding a solemn and gloomy sense of impending doom. Li Jingxin noticed that in the center of that formation stood two large banners, each over ten meters high.
One of them is inscribed with "Awe-inspiring throughout the world".
The inscription on the other side reads, "By the mandate of Heaven to punish the traitors, Li, Left General of the Central Army."
On the other side of the army formation, the soldiers all wore yellow turbans on their heads, and two huge flags stood in the center of the formation. Although they were relatively rough in workmanship, they were equally eye-catching.
One of the inscriptions reads: "The Blue Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven shall rise."
The other side reads: "The Great Teacher".
The deep, muffled drumbeats rolled across the earth like thunder, each beat making one's heart pound upwards, almost reaching their throat...
Then, the war began...
As the two armies drew closer, they began exchanging fire, arrows raining down on the opposing ranks...
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From the very beginning, the war displayed an extremely brutal side, with people falling one after another on both sides. The sounds of battle cries, the neighing of warhorses, screams of agony, the whistling of blades cutting through the air, and even the splattering of blood were all mixed together.
High above, the sky grew increasingly gloomy. In that realm invisible to ordinary people, a colossal tentacle, defying description, was about to tear through the layers of clouds and invade this world...
Chapter 220 The Great Teacher
These tentacles hold such twisted, depraved, and filthy nature! Just one glance is enough to drive one mad...
Li Jingxin almost lost control of his mind after just one glance, but fortunately, some kind of power seemed to protect him, and even so, he dared not look again.
He noticed that as the tentacles invaded, at this moment, some soldiers in the black and red army formation had clearly mutated. They became taller than ordinary people, with bluish-black faces, stiff and twisted gaits, and charged into the enemy army formation fearlessly.
In the ranks of soldiers wearing yellow turbans, some thin soldiers immediately rushed forward without hesitation. However, these soldiers were thrown into the air like grass. Even if two or three people fought against one, they still could not stop the charge of these enemy soldiers, and the entire line became unstable.
At that very moment, as a burst of clear light swept across the polar region, the enemy soldiers, who had been acting like madmen, froze on the spot and then suddenly collapsed and died...
In the unseen realm, wisps of black energy surged from their bodies... merging with the tentacles in the sky...
Following the direction from which the clear light was coming, Li Jingxin focused his gaze and saw that beneath the banner that read "The Azure Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven shall rise," a tall earthen platform had been erected. In the center of the platform, a long sword was stuck, vibrating with a buzzing sound, and from this point, a large amount of clear light began to emerge.
A person dressed in a linen robe with flowing hair and holding a nine-section staff was stepping out of the earthen platform, walking step by step into the sky.
"Great and Wise Teacher!!"
"A great and virtuous teacher!!!"
"A great and virtuous teacher!!!"
Below, cheers rose and fell like waves, echoing across the plains like thunder...
This scene caused a subtle commotion even within the opposing army's ranks.
Looking at the man from the side, Li Jingxin immediately recognized him as the "Zhang Yiming" from before. However, he now appeared much more weathered and aged than before, with a more resolute face and a piercing gaze.
Li Jingxin had already made up his mind: this must be the "Great Teacher" who stirred up the winds and clouds two thousand years ago, and also the ancestor of his lineage of Yunxiao Mountain—Zhang Taiping.
He then tossed the nine-section bamboo staff in his hand into the air. The staff rose with the wind, transforming into a blue dragon that grew larger and larger, climbing higher and higher until it pierced through the clouds. Immediately afterward, the leaden clouds overhead began to churn, streaks of lightning accompanying the dragon's movements, all coiling towards the tentacles…
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The scene shifts again, this time to a military tent where Zhang Taiping sits cross-legged, eyes closed, meditating. The tent is simply furnished, containing only a wooden table, some scrolls, a brazier, and a felt rug beside the table.
Outside the tent, the figures of several soldiers standing solemnly with their weapons could be seen, their shadows reflected on the tent fabric by the flames of the campfire outside.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes and looked to the side of the military tent. An old man dressed in feathered robes, with white hair and beard, appeared there silently. The old man looked at him but did not speak, only sighed softly.
Slowly rising, Zhang Taiping first bowed respectfully, but his eyes narrowed: "Uncle-Master, are you also here to stop me and help that tyrannical emperor...?"
The old man shook his head: "I came to persuade you to return to the mountain."
"We are only one step away from capturing the capital, killing that tyrannical emperor, and restoring peace and order to the world. How can we give up halfway..."
"Do you know that the Xia Emperor has passed away?"
"What?! Is this true?!"
"Since you defeated Li Song, the Left General of the Central Army, the capital's military strength has been depleted, and the people are in a state of panic. Minister Wang Yuan secretly sent a letter to the Marquis of Beiliang to enter the capital to purge the court of corrupt officials and kill the imperial relatives and eunuchs. Yesterday, the Marquis of Beiliang's army entered the city through the north gate of the capital, stormed the Forbidden City, and killed thousands of imperial relatives, eunuchs, and those who resisted. Emperor Sun Xie of Xia threw himself into a well in his palace and died."
"So what is the current situation in the capital?"
"A curfew is in effect in the capital, and the fact that the emperor has died is still a secret for the time being. The Marquis of Beiliang is keeping the death a secret and intends to establish the third prince, Jing, as the young emperor. At that time, he will announce to the outside world that the eunuchs have gone mad and attempted to assassinate the late emperor."
After the old man finished speaking, he looked at Zhang Taiping, who was stunned into silence by the news, and suddenly said:
"You wish to declare yourself emperor?!"
Zhang Taiping shook his head: "This disciple has cultivated since childhood, how could I covet the throne? I only wish for peace throughout the world..."
The old man stared at him for a while before finally speaking again: "Have you ever considered that, as a mere cultivator, you stirred up such a storm, how could you have succeeded so smoothly without the silence or even encouragement of the various sects...?"
"Have you not seen how the various local lords have all stood by and watched?"
"In the end, Emperor Xia's perverse actions led to the alienation of the people, and the various sects were unwilling to let the evil god escape, bringing the situation to a point where it was impossible to control..."
"Otherwise, even if your teacher wanted to cover for you, how could he possibly bear the weight of such a serious offense of violating the precepts..."
"But now, the situation has changed," the old man said solemnly. "Sun Xie is dead, and the seal has been reinforced again. These past few days, every night people have been falling ropes out of the capital, heading to all corners of the land. What follows is a drama of warlords rising up and vying for supremacy. If you were to get involved..."
The old man said meaningfully, "Times have changed..."
Zhang Taiping's expression shifted constantly, clearly indicating a fierce internal struggle.
“I watched you grow up. Listen to your senior uncle: although you have committed a serious offense, there were reasons for it, and you have also done great service to the world. The elders are not unreasonable people... If you stop now, there is still room for maneuver…”
As the old man spoke, he pointed to the area outside the account book again: "Moreover, if the various lords rise up among your hundreds of thousands of followers, the Yellow Heaven Sect in each region will inevitably bear the brunt and become the target of everyone's attacks. At that time, the world will be in turmoil, and you must make preparations for them in advance so that they don't meet a terrible end..."
The old man stopped there and simply looked at Zhang Taiping silently, as if waiting for his choice.