Chapter 429: The Battle
————Biha Cave

After Yuan Buwen had devotedly taught Master Kang for more than a month, he left Xiaohuan Mountain without hesitation and returned to Jingnan Prefecture.

Although there was still a delicate balance between Yunjiaozhou Court and Liangyi Sect, they were not without confrontation. Every ten days or half a month, three to five or six to seven Qigong practitioners would die. Yuan Buwen was not willing to leave easily for the sake of his clan.

While the big guys at the top are hesitating, the small characters below who are facing the sharp edge also have a hard time getting out of it. They still have to put their heads on the line and fight for their lives.

However, during the past few days, Kang Dabao could tell from Yuan Buwen’s daily conversation that the former seemed to have made up his mind to give up his family business and was willing to give all the cultivated land in Jingnan Prefecture to Zhu Tong.

This is not difficult to understand, because no matter how fertile the spiritual soil is in a place of war, it is difficult to grow good crops.

For this reason, the old man would be willing to move his entire family to the more remote Puzhou to compete with the Shishan Sect for food.

However, this matter was only mentioned for a while and then it was stuck with Zhu Tong, and there was no further progress.

After all, the Shishan clan had to surrender earlier. Although this family had been very close to the Yue family of Hancheng in the past and was not liked by the Jingji faction, they could not let the Jingnan Yuan family, who surrendered later, take advantage of them. If they did so, it would be too embarrassing for the provincial court.

But I think after this, Yuan Buwen might be able to earn a promise from Fei Nanying. Even if he can’t go to Puzhou to compete with the Shishan Sect for food, he can go to Dingzhou, which was once monopolized by the Hongyi Sect.

Ever since the Hongyi Clan was defeated in Dingzhou, the area of ​​Dingzhou has become very lively.

The various families close to the Liangyi Sect were either dead or dispersed, leaving behind a large area of ​​vacant land that the provincial government could not sit idly by and gradually moved in to occupy.

It is worth mentioning that the source of the migration to Dingzhou this time was different from the previous ones.

This is because most of them moved from other prefectures in Shanbei and Shannan Provinces, and there were not many people coming from the capital area, perhaps only one in five.

Even if the Yuan family in southern Jing moved there, they would probably not be able to live in peace for a while.

After all, the exiled Grand Elder of Hongyi Sect, Jie Yishangxiu, still had to recite some passionate words from time to time, such as: regroup, be on the alert, and restore the sect.

However, as long as they work together with the surrounding families to protect themselves, the pressure of resisting the counterattack of Hongyi Sect will not be too great. It will be much better than the feeling of the Jingnan Yuan family being pushed to the front by Zhu Tong and facing the blade.

Under such background, although Yuan Buwen’s impression of Master Kang was still far from good, when he taught him on weekdays, he was worthy of the four words “teaching with all his heart”.

Kang Dabao has benefited a lot in these days. Many of the awkward parts in his halberd techniques that he used to master have now been fully understood.

This is what is meant by “the Dharma cannot be passed on lightly”. The bottlenecks that have trapped many low-level cultivators throughout their lives can be solved with just a change of mind in the eyes of those high-level cultivators.

The copy of “The Art of War Taught by the Star God of the Wood Palace” passed down by the Yuan family can hardly be called a fragmentary copy. Perhaps it would be more appropriate to call it “fragmentary pages”.

In other words, if the generations of the Yuan family were willing to use the efforts they had spent on this halberd technique elsewhere, maybe with this persistence, there would be some hope for success.

But the head of the family, generation after generation, was dazzled by the high grade of the halberd technique, and thought that they could comprehend the essence of it and soar to the sky. But the fact is that the Yuan family has been clinging to the past until today, and has only acquired a few moves that can be considered good, which is a little comforting.

It seems that the chance to soar to the sky is gone, and all I can say is that all my hard work has been in vain.

As a latecomer, the head of the Kang family did take advantage of the Yuan family.

In addition, he had the Jade Jue to deduce, and he could save the Yuan family from the pain of cutting off their tongues in order to practice the “Pen Casting Skill” to perfection before practicing this method.

According to Yuan Buwen’s guess, this is because this method is not meant for mediocre people, and the threshold is extremely high. Therefore, if ordinary people want to achieve something in this way, they will have to suffer a lot.

However, Kang Dabao didn’t need to worry about this matter. He had a good understanding of this method. He only found a few fragments of this method from Yuan Feng’s storage bag. He was able to deduce most of the essence of the method passed down by the Yuan family with the jade pendant.

It’s just that there is a lack of people to sort it out, resulting in a chaotic, natural and unsystematic situation during the fight.

But now that Yuan Buwen had come to teach in person, he had clarified the matter for Master Kang.

With the help of this experienced alchemist, Kang Dabao made rapid progress. In just a month, the state of mind of Kang Da’s master in this method had reached the second level of swallowing the fight.

As long as he could gain a deeper understanding, perhaps within ten years, Kang Dabao thought that he would be able to reach the Burning Star Realm, which had been achieved by Yuan Buwen, the only person in the Yuan family of southern Jingnan in the past hundred years.

It is easy to practice the moves, but difficult to achieve the artistic conception.

The so-called four halberd techniques of Greedy Wolf Devouring the Moon, Seven Evils Locking Dragon, Falling Stars Burning the Sea and Divine Tree Reaching the Sky are all derived from artistic conception. As long as the artistic conception is cultivated and one is willing to work hard, these four halberd techniques are not difficult to master.

But what the head of Kangda is thinking about now is another matter.

He stopped practicing for a while, and spent ten days in the Biha Cave, reading the jade slip in his hand carefully without sleep. Then he closed his eyes and meditated for half a day.

This jade slip contains the annotations of successive heads of the Yuan family, including the Golden Elixir Patriarch. Kang Dabao read them one by one, and then compared them with his own understanding. He felt that most of the words on it were wrong.

“It is better to have no books than to believe in them blindly.” Today’s head of Kangda is no longer the ignorant and foolish peddler he used to be. It is time for him to criticize the comments of his predecessors.

But there are also some wonderful words in this jade slip that can make people suddenly enlightened. Most of them come from the annotations of Yuan Buwen, the current head of the Yuan family.

This also shows how talented this old cultivator is.

Unfortunately, due to various reasons, he still ruined his path and could not make the elixir.

Otherwise, if Yuan Buwen were in the current situation, he would be able to lead the Jingnan Yuan family to achieve greater success.

After extinguishing the sigh in his heart, Kang Dabao raised his right hand, snapped his fingers, and three jade beads flashed with light and flew out of his storage bag. Then, Kang Dabao hung them on his brows, mouth, tongue, and heart, and they flew down in a straight line.

“Yuan Buwen once said that it is difficult to deduce even a single word from the Nascent Soul stage. So, with the help of the Jade Jue today, can I deduce it?”

Master Kang made up his mind, and the three jade beads suddenly shook and glowed brightly.

A mysterious and indescribable spiritual aura arose in the Biha Cave. Kang Dabao held his breath and focused his mind, muttering: “The green tree is pregnant with murderous intent, the Beidou buries the dragon court, and the broken halberd is used as a pen to write the heavenly punishment.”

Another month passed like this, so it cannot be said that nothing was gained. However, if one were to deduce this method at this speed, it would probably take a hundred years.

This is certainly enough to make the Yuan family members who are wholeheartedly devoted to this method far behind, but in Kang Dabao’s opinion, it is not satisfactory: “Maybe my cultivation level is too low? Well, let’s wait until I form the golden elixir in the future and give it another try.” Kang Dabao had just left the cave and was returning to the sect when he saw Ye Zhengwen coming to find him.

“What’s the matter?”

“Sima Fei has sent a letter,” Ye Zhengwen took out a scroll of spiritual silk and unfolded it in front of Kang Dabao, saying, “In short, it’s just some words to prepare well and wait for the right time.”

Sect Master Kang took a quick glance and was not surprised. He just asked, “Where is the abbot of the temple guard now?”

“I received news ten days ago that he is still staying at Xianyu’s home in Bozhou.”

Kang Dabao said in surprise, “I remember that before I went into seclusion, the news from Wuwei Tower said that the abbot of the temple guard had gone to the outside of the Xianyu family formation in Bozhou to look for someone after paying homage to Xiang Tianxing in Zhaixing Tower. How come it has been so long and he still hasn’t moved?!”

“It really hasn’t moved,”

“No wonder no one called me during my long retreat. I wonder why I am so peaceful.” A trace of suspicion flashed across Kang Dabao’s brows, and he asked, “What is the state court doing?”

“No action has been taken. Perhaps the higher-ups haven’t yet agreed on the rules. The Xianyu family announced to the public that the mountain is closed and all foreign guests and children are not allowed to enter or leave.”

There must be something fishy about this matter. After all, the Xianyu family is the strongest force under the Zhaixing Tower except for the Liangyi Sect. Even the Tangzhou Yunshui Sect is slightly inferior to them. But now they have been blocked by a young Buddhist cultivator and have to close the mountain gate?
The head of the Kang family felt strange: “If we don’t take action now, the abbot of the temple guard in Bozhou might give birth to a child with Xianyu.”

The two discussed for a while but could not figure out what was going on. Just as they were about to leave, another person came to their door.

—————Council Hall
“I haven’t seen the Chief Secretary for quite a while. I was just about to pay you a visit, but unexpectedly the Chief Secretary took the time to come and meet me. I am honored but also guilty of it. How is the Chief Secretary these days?”

When the Chief Clerk of the Sima Mansion of the State Court rarely came to Chongming Sect, Kang Dabao called Pei, Ye and Zhou, three of his junior brothers who were given the title of elders and were stationed in the sect, to show his respect.

“Thank you for your concern, fellow Taoist. It’s all good. The south wind here is nourishing. I don’t know how much weight I have gained in these years since I came from Zhongzhou.” He patted his big belly with a smile, looking like a living Maitreya.

His words and actions were all very interesting, and everyone in the hall laughed after hearing them. However, after just a short while of chatting, his face suddenly became serious and he got down to business:

“Xiang Tianxing has approved Funeng’s coming to Shannan Road to select a concubine. After discussing with Governor Zhu for a while, Sima Fei refused to allow him to come to Yunjiaozhou to stir up trouble in the area actually controlled by the court. The two sides argued for several times, and only now have some clues.”

Kang Dabao then became solemn and said in a deep voice: “It’s not that I am a young man worrying about something, it’s because this matter involves my family, please give me some advice.”

When Bu Se mentioned Funeng, he also looked dissatisfied:

“It’s quite simple. Sima was merciful. In order to reduce the smell and the loss of life, Sima and Master Ma Mengqin of Benying Temple made a gentleman’s covenant. The state government selected nine true practitioners under its jurisdiction and held a Dharma Assembly in Xuanwei City.

Then I will ask all of you who are truly cultivating to fight with that Fu Neng in the Dharma Assembly. If he, the abbot of the temple, is lucky enough to win, he will take his consort away and cultivate to become a Buddha. If he loses, then don’t say anything more and go back to the Great Snow Mountain to eat ice.”

“Round battle?” The head of Kangda Sect was suspicious and said, “Will this be a loss of face for the state government?”

Bushe also shook his head: “You don’t know, fellow Daoist, we are not the only ones who can bargain. We were originally going to choose one person from the fake pill to compete with the temple guardian abbot, but later another letter came from Benying Temple.

The letter said that Shufu Neng is not even fifty years old this year, so those over a hundred years old under the jurisdiction of the state court are not allowed to stop him. In such a hurry, how can we find so many talents to use? “

After hearing this, Kang Dabao felt that what Bu Se said made sense. Originally, the only sect in Shannan Road that could slightly curb the evil rage of Benying Temple was Zhaixing Tower.

Now his family has allowed this to happen, and only the Yunjiaozhou Ting family has to stop it. It is indeed rare to find an outstanding person with similar conditions to match Fu Neng.

Kang Dabao didn’t respond for a while, but Zhou Yixiu, who was sitting in a corner, spoke first.

After all, the old farmer will not live for many more years, so his courage has grown along with his age in the past few years. Even when faced with such an honorable guest as this one, he still dares to mutter:
“Why don’t you just ask the officials in the state court to kill Funeng directly? That would be a quick and easy solution.”

How could this voice be hidden from anyone? Kang Dabao just turned his head to look, but Pei Yi had already shouted, “Junior Brother Zhou!”

Zhou Yixiu didn’t show any fear, but he felt distressed when he saw Pei Yi’s face turned pale after he shouted.

Zhou Yixiu bowed his head and apologized. Bu Se was a kind person, so he was not angry when he saw this. Instead, he explained to the people in the hall:
“The Snow Region Esoteric Sect was only obedient for a while when Taizu was still alive. The rest of the time, they generally did not care about worldly affairs, but just lived peacefully in the snowy mountains practicing Buddhism and preaching.”

Bushe’s words were very clear. Master Kang could tell from what he heard that Fei Nan’an and others were worried that they would offend the big shots in Benying Temple and force them to join the “Mie Wei” faction.

After all, although this Snowland Great Temple has not completely linked up with the “Miewei” faction, there have been many ambiguous rumors about the two sides in recent years. As for the core families in the “Baokuang” camp, their relationship with this Benying Temple is not harmonious.

At present, this thin layer of window paper has not been broken. Although the relationship between the Xian Dynasty and Benying Temple cannot be called harmonious, there is still a chance for improvement between them.

Before the Immortal Dynasty can come up with enough bargaining chips to attract such a large number of people to join the royal family and serve them, “maintaining the status quo” may be an outcome that both sides can accept.

Although such a major event concerning the world’s situation would not be affected by the practice of a young boy like Funeng, how could the officials in the provincial court, who were used to a stable life, dare to take such a risk?
After thinking it through, Kang Dabao did not say anything else, but continued with what Bu Se had said before: “According to what the Chief Secretary said, it won’t be long before Xuanwei City is filled with talented people.”

“Of course Sima Fei and Governor Zhu would be happy to see them.” Bushe laughed again. Originally from the former Buddhist sect in Zhongzhou, although he still had close relations with the Yue family, his relationship with the folks from the capital was not bad either. He was considered a rare and sophisticated figure in the Yunjiao state court.

“So the reason why the Chief Secretary came here is because Bo Yue called me over?”

“And there is also your clan’s Daoist friend Jiang.” At this point, the smile on Buse’s face became more sincere. “In the nearby states, there are not many people like Daoist friend Kang who have produced two outstanding people. Perhaps only the direct lineage of the Yang family in Yezhou can compare.”

“In this way, wouldn’t our two families occupy five seats?”

“That’s not the case. We have prepared 30 people in total this time. Elder Tianqin of the Fei family needs to review them one by one before we can decide on the final nine.”

“So that’s how it is.” Kang Dabao stopped asking and turned to call Pei Yi and the others. After a few simple instructions, he was about to leave with Buse. Unexpectedly, the chief official of Sima Mansion said, “Daoyou Kang, according to Sima’s instructions before the departure, in addition to Daoyou brothers, Yuan must also go with you.”

The expression of the head of the Kang sect changed slightly, but he did not object. He just agreed: “That’s right. Staying here is not only dangerous, but I’m afraid it will also implicate the sect.”

Hearing Kang Dabao’s understanding, he smiled and said, “No wonder Sima often told us in the official temple that among his descendants, only Daoyou Kang is the most serious and uneducated.”

After the nonchalant words, the two looked at each other again, smiled faintly, and said nothing more.

(I haven’t worked online for many years. The equipment broke down in the afternoon and I helped to lift the parts for half a day. I sweated a lot but I caught a cold. Everyone, please take care of your health.)
(End of this chapter)