Chapter 323: Friends in Evil (I)

There is a country in the south, its name is: Dali.

There is a prefecture in Dali, named Weichu.

There is a mountain in Weichu, named Ailao.

The Ailao Mountains stretch for more than a thousand miles from northwest to southeast. They have steep terrain and dense forests. There are countless birds, beasts, exotic flowers and plants in the mountains.

There is a high peak among the mountains, named "Damayan". Because it is located where tigers crouch and dragons coil, and mountains and water are dependent on each other, it is named after the meaning of "the integration of land and water". There is also a saying that "dragons are powerful when walking in water, and elephants are powerful when walking on land", so it is also called "Dragon Elephant".

Among the four major heretical sects in the martial arts world, the most noble sect, "Longxiang Mountain", is hidden here.

On the Dragon Elephant Mountain there is the Holy Lord and four Dharma protectors, and below them there are the Ten Impermanents and the Hundred Dragon and Elephant Messengers. Apart from these, there are no other disciples.

In terms of numbers and size, Longxiang Mountain is far inferior to other sects in the martial arts world, and even inferior to some green forest gangs. But it is worth mentioning that all those who enter Longxiang Mountain have good martial arts skills, so even the Dragon Elephant Hundred Envoys have martial arts skills that are comparable to the closed disciples of the six major sects.

Longxiang Mountain has always had a high opinion of itself and disdained to associate with other sects in the martial arts world. Over the years, it has established its own school, claiming to be extraordinary and unconventional, and the best in the world.

Because of this, the martial arts sects and Longxiang Mountain do not have much intersection, and usually they do not interfere with each other. This time, if Longxiang Mountain had not intervened in the affairs of the Yingchuan Pan family, Luo Tianjin would never point the spearhead at Dali.

According to the rules of Longxiang Mountain, on the first day of every month, all disciples in the mountain must hold a sacrificial ceremony at Damaoyan.

First, to offer sacrifices to the heaven and earth, second, to offer sacrifices to the Dragon Elephant Saint Ancestor, and third, to offer sacrifices to the old people in the sect. Among them, the Dragon Elephant Saint Ancestor is the founder of the Dragon Elephant sect, Yun Hongyi.

On the first day of December, everything was normal in Longxiang Mountain.

In the morning, after the sacrifice, Tang Xuan was ordered to invite Yan Wuji to Dayan alone, to meet with the Holy Lord of Longxiang Mountain in the Longxiang Temple.

……

A month ago, Yan Wuji and others set up an ambush at the place that must be passed before entering Sichuan, and rescued master and disciple Tang Xuan from Tang Ji and Tang Xiu. Then the group rushed to Dali without stopping and entered Longxiang Mountain seven days ago.

After that, Yan Wuji was placed in the guest room to rest. He could neither see the Holy Lord of Longxiang Mountain nor anyone to receive him. Although he was carefully served three meals a day, no one in charge came to visit him.

Tang Xuan had personally promised to introduce the Holy Lord to Yan Wuji, but after entering Longxiang Mountain, there was no news for several days, which made Long Yu, Hu Zhen and others quite dissatisfied.

Yan Wuji was not impatient and was quite patient. He knew that Tang Xuan must have told the Holy Lord of Longxiang Mountain the truth about his purpose. As for the silence for several days, it was not because the Holy Lord of Longxiang Mountain was deliberately putting on airs, but because he was repeatedly thinking and weighing the pros and cons.

Yan Wuji concluded that the day when the Holy Lord of Longxiang Mountain decided to meet him would be the day to tell him the answer.

For the world-famous underworld tyrant, all "arguing with reason" is in vain, and all "sweet talk" is just empty talk. The pros and cons, the wins and losses, the advantages and disadvantages, they have already seen through everything and understood it clearly.

Therefore, the Holy Lord of Longxiang Mountain was not in a hurry to meet Yan Wuji, and Yan Wuji was also patient.

On the contrary, the longer this matter is delayed, the more thorough the considerations of the Holy Lord of Longxiang Mountain are, and the greater the chance that Yan Wuji will achieve his wish.

……

Today, Tang Xuan came uninvited, on the orders of the Holy Lord of Longxiang Mountain, to invite Yan Wuji to meet alone, and chose the Longxiang Temple as the meeting place. The deep meaning behind this is beyond words.

The Dragon and Elephant Shrine is built on the top of Bodhidharma Rock, the highest point of Ailao Mountain. It is surrounded by clouds and mist day and night, and purple air comes from the east in spring and autumn. You can touch the sky with your hands and pick the stars and the moon with your fingers. It is comparable to a paradise on earth.

On the huge square, there is the Yitian Tower on the left, the Zhaixing Pavilion on the right, and the Longxiang Temple in the middle. It is magnificent and towering into the clouds. The huge plaque hanging high above the main entrance is daunting and makes people tremble all over.

On the plaque, three ancient characters "Longxiang Temple" written in a dragon-like and phoenix-like style add a sense of solemnity.

Under Tang Xuan's guidance, Yan Wuji stepped over the huge threshold that was almost knee-high and entered the huge ancestral hall with black glazed floors and gold-painted walls.

In the middle of the ancestral hall is a mountain of tablets so high that the top is not visible. On the mountainside is a golden sculpture of Yun Hongyi. Below it are three altar tables, each of which is eight feet long and is filled with dozens of offerings of various kinds.

From the spirit tablets to the offerings, everything is extremely bright and spotless. It is not difficult to see that Longxiang Mountain strictly abides by the ancestral system and the rules of respecting ancestors must be very strict.

At this moment, a burly man in a black robe and a golden mask on his face was standing quietly in front of the table, seemingly waiting for Yan Wuji to come. The golden mask almost covered his entire face, revealing only his eyes, nostrils and mouth, making it impossible to see his true appearance.

Seeing this, Yan Wuji could not help but frown, and bowed slightly to the golden-faced man, saying: "May I ask..."

"I am the Holy Lord of Longxiang Mountain, Yun Zhuiyue." Before Yan Wuji could finish his words, the golden-faced man had already answered, "I have long heard of Lord Yanling's great name. It is a great honor for Yun to meet you today."

Yun Zhuiyue's voice was dry and hoarse, and even a little off-key between words, which made it very uncomfortable to listen to. His voice was not like a human voice, but more like the roar of a wild beast. Although the sound was not loud, it was like a barb that scratched people's ears, which was extremely unpleasant.

"It turns out to be Saint Lord Yun. Nice to meet you! Nice to meet you!" Yan Wuji was surprised in his heart, but pretended to be calm on the surface. He walked forward slowly and stood five feet away from Yun Zhuiyue. He looked at him face to face, with a relaxed and composed look.

"I don't like beating around the bush. I invited Master Yan Ling here today to tell you..." Yun Zhuiyue's eyes were cloudy and slightly yellow, looking very scary. "I am very interested in Master Yan Ling's proposal."

"Oh?" Hearing this, Yan Wuji was slightly stunned, then showed a look of surprise, and asked suspiciously, "Saint Master Yun means... you agree to participate in the martial arts conference next year and go to the top of Mount Huashan to compete with the heroes of the martial arts world?"

"To be precise, I am competing with Luo Tianjin and Jin Fuyu for the position of leader of the martial arts world." Yun Zhuiyue's tearing sneer was creepy.

"Are you serious?" Yan Wuji was skeptical and asked, "Doesn't Lord Yun want to hear the conditions I offer first?"

"No need." Yun Zhuiyue shook her head slowly, "Instead of letting you make the conditions, why not let me make the request?"

"Alright!" Yan Wuji nodded and said, "Please be frank, Lord Yun. As long as I can do it, I will do my best."

"Let me come out to help you deal with Luo Tianjin and Jin Fuyu, but there are only three conditions."

At this point, Yun Zhuiyue slowly stretched out three fingers. Strangely, he was wearing black cloth gloves on his hands. A grown man actually wrapped himself up tightly, even more conservative than a woman, which really puzzled Yan Wuji.

"What three conditions?"

"First, after Mongolia conquers the Song Dynasty in the south, I will still be the master of the martial arts world, and I want the Mongolian Khan to write an imperial edict in advance to recognize my status in the martial arts world. After you enter the Central Plains, you must not make things difficult for me."

"Of course." Yan Wuji readily agreed to Yun Zhuiyue's first condition without hesitation. "I just hope that when my Mongolian army marches south, Lord Yun can mobilize the power of the Central Plains martial arts world and cooperate with my Mongolian cavalry to wipe out the Song court in one fell swoop. By then, not to mention making you the master of the martial arts world, even making you a king or a prime minister would not be a problem."

Yun Zhuiyue was not surprised by praise or criticism, and had no reaction to Yan Wuji's "bribe". He said directly: "Second, whether now or in the future, all matters in the martial arts world are decided by me, and the life and death of people in the martial arts world are also decided by me alone. The Mongolian court shall not interfere, let alone force. Similarly, this matter must be guaranteed by the personal edict of the Mongolian Khan."

Hearing this, Yan Wuji could not help but frown and asked, "Since you have been made the master of the martial arts world, then the affairs of the martial arts world will naturally be decided by you. Isn't the second rule similar to the first one?"

"No." Yun Zhuiyue shook his head and said, "Letting me be the master of the martial arts world and not interfering in the affairs of the martial arts world are not the same thing. What I mean is that even if there are people in the martial arts world who fight to the death against the Mongolian army in the future and would rather die than surrender, if I don't want to kill them, you must not touch them at all. I have also heard about your methods of attacking cities and plundering land. After breaking into the city, you smashed, burned, killed, raped, humiliated, and looted. I can tolerate some of this, but I can't tolerate some. So, except for people in the court, who in the martial arts world should be killed? Who not to kill? I have the final say. How do you think?"

“This…” Yan Wuji finally understood what Yun Zhuiyue meant and said hesitantly, “According to what you said, if there are really people who would rather die than obey, if we don’t root them out, won’t there be endless troubles in the future?”

"How can a gangster compete with the Mongol imperial court? How can there be endless troubles?" Yun Zhuiyue sneered, "Can you agree to this?"

Yan Wuji's eyes moved slightly, and he said suspiciously: "Please forgive me for making a bold guess, but could it be that the reason why Saint Yun wants to control the power of life and death is... to protect someone?"

As soon as Yan Wuji said this, Yun Zhuiyue's gaze suddenly focused, and then an indescribable chill instantly broke through his eyes and shot straight at Yan Wuji.

"Master Yan Ling, can you agree to this?" Yun Zhuiyue ignored Yan Wuji's doubts and asked back word by word.

"I..." Yan Wuji thought again and again, and finally nodded heavily, "I will report to the Khan and use my head as a guarantee for Yun Shengzhu. I believe the Khan will agree. But... it can't be repeated three times. If there are stubborn people, the Khan can let them go once or twice, but he will never indulge them indefinitely. I hope Yun Shengzhu will understand this."

Yun Zhuiyue stared at Yan Wuji without looking away for a long time, and then nodded slightly and said, "Understanding! Of course I understand!"

"That's great!" Yan Wuji smiled with satisfaction, "The first two conditions have been met. I wonder what Saint Yun's third condition is?"

Hearing this, Yun Zhuiyue's eyes quietly burst out with murderous intent, and she said coldly: "Third, no matter what the success or failure of next year's martial arts conference is, I will use your power to destroy the Xianwang Mansion, so that Luo Tianjin will be ruined, his family will be destroyed, and he will die without a burial place!"

……

(End of this chapter)