Chapter 431 430 Chu Kun's Heartache (Two Chapters in One)

Chapter 431 430. Chu Kun's Heartache (Two Chapters in One)

Xu Yuanzhen did not enter the city.

She was not curious about Zhou Pu.

This trip was because of something that the Later Han Dynasty currently controls.

To be precise, it was something that was once controlled by the Later Chu Dynasty, but now it fell into the hands of Zhou Wei, who established the Later Han Dynasty.

After entertaining Master Zhiquan, the abbot of Liuli Zen Temple, and sending him off, Zhou Wei summoned Zhou Pu in the palace.

"You don't like Liuli Zen Temple?"

Privately, there was no one else, and Zhou Wei got along with Zhou Pu very casually, and asked him to sit down.

Zhou Pu did not hide his opinion in front of the people around him: "Father, those monks are actually the same as the witches and demons. They have no good intentions."

Zhou Wei: "Your status and my status are different from the past. Those who are in high positions should be tolerant."

Seeing that Zhou Pu was about to say something, Zhou Wei interrupted him and said: "I have also heard about the affairs of the Saha world. Because of this, we need to treat these monks with courtesy at present."

He emphasized the pronunciation of the word "at present".

Zhou Pu nodded: "Father is right, I understand."

Zhou Wei nodded.

Although Zhou Pu seemed cold when dealing with people in the Buddhist sect and rarely interacted with them, he was still polite on the surface, which showed that he could distinguish the importance of it.

Zhou Wei has always appreciated and valued this adopted son.

On the other hand, the alienation between the other party and the Buddhist sect may not be a bad thing for Zhou Wei himself at present.

During the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, there were wars everywhere. Behind the ever-changing situation, in addition to a lot of bloodshed, there were also a lot of betrayals.

Zhou Wei himself was once an important military official of the Later Chu Dynasty, but now he has overthrown the Later Chu Dynasty and replaced it.

Such situations have been happening in this world for hundreds of years and are not new.

Not to mention the monarch and his subjects, even if they are from the same clan, even fathers and sons and brothers, there are not a few cases of fighting for power and killing each other.

In order to overthrow a country, in addition to one's own strength, there are often external aids.

Like Zhou Wei, when he overthrew the Later Chu Dynasty and established the Later Han Dynasty, he had the help of Liuli Zen Temple.

When the Later Chu Dynasty was founded in the past, there were also traces of the help of witch masters.

Before their demise, there were many great witches in the Later Chu Dynasty, and they participated in the war to quell the rebellion of the Black Kirin Army, but in the end Zhou Wei led the Black Kirin Army to capture the Later Chu, thus changing the dynasty.

There are countless precedents, and Zhou Wei himself founded the Later Han Dynasty.

Even if it is not a change of dynasty, similar things will happen more frequently in any force or military town that has become powerful in normal times.

In such an era and surrounding environment, it is obviously impossible for Zhou Wei to fully trust his soldiers.

Zhou Wei himself has close contacts with Buddhism, and some of his subordinates also have close contacts with Buddhism. Will someone replace him in the future?

In this case, Zhou Pu, who secretly hates Buddhism, makes Zhou Wei trust him more.

He has long understood that the other party is not pretending.

Moreover, while Zhou Pu is hostile to Buddhism, he has fought with the witch sect many times and killed many great witches with his own hands.

Buddhism and witch sects, which are most likely to support the rise of new strongmen in the Later Han Dynasty, are very distant from Zhou Pu.

This makes Zhou Wei, who already trusts him, more at ease.

Of course, Zhou Wei also noticed that his nephew and adopted son usually interacts more with some Confucian scholars.

But in this world, Confucian scholars are not a big deal. Even if they have some ideas, they can hardly turn the tables like Buddha and witches. Instead, they can become a force of checks and balances.

Therefore, Zhou Wei admired Zhou Pu's vision and judgment for doing this.

However...

"In this chaotic world, for people of our generation, the most important thing is still this!"

Although Zhou Wei was wearing a dragon robe, he had a knife hanging from his waist. At this time, he took off the knife and slapped it on the table in front of him:

"With this, we can control others. No matter what others think, we can use it."

Zhou Pu: "I understand."

Zhou Wei nodded, and then motioned Zhou Pu to draw the knife: "This knife, take a look at it yourself."

Zhou Pu was a little surprised, but he did not hesitate. He stood up and took the sword, stepped back a few steps and drew the sword.

He had long recognized that this knife was not the magic sword Zhou Wei usually used.

As soon as the knife was in his hand and had not yet been unsheathed, Zhou Pu felt more clearly that this knife was unusual.

After he pulled out the long sword, his face was even more surprised.

This was because the sword was made of stone, and it was a stone sword, not a magic weapon in the general sense.

Zhou Pu fell into deep thought after carefully pondering the power and artistic conception conveyed by the sword.

Seeing that he was quite calm and composed, Zhou Wei's eyes were more admiring.

After a long while, Zhou Pu finally spoke: "Father, the sword meaning contained in this sword is similar to the sword art of the Chu King's lineage, but the overall concept seems to be very different.

No, it should be said that the sword art of the Chu King's lineage is largely derived from this stone sword. After pondering and comprehending, they combined their own learning to create the most suitable sword art for them.

This stone sword is the main trunk, and the sword art of the Chu King's lineage is a branch of it."

Zhou Wei looked at Zhou Pu: "What else?"

Zhou Pu pondered: "The top martial arts of the royal families of Nanyue and Beiliang also seem to be related to it."

There are endless battles between countries. Whether Zhou Pu was a Chu general in the early days or a Han general in recent years, he has fought many battles with masters from all sides.

He has extraordinary talent in both bone and comprehension, especially his bone is more inclined to soul perception.

Earlier, Zhou Pu had keenly felt that the top skills of the royal families of several countries had something in common.

It was just that the differences between them were greater. But now it seems that they are all related to this stone knife, and are branches of it?

"You are right." Zhou Wei took the stone knife from Zhou Pu: "But they may not all come from this stone knife."

Zhou Pu: "Are there multiple similar stone knives?"

Han Wang Zhou Wei: "I also killed someone from the Chu royal family before, and after obtaining this knife, I spent a long time thinking about it. I also got some information from Liuli Zen Temple, and then I roughly sorted out the context of the matter."

He sheathed the knife and asked Zhou Pu to sit down again: "The martial arts of today's world have changed a lot compared to the ancient times. You know this."

Zhou Pu: "Yes."

Han Wang Zhou Wei: "This is due to the factors of the times and environment, and there are also Buddhists and witches behind it. Push, but in addition to this, there is another important source. "

Zhou Pu's eyes fell on the stone knife that had been put into the sheath: "Is it related to this stone knife?"

Han Wang Zhou Wei: "Yes, you know the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths. Saha and Lingshan are both among them. In addition, there is a place in the Ten Earths called Daju. Have you heard of it?"

Zhou Pu nodded: "I have heard of it. I heard that in ancient times, warriors and Confucian scholars entered together to explore and master it. The name "Daju" even came from Confucianism.

Afterwards, it experienced some ups and downs, and was dominated by Confucianists, but in the end, like Youyin and Dahuang, it fell into the hands of martial artists.

However, I heard that during the catastrophe at the end of the Han Dynasty, the situation was in chaos. There was no written record of what happened next in the Da Ju, and people can only guess now.

He looked at the stone knife: "Father mentioned this matter today. Could this stone knife... no, these stone knives come from Da Ju?"

"It's not certain yet, I'm just guessing at the moment." Han Wang Zhou Wei said: "But the martial arts law contained in it is very likely to have a wide impact. After hundreds of years, it has changed the martial arts today."

Zhou Pu thought for a while and asked: "Father, will Saha and Lingshan know the truth, or part of the inside story?"

Han Wang Zhou Wei: "It is very likely."

Zhou Pu said softly: "The source of these stone knives is unknown. For many years, I have not heard of anyone really opening the portal of Daju and connecting Daju with the human world again.

Perhaps, those monks and witches also want to find a way to open Daju through us warriors."

Han Wang Zhou Wei: "You know it well. From today, unless you go to war, as long as you are in the capital, take some time every day to come to the palace to study this knife. Even if you cannot find out the secret of Daju, you can also practice and hone your martial arts."

Zhou Pu bowed to him: "Thank you, father, for your gift."

……………………

The human world of the Tang Dynasty.

In the Tianshi Mansion of Longhu Mountain.

Lei Jun talked to Xu Yuanzhen: "So what do you think, senior sister, is that not only are there many warriors in the human world looking for Daju, but even the Saha Buddhist sect and the Lingshan witch are also working hard to find it?"

Xu Yuanzhen: "Yes."

Lei Jun knew why Daju aroused the interest of his senior sister.

The Nine Heavens and Ten Earths are naturally good, but the eagerness shown by the Buddhists and the Witches is as if they know that there is something special and unique in Daju.

Considering that there are Buddhist masters in Saha, Lingshan is probably not simple either.

There may be masters who ascended to heaven before the catastrophe at the end of the Han Dynasty in these two places, and they still exist today.

"Are those stone knives really from Daju?" Lei Jun asked.

Xu Yuanzhen: "If it's not Daju, it must be one of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths."

Lei Jun thought: "It may be similar to the situation of the alien race and the Great Wilderness."

The alien race trampled on Wenhua and destroyed the Daliang Dynasty in the Daming world and the Song Dynasty in the Song world. Their martial arts are unique, with a wild and desolate atmosphere, and they are unique.

Lei Jun guessed earlier that it might be related to the Great Wilderness.

The current influence of Daju on the martial arts of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms may also be the same.

However, it is still very subtle at present, just a subtle influence, not as drastic as the grassland alien race and the Great Wilderness.

"I got a stone knife in a dynasty called Beiliang and am studying it." Xu Yuanzhen said casually.

... You are worthy of it.

Lei Jun blinked when he heard it.

"How is the human world in the Han Dynasty recently?" Xu Yuanzhen asked.

Dihai and Datong were closed one after another, and they borrowed the arrangements she left in the ancient Song human world and the modern Han human world respectively. Xu Yuanzhen had known about it for a long time and didn't take it to heart.

What she was more interested in in the modern Han human world was always the Longhu Mountain of the Han Dynasty.

"The storm is coming." Lei Jun replied: "Although Huang Jinhan and Xumi had a quarrel before, some things have been prepared for many years and have to be launched. At least the people in Kongsang Wumen are more likely to make some adjustments and take advantage of the situation."

Xu Yuanzhen: "Very good."

After the two sides chatted for a while, Xu Yuanzhen took the initiative to end the contact.

Lei Jun sat still, looking up at the sky for a long time.

After a long time, he gathered his divergent thoughts.

For Lei Jun, the rest of his life will continue at his own pace.

While practicing quietly, he nurtures his magic weapon, handles the affairs of the mansion, and teaches his disciples.

In terms of teaching disciples, Lei Jun is of the same lineage as his mentor Yuan Mobai.

Although he often has various inspirations about the practice of Taoism, he teaches Zhuo Baojie and Han Xiaofei in the most orthodox way.

At least, this is the case in the foundation-laying stage.

After the foundation is solid, the two have their own ideas, and Lei Jun doesn't mind them playing freely.

Meditation in the mountains, not knowing how long the years are.

After the summer, Lei Jun celebrated his 82nd birthday.

After the New Year of the following year, the Longhu Mountain Tianshi Mansion ushered in Lei Jun's fourth ordination ceremony as a Tianshi.

Cheng Rongrong and Han Xiaofei are both talented, but they will miss this ordination and can only wait for the next time.

Referring to their current progress, waiting for another six years is uncertain.

Whether they will be given an exception at that time has not yet been determined.

Although there are no extraordinary monsters like Han Xiaofei and Cheng Rongrong in this ordination, there are also seed players valued by the elders in the mansion.

Some of them have a slightly special background.

The young elder Yu Yichen came to watch the ceremony on behalf of Chunyang Palace.

The female nun next to him, wearing cloth and hemp shoes, was Xie Yiying, a representative from the Shushan School.

Their eyes were now focused on a yellow-robed disciple of the Tianshi Mansion who was attending the ordination ceremony.

"Is that young man from Datong?" Xie Yiying asked softly.

Yu Yichen nodded: "The son of Rong State, one of the sixteen states of Datong, is named Qiu Ming, and his talent and foundation are quite good."

Xie Yiying nodded slightly.

She had heard that there was actually another person from Datong who also worshipped at Longhu Mountain.

He was the only son of the Zhou Emperor of Datong, named Xin Lu, and it was said that his talent and foundation were not inferior to Qiu Ming.

But it seemed that Xin Lu did not catch up with this ordination ceremony.

Xie Yiying could not ask Yu Yichen about this person.

Because as far as she knew, there was a rumor that Xin Lu's foundation was actually more suitable for the Taoist alchemy lineage.

Whether it was the Chunyang Palace of the Han Dynasty or the Chunyang Palace of the Tang Dynasty, if he had entered the Dan Ding Holy Land to practice, his current cultivation progress would not have fallen behind that of Qiu Ming, the son of Rong State.

But in the end, whether it was the order of Emperor Zhou or Xin Lu's own idea, he still went through many twists and turns and entered the Tianshi Mansion of Longhu Mountain in the Tang Dynasty to practice the Taoist Fulu School inheritance.

To this day, it is said that he has reached the state of perfect foundation building in the second heaven, and is only one step away from the three-heaven altar.

But the rules and customs of the Tianshi Mansion of Longhu Mountain have always been that at least one level of the three-heaven altar realm must be reached before one can participate in the ordination.

Just as one needs to complete the twelfth level of the first-heaven Qi Refining before one can participate in the ordination.

Xin Lu missed this year's ordination due to this one step.

Fortunately, it does not affect his next progress.

In the next six years, he can continue to practice seriously in order to reach the three-heaven altar realm and continue to work hard.

The first level of the altar realm is the lower limit for participating in the ordination, not the upper limit.

This year, many disciples who have reached the perfect state of the second and third levels of the altar participated in the ordination ceremony.

It was just that Xie Yiying couldn't mention Xin Lu in front of Yu Yichen of Chunyang Palace.

The reason why Xin Lu chose the Fulu School instead of the Danding School was not complicated.

For the current Tang Dynasty cultivation world, Longhu Mountain Tianshi Mansion is undoubtedly the leader of Taoism.

If Xin Lu was alone, he might consider his future development more.

But his family background determined that he could only choose Longhu Mountain.

Especially when Rongguo's son Qiu Ming also had a fairy fate with Longhu Mountain and converted to Taoism, Zhou Tianzi and Xin Lu had no other choice.

Unless Longhu Mountain was determined to reject him.

But Longhu Mountain Tianshi Mansion would not deliberately do this.

Zhongnan Mountain Chunyang Palace also didn't mind.

Xie Yiying didn't mention it at the moment, and Yu Yichen wouldn't care.

The choice is made by everyone, personal choice, personal responsibility.

Moreover, as early as when Chunyang Palace received the Longhu Mountain Talisman, Lv Jinduan, Wang Xuan, Jiang Yu, Yu Yichen and others had psychological expectations for similar situations and would not be shaken by this.

Longhu Mountain Tianshi Mansion has been blessed with great fortune. In the past few hundred or even thousand years, unless the general trend of the times changes again, the pattern of the Tang Dynasty Taoism will not change.

Even if the Danding Sect holy places such as the Tang Dynasty Chunyang Palace, the Han Dynasty Chunyang Palace, the Song Dynasty Chunyang Palace, and the Ming Dynasty Zhenwu Temple reunite, it is difficult to change this.

Moreover, if there is really a big change that shakes the world, it may not be a blessing for the Chunyang Palace lineage to be in it.

Therefore, Wang Xuan, Yu Yichen and others will only practice silently and restore the vitality of their own sects. The rest will not think about it.

"Yu Daoyou and Xie Daoyou have reached the eighth level of the realm, which is gratifying."

After the ceremony of granting the talisman, Lei Jun entertained Yu Yichen and Xie Yiying as representatives.

The two had been in seclusion before, and they came out almost one after another last year, and they also cultivated to the eighth level of infant transformation in the Dan Ding lineage and the eighth level of immortal travel in the refining lineage.

Going back fifty or sixty years, talking about them, there was a sense of competition. The two were of similar age, both talented, and practiced in the two major holy places of Taoism. The age when they reached the seventh level was also roughly the same.

However, in the current situation of the cultivation world in the Tang Dynasty, Longhu Mountain is the only one.

Chunyang Palace and Shushan Sect will not and do not need to compete for the second place.

Both sides are currently only seriously focusing on accumulating vitality for their own rise.

Because the old generation and the Mesozoic predecessors suffered too much loss, both Yu Yichen and Xie Yiying have gradually become the new generation of pillars in the sect.

As the master of Ziwei Sword, Xie Yiying's reaching the eighth level is even more significant.

Regardless of Chen Donglou's whereabouts, since the deaths of Wang Dongchu, Wei Qiyue, and Zhang Dongyuan, the Shushan School of the Tang Dynasty finally had another great swordsman who reached the eighth level.

Chen Donglou is naturally the most suitable and powerful Ziwei Sword Master in the minds of the people in Shushan.

However, when Chen Donglou did not return to Shushan all year round and there was little news, Xie Yiying reached the eighth level of heaven and was finally able to make Ziwei Sword shine brighter.

"I heard that the head of Shushan Zhang and the Taoist brother of Chunyang Gongyue Xilingyue have successfully reached the fourth level of the eighth heaven. It is gratifying and congratulatory. The Mahayana can be expected." Lei Jun continued.

Xie Yiying and Yu Yichen both said: "Senior brother, I have been practicing hard recently. I said before that I regretted missing the new disciples of the Celestial Master and the National Master. This time, I specially asked us to bring gifts to congratulate you. Please don't be offended by the Celestial Master."

Lei Jun: "Master Zhang and Brother Yue Dao are too polite."

During the ceremony last year, guests from Shushan Sect and Chunyang Palace actually brought gifts to greet them. This time it was more of a further expression of gratitude.

In recent years, there have been frequent exchanges between the three holy places of Taoism, and each has benefited a lot.

After recuperating, Shushan Sect and Chunyang Palace are gradually recovering their vitality.

In addition to Yu Yichen and Xie Yiying who have reached the eighth heaven realm, the younger generation of disciples in the two holy places have begun to emerge with dazzling newcomers and geniuses.

Although situations like Xin Lu's turning to Longhu Mountain are inevitable and not an isolated case, the world is so vast that even if the Shushan Sect and Chunyang Palace were occasionally in trouble, they would gradually get out of the trough in a short period of time.

Especially at the moment when the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is surging, although there are occasional disturbances in the world of the Tang Dynasty, it has generally entered a peaceful period, which is more conducive to the cultivation of monks.

As for the Shushan sect, Xu Duan is getting older and Ji Dongquan has also entered his plateau, but the rest, including Ye Dongming, are all young.

Compared to Xie Yiying, who had just reached the first level of the eighth heaven, Zhang Taigang, the leader, practiced hard and meditatively, and had successfully reached the fourth level of the eighth heaven, where immortals could travel all over the world and achieve perfection.

About forty years have passed since he first reached the eighth heaven realm.

However, the perfect journey to the world of immortality does not mean that one will soon be able to break through to the realm of the Nine Heavens and Mahayana.

Zhang Taigang still has a long way to go.

If things go wrong, it is not impossible to be stuck in front of the natural chasm between the Eighth Heaven and the Ninth Heaven. There are countless similar precedents.

A similar situation is found in the Yuexi Mausoleum of Chunyang Palace.

To a certain extent, the relationship between him and Zhang Taigang was like that between Yu Yichen and Xie Yiying.

About forty years ago, the two of them reached the eighth level of heaven at the same time.

Now, they are also working hard for the Nine Heavens.

Yue Xiling was a reserved person, and because of his teacher Huang Xuanpu, he became more and more low-key after that.

However, his state of mind is stable and he cultivates diligently. The years and winds and frosts have not obscured his charm that made him famous in the Tang Dynasty in the past. Until now, he has become the monk with the highest level of cultivation in the Chunyang Palace of the Tang Dynasty.

Due to her age, the current head of Chunyang Palace, Jiang Yu, is not as good as Yue Xiling in her current level of cultivation, but she is improving very quickly.

In the future, there is still a question mark over which one of Chiang Kai-shek or Yue Yue will be able to ascend to Mahayana first.

"The next Nine Heavens monks in the Tang Dynasty will first look at the two laymen Shen and Fang."

After seeing off the guests, Lei Jun chatted with his fellow disciples: "Then there are Master Zhang of Shushan Sect, Master Jiang of Chunyang Palace, and Fellow Taoist Yue."

He turned to look at his third junior brother Chu Kun, who had already completed the middle scene of the Divine Courtyard: "Junior brother, if you work harder, you might be able to catch up from behind."

Chu Kun shook his head and said with a smile: "I can't compare to you, Senior Sister, and Senior Sister Tang, senior brother. I'd better take things more slowly and not rush for a while."

He said with emotion: "Actually, there are two seniors from Shushan Sect and Chunyang Palace, and they are a little delayed. Otherwise, their pace will be faster than now."

Lei Jun nodded slightly: "Elder Chunyang Palace King and Elder Ye of Shushan Sect."

Wang Xuan and Ye Dongming are actually not very old at the moment.

Among their peers, they are all extremely outstanding people.

When Wang Xuan first became the Zhuque elder of Chunyang Palace, he was the youngest among the four elders. Like Yuan Mobai, Ye Dongming, and Yue Xiling, he started late but his master was senior.

Unfortunately, when the Chunyang Palace was robbed, his body was destroyed. Although he escaped from the trap later, he could not seize his body and only the Nascent Soul Yang God remained in the world.

Although he later received help from Longhushan Lei Jun to reshape his physical body, his previous practice had been delayed.

Judging from his age, his potential has not yet been exhausted, but he is no longer as aggressive as he was in his early years.

Ye Dongming was seriously injured when he entered Huangquan when Shu Mountain first appeared in Huangquan, which also delayed his practice.

Fortunately, with the current surge of spiritual energy in the world, they still have the opportunity to continue to progress.

"Elder Wang and Elder Ye are indeed a lesson to the past, and we should always think about it." Wang Guiyuan also sighed with emotion.

He looked at Chu Kun: "Third Junior Brother, the next step from the middle scene of the Divine Courtyard to the exterior scene of the Divine Courtyard is another crucial step. You really can't be too careful!"

Chu Kun: "What senior brother said is true, I will always keep it in mind."

After coming out of his fellow sect and returning to his cave, Chu Kun fell into deep thought.

He raised his hand and tapped his eyebrows lightly with his fingers.

However, under his own intentional control, Chu Kun's figure did not disappear this time, but remained in place, thinking seriously.

There seemed to be changes gradually taking place... Chu Kun looked solemn.

It was no accident that he entered the Ming Dynasty by mistake earlier.

Although senior brother Lei Jun and others never asked, Chu Kun knew it well.

The "promised land" that I have always been in is gradually changing.

When exactly does it start?

It should be that it was exactly fifty years when I got this blessing?

The changes did not stop there, but continued quietly, albeit at a smaller scale.

But will there be earth-shaking changes in the future?

When will it start?

Sixty years of Jiazi period?

Ninety-nine eighty-one return to the origin period?

One hundred years?

Or tomorrow?

In the next moment?

Chu Kun leaned back, sat on the back of the chair, and looked up at the roof in a trance.