In the deep mountains, white mist fills the air, and there is peace.
However, with the arrival of an uninvited guest, this peace is soon broken.
Taoist Priest Qingyun stood on the edge of the lake, looking at the man in front of him under the black cloak. He didn't know whether he was an outsider who had been hiding for a long time, or a ghost who had just crawled out of hell.
"I want to see the Heavenly Master." The man said.
His voice was hoarse and he spoke with a certain rhythm.
Taoist Master Qingyun had no intention of guiding him, "Many people want to meet the Heavenly Master."
"I'm from the north."
"Yu Jing?"
Taoist Priest Qingyun blinked, "Every year, many people come from Yujing to see the Heavenly Master."
The man paused and then said: "Or I should say, I come from the west."
As he spoke, he took out a Bagua mirror and showed it to Taoist Priest Qingyun.
His hands were pale and thin, as if they had not been exposed to the sun for a long time. Now that they were lightly exposed to the sun, they had faint red spots.
Taoist Priest Qingyun's expression changed immediately when he saw the Bagua Mirror.
"It turns out that the distinguished guest is from the Immortal Capital, and he is disrespectful."
Xiandu is located in Zhongnan Mountain in the Qinling Mountains.
The man didn't care about Taoist Master Qingyun's attitude. He just continued: "I want to see Master Tian."
"Master Tian must also be willing to meet you. After all, the immortal capital has not had guests for decades."
"Because the immortals are not on earth, but in heaven."
The man put his hands back into his sleeves and followed Taoist Priest Qingyun forward.
After the two walked for a while, they saw a large, elegant and simple courtyard, and Nangong Baixing was in it.
He seemed to have expected that someone would come, so he had prepared the tea table early. At this time, the tea set had just been scalded with boiling water, giving off a grassy aroma.
The man in black robe lightly touched his feet, and his whole body seemed to be blown by the wind. He flew up and landed gently on the opposite side of Nangong Baixing. He pinched the sword and raised it high above his head, performing a bowing ceremony.
"Zhang Yiyuan of Zhongnan Mountain, pays homage to the Heavenly Master!"
"Please take a seat."
Nangong Baixing pointed to the futon opposite him.
Zhang Yiyuan was not polite. After nodding his thanks again, he sat down opposite Nangong Baixing and lifted the cloak above his head.
It was an equally pale face. Except for the fact that it had no wrinkles, it looked like paper just picked up from the water, with almost no pores visible.
As soon as Nangong Baixing saw his face, he was sure that Zhang Yiyuan was indeed from Xiandu, because the Qi Refiners there all had the same face as him.
He doesn't seem to be very old, but people in Xiandu cannot judge their age by their appearance, because their faces are almost all the same, as if they were printed from the same mold.
As soon as Zhang Yiyuan sat down, before Nangong Baixing asked, he took out a scroll, put it on the table, and motioned to Master Tian to check it.
Scrolls already seem too ancient in this era, and most of the so-called confidential documents Nangong Baixing has recently received are made of kraft paper and sealed with wax, which can be considered rigorous.
There is also a wax seal on the scroll, which is an inverted Bagua. Some of the changes in the orientation allow people to interpret the location of the immortal capital from it.
Nangong Baixing opened the scroll and saw three names written in ink on some yellowed paper.
Yin Xiu
Ma Xiaoyu
Liu Jierong
After seeing these three unfamiliar names, Nangong Baixing raised his eyebrows and glanced at Zhang Yiyuan.
"What do you mean?"
Zhang Yiyuan said calmly: "I don't want these three people to live anymore, so we ask the Heavenly Master to help us."
Nangong Baixing scratched his head, "The Immortal City is well-known for its profound knowledge of Xuanmen. There are many people who will help you without even saying a word."
"Oh?"
Zhang Yiyuan looked at Nangong Baixing, looking a little rude.
"So, the Heavenly Master is not willing to help?"
"I said, many people will help you, it's enough without me."
Nangong Baixing picked up the tea cup and poured the tea into the cup, "Please give me tea."
"Thank you."
Zhang Yiyuan put his fingers together and tapped twice on the table, but did not touch the cup of tea.
"Oh, I forgot, the Qi Refiners in Xiandu don't eat hot food, I'm sorry."
Nangong Baixing wiped his fingers on the edge of the tea cup. A thin layer of frost formed on the tea cup, and the originally steaming tea immediately became cold.
Zhang Yiyuan nodded and thanked him, but still did not accept the cup of tea. Instead, he continued to ask him: "Everyone in the world will do things, and no one will refuse.
Do you think that as the Great Heavenly Master of Maoshan, you can refuse us? ”
"Xiandu is now working for the imperial court?" Nangong Baixing asked.
Zhang Yiyuan did not answer him, but just asked: "These three people, the immortals want you to get rid of them. Can Heavenly Master help you with this?"
Nangong Baixing touched his chin, feeling quite embarrassed.
"Liu Banxian, he is a feng shui master who travels around the world. Although he does deceive people and make money, he is not a murderer, nor does he follow any evil ways, nor do he harm the common people, or make imps to lower their heads. , I have no reason to deal with him.”
"Liu Banxian didn't make a kid to lower his head, nor did he practice sorcery, but what he did was a major deed that endangers the world.
It's just that he is really not a member of the Taoist sect. It is not appropriate to let the old master kill him. It will dirty the hands of the old master.
We will find someone to deal with this person. ”
Zhang Yiyuan took out a red pen from his sleeve, licked it on his scarlet tongue a few times, moistened the tip of the pen, and crossed out Liu Banxian's name.
"Ma Xiaoyu."
Nangong Baixing’s frown deepened.
"She is the contemporary Celestial Master of the Ma family. Although she calls me "Old Celestial Master" when we meet her, seriously speaking, she is on an equal footing with me in terms of Taoist status.
Although the Ma family also uses the Maoshan sect, they are not under the control of the Maoshan sect, and the two parties do not interact with each other on weekdays.
You also know that the Celestial Master of the Ma family lineage is determined by the family. Who will be the Celestial Master? The Ma family only needs to inform the Taoist sect. In recent decades, they have not even informed.
The Ma family is independent from the Taoist sect. I am not qualified to point fingers at the descendants of the Ma family, let alone do justice for heaven. ”
"I know."
Zhang Yiyuan smeared a few more strokes on the scroll, covering up Ma Xiaoyu's name.
"The Ma family has always been in trouble. It can't be dealt with by just a few commandments or some big principles. It's not something that Heavenly Master needs to worry about. We will ask someone to talk to the Ma family."
As if he had expected to encounter such a situation, Zhang Yiyuan was very calm and pointed the pen tip at the last name.
"Yin Xiu, he is the great enemy of the world, an ambitious man who covets the fortune of Jiuzhou. This person even asked the old Heavenly Master to take action." Nangong Baixing was silent for a long time, and finally replied: "He is Mao Xiaoming's apprentice. , a true disciple of the Mao family.”
"He is also your disciple."
Zhang Yiyuan smiled and said: "Although he has not yet received the ordination, all his magic and inheritance come from the Maoshan sect.
Yin Xiu is a descendant of the Tiandao Sect and an orthodox disciple of Maoshan. Since he is a disciple of Maoshan, of course the old Tianshi has to take action. ”
"What do you want me to do? Kill him?"
Nangong Baixing rolled his eyes upward, his tone full of coldness.
Although Nangong Baixing did nothing, Zhang Yiyuan, who was sitting opposite him, already felt a layer of goosebumps on his hands and a chill on his back.
"Old Master, do you want to reject Xiandu?"
"I didn't mean that."
Nangong Baixing calmed down the pressure on him, making Zhang Yiyuan feel a lot more relaxed.
"However, I really don't know why I want to deal with Yin Xiu."
He put a hand under his chin, seeming very distressed.
"Yin Xiu, although he is not ordinary and does not do things like a traditional Taoist priest, I don't think he is a bad person."
"Traditional Taoist priest?"
There was a smile of unknown meaning at the corner of Zhang Yiyuan's mouth.
"Old Heavenly Master, do you think that time has changed and the Taoist sect will also change with this world?"
"Even the Immortal Capital, which has existed for thousands of years, can cooperate with the imperial court. What is impossible?"
Nangong Baixing took a sip of tea. When he entered the mouth, the bitterness, aroma, and sweetness of the grass all rushed to the tip of his tongue, making him smack his lips.
"Nowadays, there are very few Taoist priests who go out to catch monsters and ghosts. The predecessors have caught all the monsters and there are no more.
When I was young, I often heard my senior brothers say that if all the monsters and monsters were eliminated, everyone would live a good life.
But if the monsters are gone, will the world be at peace? I don’t think so either.
Today's Taoist priests do not have to deal with demons and ghosts, and they are unable to fight against the world. What they have to fight is themselves, to make themselves behave upright and sit securely.
This was difficult before, but it is even more difficult now. ”
Zhang Yiyuan was thoughtful, finally reached out and drank the tea in the cup.
Instead of swallowing, his throat looked like he was pouring tea down a pipe.
After putting the tea cup back on the table, he asked: "Are you saying that the biggest enemy of today's Taoist priests is their own inner demons?"
"What if?"
Nangong Baixing gave Zhang Yiyuan another cup of tea.
"Those who want to get rich, want to be successful, or want to escape from the world and become immortals, as long as they have ideas, they have to toss, but often they don't understand, and in the end they can only wander around in confusion, hurting others and themselves.
Yin Xiu, he also messes around, he also makes random mistakes, and the chaos he creates is bigger than the last, but I think he is someone who can figure it out.
Not only can he make himself figure it out, but what he does can also make other people figure it out.
You say what he did was right or wrong, I don’t know. Maybe he really did something wrong, but even if he did something wrong, how wrong could it be?
Was he responsible for the unrest in the north? Or is Kyushu's decline related to him?
Even if he wanted to, he couldn't do it, so I really can't think of a reason why I have to deal with him. ”
Zhang Yiyuan was noncommittal, but emphasized: "The past may have been none of his business, but now, he has become the biggest hidden danger.
He is collecting the sons of the Dragon Emperor in Kyushu. If he were to collect them all and take the dragon veins of Kyushu into his bag, the immortal city that has existed for thousands of years will also fall into the mortal world because of losing its aura. ”
"That's it."
Nangong Baixing couldn't help laughing, "No wonder the immortals are cooperating with the imperial court. It turns out that you are worried about this, fearing that Yin Xiu will really gather the dragon veins and affect your immortality.
Guests, no one has ascended in more than two hundred years, and the way of heaven is gone. Do you think you will be the lucky one to find a ticket to leave in the end? ”
Zhang Yiyuan's face darkened, "So, Heavenly Master, you actually knew his plan a long time ago."
"He didn't hide anything from me, and I didn't give him any advice. It was just a chat over tea."
"Okay."
Zhang Yiyuan stopped talking and took out a wooden box made of rosewood from his pocket.
This wooden box is ordinary, without extra lines or decorations.
Just as Zhang Yiyuan was about to push the lid open, Nangong Baixing reached out to stop him and let out a long sigh.
"I didn't expect that the Immortal Capital would also use the Heavenly Master's Scepter. My master said that as long as one of the Heavenly Master's Scepter and the Heavenly Master's Order Sword is sacrificed, the world's Taoism can be commanded.
The Tianshi Lingjian was originally in Qintian Prison, but later... its whereabouts were unknown anyway.
The Heavenly Master's Scepter has always been stored in the Immortal Capital and has not been seen for hundreds of years. I didn't expect that I would have the honor to see it now. ”
Zhang Yiyuan did not answer, but stood up with the box in both hands and said loudly: "Nangong Baixing, Xiandu has entrusted you with something. Are you willing to do your best as a Taoist disciple to do things for Xiandu?"
"The command of the Heavenly Master governs all directions, and no one in the world dares to disobey it."
Nangong Baixing stood up, one hand hanging straight to the ground, the other hand holding the Orchid Jue and placing it on his arm.
"Disciple Nangong Baixing, I am willing to do my best for the Immortal City even if I die!"
Zhang Yiyuan couldn't be happier that Nangong Baixing surrendered in front of him.
Because he knew that the authority that made Maoshan Great Celestial Master obey did not come from himself, but from the Celestial Master's Scepter he held in his hand.
And only this time, Nangong Baixing will obey him because of orthodoxy and legal principles. There will be no next time.
If Nangong Baixing was an ordinary Taoist priest, or even just the head of a small Taoist sect, he could ignore the Heavenly Master's Scepter.
However, he is the Celestial Master of Maoshan and represents the Maoshan Sect, so he must acknowledge all history, abide by all traditions, and must also respect the Celestial Master's Scepter from the Immortal Capital.
This is Nangong Baixing's responsibility, and it is also the rule that binds him.
"Bring me Yin Xiu's head within three days." Zhang Yiyuan said solemnly.
Nangong Baixing didn't respond and just stretched out a finger.
"One day?"
"It will take a month at the earliest." He replied.
"Nangong Baixing, do you want to bargain with me in front of the Heavenly Master's Scepter?" Zhang Yiyuan called him by his name.
"Guest, you also know that times have changed. Just because I respect the Heavenly Master's Scepter does not necessarily mean that I respect all your instructions."
Nangong Baixing looked serious, "One month, I will give Yin Xiu one month to prepare and tell him to think clearly, and then I will take action to complete Xiandu's instructions."
Nangong Baixing's tone was calm, but he revealed a sense of authority and oppression that belonged to Maoshan Celestial Master and that no one could question.
Even though Zhang Yiyuan was holding the Heavenly Master's Scepter, he had no confidence to question him at this moment.
So he took a step back, held the Heavenly Master's Scepter, and bowed deeply to Nangong Baixing. (End of chapter)