He sighed and said, "You are facing a great calamity without even realizing it! You fight each other, and the casualties are heavy! In the end, it is the Mongol Tartars who reap the benefits. It is truly pitiful and lamentable."
"Our Han martial arts lineage will be severed in your hands! From that day forward, there will be no more martial artists in the world, but they will become legends in the memories of future generations!"
"And hundreds of millions of Han compatriots could only kneel under the rule of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty for generations, never able to rise up!"
"You are all sinners who will be infamous for all time!"
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Chapter 58 exposes Cheng Kun
Xiao Ning's words left everyone looking at each other in bewilderment.
Despite his deep fear of Xiao Ning, the monk Kongzhi couldn't care less about saving face at this moment.
He stepped forward, clasped his hands together, and chanted a Buddhist prayer, saying, "Amitabha! The claim that Master Xiao is a sinner for all time is far too shocking!"
"This matter is far too serious for us to bear. We would never dare to become sinners for all time. Please, Master, explain the details to us!"
Upon hearing Xiao Ning's words, He Taichong, Xianyu Tong, the Five Elders of Kongtong, and the others all changed their expressions drastically, their faces becoming solemn.
Given Xiao Ning's status and martial arts skills, he wouldn't deceive them. Therefore, they were completely captivated by Xiao Ning's words.
Upon hearing Kongzhi's words, they all nodded in agreement.
Xiao Ning waved his hand, seemingly having had enough and unwilling to waste any more words with them. He nudged Zhang Cuishan beside him and said, "Cuishan, it's your turn. Explain this matter to them clearly. It would be best if it could be resolved peacefully. If not, you know what to do!"
Zhang Cuishan gladly accepted the order. He knew that Xiao Ning had put him in the spotlight, and he was very grateful.
He took a deep breath, stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and said, "Everyone, I am Zhang Cuishan of Wudang, and I have just taken over as the 34th leader of the Ming Cult. I can answer your questions."
"What? Zhang Cuishan has become the leader of the Demonic Sect?"
"Your Wudang Sect has truly fallen!"
"Who knows if this is one of your schemes?"
As soon as Zhang Cuishan finished speaking, the disciples of the five major sects started shouting loudly, instantly creating a commotion as noisy as a market.
Zhang Cuishan's expression changed, and he coldly snorted, "Insolence!"
With a cold expression, he slowly scanned the faces of everyone present. Anyone whose eyes met his gaze felt a chill run down their spine, an immense pressure, and their laughter immediately ceased.
The leaders, including Kong Zhi, all looked grim. They hadn't expected that a second-generation disciple of Wudang would have such terrifying cultivation, almost reaching the pinnacle of the martial arts world.
If Zhang Cuishan was like this, what about the other six heroes of the Seven Heroes of Wudang? And what about Zhang Sanfeng, the founder of Wudang? How terrifying were they?
Thinking of this, everyone felt even more bitter.
They seemed to see the Wudang Sect rising to become a super sect comparable to the Shaolin Temple!
It might even surpass Shaolin and become a sacred place in the martial arts world!
Seeing that everyone had quieted down, Zhang Cuishan's expression gradually softened, and he slowly said, "It all started with Cheng Kun, the Hunyuan Thunderbolt Hand. He and his junior sister were childhood sweethearts..."
"...After being discovered by the leader of the Yang sect, Madam Yang committed suicide in a act of loyalty!"
"Finally, in revenge, Cheng Kun killed my sworn brother Xie Xun and his entire family of thirteen. Afterward, he became a disciple of Master Kongjian at Shaolin Temple, and his Dharma name was Yuanzhen!"
"...He also colluded with the Prince of Ruyang's mansion to incite internal strife in the Central Plains!"
"...This expedition to Bright Peak was orchestrated by Cheng Kun, who intended to annihilate all the major sects in the Central Plains in one fell swoop!"
"Previously, he launched a sneak attack, injuring our sect's Left Envoy Yang, the Green-Winged Bat King, and the Five Wanderers, and proudly recounted all these conspiracies!"
"I happened to discover him, so I took action in anger, captured him, and crippled his martial arts, so that I could confront you all on the spot!"
Zhang Cuishan recounted Cheng Kun's feud with the Ming Cult, the killing of Xie Xun's family, his joining the Shaolin Temple, his collusion with the Mongol Yuan dynasty, his role in the Western Expedition, and his eventual capture by Zhang Cuishan.
Then, he turned to Yang Xiao and said, "Left Envoy Yang, bring Cheng Kun up, wake him up, and make him confess his crimes!"
Upon hearing Zhang Cuishan's words, everyone present, except for Yang Xiao, Wei Yixiao, and others who already knew the truth, was in an uproar.
"What? We were actually used?"
"Damn it, I knew something was off about this. The Shaolin Temple even brought out a map of Bright Peak. It seems Zhang Wuxia was right. It was Cheng Kun who was behind this!"
"Holy crap, now that you mention it, it's actually true!"
From the crowd, Yang Xiao responded, pulled Cheng Kun out from behind, threw him in front of everyone, and announced loudly, "Everyone, this thief is Cheng Kun, also known as Master Yuanzhen of Shaolin!"
He looked in the direction of Kongzhi and smiled, "Master Kongzhi, would you like to come over and take a look?"
The Shaolin monks were in an uproar.
"It is indeed our disciple, Yuanzhen..."
When the monk Kongzhi looked down, his expression immediately changed, and he exclaimed, "This... how is this possible... Nephew Yuanzhen is my senior brother Kongjian's disciple, with profound Buddhist knowledge. Apart from accompanying everyone on the western expedition against the Ming Cult this time, he has not left the temple for many years. How could he be Cheng Kun, the Hunyuan Thunderbolt Hand?"
He immediately bent down, reached out and checked Cheng Kun's breathing. He found that although Cheng Kun's breathing was weak, it was not stopped. Then he took Cheng Kun's left hand and took his pulse.
After a long pause, Kongzhi stood up, took a deep breath, and said in a deep voice, "My nephew Yuanzhen's dantian and qi sea have been broken, and decades of hard cultivation have been destroyed in an instant! Zhang Wuxia's attack was a bit too heavy!"
His eyes, as he looked at Zhang Cuishan, burned with barely concealed rage.
Zhang Cuishan sneered: "Junior disciple Yuanzhen? Master, you called him junior disciple so sweetly! Could it be that Shaolin was behind Cheng Kun's many disgraceful acts? I never thought that the thousand-year-old Shaolin would become a den of iniquity!"
Zhang Cuishan had become quite adept at turning the tables and blaming others.