Chapter 380 Broken Incense Burner
Xiang Yu left without hesitation, opening an air portal. Xiaoyaozi also entered the alternate dimension and disappeared the instant the two men bowed in respect, making almost no sound.
When Qiancheng and his companion looked up, Xiang Yu and Xiaoyaozi had already taken to the air.
Of course, whether they ascend or not, neither of them can see the alternate dimension.
The devout monk exclaimed, "Overlord's lightness skill is truly divine! Alas? Silly disciple, hasn't Xiaoyaozi given you the Northern Darkness Divine Skill yet? Why did you let him go? That guy isn't trying to renege on his debt, is he?"
Chengcheng smiled slightly, "Master, you misunderstand. I have already passed on the Beiming Divine Art to you, but I must keep my promise and cannot share it with you. Please forgive me."
"Did I ask you for the Northern Darkness Divine Skill? Did I want it? Humph! Who cares! Go and copy the Diamond Sutra again right now! Otherwise, I'm going to lose my temper!"
Qianqian thought to himself, if he didn't hurry up, by the time he died, Chengcheng would still not have learned the Yi Jin Jing, but would have mastered the Bei Ming Divine Skill. Wouldn't that make him a complete disciple of the Xiaoyao Sect?
Absolutely not!
Chengcheng chuckled and, without disobeying his master, happily went back to copy the Diamond Sutra. He thought to himself that once he finished copying it, he would quickly cultivate the Northern Darkness Divine Art, in case his master were to pass away one day, this Northern Darkness Divine Art would come in handy.
Qianqian was naturally unaware that Chengcheng was already thinking about his passing, but Chengcheng's willingness to say that he would never change his mind after being recruited by Bawang, and his refusal of Xiaoyaozi, truly moved him.
Before his death, he must pass on all his skills to Chengcheng, so that he can become the pinnacle of martial arts in this world!
Above the sky, two people, a horse, and a crane were flying westward.
Since the decision has been made to sweep through all the major factions first, the sooner the better.
Many sects had not yet been established during this period, such as Lingjiu Palace, Xixia Yipintang, Xingxiu Sect, Wuliang Sword Sect, and other sects related to the disciples of the Xiaoyao Sect, as well as Kumārajīva's Dalun Temple, and the more famous Wudang and Emei sects in later generations.
In fact, the earliest era of Jin Yong's martial arts world is the Northern Song Dynasty, where Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils takes place. Before that, there was only one short story, The Sword of the Yue Maiden, which describes the struggle for supremacy between Wu and Yue during the Spring and Autumn Period. It only contains some relatively realistic sword techniques and does not have various magical martial arts or the martial arts world.
Therefore, Xiang Yu's main targets for visiting were actually not many: the Beggars' Sect, the Murong Clan of Gusu, the Tianlong Temple of the Duan Clan of Dali, the Qingcheng Sect, the Penglai Sect, and the remaining numerous minor sects could only be visited incidentally.
The first stop was the Beggars' Sect, located in Luoyang City, west of Shaolin Temple. It was about a hundred miles away from Shaolin Temple, and we arrived in just a few words.
"By the way, Sect Leader Xiaoyao, what exactly is this broken incense burner you're talking about? And why is it related to Chengcheng?" Hao Jiu asked.
"In response to the God of Wine, that is not a broken incense burner, but a simple ancient cauldron with the words 'Divine Wood King Cauldron' engraved on the bottom. It is a treasure of my Xiaoyao Sect, and using it to practice martial arts will make your efforts twice as effective."
However, the Divine Wood King Cauldron can influence a person's mind, easily leading those with weak wills astray, so it has both advantages and disadvantages. Of course, the Overlord's willpower far surpasses that of ordinary people, so he is certainly not afraid.
As for the origin of this cauldron, I am ashamed to say that at the time I was sparring with Qianqian, and I discovered this treasure while fighting. At the same time, I also discovered a three-year-old orphan, Chengcheng.
It turns out that two groups of people had recently perished together near the Shenmu Wangding (Divine Wood Cauldron), and Chengcheng's parents died in the battle, while Chengcheng narrowly escaped. We initially thought the cauldron belonged to Chengcheng's parents, but upon asking, Chengcheng said that the cauldron did not belong to his family.
Such a gifted orphan, both Qianqian and I wanted to take him as our apprentice, but we also both wanted the Divine Wood King Cauldron. In the end, we agreed that the winner would take the cauldron and the loser would take him as an apprentice.
As it turned out, that mad monk actually admitted defeat, clearly having already given up on the precious cauldron and chosen Chengcheng instead. As for me, I had already taken on several outstanding disciples, so I didn't value the matter of taking on disciples as much, which is why I gave up on Chengcheng.
Looking back now, I realize I didn't need to make any agreement with that bald monk. The winner could have just taken both. That mad monk was incredibly shrewd. Otherwise, Chengcheng would be my disciple now.
Who would have thought that the old bald monk was not weak in martial arts, but taught such a useless disciple? It was a gambler's mentality. Letting Chengcheng study Buddhist principles first can lay a good foundation and increase the chances of learning the Yi Jin Jing, but if he can't learn it in the future, Chengcheng's life will be ruined.
"If I had known this would happen, I should have taken Chengcheng away with me back then. Even if I had been branded as someone who broke a promise, it would have been better than ruining Chengcheng's life. Being a monk means you can't even marry and have children, what's the point?" Xiaoyaozi said regretfully.
"I see." Hao Jiu thought to himself. When Xiaoyaozi finds out about Xuzhu's affair in the future, he probably won't think that way anymore. It's not difficult for a monk to marry and have children; he can break his vows or return to secular life.
"By the way, if the God of Wine and the Overlord are interested, I will present the Divine Wood King Cauldron as soon as I return to Misty Peak." Xiaoyaozi thought to himself, since he didn't want it anyway, it would be good to do them a favor.
"That Divine Wood King Cauldron is of little use to me and the Overlord, and the Overlord wouldn't covet your Free and Unfettered Sect's treasure. We can borrow it again if needed in the future." Hao Jiu remembered that the Divine Wood King Cauldron was one of the three treasures of the Starry Constellation Sect, so it wasn't a big problem that it was in Xiaoyaozi's hands at the moment.
"In that case, I'll keep it safe for the God of Wine for now." Xiaoyaozi sighed inwardly. If even the Divine Wood King Cauldron didn't like it, then there probably wasn't any treasure that could catch the God of Wine's eye.
In Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, it was only mentioned that Ding Chunqiu used this cauldron to cultivate poison skills with twice the result with half the effort. Now it seems that it was not only effective for poison skills, or perhaps Ding Chunqiu did not master the correct way to use the Divine Wood King Cauldron.
After all, the Divine Wood King Cauldron must have come into Ding Chunqiu's hands after he knocked Wuyazi off the cliff, so it would be strange if he could teach him the correct way to use it.
It would be good to have the opportunity to see the Divine Wood King Cauldron and study it, but its use is really just as Hao Jiu himself said. This treasure comes from the novel "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils," and if you imagine it, it can only be used to cultivate martial arts.
If the Divine Wood King Cauldron can simultaneously increase the cultivation speed of many people, then it would be quite useful; forming a martial arts army would be quite interesting.
Let those who can't cultivate domineering aura and aren't suited for immortal cultivation learn martial arts. At least dealing with a few commoner vampires won't be a big problem. A nation of soldiers wouldn't be bad either.
Soon, they arrived at the headquarters of the Beggars' Sect in Luoyang.
Hao Jiu scanned the area from high altitude but did not find the target system. Although the Beggar Clan leader at this time was strong, he was still somewhat inferior to Xiao Feng in the future. Therefore, Xiang Yu did not show up to challenge him but moved on to the next target, the Qingcheng Sect located in Qingcheng Mountain, Shu.
"How skilled is the Qingcheng Sect leader in martial arts?" Xiang Yu asked.
Xiaoyaozi smiled slightly, “Qingcheng Sect’s martial arts mainly focus on hidden weapons. The character ‘Qing’ has nine strikes and the character ‘Cheng’ has eighteen breaks. It is acceptable compared to small sects, but it cannot be compared with major sects like Shaolin and Beggars’ Sect.”
Forgive my bluntness, but if even the Beggars' Sect leader, Overlord, isn't interested in a spar, then there's no point in mentioning the Qingcheng Sect. Among the remaining sects, the Murong family of Gusu and the Duan family of Dali each possess unique martial arts skills, but their current generation of successors isn't particularly strong.
"I understand. Let's end this quickly and stop fighting." Xiang Yu sensed that this scan of the various factions would likely fail to find a target.
However, this was to be expected. The key is to make good use of these sixty years to cultivate. With the domineering power of the Earth Realm, one will be invincible!
Chapter 381 The Duan Family of Dali
As Xiaoyaozi had said, the Qingcheng Sect's martial arts mostly relied on hidden weapons. However, the Qingcheng Sect's unique weapon, Leigonghong, was quite interesting. Its left hand resembled a cone, and its right hand resembled a hammer. When struck, it made a sound like thunder, and its momentum was astonishing, but that was all.
After leaving the Qingcheng Sect, Xiaoyaozi led the way to the Duan family in Dali.
Unlike the Shaolin School, the Beggars' Sect, and the Qingcheng School, the Duan family of Dali was not a sect or gang, but a royal family of a country.
There is a reason why Dali, a small border kingdom, was able to exist for more than 300 years. According to legend, the royal family of Dali stipulated that "the direct descendants of the royal family should learn literature and martial arts at the age of six, be good at riding and archery at the age of ten, practice military drills at the age of thirteen, and be able to write poetry and prose and lead troops into battle at the age of fifteen. Those who are incompetent, even if they are princes, will find it difficult to ascend the throne. Instead, the royal family members who are both literate and martial and virtuous will be recommended as the king."
Without martial arts training, even a prince could not ascend the throne. Therefore, the martial arts tradition prevalent among the Duan family of the Dali Kingdom was not without reason. It is not surprising that many members of the Duan royal family were martial arts masters.
This shows that Mr. Jin Yong did a lot of historical research back then.
If Hao Jiu were to choose a host, the Duan family of Dali would indeed be a good place, second only to the Xiaoyao Sect.
Although Shaolin has the Yi Jin Jing, being a monk is really boring. The Beggars' Sect is even worse off with its group of beggars. Other sects lack martial arts foundation. Only the Murong family is decent. But the Murong family keeps clamoring to restore their country. Why not just choose a sect that already controls a country?
The Duan family of Dali possesses two superior martial arts: One-Finger Divine Skill and Six-Pulse Divine Sword. The Six-Pulse Divine Sword is one of the strongest martial arts in the world, no less powerful than the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms. Its long-range attack capability is like a cheat code, allowing it to fire lasers directly from its fingers—who could withstand that?
If they had chosen the royal family of the Dali Duan clan as their host, their development would have been incredibly smooth, with everything they could want and everything going perfectly.
Unfortunately, the current Dali emperor was not the host of the target system, and indeed, as Xiaoyaozi said, he was not a 'master'.
Of course, the master Xiaoyaozi mentioned must be at least at the level of the current leader of the Beggars' Sect. This Dali emperor is over forty years old and has not yet made a name for himself in the martial arts world. Either he is too low-key, or he is not that great.
If they were geniuses like Xiao Feng or Duan Yu, they would have made a name for themselves long ago. Even those with exceptional talent, like Xuan Ci from the Shaolin Xuan generation, should have a place in the martial arts world.
Therefore, Xiaoyaozi's judgment is somewhat reasonable. No matter how powerful the Dali emperor is, he is probably only at the level of his disciples, and is definitely inferior to the leader of the Beggars' Sect.
Hao Jiu estimated that this person's strength was about the same as Duan Zhengchun's, after all, even if someone's qualifications were not good enough to become the emperor of Dali, they wouldn't be too bad.
However, he and Duan Zhengchun were busy with national affairs and sex, so it's normal for their martial arts skills to be a bit weak, unless the other party was also a once-in-a-century genius like Duan Yu.
"God of Wine, shall we go and take a look at the Murong family in Suzhou next?" Xiaoyaozi asked.
"Wait a minute, something's not right. Shouldn't the experts from the Dali Duan family become monks at the Tianlong Temple, the royal temple in Dali?" Hao Jiu suddenly remembered this crucial question.
"Tianlong Temple? Forgive my ignorance, but I have never heard of a temple with that name in Dali." Xiaoyaozi looked puzzled. It would be unsurprising if he didn't know about an ordinary small temple, but how could he not have heard of a royal temple?
Both Xiang Yu and Hao Jiu knew that Xiaoyaozi was omniscient and omnipotent in this world. If he said that Tianlong Temple did not exist, then it definitely did not exist. But Hao Jiu could not possibly have misremembered something so important.
"Could Tianlong Temple be a later name change or another name?" Xiang Yu asked.
"Perhaps, anyway, it should be the royal temple of Dali." Hao Jiu thought to himself that it would be embarrassing if Tianlong Temple hadn't been built by this time.
"The largest temple and Buddhist center in Dali is Chongsheng Temple, which is famous for its three pagodas, hence it is also known as the Three Pagodas Temple. If there is a royal temple in Dali, it should be this one," Xiaoyaozi deduced.
"Then let's go take a look. It's very likely that a master from the Dali Duan family will become a monk," Hao Jiu said firmly.
Hao Jiu's words were based on fact; the presence of a group of Dali Duan family masters at Tianlong Temple in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils was one of the reasons.
Half of the emperors of Dali throughout history became monks. Either they were deposed and became monks, or they didn't want to be emperors anymore and passed the throne to their nephews or brothers, and then became monks.
These are just the emperors recorded; there were naturally many princes as well. Everyone wanted a peaceful and carefree life, especially after they became powerless to continue, so they abdicated the throne and became monks.
"God of Wine, Overlord, please follow me. Chong Sheng Temple is not far from here, we'll be there soon." After saying this, Xiaoyaozi flew westward.
"Could Sect Leader Xiaoyao tell us more about the Dali Duan family? For example, the experts in the clan or the talented younger generation?" Hao Jiu asked.
Xiaoyaozi's lips twitched violently. "God of Wine, although my Xiaoyao Sect is known for being omniscient, it is impossible for us to know too much detail. I can only tell you what I know about the Dali Duan family."
“Okay.” Hao Jiu actually knew some of it, which could be used to compare and verify what Xiaoyaozi said.
"The founding emperor of Dali, Duan Siping, was a man of extraordinary talent who created the divine skill Six Meridians Divine Sword. However, after his death, his son, the second emperor of Dali, Duan Siying, was deposed by Duan Siping's younger brother, Duan Siliang, after only one year on the throne. He then became a monk at Chongsheng Temple."
After that, apart from the current emperor, five members of the Dali Duan family ascended the throne. However, the first four were either mediocre or too busy with state affairs. They couldn't even cultivate their family's unique skill, One Finger Divine Skill, to the fifth rank or higher, so they were not qualified to cultivate the Six Meridians Divine Sword.
The only exception was the previous emperor, Duan Sulong, who reigned for only four years. He was fond of martial arts, but unfortunately, he did not like the Duan family's unique skills. Instead, he spent his time studying knife and sword techniques, hoping to create his own school.
Even so, when I started paying attention to him a few years ago, he had already cultivated the One Finger Divine Skill to the fifth rank. Once he reached the fourth rank, he could cultivate the Six Meridians Divine Sword.
The Dali Duan Family One-Finger Divine Skill is a superior acupoint striking technique, divided into nine grades. It is the foundational technique of the Six Meridians Divine Sword. In my opinion, as long as one practices diligently, it is not difficult to break through to the fifth grade if one has slightly better aptitude.
"If Duan Sulong could concentrate on cultivating the One-Finger Divine Skill and the Six Meridians Divine Sword, perhaps the world would have another top-tier master," Xiaoyaozi sighed.
"This person has some guts to give up his superior family skills and go his own way," Xiang Yu nodded to himself.
"It's a pity he took the wrong path and wasted his great talent. Duan Siping must be turning in his grave. Oh, by the way, how is the current Emperor of Dali's martial arts? He practiced for at least twenty or thirty years before ascending the throne, so surely he didn't reach the fourth rank?" Hao Jiu asked doubtfully.
"After Duan Sulong, I haven't paid much attention to the Dali Duan family. However, if the God of Wine wants to know, I can test his martial arts skills, and I can also examine the aptitude of the younger generation of the Dali Duan family to see how talented they are."
Then, a temple with three tall towers came into view.
"That must be Chong Sheng Temple, right?" Xiang Yu asked, opening a portal to another dimension so that Hao Jiu could scan the temple.
“Indeed…” Before Xiaoyaozi could finish speaking, a tiger’s roar that shook the mountains and forests came from the Cangshan Mountain ahead!
Awooo!
Chapter 382 Subduing the Tiger
The tiger's roar could travel so far that even the black horse twitched its ears, and the crane turned its head towards the direction from which the sound came.
“This tiger is extraordinary,” Xiaoyaozi affirmed.
"Then let's go and see if the God of Wine has finished scanning?" Xiang Yu had seen many tigers, but even the tigers controlled by the Beast System didn't have such a loud voice.
"Scan complete, no target found. Let's go check on that tiger. Sect Leader Xiaoyao, are there demons in this world?" Hao Jiu asked casually. How could there be demons? Although the world of Tian Long Ba Bu has the word "dragon" in it, it is indeed a martial arts world. Where would demons come from?