Chapter 21

Great Qin.

Qizhou.

Spring Water Immortal-Asking Pavilion!

The crowd inside the tavern looked up at the Nine Provinces Azure Cloud Ranking in the firmament.

Every single one of them was cheering boisterously!

"Good heavens!"

"The Prince of the Great Ming Dynasty's Taiping Prince!"

"How can there be so many talents in the Great Ming Dynasty!"

"Counting those two from the Mount Wudang Sect, three people have already made the list!"

"And each one is more extraordinary than the last!"

"Especially this Gong Jiu; he's only twenty-five, yet he's already at the fourth-grade Grandmaster realm!"

"Give him time, and there's no telling what he'll achieve!"

"No wonder his potential index is as high as seven stars!"

"Is the Great Ming's Taiping Prince very powerful?"

"To think he'd even be planning a rebellion?"

"Who knows!"

"The Great Ming is a very long way from our Great Qin!"

"If it weren't for this Azure Cloud Ranking mentioning that the Great Ming has a Taiping Prince, I wouldn't have even known!"

Listening to the discussions of the onlookers around them.

Lian Lian Chengbi, who was to the side, said: "There are indeed many formidable figures in the Great Ming."

"This Gong Jiu is truly a legendary figure; only twenty-five, and already a fourth-grade Grandmaster!"

"Living to sixty-five isn't exactly a short life, either."

Duan Yu said from the side: "Brother Lian, you are well-informed; do you know what kind of organization this Invisible Man organization is?"

Lian Lian Chengbi shook his head and said: "This, I truly do not know!"

Duan Yu looked at Li Zhang again and said: "Young Master Nangong, do you know?"

Li Zhang heard this and said indifferently: "I have heard of it, but I have never seen it."

Upon hearing this, Duan Yu immediately asked: "Young Master Nangong, could you tell us about this Invisible Man organization?"

Li Zhang said: "The founder of the Invisible Man organization is a man nicknamed the Little Old Man!"

"This person's real name is Wu Ming, and he is a fellow extremely adept at forbearance and hiding his own identity!"

"Under his command, there are many formidable figures from the Jianghu."

"They have committed many deeds that shook the Jianghu."

"However, to this day, no one has been able to know that the mastermind behind the Invisible Man organization is this Wu Ming."

Duan Yu heard this and said: "Wow, then isn't this Little Old Man Wu Ming very powerful?"

Li Zhang smiled faintly and said: "Perhaps."

……

Northern Song Dynasty.

Mount Song.

Northern Northern Shaolin Temple.

In the Great Hero Hall, a group of Northern Shaolin monks led by Xuan Ci looked at the Azure Cloud Ranking in the firmament.

Seeing Gong Jiu make the list.

These monks did not have much of an emotional reaction.

However, when they saw the Heavenly Dao reward Gong Jiu with a scroll of supreme Buddhist martial arts.

These monks began to stir.

At this moment.

Only Kong Wen was heard saying with palms pressed together: "Abbot!"

[Redacted]

"Since this 'Eight Divisions Pagoda Canon' is a supreme Buddhist martial arts classic!"

"Then it naturally cannot be allowed to remain outside!"

"Our Northern Shaolin Temple is the orthodox lineage of Buddhism; we naturally have the qualifications to collect these lost Buddhist classics!"

"I ask the Abbot to send two senior brothers to the Great Ming to retrieve this canon!"

Xuan Ci heard this, nodded slightly, and said: "This canon was, after all, a reward from the Heavenly Dao to that Gong Jiu."

"It would not be right for us to seize it by force!"

"However, we can exchange our Northern Shaolin martial arts for it!"

The various heads of the halls spoke up one after another.

"The Abbot's consideration is indeed thorough!"

Xuan Ci nodded slightly and said: "Very well. Since this canon is a supreme Buddhist martial art, it must surely be profound!"

"There must be many who covet this treasure!"

"Sending ordinary people would certainly not do!"

"Let us trouble the three divine monks of Sandu to make the trip themselves!"

The heads of the halls heard this, all nodded slightly, and said: "The Abbot is correct!"

"The three divine monks of Sandu are three in one!"

"Their cultivation is extraordinary; if the three of them join forces, even a Heaven-Human realm expert would have a fight on their hands!"

"Sending the three divine monks of Sandu to the Great Ming to retrieve the treasure is most appropriate!"

……

Wu Chao.

Fengdu!

Less than fifty miles from Fengdu.

There is a mountain range.

This mountain range is known as the dragon vein of Wu Chao!

Legend has it that in the past, a phoenix once descended!

A phoenix once perched within this mountain.

Within this mountain range, there is a peak called Emperor-Stepping Peak!

The Pudu Cihang Pudu Cihang Jingzhai, which once shook the world and held sway over the entire righteous Jianghu, was located on this Emperor-Stepping Peak.

However.

Compared to the past.

The current Pudu Cihang Pudu Cihang Jingzhai has already declined!

The Master of Pudu Cihang Pudu Cihang Jingzhai, Shi Shi Feixuan, sat quietly in the hall.

She was worshipping the Bodhisattva Guanyin.

At this moment.

Suddenly, outside the hall, thunder rolled.

It caused the once-calm Taihu Lake of Shi Shi Feixuan's heart to become restless.

Shi Shi Feixuan has practiced for decades.

She is only one step away from reaching the highest realm of the Pudu Cihang Jingzhai.

Yet, for this one step, she has walked for fifty full years!

Fifty years is enough to turn her from a blooming youth into a withered old woman.

Fortunately, her cultivation is profound, and she appears to be only in her thirties.

The sound of thunder from beyond the heavens continued to rumble.

Shi Shi Feixuan did not continue to worship the Bodhisattva, but instead rose and left the Pudu Pudu Cihang Hall.

She came outside the hall to look.

She saw that the firmament was changing in myriad ways!

Purple thunder soared into the sky!

Purple Qi permeated the air!

Golden light broke the dawn!

The Azure Cloud Ranking appeared!

Looking at those who made the list caused the long-calm Taihu Lake of Shi Shi Feixuan's heart to tremble.

The Jianghu is not the Jianghu of one person!

The Jianghu is the Jianghu of the Jianghu people!

The reason Pudu Cihang Pudu Cihang Jingzhai has fallen to its current state.

Is all thanks to the Empress Wu Zhao!

Pudu Cihang Pudu Cihang Jingzhai has been suppressed by Empress Wu Zhao for several years!