Chapter 276

Tang Luo and the others left Zhai Xing Lou.

They left behind two piles of ashes swept into the corners, and no one noticed the disappearance of the two Huan Xi outer disciples.

Of course, they did not immediately leave to convert Huan Xi Temple, but still planned to first meet up with Kong Ming.

They exchanged information with each other.

Knowing oneself and the enemy ensures victory in a hundred battles; charging in blindly can win, but to win completely and beautifully certainly requires sufficient intelligence.

The envelope the woman handed to Tang Luo and the others contained Kong Ming's residence address, located in the inner city where high officials and nobles of Zhong Du reside, and he had done quite well for himself.

Wanting to enter the inner city is not as easy as entering the outer city.

Even in the afternoon, they were questioned one by one, with no detail overlooked.

It was somewhat like the visitor registration in a well-managed modern residential community—visitors' identities, origins, and purposes for entering the inner city must be clear.

Tang Luo and the others also relied on Kong Ming's letter to gain entry.

Kong Ming's residence was a three-courtyard compound, not large, but it excelled in tranquility and elegance.

Upon entering the compound, Kong Ming wore a crane-feather cloak, held a feather fan and wore a silk headband, with a slightly grown beard, looking every inch the handsome middle-aged man.

"You three seem to have reaped quite a harvest."

Seeing Tang Luo and the three, Kong Ming said with a smile.

"The Great Wizard of Bei Yuan is dead, the five tribal chieftains are all dead, and of the six great wizards, only one salted fish remains; they pose no threat to Da You anymore." Tang Luo spoke concisely, "How about your side?"

Kong Ming was stunned for a moment, then laughed: "I knew you, Master, would surely achieve something, but I didn't expect—have you completed your mission?"

"It's already completed; we can return now." Gang said.

"That is, each person must reach a certain level before they can return." Kong Ming said, "We have not yet met the requirement."

It is not easy to complete the mission and return.

Just look at what Tang Luo and the others accomplished—weakening the five tribes, preventing the birth of the Great Wizard.

Completing these two tasks, plus sweeping through several powerful tribes along the way, only then did they fulfill their mission.

"You don't look tired at all; come, many things we can talk about." Kong Ming said with a smile.

Basically, they had already fully trusted Tang Yuhuan and Gang.

Having followed Tang Luo for so long without dying, they must be one of our own.

If they are fate-holders, they might even be able to absorb and join the Martial Arts Mythos.

To join the Martial Arts Mythos, one ironclad rule is being a fate-holder.

It's not that the Martial Arts Mythos looks down on non-fate-holders; there are certainly many strong non-fate-holders.

For example, Tang Yuhuan before us.

But if non-fate-holders join the Martial Arts Mythos, it will inevitably cause changes in all aspects.

Whether good or bad remains unclear, and there's no need for that unless one is as strong as Tang Luo.

But at that level of strength, it's no longer a matter of whether the Martial Arts Mythos wishes to absorb him as a member.

Entering the study, Tang Luo and the others recounted their experiences one by one, giving Kong Ming much useful information.

Then, Kong Ming explained their situation here.

The forces split into two paths: one was Tang Luo and the three entering Bei Yuan.

The other was Kong Ming, Fu Fengxue, A Fei, Zhang Xiu Ping, Wei Cheng En, and He Yi Shan traveling together to Zhong Du.

The journey was relatively peaceful.

After entering Zhong Du, Kong Ming, according to his own idea, began to "climb the dragon and attach to the phoenix."

Now he is already a renowned talent throughout Zhong Du, and also holds a more important identity: a guest advisor in the residence of the Right Prime Minister.

Moreover, others hold him in high esteem, wishing to take him on the spot as a "Son-in-Law of the Grandson Virtuous."

Before the prime minister's gate, officials of the seventh rank—though Kong Ming holds no official position, being a commoner, he still wields enough influence to affect the politics of the Da You dynasty.

Many officials, upon seeing him, come forward respectfully to say, "Master Kong."

As for the others, Fu Fengxue and Kong Ming were originally colleagues, so they naturally advance and retreat together.

A Fei, being young, was subdued by Kong Ming, holds him in great admiration, and wishes to stay by his side.

Zhang Xiu Ping, relatively speaking, organizes some things, but they have not completely split; they often stay in touch, exchanging information.

Wei Cheng En and He Yi Shan, however, have already completely gone their separate ways.

These two are not said to have utterly wicked natures, but they cannot be considered reliable partners; it's better to part ways, otherwise conflicts may arise later, possibly leading to death.

Fu Fengxue and the three are now You Yi Wei, precisely speaking, You Yi Qi Ji.

Responsible for resolving demon and calamity troubles throughout Da You, also including some human-caused cases and matters.

Among them, Fu Fengxue has achieved merit in slaying demons and is already at the position of Chief Flag; Zhang Xiu Ping is slightly inferior, holding the position of Small Flag.

A Fei serves under Fu Fengxue.

Fu Fengxue and Zhang Xiu Ping both have Mystic Qi protecting their bodies.

It is not ruled out that they are outsiders; as long as they serve as officials of Da You, they receive Mystic Qi.

However, in the hands of gods and demons, Mystic Qi cannot be actively used, similar to being passive, mainly for defense, and even during attacks, it provides a certain damage bonus.

Although Kong Ming can influence court politics, he is a commoner and thus lacks Mystic Qi; A Fei also still falls short.

"It's a pity you couldn't bring back any proof; otherwise…… it could be maneuvered." Kong Ming said regretfully.

The earth-shattering merit achieved by the three, if exchanged for suitable persons, might possibly allow a direct ascent to heaven.

"Are you planning to follow Fu Fengxue and the others, join the You Yi Qi Ji, and exterminate demons everywhere to complete the mission, or simply stay in Zhong Du and stay with me?" Kong Ming asked.

"Not urgent; first, let's convert the Huan Xi Temple." Tang Luo said.

Kong Ming calmly picked up his tea cup, took a sip, set it down, and said: "Although doing this is quite foolish, but could you say it again? In case I misheard."

Very good, stabilizing the sage's prestige.

"First, I will convert the Joyful Temple." Tang Luo repeated.

Kongming closed his eyes, then opened them again—he had returned!

The feeling from before had returned! Every time he met Tang Luo, this Master Xuanzang always managed to bring him a surprise.

He was ninety-nine percent shocked, and only one percent happy.

"Let me introduce you to the situation of the Joyful Temple." Kongming said, "It appeared five years ago, spreading its teachings everywhere, its methods extremely vicious—it could be said to use every means possible, yet it gained the favor of the current emperor. Now it has developed to the point of being able to contend with the Longya Dao Gate."

"The number of followers, scale, disciples—none of that matters; these are just grass on the wall."

"The true inner disciples of the Joyful Temple number one hundred and fifty-one, while the outer disciples number one thousand. Not all outer disciples are cultivators, but aside from a few dozen from noble families, they are all extraordinary."

"All inner disciples are cultivators; one hundred remain constantly in the Central Capital, while the other fifty-one are scattered throughout the Great You, spreading the teachings."

"There are over three hundred outer disciples in the Central Capital, and the rest wander together throughout the various regions of the Great You."

"If we are to destroy the Joyful Temple, we must kill all the inner disciples, and among the outer disciples, at least seventy percent must be killed or injured for it to count as a success; otherwise, there will always be a possibility of retaliation."

King Kong looked at Kongming, then at Tang Luo.

Damn it!

Is this really how god-and-demon-level big shots walk and communicate?

Saying "I misheard" with an unwilling expression on his face, the next second he had already immediately begun calculating how many of the enemy he would have to kill.

While his body was being honest, it seemed that in their eyes, the Joyful Temple was nothing more than a dish.

A dish?

To be able to form even a slight balance of power against the state religion, the Longya Dao Gate, even with imperial support behind it, shows that the Joyful Temple is no ordinary sect.

The emperor could not possibly support a worthless man—could a mere bedroom art of yin-yang union really have bought off the emperor of Great You?

Impossible.

Although the technique of union does have its reasons, cultivating power to counterbalance the Longya Dao Gate is also an important factor.

The art of imperial rule, put simply, is all about maintaining balance.

The Ming dynasty abolished the chancellor, established the cabinet, and then came the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Eastern Depot, the Western Depot, the Inner Depot—all for the same reason.

"So saying we should wipe them all out at once is still quite troublesome?" Tang Luo said.

"Of course it's not easy." Kongming said, "The greatest supporter of the Joyful Temple is the emperor—this is an obstacle, and there are also some officials who act as its vanguard, waving flags and shouting."

"Moreover, the Joyful Temple has three powerful figures: Yikexianren, Wuyue Chanshi, and the Joyful Bodhisattva."

"Yikexianren and Wuyue Chanshi both possess strength close to that of the Golden Core stage in this task world, while the Joyful Bodhisattva is said to be only one step away from Golden Core, and there is even a possibility that he has already entered the Golden Core stage." Kongming said.

"How do they compare to us?" King Kong asked.

Just talking about a cultivation realm—there's really no intuitive sense of it.

"In a one-on-one fight, neither I nor Fufengxue would be a match for any one of the three."

"If we two join forces, we should be able to defeat one of them, at the cost of one life, and could kill Wuyue and force Yikexianren to flee."

"I have seen these two several times, and I have seen them act—this judgment has sixty percent confidence."

"I have never seen the Joyful Bodhisattva, so I cannot judge."

After hearing Kongming's description, King Kong and Tang Yuhuan both turned to look at Tang Luo; Tang Yuhuan is roughly equal to Kongming, while King Kong is still weaker than them.

I never expected the evaluation of the Joyful Temple to be so high.

So what about Tang Luo, then……

Wait, if we judge based on the speculation that the top powers of Great You and Beiyuan are roughly comparable……

Then the three strongest of the Joyful Temple should be on the level of the Beiyuan shamans—does that mean the Joyful Bodhisattva is close to a Great Shaman?

Then, just throwing out a substitute wooden puppet would be enough to solve it.

Even if the Joyful Bodhisattva has entered the Golden Core stage—meaning the Great Shaman realm—it would still be nothing more than a matter of a single slap.

It really is just a dish, after all!

"It seems we don't need to worry about strength at all." Seeing the expressions of Tang Yuhuan and King Kong, and based on his own understanding of Tang Luo, Kongming said, "But we must consider the impact of destroying the Joyful Temple."

"I know." Tang Luo said, "Let's collect the crimes of the Joyful Temple—we need a just cause, and we cannot let any wicked person go."

"Heh, some of the Joyful Temple's conduct can be 'executed by gunfire'." Kongming let out a cold laugh, clearly also quite angry at the Joyful Temple's behavior.

"Give me some time." Kongming said, "I need to consult with the Right Chancellor, to try to reduce the impact as much as possible."

He also would not try to persuade Tang Luo.

How to put it—although the people of the Joyful Temple do, to some extent, engage in exorcising demons and eliminating evil, they are not entirely doing wrong.

But the Joyful Temple is like a gradually rotting, useless, even harmful organ on the body of Great You.

Early removal and treatment would be the best choice—it might even be a major task.

Moreover, Kongming clearly understands that Tang Luo this fellow simply cannot be persuaded!