Chapter 736

The twilight was heavy, and the flags on the city walls were fluttering wildly.

Celestial Zhang Tianshi's purple robe hung down, looking at the row of pitch-black gun muzzles on the city wall, his expression unchanged, and he said in a hoarse voice: "Since Eunuch Zhao has come, why not appear?"

"This poor Daoist has a matter to ask for advice: is 'Eating the Lake Pool' better, or is 'Managing the Mountains and Seas' wonderful?"

Zhao Wujiu coughed and appeared from the shadows, squinting at the bottom.

"Eating the Lake Pool, Managing the Mountains and Seas" is a famous debate from the "Discourses on Salt and Iron."

During the reign of Emperor Zhao of the Western Han Dynasty, the debate between the virtuous and literary faction and the Imperial Secretary Sang Hongyang at the Salt and Iron Conference was about whether to hide wealth among the people or to concentrate resources to make the country rich and the army strong.

Looking at these words, it seems more like a dispute between the local faction and the maritime faction.

But the Long Hu Mountain did not stand on any side during the previous factional struggles, and mentioning it again at this time clearly had another meaning.

He had just spoken harsh words, saying something about "acting against heaven," but after meeting, he was evasive again; it seems this old Celestial Master also did not want to be too stiff with the imperial court.

But this sentence was also a trap.

If we only talk about the human world, the imperial court naturally wants to "manage the mountains and seas," but the old Celestial Master came here this time, and he already knew it was an imperial decree sent down by the Heavenly Court.

The Emperor considers himself the Son of Heaven, so naturally he became "Eating the Lake Pool."

But if he answered this way, it would violate the imperial court's policy.

So no matter how he said it, it was wrong.

Having made up his mind, Zhao Wujiu became even more calm, rubbing the jade pendant at his waist, and said calmly: "The Celestial Master is well-versed in ancient history. This seat is a eunuch, entrusted with some errands by the Emperor's grace. I don't understand what you are saying."

"But this seat does know one thing."

"What thing?" Celestial Zhang Tianshi asked, squinting his eyes.

Zhao Wujiu sighed and looked up at the sky, "In the decline of Shaohao in the past, the Nine Li disturbed virtue, and the people and gods were mixed, making it impossible to distinguish things, so Emperor Zhuanxu cut off the communication between heaven and earth."

"Although the Celestial Master seeks the Heavenly Dao, how can you ignore the Human Dao?"

Celestial Zhang Tianshi was silent for a moment and said: "When Great Yu controlled the floods, 'Luo brought out the books' and the Nine Categories were determined. If there were no Heavenly Mandate, where would the Five Elements of the 'Great Plan' come from?"

This "Great Plan" is a chapter in the "Book of Documents," recording that after King Wu of Zhou destroyed the Shang Dynasty, he visited the Shang Dynasty's legacy minister Jizi, and Jizi explained to him the nine categories of fundamental laws for governing the world, and the Five Elements theory is the head of the "Nine Categories."

Saying this meaning, it was still a disguised way of asking the imperial court to act according to heaven.

Hearing this, Zhao Wujiu's eyes turned cold instantly.

The Long Hu Mountain and the Kong family had been granted titles by the imperial court for generations because of the Confucian orthodoxy and the authority of the Celestial Master, but they could not be allowed to grow too big and lose control, so they used some means.

For example, the Kong family, two generations of Yansheng Dukes lost their virtue, and even the generation before that had defected to the Golden Tent Wolf Kingdom; the imperial court ignored it and watched the joke coldly.

So the reputation of the Kong family today is not as good as before, various factions have risen in the Confucian forest, and many people even take cursing the Kong family as a name, and the Kong family is also very sensible and has no small movements.

But Long Hu Mountain is a bit different.

After the founding of the Great Xuan Dynasty, the founding emperor left a guard.

On one hand, he canceled the title of "Celestial Master" of Long Hu Mountain, changed it to "True Person," but retained hereditary privileges and strictly controlled it.

On the other hand, he raised the status of Wudang Mountain to divide the Mystic Sect.

The people of Long Hu Mountain were naturally unhappy. Except when the founding emperor was in power and the Celestial Master went to the capital to serve as the National Master, they only sent elders from the sect afterward.

This time the Celestial Master left the mountain, clearly wanting to carry the Heavenly Mandate to do something.

Thinking of this, Zhao Wujiu didn't even want to talk.

Seeing him not speaking, Celestial Zhang Tianshi continued: "Is the Emperor there? This poor Daoist wants to enter the palace tonight to see the Emperor."

Zhao Wujiu said coldly: "The Emperor has rested. If the old Celestial Master has something to do, let's talk about it tomorrow. This seat has already prepared a post house for you..."

"No need for more trouble!"

Celestial Zhang Tianshi's face also turned ugly, and he turned around directly.

Whoosh~

A wild wind and smoke rose, and the person had disappeared.

Zhao Wujiu looked at the direction where the other party disappeared, and his eyes narrowed instantly.

"Superintendent."

The Thousand-Household Officer Tian beside him said in a deep voice: "It looks like he went to the academy..."

"No matter."

Zhao Wujiu said indifferently: "Huo Yin is in the academy, he has a way to stop him. If the old Daoist doesn't want to lose face, he won't make a move against him."

Everyone heard this and all felt it was deeply true.

Grandmaster Huo Yin is one of the imperial court's trump cards, an existence that suppresses national fortune.

Although the old Celestial Master is strong, once he brings his disciples to set up a Dharma altar, even gods and ghosts must avoid him, but in terms of one-on-one combat, he is really no match for Huo Yin...

…………

Twilight was like ink, on the mountain road outside the capital.

Celestial Zhang Tianshi's purple robe hung down, standing under an old pine tree.

His withered fingers pinched the Zi-Wu seal, and he silently chanted in his mouth: "Zi-Wu Kun-Gen, Qi turns to the Heavenly Gang." Instantly, faint green smoke rose around his body, mixing with the aura of the night dew between the pine needles.

On the sentry tower of the Divine Machine Battalion three miles away, the fire-gun soldiers suddenly felt their eyelids heavy.

They did not notice the purple shadow passing through the pine forest, and even less did they discover the wisp of dust and smoke wandering in the mud under their feet.

But just after passing through a few secret sentries, firelight appeared in the air.

Celestial Zhang Tianshi stopped and looked at the sky.

He saw several huge flaming lanterns floating in the air.

These were specially made by Mohist experts of the Ministry of Works after obtaining the Lu Ban wooden magpie; they were similar to Kongming lanterns, but used formations and talismans underneath, shining brightly at night, specifically used to destroy the enemy's escape techniques in the wild.

"Ding-Jia on the left, Bing-Ren on the right."

Celestial Zhang Tianshi watched coldly, and three bronze thunder seals slid out of his sleeve, landing in a Three Talents formation.

The coins trembled slightly, and everyone subconsciously shifted their gaze.

This was exactly the "Hidden Light Screen" secretly transmitted by the "Orthodox Method of Returning the Carriage and Completing the Dao of the Shangqing Heavenly Pivot Court," borrowing the remaining power of the Six Ding and Six Jia divine generals to distort everyone's senses.

Even the Qi of Gang and Sha would be affected.

For example, the evil-warding bronze bells on the academy wall did not move at all.

Celestial Zhang Tianshi stepped the Yu Step and arrived at the foot of the wall, his ears twitching slightly.

He heard the rhythmic thumping of hammers and nails coming from inside the wall, was thoughtful, pinched the seal to enter the taboo, and drew a "Well" character on the blue bricks with his fingertips.

Water suddenly seeped between the brick gaps, and in the blink of an eye, it froze into ice.

The ice crystals spread along the brick gaps, actually freezing the wall into cracks like a spider web.

The old Daoist's figure seeped in like water, and ripples appeared on the surface of the bricks and stones.

If anyone were there, they would have exclaimed in surprise.

This was actually the "Wall-Passing Technique" that could be called a fairy method in the Mystic Sect.

In this era, there were very few people who could use this method, which showed how high the old Celestial Master's attainments in spellcasting were.

The moment he passed through the high wall, Celestial Zhang Tianshi suddenly closed his eyes and blocked his ears.

After closing his seven orifices, his Daoist robe swayed slightly, and his divine sense spread out like a tide instead.

Various sounds and smells: the southeast corner of the library had the scent of ink, the west side workshop had a pungent smell of iron, and in the pine waves halfway up the mountain...

There was an aura as sharp as a knife hidden!

The old Daoist opened his eyes suddenly, and his purple robe fluttered without wind.

Thirty steps away, on the branch of an old pine tree, stood a figure with arms crossed.

The coarse linen clothes were plated silver-white by the moonlight; it was none other than the Divine Fist Grandmaster Huo Yin.

"Celestial Master visits at night, why not submit a post?"

Huo Yin's voice sounded like clashing gold and iron. As he spoke, the pores all over his body closed, and even the white breath of his breathing could not be seen at all—this was the sign of the "locking essence and closing orifices" of the Innate Realm.

Celestial Zhang Tianshi's expression remained unchanged: "Grandmaster Huo's 'Eight Steps Catching the Cicada' is indeed more advanced than it was twenty years ago."

The moonlight revealed the thunder patterns secretly embroidered on his cuffs; that was the restriction of the "Five Thunder Heavenly Heart Orthodox Method" of Long Hu Mountain, which was faintly burning hot at this moment.

Crack!

The pine branch suddenly snapped.

Huo Yin fell like a meteorite, shaking the mountain road until the cracks in the blue bricks spread, then strode over, his voice cold and solemn, "Does the Celestial Master know that the academy is currently under the dual protection of the 'Great Xuan Law' and the 'Mystic Sect Prohibition'?"

As he spoke, his thumb pressed against the jade belt at his waist; that jade belt secretly contained thirty-six "Demon-Sealing Nails," which were obtained back then when suppressing the White Lotus Sect demon people, specifically used for nailing the spiritual orifices of Mystic Sect sorcerers.

He was the head of the ten great Grandmasters; according to the rules of the martial world, he had no scruples about making a move. As long as he didn't use firearms to surround and attack, and as long as he repelled Celestial Zhang Tianshi, it would be Long Hu Mountain that lost face.

"Let's change to another place..."

Celestial Zhang Tianshi looked around and shook his head slightly.

No sooner had his voice fallen than he had already leaped into the air backward, flipping over the courtyard wall.

Many Commandant's Office soldiers had already surrounded the area.

Huo Yin also took a step forward, and when his soles hit the ground, he had already disappeared, and only his cold voice came from the night sky, "Alert, to prevent luring the tiger away from the mountain."

The Commandant's Office personnel heard this and immediately held their firearms and deployed.

Huo Yin and Celestial Zhang Tianshi, one after the other, soon arrived at the foot of the mountain.

The night wind howled on the wilderness, and only the two of them confronted each other.

Celestial Zhang Tianshi stared in the direction of the academy and sighed: "This old Daoist came by the Three Pure Ones' talisman decree; does Brother Huo really want to block this Heavenly Mandate?"

Before the words were finished, three bronze thunder seals had already slid out of his sleeve.