Chapter 91: Miao King Tomb (4000)

As soon as these words were spoken, the aura around Yongjie changed.

His name before becoming a monk was Tu Qingcang.

A top-tier expert, master of the Juyi Manor, known in Paojianghu as the "Pillar Supporting the Heavens."

Ah, of course, he couldn't transform, and he didn't have an AllSpark.

This nickname came, first, from his name, and second, from a line in a Yuan opera describing a general: "The white jade pillar supporting the heavens, the purple gold beam supporting the sea."

Back then, he became famous for his self-created fist technique, the "Heaven-Supporting Fist," a reputation built punch by punch.

However, his personality back then was somewhat like Zuo Lishan’s. Both were self-opinionated and arrogant. And he wasn't as good at pretending as Zuo Lishan, so he had many enemies in Paojianghu.

But, until he went missing, the Juyi Manor he established remained an unshakable hegemon in the Southern Paojianghu.

Simply because he was still there.

How could he just be a good-natured monk who took things as they came?

With the words "fight for it," his entire aura instantly became sharp and majestic.

He said "fight for it," but he clearly thought it was "within his grasp."

Li Miao glanced at him and said with a smile, "Alright, alright, try standing up on your own first."

Yongjie’s aura suddenly dissipated, and he couldn't help but laugh bitterly.

Li Miao’s personality had a small flaw—he couldn't stand people acting cool in front of him.

Since he left Shuntian Prefecture until now, anyone who put on airs in front of him would either be choked by him if they were on good terms, or get a sound beating if they were on bad terms.

So, as soon as Yongjie showed signs of "I’m not pretending anymore, I’m taking off my kind mask," he was blocked by Li Miao’s words.

Seeing Yongjie silent, Li Miao continued with a smile.

"However, we can put off parting ways for now."

"How does the Great Master know I’m not interested in this Wedding Dress Divine Art?"

Yongjie looked up abruptly.

Li Miao’s trip to the Miao border was, first, for Li Xiaosi, and second, to cut off the inheritance of witchcraft.

In this era, this thing was too much of a threat.

The incident in Taian City was only resolved satisfactorily because he was there. Once the Ming Cult’s plan succeeded, if commoners carried the Gu insects into the countryside, it could be a plague that left nine out of ten houses empty.

And the tomb the woman mentioned was the Miao King’s tomb.

Li Miao naturally had to go and take a look.

It was all about the Miao border anyway, so it was on the way.

Yongjie didn't know Li Miao’s plans and said solemnly to Li Miao, "Benefactor, are you not changing your itinerary for the monk’s sake?"

"Your Wu Gong, Benefactor, is already beyond the ordinary; so-called divine arts are of little use to you."

"If it weren't for the power-transferring function of this Wedding Dress Divine Art, the monk wouldn't go either."

Li Miao waved his hand. "Don't overthink it."

"I have my own plans, and where I go is my choice."

"Since our goals are the same, it means our fate hasn't ended yet. Great Master can rest assured and heal your injuries."

"When your injuries are healed, we will set off immediately to explore the Miao King’s tomb."

Two days later, Li Miao and Yongjie walked out of the city gate.

Yongjie looked back and sighed.

Li Miao smiled. "What, Great Master, is your worldly fate not yet ended? Are you reluctant to leave that woman?"

Yongjie shook his head. "No."

"The monk just saw an old friend and remembered some things."

Li Miao smiled. "Still haven't chanted enough sutras."

"That woman, don't you want to ask me to save her?"

Yongjie pressed his palms together. "The monk wants to save her, but I cannot."

"Cause and effect are inescapable. She is my friend, but also someone else’s enemy. If she did evil, she must repay it."

"After the monk saves the person I want to save, I will also go find my creditors and return this life to them."

Li Miao glanced at him. "How twisted."

"Don't forget to come find me for a drink before you die."

Yongjie smiled. "Definitely, definitely."

The two said no more and sped toward the Miao King’s tomb.

We will skip the hardships of the journey; a few days later, the two finally arrived at the legendary Miao King’s tomb.

This place was a wilderness, usually with no people around.

But now, it was bustling with noise.

Before they even got close, they saw many Paojianghu people with swords and blades, all rushing in the same direction.

Yongjie stopped for a moment, a look of hesitation appearing on his face.

"What’s wrong?" Li Miao asked.

"Many people here recognize the monk," Yongjie said.

"The monk originally wanted to go to a village in the Miao border, which is isolated from the Central Plains Paojianghu, so I wouldn't be afraid of anyone recognizing me."

"But now, there are Southern Paojianghu people here, and several sect leaders who have seen me before. If I go over rashly, I’m afraid it will cause trouble."

Yongjie looked conflicted.

Li Miao smiled. "I thought you were confident; it turns out you forgot about this."

"Come, disperse your internal energy, close your eyes."

Yongjie was obedient and did as he was told.

Li Miao stepped forward, his hands turning bright red, emitting faint white smoke, and pressed them onto Yongjie’s face.

"Ugh!"

Yongjie’s body trembled, but he managed to endure it without dodging.

"Oh, I forgot to say, it hurts a bit, bear with it," Li Miao said nonchalantly.

Yongjie felt like Li Miao was trying to kill him; this wasn't just "a bit of pain," it was heart-wrenching!

What Li Miao was using was the very method he used to reattach Liu Baiyun’s severed arm, which could also be used for interrogation.

This method was essentially about connecting blood and Qi, reconnecting meridians, and stimulating flesh and blood.

If it could be used to reattach severed facial features, it could naturally be used to change someone’s original facial features.

After a while, Li Miao let go, and Yongjie’s body went limp, gasping for air.

"Alright, this looks much more pleasing to the eye," Li Miao smiled.

Yongjie caught his breath, found a puddle to look at, and sure enough, he was unrecognizable.

"Let’s go."

Yongjie agreed, and the two walked toward the crowded area.

Before they even got close, a young man walked over and looked them up and down.

"The two of you, stop. May I ask if you are here for the tomb?"

"Exactly," Yongjie replied.

"Oh, I see," the young man said. "I am Yuan Li of the Kongtong Sect. Greetings to you both."

"May I ask your names and your masters?"

Li Miao glanced at him. "What, do we need to show a travel permit to enter this wilderness?"

The young man waved his hand with a smile. "Don't overthink it, you two."

"You both know that this matter has spread throughout Paojianghu, and more and more people have been coming in the last few days, a mix of fish and dragons."

"A few days ago, a greenwood bandit snuck in and took several lives while it was crowded."

"So, my Kongtong, Emei, and Hengshan sects discussed it and decided we can't let this continue. Those who come later must state their identities, so we don't let villains in, and everyone can rest easy."

"As long as you two aren't Paojianghu wanderers or greenwood bandits, you can naturally enter."

What he said made sense, but Li Miao and Yongjie really couldn't produce a decent identity.

Li Miao aside, if he showed his Embroidered Uniform Guard badge, he could enter, but it would probably cause an uproar.

And Yongjie didn't have an identity he could talk about.

He snuck out and was on private business. If he reported his dharma name, it would involve Shaolin, which he couldn't do.

He couldn't say his secular name either.

Because Kongtong also had a grudge against him back then. Emei also had a grudge against him. The entire Southern Paojianghu, the few famous major sects, basically all had grudges against him.

It can only be said that Yongjie was really bad at dealing with people before he became a monk.

Li Miao saw Yongjie’s troubled look and knew his difficulty.

The disciple saw that they didn't speak and reached for the pair of judge pens at his waist. "The two of you, if you don't have a plausible background, please return."

"The leaders of several major Southern Paojianghu sects are here, so don't cause trouble, lest you lose your lives."

The Kongtong Sect’s martial arts were famously miscellaneous, with inheritances in knives, spears, swords, sticks, fists, and legs. The judge pens this young man chose were relatively niche in Paojianghu, and not many people knew how to deal with them, so he had an advantage in a fight.

So he wasn't afraid of a fight.

Li Miao glanced at him, thought for a moment, and said with a smile, "We are indeed Paojianghu wanderers, with no sect or faction. But someone can verify our identities."

"The Hengshan Sect has also sent people, right? Who came?"

When the young man heard that they didn't intend to fight, he replied politely, "The Hengshan leader went to attend the Five Mountains Alliance and hasn't returned yet. Elder Yin Minjun of Hengshan is here."

"Oh, go and pass the message. Just tell her Li Miao is here and ask her to come out and receive me immediately."

Li Miao said indifferently.

The young man didn't move for a moment, looking at Li Miao carefully, thinking, "What a big mouth!"

"Looking at your face, you’re only in your early thirties, and you’re not a famous person. You ask the number two person in Hengshan to come out to receive you, and you want her to 'hurry'?"

"Are you trying to trick me away so you can sneak in?"

However, being sent to handle arrivals and departures, he wasn't without sophistication.

He first politely told Li Miao to wait, turned and walked away a few steps, found a fellow disciple to give instructions, and then walked back, looking at Li Miao and Yongjie.

He wanted to strike up a conversation and fish for information. But Li Miao couldn't be bothered to pay attention to him, and Yongjie was a straight shooter, afraid of letting something slip, so he also kept his mouth shut, leaving him hanging.

The young man became increasingly dissatisfied, just waiting for the Hengshan Sect to say they didn't know these two people later, so he could insult them a bit to vent his anger.

After a while, he heard a chaotic sound of footsteps behind him.

The young man turned his head and saw a group of people rushing over, all using light-body techniques to run.

He looked closely.

Leading them was Yin Minjun of the Hengshan Sect, followed by several others, all of whom were veterans of the Hengshan Sect.

Looking at the group behind them, the young man was speechless.

"The Hengshan Sect, they all came!?"

There were over a hundred people from the Hengshan Sect here, and now they were all rushing over together.

The young man hurriedly made way.

He saw Yin Minjun using her light-body technique to the fullest, arriving here first, looking around.

Seeing Li Miao, she actually used the Hengshan Sect’s signature light-body technique, the "Ape Lord Somersault Cloud," to flash in front of Li Miao.

Then she bowed deeply. "Li—"

"Hey." Li Miao interrupted the "Lord Li" that was to follow.

"Long time no see, Elder Yin. I am just a Paojianghu wanderer, not easy to enter, so I troubled you to come and receive me."

Yin Minjun was also an old hand in Paojianghu. Hearing Li Miao’s words, she immediately understood that he didn't want to reveal his identity, and she immediately replied.

"Brother Li! It is only right! It is only right!"

"You have a great kindness to my Hengshan Sect; such a small matter, my Hengshan Sect will naturally handle it!"

"You have had a hard journey, please follow me, and let us wash away the dust for you."

With that, Yin Minjun respectfully reached out to lead the way, and led Li Miao and Yongjie away.

Leaving the Kongtong disciple standing there in a daze.

The Five Mountains Sword Sect affair had been over for more than a month. Deng Baixuan was taken to Shuntian Prefecture by Wang Hai, but such a major event as defecting to the Embroidered Uniform Guard naturally led to disciples being sent to bring the news back to the sect.

This Yin Minjun was the number two person in the Hengshan Sect, in her thirties, and her Wu Gong was no less than Deng Baixuan’s. With Deng Baixuan gone, the Hengshan Sect was all up to her.

In the message Deng Baixuan sent back, more than half of the space was about Li Miao, praising him as rare in the heavens and unique on earth.

Here are a few excerpts:

His Wu Gong is like a heavenly being, unreachable. He turned the tide, supported the collapsing building, saved millions of commoners in Taian from fire and water, and saved the Five Mountains Sword Sect from danger. His appearance is like Pan An, his righteousness like Guan Yu, his courage like Zilong, his wisdom like Zhuge... he is truly a hero of the ages, a model for the world!

This world should damn well change its surname to Li! (This sentence was held back)

Of course, it’s hard to say whether Deng Baixuan knew that the Embroidered Uniform Guard would check the messages he sent back to the sect in advance, so he was flattering Li Miao.

But these were the words of praise Yin Minjun heard.

Now that she heard Li Miao was here, how could she not be nervous?

Not to mention anything else, Deng Baixuan was still in Shuntian Prefecture, in the hands of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

When they arrived at the Hengshan Sect’s camp, Yin Minjun asked her disciples to guard the surroundings, and with the remaining veterans, she was about to kneel to Li Miao.

"Greetings, Lord Li!"

Li Miao lifted his hand in the air, and a gentle internal energy lifted them up. "Alright, I don't have the habit of making people kneel."

I don't know who it was that said "those who don't want to die can kneel" when catching Yan Xiaosheng.

With that, he turned and sat in the main seat.

The Hengshan Sect was wealthy and was the one who paid the bills among the Five Mountains Sword Sect. At this moment, they had actually set up a large tent in this wilderness, which was quite spacious.

"The matter in Taishan has been settled, so you don't need to mention it again. Just serve the Embroidered Uniform Guard well in the future, and you won't be shortchanged."

"Tell me about the situation of the Miao King’s tomb."

Yin Minjun was still shocked by the deep internal energy contained in Li Miao’s gentle lift, and hearing Li Miao ask, she hurriedly replied.

"Reporting to my Lord."

"The major sects currently at the Miao King’s tomb include the Beggar Sect, Cao Gang, Emei, Qingcheng, and Kongtong. A few days ago, we sent someone to invite Master Xingchi of Shaolin, but there is no news yet."

"Besides these, the lone experts include 'Forest-Piercing North Leg' Huo Hong, 'Iron Fist Arhat' Cang Feifeng, and 'Match for Li Guang' Gong Yuanzhi, four or five people in total."

"A few days ago, we gathered a few experts and went down to take a look; it is indeed the Miao King’s tomb. And there are many decayed weapons; many Paojianghu people died here many years ago."

"Looking at the craftsmanship of the weapons, the people who died here back then had good Wu Gong, so the possibility of the 'Wedding Dress Divine Art' being here is not low. It’s just that there are too many poisonous insects inside; even with high Wu Gong, it’s hard to defend against them if there are few people."

"My Lord, you came at the right time. Tonight, several major sects are going to discuss countermeasures, and tomorrow we will open the tomb and go in together to explore."