Under One Person: One Person Goes

Chapter 409: The Righteous Path Was Schemed Against

Japanese-occupied area, the area around Xibianmen of Beijing, suburban area, Baiyun Temple.

As one of the three major Taoist ancestral temples of the Quanzhen Sect of Taoism, Baiyun Temple enjoys a high reputation both inside and outside the circle. It was first built during the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty and was named Tianchang Temple.

After several dynasties of war, it was rebuilt during the Ming Dynasty and renamed Baiyun Temple.

As the starting point of the full-scale outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, with the fall of the capital, a landmark complex like Baiyun Temple naturally became the focus of attention of the Japanese invaders.

Before the fall of the capital, the Japanese invaders used promises of huge benefits and threats to divide the Baiyun Temple, forcing them to either leave or stay and work for them.

Only the Taoist priests who stayed behind knew what they were thinking, and after the Japanese occupied the capital, they did not let Baiyun Temple go.

Perhaps the Japanese invaders guessed that among the Taoist priests and high-ranking officials who stayed in Baiyun Temple, there were some who were willing to endure humiliation and endure heavy burdens, so they also had their own vicious plan, which was to muddy the waters of Baiyun Temple.

They sent the I-Kuan Tao and other Japanese native eccentrics and traitors who had chosen to join them early on to Baiyun Temple, and had them use the name of Baiyun Temple to work for the Japanese.

For the common people in the capital, they have no way of distinguishing which of these Taoist priests are real ones and which are fake ones.

Just treat them equally.

Only three months had passed since the fall of the capital and the outbreak of the Battle of Shanghai. Baiyun Temple, once one of the ancestral temples of Quanzhen Taoism, is now in a mess. It is unknown how long it will take to completely eliminate the remaining poison.

At this time, outside the Baiyun Temple, several figures looked at the Baiyun Temple which had now become a smoky and chaotic place, but they did not dare to show any hatred or emotion. After confirming everything, they left quietly.

After wandering around the outskirts of the city for a while, they arrived at a courtyard. As soon as they entered, they heard sounds coming from inside the courtyard.

"Lü Ci, Fatty, how are you?"

"Brother Ren, I dare not use the hedgehog's Ruyi power, and my painting spirit can only get a little closer. However, the entire Baiyun Temple is relaxed on the outside but tight on the inside. It seems that it has not yet joined the Japanese army to move south."

The person who came was Lu Ren, the eldest son of the Lu family, one of the four famous families who withdrew from the Songhu battlefield with the help of Liu Wei.

The figures who were wandering outside Baiyun Temple just now were Lu Ren's younger brother Lu Ci, and Wang Ai, the next head of the Wang family, which is also one of the four families.

Liu Wei had helped Lu Ren escape from the Songhu battlefield with only one request, which was to inform Lu Ren that the Japanese invaders would massacre the city, so that the eldest son of the Lu family could make his own decision after returning.

Lu Ren, who had been trained by the Lu family as a successor, naturally had a clear sense of right and wrong. The first thing he did when he returned to Lujia Village was to ask his father to gather the elders of the clan to discuss the authenticity of the news. Lu Ren, who had luckily escaped with his life from the Battle of Songhu, had witnessed the brutality of the Japanese invaders and understood that this matter was no trivial matter.

After persuading the elders of the clan, he immediately communicated with the Lu family and the Wang family by relying on the relationship between them. Then, using the status of the two families in the circle, he immediately gathered his colleagues in the north to discuss countermeasures.

Especially as many colleagues in the circle carried the Wang family's Yin-Yang Paper south to the Songhu battlefield and learned first-hand news of the battlefield from there, they all had their own judgments about the Japanese invaders' massacre of the city.

This is how the current temporary alliance of the northern circle came about.

"Amitabha, when I was discussing the Dao with Master Chen of Baiyun Temple in the past, we once talked about the words of the demon king Po Xun to Sakyamuni about wearing your Buddha robe. We were both arguing about whether the true sutra would be misinterpreted in the end. I never thought that our private conversation would come true and Baiyun Temple would become a place where filth and dirt are hidden."

Lu Ci and Wang Ai, who went to investigate the news, had just finished speaking when they saw an old monk in the yard with an eye emitting golden light on his forehead dissipating. He was chanting Buddhist mantras loudly, with a look of grief on his face.

"Master Shi Zhen, what did you see with your divine eyes?"

"Master Lu, I have gained nothing. There are masters in the temple who have set up a formation. I can only see that there are people in the temple, but I cannot see clearly."

This monk named Shi Zhen came from the Shaolin Temple of Buddhism.

Now that they already knew that the massacre was true, the Shaolin Temple, one of the leading sects of the righteous path, could not ignore it. Lu Ren, the eldest son of the Lu family, only played a leading role. All the families and sects in the north also sent their core forces to gather in the capital with him to discuss major events.

Hearing that Master Shi Zhen, who was of the same generation as his grandfather, was unable to use his Buddhist magical powers to find out the truth about Baiyun Temple, which had now become a place of chaos and foul smells, Lu Ren sighed. Thinking of the time Liu Wei had told him, he made a decision immediately.

"Ah Ci, Fatty, Third Brother, Sixth Brother, call everyone over. I have something to say."

"Eh!"

Soon, hundreds of experts from the northern circle gathered in the yard. Looking at these hundred people, Lu Ren felt sad.

Not counting those wandering people in the martial arts world and small sects, even the famous and large sects, there shouldn't be this many people in the North all together. During this period, through the Wang family's Yin-Yang paper, those famous and large sects should have received the news.

But there are only a few who can really take it seriously, and only a few who can send people. With only a hundred or so people, even if they are all good players and have the help of seniors, if they really join the battlefield, they will only be a slightly bigger wave and it is difficult to make any big noise.

But just as Liu Wei said to himself, it would be fine if he didn't know about this kind of thing, but if he knew about it and didn't take any action, the legitimacy of the famous and upright path would no longer stand.

After taking a deep breath, Lu Ren spoke loudly.

"My fellow comrades, seniors, since you are able to come here with me, Lü Ren, I think you already know the truth about the Japanese massacre.

I, Lu Ren, was lucky enough to escape with my life from the Battle of Songhu. I also understand that the dangers on the battlefield are beyond the control of practitioners like you and me. But now the country is in crisis, and neither you nor I can stay out of it. I will not lead you to fight against the enemy with an egg against a rock on the battlefield. My father, the elders of the Wang family, has already informed the government through their connections. We can't control what happens on the battlefield, but we, the famous and upright people, cannot sit idly by when it comes to things in the circle.

The defeat in the Battle of Songhu is a foregone conclusion, and the Japanese invaders' march southward is a foregone conclusion. Baiyun Temple has now become a place of chaos and filth. I don't know how many evil people, traitors, and enemies are there in it, but I know that if we allow them to follow the Japanese invaders southward, no matter what they do, we who are in the righteous path will be to blame.

Therefore, I, Lu Ren, as the next generation head of the Lu family, implore you to join me in fighting against the evildoers, traitors, and enemies in the Baiyun Temple. At least we must do it with a clear conscience. "

After he finished speaking, the courtyard was silent, until a young man who was about the same age as Lu Ren, wearing a white robe and a jacket with a long cloth-wrapped object hanging on his back, stepped forward and saluted.

"Master Lu, you are too polite. We all followed Master Lu to the occupied capital, and naturally we all had our heads raised. We didn't expect the Lu family to be so powerful. The two great masters of the Lu family gathered in the capital. Just based on this, Zhang Dong is willing to work with Master Lu to deal with these things that have forgotten their roots."

"Brother Zhang, you are too polite. I don't want my little brother to come with me, but I can't persuade him this time, so I have to take him with me."

"Master Lu is open-minded. I am a monk and I am compassionate. Shaolin should do its part in this matter."

Master Shi Zhen, the representative of Shaolin, followed suit and the rest of the people in the circle naturally had nothing to say. Since they had all come to the capital, it was impossible that they were here just to keep an eye on them.

Seeing that everyone had no objection, after a discussion, they asked Master Shi Zhen of Shaolin to send a letter in the name of Shaolin through the flying sword of Liuyun Sword. Three days later, that is, on November 14, 1937, he would bring them to Baiyun Temple to compete in martial arts and make friends with them.

As for why this method was used, it was very simple. At least for now, Baiyun Temple was still a righteous sect in name, and the Japanese invaders did not dare to directly ask Baiyun Temple to publicly announce its allegiance to them. This would arouse public indignation and would be detrimental to their rule over the capital. North China had not yet been completely conquered.

The Japanese invaders did not dare to use this method to force the people in the northern circle to unite and deal with them. Doing so was like throwing a smoke bomb, making those traitors in Baiyun Temple who had already surrendered to the Japanese invaders think that this was a good opportunity to win over the northern circle.

After all, it was Shaolin Temple, a thousand-year-old sect that produced the divine master Bodhidharma. How could they not let go of such an opportunity to seek credit from the Japanese invaders?

It's a pity that Lu Ren and his companions overestimated the bottom line of the Japanese invaders and did not expect that their gentlemanly agreement would be schemed against by a villain.

Three days flew by.

After recuperating, Lu Ren and his gang had no intention of hiding their whereabouts, and they rushed towards Baiyun Temple in a mighty manner.

When they arrived at the gate of Baiyun Temple and saw that the gate was closed and there was no one there to receive visitors, Lu Ren's heart skipped a beat and everyone felt something was wrong.

The Shaolin monk Shi Zhen took a step forward, circulated his true energy, and used the Shaolin Buddhist Lion's Roar.

"Master Chen, Shaolin Master Zhen is here to visit. Why is the door closed? This is not the way to entertain guests."

The sound waves were heard and echoed, but Baiyun Temple was still quiet and there was no sign of reality.

The old monk Shi Zhen frowned, while Lu Ci was even more direct.

The purple true energy surged in his body, and the family's unique Ruyi Jin seeped into the ground as Lu Ci punched out, and rushed towards the Baiyun Temple inside the gate.

As the Ruyi power that had infiltrated Baiyun Temple was withdrawn, Lu Ci also frowned and moved closer to Lu Ren.

"Brother, something is wrong. There are people inside, and there are a lot of footsteps."

"Never mind. We are here to cause trouble in the name of making friends through martial arts. Why should we use courtesy before force? Everyone, I am sorry for my embarrassment."

Zhang Dong, the Liuyun Sword who had been the first to stand on Lu Ren's side, didn't care whether the other party was deliberately setting up a trap or not. He put his right fingers together to form a sword, raised his head and pointed, and said loudly.

"Exit!"

The long object wrapped in cloth that he had been carrying with him all the time suddenly shook violently. Several sharp sword qi cut through the cloth. Cold light shone in everyone's eyes, and an iron sword flew out from behind him out of thin air.

Liuyun Sword is a sword-cultivating sect among many schools. Its disciple Lin Zifeng became sworn brothers with the head of Quanxing Sect, Wu Gensheng, during the Jiashen year, and they were both one of the thirty-six thieves.

As the incident of the thirty-six thieves gathering together was exposed, although they did not learn the eight unique skills, they were still hunted down by the righteous. The Liuyun Sword sect gradually declined with the Jiashen disaster and the development of the times, and disappeared from the circle.

The Liuyun Sword sect is different from ordinary sword practitioners. For ordinary sword practitioners, the sword in their hands is an external object, which is only the basis for them to release their means.

The Liuyun Sword adheres to the concept that as long as the sword is alive, the person is alive; if the sword is lost, the person dies.

Every member of Liuyun Sword Sect can only choose one sword in his lifetime, and relying on the sect's methods, he will nurture it with his true Qi at all times, just like a weapon refiner. Imperceptibly, through his own true Qi, the properties of the material of an iron sword, which may be made of just a piece of iron, will change over time, and even without the addition of true Qi, it can still cut through iron like mud.

It is also because of this that the Liuyun Sword sect is more like the sword immortals in fairy tales, who can fly their swords a hundred miles away and take the enemy's head, but this hundred miles is an imaginary number.

"A deliberate attempt to confuse you? Break it for me!"

The long sword circled above Zhang Dong for a while, and then Zhang Dong gave an order.

The sword broke through the void and slashed straight towards the formation covering the sky above Baiyun Temple.

The sharp sword energy wrapped around the long sword, turning into a giant blade that slashed down, breaking the maze that could only disturb and trap the enemy. The strong wind it brought also blew open the tightly closed door of Baiyun Temple.

As Zhang Dong sheathed his sword, Lu Ren also led everyone into Baiyun Temple.

But he was shocked by the scene before him.

Because in front of them was a huge formation outlined by blood. As soon as they entered, they stepped into the edge of the formation, and in the center of the formation was an old man sitting there.

However, the bloodstains on the ground that had long dried up also showed that this formation had lost its effect.

On the periphery of the formation, there was a group of Taoist priests in Taoist robes with dull eyes, a talisman stuck on their backs and no signs of life on their faces. They were walking back and forth along a predetermined route, each doing their own thing. They didn't even react when Lu Ren and his men broke in.

It seems that the figures and footsteps detected by Lu Ci, Wang Ai and others outside Baiyun Temple were all made by them.

"Puppet Talisman? Teleportation?"

The knowledgeable monk Shi Zhen recognized the function of the formation under their feet at the first time, and rushed to the old man in the center of the formation. The kind-hearted look on his face had long disappeared, replaced by a furious look of a Vajra.

He grabbed the old man who was sitting in the center of the formation and began to question him.

"Asshole! Where did you move all those people to?!"

"Tooi (tooi) [very far]"

The old monk Shi Zhen responded with a sentence in Japanese, which means "very far away".

The other party obviously did not expect Shi Zhen and Lu Ren and the others to understand. After admiring Lu Ren and the other righteous people from a close distance and seeing their faces full of anger and frustration, as if they had been plotted against, he began to bleed from all his orifices and died on the spot.

With just this one contact, the old monk Shi Zhen realized that the Japanese stranger in front of him was a master who was no less skilled than himself.

And the other party was willing to sacrifice the life of such a master who could be regarded as the trump card of the sect, and use the blood of living beings to build a magic circle that could move a large number of people hundreds of miles away at one time. It is easy to imagine what their purpose is, but they lost the initiative.

"Brother! There's a cellar over here!"

Before Lu Ren and the others could recover from the explanation given by the old monk Shi Zhen, Lu Ci and Wang Ai, who were searching everywhere, also made a discovery and shouted loudly.

Lu Ren and his group also ran towards the direction where Lu Ci and his group were.

At this time, in the concession of the Songhu battlefield, Wang Yi and Liu Wei were also waiting here for Guo Ruyue and Zhou Weiguo, who were rushing to the Songhu battlefield with the Jinling Teaching Corps to support the retreat of the National Army troops.

(End of this chapter)