The deepest affection in Gu Long's world

Chapter 153 Rules of the Martial World
Sun Xiaohong, who was dragged away by Lin Xian'er, was still a little sullen. After all, it seemed that everyone had a task, but she was just foolishly waiting to see what would happen.

She also wanted to find something to do.

"Sister Lin, what Brother Fang just said..."

“That’s another plan.” Lin Xian’er winked at her, and Sun Xiaohong understood that if she asked any further questions, she would be considered ignorant.

"Sigh," she sighed deeply. "Sister Lin, is there anything I can do to help Brother Fang?"

“You have already helped a lot. For example, Tianji Tower can now access some of the intelligence sharing with your Sun family, which allows us to capture more comprehensive information about what is happening in various parts of the martial arts world. Also, it is because of you that your grandfather chose to join Tianji Tower as a guest elder.”

In Lin Xian'er's opinion, this dowry was already quite generous. The value of Sun Baifa alone was enough to make it worthwhile for her to persuade Fang Yunhua to take this little beauty in.

She still doesn't have an accurate understanding of Fang Yunhua's strength, but in her opinion, before she masters "Men Can't Be Seen", the combination of Fang Yunhua and Sun Baifa should be able to handle any strong opponent.

Therefore, Sun Xiaohong's importance is beyond doubt.

“But I also want to do something,” Sun Xiaohong said, her eyes filled with envy as she watched Lin Xian’er begin to sort through the intelligence coming from the various Tianji Tower branches.

Perhaps because she was so deeply influenced by Lin Xian'er, she also wanted to become a career-oriented, strong woman!

"Then you can join the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion. I also need an assistant. However, there are some secrets you cannot tell anyone, not even your grandfather or your family."

Lin Xian'er could not possibly tell Sun Xiaohong about the Plum Blossom Thief, and she had already cleaned up most of the traces related to that.

After learning about part of the Sun family's intelligence network construction process, she realized that the strength of the other party lay in the fact that as long as they focused on investigating one thing, they would inevitably discover some clues. By using their experience to deduce the truth, Lin Xian'er was already fully confident in eliminating the last bit of trouble.

This past is a secret that neither Fang Yunhua nor Lin Xian'er can reveal to others.

It was because they kept this secret together that Lin Xian'er was confident that the other mistresses—the third, fourth, and fifth—could not threaten her position; she would always be the closest person to Fang Yunhua.

Now, however, the Sun family can shift their focus to the Demonic Sect, which will buy them some time.

Therefore, she still wanted to take advantage of her silly younger sister.

Of course, as compensation, she could simply hide in the wardrobe once.

"I need to talk to Grandpa about this. After all, if I really join, I can't just leave empty-handed." Sun Xiaohong is a very honest person, which made Lin Xian'er feel a little sorry for her. She silently decided to add one more chance to hide in the wardrobe!
That night.

Fang Yunhua unusually refrained from playing with Lin Xian'er because he received a message from Qin Xiaoyi, who was meeting with Master Xindeng, who had come to witness the battle on behalf of Shaolin Temple.

Fang Yunhua had a good impression of the other party when they gave him the Great Rejuvenation Pill and the Lesser Rejuvenation Pill last time.

Compared to the fiery, candle-like spirit, the heart lamp is undoubtedly more composed, which is why we can guess Shaolin Temple's attitude towards this battle.

"Of the seven eminent monks of the Xin generation, only you came?"

"Now there are only six people left."

Xin Deng's tone was somewhat complicated. Clearly, after delivering the Great Rejuvenation Pill back to the temple, he understood everything the man in front of him had done. What shocked him even more was that the man had actually mingled with that Heavenly Mystery Elder.

This information was leaked by Fang Yunhua after Qin Xiaoyi consulted him.

This further increased Fang Yunhua's importance in Xin Deng's heart.

Therefore, his expression became exceptionally candid.

"In this battle, our temple will join forces with Wudang and Kunlun to invite some experts to launch an attack on the Great Joyful Bodhisattva at the right opportunity."

What constitutes a suitable opportunity?

"When the Great Joyful Bodhisattva is injured or reveals a fatal flaw, some masters will use the pretext of rescuing an old friend to launch a surprise attack on her."

"But the representatives of your three major factions won't make a move, right?"

Heart Lamp nodded.

Who are these experts?

"There are fourteen people between the eleventh and fiftieth places on the original Weapon Ranking: Zhuge Gang, who swept through thousands of troops, ranked eighth; Lü Fengxian, the Silver Halberd Marquis, ranked fifth; and Guo Songyang, the Iron Sword Marquis, ranked fourth. In addition, there are six other people who were not included in the Weapon Ranking but whose strength is also extremely remarkable."

"What a generous gesture."

After all, this is not a fantasy world. No matter how strong an individual's martial arts are, there are still limits. For example, Bai Tianyu, who is currently ranked fifth on the Weapon Ranking, was ambushed first, but according to the original storyline, he was surrounded and killed by thirty first- and second-rate masters.

Moreover, this first-class and second-class classification standard is highly flawed, and the most impressive ones probably don't even reach the top twenty of the original weapon ranking.

Therefore, it can be seen that the lineup of experts gathered by the three major sects is enough to pose a fatal threat to the Great Joyful Bodhisattva, but they will not be facing the Great Joyful Bodhisattva alone.

In addition, Fang Yunhua actually wanted to say that Lü Fengxian seemed to have been completely ruined by him. Given Lü Fengxian's current mentality, if he really dared to come, he would probably just get slapped.

"How did Guo Songyang agree? Wasn't he rumored to be a very principled person?"

He was not at all surprised that the three major sects could persuade Lü Fengxian. After all, Lü Di, who came out of seclusion twenty years later, openly used the Wudang sword technique, which was enough to show that the relationship between the Wudang sect and the Lü family was extremely close.

“No matter how principled he is, he still has to consider his family.” With just this one sentence from Xin Deng, Fang Yunhua understood that this was most likely an old debt owed by his family.

He then asked.

"Didn't you try to persuade Shangguan Jin Hong?"

“We agreed to some conditions to ensure that he would not help the Great Joyful Bodhisattva at that time. He also promised to deliver a fatal blow to the Great Joyful Bodhisattva at the critical moment, provided that there was no risk involved.”

"tsk"

Fang Yunhua could easily imagine how these three major sects had reluctantly accepted Shangguan Jin Hong's opportunistic agreement.

"So you're contacting me now to ask for my help? My services are very expensive, you know~"

"No, Abbot Fang only hopes that Fang Tanyue will take care of this humble monk out of consideration for our past relationship. This time, as the representative of Shaolin Temple, only this humble monk is attending, but it can be considered as a complete repayment of the favor from Cangjian Manor."

Fang Yunhua smiled as she looked at the Heart Lamp, but didn't say a word.

Xin Deng sighed, then took out a small bottle of Rejuvenating Pills that he had prepared beforehand from his sleeve.

"That's just to take care of you, that's all."

"Okay." Fang Yunhua accepted it with pleasure.

For him now, whether he has one more bottle of Xiao Huan Dan or not really makes no difference, but through his interactions with the Shaolin Temple, he has realized that only by consistently adhering to the principle of equivalent exchange can he earn the other party's respect.

As for talking about personal relationships, monks are the most ruthless.

"You should be able to tell that the opponent's choice of Lushan as the location is not so simple, which also determines that this battle will not end as easily as an ordinary duel."

Xin Deng chanted Amitabha Buddha's name, nodded slightly, and said, "My senior brother Abbot also asked me to remind Fang Tanyue of one more thing: this time you only need to take care of this humble monk. The representatives of the other two major sects have nothing to do with Shaolin."

Fang Yunhua gave the other person a look, while Xin Deng continued to silently chant Amitabha, as if he didn't understand the meaning of that look at all.

Seeing this, Fang Yunhua still wanted to squeeze more oil out of the other party.

"You should know my true identity. So, when it comes to details about this battle, if you, Master, are willing to pay a small price, I will guarantee that once the news gets out, your Shaolin Temple will have the most glorious and dignified image."

If you can afford the right price, even black can be made to look white.

Fang Yunhua did not establish the Tianji Tower for the sake of absolute impartiality. In his view, the power of public opinion was worthless if it could not be sold for a good price.

Seeing that the other party was so straightforward, Xin Deng was taken aback for a moment, and then he tentatively asked.

"The 'small price' that Fang (the original poster) mentioned refers to..."

Fang Yunhua held up one finger.

Xin Deng's eyes lit up at this sight, and he looked ready to take out a small medicine bottle from his sleeve, which resembled a treasure chest.

Fang Yunhua's next words made him immediately stop what he was doing.

"A Great Elixir of Immortality".

Xin Deng stared blankly at Fang Yunhua, his lips still trembling slightly. If it were Xin Zhu, despite his own painful experience of having his limbs dislocated by Fang Yunhua, he would probably have started cursing right away.

Xin Deng, on the other hand, was very well-mannered; he probably cursed silently in his heart.

He finally managed to sort out his thoughts.

"Fang Tanyue is joking."

"Hey, aren't you afraid that the righteous Heavenly Mystery Pavilion will spread the word that you ambushed the number one expert on the Weapon Ranking? After all, none of the three major sects' experts made a move, yet you enlisted those experts from the original Weapon Ranking to carry out an ambush. This kind of behavior is both cheating and despicable~"

“Fang Tan Yue wouldn’t do that.” Xin Deng’s expression was very calm. “Before I went down the mountain, my senior brother, the abbot, specifically instructed me that if I encountered Fang Tan Yue on this trip, I could ensure my safety.”

After all, compared to this trivial matter, the next plan is far more crucial for our temple than the benefactor.

Moreover, the abbot had a very high opinion of Fang Tanyue. He said that Fang Tanyue seemed to act impulsively like a young man, but in fact every step he took was well thought out. Even the behavior that seemed to be about to cross the line was just right at the other party's psychological bottom line.

At least one thing is certain: Fang Tanyue would never do something that harms others without benefiting herself.

"Tsk!"

Fang Yunhua cursed under his breath but didn't continue. The lake in his heart had indeed exposed some problems of Shaolin Temple, but after returning to the temple, the other party was probably seriously analyzing the whole process of their meeting.

Therefore, it wasn't too unexpected that he could see through his act of feigning madness.

After all, the other party is the abbot of Shaolin Temple; if he didn't have such shrewdness, he wouldn't be able to survive.

Similarly, regarding the matter of the Great Joyful Female Bodhisattva, Fang Yunhua's stance was actually biased towards the three major factions.

Because the other party's existence is inherently opposed to Fang Yunhua, coupled with her background in the Demonic Sect, even though she is very close to the Lady of the South Sea and seems to be in a situation where she obeys orders but not orders, some risks cannot be ignored.

It would be best if such a giant beast died as soon as possible.

In retrospect, setting it as the number one weapon on the list, and the major event that was accidentally triggered by You Longsheng's affair, also achieved Fang Yunhua's original goal.

Then Fang Yunhua asked the last question.

"What if she survives this encirclement and attack?"

"Then she will be the next legend."

The voice of the Heart Lamp was calm, as if it had long considered this possibility.

Fang Yunhua understood the unspoken meaning behind the other party's words, which meant that the grudges between the two parties would be put to rest, and the Great Joyful Female Bodhisattva would live a happy life where she could abduct whomever she wanted to be her male concubine.

Therefore, the three major sects of Shaolin, Wudang, and Kunlun would tacitly acknowledge its special status.

This is yet another tacit but dirty rule of the underworld.
-
The day of the duel, November 17th, has quietly arrived.

Xin Deng did not choose to accompany Fang Yunhua to Mount Lu.

Fang Yunhua, as a hidden strategist, is more likely to be of help to them.

The Great Joyful Bodhisattva had disappeared a day earlier, seemingly acting as a sitting duck in the inn, eating and drinking, ultimately attracting only some hot-headed young men driven by a sense of justice.

Except for one person who was taken as a male concubine because of his good looks, the rest died without a complete corpse.

The cruelty displayed by the Great Joyful Bodhisattva also sparked heated discussions among the onlookers.

Some negative public opinion seemed to spread unintentionally, but Fang Yunhua had already realized that this was the three major factions mobilizing the emotions of those cannon fodder, and that these cannon fodder were mostly free.

"Ah, this world of martial arts."

Sun Baifa didn't know how many times he had sighed like this, but Fang Yunhua felt that this situation was justified.

Please! This doesn't resemble the rule-abiding world of the Jin-style martial arts world next door. The ancient-style martial arts world is all about this kind of deceit, intrigue, and backstabbing.

After giving Qin Xiaoyi and Long Xiaoyun some more instructions, the four-person team officially set off for Mount Lu.

Sun Xiaohong, full of energy throughout, seemed to genuinely treat this trip as a fun adventure to climb Mount Lu.

It was her laughter that made Sun Baifa, who had been keeping a straight face, feel much more relaxed.

She was like a little sun, very infectious to those around her. Even Lin Xian'er, who was inherently somewhat gloomy, showed a genuine smile at this moment, and even gave Sun Xiaohong a cheerful kiss on the cheek.

This made Sun Xiaohong's face turn even redder, as if it had become the most vibrant color in this autumn day.

In November, Mount Lu is painted with vibrant colors by the maple and tallow trees.

The stone path, paved with pine needles like gold leaf, made a soft, crisp sound underfoot, like pearls gently tapping.

Leaving aside the hurried and menacing travelers from the martial world, the scene here is like a beautiful painting.

What Sun Xiaohong found somewhat regrettable was that, apart from Sun Baifa, the other three had all disguised themselves. She and Lin Xian'er directly wrapped their alluring figures in a large white robe, and their faces were also disguised, resulting in a sharp drop in their appearance by eighty percent.

Fang Yunhua wore only a mask specially made for this viewing event, although the mask looked a bit strange.

Probably something like this:
While covering his face diminished some of his charm, it didn't completely diminish his aura. On the contrary, the mask made Fang Yunhua appear both ethereal and eerie.

(End of this chapter)