The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun.

He had already seen it when Lin Pingzhi arrived, but only now did he have time to see it.

Lin Pingzhi had been waiting outside for some time, and upon hearing Yue Buqun's voice, he quickly went inside.

"Disciple greets Master and Mistress, and two senior uncles."

Lin Pingzhi bowed to the four people.

The four nodded, and Yue Buqun asked, "I've seen you standing outside the door for a while now. Is there something you need?"

Lin Pingzhi said with some trepidation, "Master and senior brother, I have avenged my father. Now that my great revenge has been achieved, I wish to return to my hometown to comfort my parents in heaven. I would also like to go to Hengshan to move my parents' graves back to our ancestral land. I hope Master will allow me to do so."

Yue Buqun was somewhat surprised upon hearing this, but then understood Lin Pingzhi's thoughts and nodded.

“It is indeed right that you have this intention, and you really should go back.”

Lin Pingzhi's expression brightened with joy.

"Thank you, Master."

Yue Buqun thought for a moment, then his eyes lit up and he said, “The world outside is in chaos right now. It might be dangerous for you to go down the mountain alone. I’ll go with you then, so I can take care of you.”

Lin Pingzhi was astonished.

He originally planned to go down the mountain by himself, but he didn't expect Yue Buqun to actually decide to accompany him.

Just as Lin Pingzhi was about to thank her, Ning Zhongze, who had been silent all along, spoke softly.

“Your injuries haven’t healed yet. You’ve been drinking tonic soup for a month without any improvement. The long journey you’ve taken will probably only make things worse for your recovery. Let someone else accompany Ping’er.”

Yue Buqun's expression froze, and he turned his head to meet Ning Zhongze's meaningful gaze.

Upon hearing this, Lin Pingzhi quickly replied, "How could I trouble you, Master? I'll go alone."

Just as Yue Buqun was about to speak, Cheng Buyou suddenly said, "Senior brother, let me accompany him down the mountain."

Cheng Buyou has had nothing to do lately, spending his days practicing martial arts on the mountain. However, his skills have hit a bottleneck, and he is thinking of going down the mountain to travel and temper his mind.

"Ok."

Hearing Cheng Buyou's words, Yue Buqun had no choice but to agree.

"Ping'er, then let your Uncle Cheng go down the mountain with you. Be careful on the way."

Lin Pingzhi quickly replied, "Yes, Master."

He then bowed to Cheng Buyou and said, "Thank you, Uncle-Master."

"Ah."

Cheng Buyou nodded.

The next day, Lin Pingzhi led the jade artifacts and Cheng Buyou down the mountain with a smile on his face.

Cheng Buyou is a top-notch expert. Having such an expert traveling with us greatly improves our safety along the way.

March has passed again, and we have entered the late autumn season.

In the past few months, nothing major has happened at the Huashan Sect. Since Ren Yingying was rescued by the Four Immortals of Peach Valley, there has been no movement. The Songshan Sect is the same. Apart from instigating Feng Buping and the others to have a sword qi dispute last time, they have also been quiet. The Demonic Sect is also as always, keeping quiet. The martial arts world is very peaceful, but this peace seems very strange, like the calm before the storm.

Jiang Ning was reading a book inside the house.

"Senior brother, senior brother."

Ye Ying's voice rang out from outside the door.

"Senior brother, Senior Brother Liang said that someone who claims to be an old friend of yours from Sichuan has come up the mountain and is waiting in the main hall. Senior Brother Liang asked me to come and call you."

"An old friend from Sichuan?"

Jiang Ning put down the book, her eyes showing a hint of surprise.

His social circle was very limited. If you didn't count his fellow disciples from the Huashan Sect, he only had enemies outside, like Ren Yingying, but no old friends. If you had to name one, it would be Zhang Daoshi from the Qingcheng Sect.

"okay, I get it."

Jiang Ning put down his book and decided to go see who it was.

Upon arriving at the main hall, they found a person waiting inside, but it was not the Taoist priest Zhang that Jiang Ning had assumed.

The man had his back to Jiang Ning, but after hearing the noise behind him, he turned around, looked at Jiang Ning, and smiled.

"Amitabha Buddha, Benefactor Jiang, how have you been?"

Jiang Ning looked surprised.

"It's you?"

The visitor was the sweeping nun from Qingyun Temple on Mount Emei in Sichuan.

Chapter 163: The True Lineage of Emei

"Amitabha."

Seeing the surprise on Jiang Ning's face, the middle-aged nun laughed.

"It seems that Benefactor Jiang still remembers this humble nun."

Jiang Ning looked her up and down and asked, "What brings you to Mount Hua, Master?"

The middle-aged nun put her hands together and said, "Huiyin, a seventh-generation disciple of the Emei Sect, has come to pay a special visit to your esteemed sect."

Emei Sect?

Jiang Ning narrowed her eyes slightly, looked the Emei Sect disciple who called herself Huiyin up and down, and tentatively asked, "Master, did you come to my Huashan on the orders of Master Jinguang?"

Huiyin smiled slightly: "This humble nun has come on behalf of the Emei Sect."

There was no direct answer, but Jiang Ning nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

The other party is not in cahoots with Master Jin Guang.

"Please sit down, nun."

Jiang Ning asked the other party to sit down first, while he went outside to have Ye Ying inform Yue Buqun. He then returned to the hall and sat down in the chair opposite Huiyin.

"Please forgive my ignorance, I do not understand the meaning of what you just said."

Although he already had a guess in his mind, Jiang Ning still intended to ask the other party something.

"What you just said was that you were visiting Mount Hua on behalf of the Emei Sect, but the current head of the Emei Sect is Venerable Jin Guang. Since Venerable Jin Guang is in charge, and you are not here on his orders, I don't know which Emei Sect you are referring to."

Huiyin smiled faintly and said, "Naturally, it is the orthodox lineage of the Emei Sect."

Jiang Ning narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "Does the nun mean that the Emei Sect at the summit of Mount Emei is no longer the orthodox sect?"

Huiyin nodded: "That's right."

Buddhists often use cryptic language and speak in roundabout ways, but Huiyin did not do so. She directly admitted the truth and answered honestly to show her sincerity.

Jiang Ning nodded at this point and didn't ask any further questions.

The matter is quite clear: the other party means that she and the people behind her are the true orthodox disciples of Emei, while the monks and Taoists in the Golden Summit Temple on Mount Emei are not orthodox.

However, this aligns with Jiang Ning's thinking.

A hundred years ago, the Emei Sect was a major sect dominated by women. Although there were some male disciples, their status was lower than that of the female disciples. Now, a hundred years later, the situation within the Emei Sect has reversed. Men have become the sect leaders, and all the disciples under their command are men. Not a single female disciple has been seen.

In retrospect, it seems that a dramatic change may have taken place within the Emei Sect over the past century.

"Please have a seat, nun. My master is on his way."

Although Huiyin visited the mountain in the name of an old friend of Jiangning, she did not intend to discuss anything with Jiangning himself. She and the orthodox Emei sect behind her came for the sake of Mount Hua.

The following discussion requires Yue Buqun's presence; some things can only be discussed with Yue Buqun's presence present.

Just as Jiang Ning had expected, Huiyin simply smiled and nodded after hearing his words, and then began to wait.

While waiting, Huiyin also secretly observed Jiang Ning.

He was composed and dignified, and his manners during the conversation were courteous and not aggressive. He truly had the demeanor of a disciple of a prestigious school and did not seem like the kind of person who had done those things in Sichuan.

The news of Jiang Ning's massacre of Yu Canghai and his disciples had already spread throughout the martial arts world. This was the first time they had ever seen someone kill someone right at their doorstep.

Not long after, Yue Buqun arrived.

"Master."

Jiang Ning stood up.

Huiyin also stood up and bowed to Yue Buqun.

Yue Buqun nodded slightly: "Mm."

He then looked at Huiyin beside him and asked, "May I ask who this nun is?"

Jiang Ning said from the side, "Master, this is Abbess Huiyin, who is here on behalf of the orthodox Emei sect."

The orthodox lineage of Emei?

These four words are quite interesting.

Upon hearing this, Yue Buqun narrowed his eyes, as if he had thought of something. He glanced at Jiang Ning almost imperceptibly and noticed that Jiang Ning was nodding slightly to him.

Yue Buqun understood.

The master and apprentice had the same idea.

"This humble nun greets Sect Leader Yue."

Huiyin saluted.

Yue Buqun smiled and gestured for him to sit down, saying, "Master, you are too polite. Please have a seat."

Yue Buqun did not sit in the main seat, but instead sat next to Jiang Ning.

Huiyin sat down again, and only then did she have time to observe Yue Buqun, the leader of the Huashan Sect.

As the leader of a sect, Yue Buqun's attire was not flamboyant. He wore only a blue robe and had a scholarly air about him. He didn't look like a sect leader at all. Huiyin couldn't sense any aura from Yue Buqun. At this moment, Yue Buqun gave people the feeling of being very ordinary, like a schoolteacher without martial arts skills.

However, Huiyin did not believe that the leader of the Huashan Sect was not skilled in martial arts. Her inability to detect this could only mean that Yue Buqun's martial arts skills had reached a certain level.

Thinking of this, Huiyin's expression became even more serious.

"I wonder what brings you, Abbess, from all this way to Mount Hua?"