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

"Senior Brother, Senior Sister Lingshan, Senior Sister Yilin."

Jiang Ning greeted the three of them.

"Ah."

Upon seeing that it was Jiang Ning, Yue Lingshan's expression softened, and she smiled.

"Junior Brother."

Although Jiang Ning was no longer the youngest in Huashan, she and Linghu Chong still didn't change their way of addressing her.

"Junior Brother Jiang Ning."

Yilin nodded in agreement.

Jiang Ning smiled and then looked at Linghu Chong.

"Senior Brother, is there something you need?"

Linghu Chong chuckled and said, "Nothing, just asking where you're planning to go, Junior Brother?"

"I'm going to see my master."

Jiang Ning replied.

Yue Buqun is currently discussing matters with Abbess Dingyi and Taoist Tianmen. Jiang Ning intends to go and see how they are discussing things. More and more martial arts practitioners are gathering not far from Mount Hua and could attack at any time. He won't feel at ease if he doesn't go and take a look.

Linghu Chong's eyes lit up, and he quickly said, "I'm also going to my master's place, let's go together!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning looked at him, then at Yue Lingshan and Yilin.

"This isn't a good idea."

The strange atmosphere between the three people made him not want to get involved.

"What's wrong with that? Let's go, let's go, it'll be more lively with more people."

Linghu Chong insisted on going along, and even grabbed Liu Zhao as a hostage.

"Ok."

Unable to refuse such hospitality, Jiang Ning could only nod.

Linghu Chong revealed a relaxed smile.

When he passed by his fellow disciples earlier, he wanted to pull them along to ease the awkward atmosphere, but the other disciples would take a detour whenever they saw the three of them from afar. Linghu Chong wouldn't let Jiang Ning go after finally catching him.

"Since Junior Brother is busy, I won't bother you any longer. I'll be going now."

Yue Lingshan said something to Jiang Ning, then looked at Linghu Chong.

"Humph!"

Yue Lingshan snorted coldly and left with a cold face.

"Brother Linghu, my senior sister and the others are injured. I'm going to check on their injuries."

Yilin was also very embarrassed. She had been sitting on pins and needles while Yue Lingshan was there, and had been trying to find an excuse to leave. However, the atmosphere just now made her not know how to start the conversation. Now that she saw Yue Lingshan leave, she seemed to finally breathe a sigh of relief. She quickly made up an excuse and left as if fleeing before Linghu Chong could respond.

Seeing the two leave, Linghu Chong felt a sense of relief for some reason and subconsciously wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Jiang Ning, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but shake his head upon seeing this.

"Junior brother, junior sister seems angry. What should I do to coax her?"

Linghu Chong approached Jiang Ning, speaking very softly as if afraid Liu Zhao would hear him.

"Master said you are very smart and quick-witted. Can you help your eldest brother think of a way to make your junior sister happy?"

"what?"

Even Jiang Ning was momentarily bewildered upon hearing this question.

This touched upon a blind spot in his knowledge.

Jiang Ning lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then looked up and asked, "Has Senior Sister Ling Shan been having any troubles lately?"

Linghu Chong frowned and pondered. After a moment, his eyes lit up as he thought of something: "Yes, Junior Sister has a few sword techniques that she just can't seem to master. She's been very troubled lately."

Jiang Ning seemed to be thinking about something and said, "Then why don't you, senior brother, spar with senior sister and then teach her how to practice? Over time, your relationship will improve."

"Great idea!"

Linghu Chong's eyes lit up upon hearing this. He patted Jiang Ning on the shoulder and praised him repeatedly, "Junior Brother, no wonder Master always praises you. You are not only talented, but also very smart. You are much better than me."

"Then I'll go find my junior sister. Junior brother, you go see Master yourself."

Having found a solution, Linghu Chong didn't go to see Yue Buqun anymore and hurriedly went to catch up with Yue Lingshan.

After saying this, Linghu Chong left in a hurry without waiting for Jiang Ning's reply.

Jiang Ning's expression was somewhat strange.

Who would have thought he'd one day become a cunning strategist?

Chapter 188: Discussion

Having temporarily parted ways with Linghu Chong and the other two, Jiang Ning had no interest in dealing with their affairs afterward. He led Liu Zhao to the main hall, where Yue Buqun was talking with Tianmen Daoist and others.

"Brother Liu and Brother Xie are chivalrous and righteous, and their reputation as the Twin Swords of Diancang is known throughout the martial world. Meeting them today, I can see that their reputation is well-deserved, and they are both very handsome."

Yue Buqun chuckled.

Xie Xing and Liu Bolin both looked embarrassed.

Upon seeing this, Yue Buqun's smile deepened.

During their conversation, he discovered that both men were straightforward and naive; to put it bluntly, they were hotheads.

These two men came from Hunan. According to them, they had been wandering the martial arts world for many years and rarely returned to the Diancang Sect, mainly because the sect leader of the Diancang Sect did not allow them to go back.

In the words of the Diancang Sect leader, the Diancang Sect is located in Yunnan, far from the Central Plains, and its reputation cannot spread there. These two are skilled in martial arts, and the leader hopes that they can make a name for themselves in the martial arts world and make the Diancang Sect's presence known.

Xie Xing and Liu Bolin were deeply moved to see that their sect leader had entrusted them with such an important task. After that, they traveled all over the martial world and even gave themselves the name Diancang Twin Swords, adding their sect's name to the name.

However, Yue Buqun did not think so.

Just now, when they were discussing how to deal with the forces under the Demonic Sect down the mountain, they kept saying that they should rush down and kill them until the sky darkened, so that those people would know that evil cannot prevail over good. Yue Buqun had a headache listening to this.

Both being leaders of their respective sects, Yue Buqun learned from his conversations with Xie Xing and Liu Bolin that although the two were skilled in martial arts, they were somewhat impulsive and reckless, just like his wife.

Previously, when Ning Zhongze learned that the Songshan Sect wanted to annex the other sects of the Five Sacred Mountains, he also had this reckless personality. He said that he would gather the other three sects to have a great battle with the Songshan Sect. Even if they lost and died, they would still have the face to face their ancestors.

However, Ning Zhongze was, after all, his wife, and she listened to him. The leader of the Diancang Sect was probably annoyed with the two of them, so he made up an excuse to send them away.

"Sect Leader Yue, just give your orders. We, your brother and I, will do whatever you say."

After Yue Buqun's persuasion, the two stubborn men finally listened.

Yue Buqun smiled faintly and said, "You two don't need to worry too much. Although the enemy has a large number of people, the terrain of Mount Hua is easy to defend and difficult to attack. We can deal with them by taking advantage of the terrain."

Mount Hua is steep and difficult to climb, but it is very easy to defend if used as a battlefield. As long as some key points are well defended, the enemy will suffer heavy casualties.

"Ning'er, you're here too? Come in."

At this moment, Yue Buqun saw Jiang Ning outside and immediately called out.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning entered and greeted his master, mistress, and the other seniors.

"Alright, alright, no need for formalities."

Yue Buqun waved his hand and then said, "It's just in time that you've arrived. Your senior uncles and I were discussing how to arrange manpower."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning replied directly, "Master, please give your instructions."

Yue Buqun pondered for a moment and said, "Go and guard the Thousand-Foot Cliff. I will come to your aid."

The first perilous pass on Mount Hua is Thousand-Foot Cliff, followed by Hundred-Foot Gorge and Lao Jun Plough Furrow. These three passes are one after another and are extremely steep.

Originally, due to a lack of manpower, Yue Buqun planned to guard these places for a while and set traps in them. He would then send Jiang Ning to guard the Changkong Plank Road, while he himself would guard another road.

However, with the addition of nearly three hundred fresh troops, including Abbess Dingyi and Taoist Tianmen, Yue Buqun directly moved the battle line forward, sending Jiang Ning to defend Qianchizhuang.

When he and Jiang Ning stand on the Thousand-Foot Cliff, along with Ning Zhongze, Feng Buping, and other experts such as Abbess Dingyi, as well as disciples from the three sects taking turns to provide support, the foot of Mount Hua will be piled high with corpses.

Jiang Ning nodded: "Okay."

He had no objections.

The others, such as Dingyi, Dingjing, and the Diancang Twin Swords, had no particular intentions. Jiang Ning had already demonstrated his strength in the previous encounter; ordinary top-tier experts were no match for him.

"Sect Leader Yue."

At this moment, Liu Bolin spoke, his brows slightly furrowed.

"I heard that the Five Poisons Sect has also come."

Yue Buqun looked at Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning nodded: "That's right. I have some connections with Master Zhang of the Qingcheng Sect. A few days ago, he sent a letter saying that a large number of members of the Five Poisons Sect were heading towards Shaanxi. They must be coming for my Mount Hua."

At this point, Jiang Ning recounted an incident that occurred to him in Sichuan.

"After I cleared up the misunderstanding with the Qingcheng Sect, I went to the Emei Sect and encountered a Miao woman on the way. The Miao woman's behavior was strange, and she came specifically for me."

"That Miao woman was a member of the Five Poisons Sect. She was ordered by a demoness from the demonic sect to approach me. Later, I killed the Miao woman. When I returned to Shaanxi, I encountered the demoness in Hanzhong Prefecture and discovered all of this."

Everyone present except Yue Buqun looked astonished; they hadn't expected the incident to have started in this way.

Jiang Ning only told Yue Buqun about Ren Yingying sending Miao girls to approach her and the subsequent pursuit by a group of experts. Ning Zhongze and Feng Buping were also unaware of this.

Now they understand why Jiang Ning chased Ren Yingying for three hundred miles; it turns out there was a prior entanglement, and they had thought it was an accident.

Liu Bolin frowned.

"In that case, Sect Leader Yue should be careful."

Liu Bolin said, "The Five Poisons Sect is based in the southwest. In the past, there have been frictions with my Diancang Sect. Although their martial arts skills are not very good, their use of poison is extremely powerful. They can be poisoned to death without anyone noticing. In particular, their leader is named Lan Fenghuang."

"Lan Fenghuang's martial arts skills are not top-notch, but his poison skills are unparalleled, making him extremely troublesome."

"You may not know this, but a few years ago, a sect in Yunnan offended Lan Fenghuang. The entire sect was wiped out overnight. Poisonous fog filled the sect, and the entire sect was filled with scorpions, centipedes, poisonous insects and other highly venomous creatures. Their deaths were extremely gruesome."

Liu Bolin's expression was solemn: "If the Five Poisons Sect is led by Lan Fenghuang this time, Sect Leader Yue must be careful. If you encounter them, remember not to have any physical contact with them, and even more so, do not get your hands on their blood."