Nanyue, Hengshan Sect.
Grandmaster Mo Da, his hair dishevelled, was reading a secret message in his hand, his brows furrowed deeply.
Liu Zheng Feng, standing beside him, hurriedly asked, “Senior Brother, do you think the contents of the secret messages from Huashan and Hengshan Sects are credible? Does the Songshan Sect truly dare to do such a thing?”
After reading the message, Mo Da directly used the candle flame to ignite it.
His expression was serious, “Let's not talk about Huashan. The characters of the three Hengshan Elders are still trustworthy, so the content of the message must be true. Junior Brother, your mind is rather simple. Perhaps you don't understand what kind of wolfish ambition this Zuo Leng Chan has. From now on, the Hengshan Sect must also be cautious. The Songshan Sect can deal with Huashan and Hengshan. It will definitely involve Hengshan and Taishan as well!”
Liu Zheng Feng was puzzled, “Senior Brother, what benefit does Zuo Leng Chan gain from doing this?”
“Alas, why can't you understand?”
Mo Da smiled bitterly, “Zuo Leng Chan is ambitious. His goal is naturally the entire martial arts world! He suppresses the other four Yue Sects, then when the four Yue Sects are weakened, he promotes the Five Yue Sects to merge. He becomes the head of the Five Yue Sects, his strength will rival Shaolin and Wudang, and he can compete for the position of Martial Arts Grandmaster.
Shaolin and Wudang have always been the pillars of the martial arts world, but they have indeed declined in recent years.
Look at Wudang, besides Chong Xu, is there anyone else?
Shaolin only has Fang Zheng and Fang Sheng. They don't have any other disciples who are outstanding!
But Songshan has the Thirteen Tai Baos besides Zuo Leng Chan. If Zuo Leng Chan merges the Five Yue Sects, wouldn't he be invincible?
Liu Zheng Feng remained silent. In his heart, there was not only dislike for the Songshan Sect, but also weariness of the jiang hu. He would rather focus on music than on the troubles of the jiang hu.
However, only he and his Senior Brother could support Hengshan Sect. Could he really abandon the affairs of the sect and devote himself to music?
Mo Da took out his erhu at this time. A sorrowful piece of music immediately filled the air with sadness.
He sighed, “Our Hengshan Sect is weak. It's likely we won't escape being swallowed. But, I am the headmaster. I must fight for the sect. Junior Brother, you handle the affairs of the sect for now. I'll make a trip to Shanxi and Shaanxi to personally discuss the situation with Yue and Elder Dingxian. If we can secretly form an alliance with these two sects, our chances of survival will definitely be higher.”
As he spoke, he slowly left while playing the sorrowful melody.
Liu Zheng Feng reached out his hand but ultimately didn't call out to his Senior Brother.
He wanted to say that he wasn't willing to manage the affairs of the sect and wanted to focus on music. However, seeing his Senior Brother's thin figure and hearing the sorrowful sound of the erhu, he couldn't bring himself to say it.
“Alright, I'll talk to Senior Brother after this matter is resolved.”
On the other side, at Taishan Sect.
Tian Men Dao Ren, as the Sect Leader, naturally also received the joint secret message from Huashan and Hengshan Sects. He was furious.
He was inherently righteous and indignant about the Songshan Sect's actions. He cursed Zuo Leng Chan and Songshan Sect right then and there. If he had a few more first-rate masters, he would dare to attack Songshan Sect directly.
In the original story, Tian Men Dao Ren was this kind of person. He was resolute in his opposition to the Five Yue Sects merging.
As a result, he was killed by Yu Ji Zi, an inner traitor who was bribed by Zuo Leng Chan, and a left-leaning Daoist. Yu Ji Zi then became the new head of Taishan Sect.
Tian Men Dao Ren was quite skilled, but he wasn't very smart. He didn't realize that his uncles, Yu Ji Zi, Yu Qing Zi, and Yu Yin Zi, were traitors who had been bought by Zuo Leng Chan. In the end, he died from a scheme, which was a pity.
Soon, Tian Men Dao Ren convened a meeting with the higher-ups. He narrated the events in Huayin County with a furious expression.
“The Songshan Sect is too much! This is clearly a deliberate attempt to undermine the Five Yue Alliance. I want to join forces with the other three Yue Sects to issue a challenge to Zuo Leng Chan and drive him from the position of the Grandmaster!”
Tian Men Dao Ren expressed his decision. Naturally, the disciples of the Sect Leader lineage, like Tian Song Dao Ren, agreed.
However, Yu Ji Zi and the others strongly objected, “Tian Men, you're still so impulsive! Let's not talk about the Songshan Sect's strength being unshakeable. Challenging the Zuo Grandmaster will only bring disaster to Taishan Sect. As for what Huashan and Hengshan say, can we trust them? Could they be deliberately tricking us and Songshan Sect into conflict so that they can reap the benefits?”
Tian Men Dao Ren frowned, “Uncle Yu Ji Zi, shouldn't we trust the integrity of the Huashan Yue Grandmaster and the three Hengshan Elders? How can you doubt them?”
Yu Ji Zi laughed coldly, “Can we doubt the integrity of the Zuo Grandmaster? The Zuo Grandmaster is the head of the Five Yue Sects. All these years, he has worked diligently, and Songshan Sect has made many contributions to the extermination of the Demon Cult. We cannot question a long-time contributor for some unfounded accusations!”
He kept calling him the Zuo Grandmaster. Even a fool could guess that he was bought by Zuo Leng Chan.
But Tian Men Dao Ren trusted his fellow disciples and respected his elders. He was straightforward and didn't think things through. For a while, he couldn't figure out what was wrong.
He tried to say something, but how could he compete with the eloquence of a villain like Yu Ji Zi?
In the end, the high-level meeting ended without any conclusion.
Then, a secret message was sent from Taishan Sect to Songshan Sect and soon fell into the hands of Zuo Leng Chan.
Zuo Leng Chan sneered and burned the message. “Haha, Huashan and Hengshan are playing a little trick. But unfortunately, Taishan and Hengshan can't stir up any waves. I have people in Taishan Sect that I've bought. Hengshan's Mo Da and Liu Zheng Feng are incompetent. Even if Huashan and Hengshan join forces, they are no match for Songshan!”
At this time, Lu Bai came to report.
Zuo Leng Chan directly asked, “Have you investigated the information about Lian Cheng?”
Lu Bai nodded, “Yes, I've uncovered some details. This kid Lian Cheng was once the son of a farmer. When he was eight years old, his village was massacred by bandits. He was taken to Huashan by Yue Bu Qun and his wife. He then displayed exceptional talent in martial arts. Besides Huashan martial arts, he also created several powerful martial arts techniques…”
Zuo Leng Chan listened silently to Lu Bai's report. His brow furrowed deeply, and finally, a hint of fear flashed in his eyes.
He had created a sophisticated swordsmanship, a powerful footwork technique, and he had also mastered the Left and Right Mutual Stance technique, achieving the feat of combining two swords with one person. He even received the Purple Mist Divine Skill from Yue Bu Qun…
“This Lian Cheng has such terrifying comprehension. In time, he will become my greatest enemy! Perhaps that's why Yue Bu Qun passed on the Purple Mist Divine Skill to him. He must be grooming Lian Cheng as his successor!”
As Zuo Leng Chan spoke, a hint of killing intent appeared in his eyes.
He could not allow Lian Cheng to grow up. This talented genius must be eliminated in the bud!
Lu Bai hesitated, “Senior Brother, actually, I also discovered that it seems like Linghu Chong also learned Lian Cheng's swordsmanship and the Ling Bo Wei Bu, and he even learned the Purple Mist Divine Skill.
“What?! How is this possible?”
Zuo Leng Chan's furrowed brows could have crushed a fly, “This doesn't make sense. If Yue Bu Qun was grooming Lian Cheng as his successor, why would he also pass on the Purple Mist Divine Skill to Linghu Chong? Moreover, Lian Cheng's swordsmanship and the Ling Bo Wei Bu are both top-tier martial arts. Why would they be casually taught? Could it be that this Lian Cheng is just a smokescreen and the true talent is Linghu Chong, the senior disciple of Huashan?”