Taiping Inn

The news that the Great Heavenly Master had come to Jinling Prefecture spread throughout Jinling Prefecture overnight. No matter if they were gentry, wealthy businessmen or ordinary people, they all wanted to see the Great Heavenly Master's true appearance. For the secular people, the Great Heavenly Master was a well-deserved immortal. Not to mention listening to his teachings, even if they were just a touch of immortality, that was also good.

[I hope readers will remember our domain name Taiwan Novel Network →𝔱𝔴𝔨𝔞𝔫.𝔠𝔬𝔪]

For the people in the martial arts world, the four people on the Old Xuan List were no different. They were all immortals, all the leaders of a sect, and all great figures. But in the eyes of ordinary people, it is not the same thing. For them, they have never heard of geomancer Xu Wugui and great swordsman Li Daoxu, and they don't know who they are. The really famous ones are great celestial master Zhang Jingxiu and saintly monarch Tan Taiyun. Tan Taiyun is the emperor in the northwest. It is not known whether he is a man or a woman, but it is assumed that he is a man. It is rumored that Tan Taiyun is eight feet tall, extremely powerful, brave and good at fighting. He often massacres cities and eats people. He is a devil-like figure. Great celestial master Zhang Jingxiu is also called Tianshiye, which is similar to the titles of master, emperor, and prince. There are also people who call him Guoshi, but confuse him with the supervisor of the Imperial Observatory. They think that Guoshi is someone who tells fortunes and looks at the stars for the emperor in the palace all day long. Some people can't tell the difference between Guoshi and Dishi, and think that Guoshi is someone who teaches the emperor to read, which gave rise to the term Taishi.

But no matter what, Zhang Jingxiu is the most famous among the people. This is not his own achievement, but the achievement of the inheritance of the great heavenly masters of all generations. Many people also think that the great heavenly masters of all generations are the same person. They also know the name, and they know that the surname is Zhang. Zhang Tianshi has lived for thousands of years, so he is a living god.

After the news of the great heavenly master's visit to Jinling Prefecture spread, there was soon another news that the great heavenly master was in the Qian family's villa, so the people flocked to the Qian family's villa. The Qian family was powerful and dared to expel the unpopular governor of Jiangzhou, but they did not dare to show their stance to stop so many people, so as not to give people a handle. Moreover, Qian Qingbai was old and cunning, and smelled an unusual atmosphere. The people's reaction was too enthusiastic, not like spontaneous, but incited by others, which was very similar to the means of Qingyang Sect. However, Qingyang Sect was now seriously injured, so how could it stir up trouble in Jinling Prefecture? There must be someone else secretly fanning the flames. Thinking of the affairs of Su Guan and Su Yunmei, Qian Qingbai dared not expel the people. So after discussing with the landlords, the Qian and Su families decided to move the meeting place to the Da Baoen Temple. This place has a large area and can allow some people to come in. Moreover, the Da Baoen Temple is considered a royal temple, and the government can be used to maintain order. The people are naturally afraid of the government, and if something really happens, it is easy to deal with it.

Li Xuandu and Zhang Jingxiu had no objection to this. For the two of them, it was just right to block the people in the front temple, and they would find a secluded place in the back temple. The two also noticed that something was wrong. The two did not have a secret whereabouts, but they were also confined to a small area. How could it be so well-known in the city now? Obviously, someone was secretly fueling the flames. However, this was also within the expectations of the two. When Situ Xuance and Zhang Jingxiu negotiated peace, they ultimately failed. It can be seen how many people do not want to see a complete Taoist sect reappear in the world.

Although the Taoist sect today is full of masters and powerful, it has actually been divided into several parts over the past thousand years, and they have been fighting each other endlessly. At first, it was because of the disagreement between Nanhua Zhenjun and Yang Zhu that the two sects were divided into the righteous and evil sects. Later, the righteous and evil sects split off from each other. Now the Taoism has become four parts, which can be called the Jiangnan Taoism headed by Zhang Jingxiu, the Jiangbei Taoism headed by Li Daoxu, the Liaodong Taoism headed by Qin Qing, and the Northwest Taoism headed by Tan Taiyun and Xu Wugui. Originally, the West Gate Taoism was the most powerful, but it just responded to the story of Zhi Boyao's death. The most powerful one either laughed to the end and unified the four directions, or was killed by the three weaker parties and was the first to leave. The ending of the Northwest Taoism can be regarded as the latter. In the end, Tan Taiyun and the Earth Master had an internal conflict, and the power of the Northwest Taoism was greatly reduced, and the four directions tended to be balanced.

Now what Li Xuandu has to do is to make the Jiangnan Taoism and the Jiangbei Taoism negotiate peace, and then form an alliance with the Liaodong Taoism to completely destroy the Northwest Taoism, so that the Taoism can be initially unified. Who is most afraid of this result? The answer is self-evident. In the past thousands of years, the Dao sect has never been unified and has always maintained a fragmented situation. Every time a strong man appears and wants to unify the Dao sect, he always encounters an accident, supporting the weak and suppressing the strong, so that the various parties in the Dao sect maintain a balance, and no one can swallow up the other parties. Who is the pusher behind the scenes? The answer is self-evident.

What is the key to this peace negotiation? It is that Zhang Jingxiu only wants a false name but not real power, and gives most of the real power to Li Daoxu. Similarly, Qin Qing is interested in the temple but not in the world, so he can also give up some real power. For example, the Dao sect has three pure ancestors. If Li Xuandu succeeds in the peace negotiation, he can integrate the Dao sect. The Dao sect will have three masters, corresponding to the three pure ancestors, and they are equal in name. Among them, the great heavenly master Zhang Jingxiu corresponds to the Taiqing ancestor, who is nominally the head of the Three Pure Ones, with the most important status and the least real power. Qin Qing corresponds to the Shangqing ancestor, who is at the end of the Three Pure Ones, with the least status, but can control some real power. Li Daoxu corresponds to the Jade Purity Patriarch. He is in the middle in name only, but holds the greatest real power. In reality, he is the leader of the Three Purities.

This proposal was made by Zhang Jingxiu, which is a noble and upright one. Qin Qing has also acquiesced and will not object too much. After all, Liaodong Daoism is ranked at the bottom among all the major Daoisms, so it is beneficial and harmless. Although Li Daoxu lost his status, he gained real power. Considering his temperament, it is very likely that he will agree to this peace agreement. This is the fundamental reason why Li Xuandu has the confidence to go to Qingwei Sect and discuss it, and it is also the reason why Zhang Jingchen and other Zhang clan members strongly oppose it. In order to appease the Zhang clan members, Zhang Jingxiu kept making concessions. Not only did he take away Yan Feiqing's position as the leader, but he also let Zhang Jingchen become the acting leader of Zhengyi Sect. Even Zhang Jingxiu did not pursue Zhang Jingchen's many usurpations. He was just willing to use his power to compensate the Zhang clan members for the sake of the overall situation, and strive to reach a tripartite alliance and unify the Daoism.

Some people don't want to see a unified Taoism, but the Confucianism is too weak now, and it is unable to go to war with the entire Taoism, let alone completely suppress Taoism like before. In fact, the Confucianism has never completely suppressed Taoism, but divide and rule. Now that the old tricks are not working, the people behind the scenes have begun to constantly stir up opposition forces within the Jiangnan Taoism, Jiangbei Taoism, and Liaodong Taoism, and are determined to disrupt the peace talks. Zhang Jingchen in the Jiangnan Taoism has surfaced, and the Jiangbei Taoism is Li Yuanying as expected. As for the Liaodong Taoism, because Liaodong and the Wanxiang Academy have already torn their faces, there is no sign yet. However, the division and hostility between the Central Plains and Liaodong are also the work of those behind the scenes.

Of course, the unification of Taoism is still the biggest problem, that is, what should be done with the Northwest Taoism. Even if the Northwest Taoism has been weakened once, it is still the most powerful among the four Taoist sects. So the solution is also very simple. The three parties will directly join forces to destroy the Northwest Taoism, thus unifying Taoism.

Li Xuandu's initial plan is to use Liaodong to replace the Wei Dynasty and use Taoism to divide the power of Confucianism. Today's Taoism is no longer just Taoism. It also integrates other schools of thought such as Mohism, Legalism, Diplomacy, Yin-Yang School, etc. Even if it cannot completely replace Confucianism, it cannot let the world become a one-man show for Confucianism. The use of Confucianism and Taoism at least introduces a stream of fresh water and no longer stagnates.

At 3:30 pm, Li Xuandu and Zhang Jingxiu had already arrived at the Great Baoen Temple and entered through the main gate. Li Xuandu was followed by Qin Su, Shen Yuanzhou, Sikong Zao, Qian Qingbai, and Fang Yuan and Yuanjue of the Jingchan Sect. Zhang Jingxiu had more people on his side, including Bai Xiushang of the Cihang Sect, Xiao Shiyu of the Xuannv Sect, Wuzhen of the Vajra Sect, Zhang Daishan of the Zhengyi Sect, Master Fa Nan of the Zhenyan Sect, and Zuo Yuhan of the Faxiang Sect. In addition, Su Yan of the Su family did not arrive, but asked his younger brother Su Rang to come on his behalf. Men and women of the Su family do not use the same model characters, and men use single characters and women use double characters.

As for the others, disciples or followers, they can only be scattered on the periphery, and the officers and soldiers who have been stationed outside the Great Baoen Temple have blocked the people who were instigated to come, leaving enough space for these sect leaders to talk.

The group first entered the main hall, accompanied by the abbot, who looked about forty years old and very elegant. Rather than a monk, he looked more like a Confucian scholar.

There was a huge and majestic golden Buddha statue in the hall. Li Xuandu, Zhang Jingxiu, Qin Su, Shen Yuanzhou, Xiao Shiyu and other pure Taoists who had nothing to do with Buddhism stepped aside, while Bai Xiushang, Wuzhen, Fang Yuan, Yuanjue, Master Fanan, and Zuo Yuhan, who was half Buddhist and half Taoist, worshipped the Buddha first. Regardless of whether they believed in their hearts or not, they all looked very pious.

Then there was another round of polite greetings. After all, those who could see this hall were either the leaders of a sect or the elders of a sect. They were also famous figures in the world. They had some friendship with each other. They had not seen each other for a long time on weekdays. When they met at this time, it was naturally because they had not seen each other for many days and missed each other very much.

After the greetings, they finally got to the point, and the abbot left tactfully.

The first to speak was the most prestigious Grand Heavenly Master Zhang Jingxiu. He said slowly, "Since the last Yuxu Sword Fight, the disputes in the martial arts world have become increasingly fierce, so that the various sects have suffered heavy losses, and it has given the Northwest Five Sects an opportunity to take advantage of. This is why the deaths of Mr. Shen of the Taiping Sect and Abbot Fang Jing of the Jingchan Sect, as well as the subsequent siege of Xuannu Mountain, the disappearance of Mr. Shen, and the attack on the Great Immortal Mansion. The fellows of the world have suffered for a long time. We are from the same lineage, so why do brothers quarrel with each other? Nowadays, people in the martial arts world only want the word "peace". There is a saying that brothers quarrel with each other, and we should defend ourselves from external insults. The fellows of the martial arts world are looking forward to "peace talks" in the midst of water, fire, and swords, just like looking forward to clouds and rainbows in a drought. Today, I have gathered you all here to resolve this matter."