"Zhang Sanfeng of Wudang? What's he doing in my Jiangnan region?"
Looking at the letter in his hand, Yang Zhi couldn't help but feel a headache coming on. He tapped his head with his finger and began to think.
After planning for so many years, supporting so many people, and enduring so much hardship, just when the plan was about to succeed, this unexpected setback occurred.
Now that the Eternal Mother is not in Jiangnan, he doesn't know who to send to keep an eye on this Wudang Master Zhang.
Yang Zhi pondered all the way but couldn't come up with a good solution, so he could only sigh.
Since we're already here, let's make the best of it. What if they're just passing through Jiangnan?
Yang Zhi led the boy to the study, where three monks from the Western Regions, dressed in kasaya robes, were resting with their eyes closed. Upon hearing footsteps, the three of them opened their eyes.
Upon seeing Yang Zhi enter, they all stood up and bowed, saying, "Lord Yang!"
"Yes, esteemed monks, you have worked hard. Recently, some women have come from Fujian. I will have them sent over later for your enjoyment."
Upon hearing this, the three monks from the Western Regions laughed even more heartily: "Lord Yang, you are too kind. We are merely chanting scriptures and meditating here. You have made us feel unworthy of such hospitality."
"Alas, three eminent monks, this is my kind offer. If you do not accept it, you will be looking down on me, and then I will be angry."
"Then we will wait and thank Lord Yang."
Yang Zhi patted the leading monk on the shoulder: "You've worked hard. With the three of you esteemed monks sitting here, I can focus on my plans to make Jiangnan a pure land for the martial arts world. These things are what you deserve."
His words deeply moved the three monks, who all expressed their willingness to serve Lord Yang to the utmost, even unto death.
The three monks then moved the bookshelf, behind which was a bronze door. Each of them took out a key and inserted it into the door.
As the key was turned, the bronze door slowly opened, revealing a cave. A wave of heat swept out from the cave, making the air in the entire study feel hot and dry.
Feeling the heat, Yang Zhi felt incredibly comfortable and couldn't help but let out a groan.
"Haha, I was out of line, please forgive me."
He bowed to the three monks from the Western Regions, then led the boy through the bronze gate.
The leading monk looked at his retreating figure and couldn't help but sigh, "He truly is a scholar. Talking to Lord Yang is like basking in a gentle breeze."
"Yes, Lord Yang is generous and humble, without any airs of superiority. No wonder so many martial arts masters follow him."
Inside the cave, Yang Zhi passed through five checkpoints, each guarded by several martial arts masters. After passing each checkpoint, he would have a conversation with the guards.
They would ask them what they needed, whether guarding the cave would be hard, and then arrange for a few women to keep them company and have some fun in the evening.
Although their words were largely the same, these people in the martial arts world found them very helpful.
"Sir, aren't you tired doing this?"
The boy felt a pang of sympathy for his master. He disliked those江湖人士 (jianghu figures) who lived off their master's food and drink without showing any gratitude.
Yang Zhi rubbed his face; he had laughed so much along the way that his face was numb.
"Xin'an, you don't understand. For those people in the martial arts world, besides enjoying themselves, the most important thing is their reputation."
"Otherwise, there wouldn't be the saying 'In literature, there is no first place; in martial arts, there is no second place.'"
"As long as you say some nice things to them, they will do things for you, saving you a lot of effort in winning them over."
Seeing Xin'an's seemingly understanding but not quite, Yang Zhi patted his head: "You wouldn't understand even if I told you. I know you care about the master, and I appreciate your sentiment."
The boy felt the hand on his head and couldn't help but stand on tiptoe, squinting his eyes to enjoy the tenderness.
Yang Zhi looked at him and chuckled.
The deeper they went, the higher the temperature inside the cave became.
The boy was drenched in sweat, but Yang Zhi didn't seem to notice at all; his face remained as gentle as a spring breeze.
"Alright, you wait for me here."
Upon seeing the last bronze gate, he instructed the boy to wait outside, then pushed it open and went inside.
As soon as the bronze gate opened, countless chants of Buddhist hymns emanated from it, revealing an enormous cavern inside.
In the center of the cave, a huge dragon skeleton occupied the entire cave. A wave of heat emanated from the skeleton, making the entire cave feel like a furnace.
The dragon bone was coiled in the middle of the cave, bound by twelve iron chains. At the end of each chain was a monk covered in runes.
Directly in front of the dragon skeleton is a lotus platform, upon which sits a white-bearded monk.
Yang Zhi walked up to the monk and bowed to him.
"Disciple Sanjie greets Master and fellow disciples!"
The monk didn't turn around, but asked with his back to him, "Sanjie, what brings you here today?"
"Reporting to Master, I have important news to report. Master Zhang from Wudang Mountain has come to Jiangnan."
Upon hearing the name "Master Zhang," all the monks opened their eyes, and the chanting paused for a moment.
Even the old monk sitting on the lotus platform turned to look at Yang Zhi.
Is the news reliable?
"The news should be reliable. There shouldn't be anyone in the martial arts world who would dare to flaunt Zhang Zhenren's name in public."
"Hmm~"
The monk lowered his head, thought for a moment, and then said, "This dragon skeleton can be completely refined in seven days."
"With the fortune emanating from this dragon bone, coupled with the dragon vein of Jingshan, we can transform the entire Jiangnan region into a Buddhist kingdom."
"This is the most important time, and we absolutely cannot afford to make any mistakes."
"Sanjie, have Xiongba take some men to keep an eye on Zhang Sanfeng. Make sure he doesn't notice the change in the fortunes of Jiangnan."
"Master, but Chief Xiong is currently watching over Shi Jian, the senior disciple of Maoshan. If he leaves, what will happen to this Thunder and Lightning Dharma King?"
"We can't worry about that now. Shi Jian is just a Grandmaster. No matter how powerful his thunder magic is, he's still just a Grandmaster. We can just send a few experts to Maoshan and cause some trouble."
"As long as he can't leave Maoshan, that's enough."
"If we can hold off that Master Zhang for seven days, our Buddhist Kingdom plan will be a success."
"By then, the die will be cast, and no matter how powerful Zhang Sanfeng is, he won't be able to defy fate."
Yang Zhi nodded and turned to make arrangements.
As he stepped out of the bronze gate, he rubbed his face with both hands, and his once gentle face turned somewhat fierce.
"It'll be here soon, it'll be here soon, just seven more days."
Yang Zhi lowered his head, and scales appeared on his hands.
He reached out and plucked the scales off his hand, turning his eyes into vertical pupils.
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