Chapter 73

Bai Mu seemed lost in thought: "The Demon Sect and Yunqing Sect had little interaction in the past. Matters between the righteous and the demonic were mostly handled by the Zixiao Hall, which negotiated with the righteous path. In the past five years, the relationship between the Demon Sect and Yunqing Sect, as well as Leishan, has become increasingly close, while their relationship with the Zixiao Hall has gradually become distant. Why is that?"

Lin Fan said, "Could it be that the Demon Lord has a crush on our Sect Leader?"

"Do not speak nonsense," Gu Yan said, "Let's go."

Bai Mu no longer relied solely on the Wind Control Technique. He took out a black and yellow cold ice flag and unfurled it, reversing the wind direction and using the wind to his advantage. His speed was no slower than Ye Wushuang's magical scroll, which, while incredibly powerful in combat, was not designed for flying. What surprised everyone was Gu Yan, who was riding a peach wood sword.

Seeing the three people looking at him from behind, Gu Yan said calmly, "The Zanyue Sword's spiritual energy has dissipated." A peach wood sword is the closest to an ordinary item, with only a small amount of spiritual energy, used as a Daoist magical tool.

Riding a sword like this would wear down the sword's spiritual energy, eventually turning it into a piece of ordinary iron. Although Gu Yan spoke calmly, the three knew that he had always considered the Zanyue Sword his most important possession. Lin Fan recalled the Sect Leader's words about not riding a sword before mastering it, and the vivid metaphor given by the San San Zhenren. Gu Yan now seemed like a man who had lost his first love, and it would be difficult for him to sincerely master a new sword in the future.

Bai Mu asked, "Lin Fan, why are you still using a bamboo sword?"

Lin Fan said helplessly, "I don't want to." Apart from the bamboo sword, he could only use the Wind Control Technique. The Green Jade Buddha Knife and the embroidery needle were not suitable for riding. No, after returning to the mountain, he would have to look through some books to find a standard flying magical tool and refine one. This time, he was holding everyone back.

Bai Mu suggested, "Why don't we take a detour to Qingzhou's Mo Mountain? Mo Mountain has flying boats for travel, which are very fast."

"Sure, let's see if they have any discarded ones and pick up a couple," Lin Fan nodded.

Gu Yan said, "The Yunqing Sect's Daoist arts are profound. Why should we take others' things?"

Bai Mu and Lin Fan exchanged a glance and smiled. Gu Yan didn't look back and continued leading the way. Lin Fan recalled the San San Zhenren's words about endless desires. When he was building his foundation, he sought perfection. After achieving it, he sought the Golden Core. After the Golden Core, he sought powerful offensive techniques, and now he was thinking about a flying boat for travel... Ha, although he had no attachment to gold and silver, it was because they were useless. Although he didn't strongly desire them, he would still seek them. The balance lay in moderation. Looking at Gu Yan, who was still striving for perfection, there was no significant change. The human heart is truly difficult to unify with a single method. After all, if the Yunqing Sect's heart method could eliminate all desires, wouldn't the hundreds of people in Yunqing Sect have the same personality? There would be no mischievous Ye Wushuang, no gentle and refined Bai Mu, and no tenacious Gu Yan.

As usual, Bai Mu, Ye Wushuang, and Lin Fan chatted and laughed, while Gu Yan led the way alone. Since Lin Fan carried food, and everyone's cultivation had improved, they no longer needed to stay at inns. They thought the journey would be smooth, but as they approached the Dadu River, a fierce wind and thunderstorm erupted, causing the river to surge. The Dadu River inn had been submerged and swept away, and the storm also affected villages dozens of miles away, forcing the villagers to relocate.

Bai Mu divined and said, "A demon is causing trouble. I fear there is a Wuzhiqi under the Dadu River."

During the Great Flood, when Yu the Great was controlling the waters, a water demon named Wuzhiqi caused chaos, hindering Yu the Great. Yu the Great eventually captured and suppressed Wuzhiqi under Guishan Mountain. Since then, Wuzhiqi has become a general term for river demons in the Twelve Continents. When people encountered floods in inland rivers, they believed it was Wuzhiqi causing trouble. In some places, they would sacrifice livestock to the river, and in others, they would build temples for Wuzhiqi. This led to the phenomenon of the Water Dragon King temple on the left and the Wuzhiqi temple on the right, connected to each other. (It is said that Wuzhiqi is the prototype of Sun Wukong.)

The Twelve Continents, especially Xiaodongzhou, have a network of waterways with three major rivers and four major rivers. While these waterways provide ample water for agriculture, making Xiaodongzhou a land of fish and rice, they also frequently harbor demons that endanger the people living along the rivers. However, most demons are not so bold; they usually attack boats on the river. Some believe that the attacks are caused by large fish, as the rivers have existed for tens of thousands of years, and no one knows how big the fish can be.

The Xiaodongzhou navy also has the responsibility to eliminate these threats. When a boat is capsized, they send troops to investigate, and water ghosts dive to scout, but they often find nothing. The navy has also encountered large fish capsizing warships, and they would launch a barrage of arrows and crossbows, but the large fish would quickly sink into the water and never be seen again.

So, whether it is a demon or a fish, there are different opinions. Moreover, Xiaodongzhou is a continent of Buddhism, and Buddhists are inherently kind, even to evildoers, preferring to persuade them first rather than eliminate them. The Hinayana Buddhists are quite dissatisfied with this, believing that evildoers must be punished, and that putting down the butcher's knife and immediately becoming a Buddha is absurd. How can one become a Buddha after reaching a dead end and putting down the butcher's knife? Isn't that extremely absurd? The Mahayana Buddhists believe that those killed by evildoers have karmic debts, and the Buddhist path should not abandon anyone, even evildoers.

Who is right? It doesn't matter to Lin Fan. The Yunqing Sect's rules state that when a demon or beast causes harm and endangers the people, it must be eliminated, regardless of the cause.

The four of them flew quickly toward the storm. They saw dark clouds over the Dadu River, with a dozen tornadoes descending from the clouds and swirling in the river. Four Yunqing Sect disciples were weaving through the thunderclouds.

Bai Mu remembered, "Last month, the Sect Leader sent four disciples to investigate the plague. They later reported that the plague might be related to the Dadu River. The water from the Dadu River flows eastward into Xiaodongzhou and then into the sea. The areas affected by the plague all consume water from the Dadu River. The four disciples then investigated the upper reaches of the Dadu River, but everything was normal."

"Go!" Gu Yan's body flashed at the riverbank, and he was already in the thunderclouds. He flicked his fingers, and eight swords emerged, slicing into the water.

It was a person! Lin Fan had thought it was a demon or beast, but as he flew closer, he saw a naked man, emaciated and standing on a pile of white bones, holding a soul-summoning banner. The banner emitted a hundred black rays, entangled in a fierce battle with the Yunqing Sect disciples.

"The Ghost Gate?" Bai Mu was surprised, and then added, "The Ghost Gate?" The second time, he was horrified.

"The Ghost Gate?" There were enough people on the river, and Lin Fan held back Ye Wushuang, fearing that Ye Wushuang would immediately use the Thunder Shock Technique. Lin Fan had never heard of the Ghost Gate.

"The Ghost Gate is the first evil sect, also known as the Ghost Sect. One thousand two hundred years ago, their main headquarters was destroyed by the Ten Thousand Evil Sect, and the righteous, demonic, and evil paths jointly hunted down the sect members, eventually eradicating them. They are called the first evil sect not because of their numbers, but because their cultivation methods are so evil that even the Ten Thousand Evil Sect could not tolerate them. This is the Wraith Banner, a magical tool of the Ghost Gate. They kill people and capture souls, refining the souls to make them suffer, and the more the souls suffer, the more powerful the Wraith Banner becomes. He must have been hiding in the Dadu River, attacking the people along the shore, capturing those on boats, and refining the Wraith Banner. The bodies and bones of these people sank to the bottom, causing the waterborne plague."

As he spoke, one of the Yunqing Sect disciples was caught off guard by a tornado and was grabbed by the black rays, then dragged and stuck to the Wraith Banner, screaming in agony as smoke rose from his body.

"Ha ha!" The man on the pile of white bones laughed wickedly.