Chapter 199 Gathering at Maoshan

Ye Shouzhen spoke with some severity, for to them, inviting the officials over felt like bringing shame upon the Daoist community.

Besides, they were well aware of what had been planned back then.

As for why it was eventually canceled, if you think carefully, one can destroy a mountain gate and break a temple, but one cannot necessarily destroy the people of the mountain. If the mountain gate were gone, it would truly be time for the Daoists to descend the mountain.

"Yes, yes, yes, it is my fault. I thought wrong. I shall punish myself with a cup."

As he spoke, Old Man Huang reached out to grab the wine pot beside Ye Shouzhen. Slap! Before he could get it, Ye Shouzhen slapped his hand away. Old Man Huang looked up, puzzled, only to receive an eye-roll from Ye Shouzhen.

"You old rascal, trying to freeload, are you? This is yellow wine I've been cellaring for twenty years. You might be willing to 'punish' yourself with it, but I'm not willing to give it to you!"

Seeing his "scheme" exposed, Old Man Huang rubbed his nose and retracted his hand sheepishly.

"Then I truly don't understand. What kind of secret weapon is your Maoshan Sect hiding? It couldn't be that some Old Ancestor jumped out of a grave, could it?"

Old Man Huang's unintentional remark made Ye Shouzhen freeze while tasting his wine. He held the cup in mid-air, unsure of how to proceed.

"What's wrong with you?" "Nothing, my hand cramped." Ye Shouzhen muttered, hurriedly downing the golden wine to mask his unease.

Soon, another School arrived at Maoshan. This time, even Ye Shouzhen had to stand up to welcome them.

Because the new arrivals were from the Baiyun Temple in the capital. Baiyun Temple was a School with a long history; although they followed the Quanzhen Sect path, they possessed formidable strength.

More importantly, the relationship between the Quanzhen Sect and the officials, as well as the major aristocratic families, was much closer than that of the Zhengyi Sect. During that past catastrophe, only the Quanzhen Sect could be said to have emerged unscathed.

The Daoists of Baiyun Temple lived up to their name; the Daoists who arrived were all dressed in pure white Daoist robes. The leader had the demeanor of an immortal, with gray hair and a long beard reaching his chest.

Ye Shouzhen was shocked; this was actually the Sect Head of Baiyun Temple himself!

As the premier Daoist School of the Quanzhen Sect, the strength of Baiyun Temple was not to be underestimated. It was rumored that its Sect Head, Xie Zongde, had already reached the Life Wheel Realm several years ago.

At this moment, Xie Zongde stood before Ye Shouzhen, his aura natural and seamless, showing no signs of his cultivation level. In front of him, Ye Shouzhen felt like a flustered child and hurriedly stood up to perform a salute.

"I did not know the Temple Leader would come in person; please forgive me for not welcoming you from afar!" Old Man Huang also hurriedly stood up to salute, addressing him respectfully and observing the etiquette of a Junior.

This was not due to the difference in cultivation, but because Xie Zongde was indeed of the same generation as the previous Sect Head of Maoshan, the same generation as Ye Shouzhen's Master and Junior Martial Uncle.

"There is no need for such formalities. We are guests, and you are the hosts; we shall follow your lead." Xie Zongde was very amiable, which was also due to the deep relationship between the Maoshan Sect and the Baiyun Temple.

This relationship could be traced back to historical origins that could no longer be verified. When the Maoshan Sect and Mount Longhu were in conflict, the Baiyun Temple had stepped forward to mediate, subtly leaning towards Maoshan.

Although the tragedy was not avoided in the end, this undoubtedly demonstrated the close relationship between the two Schools. One must know that at the time, apart from the Baiyun Temple, which dared to speak out so brazenly and even had its Temple Leader visit Maoshan in person, no other School dared to do so.

It was the same this time. Theoretically, a School of Baiyun Temple's status should be among the last to arrive as the grand finale, yet they were among the first to arrive.

"Temple Leader, please come this way. The Sect Head is currently at the Daoist courtyard. Please allow me to go and report your arrival."

"No need. This old man simply felt restless and, seeing how lively Maoshan is, rushed over. You all go about your business; don't worry about me," Xie Zongde said cheerfully.

Ye Shouzhen felt a bit helpless. If a guest tells you to leave them be, it is a sign of their politeness and approachability, but if you actually leave, that would be ignorant of you. Yet, at his age—especially since he looked even older than Xie Zongde—it was somewhat difficult to save Face while acting like a Junior in front of him.

Despite his thoughts, Ye Shouzhen obediently led the way for Xie Zongde.

"It seems your Sect Head has achieved a Breakthrough to the Life Wheel Realm. A young hero, truly congratulations are in order."

"I wouldn't dare accept such praise. The Sect Head's Breakthrough was truly a stroke of luck. If not for..." Ye Shouzhen almost let it slip, but stopped himself in time. Xie Zongde just glanced at Ye Shouzhen with a smile and didn't say anything more.

Ye Shouzhen breathed a sigh of relief and continued walking forward.

"There is definite news from Mount Longhu that Zhang Shanfeng's Junior Brother, Zhang Shanyun, is also about to have a Breakthrough to the Life Wheel Realm. Do you know about this?" Xie Zongde said as if mentioning it casually, though he was invisibly observing Ye Shouzhen's expression.

Ye Shouzhen was walking side by side with Xie Zongde, half a step behind. Upon hearing this news, a flash of surprise crossed his Face, but he did not show any grave concern.

"For Zhang Shanyun to only achieve a Breakthrough at this age, how can he be compared to our Sect Head?" As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized his mistake and hurriedly tried to remedy it: "Temple Leader Xie, that's not what I meant." "I understand, hehehe."

Although the ritual was not being held today, many Schools did not intend to arrive at the last minute. Especially those who were planning to wait a bit longer before coming to Maoshan—once they heard that the Baiyun Temple had already arrived, they rushed to Maoshan in a hurry.

Although they were all people who had left the secular world, they still had to pay attention to social graces. Besides, who doesn't need to make a living? The Baiyun Temple had the widest connections, and everyone was counting on them to introduce some business opportunities.

This included more distant Schools, such as the Qingcheng School from the Bashu region, which had already boarded a plane to Maoshan.

Maoshan was enjoying a rare, unprecedented spectacle today; the last time was when Mount Longhu attacked Maoshan. Although history might repeat itself this time, who doesn't enjoy watching the excitement?

Meanwhile, the delegation sent from the capital to observe the ceremony had already arrived in Binhai; they had traveled with great speed this time. Their goal was to clarify the situation at Maoshan as early as possible and make targeted deployments.

"Captain Xu Chang, you have a good relationship with Jiang Chen, so come with us to Maoshan. I heard that you have two Maoshan Disciples under your command, named Ye Qingmei and Jia He?" "No problem, but I cannot guarantee what Jiang Chen's attitude towards you... or us, will be." Captain Xu Chang had no objections; in fact, he also wanted to go to Maoshan to watch the fun.