Chapter 147 — The Alliance

Venerable Pucheng demurred. "What are you saying, Benefactor Yun? Now that all living beings suffer and the beast-demons ravage the land, how could the Brahma Sound Temple, as children of the Buddha, shrink back and let others go before us? Yet with the righteous path of the world gathered at Qingyun, and Brother Daoyan long held in high esteem, his Way possessing heaven-spanning powers, it is only natural that Brother Daoyan should be the leader, commanding the righteous path of the world to resist the strong enemy together."

Daoist Master Daoyan smiled. "Master is too kind. Daoyan truly dares not accept."

Venerable Pucheng pressed his palms together. "Master Daoyan, all living beings under heaven now hope day and night for this calamity to be ended soon. You must not decline again."

Yun Yifeng chuckled. "You are both masters of the Way, so why all this exchange of courtesies? Come, come, let us go inside to talk. Otherwise, keeping all these fellow cultivators standing about in the wind while the three of us talk would be poor hospitality indeed!"

Daoist Master Daoyan and Venerable Pucheng exchanged a smile and went in together. Along the way, people continually greeted Venerable Pucheng and the Brahma Sound Temple monks, a testament to the high esteem in which the temple was held among the righteous path.

Once inside the Yuheng Hall, Venerable Pucheng could not help but praise the newly built hall a few more times for its grand scale and majestic splendor. Daoist Master Daoyan smiled and modestly declined, then sought to invite Venerable Pucheng to take the seat of honor. Pucheng would not, and after several rounds of refusal, Daoist Master Daoyan, as host, finally took the principal seat, with Venerable Pucheng and Yun Yifeng seated to either side.

By now nearly a hundred people stood in the great hall, but seats were limited. Apart from a few highly renowned wandering immortals, those seated were figures of the three great factions, which showed plainly the standing and strength of the three great factions within the righteous path—and naturally, the discussion of countermeasures took place mostly among them.

Once the others were seated, Yun Yifeng was the first to speak, asking Venerable Pucheng, "Master, on your way here, did you encounter any of those cruel beast-demons?"

Master Pucheng nodded. "We did. We even destroyed some."

A stir ran through those nearby. The scourge of the beast-demons had long since spread throughout the world, and many had seen them, but among the righteous cultivators here in Yuheng Hall of Canglan Mountain, apart from the disciples the three great sects had sent out to gather information, few from the other sects had ever crossed blades with them.

Daoist Master Daoyan was moved as well. "Oh? Such a thing happened? Master, won't you tell us, so that all present may know?"

Master Pucheng pressed his palms together. "I would not presume. In truth, we never expected to encounter these demon creatures on our way here. We had always heard that these fiends were still ravaging the south, but in a small village some seven hundred li south of Canglan Mountain, we found a dozen or so monsters attacking the village. Alas, we arrived too late—the villagers had all been killed."

"Ah!" Both Daoist Master Daoyan and Yun Yifeng cried out in alarm. Seven hundred li south of Canglan Mountain was not close, but neither was it very far. Meanwhile, the monks of the Brahma Sound Temple standing behind and beside Master Pucheng mostly wore expressions of dismay, and several pressed their palms together and chanted the Buddha's name. Clearly the scene must have been harrowing, leaving a deep impression on these monks.

Master Pucheng sighed, a look of distress crossing his face as well. "Those monsters were indeed as the legends say—their forms mutated from several kinds of fierce beasts of the southern borderlands, and their nature cruel and murderous. Not a single soul in the whole village was left alive. Encountering such fiends, even at the cost of breaking the precept against killing and harming our cultivation, we had to rid the people of this evil, so we descended and destroyed them."

Daoist Master Daoyan raised a single palm. "Master acted on behalf of Heaven. What you did was merit, not the sin of killing. You need not grieve over it."

Pucheng sighed and nodded. Beside him, Yun Yifeng frowned, concerned with another matter. "Abbot, there is something else I would ask."

Venerable Pucheng said, "Pray speak, Valley Master Yun."

Yun Yifeng said, "We had not heard before that these fiends had already reached that far. Now that you have encountered them, Master, the beast-demons must soon reach the vicinity of Canglan Mountain. I wonder—along the way, apart from that village, did you find any other beast-demons?"

Venerable Pucheng shook his head. "That we did not. Apart from that village, we saw none elsewhere. Likely a small group of fiends ran ahead quickly and happened to cross our path."

Daoist Master Daoyan sighed. "Then it served them right. A pity we could not save those villagers." At this, all the monks pressed their palms together and softly chanted the Buddha's name.

Yun Yifeng nodded slightly. "Master, then judging from the encounter between those beast-demons you saw and the eminent monks of the Brahma Sound Temple, how would you rate their fighting strength?"

Venerable Pucheng pondered briefly. "Most of these fiends are ordinary monsters—merely possessed of great strength, sharp claws, and savage ferocity. If one were truly to compare, the ordinary cultivation of we who walk the Way would be enough to overcome them."

Yun Yifeng nodded. "It seems most of these monsters are ordinary beast-demons that have strayed from the main horde." He paused, then turned to Li Xun behind him. "Xun'er, tell Master Pucheng what we have learned these past days."

Li Xun answered and stepped forward, bowing respectfully to Venerable Pucheng. Pucheng smiled. "Nephew Li, no need for such courtesy. Please speak."

Li Xun nodded. "Reporting to you, Master: over these past days we have sent fellow cultivators in many directions to investigate the south, and have found that this great calamity of the beast-demons is so devastating chiefly for three reasons. First, the ordinary beast-demons mostly appear to be mutated from fierce beasts. Though we do not know what manner of mutation it is, these monsters have indeed grown fiercer and more cruel than the beasts they once were, and ordinary people cannot possibly resist them. Second, the number of beast-demons and alien breeds that have come out of the south is beyond counting. Our disciples have many times seen countless beast-demons swarming through the sky—no fewer than ten thousand at least. Under such circumstances, no matter how high one's cultivation, I fear it would be of no avail. Third, among these ordinary beast-demons there appear to be special beasts of unknown number, utterly different from the common monsters, whose demonic arts are strong—stronger, indeed, than many who cultivate the Way. And to this day no one has seen the legendary 'Beast Sovereign,' so we do not know what manner of being he is. But seeing that he can command these countless monsters, I fear he is an extremely troublesome figure!"

Venerable Pucheng's white brows drew tightly together, and the monks of the Brahma Sound Temple behind him exchanged glances. This great calamity of the beast-demons was clearly worse than anything seen before, and from Li Xun's expression as he spoke and the grave faces of the Canglan and Fenxia figures, it was plain that all present were heavy at heart.