劍問蒼天 - 第147章 會盟 - 翰墨軒

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.