Chapter 99: The True Person of Purple Purity

Baifu Inn stood right beside the Imperial Academy, and because of the examinations, it was currently filled with hopeful scholars from the prefectures and counties. A Daoist nun playing a jade flute and riding through the air atop a Firebird was far too flamboyant a spectacle, and it inevitably aroused suspicion.

This was Chang'an, after all, beneath the emperor's feet, the imperial capital. Never mind flying through the sky; even if one merely stepped onto a roof or climbed a wall, a crowd would appear at once to seize and arrest them.

Under heaven, sects and monasteries flourished in every land. Martial lineages, cultivation schools, Daoist orders, they were too numerous to count. How many stood in opposition to the court? More than one, surely. Yet even those peerless experts at the Spirit-Entering Realm would never dare wander alone above Chang'an. The strength of the Great Tang court was beyond comparison with any sect. Otherwise, Li Shimin would long ago have been forced from the dragon throne.

"Fox, you know the world well. Do you know where she comes from?"

Lu Xin stared hard at Wuben Ward. Though the distance was great and the figure not clear, the nun's aura was formidable; she was at the very least a cultivator at the Returning-to-Subtlety realm. Moreover, the Firebird beneath her feet was plainly an exceptionally powerful magic treasure in transformed guise, so powerful that it could even alter the surrounding environment.

"No idea. Judging by her dress, she should be from some Daoist temple. But there are Daoist temples all across the world, far too many to count. So many masters hide themselves among mountains and rivers; not all of them have a recognized sect or a famous name."

Yue Buhei frowned slightly, evidently unable to identify the nun's origins either. While the two were talking, Li Chunfeng atop the pagoda finial suddenly spoke.

"You needn't guess. This woman is a disciple of the Three Pure Ones Temple in Xinzhou. Her master is the Thousand-Handed Daoist Nun, who had already reached the Spirit-Entering Realm thirty years ago."

"The Thousand-Handed Daoist Nun... so it's her!"

Upon hearing this, Yue Buhei's tone changed. Lu Xin quickly pressed him to explain who the Thousand-Handed Daoist Nun was. As for Mount Sanqing, he knew a little. Mount Sanqing, also known as Mount Shaohua, had been a cherished place of Daoist cultivation since the Jin dynasty. In later ages, especially during the Yuan and Ming dynasties, it had a close relationship with Dragon-Tiger Mountain, only three hundred li away. The adepts who cultivated there were mostly practitioners of the Orthodox Unity Celestial Master line.

"If I remember correctly, thirty years ago, a female disciple of the Lingjun Daoist Sect on Mount Shouxian in the Eastern Sea was expelled for violating the sect rules. At the time, that female disciple even went on a killing spree inside Lingjun Daoist Sect, causing who knew how much havoc. Yet even so, that enormous Daoist sect could do nothing to her and could not even keep her in custody. Later, she left the Eastern Sea, founded a sect on Mount Sanqing in Xinzhou, established the Dustless Daoist Sect, and called herself the Thousand-Handed Daoist Nun."

"Even Lingjun Daoist Sect could do nothing to her? Then this Thousand-Handed Daoist Nun's cultivation..."

Lu Xin was stunned beyond measure. Lingjun Daoist Sect was one of the five great sects of the yin-yang practitioners, on par with monasteries and schools such as the Unquenchable Buddhist Mountain and the Supreme Profound Heavenly Sect. Among those five strongest sects, the Lingjun Daoist Sect beyond the Eastern Sea was the most mysterious of all; many yin-yang practitioners could not even find the exact location of Mount Shouxian.

And yet such a powerful sect had been unable to deal with a single female disciple who betrayed it. Just what sort of earth-shaking cultivation did this woman possess?

"Although the Thousand-Handed Daoist Nun has not made much noise over the past ten or twenty years, and though the world may not even know that there is a Dustless Daoist Sect on Mount Sanqing, thirty years ago she not only made Lingjun Daoist Sect lose all face, she also terrified the great sects of the Central Plains out of their wits. Xuanzhou and Xinzhou are less than a few hundred li apart; back then, when I had only just mastered transformation, I nearly got captured and delivered to that famous Thousand-Handed Daoist Nun. I never expected that thirty years later, I would see her disciple here in Chang'an."

Yue Buhei stared at the Firebird beneath the night sky, his gaze hazy as memories stirred in him. A note of amusement entered his voice as well. Only then did Lu Xin remember that the youth before him was a demon who had lived for two full cycles of sixty years, and the richness of his experience was far beyond that of ordinary people.

The flute music beneath the night sky gradually faded. Two minutes later, the Daoist nun finally lowered her jade flute and suddenly let out a cold snort toward the inn below.

"Kong Wen, this is the very tune you taught me all those years ago. Seventeen years have passed. You promised to retire with me for life and never take a wife. And now? You have come to this bustling city, taking an examination for the sake of some woman. Have you forgotten the oath you once made? I have finished playing the tune. Yet you do not even have the courage to face me?"

Her voice was bleak, yet carried an abyss of hatred, ringing out across all of Chang'an. Every word seemed to drip with blood. Even Lu Xin, standing at a distance and having no direct stake in the matter, could feel the depth of that love and the sharpness of that hatred. It was obvious that this disciple of the Thousand-Handed Daoist Nun had come to settle accounts with a faithless man.

"Kong Wen? The Kong family of Qufu in Yanzhou..."

With a snap, Yue Buhei opened his folding fan, a strange smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. At the mention of the Kong family, Lu Xin's first thought was Confucius.

The Sage Kong Qiu was from Qufu in Shandong, and his descendants had continued down to the present day. Ever since Emperor Wu of Han suppressed the hundred schools and honored Confucianism alone, Confucius had become the sage of every dynasty, an object of reverence even for emperors. His status was akin to that of a god. Whether from political necessity or genuine faith in the Confucian teachings, emperors throughout the ages had shown great respect to the descendants of Confucius. The Kong family of Qufu was the greatest noble clan under heaven.

If the man the nun spoke of truly belonged to the Kong family of Qufu, then the matter would become complicated.

In the second year of Wude, when the Tang dynasty had only just been founded and the realm was not yet fully unified, Gaozu Li Yuan ordered the Imperial Academy to establish temples to the Duke of Zhou and Confucius and to offer seasonal sacrifices. Then, in the second year of Zhenguan, after Li Shimin ascended the throne, he issued an edict to all under heaven declaring that in Wude the state had ordered sacrifices at the Imperial Academy, with the Duke of Zhou as the First Sage and Confucius sharing in the offerings... and now he respectfully requested that the sacrifice to the Duke of Zhou be discontinued and that the Master be raised to First Sage, with Yan Hui as his partner in worship. The edict was followed.

In other words, beginning in the second year of Zhenguan, the Tang dynasty separately honored Confucius at the Imperial Academy and established a Temple of Confucius. This alone showed how deeply the Great Tang court, and Li Shimin himself, revered the Sage and First Teacher.

Now that a descendant of the Kong family was being hunted for vengeance because of the imperial examinations, the court was likely not going to sit still.

"Hmph, so you refuse to speak? Then I shall burn this inn and bury everyone inside with you. Let it be the place where your oath dies in Chang'an!"

Seeing that there was no response from within Baifu Inn, the nun flew into a rage. She threw her head back and laughed wildly, descending into utter madness. As her laughter ended, the Firebird flapped its wings and screeched shrilly, then suddenly spat out hundreds and thousands of fireballs. It seemed the inn was about to be struck and reduced to a sea of flame. At that very moment, a streak of sword light burst forth from the imperial palace, splitting into myriad threads and forming a massive wall of ice above the inn.

"Perfected Ziqing, this is Chang'an, not your Mount Sanqing. You are not at liberty to act as you please. His Majesty is generous and merciful; for the sake of the Thousand-Handed Daoist Nun, go. The court may choose not to pursue this matter."

The voice came from within the imperial palace. Soon after, Wei Tunyun descended above Wuben Ward, riding a flying sword. The wall of ice just now was plainly his handiwork. Seeing this, the nun curled her lips, her smile growing even colder.

"Wei Tunyun? Hmph. With your cultivation, even if I do not use a magic treasure, you are still no match for me. This matter has nothing to do with you, and even less to do with the court. I advise you to retreat at once, lest you end up with both body and soul utterly destroyed."

Her tone was most unfriendly, and she spoke bluntly, directly telling the court not to interfere in her affairs. On the surface, the words seemed reasonable enough, but taken seriously, they were a profound insult to the court and to the emperor. More to the point, she had said them in public, before countless witnesses. If the court gave no reply, where would its dignity remain?

"Hahaha... Such bold words! If the Thousand-Handed Daoist Nun herself had come here to say that, Wei might still have been wary of her by three parts. But just because you are a Perfected Ziqing? Heh, the one whose body and soul will be utterly destroyed is probably you!"

Wei Tunyun flew into a fury. After a cold laugh, he swept his talisman sword, and eighty-one talismans appeared before him. Every single one was the color of pure gold. In the dark night, they shone like bricks of gold, glittering with an unbearably dazzling brilliance. More than that, the talismans arranged themselves into a taiji diagram, rotating ceaselessly in the void.

At the sight of this, Yue Buhei's expression turned solemn by three degrees.

"The Nine-Yin Taiji Demon-Subduing Sword Array! Legend says this is the ultimate art of Tan Zongxiao, Minister of the Yin-Yang Shrine, a soul art that balances yin and yang and wields tremendous power. I never expected Wei Tunyun to have cultivated it to this extent."

"Fox, do you think this Perfected Ziqing can be a match for that chief eunuch?"

The scholar looked at the scene above Wuben Ward, worry written all over his face, clearly concerned for the nun. Yue Buhei had no mind to answer him. He merely waved his fan and gave a couple of cold laughs.

At the same time, the gate of Baifu Inn was pushed open with a creak. A middle-aged man of about thirty-five or thirty-six stepped out. He was dressed in white, his long hair loose, a volume of scripture in hand. His bearing was refined and scholarly, and he was upright to the core. Standing in the darkness, he seemed to radiate light, like the sun itself.

Clearly, this was the result of having studied to an exalted plane, forming within his body a kind of "qi." Just like the cultivation of yin-yang practitioners, his spiritual power had been refined to the point where it could influence all things.

The moment the middle-aged man appeared, even Li Chunfeng atop the pagoda finial furrowed his brow.

"The Confucian School's Grand Righteous Qi Formula! I never thought this man had no magical power at all, yet he has tempered his soul to a level comparable to the Spirit-Entering Realm. Why would such a great scholar still come to sit the examinations?"

"Yunyi, after seventeen years, are you still unable to let go?"

Kong Wen looked up at the woman high in the sky, his gaze like drifting mist. There was not much emotion in his voice. Seeing this, Perfected Ziqing fell silent for a moment, then suddenly snapped the jade flute in her hand and laughed.

That laugh was incomparably calm, so calm that it was almost frightening.

"The descendants of Confucius truly are all heartless men who repay kindness with betrayal. Very well, you are right. Seventeen years have passed. I, Shangguan Yunyi, should indeed let go. But the murderous intent I have endured for seventeen years... I cannot let go of that!"