Under One Person: The Seeker of the Dao in the Lü Family

Chapter 139 The Reputation of Little Lu Zu, the Suppression of Quanxing

"Hiss, this is a tough one."

On the high platform, Zhang Chulan, hidden among the audience, watched Lü Qian's calm figure carrying his sword and walked out of the competition venue. After a long while, as if he had finally come to his senses, he covered his head and rubbed the four-leaf braid at the back of his head.

"Indeed, his sword is no ordinary weapon."

After finishing a match, Feng Baobao came to Zhang Chulan's side. She looked at him for a while with her clear eyes, then pointed to the wooden sword on Lü Qian's back and said to Zhang Chulan.

"Sister Bao'er, not only is the sword extraordinary, but the man himself is extraordinary as well."

"really.

Feng Baobao nodded. "Those three moves were enough to knock down the little Taoist priest in white. Zhang Chulan, you're in trouble this time."

"Yes, it's uncertain."

Zhang Chulan raised his head, his brows furrowed. He led Feng Baobao toward the edge of the arena, preparing to participate in his own competition. "This Little Lu Zu's methods are too mysterious; I can't understand them at all."

At this time, Zhang Chulan had only recently entered the world of supernatural beings. For the previous ten years or so, he had lived as an ordinary person.

Even when he was a child practicing cultivation, his grandfather had time to explain some principles of cultivation to him and pass on the Golden Light Mantra and Thunder Technique to him.

Besides, he had no deep understanding of the methods of these extraordinary people, and now, seeing Lü Qian's seemingly impressive but actually incomprehensible techniques, he was completely clueless.

"Let's put it aside for now and ask Xing Tong and Cang Long if they have any news later."

Thinking this, he arrived at his own territory and looked at the three people below who were eagerly waiting for him. Zhang Chulan's eyes narrowed.

He turned to look at a spectator next to him, and as he looked at the cape on the person's body, a flash of inspiration struck him.

"Brother, can I ask you for a favor? Can I borrow this cloak...?"

……

"I'm going to destroy the heavens!"

……

"What the hell?"

"You shameless bastard!"

……

Amidst the insults and roars of the crowd, Zhang Chulan walked out of the arena with a smug look on his face.

Once he walked out of everyone's sight with his head held high, his previous arrogance immediately subsided.

"This trick can only fool the audience on stage; it won't fool those with strong wills."

Having spent over twenty years navigating the complexities of life, Zhang Chulan naturally understands that the majority of people in this world are ultimately mediocre and drift along with the tide. These people are fickle and easily misled by others.

But just as there are gems and crystals among the endless sands on a beach, there are also those among these people who have a clear goal and path, and whose minds are steadfast.

They will not be easily swayed, because their goals and paths extend to infinity, occupying their vision and their minds.

Zhang Chulan's clownish behavior, while helping to conceal his true strength, is ultimately just a petty trick.

"Zhang Chulan, Xu San and Xu Si, let us pass."

"Here you are, Sister Bao'er."

"We can only take it one step at a time," Zhang Chulan thought, composed himself, and followed Feng Baobao to another place.

……

"Zanglong, what's wrong, Zanglong?"

After the competition ended today, Zhang Chulan, Xu San, Xu Si, and Feng Baobao were walking on the mountain path when they suddenly saw Canglong lying under a tree by the roadside, muttering to himself.

"It's all gone, all gone, I've lost everything..."

Canglong lay on the ground with lifeless eyes, his obese body resembling a meat pie spread out on the ground.

"You fat bastard, you owe me my money!"

Before Zhang Chulan could react, a blue-haired woman emerged from the nearby woods; it was Bai Shixue from the Lu Family Troupe.

She glanced around fiercely, and when she looked down and saw the Hidden Dragon on the ground, she roared and pounced on it.

As members of Lu Linglong's Lu Family Troupe, Canglong and Bai Shixue jointly opened a gambling game during the Luo Tian Grand Ceremony, hoping to make a fortune.

But unexpectedly, not long after the market opened, two powerful newcomers entered the fray: Lü Qian and Ding Shian.

The presence of these two made the previous matches completely predictable, and the betting game naturally collapsed as a result.

As the bookmakers, Canglong and Bai Shixue naturally lost everything, not only losing all their capital but also incurring a huge debt.

"Hidden Dragon, you fat bastard, give me back my principal!"

Bai Shixue grabbed Canglong by the collar, and the immense strength emanating from her body lifted the fat man into the air.

She shook Canglong's neck incessantly with both hands. "You were the one who told me this was a sure thing, no risk! Now not only have we lost all our principal, but we're also in debt for nearly seven figures. How are we going to pay it back?"

"I don't care, you give me my principal back first, I'm breaking up with you!"

At this point, a hint of relief flashed in Bai Shixue's eyes. Fortunately, the gambling was originally run under Canglong's own name, and she was only responsible for raising funds and investing. Although she lost her principal, at least she didn't have to bear the debt in name.

"Xiaoxue, you're here to be with me through this difficult time, aren't you?"

Canglong stared at Bai Shixue in disbelief. "Now that we owe so much money, you're actually going to abandon me?"

"Yeah, I'm not playing with you anymore!"

Faced with Bai Shixue's unreasonable demands, Canglong roared angrily, "No, I have no money, and I have no life!"

"All I have is this fat; whoever wants it can have it!"

"Help! Hidden Dragon is here!"

Just as the two were pulling at each other, excited voices suddenly came from the mountain road in the distance, causing their expressions to change. "Big Fat Dragon, Bai Shixue, you two have to cash our tickets first. You can't renege on your debt."

On the mountain road, a large group of people rushed towards the two of them, waving receipts, and thick smoke rose from behind them.

"withdraw!"

Zanglong and Bai Shixue, who had just been arguing fiercely, immediately united and rushed into the woods without looking back, disappearing from their original positions in a flash.

"Don't go, Canglong, I still want to treat you to dinner."

"Yeah, I'm treating you to a big meal. We're rich now!"

……

Zhang Chulan and his group stared in disbelief at the massive crowd rushing past them, billowing dust rising and slowly settling before them.

Did I hear that right?

Xu Si took a drag of his cigarette and chuckled, "Normal. Those two are like dragons descending to earth. As long as they're there, the outcome of the competition is a foregone conclusion."

"When the mystery and suspense of a betting game are gone, then the house has to pay out."

As he spoke, he pulled a receipt from his waist pocket. "Zhang Chulan, don't say your fourth brother doesn't care about you. Look, I specifically bet on you to win."

The next moment, he tore the receipt in his hand into pieces right in front of Zhang Chulan, casually tossing it away, and colorful scraps of paper flew in the wind.

"But now it seems that my care for you was unnecessary."

Zhang Chulan watched the fragments flying through the air, and Feng Baobao catching them like a child, her lips twitching uncontrollably. "Fourth Brother, are you trying to motivate me like this?"

"Nonsense, this is telling you that you have to burn your bridges and don't think about anything else!"

Xu Si put his arm around Zhang Chulan's shoulder, pointed at the childlike Feng Baobao, and said, "You're responsible for Baobao's affairs, so you'd better take responsibility for them to the end."

Although his tone remained amiable, the underlying threat was clearly audible.

Zhang Chulan silently watched Feng Baobao playing, then slowly nodded, "Don't worry."

"Come on, brother, the results from the Old Master's side should be out by now. Let's go see them together."

"Gently, Fourth Brother, gently."

……

As the sun set, the group arrived at the venue where the opening ceremony had been held that morning.

The old Celestial Master stood on the high platform, his joy evident in his eyes, as if a weight had been lifted from his heart. "The results of the competition are in: thirty-two have emerged victorious."

Following instructions, everyone drew their opponents for the next day and then returned to the resting place arranged by the Celestial Master's Mansion.

……

The stars and moon hang high in the sky, and the night sky is covered.

Under the deep darkness of night, some people tossed and turned in their rooms, unable to sleep; some committed heinous acts in the woods; and some secretly plotted in the wasteland at the foot of the mountain.

Three or four more people, bathed in starlight and moonlight, walked along the mountain path, braving the gentle mountain breeze, and hurried toward the people who were secretly plotting.

"Fellow Daoist Lü, Fellow Daoist Ding, thank you both for your assistance."

On the mountain path, Tu Junfang, dressed in a three-colored Taoist robe and wearing a crown, smiled and nodded at the two people beside him.

"If I were to appear out of thin air in front of everyone, some people would probably say that I'm just talking nonsense and that I can't be believed."

"In order to demonstrate my firm resolve to leave Quanxing, I must bring one or two pledges of allegiance so that I can announce the return of the Three Demonic Sects to the world before the Celestial Master tomorrow."

"Fellow Daoist Tu, you are too kind. I am here to help you at the request of my master."

Ding Shian, dressed in the Taoist robes of a disciple of the Celestial Master's Mansion, returned the greeting to Tu Junfang, saying, "During the day, Fellow Daoist Lü used the Three Demons Sect's methods to help Senior Brother Lingyu recognize his own shortcomings. Our Celestial Master's Mansion naturally has to repay this kindness."

"Moreover, the Three Demon Sects are the lineage of our Taoist sect, and their lineage must not be severed."

His words conveyed a sense of official business, but the deeper meaning behind them was immediately apparent to the other two.

Lu Qian, dressed in the robes of a Wudang disciple, with his hair tied up with a black turban and a wooden hairpin, and carrying a wooden sword on his back, said, "Fellow Daoist Ding is quite right. Ahead is the Quanxing stronghold that I obtained from Lu Liang."

"They've brought quite a few people this time: four madmen, six thieves, even a weapon refiner, and a lot of henchmen."

"We'll take their heads with us then, so we can build a foundation for the Three Demons to rebuild."

"Very well, then we will do as you say, fellow Daoist."

Tu Junfang smiled and nodded. He stood in the middle, took a few big steps, and came to the three of them. "I am unworthy of this position as the vanguard."

Ding Shian quickly followed, leaving Lü Qian at the back. He turned around and said with a smile, "I am in the center, so I will trouble Fellow Daoist Lü to finish up."

Lu Qian smiled slightly, not bothering to compete with the two. He turned and called out to the woods behind him, "This humble Taoist is not willing to clean up the mess. I will trouble the old Celestial Master to take action and keep an eye on us."

"Shh..."

Suddenly, a rustling sound of leaves rubbing against each other came from the woods, and then slowly dissipated with the mountain breeze, as if answering Lü Qian's question.

"Thank you, Celestial Master!"

The three of them lined up on the mountain path, and although their pace was neither fast nor slow, they descended more than a dozen steps in the blink of an eye.

Under the moonlight and starlight, the three figures flickered on the mountain path, like flowing clouds and smoke, and soon approached the old warehouse at the foot of the mountain.

……

In the quiet, deserted night, the warehouse was dark and silent, like an empty room with no one inside.

However, faced with the seemingly empty warehouse, the three Taoists froze on the spot, their eyes gleaming, and they chuckled softly at the same time.

"Let me, the vanguard, strike first against the warlock's illusion."

Tu Junfang put away his smile. As soon as he finished speaking, his three-colored Taoist robe billowed in the wind, and three wisps of light ink-colored smoke emerged from his body, transforming into three swirling and ever-changing clouds.

"Fellow Daoists, please show yourselves."

As the clouds and mist shifted, the three wisps of pale blue smoke instantly turned pitch black again, and as the mist churned, it seemed as if it were about to condense into liquid and turn into viscous black water.

The three corpses, which were originally almost clean, became dirty again in that instant. But strangely, Tu Junfang, who should have fallen into depravity along with the three corpses, was not affected.

"Tranquility resides within the heart; reality and illusion are but a thought apart."

He remained as natural and easygoing as before, as if the three grotesque and terrifying corpses about to materialize were not his own.

"good!"

Seeing this, Lü Qian nodded, "Fellow Daoist has already grasped the true meaning of the Three Corpses, so you are indeed missing that final step."

Tu Junfang's situation is easy to understand. He has thoroughly understood himself, and although his body and mind have changed, his inner self remains a pure land.

The Three Corpses are me, but I am not the Three Corpses. Tu Junfang has completely taken control of his own desires, and thus the Three Corpses can be manipulated at will.

Ding Shian, standing to the side, watched the three pitch-black corpses manifesting around Tu Junfang, his eyes gleaming with golden light, and his interest growing stronger.

A wasp, a green snake, and a lady emerged from the black water, their faces ferocious and terrifying, forming a stark contrast to the calm and natural Tu Junfang in the center.

"go!"

At his command, the enormous wasp hovering high in the sky instantly split into a dense swarm.

"Buzzing..."

A frantic buzzing suddenly erupted, and under the moonlight, the stingers of every wasp in the swarm gleamed with a sharp, cold light.

After the swarm formed, it rushed toward the warehouse in front of the three Taoists, splitting along the way, densely packed, blotting out the sky and the moon.

"boom!"

In the invisible void, the swarm of bees seemed to break through some kind of obstacle. Many wasps died within it, and they dispersed into a cloud of black mist, which then merged back into the swarm, causing the swarm to expand once again.

"Enemy attack!"

The swarm's charge seemed to lift a layer of cover, and the dim lights in the warehouse were clearly visible under the moonlight.

As the cover disappeared, a loud shout came from inside the warehouse.

"I, Tu Junfang of the Three Demon Sect, borrow your lives to lay the foundation for the resurgence of my Three Demon Sect."

"Hahaha......"

Tu Junfang suddenly burst into loud laughter. His behavior was somewhat mad, but the clarity in his eyes remained unchanged. His three-colored Taoist robe fluttered in the wind under the moonlight.

The colors—blood-red, mud-black, and sunrise-purple—appeared both eerie and sacredly elegant under the moonlight.

The opposing attributes of holiness and evil are vividly displayed in Tu Junfang.

With a wave of his sleeve, he shouted, "Go!"

The other two restless corpses beside him also shone brightly after receiving the order.

The bamboo-bodied serpent grew even larger, its body measuring about 36 feet long and 36 feet wide, and swept towards the warehouse.

The beautiful woman transformed into a hideous and terrifying figure, like a demon crawling out of hell. She had six heads and eight arms, and her body became even more fiery and alluring. She transformed into a naked Asura Yaksha and charged towards the warehouse.

"The mind is infinitely vast, and the three corpses are endless."