The once eerie, wind-swept Shima Town, filled with the wails of Evil Ghosts, suddenly fell into complete silence. Not even a bird or crow could be heard.
It was unclear how many townsfolk stood in a daze, watching as opera troupes, acrobatic perforrs, and beggars suddenly appeared, revealing their miraculously desperate abilities. Still unaware of what had happened, so even thought it was part of the Lantern Festival and cheered.
The various jianghu factions had initially felt imnse pressure bearing down on them. With the sudden appearance of these strange people, the pressure vanished, leaving them in a confused state.
Only a few of the more capable individuals rushed to the windows. Peering out, they spotted one or two faces among the newly appeared figures—faces they had long revered as deities. The shock nearly stopped their hearts, and their legs threatened to buckle beneath them.
"It’s them..."
"Is it really those people... who have co?"
...
"HUH?"
Yet, the most shocked person in the entire town was naturally Immortal Miaoshan, who was guarding ten large jars near the main altar residence.
She had only been hoping that the Lantern Festival could proceed smoothly and had been guarding it with all her might. However, the multitude of factors affecting the festival had proved to be far beyond her ability to handle.
Just monts ago, she had even heard the wailing of countless Evil Ghosts and seen the ten large jars before her crack open one by one, their contents crawling out. Yet, unexpectedly, in that very instant, the eerie mists suddenly dispersed, and everything fell silent.
So, what just happened?
Filled with innurable questions and a vague suspicion, she tremblingly turned her gaze toward Bai Shanzi.
At that mont, Bai Shanzi was also trembling. He shook the fan in his hand with all his might, as if trying to fan the commotion outside into his own ears. And when he finally seed to confirm sothing, his entire body began to convulse.
He hastily tossed the bundle he was carrying into a nearby flowerbed, spun around, and exclaid excitedly to Immortal Miaoshan, "They’re here, they’re here! It’s..."
"It’s the Senior Brothers and Sisters from the Not Eating Beef Sect! They’ve all co!"
...
"Them?"
Immortal Miaoshan took a deep breath, her chest feeling as if it would burst from the intense joy. Her face initially lit up, unable to contain her delight. But then, her expression suddenly soured, and she looked aggrieved, as if she had been wronged:
"A bunch of deceitful liars! They... they arrived long ago but hid themselves, watching get bullied, weren’t they..."
...
Though still feeling joyful, she grumbled, and then a thought suddenly struck her: No, wait. All the little ghosts we sent out with ssages were intercepted. So how did they receive the news?
"Junior Sister..."
As she was puzzling over this, a low sigh suddenly ca from behind her. A hunched figure had appeared there, lanting, "You are so muddleheaded..."
"The Destined One has appeared, and the matter of the Sect Hierarch’s succession has been settled. How could you not inform us of such a montous event?"
...
...
"PHEW..."
anwhile, outside the town, Hu Ma let out a soft sigh as he watched these figures approach and bow to him in salute. Many questions that had troubled him suddenly found answers at this mont. So, these are the Beef Avoidance Sect Disciples? And they were the ones who incited the common folk to co to this town?
...
Indeed, there were many things he hadn’t understood before...
For instance, the Not Eating Beef Sect was inciting rebellion in various places. So why was it that in Shima Town, the one presiding over the One Coin Sect’s affairs was Immortal Miaoshan, a woman who seed to possess little more than a pretty face?
Could the Not Eating Beef Sect truly be at ease, entrusting such a seemingly naive person with such a critical matter?
The movents of Shousui Hall Officer Tie Jun were of paramount importance to the jianghu, capable of causing significant ripples. He had arrived in Shima Town in secret. Given that the Not Eating Beef Sect boasted nurous disciples with vast Divine Skills, could it be that none of them had caught wind of this?
And most critically, a great disaster was imminent in Shima Town. Yet, so many commoners had flocked here. It would be strange if no one had instigated this.
As these questions found answers in his mind, he looked at the Beef Avoidance Sect Disciples who were bowing to him with a hand clasped over their chests. His expression remained largely unchanged, and he did not verbally accept the title they addressed him with.
Instead, his expression hardened slightly, and he stated coldly, "This is your affair, and this Blessing eting is also your Blessing eting."
"A formidable enemy is at hand, and lives are at stake. Yet you all hid yourselves, allowing an outsider like to fight such a powerful foe alone. What is the aning of this?"
...
These sudden, accusatory words left the Beef Avoidance Sect Disciples, who had gathered around him to pay their respects, montarily stunned. Their expressions couldn’t help but turn awkward.
"Big Senior Brother, you..."
anwhile, inside the main altar residence, Immortal Miaoshan turned her head and saw a man standing behind her. He wore a straw hat and had a hunched figure, resembling an old farr from the fields. Overjoyed, she cried out, "You... when did you arrive?"
"This morning. Or perhaps, it was last night, around the ti our new Sect Hierarch subdued the Yin General."
Seeing the delight on Immortal Miaoshan’s face, the old man chuckled softly. "The Three Passes and Twelve Tiers were overco, and the Destined Sect Hierarch appeared. The Ghost Cave Secret Paths available to us all sealed themselves. How could we possibly have failed to notice?"
"AH, YOU..." Immortal Miaoshan’s joyful expression quickly turned into one of grievance. "You arrived so early, yet you didn’t show yourselves? Were you just trying to scare us?"
"We had no choice. We also needed to see for ourselves."
The old man smiled apologetically at Immortal Miaoshan. "Within our Not Eating Beef Sect, there are many strange people and miracle n. Each one is proud and arrogant; not many of them even truly defer to . How could they genuinely submit to an outsider and acknowledge him as Sect Hierarch, rely because he passed the Three Passes and Twelve Tiers?"
...
Immortal Miaoshan was taken aback. "But he didn’t just pass the Three Passes and Twelve Tribulations! He even cultivated the Great Mighty Sky General Seal..."
"...Anyway, I was convinced imdiately."
...
The old man smiled at her. "You’re different. You’re our Junior Sister."
"But it’s perfectly reasonable for the others not to be convinced. No one would want to imdiately bow their head and acknowledge so unknown fellow as their Sect Hierarch, much less entrust all the important matters we’re involved in into his hands. So, everyone decided they needed to see for themselves."
...
Immortal Miaoshan quickly asked, "Then... what was it you wanted to see?"
"To see this Lantern Festival."
The old man let out a soft breath, his gaze drifting to the common folk on the streets outside. He sighed wistfully, "You originally had no chance of success. And he... he is an outsider. Even if he had abandoned this Lantern Festival and chosen to save himself and leave, it would have been understandable. As for the lives or deaths of the people in this town..."
"Hehe, it’s easy enough to be a person who doesn’t wantonly kill the innocent. But how many are there who would truly risk their own lives and fortunes for the sake of unrelated commoners?"
...
"Then..."
Even soone as pure-hearted as Immortal Miaoshan could now understand her Senior Brother’s aning. Her voice trembled as she asked, "Senior Brother, the outco you were all watching for... what was it?"
"It beca clear from the mont he rode his horse, brandishing his saber to slay the Grass Head Eight Declining Gods and protect the common folk."
The old man sighed softly once more, his gaze turning towards the outskirts of the town. His words seed to carry a profound weight. "It is absolutely true. He is the Sect Hierarch of our Not Eating Beef Sect."
"Regardless of his strength or weakness, regardless of his background, from this mont onward, he is the Sect Hierarch of our Not Eating Beef Sect..."
"We, the Beef Avoidance Sect Disciples, have faithfully followed the Virtuous Master’s decree. We have waited painstakingly for twenty years. We waited for the world to fall into chaos, waited for malevolent beings to proliferate, waited until the Ten Surnas were on the verge of making their move. And finally, at this very mont, we have waited until Heaven has delivered this Sect Hierarch to us..."
...
Hearing his words, Bai Shanzi, standing nearby, was utterly dumbfounded. As for Immortal Miaoshan, she was so overjoyed she felt faint. Amidst her elation, she didn’t forget to say, "Wait, that’s not right..."
"This Sect Hierarch wasn’t sent by Heaven! That was..."
She puffed out her chest with great pride. "That was ! I picked him out from the crowd..."
...
...
"Sect Hierarch..."
Outside the town, despite so many people coming forward to pay their respects, Hu Ma maintained a stern expression. His very first words were a sharp question.
He could guess why these people had incited so many commoners to co here, and he could also guess why they had only chosen to reveal themselves at this specific mont. But how could he possibly not be angry about it?
After his sharp inquiry, he waited to see how they would respond. To his surprise, however, after his question, these individuals also seed to show expressions of difficulty. Then, one of them let out a deep sigh and suddenly said, "The Sect Hierarch is absolutely right..."
Then, he heard them all clamoring at once, "No problem at all, Sect Hierarch! This is entirely the fault of our Big Senior Brother..."
"That old villain is a hidden viper, disrespectful to the Sect Hierarch! It’s clear that the Sect Hierarch passed the Three Passes and Twelve Tiers and cultivated the Great Mighty Sky General Seal. He is unequivocally the destined Sect Hierarch of our Not Eating Beef Sect..."
"Others may not know, but I, for one, am convinced! If the Sect Hierarch tells to go east, I will never go west! But that old coot, Big Senior Brother, he doesn’t believe it! He doubted you, Sect Hierarch, and even wanted to use this thod to test you..."
"Sect Hierarch, just say the word, and I’ll drag that old coot over here right now and chop him into three pieces for you to vent your anger!"
...
"HUH?" Hu Ma was rather taken aback. This reaction was not at all what he had anticipated.
"Chop him into four pieces..."
Hearing him say this, soone else yelled even louder, "Questioning the Sect Hierarch is tantamount to questioning our Not Eating Beef Sect! Kick that old coot out of the sect..."
"Kill Big Senior Brother! Then tie up Junior Sister Miaoshan and deliver her to the Sect Hierarch’s bed! I’d even volunteer to guard the door for the Sect Hierarch..."
"What nonsense are you spouting! We’ve already divined Junior Sister Miaoshan’s fate. It’s one of imnse nobility! If she’s not destined to be an Empress, she’ll at least be a first-rank imperial consort! Where’s the need for you to tie her up? She’ll climb up there herself..."
...
Listening to this group suddenly erupt into a cacophony of squabbling and finger-pointing, on the verge of breaking into an actual brawl, Hu Ma suddenly felt a headache coming on. "Stop, stop, stop..."
How can these Beef Avoidance Sect Disciples be so utterly shaless? They’ve completely derailed my mood...
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