The Villain's Counterattack

Chapter 487: Xiaoyao created, and later generations comprehended

Lu Miaozi is a smart man. Smart people have their own pride and weaknesses, which is self-confidence, or conceit.

It was not easy to subdue Lu Miaozi and use him for his own purposes, so Yang Xuyan adopted another method. He asked for his help and guidance through letters in the name of discussion, and gave him the task of building some equipment for special purposes, including more advantageous ships and warships!

Their correspondence was one-sided, sent from Yang Xuyan to Lu Miaozi. After Lu Miaozi completed the task, he would compile the research results into a book and send it to the agreed location, where someone would pick it up. As for the reward, it depended on Yang Xuyan's mood and whether he was free.

However, Yang Xuyan did not think that he owed him anything. Putting aside the life-saving grace, just teaching Shang Xiuxun martial arts and using it to bring them closer as father and daughter was enough to make Lu Miaozi grateful to him. You know, in the original novel, their relationship as father and daughter did not improve much until their death.

Maybe Shang Xiuxun will regret it after Lu Miaozi's death, but will it be of any use?

Now, although Shang Xiuxun has not forgiven Lu Miaozi, if she wants to enter the thatched cottage again, she must beg Lu Miaozi to take her through the strange escape techniques and formations. Otherwise, it would be so sad to go in and not be able to get out.

Shang Xiuxun had thought about studying Qi Men Dun Jia herself, but Lu Miaozi herself was only a half-baked one, and had only learned the basics with her solid foundation. What's more, Shang Xiuxun had no foundation at all. She begged Lu Miaozi to learn for ten days or half a month and then gave up on her own initiative. She was simply not cut out for it. Not everyone has Huang Rong's talent.

During his injury, Lu Miaozi was restless, often going out for a stroll. However, once his injury had improved significantly, he settled down and enjoyed playing games with his daughter in the evening, seldom going out. However, his correspondence with Bi Xiuxin continued, including many speculations about the Xiaoyao Sect and requests for her to verify whether there were any abnormalities with the Five Hundred Arhats statues at Dashi Temple.

Although Bi Xiuxin married Shi Zhixuan, she still maintained ties to Cihang Jingzhai. The Five Hundred Arhats statues at Dashi Temple were quite famous, and normally, no one paid much attention to the hidden details. However, once they got serious, the clues left by Yang Xuyan could no longer be concealed. However, he deliberately fabricated his past, and Bi Xiuxin, unaware of the details, was easily deceived. This also led Lu Miaozi into the trap, further strengthening her faith in the Xiaoyao Sect.

Fan Qinghui was also very surprised when she learned about this from Bi Xiuxin. She also felt alienated from Ning Daoqi, who flatly denied and refused to reveal any information about the Xiaoyao Sect. This was something Yang Xuyan had never thought of before.

Ning Daoqi was very puzzled by Fan Qinghui's repeated inquiries about the hidden Taoist sect Xiaoyao Sect. As the only grandmaster of Taoism in public, Ning Daoqi thought he knew a lot about it, but he really couldn't remember the name of Xiaoyao Sect for the time being. With the name of Xiaoyao, it might really be a hidden sect. He could recite Zhuangzi's "Xiaoyaoyou" by heart, but he really couldn't remember the name of Xiaoyao Sect.

Fan Qinghui mentioned it several times, and it didn't seem like she was making it up out of thin air. Later she mentioned Dashi Temple, which made Ning Daoqi even more curious. Although he didn't know what her intention was, it didn't affect his decision to go and take a look around in person.

At one time, many experts gathered in Chengdu Prefecture, which made An Long, Xie Hui, Fan Zhuo, Feng Zhen and others suspicious and had to deal with it carefully. Later, when they saw that the newcomers were rushing towards Dashi Temple, they couldn't help but have other thoughts.

Are there any treasures in this Dashi Temple that can attract other masters?

It would have been fine if Ning Daoqi came alone, but Fan Qinghui came with a group of masters from Cihang Jingzhai and Jingnian Zen Temple. When they arrived at Dashi Temple, they did not hide at all and went straight to the statue of Five Hundred Arhats. They soon discovered many subtle details that were not easy to be found and were concealed.

Among them are words such as "Xiao Yao", "Jia Yi", "Bing San", etc. In addition, there are some unrecognizable oracle bone inscriptions and cloud patterns. If you study them carefully, you will find that some of them are strange, which are very different from Buddhist patterns.

Ning Daoqi was deeply interested in the Five Hundred Arhats, spending an hour or two daily observing them since arriving in Sichuan. He was particularly interested in the hidden runes they had discovered. Although close to Buddhism, he was ultimately a Taoist, and he would return to the suburban temple to rest daily. Fan Qinghui led the monks directly into Dashi Temple, and the monks were flattered. However, their understanding of the Five Hundred Arhats was superficial, and they could not provide any further information.

At nightfall, Fan Qinghui personally visited Ning Daoqi. The two had a long talk in the cool breeze on the top of the mountain. Ning Daoqi personally admitted that if the five hundred arhat statues were stripped of the outer appearance of Buddha statues, their inner aura would have a Taoist flavor, or in other words, contain the breath of nature. This gave him some inspiration, but he just couldn't get the point and needed more time to comprehend it carefully.

"The inscriptions are quite simple and ancient, sharing the same aura as the Arhat statues, but they were added later. They seem more like insights or hints left by the descendants of the Xiaoyao Sect who came to observe the predecessor's legacy." Ning Daoqi exclaimed in admiration, "The predecessor who left behind the five hundred Arhat statues must have been a remarkable person, his realm even higher than mine. However, he valued intention over force, so the Arhat statues he left behind are quite difficult to comprehend. While the inscriptions are only a few fragments, they vaguely get to the core, and combined with the Arhat statues, it's easier to gain a deeper understanding."

"It's just that the descendant who left the words was also a master, and he also had a bit of a pretentious mind. The inscriptions he left behind were also concealed. Although they are not as profound as the Arhat statues, they are still understandable and comprehensible to ordinary people." Ning Daoqi made a guess, and he guessed about 30% of Yang Xuyan's original thoughts. Yang Xuyan realized a lot from the five hundred Arhat statues, and compiled them into a book. Afterwards, he left the marks himself and matched them one by one according to his own feelings.

Well, he is also a bad-intentioned person. He deliberately left scattered and irrelevant things, making it impossible for other people with insufficient qualifications to form a system, and they may even be misled, just like Ning Daoqi now.

Ning Daoqi: How could an old Taoist master, a dignified Taoist grandmaster, be so lacking in qualifications?

However, scattered insights did not hinder Ning Daoqi's improvement in Taoism. As long as there were insights, there would be gains. He had not originally thought that he would be able to obtain a complete secret manual of magical skills. These five hundred Arhat statues were self-contained and contained many things. Only a genius like Yang Xuyan could comprehend them from all aspects. It was already very good for others to gain something occasionally.

"Created by Xiaoyao, will future generations comprehend it?" Fan Qinghui sighed softly, "I don't know what kind of existence this Xiaoyao Sect is. It's so hidden that even Master Ning doesn't know its true identity. It's a pity that my junior sister only spent half a month with a Xiaoyao boy. If..."

It was precisely because of Fan Qinghui's unconcealed behavior that many people became suspicious and began to wonder whether there were any treasures in Dashi Temple. As a result, various rumors emerged. Some said that there were treasures hidden in Dashi Temple, and the treasures were most likely hidden in the statues of the Five Hundred Arhats. Some said that Dashi Temple had offended a master of the Demon Sect, and the other party threatened to massacre the temple, which attracted so many masters of Buddhism.

At night, some thieves even tried to steal and destroy the Arhat statue to see if there was really a treasure inside. If it weren't for the monks from Jingnian Zen Temple patrolling and guarding, those ignorant little thieves would have succeeded.

Although they would not gain any benefits after succeeding, many local martial artists flocked to the place and wandered among the five hundred Arhat statues all day long. Some even asked local scholars to help paint these Arhat statues.

This move aroused Fan Qinghui's interest. It was impossible for her to move the statues of the Five Hundred Arhats back to Emperor's Peak, so her first choice was to draw a picture of it and take it back.

But there are always some people who are greedy. A few days later at night, several masked thieves tried to steal the Arhat statue and fought with the monks of Jingnian Zen Temple. Half of the thieves were killed on the spot, two were captured, and only one escaped and took the life of a monk, which caused a huge stir.

The relationship between Fan Qinghui and his gang and the Sichuan martial arts world suddenly became tense. During the day on the second day, another monk from the Jingnian Zen Temple disappeared. Fan Qinghui had no choice but to ask Xie Hui to meet with the leaders of the Sichuan martial arts world on his behalf to discuss the protection of the Five Hundred Arhats statues in Dashi Temple.

One day, a 10,000-jin boulder appeared out of nowhere at the gate of Dashi Temple. One side of the stone was flat, its vertical and horizontal lines shaped like a chessboard, dotted with chess pieces. Next to it were a few lines of poetry: "The eight steeds of the King of Zhou traveled thousands of miles, morning to Kunlun and evening to the vast ocean. Thunder and lightning crisscrossed the heavens, tigers and dragons galloped through the mist. The Kunpeng soared to 90,000 miles, seeking freedom in the heavens. The cicada and the magpie know not the coming of autumn; only the swan enters the gate."