Chapter 733: Three Stages
Chapter 733: Three Stages
"So, this is indeed someone who is only interested in killing emperors but has no interest in becoming one himself?"
On this night, Hu Ma stayed at the Zhuangzi, drinking ten jars of wine, and for the first time, he clearly understood the past of Lao Jun Mei.
Of course, this was also related to the change in attitude that the Senior Apprentice of the Ox-Free Sect had towards him.
Before this, neither this senior apprentice nor anyone else from the Ox-Free Sect would have shared so many details about the Great Sage of Goodness with him.
Even when they did speak of him, it was always a unified narrative—born amidst a sea of red light, growing up with compassion and righteousness, receiving divine scriptures from the heavens, and so on. These were all words that made the speaker feel like they were speaking of a revered figure.
This mindset was extremely common in this world, and while the Ox-Free Sect members were certainly unusual, they were not exempt from this habit.
As a result, the Great Sage of Goodness, as described through this lens, naturally appeared less genuine and even more enigmatic.
But this time, the senior apprentice of the Ox-Free Sect spoke of the Sage's younger days, when he was chased like a dog, how he had no money when he wandered the jianghu, how he stole sweet potatoes from others' fields, and how he created many famous incidents that later became his black history.
Hu Ma understood that the Great Sage of Goodness he had come to know was the real one, or rather, Lao Jun Mei.
The Great Sage of Goodness was just one of Lao Jun Mei's many aliases. How many other aliases did he have in the jianghu? One of them was even known as the thief Moonwalker Fragrance. But who in the world would be like Chu Liuxiang, sneaking out at night to steal leftovers?
The next morning, as Hu Ma left the Zhuangzi and set off again, he began to ponder the three distinct stages in the life of the man known as Lao Jun Mei.
He wondered what this person had experienced and what insights he had gained.
The first stage was that of a wealthy young master. From the moment of his birth, he was different. He could speak and recognize words at the age of three, and he had countless ingenious and wonderful ideas.
He ignored the teachings of the private tutors hired by his family and did not practice writing. Instead, he was fascinated by the strange stories from all over the world, and with his family's wealth, he traveled far and wide, learning martial arts and seeking masters, living a carefree life.
By the time he was thirteen, his family could no longer control him. Although he had not yet fully developed his skills, he was already eager to venture out and explore the jianghu, broadening his horizons.
The days of wandering the jianghu were tough, not as comfortable as being at home. But the senior apprentice of the Ox-Free Sect believed that those days, when he followed the young master around, were enjoyable despite the lack of money and the uncertainty of meals.
The young master traveled around, paying respects to various masters, killing demons, and eliminating bandits. His skills gradually improved, and he made many good friends in the jianghu, benefiting from their exchanges.
However, as his skills improved, he began to transition to the second stage of his life, and the reason was saving people.
The young master had a natural inclination for saving people. He enjoyed seeing others' gratitude, and he believed that the best reward was when the villagers offered their best food, even if it was just salted meat and pickled eggs, after he had helped them get rid of demons and bandits.
But after doing this a few times, he started to find it boring and even began to actively seek out such opportunities.
Everywhere he went, he encountered injustices, and wherever he looked, there were demons and ghosts preying on people. This frustrated him.
He began to question whether there was something wrong with the world.
The turning point came during an incident at a blood feast mine. At that time, all the major blood feast mines were controlled by the Duyi Dynasty.
Due to the mischief of demons and ghosts, the young master witnessed the deaths of over a hundred people in the mine, including a little girl who had given him a bun the day before because he was hungry. For the first time, the young master was filled with rage.
That night, he took up his sword and killed the official in charge of the local government office. He wanted to distribute food and money to the survivors of the mine and send them home.
But no one paid attention, and everyone just stared at him in fear.
Disaster had struck.
The survivors of the mine, whom the young master had saved, were all killed by the Duyi Dynasty's army.
The young master couldn't save anyone, and instead, he found himself in an endless cycle of assassination attempts.
The Duyi Dynasty at that time was much larger than it is now, with countless experts at its disposal. They issued a wanted notice for this audacious jianghu outlaw.
Thus began the second stage of the young master's life. He faced countless assassination attempts by the court's experts but managed to escape death each time due to his boldness and caution. He also made many friends in the jianghu, and instead of dying, his influence gradually grew.
After experiencing numerous life-and-death struggles, his skills began to stand out even more.
Not only did he survive the Duyi Dynasty's pursuit, but he also began to gather a large group of jianghu eccentrics, mountain bandits, and formed his own jianghu faction, treating them as brothers.
At its peak, he was known as the leader of seventy-two factions across the north and south.
However, because the number seventy-two never quite added up, being either too many or too few, this title never really caught on in the jianghu.
When the Duyi Dynasty's Exorcism Bureau offered a reward for his capture, the best nickname they could come up with was Winged Tiger or Liu Mazi.
At that time, the young master realized that those in the jianghu, the world of martial arts, rarely achieved greatness and often ended up on a path to death. After half a day of seclusion, he emerged with a new resolve, deciding to establish a Daoist tradition and proclaimed himself the Great Sage of Goodness, a savior of the suffering masses.
Previously, he had focused on evading pursuit, but now he took on the mission of saving the common people. With this shift, his influence gradually grew, even surpassing the time when he had friends in the jianghu.
It was during this period that even members of the Dalaofa Religion attended a ceremony and paid their respects. They witnessed the rice-boiling talisman water and the talisman that secretly recorded the location of the government granary, and they believed that the Great Sage of Goodness possessed genuine mystical powers, far beyond that of ordinary mortals.
Ironically, the National Daoist Sage of Duyi, tasked with protecting the country, had become friends with the greatest rebel leader in the world.
With his rising influence, the young master faced a choice: seize the world or become a mountain lord?
For a while, the young master couldn't decide. He often felt uneasy, unlike his younger days when he was always laughing and causing mischief. Instead, he became silent and reclusive. This transformation began when the Duyi Royal Clan personally took action against him.
As the reputation of the Great Sage of Goodness grew, it threatened the stability of the Duyi Royal Family. In response, they mobilized the power of the Twelve Ghost Shrines and unleashed a calamity.
The Twelve Ghost Shrines were the foundation of the Duyi Royal Clan, controlling the energy of heaven and earth. A mere wisp of their power was beyond the reach of ordinary mortals.
One night, a dark wind blew, and ghosts wailed. The area where the Great Sage of Goodness resided, thousands of miles in radius, was suddenly wiped out, leaving not a blade of grass.
This was an event that was never recorded on paper and was soon forgotten, but in terms of terror, it ranked among the top three.
The Senior Apprentice of the Ox-Free Sect was away on a mission at the time. When he rushed back, he was terrified.
No one could have imagined that within a radius of thousands of miles, all the civilians and his followers were dead, but the Great Sage of Goodness survived. Amidst the devastation, he appeared before the Senior Apprentice of the Ox-Free Sect in tattered clothes, with a mournful smile on his face, and said, "I understand now."
"It seems that we were born with a debt to repay..."
After that, the young master returned to his former self, happy and carefree. He no longer established a Daoist tradition or gathered refugees. Instead, he accepted many disciples but operated in secrecy, teaching them in the shadows.
The name of this Daoist tradition, "No Eating Bull," was casually chosen.
Many of the traditions of the No Eating Bull, such as disrespecting Fa Men, deceiving gods and ghosts, and inciting people to rebel, were also established during this time.
At this point, the young master, or Lao Jun Mei, began to reorganize his skills.
He reflected on his past. In his youth, he had traveled far and wide, refining the Sky-Measuring Boots. In middle age, he led the suffering masses in a fierce battle against Duyi, creating the Rags Armor.
Now, after being struck by the Twelve Ghost Shrines, he advanced his skills further and cultivated the Great Might Heavenly General Seal. To cultivate this technique, he roamed the jianghu, challenging others.
He ventured into the Netherworld, practiced in the realm of the dead, and even debated with the Dalaofa Religion in their temple. He also searched for Temple Deities to understand the past.
Gradually, his reputation grew, and his skills became astonishing. Even the Exorcism Bureau of Duyi dared not easily confront him. They repeatedly sent messages through the Dalaofa Religion, inviting him to serve in the government.
Although he verbally agreed several times, he never went. Instead, he often disappeared, even neglecting the affairs of the No Eating Bull Sect. Whenever the "Great Sage of Goodness" was needed, someone else would appear in his place, sometimes a solitary figure, sometimes a trustworthy person, and sometimes a woman...
The saying that the Great Sage of Goodness had a thousand faces and countless forms originated from these events.
This third phase was the longest and most mysterious period in Lao Jun Mei's life, even his long-time follower, the Senior Apprentice of the Ox-Free Sect, had no idea what he did during this time.
He only remembered that during this phase, his skills progressed to an incomprehensible level. Finally, twenty-four years ago, the master appeared before him.
"Little Black, I'm going to the Capital City!"
The Senior Apprentice of the Ox-Free Sect recalled the master's words: "I understand that I came too late, and they also realized it too late."
"We were invited here, so we were born with a debt to repay."
"I'm going to do something significant. It may not succeed, but I must do it first to have a chance."
"I will die, but I will return. Someone will understand the other half for me, and that other half is what they need to do."
After sharing these words, he arranged some affairs for the eight disciples of the No Eating Bull Sect and then left.
Even the Senior Apprentice of the Ox-Free Sect had no idea that this trip would lead to such an outcome. Months later, he heard that the young master had entered the Capital City and became an official, second only to the emperor. However, he didn't hold the position for long before rebelling. He single-handedly fought against the country, stormed the Golden Hall, and stripped the Duyi Emperor, displaying his skin to the public.
He also heard that someone had used the Extinction Spell to exterminate the Duyi Clan, wiping out all 170,000 clan members.
The 240-year-old Duyi Dynasty, which had ruled the world for so long, was suddenly cut down.
But he also remembered that the young master had said that this was only half of what he wanted to do; the other half was entrusted to others.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
