Martial Cultivator

”Infatuation Daoist Temple.

The evening light today was just right.

At the cave dwelling that belonged to Yun Jianyue, the young temple master stepped out. After a long period of seclusion, his face was somewhat pale, the result of not seeing sunlight for so long.

In front of the cave dwelling, Ye Zhihua also opened her eyes. All this time, one of the Twin Pillars of Daoism had remained outside Yun Jianyue’s cave, protecting his cultivation.

It was also so that when Yun Jianyue came out of seclusion, the first person he would see would be her.

Ye Zhihua looked at Yun Jianyue, a faint smile on her face.

Yun Jianyue also looked at his senior sister and smiled. “Senior Sister, you’ve worked hard.”

Ye Zhihua shook her head slightly, not feeling it was hard.

Yun Jianyue asked, “Has anything happened recently?”

Having been in seclusion for so long, he knew nothing of the events in the foreign lands cultivation world. Of course, aside from matters in the cultivation world, the most important thing was what had happened in Great Liang.

Ye Zhihua thought for a moment and selected a few important matters to tell him.

“Feng Liu is going to establish the Morning Dew Sect in Ying Prefecture. He has already reached an agreement with Great Liang. The sect will be located on Windwave Mountain and Suining Mountain within Great Liang.”

As Ye Zhihua mentioned this, she felt some concern. What kind of person was Feng Liu? She knew clearly, this so-called “Romantic Earth Immortal” possessed an extremely high cultivation level, likely with very few equals in the world.

Now that he had come out of seclusion to establish the Morning Dew Sect in Ying Prefecture, once it grew, it would certainly pose no small threat to the Infatuation Daoist Temple.

Yun Jianyue smiled. “I’ve heard of him. Back when Martial Uncle Wuyang was still around, he said that the Chief Enforcer once fought him and was soundly defeated.”

Ye Zhihua was startled. Although Yinli had not been a good person, in past years his cultivation had always been highly regarded, considered the second strongest in Daoism after Daoist Wuyang.

“Then now that he’s establishing the Morning Dew Sect, with Great Liang backing him, in time it will likely become quite troublesome.”

Ye Zhihua thought about it, feeling that something should be done.

But Yun Jianyue shook his head, unconcerned. “The temple’s thinking in the past has always been like this, anything that might threaten its status should be suppressed or even destroyed early on. That is not good. We are cultivators of the Dao. What we seek is true peace of mind. If we are to compete, then we compete openly. On the Great Dao, all struggle to cross, each relying on their own ability.”

Yun Jianyue looked at Ye Zhihua and smiled. “Senior Sister, don’t be afraid.”

Ye Zhihua gave a somewhat helpless smile. “With you this confident, it’s hard for me to feel afraid.”

Yun Jianyue smiled it off and said softly, “However, with Chen Chao’s temperament, letting the Morning Dew Sect be established, he must have gained quite a bit from it. After all, a thief never returns empty-handed. That fellow has always been like this.”

Ye Zhihua did not respond to this point, but instead brought up another matter, one concerning Chen Chao.

It was about the destruction of Purple Leaf Grotto.

“Some days ago, surviving Daoists from Purple Leaf Grotto came up the mountain, hoping we would seek justice for them. But I suppressed the matter and did not give them a response.”

Ye Zhihua looked at Yun Jianyue. For matters like this, she did not know what the proper course of action was.

Or rather, she felt that the choice she had made might not be the one Yun Jianyue would want.

Yun Jianyue asked, “What did the people in the temple say?”

Ye Zhihua said softly, “The older martial uncles and elders are somewhat angered, but the younger daoists haven’t reacted much.”

Yun Jianyue nodded and said, “Tell them this is my decision. The destruction of Purple Leaf Grotto was of their own making and has nothing to do with others. As for Chen Chao’s choice, in my view, it’s not without reason.”

“Daoist Wuyang laid out a grand scheme to kill Chen Chao on Mt. Tai Xuan, but the outcome was disastrous - Purple Leaf Grotto was destroyed. It truly was their own doing.”

Ye Zhihua also added a few words in agreement.

“However, Chen Chao stepping in for the Mountains and Rivers Sect, I don’t think it’s as simple as just standing up for them. That Genglou Mountain is probably what he truly wants.”

Although Yun Jianyue had been in seclusion and unaware of worldly affairs, he was exceptionally perceptive. From a few scattered clues, he could already see things clearly.

Ye Zhihua added, “Indeed. Chen Chao transported some things from Genglou Mountain to the Divine Capital.”

Yun Jianyue thought for a moment, then said, “Understood.”

He did not elaborate, and Ye Zhihua did not press further.

She simply continued speaking about some other matters concerning Chen Chao.

Yun Jianyue listened quietly. After a long while, he murmured, “It seems the demon race is about to advance southward.”

For many years, the demon race and the human race had been at war. After Great Liang built the Northern Frontier Great Wall, such events became less frequent, but even so, Great Liang had never let its guard down.

Ye Zhihua said, “That’s nothing unusual.”

But Yun Jianyue shook his head and said very seriously, “Senior Sister, it’s not that simple.”

Ye Zhihua looked at him curiously.

Yun Jianyue gazed into the distance and said calmly, “This time, the demon race’s southward advance will likely be unlike anything before, mobilizing the strength of the entire race to trample Great Liang. The scale will probably surpass even when they broke through the desolate north back then, forcing us to cede thirty thousand miles of the desolate north.”

“This may be a war of extermination.”

Yun Jianyue’s expression turned solemn. If that were the case, let alone Infatuation Daoist Temple, even the entire foreign lands would be drawn into it. No one would be able to stand by and watch.

Unless they truly believed that after the rulers of this land became the demon race, they themselves could remain untouched.

Ye Zhihua also frowned. She naturally understood what such a so-called war of extermination meant.

“I should write a letter to Chen Chao and ask what stage the situation has reached.”

Yun Jianyue’s expression was grave. From what Ye Zhihua had told him, after some thought, he already understood what Chen Chao was doing.

If the situation were not urgent, many of these actions would not be so rushed, given Chen Chao’s temperament. He had always been someone meticulous, preferring to plan things gradually.

Ye Zhihua just asked, “If the situation truly is this dire, how should the temple respond?”

Yun Jianyue did not speak. He simply looked at Ye Zhihua, his eyes filled with complicated emotions.

From the standpoint of the entire human race, the Infatuation Daoist Temple should step in to help when the time came. But that would mean many deaths and could very well shake the very foundation of the temple.

This was something Yun Jianyue also had to consider.

Of course, there was another important matter.

Which was, what the daoists of Infatuation Daoist Temple themselves would think.

Infatuation Daoist Temple was a daoist temple. Most of the time, there was only one voice, but that did not mean there was always only one voice.

“Senior Sister, when that time comes, no matter what the temple decides, I will definitely appear in the desolate north.”

Yun Jianyue said calmly, “That is where my Dao lies. It cannot be changed.”

Ye Zhihua thought for a moment and said softly, “I will accompany you.”

“I don’t know what your Dao is, but I know very clearly, you are my Dao [path, truth].”

......

......

In fact, before entering seclusion, Chen Chao met three people in total.

The first was the current Minister of Revenue of the Great Liang Dynasty, whom he asked about how much silver remained in the national treasury.

But in truth, Chen Chao did not hold much hope. Every year, nearly half of Great Liang’s tax revenue was already sent to the Northern Frontier, and the remaining half had to cover expenses across the entire realm, which was no small sum. In other words, if even ten to twenty percent could be saved each year, it meant the Ministry of Revenue had already been living frugally.

However, this meeting brought Chen Chao an unexpected surprise. The Minister of Revenue first complained bitterly, saying that the past few years had been extremely difficult. After the great flood in the eleventh year of Tianjian, the ministry had no reserves left. In the following years, they had tightened their belts just to barely maintain a balance between income and expenditure. Just when things seemed to improve, the Ministry of Works had recently requested large sums again. Though he was reluctant, since it concerned military affairs, he had no choice but to release the funds.

In short, the Minister of Revenue kept lamenting poverty.

Chen Chao could do nothing but sigh repeatedly as he listened.

Then the Minister of Revenue asked whether some region required funding again.

Chen Chao only said that a great war was imminent, and there would be many places needing money, it would be very troublesome.

Upon hearing this, the Minister of Revenue suddenly slapped his thigh and said that there was indeed still some money left in the treasury.

Afterward, Chen Chao reviewed the account books the minister produced and could not help but praise him, he was truly like a cornucopia.

The Minister of Revenue said cautiously, “Lord Warden Commander, even if there is still a bit of money, you must not spend lavishly. Every single skygold coin is hard-earned.”

Chen Chao nodded, then asked again, “Minister, you wouldn’t happen to have hidden some funds elsewhere, would you?”

This time, the Minister of Revenue firmly denied it, waving his hands repeatedly.

Chen Chao did not bother to press the matter. In truth, all of the Ministry of Revenue’s yearly income and expenditures were recorded. If he wished to investigate, he could determine exactly how much remained in the treasury.

After leaving the Ministry of Revenue, Chen Chao went to meet the newly appointed Lord Premier. What was discussed during that meeting was unknown to outsiders, but it was known that Chen Chao stayed in the P’s residence for a full four hours.

When Chen Chao came out, there was a bruise on his forehead.

Rumors began to spread, had the Lord Warden Commander been beaten at the Premier’s residence? But considering his martial cultivation and usual conduct, that seemed unlikely.

Moreover, the Lord Premier was a scholar, hardly the sort to do such a thing.

Speculation remained speculation. When Chen Chao later entered the palace with that bruise, the Crown Prince, who had just been married, pointed at his elder brother’s forehead and laughed for a full several minutes.

Chen Chao felt somewhat helpless. The Premier, in a fit of anger, had picked up an inkstone and smashed it against his forehead. Chen Chao himself was fine, but unfortunately, a famous inkstone from a previous dynasty had shattered into several pieces.

After the Crown Prince finished laughing, Chen Chao explained his purpose, he wished to request an imperial decree.

The Crown Prince’s expression turned serious. “Has it already come to this?”

Chen Chao said calmly, “It’s merely preparing for a rainy day. It’s only a matter of time. We must not wait until that moment to act, or it will be too late.”

The Crown Prince nodded and said softly, “Then I’ll entrust this to Elder Brother.”