Lord Shenxiu
Chapter 152 Shangdu (Further Updates on This Book)

Chapter 152: Chapter 152 Shangdu (Further Updates on This Book)

Duan Mingyu was ultimately not one from the Demon Path.

Once Jing Fan’s words bloomed like lotuses, one after another, he was caught in their snare.

Upon hearing this, a look of righteousness immediately appeared on his face, "Since that’s the case, I’m willing to join the master in eliminating that demon!"

"Amitabha, this poor monk thanks the benefactor!"

Jing Fan joyfully bowed, and after Duan Mingyu agreed, he somehow felt that something was not right, as if he had been tricked.

He glanced at Zhong Shenxiu, feeling that he shouldn’t be the only one duped, and asked, "Where does Young Hero Xun wish to go?"

"Since we’re in Shang County, naturally, I want to pay respects to the ancient relics of Shang Country."

Zhong Shenxiu answered calmly.

"The capital of Shang Country is near Black Crow Mountain, why not travel together?" Duan Mingyu smiled, "The three of us together can also have a good discussion about martial arts."

Both of them hailed from major sects, being able to discuss the essence of martial arts was clearly advantageous for Zhong Shenxiu.

"That’s also fine."

Zhong Shenxiu smiled and calmly agreed.

The three set off together, initially cautious, but as they grew more familiar with each other, they let down their guards somewhat and began to seriously discuss martial arts.

Although they could not disclose their secret techniques for discussion, merely talking about their insights into breaking through realms was greatly beneficial for all of them.

Especially for Duan Mingyu and Jing Fan, who originally thought that Xun Liuyi, coming from a minor sect, not only would have limited martial prowess but also limited knowledge.

But after detailed discussions, they found that not only was his foundation exceedingly solid, but in some respects, he could even offer innovative ideas, often making profound remarks that provided great benefit.

Of course, the one who benefitted the most was Zhong Shenxiu himself.

’It turns out... even possessing the secrets of refining marrow, advancing to Grandmaster is not so simple... it involves profoundly mysterious checkpoints and changes... That’s why on the earth ranking, there are very few young famous Grandmasters.’

’However, I can understand, changing blood, refining marrow, reaching divine understanding, each checkpoint is harder than the last...’

’If changing blood is merely about injecting a powerful life force, then refining marrow is genuinely about transforming the essence of life—like evolving from a monkey into a human!’

’The difficulties involved greatly exceed changing blood... without the secret scriptures, I wouldn’t even know where to start...’

’And although these two fellows also possess the secrets of refining marrow, they are merely lingering at the gate...’

...

Black Crow Mountain was located in Shang County and was not very famous, being close to the ancient city of Shangdu.

This small city was originally the capital of Shang Country, once besieged by tens of thousands of enemy troops, and then, under the leadership of that generation’s Shang Jun, they controlled the epidemic with the technique of cowpox to defeat the enemy, possessing a bit of mystery and legendary color.

However, when Shang Country erupted, defeating the other countries and establishing the Shang Dynasty, they naturally relocated the capital.

After the fall of the Shang Dynasty and the establishment of the Wu Dynasty, and another thousand years later, the scale of this ancient city of Shangdu was no longer considerable, merely on the level of a border county small city, not much different from Anshan City.

Added with population loss and other factors, this ancient city was filled with a sense of decay, only those stone relics left from a thousand years ago seemed to still be narrating the glory of Shang Country back then.

"If there’s anything worth visiting in the ancient capital of the Shang Dynasty," Zhong Shenxiu said, "it would be the Niu Shenjun Temple. That place was personally built by Shang Jun himself. According to historical records, it is the first temple in the world dedicated to Niu Shenjun..."

In the setting sun, three Human Ranking young heroes entered the ancient city gate of Shang Country, and Duan Mingyu was the one who suggested it.

"Amitabha, I cannot stay here long," Jing Fan said, pressing his hands together in apology. "I must head to Black Crow Mountain."

"You monk... We just met Brother Xun and felt an instant connection, why rush to part ways?" Duan Mingyu caressed the zither bag on his back, "How about you first rest for the night? I’d like to let Brother Xun hear my zither music..."

"I’d also like to see the swordsmanship of the Su Yin Sword Sect," Zhong Shenxiu smiled.

Through their recent interactions, he knew that the Su Yin Sword Sect excelled in their swordsmanship and were also adept at the Sound Wave Skill. Their inherited "Heavenly Zither Sword Sound" was ranked among the top three sonic attacks in the world, alongside the Evil King Sect’s "Heavenly Demon Secret Chant" and the Stone Buddha Temple’s "Buddha Sound Zen Chant."

According to his experience that day, Zhong Shenxiu was definitely interested in hearing it.

Although these two Human Ranking experts were still green and couldn’t wreak havoc on his spirit like some riders could, making them suffer unbearable pain, their martial arts would undoubtedly be greatly diminished when faced with such disturbances during combat.

"Haha, good, let’s see how my swordsmanship fares."

Duan Mingyu laughed heartily and brought them to an inn. This fellow seemed like a poor scholar, but he actually had quite a lot of money and directly booked a small courtyard. He then commanded the servant to prepare a feast.

Due to Jing Fan’s presence, who was a monk and observed vegetarian rules, he specially ordered a vegetarian feast.

But the servant crossed his arms and chuckled, "Even if the gentleman wants meat dishes, there are none in this ancient city of Shangdu..."

"Oh? Why is that? Is there some taboo?"

Zhong Shenxiu and the others were visiting Shang County for the first time and couldn’t help but ask curiously.

"In our Shangdu, everyone is a devout believer of the Niu Shenjun Temple. There’s an ancient rule here that forbids eating meat, just like monks, especially beef..." The servant paused, noticing Jing Fan the monk was there, and added with an awkward smile, "This master, I’m not joking! This is true, you could ask around."

"Ah, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. However, we can’t go without alcohol," Duan Mingyu said with a hint of frustration.

"Alright then, our Ice Jade Burn here is quite famous. All the visiting guests praise it!" The servant responded loudly.

As he was about to leave, Zhong Shenxiu called him back and casually tossed a few silver coins over, "We’re here for the first time and heard there’s a Black Crow Mountain nearby with beautiful scenery, is that true?"

As soon as this was mentioned, the servant’s expression changed, "Please don’t go there... The scenery used to be nice, but in recent years, for some reason, a group of red-eyed black monkeys have moved there. These creatures are ferocious and enjoy eating humans. They are adept at climbing mountains and cliffs, and despite several organized hunts by hunters and martial arts experts, they couldn’t be subdued, leading to many deaths... The authorities are now afraid to interfere. As long as those monkeys occasionally come down the mountain to hunt and don’t stray far from Black Crow Mountain, it’s the people living at the foot of the mountain who suffer..."

"Abnormal monkeys? That does sound interesting."

Zhong Shenxiu chuckled, "We’re also martial artists. Maybe we could go and eliminate this menace for the people."

"Sigh... Those monkeys are not to be trifled with. They reportedly have the strength of a thousand pounds in each arm. Last time a martial arts expert practicing Iron Head Skill was killed by one swipe that shattered his Heavenly Spirit Bone... it was horrific..."

The servant urgently waved his hands, "Please don’t invite death... Moreover, the cries of these red-eyed black monkeys are chilling; they eerily sound like ’Dharma.’ If you hear it in the wild, make sure to avoid it."

After the servant left, Zhong Shenxiu turned to Jing Fan, "Master, why did your complexion change?"

Jing Fan pressed his palms together several times, confessing his guilt. After a while, he finally spoke slowly, "The first-generation Saint Monk of the Stone Buddha Temple... was titled ’Dharma’!"