Chapter 117: Tied for the First Place in the World
East City of Luoyang!
There is a narrow alley.

At the end of the alley is a green bamboo grove.

It is naturally elegant, swaying in the wind, quiet and peaceful.

There is a small courtyard inside, with five small houses in the courtyard, two on the left and three on the right, all made of thick bamboo.

The yard is surrounded by a three-foot-high bamboo fence. There are more than a dozen geese raised in the yard, walking around unscrupulously. At first glance, it gives people a feeling of tranquility in the midst of noise and paradise.

In the yard, there was an old man in his sixties, wearing coarse cloth and with gray hair, sitting on a small bamboo chair in the yard.

Beside him were materials and tools such as picked bamboo strips and a hatchet, as well as bamboo utensils woven into the shape of bamboo baskets.

When Chu Yuan and Ren Yingying walked to the gate of the courtyard, the big goose beside the old man began to cry.

The old man looked up and saw Chu Yuan and Ren Yingying standing outside the yard. Green Bamboo Old Man immediately put down the work in his hands and stood up.

While opening the bamboo gate that was slightly higher than the fence, he smiled at Chu Yuan and Ren Yingying, "Aunt, Taoist Priest Chu..."

After welcoming Chu Yuan and Ren Yingying into the courtyard, Green Bamboo Elder said, "I thought you, aunt, would never come back after you married Taoist Chu!"

Ren Yingying shook her head and said, "How could that be? This is my home too!"

Then Ren Yingying said, "We are going to the Shaolin Temple in Songshan, and we will pass by Luoyang City. It's a good opportunity for me to take Brother Chu back to Green Bamboo Lane to stay for a few days."

Green Bamboo Elder said, "Aunt, I didn't move anything in your room. Just let Taoist Chu live in the same room with you."

After greeting Chu Yuan and Ren Yingying, Green Bamboo Old Man continued to busy himself with his own affairs.

It can be seen that he behaved very casually in front of Ren Yingying.

Ren Yingying did the same. After bringing Chu Yuan back to Green Bamboo Lane, she took Chu Yuan back to her room.

She lives in the bamboo house on the right.

After Chu Yuan followed Ren Yingying inside, he saw tables, chairs and couches in the house, all made of bamboo. Hanging on the wall was an ink painting of bamboo, with bold and freehand strokes and rich ink, giving it a rather sinister feel.

There was a yaoqin and a dongxiao on the table.

"Yingying, is this the room you live in?"

Chu Yuan asked Ren Yingying.

"Yes, Green Bamboo Old Man lives on the left, and I live on the right. The three bamboo houses here are all my rooms. In addition to one for sleeping and resting, one is the kitchen, and one is where I play the piano and read."

Ren Yingying nodded.

"That night, Yingying and I will stay in the same room."

Chu Yuan looked at Ren Yingying and smiled.

"Brother Chu, you can live in one room, but don't have any bad thoughts. Mr. Green Bamboo is here."

Ren Yingying poked Chu Yuan's head with her finger and said unhappily.

She is no longer like she was at the beginning, always showing her girlish shyness in front of Chu Yuan.

"Okay, if you say you can't move, then I won't move!"

Chu Yuan agreed.

Just agree verbally first, and then talk about it at night!

And even if he had bad intentions, he was still helping Ren Yingying to practice. He was exhausted every time, but didn't get any benefits at all. It was all for Ren Yingying's good.

"I didn't expect there are musical instruments like qin and flute here. Can you play the flute?"

Chu Yuan saw the flute on the table and said with some surprise.

In the past, Ren Yingying had never shown any ability in this area.

"I used to feel annoyed by the struggle for power within the church, so I lived in this Green Bamboo Lane and studied many musical instruments, including the qin and the flute."

Ren Yingying said to Chu Yuan.

"Brother Chu, you can play the piano and I can play the flute. Let's play a piano and flute duet!"

Then Ren Yingying said to Chu Yuan.

Speaking of playing the flute, Chu Yuan thought of another thing and whispered a few words in Ren Yingying's ear.

"So playing the flute has this meaning, Brother Chu, you are such a frivolous person..."

After hearing this, Ren Yingying blushed and spat at Chu Yuan.

Even though she was already a married woman, some of the things that came out of Chu Yuan's mouth from time to time would still make her blush and flush.

I feel that Chu Yuan knows too much about matters between men and women, and in all aspects, even things that were originally very normal can be linked to matters between men and women by Chu Yuan. He doesn't act at all like an unmarried Taoist who has been practicing in seclusion in Qingcheng Mountain.

"Brother Chu, where did you know these strange things? Apart from me, you have never had other women before, right?"

Ren Yingying looked at Chu Yuan with suspicion.

"I am a Taoist priest. I have been practicing martial arts for a long time. How could I have had any other women before I married you, Yingying? I learned all this from reading Taoist scriptures about dual cultivation and sexual techniques when I created the "Yin Yang Huan Yang Gong"."

Chu Yuan explained.

As a time traveler, if you can’t drive, can you still be called a time traveler?

"I believe you for now, but as for the blow job you mentioned, forget it..."

Ren Yingying said in a tone of suspicion and embarrassment.

"Yingying, this is also a method of practicing the Yang Yin Huan Yang Gong!"

Chu Yuan persuaded Ren Yingying with persuasive arguments.

"We'll talk about it later. It depends on your performance, Brother Chu."

Ren Yingying couldn't persuade Chu Yuan, so she could only say with a hot face.

Then Chu Yuan and Ren Yingying picked up the musical instruments on the table, one played the piano and the other played the flute, and they started playing together.

In addition to the previous "Swordsman" and "Bai Suzhen under the Qingcheng Mountain", the two played some other ancient music.

For example, "High Mountains and Flowing Water" and "The Best of Times".

Chu Yuan taught Ren Yingying another song called "A Thousand Years of Waiting".

After Chu Yuan played it once and sang it again, Ren Yingying looked at Chu Yuan with surprise.

"The song is called "A Thousand Years of Waiting."

Chu Yuan said to Ren Yingying.

"Is it another song and lyrics related to The Legend of the White Snake?"

Ren Yingying has become accustomed to the fact that Chu Yuan would occasionally come up with a beautiful song that she has never heard of before.

"good."

Chu Yuan nodded.

"Brother Chu, you are so talented."

Ren Yingying looked at Chu Yuan with loving eyes.

After two sessions of practice, the two of them were already able to skillfully use the zither and flute to play the song "A Thousand Years of Waiting" together.

Green Bamboo Old Man was sitting in the yard, weaving bamboo utensils with bamboo strips, and heard the sound of zither and flute coming from the bamboo house.

As I listened, I couldn't help but become fascinated. The movements of my hands gradually slowed down, and finally stopped completely, immersing myself in the music.

Only after the piano and flute performance in the room ended did Green Bamboo Old Man gradually come back to his senses.

"What a beautiful tune. My aunt has never played it before, and I have never heard anyone else play it before."

"My aunt had me write a story called The Legend of the White Snake in the name of the Qingcheng Swordsman before. It quickly became popular among ordinary people. These two songs seem to fit the story of The Legend of the White Snake very well."

"It seems that these two pieces of music were also composed by this Taoist Priest Chu."

"No wonder my aunt likes Taoist Chu so much and married him. In addition to his peerless martial arts, it may also be because of his extraordinary talent."

These thoughts flashed through Green Bamboo Old Man's mind, and he began to weave the bamboo tools in his hands again.

Not long after, beautiful piano and flute sounds were heard from the room again.

The alley was cool and quiet.

Green bamboo, white geese, bamboo houses, the sound of zither and flute...

It forms a sharp contrast with the bustling and busy Luoyang city outside, as if being in two different worlds.

Chu Yuan and Ren Yingying stayed in Green Bamboo Lane in Luoyang City for a few days.

A few days passed and they lived in harmony.

Here, Ren Yingying obeyed Chu Yuan in everything.

In addition to practicing the "Yin Yang Huan Yang Gong" as usual at night, Chu Yuan also had another flute skill that he had been dreaming of. Ren Yingying finally made his wish come true.

……

The eighth day.

Chu Yuan and Ren Yingying, still wearing their Taoist robes, left Green Bamboo Lane together.

They left Luoyang City and headed southeast towards the Shaolin Temple in Songshan.

Songshan Shaolin Temple is not far from Luoyang City, only less than a hundred miles away.

In less than a day, Chu Yuan and Ren Yingying arrived at the foot of Mount Song.

Shaolin Temple is located at the western foot of Mount Song, Zhongyue.

To the east of Mount Song is Mount Taishi, and to the west is Mount Shaoshi.

The Shaolin Temple is located at the foot of the Wuru Peak of Shaoshi Mountain, which is surrounded by dense bamboo forests.

Going up the stone steps, you can see the majestic ancient temple. Even from a distance, you can see the continuous temple buildings.

There is a constant stream of tourists visiting Songshan or believers burning incense.

Among them were many people wearing silk clothes and exquisite hairpins and hair accessories. They were obviously from official families. They were accompanied by horse-drawn carriages, which they parked at the foot of the mountain and walked up the mountain.

Chu Yuan and Ren Yingying also walked up the mountain with the tourists and pilgrims. They saw that the stairs leading up the mountain were crowded with tourists and pilgrims. It was worthy of being the first ancient temple in the world.

Not long after, Chu Yuan and Ren Yingying walked to the gate of Shaolin Temple along with the tourists and pilgrims.

"My two benefactors, are you here to have fun or to burn incense..."

Chu Yuan and Ren Yingying were stopped at the door by four Shaolin monks in their twenties wearing grey monk robes. One of them asked.

"neither."

Chu Yuan shook his head.

"I'm here to collect a debt." Chu Yuan took Ren Yingying's hand and looked at the Shaolin Temple in front of him.

"Debt collector?"

"We at Shaolin Temple don't owe anyone any debt!"

"Sir, are you here to cause trouble?"

After hearing Chu Yuan's words, the expressions of the four young Shaolin monks suddenly changed and they looked at the two of them with vigilance.

"No, you owe me a debt. Master Fang Zheng promised me that he would give me the Shaolin Temple's magical skill, the Yi Jin Jing."

Chu Yuan said.

"May I ask your Excellency?"

Chu Yuan's words made the four young monks feel depressed.

Because the abbot had told them before that if they saw a Taoist priest in his early twenties, handsome in appearance and with an extraordinary temperament coming to Shaolin Temple, they must not act rashly but should quickly inform the abbot and the temple's chief monk.

"I am Chu Yuan from Qingcheng Sect, and I am here to pay my respects to the mountain."

Chu Yuan said.

"Chu Yuan, you are the Qingcheng Sword Immortal Chu Yuan of the Qingcheng Sect!"

Upon hearing this, the four Shaolin monks who were welcoming guests were immediately horrified.

Last year, the Shaolin Temple and the Wudang Sect joined forces with the Five Mountains Sect and invited friends from all over the world to go to Qingcheng Mountain in Shu to attack the Qingcheng Sect. This matter was known to the martial arts world.

However, the result was that the Qingcheng Sword Immortal Chu Yuan defeated many masters of the righteous martial arts world alone.

The abbot of his own sect, Master Fang Zheng, together with the head of the Wudang Sect, Taoist Chongxu, the head of the Five Mountains Sect, Yue Buqun, and the head of the Kunlun Sect, Zhen Shanzi, were still no match for the Qingcheng Sword Immortal and were all defeated by him.

Nowadays, some people in the martial arts world say that this Qingcheng Sword Immortal is the best master in the righteous martial arts world.

And the leader of the Demon Cult, Dongfang Bubai, the number one master of the evil path.

Ranked first in the world.

Before Chu Yuan could say anything, hundreds of monks holding long sticks rushed out of the gate of Shaolin Temple.

They pointed the long sticks in their hands at Chu Yuan, all staring at the two men with a vigilant look.

"Senior Sword Immortal, please wait a moment. I will go and invite the abbot."

Then the four young Shaolin monks who were welcoming guests, the leader came to his senses and said respectfully to Chu Yuan.

The person before them was the Immortal Swordsman of Qingcheng, who had defeated all opponents in both the black and white worlds and was known as the number one master of the righteous world. This matter was definitely not something that a few of them, the welcoming monks, could handle.

"Go ahead. I'll wait."

Chu Yuan doesn't care about the Tao.

"Senior, wait a moment."

After leaving a few words, the welcoming monk left the two of them and went in to report.

The pilgrims who originally went up the mountain, or the tourists who came to visit the Shaolin Temple, were very curious when they saw that the Shaolin monks attached so much importance to these two Taoist priests, a man and a woman.

They stopped and watched, discussing the identities of Chu Yuan and Ren Yingying.

"Who is the Qingcheng Sword Immortal?"

"You don't even know the Qingcheng Swordsman, but he is the best martial artist in the righteous martial arts world. Some people rank him and Dongfang Bubai of the Sun Moon Sect as the best in the world."

"He is the best master in the world. No wonder the Shaolin Temple mobilized so many troops and started a war?"

"A few months ago, it was said that Shaolin, Wudang, and Wuyue joined forces and invited many sects and masters to attack the Qingcheng Sect where this Qingcheng Sword Immortal was. In addition, the underworld martial arts community coveted the Qingcheng Sect's magical skills, and the Qingcheng Sect was facing siege from both the black and white worlds. As a result, this Qingcheng Sword Immortal repelled thousands of underworld martial arts people and killed more than a thousand people at the foot of Qingcheng Mountain. Later, he defeated many masters including the head of the righteous martial arts community. He can be said to be invincible in defeating both the black and white worlds!"

"I've heard about it, too. It's said that the battle at the foot of Qingcheng Mountain was so bloody that even now there are corpses of underworld martial arts masters hanging on the cliff by the Qingcheng Sect. The leaders of the Shaolin, Wudang, and Five Mountains sects were defeated, and their weapons were seized by the Qingcheng Sword Immortal and nailed to the cliff at the foot of the Qingcheng Sect."

"The Qingcheng Sect is so powerful, with masters like the Qingcheng Sword Immortal. How come I haven't heard of it before?"

"One person can repel thousands of people and kill thousands of people. Is he still a mortal?"

……

I heard passers-by watching and talking about it.

Ren Yingying smiled and said, “Brother Chu, they said that you fought off thousands of underworld martial artists and killed thousands of them!”

Chu Yuan said helplessly: "This rumor is getting more and more outrageous. I clearly just used a tricky method to defeat thousands of people with a small number of people and injured hundreds of people. But in the mouths of ordinary people, it became repelling thousands of people and killing thousands of people."

Ren Yingying said, "That's how rumors come about. Even if you explain it to them, they won't believe it. In their eyes, it doesn't matter whether you defeated thousands or a thousand people, Brother Chu. In their eyes, you are the world's top master, a person who is about to become an immortal."

Chu Yuan said: "That's right."

In the past, rumors on the Internet were also exaggerated step by step in this way.

Anyway, for ordinary people, it makes no difference whether he repels thousands of people or a thousand people.

In their eyes, they are all peerless masters who have transcended the mundane world.

"But what the hell is this first master of the righteous path?"

Chu Yuan was a little confused.

"I heard from Mr. Green Bamboo that, over the past few months, your previous achievements, Brother Chu, have spread all over the world. After fermentation, the martial arts world has already regarded you as the number one master in the righteous martial arts world."

"He is ranked number one in the world along with our Sun Moon Sect's leader, Dongfang Bubai."

Ren Yingying said.

"Number one in the world!"

"Who in this world dares to say that he is the best in the world?"

Chu Yuan shook his head.

He also knew that there were many hidden masters in this world.

In addition to the sloppy old Taoist Zhang Sanfeng, who was over 200 years old and whom he had already met, there was also Feng Qingyang, who lived in seclusion in the back mountain of Huashan Sect. In addition, Linghu Chong, who had been taught the "Nine Swords of Dugu" by Feng Qingyang and was a hidden talent, no one knew how powerful he was now.

Apart from these three, who knows if there are other masters who are hiding their identities in this world?
"Master Chu's visit really brings honor to our humble Shaolin temple."

At this moment, an old monk wearing a bright yellow monk's robe with a cassock slung over his shoulders, walked out of the Shaolin Temple with a group of old monks also wearing cassocks. It was the abbot of Shaolin Temple, Fang Zheng. Fang Sheng, who had fought with Chu Yuan before and almost died at Chu Yuan's hands, was also among them.

"Master Fang Zheng, I am here to get the Yi Jin Jing as promised. As long as Master Fang Zheng doesn't take action and wants to drive me down the mountain, it's fine."

Chu Yuan looked at Fang Zheng and smiled.

When Fang Zheng heard this, an unnatural look flashed across his eyes.

"Shaolin Temple will naturally fulfill what it promised to Taoist Master Chu. Taoist Master Chu, please..."

Master Fang Zheng said to Chu Yuan.

The main task now is to invite Chu Yuan into Shaolin Temple.

Otherwise, if Chu Yuan stood at the gate of Shaolin Temple and Shaolin Temple mobilized so many troops, the news would spread and Shaolin Temple would lose all its face.

After what happened last year, the prestige of Shaolin and Wudang in the martial arts world was greatly damaged.

Led by Fang Zheng, Chu Yuan and Ren Yingying were about to enter the Shaolin Temple.

"Let's all retreat. There's no need to go to such great lengths to face this Taoist Priest Chu."

Fang Zheng was about to leave when he suddenly stopped and turned to the hundreds of monks holding sticks who were standing at the gate of Shaolin Temple.

He had seen with his own eyes the scene where Chu Yuan fought against a thousand people alone. Although he had used some tricks, Chu Yuan's martial arts skills were unquestionable.

The martial arts world calls him the number one master of the righteous path, and ranks him and Dongfang Bubai together as the best in the world, which is well deserved.

More than a hundred martial monks pose no threat to Chu Yuan. On the contrary, because of the Shaolin Temple's mobilization of troops, people who did not know about last year's incident would spread the news after knowing about it, causing the Shaolin Temple to lose face.

"Yes!"

After hearing what their abbot said, the hundreds of monks holding long sticks immediately withdrew.

After instructing the monks at the entrance of Shaolin Temple to continue welcoming guests and restore normal order, Fang Zheng and a group of old monks from Shaolin Temple took Chu Yuan into the Shaolin Temple.

Soon, Chu Yuan and Ren Yingying were brought to the quiet reception room next to the main hall.

"Master Chu, originally our Shaolin Temple would definitely fulfill its promise, but..."

Fang Zheng looked as if he wanted to say something but hesitated, as if he had something to hide.

"Does Master Fang Zheng want to shirk his responsibility?"

Chu Yuan looked at Fang Zhengdao with a half-smile in his eyes.

"That's not true."

Seeing Chu Yuan's eyes, Master Fang Zheng's mind flashed back to the scene of Chu Yuan fighting alone against the black and white forces a few months ago, and he was startled.

"However, there is only one copy of the Yi Jin Jing. It just so happens that a distinguished guest has come to the Shaolin Temple to ask for the Yi Jin Jing. I can only wait until he finishes learning it, and then I can copy a copy for Taoist Chu from the original."

Explanation of the prescription and symptoms.

"Besides us, is there anyone who wants to obtain the Yi Jin Jing in Shaolin Temple?"

Chu Yuan said with a surprised look.

"good."

Fang Zheng nodded.

"Who is this person?"

Chu Yuan wondered.

The Yi Jin Jing is the secret of Shaolin Temple. Without special reasons, Shaolin Temple probably would not easily pass it on to others.

"This person is none other than Young Master Linghu, the current leader of the Five Mountains Sect."

There is nothing that cannot be said, Fang Zheng told Chu Yuan.

"Linghu Chong, is he also in Shaolin Temple? Didn't they say he was taken to Kaifeng Prefecture to seek treatment from Ping Yizhi?"

Chu Yuan asked.

"Before, the people from the Five Mountains Sect did take Young Master Linghu to Kaifeng Prefecture to seek treatment from Ping Yizhi. However, before Ping Yizhi could even start to fight, he was treated haphazardly and suffered severe internal injuries. Later, Ping Yizhi cured his external injuries but not his internal ones. The Yi Jin Jing from my Shaolin Temple can just cure Young Master Linghu's internal injuries, so Young Master Linghu was sent to Shaolin Temple by the Five Mountains Sect."

Explanation of the prescription and symptoms.

Chu Yuan did not ask why the Shaolin Temple was willing to pass on the "Yi Jin Jing", which they regarded as a secret, to Linghu Chong.

He suspected that this was one of the terms of the deal that had allowed the Five Mountains Sect to join forces with Shaolin and Wudang to attack the Qingcheng Sect a few months ago.

"How is Young Master Linghu's injury being treated?"

Chu Yuan asked about the prescription.

(End of this chapter)