This old man in Mai was very fast and reached the outside of the other courtyard in the southwest in just an instant.
He stopped at the entrance of the courtyard and looked inside, but his expression changed slightly.
I saw that the dust had settled here. The four spirits of Suzaku, White Tiger, Xuanwu and Qinglong were all floating in the air, without any murderous intent at all.
A man in the courtyard, with black clothes and black hair, was sitting quietly beside the stone table, leisurely sipping spiritual tea.
"Fellow Taoist, are you... not hurt?"
Mai Laodao walked into the courtyard and asked almost subconsciously.
But he quickly realized that the man in front of him was neatly dressed and his breath was as steady as a mountain. How could he look injured at all?
"Haha, this formation is indeed superb, but it can't hurt me."
Liang Yan smiled slightly, and then added: "If I didn't know the character of fellow Taoist Biyou, and there is no one to control this formation, I would have suspected that I had fallen into a trap."
"oops!"
The old Taoist Mai slapped his thigh and hurriedly explained: "Misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding! There have been no outsiders in this city lord's mansion for decades. The old Taoist priest was practicing formations in this courtyard when he had nothing to do. I didn't expect anyone to enter this place today.
.”
Liang Yan smiled slightly, stood up, raised his hands to this person and said: "My fellow Taoist formation is exquisite and really impressive. May I ask your name?"
Seeing that he didn't care about what happened just now, the old Taoist Mai couldn't help but feel a little admiration in his heart. He immediately smiled and said: "The old Taoist's name is 'Huang Risheng' and he was born in Qingxu Cave."
"It turns out that he is a master of Qingxu Cave Heaven. No wonder he has such a method. I'm glad to meet him!" Liang Yan chuckled.
"Fellow Taoist, thank you very much, you are the real master!"
Huang Risheng extended a thumb to him and praised: "My 'Four Symbols Hidden Killing Array' cannot be broken by ordinary people. My fellow Taoist definitely has the strength of the Sub-Sacred Realm! Although I heard about it from Shen Biyou before.
Your name, but I didn’t expect fellow Taoist to be so powerful!”
"It's just a lucky break. Today, Huang Daoyou and I are not acquainted without fighting."
"Haha, that's right! Fellow Daoist Liu, you and I have similar interests. Please come into the house. I have some good spiritual tea here. Let's sip tea while waiting for that boy Shen Biyou."
Liang Yan nodded slightly and entered the house with Huang Risheng.
The two sat down at the table, placed tea, and each drank a cup.
Huang Risheng laughed and said, "I just looked at the marks in the formation. Most of them were sword marks. Could it be that my fellow Taoist is a sword cultivator?"
"good."
"May I ask what sect my friend is from? His swordsmanship is so exquisite!"
"Haha, there is no sect, no sect, just a break to repair yourself."
Liang Yan put down the teacup in his hand and said leisurely: "Whether you believe it or not, my swordsmanship was learned from a secret realm. It's just a coincidence."
Huang Risheng stroked his beard and said with a smile: "How can I not trust fellow Taoists? I'm just curious. In the entire Dongyun Lingzhou, not counting the small sects, there are no more than ten named sword sects. Old Taoist
I usually have some connections and know the talented disciples of these sword sects very well, but this is the first time I have heard of the Taoist monk’s name.”
"normal."
Liang Yan's expression remained unchanged, and he said leisurely: "There are hidden dragons and crouching tigers in the world of immortality. There are countless masters hidden in these vast mountains and rivers. Some monks in the paradise of caves and paradises even live in seclusion all year round. Although Taoist friends have a wide network of contacts, it is impossible to get them all. Know."
"Well, what you Taoist said makes sense." Huang Risheng took a sip of tea, and then said: "I heard from Shen Bi, do you plan to participate in this virtual realm discussion?"
"Yes." Liang Yan nodded: "I was about to inquire about this matter with fellow Taoists... As far as I know, the Confucian League has held recruitment assessments in various places. Does the Taoist League also have corresponding assessments?"
Huang Risheng laughed: "Taoism and Confucianism are different!"
"Want to hear the details?"
"The Confucian people like exams the most. They claim to educate the world and teach everyone, but in fact they have to eliminate most people every time. In the end, only a small number of geniuses can enter the academy."
"My Taoist sect is not so hypocritical. We recruit people based on fate. When the sect needs to recruit disciples, we let those Taoist envoys travel down the mountain. If they meet children who are destined on the way, they will bring them back to the sect and become my Taoist sect's disciples. …”
"Is there such a difference?" Liang Yan was slightly stunned.
But he soon realized that although Taoism and Confucianism had different methods of recruiting people, the essence was the same, they both selected talents.
It's just that the Confucian assessment is more rigid and relatively fair.
The way the Taoist sect recruits people is more flexible. If the Taoist envoy goes down the mountain to look for people in person, he may be able to pick out some buried geniuses, but it may also be because of the Taoist envoy's personal preferences that the quality of the disciples he accepts will be uneven.
"So, there is no assessment at all in the Dao League?" Liang Yan asked.
"Yes, our Taoist Alliance relies on referrals. You have Shen Biyou as your introducer, so you can join directly without taking an assessment." Huang Risheng said with a smile.
Liang Yan didn't expect such benefits, and couldn't help feeling a little lucky: "This Dao League's acting style is really weird. Fortunately, I met Shen Biyou on Xuanji Island. Without Xuanji Island and his party, it would have been impossible for my clone to enter. Got the Taoist Alliance..."
Knowing that he had secured a spot, he immediately relaxed a lot.
But it is a pity that his introducer is Shen Biyou, so he can only follow Shen Biyou to Xuanling Cave, but cannot go to Yaoguang Cave to experience Taoist swordsmanship.
It can only be said that there are gains and losses...
When Liang Yan thought of this, his heart moved and he took the opportunity to ask Huang Risheng:
"By the way, Taoist friend just said that you are from Qingxu Cave Heaven... As far as I know, there are three major caves in Dao League, among which Yaoguang Cave Heaven is the holy land for sword cultivation, but I don't know what Qingxu Cave Heaven and Xuanling Cave Heaven are good at? "
After hearing this, Huang Risheng smiled slightly: "Have you ever heard, Taoist friends: Tao gives birth to one, one gives birth to two, two gives birth to three, and three gives birth to all things?"
"I have indeed heard it, but I know it but don't know why." Liang Yan said truthfully.
"Haha, Tao gives birth to one, and this 'one' is Taozu Taichu. Then two are born, and 'two' is yin and yang. The yin and yang of all things in the world rotate endlessly. Then two gives birth to three, and 'three' is the four images, five elements, and eight trigrams. , and then all things are derived from it, which is the Tao."
When Huang Risheng said this, he paused and continued: "The Xuanling Cave where Shen Biyou is located represents the 'two', which is good at Yin and Yang. The Qingxu Cave where Lao Dao is located represents the 'three', which is good at the four images and the five elements. Bagua... If there is any difference between the two caves, the Xuanling Cave is closer to the essence of Tao and cultivates inner kung fu; while I, the Qingxu Cave, am good at various secret techniques of Tao and prefer external kung fu."
After hearing this, Liang Yan wondered: "If you put it this way, wouldn't there be a distinction between superior and inferior?"
Huang Risheng laughed and said: "No, no, although three is born from two, all things are born from three. Three is not inferior to two, and the end is also the starting point."
After hearing this, Liang Yan was silent for a long time.
After a long while, he said leisurely: "I have been taught, the abyss of Tao is really incredible..."
"Haha, it's a trivial matter. The Taoist has only gained a few years in vain. My fellow Taoist is ten times more talented than me. His future prospects are limitless."
In response, Liang Yan just smiled lightly.
However, he was still a little curious and continued to ask: "Huang Daoyou and Shen Biyou are not in the same cave, but they appear in Lin'an City at the same time. I don't know why?"
After hearing his question, Huang Risheng's expression changed, and he sighed and said, "To be honest, the old Taoist came to Lin'an City to urge the marriage."
"Um?"
Liang Yan didn't expect this answer, and was obviously stunned for a moment, with a look of surprise on his face.
"Urge for marriage, whose marriage?"
"Of course it's this guy Shen Biyou!"
"He is a Yasheng monk and a dignified Taoist. Why do we need a Taoist companion?"
"Alas, fellow Taoist, this is wrong."
Huang Risheng shook his head and said seriously: "Shen Biyou's engagement has been settled before he was born, and Dao Kui personally made it for him. He will get married even if he doesn't want to get married!"
"Daokui!"
Liang Yan narrowed his eyes slightly.
This is the most powerful among the saints. According to his estimation, he should be on the same level as the Buried Emperor and Linghu Bai. He is close to being invincible under the Nine Ancestors. He actually personally engaged Shen Biyou?
"well!"
Huang Risheng sighed again, and continued: "I watched this kid Shen Biyou grow up. Back then, I used to play tricks on him, and I fooled him every time! I didn't expect that hundreds of years later, this The boy is already on an equal footing with Lao Dao... But because of this, there is no barrier between Lao Dao and him, so I am the only one who can handle the matter of urging the marriage."
Liang Yan heard the helplessness in his tone and couldn't help but smile: "I understand. It seems that Fellow Daoist Biyou is not satisfied with the marriage and has been avoiding it. Others have no choice but to rely on Fellow Daoist Huang to come forward."
"Hehe, you think too highly of the old Taoist... Others can't do anything to him, and the old Taoist can't do anything either!"
Huang Risheng smiled bitterly: "The old Taoist has been coming to Lin'an City for a while, and I have seen him very rarely. I wanted to take him back to Xuanling Cave, but he refused to leave, saying that he was waiting for someone. I think he is just avoiding the engagement!"
"this……"
Liang Yan's face showed a hint of embarrassment.
Shen Biyou's so-called "waiting for someone" was obviously waiting for him. Unexpectedly, he became Shen Biyou's excuse to avoid the engagement.
"Shen Biyou has such a stupid head. It's obviously such a good marriage, and the woman is willing to do it, but no matter how many people squeeze her, she can't get the chance! He still pushes back and refuses. He's really confused!"
Huang Risheng beat his chest and stamped his feet, looking like he hated the iron.
Just as he was talking, laughter suddenly came from outside the room: "Old Huang, you are making fun of me in front of others again!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a young man walking in from outside the house.
This man is wearing a white Taoist robe, which looks like clouds and snow, with golden Tai Chi patterns painted on the cuffs. He is none other than Shen Biyou, whom he has not seen for a long time!
When Huang Risheng saw him, he was not polite. He blew his beard and snorted: "Why, you are not allowed to talk about your own stupid things?"
"My heart is devoted to the Tao, like the bright moon and the river, and I will never have a Taoist partner in this life!" Shen Biyou answered decisively, without any hesitation.
"You, you... really make me angry!"
Huang Risheng slapped the table and stood up, blowing his beard and staring, but Shen Biyou showed no sign of weakness and stood there very calmly.
Liang Yan didn't expect that the two people would be so tense when they met. As an outsider, he felt a little embarrassed sitting here...
He hurriedly stood up, raised his hands to Shen Biyou and said: "Fellow Taoist Biyou, I haven't seen you for many years, and your style is even better than before. It's really gratifying to congratulate you!"
"Brother Liu, you are finally here!"
Shen Biyou ignored Huang Risheng, walked straight to Liang Yan, and said with a smile: "I have been guarding here for many years just to wait for fellow Taoist. I almost thought that fellow Taoist would not come."
"Haha, Liu encountered something difficult, so he came late. Fortunately, fellow Taoist fellow Taoist didn't leave, so it's no different from what we expected."
"Yeah." Shen Biyou nodded.
Liang Yan added: "By the way, I just heard from the disciples on duty outside that there was something strange happening in Youmingyuan. What happened that alarmed you?"
Speaking of this matter, Huang Risheng stopped getting angry and looked at Shen Biyou, obviously very concerned about You Mingyuan's situation.
Shen Biyou pondered for a moment and said slowly: "Weird things have happened frequently in Youmingyuan recently, and the number of Tianxu has increased several times compared with before... Just now, a stronghold that our Dao Alliance was responsible for guarding was invaded by Tianxu, and the battle Dozens of disciples died, and if I hadn’t sent reinforcements in time, I’m afraid all those disciples would have died here.”
After hearing what he said, Liang Yan's face condensed slightly and he asked: "Actually, I have always found it strange that since the World-Disastering Void Realm has been sealed by Taoism and Confucianism, why does Tianxu still appear here?"
"Fellow Taoist, you don't know something."
Huang Risheng sighed and said: "Although the Disaster Void Realm has been sealed, the area of Youmingyuan has been polluted in the early years. From time to time, Tianxu will be born from the void, turning into a ferocious beast to kill living creatures, but the number is not the same. Their strength is far inferior to that of the Disaster Realm... In order to prevent these Tianxu from entering other parts of Dongyun Lingzhou, the Taoist and Confucian factions built cities at the border of Youmingyuan to resist the invasion of Tianxu."
"So this is what Brother Shen said about the beast tide back then..." Liang Yan looked astonished.
"Originally, the strength of Tianxu outside Lin'an City was within the controllable range. This is also a training ground for our Dao Alliance monks, but recently, high-level Tianxu have repeatedly appeared, and the number is extremely large, which makes me The Taoist disciples were caught off guard and hundreds of people were killed or injured in just a few months." Shen Biyou said in a deep voice.
After Huang Risheng heard this, his expression became much more solemn.
"Biyou, this is not a trivial matter. It must be thoroughly investigated. We cannot allow our Taoist Alliance disciples to make unnecessary sacrifices!"
"I thought so too, so as soon as I received the news this morning, I rushed to the front line immediately."
"What did you find?" Huang Risheng asked.
"I tracked down a forest, and after using my spiritual sense to detect it, I confirmed that there must be something fishy in the forest, but I couldn't completely detect it. Because the situation inside was complicated, it was not safe for me to enter alone, so I returned to Lin'an City and wanted to invite someone You went together, but as soon as we arrived at the door, I heard you sarcastic about me in front of Brother Liu."
"Forehead……"
Huang Risheng was choked by him, and had nothing to say for a moment. He could only laugh and said with a smile: "I don't like talking behind other people's backs. I only said a few words because of speculation with fellow Taoist Liu, right? Fellow Taoist?"
While he was speaking, he cast a look of help at Liang Yan.
Liang Yan chuckled and didn't say much on this matter, but changed the topic:
"Brother Shen's matter is also my Liu's matter. Since it's such a coincidence, I will go with my two fellow Taoists to the Youmingyuan to find out what's going on."