In just an instant, the Yitian Sword in Master Miejie's hand was unsheathed, and the tip of the sword was pointed at Meng Xiuyuan's throat from a distance of three feet.
The disciples of the Emei Sect behind her, seeing their head master acting like this, also pulled out their swords one by one, consciously changed their positions, and surrounded Meng Xiuyuan with the Emei Sword Formation.
Facing the cold sword, Meng Xiuyuan's expression was as usual, he only smiled slightly and did not answer.
It seems to be waiting for something.
When the experts from the remaining four factions around saw this situation, they were very confused.
Although they were in awe of Meng Xiuyuan's martial arts skills and did not act impulsively like Emei, they were still deeply puzzled by Meng Xiuyuan's behavior.
"Meng Shaoxia, is it possible that you want to imitate the overlord of Western Chu and do that 'burning the cauldron and sinking the boat'?
But, it’s not necessary…”
He Taichong looked at the collapsed secret passage with a very ugly face.
"Yes, Meng Shaoxia.
We listened to your suggestion, stayed day and night, and finally sneaked up to the top of the bright dome. It can be said that we suffered a lot.
Now it seems that the sneak attack is about to succeed, but you still insist on howling, exposing our whereabouts.
Why, you feel that what happened before has lost face, and you want to use this to show that your Wudang is upright?"
Guan Neng, one of the five elders of Kongtong, echoed and asked Meng Xiuyuan in a strange way.
When the two of them said these words, they expressed the attitude of the Kunlun and Kongtong factions, which caused the disciples behind them to talk about it, and they looked at Meng Xiuyuan with a sense of dissatisfaction.
"Everything about breaking a boat or being aboveboard is just fart.
Haven’t you guys noticed that we have fallen into his trap?”
At this time, Extinction could not help but curse:
"This little thief has obviously colluded with the Demon Sect secretly. He has been trying his best for many days to lure us to the top of the light and let the Demon Sect's people surround and kill us.
The roar he made just now was obviously a tip-off to the Demon Sect!"
Hearing Master Miejie's scolding, everyone present was shocked.
Looking around, I saw that the square was surrounded by steep cliffs. Apart from the destroyed secret passage, there was only a narrow mountain path in the distance as an entry and exit route. It was a good place for catching turtles in a urn.
However, everyone present was not sure about this. They did not want to speak out and be the first to offend Meng Xiuyuan, but they also wanted to know what was going on.
Therefore, most people remained silent at this time.
Only the two elders of Huashan thought about what happened in Butterfly Valley and took the initiative to explain for him:
"Master, please calm down first. We have just arrived at the top of the light and have not yet fought against the demon sect. We should not start an internal strife among ourselves first.
The Wudang Clan and Meng Shaoxia are both well-known and are the pillars of the righteous martial arts in our Central Plains. How could they collude with the Demonic Cult?
Furthermore, if this is true, then we should have been surrounded by the Demon Cult and shot to death by random arrows. How can we stand here and talk properly?
Our top priority at this time is to quickly find those demons and fight to the death, instead of staying here and wasting time with each other!"
Jiejie was not angry when he heard this and snorted coldly and said:
"He, a disciple of the Wudang Sect, married a demon sect witch, recognized the murderer Xie Xun as his adopted brother, and sheltered them for more than ten years.
Colluding with the Demon Cult might have been done a long time ago.
The same thing happened along the way. He had obviously captured the demon sect's demons, but he had let them all go.
Isn't it obvious enough?
As for why the Demon Cult members haven’t appeared yet, there must be some communication error between them, or there is a deeper conspiracy involved..."
Just as she was halfway through her words, she suddenly heard a loud and deafening curse in the distance, interrupting her:
"Kill the old nun, don't put gold on your face anymore.
If we want to deal with you in Emei, there is no need for any conspiracy or tricks.
I, Yin Tianzheng, am enough!"
Following the sound, the White-browed Eagle King was seen flying out from the mountain path in the distance, followed by Yang Xiao, Wu Sanren and other high-level officials of the Ming Cult.
Most of the top combat forces that Mingjiao currently has are gathered here.
However, the number of other Mingjiao disciples following him was not too large. There were only about a hundred people, which was far less than the number of the six major sects. They were obviously at a disadvantage.
Obviously, the Mingjiao was still caught off guard and did not bother to dispatch its men to protect Guangmingding.
Seeing this situation, the masters of the five sects in the Central Plains looked slightly relieved, and they also understood that Meng Xiuyuan did not secretly collude with people from the Ming Cult to frame them, as Miejie said.
So everyone turned to Meng Xiuyuan. Although they didn't want to apologize, they still wanted to say a few soft words. After all, when they start fighting later, Meng Xiuyuan is still the top expert on their side.
But what people didn't expect was that Meng Xiuyuan's behavior once again exceeded their expectations.
He suddenly jumped up, floating over the heads of the Emei disciples surrounding him like a phantom in the breeze, and ran towards the Ming Cult member.
Many disciples of the Mingjiao were shocked when they saw a person suddenly jumping out from the other side. They couldn't help but draw their weapons, bows and arrows, and prepared to intercept Meng Xiuyuan. However, when the top leaders of the Mingjiao saw this, they didn't react at all. Instead, they stopped their subordinates.
As expected, Meng Xiuyuan had no intention of taking action against the Mingjiao. Instead, he flew to the center of the square, about the same distance from the people on both sides, and stood still.
"Eagle King, Yang Zuoshi, Master Bubu, long time no see."
Meng Xiuyuan slightly cupped his hands and bowed politely to the Ming Jiao Fang.
"I've met Meng Shaoxia." The three of them also bowed to Meng Xiuyuan, without any sign of tenseness as enemies.
Seeing such a situation, everyone from the five sects of the Central Plains felt their hearts pounding again, secretly thinking that something was wrong. Master Jue could not help but be angry, and was the first to stand up and shout:
"Meng Xiuyuan, you have indeed colluded with the Demon Cult, and now you don't even cover it up.
Why don't you just stand in the demon sect's team, and I, Emei, will kill you more today!"
Meng Xiuyuan laughed when he heard Miejie's arrogance, and did not get angry with her. He only looked at both sides, and then said loudly:
"Everyone, since you are both here now, I won't go around in circles.
First of all, I would like to state my position. I am not in any camp regarding the six major factions’ siege on Guangmingding today.
The reason why we led the six major sects from the secret passage to Guangmingding was to reduce friction between the two sides and reduce the number of deaths.
And the reason why I have to speak from the top of this light is to bring everyone together so that I can explain the truth at once."
When both parties present heard what Meng Xiuyuan said, they suddenly realized. Only then did they understand why Meng Xiuyuan acted so strangely.
"Meng Shaoxia, you want to help our Ming Cult make peace with the Central Plains sects, right..."
Yin Tianzheng asked Meng Xiuyuan as usual, but shook his head slightly, obviously not very optimistic about Meng Xiuyuan's idea.
Sure enough, before he finished speaking, several questioning and mocking voices sounded from both sides.
"Hey, that kid from the Wudang Clan, if someone calls you Meng Shaoxia, you really think of yourself as a person, right..."
Zhou Dian, one of the Wusan people, has always been eccentric and speechless. Now seeing Meng Xiuyuan being so prominent, he felt very dissatisfied. Regardless of the obstruction of the monk beside him, he pointed at Meng Xiuyuan and spat Xingzi wildly:
“You, the so-called ‘respectable’ people from the Central Plains, are you worthy of making peace with our Mingjiao?
Invading my main altar of Guangmingding and breaking into the secret passage of our religion are unforgivable capital crimes.
You want to expose it with just a few words?"
At the same time, Master Kong Zhi, the leader of the five factions in the Central Plains, also spoke:
"Meng Shaoxia, I understand that you are related by marriage to Wudang and the Sky Eagle Sect, so you are in a dilemma between them.
But our sect has killed and injured many people at the hands of the Demon Cult in the past, and owes an ocean-deep blood debt, but it is not that easy for you to resolve it."
As soon as Kong Zhi said this, Zong Weixia from the Kongtong sect immediately echoed:
"Master Kongzhi is absolutely right, Meng Shaoxia, you'd better stop being such a good person.
Don’t talk about anything else, just talk about Xie Xun, the golden-haired lion king of the Demon Sect, how many murders has he committed by himself?
We, the Kongtong sect, are going to the Bright Summit this time just to seek justice from the Demon Sect, and we will never give up halfway!"
Although the five elders of Kongtong have always had little status among the six factions of the coalition, Zong Weixia's words spoke to everyone's hearts and received a unanimous response, causing everyone to nod in agreement.
Meng Xiu saw this scene and did not argue with them. He just continued to speak loudly:
"You have misunderstood, I am not pretending to be a good person, I must let you put aside your hatred.
Although I do know some of the twists and turns, and I understand that this time the six sects besieged Mingjiao, they were actually instigated by traitors, and there was a huge misunderstanding.
But these can be left aside for the time being.
What I really want to say is..."
As he spoke, Meng Xiuyuan raised his finger and pointed at both camps, his expression gradually becoming serious:
"Everyone present here, except for the two of them, Shu Bu and Peng Yingyu, is not worthy of being called a hero.
I, Meng Xiuyuan, look down on you!"
As soon as Meng Xiuyuan said this, Mingjiao and the five major sects were in an uproar.
Even though there were many people who were angry and secretly yelled and cursed while hiding in the crowd, there were also many people who were confused and didn't understand why Meng Xiuyuan suddenly said such words.
"Why did Meng Shaoxia say this?"
Yin Tianzheng frowned slightly and asked Meng Xiuyuan on behalf of everyone.
Meng Xiuyuan glanced at everyone present and said solemnly:
"I dare to ask you, whether it is the Ming Cult or the six major sects, which one does not claim to do good and avoid evil, and claims to be responsible for saving the suffering people of the world.
But even though you say this, in reality, how much do you think you have accomplished?
Nowadays, the Mongols have been tyrannizing for a long time, and the people are living in dire straits and are revolting one after another. It is time for the Yuan Dynasty to be exhausted and it is time to expel the Tartars and return the country to our country.
But what about all of you here, what are you doing under this rare opportunity?"
Everyone present heard Meng Xiuyuan's words and couldn't help but fell into silence. Because although Meng Xiuyuan's words seemed to be high-profile, they did hit their pain points.
Needless to say, the Mingjiao is an organization that has been trying to find ways to rebel in every dynasty.
Nowadays, with rebels all over the world, the great cause of resisting the Yuan Dynasty has been delayed due to the infighting among the top leaders of Guangmingding, and the forces of all parties have been divided. Naturally, it is the dereliction of duty of these envoys and Dharma kings.
The six major sects in the Central Plains are also sects mainly composed of Han people.
Although it cannot be said clearly, if anyone shows hesitation in being anti-Yuan, he will definitely be cast aside by his fellow comrades.
This can be seen from the attitude of many sects towards Zhao Min in Wan'an Temple in the original timeline.
Even He Taichong, the leader of the Kunlun sect in the Western Regions, adhered to the bottom line of being the "righteous way of the Central Plains" and would rather have several fingers cut off than cooperate with the Yuan court.
Therefore, when Meng Xiuyuan said these words, it was difficult for them to refute them for a while.
Seeing this, Meng Xiuyuan struck while the iron was hot and continued:
"I have said before that I am not trying to pretend to be a good person, but I must let you put aside your grudges.
All I ask is that everyone put aside their personal hatreds for the time being and take into account the greater good, and work together in this great cause of resisting the Yuan Dynasty.
After a few years, after the anti-Yuan movement is successful, no matter how much you want to fight for revenge, it has nothing to do with me..."
Having said this, Meng Xiuyuan deliberately turned to the side of the five major factions and added:
"Actually, those at the grassroots level of Mingjiao are the main force in this uprising. As long as we, the Jianghu sects, can help a little, or even not add to the chaos, it will be enough.
I am not asking you to go into battle to kill the enemy, or to jump out and openly oppose the imperial court, so there is no need to worry."
In fact, the reason why Meng Xiuyuan worked so hard to persuade these Jianghu sects to cooperate with the Mingjiao was not because of the combat effectiveness of the thousands of people who practiced martial arts, but because of their respective influence in the Central Plains region.
Just like the Longmen Escort Bureau that has been destroyed, their chief escort is a lay disciple of the Shaolin Temple. On weekdays, it seems that the Longmen Escort Bureau has little to do with the Shaolin Temple, but in reality, a secret instruction from Shaolin will
Let the Longmen Escort Bureau do its best for it.
Situations like this appear in many aspects. Business gangs, cottages, boat gangs, docks, escort agencies, etc. all over the world, many of them are inextricably linked to these six major factions.
Many of the top officials are registered disciples of the six major sects. Even if they are not outer disciples, most of them have close friendships with the six major sects.
And these seemingly unclassy organizations actually hold huge power in a series of aspects involving transportation, logistics, communications, etc.
Under such circumstances, if the six major sects openly confront the millions of members of the Mingjiao, they may not be able to do anything. But if they want to cause harm, they can indeed cause chaos and interference during the Mingjiao uprising.
Therefore, Meng Xiuyuan chose this bright summit to explain everything clearly to them, with the intention of clearing this obstacle and even turning it into a boost in the anti-Yuan cause.
It is a pity that these five sects who are accustomed to acting as masters cannot be persuaded by just a few words.
"Meng Xiuyuan, of course we have to contribute to the great cause of resisting the Yuan Dynasty, but who said we have to cooperate with everyone in this demon sect?
If you want to use this righteousness to suppress us, just a few words will make us put aside our blood feud and fight against those in the demon sect...
Take a look at yourself first, are you worthy?
He's just a junior from the second generation of Wudang who has better kung fu, so he's not a big deal.
Do you really think you are the supreme king of martial arts?"
Master Miejie had an old face and suddenly shouted coldly at Meng Xiuyuan.
Seeing Yang Xiao who was "thinking about it day and night" right across the street, her eyes had already turned red, and naturally she didn't want to give up just like that.
When everyone in the remaining four sects heard what Master Miejie said, they couldn't help but feel happy, and they all agreed:
"Master Tai is right!"
"Meng Shaoxia, let your master Zhang Zhenren speak for these words."
"Yes, although we are anti-Yuan, we don't have to listen to anyone's orders, let alone just a junior..."
Although they were hindered by their righteousness, but from the bottom of their hearts, they did not want to cooperate with the demon sect. Therefore, following the words of Master Jue, they all took advantage of Meng Xiuyuan's identity, and the Ming Dynasty secretly mocked him for not being worthy of saying such things.
For a moment, the situation changed suddenly and seemed to be back to the way it was before.
Meng Xiu saw the situation, and he was already a little impatient with these old Jianghu. He couldn't help but chuckle, stared at the extinction and asked:
"So what if I really am the supreme martial arts master?"
Miejie snorted coldly, raised his Heavenly Sword and pointed it at Meng Xiuyuan:
"Even if you really have the Dragon-Slaying Sword in your hand, you still have to compete with my Yitian Sword first. If you really become the supreme master of the martial arts world, it won't be too late to give orders at that time."
"good!"
Meng Xiuyuan shouted loudly, and then rushed out like a cannonball, heading straight for the Emei faction camp.
Seeing this, the disciples of the Emei Sect, although they were determined to fight the enemy together, they seemed to be too slow in front of Meng Xiuyuan.
The next moment, while everyone was screaming in surprise, Miejie had already flown backwards. And the Yitian Sword she originally used had already reached Meng Xiuyuan's hand.
Meng Xiuyuan looked at the sword in his hand carefully, then smiled disdainfully, raised his head and said loudly to everyone:
"Since you all say so, then even though I don't have a dragon-slaying knife in hand today, I still want to be the supreme martial arts master.
If you are dissatisfied with anything, please tell me in person."