Actually, in the very first moment he emerged, his eyes were filled with a resolute determination of a life-and-death struggle.
It was only after they were discovered that there was a slight relaxation, but more than anything in his eyes were sorrow and waves of confusion and helplessness.
Wu Jinluan and others changed their color.
Lao Gong let out a noise and spat out a thick glob of phlegm on the ground.
"Unfortunate! I thought we were coming to pick up some treasure, but it turned out to be a group of debt collectors?"
Footsteps continued one after another without interruption.
Behind the red-robed Taoist, some blue-robed and green-robed Taoists emerged one after another.
Without exception, they all had resolute expressions, showing a fierce courage to face death.
After that, they stood there in a daze, watching us, and were momentarily at a loss.
There was only one red-robed Taoist, more than twenty blue-robed Taoists, and over thirty green-robed Taoists.
Generally speaking, a Taoist establishment can produce about a hundred disciples who can be considered top-notch. When including all the chaotic ones, the number can reach up to two or three hundred.
The scale of the mountain is roughly similar.
Of course, if a Taoist temple wants to recruit disciples, the number can become exceptionally large in no time. Having a large number of disciples is not necessarily good; it doesn't mean they will all master the Taoist arts.
That's why there are so many supervisors in charge of the temples, where Taoist disciples are mixed and uneven in their proficiency.
For instance, Han Zishu from Jin Yang Changfeng Daoist Temple, along with a group of Taoist disciples, can be considered as disciples of the mountain. However, their strength is worlds apart from those in the sect.
Only one supervisor elder can match the weaker elder of the mountain sect.
There are fifty-one Taoist disciples!
Sentence Mountain actually hid so many people?
From the age of these disciples and the aura they exude, it seems they have been selected, belonging to a batch of disciples with excellent aptitude!
"No wonder the mountain gate was directly destroyed, isn't it because you don't believe our words?" Lao Gong said in a mysterious tone, "Since you don't believe us, why did you hide them?"
The red-robed Taoist said nothing, his eyes redder than before.
The other Taoist disciples tightly pursed their lips, making them look even more grief-stricken on their faces.
"I told you to shut up a bit, old Gong." I stopped him.
Lao Gong shook his head vigorously twice before saying, "Sir, think it over! You should choose wisely. People like Xiao Wu are the ones worth trusting!"
Lao Gong's meaning is particularly clear.
He wants me to treat the destruction of Juxushan as a fact and to select a trustworthy person anew, just like establishing a new Juxushan Daoist Academy with someone like Wu Jinluan, who is as good as the one established by Lixing.
I paid no attention to him.
I looked deeply at the red-robed Taoist.
"The head of the temple is wrong, but he is also not wrong."
"My Juxushan is famous and awe-inspiring, feared by all. If all the disciples desert the temple, then Juxushan Daoist Academy will no longer be Juxushan Daoist Academy. The moral fiber of all the disciples will be destroyed. Facing any difficulty or challenge, we will lack the determination to confront it. Our first instinct will be to evade."
"Official Teacher Uncle, we cannot hand it over."
"Because the most core inheritance of my Juxushan has already been lost. The previous abbot died of San Shichong. The Taoist skills that were passed down by generation to generation of the abbot have been cut off, and Uncle Official is from the previous generation. He always has a part of it, during this time, he woke up not long ago and encountered many things. In addition to the abnormality in the mountain, without Mao Yi Deputy Abbot, the array was damaged and they spent a considerable amount of time repairing and suppressing it."
"Originally, after repairing all the arrays, Uncle Official was to repair the heritage texts, at least to write down the part he knew so that the head abbot and the deputy abbot could study and meditate. However, this disaster struck. Uncle Official was clearly repairing the last array that day when he was beaten unconscious."
"Juxushan, we cannot retreat!"
"Since Uncle Official has not woken up, Daoism has regressed for several decades, relying on some fragmented mountain heritages to barely maintain its strength. His existence is to suppress the array and restore the inheritance."
"Luoxian Shen, you have a debt of gratitude to Juxushan."
"When the head abbot ordered us to hide here, he said that he trusted you, but there was no other choice."
"Leaving us here is to leave a glimmer of hope in the worst situation."
"Because, if they can hold on, then whether we are here or not, they can all hold on."
"If they cannot hold on, they will be defeated, and Juxushan will be completely finished."
"This is the concept of breaking pots and sinking boats!"
"Our arrogance has cost us dearly; Yunjin Mountain and Guchang City offered no help."
"This, indeed, is Juxushan's crisis."
After saying his last words, the red-robed Taoist appeared to be ten years older and his back was hunched over.
However, there was a blue-robed Taoist who suddenly stepped forward, supporting the red-robed Taoist and looking at us, speaking in a hoarse voice: "But our disciples will not give up easily! We will hold on to the last line of defense of Juxushan. The elders and disciples of the regulated temples under Juxushan have already heard the news and are coming. You don't need to continue to laugh at us. It takes destruction to build up, and in the future, Juxushan's gates will rise again!"
The rest of the disciples advanced together, and their cohesion was much more intense than before.
There was also a kind of emotion that seemed to have been stripped away.
Is it greed? And arrogance?
I leaned my hands on the chair and tried to turn sideways to get down.
Wu Jinlan realized what was happening and immediately gave a sign with his eyes.
The gentlemen let go of the chairs and I stepped down and walked a few steps forward.
Lao Gong was still giving me signals, but I didn't notice.
The red-robed Taoist's eyes showed a hint of confusion. He shook his head vigorously, but his eyes became redder still.
"Where did you get that robe?"
His voice suddenly sounded as thunderous as thunder, filled with imposing aura!
"Do you know him?" I asked.
His breathing became exceptionally heavy, as if he were panting like a cow.
Then, he shook his head and a look of bitterness crossed his face: "It's the big house of Qi family, right? Haha, change it. It's no longer important."
"Mao Xianjun," I said again.
The red-robed Taoist's face contorted again, and his whole face was tensed up!
The green-robed Taoist behind had no reaction, but some blue-robed Taoists, around forty or fifty years old, were all moved to tears. However, their reaction was a bit more subtle, a hint of concealed anger and an inaudible resentment.
Hate.
This emotion wasn't only present in Mao Xianjun, Mao Shimei, and Mao Yi, but also spread to these disciples.
"Mao Zhan senior is not what you think it is."
"What should be the Tao of Mao Xianjun?"
"My teacher, Qin Weizi, has appeared in Juxushan, has lived in Qi family's big house, has been good friends with Mao Zhan senior, and has also intervened in some of the things happening on Juxushan." My words caused some commotion among the crowd.
"Luoxian Shen, what exactly do you want to express…" The red-robed Taoist was interrupted before he could finish his sentence.
I continued to shake my head and said, "I don't know, just a feeling in my heart. Mao Xianjun back then should also have known nothing. Juxushan indeed has not been destroyed, whether it's the heritage or the Taoist spirit, they are still there."
"This is what Mao Xianjun left for you all. He did not have the qualifications to learn or master it."
"I have received favors from Mao Zhan senior, which is probably his intention. Take it."
Raising my hand, I took out the book of Juxushan's heritage from my bosom, threw it lightly, and it landed in the hands of the red-robed Taoist.
"My lord, you have wasted your previous life as the head of the temple, and this life, you also don't hesitate to learn the heritage of Juxushan. You old man, you have no sense of sight. Several days ago, even though you let them insult and humiliate you, my lord still guided you. Today, he gave you such a great favor, and you still don't kneel down to thank him?" Seeing that there was no chance for the situation to be turned around, Lao Gong changed his tone and shouted in a shrill voice.
