Chapter 147 — The Covenant

Master Pucheng demurred, "What is Benefactor Yun saying? The living things of the world have met with calamity, and beast-demons run wild; how could all of us at the Fanyin Temple, as disciples of the Buddha, be the ones to lag behind? Only, with the righteous path of the world now gathered at Qingyun, and Senior Brother Daoyan long held in high esteem and possessed of cultivation that reaches the heavens, it is only fitting that Senior Brother Daoyan be the leader, commanding the righteous path of the world to resist the strong foe together."

Daoist Daoyan smiled and said, "Master is too kind; Daoyan truly dares not accept."

Master Pucheng pressed his palms together and said, "Sect Master Daoyan, the people of the world now pray day and night for this calamity to be ended soon; you must not decline again."

Yun Yifeng chuckled and said, "You are both masters of the Dao, so why all these courtesies? Come, come, let us go inside and talk, lest we keep all these fellow cultivators standing out in the wind while the three of us converse—that would be poor hospitality indeed!"

Daoist Daoyan and Master Pucheng exchanged smiles, and then went in together. Along the way, people greeted Master Pucheng and the monks of the Fanyin Temple without cease, showing how high the temple stood in virtue and esteem among the righteous path.

Entering the Yuheng Hall, Master Pucheng could not refrain from adding a few more words of praise for the newly built hall of the Canglan Sect, magnificent and imposing. Daoist Daoyan smiled and declined the praise modestly, then wished to invite Master Pucheng to take the seat of honor; Pucheng refused, and after several rounds of demurral, Daoist Daoyan, as host, at last took the seat of honor, with Master Pucheng and Yun Yifeng seated to either side.

Nearly a hundred people or more now stood in the great hall, but seats were limited; apart from a few renowned wandering immortals, those who sat were figures of the three great factions. From this one could also see the stature and strength of the three great factions within the righteous path; and the discussion of strategies and the like naturally took place mostly among them.

When all were seated, Yun Yifeng was the first to speak, asking Master Pucheng, "Master, on your journey here, did you encounter any of those cruel beast-demons?"

Master Pucheng nodded and said, "We did, and we even disposed of a few."

A stir ran through the crowd nearby. By now the scourge of the beast-demons had long spread throughout the world, and no few had seen them; yet among the righteous cultivators here in the Yuheng Hall on Canglan Mountain, apart from the disciples the three great sects had sent out to gather news, few of the other sects had crossed blades with them.

Daoist Daoyan too was moved, and said, "Oh? Such a thing occurred. Master, pray tell us, so that all present may know."

Master Pucheng pressed his palms together and said, "I would not presume. In truth, we had not expected to encounter such demon creatures on the way here. We had always heard that these demons were still ravaging the south, but in a small village seven hundred li south of Canglan Mountain, we found a dozen or more monsters attacking the village. Alas, we arrived too late; the villagers had all been killed."

"Ah!" Both Daoist Daoyan and Yun Yifeng cried out in dismay. Seven hundred li south of Canglan Mountain—by reckoning, though not near, it was no longer very far. And at this moment the monks of the Fanyin Temple standing behind and beside Master Pucheng mostly wore expressions of distress; several pressed their palms together and chanted the Buddha's name. One could well imagine how dreadful the scene must have been, leaving a deep impression on these monks.

Master Pucheng sighed then, a look of distress passing over his face as well, and said with a sigh, "Those monsters were indeed as the legends say—their forms mutated from several kinds of fierce beasts of the southern borderlands, and their nature cruel and murderous; not a single living soul was left in the whole village. Meeting such demons, even at the cost of breaking the precept against killing and harming our cultivation, we must rid the people of this evil; so we descended and destroyed them."

Daoist Daoyan raised a single palm and said, "Master acted on behalf of Heaven; what you did was merit, not the sin of killing. Master need not grieve over it."

Pucheng sighed and nodded. Beside him, Yun Yifeng frowned; what concerned him was another matter, and he said, "Abbot, there is one other thing I would ask."

Master Pucheng said, "Speak, Valley Master Yun."

Yun Yifeng said, "We had not earlier heard that these demons had already reached that place. Since you encountered them, Master, the beast-demons must soon be arriving near Canglan Mountain. I wonder—along the way, apart from that village, did you discover any other beast-demons?"

Master Pucheng shook his head and said, "That we did not. Apart from that village, we saw none elsewhere. It may be that a small portion of the demons ran swiftly ahead and happened to cross our path."

Daoist Zhenren sighed. "They had it coming, I suppose. A pity we could not save those villagers." At these words the monks all pressed their palms together and softly intoned the name of the Buddha.

Yun Yifeng nodded slightly and said, "Master, from what you saw of the demonic beasts and the monks of the Brahmaghosha Temple exchanging blows, how would you rate their fighting strength?"

Master Pucheng pondered a moment, then said, "Most of these fiends are ordinary monsters, merely possessed of great strength, sharp claws, and a savage cruelty. If it truly came to a contest, the ordinary cultivation of our Daoist adepts would be enough to overcome them."

Yun Yifeng nodded and said, "It seems these monsters are for the most part common demonic beasts that have strayed from the main horde." He paused, then turned to Li Xun behind him. "Xun'er, tell Master Pucheng what news we have gathered these past days."

Li Xun answered and stepped forward, bowing respectfully to Master Pucheng. The master smiled and said, "No need for such courtesy, Nephew Li. Speak freely."

Li Xun nodded. "In report to the master: over these past days we have sent fellow cultivators far and wide to scout the south, and we have found that this great calamity of demonic beasts has wrought such devastation for three principal reasons. First: the common demonic beasts and monsters are mostly beasts of prey that have undergone some mutation. What manner of mutation we do not know, but these creatures have indeed grown fiercer and more cruel than the beasts they once were, and ordinary folk have no means of resisting them. Second, the demonic clans that have emerged from the south are beyond counting in number. Our disciples have repeatedly seen from the sky countless demonic beasts swarming forth, no fewer than ten thousand at the least. Against such a tide, no matter how profound one's cultivation, there is likely no remedy. Third, among these common demonic beasts there appear to be special demonic beasts of unknown number, utterly unlike the ordinary monsters, masters of high demonic arts that surpass many a cultivator. And to this day no one has seen the legendary 'Beast Lord,' so none know what manner of figure he is. But judging by his power to command these numberless demonic creatures, he must be a man of the most formidable sort."

Master Pucheng's white brows knitted tightly, and behind him the monks of Brahmaghosha Temple exchanged glances. This great calamity of demonic beasts was plainly worse than anything seen before, and from Li Xun's expression as he spoke, and the grave faces of the men from the Canglan Sect and the Fenxia Valley, it was clear that all present were heavy of heart.