153: How can you slander the thousand-year-old reputation of Shaolin Temple?

You Longsheng suddenly started laughing, his laughter grating: "Great Master Xinmei, are you here to pray for the souls of those men who died for Lin Xianer, or to take us to Shaolin for trial?"

Great Master Xinmei looked at You Longsheng, the pity in his eyes deepening: "Donor You, your father and I have been close friends for decades. I advise you now:"

Obsession is like a knife, harming both yourself and others. The sea of suffering is boundless; turn back and you will find the shore. This old monk is passing by and is not here to accuse, but to 'invite'."

He deliberately emphasized the word "invite."

"I temporarily invite the three donors to move to Shaolin and stay for a few days.

Firstly, you can temporarily avoid the storms of Jianghu; secondly, our temple is willing to mediate and clarify the Karma of this matter, which may resolve a needless vendetta.

Shaolin, a thousand-year-old temple, no one dares to trespass easily, ensuring the safety of the three of you.

The rights and wrongs, and the true identity of the Plum Blossom Bandit, if we discuss and debate them, will naturally become clear."

Lu Jiuyuan smiled lightly upon hearing this: "Great Master's good intentions are appreciated. But Lu does things his own way and never needs to explain himself to others, nor does he like to be protected or restrained. I will not be going to Shaolin Temple.

Furthermore, although Li Xunhuan is pedantic, he possesses an upright Aura. Among those who died by his dagger, not a single soul was wronged.

Since Zhang Xiaoyi died by Li Xunhuan's dagger, what you should do is investigate what evil he committed, and make amends where necessary, and compensate where due.

Instead of coming for Li Xunhuan."

Great Master Xinmei's brow furrowed even deeper: "Donor Lu, this old monk also has good intentions, why are your words so aggressive?

Now, your excessive killing has stirred up public indignation, and many Schools and families with ties to the deceased have vowed revenge.

Even if the three of you possess extraordinary martial arts, I fear it will be difficult to resist the surging tide of the Jianghu.

Our temple has absolutely no ill will; we only wish to quell the conflict and ascertain the truth."

"Truth? What is truth?" You Longsheng spoke coldly, his voice like ice:

"Since your Shaolin Temple is involved, and since it's related to that hussy, in front of that hussy, bald donkeys, monks, and monastic rules are all a joke.

I'm afraid that the current Shaolin Temple has become a place where spring colors are hidden, a den of iniquity."

"You Longsheng, Shaolin Temple and Cangjian Villa have been friends for decades. Do not let it be broken by your words.

Please think twice before you speak."

Great Master Xinmei's voice remained calm, but anyone could hear the suppressed anger within it.

How could Shaolin's thousand-year-old reputation be slandered in such a way?

You Longsheng, however, laughed even more brazenly and gratingly, his crimson sleeves fluttering in the wind:

"Decades of friendship? Hahaha! Great Master Xinmei, my father is my father, and I am me.

I, You Longsheng, do not represent Cangjian Villa, nor am I the Young Master of Cangjian Villa anymore.

I am just a vengeful spirit."

"Following Lin Xianer, what I've seen and known is far more than what you've known and seen.

Old monk!" His gaze swept over the eighteen grim-faced, resolute-eyed cudgel monks, finally settling on Xinmei's face.

"Do you know how many people, high and low, in Shaolin Temple have had affairs with Lin Xianer? How many have wagged their tails and begged before her?"

Great Master Xinmei's face finally changed.

It was a look of shock and fury, suppressed with great effort, yet still visible deep in his eyes.

Although the eighteen cudgel monks behind him still maintained their formation, subtle tremors appeared on their usually placid faces, and their breathing seemed to grow a little heavier.

The thousand-year reputation of Shaolin was forged by the virtue and Buddhist teachings of countless generations of eminent monks. It was the paramount authority in the Martial Forest. How could such vile words be allowed to defile it?

"Donor You!"

Great Master Xinmei's voice suddenly rose, no longer filled with the previous compassion and calmness: "Do you know what you are saying?

Slandering Buddha and destroying the temple—this Karma is profound!

If you cannot produce evidence, you are an enemy of all Buddhist Schools in the world! Even Cangjian Villa will not be able to protect you!"

"Evidence? Hahaha!" You Longsheng laughed, swaying back and forth, his crimson clothes like a burning, frenzied flame:

"What is evidence? Unless you catch them in bed, such matters can always be cleverly refuted. How can there be any evidence?"

"But some things I saw with my own eyes and heard with my own ears. Even if you want to hide them, you can't.

We want to kill Lin Xianer, and that hussy must know.

We, Divine Dagger Bai Tianyu, and Li Xunhuan, the Little Li Flying Dagger.

We want to kill her.

The world is vast, but how many places can she hide, how many places can protect her?

Counting throughout the world, it's nothing more than the Golden Money Gang headquarters, Shaolin Temple, and the Demonic Sect's main altar."

"The Golden Money Gang is definitely impossible, so what's left is either Shaolin Temple or the Demonic Sect's main altar.

But the Demonic Sect's main altar is far to the west, in the Tianshan Mountains. Lin Xianer's Foundation is in the Central Plains; she would not leave the Central Plains.

So where exactly would she hide? Old monk, do I still need to point it out to you little by little?"

"Shut up!" Great Master Xinmei suddenly roared, his voice like a lion's roar, shaking the surrounding leaves down with a rustle.

"Demonic words misleading the masses! You... you have completely fallen into the Demonic Dao! This old monk will capture you today and bring you back to the temple, to cleanse your filthy mouth and purify the reputation of the Buddhist School!"

He was clearly enraged to the extreme, no longer even mentioning the word "invite," and directly moved to capture him!

"Capture me?" You Longsheng licked his lips, the Duoqing Sword's green light rekindling, reflecting his crazed eyes:

"Old monk, do you want to kill me to silence me? Or have you already guessed where that hussy Lin Xianer is actually hiding?"

"amitabha!"

Great Master Xinmei said no more, chanting a Buddhist name loudly. His monk's robe billowed without wind, and a vast and powerful Aura suddenly rose:

"Luohan Formation, subduing demons!"

"Hmph!"

The eighteen cudgel monks responded in unison, their voices shaking the mountain forest.

Eighteen ebony staffs simultaneously struck the ground, emitting a dull, thunderous sound, as if the entire ground trembled with it.

The Qi of the eighteen men instantly connected, thick as a mountain, sharp as steel, forming a massive Qi field that firmly enveloped the open space in front of the dilapidated temple.

A murderous Aura instantly replaced the compassion of the Buddhist School.

"Heh heh," Lu Jiuyuan, who had been observing, suddenly chuckled softly. He slowly stepped forward, standing shoulder to shoulder with You Longsheng, his gaze calmly fixed on the already formed Luohan Formation:

"Great Master, is this how Shaolin invites people?"

Great Master Xinmei's face was ashen: "Donor Lu, this matter is no longer an ordinary Jianghu grievance. You Longsheng slandered the reputation of our Shaolin; this matter must be accounted for!

If the three of you are willing to return to the temple with this old monk to ascertain the truth, the rights and wrongs will be justly judged. If you remain unrepentant..."

"If you remain unrepentant, then you will subdue demons and devils, is that it?"

Lu Jiuyuan finished his sentence for him, a faint trace of mockery on his lips, "I just wonder, where exactly is this demon? Is it high in the temple, or far in the Jianghu, or perhaps... right beneath this kasaya?"

Before he finished speaking, a sharp glint burst from Great Master Xinmei's eyes. Without further hesitation, his withered palm waved forward!

The Luohan Formation activated instantly!

The eighteen ebony staffs did not attack simultaneously, but rather in a staggered, well-ordered manner, advancing in layers like waves.

The front row of six long staffs swept across the lower body, whistling through the air; the middle row of six struck directly at the center, powerful and heavy; the back row of six chopped down from above, blocking the sky!

The shadows of the staffs overlapped, as if forming a moving wall of bronze and iron, or like a precise machine, intending to completely crush the three people within the formation!

Shaolin's Luohan Formation was by no means an empty boast!