Chapter 28: The Reason for Zhang Sanfeng’s Descent from the Mountain; This Zhang Wuji Is Quite Pitiful

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In the reception hall of the Prince of Heaven's Strategies Estate, Zhu Jinzhen finally met this world's Zhang Sanfeng.

Protector of the Realm, Martial Arts Myth, Daoist Grandmaster, Earthbound Immortal, Old Immortal—within the entire Great Ming, Zhang Sanfeng was no longer merely a name or a symbol.

"This junior, Zhu Jinzhen, pays his respects to Perfected Zhang." Zhu Jinzhen was the first to offer his greeting. If Zhang Sanfeng had been any ordinary Earthbound Immortal, whether he was worthy of sitting as his equal would have depended entirely on Zhu Jinzhen's mood.

But Zhang Sanfeng was different. His titles and legends meant nothing to Zhu Jinzhen, nor did his cultivation or strength.

What earned Zhu Jinzhen's respect was that this world's Zhang Sanfeng had been personally appointed Protector of the Realm by the Hongwu Emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, at the founding of the Great Ming. He had protected Zhu Yuanzhang and the empire through all its turbulent years.

Later, when the Great Ming clashed with the Mongol Yuan, Zhang Sanfeng had personally carried the True Martial Sword into the Potala Palace and the lands of Esoteric Buddhism to confront the Mongol masters, blocking them at their very gates. He had nearly brought about a great purge of demons across the Mongol Yuan that would have shaken the martial world for sixty years.

Although Zhang Sanfeng had remained secluded on Wudang Mountain, never descending from it, while he quietly pursued the Heavenly Dao, the Taizong Emperor and the two emperors of the Ren and Xuan eras had repeatedly honored him with further titles.

It was even suspected that when the Tumu Crisis occurred, Basiba and Sihanfei had not personally entered the Great Ming because this very old Daoist had once again gone to bar their way.

As a prince of the Great Ming, Zhu Jinzhen naturally had to show him the respect demanded by both propriety and sentiment.

Zhu Jinzhen was courteous, and Zhang Sanfeng did not put on airs either. He hurriedly rose and returned the salute.

"The Prince of Su is too courteous. This old Daoist is merely a drifting cloud and wild crane. I could never presume to receive the Prince's greeting first."

"Everything Perfected Zhang has done for our Great Ming is engraved in this junior's heart. Please, take your seat."

"After you, Your Highness."

Seeing this, Zhu Jinzhen smiled and sat down first.

Then he turned toward the little fellow beside Zhang Sanfeng, who had been staring at him the entire time.

"Perfected Zhang, who is this?"

"This is the grandson of my disciple Cui Shan, and also my great-granddisciple. His name is Zhang Wuji." As Zhang Sanfeng spoke, he motioned for Zhang Wuji to hurry and pay his respects.

"Zhang Wuji? Zhang Cuishan's grandson?" Zhu Jinzhen forced a strained smile from the corner of his mouth.

He knew this comprehensive martial-arts world was absurd, but when the absurdity appeared right in front of him, he still felt that it had gone completely overboard.

The father and son from The Heaven Sword and Dragon Sabre had arrived in this chaotic martial-arts world, and Zhang Wuji had been demoted by an entire generation—from Zhang Cuishan's son directly to his grandson!

At that moment, Zhu Jinzhen felt an irresistible urge to ask Zhang Wuji, right to his face, who his father was.

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Zhang Sanfeng also noticed Zhu Jinzhen's strange expression and could not help feeling curious.

"Eh? Could it be that the Prince of Su knows my disciple?"

"Ah, Perfected Zhang must be joking." Zhu Jinzhen paused, then hurriedly shook his head. "This junior has heard of the great hero Cuishan and his Silver Hook and Iron Stroke, but I have never had the fortune to meet him."

Judging by Zhang Wuji's age and Zhang Sanfeng's, Zhang Cuishan in this world—even if he had not yet been buried in the earth—was probably not far from it. He had to be at least a hundred years old.

Even entering the Profound Finger realm could add sixty years to one's lifespan, but those who truly lived beyond a hundred and fifty were exceedingly rare.

As a young prince, where could Zhu Jinzhen possibly have found the opportunity to associate with Zhang Cuishan?

Zhang Sanfeng shook his head and laughed.

"Ha ha, this old Daoist misunderstood."

Although his disciple had traveled throughout the world in pursuit of a breakthrough into the Celestial Phenomenon Grandmaster realm, he had disappeared twenty years ago. It seemed that he had gone beyond the Nine Provinces to some new land. There was indeed no way he could have known the Prince of Su.

Zhu Jinzhen smiled faintly and let the subject pass.

"Perfected Zhang has been an Earthbound Immortal for many years, and the realm of the Celestial Being is close at hand. You have not left Wudang for sixty years. Your sudden descent from the mountain has stirred the hearts of the entire Great Ming—and indeed, the entire world."

A martial legend said to be the one closest to the realm of the Celestial Being had descended from the mountain.

Zhu Jinzhen did not know whether the sects of the Great Ming, or the heretical and demonic forces, were panicking. But he knew the Mongol Yuan was certainly in turmoil—especially the Kingdom of Jin. Some ancient immortal was probably fleeing beyond the borders again.

Seeing the half-smiling, half-mocking expression on Zhu Jinzhen's face, Zhang Sanfeng seemed to guess at some of his thoughts.

"It seems I have disappointed Your Highness. This old Daoist did not descend from the mountain to seek revenge, nor to pursue an opportunity to reach the Celestial Being realm. I came for Cui Shan's poor grandson."

At the end of his words, sorrow clouded Zhang Sanfeng's face. He reached over and stroked Zhang Wuji's head.

"For him?"

Zhu Jinzhen raised an eyebrow and carefully examined Zhang Wuji beside Zhang Sanfeng. He saw no signs of poison in the boy's body, nor did he appear injured. Clearly, he had not been struck by anything like the Mysterious Nether Palm.

Puzzled, Zhu Jinzhen looked toward Zhang Sanfeng.

"Alas!"

Zhang Sanfeng let out a long sigh. Stroking Zhang Wuji's head, he sighed again and again.

"When Wuji's mother was carrying him, she was injured by the Mysterious Nether Palm. Its yin energy entered the unborn child, and he should have died before birth. But his mother could not bear to let her child perish before he ever saw the world, so she risked her entire cultivation and fought to protect him."

"In the end, however, Wuji was still born prematurely."

"And…"

When Zhang Sanfeng reached this point, the pity in his eyes was unmistakable.

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Without moving his lips, he used a technique for transmitting his voice across the air and told Zhu Jinzhen the reason.

"Hiss!"

Zhu Jinzhen's eyes widened instantly. He looked utterly incredulous, while his thoughts churned like a storm-tossed sea.

"Don't make this any more ridiculous than it already is. Zhang Wuji going from Zhang Cuishan's son to his grandson is one thing. Having energy enter his body, the Mysterious Nether affliction settle into his fate, and being born prematurely during the hour of extreme yin is another. But Zhang Sanfeng, are you telling me that the mighty Grandmaster Zhang has become a eunuch?"

Zhang Sanfeng had no idea what Zhu Jinzhen was thinking, but he seemed to guess most of it and gave an almost imperceptible nod.

That was why he had descended from the mountain despite standing on the threshold of the Celestial Being realm.

He could not simply watch his most beloved disciple of old become unable to sire an heir.

"So Perfected Zhang intends to take him throughout the world in search of renowned physicians?"

"Yes and no." Zhang Sanfeng's expression was complicated, but he did not conceal the truth. "This old Daoist has heard that several neighboring kingdoms possess miraculous physicians—the divine physician Xue of the Great Song, the divine physician Ouyang, the divine physician Sun Simiao, Hu Qingniu, and others. I wish to have them examine him first."

"If that fails, then in my youth, somewhere within the territory of the Southern Song, I once encountered a peerless treasure from beyond the mortal world: a seven-colored crystal stone that absorbed the essence of the sun and moon. Given my understanding of yin and yang in recent years, if I could obtain that object, restoring Wuji's condition should not be difficult."

Zhu Jinzhen nodded repeatedly as he listened.

Yet when he heard the final part, he could not help finding it strange.

Why did the object Zhang Sanfeng described sound so familiar?

Unfortunately, he could not recall it in that hurried moment. He only knew that he must have heard of it somewhere before.

Just then, Zhang Sanfeng's kindly face suddenly turned cold.

"And then there is that old bastard Ba Sun. Since his Mysterious Nether Palm brought such misery upon this child, I intend to make a journey to the Western Regions and exterminate his entire lineage, so they can no longer harm anyone."

Zhu Jinzhen's heart tightened. He knew Zhang Sanfeng had truly lost his temper.

It was understandable. His most beloved disciple, Zhang Cuishan, had left to seek the opportunity to break through into the Celestial Phenomenon realm, only for his home to be invaded under Zhang Sanfeng's very protection. The result was that Zhang Wuji now had extreme yin energy lodged in his body, leaving him neither wholly male nor female.

The fact that Zhang Sanfeng had not gone mad after all these years of cultivating his mind and character was already a sign of remarkable restraint.

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