"Huh"
"Who is this person?"
"Why haven't I seen it inside the pass?"
"He is so reserved that even I can't see through him. He is not simple."
"Ordinary people really don't dare to reveal this bounty. There are many Tianguan here. Who dares to move, except Gongsun Wuji who is like a madman looking for monsters to kill outside the pass. It seems that he is really capable."
"."
The man was dressed in white, with silver hair that seemed to be shining brightly, and he flew like a rainbow, coming from outside the pass.
His eyes were as fast as lightning. He saw the lively scene outside the city gate, glanced around, and then his eyes focused. He flew up and tapped his feet, and took down the notice from the city wall. Then, ignoring all the stares, he turned into a residual shadow and quickly disappeared from everyone's sight.
The whole process was done in one go, with an indescribable elegance and grace, causing a burst of low exclamations.
Soon after, he came to a network of wide and narrow alleys in the west. As he walked through them, his black soap boots made a "crunching" sound as he stepped on the swept and thickly covered snow.
At this time, the alley was so quiet. The man in white seemed to blend into the surrounding snow scene. He quickly walked through an alley and his figure disappeared around the corner.
After a while, from the back of the alley, a figure wearing a brown patched cotton jacket, gloves inside the sleeves, breathing out cold air, walked through the alley with small steps and a slightly hunched back.
"It's so cold."
"When will this horrible weather end?"
The figure was still complaining and muttering.
However, when the figure ran to the bottom of the alley and was about to turn the corner, for some reason, he suddenly stopped and then raised his face under the gray cloth hat.
He was an ordinary person, with festering chilblains on his ears. He looked like an ordinary citizen on the road.
At this moment, the man's ears under his hat moved, and he heard the creaking sound fading away, and then his eyes turned across the wall.
After a breath or two, the man started moving again, walked forward, and entered the alley at the corner.
As a result, the next second, this person's pupils widened, and he saw the man in white standing around the corner, staring at him with a pair of cold eyes.
"It's so cold, go back and warm yourself by the fire!"
The man's pupils and expression returned to normal in an instant. He lowered his head, put his hands in his sleeves, and while muttering, he trotted past the man in white, pretending to pass by.
Just as they passed each other, a voice came from the mouth of the young man in white, "Beast, you followed me all the way from outside the pass, and even deceived the demon-detecting mirror under the city gate. It seems that you have some skills. Are the demons so rampant now?"
The man froze, looked around, then turned his head, confusion written all over his face, "Sir, who are you talking to?"
Zhao Quanzhen turned his head, his eyes were as sharp as lightning, and his hand grabbed the man as fast as lightning.
Zhao Quanzhen suddenly grabbed the man's shoulder.
"ji"
A sharp strange cry was heard, and a yellow light flew out.
But that person was like a deflated ball, with only clothes left, and in the yellow light that rushed out, there was a monster that was about ten feet tall.
It has long pointed ears with brown and yellow hairs on them, and dark green triangular eyes that sparkle with cunning and ferocity.
"chi"
The demon showed some mysterious energy and bared its teeth at Zhao Quanzhen, then leapt up and tried to escape.
As a result, with a bang, the monster seemed to have hit some invisible barrier, and fell down with a dull sound.
The beast tried to flee in other directions, but was repeatedly knocked back.
He suddenly looked ferocious and pounced towards Zhao Quanzhen viciously. The fishy smell from his body made people feel nauseous. He was several feet away in an instant.
When the claw was only three feet away from the person, Zhao Quanzhen raised his hand and pointed at it.
There was a muffled sound of "poof".
There was no scene of flesh and blood exploding, but a ball of demonic energy as thick as ink burst out of the monster, leaving only a piece of skin!
Zhao Quanzhen grabbed the fur with his hand and frowned, "Clone?"
Half a cup of tea later, deep in the alleys that stretched in all directions, Zhao Quanzhen pushed open the door of a square courtyard.
The yard is simple, built with rocks, without any bright colors, and the only bit of green is drowned in the wind and snow.
Just at this moment, there was a creaky sound as an old man in linen clothes, with a ruddy complexion, white hair and a youthful face walked out from the main room opposite the courtyard gate and looked at Zhao Quanzhen with a smile.
"Teacher!" Zhao Quanzhen walked quickly to the front of the hall, came in front of teacher Ling Yunzi, and respectfully performed the disciple's salute.
"The disciple is back!"
His teacher Ling Yunzi smiled and nodded, "It's good that you're back. What did you gain from this experience outside the Great Wall?"
The divine light in Zhao Quanzhen's eyes faded, and his tone lowered a little, "On this trip south, I finally understood what the book said about bones exposed in the wild and no rooster crowing for a thousand miles. I measured 2,300 miles with my own feet, and I killed countless monsters along the way, but in the end I got scared and couldn't go on. I didn't feel anything at first, but later I just felt depressed and numb. I felt that something was wrong with my condition, so I stopped and headed back."
He traveled southward outside the Great Wall, witnessed too many tragic scenes in the world, and constantly slew demons with his sword. He went from pity at the beginning to anger, to numbness, depression, and even loneliness and fear in the end.
He realized that there was something wrong with his condition and chose to stop.
Zhao Quanzhen paused, his eyes calm, "I plan to come back to listen to the teacher's teachings and answer the confusion I encountered along the way. I will rest for a while and then be back on the road!"
The second son of the Imperial Capital's Vice Minister of War, who had learned the true teachings of Mount Wudao, was now extremely determined.
He originally came to Shu because his younger brother was killed by a retainer of the Li family. Later, by chance, he followed his teacher to get acquainted with the Ninth Mountain General, and finally stayed in the frontier of Chuanzhong Pass for training.
His teacher, Ling Yunzi, who was sitting opposite him, felt relieved and nodded. "Be true to yourself, get rid of the false and keep the true. Face your fears. There is no need to say more. If you need to stop, stop. If you feel you should keep going, keep going. The teacher will not stop you." "But there is one thing. Look who is coming first?"
Ling Yunzi comforted his disciple like a warm spring breeze, then smiled slightly and turned his body to the side.
As soon as he finished speaking, another person walked out of the main room, but Zhao Quanzhen didn't sense any trace of the person.
The man who came out had black and white hair with a simple wooden hairpin inserted in it. He was wearing a black feather robe with a white lining underneath. He had a small tuft of beard on his chin and a face like a pair of silkworms. He held a jade ruyi in his hand and his eyes revealed a sense of majesty without even being angry.
"Uncle Yangshan!"
When Zhao Quanzhen saw this, he was slightly surprised and made a semicircle with his hands to show his respect as a junior.
This man is one of the Eight Great Shanren of Wudao Mountain, and also the senior brother of his master, Musashi Daishin. He didn't expect that this uncle would come here.
I don’t know why!
"No need to be polite. It took me so long to find you two, master and disciple, and you actually came here. Now that you are back, follow me back to the mountain gate!" The tone of this uncle Yangshan sounded a bit old-fashioned, but he did not act in a domineering manner.
Zhao Quanzhen was a little confused. "Master suddenly called me back to the mountain gate? What happened?"
Ling Yunzi spoke up at this time, "The Luotian Grand Ceremony that takes place every twenty years is about to be held, and the Dragon and Tiger Ranking will be reopened. Your uncle wants you to represent our mountain lineage and fellow disciples from other mountain gates to compete with the younger generation from other cave heavens for this ranking!"
Luotian Grand Ceremony is a grand ceremony held at the Taoist temple Longhu Mountain every twenty years. It is an unprecedented grand event. As the Taoist temple, Longhu Mountain is at the top of the thirty-six cave heavens, and people from all the major cave heavens will be invited to attend the ceremony.
Everyone in the blessed land is like a dragon. At that time, the younger generations of the major caves will compete with each other, and it will be another round of fighting between dragons and tigers. From this, a list of dragons and tigers will be drawn up. Those who are on the list will be prayed to heaven and earth at the Luotian Grand Ceremony, and the heavenly officials will bless them and increase their luck.
If one is on this list, his good fortune will continue in the future and he will gain more luck. In time, he will reach the realm of dragon and tiger and become one of the most powerful people in the world.
This list has been verified by generations, and countless great men have been on it, becoming famous all over the world. It is of great value, and therefore has received great attention from all parties, with unprecedented grandeur. The young generation of the major cave paradises all want to become famous and stand out in this battle.
But at this moment, Zhao Quanzhen looked at his uncle Yangshan and shook his head, "Uncle, I am honored to be your honor. I will not go. Let the place go to other brothers!"
Upon hearing this, Master Yangshan raised his eyebrows slightly and asked, "The Luotian Grand Ceremony, the Dragon and Tiger List is open, and there are countless young geniuses in the world who want to stand out on it and become famous in one battle. You are a young man, so you should have youthful vigor, why not?"
He was not questioning, but was a little confused. Not everyone could get a spot to participate in the Luotian Grand Ceremony. In Wudao Mountain, many disciples fought openly and secretly for this spot, and they were working hard. Each lineage only sent one person.
His lineage is a bit special, it's difficult to get started, and the number of disciples is declining. Zhao Quanzhen is the best of the younger generation in this lineage.
They should also know the importance of it.
Zhao Quanzhen nodded, "Master, you are right. You must know that young people have lofty ambitions and have promised to be the best in the world. I naturally hope that one day my name will be known by the world, but I want to stay here and continue to train. This is more important than going to Luotian Dajiao."
His words were powerful, as if he had made some kind of resolution.
Who wouldn't want to go to the Luotian Grand Ceremony to witness the rare grand occasion and meet martial arts masters gathered from all over the world? But he still wanted to stay here, because he saw the true meaning of martial arts here.
It is not about a certain person, but what is seen from those mountain-cutting troops and those martial arts people who support the front line. It is not the cold moves and magical powers, but the vivid joys, sorrows, anger and happiness of each individual when fighting against the demons.
"Brother, just let Quanzhen stay here and there is no need to persuade him!" Ling Yunzi spoke at this time.
As a master, he also knew that this quota was very important to his disciple, but he did not give any advice. Instead, he advised his senior brother. He understood his disciple and believed in the other's choice.
"Forget it. You two, master and disciple, are both stubborn. I won't say much!" After listening to what the master and disciple said, Uncle Yangshan did not show any annoyance, but shook his head.
As he spoke, he turned his head to look at Ling Yunzi, his eyebrows raised, "Ling Yunzi, it seems that your disciple has been taught well by you. He is not arrogant or impatient, and his heart is firm. I also heard the conversation just now. My name is mentioned on the Dragon and Tiger List, but it is not as comforting as the devil's head."
At this point, Master Yangshan's eyes sparkled. "Before the rest of the world was in chaos, Shu was in chaos first. I've heard that Shu was in chaos. This time I came here in person just to take a look at how ferocious the demons in the Hundred Thousand Mountains are."
"I think the military strength of Chuanzhong Pass is weak. I heard you say that there are only two Musashis here. Can they hold out?"
He remained skeptical.
Ling Yunzi's expression became a little sad and he didn't know what to say. For the soldiers guarding the pass here, it is not a question of whether they can defend it or not, but they have to defend it even if they can't. Once it is lost, there is the Guanzhong Plain behind them, and there is almost no natural barrier to defend.
At this time, Zhao Quanzhen took out a scroll from his sleeve, threw it down, and unfolded it. His eyes were like lightning, and suddenly they were blazing. He said:
"Master, don't underestimate these soldiers."
"Master, uncle, please look."
"This is the bounty that the mountain-cutting army just announced!"
Ling Yunzi and Yangshan took a look at the content of the reward.
"They are offering a reward for investigating the teleportation array used by the demon tribe to mobilize troops. Are they planning to launch a counterattack to stop the demons from descending?"
Ling Yunzi looked a little strange when he said this.
"My disciple has the same idea." Zhao Quanzhen's eyes showed some eagerness, and his silver hair was shining brightly.
"Unlikely!" Ling Yunzi shook his head again and rejected it. "With the current strength of the mountain-cutting army, it is already difficult enough to defend. Moreover, these rewards have been made public, and it is obvious that they have not been carefully calculated. Could it be that the mountain-cutting army is like a demon in the Hundred Thousand Mountains and is oblivious to the outside world? Unless this matter is urgent and the mountain-cutting army lacks enough manpower to complete the task, they will offer a large reward."
It has to be said that Musashi of Mount Wudao was very insightful and his rational speculations on various possibilities were already very close to the truth, but of course he could not know what the mountain-cutting army at Kawanaka Pass was going to do.
But Uncle Yangshan, who was standing next to them, listened to the conversation between the master and the apprentice, looked at the reward, then looked at his nephew Zhao Quanzhen, and said, "That's fine for now, nephew, are you going to reveal the reward?"
Zhao Quanzhen nodded when he heard this, his eyes sparkling, "Disciple wants to give it a try!"
"If Master went outside the Great Wall, he would understand that many people are eagerly waiting for the day of counterattack!"
This made Ling Yunzi, who had always supported his disciple, frown, because he had just analyzed it.
"You acted a little rashly this time. The demon tribe's transmission channel must be heavily guarded, and this news may alert the demon tribe. It is not something that Tianguan can accomplish."
"It doesn't matter!"
But Yangshan at the side spoke, his eyebrows moved, and he looked quite imposing, "Aren't there still you and me?"
"That's great. I want to go and see it, too."
"Brother, if you don't hurry back, the Luotian Grand Ceremony will be almost over." Ling Yunzi felt that his brother's illness had recurred.
"It doesn't matter!"
really!
Just as the three disciples of Zhao Quanzhen were discussing a bounty, a beam of silver light flew out of the Sichuan Pass and headed northward into the snow, speeding for 800 miles to Jinguan City! (End of this chapter)
