"It is difficult to find the immortals when traveling alone. After this journey, I'd better wait until I ascend the throne and let my subordinates help me find the immortals."
"Now, I have already visited several rumored secret places recorded in the imperial study in the palace. The only thing left is to go to the most troublesome one to verify..."
"East, Chonghai Fairy Island."
If you can't find any trace of immortals on land, you might have some chance by going to the sea.
"However, the legendary fairy island is really far away from the land, and it is difficult for a small boat to cross the Chongyang... If you want to go to the sea to look for fairies, you need a big ship."
"I wonder if a few hundred taels of silver can buy a big ship."
"If I can't buy one, I'll just go and rob one. But I can't sail a boat, um..."
The girl thought carefully.
After a moment, she suddenly remembered that she still had a few enemies to defeat.
Let’s not talk about the missing Black Spirit Sword Master for now. As the leader and saint of the Great Dark Heaven Sect, she is naturally an enemy of the Red Sky Goddess of the Jingming Sect.
It just so happened that the other side was rebelling in the coastal areas.
It is said that most of the rebels under his command are fishermen...so they may have boats available.
Even if the Goddess of Red Sky doesn't have one, there is always someone in the world who has one, and they can grab one directly when they reach the beach.
There are still a few months before Yan Mengguo invades the south, and Xi Heng plans to continue his search for immortals.
Since I can't find it on land, I'll look for it on the sea.
The girl nodded slightly, took out her small map from her waist, and found that there was no coastal area on it, so she threw it away. She turned around and pulled out a large scroll from her backpack.
This was the large sheepskin map that she had bought at a huge expense. It depicted in detail the entire territory of Da Zhao, as well as the coastal areas.
The scroll was opened and after a quick scan, one could see the two states that were rumored to be occupied by the Goddess of Scarlet Sky.
"Senior Sister, are you willing to go with me to kill the rebels?" she asked immediately.
"Didn't you talk about traveling?" After living together for so long, Hong Miao has become somewhat accustomed to Xi Heng's rapid changes of mind.
"Killing bandits and traveling are good for both. As a princess, I still have to do my duty." Xi Heng made up an excuse.
"Wherever Junior Sister goes, I will follow." Hong Miao promised.
“There may be danger along the way.”
Xi Heng still doesn't know the combat power of the subordinates of the Goddess of Red Sky, whether they are strong or weak, and whether there are any powerful masters who can match her.
"As long as I can be with my junior sister, no matter how dangerous it is, it doesn't matter."
"Then, Senior Sister, please remember to protect yourself."
When Xi Heng said this, he looked quite casual:
"If Senior Sister Citu meets with an accident, I will not live either."
"Don't say that." But Senior Sister Hong Miao didn't seem to like this kind of talk:
"Even if something happens to me, Junior Sister must take my share and live well."
"Survive..."
Xi Heng smiled lightly: "I promise, Senior Sister."
Reloading the save file should be considered as staying alive, and it doesn't count as going against my senior sister's wishes.
……
Chapter 84: Red, Purple and Vermilion
It’s a long road.
When returning to the central part from the southwest of Da Zhao, apart from encountering a lot of short-sighted bandits, we didn't encounter too much trouble.
Ordinary bandits on the roadside can be dealt with by simply swinging a sword.
Before he knew it, Xi Heng returned to the bank of Xiujiang River and continued to ride his horse eastward.
There were many cities and towns along the river. After Tianliang's army was defeated, these cities lived in peace.
Although there are still many public grievances, at least the country is no longer as war-torn as before, and there is no need to wander around like a drifting weed.
After crossing the bridge across Xiujiang River, Xi Heng first went to Jinshi City.
Since they have decided to attack the Goddess of Scarlet Sky, her Dark Sky Sect must be present.
The Jingming Sect and the Dark Sky Sect are born in opposition, and along the way, they can also expand the power and influence of the Dark Sky Sect.
The horses' hooves stopped in front of the Jinshi City Gate, and the two girls looked around quietly.
It has been four months since the siege, but there are still many bloodstains on the city wall.
The ground seemed to have drunk blood, and the loess was dyed bright red, almost black.
Green grass has sprouted again in most places outside the battlefield, and the surrounding woods that were originally burned to ashes are gradually showing signs of life again.
But in the center of the battlefield, not a single blade of grass grew, and it was as barren as a desert.
Compared with the surrounding soil that is full of vitality, this place seems particularly weird.
Under the dark clouds, Senior Sister Hong Miao saw the hideous traces of blood and weapons on the ground, and subconsciously moved closer to Xi Heng.
"Was the battle so fierce back then..." she asked softly.
"It's okay." Xi Heng felt calm.
No matter how tragic a scene is, anyone will get used to it after watching it hundreds of times.
"..." Hong Miao regretted that she didn't follow Xi Heng here. In case the other party was injured, she could take care of him.
There are no guards in front of the city gate, and no force will care about this city that is about to be burned to ruins and ashes.
At most, there were some scavengers who sneaked in to rummage through the ruins.
Xi Heng looked at the archway of the city gate, which was covered with many traces of ashes from fire and no one had cleaned it, and then looked at the desolate scene in the city, and walked forward silently.
Although the city was covered with ashes, the roads were still the same as before and they were still familiar with them.
"It's only been a few months... and everything has become like this."
It was the first time for the senior sister to see the ruined Jinshi City. After entering, she kept looking around, with a hint of sadness in her eyes.
Those shops and buildings where she had once wandered around with other junior sisters when she was a senior sister in the Sword Academy had now been burned into ruins by the raging fire, and there was no trace of their former prosperity.
The field of vision was filled with gray-black collapsed ruins, so Hong Miao subconsciously asked:
"Could the person you and I are looking for have already moved away?"
When he came, Xi Heng just casually told his senior sister that he was coming here to lead some people to go to the eastern coast to deal with the Jingming Sect, without explaining the matter of the Dark Sky Sect in detail.
Although he was indeed a cult leader, Xi Heng didn't want his senior sister to look at him differently.
"Don't worry, I'll be there."
She once ordered the Dark Sky Sect to use Jinshi City as its base. As a saint and leader, her orders must be respected by the believers.
Those who disobeyed orders would have been killed almost immediately.
"Um……"
Senior Sister Hong Miao didn’t know the situation yet and just followed quietly.
The two men passed through the roads and streets in the city. There were not many ruins blocking the road, and it seemed that they had been cleared.
After arriving at the former central city, Xi Heng saw many adults and children in tattered clothes in the ruins, each carrying a bag or bamboo basket and holding a walking stick, picking up rubbish in the ruins.
If they found copper coins or silver coins, they would stuff them into their pockets. If they found quilts, silk cloth, or other items that were not completely burned, they would tear off the burnt parts with force and stuff the intact parts into their baggage basket.
Kitchen utensils, farm tools, machetes and hammers, iron blocks and yellow paper, or bottles, jars, bowls and basins...anything that can be of some use will be collected.
The horse's hooves gradually slowed down, and Xi Heng saw a child with a basket on his back pulling away the wooden boards and finding a charred corpse in the ruins in the distance. He was not afraid, but just calmly called out to the adults in the distance.
When the adults arrived, they dug the body out of the rubble, wrapped it in white linen and carried it away.
There was thick black smoke rising from that direction, and I didn't know what was burning.
Xi Heng estimated that the place where the black smoke was rising was the Dark Heavenly Temple where she was going.
“Are they burning the bodies…” She moved closer.
The black smoke is not far away. If we speed up a little, we will get there in a few minutes.
In front of the Dark Heaven Sect altar, there were huge black iron basins supported on the ground, with many charcoals of various shapes placed on top. Twisted and hideous corpses with unclear faces were thrown into them.
The three-pronged pitchfork used for plowing the fields was sharpened to an extremely sharp point. The corpses were picked up like garbage and thrown high into the fire.
The raging fire once again enveloped the entire bodies of the charred people, continuing to burn their dry skin and fragile skeletons until their entire bodies were burned to ashes.
Next to several huge furnaces, there was a man wearing a purple robe with snake patterns and a twisted crown on his head. He was dressed solemnly and looked strange. He was holding a wheel in his hand and kept muttering something.
"The world is originally dark, the heaven and earth will eventually be dark, life returns to darkness, the dead are like this into darkness...return to the great dark day Tai Mu, quite happy to be the mother's warmth..."
The humming sound of the wheel and the humming sound in his mouth blend in harmony, and there is a strange sense of sacredness in this person's temperament.
Xi Heng heard these words clearly from a distance, but was unable to understand their meaning for a moment.
Over the past three months, the Dark Sky Sect seems to have figured out the difficult scriptures that other religions have.
Moreover, the believers were no longer dressed in just various kinds of coarse linen, but in long robes with snake patterns on the surface, which either covered the whole body or left only the head exposed.
Coupled with the raging fires with many corpses burning around and the strange sounds of people chanting, it does look quite religious.
If he didn't know that these people were all his subordinates, Xi Heng would have been unable to resist drawing his sword and killing these cultists who seemed to be performing strange rituals one by one.
After the high priest of the Dark Sky Sect was given the Blood Spirit Stone by her, the surface of his exposed skin was covered with many blood-red stripes. His face was no longer ordinary, and his temperament became more solemn and dignified, giving him a sense of majesty without even being angry.
Having been in a high position for a long time, this person has obviously changed a lot in all aspects. He is no longer the helper who could only serve as a foil to the high priest of the Pure Fire Sect.
"Sacrifice." Xi Heng interrupted the other party's recitation of scriptures.
The Dark Sky Sect's High Priest heard the familiar voice and turned his gaze. Seeing that it was the Demon Lord who had returned, he immediately led several of his followers to bow and salute:
"Greetings, Her Royal Highness the Saint."
"How is the sect developing?" Xi Heng asked directly.
"Your Highness, since March, the Dark Sky Sect has gathered many refugees with healthy hands and feet."
During this meeting, the high priest was no longer as excited as before, and answered calmly:
"New believers only need to complete the missions assigned by the believers, and they can return with food and porridge to feed their families and children. The best among them can be promoted to deputies to manage 15 people..."
"Four new halls have been established in the church, and the number of people in each hall has doubled, with the number of deputies increased to eight... Now, there are more than 3,800 people in the eight major halls in Jinshi City."
"In addition to these, if we add in other organizational members, such as priests, cooks, tailors, craftsmen, and scholars, the total number of members in the church is nearly 5,000."
"In addition, we have also dispatched personnel to open branch temples in several surrounding cities such as Xiuzhou, Jianchang, Junming, etc. There are many believers in each place, and the number of personnel in the branch temples ranges from hundreds to thousands."
"That's right." Xi Heng felt that the number of people was enough.
According to rumors a few months ago, the number of rebels led by the Red Sky Goddess in the eastern coastal area was only 4,000.
Her Dark Sky Sect has expanded to more than 5,000 people by taking in refugees from all over the place.
"How many of these followers can obey orders and fight some small skirmishes?" Xi Heng continued to ask.
"Your Highness, when the sect was expanding a month ago, we encountered the forces of the Jingming Sect and we had a conflict with them. So the hall master trained the disciples more. Now there are more than a thousand people in the sect who can barely form a battle formation or march under orders, but the specific effect... is still hard to say."
"One thousand? That's enough."
Xi Heng will mainly take action himself next, and it doesn’t matter even if this group of people can only cheer and applaud from behind.
"I want to lead people to the eastern coastal areas to attack the so-called Dachen established by the Scarlet Sky Goddess and destroy the Pure Fire Cult."
"..." The high priest, who originally looked quite steady, was stunned for a moment. After a moment, he gently advised:
"Your Highness, the sect is expanding now. It is best not to provoke a big enemy right away. Wait for the Dark Heaven Sect to expand, accumulate strength, make good preparations for money and food reserves, and train soldiers and martial arts. It will not be too late to march to the east..."
But Xi Heng didn't listen:
"Call these 1,000 men here, let Nantang Master lead the team, and set off tomorrow to follow me on the Eastern Expedition."
The high priest opened his mouth, hesitated for a moment and then said:
"But the church is short of money and food right now. Although the autumn harvest has just passed, the food we have collected can only barely provide for the daily needs of the believers. The march of a thousand people will consume a lot of resources... It is better to maintain stability."
