The midday sun shines on the towering city wall, and the crimson bricks seem to be burning.
It was the first time that Tang Zhao saw such a high city wall. The huge red city wall was hundreds of feet high, reaching into the sky and pressing into the sky. From a distance, it looked like a cluster of flaming red lotuses in full bloom.
Looking beyond the city wall, you can see a black-red mountain peak. The top of the peak is as flat as a knife, with billowing smoke constantly rising. The smoke column rises straight up, as if it will rise to more than thirty-three days.
It is a volcano and also the famous devil's cave in Yunzhou - Nanmingli Fire Hell.
"This Demon Cave is old. It is said that it existed in the previous dynasty. You should know that there is a layer of separation between the Demon Cave that has just arrived and the world. Only by closing the passage at this time can the Demon Cave be cleared forever. If the time is missed, the Demon Cave will merge with the world. It is like a piece of scabies that will stay in the world forever. If there are still demons inside, it will be a hell. It must be sealed heavily and conquered in time, otherwise the demon cave will expand. If there are no demons, it will be a prison of death. It is relatively simple, such as Just circle it like this and don't allow people to get close."
Although they were not allowed to get close, Tang Zhao could clearly see that there was an endless stream of pedestrians on the road leading to the Demon Cave. Most of them were dressed in fancy clothes and looked majestic, like people from the martial arts world.
"No crops grow in the Devil's Cave, but it is not unprofitable. Because the Yin Qi is shrouded and the environment mutates, a lot of magical materials are produced. You can use their effects to practice, or you can sell them to sword masters—usually selling them to make magic tools. The treasured ones can even be used to make swords, which are priceless. There are also ferocious beasts in them, and their flesh and blood can be eaten, and their skin and bones can be sold for money. Therefore, although there are no ordinary people in the local area, there are many people in the world looking for treasures."
"And the San people who practice Xuan Gong will also use the fire and Yin energy of the devil's cave as a guide to hone their Gang Qi, refine it into the 'Tiangang', and further become Martial Masters. You see, these people are ordinary, but maybe there is something hidden in the martial arts world. The ultimate master."
After walking a few more steps, stalls appeared one after another on the roadside. They were all simple street stalls, and shouts came and went:
"Cold leaves, cold leaves, high-quality cold leaves, one hundred taels each, bring it with you to cool down and relieve the heat!"
"The nectar beads, the priceless nectar beads, jumped into the lava without any harm!"
"We will collect the meat of ferocious beasts at the same price!"
"Ice water, ice water, 10 taels per bucket. You can't even buy 100 taels in there!"
What the hell...
It doesn’t matter if they are selling products to cool down or escape the heat. Ice water also costs ten taels per bucket. Isn’t this a money grab?
Not to mention, the business of selling ice water was very good. Those martial arts heroes threw a piece of silver, picked up the ice bucket and left, and some immediately poured water on their heads, making water splash everywhere. Looking at Tang Zhao who was covered in sweat, he was shocked.
Ten taels of silver were gone in just one scoop. People in the martial arts world really don't regard money as money.
Xing Ji asked casually: "Is there anything you want to buy?"
Tang Zhao shook his head and Xing Ji said: "Since you are here, you must buy some specialties. These cooling products are all inferior products. When I come out, I will take you to see the real good ones."
The closer he got to the city wall, the more unbearable the scorching heat became. Tang Zhao was so lucky that he could not help but roll up his sleeves and expose his arms due to his shallow internal energy protection. Then he felt exposed and had to put them down again.
Xing Ji was not affected at all, not even a drop of sweat, but smiled and said: "Look, if you can't practice kung fu well, you can't go anywhere. You can't stand the water-type magic cave, but the earth-type and empty-type ones are even weirder It’s unpredictable, and you can’t even touch it if you don’t have Gang Qi. Let’s just walk around the surroundings for a while. We’ll come back to the real core place later.”
Tang Zhao wiped his sweat, saw the city gate in sight, and said: "Actually, I have wanted to ask for a long time. How do you distinguish the types of demon caves? Why is it that the water in the sky is an earth-type demon cave, but this place like the Flame Mountain is a water-type Devil's Cave?"
Xing Ji said: "Water type and fire type do not refer to what is in the devil's cave, otherwise the devil's cave is unpredictable, and even a hundred types are not enough. This refers to the degree of interference in our world by the devil's cave from outside the territory."
"..."
"You don't understand, do you? This thing was formulated by Qingtian Temple. It's hard to understand, and many experienced inspectors will make wrong judgments. To put it simply, what comes directly from outside the territory is an earth-type demon cave. There is only Yin Qi, and it can't be seen at all. If you don’t come out, it will only affect people’s spirits. It’s the Wind-shaped Devil’s Cave.”
"???"
Xingji sighed and said: "To put it simply, look at that volcano. For example, the Demon Cave is ultimately a volcano. How was it formed?"
"If it is a wind-shaped demon cave, then there is no volcano here, but we were disturbed by the Yin Qi, as if we saw a volcano. Everyone saw the volcano, and real demons would crawl out of the volcano, but the volcano itself does not exist of."
"If it was a fire-type devil's cave, there would have been an ordinary flat-topped mountain here. Suddenly the Yin Qi descended, and the mountain erupted and turned into a volcano."
"If it's a water-type magic cave, this is flat land. Suddenly the Yin Qi comes and the flat land rises. In an instant, a high mountain rises from the ground, and then erupts, creating volcanoes."
"If it is an earth-type devil's cave, just like what you have experienced, a volcano will fall directly from the world."
"The hollow magic cave is the most special. There will be a space rift here. You will be drawn in and find that there is an alien space over there, and there is a volcano in the space."
"How about it, do you understand?"
"..." Tang Zhao struggled to understand, "So this is a progressive process from spiritual to material, from false to real? How many stages are spatial dislocation, phantom, qualitative change, deformation and creation?"
Xing Ji was silent for a moment and said, "Wait a minute. Say these words again. I think you said them very well and accurately. I'll note them down."
"..."
Barely understanding the concept of demon cave classification, Tang Zhao followed Xing Ji and queued up to enter the volcanic demon cave created out of thin air by the earth.
There was a long queue at the gate of the city, and everyone entered after inspection. There are two long lists hanging at the door. On the left is "Yunzhou Loyalty List" and on the right is "Lihuo Heroes List". There are two one-legged crane-shaped stone sculptures standing at the gate, but no one is guarding them.
The one-legged crane...is it Bifang?
Xing Ji said: "The Devil's Cave is a good place to earn merit. Just kill a few wild ferocious beasts, and you will be a righteous man when you come out. The Yunzhou Loyalty Ranking is a sub-ranking of the Kyushu Loyalty Ranking. After you earn merit, you can go directly to the local heroes to redeem the ranking. The list of heroes from Lihuo has been changed to Lihuo Hell. It changes every year. Those at the top will get some preferential rewards, but not much, it is mainly an honor."
Tang Zhao became interested and asked, "Can I also be a righteous man?"
Xing Ji said: "We are officials and we eat royal food. Killing demons is our job and does not count as meritorious service."
Tang Zhao was very disappointed, he still wanted the martyr card.
The queue became shorter and shorter, and Tang Zhao saw clearly that the person at the front of the queue would put a piece of silver in Bi Fang's mouth, and Bi Fang could actually swallow the stone and then shut up, waiting for the next person to come and open his mouth again.
Is this stone sculpture a magic weapon?
Eating money... What kind of Bifang is this? Is this Pixiu?
The people who manage the Devil's Cave don't check their identity and only collect money. This is really "open".
Dumb——
There was a loud noise, and a large flock of crows flew overhead, filling the sky with darkness. People in the underground world are most particular about auspicious words, and they can't help but frown when they hear crows crow.
A group of crows flew past, and a few broke away from the large group and stopped on the city wall, holding on to the city bricks with their feet, keeping their bodies perpendicular to the city wall, with extremely weird postures. Scan the queue with scarlet eyes. Tang Zhao felt as if those pairs of eyes were staring at him, and couldn't help but feel terrified.
Finally it was Xingji's turn. He handed over two ingots of silver, pushed open the stone door with one hand, and said: "The stone door weighs a thousand kilograms, and those who can't push it can't get in. This is also a screening to prevent idiots who don't overestimate their abilities from entering."
Tang Zhao also tried to push himself. With the use of internal force and ant force, Shimen could barely push back without rebounding, but it was difficult to push forward. It seemed that his pushing force was only about a thousand pounds. Shan Shimen and the stone that Teacher Guan asked him to practice were almost as heavy.
That's not much. Any knight in the world can do it, and there are even strong men who haven't practiced internal skills who are far better than him.
Tang Zhao had only practiced martial arts for a month. Although it consumed a lot of resources, after all, time was tight and it was not as good as other people's years of effort. But Tang Zhao was the swordsman who raised the sun and turned the dragon into smoke. At that time, with the sword in his hand, he thought he could do anything.
Sure enough, after experiencing the power of calling for wind and rain, there will be a big gap when returning to the reality of being a mortal body.
Entering the city gate, the entrance was dark red.
There are red stones everywhere, dark red with gray, no other colors, let alone life. The rocks seemed to have been plowed over, overturned and broken, the big rocks were cut open, and the ground was full of holes.
Xing Ji said: "People have been plowing through the surrounding area for hundreds of years, which can be said to be three feet of digging. Not to mention the materials, the grass roots have been dug up. No one is going to find anything valuable."
The two of them walked along the perimeter, and Xing Ji randomly pointed out some of the scenery in the Devil's Cave. After walking for most of the day, they found no information.
Xingji's original intention was not to do this, he just wanted to show Tang Zhao how to explore this kind of devil's cave. The two walked randomly for half a day and found a flat place. Xing Ji asked Tang Zhao to practice sword moves here.
This devil's cave has the strongest fire, so it is very suitable for the Continuous Fire Chasing Star Sword, especially if you can find the kind of artistic conception where the heart is burning and the sword is like fire. Tang Zhao practiced for half a day and was sweating profusely. He wished he could pour a bucket of ice water on his head.
Xing Ji gave him a cup of salted tea and after Tang Zhao took a sip, he heard crows flying overhead.
Seeing the crows again, Tang Zhao's heart moved, and some memories emerged.
Xing Ji smiled and said, "Does it look familiar? There were no crows in this devil's cave, but with that guy, there was -" He suddenly turned around, grabbed a crow that was attacking from behind, and said:
"Death and shadow are together, noise and despair are flying together——"
"Jie Crow."
The last two words actually came from the mouth of the crow.
Tang Zhao was startled, then Xing Ji seemed to be nothing, and continued: "Under the command of Bi Fangjian, the general town of Lihuo Prison, one of the four major prison envoys is Jie Ya Suppressing Prison Envoy."
The crow croaked a few times and seemed to be laughing, but the sound was hoarse and made people feel uncomfortable.
It turned its gaze to Xingji and said, "Have you made progress?"
Xingji smiled and said: "Advance an inch, advance an inch."
The crow flapped its wings and said, "Damn it, is this just an inch of progress? If you make more progress, I'm afraid I won't split your fork."
Its tone is very relaxed. If the voice were better, it would really be like telling a joke.
Xingji laughed, showing satisfaction.
Tang Zhao breathed a sigh of relief and realized that the relationship between the two was actually good.
Crow turned his head and glanced at Tang Zhao, saying: "Your son? You are so lucky to have such a big son."
Only then did Tang Zhao know what birds of a feather flock together. When he mentioned himself, even though he was facing a crow, he saluted politely and said, "This is my nephew Tang Zhao. You call me uncle."
Crow said: "Get out of here - you are a junior in the Department of Land Inspection?"
Tang Zhaofang found out that the prison envoy was not an official from the Prosecution Department.
Xingji didn't hide anything, and said: "Half of it will be sent to Zhuoyu Villa for training. When he comes out, he will be a swordsmith and will be your living ancestor in the future."
Crow sneered: "How can I have as many relatives and elders as you?" He said to Tang Zhao: "You won't learn well from Xingji, but it's not bad to go to Zhuoyu Villa. Come to me after you come out, and uncle will give you some good things. Something." Then he turned to Xing Ji and said, "You know how to find me." After saying that, he flapped his wings and flew away to chase the crows.
In the distance, I saw a flock of crows circling over a place, as if there was a layer of dark clouds in the sky.
Xingji looked at the crows from a distance and said, "There are dead people in that place. Crows are the birds that announce mourning."
Turning his head, he smiled and said: "But he's a pretty good person, and he's very loyal. Do you remember that when you were besieged by Wang Liang, I borrowed his magical weapon to turn into a group of crows to save you. This guy's swordsmanship is very good. It's easy to use everywhere. But I'm too strict and never give away my own magic tools. I just made a few of them before, but now I've used them all. I'll ask for a few more later."
He had better not talk about what happened next. After talking about it, Tang Zhao's heart became increasingly clouded, and he finally said: "Actually, that was not the first time I saw those crows. The first time was at a human trafficker's place."
Xingji blurted out: "That's impossible."
Tang Zhao said seriously: "Maybe the swordsmanship is similar, but I have really seen a large group of crows at the human trafficker." He said that he saw Bao Renxing release a group of crows in a deserted village, and he escaped with the magic weapon given by Xingji. Wu Yi Shi spoke up and said: "I can't tell if it's Jie Ya or not. But the magic weapon in the hands of the trafficker that day had cracks. It was a Yuan magic weapon."
The elemental magic weapon is not a talisman-style magic weapon, but a magic weapon that is split directly with swordsmanship. It is difficult to preserve it for a long time and will disappear quickly. The longevity lock given to Tang Zhao on the day of execution was also a Yuan magic weapon.
Yuanjutsu weapons must be made by the swordsman himself.
Xing Ji listened blankly and was silent for a long time. He held his forehead with his hands and said, "You... go practice swordplay."
The two practiced swordsmanship in the Demon's Cave for two days. Tang Zhao felt that he had mastered a set of sword moves. This trip was not in vain. Xingji took him in a big circle and went out through another exit.
Outside the exit, there is actually a bustling street with shops on both sides, ranging from government offices to major businesses, with all kinds of materials and utensils available. The two of them wandered around the shop, Xing Ji spent a lot of money, Tang Zhao wanted to buy whatever he liked, and also bought whatever he didn't like. Anyway, Tang Zhao has a jar, so he can fit as many as he wants. Tang Zhao thought it was too much, so he refused again and again, Xing Ji said: "Just this time. I won't subsidize you if you enter Zhuoyu Villa, and you have no support. You can only receive a casual salary at most. What can you do with three taels of silver a month?" Let’s stay longer now and bring some dry food to prepare for the famine.”
Tang Zhao was originally embarrassed to spend so much money and wanted to borrow it from him, but when he thought about it carefully, he already called him Mr. Xing, so why should he be so indifferent? Wouldn't it be ridiculous if he and Mr. Chen went out to buy something and said they borrowed it? When he becomes a swordsmith and opens a large group company, he can pay Xing Ji a lot of dividends. Then he accepted the gift.
After making such a purchase, the two set out on the road again.
From beginning to end, Xingji never mentioned Jie Crow again.
Only when the road forked at a place, Xingji turned his head and looked at the black smoke rising from the crater in the distance. He sighed silently, whipped up his horse, and headed east without looking back.
