Zhang Lingtian looked at the silk silk he unfolded and said nothing for a long time. People around him were so anxious that they came forward to see what words were written on the silk silk. However, when they looked around, they found that there were no words written on the silk silk. One word.
"Master Zhang, do you know what this means?" Even though Master Kongkong was well-informed, he felt incredible at this moment.
Zhang Lingtian sighed and said: "This means that my three apprentices were in danger. Before they could write a letter for the carrier pigeon to take back, the pigeon cage was opened, and the carrier pigeon flew back naturally."
When Zhang Lingtian said this, he heard a few "coo-coo-coo" calls from the sky, and a carrier pigeon fell into the courtyard, struggled a few times on the ground, and passed out.
Seeing this situation, a disciple of Tianling Dao came forward, picked up the pigeon, took off the bamboo tube tied to his feet, and handed it to Zhang Lingtian.
Zhang Lingtian took the bamboo tube, deftly pulled out the stopper, shook out a roll of silk from the bamboo tube, quickly opened it, and found that there was still no word left on the silk.
"In my opinion, since the three disciples of Tianling Dao have gone to Kunlun Mountain, we should go to Kunlun Mountain to search first. We have been waiting here for almost three months. It is not an option to continue like this."
Master Xuyun’s words were approved by most people.
"Yes, we should go find them. The pigeons are flying back now, which means that even if they are in danger, it only happened in the past three or two days. This matter cannot be delayed." Lingshanzi, who has always been quiet, couldn't help but say.
At this time, everyone heard the sound of "coo coo coo" coming from above their heads, and another pigeon staggered and landed next to the pigeon cage.
Upon seeing this, Lan Ling'er rushed to the attic, took off the bamboo tube from the pigeon's foot, and came downstairs to hand it to Zhang Lingtian.
As before, not a single word was left on the silk in the bamboo tube.
"I observed that the three homing pigeons all flew from the northwest, and they were just exhausted. The pigeons could fly for three days without eating or drinking in the air. Judging from the direction and the three-day flight distance of the pigeons, the place where the pigeons took off should be in Tianshan Mountain. and the Altyn Mountains area between Kunlun Mountains." Master Kongkong said.
"That place is inaccessible. Could it be that they were attacked by the Soul-Chasing Witch and Linghu Wuya?" Lu Bucai couldn't help but ask.
"It's hard to say this, but as far as I know, there is a Western Region sect called the Tocharian Sect, which used to be active in that area decades ago, but I don't know if it is still there now," Master Kongkong said.
"The father of the Shadowless Man of the Sun God Cult came from the Western Regions. Maybe, the two have a very deep connection." Zhang Lingtian said.
"In this case, we should set off early and find Master Zhang's three disciples first before making any calculations." Lingshanzi said.
"Everyone go and prepare first. If you don't have half a year to go, it may be difficult to return to the Central Plains."
Master Kongkong made his final determination.
From Zhongnan Mountain to the west, there are sparsely populated areas, sparse vegetation, and vast desolate areas.
Everyone brought enough dry food and supplies, rode horses and headed northwest along the back mountain trail to start the long journey.
Considering that the disciples in Zhongnan Mountain were all third-generation disciples of the Tianling Dao and their martial arts were not very high, Zhang Lingtian asked all the disciples in the Dao to stay, and asked Xie Fei and Xie Yan to take charge of matters in the Dao and take care of their families. He also sent disciples to the Wuliang Sect. , Dian Cang Sect and Tianlong Sect inform Zou Zu, Dao Cong, Yan Kun and Yang Rourou of their whereabouts. If possible, ask them to go to the Altun Mountain area to find others for help.
Although everyone was riding on horseback, the road ahead was bounded by vast mountains. The road was difficult and the walking was slow. It was not until dark that they walked out of the hundreds of miles.
Seeing a small village ahead, everyone rode into the village and arrived at the door of a large courtyard. Lan Tian dismounted and knocked on the door.
When the door opened, half of an old man's head emerged.
The old man looked at the people in front of him carefully and said, "Where are you from? Do you want to stay here?"
"We are coming from Zhongnan Mountain and heading towards the Western Region. I want to spend the night at your house tonight." Master Kongkong dismounted and said to the old man.
Hearing this, the old man opened the door, motioned for everyone to dismount and enter the courtyard, and said: "My place is quite spacious, but it's a bit shabby. You can stay wherever you like."
The old man looks to be in his sixties, with white beard and hair, but his eyes are lively, and he is different from ordinary farmers working in the fields.
Sure enough, when Lan Tian asked the old man what he did in his daily life, the old farmer said: "My family has been a hunter for many generations. I have been hunting with my father since I was a child. My ancestors have been hunters for many generations. After my wife passed away last year, I stopped hunting." Let’s go hunting in the mountains again.”
"Old man, who else is there in your family?" Master Xuyun asked.
"I have three sons. One is married and has children and lives with me. He also hunts and farms for a living on weekdays. The other two have passed the exams and are officials in other places. They only come back once every two years."
"I see. No wonder the house is so spacious. It seems like a well-off family with no worries about food and clothing." Master Xuyun said enviously.
"It's just so so. There are unused rooms on the right hand side. You can just open them and live in whatever you want." The old man said, leading everyone to open the door of each room and enter the room to check.
There are five large rooms in the house on the right. Each room has a bed, quilts, tables, chairs and benches. It seems that they are cleaned frequently.
Master Kongkong made a rough estimate and said: "Although there are many people, we can still stay here if we squeeze in."
After arranging accommodation for everyone, the old man went to the kitchen and asked his son and daughter-in-law to prepare dinner for everyone.
After dinner, the fourth son of Qingcheng, Lan Ling'er, went back to their room to rest first. Lu Bucai didn't like the excitement, so he said goodbye and left first. The others were chatting with the old man in the courtyard.
Master Kongkong asked the old man: "Old man, seeing that you live in such a remote place, you still read and write to test for fame. Is this a custom passed down from our ancestors?"
The old man smiled and said, "I'll show you my library."
The old man took the lead and led everyone to a big house behind the main hall. They saw tens of thousands of books neatly placed on wooden shelves in the house, and they couldn't help but be surprised.
"According to the family tree, our Yangjia Village immigrated from Zhongnan Mountain hundreds of years ago."
Hearing what the old man said, everyone suddenly became interested. It turned out that the old man's surname was Yang. I wonder if he was a descendant of Yang Guo, who carved the Palm of Ecstasy in the grotto.
Everyone sat down on the stools in the room, and the old man's two teenage grandsons poured tea for everyone.
"Old man, how do you write the Yang family's genealogy?"
Master Zhang Lingtian knew that family trees were generally not allowed to be shown to outsiders, so he didn't let the old man take out the family tree and just asked.
"The family tree records that our ancestors were two young people named Yang. Their parents were martial arts masters. They lived in seclusion in Zhongnan Mountain with them. When they became adults, their parents asked them to go down the mountain to make a living on their own," Old Man Yang said.
"Why did they settle here? Wouldn't it be better to make a living in a city not far from Zhongnan Mountain?" Lan Ling'er asked puzzledly.
"They have lived in seclusion in the mountains with their parents since they were young. They don't like the excitement. I heard that one morning, their mother asked them to walk to the northwest. They would settle wherever it got dark. Finally, they came here, right here. After they settled down, their descendants are now eight generations old. In addition to those who go out to make a living, there are now more than 100 households in the village, all descendants of the two of them."
"Is your ancestor who lives in seclusion in the mountains named Yang Guo?" Zhu Yu couldn't help but ask.
"Exactly, little brother, how did you know?" Old Man Yang asked strangely.
Zhu Yu told the story of seeing the poem on the cliff of Zhongnan Mountain and entering the grotto and seeing the sarcophagus and martial arts secrets.
After hearing this, Old Man Yang lowered his head and pondered for a long time, and then said: "I have read the poem, but I didn't know there was a grotto behind the stone wall, and naturally I have never been in it. So, the legend that our ancestors were buried in Zhongnan Mountain is indeed true."
"By the way, Old Uncle Yang, after all these years, have you never practiced martial arts again?" Ling Yazi asked.
"Everyone has to practice self-defense and physical fitness, horseback riding and archery skills since childhood, but those advanced martial arts have not been passed down. Our ancestors said that practicing martial arts is not enough to make a family prosperous. Only by practicing writing can a family be prosperous. It has endured for a long time, so our Yang family has changed to study literature. Over the past two hundred years, there have been many court officials and literati. Of course, those who cannot get out have to rely on the mountains to eat, hunt, farm and gather. Digging medicine for a living.”
Hearing what Old Man Yang said, the experts couldn't help but sigh.
