"Ah Jing, I just received the news that Hall Master Bai is dead."
"Ah, which Hall Master Bai?"
"The Demon Control Hall selects the leader of Feng Hall, Bai Zhanyu. My original deputy and later successor."
"What? Him! How could he? Is he a demon?"
"Um."
In the study, Zhao Beiqing nodded with a heavy face and told Taoist He Jing what happened:
"He personally led a small team yesterday to patrol the Black Devil Ridge area as usual. You know, this is Commander Kuang's rule. For frontline patrols, the leader or deputy leader must lead the team to reduce casualties..."
"As a result, they were attacked by demons. He and ten people from the patrol team were killed on the spot. Later, nearly a hundred of the 200 people from the Selected Front Hall who rushed to the rescue died in the battle, including Qian, the deputy director."
"Ren Qian! He, he is dead too?" The woman couldn't help covering her face, and a low cry came from between her fingers: "What's going on, two Zifu, a hundred foundation builders..."
"The ones who ambush are five demon commanders." Zhao Beiqing looked serious.
"Magic Commander, five? How could there be so many?" Zhang Hejing asked in surprise.
"The cracks in the magic cloud are expanding..."
Zhang Hejing's beautiful eyes widened instantly: "The crack is expanding! Why haven't I heard you talk about it before?"
"Hey, I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry." Zhao Beiqing sighed: "In the past few years, I have often received letters from subordinates from the Selected Front Hall, telling me that the cracks in Moyun have become bigger and bigger. Normally you don’t meet a single demon commander in four or five years, but in the five years since I left, there have been four.”
"But no one could have imagined that this fifth time, five demon commanders would suddenly appear!"
According to the division of the Zhenyu Realm, the Demon Commander is roughly equivalent to the Master Zifu on the human side. There are also Demon Generals and Demon Soldiers under them, corresponding to Foundation Establishment and Qi Training Monks respectively. On it are the Demon King, the Demon Lord and the Demon Lord, corresponding respectively to the True Lord Jindan, the True Lord Yuanying and the True Lord Huashen. As for what's above, the Zhenyu world has never heard of it.
In the demon battlefield in Hanzhou, due to the restrictions of the Demon Cloud Crack, it was almost impossible for high-level demons above the Demon King to cross over, and it took several years for the Demon Commander to meet one. On the other hand, the demon generals and demon soldiers below were like the water of a river, flowing endlessly.
Therefore, in Hanzhou, it is not difficult for Kuangshuai, a Jindan, with several purple mansions from the Demon Control Palace and a group of experienced foundation-building Qi training disciples to deal with the invasion of the demons. Of course, because the demons are numerous in number and their methods are treacherous and changeable, they should not be careless. The monks of the Demon Control Palace still have to work much harder and more dangerously than other members of the Yunxiao Sect who are in the mainland. This also caused many monks to view Hanzhou as a fearful road and were unwilling to go there.
Thinking of this, Zhang Hejing suddenly remembered something:
"Did this happen to Moyun Crack when you left?"
"Thinking about it now, when I left, the crack was already expanding." Zhao Beiqing said solemnly: "It's just that the amplitude was not large at the time. There have been similar fluctuations in the past, so no one cared about it."
"My former subordinates thought that I had received the news in advance and was transferred because of my connections, which caused a lot of rumors. Even Commander Kuang, I heard there was quite a bit of criticism."
Zhang Hejing was speechless. Of course she knew the real reason why Zhao Beiqing was transferred back. The problem is, if you say it, how many people will believe it?
Looking at the frowning senior brother, it seemed that he had never seen such a solemn expression on his face in these years. Zhang Hejing couldn't help but feel his heartstrings touched, and stepped forward to hold the man's hands tightly.
"What happened later," she changed the subject: "Such a big thing happened. Where is Kuang Shuai? Didn't he rush over?"
"Of course he went," Zhao Beiqing continued to tell the contents of the jade slip: "But you also know that he is in charge of the Demon Castle, which is a thousand miles away from the Black Demon Ridge. When he arrived, the five Demon Commanders He had already escaped, but he was still asked to chase down the one behind him and kill him."
Zhang Hejing's tense pretty face relaxed slightly, then became worried again:
"Will the cracks continue to grow?"
"It's hard to say," Zhao Beiqing slowed down in speaking and looked extremely serious: "Some people even suspect that our Zhenyu Realm and the Demon Realm are getting closer to each other!"
"Oh my god! Wouldn't this lead to a realm war!" Zhang Hejing cried out.
"I hope it's a false alarm!" Seeing the dull atmosphere, Zhao Beiqing deliberately pretended to be relaxed and said with a smile:
"Besides, there are real people up there, there are ancestors, and even the old man from the Eastern Region is here to support us! Let's not worry about it."
He talked about another thing: "When I came here just now, Dai's family sent an invitation, inviting us to come over in the afternoon. Let's pack up now and let's go!"
…
Among the people invited by the Dai family, in addition to Zhao Beiqing and Zhang Hejing, there were also Qin Wan, two elders of the Zhao family, Zhao Yuer and her maid Caiyun.
The Dai family also has a courtyard in Zhuiyun Mountain, which covers a large area and is only a few miles away from Baoyuan Hall.
The group set off at the right time and arrived at the Dai family's residence in about a quarter of an hour.
The fifth elder took out the invitation and handed it to the concierge. Soon a housekeeper hurried over and ushered everyone into the house.
Looking at his cultivation, this steward actually has the strength to reach the late stage of foundation building. The strength of the Jindan family is extraordinary and comparable to other families.
Under the guidance of the housekeeper, everyone in the Zhao family walked through the corridor, passed through the corner gate, passed countless green tiles, pavilions and pavilions, and finally arrived at a gorgeous hall.
The two guards checked the invitation again and made respectful gestures. Then a maid came out and led everyone into the palace.
On the high platform in the center of the hall, there sat an old woman with silver-colored hair on her temples. She was dressed plainly and looked at everyone with a smile.
Zhao Beiqing raised his brows slightly, but suppressed his inner emotions and stepped forward to salute:
"Zhexi has met Senior Sister Chunci."
The old woman smiled and nodded: "Junior brother Zhexi, you don't have to be polite. I am old and my hair is all white. I don't like to move around recently. I hope you don't blame me for not going out to greet me."
After speaking, he ordered everyone to sit down.
Zhao Beiqing said he didn't dare and immediately sat down at the guest seat. Even so, I still felt a little unhappy when I had to look up at the woman every time I spoke.
This old woman's surname is Dai, her first name is Qing, and her nickname is Master Chunci. His cultivation level is in the middle stage of Zifu, which is not as good as him, but he is very old and has been alive for eight years.
For the Zifu monks, this is already an old age.
However, this person's identity is not simple.
She was born as a maid, but she is the current Jindan ancestor of the Dai family. The maid who has been with Dai Chenghong since he was a child is the person he trusts most.
Dai Cheng, who has three spiritual roots of red, gold, wood and red, is good at alchemy and weapon refining. After relying on a large amount of resources to reach the golden elixir realm, he also supported this maid with mediocre qualifications all the way to the Zifu.
In the Dai family, Master Chunci is the incarnation of Patriarch Chenghong. Every word and sentence she speaks represents the will of the Patriarch, and no clan member is allowed to violate it.
Her power was such that even the clan leader had to be submissive in front of her.
Of course, she has been deeply trusted by Dai Chenghong for hundreds of years, not only because of their close relationship, but also because this woman is accustomed to making suggestions, and her suggestions can often hit Dai Chenghong's mind, and he likes her. Accept.
So when Zhao Beiqing saw this old woman receiving him today, his heart skipped a beat, wondering if something could go wrong.
However, judging from the situation, Master Chunci was very kind-hearted at this time, chatting frequently with everyone in the Zhao family, especially Yue'er, who was praised repeatedly.
After half an hour of this, an old man came over and saluted her.
"This is the shopkeeper of my Dai family in charge of business in Zhoucheng," Dai Qing introduced: "Junior brother Zhexi, please arrange for someone to talk to him now. You have already agreed on the strategy with Yunqing Palace, and we don't have it here either. There will be complications, so please don’t worry.”
Zhao Beiqing felt reassured and quickly stood up to express his thanks.
The fifth elder and the sixth elder stood up immediately and were about to follow the shopkeeper. Qin Wan also stood up, but was stopped by Dai Qing:
"Xi'er," she told the maid who had been standing by, "take Mrs. Qin, Taoist He Jing, and Miss Yue'er to see the young lady."
"Junior brother Zhexi," she turned to Zhao Beiqing and said, "I heard that you are good at fire magic. I have collected several fire magic weapons here. I also asked my junior brother to come with me and help me taste them."
"Don't you dare disobey me?" Zhao Beiqing became very curious after hearing this and immediately thanked him.
Qin Wan and the other four people here followed the girl named Xi'er.
…
"Excuse me, Sister Xi'er," Caiyun stepped forward with a smile and greeted the girl: "Who is this young lady we are going to see?"
A Jindan family like this, plus mortals who cannot cultivate as immortals, has been passed down for countless generations. Among them, there are countless people who are direct descendants and have noble status. A young lady appears randomly, who knows who it is?
In fact, the Zhao family is also in the same situation. Qin Wan is only called Young Madam when she is in Zhao Mansion, the county town. When she returns to Zhao Town, she cannot be called like this, otherwise it will easily lead to chaos.
So Caiyun asked this question on behalf of the Zhao family. You have to figure out who you want to see!
"She is the daughter-in-law of the seventh master, the wife of the eighth master, and the mother of the ninth master." Xi'er said honestly.
Everyone was even more confused. What does the seventh master, eighth master, and ninth master mean?
The confused people were led into a rather elegant courtyard, and outside the courtyard they saw a noble lady wearing a phoenix pearl and emerald crown.
This woman looked to be in her thirties, with extremely beautiful appearance. She was also a monk and had the ability to practice Qi to perfection.
This woman was very enthusiastic. She took Qin Wan's hand affectionately as soon as she came up and introduced herself as Xue, named Yuan, and she was also a casual cultivator.
"As soon as I saw my sister, I felt very friendly," Xue Yu said with a smile: "My sister also comes from a small family and is a practicing cultivator. I can only tell my sister about the hard work during this period!"
Her unabashed attitude won Qin Wan some favor, so he held her hand and walked into the living room inside the courtyard.
The group of guests sat down respectively, and servants served spiritual tea, while Na'er said goodbye and left.
Qin Wan politely chatted with her for a few words and finally figured out her identity.
It turns out that in the Dai family, these seven masters, eight masters, and nine masters are honorific titles that only one kind of person can enjoy.
That is Dai Chenghong's biological brother - the direct descendant of Dai Chengfeng.
The two siblings had a great relationship back then, but it was a pity that Dai Chengfeng had no qualifications for cultivating immortals and died early.
After his death, he left behind a son. Dai Chenghong was already a foundation-building monk at that time and had some financial resources, so he gave his nephew a female monk.
After that, Dai Chengfeng's direct descendants will, under the arrangement of Dai Chenghong, name Nuxiu as their head wife and leave descendants.
As a result, if any of these descendants have the qualifications to cultivate immortals, Dai Chenghong will personally teach them for a while. Over time, except for the original Dai Chengfeng, these other people will be called the second master and the third master in turn, and this has always been the case. Continue.
"God also blessed me, the Dai family," Xue Yu said happily: "My child was also found to have the spiritual root of cultivating immortals when he was ten years old, so he was also called the Ninth Young Master by them."
"Oh," Qin Wan asked casually, "I wonder where this Ninth Young Master is now, and what is his cultivation level?"
"My Ah Jiu," Xue Kuan was even more excited when she mentioned her son: "But with the qualifications of the dual spiritual roots of metal and earth, he is an inner disciple of the Yunxiao Sect's Zhenguo Hall. He is twenty-seven years old this year, and he has perfected his qi cultivation. He will be born soon. We need to build a foundation!"
"Of course, compared to your Yue'er, her qualifications are dull." Xue Ju said enviously.
Qin Wan was polite quickly, but felt strange in her heart.
At this moment, a young girl walked in and saluted Xue Yu: "I've met the eighth aunt."
Immediately, he greeted Zhao Yue'er again: "Sister Yue'er, you are here!"
Zhao Yue'er was sitting uncomfortably, and was very happy to see her: "Sister Miaoying, hello!"
"Miaoying, take Yue'er out to play!" Xue Ju warned with a smile and quietly winked at Dai Miaoying.
The two little girls jumped out holding hands, Caiyun following closely behind.
Xue Yu's eyes stayed on Zhao Yue'er's back for a long time, then she turned around and looked at Qin Wan with a bright face:
"Sister Wan'er, we cultivators don't have so many twists and turns, let's be honest. The more I see your Yue'er, the more I like it. I feel like my own daughter. So, I want to give my family nine My brother is proposing marriage. It would be a good idea for our two families to have two surnames, what do you think?"
…
In the garden, Zhao Yuer called Dai Miaoying.
"Isn't that Ninth Brother of yours the ninth in the family? Why did he become the eighth master's son again?"
"I only say this to outsiders to avoid troublesome explanations." Dai Miaoying said weakly.
"Sister Dai," Zhao Yue'er said with a serious expression, "You didn't say anything the whole way and you called me to this garden, but what's the matter?"
Dai Miaoying sighed and didn't answer. Suddenly her heart moved and she looked at the corner of the garden.
Zhao Yue'er also looked after her, and saw a handsome man in white clothes with long eyebrows and stunning starry eyes walking out of the corner of the path.
The man stepped forward to the three girls and bowed deeply to Zhao Yuer:
"Dai Miaocheng has met Miss Yue'er."
