one
During the journey of more than a thousand miles, Xie Xiangcai and the Sixth Young Master hardly stopped, heading north all the way, and finally arrived at an inn at the foot of Mount Yi in the early morning of the fourth day.
The Sixth Young Master paid for the room out of his own pocket, and then he and Xie Xiangcai ate some hastily in the inn, rested for an hour or two, and then got ready again and prepared to march up the mountain.
Xie Xiangcai had never traveled such a long distance, and his body was already weak. Fortunately, he could find an inn to rest for a while. Otherwise, he might not have been able to get up even halfway up the mountain, and would have rolled down the mountain!
The further north you go, the colder the climate becomes. When Xie Xiangcai and the Sixth Young Master just walked up the mountain plank road, a few snowflakes were already falling faintly.
Xie Xiangcai panted heavily, and he and the Sixth Young Master rushed towards the mountain one step at a time. After walking up the hundred or ten steps, the young man felt a little powerless and stopped holding on to the stone wall.
Young Master Six, who was running non-stop in front, noticed that there was no movement behind him, so he stopped and turned around, saying "Uh-huh" several times to the young man who was squatting on the spot and couldn't walk.
Xie Xiangcai waved his hand quickly, "Sixth Senior Brother, I can't walk anymore, I really can't walk!"
"Shh~"
Just when Xie Xiangcai couldn't squat anymore and fell down on the steps, a large woven basket flew over his head, and a loud whistle came from above.
Prime Minister Xie raised his head and saw three bright-looking young people standing in the middle of the basket. They looked at the young man who fell on the ground with mocking expressions and whistled wildly.
The young man opened his mouth, then turned his head to look at the innocent-looking Sixth Young Master.
The Sixth Young Master immediately understood and waved his hands crazily, then pointed to the endless path up the mountain and kept saying "Uh-huh".
Xie Xiangcai couldn't help but curse in his heart. Damn it, Sixth Senior Brother, even though he had a "roller coaster" to go up the mountain, he still had to let himself and his boring gourd go up the mountain step by step!
However, the Sixth Young Master's attitude was very resolute. Seeing Xie Xiangcai, he sat down as if he was cheating. He quickly rolled up his sleeves and went up to pull him up, and then walked up the mountain without looking back.
Xie Xiangcai sighed, and could only helplessly break away from the Sixth Young Master's strong hand. He used the original power of his body to pour into his legs and feet, and followed his Menghulu Senior Brother step by step.
Along the way, a basket flew past Xie Xiangcai's head. All the sect disciples on the basket looked at the sweaty young man in a big coat below like a fool.
They were all a little happy in their hearts. After all, by the time this guy reached the top of the mountain, he would probably have exhausted all his strength. In this way, they would have one less opponent.
As the Sixth Young Master walked up, he turned his head slightly and looked at his junior brother behind him, the complex look in his eyes getting stronger and stronger.
In his heart, he couldn't help but blame the seventh junior brother who only liked drinking and writing poetry. After all, judging from the current situation, the seventh junior brother didn't seem to have taught the younger junior anything useful.
Xie Xiangcai's body was weak. He tripped over the steps after saying "Hey!" and rolled straight down the mountain. He rolled down dozens of steps and finally hit a resting surface.
He held the back of his head that hurt from the collision and stood up with a curse.
The young man looked at the steps above his head, feeling extremely bitter and irritable.
It’s not a problem to continue like this!
Now that most of his physical strength has been used up, based on this amount of loss, I am afraid that when he reaches the top of the mountain, he will not have enough energy to participate in the King Ceremony!
The Sixth Young Master shook his head and sighed, standing still and looking at the young man sitting on the ground with his head buried in anger.
Both of them were silent for a long time.
Xie Xiangcai knew in his heart that Brother Menghu Sixth would definitely not let him take the most convenient road up the mountain. This was the only road in front of him now.
The Sixth Young Master let out a long breath, and just when he was about to break his command and speak those four words, Xie Xiang, who was not far below him, suddenly stood up with his hands on the ground.
In Xie Xiangcai's mind, the scene where the Seventh Senior Brother asked him to carry a gourd up the mountain to deliver wine flashed through his mind a few months ago.
That is going up the mountain, and this is also going up the mountain. What is the difference between the two?
The young man muttered to himself, "What's the difference..."
He raised his head and looked at the countless steps at the end of his sight, and then his mind moved, as if he had once again arrived at the back mountain of Dongfeng City.
Although Yishan Mountain is high, it can only have five back hills at most. If it is not good enough, it can only have eight back hills. If not, ten back hills will be enough, right?
That day, Xie Xiangcai rushed from the city to the top of the mountain with a gourd of wine in his hand, back and forth several times. Why didn't he feel tired at that time?
"Nature means not deliberately. It exists in the invisible, but also in the tangible. If you can be natural at all times, your martial arts will be considered invincible."
More than a month ago, the words of the Seventh Senior Brother echoed in Xie Xiangcai's ears again.
He took a deep breath, and his understanding of "nature" seemed to have deepened by two points.
Of course, what natural method should be used to climb to the top of Mount Yi?
The nature of a mountain is earth. The earth is tamped to form the ground, and the stones are built into the steps.
If you resist in your heart and feel tired, you will definitely not reach the natural state.
The young man was afraid of going up the mountain, so even if he controlled the original power of his body and poured it into his legs, he still felt powerless.
Xie Xiangcai held his breath and felt the oncoming cold wind with his heart. The cold wind drove the dead branches along the way and made a rustling sound. This was the same frequency as Mount Yi.
Don’t burden yourself with climbing, don’t be frightened by the towering mountains of Mount Yi, just look at it from the ground. Walk as you normally would, and go up the mountain as you normally would.
Treat all things with a normal heart, regard the changes of all things as normal, feel the wind with your heart, feel the rustling of dead branches with your heart, and move forward steadily, this is nature.
Prime Minister Xie took a long breath, and clouds of mist overflowed from his joints.
On the steps not far away, the Sixth Young Master's expression relaxed and he couldn't help but give a thumbs up to the seemingly cynical Seventh Junior Brother and the little Junior Brother in front of him.
Sure enough, Master's confidence is credible.
A master is a master after all, and no matter what, he can still have such an outstanding disciple.
Xie Xiangcai suddenly felt a lot more relaxed in his heart. As he walked upwards, he actually closed his eyes lightly in contentment. Halfway through, he happened to come to the Sixth Young Master's side.
"Sixth Brother, let's continue on our way!"
two
Mount Yi rises from the ground and reaches nine hundred feet.
The Lotus Peak, hidden in the sky, is said to be one of the few Tianmen in the Daqing Dynasty.
A hundred years ago, the last temple owner of Lotus Temple, who was carrying a colorful fly whisk, was said to have achieved enlightenment and ascended to the realm of ascension on Lotus Peak.
Although there have been many outstanding figures at Lotus Temple in Mount Yi over the past hundred years, no one has ever reached the level of the previous old temple master. Today, the current master of Lotus Temple, who has the highest martial arts achievements on this mountain, only has the strength of the eighth realm.
Although Xie Xiangcai had already used the so-called "natural method" to rush up the mountain, the Yishan Mountain was hundreds of feet high, so even though he had a relatively rich source of raw power, he felt exhausted.
The Sixth Young Master led the way in front of Xie Xiangcai from the beginning to the end without making a single sound. However, Xie Xiangcai could tell from his senior brother's hair that was wet with sweat that he was probably not feeling well at this time.
The sun was already high in the sky when the two of them went up the mountain. Now that they had traveled the mountain road for nearly three hours, the sky was gradually getting dark.
Little snowflakes began to fall from the air and landed on the young man's shoulders.
The young man raised his head, stuck out his tongue, let a snowflake fall on it, and felt it slowly melt on the tip of his tongue.
The snowflakes are sweet and not as heavy as those in the northern regions.
The Sixth Young Master also paused, stretched out his palm, and caught three or two four-petaled snowflakes.
He raised his head and looked at the Taoist temple hidden in the clouds and mist in the dark night. His open palms slowly clenched into fists, and the remaining warmth in his palms warmed the snowflakes into water droplets.
Everyone in the world knows about the snow in Mount Yi, but I am the only one who sees people in the snow.
Behind the Taoist temple hundreds of feet high in the sky, a lotus paradise is surrounded by mist.
The masked woman sitting cross-legged on a huge lotus, her mood fluctuates with the water surface and is no longer calm.
She stood up, and in a flash, she arrived in front of Lotus Peak, on a stone block that could only be used for footing.
The woman leaned down, looking like a torch through the layers of clouds, and finally landed on a young man wearing a big coat and an ordinary face.
Her eyes fluctuated like waves suddenly rising from a thousand-foot deep pool, which was extremely stunning.
The Sixth Young Master standing on the steps seemed to feel that gaze, and he suddenly raised his head, but only saw an endless cloud of mist.
I saw his footsteps suddenly quickening. At this moment, he didn't care about the astonished young junior brother behind him. His figure disappeared from the place in an instant, leaving only an afterimage and the astonishing aura.
Xie Xiangcai looked at the Sixth Senior Brother who was flying towards the top of the mountain. He quickly shook off the snowflakes on his head and shoulders, mobilized all his strength, and followed closely behind him, rushing towards the top of the mountain.
Two streams of cold white and light cyan light swept back and forth towards the top of the mountain, and with the last trace of moonlight that had not been obscured by clouds, they came to a mountain wall full of pavilions.
There is a stone door carved on the steps in front of the mountain wall. The stone door is not wide, just enough for two people to walk side by side.
The gatekeeper is a ten-year-old Taoist boy. The Taoist boy has two balls in his head and is dozing off against the stone pillars supporting the stone gate.
When the last ray of moonlight was swallowed up by the clouds, he immediately opened his eyes, became energetic, stretched out and closed the door.
"Huhu——"
Two blasts of wind came out, and the child almost fell to the ground with a "Hey!"
He looked at the young man and young man standing in front of the door, and was stunned for a moment. Then he cleared his throat and bowed, "Sixth Young Master, Eighth Young Master, the time is just right."
The Sixth Young Master panted slightly and walked straight towards the stone gate without saying a word.
Xie Xiangcai almost collapsed to the ground. Fortunately, Xiao Daotong smiled and stepped forward to hold his arm, which saved the young man from being embarrassed in this unfamiliar place.
The boy looked Xie Xiangcai up and down with great interest, smacked his tongue and said, "The Eighth Young Master's strength seems to be a bit lacking!"
Xie Xiangcai's face looked a little ugly, but he still had no nerve to speak in front of this little local snake. He followed the example of the shopkeeper of Dongfeng City Tavern and greeted the other party's parents and ancestors.
But when the child glanced at Xie Xiangcai's forehead, he opened his mouth in surprise.
He released his grip on Xie Xiangcai's arm, cupped his fists and said, "Dare you ask the Eighth Young Master's name?"
When Xie Xiangcai saw the other party saluting, he returned the salute and said, "I would like to thank Xiangcai."
The little boy thought for a while, "The talent of the general and the minister is good. I am Long Xiang, whose surname is Long and Xiang."
The young man was shocked when he heard this, and looked at Dao Tong's tender cheeks. At a certain moment, golden light seemed to burst out from the other person's body, forming two astonishing Dharma images behind him.
One dragon and one elephant stand opposite each other.
Xie Xiangcai quickly shook his head, the golden light dissipated, and the Dharma image disappeared.
The little Taoist boy seemed to be smiling but not smiling. He really wanted to know the previous situation, but he didn't seem to know.
Xie Xiangcai did not dare to stay here too long. He then felt the direction in which the Sixth Senior Brother's aura dissipated, and then a stream of light flashed under his feet, turning into a blur and galloping towards that place.
The light cyan stream slowly slowed down as the blurred outline of the Taoist temple not far away gradually became clear, and finally stopped next to the Sixth Young Master standing behind the crowd.
Xie Xiangcai breathed slightly and followed the gaze of the Sixth Young Master. He saw a circular open space in front of the gap between the shoulders. The open space was divided into two colors: Yin and Yang. In the middle of the intersection between black and white, three people wearing purple gold Taoist robes stood quietly. people.
Among the three people, two old Taoists with gray hair and beards were standing on both sides, holding blue whisks.
In the center, a tall and straight masked woman stood quietly, half of her cheeks covered by a vague white gauze, only revealing her bright eyes like stars and a pair of slender figures that were obviously painted. Dai Mei.
Xie Xiangcai was surprised by the fresh and detached temperament of the woman in the middle. Just as he was about to turn his head to ask the sixth senior brother, he felt a very chaotic aura sweeping out of the other party's body.
The Sixth Young Master was trying hard to control his expression at this time, so his eyebrows became particularly ferocious, and the ends of his eyebrows moved the corners of his eyes, creating messy wrinkles like tree roots.
"Heroes from all walks of life have arrived, junior sister, just cut the moonlight apart..."
A hoarse old voice came from the Lotus Temple behind the masked woman and the two old Taoists. The masked woman nodded slightly, and then her footsteps lightly touched the ground. Her body was as light as a swallow, and she flew to the top of the Lotus Temple. She flipped her wrist. A colorful whisk appeared out of thin air.
The woman raised her fly whisk and waved it toward the clouds above her head. A crack emerged from the clouds. In the next breath, a ray of moonlight shot out and fell on the people in front of the square.
"Pfft——"
The moonlight had just set when several sounds of vomiting blood could be heard one after another.
Xie Xiangcai, who was standing at the back of the crowd, looked in shock at the warriors from all walks of life who were flying down the mountain with black energy coming out of their heads.
The masked woman's voice was cold, "We have eliminated all the idlers. Everyone, please take a short rest. The king-conferring ceremony will begin the next morning."
After saying this, the figure of the masked woman suddenly disappeared, leaving only a streak of moonlight shining through the clouds.
The Sixth Young Master took a long breath, took out a wooden sign from his arms, stuffed it into the palm of Xie Xiangcai's hand without saying a word, and then moved towards the direction of the masked woman's mistress.
Monk Xie Xiangcai, Zhang Er, was confused. He looked at the direction where Senior Brother Menghulu Liu disappeared, and then looked down at the wooden sign in his hand.
"Is this...the house key?"
