In front of Baihu Hall.
This sudden scene caused the crowd to briefly riot, but it ended just as quickly.
In the blink of an eye, Jiang Huai, the leader of the martial arts alliance, punched out the werewolf who had "self-exploded his identity" from the air. But until the dust settled, many people present belatedly realized and exclaimed.
"Du Liang!"
Beside Ji Ping'an, Lu Qing's cheek twitched and he looked at the swordsman lying in a pool of blood in shock, his eyes full of confusion and shock.
"The traitor of the Four Saints Sect, it was Du Liang who assassinated the leader of the Tiancan Sect and Mr. Xu!"
The rest of the Jianghu people were also in disbelief.
Many people present had heard about this swordsman genius, but because of this, it was rare for anyone to doubt him.
After all, an elite in the world who has made a name for himself in the world has few enemies, and there is no reason to join the Four Saints Sect, which is known as the "Demon Sect".
"Hei Changshi, this person is really..."
Jiang Xiaotang also froze on the spot, still doubting himself.
Du Liang fell to the ground with his scarf scattered on his head, and blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, but he smiled:
"Unexpectedly, I thought I was cautious and avoided these warriors, but I didn't expect that I fell into the ways of the Immortal Family of the Beast Control Sect. It's not unfair."
Yu Yu clicked his tongue in surprise, turned his fair face and stared at Ji Pingan:
"How did you know?"
Ji Ping'an shook his head and said briefly:
"Last night, the Beast Control Sect released an 'eye bird' over the town."
The pupil bird... is a relatively special pet beast. Its combat power is very weak, but it has a strong innate ability to hide its traces, and it has many eye holes, which can monitor a large area...
Ji Ping'an returned last night. After being reminded by Jiang Jiang, he noticed the existence of "Tongniao" and immediately realized that the Beast Control Sect was also paying attention to this case.
The death of the leader of the Tiancan Sect was too sudden and there was no time to observe, but as a "walker", Hei Changshi would definitely not be inactive.
Therefore, after learning that the murderer struck again last night, Ji Ping'an knew that his whereabouts had most likely fallen into the sight of "Tongniao".
Then, before arriving at the White Tiger Hall, he had already knocked on the "token" secretly and called Hei Changshi.
He knows very well:
The Beast Control Sect will not allow this alliance to be broken. Facing the enemy of the Four Saints, the Beast Control Sect also needs the efforts of the Wulin League.
Although Yu Yu didn't have a lot of ideas, he was able to figure it out and said "Oh".
At this time, disciples of the Jiang family came forward and tied up the seriously injured Du Liang to prevent him from committing suicide.
Then under Jiang Huai's instructions, he dragged it under the "Baihu Hall Plaque".
During the process, the martial arts heroes kept yelling and yelling:
Know people, know faces, but don’t know hearts.
And when this former genius was suppressed by Bai Hu, Jiang Huai asked even more sternly:
"Were these two killed by you? Tell the truth!"
Du Liang remained silent. Suddenly, a disciple who was searching his body pulled out a jade token as black as ink from his arms. As it left his body, it shattered with a click. Du Liang grunted, his eyes blurred, showing fear. :
"yes……"
It was indeed a magic weapon... Ji Ping'an nodded slightly, so the other party relied on a plug-in to avoid yesterday's "lie detector".
Then, Du Liang narrated how he committed the crime, which was very different from what everyone had speculated.
At first, he planned to take advantage of the alliance's agenda to kill the leader of the Tiancan Sect. However, unexpectedly, Ji Ping'an became the biggest suspect by chance and drew most of the firepower for him.
It was precisely this reason that prompted him to speed up his attack on Xu Ming.
"You took refuge in the Four Sacred Cults? Why?" Jiang Huai's face turned pale when he heard this, and he asked sternly.
Du Liang struggled briefly, lowered his head and said nothing. He was tied and knelt in front of the hall, trembling all over.
There were constant shouts and curses around him, and he seemed to be resisting the pressure of the white tiger and refused to speak.
Ji Pingan's expression suddenly changed slightly:
"Something's wrong..."
at the same time.
Du Liang suddenly raised his head, his handsome face was twisted and ferocious, and a huge "bump" bulged between his eyebrows, as if there were strange maggots crawling under his skin, which was extremely shocking.
"what is that……"
In the exclamation, Hei Changshi raised his hand to take the person over, but saw the corners of Duliang's mouth suddenly cracked in an exaggerated arc, and his eyes were fierce and deep:
"It's too late, you're already too late, everyone will die..."
After saying that, a ball of blood exploded from between his eyebrows.
A black and red striped Gu worm corpse exploded, and Du Liang's whole body seemed to have been hit by a bullet. He tilted his body and fell to the ground with a "pop", and his breath was cut off.
The old doctor "King of Medicine" stepped forward, looked at it briefly, and his expression changed slightly:
"Could this be the 'gu insect' used by the Four Holy Religions to control people's hearts in the past? Demonic species?"
The expressions of Master Wuxin and others changed slightly:
"Isn't this thing extinct long ago? Why is it reappearing in the world?"
The scene was chaotic.
"Demon Seed"...
This word is somewhat unfamiliar in today's world, but it is recorded in the classics of various sects. It is a method used by the Four Holy Religions to control their subordinates.
It has made countless martial arts masters feel frightened and everyone is in danger.
Even the saint Yu Yu frowned:
"Have these people even managed to get rid of the poisonous insects?"
Ji Pingan's attention was only focused on Du Liang's last words:
"It's late, what's so late?"
…
…
A few days ago.
Qixia Town is located in Sanhuang County. There is a "Qi Dun Mountain" to the northwest, that is, towards Yuhang City, which is famous for its resemblance to a "Qi Dun".
There is a village at the foot of the mountain.
Ten days ago, people in the village fell ill one after another, became confused and confused, and then disappeared mysteriously.
When the news reached the county government, Sanhuang County Magistrate took it seriously and immediately sent the government chief to investigate. It took two days to go from the county seat to Qidun Mountain on horseback.
"Boss, the village ahead is probably where the accident happened, but it feels a bit eerie."
At the foot of Qidun Mountain, a group of three people from the Yamen rode on horseback and looked out, and a police officer muttered.
The leader he mentioned, the head of the Sanhuang County Yatie Catcher, looked displeased:
"You can't say anything strange, and you can't say anything weird."
Another detective said:
"Yes. But I'm always worried about whether there will be an epidemic."
The iron catcher shook his head and rejected it:
"A doctor has already looked at it. It is not an infectious disease that can be transmitted from person to person. Besides, I have brought Taoist elixirs here and am only staying for a short time. What should I be afraid of?"
The two of them touched the pills distributed by the Yamen in their arms and felt much relieved.
The iron catcher shook the reins and continued on his way, but even though he said this, when he looked at the village ahead, he also felt that the light was dim, like an invisible black veil in the air.
When the three of them entered the village, they felt more clearly that the heat of the sun was much lower.
The village is not big, but according to experience, seeing outsiders arriving will inevitably attract the attention of many villagers.
But in fact, only about a dozen villagers walked out.
The old man at the head was the village chief. His face was a little green at the moment. When he saw the official arrival, he hurriedly said:
"The little old man has met Mr. Cha..."
The square-faced iron catcher dismounted and waved his hand, and asked a few simple questions, but his brows furrowed slightly.
Although the dozen or so villagers in front of them were able to converse, their eyes were a little dull and their thinking was a little slow. I don't know if it was because of the light, but they always felt lack of blood.
"Okay, don't talk nonsense. We don't know how to treat diseases. We came here this time on the order of the county magistrate to investigate the disappearance of the villagers," Tie Captou said:
"Do you have any clues? Tell me in detail."
"Yes, yes." The old village chief was stunned for a moment, then nodded slowly and said:
“At first, some people fell ill, and then at dawn, they found that they were missing and no one could find them.
Later, someone fell ill again, so we sent people to guard him all night. As a result, in the middle of the night, we saw the sick person getting up, walking out of the house, and walking toward the creek outside the village, walking straight into the water. So he was tied up, and other people who fell ill did the same thing... Later, all the sick people in the village were tied up. "
oh?
The iron catcher's eyes lit up and he said:
"Which stream? Where is it specifically? Take me to see it."
As a county police chief, he had more knowledge than ordinary people. He had also been in contact with practitioners, and he immediately realized that this matter was not simple.
After hearing this, the old village chief was stunned for a few seconds, and then nodded blankly:
"Come on……"
As he said that, he led the remaining villagers towards a certain direction of the village. A policeman whispered:
"Boss, these people are weird, they look infiltrative."
The iron catcher glared at him, but he also tightened his grip on the hilt of the magical sword.
After a while, the group of people walked around a forest and saw a stream in front of them.
It runs through the entire village, extending into Qidun Mountain at one end and merging into the vast water veins of Sanhuang County at the other end.
"That's it." The village chief pointed in the distance.
The iron catcher stepped closer and found that this was a shallow shoal.
It should be a place where villagers usually get water.
However, what surprised him was that something seemed to protrude from the shallow water on the beach under the sun.
"Boss, it looks like a coffin, no, it's a 'golden coffin'!"
A sharp-eyed policeman ran over and exclaimed.
A golden coffin?
The iron catcher was stunned. How could there be a coffin in the water?
No, the key point is the word "gold". Who is rich enough to cast a coffin out of gold?
It's probably made of gold paint or copper... Could it be that there is an ancient tomb in Qidun Mountain?
Was there a coffin washed down the mountain by the rain?
Falling into a stream?
Tie Qiao's mind was spinning, he felt inexplicably uneasy in his heart, and wanted to raise his hand and say something.
But when the two subordinates heard the word "gold", they had long forgotten their fear, stepped on the water quickly, walked towards it, and then surrounded the coffin, shouting:
"Boss, come quickly and take a look."
The iron catcher hesitated for a moment, then slowly walked over, pressing the handle of the knife.
I saw that the coffin was inserted diagonally in the water, with the lower half deep into the sand and the upper half exposed.
The coffin board was loose and almost lifted, and a blackened arm inside the coffin could be seen through the gap, as if it had been baptized by a catastrophe.
The surface shone with a faint metallic light, revealing an evil feeling.
"Back off! This thing may be a bit evil..."
As the iron catcher spoke, he suddenly realized that no one was answering. He raised his head and saw two government officials suddenly stiffened, their faces ashen, and they fell straight into the stream.
The iron catcher's pupils shrank suddenly, and then he saw the corpses of villagers lying in the mud and sand of the creek, bowing to the golden coffin like a pilgrim.
Kick!
Tie Captou was horrified and subconsciously took a few steps back. He drew his sword with a "swipe" sound, but he heard a deep laughter coming from behind him.
Those villagers!
The iron catcher subconsciously turned around and looked at the village chief and others waiting on the shore.
At the same time, in the golden coffin behind him, a finger suddenly moved lightly on the front of the charred arm.
…
…
In front of Baihu Hall.
Du Liang died unexpectedly, and the news of the reappearance of a poisonous insect named "Demon Seed" was revealed. Suddenly, everyone in the Wulin Alliance was in danger, and finally realized:
The importance of eradicating the Four Holy Religions.
If we talk about the past, the reason why everyone formed an alliance was just because they were worried that the Four Holy Religions would carve up and compete for their inherent interests.
At that moment, when seeing Du Liang's death, an atmosphere of anxiety, urgency, and even panic began to pervade.
If the Four Saints have regained control of this method, then Du Liang, who has broken the Four Realms, will be controlled and driven by it. How confident are the other Jianghu people present that they can resist?
"Everyone!" Jiang Huai's face darkened and he said loudly:
"The Four Saints are brutal in their methods and have mastery of demonic species. They have just begun to recover. I don't think they have many means. If they cannot be eradicated as soon as possible, once they are allowed to expand and the demonic species overflow, I am afraid that we will no longer be free. Become someone else’s puppet!”
As soon as these words came out, the strong men of the old and new martial arts fell silent.
Realize that compared to life and death, the so-called "martial arts battle" is really nothing.
Chen Qingsheng also took the opportunity to encourage, saying that the top priority should be to deal with the Four Holy Religions.
"I'm afraid our action is already too late." Ji Ping'an said with an ugly expression and looked around at everyone:
"Do you still remember that the fortune teller said yesterday that he foresaw a disaster?"
Disaster... everyone's heart sank.
At this time, a horn suddenly sounded, which immediately attracted everyone's attention. Jiang Huai suddenly raised his head and looked outside the courtyard.
Immediately, the sound of horse hooves was heard approaching.
A group of Wulin League disciples rushed into the town on horseback. When they arrived in front of the White Tiger Hall, they got off their horses and rushed into the courtyard, panting:
"Alliance leader! The spies have received news that corpses have been resurrected and murders have occurred in many places in Sanhuang County. It is suspected that the devil is causing trouble. Someone in the sect was attacked by corpses. After the counterattack, it was discovered that they were suspected of being controlled by Gu insects..."
boom--
The scene suddenly boiled, and Ji Ping'an sighed.
There is no need to listen to the subsequent words. With his knowledge, he can already guess the situation from the description:
"I know the plans of the Four Holy Religions."
Jiang Xiaotang's heart was in confusion. Hearing this, he couldn't help but look at him:
"Master Li, what did you say?"
Ji Ping'an shook his head and said:
"The Four Saints probably used a certain method to spread the poison, using the people in the surrounding counties as carriers and nutrients. This is the method of 'refining corpses and raising poison'. It is a unique magic method in ancient times, the original poison. Insects are weak and can only invade the bodies of mortals.
After entering the human body, only part of it can survive, and it transforms the mortal body through the spiritual elements of heaven and earth, making its skin as hard as iron. These become "iron corpses", and these iron corpses will grow by attacking others and devouring flesh and blood. Get stronger gradually.
When it matures, the original Gu can transform into a 'devil species', and the corpse transformed by it can also be driven by the 'Corpse Refining Technique'..."
Hearing this, the expressions of everyone present changed suddenly.
Ji Pingan continued:
"The Four Saints knew that they couldn't sit back and wait for death, waiting for the major Jianghu sects to wipe them out, so they took the initiative to create chaos. Now if it has spread throughout the county, then we must take advantage of these iron corpses to be in a weak stage. Kill it, otherwise if it is allowed to grow, you will know the consequences."
The old doctor Yao Wang lost his voice:
"How dare they... not be afraid of attracting immortal masters from major sects to come?"
Ji Ping'an was silent. Those "old friends" who had returned from history even dared to make decisions about the fate of the Great Zhou Dynasty, let alone killing people, raising poison and refining corpses?
Speaking of this, Jiang Xiaotang suddenly looked at Hei Changshi:
"Can the Immortal Master of the Beast Control Sect come out of the mountain?"
The smile on Kuronagashi's face disappeared at this moment, and beads of sweat formed on his forehead, realizing that things were worse than expected.
He said in a deep voice:
"This matter is of great importance, and the Beast Control Sect has unshirkable responsibility, but I am afraid there is not enough time... Even if I go back to the mountain to report immediately, I am afraid it will be too late when the sect sends someone to come."
Jiang Huai also spoke:
"What if the Master takes action?"
Kuronagashi is bitter:
"The Master is naturally extremely powerful, but the premise is that the enemy is clear. But now that the poisonous insects are spreading among the people and the iron corpses are spreading everywhere, even if the Master takes action, he can't turn the entire Sanhuang County into scorched earth, right?"
The powerful ones in the Shenzang Realm are indeed powerful, but they are not omnipotent!
Unless they completely ignore the life and death of mortals and launch a saturation attack on the entire area, this is obviously impossible.
Chen Qingsheng also changed his expression and said:
"So, this matter can only be taken over by the Martial Arts Alliance first, and they will do their best to kill the Iron Corpse to prevent it from being promoted to a more powerful 'devil species', and then wait for the arrival of the immortal masters from the major sects and the imperial court."
Ji Ping'an remained silent. He felt that there were still some aspects of the matter that didn't make sense.
At this time, the warriors of the Martial Arts Alliance could no longer sit still.
They originally came to crusade against the Four Holy Religions, but now they realize even more:
Once the demon species and iron corpses become large-scale, then in the style of the "Four Holy Religions" in history, they, the strong martial arts masters, will sooner or later be enslaved by them.
Whether out of justice or self-preservation.
They all have no choice but to take action.
"What Master Chen said is absolutely true, so what are you waiting for?"
"I'd like to try it. What's so powerful about the Iron Corpse of Lao Shizi?"
For a moment, martial artists in the martial arts began to speak one after another, and their evil spirits rose. Seeing this, Jiang Huai immediately ordered an alliance meeting and invited strong men from each faction to discuss specific strategies.
"Master Li, aren't you going?"
Jiang Xiaotang couldn't help but be surprised when he saw Ji Ping'an turning around and leaving with the crowd.
Ji Ping'an just waved his hand and said:
"There are only three of us. Just let us know after you make an agreement."
Jiang Xiaotang felt a little regretful. She wanted to continue to test the identity of the "sword holder", but she could only give up now.
For a time, people in the arena dispersed.
Some of them go to the meeting, and some of them return to their residences, pack their bags, and prepare to deal with it.
At the same time, this shocking news was also spread to the entire Qixia Town.
Hei Changshi also left with a sullen expression, probably trying to use a special technique to report the news to the sect.
Wei Huayang in the crowd didn't say a word. He didn't know what he was thinking. He just looked at Ji Ping'an's back in the distance for a long time, quietly lost in thought.
…
Inside the inn.
"Ji Sichen, what should we do next? Why don't you go and sit in on their meeting?"
As soon as he returned to the room, Pei Qian couldn't help but talk.
Yu Yu also looked over. The smile on the saint's face disappeared now, and she became a little solemn:
"Did you find something?"
The saint's IQ is average, but her intuition at critical moments has always been very reliable.
Ji Ping'an said "yes", opened the window of the inn, looked at the people talking in teahouses and restaurants on the street outside, felt the strong tension in the air, and said:
"I suspect it's not that simple."
Yu Yu was curious: "Oh?"
Ji Pingan said:
"First, if the Four Saints just want to raise Gu and refine corpses, why do they have to choose Sanhuang County? They know that there are a large group of Jianghu people here, and Sanhuang County is not remote. It is far away from the Beast Control Sect and even the mainland. Zhou Jun's Mansion is not the farthest, so if I were to do it, of course I would choose a remote and unobtrusive place."
Yu Yu fell into deep thought:
"Yes. It's indeed abnormal."
Ji Pingan continued:
"The second is the method. 'Refining corpses and raising gu' sounds simple, but in fact it is very complicated. After the Four Holy Sects were eradicated in the past, in order to prevent the evil powers from harming people, the Great Zhou court drove out all the demon species. Although it cannot be said that it was completely There were no omissions, but it didn’t take long for the Four Saints Religion to be re-cultivated, which was a little faster.
Moreover, the most critical point is that the only way I can think of to spread the poisonous insects throughout the county in a short period of time, causing iron corpses to appear everywhere, is to use something with a big enough background as the source. ', and ask experts to use special secret methods to deal with it, and then spread it through water veins or wind and rain..."
Yu Yu recalled the records in the Taoist classics, frowned solemnly, and said:
"That's true. It's extremely difficult to do it. And you also have to have a way to avoid the eyes of the top powerhouses... Do you suspect that these two things are related?"
Ji Pingan nodded, his eyes flickering:
"I have some ideas, but I'm not sure yet and need confirmation. Leave me alone for a while."
Yu Yu was stunned for a moment, then pursed his lips, nodded and turned around.
He carried the confused Pei Qian out of the room and closed the door.
When he was the only one left in the room, Ji Pingan closed the window and meditated cross-legged on the floor.
After thinking for a moment, he first took out his space bag and poured out the star fragments.
Taking in the heavy fragments, he immediately noticed that the spiritual energy in his body was abnormally active.
And he felt a sense of blood connection with this fragment - this was the "harvest" he obtained last time by using astrology to peer into the secrets of the starry sky.
The most important thing was that the Taoist priest he saw in his "dream" threw him a wisp of strange power.
The power was hidden in the fragment, but it was always separated from him by a layer. It seemed that if he wanted to use it, he needed to completely master the "fragment".
"Is it probably equivalent to identifying the owner of a magical weapon?"
Ji Ping'an murmured silently, using spiritual elements to warm him up as a habit.
During these days, he cultivated it every night and could clearly feel that it was not far away from where he could use that power.
But it's not enough yet.
Ji Ping'an put away the fragments with his backhand, took out the ancient six-pointed astrolabe, and closed his eyes.
The next second, brilliant light was released in his eyes, and the complex star patterns on the simple astrolabe lit up one by one.
An illusory astrolabe suddenly appeared, slowly rotating around him, and Ji Pingan tried to divine himself again.
As expected, he noticed a force that interfered with fate, blocked the secrets of heaven, and prevented his exploration.
But perhaps as the crisis was approaching, a few broken and blurry "pictures of the future" finally entered his mind from the starlight.
After a while.
Ji Ping'an suddenly tightened his grip on the astrolabe, finished the horoscope, and the bright light disappeared from his eyes.
He exhaled gently and frowned.
Among the many scenes, the clearest one is of himself lying on the ground, looking at the sky, with a bamboo hat and a corner of a red skirt emerging in the dim sky.
…
Help catch bugs with typos
(End of chapter)
