Shi Tieqiao lifted the teapot and slowly poured the light green hot tea into three teacups, "Your aunt also advised Brother Haosheng - either be like ordinary sects, teach martial arts when it's time to teach them, recruit troops when they need to recruit horses, that's not the case. Being easily destroyed by others. Or be like me and hide in the mountains and fields, no longer paying attention to the ups and downs in the world. The most inappropriate thing is to be 'half-hidden' like the Haosheng brothers."
Mu Qingyan was very emotional, holding the tea and sighed: "Nvxia Cai is really insightful. In the past ten years, the older generation of brave warriors in the Chang family have either grown old, sick or passed away, and there is no new force to make up for it. The Chang family has long been He no longer has the ability to protect himself. However, Daxia Chang still pays attention to the trends in the martial arts world and goes down from time to time to participate in the affairs of the world..."
He frowned, "Before, I saw that your eldest son and eldest daughter-in-law had no martial arts skills, and I thought you were overdoing it. Now that I think about it, this is a great sacrifice and wisdom. When I was in Taohua Village, whenever I saw Brother Shi and his wife having any Half a point of cultivation will inevitably give rise to suspicion.”
On the other hand, it was precisely because the eldest son Shi and his wife had no cultivation and were just like ordinary villagers that he did not doubt them. .
"Well, they have mediocre qualifications. Even if they learn martial arts, they are just three-legged cats. They might as well be ordinary people." Shi Tieqiao waved his hand, "But I can tell you one thing - the Lost Formation outside Changjiawu Fort The law was arranged by me and Zhaozhao's aunt, and unless someone leads the way, it is absolutely impossible to crack it."
"Is there a traitor?" Cai Zhao's eyes wandered to someone on the left.
Mu Qingyan rolled her eyes angrily.
"Whether it's a traitor or a foreign enemy, Changjia Wubao's formation must be broken within four years." Shi Tieqiao said, "Because the 'Feng Shui Eye' in the center of the formation must be moved every four years, and Once the 'Feng Shui Eye' moves, all formation paths will change."
Mu and Cai were stunned and looked at each other.
Mu Qingyan handed over his hand again: "Thank you, Master Shi, for your advice. In this way, the scope of the investigation will be much smaller. Next, I would like to ask about Lu Chengnan - why did he run away to become a monk? Why did Cai Nvxia and you agree?" Accept him..."
Shi Tieqiao raised a hand, and Mu Qingyan suddenly shut up.
"This matter really needs to be discussed carefully." The old man looked solemn.
——The time Lu Chengnan escaped was the first time Cai Pingshu saw him, but it was not the first time Shi Tieqiao saw him.
"Actually, there are also reasonable people in the Demon Cult. For example, your father, Mu Zhengming, saved the lives of Brother Haosheng. For example, Lu Chengnan also spared me a favor when I was seriously injured. Unfortunately, Nie Hengcheng later acted in the opposite direction. The methods became more and more cruel, and the heroes of the right path suffered heavy casualties, making it difficult to resist, so I had no choice but to hide Lu Chengnan's life-saving grace in my heart."
That year, the situation became increasingly tense. Shi Tieqiao had just secretly resettled his family in the river valley that Cai Pingshu accidentally found. Then he received a letter from her flying pigeon, asking him to go to Changjia Wubao to discuss important matters. He had just been walking for two days when he bumped into a man covered in blood.
"Yes, Lu Chengnan originally came to find me. He chased me all the way after knowing that I left home." Shi Tieqiao said.
Shi Tieqiao originally planned to send his savior for treatment first, but unexpectedly, the dying Lu Chengnan kept mumbling in a coma and wanted to see Cai Pingshu, so he simply took Lu Chengnan to Changjia Wubao.
"In the past few days, there was a tremor in the world. Nie Hengcheng went out with all his minions to search for Lu Chengnan, and spread the news that his four disciples were killed by the Beichen Six Sect and are now missing. Fortunately, the Demon Sect never thought that Lu Chengnan and Lu Chengnan were involved. I have a connection, I disguised myself all the way, and luckily brought people to Changjiawubao."
Shi Tieqiao said: "When Lu Chengnan arrived at Wubao, he met Sister Pingshu, handed her something, and revealed a shocking secret about Nie Hengcheng."
Mu Qingyan's eyes darkened: "Is that thing a purple jade golden sunflower?"
"Yes, it's Ziyu Jinkui!" Shi Tieqiao slapped his thigh, "I saw Ziyu Jinkui when sister Pingshu was healing her second brother. At that time, I saw that Lu Chengnan's own life was hanging by a thread. , I was so surprised that he still entrusted that thing solemnly, who would have known... Well, Lu Chengnan is really a famous man!"
On that stormy night, in the darkroom of Changjia Wubao, a light was as bright as a bean.
[The originally handsome and vigorous young man, with a face as golden as paper, smiled miserably while lying on the couch, "My master's attainments reached their peak a few years ago. At his age, it would be difficult for him to make great progress. But in the past year, His cultivation has suddenly improved by leaps and bounds, don’t you think it’s strange?”]
Mu Qingyan's eyes flashed: "Nie Hengcheng has indeed practiced some shady magic skills!"
——Yin Dai had doubts about this matter back then, Zhou Zhizhen’s father, Master Zhou, had doubts, and Song Shijun’s father, Master Song, had also doubts. However, they all failed in the process of exploring, and the latter two even suffered from this. He was seriously injured and died on his front and rear legs.
According to Lu Chengnan, he noticed something was wrong about half a year ago (but Cai Pingshu thinks he discovered it earlier).
Everyone in the world knows that Nie Hengcheng has been in trouble recently. He suddenly went against the grain and massacred all the heroes in the world. The righteous way of martial arts is not immune to this, and even many big bosses who are not very clean have suffered disaster.
But Lu Chengnan knew that the order given to the people sent out to exterminate the family was not to 'kill' but to 'capture'. '
It doesn't matter whether you kill the seven aunts or the eight aunts, but it's best to capture all the ones with superior cultivation alive - it doesn't matter if you have broken arms, legs, or multiple injuries, as long as you don't stop breathing.
However, Nie Hengcheng had a reputation for being evil. Those people thought that a disaster was imminent and fought to the death. The Nie family's children had no choice but to kill with heavy hands, so that everyone in the world thought that Nie Hengcheng was trying to exterminate the family.
Despite this, many people were still captured and sent to Nie Hengcheng's residence one after another. Soon after, their shriveled corpses were thrown out. Afterwards, Lu Chengnan inspected the corpses and found that all the meridians had been severed, the Dantian was damaged, and all the blood, energy, and essence had been sucked out of the body...
"The Spiritual Leech Technique!" Mu Qingyan blurted out.
Shi Tieqiao sighed repeatedly and nodded in agreement.
Cai Zhao was confused: "Uh, but...that's not right. Doesn't it mean that the spirit leech method harms others and does not benefit oneself?"
Using other people's internal strength to increase one's own cultivation is nothing new in the world, and it can be divided into two categories: active and passive.
Active, just like Cang Qiongzi and Qiu Yuanfeng of Taichu Guan. Not only do they belong to the same sect and practice the same internal skills, but the former voluntarily passes on most of his skills to his nephew, so there will be no backlash.
Passive is the spiritual leech method. After restraining the opponent and sucking him dry alive, there will be endless troubles.
Lu Chengnan was horrified when he found out about this, and quickly went to his master to beg him - he was an orphan, and Nie Hengcheng not only raised him, but also taught him carefully and entrusted him with important responsibilities. In Lu Chengnan's heart, Nie Hengcheng was both his teacher and his father, and his kindness was as great as a mountain.
He hurriedly ran to persuade him. The corpses thrown out in the past two days were all practicing different martial arts. Some were from the Yinrou lineage, some were practicing horizontal fighting, and even some were from the Western Region Gu poison sect. What if Nie Hengcheng sucked in all the alchemy skills of these people?
Unexpectedly, Nie Hengcheng burst out laughing after hearing this, looking lovingly at the fourth disciple who was sweating profusely.
Lu Chengnan was his most beloved disciple. He was talented, calm and capable. He was not as arrogant and domineering as the eldest brother, Zhao Tianba, nor was he opportunistic like the second child, Chen Shu. The third child, Han Yisu, was loyal, but too reckless.
Nie Hengcheng had already planned to pass the position of leader to him a hundred years later.
So he told Lu Chengnan a secret. He is now practicing an incomparable and supreme magical skill, which can overcome all the shortcomings of the leech method. Once he completes it, he will accomplish a feat that has never been done in more than a hundred years. , becoming the first person in the Transformation Realm, unrivaled in the world.
"But he hasn't mastered it yet." Cai Zhao said word by word, "My aunt said that on the day of the decisive battle at Tushan, Nie Hengcheng had not yet mastered the magic skill, otherwise my aunt would never be able to kill him."
"Yes." Shi Tieqiao sighed, "And this is what scares Lu Chengnan."
If you have not mastered kung fu, you must continue to absorb other people's elixirs and internal energy.
A few months later, Nie Hengcheng's killings really intensified. There were not enough people with the best cultivation in the world, and the six Beichen sects were tightly guarded. It was difficult to succeed, so he actually set his sights on the masters of his sect.
The first to suffer was Qiu Baigang, the Tianquan elder who had always been at odds with him.
"That's so!" Mu Qingyan's eyes revealed a cold light, "Why did I say that after Elder Qiu's death, all his famous disciples and capable generals were killed, and even the bones were missing? This is totally inconsistent with the situation. Nie Hengcheng has always been fond of recruiting talents—it turns out that they were all captured to practice magic!"
Shi Tieqiao sighed: "Although Elder Qiu is a member of the Demon Sect and has been hostile to us for many years, he is upright, fierce, loyal and diligent, and can be called a hero of the previous generation. We feel that it is too tragic and regretful that we ended up like this. "
Even so, Nie Hengcheng still felt that it was not enough, and he searched for masters outside and secretly arrested the followers inside. After a long time, Lu Chengnan discovered that even the Tiangang Disha camp he trained had several leaders with strong martial arts disappearing without explanation. white.
Nie Hengcheng's Dantian was like a never-ending black hole, frantically absorbing the blood of the masters within reach, and would never be satisfied - Lu Chengnan felt that there was something wrong with this magic skill.
At the same time, Nie Hengcheng's body was also in trouble - his cheeks were sunken, his eyes were red, his meridians were disordered, and his mind was even going insane from time to time. While Lu Chengnan was covering up for his master, he also tried hard to persuade him to give up this evil Kung Fu. As long as he got rid of his Kung Fu as soon as possible and took good care of himself, he might not be hopeless.
However, at this time, Nie Hengcheng had already become irritable, extreme and sharp, and could not listen to anything.
Lu Chengnan knew that he could no longer sit idly by and watch. If this continued, not only would his brothers in the sect be slaughtered, but his beloved master would also be irredeemable. He had known that when Nie Hengcheng absorbs other people's elixir energy, he must pass through a treasure called Purple Jade Golden Sunflower.
He thought that as long as this treasure was gone, the master would no longer be able to absorb the inner strength of others, and he would be able to stop at the brink.
From now on, he will assist the master to spread his energy and return to his original state, then take good care of his meridians, and serve the master to take care of himself.
However, he underestimated the erosion of Nie Hengcheng by magic power.
When he discovered that the purple jade golden sunflower was missing, Nie Hengcheng went crazy and killed the servants, maids, and bodyguards serving in the Paradise Palace to a mountain of corpses. Lu Chengnan had no choice but to stand up and admit that he had stolen the purple jade golden sunflower.
He originally thought that because of the father-son relationship between him and Nie Hengcheng, he would at most receive a severe punishment. Unexpectedly, Nie Hengcheng's mind had reached the point of madness at this time, and he directly killed him in a rage.
There was a ticking sound outside the bamboo house and the grass was rustling. Only then did the three of them realize that it was raining lightly outside.
"What does the purple jade golden sunflower look like?" Cai Zhao was curious.
Shi Tieqiao took a pen and paper from the desk nearby, "I'll trace it for you."
While describing, he said, "Lu Chengnan handed the Purple Jade Golden Sunflower to Sister Pingshu, saying that if this continues, countless people in the world will suffer. Now Nie Hengcheng is no longer his loving and majestic master, he is just a loser. A possessed madman..."
["Although I have never met Nvxia Cai before, I have admired her for a long time. Nvxia is bold and upright in her actions, far better than those old people from the six sects who are too conservative and selfish!"
The young man's heart has been broken. Every time he speaks, he seems to have exhausted all his strength, but his handsome face still smiles like a spring breeze. "Let the heroine decide for herself what will happen to the world in the future."]
A tear fell on the paper. Shi Tieqiao wiped his eyes, raised his head and smiled at Mu Qingyan: "After hearing this, Brother Haosheng was anxious to death, worried that your father would also be sucked dry by Nie Hengcheng. But Lu Chengnan said that soon Your father was attacked by someone unknown before, and he disappeared after being injured, but he escaped unharmed."
Mu Qingyan's expression condensed: "Weren't those who attacked my father from Nie Hengcheng?"
Shi Tieqiao said: "Brother Haosheng asked the same question. Lu Chengnan was very sure that it was definitely not the work of Nie's gang. He was in charge of the Tiangang Disha Camp and took care of all the trivial matters around Nie Hengcheng. This statement should be reliable - later your father how was it?"
Mu Qingyan lowered his eyes and said, "A few years later, he recovered from his injury."
Shi Tieqiao smiled and said: "Your father is a very good man, but it is a pity that he is not the leader, otherwise so many people would not have died back then."
He sighed and put down his pen, "It's done. Come and take a look."
There was a ball of something the size of a palm smeared blackly on the white paper.
Mu Qingyan frowned: "Purple jade golden sunflower looks like this? Where's the gold, where's the sunflower, how come it looks like a stone... Zhao Zhao, come and see... um, what's wrong with you?" When he turned around, he saw the girl's expression was different.
Zhao Zhao looked straight at the white paper, raised his head and said, "Old senior, the Purple Jade Golden Sunflower is actually black, right?"
"Yes. In fact, when Sister Pingshu brought it to heal my second brother's injury, I also felt strange. How could a dark stone be called Purple Jade Golden Sunflower?" Shi Tieqiao also found it funny when he thought about it, "But your aunt said that it was originally It is a piece of purple jade, with a ring of gold inlaid on the outside in the shape of a sunflower. A fire broke out in the Demon Sect's treasure house more than a hundred years ago, and all the golden sunflower petals on the outside melted, and the purple jade was burnt black, which is why it looked like this. .”
Mu Qingyan turned around and said, "Zhao Zhao has seen this thing before?"
"I saw it when I was a child. It was in a small box under my aunt's pillow." Cai Zhao looked puzzled. "It turns out that this is the purple jade golden sunflower. I didn't know it at all."
"What happened next?" Mu Qingyan asked.
The little girl was a little embarrassed: "I thought it was just the right size, so I used it to make clay balls on the ground. When my aunt discovered it, she took it away and threatened me not to tell my father and mother, otherwise I would be punished."
Mu Qingyan said nothing and expressed his views with lifelike eyes.
Cai Zhao felt that he was wronged: "How did I know that it was the Purple Jade Sunflower! All the pebbles on the ground grow better than it!"
Mu Qingyan was angry and funny: "You mean, Purple Jade Golden Sunflower is still in your Luoying Valley now?"
Unexpectedly, Cai Zhao shook his head and said: "No more. In the three years since my aunt passed away, I have checked all her things over and over again. I know very well that there is absolutely no black stone."
Mu Qingyan was startled.
Cai Zhao's attention was very focused and he continued to ask the old topic: "Senior Shi, according to what you just said, it wasn't Lu Chengnan's help that my aunt stole the purple jade sunflower to heal Shi Erxia? "
"That's natural." Shi Tieqiao said, "Before your aunt, no one knew that Purple Jade Golden Sunflower can treat injuries caused by the cold air of the netherworld. If I had known, I would have gone to seek help from Lu Chengnan."
Cai Zhao looked thoughtful: "Then how did my aunt know that Purple Jade Golden Sunflower has such an effect?"
Shi Tieqiao shook his head: "Your aunt didn't say anything."
The light rain showed no sign of stopping. The eldest son of the Shi family hurried over holding a huge oil-paper umbrella. Before he could close the umbrella, he panted and said, "Dad, the third uncle is awake, and he seems to be in good spirits."
When Shi Tieqiao heard this, his face darkened, "I know, tell your wife to get ready."
The eldest son of the Shi family left in response.
Shi Tieqiao turned to Mu and Cai and said, "That's enough. Let's move. One of my brothers has passed away recently and said he wanted to see you."
Cai Zhaoqi said: "Aren't the old seniors and Shi Erxia just two brothers? It turns out there is a third brother."
Shi Tieqiao did not answer directly. He took out three light bamboo umbrellas from the closet and said, "I promised Sister Pingshu that after I retire, I will never get involved in the world of Jianghu people or Jianghu affairs. If it weren't for my brother, I want to see you. Three days ago, you two woke up in a certain village and thought you were rescued by the villagers."
Cai Zhao knew he had disturbed others, so he was very embarrassed and stood up sarcastically.
Mu Qingyan took the largest bamboo umbrella and habitually pulled the girl to his side, intending to hold an umbrella together.
Before opening the umbrella stand, he asked one last question, "When did Cai Nvxia bring the Purple Jade Sunflower to treat Shi Erxia's injuries?"
Shi Tieqiao was startled: "It should have been more than a year before Lu Chengnan ran at night, um, about a year and a half."
