After sobering up, Gu Shengchao and his party planned to continue on their way, but the weather was not kind to them. After the first snow, it began to drizzle again, so they could only stay temporarily and wait for the weather to clear before moving forward.
Zhuang Lutao was particularly happy for such rainy weather. He entertained them with wine and meat every day, hoping that they could stay a few more days.
The villagers all knew that it was Shui Linglong who rescued their tribe, and that it was Elder Yunqigong, so they were particularly polite to her.
The studious teenagers gathered in front of her room from morning to night, hoping to get advice from experts.
Fortunately, Shui Linglong responded to her requests, and the school's martial arts field was turned into a school martial arts field in front of her room, so the children did not find it hard to practice in the rain.
Ma Guanshan took advantage of this rare free time to ask the ancient sage Chao for advice.
While the two were practicing, Gu Shengchao remembered something and asked him: "Do you know about the 'Golden Thread Qingluan Armor'?"
He originally wanted to ask Shui Linglong directly, but seeing that she was extremely sensitive to this matter and fearing that her mood would fluctuate again, he refrained from asking. It happened that Ma Guanshan was also a local, so he asked tentatively.
Ma Guanshan said without hesitation: "Of course I know. This 'Golden Qingluan Armor' is one of the three great magic weapons of our Xileng Kingdom. It is a treasure that many people dream of!"
"People only know that the Ruyi Hook of Wuwang Palace, the Qingyun Sword of Yunqi Palace, the Longyin Spear of Baisha City, and the Shadowless Knife of Dark Moon Hall are the most precious treasures of the magic weapons in the world. In fact, in the West Cold Kingdom, the golden silk Qingluan Armor and The Xiaoyao Fan is a treasure comparable to the Qingyun Sword, but it is rumored that it has never been seen before. Just like in the Dawu Dynasty, in addition to the Ruyi Hook, the Feng Wu Phoenix Sword is said to be unparalleled in the world, something we can encounter but cannot ask for. "Ma Guanshan felt a little regretful after saying that.
Gu Shengchao was a little curious: "Do you all know about the Phoenix Dance and Phoenix Sword in Xileng Kingdom?"
Ma Guanshan shook his head: "That's not necessarily true. Because we are descendants of the Iron Arm Sect and moved from the Dawu Dynasty, we know something about it through word of mouth from our ancestors."
I see!
Gu Shengchao thought of the magical transformation of Yu Zhenyu's golden Qingluan armor that night, and thought of the phoenix sword in Wan Yanxi's hand. If used properly, it might also bring surprises.
Ma Guanshan concentrated on practicing his martial arts without any distractions. Gu Shengchao taught him the formulas, mental techniques and movement essentials. Seeing that he had nothing to do for the time being, he wandered around the village.
Wearing a hat, walking in the drizzle and feeling the refreshing mountain breeze is also a kind of enjoyment. After careful observation, Gu Shengchao discovered that this was indeed a perfect place made in heaven.
The village is surrounded by steep mountains outside, and is flat and open inside. It is surrounded by cliffs. It is hidden and easy to defend and difficult to attack. There are hot springs flowing out continuously from the gaps in the cliffs. The spring water is just warm enough not to be hot to touch. It can not only irrigate the fertile fields, but also ensure the convenience of water for the villagers. It also saves the process of boiling water and heats it, killing three birds with one stone.
As they were rushing outside the mountains, they could clearly feel the cold wind of early winter, but it was as warm as spring in the village. The heat that came from nowhere gathered here and lingered, which was very different from the outside.
The warm spring water flows slowly in the small river made of stones. The dense steam has just risen and is suppressed by the rain and mist. It keeps jumping up and down like the flame of an oil lamp, adding a bit of vitality to this monotonous weather. .
Going upstream along the river, we soon came to the foot of a cliff. Hot springs gush out from the gaps at the bottom of the cliff, giving people an impatient feeling.
Walking along the cliff, I saw a stone cave not far away, with many stones of different sizes piled outside.
The entrance of the cave is narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. After walking more than ten steps in, the stone wall gradually retracts inward, forming an arched stone door.
The stone gate has been half sealed with rocks mixed with soil. It is probably because people stopped working on rainy days and will not come to work for the time being.
Gu Shengchao put his right hand on the stone wall and jumped lightly, then sat on the low wall and looked inside.
He didn't have a torch, and the cave was pitch dark and he couldn't see anything, only gusts of hot wind blowing from inside.
strangeness.
He has been in many caves, large and small, and without exception they were all damp and cold, and the wind blowing out of them was also damp and cold. He had never experienced hot wind blowing out of the cave.
During dinner, everyone sat around drinking. He talked about it with Zhuang Lutao. Zhuang Lutao introduced: "It's strange that we came here. A dozen people went in to explore and found that the cave extended downwards, and there was a hole in the tunnel. The connected caves are like a maze. In many places, there are straight up and down bottomless cave entrances. If you are not careful, you will fall. Three people have disappeared mysteriously like this and never came back. In order to prevent accidents, we decided to seal the entrances of the caves. Block it to avoid future troubles."
The speaker was unintentional, but the listener was interested. Gu Shengchao was thinking about it and wanted to find out. Wanyanxi put down the wine bowl and said: "If Brother Gu needs help, little sister, I can help."
"You?" Zhuang Lutao shook his head in doubt.
Wan Yanxi finished chewing one of the ribs in her hand and seemed to throw it to the side. The rib actually inserted directly into the cavity of another bone that had been chewed up completely.
People with sharp eyes may not be able to control it so accurately.
"Although my little sister is blind, her perception is pretty good. The more dark and inconvenient it is, it's just like normal for me." Wan Yanxi spoke calmly, not caring about other people's misunderstandings.
Gu Shengchao lowered his head and drank slowly. After hesitating for a moment, he raised his head and said, "I agree with Sister Wanyan's idea. When everything is ready tomorrow, I will take her to the cave to find out."
Shui Linglong said worriedly: "You have to think carefully and don't harm others or yourself just for the sake of quick pleasure."
"That's what I planned."
Gu Shengchao put down the wine bowl, dipped some wine in his fingers and gestured on the table: "The inside of the cave is complicated. I am going to ask Brother Zhuang to call those who went inside to learn more about the situation in person. I also need to trouble Brother Zhuang to find it. We have some grabbing equipment such as long ropes and flying tiger claws, including torches, large cakes that can be carried close to the body, and water bladders, so you don’t need to prepare this. I wonder if Brother Zhuang can do it?"
"No problem, I'll take care of these." Zhuang Lutao agreed readily.
In the evening, Zhuang Lutao simply prepared a table of wine and food, and invited those who had entered the cave to come and discuss together.
Fang Ju prepared pen and ink on the side and recorded every point that needed attention on the paper according to what they said.
The villagers were also enthusiastic and patiently explained every location that needed attention, and Fang Ju marked them on the paper one by one.
Zhuang Lutao worked neatly. Early the next morning, all the items needed by the ancient sage were prepared and placed at the entrance of the cave for the ancient sage to see.
He had a water bag hung on his waist, a baked pancake in his arms, a long rope slung across his body, and a rope tied to his chest with torches on both sides. He waved to everyone and turned over the stone wall.
Wan Yanxi carried Flying Tiger Claws on her back, packed some pancakes, and walked straight inside.
She was about to hit a stone wall. Even though she knew her senses were amazing, it still made people sweat.
Wan Yanxi performed a beautiful cartwheel in the air and jumped over the stone wall without being affected at all.
"You guys go back." Gu Shengchao waved.
But Fang Ju spread out a quilt at the entrance of the cave and sat on it.
"What are you doing?" Gu Shengchao was puzzled.
Fang Ju said solemnly: "I know that Brother Gu and Sister Wanyan are very capable, so I sleep here and wait for you to return safely."
Gu Shengchao had no choice but to say: "Well, wait for our good news."
He lit a torch and walked hand in hand with Wan Yanxi towards the depths of the cave.
Wan Yanxi is only blind, but she can still feel the brightness and darkness of light. She joked: "Why, you don't believe my perception, so you lit a torch early to see the road."
Gu Shengchao explained: "I once walked into a cave rashly, and it was because the miasma extinguished the torch that I escaped in time, otherwise my life would have been in danger. It is true that the torch illuminates the road, and it is also right to prevent danger in advance."
He recalled that he and Ding Ying followed the goat into the tomb of the last descendant of Fengwu swordsmanship in Luoya Bay. They narrowly escaped the harm caused by suffocation because the torch was extinguished.
"It's up to you." Wanyanxi did not resist.
The two of them walked forward hand in hand, and the cave was indeed winding downwards. There were many forks that made people overwhelmed, and there were various marks on them to indicate the direction.
In case he couldn't find his way back, at every intersection, Gu Shengchao would call out his sword and carve patterns on the stone wall that only he could understand.
The further down you go, the thicker the hot and humid mist becomes, and the range that the torch can illuminate shrinks.
"Be careful, there is a hole ahead." Wan Yanxi warned loudly.
As he got closer, Gu Shengchao realized how terrifying it was to fall into the hole.
The cave wall is almost straight down, but the entrance is only as big as two people side by side. If you are not careful, you will fall into the abyss, with no possibility of survival.
Fortunately, the villagers' patient explanation last night allowed them to avoid many unnecessary injustices.
The further down you go, the higher the temperature becomes. Wan Yanxi has lived in Mobei all year round. She is not used to this hot and humid environment, and beads of sweat begin to appear on her forehead.
The hand that held Gu Shengchao tightly became slippery with sweat.
Wan Yanxi can sense the specific shape of objects, and the Ancient Sage can sense the different auras of various creatures. The two have different focuses of perception, which complement each other and can detect danger in advance.
"Be careful, there is a bigger hole ahead." Wan Yanxi warned.
Gu Shengchao walked forward cautiously, and a hole appeared two feet away on a steep slope.
Because the temperature inside the cave is moderate and the hot and humid steam brings a lot of moisture, the steep slopes and the cave entrance are covered with moss, and you will slip into the cave entrance if you are not careful.
Gu Shengchao held up the torch with his left hand to illuminate it, and held Wan Yanxi's hand tightly with his right hand, for fear of unpredictable danger.
The two of them slowly passed by the slippery entrance of the cave. Wan Yanxi suddenly noticed something unusual and said loudly: "Stop, there's something going on."
The sound vibrated in the cave, and after a while, several overlapping sounds were heard.
"Stop, stop, stop, there is a situation, there is a situation, there is a situation..."
The ancient sage raised a torch and looked carefully. The entrance to the cave was covered with moss and nothing unusual could be seen.
Wan Yanxi reminded: "Look at the entrance of the cave to see if there is anything special, like there are traces of someone digging it."
Ancient Sage held up a torch and went to the entrance of the cave to observe. After careful identification, he finally saw that there was a foothold spiraling downwards on the inner wall of the cave. If Wanyanxi hadn't reminded him, he wouldn't have been able to find it.
On the moss-covered stone walls, there are traces of artificial excavations, which can't help but make people excited.
