afternoon.
The dark clouds gradually dispersed and the light rain gradually stopped.
Although the observatory at the Exorcist Department headquarters is open-air, there is an invisible ceiling constructed by magic on top. Even after a heavy rain, the ground, low tables, futons, etc. here are still dry and spotless. .
Luochuan waved his hand gently.
Gu Xu followed his instructions and sat on the futon opposite him.
"This is the 'Baifang Tea' I asked for from Dean Li of Longmen Academy," Luo Chuan pointed to a teacup on the table and said to Gu Xu with a smile, "Would you like to try it?"
Gu Xu read all kinds of classics and naturally knew that "Baifa Tea" was a unique specialty of Longmen Academy, which was of great help to monks like him who were climbing towards the "Wangxiang Terrace" and needed to experience human emotions.
"Thank you, Lord Chief!"
Gu Xu didn't refuse, he raised the teacup and took a sip, then closed his eyes.
A mysterious feeling immediately rose in the depths of his soul. Many scenes appeared in his mind one after another like a movie, accompanied by many emotions such as joy, anger, sadness, and joy.
These include his first practice, his first drawing of talismans, opening the box and seeing the snow ginseng given to him by Chen Jisheng, listening to the spirit of the "Jinghong Pen" telling the past things in the Lu family's haunted house, and watching by the Yi River. Shi Xiaohan laughed and played shuttlecock with a group of children, and was forced to practice the "Zhao Ming Forbidden Technique" by the Kongxuan San people next to the black altar in Yishan...
When he opened his eyes again, he felt as if he had woken up from a big dream, and he seemed to be reliving the memories of the past few months since he traveled through time.
His intuition told him that tonight's practice should go very smoothly.
"How does it taste?" Luo Chuan asked with a kind smile.
"It's like tasting all the flavors in the world."
"How many steps have you climbed on the 'Homesickness Ridge' now?"
"Level 886."
"You climbed nearly 900 steps in less than a month... The speed of your cultivation is really shocking," Luo Chuan chuckled and commented, "You have to know that someone like Chu Fengge is so recognized It took nearly half a year for a genius to climb the 800-level ladder."
"Maybe it's because I accidentally found a little trick!" Gu Xu said modestly.
"Then have you ever thought about how you will reach the 'Soul-Broken Cliff' in the near future?" Luo Chuan then asked, "According to the speed of your cultivation, it will probably only take a month or two to reach it. 'Soul-breaking Cliff'.
"I think if you can board the Soul-Breaking Cliff before the start of the Luoshui Conference, your chances of winning will be better."
"'Soul-breaking Cliff'..." Gu Xu recited this word silently in his mind.
According to the information he learned from the practice books, the road to climb "Homesickness Ridge" can be said to be steep and full of dangers - the journey he has taken so far is actually just the beginning.
When he reaches the 1,999 steps, he will face a cliff that looks like an axe. There were no roads or stairs on the cliff, so he had to rely on his own strength and climb up with bare hands.
Because in the history of the Great Wilderness, many senior practitioners accidentally fell from this cliff during their practice, and fell into the abyss filled with the howls of ghosts and wolves, and eventually became possessed and their souls perished.
Therefore, this cliff is called "Soul-breaking Cliff".
However, after thousands of years of exploration, the monks gradually found a way to deal with the "Soul-Breaking Cliff", and the casualty rate dropped significantly.
It requires monks to find a specific environment that matches the attributes of the skills - for example, monks who practice ice-attribute skills often choose to retreat on snow-covered mountaintops; for example, monks who practice wood-attribute skills often choose to go to Primitive forests with towering ancient trees; for example, monks who practice thunder and lightning attribute skills often choose to practice in seasons with frequent thunderstorms...
Even if they practice the most basic "Guiyuan Jue" with no special attributes, the monks will find unique places in Feng Shui and use formations to create an ideal environment with smooth aura.
With the help of the environment and the power of skills, the monks can build ropes on the "Soul-breaking Cliff" or carve out ladders to move forward on the "Homesickness Ridge".
Of course, "Soul-breaking Cliff" is just an illusion constructed by the monks in the world of consciousness.
Its essence is actually an all-round and leap-forward strengthening of the true energy in a monk's body. It is a qualitative change that is naturally caused by a quantitative change.
For example, the "Red Flame True Technique" that Gu Xu is currently practicing can make his true energy have the effect of burning flames. Then after he climbs to Soul Broken Cliff, the maximum temperature that his true energy can reach will increase exponentially. , and even have the opportunity to have characteristics such as explosion, breaking defenses or inhibiting enemy wound healing.
For example, Chu Fengge and Shangguan Jin, who practice "The Art of Stars", can obtain more pure star power after climbing to the "Soul-breaking Cliff". The series of martial arts pioneered by Luo Si, such as "Meteor Walking on the Moon", "Cloud Sea Galaxy Sword", etc., can also be used more skillfully.
"I have considered setting up a formation in the house that can maintain a high-temperature environment," Gu Xu replied, "because I have just recently understood the second form of the 'Seven Burning Heavens', 'Mingzhu', which is very important to me. Said it shouldn’t be difficult to do.”
"I have a better idea here," a mysterious smile appeared on Luo Chuan's face, "I wonder, little friend Gu, if you are interested in hearing it?"
"Please give me some advice from the Chief of Staff."
"In Daguguan, south of Luojing, there is a grotto underground. There is a blazing river of magma in the grotto - it is an ideal place for monks to practice fire-attribute skills."
Gu Xu did not respond immediately.
…………
He is no stranger to the place name "Daguguan".
Ancient books record: "Dagu, fifty miles south of Luocheng, was formerly known as Tonggu."
This valley is a gateway to the south of Luojing City and an important pass to Nanyang, Ruzhou and other places. Its terrain is steep, with sharp peaks and thick bushes. It can ambush heavy troops during war and cut off north-south transportation.
Of course, the reason why Gu Xu remained silent was not because Dagu Pass was an important military location that was easy to defend but difficult to attack.
But because it was once the headquarters of a sect known as the "Devil Sect" - the "Longevity Sect".
According to the book, this sect was once rampant. It not only practiced evil methods, but also secretly recruited believers, collected incense, and held bloody sacrificial rituals.
Therefore, in the third year of Tianxing's reign, Emperor Tianxing sent the Royal Guards and the Exorcist Division to destroy it. No matter whether it was the sect leader, elders, ordinary disciples, or servants, no one survived; its mountain gate, It was also completely burned by a fire.
Almost all traces of the "Longevity Sect" in the world have been wiped away.
If it weren't for the fact that there are still a few brief records of Emperor Tianxing's great achievements in wiping out the Demon Sect in the books, I'm afraid the world would have completely forgotten the existence of this sect.
Regarding this, Gu Xu once secretly lamented in his heart: His Majesty, the Emperor of the Da Qi Dynasty, is really indecisive in dealing with ghosts and monsters, but he is very aggressive in dealing with human beings.
Logically speaking, the Kongxuan Sanren in their peak period were extremely fearful of Emperor Tianxing, which obviously showed that Emperor Tianxing's strength far exceeded that of ordinary eighth-level monks, and he might even have the combat power of the ninth level.
But now, not only are "fierce god" level ghosts harming the people in every province, but also only about a hundred miles away from Luojing, the "Mangshan ghost" is still dominating the top of the mountain.
However, when encountering the Lu family of Qingzhou who had committed "treason" or the Changshou Cult, which was regarded as a "devil sect", Emperor Tianxing showed no mercy at all and killed them all without leaving an inch of grass behind.
Gu Xu once complained: Is it possible that Emperor Tianxing also believed that "the old husband who wants to get rid of the outside world must first settle down at home"?
…………
Seeing that Gu Xu didn't respond for a while, Luo Chuan smiled and said, "Gu Xiaoyou, I know what you are thinking. The lava river I mentioned is indeed related to the 'Longevity Cult'.
"Since the 'Longevity Sect' also practices fire-attribute techniques, the monks in the sect often retreat in that grotto to break through the realm.
"But now, the 'Longevity Cult' has been completely eradicated by His Majesty, and the magma river has become a resource shared by all monks in the Daqi Dynasty, but it has not yet been made public to the public.
"Some monks from the Exorcism Department Headquarters and some teachers and students from Longmen Academy occasionally choose to go there for meditation. The disciples of the Zhao family in Youzhou regard it as their training ground. They will go there every time they come to Luojing City. Stay for a few days - after all, they Youzhou people once believed in the 'God of Fire' and were basically good at playing with fire. The environment there would be a great help to their practice.
"You can go there to practice without any worries.
"I very much hope that you can break through the Soul-Breaking Cliff as soon as possible, and then achieve a good result in the Luoshui Conference, and once again make our Exorcism Department proud."
Gu Xu nodded and decided to go back and look up some more information about the Daguguan Grottoes.
On the road of spiritual practice, if you want to go further, you need to be steady and steady every step of the way. Because Gu Xu is determined to become a saint, he needs to strive to be the best at every stage without leaving any future troubles.
He came from an ordinary background. He used to live in a small and remote county like Yishui. He did not have particularly good conditions for cultivation and had to rely on himself for almost everything.
But now, since he has the opportunity to share the same training ground with the disciples of the Zhao family in Youzhou, he will naturally not be polite.
"By the way, Gu Xiaoyou," Luo Chuan continued after a brief silence, "Actually, I am very curious. I have never asked you to practice "Lexing Jue" with Chu Fengge and Shangguan Jin before. Do you have any thoughts in your mind? dissatisfied.
"After all, the place where the power of the stars in the entire Da Qi Dynasty is strongest is the star observatory under your feet - if you practice "The Art of Stars", you can easily board it in this Yamen." There is no need for such trouble at Soul-Breaking Cliff."
"No," Gu Xu shook his head, "I once read in a book that the top-grade exercises contain the true meaning of the saints' great ways. They are essentially shortcuts created by the predecessors for future generations, so they can speed up the progress of future generations in cultivation. speed. But it can only enable people to cultivate to the sixth realm at most.
"If you want to reach the seventh realm, you must carve out your own 'path'. Taking shortcuts will not work.
"Now the "Red Flame True Art" suits me very well."
"You're right," Luo Chuan smiled and said, "For monks who are determined to become a saint, high-grade skills are indeed a shackle that hinders progress.
"However, "The Art of Stars" is not a technique created by me, but a technique created by Emperor Ziwei of Zhongtian North Pole for his believers and put into my mind in the form of a dream.
"Its true meaning is to comply with God's will and obey fate. It really doesn't match your wish to 'change your destiny against heaven'."
"Actually... I just want to live longer." Gu Xu sighed softly and sighed silently.
Today, he got confirmation from Luo Chuan: Luo Chuan's "Tao" is indeed related to "compliance with destiny", which is completely consistent with his previous conclusion.
It's just that he has an inexplicable connection with Luochuan's "Tao".
Although he does not agree with this "Tao", he can learn all the magic and martial arts from Luo Chuan almost at a glance.
"I almost forgot an important thing," Luo Chuan suddenly spoke at this time, interrupting Gu Xu's thoughts, "Gu Xiaoyou, today you created a talisman like the 'Fire Character', which will be of great help to us in the future for killing ghosts." The plan is of great use.
"Are you willing to teach its drawing method to the monks of the Exorcist Department? The Exorcist Department will not treat you badly in terms of merit rewards."
"Of course," Gu Xu replied without hesitation, "My original intention in designing the 'Fire Character' is that I hope all monks can use it."
He knew very well that in the battle between monks and evil spirits, sometimes just a talisman could turn the tide of the battle, help the monks escape from danger, and save one or even many lives.
These people are probably people he knows or even is close to.
For example, the "Tai Shang Arctic Demon-Suppressing and Ghost-killing Talisman" that he originally improved once helped Ma Qin defeat the ghost "Xi Nang" and escape from death.
Today, when he was designing the "Fire Character", he actually didn't think about what kind of rewards he would get.
But now, since Luo Sishou mentioned meritorious service rewards, he naturally would not refuse.
After all, he needs merit very much now.
"It's just that the 'fire character' is not in the existing talisman system, and has never been used in actual combat. It is difficult for us to measure its value and directly calculate the corresponding merits," Luo Chuan continued, "So, I Consider giving you a base reward of one thousand meritorious deeds first.
"After that, nationwide, as long as any monk kills a ghost with the 'Fire Character', you will get an additional merit reward - the merit value will be based on the specific situation and the level of the ghost killed. to calculate.
"how do you feel?"
ps: The last day of November, please vote for me! !
…………
Note:
(1) "Dagu, fifty miles south of Luocheng, formerly known as Tonggu." - "Luoyang Ji" by Lu Ji of Jin Dynasty
(2) "The old husband who wants to fight outside must first make peace with himself." - Zhao Pu, Song Dynasty
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