The sky was almost dark, and a group of people were marching in the twilight, with the lights dimming not far away.
Zhao Zhengli, in plain clothes, was speechless all the way, but he often looked at the senior brother in white robes driving the carriage.
He has always been curious about his own life experience, wondering what kind of people his parents he has never met are like. Are they really as heroic and courageous as the people in the world say? Or are they the rebellious officials and traitors that the court calls?
In the brief exchange between Yuan Chaoyang and the ghost monk earlier, he seemed to have heard some secrets, so Zhao Zhengli was speechless all the way, but he was too preoccupied and didn't know how to speak.
With Yuan Chaoyang's level, he would have noticed it, but he chose to squint and pretend not to know.
Yuan Chaoyang did not mention the relationship between the "unparalleled ghost monk" and Northern Shaolin, nor his own good or bad state after the battle.
Yang Guifen was very worried. Seeing that he didn't say anything, she had to keep it in her heart and planned to go into the inn and ask more questions.
Li Zhanyi and Yu Xiaowei were both in awe of the strong, and the methods just now were still vivid in their minds. Although they had different views, they also benefited a lot from observing them at close range.
Apart from the snoring of horses and the melodious sounds of wheels and horses' hooves, there was no other noise in the five-person team.
The lights became brighter and brighter, and the noise was faintly heard. In the hazy dusk, a flag with the word "wine" fluttered, and the stone door had a plaque reading "Laijia Inn".
Yuan Chaoyang, who had been squinting his eyes, suddenly said quietly: "Some things should be done later rather than early, and some things should be done sooner rather than later. Let's just go with the flow for now."
Then he stretched his body and said, "It depends on whether we can reach the coast of the East China Sea smoothly tomorrow."
Several people entered the inn.
At the second watch, Yuan Chaoyang suddenly appeared outside the inn, looking up at the figure appearing quietly on the roof.
The man's face could not be clearly seen in the darkness, but he could be seen wearing a wise man's crown and a gorgeous purple brocade robe with a round collar. He stood quietly on the wall with his hands behind his hands.
At Yuan Chaoyang's level, his eyesight is naturally much better than that of ordinary people, even monks. He can deduce the identity of the person just by his breath. He is the first eunuch of the dynasty, Cao Yan.
He said calmly: "You're still here!"
Cao Yan sighed sadly in a sharp voice: "We don't want to come either, the emperor's order cannot be violated!"
"Then what's the purpose of this late-night visit?"
Yuan Chaoyang was already prepared for the worst, and the five-finger zhenqi hidden in his big sleeves twisted.
Unexpectedly, Cao Yan said bluntly: "Remind everyone, the journey can be faster. If we wait for the emperor to send out the imperial army, our family will have nothing to do at that time. Or let Grand Master Qi, Grand Master Xiao and their like come over. Although it will not pose a threat, it will not be a threat." The kid is tough.”
The handsome and bright-eyed Yuan Chaoyang looked at the gorgeous brocade robe. Having lived to their age, he naturally did not believe in unwarranted kindness and questioned: "What do you mean, father-in-law?"
The brocade robe turned sideways and glanced at the inn, and said frankly: "The Taoist Master is protecting the little Celestial Master for the sect, and our family is taking this opportunity to find an unspeakable truth."
Yuan Chaoyang asked: "I don't care about your truth. I just want to ask, are you an enemy or a friend?"
Cao Yan tilted his head and thought, "Let's call it friendly for now!"
"Understood!"
After Yuan Chaoyang finished speaking, he turned back to the inn.
Cao Yan stared at his back blankly. This ending made him a little dull. The other party was not curious at all about the reason?
The brocade-robed figure with the Qiaoshi Crown stayed on the roof for a moment, then disappeared quietly into the night.
.
Laiyang is located in a Yinshan jungle near Dengzhou. There is no grass growing for dozens of miles. A skinny body in ragged clothes lies in it. The clothes are full of holes with scabs and blood stains.
This person is the ghost monk who was penetrated to the ground by Yuan Chaoyang's Beidou Lotus Formation.
Under the moonlight, the ten fingers that were like dry wood trembled slightly, and the surrounding space vaguely gathered towards him. In an instant, it was as majestic as the tide, and it was lifted off the ground. The ghost monk, who was originally lying down, slowly sat cross-legged in the air.
The vast air flow washed over the sluggish body, and the eyes under the shriveled skin suddenly opened. Two Buddha lights suddenly appeared in the night sky, like the eyes of gods and Buddhas. The breath also climbed up, and the space trembled.
The skinny body in a hundred-year-old robe slowly stood up, a smile appeared on his face that was full of old teeth, and then he looked towards the east and smiled happily: "I have realized this when I am about to die. Old monk Yuan Chaoyang has to thank you very much. Ga quack!"
The eerie crow-like laughter filled the night sky.
.
The next day, the sky turned white, and the five-person team headed east.
It's just that the wheel rolling speed has invisibly accelerated.
Three poles higher in the sun, the carriage has passed the territory of Laizhou, and half of the dust kicked up under its feet begins to belong to Dengzhou.
Dengzhou is located near the East China Sea. It is a "holy place" where many monks gather to visit the immortals. The monks who traveled here came with great expectations, but came back disappointed.
The most indispensable thing in Dengzhou is the adventures of immortals. Everyone knows about them, ranging from infants sucking milk to old people losing all their old teeth.
The storyteller goes on to say that there are no repeats for three consecutive months. This place is indeed an extraordinary place. There are traces of history such as Xu Fu's eastward journey and Lu Dongbin's soaring clouds.
The most recent time was three hundred years ago, when Master Zhao forced the gates of heaven to open, vowing to open up a path to immortality for monks all over the world. Unfortunately, in the end, the path failed and people never returned...
I don’t know whether it’s because he was inspired by the fairy spirit when he was near Dengzhou, or because he gained something from the ups and downs along the way. Zhao Zhengli had some enlightenment in the past two days, but he didn’t know where the enlightenment came from. It was like scattered fragmentary memories with nowhere to find the original clue.
He attributed it to three points. One was the subtle recovery of Taoism after a sharp decline in realm, and the other was the insights generated by absorbing the causal energy of Northern Shaolin. Third, the experience of ups and downs along the way, as well as the observation of the two great masters Daoyun yesterday.
Either way it is joy.
.
There were three groups of men and horses on the Dengzhou post road, a dense mass of darkness, roughly estimated to be hundreds or even thousands. Some were wearing monk's robes, some were short-sleeved and black, and some were cloth armored, wooden armored and other types of soldiers.
The leader of the group of monks is a monk in a hundred-year-old robe with long eyebrows. This man is the "unparalleled ghost monk" who was suppressed by Yuan Chaoyang's Beidou Lotus Formation and was on the verge of death and broke through. His monastic name is Zen Master Juekong.
On his left is the old monk Huicong in exquisite cassocks, and on his right is the skinny and short monk Liaojue Dharma. It is also the old monk in yellow robes who was blocked in Dengfeng Temple when Yuan Chaoyang visited Northern Shaolin for the first time.
There were more than a hundred people in short-sleeved shirts and black clothes. The leader was an old man in black Confucian shirts. He was Du Qiao, the elder of the Du family who had been chasing Zhao Zhengli.
There were hundreds of soldiers in cloth armor and wooden armor. The man leading the way was 30% handsome and 70% powerful. He was Wang Feng, the son of Wang Chongli, the military governor of Qingzhou.
.
Yuan Chaoyang, who had just entered Dengzhou, looked into the distance and sighed: "The road ahead is difficult!"
Then he glanced at Zhao Zhengli, who was sitting on the horse with a slightly closed expression, saying: "Boy, there are hundreds or even thousands of imps blocking the way in front of you, are you afraid?"
Zhao Zhengli opened his eyes and smiled brightly: "Senior brothers are not afraid of the King of Hell, they are even more afraid of little devils!"
Yuan Chaoyang showed his white teeth and turned his gaze to Yu Xiaowei in the carport and Emei Senior Sister Li Zhanyi who was riding a horse: "This Tao teaches you two a spell. You can cast it simultaneously at critical moments to temporarily shock them."
Their eyes suddenly lit up.
"The seniors teach the Dharma, making the juniors overjoyed!"
"Junior is flattered!"
"Dharma" and "skill" are two categories.
Dharma; represented by mysterious spells and runes. It is extremely demanding on qualifications and understanding, so it has little circulation.
Skills are accumulated through hard work and practice over time and months. Although understanding is also important, diligence can make up for the weakness. If you stick to the path, you will eventually achieve something.
The spells taught by Yuan Chaoyang must be extraordinary, otherwise how could they shock hundreds or even thousands of people? It also requires two Grandmaster realms to be used simultaneously, which must be terrifying.
Yuan Chaoyang made two seals and recited the incantation twice. Even if he split it four times, the space still trembled and trembled, as if there was an invisible giant beast wandering in the void.
Yu Xiaowei and Li Zhanyi had little success, and the results they tried many times were far from what they expected. Finally, Yuan Chaoyang used his index finger to tap acupuncture points between their eyebrows. The blood was bright red and turned into cinnabar in an instant.
The two of them felt their eyebrows burning, being gathered by a vast energy, and an unprecedented sense of confidence arose spontaneously, as if raising their hands and waving their sleeves could destroy the world.
While the two of them were immersed in it, Yuan Chaoyang said eloquently: "If you save a little, you can use it twice, and if you spend a little, you can use it once. Remember to use it at a critical moment."
After saying that, he glanced at Zhao Zhengli, who had been watching: "What are you looking at? These are the ones you picked and didn't learn! Why? Are you regretting it now? I won't teach you anymore. I have to learn how to use them to set up tricks."
"..."
Zhao Zhengli was speechless because he found that he really regretted it.
Yuan Chaoyang seemed to have seen through him and said: "Boy, don't be greedy for too much. Although your understanding is high, you still lack experience. If jade is not polished, it will become useless. Three thousand avenues are analogous. As long as you reach a certain level, fart or sneeze. It can shake the world, so there is no need to be envious."
Zhao Zhengli nodded and calmed down, closed his eyes again and breathed in and out to find the source of that subtle feeling.
Li Zhanyi and Yu Xiaowei were also slightly inspired and began to consolidate the methods taught by Yuan Chaoyang.
Only Yang Guifen was left in the team, holding her chin and looking at the back of the white robe in a daze. Yuan Chaoyang turned his head and gave him a comforting and affirming look.
She has no idea about Jianghu, she only knows that she is not afraid of anything if there is a place for him.
.
The sun was setting in the west, pulling a carriage along the Dengzhou Post Road and the two riders accompanying it very long.
The five of them looked at the darkness at the end of their field of vision.
There were many people on the post road, and the air was filled with murderous intent.
Yuan Chaoyang, who was driving the carriage, glanced at Zhao Zhengli, who was riding in plain clothes and accompanying him on horseback: "Boy, haven't you always been curious about what senior brother can do? Today I will open your eyes."
After he finished speaking, he muttered to himself: "If I had known, I should have slapped those bald donkeys to death. They really give me a headache when they get together."
He glanced at the man in black robe and sighed again: "It seems that the Du family hasn't felt any pain yet!"
He looked at his empty sleeves and said, "Boy, lend me your sword later."
Then he turned to Yu Xiaowei and Li Zhanyi: "It's okay for you two to join in the fun. You have to watch that kid carefully and don't let anyone take advantage of him."
"..."
Miss Yu, Li Zhanyi and Yang Guifen were all speechless.
Zhao Zhengli looked up carelessly, ignoring Yuan Chaoyang's words just now: "Brother, those old thieves from the Du family want to use my head to squeeze into the court. I can understand that. Wang Chongli, the military commander of Qingzhou, is the prince. I was in the party at the time. The imperial court is getting closer to King Cheng, and his father and son want to claim credit in front of their master, and I understand that. But what are those bald donkeys in Northern Shaolin doing? Is it simply the connection between my strange parents? I smoked incense for me with my senior brother. Reiki’s new revenge?”
There was a trace of old-fashioned reminiscence on the handsome face of the white robe: "Grandness and hatred are like intricate threads, intertwined and twisted into knots. Everything today is the criticism left over from that chaotic era. There is no right or wrong, only Strange stance is different, not only in the world of rivers and lakes, but also in temples."
He asked again: "Are my parents really rebellious officials and traitors?"
Yuan Chaoyang took a deep look at him, and then turned his gaze to the crowd in front of him who was approaching. He sighed rarely: "Brother, it is not convenient for me to answer this question. Since you are curious again and again, there is no harm in talking about it."
He slowly reined in the reins and stopped: "A new dynasty needs endless exchange of bones, and a new order needs to be poured out with blood. In the arena, they are heroes who sacrifice their lives, and in the temple, they are rebels who promote the formation of the dynasty."
He looked at the dark crowd a hundred steps away: "I can only say that they are rebellious ministers in the face of ethics and justice, and in the eyes of the world, they are heroes who sacrifice their righteousness."
Zhao Zhengli stared closely and asked tentatively: "Are they really... dead?"
Yuan Chaoyang's sword-browed eyebrows solemnly recalled: "I really don't know? Only the head master knows your infant letters..."
He quickly stopped talking.
But Zhao Zhengli obviously heard it and became excited: "Did you really leave a letter?"
Yuan Chaoyang, who leaked the information, was rarely embarrassed: "Uh... go back and ask the head brother, I don't know anything."
At this time, more than a thousand people were nearly 80 steps away. Yuan Chaoyang slowly stood up and stood on the horse riding pedal.
The white robe was rising and falling, and the eyes under the sword-shaped eyebrows were slightly smiling, turning from awkward to cold, and then to sharp.
He held up his sleeves and shouted softly: "Here comes the sword!"
