After Guan Luoyang killed Shi Wengong, he took back the Wuwei Divine Sword and searched the surroundings. In a moment, he reached the military camp halfway up the mountain.
According to Gongsun Sheng, there were originally 800 elite soldiers here, and Guan Luoyang just killed less than a third of them, but there was no one in the military camp.
He listened carefully, and there were sounds of escaping in all directions among the mountains. Not only the soldiers, but also the majestic overseers seemed to know that something was wrong. Some of them were lucky enough to find some nearby mines to hide. Some have already fled far away.
Among them was a group of people with the most chaotic sounds, heavy steps, and the largest number of people.
On the mountainous land covered with tree stumps, Mr. Zeng was being held up by two Zeng family disciples. With his feet in the air, he fled out of the mountain faster than a galloping horse.
The people gathered around him included both Zeng's children and soldiers in the army. Most of them recognized him as an old man and felt that following the old man to escape safely and find a new career was more likely.
These people all have some martial arts skills in their bodies. Even the powerful slaves of the Zeng family have actually practiced magic techniques. They can walk on tree stumps, run and jump as if they are walking on the ground.
Seeing that he was about to escape from the Nineteenth Peak of Cangshan Mountain and head towards Yizhou City, Mr. Zeng's panicked face suddenly became alarmed.
"not good!"
His scalp was numb and he was shocked. He suddenly thought, "What a disaster!! Originally, although the madman killed Shi Wengong, he didn't know whether it was for revenge or for what reason. Everyone fled, and he probably couldn't kill them all. .”
"But with so many people gathered around me and running so fast, wouldn't it be that I was the one who stood out and attracted the attention of the murderer..."
Thinking of this, Mr. Zeng shouted at the top of his voice, "Get out of here, get out of here! Get out now. We will go to Zengjiazhuang at noon tomorrow. Each person will be rewarded with ten taels of silver. If you don't leave now, you won't get a penny." "
A voice came from the air.
"Oh? You are so generous, old man. I wonder if I can get a few taels of silver."
Guan Luoyang came down with his sword and stopped in front of everyone.
There was no need for Mr. Zeng to speak now. The people gathered around him all dispersed with a roar.
Mr. Zeng's face turned blue and he forced a smile and said: "This strong... king... this Taoist priest, the little old man is a pure and kind man, but he has always admired those capable masters. If the Taoist priest is like the little old man When you are a guest at home, you are willing to offer all your family property to show your sincerity.”
Guan Luoyang looked him over and over, suddenly smiled, and said: "I heard that Shi Wengong was able to manage the mine here in an orderly manner, not only because he had elite soldiers, but also because there was a family named Zeng who was very wealthy. Recruited many brave men from the countryside to serve as supervisors for the officers and soldiers?"
Mr. Zeng struggled twice, landed on his feet, cupped his hands and said, "To be honest with the Taoist priest, in fact, the little old man's family has been suffering from Shi Wengong for a long time."
"He hired all the young men and women employed by the family to do hard work in the mines, and no one cultivated the fields. The family property accumulated from doing business in the early years has suffered a lot of losses in recent years. Every family in the Zeng family has a wife, young and old, I miss my husband and son, but I dare not speak out about Shi Wengong, and I secretly shed tears in the middle of the night."
Guan Luoyang snorted: "So you should thank me?"
Old Mrs. Zeng suddenly knelt down and prostrated himself on the ground, saying: "I have no repayment for my great kindness. As long as I can be of any use to the Zeng family, I will never refuse."
Guan Luoyang nodded: "The old man is so sincere, it's really impossible for me not to go. In this case, you old man, go to the mine with me, gather all the people in the mine, and I will take you home. "
After saying that, he turned around and left. Mrs. Zeng was so frightened that he climbed up twice but could not get up. Two young men next to him helped him up and put them on their shoulders.
Mr. Zeng was quite moved and whispered: "You two never abandoned me. What are your names? I will promote you to the position of general manager when I return."
The two young men both had grimaces on their faces. The one on the right forced out a smile that was uglier than crying and said, "Thank you, old man."
The one on the left said with a cry, "I wanted to run away, but after the man looked at me, I really didn't dare."
A tall and thick man choked up as he spoke, and his body was shaking from crying, but his hand holding Old Mrs. Zeng was still very strong.
Mrs. Zeng rolled her eyes angrily and was dragged by the two men, following Guan Luoyang's back.
Gongsun Sheng hurried over and first saw Shi Wengong's body on the cliff over there. He was amazed and inexplicable. Then he scanned the surrounding area and found traces of Guan Luoyang.
"Brother Dao, are you okay?"
"No problem." Guan Luoyang smiled and said, "You have been a Taoist official in the imperial court before, so you must be well-informed. How does Shi Wengong's martial arts compare with the generals of the current dynasty?"
Gongsun Sheng followed him, glanced at Mr. Zeng behind him, and said: "Shi Wengong's Jiu Di Pi Yi Jing cultivation is exquisite and extraordinary. In terms of the depth of his skills alone, he can steadily overpower the generals in the court. I’m afraid there are only five or six people including Yun Tianbiao and Guan Sheng.”
"But in the past, the poor Taoist just listened to his reputation. Today, when I saw him fighting with his Taoist brother, and in the slightest danger of life and death, he would not hesitate to arouse the deep turbidity of the devil's path and go crazy to survive. The cultivation of his character is really not enough. If we really meet on the battlefield, I will meet him on the battlefield. There are probably nearly twenty generals who can kill him."
Guan Luoyang had an idea in his mind and asked: "What about the Taoist officials? How many Taoist officials are stronger than him?"
Gongsun Sheng hesitated for a moment and said: "Pindao once accompanied the army to conquer Xixia, and he still knows a little about the generals. However, most of those Taoist officials accompanied the emperor in Bianliang. It is difficult to tell the level of their cultivation. Only Chen Xizhen, Liu Yongxi, Liu Hun Kang and Wang Laozhi are definitely far above Shi Wengong."
Speaking of this, a look of hatred flashed across Gongsun Sheng's face, "My master is a scholar of heaven and has already mastered the indestructible golden elixir. He can be called an immortal on earth. His cultivation level is not inferior to that of Mr. Yuan Miao when he was in his prime. But back then, he was He was entangled by Liu Yongxi and Wang Laozhi's men, fought hard for a long time, and then was surrounded and killed by a large army. Only then did he die of mental exhaustion."
The cultivation of immortality in this world is mainly divided into three major levels. The first is to practice the nine orifices, and the second is to gather mineral energy, purify it painstakingly, and accumulate it into jade liquid. When the jade liquid turns nine, you can enter the third major level. Not bad golden elixir.
It is said that the golden elixir also has nine turns. For each additional turn, there is an additional Taoist text on the golden elixir. After nine turns, one can become an immortal.
It's just that the path to immortality is elusive, and no one can tell whether anyone in this world has truly become an immortal in the past thousands of years.
Those who can practice the golden elixir are already the pinnacle figures in the immortal way. Their solid foundation is far beyond what ordinary Taoist priests and magicians can compare with. Even on a battlefield where millions of people are fighting, he can ignore the influence of turbid energy and easily use various magic powers to shake up the battle situation.
As for Lin Lingsu, he was too desperate to take the initiative to get involved in the center of the dynasty's destiny. He also created an unprecedented system of Taoist officials outside the dynasty's official system, which had a profound influence and spread throughout the world. Only then would he suffer such severe backlash.
While he was talking, Guan Luoyang had already arrived at the mine and ordered Mr. Zeng to come forward and call out all the Zeng children who were hiding.
After passing through several mines, the number of people was counted. All the soldiers fled, and about 40% of the Zeng family members also fled.
On the contrary, the miners were exhausted and slow to react. They had not yet figured out what happened. They just stayed in place, or at most squatted on the ground, trying to take the opportunity to rest for a while, but no one had time to escape.
Guan Luoyang asked the Zeng family to take all the miners to Zengjiazhuang.
Mr. Zeng quickly asked: "What are you doing?"
Guan Luoyang turned his head in confusion, put his hand on Mr. Zeng's shoulder, and said, "Isn't it an old man? Are you saying that those young and old wives are looking forward to their husbands and sons? Of course, you should take them back with you to eat, drink and have a rest." .”
"But……"
When Old Master Zeng saw Guan Luoyang's thoughtful look, he immediately did not dare to say any more. He nodded repeatedly, with tears in his eyes for joy, "What the Taoist Master said is that these people have not been home for a long time. All the Zeng family members listened, You must not neglect these fellow villagers in the slightest on the road."
He shouted loudly, personally kicked away several young men from the Zeng family, took away the wooden sticks and whips from their hands, and scolded them to be gentle and kind.
Many miners dropped their mining tools in confusion and followed them out.
Guan Luoyang first took them to the military camp and plundered the food in the camp. Everything that could be cooked was cooked first. The dry food, fruits and vegetables were also properly distributed and distributed to each miner for them to carry.
When everyone left the Cangshan Mine, the strong men of the Zeng family were all pushing the carts originally used to transport minerals. The carts were crowded with the miners who were not very able to walk.
The cart was made wide and strong. When the miners used to push it, it would take four or five people to help it move. However, these strong men of the Zeng family are all proficient in practicing magic. Even if ten people sit on the cart, With a few people, it was just a little difficult to push.
Lin Lingsu and Dai Zong have also joined the team.
Gongsun Sheng's fly whisk formed a cloud-like white futon, floating in mid-air, allowing Lin Lingsu and the mercury, who had difficulty moving, to rest firmly on it.
While Lin Lingsu opened the bamboo tube and poured jars of mercury into his mouth, he said vaguely: "It's true that the magic way has been revived. Like these wealthy dog slaves who are just colluding with the local government, everyone can practice the magic way." Kung Fu. Huh, I don’t know how much of the output from the Cangshan Mine fell directly into these people.”
Gongsun Sheng said from the side: "Senior, these common people have been working in the mines all year round. They are more or less corroded by the miscellaneous gases in the mines and have become seriously ill. I see that Brother Dao is willing to cure them. I wonder if Senior can do anything?"
Lin Lingsu said: "Isn't the solution very simple? Let them also practice demonic skills. Just let them maintain the level of just getting started, so there will be no risk of going crazy and losing humanity."
Gongsun Sheng shook his head and said: "Although the magic skills of the devil are not as literal as the immortal skills, they still need to be shown the movements day after day and take them to practice together. These people will eventually be released to the countryside. Where do you have the time to study?"
Lin Lingsu chuckled twice and said: "If Guan Luoyang really thinks so, then I should persuade him to send all those people back to the mine now."
He looked at Gongsun Sheng and said sarcastically, "Release them to the countryside? With their current appearance, they can barely make ends meet in the mines. If they were to return them to the countryside, it would be too late to cultivate the fields and there would be no other way to make a living. I'm afraid It's more miserable to die than in the mines."
Gongsun Sheng was awakened by his words, rolled his eyes and remained silent.
After these young and middle-aged people from the surrounding countryside were dragged to work as miners, their own fields either became deserted because they were left with only their wives, children, and children, unable to cultivate them, or they were annexed by the wealthy families and sent slaves to take care of them.
Now that the spring plowing season has passed, if we let them go back at this time, I'm afraid they won't be able to survive the next round of food harvest, and the best they can do is become beggars.
But after Guan Luoyang leaves and the mine reopens, even a beggar will be dragged to the mine again as long as he has no missing hands or feet.
Gongsun Sheng thought to himself that his spells were not weak anymore, and Brother Guan Dao and Mr. Yuan Miao were even more capable, but there seemed to be no way to properly and permanently solve this kind of problem.
If you want to change this kind of thing, perhaps you can only rely on a wise court.
After thinking for a long time, Gongsun Sheng sighed and murmured to himself: "Emperor Tianming, why is he so mediocre?"
"So I have long said that we cultivators should not have too many entanglements with the people. It is easy to have inner demons and distracting thoughts that are difficult to get rid of, and the progress of cultivation will be slower and slower."
Lin Lingsu's voice was as cold as ice jade, "Although I saw through this back then, I was still too stupid to actually want to create a prosperous age of immortality. A truly wise Taoist, let alone the common people, should be connected to the immortality I don’t care about inheritance. I came to this world alone and went to the underworld alone, quiet and contented."
When Dai Zong heard Lin Lingsu's words, if it had been in the past, he would have cursed in his heart: He said he was not secular, but he was saved by us. If you have the ability, you can die on your own.
But for some reason this time, Dai Zong didn't feel like scolding Lin Lingsu, so he had to say: "Then why did Taoist Master Guan take away these miners? Where does he want to place them?"
Guan Luoyang, who was walking in front of the team, seemed to hear their words, turned around and slowly approached.
"Zengjiazhuang is not far from here. Let's go there to rest for the night."
Guan Luoyang held a picture in his hand and said with a smile, "Mr. Zeng is so hospitable that he insists on giving us all their money and food. It's just time for them to help prepare some boats. We will change to the waterway tomorrow."
Gongsun Sheng cheered up and asked curiously: "Where are you going, Brother Dao?"
Guan Luoyang said: "I found a map in the military camp. From the waterway near Zengjiazhuang, it only takes two days with a favorable wind to reach Shuibo Liangshan. There are eight hundred miles of vast mist and blue lotus flowers. The sky is full of beautiful mountains and clear waters, which is perfect for Taoist priests to maintain their health.”
"Tao Zhang Lin, it will take some time for you to recover from your injuries, so please go live there with me."
Lin Lingsu said expressionlessly: "I have also heard of the water in Liangshan Mountain. It is the place on Qilu where the water is dangerous. It is clearly a lake. But when the wind blows, the waves empty, the trees are about to be destroyed, and the reeds are luxuriant. It's like a ghost crying. It's not a good place for self-cultivation, but it's a dragon's cave that dominates the mountain."
"Ah?" Guan Luoyang was surprised, "Is it actually such a place? But I also found some letters in the military camp, saying that there are people from all over the country who admire the scenery there and are willing to move there. Woolen cloth."
The smile on his face was not warm. "Since some of the state officials wrote in their letters that they thought it was a good place, why don't we really turn it into a more impressive 'good place'?"
Lin Lingsu put her hands in her sleeves: "What if I don't go?"
Guan Luoyang smiled sincerely and said: "That doesn't matter, this matter is just my interest."
"Then I'll go." Lin Lingsu stared at Guan Luoyang, "I want to see what a Taoist priest like you will end up with."
"Ha ha ha ha."
Guan Luoyang laughed and said, "Actually, I am not a serious Taoist priest. I can't draw talismans, make elixirs, exorcise ghosts and invite gods. Fortunately, I have other strengths in my way of life..."
