Since Gui Fangzong was already waiting for them, Yue Guanchao and the others followed the craftsman up the mountain without any further delay.
On the top of the peak, the true appearance of the Shennong Sheji Temple gradually appeared in front of everyone. According to Tan Yanqiu's method, this temple has existed since the era of the Three Sovereigns and the Five Emperors. It has been continuously repaired by the royal family for thousands of years, and it has always been the highest standard in Shennongjia. temple.
Generally speaking, a large temple like this is completely different from a single-door temple. After several generations of repairs, it has formed a distinctive Gaotaihuadian complex.
The Nong Shen Ji Temple in front of you is divided into three parts: the front gate temple, the atrium temple, and the back courtyard. Like Chaoyuntai, it is located on a rammed earth platform with a three-level drop, connected by a middle ladder from the ground to the highest. The rammed earth platform is equipped with a winding verandah on the outside, which is shaped like a courtyard wall to support the building and form a whole.
The three-story rammed earth platforms are all different. On the platform closest to them, sits the almost trapezoidal Shennong Main Hall.
This palace is slightly different from the palaces they have seen. It is similar to the trapezoidal main palace, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. The walls are made of rammed earth, and the foundation is surrounded by huge stones. The higher you get to the top of the palace, the steeper it becomes. There is a straw-colored roof fanning over the eaves, and you can clearly see the style of thatched roof.
The palace is divided into two floors. The upper palace has no door openings and is full of windows. There are twelve windows separated by pillars in the corridor. The lower palace has five corridor windows on the left and right sides. There are three door openings in the middle. In front of the door opening, there is a stone archway. Shennong's flags stood on both sides, and when the breeze blew, the flags flew.
Skipping the Qianmen Temple Palace, you can see the temple on the second floor platform!
The style of this temple is very close to the style of the palaces of later generations, with yellow tiles and red walls, ridges with owl kisses, colorful decorations, and exquisite corridors. It is only better than the palace at Chaoyuntai, and even has larger specifications than Chaoyuntai is a little higher.
Chaoyuntai is just a royal palace, not a serious palace. This Shennong Temple is indeed a temple that the royal family of all dynasties have come to worship. It is already a sacrificial temple in terms of specifications. It is the highest-standard building for the royal family. What is used is the highest standard double-eaves verandah roof.
To the left and right of the palace, there are towers and flying corridors, which are shaped like arms connecting the courtyard walls and leading directly to the highest platform!
On the highest platform was the high courtyard they saw!
Generally speaking, such a backyard should be lush with vegetation, but the courtyard they saw only had scattered weeds, no exotic flowers and plants, and no ponds or bridges. Only a huge head made of stone was placed in the courtyard. , surrounded by ancient trees, the huge human head seemed to be alive, swaying through the shadows of the trees to spy on the living things below.
These three different courtyards do not belong to the same style at all. It is like mixing together wild vegetable dumplings, delicacies, and steamed buns. You can clearly feel alienation and strangeness.
Song Siyuan observed the temple carefully and asked: "These three courtyards are very strange. The highest one should be the main palace, but it is a courtyard with stone heads. The middle palace is too luxurious, and the bottom temple looks very shabby. , it’s like three patches mixed together, how can there be a Sheji Temple of this nature? If it hasn’t been repaired in all dynasties, why don’t they know how to unify the style.”
While they were talking, Gui Fangzong had already walked over from a distance and explained: "That's because the construction time of these temples does not belong to the same era at all. After they are built, they cannot be demolished or rebuilt, they can only be repaired. It remains as it is.”
After that, he paused and pointed to the highest platform and said: "Not only is the appearance different, but the architectural structure is also different. The temple at the front belongs to the late Shang and Zhou Dynasties, which is probably the period when the Shang Dynasty evolved into the Zhou Dynasty."
"At that time, the palace buildings were not so luxurious, and everything was mainly simple, but the shape was very close to the palaces of later generations. As for the highest courtyard, it was closer to the altar building in ancient times. The huge head in the middle was probably some kind of sacrifice. Utensils.”
"Only the building in the middle is closer to the era we live in. Based on the colorful decoration, it was probably built during the Tang and Song Dynasties. Although it is very close, at least a thousand years have passed since then."
Guifang Zong paused and continued: "In ancient times, building these buildings required a lot of money and resources. In order to achieve the goal of lasting for thousands of years, the strongest materials were used during construction. The things built will not be demolished casually. Lose."
"Later royal families mainly focused on altars and continued to build auxiliary buildings of the Sheji Temple. The original Agricultural God Temple continued to play a role. From ancient times to the Shang and Zhou Dynasties until the Tang and Song Dynasties, the Agricultural God Sheji Temple was constantly added to by later generations. Renovate it to give it what we see.”
After that, Gui Fangzong looked at everyone: "I thought you would have to wait a long time before joining us."
If they hadn't found the clue of Ah Xi, they would have been stalling a little longer. Song Siyuan nodded: "Mr. Guifang is really right. We came up in a hurry this time and we did find a new clue."
"Do you know Ah Xi?" Song Siyuan asked straight to the point.
Guifang Zong shook his head: "I don't know, if it is related to this search for Guifang's other world, then you might as well tell me."
Song Siyuan coughed a few times and told Ghost Fangzong the story of Axi, and also told him the clues about the white-haired animals looking for certain animals.
"really?"
Gui Fangzong looked at Ban Nu and saw that she was shaking her head, so he believed Song Siyuan's words.
The ghostly old man nodded to Zhongru: "Yes, when I picked up Ban Shu, it was indeed not far from Shennong Peak. I also saw this woman."
"Then was this woman still alive at that time?"
Ban Shu thought about Gui Fangzong's words and was basically sure that the woman was Axi.
Ghost Fangzong shook his head: "At that time, when I found you, this woman named Axi had been dead for several years. Only the umbilical cord was left to connect the baby. She used the last nutrients of the mother's body to provide nutrients for the child. I could tell you at a glance. She is of Onikata bloodline, so she immediately picked up the child. As for the body, it has integrated with the surrounding trees. It is impossible to put her to rest in the ground, so we can only leave her where she is and bury her in the forest."
He paused and continued: "Let's go, I'll take you to see that location."
After that, Gui Fangzong led Yue Guanchao and the others into the Sheji Temple, and followed the courtyard corridor to the highest courtyard.
Yue Guanchao roughly estimated that the courtyard on the platform is about seven or eight courtyards in size. Its rectangular shape just leans on the cliff of Shennong Peak. Looking forward, you can see the towering buildings, and looking back, you can see the undulating cliffs and the boundless sea of clouds. It is very strange.
Walking into it, apart from the ancient trees around the courtyard, only the huge stone in the center of the courtyard was the most conspicuous. They were far away from the courtyard just now, so they couldn't see clearly. Now they were standing in front of the huge stone, and some details that were originally blurry could not be seen clearly. Gradually enriched.
This human head is about five meters high and three meters wide, almost as big as the main room of an ordinary person's main hall. The eyes, ears, mouth and nose are roughly carved on the head, and the eyes are like squinting red phoenix eyes that are stretched and elongated.
The ears of this stone head are large and pointed, just like the ears of an elf slightly spread out. The lips are thin and slender, and they seem to be parted. The nose is very three-dimensional, the bridge of the nose is high and protruding, and the forehead, cheeks, tip of the nose, and chin are all colored in five colors. The pigments are carved into the surface of the stone. After thousands of years, they have only slightly cracked and have not faded at all.
The strangest thing is the crown on the top of the bun!
This crown looks like a horn, but it is more angular than a horn. It looks like the eaves of a building, supported upside down on the top of the head, like a horn worn on the forehead. Looking down, you can only see the grass and trees. The neck, most of the neck was buried deep in the soil and cannot be traced.
Yue Guanchao stepped back several meters and looked into the stone's eyes. These eyes were particularly three-dimensional. The eyeballs were made of a completely different material than the stone. They were a bit closer to light brown amber and a bit like brown agate. They could still reflect light under natural light.
In the blinking and swaying time, it was as if the stone statues were coming to life, staring greedily into the eyes of living people, trying to see through all their thoughts. The sense of being watched nearby they felt probably came from the reflected eyes of the stone statues.
Yue Guanchao looked around. The stone head was located in the center of the courtyard. It was surrounded by ancient trees. Thousands of years old, they had grown very large and prosperous. They were like suspended green islands in the courtyard, with lush branches and leaves and vines floating around. Even the stone statue The crown on the top of the head is inevitably entangled with vines, with countless yellow vines hanging down.
From this point of view, judging from the growth position of the surrounding thousand-year-old trees, this stone statue has indeed not been moved for thousands of years, and is almost surrounded by the tree crown. Just seeing this mysterious stone, you can feel an ancient atmosphere hitting your face. Come.
Song Siyuan looked around and asked, "Mr. Guifang, isn't this where Axi died?"
She hasn't thought about letting Guifang Zong bring them up yet.
"No, it's under this cliff."
Gui Fangzong walked through the trees and came to the wall of the courtyard near the cliff. He pointed to Lin Hai on the back of the cliff and said: "At that time, I was trapped here. I heard the cry of a baby and realized that there might be a child under the cliff. That's when I discovered Axi. And Banshu.”
"Under the cliff?"
Yue Guanchao leaned on the railing and looked down. They were at the top of the highest peak. Although the back slope cliff was steep, it was not straight up and down. The undulating mountains were covered with forest seas, and the vast and mysterious fog was misty. If Axi was found here, he would have to go there. .
However, they couldn't go down to the cliff rashly. If Guifangzong deliberately set up a trap, they would be in trouble, but they couldn't go down easily.
He looked back at Song Siyuan, and the two of them looked down for a while, and said slowly: "Mr. Guifang, we are not familiar with Shennong Peak. Since you have found Axi before, why not take us down to have a look, so that we can have a look too?" Is your woman actually Axi?"
"Okay, I'll take you to see it. I have nothing to hide about this thing."
After Gui Fangzong signaled, the people around him took out rock climbing ropes and tied them to the surrounding ancient trees. The old man dropped the rope. After making sure it was strong, he followed the rope down the cliff and landed in the steep forest sea under the cliff.
