The silk fly flapped its wings and stopped on the edge of the bookshelf, looking down.
The insect in the sandwich resembles a silkworm, white in color, two fingers thick, one palm long, with two rows of gastropods at the bottom, and slender and soft golden threads on its back.
He was curled up in a ball, lying in a nest made of book pages.
How to use it?
Li Ang recalled some of the strange books he had read in the library.
The beetle fairy,
This kind of alien insect that feeds on book pages and lives on words was first seen in the pre-Qin period.
Because of his photographic memory and ability to spit out all the words he had ever eaten in the form of silk threads, he was worshiped as a god at that time.
All countries have trained specialized talents to communicate with beetles.
The higher the quality of the books the beetle eats, the longer its lifespan. The longest recorded life span is five hundred years.
However, its breeding is too difficult (a beetle will only lay eggs once in its life), and its number has been declining over the years.
The number of people who can communicate with the beetles is gradually decreasing.
During the two Jin Dynasties, beetles were relatively common, and some wealthy families and even local powerful people would raise one or even a few.
By Li Ang's time, only a dozen places such as the Academy, Daming Palace, and Works Bureau in the entire Yu State had beetles. People in some states and counties didn't even know that such a thing existed in history.
"In the Han Dynasty, the officials who specialized in managing the beetle immortals were called shepherding beetle officials. They were trained from a young age, accompanied by the beetle immortals day and night, and fed all kinds of books with their own hands. They would read whatever books the beetle immortals ate. At the very least, they would read them.
Know the directory.
When using it, the Immortal Silverfish official needs to stir the specific golden thread on the Immortal Silverfish's back to make the Immortal Silverfish spit out the specified information..."
The fly controlled by Mosi rubbed its front feet, and after thinking for a moment, he plucked the two golden threads on the back of the insect.
The sleeping silverfish immediately rolled over and woke up, its big mung bean-like eyes reflecting the appearance of a black silk fly.
It froze in place quite anthropomorphically, as if wondering why it was awakened by a fly instead of a living person.
After being stunned for a few seconds, he spit out a ball of black and white silk.
The silk is relatively moist at first, and then quickly dries and hardens into a paper-like shape.
And the text above...
"Jiuzhou Spring and Autumn" written by Sima Biao, Secretary of the Western Jin Dynasty?"
This book tells the story of the troubled times at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty. If a doctor of history from the Academy could read it, he would probably be very happy, but it would be useless for the current situation.
"Come again!"
The fly stretched out his hand again and pulled out a few more golden threads from the beetle fairy's back.
Along with the rustling sound, the beetle fairy spit out the pages of the book again.
"Miscellaneous Notes of Xijing", useless,
"Erya", useless,
"Hanshu Yiwenzhi", useless,
"The Breathing Method of the Jialan Dragons" is the practice book of the Jialan Sect! It can train the spiritual veins, strengthen the body, and achieve the power of ten dragons and ten elephants at such a high level.
But it is required to maintain a pure Yang body for life...
That’s okay.
Huh? Why is there an inappropriate version of "Luo Shen Fu" with several thousand words added? The first sentence of the opening sentence is "Cao Pi's grades are very unsatisfactory."
Is your temple quite capable of hiding?
Li Ang looked at the Luo Shen Fu written by an unknown literati from which dynasty or generation, with a rather wonderful expression on his face.
However, this is also understandable. According to ancient books, the demand for books is huge, and the content in the books must be meaningful and non-repetitive text.
If you take scraps from calligraphy practice or students’ copying assignments, they won’t even bother to eat them.
Therefore, any force that raises beetles will import various miscellaneous books in large quantities. It is better to have excess than to lack.
There are always some weird things mixed in.
"If we keep searching like this, it will take years and months to find clues. Forget it, I'll do it myself."
Li Ang controlled the fly, flew down the mezzanine, and lay down in front of the silverfish fairy.
Hiss——
The ink threads are like slender tentacles, extending from the fly's body and reaching towards the beetle fairy.
The obese Silverfish seemed to be aware of the approaching danger, and subconsciously shrank its body. The golden threads on its back stood up, and its mouthparts were slightly open, as if it was about to scream.
However, Mosi's speed is faster than it,
With a sound of "sand", it covered its body surface, instantly penetrated the skin membrane and took over its body.
Is this... the ocean of consciousness of the Silverfish?
Li Ang seemed to be in a dark space, with countless pieces of light floating in all directions. Each piece of light was a book or an article.
It is somewhat similar to Li Ang's own memory palace in another world, but smaller and more messy.
Li Ang held his breath and concentrated, a little adapted to the consciousness interface of Yimian Immortal, and with a thought,
The light sheets all over the sky immediately moved and flowed, and a large amount of text unfolded in front of Li Ang.
You don’t need to spin silk threads to read directly.
Valid!
Li Ang took a deep breath, controlled the rest of the mosquitoes, flew to the place where the Jialan Sect might hide the Silverfish Immortal, and retrieved the information one by one.
The true history of Jialan Sect...
He multitasks and searches for information quickly.
Until...
Buzz!
The strong Buddha light illuminates half of the sky, coming from the direction of the Zhaitang.
————
At the same time, the Main Hall.
"What exactly are we looking for?"
In the state of Nether Travel Talisman, Xia Jun, who merged with the shadow, frowned and asked.
"Clue to go back."
Drinking in the sea, I carefully observed the four statues of Jialan Patriarch in front of the Buddha in the Main Hall. He said casually: "At that time, at the ruins of the Main Hall, three Buddha statues suddenly stood up and attacked. Then we came to the Jialan Sect three hundred years ago.<
/p>
The reason is that these Buddha statues are the most suspect. Especially the one that disappeared three hundred years later. Come and take a look."
Jiu Fenghai pointed behind the ear of the Buddha statue on the far left, "These Buddha statues are covered with many layers of gold foil."
Xia Jun floated over, followed the direction of Jiu Fenghai's finger, and carefully observed the cracked lines behind the ears of the Buddha. Sure enough, through the cracks, he could see the gold foil accumulated layer by layer on the surface of the Buddha.
He immediately realized that the gold foil craftsmanship of this era was to repeatedly beat a whole piece of gold with a hammer, and then blow a small piece of paper as thin as a cicada onto the surface of the device.
That's why it's called gold foil, and usually only one layer is applied.
Xia Jun asked: "Is it because the Jialan Sect wants to show off its financial strength?"
"Unlike multiple layers of gold foil, which is wasteful and will cover the texture on the surface of the utensils. The only advantage is that it is not easy to peel off. It is used to show off wealth, but it loses taste."
Jiu Fenghai paused for a moment, "It's more like doing this to cover up the color of the Buddha statue itself..."
He stretched out his hand and peeled off a piece of gold foil, revealing the true appearance of the Buddha statue. It was solid, heavy, dark, and the material was similar to hard stone.
What is this...
An extremely ridiculous idea arose in Jiu Fenghai's heart. He pursed his lips tightly, raised his palms, pressed them on the Buddha statue, and slowly circulated his Qihai.
The spiritual power slowly penetrates into the Buddha statue, which is solid, lifeless and without any activity.
Jiu Fenghai subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to turn around and say something to Xia Jun, he saw the dazzling light of Buddha outside the window.
————
Zhaitang backyard,
Monks gathered,
Realizing that the abbot was in trouble, he looked at the empty dining hall and warehouse with a livid face.
All the grains, oils and vegetables stored inside were turned into coke.
"Sky! Sea!"
The troubled abbot almost roared,
The one whose name was reported, Monk Kukai, who was usually responsible for guarding the warehouse, knelt on the ground with a plop, shaking like chaff, and stammered: "Abbot, I and several other brothers and sisters have been outside the warehouse tonight and have not left.
I didn’t see anyone breaking in..."
"Then what's going on?!"
The abbot couldn't hide his anger when he was in trouble. He pointed at the warehouse and pressed the monk Kukai with his whole body, bending the latter's back.
"Junior brother, don't break the precept of anger."
The enlightened abbot said slowly: "There are more than ten restrictions in the warehouse. Even if you and I want to sneak in quietly, it will not be that easy.
The intruder must be a magician in the Zhuxiao Realm, or a magic talisman master who can use the extinguishing talisman to quietly burn a warehouse of supplies.
It’s understandable that Kukai and the others couldn’t notice it.”
"But!"
In trouble, the abbot forced out words through his teeth, "What should I do with the food?"
"There are crops in the farmland, fish can be raised in the ponds, and livestock can be raised in the pastures to supply pilgrims. There will always be a way."
Before the abbot finished speaking, a monk hurried over in a panic and whispered a few words to him.
After understanding the abbot's expression suddenly changed, he looked in the direction of the farmland in the back hill.
"..."
Silk flies, hovering over Lingtai Mountain.
Everywhere he looked, farmland and the crops therein were all reduced to scorched earth.
————
The next morning,
The meals provided in the restaurant are only gruel - it's porridge, more like rice soup.
The pilgrims looked at each other, and some couldn't help but stand up and asked the monk next to him who was giving porridge, "Master, what's going on?"
The soup-giving monk looked embarrassed and hesitated to speak, but the monk next to him replied: "The fire dragon burned down the warehouse last night, and some of the supplies in the warehouse were damaged, but the remaining food is enough to last for a while.
p>
As for"
"Look out the window!"
I don't know who shouted, and the pilgrims stood up and looked out the window. They saw the farmland in the back hill was scorched black, and the monks of the Jialan Sect were working hard to turn over the soil.
The panicked discussion became even louder. A group of pilgrims surrounded Monk Kongwo and asked: "Master Kongwo, how much food does the Jialan Sect have? Is it enough to eat?"
"Yes, Master Kongga, you are a monk, you can't lie to us!"
The pilgrims looked panicked. Regarding the famine, they had never eaten pork and had seen pigs running away.
Eight thousand pilgrims and nearly ten thousand monks consume a lot of food every day.
If the food stored in the warehouse is burned out and needs to be cultivated again, many people will not be able to support the autumn harvest.
"Master Kongwo, we have all paid money, the Jialan Sect cannot care about our life or death!"
"Abbott, where is the abbot? We need to explain."
The pilgrims surrounded Konga Sangha and started making noises.
When the Jialan Sect first selected pilgrims to come to the mountain, in addition to young and pious people and those who were related to the monks in the temple, they also accepted many wealthy businessmen and monks.
Each person pays a certain amount of money, ranging from more than 10,000 guan to as much as 100,000 guan, in exchange for the opportunity to enter the mountain.
After paying so much money, it is really unacceptable if we still have to go hungry.
"Please be patient..."
Kongwo Seng tried to explain, but was drowned out by the noise.
"Okay!"
The Buddhist sound like a bell and a bell filled the hall, and the troubled abbot strode in and said in a deep voice: "Everyone, please follow me and gather outside the Main Hall!"
The abbot was in trouble and had a high prestige. After he came forward, the commotion in the hall immediately calmed down. Everyone rushed to the open space outside the main hall.
When the crowd stood still, the troubled abbot stood on the steps in front of the temple and said loudly: "The grain in the warehouse and the farmland in the back mountain were indeed burned last night, but it is not without hope.
There are also frozen vegetables in the ice cave, and there are also many fish in the ponds and rivers. Enough food to sustain the autumn harvest.
If it doesn't work, Jialan Sect can still open the mountain guard formation and urgently buy food from the outside world."
"Really? That's great!"
"We are saved!"
The believers in the audience breathed a sigh of relief, but some monks frowned.
As practitioners, they know very well that the mountain guarding formation used by the Jialan Sect has sacrificed a lot for the sake of range and strength.
First of all, he is not smart enough. Even the Jialan Sect’s own people cannot enter or leave the restricted area, otherwise they will be wiped out.
Secondly, it consumes a lot of money. Just to maintain it, resources worth thousands of dollars are consumed every day.
Turning it off and on within a short period of time will cause damage to the formation itself.
Not to mention whether there is food in the outside world and whether it can be purchased.
Even if there is, after the mountain guarding formation is closed, can it really be opened again?
In the corner of the crowd, Sui Yi frowned and said: "The warehouse was burned and the farmland was destroyed. It looks like death is imminent...
Is this why the Jialan Sect was destroyed? There was not enough food, so the survivors killed each other?"
"Not quite."
Jiu Fenghai shook his head and said: "Although Xia Jun and I didn't find out the warehouse was burned immediately last night, we still rushed to the scene with the help of the Nether Travel Talisman and observed the situation from a distance.
Five or six large warehouses were burned to the ground, but the ban was not triggered, and the personnel responsible for guarding did not notice the movement in advance.
It's a bit like the Candle Sky Realm [Extinguishing Talisman] that can release rapidly spreading flames.
However, if it was really the Talisman Master who did it, it would not be logical."
Ashina Queteqin thought for a while and asked: "You mean... burning food can't eliminate the Jialan Sect?"
"Yeah."
Jiu Fenghai nodded and said: "There are only more than a hundred monks among the eight thousand pilgrims.
There are nearly 10,000 Jialan monks, more than 800 Qi Qi.
The power gap between the two sides is too great.
If you kill some of them by cannibalism, the rest can wait until the autumn harvest.
Therefore, the Jialan Sect will never become extinct due to lack of food.
On the contrary, the risk is higher if we close the mountain defense formation."
Several people talked about the possible reasons for the extinction of Jialan Sect and how to survive.
I even started to think about whether I could jump in front of the abbot and explain that I came from a future where the Jialan Sect has been destroyed three hundred years later, and demand that the mountain guarding formation be lifted immediately——
This suggestion is obviously unreliable. It is more likely that he will be arrested as a monster and tortured with alienated objects.
Li Ang did not participate in their conversation. He was flipping the iron box engraved with the words "Now that you have seen the Tathagata, why don't you worship" under his sleeve.
Who could have left this iron box that was so strong that it couldn’t be broken open even with the sword energy?
If it was a relic of the Jialan Sect, why was it placed together with the Kaisuke Suzume? Shouldn't it have been taken away by Dr. Jigu's Academy?
If it was left by Dr. Xuegong... what would be its purpose?
Li Ang's mind was spinning. He searched through the Jialan Sect's information, but could not find any information related to the iron box...
Buzz!
One second, the troubled abbot was still speaking on the stage, and the next second, a dull voice suddenly sounded,
I saw the ground in front of the Main Hall lit up with lines, like a big net, trapping all the pilgrims.
The crowd immediately became noisy and restless. The faces of several pilgrims dressed as monks suddenly changed. They reached out to hold their weapons, but were shocked to find that the sea of qi was blocked and they could not use their spiritual power.
Tap tap tap tap.
A group of monks rushed up from the corner, holding long and short sticks, and surrounded the crowd.
"Everyone, please be patient!"
The troubled abbot's voice overwhelmed all the noise, and he shouted in a deep voice: "The many strange phenomena in recent days are all due to demons sneaking into Jialan Sect. Now we will investigate one by one to find and eliminate the demons."
This chapter has been completed!