White Bone Monkey King Chapter 578 A trip to the Kunlun Mountains, arriving at the ancient Zhangxiong Kingdom, the white yak, the mythical snow-capped mountain beast that looks like a sheep
Chapter 578 A trip to the Kunlun Mountains, arriving at the ancient Zhangxiong Kingdom, the white yak, the mythical snow-capped mountain beast that looks like a sheep
Kunlun Mountains,
There are several more popular ancient names,
Kunlunxu,
The ancestor of all mountains,
The land of gods,
It is the ancestor and origin of the three major dragon veins,
There are many ancient myths here, such as the Queen Mother of the West, the lord of Yaochi, the Yuxu Palace of Yuanshi Tianzun, the leader of the Chan Cult, the Nine Heavens and other important ancient myths all originated here, which is why it is called the Land of the Gods and is a Taoist holy land.
The Kunlun Mountains have majestic mountains and perennial snow peaks. Entering the Kunlun Mountains is as difficult as climbing to the sky. The most popular route is through the Ancient Tea Horse Road, passing through the ruins of the ancient Zhangxiong Kingdom, and then passing through desert areas, plateau snow-capped mountains, and over mountains and ridges.
Head to the Kunlun Mountains.
Another route is to enter Yushu from Xizhou Prefecture, enter Tubo, detour to the ruins of the ancient Zhangxiong Kingdom, and then pass through desert no-man’s land, plateau snow-capped mountains, and head to the Kunlun Mountains.
No matter which way you enter Tubo or go to the Kunlun Mountains, it is a journey that is difficult for ordinary people to complete.
And Jin'an and his party headed west, from the Western Regions to Tubo, and took the most difficult road to heaven. It not only led to the highest heaven, but also fell into the abyss of eternal hell if not careful. Along the way, they walked through deserts and lofty mountains.
Snowy mountains, barren meadows, plateau desert Gobi, ten thousand-year-old permafrost... This way around the desert basin, then west to Zhujubo, over the snowy mountains with thin air, through the ancient Gobi road in the plateau desert, and officially entered the ruins of the ancient Xiangxiong Kingdom
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The ancient Zhangxiong Kingdom has a long history. It once had a glorious plateau snow-covered civilization and plateau Gobi civilization. It used to have a large population, controlled a large territory, and had strong military power. Later, it was destroyed by Tubo and became the land of Tubo's extreme west. The terrain here
The environment is complex, consisting of plateau desert Gobi, plateau snow-capped mountains, plateau meadows, and the largest number of lakes in the world. It is extremely hot during the day and extremely cold at night. The weather is more changeable than the desert, with a large temperature difference between day and night. It is as close to heaven as it is to hell.
too close.
That's why this heavenly road into Tubo is called the most difficult heavenly road.
It was already several months later when Jin An, Young Master Yiyun, Qi Bo, and Shayang passed through the ancient Gobi desert road and successfully entered the territory of the ancient Zhangxiong Kingdom.
It is now April and May, and some places are slowly entering the rainy season.
But in the ancient Shangshung Kingdom, April is still the snow season, and there is no rain all year round.
Although it has the largest number of lakes in the world, it is a harsh environment zone with no rain all year round. Therefore, most of the lakes here are pits and stagnant water formed by melting snow and cannot be drank directly.
Although the lake water here is as clear as blue, as beautiful as a huge sapphire, or blue brocade, it is like coming to the sacred land of Yaochi where the Queen Mother of the West lives. It is as beautiful as a fairyland, but most of these blue lakes are salt lakes, heavy with the accumulation of millions of years.
Salt and alkali are undrinkable for humans and animals.
It is precisely because the living environment here is so harsh that with the demise of the ancient Xiangxiong Kingdom, this land in the far west of Tubo has become an uninhabited and barbaric place. It is no exaggeration to say that there are more Tibetan foxes living here than people.
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Those tea merchants and merchants from the Western Regions who do business along the Ancient Tea Horse Road will directly enter Tianzhu and Dashi after crossing the Kala Kunlun Pass. They will not pass through the territory of the ancient Zhangxiong Kingdom where there is no water or food supply station.
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This is an ancient city ruins surrounded by mountains on three sides. In this abandoned ruins, there are still a few earth and stone buildings scattered near the mountains that can shelter from the wind and sand.
The ancient city ruins here are somewhat similar to the architectural style of the ancient Shang Shung Kingdom. Even if the town buildings are not left over from the ancient Shang Shung Kingdom, they are some small countries that were historically influenced by the culture of the ancient Shang Shung Kingdom.
Even in such a harsh place, the bustling sounds of people shouting and horses neighing can be heard from the ruins of the ancient city near the mountains.
This is the closest place to Jiutian. The Milky Way hangs upside down for Jiutian. The night sky is as clear as water, as if you can pick the stars and the moon with your tentacles. After nightfall, several blazing bonfires are lit in the ruins of the ancient city to drive away wild beasts from attacking horse teams and yak teams.
Although this plateau desert Gobi is an uninhabited land with harsh conditions, there is no shortage of wild animals such as wild donkeys, antelopes, brown bears, pikas, wild yaks, desert cats, and Tibetan foxes.
Brown bears, desert cats, and Tibetan foxes are all very wild beasts. They can easily disturb mules and horses by breaking into a horse team.
Several ancient city buildings near Tushan were brightly lit, especially in a tall building like a temple. There were a lot of people, the sound of clinking wine glasses, the sound of fisting and eating meat, and the loud noises of people, one after another, making it very lively.
This is the plateau desert no man's land closest to Jiutian. Occasionally, a tea merchant cavalry passes by, which is unusual. It can be explained by accidentally getting lost, but looking at the excitement here, it is far more than just a tea merchant.
The cavalry was lost, and there were at least dozens of people gathered together. Looking at the chatter and laughter as they drank and ate meat, the mood of the lost caravan was not at all depressed.
Tea merchants who walk along the Tea Horse Road all year round often hear some weird legends.
Every year, many tea merchants freeze to death in heavy snow, or fall off cliffs and die in valleys. Almost every tea merchant has experienced some strange things at one time or another.
For example, when traveling at night, you may encounter some caravans that appear out of nowhere behind you. If you look back, everyone in this caravan will be missing the next day.
For another example, when passing through some valleys, you will hear someone calling for help. At this time, the yaks in the team will panic and refuse to enter the valley no matter how much they are urged. The caravan must take a detour. Once the people enter the valley, they will never come out.
The yak is a mythical beast in the snow-capped mountains. It is the spirit of all things raised by holy mountains and holy lakes. These mythical beasts in the snow-capped mountains can foresee some dangerous signs, and any place where the yak refuses to go is forbidden to the living;
Some people say that these tea merchants are unwilling to die in a foreign land and are trying to find a substitute to leave the snowy mountains.
In addition to evil and strange things, there are also many living people who imitate ghosts and gods, pretend to be gods and ghosts on the Tea Horse Road, open cannibal shops, kill people and sell goods.
In short, Tubo is a vast and sparsely populated area, and it is not peaceful at all, especially the Han people living here. In the eyes of the locals, they are just money bags with bulging pockets. People disappear all year round. The tea merchants on the Tea Horse Road are better than those in the Western Regions.
The mortality rate of businessmen is still high.
Tonight's weird things happened one after another. This is the closest place to Jiutian. At night, the weather is cold, windy and snowy. If you rush in such weather, it is not only easy for people to die, but also more likely to lose your way. You are rushing.
Big taboo.
It happened that in such a snowstorm, a yak team braved the cold wind and snow, lowering their heads and driving on the night road. The yak team trudged hard in the snow.
If it weren't for the fact that at the front of this yak team, a goat as big as an ox and as strong as a goat was responsible for breaking the wind and crossing the road, this yak team would have been buried in the plateau wind and snow.
Riding on the back of the goat is a Taoist priest wearing five-color robes.
This Taoist priest was not afraid of wind and snow, and his clothes were thin, and his robe was torn by the cold wind so much that it rustled. He was still sitting on the back of the sheep as steady as a rock, and together with the goat, he took the place of the yak team behind him and acted as a vanguard against the wind.
"What!"
Looking at the vast white snow in front of me, the goat barked and breathed out hot air from its mouth and nose, as if it was dissatisfied with traveling at night.
Jin An patted the sheep's head, knowing that it was not an easy journey for Silly Sheep and that it required a lot of physical exertion. Then he took out the elixir bottle from his arms, poured out a 300-year-old blood-tonifying elixir, and fed it to the goat.
After the silly sheep swallowed a pill, he continued to carry the Taoist priest on his back and drove on the night road in the wind and snow with his head lowered.
At this time, Jin An looked back at the team behind him. The yak behind him was carrying their survival supplies on the snowy field, and they must not lose anything.
Fortunately, Mr. Yiyun and Qi Bo, who were riding on the back of the yak, were in charge of taking care of them, so there was no trouble with the team behind them.
But even with him and the goats responsible for breaking the wind, the yaks were exhausted and moving slower and slower. The temperature difference between day and night here after nightfall is huge. April and May are still the snow season, so they have to drive at night in the wind and snow.
It’s still a bit difficult for these snowy beasts.
At this time, he could not speak in the wind and snow at all. The strong wind roaring in his ears could easily drown out the human voice, and the team could not stop. If it stopped in such a heavy snowstorm, it would be easy for the team to be buried by the snow.
We can only continue to move forward silently.
After walking hard for about half an hour in the wind and snow, they finally arrived at the ruins of the ancient city they had seen on the top of the mountain before dark.
However, Jin An frowned when he saw the lights on in the ruins of the ancient city and listened to many people talking and laughing loudly at night.
According to what he asked the locals for directions a month ago, except for a few ancient city ruins and some wild animals, this road should be uninhabited.
He was anxious to find a sheltered place to spend the night. Without thinking too much, he continued to lead the team towards the ruins of the ancient city.
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In the ruins of the ancient city, the lights are still on, and in the largest temple, the noise of people is still there.
There was a lot of people inside the house, but outside the house, the pounding wind and snow kept hitting the doors, windows and earth walls violently. Suddenly, there were several strange noises among the sounds of the wind and snow.
knock.
Knock knock.
The people in the room suddenly became alert, huffing and puffing, drawing out their weapons, swords and swords flashing all over the place, and they all stared at the door with vigilance.
"What was that sound just now?" A big man put down his wine bowl and stared towards the door with a stern expression on his face.
"It seems like there's someone knocking on the door?" A tea merchant at the next table, whose skin has been roughened and tanned by the plateau sun all year round, and has a big belly, said with a hesitant look on his face.
Suddenly, the lively atmosphere in the building was extinguished like a basin of ice water. Everyone held their breath, tensed their body muscles, and stared at the door with unblinking vigilance.
At this time, the wind and snow outside were still there, banging and banging on the doors and windows, but in the ears of the people in this room, there was an extremely quiet sound under the extreme movement, as if they had not heard anything, and they were all focused on staring in the direction of the door.
Meeting people traveling at night in uninhabited land is rare, let alone traveling at night in such windy and snowy weather. Almost everyone thinks of the legend of the Snowman in the snowy mountains.
knock.
Knock knock.
There was another rhythmic sound outside the door, and everyone finally heard clearly that someone was knocking on the door.
The knocking on the door in the wind and snow was still ringing persistently. Finally, a few brave people walked towards the door cautiously with swords and axes in their hands.
As they carefully opened the door, wheeze, wind and snow suddenly poured in outside the door. The torch in the room shook violently, and the fire was dim and almost extinguished several times.
Bang.
With the slamming of the door, the wind and snow disappeared, and the house was brightly lit again.
Just as he passed the incense stick, there was another knock on the door.
When the door opened again, this time the person standing outside the door was a Taoist priest. Behind the Taoist priest stood an old man and a young man. The old man looked like a servant, and he stood respectfully behind a Confucian scholar with red lips and white teeth, holding a sword. The three of them were all dressed in wind and snow.
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Behind the three people, there is also a team of snowy mountain yaks.