The stone cave corridor is dark and quiet, and the monotonous footsteps make a rustling sound.
boom!
In the dark corridor, the firelight followed the direction of a figure walking and lit up the cave walls one by one.
"After so many years, it still hasn't changed much. It seems that Yue Linyuan still hasn't made much progress."
The purple and gold patterned robes gently ruffled as they walked, and for a moment, human-like black figures appeared on the cave walls on both sides, like reliefs, shadowy against the wall, peeping at the muttering old man.
Rustling, rustling...
There were whispers among each other, and there was a strange atmosphere in the cave. However, the old man walked, turning his face slightly to the side, and glanced at them coldly from the corner of his eye. The overlapping images of people were frightened, and they turned from the cave wall one after another.
Retreat and spread out.
"Still as timid as a mouse."
For a moment, the old man retracted his gaze, put his hands behind his back, and walked slowly towards the stone room at the end of the front. The swaying lights illuminated his shadow, which stretched longer and longer on the ground.
Entering the spacious cave, a huge round ball lost its original bright white light, and looked like a stone with a huge hole open and dim, lying lifeless on the ground.
The old man walked closer, sighed, and stepped on it with his feet.
"Sun Moon Pupil is wasted like this. It took me a lot of time and genius to create it."
The moment he put his foot down, the broken stone-like ball suddenly weathered and turned into a pool of mud and sand, spreading out against the ground.
swish swish...
The old man stepped on the sand, turned around and walked forward, looking at the towering stone tablet at the end, and slowly raised a hand. The densely packed and incomprehensible talismans on it lit up one by one and floated out of the stone tablet.
"When I was going through the tribulation, I had a premonition and put part of my cultivation into it to be on guard against changes in the future. Sure enough, I was suddenly betrayed by a disciple and contracted the Heart-Losing Curse. I really took precautions."
The hoarse words were accompanied by rays of Dharma light that gathered in his hands and submerged into his body. The old man turned around with his hands behind his back and was already outside the cave in a matter of steps.
"...After losing my heart, I have been crazy for how many years... Whether it's a monster or a person, playing tricks on me can be said to have tasted all the suffering in the world."
The old man walked through the corridor and passed through a crisscross of large and small caves, and finally stopped in front of the deepest cliff. Looking at a dark crack, he raised his sleeves to brush away a rock, swept away the dust on it, and sat down.
"...I also tasted the joy of being a teacher, being cared for, and loved by others. The hardships of so many years may not be worth the sweetness of the past few years."
"Am I right?"
The old man looked at the crack and whispered the last sentence. The huge deep stream seemed to hear the old man's voice. The crack suddenly closed and responded like a person's lips.
When it cracked open again, a flaming light lit up from the ground, instantly illuminating the old man sitting on the edge of the cliff.
"Yin...
mysterious……
...Ling!"
An indescribable voice came intermittently from the red flames of the abyss, calling to the old man. The old man ignored the words of the abyss, put one hand on his knee, and touched something with the other, slightly lost in thought.
He fumbled with his thumb on a small wooden sign with crooked handwriting on it.
At a certain moment, the old man suddenly frowned, covered his temples, and felt severe pain. His body arched up, and beads of sweat instantly broke out on his face, sliding down his forehead and cheeks.
The severe pain made the old man's eyes become ferocious and irritable. The thumb of his other hand kept rubbing the writing on the small wooden sign, which was the crooked word "Chen Yuan".
It was like a hallucination, and the picture in his mind seemed to go back to five years ago, when he and the young man walked out of Qingshan County together.
Memories come flooding back like a tidal wave.
The young man with a gentle smile built the hood of the car, carved a small wooden sign, and put it on the old man's neck.
"If master gets lost again in the future, look at the wooden sign and you won't be afraid of forgetting his apprentice's name."
Thoughts come back.
"This brat treats me like a puppy."
Looking at the wooden sign, the old man suddenly smiled. The severe pain in his head was relieved a lot unconsciously. His eyes were still fierce, but they were also much clearer.
After groping for the crooked word 'Chen Yuan' for a moment, he held the wooden sign in the palm of his hand and then put it into his sleeve. The old man stood up from the rock with his knees on his knees and walked to the edge of the abyss. He looked at the scorching heat wave hitting his face below and spread out. Open your palms.
"Didn't you call me? Now... wake up."
The last sound suddenly rose up, a strong wind blew in the cave, and countless whimpering ghost cries intertwined in the cave. Under the abyss, smoke like flames swayed and jumped, as if feeling the old man's call, gradually rising, with a Slight boiling sound.
"Haha... come on... wake up."
The old man looked at the slowly rising sea of smoke, his originally ferocious eyes showing complicated emotions. He slowly raised his sleeves and stretched out his palms. The moment he came into contact with the rising cloud of red smoke, his beard and hair flew away. Come, it seems to be alive, showing its teeth and claws.
…
Xiangzhou is more than 800 miles south of Hezhou.
The night was quiet, insects were chirping in the weeds, among the burning bonfires were patrolling officials, and a group of Taoist priests sitting cross-legged and resting on the spot. A girl in a Taoist robe curled up beside the bonfire, sleeping on a blanket, occasionally smacking her lips. Talking twice in sleep.
Chen Yuan sat cross-legged and meditated nearby, adjusting his breath and practicing the method. The wind blew from far away. He seemed to feel something. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Taoist Master Ming Hui opposite him also opening his eyes at this time.
"Fellow Daoist Chen, do you feel something strange?"
Chen Yuan nodded, "Depressing, violent... it seems like..." He raised his gaze and looked at the dark north, "The Taoist Master also felt it?"
"Um."
Ming Hui stood up thoughtfully and looked to the north, but the moment he turned around, he suddenly staggered a few steps, his body swayed, his field of vision seemed to be spinning, and he was breathing heavily.
"What a heavy evil spirit..."
Not only him, but also the Taoist priests from the Tianshi Mansion around him looked ugly, and those with lower cultivation levels collapsed directly to the ground. Qiaoer even woke up from her dream, breathing hard. Chen Yuan on the side hurriedly transferred the magic power to her and pinched her. The magic formula blocks the evil energy coming towards the face.
"What's wrong with you Taoist priests?"
The eunuch and the surrounding officials heard the commotion and ran over in panic. They looked at the Taoist Priests of Tianshi Mansion in confusion as they seemed to have been beaten, and they were all weak and slumped on the ground.
It makes sense that ordinary people can't feel this aura, but Chen Yuan can clearly feel it, but nothing happens.
"Hey, look at the sky!"
An official suddenly raised his hand and pointed to the night sky. Under the cold clear moon, the sky clouds hung upside down and slowly formed a whirlpool, giving people a strange feeling.
…
Hezhou, Fengming Mountain.
In the mountain, flaming smoke rose from the cracks to illuminate the cave, and a wisp of red smoke came into contact with the old man's outstretched palm.
For a moment, there was an indescribable low roar.
In the night sky outside the mountain, the swirling sky clouds began to rotate, mixed with streaks of lightning and bursts of thunder.
…
at some point.
In Taiwu Mountain in the north, the Heavenly Master with white hair and beard opened his eyes in a quiet room, "It's a natural phenomenon, it's not good!"
He held the magic formula with both hands and suddenly slapped it on the quiet stage.
"The soul leaves the body"
A silhouette of an old man above his figure passed through the thick rock formations and reached the top of the mountain.
"Dharma Eye!"
He stood on the top of the mountain, his eyes glowed with light blue light, and he looked to the south. Under the dark night, at the end of the world, there was a faint red light curling around the earth, rising up.
"Stop my Tianshi Mansion?"
The Heavenly Master ascended higher into the sky and waved his sleeves behind him. The sound of the Dharma spread from his body in all directions: "All the Taoist priests in the Heavenly Master's Mansion listen to the order and rush to the Hezhou Demon Cave!"
Below, countless Taoist priests swarmed out and worshiped the figure floating in the night sky as bright as the bright moon on the top of the mountain.
The sound of the Dharma spreads.
Farther to the north, in the green mountains, the sound of Dharma was loud and powerful, resounding through the mountain gate. Liu Changgong, the old Taoist priest of Chengyun, had already felt the evil spirit. At this time, he heard the sound of the Celestial Master coming from the south. He knew that something big had happened, and he immediately recited the Dharma.
The sword jumped out of the window lattice and stood in front of the mountain wall with the word "Dao".
"Chengyun disciples, listen to the order, a demon appears in Hezhou, follow me out of the mountain!"
"yes!"
Countless streams of light rose into the sky.
The grassland was lying low in the biting wind. Old Taoist Yunlong's robes were shabby. He was riding a war horse taken from the barbarians and looked south. He turned around and shouted at Chengyun's disciples behind him: "Take these women back to the Han Dynasty."
Poor man, you need to take a step in advance!"
Soon, he put on the magic talisman and started galloping.
To the east of the Qi River, in the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple, the candlelight in the Zen room was shaken by the wind squeezed into the cracks in the window. Monk Zhenhai put down his scriptures, stood up and walked to the window, looked to the south, and frowned.
Afterwards, he put on his cassock, picked up his Zen staff, put on his Buddhist beads, and strode out of the temple.
The night is deep.
At the junction of Bazhou and Xiangzhou, on the winding mountain road, oxcarts are galloping. Old oxen covered with running charms hold fat Taoist priests in their mouths and run wildly. The latter is holding a lantern in his hand and shaking
He was shaking his head to show the way for Lao Niu, and kept saying: "Be careful, there is a ditch ahead!"
The old cow made a sharp turn and avoided the deep ditch. He let out a breath and looked east, thinking silently in his heart.
"Master, wait for us!"
In the trembling carriage, the wooden sculptures of Guan Yu, Qin Qiong, Zhang Fei, Yuchi Gong, Lu Bu, etc. were fixed by tentacles stretched out by Wu Guzhu. Only Li Bai's wooden sculpture was burping from wine and shaking upside down.
The white snake was wrapped around the wooden railing and spitting out messages crazily. The big toad was spinning its eyes, lying around with its white belly exposed, foam overflowing from its mouth, and it had already fainted.
…
Xiazhou.
In a certain mountain, Yue Linyuan walked out of the cave and came to the top of the mountain. His eyes were changing with indescribable emotions. He clenched his fists and looked at Xiang Hezhou. His face was twisted and ferocious, and there was also pain.
With a look on his face, he finally said something.
"Master... you finally woke up, but how could the Demon Cave be allowed to you..."
The next moment, he jumped up, and his red robe spread out in the night sky, like a red cloud wrapping around him, and flew away into the distance.
…
Xiangzhou.
In the deserted inn, the bonfire was extinguished. Chen Yuan took the Yuelong Sword and raised his hands towards the eunuch and the others: "After dawn, you will go back to Luodu on your own. I can't see you off."
"I'll go too!" Qiaoer raised his hand.
Then Ming Hui patted his little hand and pulled him to the other brothers, "I will accompany you, Daoyou Chen, to escort Wang Neiguan and the others back to Luodu!"
Chen Yuan nodded, and the two of them turned around and disappeared into the darkness.
In the distance, the scholar walking alone at the foot of the mountain was worried about which way to choose. Soon, he also turned around and headed to Hezhou.
…
All of this...slowly summed up in one moment. At this moment, all the people looked towards the sky over there, as if they were trying to detect something.
In this night, many people and many threads were intertwined.