Chapter 532 What happened in the Earth and Fire Country
In front of you is a land filled with flames.
Different from the Qingtong Forest that burned half the sky red that night, the fire in front of me neither spread as widely nor burned as intensely as that night, nor was it as domineering as the Phoenix Divine Fire - it only covered dozens of miles of land.
, fire is also an ordinary fire. It is just what you can see, but there is nothing to burn. The flames seem to come out of thin air and rise from the ground.
If you just look closely, you will find that there is either a crack or a hole in the ground.
Flames burst out of the cracks and hollows.
It seems like it really came from the ground.
The city of stone houses was faintly visible in the flames.
"There is no firewood." The Sanhua Cat stared ahead, then looked back at the Taoist, "This land can spit fire just like the Sanhua Empress."
"..."
Song You didn't say anything, just waved his staff——
"call!"
The flames in front of him suddenly parted, as if making way for him.
The Taoist immediately stepped forward and walked into it.
The bay-red horse staggered after him, its bells jingling.
A wave of heat hit them, as if they were going to be cooked.
The Taoist took another breath, and the temperature dropped to nine out of ten.
The calico cat followed at his feet, looking left and right to see where the flames came from.
Thanks to many years of practicing fire magic, she has a good understanding of the aura of flames, and also thanks to her many years of helping Taoists collect firewood to make fires, and has rich experience in making fires. Even her little head can see the flames.
I just couldn't understand the origin, so I looked thoughtful and turned to look at the Taoist priest from time to time, as if the answer was written on his face.
Song You continued to move forward.
As expected, there were houses and stone walls ahead. Most of the buildings were on the mountain, as if they were cast into cities and fortresses were built. As the Taoist approached, the scene became clearer and clearer.
This was the former Earth and Fire Nation.
Although it is said to be a "country", it is actually very small, perhaps smaller than an ordinary city south of Dayan, and its population is far less.
Of course there was no one inside at this time.
However, when looking from a distance, it seemed that some demons and spirits who were not afraid of fire were hiding inside. They peeked out from the door and window made of stone, and quietly looked at the person coming. Seeing that the person coming seemed very powerful, they quickly retracted their heads.
, I don’t know where to hide.
Song You had no interest in them either.
According to Zhang Zhizhou, the original Earth Fire Kingdom was a nomadic kingdom built deep in the desert. Because it was built on underground fire jars, wherever there were cracks and holes in the city, there would be some fire that could be ignited. Many of them
The local flames never go out all year round, even if it rains. The locals use them to cook and barbecue. As time goes by, more and more people come here. People outside are also surprised when they come here, so they call it
For the Earth Fire Nation.
The Fire Nation also prospered for a time.
But more than a hundred years ago, there was a country in the Western Regions. Not only did it not respect Dayan and refused to come to offer sacrifices, but it also killed Dayan's envoys. Dayan was so angry that he sent troops to attack him, and he passed by it from then on.
Originally, according to the rules, when the king's army passed by, many subordinate countries along the way had the obligation to provide supplies. As a result, the Earth and Fire Kingdom thought that the Western Region was too far, and Dayan only sent more than 10,000 troops. In addition, Dayan lost more in foreign wars than it won.
The Earth Fire Nation was not optimistic about it, so it was unwilling to offend the country in the Western Region for this. Also, relying on its special geographical environment, it had been able to use the underground fire energy for war defense for many years, so it refused to provide supplies.
However, Dayan's army had military advisors who knew how to read the weather.
At that time, this area was not as dry as it is now, and there were often sudden heavy rains deep in the desert.
The heavy rain suppressed the Earth Fire. Wang Shi first destroyed the Earth Fire Nation and almost massacred the city. From then on, the Earth Fire Nation declined. It was not until a few decades ago that anyone lived in it again.
Although there were underground fires in the Earth Fire Kingdom in the past, there were not as many as they are now. They were far from covering the earth. There were only a few places where fires could be made use of.
However, this year, I don’t know if it is related to the drought, many cracks suddenly opened on the ground, and there were cracks everywhere, spitting out fire, spreading and filling the entire Earth Fire Nation. As a trace of fire connected them, the entire Earth Fire Nation turned into
Sea of fire.
It is unknown how many people escaped.
Song You went all the way and entered the Earth and Fire Kingdom.
All the wooden building structures were gone, leaving only stones. Wherever the Taoist walked, the flames went out, only to reappear after he passed by.
Apparently people here also believe in Buddhism.
Song You saw stone Buddha statues, stone pagodas, and images of Buddha and Bodhisattvas carved on the walls, as well as some Buddhist patterns, Buddha names, and scriptures.
Apparently many people did not run out at first.
Those who were close to the exit of the underground fire were burned into coke, leaving traces on the ground. Those who were further away from the exit of the underground fire and did not run out were roasted alive and turned into mummies, huddled on the wall in a twisted posture.
They are often still wrapped in something, which is their last act of resistance.
I heard from Zhang Zhizhou that at that time, a Bodhisattva turned into a mortal and pretended to be a monk, and came to the Earth Fire Kingdom to persuade everyone to leave. Some people left, while others did not believe it.
This Bodhisattva deserves some incense.
However, among the Buddhas in the Western Heaven, there are also many who, like the gods in the Heavenly Palace, are too lazy to do anything but enjoy incense.
It's just that like the Lord God of Heaven, they play at a more advanced level——
Immortals such as Lei Gong and Hu Mu Daxian have very clear responsibilities. They attract the people's incense and rely on the people's faith. They are "if you believe in me, I can do something for you."
kind of agreement.
If it can't be done, it will be very obvious.
Most Buddhas are similar to the main gods of the Celestial Palace. They have no clear responsibilities and agreements, and their ability to play with people's hearts is much more advanced. Therefore, even if they just eat incense and do nothing, it is not easy to find evidence of their crimes. Even if they occasionally do not do things well,
, if you go to them, they can definitely say that they are responsible for coordinating the matter, and it is the people below who failed to do it well.
In the final analysis, their position is too high.
This is illness.
Just like the Lord God of Heavenly Palace, it still needs to be treated, but it’s not the time yet.
Song You walked forward in silence. Every time he passed a house, he had to look inside until he walked from the foot of the mountain to the top of the mountain and then walked down the other side.
In the process, you are also experiencing the local charm.
The fire has been burning for countless years, and the aura here is very hot. I don’t know how many people were burned alive here this year. The resentment seems to still remain on this land, and the tragedy has become a deep mark on this land.
, blended into the spiritual rhyme, Song You realized it a little more carefully, and seemed to hear the wails and cries of pain that day.
But this is just a natural disaster.
This fire is also a natural fire.
He didn't know if there was a "fire jar" underground, but the fire was just combustible gas that came out of the ground. It was ignited somehow and created the Earth Fire Nation.
Otherwise there is nothing special about Aura.
Not to mention the other two squares of soil.
Otherwise, the three-dimensional earth carried by Song You should be sensitive.
"Let's go."
Song You slowly walked away.
The cat didn't speak, but still followed his feet, turning to look around, as if he had some thoughts and thoughts.
It took a long time for her to come back to her senses.
"We walked?"
"Um."
"Have you found the monster that makes it stop raining?"
"No."
"So did you find the soil you were looking for?"
"nor."
"Then wait a while before leaving. There is a lot of fire here. Sanhua Empress's bag contains three four-legged snakes, five scorpions, and two large yellow snakes. Let's roast them and eat them before leaving."
"..."
"Why are not you talking?"
"..."
"Stop it!"
"It's too hot. Say less."
The Taoist kept walking and said expressionlessly.
The calico cat was immediately stunned and stared at him seriously.
After a while, the Taoist still didn't stop, and she didn't care, she had her own solution——
Empress Sanhua turned into a human form again, took out her small bamboo stick, cast a small fire-avoiding spell on it, tied an earth-yellow desert snake to it, walked farther away from the Taoist, and held out the bamboo stick to the Taoist priest.
The area protected by human magic is slowly baked with the help of high temperature.
Take it back from time to time, smell it, look at it, and then sprinkle some salt on it.
It was quite busy walking around.
In the abandoned Earth and Fire Kingdom behind them, demons and monsters who were not afraid of fire appeared again. They quietly looked at the backs of the group of people leaving. I didn't know where they came from, but I just felt frightened.
…
Another desert-gobi exchange.
Song You had been sparing no effort in eating the grilled naan, and he had saved as much water and watermelon as gold, but he had almost eaten enough.
Fortunately, the swallow came to report and we were almost out of the desert.
A long line of camels also appeared on the road.
This road is really full of gold, as if you can pick up an extra piece of gold with every step you take. Even if there is a severe drought ahead and the road is full of dead people, there are still caravans moving forward regardless.
Song You walked for a while with the camel caravan from the west, and passed by the camel caravan from the east countless times. He walked like this for another half day, and when he rounded a sand mountain, a spring appeared in front of him.
At the inn, the first thing that comes into view is the ancient and gorgeous pavilion and the watchtower next to it.
The water level of Crescent Moon Spring seems to have dropped a little.
Many merchants still went to ask for water, but no doubt they were all rejected.
This drought seems to be not only getting worse as it goes westward, but also continues to get worse as time goes by.
When I came here before, although the businessmen who were refused water refills were very sorry, they were not desperate. At most, they had to find another way or bite the bullet and move forward. However, at this time, a businessman had already fallen to the ground with his mouth open.
Dry and cracked, they are delirious. It is conceivable that they will probably become dehydrated and collapse here today.
Even the officers and soldiers on duty couldn't stand it, so they had no choice but to turn their heads and look away.
Song You still had less than half a pot of water and one watermelon left. Naturally, he had no reason to refuse to save him, so he quickly took it out and knelt down to feed it to these merchants.
Gradually some people came back to their senses and instinctively took gulps of water.
If someone's symptoms were mild, or they had recovered a little, Song You would take back his hand, smash the watermelon into pieces, and give them pieces to eat.
At this time, there is no businessman, no stubbornness or not, no matter whether he is asking for trouble, there are just suffering people and a Taoist who just happens to be able to relieve their suffering.