A simple screen separated the space of the stone chamber. Shangguan Ce, dressed in gray, stood quietly, waiting patiently.
After a long time, the old voice of Fenxiang Valley Master Yun Yilan came from behind the screen: "I heard, junior brother, you were tracking the Nine-tailed Sky Fox this time, and your whereabouts were weird, and at the last moment, you suddenly ordered all the disciples to
I withdrew, is this a problem?"
A faint sneer appeared at the corner of Shangguan Ce's mouth. He could guess who Yun Yilan's "I heard" was from. In the entire Fenxiang Valley, apart from himself, only Yun Yilan's most beloved disciple Li Xun could do so at this moment.
Talked to him here.
However, Shangguan Ce didn't know anything and said slowly: "Not bad."
Yun Yilan was silent for a moment and said: "Senior brother is very puzzled by this. Could you please teach me?"
Shangguan Ce faced the screen, bowed slightly and said, "I don't dare. I met a person on the way to track the Nine-tailed Sky Fox, so I ordered all the disciples to turn around immediately and return to the valley to report to my senior brother."
Yun Yilan's voice was obviously startled, and she said: "Who is it that makes you pay so much attention to me, junior brother?"
Shangguan Ce slowly spit out two words and said: "Lich."
Behind the screen, there was sudden silence, and there was no sound for a long time.
Shangguan Ce stood there patiently. Yun Yilan's reaction was what he had expected. When he saw the lich that day, he was shocked, which was no small matter.
I don't know how much time passed before Yun Yilan's gentle voice came from behind the screen: "They finally couldn't bear it anymore."
From Yun Yilan's voice, Shangguan Ce couldn't tell what the senior brother was thinking at all. He couldn't tell whether it was anxiety or shock. He stared at the screen and continued: "And
a little……"
Yun Yilan said "hmm", but this time she was a little surprised.
Shangguan Ce took a deep breath and said: "The lich has captured two of the five sacred artifacts: the black staff and the bone jade."
"What?" Yun Yilan finally couldn't keep calm anymore and blurted out from behind the screen.
Shangguan Ce's heart flashed with a sneer, but his facial expression did not change at all, saying: "It should be that the beast demon found a Li wizard from somewhere, and then passed on his 'Black Fire' magic, and then used it to provoke Miao.
, the two Li tribes fought and snatched the black staff bone jade from the Miao altar wizard. Later, the Li tribe wizard wanted to rebel against the beast monster, but the beast monster was already prepared and let the lich kill him with the 'Black Fire Essence Bead'
I killed this man and took back the two sacred artifacts."
Yun Yilan snorted coldly and said: "There are still such people who don't care about life and death!" After a pause, his voice was slightly stern and said, "These sacred artifacts are of great importance, how can you
Don’t take action?”
Shangguan Ce looked indifferent and said: "When I arrived, the black staff and bone jade had already fallen into the hands of the lich, and there was an evil dragon beside him."
Yun Yilan was silent for a while, then sighed slowly and said: "God's will, God's will! Our century-old plan was ruined in just one day!"
Shangguan Ce remained silent.
※※※
Qingyun Mountain, Tongtian Peak.
The white clouds are floating and the fairy atmosphere is lingering. This place is like a fairyland on earth, and the sound of cranes chirping, clear and sweet, echoes in the sky.
The "Yuqing Palace" that was destroyed in a fierce battle ten years ago has been rebuilt, and it looks magnificent and grand in scale, even worse than it was back then. Dozens of huge red stone pillars support the pillars.
, the roof of the hall is made of yellow colored glaze, which is dazzling and brilliant under the sunlight.
In the center of the top of the hall, it towers like a spire, with jasper rings in the shape of a pagoda. From large to small, there are thirty-six floors from bottom to top. The top is yellow stone, crystal clear.
The eaves fly out in all directions, with golden dragons and pearls carved on the east, south, west and north sides, and colorful phoenixes flying on the southeast, southwest, northwest and northeast sides. The golden dragons and colorful phoenixes all hold glazed wind chimes in their mouths, which float in the wind and make crisp sounds.
, which adds a bit of fairyland.
Amidst the sound of cranes and wind chimes, Lu Xueqi, dressed in white, slowly walked up the stone steps in front of Yuqing Hall.
From time to time, there were several Qingyun disciples who were cleaning the stone steps nearby. When they saw Lu Xueqi, they all nodded in greeting. Among them, there were one or two young men who had just started and were still relatively young. They were so taken by Lu Xueqi's appearance that they did not dare to look at her again.
, his face turned slightly red and he lowered his head.
Lu Xueqi returned the greetings one by one, her face expressionless as usual, and she walked towards the towering palace at the end of the stone steps.
Behind him, there was suddenly a loud "crash" sound, and a voice like a dragon's roar broke the silence here. Lu Xueqi did not look back. It was the water unicorn, the mountain spiritual beast of Qingyunmen in the cold pool of clear water, crawling out of the water again.
I slept in the sun on the bank of the pond.
Everything here is so peaceful and harmonious. Who knew that there was once a young man who came out of here angrily and threw himself into another dirty and bloody world?
Lu Xueqi walked up the long stone steps, silently glanced at the tall Yuqing Palace, and walked in.
In the grand hall, light shines in from the open windows in all directions, making it look particularly bright and without any sense of darkness. The head of the Qingyun Sect, Dao Xuan Zhenren, the most righteous man in the world today, is sitting in front of the main hall with a smile on his face.
On top of the throne in the palace, there was another person sitting on the lower right side of him, but it was Lu Xueqi's mentor, Master Shuiyue, the first master of Xiaozhu Peak in Qingyun Sect.
Lu Xueqi was startled. When she returned from southern Xinjiang, she was sent by Master Daoxuan, so she first went back to Changmen Tongtian Peak to report to Master Daoxuan, and then planned to return to the mountain to see her master, Master Shuiyue. She did not expect that,
Master Shuiyue was actually at Tongtian Peak. And looking at the Yuqing Palace, except for Master Daoxuan and Master Shuiyue, there was no one else present. It seemed that they were just waiting for her to come back.
Seeing Lu Xueqi enter the hall, Master Daoxuan first smiled kindly. Although Master Shuiyue next to him had always been indifferent, he was naturally different from others when it came to his most beloved disciple, and there was also a look of love in his eyes.
Lu Xueqi walked up, bowed to Master Daoxuan first, and said, "I have met Master Daoxuan."
Then she turned around and bowed to Master Shuiyue, but she spoke more casually to her mentor, who was sympathetic to her mother and daughter, and said, "Master, why are you here?"
Master Daoxuan smiled and said: "I received news yesterday that you were returning to the mountain today, so I sent someone to inform your master of the news. And there happened to be some trivial matters that I wanted to talk to your master about, so I simply invited her over."
Lu Xueqi responded. Master Shuiyue sat aside and looked at his beautiful disciple. He saw that Lu Xueqi's face was still as beautiful as ever and had no expression. But for some reason, she felt
Her face was slightly pale.
Master Shuiyue's heart moved secretly, and his two beautiful eyebrows wrinkled slightly without anyone noticing.
Master Daoxuan did not have the experience of Master Shuiyue and Lu Xueqi getting along for many years. He did not think there was anything wrong with Lu Xueqi at the moment. He just smiled and continued: "Xueqi, this time I went to southern Xinjiang to visit the owner of Fenxiang Valley, Yun.
How is the matter with the old gentleman going?"
Lu Xueqi was silent for a moment, and then recounted her experiences in southern Xinjiang one by one, except that the scene of her late-night farewell to Gui Li in Tianshui Village was omitted.
Master Daoxuan and Master Shuiyue sat there without saying a word, slowly listening to Lu Xueqi's words. After hearing this, the owner of Fenxiang Valley, Yun Yilan, still did not show up. Only Shangguan Ce, Li Xun and others came out.
When explaining, the two of them looked at each other with strange looks in their eyes, but did not speak.
Later, when I heard Lu Xueqi talk expressionlessly about the battle in Qilidong of the Miao people in southern Xinjiang, when Gui Li appeared and everyone was fighting fiercely, Master Daoxuan's expression suddenly turned cold, but Master Shuiyue seemed to be thinking more.
At the same time, he also knew what his apprentice was thinking, so he couldn't help but look at Lu Xueqi a few more times, and saw that when Lu Xueqi said that Gui Li was sneak attacked by Li Xun and was injured by the "Sword of the Divine Sword and Thunder Control" she used, her tone of voice was slightly different.
There was no change, but the sad look in his eyes flashed past.
Master Shuiyue sighed softly in his heart and closed his eyes.
Master Daoxuan waited until Lu Xueqi finished speaking, then retreated to Master Shuiyue and stood beside him. He glanced at Master Shuiyue, snorted coldly, and said: "Zhang Xiaofan, that evildoer was not eliminated ten years ago, but now he has indeed been raised."
Tigers are infested.”
Master Shuiyue opened his eyes, glanced at Lu Xueqi beside him intentionally or unintentionally, and said calmly: "This is all determined by fate and cannot be forced."
Lu Xueqi's face seemed to be a little paler.
Master Daoxuan pondered for a moment and said: "From what Xue Qi just said, it seems that this person's moral conduct has made great progress in the past ten years."
Master Shuiyue nodded slowly and said: "Zhang Xiaofan was able to use the blood-devouring bead demon power to suck the essence and blood of more than a dozen Li warriors to death in an instant. After being injured by Li Xun, he immediately counterattacked him. Even Fenxiang Valley is famous for this.
Even the Pure Yang Jade Ruler can't resist it. This Taoism is no longer there..." She looked at Lu Xueqi and said, "It is no longer beneath Qier and your disciple Xiao Yicai."
Lu Xueqi's face was expressionless.
However, Master Daoxuan slowly shook his head. Master Shuiyue was startled for a moment and said, "Why, does senior brother think I saw it wrong?"
Master Daoxuan sighed and said: "The evildoer was sneak attacked by Li Xun and was injured by the Divine Sword Controlling Thunder True Art. Not only was he not killed on the spot, but he was able to fly back and fight back. I expected him to resist the Divine Sword True Art."
The power of the tactic must be Tianyin Temple's true method, 'Great Brahma Prajna'. Then he used his own Tai Chi Xuanqing Tao to break through the magic formation of the Divine Sword's true tactic. After approaching Xue Qi, Xue Qi said that this person's eyes were like blood, and he could eat them.
The blood-bead magic wand has a strong red glow, which means he must have used the blood-devouring demonic power to control Xue Qi. From this point of view, he has integrated the true methods of the three schools, and his Taoism is so high that he has probably surpassed our disciples."
He glanced at Lu Xueqi and said: "It's just that at that time, he was probably exhausted and at the end of his crossbow, so he couldn't hurt Xueqi anymore. Otherwise, Xueqi's divine sword and thunder control skills would be broken, and he would be unable to fight back.
It is really extremely dangerous. Xueqi, this person seems to have integrated the three schools of Buddhism, Taoism and Demonology into one body. His Taoism is strange and unpredictable. If you meet this person in the future, be careful."
The corners of Lu Xueqi's mouth moved, and the fingers holding the Tianya Divine Sword quietly clenched and unclenched, and whispered: "Yes."
Master Shuiyue looked at her appearance, sighed in his heart, and suddenly said: "Qier, you have worked hard all the way, so you should go back and rest first. I have something to discuss with your master uncle, and I will go back later.
"
Lu Xueqi responded and looked towards Master Daoxuan. Master Daoxuan shook his head and smiled and said: "Look at my memory, I am really old and confused. Xueqi, there is nothing going on here. You should go back to Xiaozhu Peak and have a good rest."
"
Lu Xueqi then walked out, bowed to Master Daoxuan first, and then said to Master Shuiyue: "Master, I'll go back first."
Master Shuiyue nodded and said, "You go ahead."
Lu Xueqi lowered her head and responded, then slowly retreated. After a moment, she disappeared from the sight of Master Daoxuan and Master Shuiyue.
Master Daoxuan pondered for a moment and sighed: "What a Zhang Xiaofan... Oh, what a pity."
Master Shuiyue said calmly: "We can't escape the blame for the child becoming like this!"
Master Daoxuan frowned, his face suddenly darkened, and said: "Junior Sister Shuiyue, what do you mean by this?"
Master Shuiyue looked indifferent, but his tone of voice did not change at all, saying: "It's not interesting. Zhang Xiaofan abandoned the light and turned to darkness. There is something wrong with us."
Master Daoxuan said in a deep voice: "Could it be that Junior Sister Shuiyue thought what I did back then was wrong?"
Shuiyue glanced at Master Daoxuan and saw that his face became unusually serious. He sighed and said slowly: "Brother, don't think too much. If it were me, I would do exactly the same thing as you.
.As I said just now, Zhang Xiaofan’s fate was determined by God’s will!”
Master Daoxuan was silent for a while, and the expression on his face gradually relaxed. However, the atmosphere in the main hall seemed to be a little awkward. After a while, Master Daoxuan said slowly: "You also heard what Xue Qi said just now.
I went there, but I still didn’t see Master Yun Yilan of Yun Valley, what do you think?”
Master Shuiyue snorted and said: "That old guy Yun Yilan has always been mysterious and mysterious. I don't know what he is going to do this time. But he is a practitioner and cannot be underestimated. In Southern Xinjiang,
After all, there is no one who can harm him. So we don’t need to worry too much, but..."
Master Daoxuan was startled and said: "What?"
Master Shuiyue looked at Master Daoxuan and said, "You didn't send any other disciples this time. You only sent Qi'er to Fenxiang Valley in southern Xinjiang alone, and you didn't even discuss it with me beforehand!" After saying that, her expression suddenly changed.
He calmed down and sneered twice.
Master Daoxuan frowned and said: "Junior sister, I told you the reason later, didn't you also have no objection?"
Master Shuiyue stood up and said calmly: "Although I don't object, my disciple has always been strong and persistent. You know that it is better to have some leeway in everything."
After that, he walked out of the hall without waiting for Master Daoxuan to speak.
Daoxuan looked at her back, suddenly shook his head, and let out a long sigh.
※※※
Huqi Mountain.
Ice Stone Chamber.
From the Ghost King Sect to the Ghost King, Qinglong, You Ji and others were all standing in the stone room. Next to them were Gui Li and Xiao Bai. In the most secluded corner, Mr. Ghost, dressed in black, stood there alone.
But now, no one has the intention to pay attention to that dark figure. Everyone is nervously looking at the great wizard standing next to the Baguio Ice Stone Platform.
Gui Li clenched his fists involuntarily. On this occasion, he did not let Xiao Hui follow him. Looking at the aging figure of the great wizard and Baguio's face in the white mist, he, who had already been as determined as steel, unexpectedly
His body also began to tremble slightly.
It has been ten years, the longing for ten years, the nightmare that has haunted my heart all the time, this hope is now in front of me.
The great wizard's body shook slightly, and everyone behind him moved. Gui Li couldn't help but take a step upward. Even the ghost king, who had always been extremely calm, actually twitched at the corner of his eye.
The great wizard turned his head and smiled at everyone, saying that he was fine, and everyone felt relieved.
After a night's rest last night, the great wizard I saw today didn't look much better than yesterday. On the contrary, he seemed to be getting worse. Every wrinkle on his old face was deeply etched, as if he was being squeezed out.
with his remaining life.
In the stone chamber, the only sound was the sound of the great wizard gradually breathing heavily.
The Ghost King and Ghost Li standing next to each other looked at each other, and each saw the vague anxiety in the other's eyes.
Suddenly, the great wizard stretched out his hand tremblingly, pointing in the direction of the "Albizia Bell" that Baguio was holding in both hands.
The golden bell stood erected in the white hand, shining with soft light. On the bell body, the old hand that was getting closer and closer was slowly reflected.
The next moment, the withered hand touched the Albizia Bell, and everyone in the ice stone room held their breath.
From the tips of the great wizard's fingers, a faint blue light slowly lit up and gradually shone. However, as the light kept flickering, the great wizard's face became even more lifeless, as if it were ashen.
As if hearing some call, suddenly, the Albizia bell, which had been silent for ten years, burst out with a crisp ringing sound, echoing gently.
Excitement suddenly appeared on the faces of Ghost King and Ghost Li. The two men couldn't help but take a step forward at the same time. It was only after a moment that they woke up at the same time and controlled themselves. However, their eyes had already been fixed on the great wizard's face.
finger.
After the crisp bell rang, a layer of golden light slowly appeared on the body of Albizia Julibrissin. Although it was not bright, almost at the same time as this layer of golden light appeared, a look of difficulty suddenly appeared on the face of the great wizard. For a moment,
Suddenly, there was a sudden surge of cold air in this ice stone room.
Everyone present changed their colors almost at the same time. Everyone who could stand here was an expert in Taoism and cultivation. Almost subconsciously, Ghost King, Ghost Li and Xiaobai all floated up.
But just as the cold air expanded instantly, the originally soft golden light on the Albizia Bell suddenly became blazing, almost like a tangible fire, and a "boom" sound spread rapidly around the stone chamber.
The great wizard bore the brunt of the attack, and his body was already weak. Suddenly, his entire body was hit in the air by the blazing light, and a mouthful of blood spurted out.
The ghost king's figure was almost like a ghost. He appeared next to the great wizard in an instant and caught his body. Ghost Li appeared in front of him at the same time. The soul-eating magic wand appeared in the air. A black green halo appeared in an instant, blocking the overwhelming force.
The rushing golden bell was blazing. But the small white figure appeared next to the ice stone platform. Where he raised his hand, a white light slowly came down and enveloped the Albizia Bell.
For a moment, the trembling Albizia bells slowly calmed down, the golden glow gradually disappeared, and the temperature in the stone chamber returned to its original state.
Everyone looked at the great wizard who was being supported by the Ghost King. They saw that bloodshot threads oozed out from all the seven orifices of the great wizard due to this blow. Everyone could see that the old man was on the verge of death and only had a little strength left.
In the silence, everyone looked at each other, speechless.
Until, a gasping moan broke the deathly silence. The great wizard slowly opened his eyes and tried to stand upright.
The Ghost King was moved by this and stretched out his hand to help, but the Great Wizard slowly shook his head. The Ghost King nodded silently, with a hint of admiration in his eyes, and slowly withdrew his hand.
The great wizard breathed for a moment, raised his sleeves, slowly wiped the blood from his mouth, and spoke, but his voice was extremely hoarse: "The remaining soul of this young lady is indeed in this acacia bell.
"
Everyone was silent.
The great wizard took a deep breath and said: "It's just that this Albizia Bell is a rare treasure. The spiritual power it contains is like a solid magic circle of its own. Although this can protect the young lady's soul, outsiders have to break it if they want to take it out.
This acacia bell is unacceptable."
As soon as he said this, his body suddenly swayed, and another mouthful of blood spurted out from the mouth where he had just wiped away the blood. Gui Li rushed forward a few steps, held the old man in his arms, moved the corners of his mouth, and finally endured it.
He kept saying: "Senior, you'd better take a rest first."
The great wizard glanced at the young man, smiled faintly, and suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Don't forget what you promised me in Qili Cave that day."
Gui Li was startled, then nodded and said, "Senior, don't worry!"
The great wizard let out a long breath, slowly pushed Gui Li away, turned around and said to the Ghost King and others: "The current plan is to destroy the spiritual power of the Albizia Bell without damaging the soul of the young lady. I can only lay out the witchcraft in southern Xinjiang."
The 'Soul-Calling' magic circle, let's see if we can draw the lady's soul out of the bell, cough, cough..."
A violent cough interrupted his words, and everyone looked at each other speechlessly. Everyone could see that the old man had run out of energy, and if he was going to lay out this "soul-calling" thing, I really didn't know if he could last until that time.
The Ghost King gritted his teeth, took a step forward, clasped his fists at the great wizard and said, "Master, I'm so grateful for your efforts for my little girl. Master, don't worry about anything else. Just cast the spell with confidence. No matter what the result, the Ghost King Sect will definitely not let you down."
That’s it.”
The great wizard nodded slowly, with a look of comfort in his eyes, breathed for a moment, and whispered: "Calling souls is the art of ghosts. It is not appropriate to have too many strangers present. Please ask Master Gui Li and the sect master to stay and help. The others can go out for now.
.”
Gui Li and the Ghost King nodded at the same time, and everyone else left without waiting for them to say anything. After a while, only the Great Wizard and the Ghost King, Gui Li, were left in the Ice Stone Chamber.
The great wizard's face faded, and his body slowly trembled, but he could no longer stand. His body softened and he slowly sat on the ground.