After several shocking cannon shots, the iron ship that was originally sailing had stopped.
Qi Xuansu put away his dagger and slowly rose from the river, then walked on the waves.
Although several of Wang Baoyue's cannons were extremely powerful, he dodged them all and was not injured. However, they gave him a great shock.
The world is developing, and Western warlocks are no longer the ancient figures who only hold staffs and recite incantations. The "alchemical arcana" they have developed is no less than the creation of Taoism.
What if more than two hundred years ago, Xuansheng had not integrated the Taoist sects, nor had he defied all opinions to start the creation project on the basis of the legacy left by his predecessors, but had stuck to his own laurels and continued to despise firearms and creations like Confucianism, treating them as strange skills and ingenuity.
, even though there are various methods spread, but practice depends entirely on the individual. It depends on aptitude and time. So what should the situation be like facing the West today?
Even though the high-end combat power is almost the same, the underlying foundation is completely different. Swords versus firecrackers, cavalry versus artillery, how to win? Will the Holy Court still be a friend and trading partner of the Taoist sect at that time? Will they still do this?
Are you polite?
Qi Xuansu had heard that the Westerners were massacred in the New World, and the natives had no power to fight back. They were either reduced to slaves or directly exterminated.
It can be seen that these lustful people are not good men and women. If the Central Plains today is still as weak as it was in the late Wei Dynasty, will Westerners talk properly? I am afraid that the army has entered the Central Plains, and the real mountains and rivers have changed their colors.
At this moment, Xu Kou leaned out half of his body from above: "Are you okay?"
Qi Xuansu came to his senses, jumped onto the deck.
Xu Kou also jumped down from the gap on the third floor and asked, "What's going on?"
Qi Xuansu roughly told what happened.
"Well, the Qingluan Guards in Luzhou are all doing hard work." Xu Kou shook his head, "But they are lucky to have escaped. If they had found out this person, their lives would have been hard to save.
"
Xu Kou changed the topic: "Speaking of which, Brother Wei is really quite capable. If it had been anyone else, he would have died in the hands of this person long ago."
"Brother Xu is overly praised." Qi Xuansu changed the topic, "By the way, where is Xiaohu?"
Qi Xuansu was not completely defenseless. This had nothing to do with whether Qi Xuansu had seen through Wang Baoyue's identity, but was a habit. Before he went to drink, he asked Liu Hu to find Xu Kou, so he saved the money and asked Xu Kou to help look after Liu Hu.
What he was thinking was that Xu Kou was just drinking, not soothing his sorrows with a little effort. Furthermore, Xu Kou was an old acquaintance of Qi Xuansu, so he still understood him, and felt relieved.
"The little girl is still in the small hall on the second floor, very obedient." Xu Kou said.
At this moment, the captain, surrounded by many crew members, hurried over with an ugly look on his face.
Qi Xuansu said softly: "Tiangang Hall is more prestigious, so Brother Lao Xu is the one."
Xu Kou nodded slightly. When the boat owner approached, before the boat owner could speak, Xu Kou had already taken out his Taoist priest's ultimatum and Tiangang Hall waist badge: "Dock the shore immediately and notify the local Qingluan Guard Baihu Station. There must be no mistakes.
!”
Two hours later, in the living room on the ship.
The owner of the boat sat with him, and the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves.
The Qingluan Guard Qianhu Station is far away from Fucheng, and there is only the Baihu Station in the whole local area. After hearing the news, Baihu, the palm print master, boarded the ship with great agitation. He didn't look good at all. However, after learning Xu Kou's identity, he immediately changed his face and temporarily
He commandeered the captain's reception room and served him with fragrant tea. He talked to Qi Xuansu and Xu Kou in a very cordial manner, with absolutely no intention of interrogating them.
Although Xu Kou is only a fifth-grade Taoist priest, he is the head of Tiangang Hall in his position and is by no means a minor figure.
"So, this person is the pirate leader who is required to be apprehended in the sea arrest document?" Qingluan Guard Palm Seal Baihu put down his tureen.
Qi Xuansu said: "This man possesses the Western 'alchemy arcana'. This kind of thing is very rare in our Central Plains. Only pirates who have been at sea all year round may have access to it."
"That makes sense." Palm Print Baihu nodded.
At this moment, a member of the trial household walked into the reception room, looked at the others, and hesitated to speak.
Palm Print Baihu said: "They are all members of our own family, there is nothing to avoid."
Zhan Baihu said softly: "One of the three corpses was seriously damaged, but judging from the tattoos on the other two corpses, it was definitely pirates. As for the scene...there were indeed traces of shelling, but no shrapnel was found.
"
Palm Print Baihu was silent for a while and said: "Although this animal has jumped off the ship and fled, there are people in black searching and patrolling along the canal. He should not run too far and is probably hiding somewhere."
Xu Kou suddenly asked: "How is the ship?"
The ship owner showed some hesitation, glanced at Baihu Hu, and then said: "After all, it was bombarded and needs a few days of maintenance. Many guests are frightened and need to be comforted. They can't leave for the time being."
Xu Kou laughed: "You are asking us to help arrest people, right?"
Palm Print Baihu coughed lightly: "This is the best, after all, we are a family."
Xu Kou did not comment, but turned to look at Qi Xuansu and asked, "What do you think, Brother Wei?"
Qi Xuansu thought for a while. The reason why he took the boat was to avoid the Taiping Road people he might encounter on land. Naturally, it was not easy to abandon the boat and go ashore at this time. It was not impossible to help apprehend the escaped Wang Baoyue.
.He is actually quite interested in the so-called "alchemical arcana", just as he is very interested in going to sea.
"What exactly is the so-called 'alchemical arcana'?" Qi Xuansu asked.
Xu Kou pondered for a moment and said: "I stayed in Qizhou Daofu for a period of time. Western tourists often visited Qizhou, so I still know a little bit about the Western 'alchemy arcana'."
"When it comes to 'alchemical arcana', we have to mention Western arcana. What is arcana? In the words of Western warlocks themselves, it is a spell derived from a certain mystery, which is called 'arcana'. Its fundamental power
It comes from knowledge, which is somewhat similar to Confucianism's reading and nourishing the spirit, but it is not exactly the same. Warlocks believe that through the accumulation and research of knowledge, they can then deduce certain rules and applications, such as chanting incantations and matching certain gestures.
With the corresponding materials, you can cast the corresponding arcane spells, which are quite similar to our spells."
"But what's different from our magic is that arcane magic also has the so-called occultism. Warlocks call it 'secret knowledge', or 'hidden knowledge'. Warlocks say that secret knowledge cannot be explained or understood. That's probably
What we say is that we know it but don’t know why. After all, I am a martial artist who does not practice magic. I don’t understand it very well. It is said that it has the power to distort reality and rules."
"Corresponding to arcane magic is divine magic. Divine magic is the power obtained by communicating with the gods. It is somewhat similar to our witchcraft, both of which rely on external forces. There is also the so-called magic, which means the devil's magic. In fact, it is the same as divine magic.
There is no essential difference, the fundamental thing is that the objects of borrowing are different, so magic is considered to be a spell used by the power of the devil. Under the pressure of the Holy Court, magic has declined, but the devil does not die and magic continues. Just like the ancient immortal
There is essentially no difference between believers and Taoist spiritual officials, but there is a difference in stance."
Qi Xuansu nodded slightly. He was not surprised that Xu Kou knew so many secrets. If Zhang Yuelu had the favor of the Earth Master, then Xu Kou had the favor of Master Qingwei, and even had an encounter with Li Tianzhen. This was why he dared to provoke Zhang Yuelu in the first place.
The confidence is there, but it's another thing if you haven't beaten Zhang Yuelu.
Xu Kou continued: "Alchemy and the alchemy of our Huasheng Hall are quite similar. The ultimate goal is the elixir of immortality. Our emperors in the East make elixirs to seek immortality, while emperors and kings in the West believe in alchemy to seek immortality. Different paths lead to the same goal.
The so-called 'alchemy and arcana' is the synthesis of alchemy and arcana, which is very similar to the creation project of Huashengtang. However, because alchemy and arcana can only coexist and balance in the human body, they are derived in two directions."
"The first is to modify the human body and replace the corresponding parts of the human body with specific alchemical items. Warlocks call this 'complementation'. The pirate leader replaced his own arm with a cannon."
Qi Xuansu's face remained calm, but his heart skipped a beat.
He thought of his "secondary intention" and the "finishing point" of Sanren.
"The second is to create life, create new life directly through alchemy, and then give it a soul with arcane magic. According to the warlock, this is a process that is perfected through death and resurrection."
Qi Xuansu again thought of the eight secret societies, the three major evil objects, and the legendary god-making project.