Chapter 17 Blackwood Cliff

Chapter 17 Blackwood Cliff

Chapter 17 Blackwood Cliff

The next day is dawn.

About twenty riders rushed out of Pingding City and headed northwest.

The men and horses did not stop and covered the distance of about forty miles in just one hour, and they arrived at the Orangutan Beach.

The rocks on both sides were as red as blood, with a long beach in the middle, rocks flying diagonally, and the water flowing rapidly. The narrowest part was only thirty or forty steps, but the downstream where the water flow gathered stretched for several miles, like a lake.

The group pulled the reins of their horses.

Qi Queqiao released a whistling arrow, and five small boats emerged from the reeds on the opposite bank.

They were all disciples of Fenglei Hall. Heimu Cliff had been managed by Yang Lianting for several years, so Tong Baixiong had to be on guard.

"The water in the Orangutan Beach is so cold that even horses are unwilling to drink it. If an ordinary person sets foot in it for just a few breaths, his bones will be frozen."

"The higher the inner strength, the longer one can stay in the water. But there is a kind of blue-scaled carp living underwater. Its meat is extremely tender and delicious, and it is extremely difficult to find."

"When you have some free time, Brother Zhang, can you come here with me to compete and see who is more lucky to capture the alien species?"

Qi Queqiao was breathing out cold air. He really was like a quail. He seemed to be completely unaware of the danger of what he was going to do. Instead, he kept talking about trivial matters. This behavior was quite heroic.

He was usually too cautious, but when faced with a major event, he was calm and composed. Tong Baixiong liked this about him and accepted him as his last disciple.

"Brother Qi has profound inner strength and great fortune. I am naturally not as good as him."

Zhang Yu smiled. He was wearing a black brocade robe, riding on a horse, with the black sword left by the assassin last night hanging around his waist.

In terms of quality, it is slightly inferior to Yue Lingshan's Bishui Sword, but the peculiar thing is that the sword is coated with black lacquer, which does not affect the sword edge and can conceal the cold light. It is effective against the enemy by surprise at night and is extremely suitable for assassination and sneak attack.

"You are too modest. Last night, the assassin used rosemary and I had to cover my nose. But you were in the room the whole time, but you were able to speak and act calmly, without being affected at all. This can only be achieved with superb internal strength."

Tong Baixiong heard this and looked at Zhang Yu. He could see that this young man was only at the Dan Jin realm. At this age, he could only be considered mediocre in the Divine Religion and in the Jianghu sects. Qi Queqiao was already a master of the Qi Hai realm. He said that Zhang Yu's internal strength was unique, so he must have seen it with his own eyes.

"My little brother, you are young and promising. After you get rid of the evildoers, I will recommend you to the Eastern Sect Leader and give you a bright future. In time, I think you can even become the leader of the Yunshui Hall."

"Thank you for your kindness, Master Tong. I am a young man with limited knowledge and talent, and I only hope to serve the Divine Religion with all my passion."

Tong Baixiong smiled and said, "Tang Master Wu's son died young. As his direct disciple, it is only natural for you to inherit Yunshuitang."

Zhang Yu was worried about Wu Lianjiang's last wish, that his granddaughter named Han Yu was in Qingniu Village, fifty miles away from Pingding City. There were many eyes on him at this time, so it was not easy to check on him. He decided to wait for some time.
Five small boats came ashore, picked up more than twenty people, and headed to the other side.

Tong Baixiong stood at the bow of the boat, thinking of Qi Queqiao's words, and a feeling of heroism arose in his heart.

"This trip has been successful. I will set up a celebration banquet at the Orangutan Beach, cook fish and slaughter sheep, and entertain all the meritorious officials! We will drink for three days and three nights until we are drunk."

Everyone cheered, they were all masters of Fenglei Hall and Tong Baixiong's confidants, so they naturally hoped that the 'slaughter of the sheep' would be successful and their own status would also rise and be promoted.

Qi Queqiao smiled and said, "Master, I have one more request."

"What do you want?"

"Just drinking and eating meat is boring. It would be best to invite the girls from Qianhonglou to liven up the fun."

Tong Baixiong laughed and said, "How difficult is that? I will go talk to Shangguan Yun and ask him to ask the courtesan from Qianhonglou to come here and dance for three days and three nights."

"This master and disciple don't know that opening champagne at halftime is a taboo."

Zhang Yu stood on the boat behind, feeling somewhat worried, wondering how he could escape unscathed.

Tong Baixiong definitely can't defeat Yang Lianting this time. If he has a choice, he doesn't want to go to Blackwood Cliff. It's not wise to confront Yang Lianting directly. Tong Baixiong thought that his friendship with the "Dongfang Brothers" was not good enough. "Three years later, Ren Woxing attacked Blackwood Cliff. At that time... Tong Baixiong was killed by Dongfang Bubai. So this time, there should be nothing wrong."

Tong Baixiong turned around and looked at Zhang Yu, laughing and said, "Zhang Yu, what do you think? Will our trip be successful?"

Zhang Yu smiled and said, "How many poems can I think of to compare this situation to this scene?"

"Which ones?"

Zhang Yu chanted: "The wind blows the drums and the mountains and rivers shake. Lightning flashes and the flags rise high as the sun and the moon. The unicorn in the sky has its own kind. How can the ants in the cave escape?"

"Good poem! Good poem! Full of domineering spirit, just what I like. I didn't expect you to have such outstanding literary talent and be able to take on such an important task."

Tong Baixiong laughed loudly and became even happier.

Zhang Yu smiled and thought to himself, since the Ming Dynasty's surname is not Zhu, he might as well use the poem by the old Taoist priest Jiajing.

On the other side of the Xingxing Beach is a reed marsh covered with snow, and behind it stands a steep black mountain that connects with the sky. That is the Black Wood Cliff, the headquarters of the Sun and Moon Sect that has dominated the martial arts world for a hundred years.

After climbing the mountain, the road was steep and the terrain was dangerous, with deep valleys on both sides. There were patrols, secret outposts, and fortresses arranged by the Sun and Moon Sect everywhere, with complete weapons and strict guards.

In such a terrain, as long as there is enough food and grass, one can rest assured unless the imperial court sends an army ten times larger to encircle and suppress the enemy at all costs. However, the strongest fortress is often breached from the inside.

We walked up the cliff along the stone steps, and then walked 17 or 18 miles up the mountain, passing through the three iron gates. At each iron gate, there were believers asking for passwords and checking waist badges. There were archers on the top of the city wall, and if there was any mistake, they would fire arrows at once.

Tong Baixiong is the head of Fenglei Hall and holds a high position of power in the sect, but he is not immune.

He cursed in a low voice: "There was no need to go through so much trouble to meet Brother Dongfang before. It was all a trick played by the villain named Yang."

The Yuntai was built against the mountain wall, and the disciples of the White Tiger Hall were on duty to guard the perimeter.

This platform is called Dengyuntai, with huge stele on each side. The right one reads "Wencheng Wude" and the left one reads "Renyi Yingming".

A group of people climbed up the stone platform. Looking up, they could see the black mountain wall in front of them. It was visible to the naked eye that it was at least three or four hundred meters high. It was straight and steep, half reaching the sky, and seemed to be about to collapse at any time, giving a very oppressive feeling.

"This is Blackwood Cliff."

Before, he was only a guard at the second iron gate in front, and he rarely had the opportunity to climb the Yuntai, let alone actually go up to the Chengde Palace on the top of the Black Wood Cliff.

Zhang Yu thought to himself that it would be extremely difficult for outsiders to break through the Black Wood Cliff. This place was indeed the foundation for achieving hegemony in the martial arts world. No wonder the Sun and Moon Sect had been attacking everywhere for more than a hundred years. The righteous people had little chance of breaking through the headquarters.

Qi Queqiao fired another flare into the sky. Not long after, four iron ropes fell, silver bells rang, and a large bamboo basket was lowered from the cliff. It took two attempts to carry more than 20 people up.

The bamboo basket slowly rose, and Zhang Yu looked up, but the top of the cliff was obscured by clouds and mist, and he could not see it clearly.

After a long time, the bamboo basket shook and reached the top of the cliff.

Zhang Yu walked out of the bamboo basket. At this time, the sun had risen high, and golden sunlight shone from the east, shining on a huge white marble archway in front of the high platform in the square.

There is a relief sculpture of nine dragons carved on the archway, with the words "benefiting all living things" written on it. Each character is the size of an adult man, and it is so majestic that one cannot help but be impressed.

Once every three years, the leader of the Sun-Moon Divine Cult would sit on a high throne and accept congratulations from the followers of the Sun-Moon Divine Cult, as well as the leaders of surrendered gangs from the Central Plains, the northern frontier, the Western Regions, Japan, Yunnan and other places.

"This year on December 12th, it will be another triennial event."

After walking around the platform and a few hundred steps in the square, I finally saw a palace that looked like a palace in the sky.

"That is the Chengde Hall."

(End of this chapter)