Page 286
Chapter 407
Li Xiang made a bet with the Wizard King Chi Li that as long as he could bring back the ancient insect magic from the Twelve Caves and complete the Altar of the God of War and Monsters, he would bring Rao Jiang to support him in restoring the Tang Dynasty.
If he can't bring back the ancient insect technique...
There is a ban on the Twelve Caves, allowing only entry but not exit.
At that time, Xian Shen was the master of the Twelve Caves. Under the coercion of Yuan Tiangang, the master of the Great Cave had no choice but to send him to the Tang Dynasty to help the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty seal the secret of the Longquan treasure.
She was supposed to protect the holy child of Raojiang, the only one in the world who knew the map of the Longquan treasure, and wait for Li Xingyun, who was carrying the Longquan sword, to open the treasure.
But she accidentally met Chi Li, and because of her obsession with love, she left the place where the holy child was sleeping, and married Chi Li. This episode was used by Yuan Tiangang and became the key for him to seize the Altar of the God of War.
What impact will that have on Li Xiang who stayed in Twelve Caves?
After considering both sides, he felt that no matter how things developed, it would not affect him much, so the Witch King generously agreed to the bet with Li Xiang. For this reason, he also told Li Xiang the route to the Twelve Caves and told him how to avoid the Fallen Flower Cave Girl in the Fallen Flower Cave.
He was kind enough to tell Li Xiang a clue.
"Before you came, there was another person who entered the Twelve Caves. I know him. He is a captain of the Bad People like me, Tianli Xingyang Shuzi."
"Yang Shuzi entered the Twelve Caves? Was it the Marshal's arrangement? I see, he had already calculated that even without me, the God of War would have appeared at the right time."
When Li Xiang heard that Yang Shuzi had entered the Twelve Caves, he immediately realized that this must be the work of the Marshal, and no one except the Marshal could control Yang Shuzi.
With Yang Shuzi around, he felt more confident.
Li Xiang received the supplies sent by the Witch King, but politely declined the Witch King Chi Li's earnest suggestion to send a guide.
He knew better than the Witch King how to enter the Twelve Caves.
Sixteen years ago, Yuan Tiangang used the Longquan treasure as a lure to lure the real Qi King Li Maozhen into the Twelve Caves to find a way to open the Longquan treasure box.
This caused her younger sister, Empress Huanyinfang, to struggle to support the Kingdom of Qi alone.
Without the support of Qi Wang Li Maozhen, the empress had limited energy. She had to run Huanyinfang, preside over Qi's state affairs, and be vigilant against the covetous Jin and Houliang outside.
The empress was caught between a rock and a hard place, causing the once prosperous Qi State to plummet in strength. The people's livelihood became destitute, making Qi the weakest of the Three Kingdoms.
Li Maozhen was able to enter the secret Twelve Caves, which were unknown even to the locals of Raojiang, with the help of Yuan Tiangang. Only Yuan Tiangang had the ability to divine the location of the Twelve Caves.
Since Hu Xiuwu took Li Xiang to see the old things in Raojiang, he naturally provided Li Xiang with the map of Raojiang.
We crossed the single-plank bridge and entered the Twelve Dong Ridge, and everything went smoothly.
He was successfully captured by Li Maozhen who was living in seclusion in Twelve Dong Ridge.
Li Xiang was only at the middle level, so how could he not be discovered when he sneaked into the territory of a group of great level Gu Masters?
Li Maozhen grabbed Li Xiang and was overjoyed to see that he was dressed in Central Plains clothes. He asked him about the situation in Qi State and the world situation.
Originally, a few months ago, when Yang Shuzi came here to live in seclusion with a letter from the Bad Commander, he tentatively asked Yang Shuzi about the situation in the world.
However, Yang Shuzi had been reminded by Hu Xiuwu before he came, so he did not dare to tell the truth, for fear that Li Maozhen would harm Li Xingyun. In addition, the Second Cave Master Li Xuan tried to smooth things over, saying that once you enter the Twelve Caves, you have nothing to do with the outside world, and you should not inquire about the outside world and add to your troubles.
Li Maozhen has made great progress in the Yunsheng Gu in the past few days and has learned a lot of Gu techniques. He is confident that he can crack the mystery of the Longquan treasure box and is thinking of returning to the Central Plains.
At this time, fearing that he would attract the attention of other people in the Twelve Caves and hinder his escape plan, Li Maozhen pretended to be taught and stopped asking questions.
Now that Li Xiang has been captured, he doesn't have that burden.
Li Xiang was not like Yang Shuzi, who would protect Li Xingyun's information. He immediately revealed all the information about Li Xingyun, especially focusing on the relationship between the Longquan Sword and the Longquan Treasure, as well as the power of the Yin Soldiers.
Upon hearing the news that the Longquan Sword had come out, Li Maozhen's expression changed drastically, his eyes became dark and murderous.
He had no intention of letting Li Xiang go. If other cave masters knew that he was still paying attention to what was happening in the outside world, they would definitely imprison him to prevent him from leaving and revealing the location of the Twelve Caves.
However, before Li Maozhen was ready to take action, Li Xiang blurted out: "I am a subordinate of the Wizard King of the Ten Thousand Poison Caves. I came to the Twelve Caves to seek the ancient insect technique. If you let me go, the Wizard King will definitely reward me handsomely."
"Witch King of Ten Thousand Poison Cave?"
Li Maozhen was moved. The Ten Thousand Poison Cave ruled Raojiang and had countless poison masters under its command. In the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, they were once a serious threat to the country. Their strength should not be underestimated.
In addition, Raojiang is in the southwest and Qi is in the northwest, and there are Tubo and Shu between the two places. There is no conflict of interest in the short term, so it is suitable to form an alliance.
Li Maozhen was once a wise king with outstanding talents and strategies, otherwise, among all the kings in the world, only he and Prince of Jin Li Keyong were plotted against by Yuan Tiangang and were always on his mind.
However, due to this delay, there was movement behind Li Maozhen, and people from other Twelve Caves came to investigate the situation.
"I will go find the Witch King!"
Li Maozhen made a prompt decision, abandoned Li Xiang, attracted the attention of the Twelve Dongs, and disappeared along the path that Li Xiang came from.
Call ~
Cold sweat dripped from his chin to his chest. Li Xiang temporarily calmed down and breathed a sigh of relief. He had passed the first level.
Li Xiang recognized Li Maozhen's identity, but did not call him King Qi to avoid arousing his suspicion, nor did he dare to reveal his own identity.
Li Xingyun is a rare commodity, and as a bastard-born prince, he is not completely worthless.
"Nebula! Why are you here!?"
Li Xiang knew what was going on.
As expected, the person who scared Li Maozhen away was none other than Yang Shuzi.
Li Xiang said calmly: "I am not Li Xingyun, I am Li Xiang, the illegitimate son of Emperor Zhaozong."
Yang Shuzi suddenly realized, but looking at Li Xiang's resolute face, he still showed nostalgia: "You two brothers look so alike."
Li Xiang wasted no time: "I am here on the orders of the Marshal to obtain the Twelve Caves Gu Technique."
Yang Shuzi was not surprised, nodded, and took out a newly copied secret book from his chest: "I see, this is the manuscript I copied during this period. Tell the commander that the Twelve Caves are indeed as the commander expected, and are very interested in the several poisonous insects he provided. Especially the strange insect centipede."
"Most of the Twelve Cave Lords are in seclusion for research. King Qi has been hanging around the edge of the Twelve Caves these days. Second Cave Lord Li Xuan suspected that he wanted to leave the Twelve Caves. So he ordered me to come and supervise King Qi."
"Now that King Qi has left, Twelve Caves Ridge is unattended. You can take this opportunity to leave with the manuscript."
Gu? The Marshal has other plans.
The Unruly People have strict discipline and are not allowed to ask about tasks that are not theirs to perform. Li Xiang took note of this information, but showed no expression on his face. He took Yang Shuzi's handwritten manuscript with a grim expression.
Yang Shuzi looked at Li Xiang's face, which looked very similar to Li Xingyun's. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "If you can meet Li Xingyun, please help me pass a message and ask him to take good care of himself."
Li Xiang paused and said, "Okay."
Chapter 408: The God of War Causes Trouble, the Hidden Dragon Emerges from the Abyss
Taking advantage of the fact that the other cave masters had not yet come out of retreat, Li Xiang had just stepped onto the Twelve Cave Ridges, which was regarded as a holy place by the mountain people of Raojiang. He left in a hurry without even being able to appreciate the surrounding superb scenery.
The Twelve Dong Ridge is located in the hinterland of the Ten Thousand Mountains in Raojiang, far away from the world, with quiet mountains and still waters. There is no noise of stringed instruments and no fatigue of paperwork. It is like a hermit lying in the mountains, watching the birds playing and listening to the songs in the wind.
Li Xiang only took a quick glance and knew that living here must be very comfortable and peaceful.
But that was not the place he longed for. A knife in the sheath for too long will get rusty, and if a person lives too comfortably, his thigh fat will grow back.
Li Xiang is high-spirited and full of fighting spirit, which is incompatible with the feng shui here.
Yang Shuzi stared at Li Xiang's back for a long time without turning around. He seemed to be looking at him, but also seemed to be missing someone else through this similar figure.
When only similar clouds and fog were left in front of him, Yang Shuzi lowered his head and sighed faintly: "Xingyun, you must be more careful."
Returning to Raojiang and back to the Cave of Ten Thousand Poisons, Li Xiang directly entered the Cave of Ten Thousand Poisons with the token given to him by the Witch King, and waited patiently to be summoned by the Witch King Chi Li.
Now that he has mastered the insect technique, the initiative is in his hands. Li Xiang can wait slowly for Chi Li's reaction.
Chi Li was very excited when he heard the message from his men. Since Li Xiang dared to come back to find him, it was very likely that he had successfully acquired the insect technique of the Twelve Caves.
He immediately ordered his men to prepare a grand banquet to welcome Li Xiang, and then ordered a beautiful maid to help Li Xiang bathe and change clothes.
The God of War and Strange Altar had almost become Chi Li's inner demon. Deep down in his heart, he actually wanted to rush to Li Xiang immediately, tear up the bet, and use witchcraft to torture him into revealing the ancient insect technique.
But Li Xiang is not the Gu King Chi Li, and behind him stands the Bad Leader.
The fear of Buliang Shuai brought back Chi Li's sanity. He did not dare to use the same methods he used against his own brothers to deal with Buliang Shuai's men.
An hour later, the Witch King was in his quiet room.
"Witch King, the young priest is back."
"Let Youchuan come in."
The servant brought You Chuan to see the Witch King.
The young priest You Chuan had gentle features, handsome looks, and a tall stature. He wore a variety of silver ornaments in the Raojiang style, and had the temperament of an exotic nobleman.
"Godfather, the banquet is ready, and the distinguished guest has bathed and changed his clothes."
As soon as You Chuan came in, he lowered his head and called the Witch King his adoptive father. He was not only the junior priest of the Ten Thousand Poison Cave, but also the Witch King's adopted son.
The Witch King has no children, so You Chuan, like the Gu King's daughter Chi Meng, the Saint of the Ten Thousand Poison Cave, is the heir to the Ten Thousand Poison Cave.
Junior Sacrifice Official and Holy Maiden are both titles, not official positions. They merely symbolize You Chuan and Chi Meng's status in the Ten Thousand Poison Cave.
Chi Li stood up: "Okay."
You Chuan came to Chi Li's side to support him and whispered, "The maids checked and found no books in Li Xiang's underwear."
It was a pity that Chi Li didn't get to take advantage of the opportunity, but he also felt it was natural and sighed, "After all, he is the Marshal's man."
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At the banquet, Chi Li sat at the host seat, Li Xiang and You Chuan sat opposite each other. After three rounds of wine, Chi Li dismissed the servants around him, and even You Chuan was called away by him.
After You Chuan closed the door, he stood guard at the entrance with his arms folded.
Chi Li then put down the wine cup in his hand and said seriously: "Since Your Highness has taken back the insect technique of the Twelve Caves, I will abide by the agreement. Raojiang will send troops to help Your Highness take back what belongs to you."
"There is no rush to attack the Central Plains." Li Xiang did not happily agree as Chi Li wished, but said slowly, "It won't be too late after we have built a complete military army."
Chi Li hesitated and said, "If we don't raise an army, how can we have enough raw materials to make the God of War Altar?"
Creating a God of War requires a living person, and the higher the skill, the better. However, after becoming a God of War, one will lose his thinking and consciousness and become a puppet.
Therefore, he was very happy to use a small number of criminals and political enemies who resisted Chi Li to create the God of War. However, he was unwilling to use his own loyal subordinates to create the God of War to help Li Xianyang restore his country.
If it weren't for the last moment, Chi Li would not want to turn his loyal subordinates into gods of war. These people were his tentacles, and with their help, the Witch King could control the Ten Thousand Poison Cave.
Li Xiang sneered, "I only said that we will not attack the Central Plains for the time being, but I did not say that we will not raise troops or capture slaves."
Chi Li became interested: "Oh, then where is your highness going to attack?"
"Tuoba," Li Xiang said coldly, "In the ninth year of Zhenguan, Tuba launched a massive attack on Raojiang, killing its inhabitants and burning down the Miao village. After that, Tuba also invaded Raojiang many times and plundered its property."
"It was because in the second year of Emperor Zhaozong's Dashun reign, Tuyuhun's territory was invaded by Tubo, and its people were displaced. Now they even have to rely on the Shatuo tribe and Li Keyong, the Prince of Jin. Tuyuhun no longer has the strength to invade, so it gradually calmed down."