Chapter 148

Chapter 148

Chapter 148

Kong Xu retracted his head. He was not sure whether Li Wuxiang saw him or not.

I hope I didn't see it. It's not that it would make him unable to accomplish what he wanted to do, but that he felt that what he wanted to do was really despicable.

But there's nothing we can do about it, because after thinking about it, this is the only way to do it.

After returning to Hujin Peak from Jiuzhu Peak yesterday, Master Cui Jian said nothing and just let his fellow disciples feel indignant.

When night fell, seeing that Master Cui still didn't want to talk about what happened just now, everyone dispersed. But Kong Xu stayed for a while longer, because he felt that Master Cui seemed to have something to say, but just didn't want to tell others.

Sure enough, when he was the only one left, Sword Master Cui suddenly sighed and said, "What a pity."

Kong Xu was stunned for a moment and asked, "Brother Cui, what's a pity?"

Master Cui sighed again, patted his knees lightly, and looked in the direction of Jiuzhu Peak: "Mei Qiulu has accepted a good disciple, who is really good at arguing. You dozen people were all speechless by him. It really looks like a tiger among a flock of sheep."

Kong Xu immediately felt his face blushing, and he only said "Senior Brother" when Cui Jianzhu sighed for the third time and said, "But what I pity is not this matter, but Li Wuxiang."

"He is so lucky to be able to practice Guang Chan Zi and even reach the stage of Dan Jin. But he shouldn't follow Mei Qiulu - it will only harm himself and our sect."

"Brother Cui...what do you mean by this?"

Jianzhu Cui sighed for the fourth time, "Don't you know what Mei Zhangjian wants to do? Over the years, the six Xuan sects may come to You Jiuyuan at any time, so the leader asked the disciples of the sect to disperse. But Mei Qiulu has been waiting for the day when they come to find him - if there is another war, You Jiuyuan will be surrounded and suppressed again, and the disciples of the sect will feel that it turns out that forbearance is not a solution."

"When the time comes, Mei Qiulu will raise her arms and everyone will follow her. I didn't worry about this before because Mei Qiulu is not suitable to be a leader and has no ability to govern the sect. Everyone will be deceived by her for a while, but after a long time, they will find that she is not suitable to be the sect leader."

"But today I saw that Li Wuxiang is quite remarkable. He has the kind of spirit that Mei Qiulu has always talked about, but he doesn't act on impulse—"

Kong Xu couldn't help but frowned: "Brother, he slandered us so much at Jiuzhu Peak today. Wasn't he just acting on impulse? I have never heard such harsh words in the sect."

Master Cui Jian glanced at him and said, "His impulsive behavior was just a means to prevent you from being impulsive in the future. Look, when you think of what he said during the day, you feel uncomfortable and think that no one in the sect has said that. Then will you go to him again to cause trouble? Because he used this impulsive behavior to make you feel that he is unreasonable."

"You think he is unreasonable. What other ways do you have to deal with him? Our church is not like other places. There will be no tricks behind the scenes or secret framing. So this person knows what is going on in the church and understands the principle that a gentleman can be deceived. So I say, he is a tiger among the sheep."

"He has done such a big thing in Coffin City, and with this style, the new disciples in the sect will like him very much. What Mei Qiulu couldn't do, he might be able to do." Sword Master Cui sighed, "Alas, if unfortunately one day he becomes the leader, or assists Mei Qiulu in becoming the leader, the end of the Sword Sect will be here."

Kong Xu was stunned: "Brother, things shouldn't have come to this point, right?"

Master Cui Jian glanced at him and suddenly burst into laughter: "Hahahaha!"

He laughed twice, then lowered his eyes and patted his knees lightly with his palms: "This is really interesting. In our sect, I am not a human-"

“…Brother! You…”

Cui Jianzhu waved his hands and said, "Li Wuxiang was right today. I am not a human being. You usually avoid talking about this, but could I have forgotten it?"

"But I am the only one who is not human, but I care the most about the life and death of you. Donghuang Taiyi is the destiny of humanity and the god of you humans. I have transformed into a human body and can be considered half a human, but he is not my god after all. I joined our sect. At first, I thought that the True Immortal Body Dao Pian was the most suitable for me, but after so many years, I have developed a deep affection for the sect."

"So I am probably the only one who can understand this matter with a clear conscience. For thousands of years, why have the swordsmen in the sect shed blood one after another? Is it for themselves one day? Given the current situation, Zhonglu is destined to be occupied by the Xuanjiao. Even though they know it is hopeless, they are still waiting in the Nether Nine Abyss, waiting to be slaughtered, just to uphold the Taiyi humaneness... Alas."

"Master Jiang and Mei Zhangjian are thinking about Taiyi, but I am thinking about you. So I want to lead the people in the sect to cross the Silent Sea and go to the East Land, while Master Jiang wants to hold on, and Mei Zhangjian wants to fight head-on. Once Li Wuxiang or she captures the hearts of the people in the sect, won't our doom come?"

Kong Xu was silent for a moment before he said, "Then, Sword Master, didn't you say that at the meeting three days later, you would ask Mei Palm Sword to step down from his duties as Sword Master, and you would not agree to let Li Wuxiang be Sword Master."

"It's not difficult to ask Mei Qiulu not to be the palm sword. She was the one who introduced Lou He to the sect, and she didn't know how to judge people. Then she killed two city lords in the coffin city, which can be regarded as provoking a war. She is responsible for both of these things."

"But what about Li Wuxiang?" Sword Master Cui sighed. "He is a Jindan swordsman, and he is practicing the ancient Guangchanzi of the sect. His future is limitless. Why don't we let him be the sword master? Is it because he is from the lineage of Mei Qiulu, or because he spoke rudely to us? If it is because of these two reasons, then the Sword Sect is no longer the Sword Sect."

It is because of what happened last night that Kong Xu is here now.

It was not difficult to know what they were going to do today. Last night, Li Ke said happily that he would go with Senior Brother Li to catch Wansui. The people of the Sword Sect have always been open and aboveboard, and in Youjiuyuan, everyone would only congratulate him for such a thing.

But now when Kong Xu thought of this, he felt very uncomfortable. Before he joined the Sword Sect, he had been living in Fucheng, where he had a hard life and worked as a clerk in a silk shop.

Opposite the silk shop was a brothel. When he was a clerk, he often saw desperate girls going to the brothel voluntarily or by force. At that time, he just thought that if a pure and honest girl went to such a place, her life would be ruined.

At that time, it was just a feeling in his heart, but now he felt that he had become one of those women - he had been a clean swordsman for many years, and now, he was going to do something very despicable. He thought about it last night and decided to do it this morning. Although he hadn't done it yet, he knew that he couldn't go back.

Wansui is not that easy to catch. Or rather, Wansui is different now than before, and the methods Li Ke knows cannot deal with him.

This was told to him by Cui Jianzhu - more than three hundred years ago, You Jiuyuan was hidden in the world of the living. At that time, Taiyi's incense had gradually become thinner, and the thing called "Long Live" was transformed by the rules of luck, so it became very weak. But since You Jiuyuan came to this place between the netherworld and the sacred mountain, things like luck and rules have become more unpredictable in such a place.

According to his own understanding, because You Jiuyuan is currently closer to the origin of the Great Dao, Wansui has become more powerful.

What he had to do now was not to do anything, but to do nothing - not to give any reminders and to watch Li Ke and Li Wuxiang heading towards extreme danger.

If they were in danger, I would naturally save them. However, I would wait until Li Wuxiang had exhausted his youth and lifespan, and then I would subdue Wansui.

With this thing, go and save Zeng Jianqiu and Pan Muyun. I will also save this Junior Brother Li. But he must promise to stay away from You Jiuyuan and only be an outer disciple in the future.

No one will be harmed, and those who should be rescued will still be rescued. It's just a little bit of scheming, but for the sake of the entire sect. Li Wuxiang is working for Mei Zhangjian, and he should also work for Cui Jianzhu, but it's still for the sake of the sect and his fellow disciples.

Kong Xu sighed, watched the two people below walk away, and jumped into the darkness.

……

The deeper they went, the darker it got, but Li Ke brought something to illuminate them, which were the eye-like beads at the entrance of Taiyi Cave Heaven, called Mirage Beads. These beads were also taken from the bottom of Youjiuyuan, which was where they were now, and was called the "lower world" by the Sword Sect.

When looking from above, the lower world was dark, desolate and messy, as if there was no life at all. But after following Li Ke's guidance and walking a distance and jumping off five stone beams in succession, Li Wuxiang realized that this place was actually full of vitality.

There were countless subtle sounds echoing in the darkness, and countless pairs of eyes of different shapes were watching them. As Li Ke walked, he read a booklet he had written, telling Li Wuxiang which things he could pick, which things he should ignore, which sounds he could relax a little, and which sounds he should shout back fiercely.

After jumping off two more stone beams, the ground beneath my feet was no longer bottomless darkness, but an uneven stone ground.

It was called a stone land, but in fact it was more like a very wide valley at the bottom. On both sides were gradually rising mountain walls that extended into the darkness above. Inside the mountain walls were wooden and stone buildings. It was hard to tell which part was the wall or the roof. Just like the buildings in the fantasy world of Ranshan, they were twisted together. Looking forward with the light of the mirage pearl, one could see a dead end in the distance, which was also blocked by a stone wall. But that stone wall was a little shorter, and there was a stone slope more than one person high near the ground, on which grew black velvet grass.

Li Wuxiang now knew that the velvet grass could barely be considered a natural treasure. After being dried in the shade and soaked in medicine, it was extremely strong and could be used to refine the net array. When he walked here, he could also hear rustling "knock knock" sounds coming from the mountain walls on both sides of the valley, as if some small insects were knocking on hard shells or stones.

He had heard many strange noises like this along the way, and had even seen many strange-looking things that flashed by in the dark, so he no longer found them new.

Li Ke stopped, took the official token in his hand, and lowered his voice: "Brother, it was here last time."

He looked into the darkness around him, and his voice sounded nervous: "I'm going to start now. I'm going to walk slowly in here, and I'm going to shout long live long live long live in my heart. If I can attract you, that would be the best. But if you see me kneel down all of a sudden, and don't respond to my shouting, you'd better quickly unfold your thing and circle around me - that thing is on me."

The darkness around him, the tone of his voice, and the unknown "Long live" made Li Wuxiang feel a little nervous, so he also took the official token in his hand: "Okay, I understand."

Li Ke took a deep breath and walked forward. But after taking two steps, he was tripped by a stone under his feet and hit his head on the ground with a thud.

Li Wuxiang's heart skipped a beat, and he almost sent out a flying sword. But Li Ke immediately got up from the ground, holding his head and smiling embarrassedly: "I fell down by myself, haha, I felt so nervous that my hands and feet were numb."

Li Wuxiang breathed a sigh of relief, and Li Ke grabbed the official token in his hand and continued to walk slowly into the darkness. But he seemed to be concentrating on the long live, and only took three steps, and there was another thump - he hit a stone beam protruding from the stone wall next to him.

Li Ke screamed in pain this time and covered his head with his hands: "No, brother, this is not my fault. I didn't have this last time... It should have fallen recently."

Li Wuxiang looked at him, then looked into the darkness around him, and whispered, "Well, be careful."

The sound of Li Ke falling and bumping into someone was quite loud, and the sound was echoed by the stone walls around him. Add to that the few words the two exchanged, and it seemed to have startled something lurking in the darkness around them.

Li Wuxiang saw a few pairs of small eyes light up in a crack on the stone wall not far ahead. He shook the mirage bead in his hand towards that direction and saw clearly that it was five rats, standing with their two front paws hanging down, as if looking at what was going on here.

He had seen many mice along the way. They were extremely fat, almost as big as a kitten, and were not afraid of people. According to what Li Ke said, the lower world of You Jiuyuan was close to Lingshan Mountain. These mice had been invaded by the resentment of Lingshan Mountain for many years. In fact, they were no longer ordinary creatures, but became extremely ferocious and bloodthirsty.

However, Li Wuxiang released the power of his elixir along the way, and when the rats saw him, they ran away in panic.

However, the five did not run away immediately, but stood there and watched for a while, then walked out from the crevice of the stone, walked arrogantly, and squatted four or five steps in front of the two men, sniffing the ground as if looking for food.

Li Wuxiang no longer paid attention to them, and turned to look at Li Ke. Then he found that when he was distracted to look at the five mice, Li Ke accidentally tripped over a stone on the ground and fell to the ground again.

This time he hit the ground with his head again, with a loud thump. It seemed that he had hit the ground too hard, and he didn't get up for a long time, just rubbing his head with his hands.

Li Wuxiang sighed and was about to speak, but then he closed his mouth.

Why does he always fall down when he is a swordsman who practices Qi training?

He stepped back, listened, and realized that something was not right with the sounds around him.

Those "knock knock" sounds, like insects tapping their shells or hitting stones.

This kind of sound could be heard along the way, but after Li Ke fell again this time, the sound seemed to become louder, from a subtle and negligible background sound to a noise that could not be ignored.

Moreover, it is no longer intermittent and chaotic, but slowly becomes rhythmic!
Li Wuxiang immediately reached out and reached the mirage pearl towards the cliff beside him.

What he saw made him gasp.

Those weren't any bugs... they were lots of tiny bones!
Most of the bones hidden in the cracks of the stone walls and in the gaps between buildings were very small, and looked like mice, lizards, snakes, etc. Some were dry and white, some still had rotten flesh hanging on them, and some were covered in blood, as if they had just died.

These things seemed to be alive, and were using their heads to bang against the stone walls in front of or beside them, making "knock knock" sounds that became clearer and more rhythmic, as if they were performing a ritual together!

Something is wrong here!
Li Wuxiang immediately released his flying sword and shouted to Li Ke: "Li Ke!"

At this time, Li Kecai raised his head from the ground. The fall just now seemed to be too severe, causing blood to flow from his forehead, covering half of his face. He opened his mouth, as if he was unconscious from the fall: "Brother, I..."

As he spoke, he raised his foot to stand up, but just as he raised one leg, that leg went limp and he fell down again, hitting his forehead on the ground with another thud.

"Something's wrong here, Li Ke, let's go!"

Li Wuxiang shouted this in a low voice, and immediately the official token in his hand opened with a clatter and was aimed at him.

But this official had no response!

At this time, Li Ke seemed to be anxious, and he tried to stand up using his hands and feet. But his hands and feet seemed to be out of control, and he fell to the ground every time he took a step. In just one breath, there were four dong-dong-dong sounds. He took four steps towards Li Wuxiang and hit his head four times, as if he was pressed to the ground by something!
Li Wuxiang immediately circled the flying sword around Li Ke twice, but there was nothing around him but the whistling sound of the flying sword.

Li Ke crawled forward another step and his head hit the ground again - bang!

But at this moment, his voice seemed insignificant, because the "knock knock" sounds around the valley bottom were getting louder and faster.

A thought suddenly occurred to Li Wuxiang, and he immediately felt his whole body numb.

Li Ke wasn't falling... and those dry bones weren't knocking against the stones...

They are kowtowing!

"Long live, long live, long live——"

A small, sharp sound was heard.

Then, countless pairs of densely packed little red eyes lit up on the dark cliffs on both sides.

Li Wuxiang saw the five mice in the valley that had crawled in front of him before stand up again, then suddenly bend down and fall headfirst onto the ground.

Li Ke in front of him also banged his head hard on the ground - half of his head was almost crushed, and his brains were overflowing all over his face. But the remaining half of his face, with his eyeballs hanging and brains sticking out, also shouted at him -

"Long live Long live Long live!"

(End of this chapter)