Chapter 240: Thunder and River, Xichuan Sword Pavilion
Chapter 240: Thunder and River, Xichuan Sword Pavilion
I don't believe that the sound is the Nujiang River.
Although Bai Long and Zhao Li didn't say anything, their expressions clearly expressed what they were thinking.
Bai Sanren didn't say much, and continued to move forward with Cheng Xinzhan and his servant.
The eagles in the sky are bigger than cows, and they don’t even flap their wings. They just fly lightly and cry loudly. In the response of thunder, they look as majestic as phoenixes.
But Zhao Li had already asked out of curiosity, and was told that this was just an ordinary local mountain eagle, not some spiritual bird.
This also made Cheng Xinzhan and his two servants more curious about this land.
After crossing the Yalong River, they could smell the faint muffled thunder. Cheng Xinzhan didn't care at first, thinking it was a thunderstorm ahead. However, after flying for a long time, there was no rain, and the thunder continued and became louder. He gradually became suspicious. At this time, Zhao Li couldn't hold back his curiosity and asked a question before him.
Li Baisanren smiled and said that was the sound of the Nujiang River.
The master and his two servants were all a little confused. It sounded clearly like thunder, and the Nujiang River was west of Kangxi. How could the sound be heard just a short time after crossing the Yalong River?
Cheng Xinzhan was proficient in both thunder and water magic, so how could he not tell the difference between the sound of thunder and water?
But could it really be the Nujiang River?
He knew in his heart that there was no need for Di Baisanren to tease him, so he was a little undecided, but he naturally would not show doubt on his face like the two children.
However, this place was deserted and all around was quiet, with only the rumbling sound, which made him think it was thunder. So he simply didn't dwell on it and took the initiative to find a topic.
"Ding Bai, as we have come here, I have noticed that there are very few mortals here. They are basically all cultivators, including both Xuanmen disciples and demons. The demons seem to be more common.
"The demons in Kangxi haven't been cleared out yet. As the saying goes, you must first stabilize the country before you can resist foreign aggression. However, Xuantian League directly said that it wants to defend Nujiang River. Isn't it too dangerous to be attacked from both sides like this?"
There were few flat lands in the whole Kangxi. The mountaintops were covered with snow, the valleys were deep and the elevation was thousands of feet. In such a terrain, Cheng Xinzhan also found that there were almost no traces of mortals living here. He only saw a few horse teams passing through the mountain roads like ants, but no big towns.
In fact, there are more cultivators here than mortals, because the terrain is not an obstacle for cultivators who can fly into the sky and hide underground. Moreover, the terrain here is high and there are no mortals, so the spiritual energy is even more rich and pure.
Along the way, Cheng Xinzhan often encountered monks flying in the air, and various large and small sects could be seen everywhere on the ground, which were much more densely populated than in the East.
And when he used the art of looking at qi, he could easily tell that there were few people cultivating clear and bright righteous energy, and most of them exuded bloody, evil and demonic energy.
When Bai Sanren heard this, he said,
“The Xuantian Alliance wants to take this opportunity to completely eliminate the evil in Xikang and completely incorporate Xikang, which has been in chaos for thousands of years, into the territory of Bashu.
"So, as the eldest senior disciple of Emei, Renying is facing the most dangerous situation. Doesn't this make him even more noble and upright?"
Bai Sanren's tone was indignant.
As Cheng Xinzhan listened, he felt more and more that this Emei Immortal was truly extraordinary.
Having said that, Li Baisanren began to take the initiative to explain to Cheng Xinzhan the Demon Sect in Xikang.
"There are no fifth-level true demons in Xikang, Yunlai can rest assured about this."
Said Bai Sanren.
"When the Long Eyebrow Patriarch killed the Eight Bitterness Kings in Kangxi, he said, 'Anyone who enters Kangxi from the Five Realms will die.' Since then, no demon from the Five Realms has ever set foot in Kangxi again."
“Who is the Eight Suffering Kings?”
Cheng Xinzhan asked.
"That was a powerful demon in the past. He was at the peak of the fifth realm. It was said that he was only one step away from ascending to heaven. He was killed by Changmei Zhenren before ascending to heaven. Now there are two fourth realm demons in Xikang, one is the monk Piercing Heart and the other is the White Bone Bodhisattva. Both are disciples of the Eight Bitterness King."
Cheng Xinzhan nodded, it turned out that there was such a person before.
“This lineage of theirs is like a Buddha but not a Buddha, like a demon but not a demon, their methods are very strange, if you trace their origins, they came from the Maha sect, and after they became demons, they were classified as the Northern sect.
"It took a lot of effort for Changmei Zhenren to kill the Eight Bitterness King, and the two disciples of the Eight Bitterness King were almost at the fifth level. Before the Zhenren ascended to heaven, he wanted to seal these two demons to prevent them from becoming more powerful.
“At that time, the White Bone Bodhisattva transformed himself into dry bones and escaped the detection of the Long-Eyebrowed Immortal. However, the Piercing Heart Monk was captured and sealed, but the seal was broken not long ago.
"After Changmei Zhenren ascended to heaven, the White Bone Bodhisattva reappeared in the world and established a religion on Queer Mountain in the northwest of Kangxi, which was called the White Bone Zen Temple.
"After the monk Chuanxin broke the seal, he rebuilt the sect in the original dojo of the Eight Bitterness Kings, Baiguai Mountain in the upper reaches of the Nujiang River, and called it Xuanxin Temple.
“In the Kangxi region today, a small portion of the demons are from the southern and northern factions, and the majority are from the Eight Bitterness Kings and their disciples.
Cheng Xinzhan wrote them down one by one, and then asked,
"So where is the current western base of Xuantian League located?"
Bai Sanren replied,
"It's on a high mountain on the east bank of the Jinsha River. Because it's located in the west and facing the river, it's called Xichuan Jiange. We're almost there."
Sure enough, after a while, Cheng Xinzhan saw a big river in front of him, with a golden luster. Without any introduction from Bai Sanren, Cheng Xinzhan recognized that this was the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, the Jinsha River that runs through the north and south of Kangxi and then eastward.
After the two left Bailongqi Mountain, they basically flew westward all the way. Now they could see the golden line of the river in the distance, and Li Baisanren took Cheng Xinzhan and turned north.
Within five hundred miles, Cheng Xinzhan saw a tall pavilion on the top of the mountains on the east bank of the Jinsha River, amidst the white snow. The pavilion exuded a sharp sword energy that broke the falling snow into pieces.
Near the high pavilion, Bai Sanren pointed to the west and said,
"Six hundred miles away is the Nu River. On the Nu River, just west of this city, is the Xuanxin Temple of the monk Chuanxin. Let's go to the pavilion first. Later, I will take Yunlai to see the Nu River with its thunderous sound. This river is worthy of being written about in the Banana Leaf Collection."
Then he pointed to the north and said,
"Four hundred miles north of here is Que'er Mountain, where the White Bone Monastery is located. The thousand-foot-high glacier on Que'er Mountain looks like jade, and is also a wonder of the world. It's a pity that it was contaminated by the devil, and now the ice is filled with white bones.
"Put the Sword Pavilion here to keep an eye on Xuanxin Temple and Maha Sect and prevent them from crossing Nujiang River. More energy should be put on the White Bone Temple. There is also the Green Rope Sword in the north. The two Sword Pavilions support each other. If we can break through the White Bone Temple and then sweep away the demons from north to south, then our merit will be complete."
Cheng Xinzhan looked at the surrounding terrain, and the military strategy described in "Bird Divination" emerged in his mind, and he thought about it carefully.
This place is located on a high mountain and next to the river. It is neither far nor close to the two major demon temples. It can prevent Xuanxin Temple from advancing eastwards, and also prevent Baigu Zen Temple from advancing southwards. If it cooperates with Zhou Qingyun at Baihekou, it can attack Baigu Zen Temple from both sides. Once the two temples take the initiative to attack, there will be time to react and they can defend themselves. It is indeed a good place.
Cheng Xinzhan thought about it and asked,
"Then there are four realms in this Xichuan Sword Pavilion?"
Li Baisanren shook his head.
"There is no one in the pavilion. The pavilion master is Ren Ying. As for whether his master secretly sent four realms to protect him, he doesn't know either."
Cheng Xinzhan felt that there should be one. If not, then if the Heart-piercing Monk and the White Bone Bodhisattva came in person, wouldn’t it be easy to capture the city and kill people?
Unless Yan Renying also has a magical flying sword like the one Zhou Qingyun has.
But Cheng Xinzhan had seen the power of the green sword with his own eyes, and it was truly an indestructible weapon. In his opinion, there should not be many of them even in Emei.
But think about it from another angle. Did the Monk Chuanxin and the White Bone Bodhisattva also make up their minds that there were four guards here or that the famous Emei Master had immortal weapons in his hands, so they didn't dare to move easily?
After all, these two were people who had been frightened by Emei.
So, using Yan Renying as a chess piece and bait, was this also an arrangement made by Emei Zhenren?
"Is there a demon attacking the city?"
he asks.
"We tried it at the beginning, but we were unable to break through the defense formation of this sword pavilion."
Said Bai Sanren.
"What is the highest realm you have reached?"
"Fourth or five washes." Cheng Xinzhan nodded.
As we spoke, the place was arrived.
Bai Sanren took out a talisman and raised it in the air. There was a flash of magic light around the Sword Pavilion, and a hole appeared in the city defense formation, and the two men went in.
After Cheng Xinzhan landed in Jiange, he discovered that there were no visible brick joints on the ground and walls, and there were no signs of overlap between the beams, columns, brackets, and arches. The entire building was grayish white, as if it was carved out of a single huge stone.
He understood at a glance that this sword pavilion was a magical weapon refined in one piece, but he didn't know if it could block the four realms.
The pavilion has four sides and thirteen floors. It is not like a pagoda with a pointed top. It is the same width from top to bottom and about five hundred steps long and wide. The base of the pavilion has a pedestal, which is two thousand steps long and wide. It is surrounded by fences on all four sides and can be regarded as a courtyard or a square.
There were quite a few people in the square, most of them wearing two kinds of robes, one with a green background and bamboo patterns, and the other with a white background and lotus patterns. Cheng Xinzhan guessed that they were disciples of Biyun Temple and Emei Sect.
Apparently, Di Bai Sanren was somewhat famous here. The people in Emei knew him but pretended not to see him, while the disciples of Biyun Temple respected him very much and nodded in greeting.
There were doors on all four sides of the attic. Now, Li Baisanren brought Cheng Xinzhan to the west, which seemed to be the main entrance. There was a plaque hanging on it, which read:
"Xichuan Jiange".
On the top of the 13th floor, there is a plaque with the following inscription:
"Xuan Guang Yao Ginseng".
"please."
Bai Sanren extended his hand and invited Cheng Xinzhan to enter the pavilion.
"please."
Cheng Xinzhan and Di Baisanren entered the cabinet together and asked at the same time,
"Which floor is Ren Ying on?"
"It's on the bottom floor."
Cheng Xinzhan smiled when he heard this and thought to himself that he was a smart man.
Li Baisanren led Cheng Xinzhan and the other two to a tea room.
"Yunlai, wait a moment. I'll go call Renying over to see him."
Cheng Xinzhan tried to stop him and said,
"Ren Ying is the Pavilion Master, and he is very busy. I am an idle person, so I will follow the arrangements of Di Bai and go out to exorcise demons with Di Bai. No one else needs to know."
Bai Sanren shook his head and said,
"How can you say that? Although Yunlai made this trip for my sake, the one who really benefited was Yan Renying. How could he not come and thank me?"
Without waiting for Bai Sanren to say anything, he walked out quickly.
Cheng Xinzhan couldn't stop him and could only wait.
At this time, the thunder was still rumbling, but it was not coming from the nearby Jinsha River, but from farther west.
"Tell me, is that really the sound of the river?"
Listening to the muffled voice, Zhao Li was not so sure at this moment.
Bai Long was also shaken. How could thunder sound so steadily?
"Maybe so."
Cheng Xinzhan has already believed and accepted it at this moment, and can only marvel at the wonders of creation.
While waiting, he glanced out the window. The cold wind from the top of the mountain stirred up the snow, which seemed to form a vague shape. He subconsciously wanted to use bird divination to predict the good or bad fortune of this trip, but he stopped when he realized what was going on.
He thought:
As the saying goes: "The wind does not last all morning, and the rain does not last all day." Although bird divination is magical, it should be used at the right time. If you use divination for everything, to seek good fortune and avoid disaster, people will lose their sharpness in their hearts, which is not a good thing. The ancestors said in "Bird Divination": "If you use it too many times, your spirit will be exhausted, and if your spirit is exhausted, you will not respond." This is the same principle. The saints also said before, that is, "Do nothing and nothing will be left undone."
With a quick glimpse, Cheng Xinzhan gained something, and felt somewhat delighted. He felt that his mind was clear and he had made further progress in divination.
He seized this opportunity and some insights, and began to meditate with his eyes closed again. The inner spirit of the "migratory bird" in his mind was one step closer to taking shape.
"Yunlai!"
Suddenly there was a shout and Cheng Xinzhan opened his eyes.
Six people filed in.
Cheng Xinzhan smiled when he saw it, and the six friends drinking together gathered again.
The drunken man stepped forward and held Cheng Xinzhan's hand.
"Yunlai! Why did you come all this way?"
Cheng Xinzhan patted the wine jug on his drunken waist.
"You guys are bullying me. Are you afraid that I will drink too much, or are you tired of my ugly appearance when drunk? You came here to relax without even saying hello."
Drunk Sanren could tell that Cheng Xinzhan was complaining and blaming him for leaving without saying goodbye. He waved his hands repeatedly to apologize.
"I was confused and inconsiderate."
Seeing that the old man was about to say something, Cheng Xinzhan stopped him and looked around at everyone.
"We agreed that I will only come this time, and no one can leave without saying goodbye in the future."
The six people responded in unison.
After everyone sat down, only Yan Renying was still standing. He bowed deeply to Cheng Xinzhan. Just now, Bai Sanren had told everyone everything, so there was nothing to hide.
"Ren Ying thanks Brother Yun Lai for his help."
The one who came was a Jindan Yuke who could defeat the female Feixiong in a sword fight at the banquet. More importantly, the one who came was a righteous man who was willing to take risks alone based on the spirit of a cup. Naturally, he deserved his respect.
Cheng Xinzhan stood up, raised his hand, and used a magical power to lift up Yan Renying.
"Ren Ying, you don't have to do this. If you want to thank me, just prepare more wine."
"That's natural!"
Yan Renying smiled.
When he sat down, Cheng Xinzhan said,
"I am an idle person. Apart from drinking, I have only one thought recently, which is to finish editing my "Banana Leaf Collection". This task cannot be done without Di Bai, but Di Bai is concerned about this place, so I simply came here as well. This is killing two birds with one stone. Di Bai can contribute his efforts and at the same time complete the travel notes of Xikang with me. As for me, I can also kill demons and accumulate merits. There is nothing wrong with that."
Everyone was amazed and said,
"Yun Lai is really free and easy!"
Cheng Xinzhan said again,
"I've never been here before, and I don't know the situation here, so don't expect me to volunteer. If you think there's anything I can help with, just let me know. Don't let me come here for nothing."
Yan Renying agreed.
At this time Wu Mei clapped her hands and said,
"Yun Lailai is great. I lost to Yun Lai last time, and I've been thinking about him ever since. Now, let's make an appointment again to decide the winner by taking the devil's head!"
Cheng Xinzhan smiled and nodded.
"As you wish."
(End of this chapter)