Chapter 268: Warriors Attack the Mountain
Chapter 268: Warriors Attack the Mountain
In the private room.
Xu Junling, who was dressed in silk and satin, had a sweet smile and behaved like a model of a lady from a noble family, and asked with a smile.
The soft little hands gently wiped the corners of the mouth with a silk handkerchief.
After saying goodbye to Zhao Du'an, she came here to have dinner and sent people to keep an eye on the situation at the imperial yamen.
The last time Lushui came to report, the news he gave was:
"All eight officials of the imperial court were defeated by Chai Keqiao and lost face."
Xu Junling was looking forward to seeing how the domineering King Zhao would deal with this thorny problem.
"Princess...Princess...The man surnamed Zhao is fine."
After the maid came in, she closed the door with her backhand and then said with a strange expression.
"Oh? Did he become a coward? No... Based on the information I have collected about this person, he is not the type to silently endure it. That means... Ma Yan is back?
Yes, as the chief officer of the imperial court, it is only natural for the governor Ma Yan to handle this matter." Xu Junling analyzed calmly.
"...Ma Yan didn't come back early either."
The maid's expression became increasingly strange.
Seeing the princess raise her eyebrows again, she quickly spoke, pouring out the news like a bamboo tube pouring beans, to prevent him from making wild guesses:
"My lord, when Zhao Duan found out, he used his authority to mobilize a large number of imperial guards to join forces to surround and kill Chai Keqiao. After injuring and capturing him, he was thrown into the imperial prison. It is said that he did not show up from beginning to end, but only directed the matter from behind the scenes."
Xu Junling was stunned, his delicate face expressionless.
This was a path she had never imagined.
"How can he... command the various camps of the Imperial Guards..."
Xu Junling said halfway, closed his mouth, and sighed with complicated eyes:
"I see."
Her expression was serious:
"It seems that the concubine that the emperor sister keeps has more weight in the army than we thought."
The maid couldn't help but say:
"My lord, this man is really good at bullying others by taking advantage of his power. When he was fighting Master Lu, he used the hand of the sea priest to capture Chai Keqiao and sent strong men from the army. This is indeed the style of officials. It's a pity that he is a warrior, but he doesn't have the courage of a warrior at all. It seems that his own strength is not that good."
Xu Junling shook his head and commented objectively:
"As an official, one should judge the situation and think first. Whether it is Master Lu or Chai Keqiao, they are not his match at the moment. Using someone else's force to counter him is a kind of tactic."
After a pause, she smiled again:
"However, although this person has brains and skills, it seems that he is not a big threat today."
"Oh?" Lu Shui asked in confusion.
Xu Junling explained with a smile:
“Although this person has amazing talents, his resume and behavior show that he has no ambition to govern the country as a civil official, nor does he have the intention to enter the Privy Council and become a commander in the army.
What he was good at was doing things for the imperial sister, and in the final analysis, it did not go beyond the scope of the 'White Horse Prison Envoy'.
As for cultivation, as a warrior, he does not have the courage and perseverance to improve himself. He is used to using the opponent's force to counter the opponent's force. He will never be able to reach a high level in the martial arts. "
After a pause, she commented:
"If he doesn't become a minister, he won't be a general on the battlefield, and he won't be a cultivator who has transcended the cage... If he doesn't have these three qualities, even if he is extremely talented, he can only be a great counselor beside the emperor's sister, or join the army, and it will be difficult for him to become a person who can truly influence the situation in the world."
After Xu Junling finished his analysis, he thought he had seen Zhao Duan's future achievements clearly, and felt relieved. He turned to say:
"Give orders, don't keep an eye on him anymore, and investigate the Buddhist and Taoist sects instead."
The well-read Princess Huai'an looked out the window at the autumn wind and said:
"The battle between Buddhism and Taoism...whoever wins or loses will have a much more important impact on the chess game of the world than Zhao Duan."
……
……
Zhao Duan rode his horse at full speed and returned home in the afternoon.
Leaving the horses to the servants to feed, he walked through the courtyard, saying:
"Don't bother me if you have nothing to do."
He went straight into his room.
After closing the door, Zhao Duan threw away his outer robe, sat cross-legged on the bed, and tried to visualize the God of War Picture.
In a trance, his mind was swaying, and he left the real house and appeared on a dilapidated official road surrounded by green mountains and clear waters.
Zhao Duan propped himself up from the horse's back, feeling sleepy and with red marks on half of his face.
“Da, da…da…”
The sound of the inferior horse's hooves hitting the muddy dirt road. I took a deep breath and my nose was filled with the strong smell of earth.
Zhao Duan raised his head and found that it had rained in his "dream" not long ago.
At this moment, I am riding on a horse, walking on the road leading to the green mountains of the East China Sea.
In front of him was Emperor Taizu of Dayu, holding the reins with one hand, with messy hair and beard, a gourd hanging from his waist, striding forward.
"you're awake."
Old Xu didn't look back, but his voice penetrated into his ears.
Zhao Duan was stunned, surprised that Old Xu actually took the initiative to talk to him today.
Ever since he left the snowfield and headed for the East China Sea, he had been on the road almost every time he meditated.
Compared to the scorching desert and the snowfields ravaged by blizzards, it must be admitted that the journey to the southeast was the most comfortable one for him.
"kindness."
Zhao Duan responded perfunctorily, and began to try to feel himself, and then his eyes became blank.
Something is wrong!
That feeling is gone!
The reason why he hurried home was that after watching Chai Keqiao's fight, he inexplicably felt an urge to enter the Martial God Diagram.
He fully believed that this was the so-called opportunity for a breakthrough in his "state of mind".
But after actually coming in, I found that the impulse disappeared without a trace.
"What's going on? Is this an illusion?"
Zhao Duan's cheeks twitched, unwilling to accept this cruel fact.
"Just wake up, we'll be there soon."
Old Xu's voice was hoarse but revealed a hint of excitement.
"Oh, I get it... Wait, what?!" Zhao Duan was stunned.
Because of the rough and unkempt life along the way, Dayu Taizu, who looked as shabby as a savage, pointed ahead:
"arrive."
Zhao Duan suddenly looked up.
After the rain in the empty mountains, the clouds and mist in front slowly dissipated, revealing a green mountain rising from the ground at the end of the road.
The towering green mountains are extremely magnificent and appear very abruptly. Perhaps it is due to some astronomical phenomenon that a sea of clouds is coiled around the towering mountainside.
In the sea of clouds, there were more than a dozen mushroom-shaped pillars of clouds rising into the sky, then slowly falling and dispersing, turning into wisps of floating clouds. "Are we in the East China Sea? Where is it?"
Zhao Duan murmured.
Dayu Taizu said:
"The sea is behind the mountain, and the city is below the mountain."
……
After walking in the Martial God Map for several months, Zhao Duan and Dayu Taizu finally arrived at the Qingshan area.
But the so-called "Qingcheng" is slightly different from what was expected.
Not only can it not be compared with the capital, it is just a larger town located at the foot of the mountain.
"That's different from what I heard..."
Zhao Duan led the horse and followed Lao Xu in Qingshan Town, muttering to himself.
After Old Xu came here, his "intelligence" seemed to have improved a bit. He said:
"What's the difference?"
"Qingcheng... should be a city."
Zhao Duan explained stiffly that he was thinking about how to express his disappointment.
Old Xu said calmly: "It will become a city."
Zhao Duan was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized that what was recorded in the scroll was Qingcheng six hundred years ago.
According to historical records, the name "Qingcheng" probably appeared at that time.
"So... in this era, Qingcheng is still just a small town... It will become a real city six hundred years later."
Zhao Duan smacked his lips, his logic became self-consistent, and he said:
"What to do next? Go up the mountain?"
Old Xu looked at the towering mountains ahead and said:
"You stay in the town, and I'll go up the mountain."
……
Next, the two stayed in an inn in the town.
As expected, Old Xu left Zhao Duan to look after the house. He went out early in the morning every day and came back after dark.
It is said that he went up the mountain to challenge the masters of Qingshan lineage.
He wanted to follow him up the mountain, but was stopped by Old Xu, who said:
Just practice cooking more.
Zhao Duan suddenly understood that from the beginning to the end, this journey across the world on foot was Lao Xu's path of spiritual practice.
He was just fortunate enough to follow along one journey after another.
He can also experience the desert and snowfield with Lao Xu.
But at this moment, when the two of them walked thousands of miles together and arrived at the end of the Martial God Map, it was like a scroll, unfolding and flattening to the end.
Zhao Duan was no longer able to participate and could only watch the battle.
On the first day, Lao Xu climbed a hundred feet without any injuries.
On the tenth day, Lao Xu climbed to the next level, and when he returned to the inn, his hands were covered with bruises.
On the thirtieth day, as the sun was setting, Old Xu returned dragging his tired and pale body. He collapsed in the inn and slept for two days.
On the fiftieth day, Old Xu went out early in the morning, and Zhao Duan waited until dark but he still didn't come back.
Zhao Duan looked for the warrior who came down the mountain at dusk and asked
——In this town, there are many foreign warriors who climb mountains to challenge like Lao Xu.
Although Zhao Duan had not left his house during this period, he learned from listening to the conversations of these people that Lao Xu had already made a great reputation.
The fight started from the foot of the mountain all the way to the mountainside, and several disciples of the contemporary "Tianren" were defeated by Lao Xu.
fame.
He also learned that there was a cliff overlooking the sea on top of Qingshan Mountain, and that every "celestial being" of the Qingshan lineage would sit on the cliff all day long and watch the sea.
He thought that Wu Xiankui six hundred years later should be the same.
"It seems that the Great Yu Ancestor recorded in the Martial God Map, who had just completed the path of cultivation, is still far from entering the 'Heavenly Realm'."
Zhao Duan made a judgment.
He asked each warrior who came down the mountain, but none of them knew about Old Xu's situation.
Everyone said that the height that Lao Xu had climbed was far higher than any of them and he had walked into the clouds.
Just as Zhao Duan gritted his teeth and prepared to climb the mountain with a lantern to see if he could find Old Xu.
Covered in blood, Taizu Dayu dragged his heavy steps and stepped into the town in the last rays of sunset.
With a plop, he fell to the ground.
Zhao Duan's head was as big as a bucket. He twisted the gourd with great effort, gave him some water, and asked:
"Why do you have to fight if you can't win? Wouldn't it be better to flatten the mountains and rivers when you become stronger?"
Old Xu lay on the ground and glanced at him, with a certain brilliance flashing in his eyes:
"You have to fight only when you can't beat them."
Zhao Duan was stunned, thinking about something.
……
Zhao Mansion.
In the room, on the bed.
Zhao Duan finished his meditation, opened his eyes, and felt mentally exhausted.
Visualization practice is already mentally exhausting, so you can only practice for one or two hours a day and then rest.
The light in the room was dim, and the rustling sound of light rain could be faintly heard outside.
It's getting dark.
"Gurgle..." A strong feeling of hunger came from his stomach, interrupting Zhao Duan's thoughts.
He vaguely felt that the last section of the Martial God Diagram contained the key to advancement to the Divine Chapter.
"Knock knock." There was a knock on the door, followed by Eugene Hua's cautious voice:
"Dalang..."
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Next is the promotion plot. I feel that if I want to write this part well, I need to do more preparation.
(End of this chapter)