Chapter 298: Locking Demons and Subduing Devils, Spring Sweeping the Tower
Chapter 298: Locking Demons and Subduing Devils, Spring Sweeping the Tower (Seeking Vote at the Beginning of the Month~)
"of course!"
Yu Nanlin said that this girl always seemed to be very interested in talking about sex.
"Although the Demon Locking Tower is the demon's confinement place, it is also a trial place for us Xuanmen disciples. If the demon has no magic power, what is the point of our trial? We say we are going for interrogation, but in fact we are also going to fight."
As she said this, she glanced at Yuchi Zhenyan.
"Yuchi followed the Bearded Immortal and was stationed at the Sword Pavilion of Minshan Mountain. He had been dealing with the Red Heart Sect for many years. This time he went to the tower to ask some questions. He probably felt that he couldn't win, so he dragged me along."
Yuchi Zhenyan's face darkened again when he heard that. What do you mean you feel you can't win? I just want to be your companion!
However, it was difficult for him to explain this matter, so he could only stare at Feng Jihu while he prepared the medicine.
Feng Jihu seemed to be a little interested and asked again,
"I've heard of the Demon Locking Tower in Shu for a long time. How many demons are imprisoned there?"
Yu Nanlin hesitated when he heard this.
"I don't know the exact number. The Demon Locking Tower was built in the early Tang Dynasty and has been there for thousands of years. It has held tens of thousands of demons. But those who have been in there for more than five hundred years should have died of old age. Some were seriously injured, some were captured with dying years, and some demons rely on blood and food to maintain their cultivation. There is no such thing in the tower, so most of them can't live that long.
"I estimate that there are only about 700 to 800 people alive in there now. This is quite a lot. It's because the demon tide has risen again in the past few years. A lot of people were sent in during the two waves of demon extermination in Xikang and the dragon extermination in Shu a few years ago."
Feng Jihu nodded, his hands and mouth kept moving.
"That's a lot. There are so many violent and bloodthirsty demons, and they all have magical powers. They will definitely fight, right?"
Yu Nanlin smiled when he heard this.
"We can't fight. Although the Demon Locking Tower looks like a stone tower from the outside, it contains tens of thousands of small virtual worlds. Each small virtual world is a cage, and each demon is imprisoned alone. Otherwise, we wouldn't dare to go in."
Feng Jihu nodded and said it made sense. Then, he asked curiously,
"I heard that those imprisoned in this tower are all in the third realm. What if they summon heavenly thunder while undergoing tribulations in the tower?"
Yu Nanlin waved his hand.
“No, every demon who enters the tower has his golden elixir and soul locked by secret magic, cutting off his connection with the world. In this life, he will not be able to make any progress in his cultivation and can only wait for death in the tower. Naturally, there is no such thing as transcending tribulation.
"By the way, didn't the master just ask whether the demons have magic power? They have magic power, but because their golden elixir and soul are locked, from the moment they enter the tower, as long as they cast a spell, their magic power will be depleted, and they cannot replenish their magic power by absorbing new spiritual energy from heaven and earth."
Feng Jihu listened and secretly said that Xuanmen had a good trick. In this way, the old demons still had the fighting consciousness, but their magic power was constantly decreasing, and the power of their spells also decreased. In the end, the old demons who had been washed five or six times could only serve as training puppets for the unwashed or newly washed Xuanmen disciples.
The demons here come from all over the world, which is equivalent to the disciples of Xuanmen being able to practice with demons of various sects in the tower before going out to Shu for training. Another function is just as Yu Nanlin and Yuchi Zhenyan said, they can interrogate them at any time and dig out something from these demons, preferably the terrain of the sect or the weaknesses of the skills.
It really kills two birds with one stone.
However, building and maintaining such a pagoda must not be easy.
Feng Jihu was still packing the medicines at a leisurely pace. It would take some time to prepare two months' worth of medicines.
"Even if he is injured and imprisoned, he is still in the third realm. He should still need a high-level cultivator to guard him, right?"
Xuanmen likes to suppress demons and use them as stepping stones and whetstones for future generations. Naturally, there are differences in the treatment of the third and fourth realms.
The four realms of the sealed demons, or even higher demons, were placed outside of Bashu, and they were sealed in special terrains. And the higher the realm, the farther the sealed place was from Shuzhong, so that even if the seal was broken, it would not cause any major damage to the Xuanmen.
For example, there are the Five Poison Kings in the Zhuanxu Dragon Cave in northern Yunnan, the Heart-piercing Monk under the Kangxi Snow Mountain further away, Gu Chen in the underground fire cave in the Mangcang Mountain even further away, and the Blood God Son at the bottom of the West Sea.
Compared with the four realms, the destructive power of the third realm is a much lower level, so Xuanmen simply imprisoned these demons in a tower, made them into living targets, and placed them in Tiantai Mountain in western Shu.
This place is on the western edge of Shu, not too far away. If something unexpected really happened, these demons would only dare to flee westward into Kang, because to the east from north to south is a line of Qingcheng - Heming - Emei. These demons would not dare to enter Shu to cause chaos unless they were tired of living.
Xuanmen’s arrangement was indeed ingenious, but Feng Jihu still wanted to know whether there were any independent masters guarding such a tower, such as the fourth realm or the fifth realm?
Yu Nanlin smiled when he heard this and said,
“That’s not necessary. I heard from my elders that the Demon Locking Tower was built to suppress the four realms. The pagoda is connected to the Tiantai Mountain’s earth veins. After it was built, the four realms of swordsmen tried their best inside but failed to break out of the tower. These three realms who are struggling to survive in the tower don’t have the ability to do so.
"It's just that there are gatekeepers at the tower gate who register the people in and out, and there are prisons in the tower that control the restrictions. They are all on duty by disciples of the third realm of Xuanmen. I have been a gatekeeper for a while."
After saying this, even if Feng Jihu was slow in getting the medicine, he had already finished it. He handed it to Yuchi Zhenyan and sighed,
"As expected of Xuanmen, they made such a big move. Tiantai Mountain doesn't seem to be too far from here. I really want to see it if I have a chance."
Yuchi Zhenyan took the medicine and looked at Yu Nanlin. They both said in unison,
"Have the opportunity!"
"Oh?"
Feng Jihu was a little surprised.
"what chance?"
It was Yu Nanlin who answered again.
"In recent years, the demons have been very arrogant, and they are ready to attack our Western Shu from both north and south, but a real fight will not happen for a while. Seeing the demons' fierce arrogance, the alliance is thinking of holding a "Spring Sweep Tower" to boost the morale of the Xuanmen and suppress the arrogance of the demons."
"Spring Sweep Tower?"
Feng Jihu repeated it. This is a new word.
Yu Nanlin nodded and explained,
"'Spring Sweeping the Pagoda' is also a custom of our sect, but it is not held often. Usually, it is held when there are too many demons imprisoned in the pagoda, for example, more than 500, and there may be danger. Or, it is held when there is a need to scare away the demons, such as in the current situation.
"The Spring Sweep refers to the large-scale demon-slaying and ghost-slaying activities during the period from Jingzhe to Guyu. During this period, the world is filled with murderous intent, even more so than the cold winter. It is what is commonly known as the "late spring cold." The tower sweep is the Demon Locking Tower, where the demons are slain, the pagoda is cleaned out, and the demons are deterred."
Feng Jihu nodded. He understood. "Spring Sweeping the Pagoda" sounds better, but in essence it is just killing the chicken to scare the monkey plus planting in spring and harvesting in autumn.
"I see. Then what is the opportunity you just mentioned? I am not a disciple of Xuanmen."
Yu Nanlin further explained,
"It's different this time because we sent in two waves of demons in succession. There were already many demons in the tower, and now we've encountered such a dangerous situation. So the elders want to make a bigger fuss. They can't establish their authority without iron-blooded means, so they've already shouted the slogan 'Clear the pagoda, leave no one behind.'
“But even if the disciples of Xuanmen use good tactics to defeat tired enemies and use deliberate tactics, one person would be exhausted after killing two or three demons. Although these demons have no more magic power, they have many tricks and are all extremely vicious. Otherwise, they would not have been locked up in the Demon Locking Tower. Xiaoyu would have been killed on the spot long ago, so if they really have to fight to the death, it would not be easy to deal with them.
"These demons were captured from all over the world over the past few hundred years and gathered together. Our Xuanmen alone naturally does not have so many golden elixirs. Moreover, our Xuanmen now has to guard the border, so it is impossible for us to transfer a large number of golden elixirs into the tower.
"So this time, the 'Spring Sweep of the Pagoda' is not just for Xuanmen disciples, but every Xuanmen disciple who is qualified to enter the pagoda can also recommend two outsiders to enter the pagoda together." At this point, Yu Nanlin looked at Feng Jihu, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he began to speak in detail,
"Now that the Waking of Insects is almost over and the Spring Equinox is coming soon, I think the specific rules for this "Spring Pagoda Sweeping" must be announced before the Qingming Festival.
"I got some information in advance. Any gains made by outsiders who enter the tower will belong to them. Master, although these demons were searched and their elixirs were locked before being imprisoned in the tower, all the magic weapons and some spiritual materials were returned to their original owners. Because only in this way can the demons have fighting power, and the trials of our Xuanmen disciples will be meaningful. Moreover, killing the demons will also bring us spoils of war.
"This time, in addition to the magic sweeping of the pagoda, it is also a test for our Xuanmen disciples. As a recommender, if the outsider I recommend achieves something, we will also record the credit - the credit within our Xuantian League. If you want to go in and take a look, we in Xuanmen welcome you very much. I can guarantee you!"
Feng Jihu was silent for a moment.
The ability of Emei to slay demons is well known, but the ability to make friends is also unique. For example, the selection of the seven sword pavilion masters, the winning over of the seven sword pavilion masters, the voluntary influx of Qingzhou monks, and the sudden transformation of Biyun Temple and Biji Temple into Beppu.
As far as Feng Jihu himself knew, there were many independent cultivators who registered themselves in Xikang Sword Pavilion, all with the intention of killing demons and receiving rewards, but in the end, those who performed amazingly were all recruited to become outer disciples of Emei, especially those from Qingzhou and Wuling.
Emei’s style has always been like this: we are not afraid of how many enemies we have, but we must make as many friends as possible.
This time, the outsiders entered the tower and took the spoils for themselves. This is also a common tactic used by Emei. It is not much different from the rewards for killing demons in the Xikang Sword Pavilion. Killing demons to show off one's power and letting disciples make friends are two things done at the same time.
Of course, if you want to do this, or if you are able to do this, you must have enough resources and vision.
For example, during this tower sweep, the imprisoned demons are like chickens in cages. They were originally prepared for their own men, but now they are asked to be slaughtered by outsiders, and the meat can be taken away by themselves. This can be said to be generous, even if the chickens in the cages are a little fierce.
Yu Nanlin looked at Feng Jihu with great expectations, because she had never traveled outside of Shu. In the past two years, she followed her master to fight the enemies in southern Shu and southern Kang, but her companions were always the three "Eqinghe" families. Oh, and there was also a member of the Yu family. She didn't know many people outside the Xuanmen.
In her opinion, Feng Jihu had no guards, but was able to travel around the world collecting herbs safely. His own skills must not be much lower than his medical skills. If she could get such a person to join her and enter the tower, her contribution would definitely not be too low.
Feng Jihu was silent for a moment, then smiled and nodded.
"That's a good feeling."
Yu Nanlin was immediately delighted.
"but."
Feng Jihu's face showed an unspeakable look again.
"But what, Master?"
Feng Jihu hesitated for a moment and said,
"Actually, Yunlai mentioned this to me when we were chatting casually before. He is also very interested in the Demon Locking Tower. I wonder if Daoist Yu still has any spots left for recommendations?"
"Have!"
Yu Nanlin was overjoyed. If Master Huai Pu's fighting ability still needed to be speculated, then the fighting ability of Master Guan Xuan was obvious to all. His military exploits in slaying demons in Xikang were enough to exchange for secret techniques three times in Baihe Sword Pavilion and Xichuan Sword Pavilion respectively.
"Yes! Yes!"
She nodded, then asked tentatively,
"But the master has been in seclusion for a long time. Can he come out in the short term?"
Feng Jihu smiled and nodded.
"It's almost time. We should be able to catch up."
In fact, after Cheng Xinzhan left the Yellow Sea, he told Feng Jihu that he had successfully overcome the tribulation.
"Snapped!"
Yu Nanlin clapped his hands happily.
"Master, then this matter is settled! I will send you a message as soon as there is any new news from the alliance."
"it is good."
Feng Jihu agreed with a smile.
After getting the medicine and finishing their business, the two men stood up to say goodbye, and Feng Jihu saw them off to the temple gate.
After watching the two of them go away, Feng Jihu took out a jade bell, put it to his lips, and said softly,
"Xinzhan, you are coming over."
----
On the third day, February 14, it was the Spring Equinox.
A ray of sword light cut through the sky and landed on Kanli Mountain.
On the top of the snow, the lion, who had not moved all winter, saw the light, stood up and shouted excitedly.
Feng Jihu stood up with a smile and went to meet the Taoist priest in green robes who was walking into the temple. He looked him up and down and said with a smile,
"Could it be that it is really a gift from God, or a fetus from an immortal? In our generation, only Wei Min has washed his elixir once. He is a Taoist, and he specializes in alchemy. Although it is a bit puzzling, we accept it. But you have washed it twice."
Cheng Xinzhan smiled and said,
"It's just luck."
When Feng Jihu heard these two words, he suddenly laughed out loud as if he remembered something.
"Brother Dao, what are you laughing at?"
Cheng Xinzhan asked.
So Feng Jihu shook his head and said in a pretentious tone,
"What is your name, young monk?"
Cheng Xinzhan was stunned when he heard this, but he quickly came to his senses and smiled as he cooperated with Feng Jihu, pretending to be young and bowing.
"My name is Cheng, the Cheng of Bofu, and my given name is Yunqi, which means the Yunqi of the clouds under my feet."
"Well."
Feng Jihu nodded slightly, very stylishly, and then pointed at Cheng Xinzhan with his hand.
"The young layman has an extraordinary bearing. He is not surprised by anything and is humble and polite. In my opinion, he is not a cloud under his feet, but a cloud that looks down on the world!"
The two looked at each other and then burst into laughter.
(End of this chapter)