When He Zhizhou woke up, it was already dawn.

Last night's rain finally stopped, and a hazy glow of pale sky appeared through the gaps between the mountains. The misty mountains looked even greener after being moistened by the rain. The cry of a bird pierced the silence, bringing a faint glow of light.

Mingkong's Vajra Shield was like a giant umbrella, emitting obvious bright Buddha light, covering everyone present.

Many monks had not woken up yet, and were resting in various places, either leaning or lying down. Apart from him, there were only two awake people sitting side by side, seemingly talking about something.

It was Mingkong and Xu Ye.

He Zhizhou moved forward a little.

Mingkong whispered, "Changyue Peak is the deepest part of Xiaochong Mountain. Further ahead is the endless deep sea. Perhaps it is because of this unique terrain that the extremely precious holy spiritual plant - Silver Silk Fairy Leaf - was able to grow."

Xu Ye nodded in understanding: "So, you all came here for the Silver Silk Fairy Leaf, but you didn't expect that the black bird guarding this place would not let you go, so the young master set up this Vajra Shield to avoid danger."

He had made sufficient preparations before coming to Xiaochongshan, so he naturally knew about Changyue Peak.

Like the Tianxin Grass, the Silver Silk Fairy Leaf is a rare and precious treasure from heaven and earth. Although many people knew that the former was born in Changyue Peak, for some unknown reason, a huge black bird had been hovering above the peak, preventing the monks who came to hunt for treasure from getting close at all, so even after so many years, the Silver Silk Fairy Leaf had not been picked.

"All holy spiritual plants have spiritual energy. The reason why the black bird is guarding the silver silk fairy leaf so closely may be to absorb the spiritual energy and help it cultivate."

Mingkong lowered his eyebrows and looked at the sun, with a few rays of crimson on his long eyelashes: "Its strength is unfathomable. I'm afraid it will be difficult to win even if we join forces."

In fact, Master, you only know the Vajra Shield. Even if I join forces with you, it seems to be no different from fighting alone.

He Zhizhou scratched his messy hair and interrupted with sleepy eyes: "What should we do next? Do we have to stay here and wait for the secret realm to close and automatically send us out?"

Xu Ye looked at him with a complicated look: "The hearing and smell of the black bird are extremely sharp. It can even sense the spiritual energy in all things. If we go out now, we will be caught by it immediately. But Master Mingkong told me..."

Mingkong looked at him and smiled: "Actually, there is one thing I haven't told you."

As soon as these words came out, He Zhizhou subconsciously felt that something was not right, and listened attentively as he continued, "My little monk's spiritual power is limited, and this Vajra Shield can only last for two hours at most."

He Zhizhou took a breath and said, "So in two hours, we will become Xuanniao's charcoal-grilled human skewers?"

"If it only needed to protect one person, the Diamond Shield could have lasted a long time."

Xu Ye frowned on the side: "But Master Mingkong evenly distributed it to us, which greatly increased the load on our spiritual power, which is why we can't hold on for too long."

In other words, Mingkong had the opportunity to save himself, but he was willing to give up the chance to survive for the sake of these monks he had never met.

By then, the Vajra Shield will be broken, and he will have very little spiritual power left. Even if he runs away, he will definitely be the last one to run, and there will be no possibility of survival.

He Zhizhou originally thought that this man was just an unreliable little monk. Hearing this, his heart trembled heavily: "How can this be! Then then then, then quickly let us out! Are you really planning to perform "And Then There Were None?"

"I have told you that killing is useless and compassion is the best thing to do. I practiced the Vajra Body Protection Skill to save the world and stop killing. Now that I can give you a glimmer of hope, I have completed my 'Buddha's Path'."

Mingkong shook his head and smiled: "Endure hardship and hard work, prosper and make great contributions, your heart is unshakable, and you will move forward straight ahead, and life and death will not be able to do anything to me."

Xu Ye was stunned when he heard this: "Young Master, what does this last sentence mean?"

Mingkong's smile froze on his face.

Mingkong: "I ate raw cabbage yesterday, and it tasted pretty good. Are you hungry?"

He actually changed the subject directly! This transfer is too abrupt!

He Zhizhou finally understood that although this man looked like an artistic young man, he actually knew nothing about Buddhist literature. Occasionally I would quote from classics, but I would just pick out some sentences I remembered, and in reality I had no idea what they meant at all.

Three seconds ago, he was really stupid for thinking Mingkong was a little handsome.

"That won't work."

Xu Ye gripped the long sword at his waist, frowning: "I have already made a plan. When the Diamond Shield is broken, I will rush out first to attract the full attention of the black bird. You can take the opportunity to escape, don't worry about me."

After he said that, he took a deep breath and handed something to He Zhizhou.

It turned out to be a folded piece of white paper, with a few large characters written in a flamboyant style on the outermost layer: The tenth draft of a suicide note.

There is also a line of small words below that also look like dog crawling:

Sister Su, don’t be sad. Although I am dead, I will always be by your side. When you feel lonely in the middle of the night, look behind you and you may see my shadow accompanying you.

He Zhizhou: ...

Isn't this sentence translated as "I will not let you go even if I become a ghost"? Brother, how much do you hate Senior Sister Su that you didn't forget to tell her ghost stories before you died?

He Zhizhou didn't know whether to cry or laugh. He took the suicide note with a complicated expression. Suddenly, he heard Mingkong say, "You two don't have to be so pessimistic. If you practice in favorable circumstances, you will never become a Buddha. Until the last moment, no one knows whether you will encounter a new opportunity."

Xu Ye was startled: "Chance?"

The young monk raised his long eyelashes, his black eyes were shining brightly in the morning sun, reflecting a white shadow on the horizon: "Isn't that it?"

The two sword cultivators beside him looked up at the same time and showed expressions of surprise at the same time. He Zhizhou called out softly, "Ningning!"

I saw the sword light not far away getting closer and closer, more dazzling than the morning sun that split the yin and yang and the day and night.

A young girl jumped down from the sword and was slightly startled when she saw the two of them: "Why are you here? Didn't we agree to meet by the river where we ate fish before?"

"I'm not afraid of heights—"

wrong.

He Zhizhou stopped talking halfway and looked up at the sky reflexively.

The Xuanniao's sense of smell and perception abilities far exceed those of humans. When he and Xu Ye first came here, they were discovered by it.

Ningning came here completely unprepared, and it is daytime now... the evil beast will surely come here soon after hearing the news.

Xu Ye obviously thought the same thing as him, and immediately lowered his voice and said, "Be careful! There are man-eating black birds lurking here, and they may have discovered your whereabouts!"

Ningning raised her head and looked around the sky.

All that was within sight was the chaotic sky at dawn. The clouds were moving slowly, and even the wind had not yet woken up. The surroundings were so quiet that it seemed as if time had stood still. There was nothing unusual at all.

"Did the donor bring any precious spiritual plants?"

Mingkong did not show any confusion, but smiled normally. After seeing the other party nod, he slowly explained: "The black bird has a keen sense of smell and a strong perception. The reason why it can detect our presence from a distance is because it can sense the spiritual energy in each cultivator's body."

He paused, giving the stunned He Zhizhou some time to think: "And the holy spiritual plants will emit a stronger aura than the monks, thus completely covering up that part of her body - for the black bird in the distance, this donor is no different from the surrounding flowers and plants."

He Zhizhou suddenly realized: "Geely suit!"

Xu Ye breathed a sigh of relief: "Why are you here? What's going on in the ancient forest?"

He felt extremely guilty about being taken away by He Zhizhou while he was injured and escaped. Seeing Ningning was safe and sound, I finally felt relieved.

"The thousand-year-old dragon blood tree in the ancient forest was eroded by evil spirits, but fortunately it has been solved by Pei Ji."

Ning Ning cut to the chase: "But he forcibly broke through his sea of ​​consciousness to stimulate his potential, and now his situation is very bad. Senior Sister Su Qinghan said that the silver silk fairy leaves here can save him."

"Senior Sister Su?" Xu Ye grinned excitedly, "You met her? Where is she now? Didn't she come with you?"

Ning Ning shook her head: "She is taking care of Pei Ji."

Thinking of the situation in the ancient forest, Ningning's eyes dimmed.

At that time, her eyes were blocked by the demonic energy. She could only hear the strong wind and the dragon-like sword roars around her. The strong smell of rust was all around like a sea of ​​blood. The moment the demonic energy disappeared from her eyes, her eardrums were almost pierced by a sharp wail.

As the wailing sounded, the terrifying scarlet in the ancient woods gradually dissipated and slowly faded into the familiar light green.

The blood mist faded away little by little, and every wrinkle on the trunk of the dragon blood tree cracked open, and a steady stream of sticky sap dyed the entire tree red. The vines that were baring their fangs and claws lost their strength, and the disciples who were wrapped in them fell to the ground one after another.

And very close to the dragon blood tree, Pei Ji, dressed in black, stood with his head down, almost looking like a bloody man.

It seemed that his internal organs were shaken and his tendons and veins were severely damaged. The reason he could stand with his back straight was all thanks to the support of the long sword inserted into the magic core.

Ningning couldn't understand why Pei Ji blindfolded her.

But according to Senior Sister Su, it was fortunate that she did not see the scene at that time, otherwise she would have had nightmares for several days in a row.

The face on the tree trunk suddenly turned into an angry expression, the blood mist and vines in the entire forest rushed towards Pei Ji, Pei Ji's eyes and mouth were bleeding, and his expression was very scary.

In any case, this inexplicable incident that had nothing to do with the original work was finally resolved. But as someone who was responsible for solving the abnormality, Pei Ji's situation was not optimistic.

In addition to severe internal injuries, the demonic energy in his body suddenly surged up afterwards and occupied most of his body.

The bodies of righteous cultivators are filled with pure spiritual energy, and Pei Ji is no exception.

However, this kind of spiritual power is completely incompatible with demonic energy. They conflict with each other in the body, and the pain caused is no different from blood vessels and bones being torn and shattered bit by bit. An ordinary person would probably not be able to survive even for a moment.

But Pei Ji actually gritted his teeth, and endured it with a pale face, waiting for Ning Ning to approach him cautiously, and even said in a low and trembling voice: "Don't worry about me, get out of the way."

God knows how much effort it took for him to say this. Even if the sentence is not very friendly, it is impossible to get angry.

The Tianxin grass in Ningning's hand can cure diseases, detoxify, and nourish spiritual beasts, but it has no effect on evil spirits. After pondering for a moment, Su Qinghan told her that if they could find the silver silk fairy leaf with natural fairy energy, perhaps they could reverse the situation.

After some discussion, Su Qinghan stayed in the forest to take care of Pei Ji, while Ningning went to Changyue Peak alone to try to find the trace of the Silver Silk Fairy Leaf.

“If you have the Tianxin Grass and a certain concealment ability, maybe you can really get the Silver Silk Fairy Leaf.”

After hearing the whole story, Mingkong nodded and smiled: "If I were a dead deer in the mountains, I would definitely come back to life because of this touching friendship, putting myself in such a dangerous situation to save my fellow disciples."

He Zhizhou glanced at him expressionlessly.

This person should not be a Buddhist practitioner. He should be called Schrödinger's deer, who dies, lives and dies again, and then dies and is reborn again, endlessly.

Quantum monk, really high-end.

While everyone was talking, Mingkong suddenly moved his fingertips and said in a low voice: "The black bird is coming soon, Mr. Ning must hide well - I have a map of Changyue Peak with the location of the fairy leaf marked on it, you can take it."

Ningning nodded, thanked her, took the map, and slipped into the bushes on the other side.

The black bird came just as Mingkong had said, and when it saw that the Vajra Shield was still there, it hummed in disappointment.

It originally planned to look and leave, but unexpectedly it seemed to sense something strange. Its orange pupils suddenly shrank and it shook its flaming tail behind it.

Then he sniffed the air and slowly moved his paw to the right.

This is exactly the direction where Ningning is hiding.

They were a group of people who couldn't even protect themselves, and if Ningning was discovered by this bird, she would be finished. He Zhizhou's heart rose to his throat, and he realized belatedly that -

That's right.

Because she gave two leaves to others, Ningning's share of Tianxin grass... was only half!

There were only two leaves left, so the aura was naturally not as strong as before and could not completely cover up her spiritual energy. Seeing the black bird slowly walking towards the bush where she was, He Zhizhou took a deep breath and shouted, "Wait a minute!"

Xuanniao turned his head and glanced at him coldly, but in a flash, he looked away and continued to move forward.

To a spiritual beast like it with extraordinary strength, ordinary Jindan-stage cultivators are no different from the small flowers and grasses on the ground. If someone's ankle was touched by wild flowers while walking on the road, they would definitely not bother to pay attention.

He Zhizhou was in a dilemma. In order to attract the other party's attention, he simply made up his mind and shouted louder:

"Don't go! Actually, I am from Xuanxu Sword Sect... that Tianxianzi!"

Seeing Xuanniao pause, He Zhizhou quickly took advantage of the victory and pursued: "I was injured in the battle between immortals and demons and my cultivation was greatly damaged. Now I am almost healed. Once my spiritual power is restored, I can rule the world of immortal cultivation. As long as you don't touch us, I will give you a great merit and reward you with countless rare treasures in the future!"

Tian Xianzi outside the mysterious mirror was choked by the osmanthus cake and coughed with his eyes rolled back.

These remarks were truly shocking. Xuanniao had never heard of the "I, Qin Shi Huang, send money" routine. Hearing this, he lowered his head and looked at He Zhizhou carefully.

Although it was in a secret place, it had heard of Tian Xianzi's name and deeds. Although the boy in front of him had a very similar temperament to him, he was not completely sure after all, and soon sneered: "You little brat, what evidence do you have?"

He Zhizhou thought for a moment and took out his patched bag: “This is my bag, I’ve used it for five years.”

He lifted up the hem of his shirt again, and where the belt should have been, there was a bare vine wrapped around it. "This is my belt, I've used it for half a year."

Finally, when I opened the bag, I found a few large words embroidered crookedly inside: "Hold on, don't die of poverty."

Qu Feiqing outside the mysterious mirror was the first one who couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Then there were loud laughs all around, and the whole room was filled with a happy atmosphere.

"Nonsense! Is this me?!"

Tian Xianzi stood up from his chair abruptly: "Am I this kind of image?"

He was filled with righteous indignation, but he did not expect that the black bird in the secret realm would have round eyes and say in a very surprised tone: "You are really Tianxianzi!"

Tian Xianzi: ...

Xuanniao was still surprised. He Zhizhou exchanged glances with Ningning who was hiding in the bushes, suggesting that she should take the opportunity to find Xianye while he delayed the time. The little girl hesitated for a moment, then nodded and soon disappeared.

Even though he has been in this world for so long, He Zhizhou has never forgotten that he was once an actor.

There are still actors who like to add more roles to themselves. Due to their outstanding looks, all the roles they get are love scenes.

He also understood that what could instantly attract a woman's attention must be a love scene.

He has been dormant for so long and finally has the opportunity to show what professional expertise and 21st century wisdom are.

Ningning, go ahead and don’t worry! There is no way this bird will leave from here!

"I came here to look for magical herbs to treat my old illness. I never expected to meet you here."

He Zhizhou transmitted his secret message to Mingkong, asking him to remove the diamond shield on his body. He endured the trembling of his legs and walked forward step by step: "Do you need a reason to like someone? Do you? Do you not? Do you need it?"

This is "A Chinese Odyssey".

The plot was so unbelievable that a trace of confusion appeared on Xuanniao's face.

However, He Zhizhou continued to move towards it: "There should be at least one time in a lifetime when you forget yourself for someone, not asking for results, not asking for companionship, not asking for possession, and not even asking for you to love me. I just want to meet you in my most beautiful years."

This is The Notebook.

"Wake up."

Xuanniao was finally calmed down by him and stopped the steps that were about to leave: "You are a human and I am a demon. Humans and demons are on different paths."

He Zhizhou chuckled, his voice as mellow as wine seemed particularly alluring.

Everyone inside and outside the mysterious mirror heard him say, "What if I, Tianxianzi, like this?"

Finally, someone couldn't hold back and laughed like a rooster crowing.

Tianxianzi got hard.

The fist hardened.

As he spoke, the black bird's eyes moved slightly and it flapped its wings gently.

After a gust of wind, the originally huge bird body suddenly disappeared. Instead, there was a young woman dressed in red and with a beautiful appearance.

"I never thought that the famous Elder Tianxian would be like this. What a handsome boy."

She smiled nonchalantly, stretched out her right index finger, and lifted He Zhizhou's fair chin: "I have been single for many years, but I like children. I have been wanting a new child these days... Since Elder Tianxian is also interested, why don't we give it a try?"

That’s great, He Zhizhou thought, he is still a handsome boy.

I hope I don’t end up capsizing and turning into a beautiful male corpse.

"Want a child?"

As the woman got closer, He Zhizhou's smile became more and more stiff, and alarms started ringing in his heart. But adhering to "The Actor's Self-cultivation", he still insisted on reciting the lines: "This is very easy to achieve! Otherwise... I will fulfill your wish now?"

This time even Xuanniao was stunned for a moment: "Now?"

"Now?!"

A Mei Xiu who was woken up by He Zhizhou turned pale when she heard this, and in her heart she felt a trembling awe for this world-famous man.

What sin has he committed?

When I woke up, I saw He Zhizhou from Xuanxu Sword School confessing his love to the big bird, and now he even wants to -

God, why are the disciples of Xuanxu Sword Sect like that?

The others were all shocked, only Xu Ye hesitated to speak and frowned.

Ever since He Zhizhou said that he was the elder of Tianxian, he wanted to ask——

The Xuan Mirror is a new device added this year. Senior Brother He, he must know that the elders will use the Xuan Mirror to monitor the situation in the secret realm, right? !

Outside the Xuanjing, a female cultivator turned away with a red face: "As expected of the Xuanxu Sword Sect, it is truly one of the best."

Some people were stunned: "In order to delay time, he actually did such a feat. It's really beyond the reach of ordinary people! I admire you, I admire you!"

After a moment, no one spoke.

Dozens of pairs of eyes in and outside the mirror stared at the man and the monster approaching with complicated expressions.

They saw He Zhizhou hug the woman in red.

Then he opened his mouth and said "Wow!" with a voice so shrill that it could pop a balloon: "Mom!"

After a pause, he said louder: "Xianxian is hungry. Xianxian wants to eat. Ying."

Black Bird: ...

The expression of the Xuanniao can no longer be described as "weird". If it must be described, it should be "colorful black".

Tian Xianzi: ...

Tian Xianzi's expression reminded people of the time when he was defrauded of 100,000 spirit stones and was so poor that he had to eat watermelon rinds, pumpkin rinds and orange rinds.

"Elder Tianxian."

Qu Feiqing almost died from laughing, leaning on the armrest of the chair and sobbing: "You people from the Xuanxu Sword Sect, can you be less dramatic, like your money?"

Before she finished speaking, she heard someone say, "Look, the black bird has transformed into a bird and flown away!"

"This... Could it be that Fellow Daoist He relied on his unique talent to disgust a high-level spirit beast and make it run away?"

"It seems that this bird doesn't like fried food either. Tsk tsk."

"etc."

Only He Xiaochen, the head of Liuming Mountain, calmed down and leaned forward a little, trying to see the scene in the mysterious mirror more clearly: "Looking at the trajectory of the black bird, it should be planning to go to Xianye, right? Doesn't that mean... it will collide with Ningning directly?"