As the two most powerful sword sects in the world of cultivation, the grievances between the Wanjian Sect and the Xuanxu Sword Sect could not be told in three days and three nights.
Although the two sects often competed secretly, due to the mutual respect between the sword practitioners, they naturally became brother sects that helped each other.
According to custom, at the end of each year, the two major sects would send some disciples to the other side for a three-day tour, under the pretext of "friendly exchanges", but in fact it was just for sword fighting, so that the young sword practitioners could fight to the death.
Pei Ji was injured by the thunder and needed to stay in Xuanxu Sword Sect to recuperate; Zheng Weiqi was creative and had invested a sum of money in Jiang Si to support the development of tourism in Jialan City. Now that the end of the year is approaching, she went to Jialan to get dividends.
Therefore, after returning from Tianhe Desert, only Ningning, Meng Ju, Lin Xun and He Zhizhou were taken to Wanjian Sect by Tianxianzi.
When I got off the flying boat, the first thing I saw was the two stone giant swords standing in front of the mountain gate.
The long swords were extremely tall, thin and upright, carrying the majestic momentum of competing with the sky, pointing directly at the bright sun in the sky.
The winter snow fell, covering the sword with a layer of cold white. The condensed thin ice spread all over the stone sword, cracking into spider-web-like winding marks. When the sun suddenly shone on it, it gave off a lingering chill.
It was quite impressive.
Meng Ju had a high level of cultivation and was a well-known figure among the young generation of sword cultivators. Upon hearing that he would come this time, more than a dozen disciples were waiting in front of the mountain gate with swords in their arms, just waiting to see who was better.
Although the eldest senior brother was a bad guy in his heart, he was ultimately a sword cultivator who was full of swordsmanship and rarely refused a challenge, so he happily went to the competition field with them.
Ning Ning knew that he was a popular character, but she never expected that there were actually many people waiting for her.
"It's normal. There are many crazy people in the Wanjian Sect who are shouting for war and killing all day long, and they don't have any sense of sympathy for women."
He Zhizhou explained to her: "And Ning Ning, you really don't know how famous you are now? Xiao Chongshan broke the situation of the ancient forest, and the Water Mirror Secret Realm captured the Demon King alive. In the end, you jumped to the first place in the Jindan stage of the Ten Dharma Association - there are so many people who want to compete with you!"
Ning Ning couldn't help but shudder when she thought that so many people's hobbies would become "eating, sleeping, and fighting Ning Ning".
"That day, the Ten Dharma Assembly ended. Junior Sister won the first prize, but she did not attend the final banquet."
Lin Xun continued, "Many disciples from various sects came to ask about your whereabouts, wanting to compete in the City Lord's Mansion, but were all blocked by Senior Sister Zheng."
Thank you, Senior Sister Zheng, she loves Senior Sister Zheng.
Ning Ning inexplicably felt a little fortunate that she was unconscious that day.
"Don't worry, your bodies have not recovered yet, so you don't have to participate in the competition."
Tian Xianzi smiled and said, "Today, your master brought you to the Ten Thousand Swords Sect to relax and refresh your mind and see the new scenery here. As for the fighting and killing, we don't need to care about it."
- Long live the master!
So the three little idiots who were addicted to eating, drinking and having fun successfully escaped the competition and began to wander around the Wanjian Sect.
Compared with the Xuanxu Sword Sect, the Wanjian Sect's architectural style was more solemn and solemn, with white walls and black tiles, and clusters of buildings. Huge sculptures of ancient swords could be seen everywhere, covered by the flying snow, like clouds and mist, and the steam of swords.
"By the way, Su Qinghan from the Wanjian Sect has also entered the Yuanying stage."
He Zhizhou admired the white snow and spoke with interest: "She is the senior sister Su that Xu Ye has been thinking about. After the ceremony ended that day, she heard that you were unconscious and went to visit you at the bedside for a while. Did you know about this?"
Ning Ning nodded. Pei Ji had told her about this.
Her fate with senior sister Su began in the ancient forest of Xiaochong Mountain. Since then, Su Qinghan has always wanted to compete with her.
Unfortunately, Ning Ning always encountered all kinds of bad luck. She was either injured or on the way to being injured. Su Qinghan disdained to take advantage of her weakness, so the plan of sword fighting was put on hold until today.
"Many people have visited my junior sister."
Lin Xun didn't know what he was thinking, and touched his nose a little awkwardly: "My junior sister may not know that fellow Daoist Yun Duanyue... has also been here."
He Zhizhou exclaimed: "This is incredible, Junior Brother Lin, this is the first time I've heard that you can actually mention the names of people from other sects."
He touched his chin and laughed: "It's a girl."
Lin Xun's face instantly turned red.
He was born fair and wore a fluffy white robe. Under the silver-clad world, the blush was so conspicuous that it was like a round peach hanging on his head.
"Don't tease him."
Ning Ning glanced at He Zhizhou, then looked at Lin Xun and smiled, "I know. She also sent me a calming incense. Pei Ji told me that you seem to have a good relationship with Miss Yun?"
After saying this, the whole world seemed to be silent for a moment.
Xiao Bailong's body was stiff like a popsicle. He hesitated for a long time before whispering, "No, no, we just occasionally... exchange letters."
Oh - Ning
Ning and He Zhizhou looked at each other for a moment, and a sly smile appeared on the corners of their mouths at the same time.
"I have been communicating with Xu Ye. He was very happy to hear that we would come, but unfortunately he had something urgent to do and couldn't leave. He asked us to meet in the cafeteria later."
He Zhizhou showed a happy face and clapped his hands suddenly: "What does it mean that he asked us to meet there? It means that Xu Ye has a change of heart and finally decided to treat us to a meal! I heard that the food in the Ten Thousand Sword Sect is super good!"
Ning Ning and Lin Xun were full of expectation and nodded desperately.
The three of them walked aimlessly, and there was a vast expanse of white with no obvious features everywhere. They soon left the most conspicuous road and couldn't find the east, south, west or north.
After walking forward for a while, they actually came to an orchard.
In the deep winter with heavy snow, no matter whether it is fruit trees, pine trees or other trees, they are all covered with a layer of snow-white like a quilt. According to custom, you can't actually tell the difference between them.
But Ningning still recognized at a glance that this is an orchard.
——It was snowing everywhere, but only this place was covered by a warm spiritual power, like a protective shield, blocking the bone-chilling cold current around.
The forest was full of green, and each fruit tree was lush and leafy, hanging with fruits that were out of tune with the snow scene. Looking around, it seemed as if it was two completely different worlds from the outside of the protective shield, and there was not a single snowflake to be seen.
"It's so hot."
Lin Xun looked around in confusion: "The spiritual energy here is so rich, have we broken into the residence of some senior?"
"You don't understand this."
He Zhizhou grinned: "Xu Ye told me that the Wanjian Sect has a particularly large orchard, open to all disciples, and everyone can go in to pick fruits to eat - isn't it here! Come on, I'm just hungry, let's pick one or two to fill our stomachs!"
"But..."
Lin Xun always felt that something was wrong and wanted to call him, but he saw that He Zhizhou had already explored deeper into the forest. Helpless, he had to follow him with Ning Ning.
When they caught up with Senior Brother He, this man was already shaking the tree trunk, trying to make the apples on the branches fall down.
"But if all the disciples can come in, why do the fruits on the trees seem to have never been touched? They are not rare species that cannot be touched."
Ning Ning analyzed calmly: "And the spiritual energy here is too dense, I'm afraid someone is..."
Before she finished her words, she caught a glimpse of a figure not far away.
A young man who looked like a disciple of the Wanjian Sect stood outside the orchard. The moment his eyes met hers, he showed obvious shock.
Ning Ning saw that the young man paused for a long time
with a look of shock on his face. Then his eyes twitched, and he pointed behind them in a trembling tone and shouted: "Don't, don't shake! Elder Qingyun - Elder Qingyun is there!"
What Elder Qingyun?
The other party's expression was so flustered that Ning Ning subconsciously felt guilty. She quickly turned her head to look deeper into the forest, but she only saw dense leaves and no human figures.
"Where is the person? That kid must be bluffing us."
He Zhizhou glanced forward quickly, then quickly retracted his gaze and shook the fruit with full concentration: "The branch moved! The apple fell immediately--"
He laughed so wantonly and happily that even He Zhizhou himself would not have thought that such a happy smile would be frozen on his face forever.
The branches and leaves above his head were in a mess of light and shadow, and a figure fell from the branch with a thud.
However, it was not a round and juicy apple.
It was a man's body lying straight and falling straight down.
It fell to the ground like a piece of hard cement.
A belated apple hit the man's cheek.
When their eyes met, He Zhizhou saw the man's expressionless face like a dead person, and heard the terrified voice of a young man behind him: "Elder Qingyun——!"
*
Tian Xianzi felt a little hungry.
People who cultivate immortals use the spiritual energy of heaven and earth as their foundation, especially those like him who have a deep cultivation, their stomachs will not feel hungry.
But his mouth was hungry.
If the mouth cannot taste the delicacies of the world, what is the point of keeping it?
There are many disciples in the Wanjian Sect, and he rarely shows up here, so most people don’t know that this handsome young man who looks lazy is the famous Elder Tianxian of Xuanxu.
He has some understanding of the architectural layout of the Wanjian Sect. He wandered around for a while and planned to go to the canteen to take a look. Unexpectedly, halfway through, he saw a man handing out snacks for free.
The snacks should be white jade cakes. The man stood in the pavilion, and several disciples lined up beside him and took them from him one by one.
Emphasize that you don’t have to pay.
There is such a good thing in the world!
Tianxianzi walked forward without thinking too much and obediently lined up at the end of the line. Maybe it was luck, when it was his turn, it was just the last piece of cake.
The white jade cake was sweet but not greasy, soft and glutinous. He enjoyed it very much and was about to leave when he suddenly saw a strong man coming outside the pavilion.
The man was carrying a huge black sword and looked a bit fierce. Without saying a word, he blocked the main entrance of the pavilion, blocking all the ways out. He came with great momentum.
"Hurry up, finish this portion and go back to work."
Tianxianzi heard him say in a state of confusion: "There are still the main hall and Luoyue Tower that have not been cleaned. Hurry up and take the rag and broom - don't try to be lazy or run away! The man in white clothes over there, you just wanted to leave from the pavilion, didn't you?"
Tianxianzi: ...?
"The one in white clothes", is this person talking about him?
Before he could react to what happened, a broom was stuffed into his hand.
"Why are you still in a daze? If you fail to complete the task, you will be locked up in the meditation room tonight. Now I feel tired. If I had known this would happen, I would not have done it in the first place. If you had not committed any crime, you would not have been arrested and sent to the Criminal Court to work as a laborer - wait."
Hanzi frowned and looked at him: "This junior brother, what is your name? New here? I don't seem to have any impression."
Tianxianzi's brain, which had been neglected for many years, turned quickly.
So this group of people were not receiving free snacks, but disciples who were locked up in the Criminal Court were punished to do hard labor. Now they were taking a break and were given snacks to replenish their energy.
At this time, can he admit that he is the elder Tianxian?
If this matter were to be spread out, his reputation as the light of swordsmanship would be completely ruined.
Tian Xianzi finished the last bite of white jade cake with tears in his eyes. He felt extremely humiliated, but he spoke with great determination: "Brother, I... my name is Xu Ye."
"Brother Xue, three more people have been arrested and taken to the Criminal Court!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a clear young voice rang out not far away.
Tian Xianzi looked in the direction of the voice and saw the young Wanjian Sect disciple walking in front, and three shadows following behind him with dusty faces.
The three people also stared at him holding a broom in a daze.
"These three people actually broke into the fruit forest where Elder Qingyun rested. Not only did they try to steal the fruits, but they also ignored my warning and shook Elder Qingyun down from the tree!"
The young man spoke passionately and generously, not noticing the other four intersecting lines of sight.
Tian Xianzi looked at his young disciple.
Ningning and the other two stared blankly at their master.
How glorious the Xuanxu Sword Sect was in the past, but they didn't expect that after a hasty farewell at the mountain gate, when they met again, everything had changed.
The three disciples sang "Tears at the Iron Window" loudly, and their master became a male worker on the assembly line. They looked at each other without words, but only tears.
Tianxianzi felt the need to maintain his dignity as a master, and he stiffened his neck and said righteously: "What's wrong with you? How could you shake Taoist Qingyun down from the tree?"
The three blushed, speechless, and lowered their heads.
They did something wrong, of course they dared not admit that they were disciples of the Xuanxu Sword Sect, so they pretended to be new disciples of the Wanjian Sect and were brought to the interrogation hall to do hard labor.
As a result, they happened to run into the elders of the sect, and were exposed by Tianxianzi on the spot, and they didn't know where to put their faces.
——The scene was so embarrassing that the three had no time to think carefully about why Tianxianzi was holding a broom in his hand.
"Oh, I know him."
Zhuang Han curled his lips in sudden realization: "Then you two can clean the same area later."
He paused, and patted Tian Xianzi on the shoulder before leaving: "They just came and don't know much, you should take care of these newcomers and let them listen to the rules of our Criminal Court. Do you understand? Xu Ye."
The situation suddenly reversed!
Ning Ning: ???
Lin Xun: "Master, Master, you——?"
He Zhizhou: "Xu Ye?" Tian Xianzi
chuckled.
Tian Xianzi: "Although you won't believe it, I was really wronged."
*
Xu Ye had been waiting in the cafeteria for a long time.
It was not mealtime, and most of the disciples were fasting, so the few who were left to eat went to the arena to watch the fight. There was no one else in the cafeteria except him, so it was very quiet.
Xu Ye snorted and smiled.
This situation just made his plan go smoothly.
He had been corresponding with He Zhizhou for a long time, and when he learned that the latter would come to Wanjian Sect, he decided to prepare a small surprise. After thinking for a long time, he finally thought of a clever plan to play a trick on him.
He Zhizhou was very interested in the cafeteria of Wanjian Sect, so Xu Ye asked Senior Sister Su Qinghan, who was in the Yuan Infant Period, to deliberately put a layer of sleight of hand on the menu to scare him.
The menu in the dining hall of the Wanjian Sect was carved on a wooden board by sword energy. Senior Sister Su only used a very small amount of spiritual power to blur some of the strokes, so as to confuse the audience without making the spiritual power too heavy and being discovered by them.
He Zhizhou arrived as promised, accompanied by Ning Ning and the little dragons from the Xuanxu Sect, which did not pose a big problem -
wait.
Why are there several elders beside them?
Xu Ye's heart paused, and he quickly comforted himself.
It's not a problem, it's not a problem. The elders have profound cultivation and are not at the same level as the disciples. Even if the menu is sleight of hand, it will not have any impact on them.
His heart was like riding a roller coaster. He finally got off a little, but when his sight flickered and he caught a glimpse of a shadow among the elders, he was stunned.
No way, that figure is -
who can tell him why Elder Jiangxing would also come to Wanjian Sect? Hasn't he been secluded for a long time?
Xu Ye had heard that although Elder Jiangxing had obtained some precious medicinal herbs to repair his sea of consciousness, due to the old illness, it would take about a year and a half to fully recover.
What's more, the Xuanxu Sword Sect had just come out of the desert not long ago, and their consciousness was damaged and their spiritual power was exhausted. According to his current state... he
would definitely be affected by the sleight of hand.
The best way now is to eliminate the magic immediately, but that spiritual power does not belong to him, but to Su Qinghan.
Xu Ye feels that his ending will not be very good.
Ning Ning walked into the dining hall with sad eyes and greeted Xu Ye with mixed feelings.
It turned out that the "Hundred Fruit Forest" they were going to was the residence of Elder Qingyun, and it was the same place as the orchard mentioned in Xu Ye's letter.
After leaving the pavilion, they went to Luoyue Tower with brooms and rags. After wasting time, they finally escaped because Tian Xianzi knocked out the guarding disciple.
As a result, before they left a few steps, they ran into Wen Hemian, Zhenxiao Jianzun and the legendary Elder Jinghe halfway.
When asked why they were in Luoyue Tower, the four of them laughed in tacit understanding, saying that they were hungry and followed them to the dining hall to eat.
"Everyone, look, on this wooden board is the menu of the Ten Thousand Sword Sect."
Tianxianzi was very familiar with this place, and had already put the tragedy behind him. He introduced it with a host's demeanor: "Every word was written by the Sword Sect's leader with sword energy. Although the words are a bit ugly, you should be able to understand them, right?" He
said calmly: "I'm still here, please don't gossip about the leader, Elder Tianxian."
Tianxianzi tried to fool people with a silly smile, and finally glanced at the people around him and quickly changed the topic: "What do you want to eat?"
No one answered him.
For unknown reasons, there was a strange silence at the scene.
He Zhizhou stared at the names of the dishes on the wooden sign in silence, almost thinking that there was something wrong with his eyes, but looking around at Ningning and Lin Xun beside him, they were all shocked.
As expected of the Wanjian Sect, even the dishes served in the cafeteria are so unconventional.
For example, now, the dish facing his sight is called [Vinegar Uncle].
Tian Xianzi noticed his solemn gaze, followed He Zhizhou's gaze, and smiled knowingly.
Oh, vinegar-fried chili peppers, it sounds really good.
"Based on my experience of eating for free in the Wanjian Sect, this dish tastes very good."
The young disciples said nothing, probably because they were a little shy.
Tianxianzi's heart was filled with tenderness as a teacher. His fingers brushed over [Braised Poached Eggs] and [Coriander Preserved Eggs], and he pointed to [Braised Small Dragon Meat] on the menu and said, "This dish has plump and tender meat, which is rare. Last time, your Master Zhenxiao and I came, we ate more than 20 pieces in total."
Lin Xun's facial expression was completely out of control, and his eyeballs were like a small boat floating in the wind and rain, trembling and shaking. It was
simply terrifying. The line of words engraved in front of the master's fingertips... turned out to be [Braised Little Dragon Man]!
He really became the most delicious junior brother of Xuanxu Sword Sect!
Ningning was in a complicated mood. Following Tianxianzi's swaying fingers, she looked at the menu with trepidation.
At first glance, the menu may seem strange, but it is still edible, with items such as braised worms and coriander worms.
But if you look closely, you can find some strange breath in the dazzling dishes.
At first, it was a "deep-fried human leg" that shocked the audience.
Then the names of the dishes became more and more shocking and more and more incredible, such as "stir-fried human head" and "shredded human meat with green peppers". In the end, they completely let themselves go and came up with "stir-fried people".
This made her start to think seriously whether the Wanjian Sect was a demonic organization in the guise of a decent organization, which seemed to be upright on the surface, but actually committed murders and arson. After all, this is often written in the storybooks.
Tian Xianzi saw her frown getting deeper and deeper, and followed Ningning to look at the menu carefully.
Deep-fried ham, stir-fried kohlrabi, stir-fried pork with green pepper, stir-fried prawns, no problem.
Why did Ningning look like she had seen a ghost?
"I remember this dish was not bad either."
Zhenxiao pointed at the [Stir-fried Aloe with Pork Liver] in the corner with his fingertips: "It seems to be a unique dish of the Wanjian Sect, which cannot be found in the Xuanxu Sword Sect."
Ningning heard this and looked in the direction.
My goodness, if this thing can be found in the Xuanxu Sect, then there must be something fishy.
But seeing the sword aura coming from the head of the Wanjian Sect, there were three big words written on the menu -
Human Corpse Aloe.
As expected of the cold-hearted True Sky Sword Master, even his food tastes so heavy.
There is no need to read the words between the lines.
On every page of the Wanjian Sect's menu, "eating people" is clearly written!
No, no.
Ning Ning tried to analyze rationally. As a long-established light of righteousness, the Wanjian Sect would definitely not do such a thing that would abhor both humans and gods.
There may be only one explanation for this weird menu: the mood of sword cultivators.
Sword cultivators use swords to enter the Dao, so they are bound to fight and see blood, and come into contact with various bloody organs of the human body.
So those human heads and legs are not real heads and legs, but a kind of alias that the head of the Sword Sect painstakingly came up with, the purpose of which is to train the disciples' psychological endurance and lay a solid foundation for future killings. Just
like during the college entrance examination, some schools will change the names of dishes to "Top of the Golden List" and "Step by Step Promotion" and so on.
Yes, it must be like this.
"Elder Wen has finally come to my Wanjian Sect. I wonder if there are any dishes you like?"
Jinghe knew Wen Hemian's situation, and said slowly and sympathetically: "Why don't you choose one first."
After going around in circles, it finally came to this moment.
Xu Ye was pulling himself together like a mental patient, and a heart-wrenching cry came from the bottom of his heart -
No!!! Elder Wen!!! Don't answer, don't answer, don't answer!!!
The scene was too quiet.
In the eyes of countless people, Wen Hemian lowered his eyes, pursed his lips, and looked like he was thinking deeply.
Wen Hemian: "Then... I'll bother you with a stir-fried human head."