274
Just like what Jiang Shangzhou said, people who don't know the inside story think that Shenxu Palace has a demon-killing formation, and they must be very happy. It should be known that demon cultivators suppress human cultivators in every aspect of cultivation. Even now, with Dongji Mountain blocking them, human cultivators understand how terrifying demon cultivators are.
But he didn't expect that the cultivators of Shenxu Palace would hold such an attitude towards the possession of the Demon-Slaying Formation. Especially after Jiang Shangzhou, an elder of the sect, said this, Du Heng felt that it might not be as difficult for them to find the Huntian Pearl and the Lutian Sword as they imagined.
Jiang Shangzhou stared at the demon-slaying formation for a while and suddenly laughed: "Hey, why am I telling you this?"
As he was talking, Tai Shuhong had already walked to the edge of the demon-slaying formation. Jiang Shangzhou saw him and shouted, "Tai Shu, please move to the side. Don't run into the demon-slaying formation as you are a demon cultivator. Although this formation is not activated now, who knows if it will suddenly move when stimulated. Do you want to be torn to pieces?!"
Tai Shuhong said calmly: "I have walked here countless times."
Jiang Shangzhou pulled him back: "That won't work either. If anything happens to you, Su Zhan will destroy me."
Tai Shuhong had no choice but to follow Jiang Shangzhou and retreat to the edge of the formation. Everyone walked lightly on the thick snow and reached the steps in front of the hall.
It was strange that this was the main peak and main hall of the entire Shenxu Palace, but there was no one here. Apart from the footprints of Jiang Shangzhou and his group, there were no footprints of other people on the snow.
Jiang Shangzhou shouted towards the main hall: "Qingyan! Nephew!"
As soon as Jiang Shangzhou finished speaking, the door of the hall opened. A cold wind blew out, blowing the snow on the ground towards Du Heng and his friends' faces. A white figure appeared in the hall, and as the person walked in, Du Heng and his friends' eyes gradually widened.
Jiang Shangzhou was right. The head of Shenxu Palace was indeed like a bright moon and a jade tree. His eyebrows and eyes were well-shaped, clear but not coquettish, elegant but not vulgar. His skin was particularly white, so his eyebrows and hair looked unusually black.
When monks reach a certain level of cultivation, their appearance can change. As long as they are not deliberately disguising themselves, monks are willing to show their best side to the world. Du Heng has seen many beauties, and Ji Qingyan's appearance is definitely among the top few among those Du Heng has seen.
The temperament of the monks who practiced the Jueqing Sword was relatively cold, and Ji Qingyan was no exception. However, his actions revealed reserve and elegance, and these two characteristics were cleverly combined in him.
If a man like this walked down the street, how many girls would be attracted to him!
Du Heng subconsciously looked at Feng Gui, and Feng Gui glanced at Du Heng: "Huh? Why are you looking at me?"
No wonder Jinghong was so obsessed with Ji Qingyan that he was willing to betray her master. Such beauty was indeed worth it. Du Heng was worried. He was worried that Fenggui would lose control of himself when he saw Ji Qingyan and beat him up. Fortunately, Fenggui looked very calm.
However, Ji Qingyan's beauty is not the only thing he can show off. He is the one with the highest cultivation level in Shenxu Palace besides his master. He is less than a thousand years old, but he has already reached the middle stage of out-of-body cultivation. Given time, it will not be a dream to aspire to immortality!
Ji Qingyan bowed to Jiang Shangzhou: "Fourth Uncle, Junior Brother Taishu." Ji Qingyan's voice was particularly pleasant, like the clear and long sound of jade colliding.
Jiang Shangzhou smiled and said, "I heard from your master that you have come out of retreat, but I haven't seen you come out yet. I came to see you on the way and introduce a few disciples to you. These are our outer sect mission disciples Du Heng, Yu Xuan, Xi Feng, and Nan Jing from Shen Xiu Peak."
Ji Qingyan looked at Du Heng and the others after hearing this. He did not have the slightest bit of the arrogance of a sect leader. Without waiting for Du Heng and the others to salute, he nodded modestly and said, "Okay."
Xuan Yu and the others returned the greeting. Strangely enough, after this greeting, Du Heng finally let go of the worry that had been weighing on his mind.
Ji Qingyan didn't seem like the scumbag who was a smooth talker who deceived girls as they thought. He was a pretty good guy.
Ji Qingyan led everyone to the back hall. He did not set up a barrier in the main hall. It was freezing outside, so it certainly wouldn't be warm inside. It was said that Ji Qingyan himself was a rare water spirit root that mutated into an ice spirit root among sword cultivators. It might be more suitable for him to practice in the cold.
There were only a few chairs in the room, and behind them was a screen. The screen blocked everyone's prying eyes, and Du Heng looked around bored.
He saw a huge... frozen stick hanging on the beam! Looking along the frozen stick to the roof, he saw a hole as big as a bowl.
Du Heng rubbed it secretly and gestured. The frozen stick was five feet long, and the thickest part was thicker than his arm!
Du Heng stuffed his claws under the wings of Nian Nian and Sui Sui. It was so cold. He didn't know how Ji Qingyan could live in such a place.
As soon as he entered the door, Jiang Shangzhou sighed: "Uncle master, what should I say to you? As the leader of a sect, how can you not even take care of yourself? You and your master really make me worry about you." As he spoke, Jiang Shangzhou waved his hand, and the hole in the beam was repaired.
Du Heng sighed. If the leader of Shenxu Palace was not pretending to be like this on purpose, he would probably be a useless person who couldn't take care of himself.
Ji Qingyan said calmly: "As long as a cultivator has a seat, it's good enough. Uncle Master, are you here today to ask for me, nephew?"
Jiang Shangzhou patted Du Heng's shoulder with a smile and said to Ji Qingyan: "I've come to give you a gift."
Du Heng, holding the chicken, looked confused: ???
Ji Qingyan looked Du Heng up and down, then said to Jiang Shangzhou in embarrassment: "Uncle Master, I am not as good as Long Yang."
Jiang Shangzhou waved his hand: "Go away, what are you thinking about? Uncle Master is here to treat you to a meal."
Ji Qingyan looked at the two chickens in Du Heng's arms: "Uncle Master, I don't have a good appetite either."
Jiang Shangzhou smiled and said, "No, other chefs can't do it, you ask him to try. Uncle Master believes that the taste in your memory can be reproduced."
Du Heng stared at Jiang Shangzhou. Didn't he agree to bring them to see Ji Qingyan? Why did he mean to ask him to cook? What was this?
Ji Qingyan shook his head, his eyelashes like crow wings covering the emotions in his eyes. He said slowly: "Uncle Master, I have been in the sect for nearly a thousand years. I have cut off all the feelings that should be cut off when I entered the sect. Now I have nothing to remember."
After leaving Zhengyang Palace, Ji Qingyan's voice was still echoing in Du Heng's mind: "Master uncle, I appreciate your kindness, but let the past be the past."
After walking into the sect protection formation, the chill dissipated from his body. Du Heng then asked Jiang Shangzhou: "Elder Jiang, why did you bring us to see the sect leader?"
Jiang Shangzhou sighed, "When the Grand Elder held the Qingyan banquet, he was still a young child. His family suddenly suffered a great change and was destroyed overnight. In the years since he came to Shenxu Palace, he has always wanted to figure out who he is and where he came from.
However, he was too young when he left home and only remembered the last thing he ate was something wrapped in flour with shrimp inside.
When he was forming his elixir, his longing for home turned into a demon in his heart and almost killed him. I watched him forming his elixir and transforming into an infant and leaving his body. Although he never explained it, I knew he never let it go in his heart. "
Jiang Shangzhou looked at the trees beside the mountain path and said, "However, the world of cultivation is so cruel. Even if we can find his home now, his family members are gone. I thought that even if we can't find our home, it would be good to be able to taste the taste of home."
Tai Shuhong asked, "Didn't the chef in the main dining hall make something similar? Isn't Chang Le's specialty shrimp dumplings?"
Jiang Shangzhou chuckled: "You know Qingyan's personality. Although he practices the ruthless way, he is just like his master and is most afraid of troubling others. Only dogs like to eat what Changle makes, let alone him?"
Xiao Wonton turned around and barked at Jiang Shangzhou, saying, "Don't insult the dog. Even if it is a dog, it won't eat everything."
Jiang Shangzhou walked down the stairs: "Well, I won't force it. I'm just worried that he will follow in Old Ye's footsteps. Old Ye has been stuck at a bottleneck recently, and I'm anxious but can't help. Old Ye is fine, at least he won't die. If Qingyan is stuck, someone will die. This is his heart disease, and it will become a demon in his heart over time."
Jiang Shangzhou scratched his head in a headache: "I wanted to introduce Du Heng to someone so that he could have someone to take care of him in the sect in the future. I didn't expect Qingyan to refuse so straightforwardly. Oh..."
Du Heng said nothing, he turned around and looked at Zhengyang Palace outside the barrier. Ji Qingyan was really different from the shameless scumbag he imagined. Was there something hidden behind the affair between him and Jinghong?
The monk's seal hanging on the dining board in the dining hall had been taken away by the main dining hall. Jing Nan looked at the bare wooden board and chuckled, "Don't make set meals in the future, that's good."
Jiang Shangzhou said cheerfully, "Isn't this great? You were embarrassed to collect money when the seal was here, but now that the seal has been taken away, you can collect money openly."
Tai Shuhong put down Xiaoxiao and said, "The matter has been resolved. I will return to Shenzaofeng first." Du Heng said anxiously, "Remember to come for dinner tonight!"
Tai Shuhong turned around and showed a shy smile: "Yeah!"
Jing Nan looked at Tai Shuhong and said, "Elder Jiang, don't wait any longer. Our Xiao Du will not cook for lunch today."
Jiang Shangzhou was so angry that he fell backwards: "Hey, why are you like this? I helped you guys after all, but you are so ruthless. You should know how many people in the sect are waiting to flatter me!"
Du Heng smiled and said, "Bring the Grand Elder to dinner tonight. As disciples on a sect mission, we can only flatter him in this way."
Jiang Shangzhou then became happy: "Then you guys get busy, I'll go back first."
As soon as Jiang Shangzhou left, Jing Nan and the others sat in a circle around the table. Du Heng asked anxiously, "How is it? Do you feel the power of the Hun Tianzhu?"
Xuan Yu shook his head: "The Chaos Pearl is not on Ji Qingyan." Du Heng looked at Feng Gui again: "Xixi, Nannan? Did you feel it?"
Feng Gui said: "Not here."
Du Heng asked: "Is it possible that he put the Hun Tianzhu away? For example, he put it in another palace, so you can't feel it?"
Jing Nan smiled and said, "That's absolutely impossible. If he really relied on the Hun Tian Pearl to practice until now, even if he hid the pearl to the edge of the sky, the aura of the Hun Tian Pearl would still surround him. However, his sword energy is sharp and pure, and it is impossible for such a person to have a Hun Tian Pearl."
Feng Gui said: "Moreover, the Chaos Bead, the Illusion Bead, and the Slaughter Bead all need to reside in the body, so ordinary people can't see it. With our cultivation and familiarity with the three beads, we can tell as long as the person who resides in the three beads passes by us."
Since all three of them have spoken, it proves that the Hun Tianzhu is really not in Ji Qingyan's possession.
Du Heng looked at Xiaoxiao who was sitting next to him eating a cake with a heavy heart. What should he do? Without the Chaos Bead, how could Xiaoxiao transform?
Jing Nan smiled and said, "Don't worry, didn't you hear what Jiang Shangzhou and the others said? The Ten Thousand Sects Conference will be held on February 2 next year. The address of the Ten Thousand Sects Conference is in Shenxu Palace, and the leaders of all the major sects will come. As long as the Chaos Pearl is still in the human cultivation world, we will definitely be able to find its trace."
Feng Gui said: "We will now guard the dining hall and wait for the suspicious person to appear."
275
The news that Du Heng and his companions had been transformed from menial servants into disciples on sect missions quickly spread throughout Shenxiu Peak. The first people to come to the first dining hall to congratulate him were Zhu Dalong and Xiao Cai from the second dining hall.
As soon as Zhu Dalong entered the room, he started talking like a firecracker: "I knew you were capable, Xiao Du. It's only been a few days and you've already become a mission disciple! That's great!"
Du Heng modestly brewed tea for Zhu Dalong and Xiao Cai. The tea he used was wild chrysanthemums that Jing Nan picked in Dongji Mountain. The golden tea exuded a light fragrance, and a sip of it made one feel relaxed and refreshed.
Zhu Dalong was overjoyed: "You are so awesome this time! Wang Jian and Wang Gui wanted to mess with you, but they got themselves into trouble. It's so cool!"
Xiao Cai was indignant: "Wang Jian and his men have been unhappy ever since they were humiliated by you last time. Today, when you went outside the mountain gate, he asked Wang Gui to kidnap all your pets. How can there be such bad people in the world!"
Du Heng smiled and asked, "Are Wang Jian and Wang Gui relatives?"
Xiao Cai said, "Yes, they are all from the Wang family in Zhengyang City. The Wang family made their fortune by doing odd jobs for the Shenxu Palace. Wang Gui did the best, and became the head chef. Over the years, Wang Gui stuffed a lot of Wang family members into important departments, and they are in charge of the outer gate odd jobs. We were oppressed to the point of being unable to breathe, but now it's good, their good days are over!"
Du Heng said calmly: "Not necessarily. Elder Jiang and his men haven't punished them yet. After a while, when the storm has died down, they will be full of energy again."
Zhu Dalong said excitedly: "How can that be possible?! Elder Jiang and Elder Taishu Dai showed up together, and the Supreme Elder was furious. Even if the Wang family has the ability to reach the sky, it will only stop here!"
Du Heng took a sip of water. He felt that Zhu Dalong and the others were overthinking. The interpersonal relationships in the sect were complicated. Maybe Wang Jian and the others would show up again in a different guise in a few days.
Zhu Dalong knew from Du Heng's expression that he didn't take his words to heart. He gossiped and said, "I told you that you didn't see it just now. The head chef fired Wang Gui and his subordinates Wang Jian and Wang Qiang. There were more than a dozen of them! They were crying bitterly on the meditation platform. If they had known this would happen, why would they have killed them all? You see now, there is not even anyone to speak up for them!"
Du Heng blinked in confusion: "The head chef fired them so soon?"
Zhu Dalong's face was ruddy: "The steward's spirit tablet has been handed over, how can it be fake?! Elder Jiang and the others have given the order, so Chef Chang has to do it quickly?! As long as the group of people above spread the word, the people below will know what to do!"
Zhu Dalong looked at Du Heng with a big smile on his face: "If you ask me, you are really capable, little Du. When you first arrived at the First Dining Hall, you won the favor of Gu Zhenren, and soon you won the favor of Taishu Zhenren. Now even the Supreme Elder speaks for you. The First Dining Hall is really a good place. How do you say it? The one who is close to the water gets the moon first!"
Du Heng smiled awkwardly, he didn't know what to say. According to Zhu Dalong, he was able to be safe today because of his connections. Heaven and earth are conscience! He didn't say a word to the Supreme Elder!
But... maybe he did. Maybe he had talked to the Grand Elder when he was serving food, but he himself didn't realize it.
After Zhu Dalong left, Du Heng sighed. Too many things happened today, and he needed to slow down.
Jing Nan lazily sat on the stool, leaning against the wall like a boneless person: "Du Heng~ I'm hungry~ Let's have lunch!" Xiao Xiao also responded: "Chirp~~"
Du Heng looked at the people in the dining hall and soon figured it out. Why should he care about so many things? He only has so much ability. Even if he cares about his country, the world will not become a better place because of him. All he can do is live a good life every day.
Du Heng smiled and said, "We don't have time to prepare a big meal for lunch. How about we have something simple?"
Jing Nan and Feng Gui looked at each other and said in unison:
"No noodles!" Every time Du Heng said he wanted to eat something simple, he would usually use noodles to fool everyone. Do you really think they are just kidding? They are not that easy to fool!
Du Heng thought for a moment and said, "If you don't want noodles... how about dumplings?"
Jing Nan got excited: "What is this?"
Du Heng smiled and said, "Do you want to eat food that is wrapped in dough and stuffed with meat and then steamed or boiled?"
Jing Nan muttered, "Isn't that just wonton?" Du Heng said, "The dumpling skin is thicker, so it's different from wonton. Do you want to eat it?"
Du Heng had the idea of eating dumplings mainly because Jiang Shangzhou mentioned it. He said that the chef of the general dining hall, Chang Le, made delicious shrimp dumplings, and Du Heng suddenly wanted to eat dumplings too.
After deciding to eat dumplings, Du Heng asked everyone again: "What kind of filling do you want to eat?" Before Feng Gui could speak, Du Heng told him to shut up: "Xixi, you are not allowed to express your opinions."
Feng Gui: ...
Jing Nan thought for a moment and said, "It's all right. I'm not picky about food at all."
It was unbelievable when Jing Nan said this! Of course, when Xiao Xiao said this, it was very credible.
Xuan Yu said slowly, "You must be tired after all this morning, what can you eat?"
Du Heng smiled and said, "Making dumplings is quick. Let me think..." As he spoke, he walked towards the yard. The vegetables in the yard were growing lushly under the influence of the spirit gathering array. Du Heng immediately took a fancy to two vegetarian vegetables that could be used as fillings.
He pulled out two bunches of celery and a few nests of young chives and walked into the kitchen. As he walked, he said, "How about making celery and meat stuffing or chive, egg and meat stuffing? There is some bamboo shoots and meat stuffing that I made before in the refrigerator, add that too. Oh! You can also make mushroom and meat stuffing!"
After a little thought, Du Heng came up with four kinds of fillings. Xuan Yu immediately rolled up his sleeves and said, "I'll help."
The leaves and roots of the small celery were removed, and then they were washed and cut into fine dices. After being chopped, the green celery dices exuded a strong celery fragrance, and the color was so beautiful that people couldn't bear to taint it. However, Du Heng still stretched out his cruel claws and put the celery dices in the gauze to squeeze out the water. Don't say it, Du Heng really squeezed out some juice.
The rich juice dyed the gauze into blue. Du Heng wanted to pour the juice out, but seeing such a beautiful color, he always felt it was a bit of a waste.
Du Heng took a deep breath: "Ah~ the long-lost smell of spring."
Jing Nan complained outside: "Last time he made shepherd's purse wontons for me, he also told me that they were the taste of spring. Is spring for Du Heng all kinds of green vegetables?" Feng Gui responded: "According to the climate outside, it is still the coldest time of winter."
Du Heng was so angry that he picked up two garlic seeds beside the chopping board and smashed them on the heads of the two men. Jing Nan and Feng Gui rubbed their heads and then became quiet.
Xuan Yu took out a large piece of mountain meat, cut it into thin slices and minced it into minced meat. The sound of mincing meat came from the kitchen. Xuan Yu and Du Heng stood beside the chopping board with a clear division of labor. They worked in perfect harmony as if they were one person.
Xuan Yu divided the minced meat into three portions: "Look, will this amount of minced meat work?" Du Heng took a look and laughed: "Yes!"
Xiaoyu is so thoughtful. With him around, everything can be done with half the effort.
Xiaoxiao jumped heavily to Du Heng's side. He looked down at the minced meat and diced celery in the wooden basin, then looked up at Du Heng: "Chirp?" Isn't this really not making wontons?
Du Heng looked at Xiaoxiao's round face, and an idea suddenly came to his mind. He finally figured out how to deal with the squeezed celery juice! He wanted to make Xiaoxiao some wontons that looked good and tasted good!
After figuring it out, Du Heng picked up the celery leaves he had picked earlier and said, "Xiaoxiao, can I make you some emerald dumplings?" Xiaoxiao tilted her head and acted cute: "Chirp!"
Du Heng put the washed celery leaves into the copper mortar and pestle, and after pounding them, he got a bowl of green leaf juice. He filtered out the leaf residue in the juice and put it aside for later use. The celery juice exuded a rich fragrance, which attracted Xuan Yu's question: "How to make jade from this?"
Du Heng smiled and said, "You'll know if you read on. Xiaoyu, help me wash and chop the chives, and I'll knead the dough."
Du Heng took out the newly bought flour from the storage bag. He weighed seven pounds of flour and poured it into a wooden basin. He added two spoonfuls of fine salt, and after adding an appropriate amount of water and stirring it into large pieces of dough, he could knead the dough.
After kneading the dough, it was smooth and round. Du Heng covered it with a piece of wet gauze and waited for the dough to rise. Taking advantage of this gap, he poured another pound of flour into the basin, added a little fine salt, and then poured the celery juice next to it into the flour.
Xiaoxiao was surprised. He stretched his neck to watch Du Heng knead the dough. After a while, a green dough appeared in Du Heng's palm, just like emerald! Xiaoxiao trembled with surprise: "Chi~" Du Heng wanted to use this kind of dough to make dumplings for him? It looks so good!
Du Heng smiled and said, "It's not ready yet." He placed the celery dough in a large bowl, covered it with gauze and let it continue to rise. During this break, he started to prepare the filling.
Except for bamboo shoots, all other fillings needed to be prepared on the spot. In fact, the method of preparing meat fillings is similar. Du Heng added a proper amount of salt and a small amount of sugar and white wine to the vegetable bowl, sprinkled pepper and scallion and ginger water, and he also cracked two eggs in each wooden bowl.
After mixing all the ingredients in each wooden bowl evenly, the filling is ready.
At this time, the dough in the large basin had already risen. Du Heng raised his hand and divided it into four portions. Three of the portions weighed two kilograms each, and the last portion weighed only one kilogram.
Du Heng casually took a two-pound dough, and he skillfully rolled it into a ball, stretched it, and cut it into dough pieces of the same size. At this moment, Du Heng heard Feng Gui's voice: "Do you need help?"
Feng Gui and Jing Nan are just a little lazy, but they are actually very good at handicrafts. Jing Nan is very fast and good at making dumplings, and Feng Gui is also good at rolling dough.
Feng Gui was happy to help, so Du Heng happily gave up his seat to him. Five people soon gathered around the round table in the kitchen. Du Heng cut the dough, while Feng Gui and Jing Nan rolled it into a ball and flattened it. Without a rolling pin, the two could turn the dough into palm-sized dumpling wrappers with ruffles in their hands.
Jing Nan said arrogantly: "This is very simple! It's the same principle as making dumplings!"
Du Heng left the smallest piece of dough uncut. He smiled and said, "Yes, it is very simple for you."
As he spoke, he held up a piece of dumpling wrapper in his left palm, poked a ball of mushroom and meat stuffing into the dumpling wrapper with his right hand, and then pinched the dumpling wrapper on both sides with his right hand. The dumpling wrapper was pinched together above the stuffing, and he held the dumpling with his hands folded, holding the dough on both sides with his thumb and index finger.
He just exerted slight force and the dough on both sides was pinched. Then he pressed both hands towards the middle of the dough. When he released his hands, a big-bellied dumpling with Du Heng's fingerprints appeared in his palms.
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