Chapter 66: The old place calls back Xia
The hand of the Buddha statue, which is behind his back, is pressed against his body. This bent arm is hidden in the sleeves of his wide robe. The cuffs of the outer robe are like a lying, open cloth bag, extending from the back of the stone Buddha, revealing the intricate and exquisite lining, inner robe, and gauze dress.
Hidden between the layers of stone carvings and fabrics was a stone door. The gaps around the door were as thin as a hair, almost imperceptible in the darkening sky.
Cang Ming jumped out of the golden carriage and landed lightly outside the door. Wei Ci also jumped to her side, and they both said in unison, "There's something fishy about this door." After saying that, they both smiled at each other. Wei Ci said, "The general is becoming more and more experienced. If you can walk the future on your own, I will feel relieved."
Cang Ming's eyelids twitched, and he felt a bad premonition looming in his heart. He hurriedly asked, "Why do you want me to leave alone?"
Wei Ci said softly, "Just teasing you."
Wu Lu and the other two also got out of the car. Cang Ming had to stop talking for the time being, but there was always an lingering fear in his heart.
Xisheng surveyed the door hidden within the stone sleeves and said, "The guardian spirits have seen clearly that we dare not rush in. This delaying tactic is truly cunning." Wulu pointed at the door with his cane, "I wonder if that old charlatan is hiding here? Or has he already fled somewhere else?"
Wei Qiang said seriously, "Hey, everyone, be careful! We who make a living by collecting herbs are most aware of these bizarre things."
Wu Lu asked with great interest: "What's so strange?"
Wei Qiang said mysteriously, "For example, if you see a figure waving at you while you're in the mountains collecting herbs, you absolutely must not respond. But you can't turn around and run, because at that moment, there's bound to be another figure behind you!"
Wu Lu gasped for air and asked nervously, "Why?" Xi Sheng said expressionlessly, "Two ghosts attacked you from the front and back."
Wei Qiang said, "What Zou Chaoxian said is exactly right! Also, if you see a house while collecting herbs at night, and there's no village or shop in sight, don't go in. I once had a disciple of my sect get lost in the wilderness while collecting herbs. He wasted his time until the middle of the night when he suddenly saw a small house. After he went in, he was stunned... "
Xisheng said, "No matter what, we can't stay here for too long." Cangming agreed, "Indeed, we have to open this stone door to see what's inside. Maybe it's just a trick."
Wei Ci nodded and said, "Yes, it is also possible that the guardian deity has been hiding in the dark, watching us work so hard here." Wei Qiang couldn't help but turn his head and look around.
Cang Ming drew his sword and pointed it at the stone door. Wu Lu suddenly shouted, "Hey, I say, why don't we light a fire at the door and smoke out the things inside..."
Xisheng glanced at him and he said angrily, "Forget it. The crack in the door is so narrow, I guess the smoke can't get in."
Cang Ming held his breath, and with one hand and two fingers, he drew his sword arm back, gathering strength like drawing a bow, and using the momentum of the rebound, he thrust towards the stone gate. Wu Lu cried out again, "Hey, how about we..."
This time, Cang Ming thrust his sword straight through. The tip of the sword clanged against the stone, and with a resounding roar, the stone door swung inward. It wasn't so much a sword slashing open as a knock. It was as if someone had been waiting at the doorway for a long time, silently awaiting the sound of the sword.
The five men outside the door each took up their positions, ready for battle. Although Wei Qiang's internal and spiritual power were significantly reduced, he pulled out a scratcher from the back of his red robe. However, inside the door was a bare stone chamber the size of a palm, its walls crudely carved.
Xi Sheng raised his sleeves, his sharp eyebrows trembling: "Empty. Be careful of traps."
Cang Ming looked at Wei Ci, who was looking back at her. They both knew that once they took this step, there was no turning back, but they had to take it sooner or later. She turned to the other three and said, "Can you bring some people with you? We can exchange locators, and I'll have you come find me when the time comes..."
Wu Lu sneered: "Don't you just want to get rid of us? That's not nice of you. I'm not that afraid of death. Uh, besides, immortals can't die easily..."
Xisheng said, "We used to go together to fight ghosts." Wei Qiang also chimed in, "As for me, I'm hoping to accumulate more merit this time. Starting from scratch, I'm short on merit, you know."
Cang Ming made up his mind and said, "Everyone, I'll express my gratitude later. It's all said and done. Now, let's join hands and go together."
While those people were willing to go through fire and water, they weren't so keen on holding hands. Xisheng and Wulu simply extended their thumbs and index fingers to pinch each other. Wei Qiang grasped the demon king's wrist, and the demon king's face seemed to sink to the ground. The five of them had intended to enter the stone chamber simultaneously, but the stone door was narrow, so they squeezed in, standing side by side.
Everything is safe and sound.
Cang Ming said, "Looks like we'll have to break through another layer of wall. Perhaps it's like the underground palace I saw before." She released Xi Sheng's hand and reached for the sword at her side. The stone door slammed shut with a thud, and darkness enveloped them. The five of them were trapped in the cramped, claustrophobic space, feeling suffocated.
Cang Ming had anticipated this and hurriedly recited the spell. Wei Ci's hand also moved, as if preparing to break through the stone gate.
At that moment, the stone chamber suddenly began to spin. A loud crackling noise erupted overhead, as if the entire stone Buddha were being crushed into rubble. In the darkness, several people were sucked in by a powerful force and then hurled heavily to the ground, leaving them feeling cold beneath them.
Suddenly thrown into the light, he was faced with a dazzling white expanse, so dazzling that it almost brought tears to his eyes. Cang Ming blinked a few times and finally saw that there was endless snow all around him. In the sky was a bright moon, illuminating the white snow like silver waves.
A warm big hand pulled her up, and Wei Ci's voice rang in her ears: "General, this is..."
"Forget the Immortal Source," Wu Lu continued, panting. Xi Sheng and Wei Qiang had also climbed up. The snow, which was as deep as their calves, was silent and still, as if it had spent a long, deserted time in the northern plains.
Cang Ming stared around in amazement. In the moonlight, the broken walls and ruins were coated with a seashell-like sheen. She said, "Yes... it's the Forgotten Immortal Source. That stone chamber turned out to be a teleportation array. But why did it send us here?"
As if in response to her words, countless corpses wearing embroidered shoes suddenly emerged from behind a low wall. From their tilted heads, mouths opened and closed, a cheerful humming echoed: "Tens of thousands of fools, born to be fed. How can you, the royal family, work in the fields..." In a blink of an eye, the swarm of corpses surrounded the few people.
"Hey!" Cang Ming shouted, holding a sword but not knowing where to start. Seeing Wangxianyuan being defiled by a group of evil creatures, he almost collapsed mentally.
Wu Lu said beside him, "I understand, I understand. When I saw someone digging a hole in Tongduo Mountain, I wanted to curse too..."
Wei Ci snorted, then suddenly threw out a white gull. It pierced the moonlight like a flying knife, piercing the low wall and immediately evoked a hoarse scream. Wei Ci said coldly, "Aren't you coming out yet?"
Li Xianzhen staggered out from behind the wall, followed by the fool-like old Guilian.
Cang Ming sighed, "Once you work for the Guardian God, you'll never be able to escape." Li Xianzhen hunched over, staring up at Cang Ming from below, "I want the king to bring Yi'er back."
Cang Ming drew his sword and said, "Call your king out, don't hide behind his shoes."
Li Xianzhen recited dryly, "The king has ordered you to think twice before you act. He will come to the Forgotten Immortal Terrace to negotiate with you before dawn. If you insist on opposing the king, then the king will kill you first and then take the world into his own hands. The Forgotten Immortal Source will be razed to the ground first, followed by the lair of your accomplices."
Wei Ci brushed off the nonexistent dust from his shoulders and said, "Ridiculous."
Li Xianzhen remained unmoved and continued his monologue, "The king is magnanimous and willing to put aside past grudges. If you can assist him, you will surely enjoy supreme wealth and glory, second only to the emperor and above all others. This is far better than killing demons and becoming a god."
Cang Ming glanced at the corpses around him, his interest growing dull. He didn't even bother to start. Perhaps it was the rough seas of the journey, and he'd grown accustomed to the intense dishes, so he'd lost patience with these appetizers. Xi Sheng also said, "Save your energy for the decisive battle at Wangxiantai."
Then Cang Ming casually made a few sword flowers, forcing the embroidered shoe zombie to stumble and retreat three steps, making way for him. Several people passed through the zombie horde, walked away, and arrived at the Forgotten Immortal Platform.
Li Xianzhen didn't care about them. He squatted in the snow like a pile of debris, lost in thought, and looked at Lao Guilian with murderous intent from time to time.
On the Forget Immortal Terrace, colorful clouds sometimes obscured the full moon, which would appear and disappear. Cang Ming sat cross-legged, looking up at the sky: "Tonight is the fifteenth night." Wei Ci sat beside her and asked softly: "Is it cold sitting on the snow? Do you want to sit in my arms?" Cang Ming almost blushed at the question, and the other three glanced at her as if they were used to it.
Wu Lu hastily summoned a soundproof screen, barely separating a secret room. Cang Ming extended a finger and sketched on the ground, "We still have a lot to do before daybreak. Those ghosts of Old Ghost Lotus aren't too difficult to defeat, but their sheer numbers will inevitably tie us down and spread our forces. I'm afraid we'll have to devise a formation to prevent them from breaking in, but they might also try to break through the border and threaten the lives of civilians..."
Xisheng listened attentively and couldn't help saying, "That's troublesome."
Wu Lu chuckled, "This has already been arranged by my master. I heard a signal from a Taoist priest outside the Great Wall that day, and I guessed you would come. I immediately found some helpers and had them rush to Beiyuan to await deployment. To facilitate the rendezvous, I decided on the site of the Forgotten Immortal Source."
Cang Ming cheered up and punched Wu Lu: "The master of Tongduo Sect is really different!" Wei Qiang also nodded in agreement.
A few of them wrote and sketched, arranging the military strategy in advance, and then rehearsed it with little figures made of snowballs. It was the darkest hour of the night, and Wei Qiangxian had fallen asleep leaning against the railing. Wu Lu and Xi Sheng sat beside him, one on each side, closing their eyes and forming a magic circle to block the wind.
Cang Ming and Wei Ci quietly stood up, treading on the snow, and walked side by side into the distance. Wangxiantai was very vast, like a huge painting under the moonlight, but the painting was empty, as if waiting for someone to fill it.
When they reached a quiet spot, Cang Ming suddenly stood on tiptoe and hugged Wei Ci's neck. Wei Ci held her tightly in his arms, unable to resist cupping her face with one hand, gazing at her with infinite affection. Cang Ming said, "Brother Wei Ci, no matter what, we saw the moon tonight before the war." This night might be the last moon, but neither of them said it out loud.
Without refusing, he said, "I am waiting for the end of this battle, then you will take me back to the countryside and let me travel around the mountains and rivers."
Cang Ming felt a pang of sadness, but he still smiled and said, "Of course, I still want to find some interesting antiques and treasures for you. I don't have anything to offer right now, and I didn't even treat you to dinner... But I made this myself, so I'll give it to you to play with first."
Wei Ci looked down and saw a small amulet with a hexagonal snowflake and a flying gull totem painted on it. Cang Ming put it around Wei Ci's neck and explained, "This is made from leaves... but it's different from the previous ones!"
"Why is it different?" Wei Ci smiled softly, clasping her waist with one hand and holding her two hands with the other, holding them tightly and not letting go.
Cang Ming said: "It will not lose its effect and will always be with you."
Without saying a word of thanks.
Cang Ming sighed unconsciously again and said, "The pottery figures of Li Chongshan and his wife are still in the ancient building." Wei Ci said, "That's easy." As he spoke, he had an idea, and with two rustling sounds, two ugly pottery figures fell to the ground on the snow.
"You summoned them here?" Cang Ming's mind suddenly lit up. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth and said, "Well, tonight, I will put an end to them."
Wei Ci gently held her neck and said, "No hurry." Then, a warm, refreshing kiss, scented with bamboo leaves, landed on Cang Ming's lips. It was a lingering, intense, and powerful kiss, filled with the greed and longing before parting, and filled with an unwilling, rude, and aggressive undertone. The wind whipped the snow all over the sky, and tears welled up in Cang Ming's eyes. Wei Ci gently wiped them away.
Cang Ming buried his head in his chest, and the two of them embraced for a long time. Finally, Cang Ming gently broke free, drew his ice blade, and pointed it at Li Chongshan and his wife. The clay figures seemed to sense the murderous intent and began to tremble restlessly on the spot.
Wei Ci's gloomy gaze fell on the pottery figures, and he said calmly, "Cang Cang, get started. This pair of pottery figures was originally meant for you."
Cang Ming's hands trembled slightly. The moment the sword struck out, the clay figures would transform into their true forms, and what awaited them was a thousand cuts.
I'd slain countless demons and monsters before, but this was a first for me. In my previous life, during the battles in the Central Plains, I'd seemed to have focused solely on subduing the enemy, not on killing them with every blow. The sensation of a sword piercing flesh and blood was different from killing a ghost, and perhaps even different from slaughtering a pig.
He raised his sword, turned around, and swung it, sending a gust of wind stirring up a blanket of snow. However, the blade suddenly stopped an inch away from the potter.
Wei Ci's expression was extremely distressing. Cang Ming's chest rose and fell, and he gasped silently. In this moment of immense hatred and torment, a loud roar suddenly came from behind: "Sister Cang, I'm here to help you!"
The ice blade dropped. Cang Ming turned his head and watched Wu Lu approach indignantly, swinging his crutch as if to hit the pair of pottery figures on the head. "Do you want me to do it? Me or you?"
Cang Ming said weakly: "I am such a disappointing daughter. I actually... I'll try again."
She raised her sword again and suddenly heard a commotion below the Forgotten Immortal Terrace. Wei Ci said, "Someone's coming." Several people hurried to the railing and looked down, only to see the Red Shoes Zombies in chaos.
A ghostly, ethereal ghost ship glided effortlessly across the snowy plains, carelessly passing through a field of demons. The "You" flag hoisted above the ship rustled, and You Xiao, perched on the bow, waved excitedly at Cang Ming, while Xun Yan and Mi Xia stood behind him.
Wu Lu said with satisfaction: "Good, good, good. Nanjiang Zhaoxia, as promised, has come to help."
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