Chapter 169 Nine Infants
"The Yin Qi seems to be even more frightening today." The eldest prince Xiao Shangyuan looked at the foggy mountain forest and frowned.
"Indeed," Fan Cheng nodded in agreement, "I think it would be difficult to find any survivors near Yishan."
Gu Xu followed them silently, alertly Observing the surroundings.
The dim ancient trees stand majestically, exuding the smell of dampness and decay. The huge tree crown blocks out the sky and the sun, holding up a thick umbrella canopy. The intricate tree roots turn into stumbling traps, and the frozen frost condenses on the branches.
According to the plan made last night, the monks from the sixth realm from the capital will enter the depths of Yishan Mountain to look for traces of the Snow Girl and the mysterious black altar; the monks from the fourth and fifth realms will make a detour to Yishan. Fight in Shanxi, where hundreds of mutated monsters are said to be gathered; while the monks in the second and third realms will work as small teams to rescue survivors in the villages to the east and south.
Gu Xu is a special case.
He was asked by name to join the eldest prince Xiao Shangyuan's team to deal with ghosts on the hillside near the camp.
There, there is an official road occupied by ghosts, which seriously affects the transportation of materials within Qingzhou Prefecture.
Among his fellow travelers, in addition to Xiao Shangyuan, there was Fan Cheng from the sixth realm, Wei Jiusi from Qingzhou Prefecture in the fifth realm, and two monks from the fourth realm.
As a second-level monk, Gu Xu can be said to be out of place among this group of people.
If you had to use one word to describe his mood, it would be "get rid of me".
Gu Xu knew that the eldest prince wanted to take this opportunity to observe his abilities.
Ever since he was appointed as "Attendant Reader" by the emperor, he has come into the sight of the powerful people of Da Qi, and it is difficult to keep a low profile as before.
This undoubtedly made him feel a little depressed.
Who has allowed himself to be too good?
The cold wind howled by, blowing the shadows of the trees like ferocious living creatures.
"The three fierce gods of Qingzhou Prefecture are not easy to mess with." At this time, Wei Jiusi, a Qianhu household in Qingzhou Prefecture, interjected, "Your Highness, we always thought that Snow Girl could only control snowstorms and summoned objects. We have thought that she has the ability to create a large area of evil energy out of thin air. She is far more dangerous than we thought. If we can't deal with her anymore, we may have to ask the saints in person just like we did with the 'Nine Infant Snake Demon'. Take action."
Hearing his words, Gu Xu silently commented in his heart: Mr. Wei is really hinting at the capital to provide reinforcements to Qingzhou Prefecture anytime and anywhere.
"The three fierce gods of Qingzhou Prefecture... there is the Snow Girl, there is the Nine Infant Snake Demon, and what is the other one called? Is there any Snow Girl as scary as this?" Xiao Shangyuan asked curiously.
"There's one more..." Wei Jiusi frowned.
He found that his mind was blank and racking his brains could not come up with an answer to this question.
"Sorry, Your Highness," Wei Jiusi lowered his head after thinking for a long time and said with some guilt, "I can't remember the name of that ghost at the moment. This is my dereliction of duty. After I return to the camp, I will tell you as soon as possible."
"It's okay," Xiao Shangyuan said with a smile, seemingly unconcerned, "I just mentioned casually that our top priority is still to deal with Snow Girl."
What is the name of the third evil god?
Gu Xu also began to think about this problem silently.
He remembered that he had asked Chen Jisheng, Cui Tianyou, and many other people about this question.
But they all used excuses such as "forgot" and "don't know", and never told him an accurate answer.
Gu Xu himself also considered going to the Library to search for information related to the third evil god.
However, whenever he entered the library, he would be busy reading other knowledge related to practice and forget about this problem.
"This thing is really weird," Gu Xu secretly thought to himself, "I didn't expect that even though I have the talent of 'Extensive Memory', I would also be forgetful. After the Yishan mission is over, I will definitely check this out. The Third Fierce God.”
At this moment, there was something strange in the forest.
The branches rustled in the wind, as if fingers were stretching out to scratch each other.
The gurgling sound of spring water could be heard in the distance, as well as the faint whimpering and mourning.
"The ghost is approaching." Fan Cheng said calmly.
His tone was very calm, and he had no plans to take action for the time being.
"They are not very strong. If my perception is correct, the strongest ones are only at the 'wild ghost' level." Wei Jiusi also narrowed his eyes slightly and added at the side.
"Brother Gu Xian, do we have a chance to see your miraculous attainments in Talismans today?" The eldest prince Xiao Shangyuan also said with a smile.
Gu Xu remained calm on the surface, but silently complained in his heart: You guys, the big guys, just stood by and let me, a second-level monk, fight against the ghosts. Does this make sense?
At this time, he had realized that the reason why the eldest prince stayed in the Yishan War Zone was not really to "do justice for heaven and eliminate harm for the people", but just to accumulate political capital for the future seizure of the throne. .
"Of course, Your Highness." Gu Xu responded in a calm tone.
A few minutes later, dozens of shadows appeared from the darkness of the woods and came to them.
They are thin and human-like in appearance, with pale skin like corpses and wearing tattered clothes. They are surrounded by black energy, and their eyes are dark red like bleeding, burning like the karma fire of hell.
As they walked, they made shrill roars from time to time.
Gu Xu knew that these ghosts were villagers living nearby not long ago.
Seeing their ferocious faces, he couldn't help but think of Pan Xiaopeng, an exorcist clerk who became possessed during the practice and was eventually killed by Chen Jisheng in pain.
"Let me help you get rid of the pain!" Gu Xu said silently.
Immediately, with a thought in his mind, he took out a few fifth-generation "Tai Shang Arctic Demon Suppressing and Demon Killing Talismans" from "Xianyunju" and gently threw them forward.
Everyone nearby, including Xiao Shangyuan, Fan Cheng, and Wei Jiusi, were staring at these talismans.
They passed through the gray mountain fog, like butterflies flapping their wings, flying towards these pale monsters.
Bang!
The next second, sparks burst out.
Tearing apart the turbid fog and breaking the stagnant air.
A large amount of light and heat are instantly released in a small space, accompanied by a sharp rise in temperature, driving away all the haze with a domineering and arrogant attitude.
The raging flames danced wildly like a golden snake, sweeping and jumping in the forest, swallowing the monster's body and illuminating the young man's handsome face.
In his dark eyes, there was also a bright light.
Bright, magnificent, dreamlike.
At this moment, he seemed to have become the monarch of flames.
After a while.
He slowly raised his right hand.
The fire dimmed and then died out.
It was like an impassioned symphony falling silent at the command of a conductor, or like a minister attending an early court bowing before the emperor to retire.
The ghosts were completely gone.
There is only a patch of black and gray left in the empty woods.
"Your Highness, I have dealt with the ghosts." Gu Xu looked at Xiao Shangyuan beside him and said calmly.
Xiao Shangyuan looked at the black ashes on the ground and was silent for a long time. Then he slowly said: "If I guessed correctly, this should be the 'ghost-killing talisman' improved by Gu Xiandi... This kind of power is really disappointing. I can believe it..."
He specifically asked Gu Xu to accompany him because he wanted to test the strength of the new attendant.
He was very curious about what was so special about this young man who was highly regarded by his father and the head of the Exorcism Department, and who was also recognized by "Jinghong Bi" and Kongxuan Sanren.
So today——
Xiao Shangyuan was surprised to find that Gu Xu had only shown the tip of the iceberg of his abilities, and had not yet used trump cards such as the "Jinghong Pen" and Immortal Inheritance. He was stunned.
This made Xiao Shangyuan very lucky that Gu Xu was not his brother.
Otherwise, if the Daqi royal family has a son with such extraordinary talents and great opportunities, then as long as he grows up smoothly, the other princes can almost immediately announce that they will withdraw from the fight for the heir. "Gu Qingcheng is so humble," Wei Jiusi also praised, "Yesterday you said that this 'ghost-killing talisman' is more than ten times more powerful than the original version. But in my opinion, it's more than ten times? It's at least a hundred times more powerful. Let’s go!”
Fan Cheng was silent for a long time as he recalled the scene just now.
As a sixth-level monk, he has a close relationship with the Grand Master of Qi, and has a superficial understanding of the art of talismans and seal scripts.
But at this moment, he really couldn't believe that this talisman, which destroyed many ghosts and monsters in the forest with its destructive appearance, was actually the most basic "Tai Shang Arctic Demon Suppressing and Ghost Killing Talisman" in the book!
"When I return to the capital, I have to find an opportunity to have a good chat with the Imperial Preceptor about this young man named Gu Xu," Fan Cheng thought to himself, "I'm looking forward to it when the Imperial Preceptor knows someone's talisman." What kind of expression would he have on his face when his Taoist talent was stronger than before?”
…………
After solving these ghosts, they continued to search according to the plan. The next lair is where ghosts gather.
The further we go, the darker the mountains and forests become.
The ground is wet and muddy, occasionally mixed with dirty snow, making it easy to slip, and rocks and tree roots can also cause someone to trip unintentionally.
But everyone in the team is a monk, and they can walk as fast as they can even on this bumpy road.
In order to keep up with these high-level bosses, Gu Xu also used the "Meteor Walking on the Moon" movement technique.
This made Xiao Shangyuan couldn't help but look back at him a few more times.
He knows very well that "Meteor Walking on the Moon" is a high-grade martial arts created by Luo Si. Only his trusted followers can learn it and it is never spread easily.
"It seems that Gu Xu's status in the eyes of the chief executive is higher than I thought." Xiao Shangyuan thought silently.
Gu Xu walked at the back of the team and didn't care what the eldest prince thought.
At this moment, an unknown premonition emerged in his heart.
Uneasy feelings lingered in his mind.
In a daze, he felt the earth shaking. He also felt a fiery wave rushing towards him, as if it was going to burn him to ashes.
However, after a few seconds, he came back to his senses and found that everything around him was normal. His fellow travelers also looked calm and did not notice anything strange.
"What's going on? Is it my imagination?" Gu Xu frowned.
The cultivation levels of his fellow travelers are all higher than his.
Logically speaking, if there is really a danger here, others should discover the problem earlier than you do.
He thought for a moment, took out three copper coins from his pocket, and decided to find the answer through divination.
The result of his divination was "Kun Shang Li Xia", which is the hexagram of "Earth, Fire, Ming Yi".
The inner hexagram is "Li", and Li is the sun; the outer hexagram is "Kun", and Kun is the earth.
"The Earth's Fire Mingyi" means that the sun sinks into the earth.
According to the book, when the sun enters the earth, the light is damaged and everything is blocked, which symbolizes that the gentleman is trapped.
Those who get this hexagram will have bad luck and will encounter difficult things. They need to be patient and self-respecting and wait for the opportunity.
This is undoubtedly a bad omen.
“Is my hunch correct?”
Thinking of this, Gu Xu took a few steps forward and said: “Your Highness, Mr. Fan, Mr. Wei, I think there may be us here. The danger is difficult to deal with, and you need to be cautious-"
"-Why do you think so?" The eldest prince Xiao Shangyuan interrupted him.
“During the divination process, I got the hexagram ‘Earth Fire Ming Yi’,” Gu Xu replied truthfully with a serious expression, “Because I have never made any mistakes in divination when doing tasks before, so this makes me happy. I feel a little worried.”
"So that's it!" Xiao Shangyuan patted him on the shoulder, with a relaxed smile on his face, "Brother Gu Xian, don't worry. Before setting off, Uncle Fan also did a divination and got the 'Tianhuo Tongren' divination. You should I know this is a good sign - as long as we unite and work together, everything will go well and everything will be successful.
"Uncle Fan is not only a profound practitioner, but also an expert in divination. In the past ten years or so, his divination results have almost never been missed.
“Besides, even if there is danger, we will protect you.”
Fan Cheng’s divination rarely makes mistakes.
To be precise, his divination result was wrong only once.
That is because he misassessed Xue Nu's strength a few months ago, which made Xiao Shangyuan's efforts in Yishan in vain, and even almost became Xue Nu's food.
Gu Xu nodded slowly, but did not relax.
The wind in the forest became stronger and stronger, like a knife cutting. Worry piled up in his belly like an indigestible meal.
At this moment, he felt the earth tremble violently.
Boom!
Yishan suddenly let out an earth-shattering roar, huge rocks rolled down one after another, trees shook violently, and dust flew in the air.
A thick black mist rose from the mountains, almost swallowing up their entire field of vision.
Soon, huge cracks appeared on the ground.
Like a few invisible swords, the ground is treated as a huge cake, carving it up wantonly.
In these cracks, there are both fire burning and water vapor transpiration.
Faintly, the cry of a baby can also be heard.
Xiao Shangyuan glanced at Gu Xu with shocked eyes.
At this critical moment, he no longer cared to think about why this disaster came without any warning, nor did he care to think about why Gu Xu had a premonition about it.
"Run away!" he shouted loudly.
Beside him, Wei Jiusi, a Qianhu household in Qingzhou Prefecture, turned pale and murmured at a loss: "This...how is this possible...how did the seal that the Imperial Master personally set back then suddenly disappear?" Broken..."
…………
At the same time, west of Yishan.
Chen Jisheng holds the "Wonderless" sword and is working with several colleagues from the Exorcism Department to deal with a group of terrifying mutated ghosts in the ruins of a village.
The blue-white sword light flashed again and again, and the ghosts turned into black ashes one after another.
At this moment, the ground began to shake violently.
Black cracks appeared on the surface one after another, and then quickly spread around.
In these cracks, boiling water vapor emerged, and there were faint blazing flames, causing the temperature to rise rapidly.
“Wow——”
A baby’s cry shook the sky.
This is a nightmarish sound.
Even though Chen Jisheng had experienced hundreds of battles, had veteran experience and strong psychological quality, he couldn't help but shudder at this time.
The bloody storm many years ago quietly reappeared in his mind.
The ancient book says: "The Nine Infants, a monster of water and fire, sounds like a baby's cry, and is harmful to people."
He knew that the Nine Infants snake demon that ravaged Qingzhou Prefecture back then had broken through. He broke the seal and returned to the human world.
PS: I'm very sorry, because the key plot is not easy to write and it's a bit laggy. I spent all night working on this chapter, so the update is a little late.
(End of this chapter)