"Maybe so." The white-haired old man sighed, obviously not willing to discuss this topic any more.
At this time, the group of people had entered the stone house, and walked straight to the depths along a stone step that slanted through the ground inside.
Liu Ming followed Zhu Chi all the way, constantly looking at everything around him.
The entire stone steps are all made of bluestone, and at intervals, there is a stone lampstand on one side of the stone wall to illuminate the nearby area.
When they reached a depth of more than 30 feet underground, the front suddenly opened up and walked into a hall extending in all directions.
There is an open broken stone door on all sides of this hall, and I don't know where it leads to.
The young man leading the way did not hesitate to turn left and enter a passage.
But the group of people walked as far away as possible, and another general hall without two appeared in front of them, and they were also connected by several passages.
This place is actually a small man-made underground maze.
However, the Jiuqiao Mountain disciple had clearly already explored this place clearly. The leading disciple just took Liu Ming and the others to turn left, and after a round right, he appeared in front of a purple-red copper door shortly afterwards.
When Zhu Chi and Senior Aunt Zhong saw this bronze gate, their expressions moved slightly.
There was a "crack".
The originally closed bronze gate slowly opened after two Jiuqiaoshan disciples grabbed a strong push.
Seeing them struggling, they seem to weigh more than ten thousand catties.
As soon as the Tongmen Square opened, a hot breath rolled out, shocking the disciples of the Barbarian Ghost Sect, Liu Ming and others.
And Zhu Chi frowned as soon as he sensed the scorching heat behind the door, but the next moment he walked in with the Taoist aunt without hesitation.
Liu Ming walked into the bronze gate closely, and after looking around, a look of surprise appeared on his face.
This is an underground cave the size of a few acres. The ground is full of cyan slates, and some light red spar is faintly visible around it. At the center is a red fruit tree with a height of ten feet, full of emerald green round fruits the size of a fist. There are more than thirty pieces.
The whole fruit tree is covered by a light blue light curtain, but in the dark red soil within a few meters below the roots, a group of hot air keeps gushing out, making everyone in the cave feel like they are in a big place. It's just by the stove.
But whether Zhu Chi or the Taoist aunt Zhong, witnessed this scene, they did not show any unexpected expressions.
And after Zhu Chi stared at the fruit tree for a while, he slowly said:
"It seems that what was expected at the time was correct. Soon after the spiritual fruit matured, it was the day when the fire below erupted. It is a pity that this spiritual tree, otherwise, as long as you wait a few more years, you can get some more Tianqiong fruit. of."
"If you hadn't seen this situation, you and I would not easily let go of this spirit tree. There is no time to distribute the spirit fruit politely today." Dazhi said with a smile.
"When the fire erupts, the Fujiao Island will no longer exist, and the spirit tree has been there for many years. Once there is no ground fire to nourish the spiritual roots, J will wither and become ashes in an instant. What is there to fight for! Okay, I have checked. There are a total of 33 spirit fruits on the tree, which are the same as before, and there is no shortage. Let's discuss the battle contest." The Taoist surnamed Zhong said.
"I'm waiting for the disciples to compete, naturally, it doesn't need to be too complicated. So, since there are 33 spirit fruits, then divide the spirit fruits into three batches, each of which has eleven spirit fruits, and the winner will go personally. How about the pick. Of course, this is just a test. If there is a situation in which a disciple may be seriously injured and killed in the fight, you and I can stop it. But once you do it, you will automatically admit that the disciple failed in the test." The old man with a wooden crown also spoke.
"The Dashang Daoist fellow seems to have considered very well, and Zhu has no opinion. But the two have also promised not to use it for the disciple's high-level puppets. , It is considered to have lost the competition." Zhu Chi said with a flash of eyes.
"Naturally, there is no problem." Dazhi agreed with full mouth.
So after the two discussed a few more words, the old man with a wooden crown stepped on the ground with one foot, and his toe plunged into the ground several inches deep, and then suddenly his figure moved. A circle of acres was drawn on the ground.
Liu Ming and others who looked at this were shocked in their hearts.
This old man seemed to be wrinkled and very old, but his feet did not seem to be flesh and blood.
"Well, those who voluntarily admit defeat, those who leave the circle, and those who are incapacitated are all considered losers! Now you can send a disciple into the circle." The old wooden crown said after he exited the circle.
As soon as his voice fell, a fifteen or six-year-old short-sleeved girl walked out of the Jiuqiao Mountain disciples, with a yellow leather bag hanging around her waist, seven or eight pigtails, her eyes sparkling and her small mouth. Slightly tilted, very playful.
"Yu Cheng, the other party is also in the early stage of spiritual apprenticeship, you can try it first." Zhu Chi looked at the girl and said by name.
At this kind of time, it’s not the time to use any scheming. If they dare to send mid-spirit apprentice disciples like Xiao Feng or Liu Ming from the beginning, although the first game will definitely be won, it’s equivalent to giving up the following. Two victories, this kind of thing that damages one's own reputation and can't maximize the benefits, is naturally not what Zhu Chi and the Taoist Zhong surnamed want.
After Yu Cheng agreed, he walked out with a hint of excitement on his face, and the moment Fang walked into the circle, his breath rose, and a yellow light suddenly appeared on the surface of his body.
Seeing this, the girl on the opposite side pursed her mouth and smiled, then she swept her waist with one hand, and then threw a yellow ball.
After a "crack" noise, the moment the yellow ball hits the ground, it swelled and deformed and turned into a six-foot black python, judging from the swarthy body and the coldly glowing scales on the body. , Is obviously a puppet beast.
"go with"
The girl pinched the tactics with one hand, and after touching her forehead with the other hand, she made a squeaky chick in her mouth.
There was a "poof".
The puppet beast just slapped its tail to the ground fiercely, and shot out like a crossbow.
"Good job!"
Yu Cheng was no longer unfamiliar with puppet beasts after a period of guidance from scholars and others. He was not afraid of seeing this. Instead, he leaned down and slammed his hand to the ground, and there were several yellow spirits on his arm. The pattern appeared in a flash.
With a muffled sound, a huge bluestone floor floated from the ground, and then turned into a stone wall to block in front of you.
Seeing this, the girl's expression moved slightly, but the black python slammed into the stone slab without evasiveness.
With a loud "bang", the stone slab burst and shattered in an instant, turning into a cloud of dust and mist, and the black python also hit the ground.
But as soon as the puppet beast landed, a mouthful of cold light shot out suddenly.
Surprisingly, they were silver needles like ox hair, passing through the dust and fog at an incredible speed, and "banging" nailed to an object.
When the girl heard this, her face was joyful, and her hand was changed, she was about to manipulate the puppet beast to attack again. A yellow light flashed above her head, and a skull-sized ocher stone appeared out of thin air, and it fell fiercely. Down.
The girl was startled, ignoring the twist of the other waist, the stone suddenly fell from the side while rubbing her shoulders.
But at this moment, there was a "call".
A scarlet fireball ejected from the dust and mist without any indication, and instantly arrived in front of the Jiuqiao Mountain girl.
The girl's face panicked, and she just slammed an arm forward in time.
With a "boom", the fire bomb burst open, submerging the girl's figure in it.
"Ha ha"
Yu Cheng let out a burst of laughter, and walked out of the dust and fog on the opposite side, but at this moment, his body was covered with a thick layer of earth and loess, as if he was wearing a piece of earth armor.
The silver needles shot by the puppet beast before were all inserted into the soil armor one by one, looking safe and sound.
Seeing this situation, Liu Ming raised his eyebrows slightly, and there was another pity in his heart.
This soil armor technique can be regarded as the unique magic technique of earth spirit art. Even if people who practice other techniques want to practice this technique, they can get twice the result with half the effort, and the effect is not good.
"Brother, you laughed too early."
There was also a trace of anger in the flames, with a "swish" sound, and the flames were all swept away under the action of a gust of wind.
The figure of the young girl was revealed again in the same place.
It's just that at this moment, she has an extra vermillion shield on the arm in front of her, and she holds a crimson talisman in her other hand, which emits a faint red light to protect it. Where is her body? He looked like he was burned by the flames.
Liu Ming couldn't help showing a hint of surprise when he saw the talisman in the girl's hand.
Although he hasn't been in the cultivation world for long, he also knows how rare this can store the spells in it.
Except for a few talismans that can be used repeatedly a certain number of times, this type of attack defensive talisman that consumes one time is not much in the hands of ordinary spiritual masters.
"Fire-avoidance talisman! The two fellow Taoists are really willing to spend the money for this test! The materials needed for this talisman are very difficult to find, and the general talisman does not know if it can be made a hundred times. It will be equipped for the disciples." Zhu Chi couldn't help looking a little ugly when he saw the talisman in the hand of the Jiuqiao Mountain girl.
"Hehe, two fellow Taoists can misunderstand me, this talisman is not ours. Do you know what the girl's surname is?" Dazhi was not surprised to see this situation, but he asked with a smile.
"What's the last name?" Zhu felt a little surprised.
"Her last name is Nan!" the white-haired old man shook his head and replied.
"The surname is Nan, does this woman have anything to do with Master Nan?" After Zhu Chi was taken aback, he suddenly thought of something and said in silence.
"Haha, Zhu Daoyou finally figured it out. This girl is indeed a granddaughter whom Master Nan loved for ten minutes. It is only because she has liked puppetry since she was a child that she worshipped the two of me. So this girl has some talismanic protection words on her body, but Very ordinary things." Dazhi replied leisurely.