Outside the cold mountains, the wind and snow ceased. Three thousand miles to the south, the temperature gradually warmed up.
The mountains in the cloud are like a natural barrier, dividing the continent into north and south sides.
At sunset, the tired birds return to their nests, and the small town at the foot of the mountain rises with curls of smoke.
The food shops in the town are usually very good. Hunters who enter the mountains and caravans from north to south often pass by. They rest in the town, have some hot soup and rice, and drink a few bowls of courageous wine.
It was quiet at this time, only one table of guests sat in the corner. There were four of them, three white-clothed youths and a commoner-clothed youth.
The boy's face was pale, and he coughed twice from time to time.
The young people wear clean clothes and wear swords around their waists. They are cultivators.
The north-south junction is a three-way boundary. Ordinary people go out and do not want to provoke monks, so they avoid it.
The three monks sat upright, neither drinking tea nor drinking alcohol, just waiting for the ordinary young man to eat vegetables and soup, showing great patience.
Suddenly one person frowned, as if he had noticed something, and his face was annoyed: "Senior Brother Zhang, those people are still following us!"
"Okay!" The round-faced cultivator smiled back at him, "It's better to go back to Hanshan with us!"
These days, the three of them are on the road with the young man, the water channel is changed to the mountain road, and the flying instrument is changed to walking.
The young man known as Senior Brother Zhang had a gentle temperament and stopped him: "If you cross this mountain tonight, it is the Northland, and they will not follow him again."
The round-faced cultivator was about to speak, but he saw the soup-drinking youth raised his head: "Who is that?"
The three monks looked at each other. Since he was a teenager, he has followed them on the road, and he has been taciturn, telling him about anecdotes in the cultivation world, but he does not see how curious and excited he is. This is the first time to ask a question.
Brother Zhang replied, "The people from Mingyue Lake."
"Since you have promised to join my Hanshan Sword Sect, you are considered our junior brother. To be honest, they are all here for you." Brother Zhang decided to say a few more words, "You are the body of the innate sword spirit, and Ji Sword Sovereign Xiao is average, rare in a century. Mingyue Lake is also a sword sect, and naturally wants to accept you."
Because of the great competition in the ocean, the various factions in the world attach great importance to the cultivation of young disciples, and this competition even starts from accepting disciples.
With the prestige of Hanshan, every spring, tens of thousands of people go up the mountain to test their roots and bones.
In addition, the cultivated family in the north that is attached to Hanshan will send the outstanding descendants of the clan up the mountain; when the elders and direct disciples of each peak travel down the mountain, they will also bring back to Hanshan when they meet young children or teenagers with excellent qualifications.
Each of the six sects acts in this way.
Mingyue Lake and Hanshan face each other in the south and the north. The two factions have similar criteria for selecting talents, and it is not the first time that there has been a conflict for disciples at the border between the north and the south.
The round-faced cultivator said to the commoner boy: "We accept apprentices in the cultivation world. We pay attention to your love and my wishes. As long as you don't want to, they have nothing to do. That Mingyue Lake is tricky and eloquent, so don't be deceived!"
The young man nodded, but thought secretly: Nanhu and Hubei Mountains respected their own swordsmanship, and thought that the other party was not orthodox and had been incompatible for a long time. but
Listening to the indignant tone of these three people, it is not like a battle of Taoism, but a battle of morality.
When did the young disciples of the two factions have private grudges
He was puzzled and asked two more questions.
The two monks clapped the table angrily. The most prudent of the three, monk Zhang, explained, "No wonder everyone is angry. Two years ago, we went down the mountain to travel. Passing through Xiliang Town, we stumbled across a boy with good roots. Slightly inferior to you, but also a rare swordsman prodigy. The boy knew that he had an immortal fate, and immediately asked to come back to Hanshan with us, seeing that everything was in order…”
The round-faced cultivator said anxiously, "I don't know where Mingyue Lake came out of, and they deceived people with just a few words! Don't get me wrong, it's not that my Hanshan is not as good as Mingyue Lake, it's their malicious tactics!"
The young man frowned slightly: "What kind of trick?"
"Mingyue Lake's eldest disciple, whose name is Jing Di, is relying on his appearance as a boy and a girl, and actually wears a skirt and hairpin, and dresses up as a woman. The poor boy is young and ignorant, and went with the 'gentle and beautiful good sister', and he will regret it in the future! Tangtang Jianxiu, using such a shameless method..." He wanted to scold a few wicked words, but he was too short for words, so he had to repeat: "It's extremely shameless!"
"Yes, shameless! I could have exposed him at the time!" Another monk said bitterly, "but he was so good, I didn't even recognize him..."
The round-faced cultivator said indignantly: "In short, when you go down the mountain after you succeed in your cultivation, you must remember that the worst thing in the world is Mingyue Lake. They have no bottom line and can do anything."
"Cough cough cough cough."
Hearing that the boy's breath was not good, he kept coughing.
He thought, this is afraid that Mingyue Lake has been wronged. With Yun Xuzi's rigid temperament, he definitely couldn't do the absurd thing of ordering the disciples to disguise themselves as women. It must be the disciples' own idea.
At this moment, the three cultivators turned cold and suddenly stood up.
I saw six or seven people walking into the food shop, wearing green jackets and carrying swords on their backs.
"You have followed all the way, what are you trying to do!"
The leader, like the stars and the moon, strode forward and said with a loud laugh: "Is this the road built by Hanshan? How can you walk, I can't!"
"Jing Di! You're deceiving people too much!" The round-faced monk was about to strike with his sword.
But the man saluted generously: "It turned out to be Daoist Li Wei, Daoist He Ming, and Daoist Zhang Suyuan. Long time no see, stay safe."
Reaching out his hand not to hit the smiling man, Li Wei put down the hilt reluctantly.
Zhang Suyuan returned the salute meticulously: "Fellow Daoist Jing, it's been a long time."
A disciple from Mingyue Lake brought chairs, Jing Di brushed off his robes, sat opposite them, and said straight to the point: "Congratulations to your faction for finding a good talent."
Zhang Suyuan said indifferently, "I wonder if you have any advice from Daoist Jing?"
"Everyone, don't be so nervous, all sit down, all sit down." Jing Di smiled: "It is said that the body of the innate sword spirit is rare for thousands of years. I couldn't hold back my curiosity, so I just wanted to see how amazing it is. Where is this little brother, would you like to show up to see him?"
This is indeed a well-informed question.
It turned out that the three of them seemed to stand up angrily, but they blocked the young man behind him, preventing others from prying eyes.
He Ming said angrily, "Who is your little brother, that's my Hanshan disciple."
Jing Di refused to give in. He is conceited that his roots are transcendent, and there is no one in ten thousand. Given time, he dared to compare himself with Ji Xiao, but the Sword Sovereign had passed away, so he wanted to see how this fortunate boy was better than himself
Just as the two sides were at a stalemate, behind Cultivator Hanshan, there was a violent coughing sound, and the three of them hurriedly turned around.
Jing Di felt a little surprised and wondered if the legendary body of the innate sword spirit was actually a sick child
I saw a thin young man covering his lips with a handkerchief, his complexion pale, and his cheeks flushed unhealthy because of violent breathing.
His expression was very calm, as if he was not the one suffering from the pain.
Seeing that this person was afflicted with illness, Jing Di shook his head secretly: Innate sword body, that's all.
Cultivator Hanshan patted him on the back, the young man thanked him in a low voice, and suddenly raised his eyes, his eyes turned.
Jing Di was startled.
The young man's eyes are pale, his lips are thin and his nose is straight. Because of his thinness, his facial lines are extremely sharp.
The gaze was not sharp and majestic, but it seemed to have some strange, mind-blowing power that made his mind go blank for a moment.
When he returned to his senses, the boy had lowered his eyes.
Li Wei was afraid that his younger brother would cough out his lungs in the future, so he comforted: "It doesn't matter, when you go to Hanshan, the elders will naturally have a panacea to cure you."
Jing Di smiled and said, "You know this little brother, the cold mountains do not melt all year round, and your cough can't stand the cold. Our Mingyue Lake is warm and humid, and the four seasons are like spring.
He Ming interrupted him: "What's so great, I sent Changchun Peak to be like spring all year round!"
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he knew that he had made a mistake and showed an angry look.
Sure enough, Jing Di took the blame.
"Changchun Peak? After the death of Sword Master Jixiao, only his Taoist companion is left in Changchun Peak. How can it last? Senior brother advises you to look farther and choose another good tree."
Before he finished speaking, he saw the young man turn to the three of Han Shan and asked with a frown, "How is he now, Dao Companion?"
Zhang Suyuan thought that he worshiped the real person Jixiao, so he was particularly concerned about Changchun Peak, and couldn't help sighing:
"Elder Meng was so young and impulsive that at the ceremony of worshipping the real person, he said that he would participate in next year's Vast Sea Secret Realm Competition. Now the whole cultivation world knows about it..."