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The simple colors and desolate place made a group of monks who were confident that they could move between heaven and earth feel insignificant.
Several people looked at each other, nodded slightly, and then jumped out one after another.
The wind whistled in the ears, and a group of people glided out from the top of the mountain. They were like flying ants in the sky and earth, landed on a sand dune, and then got up and flew out again.
A group of people kept rising and falling in the vast sea of sand, quickly escaping into the depths of the desert.
Two hours later, Linghu Qiu raised his hand and said, "No rush, let's take a rest and recover our mana. Don't let your mana be consumed too much, otherwise it will be difficult to deal with trouble."
There was a reason for being so considerate. He knew very well that someone was eyeing Niu Youdao. He was not afraid of ten thousand, but just in case.
Here, he and the two maids were the only ones with golden elixir cultivation, while Niu Youdao was all at the foundation-building stage.
Linghu Qiu took the sheepskin kettle in his hand, signaled the two maids to be on guard, and opened the stopper of the kettle to drink slowly.
Niu Youdao and others also took out the kettle and drank water one after another, while looking around.
Except for the blue sky, white clouds and sand dunes, nothing can be seen around. It is empty and silent everywhere. Occasionally, a gust of wind will make the sand on the dunes roll and slide.
"Have you ever been to Wubian Pavilion?" Niu Youdao asked Black Mudan and Duan Hu after putting down the kettle.
The two nodded, and Black Mudan said: "We have been here three times together."
Niu Youdao nodded slightly.
Several people then sat cross-legged on the hot sand one after another, took out the Lingyuan Pill, drank it, and restored their breath control.
The same goes for Linghu Qiu, with Hongxiu and Hongfu standing guard around everyone.
About half an hour later, there was an unusual sound. Everyone who was sitting cross-legged and meditating opened their eyes. They turned their heads and looked at the sand dune not far away. They saw five huge khaki scorpions among the sand dunes. Head up and tail up.
Niu Youdao has seen a description of this thing in "Relics of the Shangqing Dynasty". It is called Sand Scorpion. It can be said to be a monster living in this desert. It comes and goes in the desert like the wind. It crawls very fast, has a hard carapace and a poisonous tail. The sting is highly venomous, and it seals the throat when it sees blood. It has very strong attack power. It has a weak point, it is afraid of water!
It is said that the hard shell of the sand scorpion will soften immediately once it comes into contact with water, so it is afraid of water.
Although I have seen descriptions, this is the first time I have seen this kind of scorpion, which is as big as a calf. Except for its eyes, the whole body is gray-white, and other parts are the same color as the desert. This is not easy to see if you are hiding in the desert.
It is said that the larger sand scorpion can reach more than one foot in length, not counting the length of its tail.
The five sand scorpions shook their tails violently, as if sending an attack signal, and slid down the sand dune with a swishing sound.
That's right, it's not about climbing down, but using the special structure of the abdomen to slide down like a skateboard. The limbs can also be used as accelerating paddles, so the speed is very fast.
What's even more terrifying is that it can slide with its belly on the ground, bounce when its belly is off the ground, and jump up the sand dunes with a flick of its limbs.
Hongxiu and Hongfu flipped their palms repeatedly and quickly struck out with palm power, knocking away the sand scorpions that were coming towards them.
The five sand scorpions couldn't get close to the sand dune here, but they refused to repent and rushed up again and again.
Niu Youdao reached out and grabbed the hilt of the sword.
Linghuqiu noticed that he quickly stretched out his hand and made a stop gesture, saying: "It's not that we can't kill them, but these monsters have already adapted to the environment in the desert. In order to obtain food in the harsh environment, they are born with a sensitive sense of smell. Once they smell With the smell of blood, sand scorpions within a hundred miles radius are likely to come. These things are all over this desert. A small number are easy to deal with. Once they come in dense numbers from all directions, it is like being trapped in a large army. They can't kill them all. The more we kill, the more we may get hit accidentally, and then we will have no choice but to escape. So we can only repel them, but we cannot kill them. They will naturally retreat when they can't bear it anymore."
Niu Youdao knows this. He has seen the description in "The Collection of Relics of the Shangqing Dynasty". He holds the sword just in case.
"I heard that there is an ancient city under this desert?" Niu Youdao asked. [oM]
Linghu Qiu nodded: "There is a saying. It is said that a long time ago, this place was a land of lush water and grass. Later, the world changed, and the yellow sand buried this place, and the ancient city was also buried in it. Occasionally, some people will say that because I met the ancient city by accident, but even if I did, it would be meaningless."
As if to confirm what Linghu Qiu said, the five sand scorpions were indeed beaten to a point where they couldn't bear it. Seeing that there was nothing they could do, they finally turned around and disappeared from everyone's sight.
Everyone continued to do whatever they were supposed to do. Linghu Qiu stood up, changed his red sleeves, and adjusted his breathing with his red brush to recover.
Linghu Qiu put his hands behind his hands and looked into the distance. Occasionally, he could see people flying in the distance. Needless to say, they must all be monks coming and going from the boundless pavilion.
The group set off again, resting halfway was enough, and then directly arrived at Wubian Pavilion.
A huge black stone mountain stands abruptly in the desert. There are lakes of various sizes on the top of the mountain, like pearls of various sizes in a plate, reflecting the blue sky and white clouds, making people feel relaxed and happy.
There is almost no rain here and it is arid, but the water level of the lake on the mountain is maintained all year round and has never dropped, which is quite magical.
Linghu Qiu said this, but Niu Youdao understood the principle and didn't think there was anything magical about it.
Since this place was discovered by the monks, the large and small strange peaks and rocks erected in the lake have been transformed, dug into pavilions, caves, and shops of various sects.
There are high and low stone bridges everywhere on the lake, connecting various places. It would be strange for unfamiliar people to come here and not get lost.
Therefore, fighting is not allowed here, and if found, you will be severely punished. With this rule, it is understandable. Once the monks start fighting, some bridges may not be able to withstand the monks' torment.
The highest peak in the lake, the place with the most exquisitely carved beams and cornices, and a majestic view of the desert, is the Boundless Pavilion.
There is an inn below Wubian Pavilion, called Tianhu Inn!
Niu Youdao and his entourage naturally wanted to stay at the Tianhu Inn, and Hei Mudan and others were used to it. Master Dao would not make do with a bad choice if he had a good choice.
While walking on the staggered stone bridge, he suddenly saw dark waves rolling in the water. Niu Youdao stopped and stared, and saw a huge black shadow rolling under the water.
Linghu Qiu, who was following him and stopped beside him, smiled and said: "The pet of the master of the Boundless Pavilion, the dragon in the Tianhu Lake, is said to be able to evolve into the legendary true dragon as long as the opportunity is right. This can be regarded as a scene in the Boundless Pavilion, right? , whenever the moon is in the sky at night, dragon roars can often be heard, but few people can see their true colors!"
Niu Youdao nodded slightly. He had also seen this in his experiences recorded in "Shangqing Supplementary Records".
It is said that this place was originally a pool of stagnant water. Wubian Pavilion did not exist at that time, and monks came and went to replenish water. Later, for some unknown reason, two dragons suddenly appeared in the water. I don’t know where they came from. Legend has it that it is the center of the earth. The ones that came out, one male and one female, made trouble and caused many monks to die or be injured.
Lan Daolin, one of the last nine supreme beings, arrived after hearing the news and surrendered the two dragons. Later, Lan Daolin took this place as his own and founded the Wubian Pavilion here. The master of the Wubian Pavilion was Lan Dao. Lin's son Lan Ming!
Later, another small dragon appeared in the sky lake. Everyone estimated that it was the offspring of a male and a female dragon.
Niu Youdao naturally wanted to see the legendary dragon. However, he could only vaguely see a black shadow turning under the water. He stood there waiting for a long time but did not wait for it to appear again. He could not even see its outline clearly. Unavoidably, Some regrets.
After checking into the Tianhu Inn, Niu Youdao opened the window, which was slightly higher than most of the shops outside.
He looked at the people coming and going on the stone bridge outside, then stared at the deep blue pool below for a while, then turned around and said to Black Peony: "Go and find the way to the shops of the three sects. If anything happens, you can contact them in time." communicate."
Black Mudan was checking in the house. When booking a guest room, she made her own decision and asked for a room with Niu Youdao. It could be said that they lived together.
She doesn't care, and Niu Youdao doesn't care what outsiders think.
"Yes!" Black Peony responded, turned and left.
Duan Hu came in quickly, took Black Mudan's hand, carefully inspected every place in the room, and then made tea on the charcoal stove.
When Black Peony came back, she brought shopkeepers from the three factions to see Niu Youdao.
The two sides talked for a long time, and Niu Youdao asked a lot of questions, mainly about the situation at Wubian Pavilion.
When you come here, you can't help but walk around, take a look and broaden your horizons. Linghu Qiu is always with you.
The group wandered until late before returning to their respective rooms. Niu Youdao had just sat down with a cup of tea in front of the window to admire the moon, when a golden wing flew from the night sky and went directly into the window.
Black Peony reached out to take the golden wing, took out the secret letter from the foot tube, found pen, ink, paper and inkstone, translated the contents of the secret letter, walked to the window and presented it, "Master Dao, news from Beizhou."
Niu Youdao looked back, received the secret message and checked it.
As soon as he saw it, he knew it was a message from Chen Guishuo, but the content of the letter made him frown. He couldn't understand what it meant. Chen Guishuo himself didn't know what it meant.
Anyway, he was suddenly transferred to work by Shao Pingbo. It was so sudden that he lost contact with the contact person in Beizhou for a while, and it was difficult to convey it through someone else's hand. He didn't spread the news until he returned to Beizhou Fucheng. .
"Map of South Korea!" Niu Youdao put down the tea cup and stood up.
Black Peony immediately found the map he wanted from the package and spread it out on the table.
Niu Youdao stared at the map for a while, asked for charcoal in his hand, compared the contents of the secret letter, found the waterway that Chen Guishuo mentioned, and marked the waterway sections connecting the various areas.
Just talking about place names, there are so many place names and so many rivers in Korea, it’s hard to figure out what’s going on. After they are marked, everything becomes much clearer.
"Beizhou leads to the sea...the sea leads to Beizhou..." He traced the route twice with his fingers. Niu Youdao was thoughtful, the corners of his mouth gradually turned up, revealing a sly smile, and muttered: "War horse!"
Black Mudan tried to ask: "Beizhou wants to transport war horses by sea?"