The most terrifying thing in the world is dealing with smart people; the easiest thing in the world is also dealing with smart people.
As smart as Xie Buchen and Jianchou were, they both understood the significance of the two of them traveling together.
From the moment Jianchou asked to join him, and even from the moment she stepped into the teahouse, Xie Buchen knew that this trip would not be a simple investigation or adventure for him.
But he couldn't refuse.
Today, Kunwu and Yashan still have a strong friendship on the surface, not to mention that Jianchou's cultivation is far superior to his at the moment, so he has no right to refuse.
He knew this, and Jianchou also knew it.
So he didn't refuse.
In the almost eerie silence, Xie Buchen sat there without moving, while Jianchou slowly finished the cup of tea in front of him. Then he casually picked up the Ran Deng sword, stood up, and walked to the simple counter of the teahouse.
"To settle the bill?"
"Ah, two spirit stones will be enough." The waiter blinked, then smiled and quoted a "sky-high price", and explained, "Our boss said that the situation in Tomorrow Star Sea and Snow Region is not good recently, so the price of tea has increased."
"… "
This tea dares to charge one spirit stone for a bowl, which is much faster than robbing money.
Jianchou sneered in his heart, but did not show it on his face. He calmly took out two spirit stones and placed them on the table, and asked, "It means that the situation in the Star Sea will be bad tomorrow. I roughly know that, but what about the Snow Region?"
On the Xinghai side, it was probably because of Qu Zhengfeng.
Also, when the Silver House was offering a price a while ago, a strange phenomenon appeared in the Night Flying Ship's lair. It was definitely not an ordinary existence. But afterward, the monks went to investigate, but found nothing.
As a result, coupled with the incident of Sword Emperor Qu Zhengfeng slaughtering people on the Night Cruise Ship, people became panic-stricken.
But the snowy land...
The waiter took the two spiritual stones without changing his expression. He glanced at the monks who looked like Tantric monks in the teahouse and said, "I heard that the fight between the New and Old Tantric sects has finally come to an end. With the Holy Temple as the center, a large formation has been set up within a radius of 300 miles, so no one can get any information from inside. But according to the people who came out, the legendary Saint Son Jiye has disappeared in the past few days. No one knows what happened."
"I see… "
The Holy Son Jiye is a very important existence in the entire Tantric Buddhism.
Surprisingly, he could disappear
Seeing his worried brows slightly furrowed, he felt as if a shadow was slowly covering him.
But the waiter didn't notice anything. He looked at her, then looked at Xie Buchen who had also stood up, and asked with a hint of curiosity in his voice, "Are you two going to the Snow Region?"
"We?" Jianchou looked back at Xie Buchen and smiled casually, "We are all traveling and looking around to see if there are any natural treasures to refine a new magic weapon."
"Oh, I see. Then you must be more careful on your way."
I don't know whether the waiter believed it or not, but he reminded them with a smile on his face.
I didn't take Jianchou seriously.
When you are out and about, no one will take such casual questions and answers seriously. As for the Snow Region, you have to go there no matter how dangerous it is. Moreover, Fudao Shanren gave her two life-saving items.
Similarly, it is impossible for Master Hengxu to let Xie Buchen explore the Snow Region alone like this.
The two of them really need to be more "careful" along the way.
But what we need to guard against is not the various possible crises in the Snow Region, but the so-called "old friend" with whom we have a "life-long friendship" who is traveling with us.
"Thank you, fellow Daoist. Let's go."
After saying a few simple words to the waiter, Jianchou seemed to have no grudge against Xie Buchen at all, and turned around to greet him.
Xie Buchen didn't say another word from beginning to end.
While Jianchou was talking to the waiter, he had already picked up the Human Emperor Sword that was originally placed on the table. He just nodded and walked out of the teahouse with Jianchou.
On the top of the solitary peak, the midday sun is extremely scorching.
But it was late autumn after all, so it didn't seem scorching hot. On the contrary, because the peak was so high, it seemed even colder. The wind blew over with a chill as cold as a knife.
The bamboo curtain of the teahouse behind him was rustling in the wind, and the flag with the word "Tea" on it flying above his head also fluttered.
Jianchou looked back and then flew north on his sword.
The Burning Lamp Sword turned into a ray of warm yellow light, and suddenly it was like a rocking oar, drawing a tiny ripple in the misty clouds and drifting away.
Xie Buchen stood there for a moment, watching her go away, before following her with his hands behind his back.
The Human Emperor Sword was pitch black all over, and there was no light at all when it flew up. When it passed through the clouds, it didn't even leave any trace.
It was so fast that it caught up with Jianchou, who was neither fast nor slow, in a moment.
The speed at which a cultivator controls a weapon is related to his cultivation level, and also has a lot to do with the quality of the weapon itself.
Xie Buchen had used the Human Emperor Sword before, and Jianchou had a deep understanding of its power. Even though she was not the owner of the Human Emperor Sword at the time, she could still use it to create terrifying power after wielding it a few times.
Therefore, she was not surprised at all that Xie Buchen caught up with her at this moment.
She just remembered some interesting things.
So, looking ahead, she squinted her eyes and suddenly laughed: "I remember that Brother Xie said that the Human Emperor Sword originally had no owner, and it seemed that any mortal Human Emperor could take the sword and use it. But when I was stranded in the Extreme Region, I was able to pull this sword out of its sheath, which is considered miraculous."
There was a hint in these words, but Xie Buchen was not affected at all.
He lagged behind her a little, just looking at her back, and said indifferently: "If you have the heart of a human emperor, you can practice the way of a human emperor. But some people have the heart of a human emperor, but are unwilling to practice the way of a human emperor. Otherwise, Daoist Jianchou would not have returned this sword."
He sees it clearly.
Jianchou sneered in his heart, but said: "It's not mine, and I'm not used to using it, so I'm returning it to you. As for the Tao, you and I are indeed different."
If we have different ideals, we cannot work together.
But now the two of them chose to walk along the passage. At this moment, the same word emerged in the minds of both of them: seeking the skin of a tiger.
Xie Buchen looked calm and his eyes were clear. "Come to think of it. There were a few Tantric monks in the teahouse earlier. Does Daoist Jianchou have any ideas?"
The rapidly flying Burning Lamp Sword suddenly stopped.
Jianchou looked back at him and smiled: "I was just about to ask, doesn't Brother Xie have any ideas?"
"… "
In an instant, the two people looked at each other, and even without further communication, they could tell at a glance that the other person's thoughts were the same as their own.
They now know nothing about the Snow Region, but those monks in the teahouse are a perfect breakthrough point!
Xie Buchen has never been a naive fool. He has experienced everything in the past and gone through many life and death difficulties. He is certainly not a brave but foolish man.
No one is good.
At this moment, they all changed direction at the same time and returned to the teahouse quietly.
Those monks who were suspected to be from the Snowland Tantric Buddhism had not left yet.
With their current level of cultivation, they were completely unable to notice that the two strange monks from the Central Region who had left earlier had been targeting them.
After sitting in the teahouse for a while, the four of them left the teahouse together.
Jianchou and Xie Buchen were hiding in the darkness of the mountain diagonally opposite. When they saw the direction the four people were going, they knew they were heading towards the Tomorrow Star Sea.
In previous years, it was rare to hear of monks from the Snowland Tantric Buddhism traveling abroad, let alone with this description.
Earlier in the teahouse, Jianchou had noticed the hair of these people. All monks had to shave their heads, but the tops of these people's heads were blue, obviously they had not been groomed for a while.
She just felt that these people heading towards the Tomorrow Star Sea were more like fleeing.
The four monks’ cultivation levels are all in the middle to late Jindan stage.
Even though they had more people, they had almost no power to fight back against Jianchou and Xie Buchen. In other words, when they saw Jianchou appear in front of them again, they simply didn't have the slightest intention to fight back.
In just a moment, he was subdued by the two men and thrown under a huge rock on the distant hillside.
"Tantric?"
Jianchou didn't show any politeness at all. He stood in front of these people, holding the Ran Deng sword, and started asking questions in a normal manner.
The four monks all had expressions of panic on their faces.
The only one who was better off was the cultivator who was thrown in the middle. He had the highest level of cultivation, the late Jindan stage, was very thin, with bulges on both sides of his temples, and a gleam in his eyes. At first glance, he was a person who had achieved some success in practicing Tantric techniques.
He looked up at Jianchou and maintained his composure: "I, we are. What do you want to do?"
"Don't worry, there's no harm in that."
Jianchou is not a devil who kills people without blinking an eye, and he speaks quite kindly.
"You should have been able to see from the teahouse just now that my fellow Taoist and I were going to visit the Snow Region. I just don't know what the current situation in the Snow Region is."
After these words were spoken, the four monks were visibly relieved.
Just as Jianchou had expected, they really were fleeing. The snowy land was now filled with swords and blood, and it was difficult for small characters like them to survive.
Once they learned that Jianchou and the others did not intend to take their lives, they told him everything about the situation in the Snow Region.
"The four of us are all Tantric monks, and we have been practicing for nearly a hundred years."
"When we joined the sect, we heard about many conflicts, but we joined for a living and didn't think too much about it. Who would have thought that in the past few decades, the old and new sects would fight each other so fiercely. When the Saint of Jiye was just kicked out, he suddenly helped the old sect. We all thought that the situation was good and the temple would be clean from now on. But we didn't expect..."
"Some time ago, for some reason, several Dharma Kings of Xinmi made great progress in their cultivation and slaughtered many members of the old sect..."
Perhaps recalling the bloody scene at that time, a hint of fear spread deep in the monk's pupils, and the other three also had pale faces.
"There were only three Dharma Kings in the old secret, and now two are dead and one is injured."
"The three of us are all disciples of Dharma King Li Yan. He was seriously injured and said that he didn't have much time left. He only asked us to leave the Snow Region and never go back. We advised him to escape, but he said he wanted to wait for the Holy Son. Now the Snow Region and the entire Holy Temple have fallen into their hands..."
"Your Majesty, it would be extremely dangerous if you two were to go ahead."
It turned out to be a struggle between the new and old factions of Tantric Buddhism.
This did not surprise Jianchou, but he was a little bothered by the monk's mention that "several Dharma Kings of Xinmi have suddenly made great progress in their cultivation."
She turned her head to glance at Xie Buchen: "What do you think, Brother Xie?"
Xie Buchen's eyes slowly swept over the faces of the four people. He did not answer Jianchou's question, but asked the monk who had spoken earlier, "If what you said is true, then you also knew nothing about the monks from the two sects of Kunwu Yashan in the Central Region who died in the snowy area a few days ago?"
"… What?"
The four of them were almost stunned at the same time, and instantly a chill came out from behind them.
Kunwu Cliff Mountain!
How terrifying is the deterrent power of these four words
But the monks in front of them told them that a monk from Yashan Kunwu had died in the snowy area. What kind of storm was hidden behind this
The monk who had spoken earlier almost shuddered, and after a long while he shook his head: "We left the temple seven days ago, and we really know nothing about this matter."
Xie Buchen was speechless.
Jianchou looked at Xie Buchen, then at the monk, and was confused for a moment.
She followed Xie Buchen, firstly for the sake of the innocent fellow disciples who died in Yashan, and secondly to see what Kunwu or Zhenren Hengxu was up to.
After all, her cultivation level is higher, so even if Xie Buchen knew her purpose, he could do nothing about it.
But now Xie Buchen's behavior really seems to be just to investigate the death of Kunwu disciples.
Is it true
Is it fake
God knows.
Jianchou knew very well how scheming the person next to her was, so even if the other party was only at the peak of the Golden Core level at the moment, she would not take it lightly.
I went over what the monk said in my mind, but didn't find any flaws.
After that, she simply waved her hand and removed the restrictions she had placed on these people: "You have nothing to do now, go away."
This interception came suddenly and ended suddenly.
When the restrictions on their bodies were removed, several people were unable to react. After a moment of shock, they quickly stood up, casually placed their right hands on their left shoulders, bent over and performed the Tantric ritual, and ran towards the distant mountain path.
Only the monk with the highest level of cultivation glanced at the two of them, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just smiled bitterly, bowed, said "Qian Nuo" and followed his companions.
The figures of the four monks soon disappeared among the mountains and forests.
Jianchou and Xie Buchen both stood there watching, and only when the figure disappeared did they slowly withdraw their gaze.
"He seemed to have something he wanted to say, but he probably felt that it was useless to say it, so he didn't tell us. Fellow Daoist Xie, aren't you curious?"
Jianchou looked back.
Xie Buchen did not comment, he just looked at the still sunny weather and said calmly: "Maybe you want to persuade you and me not to put ourselves in danger, but I can see where you and I are from, so I know it's useless to say anything."
Until now, few people know that one of Kunwu Yashan's disciples died in the Snow Region.
Two people suddenly appeared out of nowhere and intercepted them halfway to inquire about the situation in the Snow Region. After thinking about it carefully, they knew their identities.
So, it is redundant to say anything.
Those who should leave will leave, and those who should come will come.
Some things cannot be stopped by one person alone.
Somehow, everyone was swept up by a torrent, heading in the direction they should go, to the faraway place they would go, to explore the secrets they wanted to explore.
Jianchou and Xie Buchen finally had no more communication.
For Yu Jianchou, there was simply nothing to say.
For Xie Buchen, he felt both cautious and fearful.
There is probably nothing more heartbreaking in the world than this—
You once killed someone, but this person didn't die. Instead, he became your most unknown, deepest and most unforgettable demon. Every time you talk to her, every time you stay with her, your demon grows. But you can't get rid of him. You even have a purpose in this trip, but because she is by your side, you feel your hands and feet are bound.
If you are not careful, you will end up like when you killed Hong Xiaojie, and end up doing something for nothing.
See worry...
Even when I killed her, these two words were not as unforgettable as this journey together.
Compared to Xie Buchen, Jianchou felt much more relaxed.
She had a higher level of cultivation, and there were no more secrets or purposes for this trip, so she had almost no burden at all. After intercepting those Tantric monks and inquiring about the situation, she headed north again, thinking about some things about the Burning Lamp Sword while observing the changes in the mountains and rivers under her feet.
The climate naturally gets colder as you go further north from Chaliao.
The terrain became noticeably higher, and the sky was filled with howling cold winds, tearing apart the thin layer of clouds to reveal the cold, blue sky behind.
The red sun sets in the west and the cold moon gradually rises.
The night was already dark when we saw the steep cliff barrier rising from the ground in the distance.
From the Tomorrow Star Sea to the Snow Region, it is from a basin to a plateau. The terrain of the entire Snow Region is actually very special. It is as if a giant once lifted up a corner of the Nineteen Continents. So the Tomorrow Star Sea is at the bottom of this fault, and the land of the Snow Region has become a towering wilderness, closer to the supreme sky than other places in the Nineteen Continents.
Seeing the cliff means seeing the snowy area.
At this time, Jianchou looked at Xie Buchen, and Xie Buchen also looked at Jianchou. The two swords paused in the air for a moment, and then rose straight up at the same time.
It gets higher and higher, giving people the illusion that there is no end.
Half a moment later, the view in front of the two men suddenly became clear. The cliff that blocked their view was now below them, and what appeared before them was a breathtakingly magnificent scene.
At this moment, everything is forgotten.
Only in front of you.
The vast sea of clouds and the moon rising over the Tianshan Mountains.
In the dark blue night sky, the stars are bright and shining; the bright white moonlight shines among the vast mountains, lighting up the endless silver snow; the long wind blows for thousands of miles, and the colorful prayer flags written in Sanskrit flutter among the peaks, but the surroundings are very quiet.
Only the extremely faint Buddhist chants from a distant land echoed in my ears and reverberated in my heart.
The legendary holy mountain is at the end of the sky.
The majestic temple stands at the highest point, as if it were cast from ice and snow.
Layers of thin clouds overlapped and created interlaced light and shadows, reflecting a mirage in the distance. The holy mountain, the holy temple and the countless temples around it seemed like a Buddhist kingdom in heaven...