Sha Lingshan said, "Are these mountain ghosts? Well, although I know that there are records of mountain ghosts in some legendary stories, I didn't know they looked like this!"
The white-bearded old man shook his head and said, "Not really. They were victims of a demonic ritual. Their ancestors were sacrificed by a demon in a large-scale ritual, and thousands of people died. But a fairy from the Taisu Immortal Pavilion forcibly interrupted the demonic ritual.
"Although the ritual was interrupted, the victims had all turned into ghosts, and were about to die. The fairy couldn't bear it, so she used a magic weapon made of the top-grade divine crystal 'Hou Tu' to reshape the bodies of the dead.
"We originally wanted to let those people live longer in the human world, but we didn't expect that they could actually reproduce. Unknowingly, they passed down a race unknown to the outside world in this area. To be honest, they are the mountain people here."
Shi Hao's mind moved slightly, and he asked: "Is the fairy from Taisu Fairy Pavilion the Fairy Shengxuan
Chapter 193 Walking in the air, peerless independence
The white-bearded old man shook his head and said, "Actually, it wasn't. That happened more than 400 years ago. It was the end of the Yang Dynasty and the beginning of the Sheng Dynasty. The one who tried to sacrifice a large number of people and obtain the magic source was a top-grade master from the Dukui Sect known as the 'Rongyang Demon Lord'. The one who stopped him was the fairy Bi Yingtong who was born in the Taisu Immortal Pavilion that year."
"At that time, the Demon Lord Rongyang used amazing means to cover the entire Wuxia area with demonic energy. This demonic energy is called 'Rongjie Demonic Energy'. It is said to have the terrifying effect of penetrating the Yin and Yang worlds and bringing the deadly poison of the Netherworld into the human world."
"After Fairy Bi Yingtong killed Demon Lord Rong Yang, she used mysterious means to attract the holy energy of the legendary 'Heaven', which covered the demonic energy. The demonic energy melted away, and the holy energy sank and descended into the land here. Therefore, a large amount of mountain and river spiritual energy is hidden under the ground in the Wu Gorge area."
"These mountain ghosts rely on the spiritual energy of the mountains and rivers to survive. They live in deep mountains and forests and underground, away from people. It's just because people outside see them, they will think they are ghosts. In fact, they are just victims of the demon sect."
"As for Fairy Shengxuan, she did come here three hundred years ago. However, the Shenting Sect discovered the large amount of spiritual energy here and wanted to occupy it completely. For this reason, they slaughtered the mountain ghosts in the name of killing evil ghosts."
"Fairy Shengxuan came here to stop the Shenting Sect and had a fierce battle with them. She protected the mountain ghosts here by herself and destroyed the Shenting Sect."
Sha Lingshan asked, "Old man, who are you and why are you living here with these mountain ghosts?"
The old man sighed and said frankly, "My name is Zhao Yun. I used to be a member of the Demon Sect, so I won't mention the sect. At that time, I was wandering around the martial arts world and did countless evil things that hurt the world and morality. One day, I was surrounded and attacked by the relatives and friends of those I had killed. I fled here, wounded and dying."
"It was the mountain ghosts here who saved me. These mountain ghosts are like ghosts in the eyes of the world, but they are kind by nature. If there are outsiders who accidentally enter the mountains and forests and get into danger, they will try their best to help in secret."
"I was saved by them and lived with them. Before I knew it, all my anger disappeared. I felt that all the things I had done in the past were not worthy of death, but I was lucky enough to be saved. Therefore, I no longer left the mountain and only lived with these mountain ghosts, eating and drinking with them. I also taught them how to make crossbows and open caves."
"I don't know if it's because of the strong spiritual energy here, but I followed them, drank the underground mountain springs, ate the fruits grown underground, and gradually became similar to them. But I have lived here underground for more than 170 years without realizing it."
The old man took them to a stone cave where there was a fire burning in a pot.
Shi Hao saw that there were murals carved with stone on the wall. The lower edge of one of the paintings was outlined in the shape of clouds, with a woman on the clouds. It was exactly the same painting he got from Ningzhen Temple.
The old man chuckled and said, "These mountain ghosts have the intelligence of children, but they do not bear grudges, but only remember favors. Those who have helped them in the past will be recorded by them using this ancient method of engraving on stones, and then passed down from generation to generation through their simple language.
"When I arrived here, I didn't understand what they were saying at first. After a while, I gradually understood their history. The two fairies of Taisu Fairy Pavilion were also carved on the stone wall by them. Their stories were passed down from generation to generation among these mountain ghosts."
Shi Hao walked around and saw a woman holding a willow branch at the beginning of the murals, sprinkling rain. Under the rain, there were many little people singing and dancing.
Obviously, this woman was Bi Yingtong, the fairy from Taisu Fairy Pavilion who rescued them from the devil in the late Yang Dynasty.
Shi Hao asked, "What about those Shenting Sect warriors outside? Wasn't the Shenting Sect destroyed by Fairy Shengxuan back then?"
The old man shook his head and said, "In detail, I don't really understand. Deep under the Book-giving Platform, there is a rift, which was left by the former Demon Lord Rongyang. Although Fairy Bi used her holy energy to dissolve a large amount of the Rongjie demonic energy, there is still a lot of demonic energy left there.
"Back then, Fairy Bi also warned the mountain ghosts not to go down there. During those hundred years, it was basically safe and sound.
"But three hundred years ago, although Fairy Shengxuan wiped out the Shenting Sect, for some unknown reason, the demonic energy at the bottom of the abyss surged, which always seemed very unusual. Later, the remaining Taoists of the Shenting Sect came here. They drove away the mountain ghosts, quietly occupied the cave, and disguised themselves as mountain people in Wuxia. Over the years, they gradually developed into a mysterious tribe.
"Everyone of these people practices the Shenting Sect's skills. They are extremely closed and conservative, and are even more secretive than the Demon Sect. The mountain ghosts' territory is constantly being occupied and swallowed up by them. They can't leave this land, so they can only carefully cultivate and hide in the corners."
"As for now, I don't know what they are doing. They have all changed into the clothes of the Shenting Sect, not afraid of being exposed. They seem to have set up some strange magic array, causing this strange phenomenon in the world. As for the mountain ghosts, they have killed anyone they found in the past few days. Unknowingly, more than half of them have been killed or injured."
Shi Hao frowned.
Sha Lingshan asked, "Besides these purple-robed Taoists, are there another group of people in the mountains?"
The old man said, "There are indeed a group of people hiding there. They thought they were hiding very well, but they were still noticed by the mountain ghosts. Those people are probably from the Poison Sunflower Sect. Obviously, there is a traitor from the Poison Sunflower Sect in the Shenting Sect who helped those people hide."
"Just now there was a sudden violent earthquake over there, and those Taoists were in a panic. I wonder if the Poison Sunflower Sect did something?"
He sighed deeply and said, "Whether it is the Poison Sunflower Sect or the Divine Thunder Sect, to them, these mountain ghosts are just like ants. No one cares about their survival, and no one cares about their lives. I wonder what will happen if this continues?"
Shi Hao pondered for a while and said, "Old man, can we stay here first and observe for a while to see what their purpose is? If they threaten the lives of these mountain ghosts, we will not ignore them."
The old man said quickly, "Okay! Okay! Just stay here, I'll let the mountain ghosts hide in the dark and check out what's going on outside."
—
Wu Shun and Ding San fled all the way, seeing lightning everywhere and trees being charred by lightning.
The thunderclouds high up began to thin, and sunlight was even able to filter through the clouds. However, the ground was covered with ripped cracks that gathered lightning, which was mottled and shocking to the eye.
Suddenly, they saw six men in purple coming towards them. When they saw the two of them, they drew their swords, and electric sparks flashed on the sword tips.
The six men in purple came towards them to kill them.
Wu Shun and Ding San both knew that something was wrong, but they were already exhausted at this moment. They were about to be surrounded by these six men and die tragically under their swords.
Suddenly, a ray of sunlight broke through the clouds and fell in front of them.
Amidst the rustling sounds, a cold light flashed quickly in front of them.
Looking again, I saw the six men covering their throats and retreating continuously.
Blood oozed from between their fingers.
The six people looked at each other in horror, trying to find the murderer.
Except for Ye and Ding who were on guard, no one else saw it.
The six men fell down one by one, twitching and dying on the spot.
Wu Shun and Ding San were still in shock, but they knew that they must have been rescued by a master.
Wu Shun shouted, "Which expert can help me? Can you show yourself?"
But in the fragrant wind, in the sunlight breaking through the clouds, a girl seemed to step out from the void, and she was walking leisurely with her feet touching the air.
The girl was about twelve or thirteen years old, but she was wearing a fluttering goose yellow skirt, like a fairy from heaven.
She has fair skin, a beautiful face, and a delicate makeup, as if she walked out of a painting.
Lightning struck from the sky and separated on its own above her, as if it dared not to touch her majesty.
The girl walked in the air and came to a distance of half a meter in front of them, but she still stood there gracefully, her pink embroidered shoes six feet off the ground.
Flying in the air, this extraordinary skill, Wu Shun and Ding San had only heard of it in stories in teahouses in the past, and they had never thought that there was such a martial art in the world... Or perhaps, this had already exceeded the scope of "martial arts" and was a magical skill
Although she is just a girl, with such extraordinary skills, she is clearly a peerless master.
This was not the first time that Ye Ding and the other man had seen this girl. They had seen her yesterday with three other people.
The three people were a girl with a sword on her waist, a little old man with a hunchback, and a woman who looked a little dirty.
However, they never imagined at that time that this girl's strength would be so astonishing.
At this moment, she killed six purple-clothed warriors in one fell swoop. Her body and sunlight appeared out of thin air, walking on the void, just like the legendary fairy descending to the earth.
Ye and Ding did not dare to neglect and bowed together, saying, "May I ask your name, sir? We will never forget your life-saving grace."
Although the girl was petite, she was flying in the air and looked at them with her eyes lowered.
She stood with her hands behind her back, her face cold and her words as icy as ice: "I am Ming Yueshu! I have something to ask you."
Wu Shun and Ding San felt their heads buzzing... Is she Ming Yueshu
Ming Yueshu, the “baby goddess” ranked third on the blacklist
The next moment, they suddenly realized... If she was not Mingyueshu, who else could she be
At such an age, he has such mysterious martial arts, walking in the air, and being independent. Apart from the "Goddess Infant", no one in the martial arts world can match him.
However, figures like the top ten masters on the black list were like martial arts legends to them. Before that, they would never have dared to think that they would have the chance to meet such figures in their entire lives.
Chapter 194 Why Talk About Profits, Plague Spreads in All Directions
The two of them hurriedly said, "Greetings, Senior! If you have anything to say, just ask!"
The girl in the yellow pleated skirt said calmly, "I remember meeting you guys yesterday. Are you from around here? Why are you here now? Who were you with earlier?"
Wu Shun replied, "I am Wu Shun from Dingjiang Village, and this is Ding Shan, the 'Mountain Tiger' of Yulin Town. Because the weather in Wu Gorge has been abnormal recently, the people around are all in a panic, so they asked us to go into the mountains to investigate."
"We entered the deep mountains and were suddenly attacked by a group of warriors in purple. There were heavy casualties. Fortunately, four people passed by and rescued us. We led the four people and brought them to the book-giving platform, but we were discovered by those purple-clothed people there."
"During the breakout, the Book-giving Platform cracked and a crack appeared in the ground. The four people fell into the abyss. The two of us had no choice but to flee first, but we met the enemy again here. Fortunately, you rescued us, and I am very grateful."
The two men bowed again to the girl in the goose yellow pleated skirt.
The girl in the yellow pleated skirt hesitated for a moment and said, "What do the four people you mentioned look like?"
Ding San replied, "There was a young man and three women. The young man was called Shi Yun, and the other young woman was in her early twenties, and her name was Shi Lingsha. I don't know who the other two were."
The girl said calmly: "Shi Yun, Shi Lingsha?"
She looked up at the sky, and after a while, she looked at the two of them again: "This place is extremely unsafe. You must leave quickly, return to the town, and try to evacuate the people. You can return to Wu Gorge only after the full moon night. I always like quietness, so don't tell others about what you encountered me here!"
Wu Shun and Ding San said in unison: "I obey your command!"
The girl's figure floated away like a swallow flying into the forest, and suddenly she disappeared.
She came and went in an instant, which made Wu Shun and Ding San marvel at her. They thought that such a master was really elusive.
The two of them didn't dare to stay here any longer and left in a hurry.
—
Deep underground, Shi Hao and a thin old man with a white beard were discussing the situation in the Wu Gorge area.
The old man and these mountain ghosts knew very little about the purpose of the Shenting Sect and the Dukui Sect, and could not get any information from them.
Just by asking, he understood a little more about the structure of the underground cave.
The mountain ghosts have lived here for a long time. Tunnels connect many underground caves and many strange plants are planted here.
Drinking the mountain springs brought by these mountain ghosts, eating the small lavender-looking fruits, and living deep underground, there is an inexplicable sense of freshness.
After eating, he lay down in a tree hole, where there was a wooden table, a bed and stools.
Although the sparrow is small, it has all the organs.
Here, you can indeed feel a kind of tranquility that is isolated from the outside world.
However, the intermittent rumbling sounds on the ground caused the deep underground to tremble continuously.
It felt like these layers of caves were about to collapse at any time, making the mountain ghosts all uneasy.
In a cave on the other side, stalactites hung upside down on the top of the wall, with drops of water dripping from them.
Clear water gurgled from the small cracks in the stone wall and gathered into a small pool here.
There is steam everywhere, this is actually a hot spring.
Sha Ling Shan, Mei Hua Madam and Tao Hua Madam undressed one after another and were thrown into the hot spring.
Several female mountain ghosts were busy outside.
"Girl," Madam Taohua couldn't help but ask as she soaked in the hot water, "Are we really going to help these mountain ghosts here?"
Sha Lingshan washed her silk fan and leaned her back against the mountain wall where the hot spring flowed. The hot water flowed and washed her smooth satin skin.
She picked up the silk fan, patted it gently on the water, and said with a smile: "This is the decision of the young master, why are you asking me?"
Madam Taohua said: "But we are a demon sect. What good will it do for us to help these mountain ghosts?"
Madam Meihua couldn't help but look at Sha Lingshan. Both of them had joined the Demon Sect since childhood, and the Demon Sect's style was selfish. Growing up in such an environment, it was difficult for them to understand the young master's decision.
Sha Lingshan raised her left arm and splashed water with her right hand to wash it off. She smiled softly and said, "If everything really goes according to the Demon Sect's style, if the young master falls into the abyss, you will have the obligation to jump down with him and do your best to protect the young master."
"But when you fell, the young master didn't need to care about your life or death, let alone risk his life for you. But the young master followed you and came down together. This is the young master. If it were me, I would not bother to care about you."
Madam Plum Blossom and Madam Peach Blossom couldn't help but look at each other.
They know a lot about their girls and actually know that they will not leave them alone.
But what she said was not wrong. If we really follow the rules of the Demon Sect, the young master is a true disciple. It is obviously putting the cart before the horse for him to take risks just because they fell into the abyss.
However, deep down, they were inevitably moved to see the young master jump for them.
Sha Ling Shan gently shook the clean round fan and said, "I don't know whether the Demon Sect should change, but the Evil Lotus Sect should indeed change. As the saying goes, the higher the words, the higher the demons. The Demon Sect has endless tricks and they are unfathomable."
"The fact is, in most of the history, the Demon Sect was suppressed by the Taoist Sect. The Evil Lotus Sect has been divided for two or three hundred years, and the three sects are already deeply divided. Our Jinghua Shuiyue Pavilion is relatively better, and the other two sects have been enemies for many years, and the hatred is difficult to resolve."
"At this moment, the three sects are forcibly unified. If the one sitting at the top is still a selfish young master who regards everyone as a tool, then the unification of the Evil Lotus Sect will only be short-lived and will soon fall apart again. He only knows how to ask for things but is unwilling to give. The Demon Sect emphasizes the word 'profit', and this 'profit' is taken from others by all means."
"After taking advantage once or twice, in the long run, everyone only cares about gaining profits, and the result is that the entire Demon Sect is regarded as jackals by the martial arts community. People always say that the Demon Sect likes to hide, but in fact, it is just that they have been annoying for a long time, which has led to everyone in the martial arts world calling for their destruction."
Madam Plum Blossom and Madam Peach Blossom did not expect that the girl would have such an opinion about the Demon Sect. But after hearing her say this, they were speechless for a moment and found it difficult to refute.
Sha Ling Shan continued, "Mencius said: Why bother talking about profit? The young master assisted Bashan Jiuzhai in resisting the Hanyang Gang in Bashan, and left after the success. Although there was no profit, Bashu returned to his heart, and the name 'Qianlong' came from this."